DJ and producer Gratts returns to his own imprint with the third instalment of the "Balearic but bumpin'" trilogy. Here, the Belgian puts forward a captivating piece of organic, Body & Soul NY inspired deep house, assisted by Cata Mansikka-aho on vocals. As always, an instrumental is provided for maximum nightclub daydreaming. On the flipside, British duo Faze Action up the energy levels with an equally musical disco version that hits in all the right spots. Artwork once again by Mads Cooke.

TRACK LISTING

Rhythm Of Love
Rhythm Of Love (Daydreamin' Instrumental)
Rhythm Of Love (Faze Action Remix)

DJ Rocca and Lex combine a trio of fresh house cuts that blend elements of disco, Latin and soul. Up first is the glorious 'Solid Street' which has loose and percussive disco-house grooves overlaid with big synth energy and steamy vocals. 'Solar System' is slower and deeper, with a more rugged bassline and low slung sense of funk that never lets up. 'Last of all, 'Rose Tree' is a ramshackle house arrangement with whistles, Rhodes keys, tin-pot percussion, florid flutes and plenty of sunny energy all making it a real standout. A timeless EP packed with musicality.

TRACK LISTING

Solid Street
Solar System
Rose Tree

Here comes Emotional Rescue and Konduko's last in their series of Noel Williams/King Sporty reissues, this time looking at later electro productions and the hip-hop/boogie influenced 'Sun Country'. Vocals and co-production come from Williams' long-time partner Betty Wright and as well as a vocal and instrumental mix there's a longform remix by Bay Area disco dub stalwarts, 40 Thieves.

By this point in his career, the godfather of Miami Bass had travelled a long way from his Jamaican roots in reggae and soul, paying homage to the warm climbs of the Sunshine State and laying down a much copied template using the TR-808 drum machine create the electronic emulations of the breakbeat, claps accenting the backbeat and trademark low frequencies shaking the floorboards. The instrumental stretches the arrangement, emphasising the interplay between electronics, bass, vocal samples, scratching and fx, the voice transformed into a percussive element in its own right. The flip sees 40 Thieves flexing their understated understanding of electro funk, making for a rounded, generation-jumping package.

TRACK LISTING

Sun Country
Sun Country (Instrumental)
Sun Country (40 Thieves Disco Mix)

King Sporty is something of a chameleonic artists, not that many people know. He started out int he 70s making reggae and soul 7"s, then moved into disco, boogie, hip-hop and electro 12"s during the 80s, and then when house music hit in the 90s he evolved once more. This new drop from Emotional Rescue takes a tune from that late era. 'Computer Music' is four to the floor with electro influences and a lazy break that pull you in deep. Far-sighted chords bring a serene sense of cosmic majesty while a filtered vocal adds space age vibes. A dub is included as well as the Universal Cave Discomix by the Philadelphia DJ and production crew. A retro-future EP indeed

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: King Sporty did an amazing job of traversing disco, hip-hop, house, electro and cosmic camps. "Computer Age" definitely lands in the electro category, but retains all the soul and human touches that would become familiar with this pivotal producer.

TRACK LISTING

Computer Age (Club Mix)
Computer Age (Dub Mix)
Computer Age (Universal Cave Discomix)

Celebrated music critic Ann Powers explores the life and career of the legendary Joni Mitchell What you are about to read is not a standard account of the life and work of Joni Mitchell. Instead, it’s a tale of long journeying through a life that changed popular music: of a homesick wanderer forging ahead on routes of her invention, and of me on her trail, heading toward the ringing of her voice. One of the most celebrated artists of her generation, Joni Mitchell has inspired countless musicians and writers, while never stopping still herself.

In Travelling, celebrated music critic Ann Powers seeks to understand the paradox of Mitchell – at once both elusive and inviting – through her myriad journeys. Drawing on extensive inter­views with Mitchell’s peers and deep archival research, Powers takes readers to rural Canada, charts the course of Mitchell’s musical evolution, follows the winding road of Mitchell’s collaborations with other greats and explores the loves that fed her songwriting. Kaleidoscopic in scope and intimate in detail, Travelling is a fresh and fascinating addition to the Joni Mitchell corpus – and one that questions whether an artist can ever truly be known to their fans.

Betty & The Code Red is a life and creative partnership between Benin-born Tunde Obazee and his girlfriend Betty. The pair grew up in Nigeria and would play all manner of instruments to entertain people at the local school before staying together as they went on to live in Italy and the US. Obazee performed at colleges and universities despite no formal training and eventually recorded a selection of tunes together including a small album on relatively new bits of gear like the Yamaha RX7. Emotional Rescue has collated some of their best work across two new EPs, this being one of them.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: I didn't need much convincing on this one! Funky world exotica driven by the RX7 and other similar pieces of classic hardware. Oozing soul and good vibes throughout, shut the curtains, get this on the deck and drift off into your own paradise.

TRACK LISTING

Akure
Is Wrong (Apartheid)
Cry Africa
Hard Working

There is always a good backstory to the music that Emotional Rescue releases and this EP is a case in point. It comes from Betty & The Code Red and Betty was the girlfriend of Tunde Obazee, a Nigerian-born artist who used music as a "non-violent tool to express his socio-political opinions on global injustice." The pair would entertain people on campus by playing anything they could get their hands on, informed by the old Edo folk songs they had grown up around. They went on to live in Italy and the US and start a family as well as lay down self-released songs that have become cult classics. A selection of them feature on this, the first of two EPs from the pair.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Second outing for this outfit this week. The story (above) is great isn't it? Love a good story me. Thankfully the music also delivers. Three sultry slices of electronic soul with a cheesy group hug on "Memories" to finish.

TRACK LISTING

Wishful Thinking
Na Wahala
Na My Life Be Dis
Memories

The always superb Sounds Of The City comes through here with some freshness and newness via their newly minted 'Sounds Of The City, Dark' series. It finds the French outfit Catalogue debuting on the label with a sound that brings a different perspective to the new post-punk movement. Their sound is a mixing pot of an array of different influences and what you get is music that will get you nodding to the grooves while your mind gets lost exploring synthetic elements, angular guitar riffs, robotic rhythms and lovely deep bass.

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
1 "Synchronized"
2. "Parallele Lines"
3. "Fragments"
4. "Suburban Girls"
5. "Houseplant"
6. "2030"

Side 2
1. "At Night"
2. "Casino"
3. "La Croix"
4. "Ageing"
5. "Kids Of The Black Hole"

Nestled up in the hills of the High Peak in Derbyshire, Debris Discs crafts cinematic epics tempered with a homespun sensibility, evident across 'Post War Plans' twelve tracks. The seeds of this album were planted back in the era of World War Two, via a series of letters sent home to family members by Debris Discs’ grandfather. The discovery of such an important part of family history had a profound effect, inspiring Debris Discs to reinterpret and reimagine the letters to tell a personal war story. A grand tale of hope, despair and solace distilled through an arsenal of dusty synths, warped guitars and stuttering drum machines. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Holes In My Mind
2. The Worst Sight That I've Seen So Far
3. Post War Plans
4. Last Battlecry
5. Losing The Matriarch
6. Convalescent Camp
7. Dear Fred
8. Letter To Mildred
9. Beat Your Neighbour Out Of Doors
10. Weekend In Wisbech
11. Hope And The Hospital
12. Blanco & Bootpolish 

Selection of all winners from the Music Team label - mid 80s to early 90s gems on here!

One of South Africa’s biggest independent labels for more than a decade, Music Team offered working musicians a shot at fame via access to top studios, producers, songwriters and session musicians, as well as distribution via a number of imprints: CTV, Red Label, Solid, Spinna, Mambo Music and others. Artists in the stable who tasted success would typically release a few albums over as many years before moving on to other labels or falling off the radar as times changed. At their peak, according to label boss Maurice Horwitz, Music Team was selling a million records a month, and was at the forefront of South African pop music as it evolved from soul to disco and beyond.

Afrosynth Records’ ‘Music Team Sampler’ dusts off six rare and long-forgotten gems from the Music Team catalogue, originally released between 1986 and 1992. Four are typical of the label’s take on the popular ‘bubblegum’ sound of the day — Isaac ‘Cool Cat’ Mofokeng’s ‘Candy’, ‘I Won’t Let You Go’ by Linda Oliphant, Jappie Lebona’s ‘My Love is Yours and ‘Instant Love (Eyami Lendoda)’ by Thandi Zulu (aka TZ Junior). Two instrumentals — Mr. Ace’s ‘Ace 1’ and ‘Axe Chop’ by The Hard Workers, a studio project by Music Team’s in-house producer Tom Mkhize — meanwhile hint at the imminent rise of kwaito and house.

Forged in the fire of a cruel and volatile political system that was gradually unraveling, instead of addressing political realities these indelible pop songs sought to provide an escape to a world where love and music were all that mattered.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Mega archive dig into the uplifting bubblegum and boogie released by the South African Music Team label. If you liked that "Gumba Fire" comp from years ago, this one's for you!

TRACK LISTING

Saac Cool Cat Mofokeng - Candy
Mr. Ace - Ace 1
Linda - I Wont Let You Go
Jappie Lebona - My Love Is Yours
The Hard Workers - Axe Chop
Thandi - Instant Love Eyami Lendoda

Eduardo De La Calle and crew return with 4 tracks of deep off kilter electro and idm; proper circuit fried head twisters for late night club sessions, after party freakouts and studio wizardry obsession.

Big tip if you're into Bitstream, Gosub and Silicon; Eduardo De La Calle is himself a bit of a sorceror at the controls; at ease both churning out both skeletal braindance and full frequency audio trips. These four sketches find him in masterful control of his machines, achieving a bilatteral conversion between hardware and human interaction few knob twiddlers achieve in the present day. Recommended! 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Unsurpassable braindance flavoured EP from Eduardo De La Calle that shows off the producer's highly skilled technical abilities whilst conjuring up some intricate machine language. Big one for the circuit benders!

TRACK LISTING

A1. Arithmetical 1
A2. Arithmetical 2
B1. Arithmetical 3
B2. Arithmetical 4

Mixed Signals is proud to shed some light on Doctor Wize’s mercurial dance moves from the 90s with the release of this 4-song compilation EP by Corps of Discovery.

One balmy night in Florida, sometime in the mid 90s, psychologist and electronic iconoclast Doctor Wize (Dennis Weise) and his then wife Czara (Sarah Younger) had a revelation while watching a documentary about the Lewis and Clark expedition of the Pacific Northwest. The name of the exploration party was Corps Of Discovery. The couple were looking for a name for their nascent electronic dance unit, and the idea of setting off on a sonic adventure into uncharted territory fit perfectly.

Ra (Raul Areallno) and Angel (Peggy Powers) joined Wize and Czara on their trip, rounding out the voyage. The group travelled between psychedelic house, day-glo techno, mutant trance, bent jungle, and out-there electronic mantras. No stranger to outlying musical forms, Wize had already self-released two, now legendary sui generis solo records Valhalla and Consciousness Program. Before that he cut his teeth playing with The Wailers in Jamaica, Gong in Europe, and even played on Herbie Hancock’s Rock-it. The music world is starting to wise up, beginning with the 2018 Finders Keepers retrospective compilation, Wize Music. This new release adds another pin on the map, tracing another region of Wize’s unparalleled aural journey.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Net Surfers (DJJB Mix)
A2. Loving Java Scripts 
B1. Eye Opener
B2. The Yogi & The Fish

Under the pseudonyms 4 A.M. and Beat Per Bar, Lupos Sobre-Vega released two eccentric 12”s, of what, in retrospect, can be called vernacular house music. Both records are individualistic collisions of New Wave, Bass, Freestyle, Hi-NRG, Acid, and Sample House recorded in Sobre-Vega’s home studio in Orange County, Los Angeles. Using a Yamaha QX-5, Roland S-50, his mom's Roland Juno 60, EMU drum machines, and Yamaha DX-7, he put his nascent jazz chops to use and laid down the idiosyncratic dance tracks that he would self-release on his own label, House Hold Records, in 1988 and 1989 respectively. Although both 12”s were credited to groups, Sobre-Vega confirms that “the so-called band members were club friends. A couple were models and actors, or just plain good ol’ dancers. They were strategically picked by me, of course. So yeah, 4 A.M. and BEAT PER BAR are 300% me. There is no other.”

Despite working within the confines of dance music’s ready-made rhythms, Sobre-Vega’s sensitivity transcends the inarticulate 4/4 beat - vulnerable, idealistic and yearning. The timeless themes on the records reveal his youthful worries about money, intimacy, love and sex. Looking back at dance music history, it is luminaries such as Arthur Russell, Sylvester, Grace Jones, Theo Parrish, and Larry Heard, that stand out as enduring visionaries that transcended stylistic trends. Mixed Signals is proud to illuminate Sobre-Vega’s work in the constellation of dance music’s radical dreamers with this EP comprised of two songs from each his scarce and singular 12”s

TRACK LISTING

A1. Beat Per Bar - Thats Nice - Gimme A Couple More Us Jack Mix
A2. Beat Per Bar - Yahh Money
B1. 4 A.M. - Just Wait And See Deepest Mix
B2. 4 A.M. - Love It After Hours Mix

More new Sound Signature this week as we get a bumper back of goodies from our friends in the D. Jason Hogans is a new signing, rarely heard outside of the Motor City but concocting up a deliciously tasty brew of broken beat, instrumental hip-hop and summery soul.

A mini-LP of sorts, it cruises between skeletal MPC downbeat experiments into radiant, jazz-breaks and occasional flurries of deep house a la The Rotating Assembly.

This is seriously strong stuff from Sound Signature; and of course limited copies available. Don't miss out on this killer vibe from this new producer - seriously recommended! 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Sound Signature force our jaws to the floor by unveiling a mad good new artist from the D. Jason Hogans offers up something that tho typically Detroitian, also takes inspiration from Madlib's California-indebted soundscapes and London's broken beat edge. Mega!

TRACK LISTING

A1. Daydreamer And A Clown
A2. Favorite Coffee Mug
A3. Do This Proper
B1.Blue Blessed Rider
B2. For My Solids
B3. Kitchen Hype 

Enter Compassa! Tom Trago & Charles Levine's (FKA The Compass Joint)  new identity that pays homage to their shared musical influences and dedication to compassion, mindfulness, life and music. "The Compass Choice EP" sees them dive deeper into a love of FM synthesis and a dancefloor interpretation of these mixed up electro-Caribbean-techno-futuristic flavors! These songs, rhythms and melodies are born out of a pureness of heart and designed to bring positivity, joy and a little Compassa magic to you!

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: The tempos have increased since 2014's first Compass Joint but that tropical disco / new house flavour continues to prevail. A deliciously humid palette that makes me think of dancing between palm trees, swaying in hammocks and frolicking across sandy beaches.

TRACK LISTING

Compass Pose
Let Her Lola
Japa Passa
Galactic Clearance

Second edition of Night Defined Recordings’ new compilation series launched last year. "NDVAX02" gathers four songs that find their common ground in a strongly pronounced emotional and melodic level, whilst deviating somewhat on speed and execution.

Mesak kicks things off with the deep mainframe funk of "Palic". Like Radioactive Man on datura, this is dark electric voodoo; full of twangy and elastic leads as the producer harnesses the most provocative sounds from his range of synthesizers and machines.

Nurah's "Lowie" is an opiated, picturesque tapestry of sound; a plinky plonk melody easily making itself heard amongst a reverberated drum expression and gently fluttering pads.

Mary Yalex plunges us into the celestial chamber, healing tones and ghosted vox returning us to full frequency modulation and blurred atmospheres and 303 lines add to the magic.

Finally, Even Tuell's "In Circles" leaves us yearning for more with a lo-fi'd, emotive house jaunt that lands somewhere between Theo Parrish, Leron Carson and Madteo. Distorted beauty, gritty soul, machines pushed to the edge and one of the moodiest yet brilliant tracks we've had this year.

Mastering and cut by Loop-O. Sleeves printed and embossed by letterpress Manufaktur Salzburg.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Mesak - Palic
A2. Nurah - Lowie
B1. Mary Yalex - Running Out Of Time
B2. Even Tuell - In Circles

A monumental history of the LGBTQ influence on popular culture, from the award-winning, Sunday Times bestselling author Jon Savage

An electrifying look at key moments in music and entertainment history
between 1955 and 1979. From the secret sexuality of stars such as Little Richard in the 1950s through to the ambiguity of David Bowie, glam rock and
Sylvester’s ‘You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)’. Jon Savage reflects on the
figures and events that helped move gay culture from the margins to the mainstream and changed the face of pop forever.

The Secret Public is a searching examination of the fortitude and resilience of
the gay community through the lens of popular music and culture; it reflects
on the freedom found in divergence from the norm and reminds us of the need to be vigilant against those seeking to roll back the rights of marginalised groups.

DELUXE LIMITED COLLECTOR'S EDITION: Enclosed in a protective slipcase debossed with foil, including several frameable reproductions of rare memorabilia:
- A never-before-published photograph of Johnny Cash performing at a private event in Knoxville, TN, in April, 1975
- A reproduction of the Cash coat of arms, hand-drawn and lettered by Cash, with reflections on its meaning
- A double-sided reproduction of Cash's handwritten lyrics for "Flesh and Blood" with ornamental drawings and a special note to June Carter
- An access code to listen to never-before-released audio comments by Cash.

This book marks the first time Johnny Cash's 60 years of songwriting have been collected anywhere. Cash is one of the most beloved and influential country-music stars of all time, having composed more than 600 songs and perhaps best known for blending country, rock, blues, and gospel in his music, ushering in the countrypolitan and Outlaw country movements.

An essential collectible that sheds new light on Cash's life and work, this oversize and sumptuously designed book includes rare and never-before-seen visual material alongside stories and commentary from Cash's son, John Carter Cash, Mark Stielper, Cash and Carter family historian, and others. Released the year of the twentieth anniversary of the legendary musician's passing, it will be a landmark moment in music publishing.

This publication marks the first time the Cash Estate will open its archive to help lovers of his music understand his timeless songs in a new light, and to share the stories behind their creation. Public Historian Dr. Brian Dempsey will oversee the visual contributions.

The first ever complete overview of Goth culture will be released in 2023.

Finally, after a decade of work, countless interviews and immersing himself into the culture, John Robb's definitive book is a journey far into The Art Of Darkness. The first in-depth book on Goth is a deep dive into the enduring culture and the social, historical and political backdrop that created the space for The Art Of Darkness to thrive.

680 pages with interviews with the likes of Andrew Eldritch, Killing Joke, Bauhaus, The Cult, The Banshees, The Damned, Einsturzende Neubauten, Danielle Dax, Johnny Marr, Trent Reznor, Adam Ant, Laibach, The Cure, Nick Cave and many others, this is a deepdive and walk on the dark side and into the very heartland of Goth.

Every generation has got to deal with the blues - embrace the melancholy. Find a beauty in the darkness, a poetry in sex and death...Whether it’s the Roman love of ghost stories, European macabre folk tales of the Middle Ages, Romantic poets, or the original Gothic tribes sacking the Eternal City, a walk on the dark side has always had its attractions. In the post-punk period, Generation Xerox saw music, clothes and culture come together to create one of the most enduring pop cultures of them all that still resonates to this day..
Goth.
It may have been a retrospective term for a scene that was already thriving, but its back story goes back millennia. The book starts with the fall of Rome and ends with Instagram and Tik Tok influencers, taking diversions through Lord Byron, European folk tales, Indian sadhus, Gothic architecture, Romantic poets, philosophers and idealists before coalescing through the dark end of the Sixties’ youthquake, and then blooming like Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs Du Mal in the post-punk period.

Defying the broken heartland of the post-industrial cities, the semi-forgotten satellite towns and the grim real politic of the Thatcher years, this was a post-punk culture full of dark dance and a death disco. The music soundtracked the style and a Stygian obsidian soundtrack fused the many fragments of culture that had been flirted with in the post-war pop narrative; a darker culture that began to coalesce around the holy trinity of the Doors, the Velvets and the Stooges in the late Sixties before flirting with glam rock, being amplified by punk, exploding as Goth, and then splintering into electronic dance music, industrial, psychobilly and new Goth, before finally filtering through dystopian Hollywood blockbusters, modern literature and throughout the modern world.

In the late Seventies, Goth culture emerged around a clutch of bands who found a new form of beauty in the apocalyptic foreboding, as a new youth tribe took glam rock from the catwalk to the cobbles and onto their own dance floors, creating their own art of darkness.

Cutting his musical teeth in a Puerto Rican jazz club in the 1960s, Carli Munoz came of age during the countercultural flowering of that era; he lived for music, knowledge, and the mind-expanding magic of LSD. Wanting to expand creative horizons for his successful psychedelic rock band, Munoz flew to New York on a whim with 11 dollars in his pocket and embarked on a deep dive into the gritty scene of gigs, girls, and trips, struggling to fill his pockets with dollars and his belly with food. Free-falling into the dark underbelly of the city, Munoz ended up homeless and penniless until an epiphany on the subway brought him back to the surface. On the cusp of a new decade, Munoz moved to LA to fight for a new life and a second chance. Hanging out in Houdini's old mansion in Laurel Canyon, he watched the free-loving idealism of the '60s melt into the disco-and-cocaine-saturated hedonism of the '70s, until one day he found himself on tour with the Beach Boys. He became close friends with Dennis Wilson - a friendship that ranged from pranking each other to working on an album together to watching him spiral irretrievably into self-destruction. He witnessed the feud between Mike Love and the Wilsons firsthand, as well as the unchecked instability of Brian Wilson. Despite the chaos and power struggles within the band, Munoz was able to create enthralling music with them, as well as with some of the other popular musicians of the '70s, including Wilson Pickett, the Association, George Benson, and Peter Cetera. Populated with an eclectic cast of artists, musicians, clairvoyants, record producers, hippies, hobos, and superstars, A Fool's Journey is a vivid snapshot of an era-defining moment that will never be repeated. Although Munoz toured with the Beach Boys for ten years and partied with rock stars, he was also just an island kid from Puerto Rico, forever in exile, forever 'the other.' The story of his journey is as compelling as it is timely.

WAREHOUSE FIND!

Fall 2013 marks the five-year anniversary of Mexican Summer and Software (Daniel Lopatin of Oneohtrix Point Never's Imprint), and with this milestone comes Mexican Summer: Five Years, a 256-page, 11”x11” hard-cover book limited to a one-time edition of 1,000 copies. The book includes unique and unseen art and ephemera, photos and written contributions from a host of Mexican Summer artists.

Designed by longtime collaborator Dan Schechter, Mexican Summer: Five Years features an embossed cloth cover, craft paper wrap, three interior paper stocks and an integrated 10” sleeve.

The sleeve houses a 10” record of unique collaborations from Bay Of Pigs (Spiritualized, Soldiers Of Fortune, and Neil Hagerty), Jorge Elbrose (Jorge Elbrecht and Ariel Pink), Autre Ne Veut and Fennesz, Quilt and Bobb Trimble, and The Lonely Sailor and Renée Mendoza Haran (members of Total Control, Lace Curtain & Ashrae Fax).

TRACK LISTING

01. Jorge Elbrose (Jorge Elbrecht And Ariel Pink) - Called To Ring
02. Bay Of Pigs (Spiritualized, Soldiers Of Fortune And Neil Hagerty) - Bay Of Pigs
03. Bobb Trimble And Quilt - Starry Eyed Dreamer
04. Autre Ne Veut And Fennesz - Alive
05. The Lonely Sailor And Renée Mendoza Haran (members Of Total Control, Lace Curtain And Ashrae Fax) - Holdin' On

Signed & slipcase with exclusive colourway. Plus, bonus hardback folio ‘Photographic Evidence’, featuring previously unseen photographs from throughout the band’s career.

Born the son of Scotland’s last telescope-maker, Stuart Braithwaite was perhaps always destined for a life of psychedelic adventuring on the furthest frontiers of noise in MOGWAI, one of the best loved and most groundbreaking post-rock bands of the past three decades.

Modestly delinquent at school, Stuart developed an early appetite for ‘alternative’ music in what might arguably be described as its halcyon days, the late 80s. Discovering bands like Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, and Jesus and Mary Chain, and attending seminal gigs (often incongruously incognito as a young girl with long hair to compensate for his babyface features) by The Cure and Nirvana, Stuart compensated for his indifference to school work with a dedication to rock and roll … and of course the fledgling hedonism that comes with it.

After an initial outing in the unfortunately (and provocatively named), Pregnant Nun, Stuart – alongside teenage friends Dominic Aitchison and Martin Bulloch - upgrades the band name to MOGWAI. They release their first single ‘Tuner/Lower’ in 1996. Championed by the legendary John Peel, and making a name for themselves for tinnitus-inducing live shows, MOGWAI’S subsequent single ‘Summer’ is named Single of the Week in NME. Their first album, Mogwai Young Team, follows to significant critical acclaim.

Spaceships Over Glasgow is a lovesong to live rock and roll; to the passionate abandon we’ve all felt in the crowd (and some of us, if lucky enough, from the stage) at a truly incendiary rock and roll show. It is also the story of a life lived on the edge; of the high-times and hazardous pit-stops of international touring with a band of misfits and miscreants.

Lee Brackstone, Publisher at White Rabbit said: ‘MOGWAI have blown my head apart live on many occasions; Stuart’s book has the equivalent impact on the page. A chronicle of a life lived on the stage making truly contemporary psychedelic music, Spaceships Over Glasgow is the first book told from the source about a band who have truly lived the rock n roll lifestyle, survived, and thrived, to create some of the most powerful post-rock music of the past two decades plus.’

We're super excited to be able to get our hands on some of these limited edition version of this fantastic book. 

This edition features an exclusive 7" single - Angel (part 1) b/w Angel (part 2) - from Piccadilly favourites Working Men’s Club. They blew us away with their live shows last year and we can't wait for their debut album. 

You may have heard Angel in all its 12 minute glory in WMC’s legendary live sets. Here’s the studio version, produced by Ross Orton, split over both sides of a 7”.

Heavenly was already a state of mind. Seemed like the right time to make it something really special. We were all deeply immersed in music that we loved. None of us could believe our fucking luck, really. (Jeff Barrett) 

It was thirty years ago today - or thereabouts - that Heavenly came to be. In celebration of this big ol’ birthday comes Believe in Magic - a chronicle not only of Foxbase Alpha, Working Men’s Club and 28 of the releases in between that got the label to where it is today, but also of the haircuts, nights down the pub, pencil-eraser-carvings, cheese toasties, acid houses, Sunday Socials and lost Weekenders - Yorkshire and otherwise - that are as much a part of its story. 

As Jeff Barrett puts it at the beginning of the book, if there’s a continuous theme that runs through all of this, I think it’s that everything comes down to conversations with people about music. It might seem like it all starts with someone on one side of the counter who is selling you something, or someone writing excitedly in a magazine telling you about a band you need to hear, but I don’t think I’ve ever really seen things as one-way transactions. It’s more an ongoing dialogue, one that never really stops and helps to build up this growing soundtrack to our lives, something that’s passed from one person to another. That’s really the ever-present thread. That’s why we still believe in magic. 

Though we are three decades distant from The World According to Sly and Lovechild, lineup changes, ups, downs, and a good few office cleanups under the label’s belt, the Heavenly firm continue not to believe their fucking luck; at still being here, keepin’ on keepin’ on doing what they love, and at being able to pass all of this - then, now, and next week - on to you. 

Believe in Magic is a fully illustrated history of one of the most colourful and exciting independent British record labels; a label responsible for creating satellite communities of fans around the country and at all the major festivals.
After several years working at Factory and Creation, Heavenly Recordings was set up by Jeff Barrett in 1990 as the acid house revolution was in full swing; early releases set the tone and tempo for the mood of the decade to come - their first release was by perhaps the most revered acid house DJ of them all, Andrew Weatherall; and this was quickly followed by singles from St Etienne and Manic Street Preachers. 

Heavenly was always different to other labels; more of a 'club' with a defiant spirit of inclusiveness, and in 1994 they set up The Heavenly Social, which alongside the Hacienda, became perhaps the most famous club in recent British history, where the Chemical Brothers made their name. 

Over nearly 200 releases in thirty years Heavenly have consistently produced some of the most exciting music across all genres - dance, acid house, singer-songwriter, psych-garage - and this book collects rare photographs, ephemera, artwork into a celebration of a label that is, alongside Rough Trade and Factory, one of the most beloved institutions on the independent landscape. Running though the book are thirty stories, mostly told in the form of oral history by artists like James Dean Bradfield, Flowered Up, Beth Orton, Doves and Don Letts, which capture the presiding personality of the label, its bands and the people associated with its success. 

Roger Van Lunteren is an artist of enviable experience. For more than two decades the dutchman has been developing and perfecting his sound. After his first steps on Heimelektro Ulm in 1999, Van Lunteren has shown his talents on labels like 030303, Diffuse Reality and Something Happening, Somewhere. It is this knowledge, and his musical craftsmanship, that Van Lunteren draws upon for his debut on FireScope: Future Wounds.

The EP is a veritable universe of delights. At either ends of the galaxy you’ll find two takes of the same piece. The textured “Stop (Sync In)” opens. Satellite bleeps bob on a flotsam and jetsam of pads as strings soar above hedged claps. “Stop (Original) flows in a beatless ambience, heady yet light and ephemeral. Coquettish and playful, “Spätzünder” is an altogether different entity. Dancing between braindance and house, this jam has all the spontaneity of a live track with flourishes of the silken-funk of Chicago. Clouds gather for “IRF4.” Haunted modulations and reel scratches lurk before a slow rhythm lumbers forth. Stalking through a moonless sky, the track is chillingly atmospheric with an undeniable lo-fi groove. Drums stagger and swell in the sweetness of “Coinc.” Bright and dreamy, the track cherry-picks from a spread of influences and sounds and is emblematic of the EP.

Future Wounds is a constellation of Roger Van Lunteren’s music. From cheerful and innocent to shadowy and subtle, this quintet is a cross-section of this artist’s abilities. Rich and infinitely varied, five tracks to explore and return to.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Unfathomably intricate, sumptuously delicate; a truly brilliant edition to braindance /IDM soundscapes also populated by John Shima, Space Dimension Controller, Morphology etc.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Stop (Sync In)
A2. Spätzünder
B1. IRF4
B2. Coinc
B3. Stop (Original)

Tradition was born from two individuals forging an identity in the studio that consisted of a heads down approach and a love of machines.

Taking inspiration from their ‘live run’ studio recordings, the duo of Matt Domino and Norris Raider have built a sound that resonates on many levels and is rooted in a ‘hands on’ approach to creativity, traditionally speaking of course.

‘Slip’: adventuring into vintage Detroit systems with razor arps, dubbed out chords, insistent bass and heavy acid hypnosis.

‘Switchblade’: emerging from the underworld ready to slash and scar with scuttling beats and contorted bass that may have you dancing, or hiding behind your hoodie.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Really tasty new stuff from our fertile soils. Tradition bridge the gap between Kode 9 and Red Planet. The well trodden transatlantic cross-pollination continues to offer subterranean sonic fruits such as this beast. Watch ya bass bins!

TRACK LISTING

A. Slip
AA. Switchblade

Wet Silk was a rare digression into house music by the legendary star-crossed duo of Lamar Thomas and Judy Taylor. For this sonic liaison, Thomas brought along his high school friend, disco impresario Patrick Adams to co-produce, and the resulting “Let Me Do You Baby” is a slow and seductive sunset soirée with champagne and caviare. The track is skillfully arranged with slippery 808 programming, serpentine guitar, and silky pads, all sliding around Thomas and Lamar’s playfully suggestive vocals. For the first 12” release of this hypnotic track, Mixed Signals have paired it with two other delicious Thom/Tay productions, the rare and dubby house mix of Shelly Pearse’s “If You Want My Love”, and the instrumental end-of-the-nighter “I’ll Be Waiting”.

TRACK LISTING

1. Wet Silk - Let Me Do You Baby
2. Shelly Pearse - If You Want My Love (House Mix)
3. Thomas & Taylor - I'll Be Waiting (instrumental)

Villa Åbo is the alternative solo project of Swedish musician and producer Jan Svensson, who has been making electronic music for the best part of 30 years. The artist behind such aliases as Frak, Studio SS and Alvars Orkestra, Svensson also runs legendary Swedish dance and experimental music label Börft, the product of a mutual appreciation for Severed Heads and Terse Tapes. As Villa Åbo he released two records in 1997 on Börft and remained inactive for 17 years until the Dutch label Bio Rhythm coaxed him into revisiting the project and released a double 12″ in 2014. Jan has since followed with a steady stream of 12” singles for Kontra-Musik, Noise In My Head and Radio Lundberg.

“Magnetic Moves” is Villa Åbo’s debut album, originally released in an limited edition of 65 hand-numbered cassettes by Funeral Fog in 2016. Clocking in at over 46 minutes, this first-ever vinyl edition spreads the 8 ragged techno tracks across four sides for maximum loudness. Some songs are aggressively potent, with cyclical synth riffs and razor-sharp acid lines riding a heavy, funk-fuelled techno groove. Others tracks are more fluid, vintage Underground Resistance or Derrick May with killer drum machine workouts that come in handy as DJ tools. All songs have been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The record is housed in a custom made jacket designed by Eloise Leigh, featuring a photograph of Jan’s mother’s house, the meaning behind “Villa Åbo”. Each copy includes a double-sided postcard with notes. 

TRACK LISTING

Again Again
The Tiny One
Doortest 
Dreams Of Italy 
Assiduous Dreams 
Massive Duometer (Raw Mix)
Bianco Festival
Water Galaxy (Version D)
Short Relaxing End

Andy Votel says: "Working with Halo Maud's song came extremely naturally to me, and I thank Jeff [Barrett, of Heavenly] for recognising this connection. The contrast of her strong melodic songwriting combined with the fragility of her vocals is a real secret weapon and much more than just a breathy pastiche. I think Maud effortlessly captures many unique subtleties in French language music which so many contemporary bands seem to forget, and it's ingredients like these which gave me the confidence to take a more minimal route with this mix, which I appreciate.

"In the past I could only dream of finding a singer that comes close to Léonie Lousseau or Ann Sorel so working with Maud's vocals was an enjoyable experience and I already regard this short track as one of my personal favourite production achievements.... which I can't wait to play on the radio... off 7" vinyl naturally."

Maud says of the track, "I wrote the basis of the song in a few minutes, the day before a show. It was just the guitar and the voice, very simple. The rest of the track is a mix between a band jam, improvisations, ambient sounds, happy studio accidents, and all this material has been re-cut and tinkered with, until I felt it made sense. "It’s an amazing feeling to discover another vision of your own song, and Andy Votel’s version really overwhelmed me, in a good way. This is another song, but it’s still me. Thank you for this huge present.”

The original song features on Halo Maud's debut album, Je Suis Une île (which translates as "I Am An Island"), released on Heavenly Recordings last May.

END OF YEAR BONUS DISC EDITION - BOTH FORMATS INCLUDE A 13 TRACK BONUS CD DISC 'A LIGHT AND A SCREAM'.

Third album from Allentown/PA three-piece Catatonic Suns: their self-released sophomore LP “Saudade” from early '22 was a feat of sonic guitar haze and grunged out pop.

The new album is a step forward in sound for the band, it sees them blend the underground psychedelia of the late 80s / early 90s Pacific Northwest with the shimmering shoegazery of Britain from the same time. Heavy and soft guitars, songs that soar, these new recordings verge on the epic.

For fans of Screaming Trees, Nirvana, The Verve (early), Loop, Slowdive, and Ride.

STAFF COMMENTS

Darryl says: Catatonic Suns are a psychedelic three-piece hailing from Pennsylvania, USA. Having released a couple of low-key releases (the mini-album ‘Aphelion’ in 2019 and a full length ‘Suadade’ in 2022) they’ve completely blown our minds with their new self-titled album.

Featuring seven original tracks and a raucous amped-up Original Sins cover, ‘Catatonic Suns’ finds the band honing their sound to perfection. Pitched somewhere between the melodic grunge noise of Nirvana and the blissed-out shoegaze of Ride and Swervedriver, the Catatonic Suns have delivered an astonishing album.

From the psych drenched opener “Deadzone” through to the huge eight minute swirling space-rock of “No Stranger” the band have created an epic wall of sound. Tracks like “Failsafe” and “Be As One” showcase the band's melodic side (either of these wouldn’t be out of place on the Verve’s ‘A Storm In Heaven’) whilst “Fell Off” and the aforementioned Original Sins cover “Inside Out” sees lead singer / guitarist Patrick Shields practically shredding his own vocal chords. Throughout all of this the rhythm section of Caleb Strobl (drums) and Jakob Christman (bass) keep things tight allowing the swirling guitar maelstrom to ride off into the sun.

TRACK LISTING

1. Deadzone
2. Slack
3. Failsafe
4. Inside Out (Original Sins Cover)
5. Sublunary
6. Fell Off
7. Be As One
8. No Stranger

Theo Delaunay aka Panoptique aka Constance Chlore releases his first solo album on Macadam Mambo. Head of the Simple Music Experience label (dedicated to releasing punk experiments on tape), member of Violent Quand On Aime, Succhiamo, Simplists, Ono Omen and United Assholes, he had previously been part of the “Danzas Electricas” volumes 1 and 3, released a little single in 2019 and curated the “Simple Music Experience Vol.2” compilation. Panoptique sticks to what he knows best, to present his stories, singing spoken words, gogolitos deliriums, whispers and rough voices on minimal synth wave ballads or Drexciyanesque electro bangers. It’s scuzzy, DIY, maverick sometimes gritty sometimes groove. Special mention to his guest : Fiesta En El Vacio, for her ‘caliente’ featuring on “Menta Y Regaliz”.

Perfectly suited to the label’s ethos and a treasure for DIY electronix, minimal wave and electro-punk occultists! Check! 

TRACK LISTING

A1. La Colonie Penitentiaire
A2. Slippery
A3. Sable
A4. How Did You Find Me
A5. Menta Y Regaliz (Featuring Fiesta En El Vacio)
B1. Rice & Beans
B2. My Desire
B3. Sulpice
B4. Sub RDV
B5. Look At The Stars (Shoot A Drone, Man) 

‘Firmamentum’ is the debut album from Gawd Status aka King Kashmere and Joker Starr. Fronted by lead singles “Heavy Metal” - which was premiered on Tom Ravenscroft (BBC 6Music) show - and “The Alchemist ft. Fae Simon”, the LP showcases Gawd Status’ versatility and eclecticism as an unconventional prodder/MC duo, delivering a killer and off-kilter record that lies in between the worlds of hip-hop, psychedelia and soul.

“Heavy Metal” is an experimental hip-hop meets psychedelic trip-hop listen that is boisterous, chaotic and marked by a profound sense of urgency. Exploring disparate but interwoven themes of Roman Catholic priests, Afrika Bambaataa, Braintax, the origins of humanity, Babylon and devilish behaviour - Joker Starr’s intention is to uplift and discomfit the listener; “heavy metal for the devil” he ominousness preaches in sinister and satanic voice. “Heavy Metal” closes with a psychedelic outro, that pays a closer tribute to the experimental pop of early Animal Collective than their UK hip-hop counterparts.

“The Alchemist ft. Fae Simon” pours hypnotic soul and genuine jazz vibes, reminiscent of the hey-day of trip-hop kings Massive Attack. Featuring as a guest vocalist, Fae Simon adds her darkly sensual melodies to track. Introduced initially to King Kashmere through fellow UK rapper Jehst (who Fae Simon collaborated with on “Timeless”), Fae’s smooth, effortless and instantly recognisable voice allures vocal valour. While DJ Jazz T guests showing off him turntablism skills, scratching sparsely with choice vocal clips below hip-hop rhythms. Featuring on the record, fellow UK MCs Micall Parksun and Big Cakes (who has collaborated with the Godfather of grime Wiley) team up on politicallycharged, Thabo Mbeki-inspired “I Am An African”. “Messiah Hybrids” showcases the duo delivering what they do best, a conscious straight-up hip-hop banger.

TRACK LISTING

Heavy Metal
Messiah Hybrid
I Am An African Ft Micall Parknsun & Big Cakes
Amplified Science Ft Anyway Tha God
The Alchemist Ft. Fae Simon / Admiral Byrd
Uranium
From Nibiru With Love

Stripped down versions of tracks from Flicker. “On my debut solo album The View From Halfway Down I did all of my promotion via Zoom and pre-recorded interviews and acoustic sessions,” explains Andy of the EP. “I enjoyed making the acoustic versions and decided to do some more for this album.” “‘Something Like Love’ is the most popular song from Flicker and one of the oldest, starting life in the ’90s. It’s probably the only one that dates back to the Ride era.“The riffs for ‘World Of Echo’ were written while I was on tour with Oasis, at the height of my La’s obsession. It went through a few iterations from then onwards, but never had a final melody until last year.“’She Calls The Tune’ was the first song I wrote after I joined Oasis, ending a period of writers’ block which I had started going through some time in 1999. The very first performance of it was to an audience of Liam Gallagher, Gem Archer and Richard Ashcroft in a Milan hotel room. No pressure! I don’t think I ever saw this as an Oasis song, but I have them to thank for the fact that I was able to write songs again at all.” ‘Lifeline’ was another riff I came up with while on tour with Oasis. I remember being on a UK tour with Shack, and sitting around backstage on acoustics with Mick and John Head jamming around the Simon & Garfunkel version of ‘Scarborough Fair’. The riff for ‘Lifeline’ followed soon after. It was always called ‘Lifeline’ but I never found the right lyric for it until recently.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: The Grounding Process has some of the lesser well known (but equally superb) pieces in the Andy Bell canon, being written while on the road and in various cities around the world. Another lovely addition to the discography.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Something Like Love
A2. World Of Echo
B1. She Calls The Tune
B2. Lifeline

There’s something mesmerising about the fingertips of Dana Gavanski. Conducting each note with a light gracefulness, they appear to dance whilst aiding their owner in expressing the stories behind each of her lighter-than-air tones. Stories which, on her new album When It Comes, may never have been heard if not for healing ‘lost’ vocal cords and a lesson in taking the rough with the smooth.

“In many ways this record feels like it is my first,” Dana tells. “When I could use my voice, I had to focus so there is an urgency and greater emotional trajectory than before… it’s very connected to vocal presence, which extended into an existential questioning of my connection to music. It felt like a battle at times, which I frequently lost.”

Arriving where introversion and extroversion meet, When It Comes is Dana’s most vulnerable record to date. A Canadian-Serbian artist unafraid of extremes, she seamlessly blends her love of music from the 50s-70s with mythology. Led by instinct in its purest form, Dana’s latest chapter is an ode to the voice as an instrument – its power, and how intricately it can deliver words to tug at, and tie knots in, every heartstring. “Words can be taken quite literally, but to me, a lot of the time, they are pivots. They point in a direction but don’t necessarily stay there,” she says.

Just as Dana’s debut Yesterday Is Gone and her covers EP Wind Songs were lauded for their intimacy captured through an innate sense of melody to convey a mood, they traced a timeline of Dana’s teenage years in Vancouver, a move to Montreal and visiting family homes for kitchen talks with her “Baka” (grandma) in Belgrade / Serbia. Her latest was started in Montreal before ending in Belgrade and whilst expressive with French Yé-yé flourishes – offers something altogether more atmospheric and widescreen.

“Yesterday Is Gone consisted of straightforward pop songs, this album is about searching for something to excite me back into songwriting,” Dana reveals. “It’s about finding the origins of my connection to music, that tenuous but stubborn and strong link - why it draws me and what if anything, I can learn from it. The album title has a heaviness to it but also a lightness, depending on your frame of mind. It’s about being open, and letting it come whatever it is, without judgement.”

Recorded in London, the original ideas for the record were played out on Dana’s toy Casiotone. Returning to Capitol K’s Total Refreshment Centre (TRC) with partner James Howard, the pair co-produced the songs together and felt very much at home. “James has an effortless musicality and we work together so well. The TRC is a special place, like a community centre,” she recalls. “It’s very understated but important to the people who come through it. It’s a rehearsal space, a recording studio, and there are a handful of music studios.”

Opening with music box sweetness, ‘I Kiss The Night’s twinkling piano melody paves the way for the baroque Wurlitzer-like nursery rhyme of ‘Bend & Fall’ and mystical lullaby ‘Under The Sky.’ Alongside humour and caricature (‘The Reaper’), mythological romance and spirituality (‘Knowing to Trust’) and idiosyncratic carnival arpeggio grooves (‘Indigo Highway’), the squelchy staccato and subtle jazzy flecks of ‘The Day Unfolds’ and tension release of ‘Letting Go’ dazzle like bokeh in a Nick Drake haze. The autumnal hymnal of ‘Lisa’ meanwhile, was one of the first, more fictional tracks written for the record, from the viewpoint of the sea, watching the protagonist pass by day after day, offering a metaphorical reflection on the natural world around us. “We don’t realize we are surrounded by all this beauty; we’re shut up inside, rushing to get to work, buying books online without ever leaving home. It’s about focus, recognising what’s in front of you.”

Now planning her headline tour with an expanded 5-piece line-up and taking to the stage for the first time since touring with Porridge Radio, Damian Jurado and Chris Cohen, Dana is currently perfecting her live performance by practising a voice ever more elaborate, and perfecting those subtle hand gestures to match. “I’m so inspired by David Bowie’s performances and discovered he practised mime with Lindsay Kemp early on in his career,” she says of seeking inspiration. “I’ve done some mime classes since and it’s become good practice to go deeper into the body and be less controlled by the humility of the mind.”

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: There are echoes here, without a doubt of Cyrk era Cate Le Bon, in Gavanski's swooning vocal style and keen melodic ear. There are moments of brittle, thoughtful vulnerability and unease but the general, overwhelming sense is of a warm and familiar wonder. Evocative and satisfying, 'When It Comes' is a beauty.

TRACK LISTING

1. Kiss The Night
2. Bend Away And Fall
3. Letting Go
4. Under The Sky
5. The Day Unfolds
6. Indigo Highway
7. Lisa
8. The Reaper
9. Knowing To Trust

Experimental North London alt-pop outfit Gengahr return with their anticipated new album, Red Sun Titans, produced and mixed by Matt Glasbey.

Comprising of bassist Hugh Schulte, drummer Danny Ward, lead vocals/guitarist Felix Bushe and guitarist John Victor, Gengahr first arrived in 2015 with their debut album, A Dream Outside, gathering rave reviews for its dark take on dreamy shoegaze and updated approach to British-bred indie rock.

The band promoted the record on a nationwide and European tour before getting to work on their sophomore effort Where Wilderness Grows (2017), praised by the likes of DIY and The Line of Best Fit. They returned in 2020 for their third LP, Sanctuary, capturing the magic from their debut and featuring hits ‘Heavenly Maybe’ and ‘Icarus’.

'Red Sun Titans' is Gengahr at their finest – a bold collection of indie pop that sees the beloved UK outfit continue to push the boundaries. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Liam says: Well isn't this just lovely? Gengahr are back with another collection a sun-kissed indie alt-pop that channels the likes of Wild Beasts and Bombay Bicycle Club. My 18 year old indie kid self would have LAPPED this up and, to be honest, my haggard 27 year old self can't resist it either - check it!

TRACK LISTING

1. Alkali
2. Red Sun Titans
3. From Beruit (Interlude)
4. A Ladder
5. In The Moment
6. Heels To The Moon
7. Floating In The Undercurrent (Interlude)
8. White Lightning
9. Suburbia
10. In My Way
11. The Interview
12. Haunted Spaces (Interlude)
13. Napoleon
14. Collapse

Rock Action Records are pleased to present Gentle Sinners, a project by James Graham of The Twilight Sad and....ta dah! Aidan Moffat of Arab Strap! "These Actions Cannot Be Undone" is the brilliant album from two pals who wanted to try something different musically. The outcome being an epic explorative set of songs that stands quite apart from their esteemed work with Arab Strap and The Twilight Sad.

TRACK LISTING

1 Waiting For Nothing
2 Killing This Time
3 Let Them Rot Feat. AKG
4 The Cries
5 Date & Sign
1 Rent Free
2 Shores Of Anhedonia
3 Face To Fire (After Nyman)
4 Don't Say Goodnight
5 Landfill

Peter Alexander Jobson: Musician, Composer, Performer. Ex member of Mercury nominated I Am Kloot. On occasion guitar player for Guy Garvey. On occasion bass player for Nadine Shah.

Ahead of the release of his debut album in 2022, adopted Mancunian Peter Alexander Jobson brings us this rather wonderful four track EP.

"I have been writing and recording my debut album for 50 years. It is now complete."

“When men do great things everyone knows it takes them a very long time”.

STAFF COMMENTS

Andy says: Imagine the plaintive beauty of Bill Fay, but with a wicked sense of humour. Or Richard Hawley's classicist vibes but topped with a barstool storyteller. Then you'll get some idea of the sound of PAJ. There's a real poise and deep sense of bruised beauty on display here. It's magnificent.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Holiday (Live)
2. Just ‘Cause I'm Dead
3. Please Please Please

Side B
1. Kesta

With March 2023's 7" ‘Theme New Bond Junior’/‘Hopper On The Dial’ reaching No.1 in the UK Vinyl Single Chart, and April 2023's BBC/KEXP supported ‘Trauma Mosaic’ single announcing a debut fifteen date US/CA Tour for October 2023. JOHN consolidate their reputation as a truly uncompromising force with the announcement of their fourth full length A Life Diagrammatic.

The album – which features collaborations with award-winning actor Simon Pegg, and Barry Adamson (formerly of The Bad Seeds and seminal post-punk act Magazine) – is released via Brace Yourself Records & Pets Care Records, and is the follow-up to 2021’s Nocturnal Manoeuvres LP which crashed the top 75 of the main UK album chart.

“Limitations are key for us,” says drummer and vocalist John Newton. “I never view being a two-piece as a minus - it’s a key idiosyncratic element of what the project is.”

For the last decade, and now over four albums, the duo of Newton and Johnny Healey have constantly redefined and expanded the role, function and parameters of what a guitar and drum two-piece can be. No more so is this apparent than on their latest A Life Diagrammatic, a record that harnesses the punch and intensity of their blistering live shows with the band’s increasingly textural, cinematic and expressive sensibilities. “We knew the direction we wanted to go in after the last record,” Healey says of Nocturnal Manoeuvres. “We had started moving towards soundscapes rather than straight-up noise and four to the floor structure.”

The level of thought, ambition and scope is what makes JOHN such a captivating and genre-defying band, and A Life Diagrammatic such a rich and evocative listening experience. And the album artwork is perhaps a perfect metaphor for the band itself: a surface level glance may only reveal the basic function of an ostensible two-piece rock band but undertake a full service and you’ll discover a wealth of complexity, technicality, skill and function. Or quite simply, as Healey himself says, “we're not just a rock band. There's more to it than that.”

Seth Manchester (Big Brave, Battles, METZ) was brought in to mix the album, with Frank Arkwright (Mogwai, Arab Strap, Squarepusher, Autechre) mastering it at the legendary Abbey Road Studios. The aim being to merge the powerful live presence of the band whilst also honing in on some of the more varied dynamics at play. “We wanted to further explore the space and ambience of our instrumentation,” says Newton. “To offer an album that deliberately pushes and pulls in a multitude of directions throughout its duration.”

STAFF COMMENTS

Laura says: On their fourth album John continue to evolve their sound, adding more experimentation to their driving guitar and drums onslaught. As with previous releases, the taut guitar riffs create a tension throughout the album as it sweeps between brooding atmospherics and explosive outbursts, but there’s a more nuanced, cinematic feel this time around. This is typified on “Media Res” which features a strange, slightly unnerving monologue from Simon Pegg - a distorted conversation that you only hear one side of. Typical of the whole album there’s an ambiguity to the narrative that sucks you in and forces you to listen. There’s no snappy sloganeering here, the lyrical depth is integral to the sound as a whole, it’s an album that demands your attention. Still not convinced? Then surely a nod of approval, in the shape of a collaboration on “Riddley Scott Walker”, from the king of cinematic noir, Barry Adamson, should surely seal the deal.

TRACK LISTING

1. At Peacehaven
2. Media Res
3. Côte D’Adur
4. A Submersible
5. A Whole House
6. Service Stationed
7. Construction Site/Summer_22
8. Trauma Mosaic
9. Riddley Scott Walker
10. The Common Cold

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

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

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

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

STAFF COMMENTS

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

TRACK LISTING

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

Growing Bin switches back into reissue mode with an off-kilter obscurity from Austrian eccentrics Molto Brutto. Equal parts amateur funk, indie jangle, art rock and idiot pop, "2" is a real weird bastard with a whole lot of charm. As the Bin continues to grow in all directions, there's plenty of space for new sounds to take root. Alongside patches of Ambient, Balearic, Kosmische and Jazz, Hamburg's audio allotment now stretches to accommodate the strange waves of Molto Brutto.

Basso dug their first LP a decade back in Stuttgart's Second Hand Records, embracing their abrasive style of sandpaper sonics and experimental urges. Interest piqued, he made the journey through their DIY catalogue, capturing excellent collaborations under the Ganslinger alias before bumping into the second of their two LPs. Originally released on their Golfdish imprint in 1988, "2" walks into the pub with an air of accessibility, but quickly unravels into glorious chaos - pissing in the corner and passing out on the bar. Pop structures are suggested then subverted.

Pints of Paisley slosh out of a broken Glass, tape loops spool onto shabby Material, and indie janglers are just a couple of stamps short of a Postcard.

Turning you tipsy, this loveable rogue starts to tell you his life story, but you're going to have to fill in some blanks. They miss 'Blackie', but who is he - a dog? What happened on the 'Deadly Vacation'? Is that song really about a 'Goldfish', or did they find out the name of America's horse? Words repeat until they lose all meaning, awkward poetry masks a lost laureate and a drunken Wurlitzer sends the room into a spin.

The pubs are shut, so get happy drunk with Molto Brutto.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Chant
A2. Sadman
A3. Blacky
A4. Deadly Vacation
A5. Smalltalk
B1. Time
B2. Secret Life
B3. No Monkey No Work
B4. Go Ahead Goldfish
B5. Psychobilly

"The Pink Album", is dawn and dusk, the epic and the intimate. This 22-track double album, its title inspired by the artwork of Julian House, features collaborations with Jarvis Cocker, Étienne Daho, Raven Violet and Jon Spencer. It has its modulations: shocking at times but signifying also tenderness, intimacy, the carnal. It knows the shades of love, its nuances, and how it can be delicious - and frightening. Marvellous - and aching. Rather than be the silver lining to the cloud, "The Pink Album" mines deeper, to a precious ore, dark and glittering.

Unloved: Jade Vincent, Keefus Ciancia, David Holmes. In Los Angeles, Ciancia - producer, keyboardist & creator of soundtracks - met David Holmes, the innovative, inquisitive and ingenious Belfast DJ who recast himself as master of song and image for film and television. Ciancia invited Holmes to the Rotary Room in Los Feliz, where the extraordinary Jade Vincent was singing.

Tuesday nights in the Rotary Room in Los Feliz: a place of thrilling sonic alchemy, where musicians could experiment and collaborate at Ciancia and Vincent’s long-running salon. Holmes was asked to DJ and then to curate another night – and then another.

Nights bled into later nights. Conversation spun into collaboration. These three artists, kindred spirits, sonic familiars, spoke the same language, one whose lexicon included Jack Nitzsche, Morricone, Nino Rota, the electronic sounds of Raymond Scott, the vocabulary of vocal instrumentalists and fearless raconteurs, Edda Dell’Orso, Ruth White, Françoise Hardy, Connie Francis, Brigitte Fontaine, Jacques Brel, Elvis and Lee Hazlewood. Finding sound and programmed beats, Keefus and David excavated and innovated, experimented and re-interpreted, creating a landscape for Jade’s melodies and lyrics, for sublime songs of lament and confession. The legendary Hollywood Vox Studios was where the Unloved trio formally came together as a band, in a studio almost original to its 1936 incarnation.

Unloved’s immersive power and playful menace has fitted the slippery thriller series Killing Eve like a velvet glove, the thread to the needle. The music and sound of Unloved plays an integral role as their music is the soundtrack, the score, one of the core characters unseen.

And now, in 2022, it’s the magnificent, metaphysical "The Pink Album". Be seduced by the whispered, languorous, bluesy, not so sweet nothings of “Love Experiment” and the lippy insouciance of “Turn Of The Screw”. Thrill to the infinite variety: “Mother’s Been A Bad Girl” is brazen, and “I Don’t Like You Anymore” gloriously sultry. “Foolin’”, where languid, world-weary jazz sounds are skewed by a phantasmagoric organ from a funfair hallucinated, and there’s the sparkling fury and celestial chorus of “Rainbrose”, as though some flower-festooned goddess is emerging.

Go from the jaunty keyboards and hey! hey! hey! of “WTC” to the melancholic poise of “Ever”, the jittery electropop of “Girl Can’t Help It”, to the spacious Morricone-tinged “Lucky”. Be reminded that the past is a snare, the future doesn’t care. All we have is Now. There is psychedelic world-warping sound, but also times when reality is acutely, achingly, present. “Number In My Phone” is a beautiful, wistful paean to those no longer here. Jade’s remarkable voice - whispering, icy, lush, wounded, smoky - unifies the album with its striking diversity.

Unvarnished, unabashed, unbridled, uncensored: rising from the ashes, this is raw emotion transmogrified. This is experimental free-flow form, from instrumental arrangement to voice. It’s Man, Woman, Human, Love and Death.

TRACK LISTING

01. Rainbrose
02. Waiting For Tomorrow
03. Now
04. Girl Can't Help It
05. I Don’t Like You Anymore
06. Foolin'
07. Mother’s Been A Bad Girl
08. Boowaah
09. Lucky
10. WTC
11. Sorry, Baby
12. Number In My Phone
13. Call Me When You Have A Clue
14. No Substance
15. Love Experiment
16. Turn Of The Screw
17. To The Day I Die
18. Walk On, Yeah
19. Accountable
20. There’s No Way
21. Ever
22. Thinkin' About Her

Zaya is a nomadic traveler currently residing in the Arab Emirates. ‘No Words’ is a collection of ideas worked on over a three year period with the occasional swapping of ideas with his best friend in rainy Manchester. A sun-kissed collage of hazy bedroom guitar instrumentals and blissed-out passages of psychedelic? rock..

STAFF COMMENTS

Andy says: If only Whyte Horses, with their beautiful way with melody, were to ever release an instrumental LP......waiiiiit a minute!!!

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A
1. Lost Souvenir
2. Triangular Dreams
3. Interlude 01
4. We Made It
5. Interlude 02
6. Long Way To Get There
7. Tripoli
SIDE B
1. Lonely Jewel
2. Interlude 03
3. Taste Of Gold
4. Interlude 04
5. Thought I Told You
6. Had To Go