Over the span of two decades, M83 has firmly established himself as an artist whose work transcends mere escapism in favor of full-on worldbuilding. Whether it be via his celebrated studio albums, film soundtracks, or compositions for stage productions, Gonzalez has proven that nothing surpasses his ability to perfectly encapsulate a specific time, emotion, or sense of place. This has led him to become a GRAMMY-nominated musical juggernaut who has headlined Los Angeles's famed Hollywood Bowl, wowed audiences across the globe, and sold over a million units of his 2011 album, Hurry Up, We're Dreaming.

For Gonzalez, Fantasy's direction and aesthetic were immediately clear. "I wanted this record to be very impactful live," he says. "The idea was to come back with something closer to the energy of Before The Dawn Heals Us. The combination of guitars and synths is always in my music, but it’s maybe more present on this new record than on the previous ones."

Gonzalez also sought to continue a trend that has become more prominent in his recent albums. "I wanted to be more present lyrically and vocally" he states. "I thought if I could achieve that, this album will be more personal than those that came before." To capture the exuberance of his dazzling live performances, Gonzalez altered his typical recording process. “I would usually write the demos and then go to my producer to start working on an album," he details. "But this time was a little different. I just wanted to feel the energy of other musicians. The feeling of musicians playing together is something that was missing a bit."

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: I've long been a fan of M83's cinematic synth-led heft, and 'Fantasy' couldn't have been a more perfect reprisal of Gonazalez' inimitable style. While vocals have been present sparingly in M83 albums before, they are more necessary here than ever before lending a gauzy shoegazing majesty to proceedings. A perfect return, and a significant progression from what has come before.

TRACK LISTING

1. Water Deep
2. Oceans Niagara
3. Amnesia
4. Us And The Rest
5. Earth To Sea
6. Radar, Far, Gone
7. Deceiver
8. Fantasy
9. Laura
10. Sunny Boy
11. Kool Nuit
12. Sunny Boy Part 2
13. Dismemberment Bureau

Aptly titled M83, this album served as the French electropop outfit’s debut release in 2001 on Gooom. Recorded as a duo by founding members Anthony Gonzalez and Nicolas Fromageau, the album was described by Pitchfork as “how it feels to live inside a triumphal music box.” The track names can be read in order to describe a boy/girl meeting at a party. Taken in tow with the sampled movie dialogue throughout, the album serves as a poignant soundtrack for the simplest of scenarios.

Four years on from the Grammy nominated, critically acclaimed release Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming (featuring platinum selling single “Midnight City”), French electronic act M83 re-issues their first three albums in addition to two digital EPs featuring remixes and B-sides from those albums. After several years of being out of print, M83 (2001), Dead Cities, Red Seas, and Lost Ghosts (2004), and Before the Dawn Heals Us (2005) will be released August 25th, 2014 on Naïve Records.

M83 has become a household name amongst music lovers due to extensive success across many formats. Since Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, not only has M83’s Anthony Gonzalez scored two films: Oblivion (featuring Tom Cruise) and You and the Night (directed by his brother Yann Gonzalez), but his music has been used across a plethora of movies, television shows and commercials, most recently in films The Fault In Our Stars, The Vampire Diaries, and 22 Jump Street. Huffington Post even reported, “few recent albums have had a bigger impact on movie music than M83’s Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming.” At radio, M83 reached #1 on the CMJ charts, #1 at Commercial Specialty, and #5 in Commercial Alternative Radio, while receiving rave reviews from publications across the world, including Pitchfork, Spin, Entertainment Weekly, XLR8R, Filter, and countless others.

TRACK LISTING

1. Last Saturday
2. Night
3. At The Party
4. Kelly
5. Sitting
6. Facing That
7. Violet Tree
8. Staring At Me
9. I’m Getting Closer
10. She Stands Up
11. Caresses
12. Slowly
13. My Face
14. I’m Happy She Said

The music of Alex Maas has always mesmerised. Now, on his soul-baring solo debut Luca, the Texan and Black Angel's singer journey is taking an equally hypnotic detour along the wild trails of his indigenous homestead. Driven by the force of nature, each phase of life is celebrated through songs of love, hope, human connection whilst navigating perils of modern society and tentatively facing the darkness. 

TRACK LISTING

1 Slip Into
2 The Light That Will End Us
3 Special
4 Been Struggling
5 500 Dreams
6 What Would I Tell Your Mother
7 All Day
8 Shines Like The Sun (Madeline's Melody)
9 American Conquest
10 The City

Following the Kota Motomura and Exterior debuts earlier this year, it’s another first from Hobbes Music. Maastricht Research is a brand new project from Scottish artist Jonathan Hunter producing ambient/drone style material. Jonathan was part of the quartet behind the much-loved Slabs Of The Tabernacle parties at Glasgow's now-legendary La Cheetah club back in the late 00s/early 10s. He's also one half of The Three Lives, whose debut EP, Mud & Flame and follow-up Across & Beyond were released recently by Glasgow's Full Dose label.

Written and recorded over a number of years, whilst living in Amsterdam, Glasgow and Dublin, the Maastricht Research vibe is about as horizontal as it gets and is the perfect soundtrack to long, lazy days and balmy eves in the park, by the pool, in the bath etc! There are zero beats. It's proper ambient / drone music and could well have been beamed in from another dimension, planet or century altogether, including field recordings, atmospheric fx, lush and eerie pads, with the occasional snatch of a weird vocal and generally other-worldly sounds.

The record owes a debt to the likes of Manuel Gottsching, Cluster, Susumu Yokota, Detroit Escalator Company, Astral Industries and Alessandro Cortini, among others…

Mastered by Keith 'Radioactive Man' Tenniswood, Idle Animation will now be out at the end of October on extremely limited edition 12" vinyl, with CMYK printed labels, contained in a plain white sleeve with 3mm spine (reverse board for natural finish) including full colour artwork plus titles* printed using a Risograph on 135gsm ‘Context Natural’ A3 paper and finally all packaged in a polyurethane bag. *[printed on the ‘Obi flap’ - excess paper folded around the spine].

"Loving it. Beautiful stuff here - all tracks doing it for me" ROLANDO (UR)

"This is great! Will use in on Ambient Flo" AUNTIE FLO

"Really diggin the MaastrichtResearch release" INTERGALACTIC GARY

"Love this, thanks for sending" DOMENIC (Sub Club)

"This sounds fantastic!" NICK CRADDOCK (Gateway To Zen)

"Really liking the sound of the record. Dublin air tugging on his emotive side by the sounds :)" JOHN HECKLE

"Mesmerizing music, something we all need to listen to because of so much chaos and stress in the world...with this, just sit back and zone out for a bit and regain balance...." DAN CURTIN

"This is nice music, thank you for sharing it with me. A3 is the one for me, really nice vibe" ARIO (Astral Industries)

"More emotive and soulful ambience and drone from this red hot label. Maastricht Research have been reviving the Poolside revellers at Pikes morning sessions this summer" DRIBBLER (Pikes, Café del Mar, Ibiza)

TRACK LISTING

A1 An Makar
A2 Kussner Effect
A3 Winter Lanterns
A4 Lumenwood Kin
B1 Aphelion
B2 Workshop Heretic
B3 Ben More From Martys Bay
B4 Balkon

Official Mr Bongo reissue of the ultra-rare Nigerian disco-boogie, ‘Viva Disco’, album from 1980. Originally released on the Afrodisia label, this one is unknown to even the most knowledgable collectors out there.

Tunde Mabadu recorded two albums in the 70’s - ‘Viva Disco’ and ‘Bisu’ as Tunde Mabadu & His Sunrise. Perfect examples of golden-era Nigerian disco & boogie that still hold their own today.

TRACK LISTING

Alabosi
Disco Press Funk
Amupara Ko Ma Dara
African Parowo
Angelina - Sugar Daddy
Viva Disco (Instrumental)

Official Mr Bongo reissue of the ultra-rare Nigerian disco-boogie, ‘Viva Disco’, album from 1980. Originally released on the Afrodisia label, this one is unknown to even the most knowledgable collectors out there.

Tunde Mabadu recorded two albums in the 70’s - ‘Viva Disco’ and ‘Bisu’ as Tunde Mabadu & His Sunrise. Perfect examples of golden-era Nigerian disco & boogie that still hold their own today.

TRACK LISTING

Alabosi
Disco Press Funk
Amupara Ko Ma Dara
African Parowo
Angelina - Sugar Daddy
Viva Disco (Instrumental)

Originally released in January 1980, the second album from (Crammed founder) Marc Hollander’s band was the first record bearing the Crammed logo (although the label only really started to exist at the end of that year). More intense and experimental than the first Aksak Maboul album (yet often as playful), “Un peu...” was recorded with a band comprising revered UK musicians Fred Frith & Chris Cutler and contains complex written section, free improv, and a wild variety of elements. If you're looking for a post-punk experience as abstract as it is angular, then you're in luck. Boasting free-jazz horns, stuttering rhythms, abrasive guitar and the occasional thrash moment, "Un Peu" is far from an easy listen, and that's a very good thing. The first reissue on vinyl of Aksak Maboul’s classic 1980 LP. It includes a booklet with various documents, as well as previously-unreleased recordings (available via a digital download code). 

TRACK LISTING

Modern Lesson
Palmiers En Pots
Geistige Nacht
I Viaggi Formano
La Giovent
Inoculating Rabies
Ce Qu’On Peut Voir Avec Un Bon Microscope
Alluvions
Azinou Crapules
Age Route Brra! (Radio Sofia)

Mac Blackout, a.k.a Chicagoan Mark McKenzie has been on the fringes of the Chicago music scene for two decades now, whether blasting brains in scuzz-punk bands The Functional Blackouts & Daily Void or as wild-eyed frontman for glam-punks Mickey. While his solo recordings as Mac Blackout have traditionally followed along the same path of KBD-infused, sci-fi punk rock, his new instrumental solo album (and first for Trouble In Mind), "Love Profess" offers listeners a new side. "Love Profess" is Blackout's first solo album in seven years, the result of - in his own words: "...years of artistic growth and preparation. Five years ago I shifted my focus from music to visual art, embarking on a creative and spiritual journey, finding new and evolved artistic visions through many mediums." Indeed as his art career has blossomed, the creative musical ideas & a budding interest in free jazz & avant garde music have flourished & guided his output toward something altogether different; stripped down minimal pop songs & analog synth excursions laced with a healthy dollop of free jazz & avant-musical expression.

Blackout says "This break from solo music creation resulted in years of internalized ideas, unexpressed energy, and the calling to explore new creative directions musically." These creative directions converged at the beginning of 2020 as Blackout began to record "Love Profess". From the opening exultation of "Wandering Spheres", longtime fans know they're in for something completely different; a rapturous wave of saxophone blasting forth gives way to a pensive electronic pulse and a tinkling of synthesized bells. "Forever" and "Call For Love" tick and drone like something off of Suicide's second album, the former's sweet melody & electric handclaps peppered with melancholy, while the latter's slinky rhythm makes you move. "Magic Hour 2020"s meditative drone closes out Side A, setting up Side B opener "The Virus"; an aural odyssey that transports the listener to "Revolutionary Tide"s righteous shuffle, with Blackout's sax blasting out like a call to arms. The album's title cut come near the end of Side B, with it's metronomic pulse and synth washes acting as a soothing balm, while the tender ballad "Dear Mom" closes us out.

Blackout says "2020 has been unlike any time in history. With these hard times comes great emotion, reflection, and realization. This album is an instrumental reflection and chronological portrait of the period in which it was created, January through July 2020. I hope you find solace, artistic friendship, inspiration, rejuvenation and the power to make positive change through this work of art for years to come." Indeed the entire album feels very much like an offering, with its tender & open expressions & reflections allowing a palpable passion to creep through. We can only hope it can guide us to a better tomorrow. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Wandering Spheres
2. Forever
3. Call For Love
4. Magic Hour 2020
5. The Virus
6. Revolutionary Tide
7. Love Profess
8. Dear Mom

Australian born French producer James Mac and Frenchman Vall deliver ‘The Boy Is Mine’ featuring the vocal talents of Rosalie, reimagining this certified R&B anthem of the late ‘90s into a hazy afro house bumper. Whether it’s the original mix or the glitched out, harder-hitting Funkerman remix – both sides are destined to light up any dancefloor they’re put before.

TRACK LISTING

A1. The Boy Is Mine (ft. Rosalie)
B1. The Boy Is Mine (ft. Rosalie) [Funkerman Remix]

Australian DJ and producer James Mac joins forces with France based Vall for their Afro House rework of Aaliyah’s 2001 hit ‘Try Again’. This follows their debut hit single together 'The Boy Is Mine' which remained the #7 highest selling record on Beatport overall for 3 months. The vinyl includes official remixes from house music legend David Penn, French producer Holseek and Sydney based DJ/Producer on the rise Ben Miller, as well as the Sasson Remix of ‘The Boy Is Mine’.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Extended
A2. Ben Miller 4am Afro Dub
B1. David Penn Remix
B2. Holseek Remix
B3. The Boy Is Mine (Sasson Remix)

Impossible rare second album by Chilean beat pioneers The Mac's, recorded in 1967 under the influence of the British Invasion sound, including covers of theRolling Stones, Dylan, the Hollies... and the outstanding original "Qué Clase de Sentimiento".

Second album by Chilean beat pioneers Los Mac's, originally released in 1967 on RCA Victor. This record features such a unique sound that made them stand out in the local scene and has become a milestone in the development of popular music in Chile. Recorded under the influence of the British Invasion sound, this album includes covers of the Rolling Stones, Dylan, the Hollies... and the outstanding original 'Qué Clase de Sentimiento'. GG Session anticipated the band's new sound, fully achieved in their next album Kaleidoscope Men. Reissued on vinyl for the first time.

Wit, liveliness and crackling musical ideas, jumping between global genres with relish – Kirsty MacColl’s third album, 'Electric Landlady', has all of them.

Travelling the world with her husband, producer Steve Lillywhite, had given her exposure to big bands like the Rolling Stones and Talking Heads, with whom she gladly sang backing vocals. But her friends and voracious appetite for new music is what drove her creativity. 'Electric Landlady' also saw the love of Cuban and Latin American rhythms in her life, which had been fired in her childhood by her brother's record collection, beginning to bud and bloom in her work. Worldrenowned artists like drummer José Mangual Jr, trumpeter Angel Hernandez, timbalero Mark Quinones and bassist Sal Cuevas joined her band, enhancing and enriching her glorious songs.

Many collaborations light up this LP. The defiant country swing of 'All I Ever Wanted' was a result of a writing partnership by post, exchanging tapes with American musician Marshall Crenshaw. 'He Never Mentioned Love', written with The Pogues’ Jem Finer, is a more mature, wry take on Kirsty’s earlier girl group-flavoured pop. 'The Hardest Word', written with her older brother, Hamish, is also about their late father, the renowned folk singer Ewan, with whom she had a tough relationship.

Pressed up on 180g audiophile vinyl, half speed mastered from the original analogue tapes by Phil Kinrade at AIR studios. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Walking Down Madison
2. All I Ever Wanted
3. Children Of The Revolution
4. Halloween
5. My Affair
6. Lying Down
7. He Never Mentioned Love
8. We’ll Never Pass This Way Again
9. The Hardest Word
10. Maybe It’s Imaginary
11. My Way Home
12. The One And Only

For the very first time on yellow vinyl , and following demand from an active and enthusiastic fanbase, Demon Music are proud to present a career spanning collection featuring 25 of Kirsty MacColl's most popular recordings on a 2LP set.

Between her June 1979 debut single 'They Don't Know' and her tragic death in 2000, Kirsty released five studio albums and seventeen singles, a succinct but consistently high quality body of work, much of it self written or in partnership with notable collaborators like Graham Gouldman , or Johnny Marr. Whether she was exploring themes of love and loss, or applying her original and often witty world view, Kirsty's talent as a songwriter and singer is instantly apparent on this new compilation. She was equally adept at throwing new light on old favourites look no further than her (some might say better than the original) covers of The Kinks' 'Days', and Billy Bragg's 'A New England', both included here.

The respect for Kirsty's craft can be heard in the versions of her songs recorded by the likes of Tracey Ullman, ABBA's Anni Frid Lyngstad, and Bette Midler, while her rich, unique and in demand voice saw her back Simple Minds, the Rolling Stones, The Smiths, Talking Heads, Happy Mondays, The Wonder Stuff, Alison Moyet, and Robert Plant, among others.

Born in Croydon, England, Kirsty's roots as a performer began in the fertile late '70s Punk and New Wave scene, but with her style adapting as her influences broadened, her songwriting took in Pop, Folk, Country, Rock 'n' Roll, Dance, and Latin music, all of which can be heard on this celebration of a much loved and much missed talent.

TRACK LISTING

1. Kirsty MacColl - A New England (03:50)
2. Kirsty MacColl - Innocence (Single Remix) (04:02)
3. Kirsty MacColl - They Don't Know (03:01)
4. Kirsty MacColl - There's A Guy Works Down The Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis (03:08)
5. Kirsty MacColl - Don't Come The Cowboy With Me, Sonny Jim! (03:48)
6. Kirsty MacColl - Can't Stop Killing You (04:09)
7. Kirsty MacColl - England 2 Colombia 0 (03:45)
8. Kirsty MacColl - Walking Down Madison (7" Mix) (04:39)
9. Kirsty MacColl - Free World (Radio Edit) (02:37)
10. Kirsty MacColl - Terry (03:56)
11. Kirsty MacColl - You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby (From "She's Having A Baby") (03:39)
12. Kirsty MacColl - Mother's Ruin (03:57)
13. Kirsty MacColl - Mambo De La Luna (Single Edit) (03:31)
14. Kirsty MacColl - Angel (Single Edit) (03:40)
15. Kirsty MacColl - In These Shoes? (03:39)
16. Kirsty MacColl - My Affair (Single Edit) (03:34)
17. Kirsty MacColl - Treachery (03:52)
18. Kirsty MacColl - Caroline (02:55)
19. Kirsty MacColl - Days (02:57)
20. Kirsty MacColl - He's On The Beach (Single Version) (03:31)
21. Kirsty MacColl - Soho Square (04:26)
22. Kirsty MacColl And Billy Bragg - Darling, Let's Have Another Baby (03:26)
23. Kirsty MacColl - All I Ever Wanted (Single Version) (03:31)
24. Kirsty MacColl And Evan Dando - Perfect Day (03:49)
25. The Pogues With Kirsty MacColl - Fairytale Of New York (04:37)

'Kite' flew out in the world in the spring of 1989, a whole decade after Kirsty MacColl had released her first single. It also came seven years after her last album, her debut, 'Desperate Character'. In the interim, she had a top ten hit with her harmony and jangle-drenched version of Billy Bragg’s 'A New England' in 1985, an evergreen Christmas hit, 1987’s 'Fairytale of New York', with The Pogues and two sons, Jamie and Louis, with her producer husband Steve Lillywhite. 'Kite' arrived like a bold, glossy statement of intent, full of songs she had written herself and with dear friends like Pete Glenister and Johnny Marr, plus one glistening Kinks cover, which felt like an appropriate choice. In finger-clicking country, Smithsy pop, ballads and modern protest songs, Kirsty was Ray Davies’ natural successor in song writing, observing fame, love and modern life with a sparkling, sensitive eye.

Kite also contains flourishes of what was to come later for Kirsty. 'Dancing in Limbo' hints towards her later work’s Latin flavours. Finale 'You And Me Baby' prefigures the glorious soundworld of 1993’s 'Titanic Days'. Throughout the album, there is a confidence that bristles and burns, the sound of a woman finally seizing the day and having her time.

Reissued as an all analogue half-speed master, remastered from the original tapes by Phil Kinrade at Air Studios, and featuring an exclusive liner essay from Kirsty MacColl expert and Guardian music critic Jude Rogers.

TRACK LISTING

1. Innocence
2. Free World
3. Mother’s Ruin
4. Days
5. No Victims
6. Fifteen Minutes
7. Don’t Come The Cowboy With Me Sonny Jim!
8. Tread Lightly
9. What Pretty Girls Do?
10. Dancing In Limbo
11. The End Of A Perfect Day
12. You & Me Baby

A blend of song, piping and instrumental music that brings together the best aspects of the Gaelic tradition and benefits from the super sound quality of the Greentrax label. MacDonald is an excellent piper and the high, clear vocals of Margaret Stewart are a perfect compliment to his dexterous skills.

It's a year later and everything has gone from bad to worse.

Machiavellian Art and Riot Season Records present "Population Control". A Sonic Examination of the Mechanisms of Control.

An intense exploration of societal and self-imposed controls, encapsulated in a dynamic contrast between Side A's visceral anger and the introspective ambiance of Side B. This duality mirrors the contrasting themes of external control versus internal reflection.

"Population Control" extends beyond its predecessor, "Indoctrination Sounds," in both musical depth and thematic scope. The album confronts a broad spectrum of modern-day addictions - not just to substances, but to technology, social media, and the relentless 24-hour news cycle. These themes manifest across tracks like "A Slow Death," "Population Control (1) + (2)," "Fear of the Outside World," and "Crisis," each exploring the resulting isolation, paranoia, fear, and hopelessness. "Seaside Holiday," a critique of environmental negligence, specifically highlighting the issue of untreated sewage being dumped into Britain's waterways by private companies.

In 2022, Machine Head are back with their most crushing and complete album yet. ØF KINGDØM AND CRØWN is an hour-long conceptual monolith, rich in colour and dynamics but hell-bent on destruction. Set in a futuristic wasteland where the sky is always crimson red, ØF KINGDØM AND CRØWN tells the tale of two characters, both faced with incalculable trauma, whose stories become bloodily entwined as this deep, dark record progresses.

TRACK LISTING

Slaughter The Martyr/
Chøke øn The Ashes øf Yøur Hate/
Becøme The Firestørm
øverdøse/
My Hands Are Empty/
Unhalløwed

Travis Stewart aka Machinedrum reasserts his GOAT status with another brilliantly innovative album effortlessly traversing tempos and musical styles as only he can. “3FOR82” comprises 12 high-intensity, ruminative tracks that thread the needle between his past, present and future selves. His first studio album since 2020’s “A View of U”, “3FOR82” features an incredible cast of collaborators including Tinashe, Duckwrth, Mick Jenkins, Jesse Boykins III, KUČKA, AKTHESAVIOR, Tanerélle, deem spencer, Deniro Farrar and Topaz Jones.

Between drum & bass, hip-hop, jazz, R&B, dazzling beat switches and a singular ear for sonics, Machinedrum adopts a rich, prismatic approach to collaboration, building on the uptempo vocal manipulations that won him acclaim in electronic communities, notably on 2011’s breakout LP Room(s) and 2013 opus Vapor City.

Recommended if you like… Flume, Mura Masa, Four Tet, Jamie xx, Nia Archives

TRACK LISTING

Side A
A1. ORACLE (feat. Aja Monet)
A2. RESPEK (feat. Topaz Jones & Ezri)
A3. WEARY (feat. Mick Jenkins & Jesse Boykins III)
A4. H0N3Y
A5. HEAL (feat. AKTHESAVIOR & Deniro Farrar)
A6. ILIKEU (feat. Duckwrth)
Side B
B1. U_WANT (feat. KUČKA)
B2. BLESSD (feat. Deem Spencer)
B3. RISE (feat. ROZET)
B4. ZOOM (feat. Tinashe)
B5. KILL_U (feat. Tanerélle)
B6. GODOWN (feat. Jesse Boykins III)

Machinedrum returns with his definitive new album “A View of U” featuring an incredible cast of collaborators including Freddie Gibbs, Sub Focus, Chrome Sparks, Father (Awful Records), Mono/Poly (Brainfeeder), Tigran Hamasyan, Tanerélle, Jesse Boykins III and Rochelle Jordan. Distilling his signature fusion of IDM, UK rave, jungle and bass culture blended with myriad US regional hip-hop and club music styles. it’s a potent and masterfully executed fusion, evoking a pace, warmth and groove synonymous with his modern classic “Vapor City” (2013).

Recommended if you like… Squarepusher, Lone, Jamie xx, Flume

TRACK LISTING

A1. The Relic (feat. Rochelle Jordan)
A2. Star (feat. Mono/Poly & Tanerélle)
A3. Kane Train (feat. Freddie Gibbs)
A4. Wait 4 U (feat. Jesse Boykins III)
A5. Sleepy Pietro (feat. Tigran Hamasyan)
A6. Spin Blocks (feat. Father)
B1. Idea 36 (feat. Chrome Sparks)
B2. Believe In U
B3. 1000 Miles (feat. Sub Focus)
B4. Inner Eye
B5. Ur2yung

Electronic music’s Renaissance man Machinedrum aka Travis Stewart is prepping for his biggest and boldest album release to date with Ninja Tune. ‘Eyesdontlie’ is the first single from the new record.

Conceptually the album is based on recurring dreams that Travis has had for years about a metropolis known as Vapor City. He has crafted a fully-formed soundscape which doubles as a map into this imaginary universe. The road to Vapor City begins now with the ‘Eyesdontlie’ single, representing the first district from Travis Stewart’s newest universe.

Travis has produced for Azealia Banks and Theophilius London, and ghost written for Missy Elliot and Tiesto. Other high profile fans include SBRTKT, Hudson Mowhawke, and Jesse Boykins, amongst many others.

There is a large immersive campaign around the record including a new interactive website and unique launch parties streamed with Boiler Room in London, Paris, Berlin, New York and LA, each with visuals themed around a different district from ‘Vapor City’.

Travis Stewaert aka Machinedrum returns with possibly his career-defining album. Written during the early stages of this year, which saw Steward move to California and start exploring esoteric and new age sounds. This concept of sound as a healer, or as a way of expanding our mind is something he's trying to carry throughout the execution of the album. From opener "Lapis", Machinedrum immediately grabs our attention - slowly an arpeggio ascending to heaven which, apparently building towards the mother of all drops, instead fades up and off into the ether. "Morphonogene" swiftly carries the listener into some skitty, future-proof beats backed by what will become the albums ident - pitched angel vox set to a half-tempo swagger. "Angel Speak" continues the theme with euphoric stabs building and rising before a huge snare roll signifies the drop into bass heavy wobble - the post-everything production ethos coming through strong on this number while MeLo-X offers understated, classy assistance.
The music throughout is scintillating, stimulating and stylish; from the mind-candy riffs of "White Crown", the ecstatic d&b finale of "Do It 4 U" (featuring an absolute stand-out vox from singer-of-the-moment D∆WN). From the smile-inducing, melodic brilliance of "Colour Communicator" to the precision and build of "Dos Puertas" featuring Rihanna collaborator Kevin Hussein, one of those albums that displays perfectly what it sounds like to be alive RIGHT NOW, without a thought of looking backwards. There's a plethora of collaborations: the aforementioned MeLo-X; Jesse Boykins III offers a moment of astral r&b goodness on "Celestial Levels"; Rochelle Jordan provides the lift off as Machinedrum works the rhythm flips on "Tell U". There are also contributions from Ruckazoid, Roses Gabore and SK Simeon. It's a tour de force of future musica and we love it! Recommended. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Thoroughly invigorating listen from Machinedrum, exploring new styles and sounds with ease and finesse. Perfect for anyone wanting a glimpse into the futuristic progression / hybrid of bass and pop music

TRACK LISTING

Lapis
Morphogene (ft Ruckazoid)
Angel Speak (ft MeLo-X)
Tell U (ft Rochelle Jordan)
Surfed Out Do It 4 U (ft D∆WN)
Celestial Levels (ft Jesse Boykins III)
Isometrix
Spectrum Sequence
White Crown (ft Tosin Abasi)
Ocean Of Thought
Etheric Body Temple
Dos Puertas (ft Kevin Hussein)
Opalescent
Colour Communicator

Electronic music’s Renaissance man Travis Stewart, better known as Machinedrum, drops ‘Vapor City’ his first full-length offering since his critically heralded ‘Room(s)’ in 2011.

Conceptually based on recurring dreams he has had for years about an unknown metropolis, Stewart has finally crafted a fully formed soundscape which doubles as a map into this imaginary universe. “‘Vapor City’ is an album inspired by a dream city,” explains Stewart. “A collection of different songs each representing different districts in the city.”

Combining the speed of skittering jungle / juke rhythms with enveloping half speed basslines, atmospheric pads, lush piano chords and disembodied vocal samples, he's created the perfect backdrop for a trip through his invisible city. Opener (and single track) 'Gunshotta' twists old school jungle and ragga vox with a post-dubstep emotive soul and electronic depth. Hardcore shifter 'Infinite Us' combines rough beats with sparkling synth spirals with rising notes, while 'Don’t 1 2 Lose U' reimagines old school R&S rave with 2013 digital kit, juke rhythms and that post-Burial, post-Blake emotion. Taking a bit of a breather in the BPMs 'Center Your Love' offers a swooning female vocal and Boards Of Canada style detuned keyboard lines at the centre of rolling head-nod break. Heavily treated yearning vocals over a rolling junglist rhythm make 'Rise N Fall' another outstanding cut here, with 'U Still Lie' bringing an 80s electro ballad feel to the proceedings, and closer 'Baby It’s U' offering R&B suffocating under the crunch, crackle and rumble of current alt-step production sounds.

The perfect counterbalance to the wave of harsh stadium-friendly no-brain EDM bro-step that passes for 'dance music' these days.

Electronic music's Renaissance man Travis Stewart, better known as Machinedrum, brings his 'Vapor City' project to a close with this final chapter in the sprawling epic - 'Vapor City Archives'. Paying close heed to the spirit of the 'Vapor City' community he forged and nurtured, Stewart chose to announce this new record via the global community created when he invited listeners into his personal dream world dubbed “Vapor City”.

Constructed around his vision of an imaginary city with fully-realized districts, the year-long 'Vapor City' project was founded upon Machinedrum’s critically acclaimed album of the same name and supplemented with a worldwide live tour, a string of satellite EPs and remixes. This final installment sees the talismanic producer deliver 10 brand new, exclusive productions alongside fresh artwork from the project’s art directors: LuckyMe’s Dom Flannigan and Éclair Fifi.

Once again experimenting in soundscapes between footwork ("Safed", "Only 1 Way 2 Know"), hip-hop and jungle / drum & bass ("More Than Friends", "Boxoff") to forge a unique sound that he has come to own, Stewart creates a subtle homage that nods to the past while staying firmly future-facing.

TRACK LISTING

Boxoff
Safed
Hard 2 Be
Only 1 Way 2 Know
Vizion (Centered)
B Patient
More Than Friends
Tried & True
2 B Luvd
Endless <3

DJ Moplen has outdone himself with this reimagining of Machine’s disco classic. Sticking purely to elements from the original, he’s managed to completely redesign the song, starting with an extended version of the soulful piano intro. Punching up the kick drums and handclaps moves the track into house territory, complemented by a funky guitar riff that was completely buried in the original. When the bass enters front and center Moplen practically forces you to the dancefloor, leaving you vulnerable to August Darnell’s controversial lyrics. Fresh from a career-making start with Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band, lyricist/vocalist Darnell’s collaboration here with Machine was only months from his next incarnation as Kid Creole. Just like those groups, Darnell here fills his song with the politics of race, religion, and sexuality under the guise of a great beat. This release features that rarest of things: a dub just as good as the original. Rather than just removing the vocals, Moplen again rearranges the song, removing the slow intro and building a killer groove from the ground up. As well as the 1979 version, and an acapella reprise, this 12” also features the 1994 Timmy Regisford house mix that captures the dark energy of the song perfectly.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Moplen Remix
A2. Moplen Dub
B1. Original 1979 Version
B2. 1994 Timmy Regisford Remix
B3. Acapella Reprise

Floral Shoppe (フローラルの専門店) is the cult studio album by the American electronic musician under the one-time alias Macintosh Plus, released on December 9, 2011. Since then, Floral Shoppe has been considered to be the defining album of the Vaporwave style and been heralded as one of the most significant albums in the early days of vaporwave.

In a retrospective review, Adam Downer of Sputnikmusic characterized the album as "constantly—and delightfully—unsettling" and "a beautiful record that's both warm and strange, nostalgic and futuristic, bizarre and totally simple." Writing for Pitchfork, Miles Bowe concluded, "Nothing could change or improve its sound which, even after thousands of soundalikes, has lost none of its perception-shattering power." Vice (Noisey) included Floral Shoppe on their ranking of the 100 best albums of the 2010s.

The definitive oral history of Scottish postpunk, from Glasgow to Edinburgh, the Postcard label and Fast Product Description.

The immense cultural contribution made by two maverick Scottish independent music labels, Fast Product and Postcard, cannot be underestimated. Bob Last and Hilary Morrison in Edinburgh, followed by Alan Horne and Edwyn Collins in Glasgow helped to create a confidence in being Scottish that hitherto had not existed in pop music (or the arts in general in Scotland). Their fierce independent spirit stamped a mark of quality and intelligence on everything they achieved, as did their role in the emergence of regional independent labels and cultural agitators, such as Rough Trade, Factory and Zoo.

Hungry Beat is a definitive oral history of these labels and the Scottish post-punk period. Covering the period 1977-1984, the book begins with the Subway Sect and the Slits performance on the White Riot tour in Edinburgh and takes us through to Bob Last shepherding the Human League from experimental electronic artists on Fast Product to their triumphant number one single in the UK and USA, Don't You Want Me. Built on interviews with Last, Hilary Morrison, Paul Morley and members of The Human League, Scars, The Mekons, Fire Engines, Josef K, Aztec Camera, The Go-Betweens and The Bluebells, Hungry Beat offers a comprehensive overview of one of the most important periods of Scottish cultural output and the two labels that changed the landscape of British music.

Fountain Fire is Bill MacKay’s second solo album on Drag City. The Chicago-based guitarist’s continued sonic journeys in conversation with himself follow a travel-worn map written in his own hand. Bill has followed the trail from familiar confines to unknown places, catalyzing a style equally enamored with the traditional and the avant-garde to make his most expansive and forceful music to date.

You can hear it in the opening track; as the lava and lakes of “Pre-California” simmer to boiling, Bill assembles a bridge of guitars, layering beams of rumbling acoustic, distorted electric, and arcing slide parts. By leaping boldly from fixed points, he makes synergetic discoveries in mid-air. This is the MacKay writing style in its most evolved state thus far, following serpentine paths within the patterns, lunging in and out of tonality with instinctive flair and a stoic sense of inevitability, forging a sonic mosaic that breathes and grows organically as it fills the space of a song.

Yet there is far more here than straitlaced sonic captures of picker’s prowess and captivating harmonic motivation. Bill’s pieces are informed by meditation and memory, impressionistic as cinematic miniatures, inspired as much by filmic and literary passions as by sure-playing hands, and always rooted with deep soul and steady intention.

As the pieces move in and out of focus in enticingly hallucinogenic fashion, Bill throws another element into play: a pair of stark and emotionally-charged vocal numbers that cause the hair to raise on the listener’s neck, etched as they are with a haunting and eerie beauty. Alongside the ever-shifting flows of instrumental color running through Fountain Fire, these moments shine blindingly, like mirages in the desert. The fire in the album title is a continuity in Bill’s life — part of his genealogy, his living history, his astrology, the scorching effect of the overdriven slide in the penultimate “Arcadia.” It is also a sigil for the chaos around us.

Bill says: “While the record definitely reflects the turbulence and urgency of the times we’re living in, it also takes an autobiographical look back at the upheaval that characterized the nomadic rambles of my formative years. I learned to adapt to this constantly shifting landscape. Grasping the unfamiliar became second-nature, and the impressions made by the unknown rapidly entered my art. The bittersweet sense of fleeting time & place became a hallmark. Now is more of a time than ever to dramatize what matters to us through our art.”

TRACK LISTING

1 Pre-California
2 Birds Of May
3 The Movie House
4 Man & His Panic
5 Welcome
6 Try It On
7 Arcadia
8 Dragon Country

Rolling and tumbling in his own sweet way, guitarist Bill MacKay discovers a territory all his own - 'Locust Land'. New vistas abound, Bill adds a measure of keyboard playing to his picking mastery, sings a few more, and, a devout and ceaseless collaborator, features a few other players (Sam Wagster, Mikel Patrick Avery and Janet Beveridge Bean). Whether played solo or with companions, Bill’s music projects the strength of the universal collective.

TRACK LISTING

1. Phantasmic Fairy
2. Keeping In Time
3. Glow Drift
4. Half Of You
5. Oh Pearl
6. Radiator
7. When I Was Here
8. Neil’s Field
9. Locust Land

Tradition, community and the rugged ways of the island life: it all soaks into Hold Fast by Colin Macleod, his first album for SO Recordings. From the plangent, spacious Americana of the string laden opener Queen of the Highlands to his heartfelt love letter to home This Old Place, Hold Fast tells the tale of a man returning to the island where he was born after trying to make it in the world. Contrasting parts — Springsteen-style widescreen rock on The Long Road and Sleep, introspective acoustic folk on Made of Stone and 33 (one of two tracks on the album featuring Sheryl Crow) — contribute to a poignant whole.

And although it may sound like a story culled from Macleod’s own experience, being a singer songwriter who indeed left his tight-knit island community in search of glory, it is a work of fiction. It just happens to be fiction embedded in truth. "The stories in this album are a culmination of a mis-spent youth. Although the tales are fictional, there not a million miles from the truth, or from my own story, but hopefully more of a cautionary tale. What goes on in the shadows of an island? what happens when the summer light is replaced by long winters? Beautiful places often have a sorry tale to tell, but also a community to help pick you up if you fall by the roadside. This album is the story of one such journey. " - Colin Macleod

TRACK LISTING

1. Queen Of The Highlands
2. The Long Road
3. Warning Signs
4. Old Soul*
5. Sleep
6. Made Of Stone
7. 33*
8. Runaway
9. Looking For God
10. This Old Place

“Pete MacLeod is one of the most talented musicians I’ve ever worked with. I say that without any reservations whatsoever. His new record is stunning. He’s as good as a singer as Liam or Ashcroft. An absolute top shelf vocalist. The songwriting and matching of Youth as producer and Peter as artist is musical alchemy. These songs show Pete’s vocal range, which is phenomenal. The album is one of the best records I’ve ever been involved with.” - Alan McGee.

New album with acclaimed producer Youth (recent No.1 selling album with Pink Floyd, The Verve’s Urban Hymns, Primal Scream and more).

Pete has recently completed a successful UK tour supporting The Happy Mondays and dates opening for Cast, Jesus and The Mary Chain.

BBC Radio 2's Janice Long recently described Pete as "absolutely amazing" and chose the new single ‘Crestfallen’ for her "Janice loves" slot 5 times in one week. A first time Janice has ever done so.

Featuring Paul McCartney’s son James on guitar and also The Verve’s Simon Tong.

“An amazing singer and an equally amazing songwriter” - Youth.

A heavenly voice couched in spellbinding Country & Western ballads, with a devastating emotional delivery: Holly Macve is a fantastic addition to the Bella Union family and her album ‘Golden Eagle’ is one of the most remarkably assured debuts of this or any other year, especially given that she’s only 21 years old.

“Words are my main love,” she declares. “I love songs that tell stories and take you somewhere else. I’ve always been drawn to that old country sound with its simple and memorable melodies. I enjoy music that feels timeless, that you don’t know quite when it was recorded.”

The bulk of ‘Golden Eagle’ was recorded in Newcastle at the home studio of producer Paul Gregory (of Bella Union labelmates Lanterns On The Lake), with extra recording in Brighton and London. Throughout, ‘Golden Eagle’ remains beautifully spare and delicate, putting Holly’s goosebumpraising voice centre stage, beautifully controlled yet riven with feeling.

On stage she’s a magnetic presence; it’s not just voice and songs. Audiences who caught her supporting the likes of John Grant, Villagers and Benjamin Clementine - incredible company to keep at this early stage - were doubtless stopped in their tracks. ‘Golden Eagle’ is surely going to have the same effect.

STAFF COMMENTS

Laura says: This album would sit comfortably alongside the traditional honky-tonk / country of Patsy Cline as easily as it would more contemporary artists such as Gillian Welch and Laura Marling. The song structures follow a 'classic' country format, but the simplicity and stripped back nature of the recording (often just guitar or piano and vocals) allows for Holly's incredible, vocals to weave their magic and create a really wonderful, timeless album.

TRACK LISTING

White Bridge
Corner Of My Mind
Heartbreak Blues
Shell
All Of Its Glory
Timbuktu
Fear
No One Has The Answers
Golden Eagle
Sycamore Tree

A heavenly voice couched in spellbinding Country & Western ballads, with a devastating emotional delivery: Holly Macve is a fantastic addition to the Bella Union family and her album ‘Golden Eagle’ is one of the most remarkably assured debuts of this or any other year, especially given that she’s only 21 years old.

“Words are my main love,” she declares. “I love songs that tell stories and take you somewhere else. I’ve always been drawn to that old country sound with its simple and memorable melodies. I enjoy music that feels timeless, that you don’t know quite when it was recorded.”

The bulk of ‘Golden Eagle’ was recorded in Newcastle at the home studio of producer Paul Gregory (of Bella Union labelmates Lanterns On The Lake), with extra recording in Brighton and London. Throughout, ‘Golden Eagle’ remains beautifully spare and delicate, putting Holly’s goosebumpraising voice centre stage, beautifully controlled yet riven with feeling.

On stage she’s a magnetic presence; it’s not just voice and songs. Audiences who caught her supporting the likes of John Grant, Villagers and Benjamin Clementine - incredible company to keep at this early stage - were doubtless stopped in their tracks. ‘Golden Eagle’ is surely going to have the same effect.

STAFF COMMENTS

Laura says: This album would sit comfortably alongside the traditional honky-tonk / country of Patsy Cline as easily as it would more contemporary artists such as Gillian Welch and Laura Marling. The song structures follow a 'classic' country format, but the simplicity and stripped back nature of the recording (often just guitar or piano and vocals) allows for Holly's incredible, vocals to weave their magic and create a really wonderful, timeless album.

TRACK LISTING

White Bridge
Corner Of My Mind
Heartbreak Blues
Shell
All Of Its Glory
Timbuktu
Fear
No One Has The Answers
Golden Eagle
Sycamore Tree

“My vision was big,” says Brighton-based singer Macve of the road to her second album. “I knew I wanted to do something more expansive than my first record.” With reach, feeling, storytelling power and a stop-you-dead voice, Macve sizes up to that mission boldly on Not The Girl. Following on from the rootsy saloon-noir conviction of her 2017 debut, Golden Eagle, Holly sets out for deeper, often darker territory with a firm, unhurried sense of direction on her second record: on all fronts, it’s an album that looks its upscaled ambitions in the eye fearlessly.

For Macve, the combination of influences such as Nancy & Lee with time spent touring helped widen her horizons. “I wasn’t afraid of trying new things, and I wanted to explore sounds and develop my skills in production, composing and engineering. When I wrote the songs on Golden Eagle I had never toured, it was just me in my bedroom playing acoustic guitar. I then got the chance to tour the world with a band and sing with a symphony orchestra [with Mercury Rev in 2017]. My little world grew and I realised there was so much for me to learn about how I can use my skills as a singer and writer. I didn’t want to limit myself – I wanted to push my boundaries.”

At every turn, Macve’s powers of evocation are matched by the depth and strength in her voice. Witness the meeting of a plangent pedal-steel with her elastic vocal on the atmospheric “Be My Friend”, or the sultry verses and soaring chorus of “You Can Do Better”, which bring to mind a prairie-sized Mazzy Star. Guest guitarist Bill Ryder-Jones’ spacious contributions help enhance its sense of space. “Bill was an important part of the story of this record,” says Holly. “I love his playing – it helped create that kind of heavy, lazy, dreamy sound I’m such a fan of.”

Elsewhere, rich seams of contrast and counterpoint emerge. The Velvet Underground-ish “Sweet Marie” is epic drone-country, “Little, Lonely Heart” a symphonic waltz around the rootsy stuff of bad love, jealousy, and guilt. “Who Am I” merges a Phil Spector-ish wall of sound with a grunge-y melodic insouciance, while “Daddy’s Gone” finds Macve reflecting on the death of her father over Memphis soul-style backing, rendering complex emotions with controlled reserves of detail and drama before a roistering climax. “Lonely Road” closes the album on a note of becalmed resilience, its narrator looking “past the prison walls and into the garden”, ready to face whatever waits out there.

Other contributors included Fiona Brice (Placebo, John Grant), whose string arrangements helped Macve fulfil an ambition to blend ’70s Laurel Canyon sounds and the rougher edges of ’90s grunge with the melodic sweep of Scott Walker. Collin Dupuis (Lana del Rey, Angel Olsen) mixed the album in Nashville; CJ Hillman (Billy Bragg) plays pedal-steel, Emily Druce plays viola, and David Dyson/Phil Murphy play drums. The Arts Council helped with funding, and recording took place between Holly’s home studio, Retreat Studios in Ovingdean, Ryder-Jones’ YAWN studio in Liverpool, and Kore Studios in London.

Brave, brooding, and beautiful, Not The Girl is the sound of that confidence in full, spectacular bloom.

TRACK LISTING

1 Bird
2 Eye Of The Storm
3 Be My Friend
4 You Can Do Better
5 Daddy’s Gone
6 Little Lonely Heart
7 Sweet Marie
8 Who Am I
9 Not The Girl
10 Behind The Flowers
11 Lonely Road

Brilliant live recording taken from the controlled chaos of a performance at the Opera House in Toronto on March 17th 2004 (St.Patrick's Day!). Takes in all of your faves and adds extra heat and atmosphere...

Reformed and back to their primitive best Mad Parade were once one of the "heavy hitters" of the early 80's Southern California Punk scene. "Bombs And The Bible" is their most aggressive, angry and blistering punk rock recording for years. Forget about the poor quality of the insert this is genuine old skool punk.

Mad Professor, also known as Neil Fraser to his friends is renowned worldwide for his groundbreaking dub recordings, captivating live sets showcasing the creativity of dub sound engineers, and his collaborations with both reggae and non-reggae artists alike such as Lee Scratch Perry, Jah Shaka, Sade, The Orb, Massive Attack, Grace Jones and many more. Above all, he is celebrated for his prolific output in the genres of Dub, Lovers Rock, Reggae and more through his own Ariwa label and south London recording studio boasting an impressive catalog of over 300 releases, among other notable achievements. 

A few years back, we stumbled upon this outstanding Lovers Rock and Dub album which had a very unique raw sound and felt like a whole experience when listened to from start to finish. Alternate versions of the same tracks with different performers in varying styles, tape rewinds, it had us all wonder why it hadn’t gained wider recognition amongst Mad Professor's other releases. 

When we finally had the pleasure of meeting Neil at his recording studio, he revealed that this album was one of his earliest works. It was born out of a birthday gift from his wife—a four-track recorder that inspired him to venture into music-making after years of repairing and building electronics and audio equipment. When we asked him if he would be making music if not for that gift, he confessed that it was highly unlikely (!) 

Mad Professor further explained that this album, originally released in 1984, is a compilation of tracks recorded between 1979 and 1981, representing the nascent stages of his recording and production career, when the idea of establishing a studio and the Ariwa label were just beginning to take shape. He set up all his gear, including his first homemade four-track mixing desk, in the front room of his house in South London. With no prior studio experience, he positioned microphones where he thought they should fit and invited local musicians to collaborate. Errol Sly, Ranking Ann, Sergeant Pepper, Deborah Glasgow, Victor Cross, Sister Audrey, his backing band the Sane Inmates and a host of other talented local artists, some of whom would go on to become stalwarts in their respective genres, all contributed to this album, capturing the raw essence of Mad Professor and Ariwa's early sound. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Second-wave dub legend Mad Professor drops a raw lovers / dub project that harks back to the original sound of Ariwa. The bass weight alone is astonishing, but the songs crafted here are also killer and timeless. A future classic!

TRACK LISTING

1. Errol Sly - Love In Your Heart
2. Ranking Ann - Moonlight Lover
3. Sergeant Pepper - It's You
4. Deborah Glasgow - My Thing 04:03
5. Victor Cross - Make Up
6. Sergeant Pepper - Special Brew
7. Rock A Way & Sister Audrey - It's A Shame
8. Mad Professor & Sane Inmates - Sitting Room Dub 

Straight from the depths of LA comes Madcap, the new breed of street punks. In the spirit of early Rancid, Anti Flag etc. " Stand Your Ground" possesses the punk rock fury and sing along anthems that makes this an instant classic and another great release from Side One Dummy.

‘Whatever Best Serves’ is a whirlwind rush of organ led instrumental soul from Christian Madden & The Enemy Chorus, an ensemble of friends and cohorts fronted by the founder member of The Earlies and keyboard player in Liam Gallagher’s band.

The album is scorched with the psychedelic funk rock heat of Booker T and Brian Auger, the punchy brass arrangements of Chicago Transit Authority and Tower of Power, and the kosmische motorik wonders of Can, Cluster and Harmonia.

“I can honestly say I’ve never heard anything he’s played” – Liam Gallagher.

“The only other keyboard virtuoso who can hold a candle to Christian wears a cape and performs on ice sometimes, he’s great but I’d go for this chap everytime personally” – Marc Riley.

STAFF COMMENTS

Laura says: Super excited about this release from Piccadilly Records favourite keyboard wizard and friend of the shop Christian Madden.

TRACK LISTING

1. Freakish Bones
2. Last In Line
3. Bad Intent
4. Athletico Talbot
5. Whatever Best Serves
6. The Cooling Stone
7. Good Hunting
8. All Five Chambers
9. The Extra Weight
10. The Backstop
11. Moved To Wrath

When Maddslinky released his debut album "Make Your Peace" in 2003, it radically influenced the fledgling musical mind of a then teenaged Oliver Jones, aka Skream. Fast forward a few years, and when Skream and Maddslinky crossed paths they knew they had to make a track together. No surprise then that there are big basslines involved and the tune blows up on the dancefloor. "50 Shades Of Peng" is taken from the upcoming "Make A Change" album. The track has already been getting constant spins by the likes of Benji B on BBC 1xtra and Mr Scruff on dubplate and now Tru Thoughts do the honorable thing and release the track on one side of 12" vinyl (cut at 45rpm of course).

The flipside features one of those handy Serato Control Tone things for you more computerised DJs out there.

From the pumping heart of The Magnetic System comes the ‘dirtiest’ Da-Dadancefloor anti-jams with this lost 1979 blueprint of Italian conceptual cosmic disco played by the cream of the Goblin studio band. Ultra-rare and unscrubbed, Finders Keepers finally snip the trip from the cash machine to the trash machine.

Carving its own grubby niche as an early prototype of cosmic disco cum Italo space funk whilst simultaneously harbouring Dada hat stand satire with a junkshop glam aesthetic, this ecological illogical poplitical crab cabaret clearly broke the mould before way before the jelly had set.

Fans of ‘other’ obtuse outernational agit-camp might find a fantasy fusion between France’s JP Massiera and Sweden’s enviroMENTAL marvel Kaptain Zoom while trying to unravel the Madfilth tangle - but rest assured there were method men behind this madness and a portal to Italian funk royalty still festers at the bottom of the psych rap scrapheap. • Originally drip-fed out of Cesare Andrea Bixio’s Cinevox stable as one of a tight grip of non-soundtrack LPs, made to test the label’s commercial potential, Madfilth would follow the band Goblin (and their non-cinematic Roller) as well as the hens’ teeth eponymous long player by the group The Motowns in what was perhaps the last-ditch attempt at custom built popsploitation - combining the skills of overqualified composers with undercooked conceptual mind belches. Naturally, after almost 40 years in the barrel, this micro-brewed oddity finally quenches the acquired taste of a new breed of shambolic psychotropic guzzlers proving that 1979 was obviously good year for fool’s gold. The Madfilth medicine has finally come to cure your psychic ills so open wide and don’t bite the spoon. 

Back in the 1990s, 'beat tapes', as hip hop producers' demo-reels are now quaintly referred to, were literally that: cassettes of beats made either for self, friends, or potential collaborators. Madlib cranked out a bunch of ‘em in the days between his early productions for the Alkaholiks around 1992, and the release of his Quasimoto album in 2000, after which he took a couple of years off the beats to focus on his fictional jazz outfit Yesterday's New Quintet. This collection showcases the way that Madlib’s early hip hop demos were filtered out to his friends and associates and provides an opportunity for a unique view into his working process. These beats, often freestyled on whatever machine he had at the ready, were picked up by rappers over a period of many years, including tracks later used by the likes of Wildchild and Percee P yet created some years before release. This collection is also punctuated with a series of early solo raps by Madlib and his Quasimoto alter ego, and features the crew known collectively as CDP : rappers who worked side by side with Madlib during the early days of his Oxnard-based Crate Diggas Palace studios.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: We don't usually give a genre pick of the week to a reissue. We like to keep things fresh. But such was the impact of this incredibly creative masterpiece by Madlib, and in leu of anything that could by considered serious competition; it's time to reload on this classic leftfield beat tape. The inspiration for many; and on permanent rotation here at Picc HQ since its release in 2010.

TRACK LISTING

1. Warning (Intro)
2. Static Invazion
3. Stakeout
4. Rapper X Radio
5. Last Day's Music
6. Episode VI
7. Nothing From Nothing
8. Episode VIII
9. Episode IX
10. Episode X
11. Episode XI
12. Episode XII
13. Episode XIII
14. Episode XIV
15. Episode XV
16. Episode XVI
17. Episode XVII
18. Episode XVIII
19. Episode XIX
20. Episode XX
21. Further Adventures Of Walkman Flavor
22. Episode XXII
23. Episode XXIII
24. Episode XXIV
25. Episode XXV
26. Episode XXVI
27. Episode XXVII
28. Live From Outer Space
29. Real Days
30. C.D.P. Assassins Pt. 1
31. C.D.P. Assassins Pt. 2 & 3
32. C.D.P. Assassins Pt. 4
33. C.D.P. Assassins Pt. 5
34. C.D.P. Assassins Pt. 6

The sound of Blue Note had been embedded in hip-hop thru sampling & remixes since its early days but Madlib raised the bar when the DJ, producer, rapper & multi-instrumentalist invaded the Blue Note vaults for his 2003 masterpiece Shades of Blue, a visionary album featuring remixes & reimaginations of classics by Donald Byrd, Bobbi Humphrey, Ronnie Foster, Bobby Hutcherson, Wayne Shorter & more.

This 2-LP Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition was mastered by Kevin Gray and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal

Gil Evans to Miles Davis…. Holger Czukay to the ensemble known as Can….Jean Claude Vannier to Serge Gainsbourg on Histoire de Melody Nelson. That’s the only way to explain the specificity of Four Tet and Madlib’s collaboration, in this special album that showcases a two-decade long friendship that has resulted in an album that follows Madlib’s classics like Quasimoto’s The Unseen, Madvillainy and his Pinata and Bandana albums with Freddie Gibbs.

“A few months ago I completed work on an album with my friend Madlib that we’d been making for the last few years. He is always making loads of music in all sorts of styles and I was listening to some of his new beats and studio sessions when I had the idea that it would be great to hear some of these ideas made into a Madlib solo album. Not made into beats for vocalists to use but instead arranged into tracks that could all flow together in an album designed to be listened to start to finish. I put this concept to him when we were hanging out eating some nice food one day and we decided to work on this together with him sending me tracks, loops, ideas and experiments that I would arrange, edit, manipulate and combine. I was sent hundreds of pieces of music over a couple of years stretch and during that time I put together this album with all the parts that fitted with my vision.” Kieren Hebden AKA Four Tet.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: There's no denying that both Madlib and Hebden are two of the most renowned musicians on the scene, and 'Sound Ancestors' does exactly as you'd expect, cementing their reputations and collaborative capabilities with a rich and soulful fusion of IDM and shuffled beatplay.

TRACK LISTING

A1. There Is No Time (Prelude)
A2. The Call
A3. Theme De Crabtree
A4. Road Of The Lonely Ones
A5. Loose Goose
A6. Dirtknock
A7. Hopprock
A8. Riddim Chant
B1. Sound Ancestors
B2. One For Quartabê/Right Now
B3. Hang Out (Phone Off)
B4. Two For 2 -For Dilla
B5. Latino Negro
B6. The New Normal
B7. Chino
B8. Duumbiyay

M.A.D. is a collaboration of the Funkroom DJs and producers Moxx And Digilog. After having contributed single tracks for YOSHI005 and WWM003 they subsequently announced their first EP together as M.A.D.

Their "Sanset EP" consists of four drum-oriented house / techno hybrids which, through their cutting-edge production, stand the test of time and work very well with contemporary dancefloor-minded club music alike. That no-way does these track justice - sheer perfection when it comes to grinding techno grooves and tapping into the feral primal energy that only the best can do.

Coming on stronger than a Rolex Punisher - check! 

TRACK LISTING

A1. Sanset
A2. Magnus
B1. Sentimentalist
B2. Banause Von Die Kultur

‘Behavioural Sink Delirium’ is the new studio album from MADMADMAD. Powered by their wild live parties and rooted in the sounds of mutant disco, post-punk and experimental electronics, the London-based trio’s third LP is released via Bad Vibrations. Arriving following 2019’s ‘Proper Music’ and 2020’s ‘More More More’, ‘Behavioural Sink Delirium’ was recorded and produced by Eddie Stevens (Zero7, Moloko, Róisín Murphy) in his Fulham studio. “We locked ourselves away for ten days and recorded 30 hours of music, all played live in one room, and only edited to create arrangements”, MADMADMAD recall. The result of those sessions is nine unhinged techno-dystopian freak-outs that mark the trio out as a truly singular group.

‘Behavioural Sink Delirium’ takes its name and inspiration from the 1968-70 ‘Universe 25’ experiment by American ethologist John B. Calhoun, looking at the behavioural effects of population growth in a ‘rodent utopia’. During the studies, a perfect space was built for a colony of 3,000 mice to thrive in, with constant food and water supplies, cosy apartments and no outside threats or predators. Starting with 4 females and 4 males, the population grew rapidly before capping at a number of 2,200. At this point, a living nightmare ensued, filled with antisocial and violent mice as the utopic conditions began to collapse.

The mice formed violent cliques and social hierarchies, cannibalism started becoming common practice and the population started plummeting to eventual extinction. Calhoun coined this tipping-point the “behavioural sink” effect, and it’s this state of societal breakdown that the trio tap into on the record. “You can easily see the link with our species in terms of overpopulation, but also with the Internet medium or ‘metaverse’ and its overproduction of data, causing tremendous societal, mental and environmental shifts. What was supposed to cater for most of our needs has also turned on us. Delirium kinda states the air of it all, and the folly of the music.”

TRACK LISTING

1. A Gin, No Tonic, Mannheim
2. Krautjerk
3. You See, You Do It Like This
4. Totes Amazeballs
5. It's A Cat
6. Deckchairs
7. Flute And The Hobo
8. Baggy Bag Bottoms
9. In The Garden Of Mezcal

Madmess are a band who know the value of doing things the hard way. Having established themselves among the outliers of Porto’s fertile, close-knit underground music scene, by 2017 it was clear that they had the potential to go much, much further. London, and its bigger, more merciless leftfield circuit beckoned. In a city full to the brim with bold and brilliant bands, the bar was significantly raised. Risks were many, but so too were opportunities.

Now, after years of slog – gruelling gigs, punishing recording sessions, not to mention a momentum-sapping pandemic – bassist Vasco Vasconcelos, drummer Luis Moura and guitarist Ricardo Sampaio, have emerged the other side with Rebirth, a debut album of rare intensity, released via Hassle Records. Their stripes earned, their teeth well and truly cut, it’s a record worthy of all that hard work, crushing riffs colliding with sweeping waves of overwhelming noise for a listen both beautiful and brutal.

As the pandemic eased in late 2020, at least temporarily, the band found time to escape to Foel Studios in the Welsh countryside, formerly used by iconic psych rock forebears Amon Düül and Hawkwind among others, to start work on their new LP. They were intent to build on the solid foundations they’d set with their EP the previous year. “We tried to do something more complete, more punchy,” says Sampaio. The sessions ended up being more intense than they were anticipating – the band record everything live, and when you’re playing the kind of complex epics that populate Rebirth there’s not much margin for error. “The shortest track is eight minutes, and they’re almost all more than 10,” says Sampaio with a wince. “The songs on this album are really complex, there were some stressful times, some harsh moments, but we managed to get through it.”

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A hefty collection of grooving guitar riffs and fluid time signatures, at once both incendiary and brain-meltingly loose, Madmess are a band who know how to construct a song. Epic, hugely inventive and wonderfully deep.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
Albatross
Mind Collapse

Side B
1. Rebirth
2. Shape Shifter
3. Stargazer

After a disparate couple of years which saw the band at their most polarised and fragmented, Madness reunited in an industrial unit in Cricklewood at the beginning of the year, where Suggs, Mark, Chrissy Boy, Mike, Lee and Woody realised that what united them was always bigger than what divided them. Emerging re energised and reinvigorated with a fresh bounce in their nutty step, the result was their most harmonious recording experience to date. For the first time ever, a brand new album came into the world that they were all completely agreed on. Theatre Of The Absurd Presents C’Est La Vie is the band's inaugural foray into self producing, working alongside engineer and mixer Matt Glasbey (Ed Sheeran, Maisie Peters, Rag’N’Bone Man).

A very special prologue running through the album is supplied by Emmy and BAFTA Awards winning Martin Freeman. A longtime fan, the relationship formed with the band when Madness’ manager found Martin in a meet and greet queue and introduced him to the members.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Despite all the signs that the great Madness were to be no more, they've returned! We've once again been blessed with the upbeat horn stabs and cheeky vocals that made them such a well-loved institution in the first place.

TRACK LISTING

1 Prologue: “Mr Beckett Sir…”
2 Theatre Of The Absurd
3 If I Go Mad
4 Baby Burglar
5 Act One: "Surrounded On All Sides..”
6 C’est La Vie
7 What On Earth Is It (You Take Me For?)
8 Hour Of Need
9 Act Two "The Damsel In Distress..”
10 Round We Go
11 Act Three: "The Situation Deteriorates..”
12 Lockdown And Frack Off
13 Beginners 101
14 Is There Anybody Out There?
15 The Law According To Dr. Kippah
16. Epilogue: “And So Ladies And Gentlemen..”
17 Run For Your Life
18 Set Me Free (Let Me Be)
19 In My Street
20 Fin.: “Ladies And Gentlemen..” 

Album Launch - Live Q&A featuring members of the band - Night & Day Cafe, 5:30pm Friday 17th November 2023.

To celebrate the release of their new album, we are delighted to welcome Suggs and Mike from Madness to Night & Day, for a live Q&A.

Doors - 5:30pm
Q&A - 6pm - 7pm

Tickets for this event are available exclusively from Piccadilly Records as LP/CD Ticket bundles or standalone tickets.

** Please note, physical tickets will not be issued for this event, all names will be on the door. Please bring your order confirmation, either printed or on your phone, to gain entry.**

NB: NIGHT & DAY CAFE IS AN 18+ ONLY VENUE. ID WILL BE REQUIRED.

After a disparate couple of years which saw the band at their most polarised and fragmented, Madness reunited in an industrial unit in Cricklewood at the beginning of the year, where Suggs, Mark, Chrissy Boy, Mike, Lee and Woody realised that what united them was always bigger than what divided them. Emerging re energised and reinvigorated with a fresh bounce in their nutty step, the result was their most harmonious recording experience to date. For the first time ever, a brand new album came into the world that they were all completely agreed on. Theatre Of The Absurd Presents C’Est La Vie is the band's inaugural foray into self producing, working alongside engineer and mixer Matt Glasbey (Ed Sheeran, Maisie Peters, Rag’N’Bone Man).

A very special prologue running through the album is supplied by Emmy and BAFTA Awards winning Martin Freeman. A longtime fan, the relationship formed with the band when Madness’ manager found Martin in a meet and greet queue and introduced him to the members.

TRACK LISTING

1 Prologue: “Mr Beckett Sir…”
2 Theatre Of The Absurd
3 If I Go Mad
4 Baby Burglar
5 Act One: "Surrounded On All Sides..”
6 C’est La Vie
7 What On Earth Is It (You Take Me For?)
8 Hour Of Need
9 Act Two "The Damsel In Distress..”
10 Round We Go
11 Act Three: "The Situation Deteriorates..”
12 Lockdown And Frack Off
13 Beginners 101
14 Is There Anybody Out There?
15 The Law According To Dr. Kippah
16. Epilogue: “And So Ladies And Gentlemen..”
17 Run For Your Life
18 Set Me Free (Let Me Be)
19 In My Street
20 Fin.: “Ladies And Gentlemen..” 

Rhino rediscovers the magic of Madonna's "Celebration" album with an upcoming 4LP repress, releasing on 1 March 2024. This album highlights the chart-topping success of Madonna in the UK, offering a carefully curated collection of her greatest hits across four discs. It's a nod to the enduring influence of the Queen of Pop, who recently performed six dates at the O2 for her Celebration world tour.

TRACK LISTING

A1 - Hung Up - 5:38
A2 – Music - 3:45
A3 – Vogue - 5:16
A4 - 4 Minutes - 3:09
B1 – Holiday - 6:08
B2 – Everybody - 4:10
B3 - Like A Virgin - 3:09
B4 - Into The Groove - 4:45
C1 - Like A Prayer - 5:42
C2 - Ray Of Light
C3 – Sorry - 3:58
C4 - Express Yourself - 4:00
C5 - Open Your Heart - 3:49
D1 – Borderline - 3:59
D2 – Secret - 4:28
D3 – Erotica - 4:30
D4 - Justify My Love - 4:54
D5 – Revolver - 3:40
E1 - Dress You Up - 4:02
E2 - Material Girl - 4:00
E3 - La Isla Bonita - 4:04
E4 - Papa Don't Preach - 4:29
E5 - Lucky Star - 3:38
F1 - Burning Up - 3:44
F2 - Crazy For You - 3:44
F3 - Who's That Girl - 4:00
F4 – Frozen - 6:18
G1 - Miles Away - 3:45
G2 - Take A Bow - 5:20
G3 - Live To Tell - 5:51
G4 - Beautiful Stranger - 4:22
H1 – Hollywood - 4:23
H2 - Die Another Day - 4:36
H3 - Don't Tell Me - 4:11
H4 – Cherish - 3:51
H5 - Celebration

This collection highlights You Can Dance, Madonna’s first ever remix collection. Celebrating 35 years this year, You Can Dance has sold more than five million copies worldwide and is still the second best-selling remix album of all time. The collection also pays homage to “Everybody,” Madonna’s first single. Each remix was newly remastered for the collection by Mike Dean, who produced Madonna’s two most-recent studio albums, Rebel Heart (2015) and Madame X (2019). Along with those rarities, this album also introduces the “Offer Nissim Promo Mix” of “Living For Love” as its first official release.

TRACK LISTING

1. “Everybody” (You Can Dance Remix Edit) +#
2. “Into The Groove” (You Can Dance Remix Edit) +#
3. “Like A Prayer” (Remix/Edit)
4. “Express Yourself” (Remix/Edit)
5. “Vogue” (Single Version) +
6. “Deeper And Deeper” (David’s Radio Edit) +#
7. “Secret” (Junior’s Luscious Single Mix)
8. “Frozen” (Extended Club Mix Edit)
9. “Music” (Deep Dish Dot Com Radio Edit)
10. “Hollywood” (Calderone & Quayle Edit) +#
11. “Hung Up” (SDP Extended Vocal Edit)
12. “Give It 2 Me” (Eddie Amador Club 5 Edit) °+
13. “Girl Gone Wild” (Avicii’s UMF Mix)
14. “Living For Love” (Offer Nissim Promo Mix) *+
15. “Medellín” (Offer Nissim Madame X In The Sphinx Mix) – Madonna And Maluma
16. “I Don’t Search I Find” (Honey Dijon Radio Mix)

* Previously Unreleased
+available Digitally For The First Time
# Available Commercially For The First Time

On June 23, 2023, Madonna will release a new rainbow-vinyl version of her sold-out 6-LP collection, Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones. Like the original, FINALLY ENOUGH LOVE: THE RAINBOW EDITION spans Madonna’s entire dance club chart reign with dozens of remixes by the world’s top producers. Along with fan favourites, the set also features several rare remix recordings that debuted commercially last year. Boasting more than 220 minutes of remixes, FINALLY ENOUGH LOVE: THE RAINBOW EDITION flows in mostly chronological order.

It showcases the many musical reinventions that made Madonna an international icon, from 1983’s “Holiday” to 2019’s “I Don’t Search I Find,” with remixes by some of the biggest and most influential DJs of all time, including Peter Rauhofer, William Orbit, Honey Dijon, and Avicii.

Madonna is the first and only recording artist to have 50 #1 hits on any single Billboard chart. To celebrate this historic milestone, Madonna curated a 50-track collection titled FINALLY ENOUGH LOVE: 50 NUMBER ONES which includes her favourite remixes of those chart-topping dance hits that have filled clubs worldwide for four decades as well as an abridged 16-track version, titled FINALLY ENOUGH LOVE.

Madonna’s highly-anticipated 14th studio album. Influenced creatively by living in Lisbon, Portugal over the past several years, Madame X is a collection of 15 new songs that celebrate Madonna’s career-long affair with Latin music and culture as well as other global influences.

Singing in Portuguese, Spanish and English, highlights on the album include “Medellín,” which was co-produced by Mirwais and captures the spirit of Maluma’s hometown, the anthemic song “I Rise,” the Jamaican dancehall vibes of “Future” featuring Quavo, and co-produced by Diplo, as well as the sonically innovative Mirwais produced “Dark Ballet.” Recorded over 18 months in Portugal, London, New York and Los Angeles, Madonna collaborated on Madame X with longtime producer Mirwais, as well as with producers Mike Dean and Diplo, among others.

TRACK LISTING

Medellin (feat Maluma)
Dark Ballet
God Control
Future (feat Quavo)
Batuka
Killers Who Are Partying
Crave (feat Swae Lee)
Crazy
Come Alive
Extreme Occident
Faz Gostoso (feat Anitta)
Bitch I'm Loca (feat Maluma)
I Don't Search I Find
Looking For Mercy
I Rise

Trashmouth Presents for Record Store Store Day - MADONNATRON vs MEATRAFFLE Italian Rebel Song Special! Side A: Madonnatron feat. Meatraffle performing Brigante Se More. Side B: Meatraffle feat. Madonnatron performing Bella Ciao. Neither Madonnatron or Meatraffle need introduction, but what not everyone knows is that both bands are part Italian! Both (in Zsa Zsa from Meatraffle's case, extreme) left wing & needless to say, partisan!

Having moved forwards emotionally from the wilds of dystopian stalking and associated hobbies, Madonnatron have instead been found frolicking through the green pastures of gangsta pimps, Hindu God wars, Cyber Men invasion, loveless nightclub hook-ups, modern Italian Nabokov, and revered screen goddess Elizabeth Taylor. Think of them as post-punk lab rats in the Secrets Of Nimh, feasting dubiously on back-dated episodes of Top Of The Pops. With notorious roaring guitars, chanting vocals and rabid drums they audibly glow in the dark, are strong-armed, and will probably bite you.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Goodnight Little Empire
2. Bone Dumb Grunt
3. Liminal
4. Super Hands
5. Sweet Serena
6. Flesh Pond
7. Sucker Punch
8. Blue Pill
9. Nightmare In Silver
10. Elizabeth Taylor
11. Venus & Rahu

MF DOOM and Madlib's leftfield hip hop opus finally drops, featuring the singles "Money Folder", "Curls" and "All Caps" plus more out-there raps and breaks. Medaphoar, Quasimoto, Wildchild, Viktor Vaughn and Stacy Epps all come along to join Doom on the mic, as Madlib drops some of the most disturbed backing sounds of his career (he even samples Daedelus at one point!), milking his B-movie samples and impenetrable rhythms. With short hits and a quickfire tracklist, "Madvillainy" is an explosive and schizophrenic experience, the most complete Madlib hip hop production since Quasimoto's "The Unseen".

TRACK LISTING

A1. The Illest Villains
A2. Accordion
A3. Meat Grinder
A4. Bistro
A5. Raid
B1. America's Most Blunted
B2. Sickfit
B3. RainBows
B4. Curls
B5. Do Not Fire
B6. Money Folder
C1. Scene Two (Vouce Skit)
C2. Shadows Of Tomorrow (featuring Quasimoto)
C3. Operation Lifesaver Aka Mint Test
C4. Figaro
C5. Hardcore Hustle (featuring Wildchild)
C6. Strange Ways
D1. Intro
D2. Fancy Clown (featuring Viktor Vaugh)
D3. Eye (featuring Stacy Epps)
D4. Supervillain Theme
D5. All Caps
D6. Great Day
D7. Rhinestone Cowboy

From the new track’s opening “I Ain’t Your Baby,” the Nashville singer, songwriter, downtown scene slayer, and most-wanted fiddler signals a reclaimed confidence and bold evolution, telling women’s stories - including her own - that build on the strength of her “nervy” (NPR Music), 2017 Jack White-produced debut. Lillie Mae led a sequestered childhood touring in a motorhome with her musician parents, constricted by religious boundaries. In her adolescence she busked from RV parks to the Rio Grande, swept through Nashville clubs, and achieved Top 40 country status in her sibling group Jypsi, but on Other Girls, a new side of herself emerges with more to say than ever before. She embraces personal triumphs on “I Came For The Band (For Show),” breathes new perspective into “Terlingual Girl,” a song she wrote as a 19-year-old in the South-Texan desert, and professes brave truths as heard in “You’ve Got Other Girls for That.” After a vagabond past, crossing paths with hundreds of musicians, she limits the cast of Other Girls to just her brother, sister, and a few trusted collaborators. Lillie Mae will debut songs from Other Girls live this summer, as she supports the Raconteurs across the west coast. She will also join Robert Plant on tour, both opening for him and playing in his band. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Other girls is a brilliantly written mix of classic country chord structures and the slightly gloomy reverb and poignant minor key changes of modern folk, all brought together with deft production and a stunning vocal performance from Lillie Mae. Stunning stuff.

TRACK LISTING

1. You've Got Other Girls For That
2. At Least Three In This Room
3. Some Gamble
4. Crisp & Cold
5. I Came For The Band (For Show)
6. Didn't I
7. Whole Blue Heart
8. Terlingua Girl
9. Love Dilly Love
10. How?
11. A Golden Year

For number 84 in the Brazil 45 Series, we head to the North of Brazil with this dancefloor monster, double-sider by Magalhaes & Os Panteras. ‘Xang ‘ by Magalhaes is taken from his ‘E Sua Guitarra’ album, from 1986, and originally released on Gravasom Records.

A stunning, driving Lambada track with haunting vocals and a compelling gusto energy. It has been gaining popularity over recent years with DJs and is a surefire get-out-of-jail dancefloor saver.

On the flip, we find another biggy from Os Panteras, ‘Lambada Pauleira’. Also released on Gravasom Records, but a year later in 1987. It is best known for Joutro Mundo’s fine re-edit of the track, but here we have it in its original form, in all its quirky brilliance.

It is easy to see why, over the years, it has been a staple of some of Brazil’s finest DJs’ sets, such as Augusto Olivani (aka Trepanado). We are super happy to present these two red-hot tracks back-to-back. Now let the dancefloors return so we can heat things up!

STAFF COMMENTS

Patrick says: Heavy double header of Lambada bangers on Mr Bongo's Brazil 45 series here. On the A-side 'Xang' is dance floor dynamite in the same vein as Massara's Margarita, while the B-side brings the infectious groove, frazzled synths and staccato guitar of Lambada Pauleri, which you may have heard via the Joutro Mundo edit.

TRACK LISTING

Magalh Es E Sua Guitarra - Xang
Os Panteras - Lambada Pauleira

Few artists are at once artful and savvy enough to transcend the endless scroll, but over the past 18 months, LA-based indie-pop duo Magdalena Bay have used social platforms to dispatch their music, and what you might call their philosophy, in hypnotic, ephemeral bursts. A long trip through their feeds produces music videos in miniature, irreverent pontifications on the state of the music industry delivered via home video VHS aesthetics, and existential meditations on everything from International Women’s Day to the clone craze of the early aughts to the indefinite lifespan of plants. To Mica Tenenbaum and Matt Lewin, reality can be unmade, manipulated beyond all recognition; their project is as much musical as it is an experiment in pop persona and visual aesthetics. On October 8th, Magdalena Bay will release their debut full-length LP, Mercurial World, via Luminelle. Entirely written, produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by the duo, Mercurial World proposes an abstract theory of time and explores the staggering “what ifs” that make up the human experience. Approaching reality as a construct allows Magdalena Bay to enact their own, one that is committed to nothing but expanding the possible. Even the album’s sequencing hints at the eternal: the first track is titled “The End,” the last is “The Beginning,” forming a perfect loop when you listen to it straight through. 

TRACK LISTING

1. The End
2. Mercurial World
3. Dawning Of The Season
4. Secrets (Your Fire)
5. You Lose!
6. Something For 2
7. Chaeri
8. Halfway
9. Hysterical Us
10. Prophecy
11. Follow The Leader
12. Domino
13. Dreamcatching
14. The Beginning

Explosive garage punk from Sweden. Mixing up 60s freak beat and snotty punk anno 1977, The Maggots manage to create a fresh sound of their own full of fuck you attitude and fuzz galore.

A beautiful comeback record of sorts for Marc Rigelsford’s MAGIC ARM project. The 45 is a taster for his own privately released, and utterly fabulous “Dance Mania” full length, currently available via his bandcamp page.

Recorded in isolation in a former whiskey distillery, “Dance Mania” is “Magic Arm whittling and distilling sound down to pure forms, a collage of songs, mood pieces, drones, found sounds and stirring instrumental passages”. The two tracks here are lifted from the album, with its A side, the majestic “Good Views Near North” having already attained 6music airplay.

The songs’ treated piano opening offers no hint to the beautifully incessant, kinda’ motorik groove that then takes over- wonderfully skewed and quite otherworldly perhaps. The groove then changes tack again as it closes with cellos and strings aiding further it’s general ‘out there’ mood. It’s a beautiful piece and by releasing it on 45, one would hope to push Marc’s music out a wee bit further, certainly it’s a thrill for Feral Child to release it and it’s flip, the more electronic, and equally fabulous “432” is just great too.

"These shows will astonish you. I had tears of joy in my eyes". This was the standout line from a Five Star review by The Guardian newspaper of the live shows by The Magic Band - a collection of extraordinary musicians drawn from the lineups that were brought together over the years by the legendary Captain Beefheart. Tribute bands and ghost bands are usually a decidedly poor relation to the real thing, but The Magic Band are different, as the tracks on this album prove. Recorded at the UK shows during 2004, the material bursts with new life, and the band achieve a near-impossible task - not just playing the notes as they are on the records (hard enough in itself in some cases) but playing them convincingly enough to send a sold-out London audience into ovation after ovation. These are the players who were inducted into the Captain's secret musical universe, and who transformed his unique ideas into works of unfathomable and inimitable beauty, and live in 2005 they did that same thing again.

Magic Carpet, an exquisite blend of sitar (Clem Alford) female vocals (Alisha Sufit) guitars (Jim Moyes and Alisha Sufit) and tablas (Keshav Sathe) - one of the very few early examples of Eastern progressive psychedelic folk. This is a compilation of new material including a 20 minute raga CD bonus track. The Ptolemaic Terrascope magazine hailed them saying, 'Gorgeous melody, bittersweet lyrics, an unmistakable unique blend of voice and instrumentation - undoubtedly as collectable as their debut'.

Minneapolis psych-rockers Magic Castles are back with a new LP, “Sun Reign”, making an exciting return after founder and songwriter Jason Edmonds’ suffered a near fatal car accident in November 2019. Magic Castles are well-versed in the ways of psychedelically-inclined folk-rock. Edmonds’ smooth vocal harmonies float above the guitars, creating a lush, almost Byrds-esque soundscape. The layered arrangements incorporate Farfisa organ, synths, and dreamy string arrangements.

Sun Reign is the band’s fourth release on Anton Newcombe's label ‘A’ Recordings Ltd. Ironically similar to BJM, the Magic Castles have been plagued by lineup changes over the years. Due to this and other factors, in 2016, Edmonds, a single father, decided to take a short hiatus from regular live shows and touring to focus on his family. During that time, (2016-2019) Edmonds, an introverted multi-instrumentalist, continued to record new material in his studio, and also record with a new band at Neil Weir’s studio Blue Bell Knoll, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The results of these sessions are the current release, “Sun Reign”

TRACK LISTING

1) Sunburst 
2) Lost Dimension 
3) Ode To The Wind 
4) Asuras 
5) World Of Time 
6) Valley Of Nysa 
7) Magna Mater 
8) Surmise 
9) Gates Of The Sun 
10 ) Relax Your Mind

Bursting forth in a bouquet of dreamlike hooks, choral vocals and Moog pitch-bends, Magic Fig’s debut proves that the technicolor heart of San Francisco’s psychedelic lineage is still beating and as vivid as ever. Featuring alumni from the Bay Area’s best and brightest pop, psychedelic and garage bands (The Umbrellas, Whitney’s Playland, Almond Joy and Healing Potpourri among them) Magic Fig’s debut is full of sonic fireworks, top-shelf musicianship, hooks abound and a distinctive melding of prog rock and pop joy reminiscent of the 60s/70s Canterbury greats. Produced by Joel Robinow of Once and Future Band.

For fans of Os Mutantes, Stereolab, Dungen and Kevin Ayers’ Soft Machine. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Goodbye Suzy
2. PS1
3. Labyrinth
4. Distant Dream
5. Obliteration
6. Departure

The Magic Gang made a stellar return with the joyous ‘Think’, which added some fleet-footed Northern Soul grooves to their melodic take on modern indie. It immediately made an impact at Radio 1 as it premiered as Annie Mac’s Hottest Record in the World, while Jack Saunders subsequently named it as Tune of the Week. Further radio play also came from Matt Wilkinson at Beats 1 and John Kennedy at Radio X.

The Magic Gang now build on that flying momentum with the news that their buoyant new album ‘Death Of The Party’. It follows their self-titled first album, which was hailed as one of the best debuts of 2018 as the band earned award nominations from NME and Q.

‘Death Of The Party’ was recorded in Atlanta with the Grammy-winning producer Ben H. Allen (Deerhunter, Animal Collective, Gnarls Barkley), whose work in alternative and pop matches for band’s own blend of genres.

The quartet approached the album with two objectives in mind. They aimed to broaden the scope of their harmony-rich, melodically focused pop. And inspired by Lou Reed, Alex Turner and especially Jonathan Richman they wanted to take a more observational lyrical approach.

The stories they tell reflect the experiences of many of their early-twentysomething contemporaries. They explore anxieties about money, relationships and the future, but also the fun moments that they use to escape from such issues. Two songs – Jack Kaye’s ‘Make A Sound’ and Kristian Smith’s title track – best encapsulate their flair for a narrative, with two radically different perspectives on a New Year’s Eve party. Meanwhile, the album closer ‘(The World) Outside My Door’ explores Jack’s guilt at writing music while the Extinction Rebellion protests were hitting the streets.

The album also finds The Magic Gang evolving their sound without losing what people loved them for in the first place. There are elements of disco in ‘Take Back The Track’ and ‘Make A Sound’, ‘Gonna Bounce Back’ hits somewhere between slacker rock and post-punk, while the piano, strings and vocal harmonies on ‘I Am Sunshine’ recalls their love of Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys.

TRACK LISTING

Intro
Think
Make A Sound
Just A Minute
What Have You Got To Lose
Death Of The Party
Take Back The Track
I Am Sunshine
Gonna Bounce Back
Fail Better
(The World) Outside My Door

Wildly epic newest extended-player from Portland super duo, brimming over with radical feelings and fire. Every song is your new favourite song. Yes, one of those. Issued in a strictly limited edition of 500 copies, all on black vinyl. Four tracks.

Magic Magic are a five man covenant from Salem Massachusetts. With spellbinding songs and two drummers they have bewitched the good people of Salem with their ritualistic voodoo rhythms. Led by John Francis Murphy, virtuoso singer, songwriter and guitarist, Magic Magic are also Brendan Hughes on guitar, Dimitri Miro Swan on bass and the infamous Dylan Gough and Mike Hlady (The Doctor) two fervent drummers on twin kits in perfect offbeat sync. "Sleepy Lion" merges the grandiose splendour of Arcade Fire with a hurtling, lo-fi pop song to create one of the most euphoric singles you'll hear all year, While wonky instrumental track "Deep Red" over on the flip winds things down nicely.

This Seattle band features John Atkins (764-Hero) and Joe Plummer (Black Heart Procession) and are recommended if you like Quasi, the Replacements, 764-Hero and the Blues Explosion. They reach to stretch the elastic of modern indie-pop music while adding an appreciative nod to the SST-era of punk rock when Husker Du and the Minutemen were kings. Aggressive where it needs to be, loose when it should be, the Magicians second self-titled album matures and furthers what was started on 2001's "Girls" and shows that the band's got plenty more to offer.

‘Badly Written Songs’ is, of course, a tongue-in-cheek title. It comprises a carefully structured and well-produced array of songwriting, topped and tailed with live instrumentation, commanding vocal performances and high-end production: the result of years of sound engineering and music production experience. Since the last album, Ross Hillard has continually honed his skills whilst earnestly crafting this sophomore long player. As well as developing a range of audio plugins, Ross also manages recording sessions at his own Paddocks Recording Studios: huge live spaces boast cutting-edge technology, integrated with distinguished analogue kit. The studio is complemented by a collection of prized microphones, together with a fully-restored vintage Raindirk mixing desk.

The opening track and first single from this album is the positively-anthemic gem entitled ‘Good Morning Sunshine’. It tells a forward-looking story promoting the merits of getting back into the driving seat of life. It’s propelled further by superb jazz-inspired drums and live horns that build up to an exhilarating crescendo. Featuring the vocal talents of Sophia Marshall, the story she paints is supported by a wonderful, darkly humorous cartoon video. An animated cadaver hilariously acts out her notions of positive living.
Other tracks also destined for a single release include: ‘Loving You’. It’s a song written around love lost. A bouncing house composition lays the foundations for Sophia Marshall's beautiful vocal that narrates the many facets to be found in loving another person. ‘Better’ again echoes jazz-inspired drums behind Sophia's vocals, drawing attention to how so many people are lost on their devices, missing out on the awesome world around them. A catchy chorus chants the notion behind this song, i.e., that you ‘could be better!’ This single is also supported by another fantastic video featuring the same comical, deceased character introduced through the ‘Good Morning Sunshine’ video.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Good Morning Sunshine
A2. Better
A3. Coming Back
A4. SFS
A5. Loving You
B1. Was This Love
B2. All I Ever Wanted
B3. Thinkin’ Bout
B4. Exit

On the brink of finding the success that his talents merited, Magic Sam died aged 32 in 1969 just weeks after his classic track "All Your Love" had been included on the Blue Horizon hit compilation "How Blue Can You Get?" an album that brought Muddy Waters and others to the notice of the rock buying public for the first time. This is a great selection of his best work.

Belting blues rocker with great vocals and sublime frantic guitar work (part 2). "Love Me With A Feeling" is the kind of rhythm & blues cut that makes your feet so itchy you can't help but head to the dancefloor. Flispide blues slowy features whammy bar twangy guitar to die for.

Much like the North Carolina wilds it reflects, ‘Needlefall’ waxes and wanes from mysterious and unsettling to ecstatic and awe-inspiring, capturing the sacred dimensions of the natural world. Magic Tuber Stringband draw on a host of fellow travellers to realize Needlefall’s intricate arrangements, exemplifying the diversity of contemporary folk movements, placing their work in the tradition of modern innovators like Moondog, Harry Partch, Pauline Oliveros, and labelmate Sally Anne Morgan.

Magic Tuber Stringband are Courtney Werner and Evan Morgan, accompanied by their regular bassist Mike DeVito. Morgan is an organizer within the local music community, and Werner is a dedicated naturalist involved in local land stewardship. ‘Needlefall’ answers the question “What does a modern string band sound like?” with powerful new arrangements of traditional songs and transcendent originals. The album is teeming with life, translating abundant ecosystems into arcing melodies and shimmering, mystic drones. The band explain: “If you spend enough time out in the woods you inevitably see or hear things that are hard to explain. I’ve been in caves where it’s total darkness and you’re enveloped by the disorienting sound of dripping water. The natural sights and sounds in these places are often repetitive, percussive, expressive, sometimes unsettling - the way that water carves patterns into rock or tree trunks appear in endless rows.”

“Magic tuber stringband makes old-time music for postmodern people” - Indy Week

“This Durham, North Carolina stringband intersperse shruti box drones with fervid Appalachian banjo and fiddle freakouts. Like fellow travellers Pelt, a band alive to the experimental possibilities of American roots music, both in its traditional forms and in where it can be stretched.” - Mojo

“The duo’s music also engages in mythologies of people and their relationship with the natural world in an intoxicating fashion.” - Aquarium Drunkard

For fans of Sally Anne Morgan, Daniel Bachman, Natural Information Society.

TRACK LISTING

A Dance On A Sunday Night
Days Of Longing
The Hermit’s Passage
Water Dripped Upwards
The Long-Suffering
Needlefall
Twelfth House
Piney Woods Burn

With tales of infinite space, otherworldly escapes, hazy dreams and Weird Feelings that weave together the supernatural and the visceral; Magick Mountain are a power trio with colossal riffs, entwining harmonies and fistfuls of wild, distorted energy. They are quickly carving out a place for themselves at the vanguard of an exciting new movement of high octane garage-rock bands, and now they prepare for their first full length release.

Taking its title from the album’s very opening utterances, ‘Weird Feelings’ surges forth, brimming with tales of fantastical worlds, ancient mythology and mystical metaphors. Yet for all its surrealist imagery and dramatic sonic escapades, at its heart ‘Weird Feelings’ is an album about real life and the truth of its creators. The vivid stories and symbolic references create parallel meanings, blurring real feelings and fantasy worlds.In the band’s own words, the album is “a kind of bastardisation of tales and beliefs, blending together past, present and future.”

Amidst minimal lyrics that are often mantra-like and hypnotic in their repetition, Magick Mountain document the passing of time, both scientifically and philosophically, and simultaneously battle demons of both the mental and mystical kind.

Recorded in an unhurried and reflective way over the course of 18 months, the album is comprised of instinctive moments captured at home, in rehearsals, and limited hours in recording studios with producers Margo Broom and James Kenosha. The rushes are kept raw and free-flowing, with the band making a conscious decision to resist the temptation to overproduce. The resulting recordings see the easy-going, natural creative chemistry between the three musicians reverberate gloriously through every kinetically-fueled note. They carry the listener with them on heady adventures of melodic fuzz building to breakneck speed solos that feel as though they could fall apart at any second, but never do. Throughout the exhilarating twists and turns, Lins and Tom’s dual vocal strike forges the way, with their voices often blending to become one. Lins takes the mid-register and Tom sings the higher, falsetto parts - a technique that nods to some of the garage-rock greats who have influenced their sound, but also gives Hudson’s vocals a distinctly different edge to his previous musical outings.

TRACK LISTING

1. Bart Cobain
2. Zodiac
3. Cherokee
4. Brown Bread
5. Stranger Danger
6. Colossus
7. Dream Chaser
8. Infinity X2
9. King Cobra
10. The Shitty Beatles
11. The Creeper

Working with engineer Scott Colburn (Sun City Girls, Animal Collective, Sir Richard Bishop), Magik Markers have captured a lot of different moods and twitches on "Balf Quarry". Tremoring mid-rhythms form the body, with a couple of showers of hardcore, high flying free-duo style and several clinking music boxes of woe as well. On slower tunes, the mass of brooding guitar tone generated is Elisa Ambrogio's signature, a carving all of her own. Fills, licks and other touches move the songs a broken-arm's length away from a fundament of chaos and horror. Elisa Ambrogio and Pete Nolan are locked together, beating it out, feeling the sound of their earth quake. And slicing through all the atmosphere, Elisa's voice is a spear of light, splashes of mud, an acid purple flashback.

Tracklisting
1. Risperdal
2. Don't Talk In Your Sleep
3. Jerks
4. Psychosomatic
5. 7/23
6. State Numbers
7. The Ricercar Of Dr Clara Haber
8. The Lighter Side Of... Hippies
9. Ohio R/Live/Hoosier
10. Shells

"The group Magizter formed in Malmö, Sweden in the early 90s, and mainly consisted of former members of the Hungarian industrial band Das Kapital, of which some managed to flee to Sweden from the communist regime before the fall of the Soviet Union.

Gyula Szilagyi, who was the first to make his escape via train through Berlin in 1987, recalls: “it was a few weeks before mandatory military service would begin, and our passports should have been turned over to the authorities”. Risking deportation and prison, he was granted asylum in Sweden after some months in Stockholm.

Szilagyi and the rest of the band were all part of the underground scene in Budapest, of which some had been under surveillance by the secret police since their teens. It was a tight knit community where anti-communist and illegal literature was distributed, and many bands shared mutual members.

The track “Das Kapital” was produced in Malmö in 1993 by Szilagyi and fellow Magizter member Zoltan Lengyel, in a home studio overlooking the Möllevång Square, were Szilagyi had moved after some years working at the glass factory in Orrefors. He had managed to save a few performances by Das Kapital recorded on cassette, of which one served as sample material for the Magizter track; an homage of sorts to a group involuntarily disbanded.

The cassette sampled here was recorded in 1986 during a live concert at the university-affiliated venue Ráday Klub, where Das Kapital performed alongside the British industrial act Left Hand Right Hand (who had formed from the Sheffield band Zahgurim).

On the eve in question, Szilagyi remarks: “we used a guitar that we had made ourselves to resemble a Kalachnikov rifle. During the concert at Ráday Klub the guitar was destroyed using a drill machine. It made a powerful sound effect”

A remix of the remix is offered by Vienna-based Heap, who with his own productions as well as his work with the Neubau label is building a bridge towards the new era of European industrial music." 

TRACK LISTING

A1. Das Kapital (remix 93)
B1. Das Kapital (remix 93 - Heap Version)

As the debut release on Finders Keepers’ new experimental / jazz / avant-garde imprint, Cacophonic release the first in a series of rare records by French experimentalist Michel Magne.

One of the very earliest full-length French concept albums - part radical manifesto, part pantomime. This anti-intellectual "physical" reaction to the bourgeoning musique concrete movement combines found sounds and industrial noise with piano jazz alongside imposing avant-garde orchestral elements and Magne's own hammered cimbalom flourishes. This unique debut album also provides an early insight into a fruitful soundtrack / conceptual jazz career collaborating with Jean-Claude Vannier, Martal Solal and Artie Kaplan as well as founding the French Strawberry Studio at Château d' Hérouville where French groups like Magma, Catherine Ribeiro, Brigitte Fontaine and Ange shared a diary with Terry Riley and Pink Floyd.

Presented here for the first time since its initial humble pressing in its unabridged entirety complete with its collectable illustrated sleeve art this album stands as the perfect debut release and musical modus operandi for this new archival imprint.

Nonesuch Records releases the Magnetic Fields’ Quickies, a set of five vinyl EPs that features twenty-eight new short songs by Stephin Merritt, ranging in length from thirteen seconds to two minutes and thirty-five seconds. Quickies also will be available on CD.

Merritt explains his thinking behind the Quickies concept: “I’ve been reading a lot of very short fiction, and I enjoyed writing 101 Two-Letter Words, the poetry book about the shortest words you can use in Scrabble. And I’ve been listening to a lot of French baroque harpsichord music. Harpsichord doesn’t lend itself to languor. So I’ve been thinking about one instrument at a time, playing for about a minute or so and then stopping, and I’ve been thinking of narratives that are only a few lines long. Also, I had been using a lot of small notebooks, so when I reach the bottom of the page, I’ve only gone a short way. Now that I’m working on a different album, I’m enforcing a large notebook rule so that I don’t do Quickies twice in a row.”

Quickies features Merritt and other Magnetic Fields band members Sam Davol, Claudia Gonson, Shirley Simms, and John Woo. They are joined by longtime friends and collaborators Chris Ewen, Daniel Handler, and Pinky Weitzman.

To date, Stephin Merritt has written and recorded twelve Magnetic Fields albums, including the beloved 69 Love Songs and the 2017 critically acclaimed Nonesuch box set, 50 Song Memoir, which chronicled the first fifty years of the songwriter’s life with one song per year. New York magazine called the box set ‘a celebration of Merritt’s sky-high range as a writer and a player, through the exploration of the circumstances that helped cultivate it … a delightful flip through the untold back pages of one of rock’s most singular voices, and, all in all, the best damned Magnetic Fields album in the last ten years.’ Merritt has also composed original music and lyrics for several music theatre pieces, including an off-Broadway stage musical of Neil Gaiman’s novel Coraline, for which he received an Obie Award. In 2014, Merritt composed songs and background music for the first musical episode of public radio’s This American Life. Stephin Merritt also releases albums under the band names the 6ths, the Gothic Archies, and Future Bible Heroes.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Castles Of America
2. The Biggest Tits In History
3. The Day The Politicians Died

Side B
1. Castle Down A Dirt Road
2. Bathroom Quickie
3. My Stupid Boyfriend

Side C
1. Love Gone Wrong
2. Favorite Bar
3. Kill A Man A Week

Side D
1. Kraftwerk In A Blackout
2. When She Plays The Toy Piano
3. Death Pact (Let's Make A)

Side E
1. I’ve Got A Date With Jesus
2. Come, Life, Shaker Life!

Side F
1. (I Want To Join A) Biker Gang
2. Rock 'n' Roll Guy

Side G
1. You've Got A Friend In Beelzebub
2. Let's Get Drunk Again (And Get Divorced)
3. The Best Cup Of Coffee In Tennessee

Side H
1. When The Brat Upstairs Got A Drum Kit
2. The Price You Pay
3. The Boy In The Corner

Side I
1. Song Of The Ant
2. I Wish I Had Fangs And A Tail
3. Evil Rhythm

Side J
1. She Says Hello
2. The Little Robot Girl
3. I Wish I Were A Prostitute Again

Originally released in 1999. 6xLP is black ten-inch vinyl in box with ten-inch book insert and full album download. 3CD is jewel case box set and book insert. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Absolutely Cuckoo
2. I Don't Believe In The Sun
3. All My Little Words
4. A Chicken With Its Head Cut Off
5. Reno Dakota
6. I Don't Want To Get Over You
7. Come Back From San Francisco
8. The Luckiest Guy On The Lower East Side
9. Let's Pretend We're Bunny Rabbits
10. The Cactus Where Your Heart Should Be
11. I Think I Need A New Heart
12. The Book Of Love
13. Fido, Your Leash Is Too Long
14. How Fucking Romantic
15. The One You Really Love
16. Punk Love
17. Parades Go By
18. Boa Constrictor
19. A Pretty Girl Is Like
20. My Sentimental Melody
21. Nothing Matters When We're Dancing
22. Sweet-Lovin' Man
23. The Things We Did And Didn't Do
24. Roses
25. Love Is Like Jazz
26. When My Boy Walks Down The Street
27. Time Enough For Rocking When We're Old
28. Very Funny
29. Grand Canyon
30. No One Will Ever Love You
31. If You Don't Cry
32. You're My Only Home
33. (Crazy For You But) Not That Crazy
34. My Only Friend
35. Promises Of Eternity
36. World Love
37. Washington, D.C.
38. Long-Forgotten Fairytale
39. Kiss Me Like You Mean It
40. Papa Was A Rodeo
41. Epitaph For My Heart
42. Asleep And Dreaming
43. The Sun Goes Down And The World Goes Dancing
44. The Way You Say Good-Night
45. Abigail, Belle Of Kilronan
46. I Shatter
47. Underwear
48. It's A Crime
49. Busby Berkeley Dreams
50. I'm Sorry I Love You
51. Acoustic Guitar
52. The Death Of Ferdinand De Saussure
53. Love In The Shadows
54. Bitter Tears
55. Wi' Nae Wee Bairn Ye'll Me Beget
56. Yeah! Oh, Yeah!
57. Experimental Music Love
58. Meaningless
59. Love Is Like A Bottle Of Gin
60. Queen Of The Savages 61 Blue You
62. I Can't Touch You Anymore
63. Two Kinds Of People
64. How To Say Goodbye
65. The Night You Can't Remember
66. For We Are The King Of The Boudoir
67. Strange Eyes
68. Xylophone Track
69. Zebra 

Nonesuch Records releases the Magnetic Fields’ 50 Song Memoir, a five-CD/five-LP set that chronicles the 50 years of songwriter Stephin Merritt’s life with one song per year. It was produced by Stephin Merritt with additional production by Thomas Bartlett and Charles Newman. The Magnetic Fields performed the 50 Song Memoir over two nights per city, beginning November 18 & 19 at Mass MoCA in North Adams, MA, and continuing at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) on December 2 & 3. Further dates begin in spring 2017. 50 Song Memoir is available in five-LP and five-CD editions including an extensive interview by Daniel Handler and facsimile handwritten lyrics by Merritt, and as a standalone bound book with a full-album download card.

Merritt began recording on his 50th birthday: February 9, 2015. Unlike his previous work, the lyrics on 50 Song Memoir are nonfiction – in Merritt’s words, “a mix of autobiography (bedbugs, Buddhism, buggery) and documentary (hippies, Hollywood, hyperacusis).” As he says in the album’s liner note interview with Handler, “I am the least autobiographical person you are likely to meet. I will probably not write any more true songs after this than I did before, but it’s been interesting working on it.”

In addition to his vocals on all 50 songs, Merritt plays more than one hundred instruments on 50 Song Memoir, ranging from ukulele to piano to drum machine to abacus. In concert, the music will be played and sung by a newly expanded Magnetic Fields septet in a stage set featuring 50 years of artefacts both musical (vintage computers, reel-to-reel tape decks, newly invented instruments), and decorative (tiki bar, shag carpet, vintage magazines for the perusal of idle musicians). The seven performers each play seven different instruments, either traditional (cello, charango, clavichord) or invented in the last 50 years (Slinky guitar, Swarmatron, synthesizer). The stage extravaganza will be directed by the award-winning Jose Zayas (Love in the Time of Cholera, Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter).

To date, Stephin Merritt has written and recorded eleven Magnetic Fields albums, including the popular and critically acclaimed 69 Love Songs. A song from that record, ‘The Book of Love’, has been covered by Peter Gabriel and has appeared in numerous TV shows and films; notably, the Nairobi Chamber Orchestra performed the song at an official state dinner in Kenya, before Presidents Barack Obama and Uhuru Kenyatta delivered their toasts. Merritt has also composed original music and lyrics for several music theatre pieces, including an off-Broadway stage musical of Neil Gaiman's novel Coraline, for which he received an Obie Award. In 2014, Merritt composed songs and background music for the first musical episode of public radio’s This American Life. Stephin Merritt also releases albums under the band names the 6ths, the Gothic Archies, and Future Bible Heroes. 

TRACK LISTING

Disc 1
1. ’66 Wonder Where I’m From
2. ’67 Come Back As A Cockroach
3. ’68 A Cat Called Dionysus
4. ’69 Judy Garland
5. ’70 They’re Killing Children Over There
6. ’71 I Think I’ll Make Another World
7. ’72 Eye Contact
8. ’73 It Could Have Been Paradise
9. ’74 No
10. ’75 My Mama Ain’t

Disc 2
1. ’76 Hustle 76
2. ’77 Life Ain’t All Bad
3. ’78 The Blizzard Of ’78
4. ’79 Rock’n’Roll Will Ruin Your Life
5. ’80 London By Jetpack
6. ’81 How To Play The Synthesizer
7. ’82 Happy Beeping
8. ’83 Foxx And I
9. ’84 Danceteria!
10. ’85 Why I Am Not A Teenager

Disc 3
1. ’86 How I Failed Ethics
2. ’87 At The Pyramid
3. ’88 Ethan Frome
4. ’89 The 1989 Musical Marching Zoo
5. ’90 Dreaming In Tetris
6. ’91 The Day I Finally…
7. ’92 Weird Diseases
8. ’93 Me And Fred And Dave And Ted
9. ’94 Haven’t Got A Penny
10. ’95 A Serious Mistake

Disc 4
1. ’96 I’m Sad!
2. ’97 Eurodisco Trio
3. ’98 Lovers’ Lies
4. ’99 Fathers In The Clouds
5. ’00 Ghosts Of The Marathon Dancers
6. ’01 Have You Seen It In The Snow?
7. ’02 Be True To Your Bar
8. ’03 The Ex And I
9. ’04 Cold-Blooded Man
10. ’05 Never Again

Disc 5
1. ’06 “Quotes”
2. ’07 In The Snow White Cottages
3. ’08 Surfin’
4. ’09 Till You Come Back To Me
5. ’10 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea
6. ’11 Stupid Tears
7. ’12 You Can Never Go Back To New York
8. ’13 Big Enough For Both Of Us
9. ’14 I Wish I Had Pictures
10. ’15 Somebody’s Fetish

Limited edition silver vinyl anniversary reissue of the Magnetic Fields’ classic 1999 rumination on, of course, love. Funny, smart, dark, memorable, and a lifetime’s worth of listening. Stephin Merritt solidifies his songwriting genius on his “most ambitious and fully realized work.” (AMG)

This vinyl reissue is remastered for vinyl and beautifully packaged in a 10” slipcase box with three double gatefold sleeves and a 24 page booklet!

TRACK LISTING

1 Absolutely Cuckoo (1:34)
2 I Don't Believe In The Sun (4:16)
3 All My Little Words (2:46)
4 A Chicken With Its Head Cut Off (2:41)
5 Reno Dakota (1:05)
6 I Don't Want To Get Over You (2:22)
7 Come Back From San Francisco (2:48)
8 The Luckiest Guy On The Lower East Side (3:43)
9 Let's Pretend We're Bunny Rabbits (2:25)
10 The Cactus Where Your Heart Should Be (1:11)
11 I Think I Need A New Heart (2:32)
12 The Book Of Love (2:42)
13 Fido, Your Leash Is Too Long (2:33)
14 How Fucking Romantic (0:58)
15 The One You Really Love (2:53)
16 Punk Love (0:58)
17 Parades Go By (2:56)
18 Boa Constrictor (0:58)
19 A Pretty Girl Is Like (1:50)
20 My Sentimental Melody (3:07)
21 Nothing Matters When We're Dancing (2:27)
22 Sweet-Lovin' Man (4:59)
23 The Things We Did And Didn't Do (2:11)
24 Roses (0:27)
25 Love Is Like Jazz (2:56)
26 When My Boy Walks Down The Street (2:38)
27 Time Enough For Rocking When We're Old (2:03)
28 Very Funny (1:26)
29 Grand Canyon (2:28)
30 No One Will Ever Love You (3:14)
31 If You Don't Cry (3:07)
32 You're My Only Home (2:17)
33 (Crazy For You But) Not That Crazy (2:18)
34 My Only Friend (2:01)
35 Promises Of Eternity (3:46)
36 World Love (3:07)
37 Washington, D.C. (1:53)
38 Long-Forgotten Fairytale (3:37)
39 Kiss Me Like You Mean It (2:01)
40 Papa Was A Rodeo (5:01)
41 Epitaph For My Heart (2:50)
42 Asleep And Dreaming (1:53)
43 The Sun Goes Down And The World Goes Dancing (2:46)
44 The Way You Say Good-Night (2:44)
45 Abigail, Belle Of Kilronan (2:00)
46 I Shatter (3:09)
47 Underwear (2:49)
48 It's A Crime (3:54)
49 Busby Berkeley Dreams (3:36)
50 I'm Sorry I Love You (3:06)
51 Acoustic Guitar (2:37)
52 The Death Of Ferdinand De Saussure (3:10)
53 Love In The Shadows (2:54)
54 Bitter Tears (2:51)
55 Wi' Nae Wee Bairn Ye'll Me Beget (1:55)
56 Yeah! Oh, Yeah! (2:19)
57 Experimental Music Love (0:29)
58 Meaningless (2:08)
59 Love Is Like A Bottle Of Gin (1:46)
60 Queen Of The Savages (2:12)
61 Blue You (3:03)
62 I Can't Touch You Anymore (3:05)
63 Two Kinds Of People (1:10)
64 How To Say Goodbye (2:48)
65 The Night You Can't Remember (2:17)
66 For We Are The King Of The Boudoir (1:14)
67 Strange Eyes (2:01)
68 Xylophone Track (2:47)
69 Zebra (2:15)

The House of Tomorrow EP celebrates 30 years in 2022. The House of Tomorrow EP marks the first release introducing vocals by Stephin Merritt.

Cast your mind back to notable landmarks of 1992. Outside the Twin Cities, Mall of America opened to the public. Frank Gehry’s enormous golden fish sculpture, El Peix, welcomed Barcelona Olympians. And The House of Tomorrow, a four-song 7” on a small indie label, ushered in a new era for The Magnetic Fields. When Susan Anway, who sang on early albums Distant Plastic Trees and The Wayward Bus, left the group, Stephin Merritt stepped up to the microphone. “This was my first time singing on record,” he recalls. He sought to sound simple, subtle, and unobtrusive, à la the Japanese concept of shibusa. “But now, listening back, I hear a little too much vocal influence from the Jesus and Mary Chain. (I really should move to Scotland. I belong there.)”

Likewise, the arrangements and production of The House of Tomorrow felt less polished overall than on its predecessors, even as the band’s sound was evolving. “I wanted to have rock instrumentation, plus cello (so ELO without keyboards), but everyone was tracked separately so there was no question of sounding like we were playing together,” explains Stephin. Instead, he chose to highlight the artifice. Voilà! “The drums are like Tusk only more so, the cello sounds like a synth, and the guitars might as well be programmed.” The House of Tomorrow rose in stature upon re-release on compact disc in 1996, with a new addition, “Alien Being” (previously relegated to the flip of the “Long Vermont Roads” single), boosting its modest track list from four songs to five. The limits of technology had stymied plans the first time: “You can’t fit five two-and-a-half–minute songs on a 7” record, even at 33rpm.”

From World’s Fairs and Disneyland to Tex Avery and Hanna-Barbera cartoons, visions of the home of the future have long been popular. Although this new vinyl edition of The House of Tomorrow includes an etching of Buckminster Fuller’s visionary D.I.Y. Dymaxion House, Stephin laments the sluggish pace of architectural innovation. What is his dream home? “I want to live in Barbarella’s spaceship, with my neighbors being the Jetsons, floating defiantly over Edinburgh Castle.”

Never before released as a 12”, this 30th anniversary remastered edition of The House of Tomorrow is available on opaque spring green vinyl (as well as basic black). But don’t press Stephin to discuss the color’s charms, please. “I had a sickly pea green bathroom in my East Village tenement, and I never got over it,” he reveals. “It’s okay on plants, but everywhere else, the browner it is, the less I hate it. My favorite shade of green is brown.”

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1 Young And Insane
2 Technical (You’re So)
3 Alien Being
4 Love Goes Home To Paris In The Spring
5 Either You Don’t Love Me Or I Don’t Love You
Side B
Etching……..

“The couple that slays together, stays together: Looch Vibrato and Aggy Sonora, like the moniker of an infamous killing duo, the fucking butchest band from Bordeaux. Looch, with hands like bunches of bananas and songs like flaming arrows. The lovely and tough-as-hell Aggy, crushing the kit. Heavy weird attackers from our sister country. Sludge drips—murder the guitar, usurp the amp, fry the mic, howl like beasts, melt the crowd: Magnetix. We were lucky enough to grab them on one of their rare U.S. shows, recorded in a basement in San Francisco. Here it is in all its gory glory. Let’s go tripping…” —John Dwyer

TRACK LISTING

1. Growing Up
2. Feel High (When I Die)
3. Lawn Mowers Attack
4. Mort Clinique
5. Impaction
6. Living In A Box
7. LR6
8. Rest Of My Life
9. Break Up The Fone

“The couple that slays together, stays together: Looch Vibrato and Aggy Sonora, like the moniker of an infamous killing duo, the fucking butchest band from Bordeaux. Looch, with hands like bunches of bananas and songs like flaming arrows. The lovely and tough-as-hell Aggy, crushing the kit. Heavy weird attackers from our sister country. Sludge drips—murder the guitar, usurp the amp, fry the mic, howl like beasts, melt the crowd: Magnetix. We were lucky enough to grab them on one of their rare U.S. shows, recorded in a basement in San Francisco. Here it is in all its gory glory. Let’s go tripping…” —John Dwyer

TRACK LISTING

1. Growing Up
2. Feel High (When I Die)
3. Lawn Mowers Attack
4. Mort Clinique
5. Impaction
6. Living In A Box
7. LR6
8. Rest Of My Life
9. Break Up The Fone

Based in Ireland, Magnetize has been making noise since the early 90s using tape loops, old synths and guitar stomp boxes that was initially heavily influenced by the likes of Suicide, AMM and Coil. Since that time his releases and gigs have ranged in style from blissful textures and primeval drones to dark electro/techno. "Ear Blink" is a live recording from August 2006. Over 35 minutes it builds from a bed of textural drones, through dark melodic rhythms to full-on noise assault of freaked out guitar noise and hanging sonics. An awesome racket.

God this is absolutely...lovely. Acoustic guitars, a sweet soft, dreamy voice, but, sorry to be muso, it's the production that gets you. There's swirls, echoes, space and light atmospherics, Moogs and Mellotrons, disturbance and dubbiness. It all washes around the glowing gorgeous songs of Even Johansen. The sleeve is lush and enhances the magical effect. The High Llamas' Sean O'Hagan does the strings. I know little else about this supremely talented Scandinavian. If you like Jeff Buckley, Air, Radiohead or Elbow you're in for a treat. It could be your surprise album of the year!

For a project that has taken thirty years it would be totally inadequate to call the formation of Hypocritical Beatdown a lockdown-project. There’s a deep history and psychology in these records by Violators Of The English Language and their spin-off groups Magnets (Rap Group) and ProVerbs, that combines stage-fright, loss, pride, creative-schizophrenia, racial inequality, surrealism, personal politics, brotherhood, artistic-constipation, better judgment, love, anti-love, soul searching and much more.

The one remaining untapped energy source here is perhaps FEAR, refreshing when used correctly, but never imposter syndrome. As maligned and mutated as this British Hip-Hop might appear to be, it could not be more pure. Each member of all of the Hypocritical Beatdown crew were committed to this cause as soon as the doors opened. They rapped on stages before they had even tasted beer or lost their virginity and the curse had already taken hold in the years when these youngsters still had to be back home before dark and it has never left their bloodstreams.

That’s why this record NEEDED to be made. Completed, recorded, exorcised, committed to vinyl, rotated and liberated. Not unlike the VHS tape in a well known Japanese horror film, every listened copy, complete with its broken beats, old-school sensibilities and Marmite Mancunian accents, adds to the mystic circle… breaks the dream… some people might even like it. If you were given a chance to go back and meet your teenage self, wouldn’t you?

For you early adopters, both these albums are the first full length vinyl excursions from The Hypocritical Beatdown stable who have previously just released Rap Tapes (on cassette, obviously). They both look pretty similar, but one is on yellow ten inch vinyl released in collaboration with the amazing people at Britain's coolest pub, Golden Lion in Todmorden. And the other one is a longer 12” album with a duel-layer, interactive screen printed sleeve (in various collectible colours) that literally violates the English language when you open it. There’s a lot of attention to detail here, in all fairness it didn’t happen over night, and despite all the watermarks of a communal mid-life crisis, they don’t intend to slow down at any point soon… - Andy Votel

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Fascinating archival dig by Andy Votel, revisiting early incarnations of The Violators Of The English Language and later Hypocritical Beatdown crews. Really interesting to see how that first wave of American hip-hop would influence kids in northern satellite towns. We'd all be watching Transworld Sport and trying to skateboard too... happy, pre-internet times when finding subculture and identity was an all-encompassing but thoroughly rewarding pass time. There's a integrity and innocence in these recording which really add to their charm.

TRACK LISTING

A Side - Magnets:
1. Get Ready Go
2. Panic 
3. Double Dragon, Adverb Remix
4. Paps At The Lido 

B Side - Pro-Verbs:
1. One Two
2. Pure Hip Hop
3. Science And Diction 
4. Smear 

The Magnificents are finally ready to unleash "Year of Explorers", their long-awaited second album - to precede that, the fellers are 'dropping' a cheeky little sneak preview, the "Ring Ring Oo Oo EP". The EP showcases the sound The Magnificents have meticulously crafted with esteemed producers Damian Taylor (Bjork, Unkle) and John Cummings (Mogwai). Whereas the first LP was fuelled by raw punk power and electrifying synth-laden excess, the sophomore release promises a more measured approach to songwriting, a result of touring with the likes of Trans Am, the Beta Band and Mogwai. The Magnificents' redoubtable knack for dreaming up dancefloor-friendly melodies remains very much a priority. As an extra treat, the EP features a cheeky Mogwai remix of live favourite "Blueprint", now re-titled "Greenprint".

About halfway through Magnolia Electric Co.'s latest long player, "Josephine", there is a noticeable shift in weight. It's a release of some sort - the kind that comes when you give up holding back the tears. It's a heavy kind of freedom coming to the forefront, an empowering sadness. And when chief Electrician Jason Molina delivers the line 'an hour glass... filled with tears and twilight from a friend's dying day', the mood becomes clear. The band is back on its heels, yes, but they are going to fight back in the only way they know how. Molina's concept album is an honest-to-God effort on the part of Magnolia Electric Co. to pay tribute to the life and spirit of fallen bassist Evan Farrell (R.I.P. December 2007), as the ideas for "Josephine" were being pieced together. Molina said each tune is a good faith attempt to make real Evan's hopes for the record. And in doing so, Evan's spirit becomes part of the concept. The loss of "Josephine" becomes the loss of Evan. Molina's familiar lyrical allegories are still in tact. But here, in what is no doubt the strongest set of songs Molina has written since the inception of Magnolia Electric Co., those classic themes take on new meanings. Molina has approached the universal loneliness before, but never in such a focused, directed manner as found on "Josephine". Molina, Magnolia Electric Co. and legendary recording engineer Steve Albini have put it all to heart. Evan Farrell, Jason Molina and the band are on different journeys now - but maybe somehow, somewhere parallel. This is heartbreak at ten paces, to be sure.

TRACK LISTING

1. O! Grace
2. The Rock Of Ages
3. Josephine
4. Shenandoah
5. Whip Poor Will
6. Song For Willie
7. Hope Dies Last
8. The Handing Down
9. Map Of The Falling Sky
10. Little Sad Eyes
11. Heartbreak At Ten Paces
12. Knoxville Girl
13. Shiloh
14. An Arrow In The Gale

For the first time on vinyl and returning from a long time out-of-print, Secretly Canadian is proud to re-present The Sojourner Box Set from Magnolia Electric Co. The four LPs that comprise The Sojourner Box Set are from four distinct recording sessions that Magnolia Electric Co. undertook following the release of their debut studio album, What Comes After The Blues.

From these, sophomore album Fading Trails was born. But the four sessions, in full, chart the celestial map of Magnolia Electric Co.: its constellations and shooting stars, its Americana stompers and lean folk dirges. And, of course, the center of gravity that is Jason Molina’s mournful, incomparable voice. The session known as “Nashville Moon” was recorded by Steve Albini at his Electrical Audio studios in Chicago, Illinois.

The session known as “Sun Session” was recorded at the legendary Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. The session known as “Black Ram” was recorded by David Lowery at his Sound Of Music studios in Richmond, Virginia and features an entirely different cast of characters including Lowery, Rick Alverson, Andrew Bird, Molly Blackbird, Miguel Urbiztondo and Alan Weatherhead.

The session known as “Shohola” was recorded by Jason Molina alone, with a guitar and microphone. With LP covers drawn from original box illustrations and with the original box’s poster included, this LP edition of The Sojourner Box Set delivers for the most ambitious and robust Magnolia Electric Co. release to date.

TRACK LISTING

Nashville Moon
Side A
1. Lonesome Valley
2. Montgomery
3. Don’t Fade On Me
4. Hammer Down
5. No Moon On The Water
6. Nashville Moon
Side B
7. What Comes After The Blues
8. Don’t This Look Like The Dark
9. North Star
10. Bowery
11. Texas 71
09 North Star (3:55)
10 Bowery (3:38
11 Texas 71 (4:17
12 Down The Wrong Road Both Ways (3:21

Black Ram
Side A
1. In The Human World
2. The Black Ram
3. What’s Broken Becomes Better
4. Will-O-the-Wisp
5. Kanawha
Side B
6. A Little At A Time
7. Blackbird
8. And The Moon Hits The Water
9. The Old Horizon

Sun Session
Side A
1. Talk To Me Devil, Again
2. Memphis Moon
Side B
3. Hold On Magnolia 

Shohola
Side A
1. Steady Now
2. Spanish Moon Fall And Rise
3. Night Country
4. Shiloh Temple Bell
Side B
5. The Spell
6. Take One Thing Along
7. The Lamb’s Song
8. Roll The Wheel

A well crafted collection of Irish songs and traditional instruments from Donal Maguire and his chums. Many moments of inspiration and a fine choice of songs make this a release well worth a listen.

Completely unknown album by Salah Ragab's Cairo Jazz Band vocalist Maha, recorded in Cairo in 1979. Features productions by Hany Shenoda of Al Massrieen. Maha's "Orkos," originally released on cassette, is one of these standout musical diamonds that combines Jazz and Egyptian vocal traditions with Funk, Latin and Soul. Out via Habibi Funk October 10th.

Maha's "Orkos" immediately catches your ear as a unique album. A strong and energetic voice, equally grounded in jazz as well as Egyptian vocal traditions, Maha sings over instrumentals that offer a wide palette of influences, sonically emblematic of the cultural changes that were occurring in the country. The album features rich compositions and productions by renown Egyptian musician Hany Shenoda, who's group, Al Massrieen, Habibi Funk worked with in 2017 (the release led to sync placements in Hulu's "Ramy" TV Series).

At the time of its release, however, the "Orkos" cassette quickly faded away among the growing number of releases populating the Egyptian musical soundscape. For more than 40 years, it sat in near obscurity before being given new life in the form of a properly licensed vinyl release. Habibi Funk and Disco Arabesquo are honored to play a part in sharing Maha's story. Below is a bit more context around the release as well as the campaign schedule.
The arrival of the cassette brought a seismic shift in how music was produced and consumed around the world. Smaller bands and labels were able to release music without the logistical and financial barrier present in vinyl manufacturing. At the same time, in Egypt, a new crop of musicians and composers made their way into the scene, seeking to bring something fresh to what was perceived as the widely monophonic musical traditions of Egypt. Hany Shenoda, Mohamed Mounir, Magdy El Hossainy, Omar Korshid, Salah Ragab and Hamid El Shaeri are some names that come to mind. Many built their sounds combining their own musical upbringing with influences coming from the outside. The success of these projects varied widely, but for each there were numerous lesser-known bands and singers. Many of these often-short-lived projects would release their music on cassettes on tiny labels only to fade into the musical ether.

Maha's "Orkos" album fits this category. Put out in a small run of cassettes, it's fair to say that the singer's sole recording outing was not a financial success when it was originally released by Egyptian label Sout El Hob in 1979. While it may not have found an engaged and open-eared audience upon its release, the first few bars of the album indicate this is a special, timeless album that transcends the musical boundaries that many artists were seeking to break through at the time.
From the funk sounds of "Law Laffeina El Ard" (Single 1, out September 1 with Pre-Order announcement); the moody, mellow sounds of "Kabl Ma Nessallem We Nemshy" (Single 2, out September 23) or "We Mesheet;" to excursions into Latin sounds in the title track "Orkos," and disco with "Ana Gaya" (Album Focus Track, out October 10) the album is an amalgamation of genres that stands out from the immense creativity present in Egypt at the time.
We connected Maha in late 2021 and she was clearly surprised to have someone call about music she recorded more than 40 years ago. She also seemed interested in the idea in bringing her music back to people's attention. A few weeks later we were speaking with our friend Moataz, who runs the Disco Arabesquo project and showed him this great new album we found and to our surprise he knew the album, having found a copy of it a year or two before, in Cairo. It was then obvious to team up for a collaboration for this project. You can find Moataz's story about Maha and her music, as well as extensive interviews with Maha herself, in the booklet accompanying the release.

TRACK LISTING

1. Orkos
2. Kabl Ma Nessallem We Nemshy
3.We Mesheet
4. El Hob Matnassash
5. Ala Shat El Nesyan
6. Law Laffeina El Ard
7. Ana Gaya

Back in 2017 we stumbled across an incredibly rich source of jazz-centric breaks and ‘golden era’ hip hop vibes courtesy of Philadelphia’s Mahatma X. So taken were we with their ‘A Mobtown Suite Vol. 1’ that we did the decent thing and issued a vinyl pressing which became a word of mouth hit and led to our quickest ever vinyl sell out. If you were locked into ‘Volume 1’ we’re confident that this follow up is really gonna take you to the next level. As with its predecessor, it takes the beat-tape format as its launching pad, showcasing the prodigious talents of producer MALK (winner of Norman Records ‘Album of the Year 2018’ for his solo offering ‘Death From A Love’) and his Philly crew. ‘Vol 2’ is a perfectly judged smorgasbord of sound with Mahatma’s distinctive cut and paste methods allowing sounds to bump/morph into each other as the group throw jazz, broken beats, world music, hip-hop, soul and funk into their punk-inspired anything goes collage of sound. So buckle up for a rollercoaster 24 tracks over two sides of wax (or CD). From the opening “How d’you do?” of lead track ‘Jaguar’ you’ll be taken on a fresh and furious sonic trip, deep into the hyperreal world of Mahatma X, and on reaching the extraordinary closer ‘Baby Boomers’ there’s only one thing left to do - hit that repeat button! 

STAFF COMMENTS

Millie says: Mahatma X returns with more dreamy hip-hop jazz beats, locking down their distinguished style. Soulful sampling at every twist and turn, Mobtown Suite Vol. 2 takes you on a journey through it all. Essential listening!

TRACK LISTING

A1. Jaguar
A2. Embrace
A3. Rada
A4. On Going
A5. Potpourri
A6. Fluff Piece
A7. Aperitif
A8. Tanqueray
A9. Sixty Minutes
A10. Bmore Knights
A11. Chaos And The CBD
A12. Rickert

B1. Naked Cops
B2. Rupt
B3. Zuuuuu
B4. TeeVee
B5. Got To Be Born Again
B6. Another Side
B7. News At 6
B8. Freezing
B9. Fuzzing In
B10. The $
B11. Shadow
B12. Baby Boomers

Following a run of sought-after releases on cassette from artists including Anthony Naples, Xvarr and E Ruscha V, Good Morning Tapes switch to vinyl for their latest offering by Mahbunzi Nahgo Pihndi ("All the Healing Green Leaves of the Forest”) aka Brian Close, one half of New York avant-garde duo Georgia:

“This record is an extension of a foray into trance ritual music. It is structured as a companion for film, meditation, vision seeking & sound rest. It is by nature a nature worship record, combining acoustic percussive improvisation, sensory foley, vocalized staccatos, and a specific brew of physical / metaphysical sound relations... mind hush / thought flush / spirit rush / sun rise. Inspired by an initiation ceremony of the Bwiti / Fang people of Gabon. This collection relays a fragmented branch of timings of this ceremony and proposes other paths for the sacred (Mougongo) instrument.
Recoded + Restructured + Reflected as a time capsule, with fullest respect / blessings to breeze the Bwiti understandings through the current climate." 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Perilously dark neo-shamanism here that kicks off a new spellbook of sonics. Quite terrifying in parts - I advise caution when consulting with The Other whilst on entheogens.

TRACK LISTING

1. Awating
2. Bwicoming

Astonishing 41 track pièce de résistance from Tori Kudo and his brilliant ensemble. A modest masterpiece.

After a welcome tip off from David Keenan at The Wire, Japanese improvisation ensemble group Maher Shalal Hash Baz, led by Tori Kudo, became one of the first signings to Geographic. It was exactly the kind of music we wanted to release. It was kind of wild but totally melodic too – a mixture of original brass, outsider pop oddness and Tori Kudo’s brilliant Syd Barrett-influenced cutting guitar.

Blues du Jour, Maher Shalal Hash Baz’s second album released on Geographic in 2003, was recorded in East Kilbride by David Scott and was the ensemble’s final record with their legendary euphonium player, Hiroo Nakazaki. A 41-track journey into their strange and wonderful world, it features some of their best known songs including Open Field later covered by Silver Jews.

Being able to help make and then release a record like this is one of the many reasons that Katrina and I are so proud of Geographic.

SP / Geographic

TRACK LISTING

Sunrise
Open Field
The King Of The North
His Banner Over Me Was Love
Pelican Of Wilderness
White Dream (To K. Miwa In Hagi)
Post Office
You Keep Saying In Your Heart
Remember My Labour Of Love
Good Morning
Blues Du Jour Bb 7/8 22.4.02
Tokyo Okinawa Scotland
What's Your Business Here Elijah
Soldier Of Lead
From A Summer To Another Summer
Futility
31st December
Peter Says
Interview
Golden Gulf
For A Recorder And A Euphonium
Firing Results
Molecular Structure Of Clay
Fern On The Slope
Muddy Water
Hang Around In The Mall
Highway
Cockerel
No Sheep
Apple Glazed Vase
Iyomanzai
Psalm 136
Blow A Horn
Apple Glazed Vase II
Coregians
Blues Du Jour Am 8.6.01
Blues Du Jour Cm 5:02
Yagi Otalaryngologist
I Have Run The Course To The Finish
Bus
Cheap Clothes

Superbly named reissue specialists Souffle Continu treat us to a wonderful re-release of Mahjun's seminal second self titled LP on Saravah, originally released in 1974. Recorded with a little help from legendary Brazillian percussionist Nana Vasconcelos, this LP is a lysergic mastepiece as other worldy as its trippy sleeve. Across short interludes, dreamlike compositions and extended trips into the furthest reaches of human consciousness, the ensemble transform their leftist prog folk into wild outernational pyschedelic fusion. If you're looking for some sounds to take you on a mind altering journey, try the fourteen minute "La Ville Pue" on for size.

Strut revives a lost recording from the archives in January with a 2002 collaboration between acclaimed South African folk singer Vusi Mahlasela, singer songwriter Norman Zulu and Swedish jazz / soul collective Jive Connection.

The links between South Africa and Sweden have long been strong with Sweden one of the most supportive European nations in the struggle against apartheid; the government helped to fund the ANC for decades and Mandela visited the country on one of his first European stops following his release from prison in 1990.

Sotho folk singer Vusi Mahlasela, dubbed “The Voice” Of South Africa, performed at Mandela’s inauguration in 1994 and has enjoyed his own long relationship with Sweden, regularly embarking on cultural exchanges and forging a strong bond with the Jive Connection band, featuring guitarist / bassist Stefan Bergman and Little Dragon drummer Erik Bodin within its line-up.

Although touring regularly, the collaboration has rarely been documented beyond a lone studio album in 1994. This “lost” recording, discovered in the archives of producer Torsten Larsson, also features songwriter / vocalist Norman Zulu and showcases their natural musical chemistry together. Vusi’s songs have traditionally addressed the struggle for freedom and the need for reconciliation and, here, his lyrics are as powerful as ever, ranging from parables (‘Prodigal Son’) to an unflinching lament on child abuse (‘Faceless People’). Jive Connection vary the soundtrack, bringing in hints of reggae, jazz and post-punk alongside traditional township arrangements.

Face To Face is mastered by The Carvery. Artwork features unseen photos from the album sessions along with full lyrics. Produced in association with Torsten Larsson. 

TRACK LISTING

1. PRODIGAL SON
2. UMZALA
3. FACELESS PEOPLE
4. INKOMO
5. FACE TO FACE
6. THEMBA LAMI
7. INTOMBI YE MBALI
8. PUSH
9. ABANTU ABANGANA BUSO
10. ANASTACIA
11. B4 THULULALELE
12. ROOTS
13. STILL
14. SON OF PRODIGAL SON

As the empowerment of the ’60s gave way to the societal bankruptcy of the ’70s, a turned-on Black music emerged to soundtrack the agony of America at a crossroads. Tracked at DB Sound in Silver Spring, Maryland by producer R. Jose Williams, Your Funny Moods is built around the rhythms and keys of drumming wiz James Purdie. Remastered here from the original analog tapes, this 50th anniversary edition is peak group harmony soul from the Chocolate City.

TRACK LISTING

A1. I Need Your Love
A2. Town Called Nowhere
A3. Struggling Man
B1. Your Funny Moods
B. I’m Looking Away From My Past
B3. Seems Like The Love We Had Is Dead And Gone
B4. We Share Love

In the vein of the Dictators, Personal And The Pizzas and the finest of Detroit's Coney Island hot dog slingers, the Mahonies manage to cram 10 songs on a 7" at 45rpm! Whether it's about ZZ Top (sample lyric: "ZZ Top has really big beards") petty thievery ("I Always Get What I Want When I Steal") or the universally understood ("Where the fuck are my keys?") these dumb punk outbursts all manage to stay below the 100-second threshold. Featuring Craig Brown of Terrible Twos and Liquor Store and Ian from being awesome.

Natural Selections drop Paul Mahoux’s EP, “Lysergie Villageoise” - the fourth release on Nummer’s oddball imprint.

Taking a step further into fourth world music territories, “Lysergie Villageoise” is a meticulously crafted collection of four tracks imagined by Okinawa-based guitarist Paul Mahoux. These compositions sum up 30+ years of experience and experiments by the French-born producer, blending traditional music and modern techniques in a very singular way. All four tracks feature Paul Mahoux’s unique concoction of flavours, a signature soundscape which brings jazz, folk, ambient and house together. Constantly blurring the lines between proto and advanced sounding, Paul Mahoux’s music recalls deep forgotten feelings and invites us to a psychedelic voyage through rural impressions and ancient times beyond the frontiers of folklore. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Recent and brilliant addition to our Shamanic section which channels 'rural impressions and ancient times beyond the frontiers of folklore' - sounds right up my strasse!

TRACK LISTING

A1. So(u)rcier
A2. V'là Les Druidesses
B1. Tohu Bohu An Rinceoir
B2. Cent Mille Ancêtres

Mahti are a Finnish four-piece group presenting a unique mixture of ambient-rock, electronic music and traditional Finnish-Karelian music.

Lengthy semi-improvisational pieces are built on top of complex, hypnotic grooves which are layered with opaque guitars and strangely soothing noise elements. In the heart of it all there's kantele, an ancient Finnish string instrument played by Hannu Saha, who has studied Finnish folk music in theory and practice for nearly five decades.

The other players are Jussi Lehtisalo and Tomi Leppänen, who also form the rhythmic core of avant-rock group Circle, and psychiatrist Teemu Elo.

Strange dreams guaranteed!

Mahti are : Hannu Saha , Jussi Lehtisalo, Tomi Leppänen, Teemu Elo

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