In 2022, Nick Cave and Warren Ellis returned to their native Australia for 16 shows, taking their acclaimed 2021 album ‘Carnage’ on the road, along with songs from the Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds catalogue. Three performances at the Sydney Opera House on December 16th, 17th and 18th were the climactic shows of an emotional trip, captured for a luminous new live album, ‘Australian Carnage - Live At The Sydney Opera House’.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Performers don't come much more experienced or capable than the songwriting powerhouse of Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, and 'live At The Sydney Opera House' perfectly captures a striking string of live performances of their most seminal works, new and old. It's a must-have.

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A
1. Bright Horses (Live At The Sydney Opera House)
2. Carnage (Live At The Sydney Opera House)
3. White Elephant (Live At The Sydney Opera House)
4. Leviathan (Live At The Sydney Opera House)

SIDE B
1. Ghosteen (Live At The Sydney Opera House)
2. Waiting For You (Live At The Sydney Opera House)
3. Breathless (Live At The Sydney Opera House)
4. Balcony Man (Live At The Sydney Opera House)

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

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

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

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

STAFF COMMENTS

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

TRACK LISTING

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

Immerse yourself in CZARFACE's latest action-packed odyssey, 'CZARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.' Wu-Tang Clan's Inspectah Deck, Esoteric and 7L create a dynamic synergy that's as engaging as flipping through the pages of your favorite graphic novel. Through intricate verses and captivating production, CZARFACE invites you to journey alongside them, exploring the intersection of cosmic hip-hop and comic book culture.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Another transmission from the much-lauded and in-demand production trio of Inspectah Deck, Esoteric and 7L under their Czarface banner. Expect cleverly written lyrics atop incendiary beats and that unmistakeable production aestetic that only Czarface could pull off. Perfect.

More than 20 years in the making, this December finally sees the release of i/o, Peter Gabriel’s first album of new material since 2002’s Up.

During 2023, Peter has been releasing a new song from the album on the occasion of every full moon. Being revealed roughly every four weeks, each track has been allowed to find its own time and space, to enjoy its own orbit. “It’s a little like getting a Lego piece each month,” Peter explains. Now it’s time to stand back and admire the final, completed creation.

And what a creation – 12 tracks of grace, gravity and great beauty that provide welcome confirmation of not only Peter’s ongoing ability to write stop-you-in-your-tracks songs but also of that thrilling voice, still perfectly, delightfully intact. Throughout the album the intelligent and thoughtful – often thought-provoking – songs tackle life and the universe. Our connection to the world around us – ‘I’m just a part of everything’ Peter sings on title track i/o – is a recurring motif, but so too the passing of time, mortality and grief, alongside such themes as injustice, surveillance and the roots of terrorism. But this is not a solemn record. While reflective, the mood is never despondent; i/o is musically adventurous, often joyous and ultimately full of hope, topped off as it is, by the rousingly optimistic closing song, Live and Let Live.

Always looking to push the boundaries, i/o is not simply a collection of a dozen songs. All 12 tracks are subject to two stereo mixes: the Bright-Side Mix, handled by Mark ‘Spike’ Stent, and the Dark-Side Mix, as reshaped by Tchad Blake. “We have two of the greatest mixers in the world in Tchad and Spike and they definitely bring different characters to the songs. Tchad is very much a sculptor building a journey with sound and drama, Spike loves sound and assembling these pictures, so he’s more of a painter.” Both versions are included on the double-CD package, and are also available separately as double vinyl albums. And that’s not all. A third version – the In-Side Mix, in Dolby Atmos, comes courtesy of Hans-Martin Buff “doing a wonderful job generating these much more three-dimensional mixes” and is included in three-disc set, including Blu-ray.

Peter has kept his trusty inner circle of musicians close to hand, which means guitarist David Rhodes, bassist Tony Levin and drummer Manu Katché are sterling presences throughout. Several songs bear the fingerprints of long-time associate Brian Eno, whilst there are notable contributions from the likes of Richard Russell, pianist Tom Cawley, trumpeters Josh Shpak and Paolo Fresu, cellist Linnea Olsson and keyboard player Don E. Peter’s daughter Melanie contributes warm backing vocals, as does Ríoghnach Connolly of The Breath. Soweto Gospel Choir and Swedish all-male choir Oprhei Drängar lend their magnificent harmonies and the mass strings of the New Blood Orchestra, led by John Metcalfe, both soothe and soar.

Peter has also invited a range of visual artists to contribute a piece of art to accompany each track. The dozen artists make an exceedingly impressive team of collaborators: Ai Weiwei, Nick Cave, Olafur Eliasson, Henry Hudson, Annette Messager, Antony Micallef, David Moreno, Cornelia Parker, Megan Rooney, Tim Shaw, David Spriggs and Barthélémy Toguo. Having handpicked the artists, Peter recognises that “They have the same obsessive attention to their visual work that we musicians have in sound.”

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: I don't get why everyone is going on about it, it's only been 30 years and the result more than makes up for the *slightly* longer gestation time of I/O. It's a wonderfully rich, beautifully refined work that sings with influence from all of Gabriel's work since he started recording it, and coming together beautifully despite it's disparate elements.

TRACK LISTING

CD Tracklisting:
CD1 – Bright-Side Mix
1 Panopticom
2 The Court
3 Playing For Time
4 I/o
5 Four Kinds Of Horses
6 Road To Joy
7 So Much
8 Olive Tree
9 Love Can Heal
10 This Is Home
11 And Still
12 Live And Let Live

CD2 – Dark-Side Mix
1 Panopticom
2 The Court
3 Playing For Time
4 I/o
5 Four Kinds Of Horses
6 Road To Joy
7 So Much
8 Olive Tree
9 Love Can Heal
10 This Is Home
11 And Still
12 Live And Let Live

Blu-Ray – In-Side Mix (Dolby Atmos)
1 Panopticom
2 The Court
3 Playing For Time
4 I/o
5 Four Kinds Of Horses
6 Road To Joy
7 So Much
8 Olive Tree
9 Love Can Heal
10 This Is Home
11 And Still
12 Live And Let Live

Vinyl Tracklisting:
Bright-Side Mix & Dark-Side Mix
Side A
1 Panopticom
2 Playing For Time
3 The Court
Side B
4 Four Kinds Of Horses
5 I/o
6 Love Can Heal
Side C
7 Road To Joy
8 So Much
9 Olive Tree
Side D
10 This Is Home
11 And Still
12 Live And Let Live

‘Smart Ass Black Boy: Redux’ is the 10th Anniversary remixed and remastered edition of Houston rapper Fat Tony's second studio album and first for Young One Records (an early Partisan imprint).

‘Smart Ass Black Boy’ was one of the most acclaimed hip-hop records of 2013, ultimately becoming one of the most beloved Houston rap records of the 2010’s. The album landed on year-end lists at Complex and VICE, with Noisey and Pitchfork premiering the videos for "BKNY" and "Hood Party" respectively. It was featured in NPR’s First Listen series where they described it as "refreshing" and "promising," while Pitchfork said it "absolutely knocks." Robert Christgau gave the record an A- review (“homespun and imaginative”), and Rolling Stone called it a “thoroughly enjoyable batch of smart-ass raps.” Fat Tony has since released records with Don Giovanni and Carpark, most recently this year’s ‘I Will Make a Baby in this Damn Economy’.

'Smart Ass Black Boy: Redux' will be released digitally and on opaque red vinyl on December 1, 2023, on Partisan. The album features a never before released “BKNY (Remix),” featuring new verses from Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire, Melo-X, and GLDNEYE.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A rework of Fat Tony's 2013 LP, bringing to the fore FT's crisp lyrical timing and impeccably staggered groove. It's a worthy bunch of reworks too, with every one benefitting from the technological advancements since, and brought right up to date with ease. Fat tony remains one of the most singular rappers around.

TRACK LISTING

1. Smart Ass Black Boy (Redux)
2. Final Destination (Redux)
3. Creepin' (ft. Jahlil Nzinga) (Redux)
4. BKNY (ft. Old Money) (Redux)
5. I Shine (Redux)
6. Never Let You Go (ft. Shan) (Redux)
7. Hood Party (ft. Kool A.D. And Despot) (Redux)
8. Frenzy (ft. GLDNEYE) (Redux)
9. Father's Day (Redux)
10. Sleepover (ft. Shawn Neon) (Redux)
11. The More Things Change (The More They Stay The Same) (Redux)
12. BKNY [Remix] (feat. Mr. Muthafuckin' EXquire, Melo-X, And GLDNEYE) (Redux)

Recorded at the UK’s most remote studio in the Outer Hebrides, Less follows London slowcore band deathcrash's critically acclaimed 2022 album, Return with a statement in reduction that turns out to be as powerful and potent as it is tender and introspective.

“The mission statement was to be super minimal,” says deathcrash singer Tiernan Banks. “Just simple and beautiful guitar parts and to be really bare. To be….less.”

Swiftly following Return, the band initially had no plans to make a full length. “The last thing we felt like doing was making another album,” says bassist Patrick Fitzgerald. “It was like, ‘let's do this little EP that's aesthetically quite different and pared down’.” Less was always planned to be a statement in reduction but it soon became apparent that the songs the band were writing were significant, personal and, despite the intentions to strip things back, bigger. “As time went on, we started putting much more emotional weight into it and it became more important to us,” says Banks.

The result is a record that is as powerful and potent as it is tender and introspective, with arrangements that manage to feel refined yet detailed and with a deep emotional resonance at the core of the record. Banks’ voice shifts from hushed whispers to guttural screams, one minute tapping into the kind of fragile beauty that artists like Elliott Smith managed so well, on tracks such as ‘Duffy’s’ before unleashing a doom metal growl in thundering unison with the band on ‘Empty Heavy’.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Effortlessly weaving together the brittle twinkling guitar of post-rock with crashing waves of distortion and cracked vocal musing, deathcrash have forged an album that's both disarming and hypnotic. Atonal progressions and uneven dynamic turns are offset beautifully with soft vocal harmonies and shining riffs.

TRACK LISTING

1. Pirouette
2. Empty Heavy
3. Duffy’s
4. And Now I Am Lit
5. Distance Song
6. Turn
7. Dead, Crashed

Khruangbin’s series of live LPs traces just one small slice of the band’s flight plan through the years: it’s a taste of some of their most beloved cities, stages and nights. Each release comes with a limited-edition unique album cover exclusive for the recording’s home turf, just a little something extra for the fans that bring a little something extra. Across five releases, this series ignites both sides of Khruangbin’s magic: the warm, prismatic feeling of their albums and the bewitching energy of their performances. Closing out this collection, Live at Sydney Opera House is a double LP of front-toback Khruangbin. Here, career-spanning songs like “A Calf Born in Winter”, “Maria También”, “So We Won’t Forget”, “Shida” and “Friday Morning” arrive in their full interplanetary glory, recorded at one of the most celebrated venues on earth, the Sydney Opera House.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Continuing on from the striking visual aesthetic of the rest of the Khrangbin Live series, 'The Pink One' sees K-Bin performing a set of songs, perfectly at the legendary Sydney Opera House and here you too can feel like you were there. Lovely stuff.

What happens when a four-headed human drum computer meets a classical trained vilonist turned beatmaker to spend time in the studio? A beautiful lily blossoms. At least this was the case when Bokoya and FloFilz entered Atelier 21 in Aachen (a Produzentengalerie für globale Kunst) for a musical encounter with no goals set. The music that was born out of these sessions is simply amazing and we are more than happy to release them as an album under the name "Yurika" - which is a Japanese name that means "beautiful lily".

The artwork was created by Jens Roth & Jeremias Diekmann who are responsible for almost all Bokoya artworks yet. The 19-track strong instrumental album includes one vocal track featuring Japanese singer Kan Sano.

FloFilz is one of Europe's most acclaimed Jazzbeat-producers with four albums on MPM under his belt. His last album "Close Distance" came out in 2022 an featured artists Alfa Mist, Blue Lab Beats, Jerome Thomas and Summers Sons. FloFilz is a classical trained musician who not only plays the TR 404 but also violin.

Bokoya describe themselves as a four-headed human drum machine that play improvised beat music. You can call it jazz if you like (all four members are graduated jazz musicians ) but be ready to stumble over some Dilla, Kraut Rock, Ambient or Dub in the mix. In 2022 Bokoya released their second album Hausensession on MPM , followed by a collabo album with Cologne-based producer Ginanni Brezzo (Jakarta Records) called "Minari".

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A gorgeous selection of jazz-tinged downbeat melodies and shimmering twilight instrumentals. Flickering melodies wrap around hearty basslines and crepuscular pads.

TRACK LISTING

1. Intro
2. Soft Encounter
3. Stalagtight
4. Aix
5. Senchimentaru Way
6. Bizarre Bird
7. Gasborn
8. Hidehiko
9. Greenodil
10. Reaching Out
11. Kaminoaner
12. Ubongo Extreme
13. Triple T
14. Donari
15. Bijetzu
16. Yurika
17. Mürbchen
18. Roya
19. Felicious (Outro)

South Carolina singer and producer Niecy Blues describes her songwriting process like an undertow: “I feel a strange pull, and let it carry me, following swirling leaves... whole days roll by, forgetting about the body.”

Their full-length debut, Exit Simulation, captures this sense of deep-rooted divination, cycling between simmering ballads, ghosted R&B, downtempo gospel, and looped vocal improvisations – often within the same track. The title is taken from a science fiction novel she read during the purgatory of the pandemic, alluding to a dimensional ideation of departure – “the permission to imagine leaving.”

Recorded in her current home of Charleston, she characterizes the album’s mood in terms both reflective and raw: an exploration of things suppressed, foundations beginning to crack, “talking myself off a ledge.”

The music of Niecy Blues transposes reverie and reckoning into emotive devotionals of keys, guitar, bass, synth, and bewitched voice, steeped in sacred atmospheres gleaned from a youth spent in a religious Oklahoma household: “My first experience with ambient music was church – slow songs of worship, with delay on the guitar... even if you don’t believe, you feel something.”

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Exit Simulating sings with the sort of rhythmic swing of a 90's R&B record, but swims and ripples with waves of ambient and Balearic influence, resulting in an album that's both wildly adventurous and intensely addictive. Thoroughly stunning work from Niecy Blues.

TRACK LISTING

1. 1111
2. The Nite B4
3. U Care
4. Violently Rooted
5. Exit Simulation
6. Exits
7. Soma
8. Messages From Above
9. Lament
10. Violently Rooted Reprise
11. The Architect
12. Analysis Paralysis
13. Cascade

Emm Gryner is an award winning singer, songwriter, actor and best-selling author. Emm sang and played keyboards in David Bowie's band, and appears on numerous recordings, including his landmark 1999 SNL appearance, Bowie at The Beeb and Toy. Bowie's acclaimed Glastonbury 2000 documents her performance in front of more than 100,000 fans at Worthy Farm. With Trapper she shared arena stages with Def Leppard, and she also helped bring the first music video recorded in outer space to the world.

Detroit radio formed the soundtrack of Emm's life and career and her brand new record is a celebration of that music. From Motown,jazz and pop, to Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mac and the Doobies, Business & Pleasure is infused with the sunshine soul and stellar playing of the late 70s and early 80s. These songs, produced by Fred Mollin, written with poet Michael Holmes, and recorded with drummer Shannon Forrest (Toto), keyboardist Pat Coil (Michael McDonald), bassist Larry Paxton (Alison Krauss), and guitarists Tom Bukovac (Taylor Swift) and Pat Buchanan (Hall & Oates, Dolly Parton), embody a take on yacht rock that sails deep into the 2020s and introduce the world to a bold new character: a powerful woman whose passion, presence, conviction, humor and grace serves to unite the world in

music, joy and love, once again.

TRACK LISTING

1. Loose Wig
2. Jack
3. Valencia
4. Summertime
5. The Chance
6. Queen
7. The Second Coming
8. Strangers And Saints
9. Burn The Boats
10. Don't Give In
11. Real Love

Javier Jiménez Rolo surprises with Saint Malo, a project that explores the intersections of neoclassicism, folk, ambient and electronic textures.

That Saint-Malo is a town in Brittany is the least of it. Even the fact that it exists is unimportant. Javier has never been there. Similarly, his album takes us to remote or not so remote places without moving from where we are. Javier composed these twelve songs between 2019 and 2021 from his room: "One of the problems with recording at home rather than in a studio is that when you move, your recording space changes too. In the case of this album, I was involved in three moves during its whole process. Trying to see the positive side of this situation, I realised that, as well as a collection of songs, it was a testimonial to the different places where I had lived during those years and their respective views: 'Promenade' is an imagined walk from an interior flat; 'Picture In A Frame' is a sunny afternoon in a park in Ciudad Lineal, Madrid, and 'Bells Of Nowhere' is a stroll through the neighbourhood that was once my grandparents' and is now mine."

It's an eminently evocative album but also powerfully narrative, which moves through different emotional states. Along the way, references as heterogeneous as Javier's own tastes come up. From the inevitable Arvo Pärt, Max Richter and Steve Reich to the more unsuspected Thom Yorke, Burial, Caribou, Vulfpeck or even Dua Lipa. Stéphane Grappelli, Andrew Bird, Nils Frahm, Olafur Arnalds or Rene Aubry are other names Javier mentions when he talks about something similar to influences.

The journey, during which the songs miraculously fit with magical precision to the landscapes we are travelling through, begins with the promising 'Beware Of The Dogs' and 'Maltravieso'. It is followed by the obsessive arpeggios of 'Le Havre' that give way to the luminous 'Fields Of Gold', the emotion of 'Cais do Sodré' and the passionate 'Le pont roulant', reminiscent of a restrained Alexandre Desplat. Along the way, dogs will bark, rain will fall on the 'Promenade' and the sun will come out with the perfectly playful 'Dolce Far Niente' ("a mix between elevator music and a song announcing the arrival of summer" according to Javier) in which echoes of Isao Tomita and Raymond Scott resound.

The result of this captivating, unexpected and suggestive mixture is Saint Malo, Javier Jiménez's first album and the empirical demonstration that he does not have, despite his classical training, any red lines. "I've always flirted with jazz, with swing... Then I moved on to messing around with loops, to doing more ambient and experimental things. I also had my folkie phase with the klezmer group Barrunto Bellota Band..."

In Saint Malo the melodies grow, become small, return and intertwine with loops and improbable aromas, to form an album that describes a journey through emotions. From melancholy to joy and the surprise of first discoveries.

TRACK LISTING

1. Beware Of The Dogs
2. Maltravieso
3. Le Havre
4. Fields Of Gold
5. Cais Do Sodré
6. Long Chemin
7. Picture In A Frame
8. Sorrento
9. Dolce Far Niente
10. Le Pont Roulant
11. Promenade
12. Bells Of Nowhere

The vinyl companion to Kraak & Smaak's digital version of 'Twenty - The Remixes' is a limited edition glorious double album with gatefold sleeve and full color artwork by George Wylesol, showing it off the best way possible.

While containing most of the recent 20th Anniversary remixes off the release, the two wax slabs also contain the classic remixes of Purple Disco Machine ('Alone With You'), Hot Toddy ('Back Again') and Richard Dorfmeister ('Stumble'), exclusively selected by the Kraak gents for a never before (and one-off) vinyl release.

TRACK LISTING

1. Squeeze Me (Moods Remix) [feat. Ben Westbeech]
2. U R Freak (Jafunk Extended Remix) [feat. IVAR]
3. Alone With You (Lazywax Remix) [feat. Cleopold]
4. Naked (Jitwam Remix) [feat. IVAR & Berenice Van Leer]
5. How We Gonna Stop The Time (Brijean Remix) [feat. Stee Downes]
6. Forget About You (Girls Of The Internet Remix) [feat. Lee Fields]
7. Money In The Bag (The Allergies Remix)
8. Back Again (Hot Toddy Remix) [feat. John Turrell]
9. Corsica '80 (Psychemagik Remix)
10. Stumble (Stumble) [feat. Parcels]
11. Bobby & Whitney (Ashley Beedle's No West Vocal))
12. Alone With You (Purple Disco Machine Remix) [feat. Cleopold]

“Incident At a Free Festival” is a tribute to the mid-afternoon slots at Deeply Vale, Bickershaw, Krumlin, Weeley, and Plumpton – early 70s festivals that don’t get the column inches afforded the Isle of Wight or Glastonbury Fayre, but which would have been rites of passage for thousands of kids. Bands lower down the bill would have been charged with waking up the gentle hippies and appealing to both the greasy bikers and the girls in knee-high boots who wanted to wiggle their hips. And the best way to do that was with volume, riffs and percussion.

Compiled by the venerated Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs of Saint Etienne, this is the heavier side of the early 70s they summarised on the acclaimed “English Weather” collection. There’s an air of menace and illicit thrills among tracks by Andwella, Stack Waddy and Leaf Hound (whose “Growers of Mushroom” album is worth well over £1,000). Bigger names include the rabble-rousing Edgar Broughton Band and kings of the festival freakout, Hawkwind. They are represented by their rare version of ‘Ejection’

For every mystical Tyrannosaurus Rex performance there was something like Atomic Rooster’s Tomorrow Night or Curved Air’s Back Street Luv to capture the spirit of the day and stir the loins of festival goers; the tracks on “Incident At a Free Festival” were inspired by both Chicago’s percussive wig-outs and the Pink Fairies’ anarchic spirit. The sounds were heavy and frequently funky, with a definite scent of danger. Their message was clear and simple: clap your hands, stamp your feet, hold on to your mind. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Chasing Shadows - Deep Purple
2. One Way Glass - Manfred Mann Chapter Three
3. Hold Onto Your Mind - Andwella
4. Hot Pants - Alan Parker & Alan Hawkshaw
5. Do It - Pink Fairies
6. Tomorrow Night – Atomic Rooster
7. Taken All The Good Things - Stray
8. Out Demons Out - Edgar Broughton Band
9. For Mad Men Only - May Blitz
10. Back Street Luv - Curved Air
11. Ejection - Hawkwind
12. Meat Pies ’Ave Come But Band's Not ’Ere Yet - Stackwaddy
13. Lovely Lady Rock - James Hogg
14. Third World - Paladin
15. Taking Some Time On - Barclay James Harvest
16. Ricochet - Jonesy
17. Led Balloon - Steve Gray
18. Big Boobs Boogie - Slowload
19. Freelance Fiend - Leaf Hound
20. Confunktion - Dave Richmond 

Legendary international DJ, Keb Darge, fell under the spell of this music when his Japanese girlfriend forced him to go down to a ‘Rockabilly’ night back in 1989. As soon as the DJ dropped the needle on Johnny Burnette’s ‘Rockabilly Boogie’ Keb was mesmerized. He was soon hunting down the hideously rare top tunes and slipping thousands of pounds into specialist collectors like Boz Boorer’s back pocket, when the legendary guitarist was not recording or touring with Morrissey. Of course, Keb was then taking these records and introducing them to new audiences in his DJ sets worldwide.

Although it has taken an age to persuade him, Keb has now applied his perfectionist compiling skills to pick 14 killers to grace this fantastic collection. Ranging from the bopping Glen Glenn’s ‘Blue Jeans and A Boy’s Shirt’ to the almost hillbilly Jimmy Johnson’s ‘All Dressed Up’. This is a must-have compilation not only for those who have been oiling their quiffs for decades, but also those wondering what this “rockabilly” is all about. Keb drops you in at the deep end with no easy-going fillers, and you’ll be glad he did.

Keb has written the sleeve notes and with cover art by the legendary Robin Banks – this album looks as good as it sounds. 

TRACK LISTING

Side One
1. Blue Jeans And A Boy's Shirt - Glen Glenn
2. The Woman I Love - Gene Terry & His Kool Kats
3. Sweet Love - Orangie Ray Hubbard
4. Jello Sal - Benny Ingram
5. Lonesome Baby Blues - David Ray
6. Do Me No Wrong - Pat Cupp & The Flying Saucers
7. Cool Off Baby - Billy Barrix
Side Two
1. Let's Go Bopping Tonight –
Al Ferrier & His Bopping Billies
2. Jitterbop Baby - Hal Harris
3. Raw Deal - Junior Thompson With The Meteors
4. Nuthin' But A Nuthin' –
Jimmy Stewart & His Nighthawks
5. I'm Doing All Right - Jerry Hanson
6. Where There's A Will (There's A Way) –
Carl Trantham & The Rhythm All Stars
7. All Dressed Up – Jimmy Johnson 

Disco is back! From Paris to Melbourne, Berlin or Athens, a new blend of 70s inspired disco sound is currently taking the dancefloors by storm with artists like Monika, L'Impératrice or LeonxLeon, creating a stir on the international scene. Paying their dues to the pure form of Disco, these new artists, far from mimicking the clichés, are adding an unmistakable millennium twist to the genre. This is Disco 2.0.

TRACK LISTING

1. L'Impératrice La Lune
2. Bon Voyage Organisation Shenzhen V
3. Marvin & Guy Makin' Love
4. Monika Secret In The Dark (Juan MacLean Edit)
5. Joakim Nothing Gold (Todd Terje Remix)
6. No Zu Ui Yia Uia
7. Sounds Of Inner City Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (Inst.)
8. LeonxLeon Acid Disco
9. Tensnake Need Your Lovin (Tiger & Woods Remix)
10. Bufiman Running (The Chase)
11. S3A Theuz Hamtaak 

Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX is the second compilation for Eskimo Recordings compiled and curated by Berlin-based Musician and DJ Luca Venezia, aka Curses, to explore the darker side of club music. Spread across 3CDs and three 2LPs Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX features a mammoth 49 tracks that join the dots between early industrial pioneers Throbbing Gristle, EBM legends like Nitzer Ebb and the post-punk experiments of people like Malcolm McLaren and Big Audio Dynamite with some of the most exciting artists around today, such as Boy Harsher, Nuovo Testamento and Years of Denial.

Where the first Next Wave Acid Punx compilation was a personal journey for Luca, a lockdown inspired exploration of his record collection to find the thread that ran through the music that had soundtracked much of his life, DEUX is a celebration of that music let loose on the world, the thrill of music performed live, the smoke and strobe filled clubs you'll hear it in and the artists you'll find on those stages.

"After our enforced break, getting back out there and playing live again really brought home to me so much of what I love about the scene I'm in but also just how important live music has been and is to club culture over the years," Luca explains. "Too often we think of club nights and live gigs as these separate things, but throughout the years it's where the two meet, the friction that can cause, that you'll find the most vibrant scenes."

"There's an energy, an atmosphere that you get with live music, an unpredictability where at any moment something can go wrong or even better right in a way you never expect. I think about a live set we played at a Lebanese festival where our MPC drum machine froze up because of all the dust and sand trapped in the pads. We had to improvise half our set, jamming bass and guitar and pedal FX and vocals, embracing this surreal environment and experience, something that could only happen in the moment."

"With Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX I wanted to celebrate those bands and artists, past and present who, to me, represent that spirit. Both full live bands and makeshift electronic duos alike, the kind of acts that you might have found wedged between DJs back in the day at The Hacienda in the 80s, Trash in the 00s or today at nights like Berlin’s MILK ME, EXBTN in Paris, Night Terrors + SC&P in London, New York City’s Synthicide or Ukraine’s Worn Pop."

"So I've put this compilation together much like my favourite kind of night, going out to see some bands play, hitting up a club where live music and DJs blur together, before the serious business of the after party. On Chapter 1 you'll find bands like Vicious Pink, DAF and Cabaret Voltaire, some of these acts are more obscure than others, some flirted with pop and even the charts but they were all embracing new ways of working in the late 70s and 80s that both set them apart and set the scene for much of what we think of as club music."

"Chapter 2 moves the night on, and this is the sound of the clubs I love to both play and just hang out in these days, clubs where the people involved put a lot more time into digging through the crates than working on their Instagram Reels. These are places where you're as likely to find a band on stage as you are a DJ, where 80's German electro pop by a band like Boytronic seamlessly flows into tracks like Silent Servant’s Non Fiction. Timeless music that can be romantic, dreamlike and ethereal one moment, then veer into dark, industrial sounds the next."

"Then finally we get to that part of the night where you probably should go home but if it's too late for good decisions there's still time for good music. Things are a bit wilder here, the drums a bit harder, the synths are more aggressive, tracks like The Hacker's Monopoly, Zanias' Tryptamine Palace or EVA's Industrial Hope that don't let up, don't let you go, just subjugate you to the beat and keep you there till you stumble out blinking into a new day." 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Another absolute stormer of a comp from the Eskimo crew. this time it's split into three, and it's REALLY hard to say which i'd go for given the chance. Throbbing Gristle, Cab Voltaire, DAF, The KVB and literally tens more. A perfectly curated selection of dark dancefloor grit and soaring synthy groove.

TRACK LISTING

Chapter 1:
A1. Throbbing Gristle - Distant Dreams, Pt. 2
A2. Mary Möör - Pretty Day
A3. Sad Lovers & Giants - Things We Never Did
A4. Malcolm McLaren - Madam Butterfly (Un Bel Di Vedremo)
B1. Big Audio Dynamite - The Big V
B2. Cabaret Voltaire - Blue Heat
B3. Nitzer Ebb - Hearts And Minds (Mix Hypersonic)
B4. Clan Of Xymox - Obsession
C1. In Sotto Voce - In Sotto Voce
C2. Psyche - Prisoner To Desire (Single Mix)
C3. Propaganda - The Murder Of Love
C4. DAF - Brothers (Gabi Mix)
D1. Book Of Love - Modigliani (Lost In Your Eyes) (I Dream Of Jeanne Mix)
D2. Vicious Pink - Cccan’t You See
D3. Absolute Body Control - Total Control

Chapter 2:
A1. Boytronic - Voloczny
A2. The KVB - Still Warm (2023 Version)
A3. Cardinal & Nun - Freak And Weak
A4. Jennifer Touch - Altars
A5. Matrixxman - Assembly Line
B1. Silver Tears - Always Shine (Wait For The Rain)
B2. Essaie Pas - Retox
B3. Aili X Transistorcake - Dansu
B4. Years Of Denial - It Sucks
C1. Dina Summer - Darkness
C2. Patriarchy - Suffer
C3. Maelstrom & Louisahhh - Hate Machine
C4. Dame Area - Buon Cittadino
C5. Kris Baha - Into The Dark
D1. Desire - Love Races On
D2. Blind Delon Feat. I Hate Models - Flashback
D3. Poison Point - Altered Beats
D4. Roe Deers - Muscles

Chapter 3:
A1. Boy Harsher - Machina (feat. Mariana Saldaña) (Dark Remix)
A2. Silent Servant - Non Fiction
A3. J.W.B. Hits The Beat - Body On Body (Curses Revamp)
A4. Hungry Boys - Toi
B1. Nuovo Testamento - Heartbeat (Curses Remix - Edit)
B2. Autumns - Repeat Prescription
B3. Buzz Kull - A Place (That’s Meant To Be)
B4. Soft Crash - Dolce Morte
C1. Dame Bonnet & Mufti - Pleasure Dreams
C2. Ultra Sunn - Night Is Mine
C3. Neu-Romancer - Burning Eyes
C4. EVA - Industrial Hope
D1. Andi Vs Randolph & Mortimer - Formidable Truths
D2. Zanias - Tryptamine Palace
D3. The Hacker - Monopoly
D4. Paradox Obscur - Evo-Devo

Sometimes, even amidst the most chaotic moments of our lives, things have a way of coming together. Raze Regal, prolific electric guitarist and James Petralli, founding member and vocalist of Austin, TX indie rock legends White Denim, met during a West Coast tour in 2019, and quickly formed a deep friendship bound by their mutual love of ‘60s and ‘70s rock, the Jazz saxophone innovations and compositions of Eddie Harris, Joe Henderson and Wayne Shorter, ‘80s R & B production techniques and New Wave energy. In another world, perhaps their rapport would have remained casual; two music fans meeting occasionally in loud music venues to share a drink and catch up on their respective projects. However, and luckily for music fans everywhere, that’s not what happened. What followed for both men was a period of intense personal change, growth, and transformation—a period that is reflected in the creation of Raze Regal & White Denim Inc., a profoundly collaborative album that saw both musicians pour years of blood, sweat, and tears into some of the most soul-affirming music of their careers.

“It was a very hard time for both of us,” explains Raze matter-of-factly, from his home in Austin. He relocated there in 2020, smack dab in the middle of the pandemic, after ending a long-term relationship and the dissolution of his previous band back in Oakland, CA. “This record was born out of the friendship and the closeness that James and I share, as well as pure creativity.” With Raze in serious need of a change of scenery, Austin and James provided just the right atmosphere to let his creative juices flow a little more freely. “James and I were talking and he was like, ‘Come up to Austin!’ and I was like, ‘Maybe I should.’ We would just kind of hang out in those early days, and then I started kind of writing these tunes, and I started presenting them to James. They were just sketches of ideas I had, and he was like, ‘You know these are really good. What if we worked on these together?’ And I was like, ‘Absolutely.’

It wasn’t long before the duo realized they had something special on their hands. It was more than just the fact that they were good at writing songs together—there was something deeply complementary in the way Raze and James thought about music and songwriting that made them better than the sum of their parts. The work took place at Radio Milk, James’ studio, curious to see what would come out of it; although, the process proved to be slightly more intense that either of them had imagined. “The week Raze arrived in Austin he joined my family/creative bubble, and we began writing and cutting music together,” explains James. “Through these initial sessions I learned that Raze possesses a unique gift as a lyricist and songwriter as well as a striking and colorful chord vocabulary. He naturally led these writing sessions and I supported him as an editor, instrumentalist, and engineer. We quickly developed an easy flow together in the studio. Which was refreshing for both of us. These were particularly hard times: Raze and I became close friends and helped each other get to the other side.”

The result of these summertime sessions, Raze Regal & White Denim Inc. bursts at the seams with jazz chords, rock hooks, soul vocals, pop melodies, and everything that made the latter half of the 20th century some of the most cardinal music in human history. Completely eschewing the trappings of “retro” or “throwback” sentiments, the record could have only come from artists with such a deep knowledge of popular music, that they are able to transcend references and homages, presenting something comfortably familiar yet totally fresh. Raze and James’ creative union took form before their very eyes, with James at first wanting to take more of a backseat role—but luckily, fate had other plans.

“Raze was bursting with musical ideas during a time when I was focused on learning how to capture and represent them,” James says, clearly holding his bandmate in the utmost respect. “He wrote the changes for the songs and we cut demos together and he'd sit with a note pad and sketch lyrical ideas once the framework was down. I did my best not to impose too much as a writer, rather mostly offering perspective as a singer and sometimes pulling a few books off of the shelf for consideration and reference. Raze was writing about our lives. We knew well where we were coming from.”

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: This absolutely sings with the hazy melodic groove of White Denim, but it's accentuated with a rich seam of airy funk, psychedelic soul and twisting melodicism from Raze Regals considerable talent pool. What a lovely thing.

TRACK LISTING

1. Ashley Goudeau
2. Blood
3. Tivoli
4. Complaining In Heaven
5. Don’t Laff
6. The Hustle In You
7. Before The Fact
8. Idle Later
9. Dislocation
10. Ugly Man Suit

This record is massive and amazing. Nowhere To Go But Up is Guided By Voices’ third album of 2023 (and thirty-ninth overall) and is a sprawling, wild adventure. With virtually no choruses and just two repeated lyrics in forty minutes, GBV is audacious and unafraid.

One of the most fully realized works that Guided By Voices has created, Nowhere To Go But Up showcases an expert rock band at the top of their game. The band is on a roll and unstoppable.

Following their monumental 40th Anniversary Celebration in Dayton, Ohio, GBV begins their fifth decade with a bang!

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: You'd think that by an artists THIRTY NINTH album, they'd have a struggle coming up with the goods, but Pollard & co have once again crafted a beautifully psychedelic blast of epic proportions. It's got tons of heft, and packed to the brim with melody too.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Race Is On, The King Is Dead
2. Puncher's Parade
3. Local Master Airplane
4. How Did He Get Up There?
5. Stabbing At Fractions
6. Love Set
7. We're Going The Wrong Way In
8. Jack Of Legs
9. For The Home
10. Cruel For Rats
11. Song And Dance

'Beyond The Midnight Sun' expands upon ground first explored on Don Leisure's track 'All Praises Due', which also featured Amanda (with Angel Bat Dawid), and featured on his previous album 'Shaboo Strikes Back'. This is a full-length project that these two formidable Welsh artists have collaborated on together.

To bring you up to speed, Cardiff DJ and beat-maker Don Leisure has been twice nominated for the Welsh Music Prize, with the afore-mentioned album 'Shaboo Strikes Back', and a previous project, 'Steel Zakusi'. As well as being 50% of Darkhouse Family with Earl Jeffers, he's released music under various monikers on labels such as Metalheadz, International Anthem, Fat City, Earnest Endeavours, Group BraCil and on Rough Trade with another regular collaborator, Gruff Rhys. Other collabs have included Charlotte Church, Om'Mas Keith, DJ Spinna and First Word label-mate Tyler Daley (Children of Zeus).

His DJ portfolio includes sets for BBC 6 Music, NTS, Rinse FM, Solid Steel, Boxout FM (India), The Jazz Cafe, Fabric and Boiler Room, while previous support has come from Lauren Laverne, Tom Ravenscroft, Huw Stephens, Lefto, Rob Da Bank, Huey Morgan, Jon1st, Om Unit, Kid Fonque, Mr Thing and many more. His album 'Shaboo' was named "the best album of its kind since J Dilla's 'Donuts'" by Piccadilly Records.

Joining him throughout this project, we have the pleasure of welcoming the phenomenal talents of highly-acclaimed harpist Amanda Whiting to the First Word label. A virtuoso in her field, this classically trained musician quickly established herself as an essential player in the UK jazz scene, carving her unique sound following the paths forged by Ashby and Coltrane.

She's toured extensively with her own band, as well as with Matthew Halsall, Chip Wickham, DJ Yoda and Rebecca Vasmant, whilst previously releasing three solo albums on Jazzman Records, and a remix project for Scrimshire's Albert's Favourites imprint. Along the way, there's been a nomination for 'Instrumentalist of the Year' from Jazz FM and she's garnered the support of DJs such as Radio 2's Jamie Cullum ("highly recommended") and 6 Music's Cerys Matthews ("my highlight of the Cheltenham Jazz festival 2023").

Don explains more…

"The project is a journey down the road that was revealed to me on 'All Praises Due' on 'Shaboo Strikes Back'. Amanda's willingness and eagerness to continue collaborating was a dream come true. Being able to get harp parts from someone who is so open minded is such a rare treat that a deeper project was inevitable.

I wanted to move in a different direction from the beat tape format on my previous releases while still maintaining the core Don Leisure sound, fused with live instrumentation and vocals etc".

The talents of Deborah Jordan are also featured on a couple of the album's tracks. Deborah is a stalwart in the UK soul and jazz scene in her own right, working over the years with artists like 4Hero, Bugz In The Attic, Ty, Jneiro Jarel, K15, Robert Mitchell and Kaidi Tatham (someone who's collaborated with all the players on this release at some point).

'Beyond The Midnight Sun' is a 7-track affair comprised of delectable spiritual jazz fused with hip hop beats, psychedelic electronics and a touch of soul.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A beautifully rendered mix of chilled lounge percussion and downbeat atmospherics with Whiting's beautiful harp floating atop the deep roots. It's propulsive and dynamic without being frantic, calm without being one-dimensional. Gorgous psychedelic nu jazz flavours in a beautiful package.

TRACK LISTING

1. Walk With Us (feat. Amanda Whiting)
2. Just Be (Free) [feat. Amanda Whiting & Deborah Jordan]
3. The First Chant (feat. Amanda Whiting)
4. Beyond The Midnight Sun (feat. Amanda Whiting)
5. Peace Of Mind (feat. Amanda Whiting & Deborah Jordan)
6. Crying Tiger (feat. Amanda Whiting)
7. Third Bass (feat. Amanda Whiting)

Berlin-based Swedish bassist and producer Petter Eldh returns with a new Koma Saxo album Post Koma, out on We Jazz Records, 10 November. The title Post Koma aptly describes the vibe of this one: The Koma Saxo sound continues its evolution, morphing into a holistic vision of jazz now and soon, where live instrumentation and repurposed sampling lose their boundaries.

Over the course of its three iterations (self-titled debut in 2019, LIVE in 2020, Koma West in 2022) Koma Saxo has sounded at times "liquid" and postproduced, at times raw and direct, at times acoustic and at other times oddly electronic (even while still being made with acoustic instruments). Post Koma is a culmination of this sonic study by Eldh, resulting in a music vision that never second-guesses throwing tasty hooks and everlasting melodies out the window after a mere bite of them. But fear not: there are even more new ideas just around the corner.

Eldh's compositions and ideas merge together in a way that just flows. There are quality musicians in the mix, including Koma Saxo live band members Sofia Jernberg, Jonas Kullhammar, Otis Sandsjö, Mikko Innanen, Maciej Obara and Christian Lillinger, but that's like saying that a cake includes flour and sugar. This music is not about playing, it's essentially about how the music is and how it takes its shape, so you quickly lose track of who did what, and that's all in the benefit of encountering this music as an entity that is constantly challenging itself while moving forward. The musicians are valued contributors, and an integral part of what's here, but this is far from traditional jazz playing where a band sits in a room playing takes after takes of compositions on sheet.

That being said, this is jazz to the fullest. That is, music that understands its past but always moves forward, and is never afraid of taking risks. Petter Eldh uses jazz as a starting point, not the end goal. This gives his music edge and mobility beyond what can be contained on one album. In a way, an album, then, becomes a snapshot of a creative process in constant flux and evolution.

Opening track "Koma" is literally drum & bass. It only consists of those two elements, yet what comes out of it is an open invite, a way of clearing your palette. It would be useless to describe individual tracks beyond that, but there's a strong sense of deliverance to the set. It feels like an ending, and also like a new beginning.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: I'm not a massive fan of jazz, honestly and while 'Post Koma' does on the surface present as a jazz LP, it unfolds as more of an exercise in rhythmic electronic music, using slivers of the the instruments that are often seen in jazz. It's mindblowingly deep and beautifully textured, crossing the boundaries of genre and instrumentation alike.

TRACK LISTING

A1.Koma
A2. Watten Koma
A3. Komma Hem
A4. Stundens Hetta
A5. Poly Amok
A6. Portal Koma
B1. Mittenmelodin I Erzeben
B2. Natt Koma
B3. Omkomma Hemma
B4. Eka Amok
B5. Koma Grav
B6. Sista Dansen
B7. Så Rinner

Ancient Infinity Orchestra is a 14-member jazz ensemble led by double-bassist and composer Ozzy Moysey, based in the bustling creative city of Leeds in the North of England – home to one of the most innovative and community-based jazz scenes in the UK. Saxophonist Matt Cliffe who also performs with Matthew Halsall is a key member and the rotating line-up which includes drums, two bassists, keyboards, harp, violin, cello, two tenors, alto, oboe, flute and percussion.

Rivers of Light’ drinks deep from the well of spiritual jazz and is especially inspired by the soulful sounds of Pharoah Sanders, Alice and John Coltrane but also channels a certain Northern sensibility that can be heard in the music of Matthew Halsall or Alabaster de Plume. Melodic, warm and honest this is music that is happy to wear its heart on its sleeve.

This is also communal music made by friends, which offers a deep celebration of togetherness and of music-making. It’s confidently deep music, moving and meditative, and Ozzy draws on philosophy and nature as well as musical inspirations to foster a focus on giving and sharing beautiful things with one another and with the listener.

‘Rivers of Light’ was recorded over three days and the ensemble were joined by a choir of over a dozen friends from Brighton, UK adding a further joyous layer to the beautiful music. But this was more than just a recording, the musicians made food for each other, hung out together and exalted in the moment. Ozzy explains:

“It was a joyous three days of recording together with the Leeds based band of 14, combined with a similar sized choir of friends from Brighton joining us. Seeing them meet for the first time and witnessing their incredible dedication and passion for music together, was so fun to be a part of. Members of the choir cooked for over 30 people each day, descending, each morning, on mass, to the studio and melting together in the heat of the height of summer. Between tracks, the band jammed in the corridors, sat in the sun and laughed a lot. The atmosphere of all these people meeting in the heat of summer, eating, laughing and creating something together - really shines through”. 

TRACK LISTING

A1. Greeting
A2. Rejoicing
A3. Niyama
B1. Michael & Zelah
B2. Equanimity
C1. Spring Break On Trappist-1
C2. Arc Of The Sun
C3. Love Song
D1. River Of Light
D2. Pharoah Sings

Each LP colour is limited to 250 copies only. Sea Blue Splatter Vinyl is for Indies Only. CD is a four panel digipack CD, 500 pressed.

Psychedelic Porn Crumpets are back with their sixth studio album, set for release on 10th November 2023. The Australian psych-rock five-piece have been working on ‘Fronzoli’ – a title meaning 'something unnecessary added as decoration’ – since the release of 2022’s ‘Night Gnomes’. ‘Dilemma Us From Evil’ is the latest single to be released from the record and is a prime example of Psychedelic Porn Crumpets’ mind-bending blend of heavy melodic guitars and harmonic lyrics and eccentric songwriting oeuvre. It follows the release of singles ‘Nootmare (K-I-L-L-I-N-G) Meow!’ and ‘(I'm a Kadaver) Alakazam’, which were released earlier this year. The album announcement arrives alongside the news that Psychedelic Porn Crumpets will be supporting Royal Blood on the Australian leg of their tour later this year. The record surges with the Perth-based band’s over-the-top, glittery sound, drawing influences from the likes of classic rock behemoths Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and The Beatles, as well as electronic experimental jazz. These rock influences are firmly on display in ‘Fronzoli’, with thrashy grunge tracks such as ‘Sierra Nevada’ and the frenetic ‘Hot! Heat! Wow! Hot!’ showcasing the band’s hyperactive guitars and offbeat lyrics. The band, who started out as friends, before coming together to pride themselves on their joyful and unpolished messiness when it comes to songwriting and production. “This record is my favourite creation to date,” says songwriter and frontman Jack McEwan, “Every nuance has been discussed, slandered and carefully contorted into place, it sporadically colours outside the lines, so you're left with these extraverted squiggles.” “On their sixth album, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets have not only ventured into new territory but proven there’s nothing they can’t do expertly.” Rolling Stone.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: The brilliantly name Psychedelic Porn Crumpets have been at it for some time now, but on their 6th LP their balance of blazing rock riffs and psychedelic stoner groove really comes into it's own. A proud, loud triumph.

TRACK LISTING

1. Nootmare (K.I.L.L.I.N.G) Meow!
2. (I'm A Kadavar) Alakazam
3. Dilemma Us From Evil
4. Cpt. Gravity Mouse Welcome
5. All Aboard The S.S.Sinker
6. Hot! Heat! Wow! Hot!
7. Sierra Nevada
8. Illusions Of Grandeur
9. Pillhouse(Papa Moonshine)
10. Mr & Mrs Misanthrope

Detroit producer Apollo Brown has made a name for himself as one of
Hip-Hop's most legendary new producers while maintaining a golden era
sound - His production credits are a who's who of Hip-hop greats from
Danny Brown to Ghostface Killah, Ras Kass to Westside Gunn.

Even Chance the Rapper used a pair of Apollo beats on his debut mixtapes -
Known for bringing the best out of musicians, Apollo has a knack for making
timeless classics.

Brooklyn's Joell Ortiz started on none other than Dr. Dre's Aftermath label and built a huge buzz in the industry. He's worked with legends like Just Blaze among others. He then signed to Shady Records as 1/4 of the supergroup Slaughterhouse. He's worked with Hip- Hop titans Eminem, Busta Rhymes, Jadakiss, Akon, and Big Daddy Kane.

Now the pair of Hip-hop luminaries are celebrating the 5 year anniversary of their frst collaborative album on Mello Music Group with a deluxe edition including 2 new songs. It's nothing short of a masterpiece: Mona Lisa.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: It's no secret that Apollo Brown is one of my favourite modern day producers. There's few that can deploy classic boom-bap with as much grit and authenticity. The rappers he works with are always inspiring; and this release with Joell Ortiz is one of the strongest in his catalogue. Now boosted with some extra tracks and fresh artwork, if you missed it first time round, now's your chance to rectify your mistake.

TRACK LISTING

1. Brushstrokes
2. Refection
3. My Block
4. Cocaine Fingertips
5. Grace Of God (feat. DJ Los)
6. That Place
7. Word...
8. Flashback
9. Decisions
10. Timberlan'd Up Feat. Royce Da 5'9
11. Come Back Home
12. Mona Lisa
13. About It
14. Master Peace

FSOL present the final instalment in the Environments Trilogy. “7.003” goes deeper and darker than the previous two albums, the flavour here harping back with memories of the groups 90s sounding pre “Dead Cities” album. On this release we have swamp laden electronics dripping from cavernous breakbeats weaving in and out of otherworldly chords and strings firmly back in the driving seat. FSOL deliver not only the final piece of the jigsaw but a clever jaw-dropingly sensorium.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Crisp percussive trickles and paddling guitar snippets weave around each-other into echoing electronic chirps. There are moments of jagged, glitched unease but the soaring melodic direction and airy, echoic haze more than offset that. As ever, a wonderful and perfectly produced outing from FSOS.

TRACK LISTING

1. Future Testaments
2. Resting Point
3. A Desolate Stretch Of Night Road
4. Where All Is Ending
5. Overwrite
6. I'm Eating Here
7. Echos Of Inherent Sense
8. A Space In The Subsequent Familiar
9. Drift Incline
10. Trichome
11. Absence Of Solution
12. Kwaahu
13. Ruler
14. Awkward Shape

Following the release of the shoegaze masterpiece Delaware in 1992, and the intricate experimentations on National Coma in 1993, Drop Nineteens disbanded. They had a great run. Shared stages with Radiohead, Hole, Blur, PJ Harvey. Went from being teenaged kids in Boston to mid twenty somethings with an MTV video under their belt. So when Drop Nineteens ceased to be, Greg Ackell felt content, music was a closed chapter.

That was until 2021. For the first time in nearly 30 years, Ackell felt compelled to pick up a guitar. He immediately called up Steve Zimmeran, the band’s bassist and fellow guitarist, and the two got writing. It felt effortless for Ackell, like he never stopped writing music. “We were off to the races,” he says. “But also the question came up: what does a Drop Nineteens song sound like today? Enter Hard Light, the band’s stunning third record. It’s the band’s proverbial follow up to Delaware, a modern Drop Nineteens record that is completely singular in its sound and vision.

The first task making Hard Light, was of course, getting the rest of the band back together. Drop Nineteens is an inherently collaborative project. Ackell’s primarily the lyrics writer, and he collaborates with Zimmerman, Paula Kelley, Motohiro Yasue, and Peter Koeplin to create the sonic world. The record came together over the course of a year, recording at a patchwork of studios all around the country. Making music together felt natural, fluid, exciting.

The guitar reverb is expansive as ever. Ackell and Kelley’s vocals are crystalline. “Scapa Flow,” is triumphant. An excellent example of what a modern day Drop Nineteens song sounds like. The guitars glide like clouds on a blue sky day, drums shuffle in the background, searching. Ackell and Kelley’s vocals are cool toned and dreamy, bound up in a haze of reverb. It’s unquestionably lovely. You could say the same for the whole of the record. Hard Light is so lovely. A portrait of a band 30 years later, as talented and as dedicated to their craft as ever.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: It's been THIRTY YEARS since Boston's Drop Nineteens put out an album, and we've finally been gifted with another outing. While 'Hard Light' clearly trades in the sort of woozy heft and wall-of-sound intensity we've come to know from the 90's shoegaze, it's got a more nuanced melodic edge, shining through the fog when you least expect.

TRACK LISTING

1.Hard Light
2.Scapa Flow
3.Gal
4.Tarantula
5.The Price Was High
6.Rose With Smoke
7.A Hitch
8.Lookout
9.Another One Another
10.Policeman Getting Lost
11.T

Preston’s unholiest sons Evil Blizzard return with their most furious, compelling and diverse album to date, released on their own Crackedankles label, (which has recently branched out into releasing the likes of Hotwax, Thank, Bad Guys and TV Face.) Following the critical and commercial success of their last album ‘The Worst Show On Earth’ the band took a year off after that tour to recoup. And then got back together in March 2020, just in time for… another enforced year off. They did, however, release ‘The Very Best Of Evil Blizzard’ on vinyl, which was completely blank. And sold out in less than a day.

The new album, their fifth, was written during and post lockdown and ‘reflects the claustrophobia, fear and paranoia of those days’ according to guitarist (not bassist!) Filthydirty. ‘The band has changed. One of our 4 bassists Kav left and we were joined by Fleshcrawl (aka Mr. Dibs, Hawkwind’s vocalist and bassist for over 12 years). Kav was inimitable as a musician, so it never crossed our minds to try and ‘replace’ him, so when Fleshcrawl scurried in he brought a whole new range of sounds and toys to the sandpit. Also, we’d run out of sonic space to play with, having just the basses, and everything had got a bit stale - so I switched to lead guitar which brought a whole new range of possibilities.

'The new album is much more representational of the band’s record collections: it retains the ‘Sabbath-meets PiL-meets Killing Joke’ sound found on the band’s earlier albums, but now encompasses dub, goth and electronica in its 8 tracks, with clear nods in the general direction of Sonic Youth, Jane’s Addiction, Leftfield and The Mission. As opposed to all previous albums which were recorded live in one or two takes, this album took over three months with the band meticulously de-structuring songs ‘that sounded too much like pop songs’ resulting in an album that is uncomfortable yet still accessible.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: The North West's own Evil Blizzard return for their new LP, adding a load of guitar and marginally less bass! There are elements of electronica in here and nods to classic synth music, there are precise cuts and meticulously produced interludes but it is all the better for it, this is a band who've found their sound.

‘True Blue’ is a collection of songs originally intended as technical demos for the Catholics’ acclaimed ‘Black Letter Days’ album Recorded in 2001 live to 1 track tape at the legendary Sound City Studios, the recordings capture raw and captivating performances by Frank Black and the Catholics on songs including ‘California Bound’,‘The End Of Miles’, and ‘Cold Heart Of Stone’

Previously only available as a bonus CD in ‘The Complete Recordings’ boxset,‘True Blue’ is an essential release for Frank Black fans and offers a glimpse into a studio session with the Catholics

Pressed on 140 g vinyl, newly remastered by Phil Kinrade and cut by Cicely Balston at AIR Mastering Presented in a textured reverse board sleeve with new artwork by Mark Reynolds, and exclusive liner notes by producer Ben Mumphrey

Also included is a bonus 7 single featuring three studio outtakes, including a previously unreleased version of ‘The Black Rider’

TRACK LISTING

LP Tracklist
1. Black Letter Days
2. California Bound
3. Chip Away Boy
4. Cold Heart Of Stone
5. How You Went So Far
6. Jane The Queen Of Love
7. Jet Black River
8. Southbound Bevy
9. The End Of Miles
10. The Farewell Bend
11. Valentine And Garuda
12. Whispering Weeds


7” Tracklist
1. The Black Rider
2. Song Of The Shrimp
3. John The Revelator

Despite ‘Hindsight Is 50/50’ being the third album from Ghost Woman in 18 months, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Evan Uschenko believes that this is the first album that “finally captures the true nature of the band”.

The album was recorded mostly live in three days at the analogue Kerwax studios in Brittany, France by Christophe Chavanon (The Good Damn). Uschenko states that “the first two albums were never meant to be albums: they are like pages from diaries that have long since been burned. With the introduction of Ille van Dessel as co-writer/drummer, the project feels like it has a direction”.

There is a confidence and assurance that feels built upon the 2022 eponymous debut and the follow-up ‘Anne, If’, which was only released in January 2023. This urgency to progress and keep moving forward is reflected by the band: “We prefer to keep busy. But we’re lazy too. We still feel like we could be doing a lot more.” Overall, there is a darker, denser feel compared to previous releases, but the sound and vibe of this album is more akin to what the project was supposed to be when it started in 2016, finally realising Ghost Woman’s creative vision.

The immersion into the album is immediate, locking in with the incessant riffing of ‘Bonehead’ setting the scene for what follows. Next up is the echoey, garage-surf twang of ‘Alright Alright’. The opening line “take a little walk with me…” has a sinister, gothic hue that wouldn’t feel out of place on Murder Ballads or Peaky Blinders. Sonically the album holds itself together within a warm, analogue soundworld, but with few digestible vocal melodies steering the tracks or easily giving up their meaning. This is a conscious decision, with Uschenko claiming that “there is never a concept when it comes to creating something, and no intention behind anything we create, other than to make noise and complete an album”.

‘Yoko’ reverts to chugging boogie, spitting into life in bursts of squalling guitars, and a mid-song breakdown that infers the live version will far outlive its three and a half recorded minutes.

Most songs are similarly restrained in their running time, indicating a strong sense of focus and editing, rather than letting the songs run away with themselves. Only ‘Juan’ really breaks the five-minute mark and feels like the album’s centrepiece; an exuberant amalgamation of the themes and tones surrounding it. The band say that “these songs were made to be played live”, and the closing build will work perfectly in the darkest, noisiest club you can find.

The title track continues this positive curve. The title is a play on the saying ‘Hindsight is 20/20’, based on a friend’s drunken tattoo gone wrong. “Maybe it means life is all chance. Maybe it means common sense isn't so common”, say the band.

Vocals come drenched in reverb and meaning is often suggested rather than explicit. The guitars are heavier and the vocals are less easily discernible, but Uschenko believes that “vocals are not important. We prefer to not be understood. If you’re looking for meaning in these lyrics, might I suggest buying a Lenny Bruce record instead?”. Sound advice indeed, so immerse yourself in this album and tell your friends about it without the benefit of hindsight, 20/20 or otherwise.

Overall, Ghost Woman appreciate that they have arrived at where they always wanted to get to: “It is the sound it was meant to be. It is the band as a whole”.

TRACK LISTING

1 Bonehead
2 Alright Alright
3 Highly Unlikely
4 Ottessa
5 Along Pt.2
6 Yoko
7 Wormfeast
8 Juan
9 Hindsight Is 50/50
10 Buik

"More than anything, I wanted to make an album that was generous, that was useful," says Ben Folds - "I want you to finish this record with something you didn't have when you started" Indeed, Folds' masterful new collection, What Matters Most, isn't so much a statement as it is an offering, an open hand reaching out to all those wounded and bewildered by a world that seems to make less and less sense every day.

Recorded in East Nashville with co-producer Joe Pisapia, the album marks Folds' first new studio release in eight years, and it's a bold, timely, cinematic work, one that examines the tragic and the absurd in equal measure as it reckons with hope and despair, gratitude and loss, identity and perspective. The songs are bittersweet here, hilarious at times, but often laced with a quiet sense of longing and dread: a text message goes unanswered; an old classmate descends into the dark depths of internet conspiracies; a relationship unravels in the middle of a lake. And yet, taken as a whole, the result is an undeniably joyful record that refuses to succumb to the weight of the world around it, an ecstatic reminder of all the beauty and promise hiding in plain sight for anyone willing (and present enough) to recognize their moments as they arrive.

TRACK LISTING

But Wait, There’s More
Clouds With Ellipses (feat. Dodie)
Exhausting Lover
Fragile
Kristine From The 7th Grade
Back To Anonymous
Winslow Gardens
Paddleboat
What Matters Most
Moments (feat. Tall Heights)

Indies Exclusive CD Bonus Tracks
Happy Clapper
Why Did You Tell Me Everything
A Million Years Or So

Biosphere is the main recording name of Geir Jenssen, a Norwegian musician who has released a notable catalogue of ambient electronic music. He is well known for his works on ambient techno and arctic themed pieces, his use of music loops, and peculiar samples from sci-fi sources. His 1997 album Substrata was voted by the users of the Hyperreal website in 2001 as the best all-time classic ambient album.

Inland Delta contains nine new musical pieces recorded from 2022 to 2023, featuring mainly improvised performances on newly restored vintage keyboards.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: You know you're in for a treat when Jenssen is at the controls, and 'Inland' once again shows that this musician is at the forefront of atmospheric ambient music, soaring between dub, modern classical and electronica with ease. Perfect.

TRACK LISTING

1. Surface Tension
2. Delta Function
3. Franklin´s Dream
4. Wolfgang´s Wave
5. Brownian Motion
6. Random Walk
7. The String Thing
8. Florian´s Flute
9. Jane´s Lament

"Search Party" is the debut album from pianist, Rupert Cox. Rupert has made a little following for himself already being a respected player for Myele Manzanza, China Moses, Chris Hyson and many more.

His debut album swings between laidback contemporary jazz and swirling electronics. There are mellow and moving moments alongside joyful, uplifting melodies and dancing rhythms.

The record has already won support from people like Deb Grant on BBC Radio 6 Music and is slowly developing an ardent following.

TRACK LISTING

A1. The Nowhere Dance
A2. Fig Tree
A3. Summer Wake
A4. Hearth
A5. Lament
A6. Search Party
B1. Embers
B2. Gold
B3. Remember This
B4. Sanctuary
B5. Green Yellow Brown

Wewantsounds is glad to continue its Akiko Yano reissue series with the release of the singer's third studio album 'To Ki Me Ki', recorded in New York and released in 1978 in Japan. It follows her cult "Iroha Ni Konpeitou" LP and keeps the similar blend of Japanese pop and New York funk found in the latter. "To Ki Me Ki" features such musicians as Rick Marotta, Will Lee and David Spinozza and also programmer Hideki Matsutake who would soon join the YMO with Akiko for their international 1979/1980 tour before she recorded her next studio album "Tadaima" that year, featuring the YMO musicians. "To Ki Me Ki" is reissued outside of Japan for the first time, remastered in Tokyo by revered engineer Mitsuo Koike and featuring original artwork by Tsutomu Murakami with 4 page colour insert and new liner notes by Paul Bowler.

TRACK LISTING

1. Kodomo Tachi
2. Katarun Kararan
3. Uo Sao
4. Two On The Stage
5. Okina Ishi
6. Andante Cantabile
7. Yameru Wakenya Ikanaiwa
8. Yo Ro Ko Bi
9. To Ki Me Ki

Flying Objects is the new collaborative project from indie heavyweights Smoke DZA and Flying Lotus - featuring Black Thought (The Roots/Jimmy Fallon), Estelle, Conway The Machine, and more. Smoke DZA is a popular independent rapper from New York City who has worked with Big K.R.I.T., Wiz Khalifa, Action Bronson and ASAP Rocky among others, and is a founding member of the Smokers Club.

His album, Rolling Stoned was awarded the High Times Doobie Award for Hip Hop album of the year for 2011. Other popular album releases include Rugby Thompson (produced by Harry Fraud), Dream.Zone.Achieve (features from Cam'ron, Joey Bada$$, Ab-Soul, Wiz Khalifa, Curren$y), and Don't Smoke Rock (produced by Pete Rock).

Flying Lotus is a producer, DJ, filmmaker and rapper from Los Angeles who has worked with Kendrick Lamar, Danny Brown, Mac Miller, Chance The Rapper, Blu and more. He is also the founder of the record label Brainfeeder. He has released seven studio albums. His debut project 1983 dropped in 2006 on Stones Throw Records and his next six projects all came out on Warp Records - to critical acclaim.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Spiritual
A2. Painted Houses (feat. Conway The Machine)
A3. Zelle Transfers
A4. Drug Trade (feat. Black Thought)
A5. Harlem World 97 (feat. Estelle)
B1. Spiritual (Instrumental)
B2. Painted Houses (Instrumental)
B3. Zelle Transfers (Instrumental)
B4. Drug Trade (Instrumental)
B5. Harlem World 97 (Instrumental)

Next up on Feral Child sees the fabulous collaboration between Justin Wright (Expo 70) and Grant Corum (Million Brazilians, Timelash, Psychic Sounds Ensemble) BLAZING WORLDS.

The duo’s self-titled full length was recorded during a week long Midwest summer scorcher, and expands and contracts with six heavily hallucinatory movements that only hellishly humid nights could induce. One that seasoned sonic psychonauts Justin Wright and Grant Corum could venture to manifest a deep phantasmagoric excursion through brilliant atmospheres in a seamless collection.

The material on Blazing Worlds harkens back to Wright’s synth-driven ’Sorcerer of Sound’ full of cosmic tones and other worldliness aura, in tandem with Corum’s bent woodwind work and extraterrestrial sounding samples. Where this is certainly a departure from some of their previous work, the two seem to find equal navigation through their evolving compositions morphing into a singular melting chthonic mass, giving the listener an open-ended impression of mesmerizingly vast sonic topographies all gleaming with moments of both glimpses of gorgeousness and the grotesque.

“Blazing Worlds” provides a wonderful, seamless spin from initial blast to the last. There are lots of strange instrumental textures and propellant pulsations, all pretty much within the confines of modernist electronic invention, and the whole shimmers with a very unusual kind of lambency, while still sounding deceptively discernible. While it can often seem tricky to keep up with Wright and Corum’s many releases and style shifts, it is constantly rewarding and this is another fine addition to their oeuvre.

As Brian Eno famously said, "The studio is a musical instrument," Bruce Brubaker now says, "A musical instrument can be a studio."

'Eno Piano' is a stunning reinterpretation by American pianist Bruce Brubaker of selected tracks from Brian Eno’s ambient masterpieces, including the iconic Music for Airports as well as three original compositions venturing into his collaborations with Harold Budd, Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Dieter Moebius and Jon Hopkins.

In his explorations of minimalism, Bruce Brubaker makes connections to music old and new. In his album Codex, there was a dialogue between open-form music by Terry Riley and very early keyboard pieces written down by anonymous scribes in the 15th century, while Brubaker's performances of music by Philip Glass enabled the releases of the critically acclaimed Glass Piano and his collaboration on Glassform with Max Cooper.

Brian Eno's music is equally a significant part of the repetition-based musical minimalism in the 20th century. Eno Piano acknowledges a deep artistic bond.

In 'Eno Piano', the piano, one of the first "synthesizers," becomes a new kind of fantastic resonating box — a supernatural synthesizer. The album is a compelling discovery, a rereading, reinterpretation, "re-production" of Brian Eno's music, from the hands of a visionary virtuoso. Sonically, the record is a combination of Bruce's piano playing, and piano sounds made using new electromagnetic "bows" that vibrate strings inside the piano creating drone notes.

The album represents a leap into a new genre of post-ambient, post-piano piano music. Here, sound technology heightens artistic sensitivity, and the listener's presence in the moment. An instrument is reimagined, refashioned. The usual boundaries of time and sound loosen allowing the formation of a new 21st-century beauty.

TRACK LISTING

1. Music For Airports, 1/1 - 17:12
2. Music For Airports, 2/1 - 08:32
3. The Chill Air - 01:55
4. By This River - 03:31
5. Music For Airports, 2/2 - 06:07
6. Emerald And Stone - - 02:30

Various artists musically interpret poems from "The Fall of America: Poems of these States1965-1971" on this second volume, covers the years 1965- 1971

Musical interpretations of Ginsbergs poems are performed by Ai Weiwei, Philip Glass, Thurston Moore With Saul Williams, Anne Waldman, Miho Hatori, Jack Dangers, Devendra Banhart, Kai Campos & Cj Mirra, and more.

This compilation is designed to give all fans of Punk a snapshot of what Bristol Punk was all about from the period 1977-1979.

We celebrate our heroes of the time, let them be remembered for ever! Feat The Cortinas, The Pigs, Social Security, The X-Certs and more.

Many artists achieve greatness but very few produce work that is so moving it's considered sacred. Whether you choose to call them hymns, psalms or spirituals, their songs are a healing force for troubled times. We feel close to these prophets, in recognition of their uncommon labours. It is as if they have given all of themselves, body and soul, through music.

We can safely say that our Spiritual Jazz series would not exist without the inspiration and leadership of the spiritual messiah that is John Coltrane. It can only be right and proper that we dedicate a whole album to his legacy and lasting influence. Spiritual Jazz 15 – A Tribute to 'Trane shines a spotlight on the reverence in which the saxophonist is held in so many ways.

On one hand our selection displays cover versions of his songs performed by the musicians he inspired; disciples to Coltrane the messiah, who chose to give praise to the one who laid a foundation for them. The listener will also encounter original music written in honour of Coltrane that underlines the endless presence he has had among artists from different backgrounds and eras.

The preacher may have ascended to a higher plane, but his congregation is still right down here on the ground. Ten songs to lift the spirits of everyone, everywhere.

TRACK LISTING

1. Norman Connors - Welcome
2. Clifford Jordon - John Coltrane
3. Sonny Fortune - Ole
4. The Darwin Strickland Trio - Niami
5. Gilles Torrent Jazztet - Terre Engloutie
6. Carsten Meinert - To Trane
7. Malachi Thompson & Africa Brass - Transition
8. Hampton Hawes Trio - Evening Trane
9. Carmelo Garcia - Trane
10. Brother Jack McDuff - Naima

Searchlight Moonbeam is the new narrative compilation from Time Is Away (Jack Rollo and Elaine Tierney) whose eponymous monthly NTS Radio shows, tinctured fusions of fugitive sounds and reverie-inducing archival speech, have won them an ardent following. It follows from the London-based duo’s Ballads, a remarkable driftwerk released on A Colourful Storm in 2022.


Searchlight Moonbeam is an autumnal dreamscape, intimate and vespertine, pensive and irresolute. An imagined community where differences drop off and resonances emerge – between Maher Shalal Hash Baz affiliates Kasumi Trio, Taiwanese score composer Chen Ming Chang whose ‘Rainwater’ (written for Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s 1986 film Dust In The Wind) is exquisitely heartbroken, and the plangent improvisations of self-taught French pianist Delphine Dora.


Revelations are frequent: the bedsit isolationism of Bo Harwood and John Cassavetes’ ‘No One Around to Hear It’ (from The Killing of a Chinese Bookie); the narked minimalism of Klang (an early 2000s band formed by ex-Elastica guitarist and featuring prize-winning experimental novelist Isabel Waidner on bass); the etude-grooves and echoic wobble of below-the-radar French avant-gardists Omertà ; the beautiful, plaintively dubby ‘Is It You?’ by Slapp Happy; a psych-tinged reimagining of PiL’s ‘Poptones’ by Simon Fisher Turner (one half of Deux Filles, and here, recording for él as The King of Luxembourg) that's as perverse as the cover of Throbbing Gristle’s 20 Jazz Funk Greats.


Searchlight Moonbeam is the musical analog of an Italo Calvino novel or a medieval fable. Associative, intuitive, borderless. Emotional and mysterious. Endowed with the tactility of Braille. A private language that is both unknowable and understood. It is a record of the seasons, for the seasons.

2023 marks the tenth anniversary of Time Is Away’s first broadcast. Featuring an evocative essay by writer Jeremy Atherton Lin and disarming cover art by Penny Davenport, Searchlight Moonbeam showcases Rollo and Tierney’s still-unrivalled talent for gloaming melodies, disques du crépuscule and ensorcelled storytelling. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Bo Harwood & John Cassavetes - No One Around To Hear It 03:48
2. Chen Ming Chang - Rainwater
3. Bhairavi Raman & Nanthesh Sivarajah - Bittersweet Reflections
4. The King Of Luxembourg - Poptones
5. Slapp Happy - Is It You
6. O.G. Jigg - Jesus Is My Jam
7. Klang - As It Is
8. Scala - Fuser
9. Soft Location - Let The Moon Get Into It
10. Gyeongsu - YZOBEL (feat. CROCHE)
11. Omertà - Moments In Love
12. Kasumi Trio - Cabbage Butterfly
13. Un - Fast Money Blues
14. Delphine Dora - V
15. Harry Plunket-Greene - The Hurdy-Gurdy Man

Sama’ Abdulhadi’s rise as one of the first DJs to emerge internationally from Palestine can be traced back to Beirut, where she immersed herself in the burgeoning local techno scene. Her 2018 Boiler Room in Palestine set a new bar for high octane DJ sets.

On this mix, Sama’s techno collaboration with musician-performer Walaa Sbait on lead track ‘Well Fee’ stands out with its Arabic love-lament vocal. Acid Arab’s ‘Laba Staifia (Ammar 808 Remix)’ rounds off the comp - another notable delivery from the French-Algerian electronic collective.

Contributing artists from East to West, from established to up-and-coming producers, cover melodic, trance and techno genres, making this one of the most all-compassing deliveries to the historic series.

TRACK LISTING

CD Tracklist:
1. Khainz - The Drift [Spectrum]
2. Vazik - Clouds And Stars [Techgnosis]
3. Pan-Pot - Confronted [mobilee]
4. XZYKO - Kangoa [We Are Connected Music]
5. Lampé - Where To Start [Subios Records]
6. Karim Alkhayat & NÚRIA - Legend [Legend]
7. Carbon & Peter Groskreutz - Discharge [fabric Records]
8. Sama’ Abdulhadi Ft. Walaa Sbait - Well Fee [fabric Records]
9. Flug - Phase One [Suara]
10. Kos:mo - Flashback [Respekt]
11. Lutgens - ASMR [fabric Records]
12. Coyu - Snow In Ipanema [Suara]
13. Mython - Sexual Deviant [Suara]
14. Bruce Zalcer - The Wizard [Kneaded Pains]
15. TimiR & Unlighted - System [fabric Records]
16. Psycrain & C.A.T - Goosebombs [Bassclef Records]
17. HngT - Artificial Awareness [Volta]
18. Michael Klein - Contact [RX Recordings]
19. YA Z AN - NADA-R [Open Music Lab]
20. Sylvie Miles - Man In The Woods [Space Kraft Recordings]
21. Dyzen - Tesseract [Afterlife]
22. Acid Arab - Laba Staifia (Ammar 808 Remix) [Crammed Discs]

Double Vinyl Tracklist:
A1. Acid Arab - Laba Staifia (Ammar 808 Remix) [Crammed Discs]
A2. XZYKO - Kangoa [We Are Connected Music]
B1. Sama’ Abdulhadi & Walaa Sbait - Well Fee [fabric Records]
B2. Carbon & Peter Groskreutz - Discharge [fabric Records]
C1. Michael Klein - Contact [RX Recordings]
C2. Sylvie Miles - Man In The Woods [Space Kraft Recordings]
D1. Lutgens - ASMR [fabric Records]
D2. Psycrain & C.A.T - Goosebombs [Bassclef Records]

Celebrating twenty-five years of Aficionado as a place to play away from suffocating mainstream club culture, DJs Jason Boardman and Moonboots have compiled a contemplative set of 16 tracks that holds a deep meaning to both themselves and attendees of their now legendary parties. The compilation includes two new tracks exclusive to the release: J-Walk’s ‘Cool Bright Northern Morning’ and Begin’s remix of Canyons ‘Akasha’.

Reflecting on how it all started 25 years ago, Moon considers their no-plan-plan to be a makeshift plateau which evolved organically: “All we did was try to play good records one after the other without any consideration for fashion. And people wanted that”. Alternative approaches were not unknown at the time, but Aficionado, as Jason and Moon’s Sunday sessions became known, pressed the reset button with unique resolve.

Jason elaborates: “It was 1998 when we started. It was our own 'fuck you’ to the Super Club regime - almost everywhere then. The ‘anything goes’ Balearic ethos was in abeyance. It wasn’t cool at the time, but we both just wanted to keep that original spirit alive. ‘Keep it open’ had always been my approach to DJing - even from playing at Youth Clubs as a teenager. No rules or generic constrictions. Play anything that you like from any era, any style from any time. We always encouraged our guests to dig deep and play outside of their comfort zones, their usual styles”.

Regular contributors quickly realised there was a freedom here which expected exploration of the most cobwebbed corners of the collection. The trick was to do something that hadn’t been done before - to play a record which might make these genuinely genre-less sonic adventurers double take. Aficionado reserved the right to apply the brakes and offered the same opportunity to their guests in terms of avoiding stultifying ‘sets’ and routine dance floor button pushing. At the same time, Jason and Moon were also adept in responding to the hedonistic excess that often erupted by playing music likely to facilitate random outbursts of dancing on tables on a school night. Aficionado never settled or coalesced into something readily identifiable and easy to sell.

While there were many Manchester venues, for Jason Sundays at Zumbar were special: “It would get very deranged. A cranky Citronic double deck console and very lo-fi, but a real vibe. Free pizza! At Fat Cat we got offered a proper wage - credit in the straight world! A basement by the Canal”. Moon concurs: “Zumbar was crackers - Sunday became the essential day to go out for our lot. But my two favourite ’Nado venues were Arch in Hulme and Fat Cat. People who’d been up all weekend would turn up spangled. Some bods stopped going out on Saturdays and made Sunday their big night out. Did these people have jobs? Very, very funny times…”.

The lovingly crafted musical mystery tour of this compilation, considering its pleasantly hypnagogic intent, may not reflect the madness of these now distant memories. This is an older and considerably more responsible collection and this is what we need right now - a temporary respite from a world almost capsized. A mood, a meditation created by masters of their craft. Odd socks from disparate global locations making new sense side by side. An assemblage, if you like. A thread through many different kinds of thinking. A new picture pieced together from the lost pieces of many jigsaws. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Aficionado is a cult. A nod-and-a-wink into cryptic catacombs of musical discovery. A paradoxical combination of Moonboot’s hushed mythical reverence and the contagious sense of enthusiasm and adventure from Jason Boardman.

A club night that’s uniquely Mancunian in spirit yet has gone on to inform and inspire a whole global network of record obsessives. A label that spins on a different axis to the mainstream, yet evolves and adapts in natural cycles in harmony with the growing maturity of its founders. Which is why we find ‘25 Years Of Aficionado’ in a decidedly unhurried and meditative mood - showcasing sounds that are at home amongst sun-blushed beaches, English countryside and the relaxed contentment of a free weekend afternoon. Rather than re-hash the hits that soundtracked their debauched Sunday sessions back in the day, the pair have curated a contemplative set that reflects the unwinding of pace that undoubtedly comes with age – in turn delivering something that’s unequivocally relevant to the listeners it's aimed at.

I’ve had both the joy and pain of playing at ‘Nado. Forced to spend most of the evening wearing record sleeves on my head as my ill prepared set contained bootlegs, edits and, the biggest rule break of all – beat matching! I was young and ignorantly unaware of these basic fundamentals, but it was a beautiful schooling. To some this might seem like a militant and contrary manifesto; but it serves to highlight the purity of spirit that can easily be lost in today’s modern age, where digital versions of most songs can be acquired at the click of a mouse and true undiscovered rarities come few and far between. JB & Moon epitomise the excitement of the hunt, the joy of eclecticism; and I think it's due to this immovable and uncompromising passion for unearthing true vinyl gems that goes someway to explaining the pair’s universal admiration and acclaim as DJs and label curators.

TRACK LISTING

Vinyl Tracklisting:
1. Held By Trees - In The Trees - Ambient
2. Stanley Clarke - Desert Song
3. Jan Akkerman - Ode To Billy Joe
4. Alain Debray - Concierto De Aranjuez
5. The Hightower Set - Departure Lounge (Nothing To Declare)
6. J-Walk - Cool Bright Northern Morning
7. Canyons - Akasha (Begin Remix)
8. Waves - Summer Sunday
9. Mudd - Summer In The Wood
10. Trevor Heiron - Love Chains (Instrumental)
11. Korallreven - Honey Mine (Lissvik Remix)
12. Giorgio Tuma - Through Your Hands Love Can Shine (feat. Laetitia Sadier)
13. The Superimposers - Seeing Is Believing
14. Teacher - Can't Step Twice (On The Same Piece Of Water) (New Version)
15. Kalima - Shine (Gilles Peterson Vibrazonic Dub Mix)
16. The Haggis Horns - The Traveller Part Two 

CD Tracklisting:
1. Stanley Clarke - Desert Song
2. Jan Akkerman - Ode To Bellie Jo
3. Alan Debray - Concierto De Aranjuez
4. High Tower Set - Departure Lounge (Nothing To Declare)
5. J-Walk - Cool Bright Northern Morning (Exclusive)
6. Canyons - Akasha (Begin Remix)
7. Waves - Summer Sunday
8. Mudd - Summer In The Woods
9. Trevor Herion - Love Chains (Instrumental)
10. Korallreven - Honey Mine (Lissvik Remix)
11. Georgio Tuma With Laetitia Sadier - Through Your Hands Love Can Shine
12. Superimposers - Seeing Is Believing
13. Cecilio & Kapana - Someday
14. Teacher - Can't Step Twice On The Same Piece Of Water
15. Kalima - Shine On (Vibrazonic Dub Mix)

The surprise companion to The National's April release First Two Pages of Frankenstein, Laugh Track is the band's most freewheeling, all-hands-on-deck album in years. If Frankenstein represented a rebuilding of trust between group members after 20+ years together, the vibrant, exploratory Laugh Track is both the product of that faith and a new statement of intent. Reveling in the license to radically upend its creative process, The National honed most of this material in live performances on tour, and captured those invigorated versions in impromptu sessions at producer Tucker Martine’s Portland studio. Two nights later in Vancouver, the nearly eight-minute album closer “Smoke Detector” was recorded during soundcheck, completing a body of work bristling with spontaneity and vintage rock energy that makes a perfect complement to the songs found on its more introspective predecessor.

STAFF COMMENTS

Laura says: Released as a companion album to ‘First Two Pages Of Frankenstein’, ‘Laugh Track’ was written during the same sessions but feels more dynamic, largely due to Bryan reverting to ‘real’ rather than programmed drums. After all, it’s his fluid, scatter-shot drumming that has always been the perfect foil for Matt’s melancholy. This LP sounds much more like The National we love and closing track “Smoke Detector” possibly hints at the future direction of their evolution.

TRACK LISTING

Alphabet City
Deep End (Paul’s In Pieces)
Weird Goodbyes Feat. Bon Iver
Turn Off The House
Dreaming
Laugh Track Feat. Phoebe Bridgers
Space Invader
Hornets
Coat On A Hook
Tour Manager
Crumble Feat. Rosanne Cash
Smoke Detector

Following on from the release of their highly praised 2020 LP ‘Darkness Brings Wonders Home’, which was applauded by the likes of Mojo, Clash Magazine, Q and many more, alt - folk duo Smoke Fairies return once again to announce the details behind their sixth studio album ‘Carried In Sound’, previewed by the wondrous new single “Vanishing Line”.

Continuing to pursue more of that warm and ethereal aesthetic the pair have cultivated since their earliest beginnings, “Vanishing Line” makes for a wonderfully warm and emotive introduction to their next full length release. Accompanied by a cinematic video, the new offering tackles the difficult and intimate feelings loss and grief can have on a person and those around them.

A sense of inner strength dominates the new record. In keeping with the times that bore it, ‘Carried In Sound’ isn’t afraid to discuss darkness but everywhere there is a longing for light. “Although the album has themes of sadness on there, it’s looking at those things from a place of strength, ” says Jessica.

"We're really excited to announce a new record, carefully home crafted to represent our core sound, with notes of reflection, grief and joy, we hope you find it an emotive, rewarding experience to listen to."

To celebrate the release of ‘ Carried In Sound’, Smoke Fairies will also embark on an intimate five date tour across the UK taking in spectacular churches and ruins.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Smoke Fairies are back! While their latest clearly wades in the same waters as the rest of their superb canon, it seems like they're drawing from a wider influence pool. With their trademark alt-folk veering in parts into deep psychedelia and airy melacholic country. Lovely stuff.

TRACK LISTING

1. Vague Ideas
2. Vanishing Line
3. Carried In Sound
4. There Was A Hope
5. Seek It With Me
6. Sticks And Stones
7. Part Of It All
8. 2022
9. Perseus
10. Come To My Mind
11. Seek It With Me (instrumental) 

trip9love…??? is the third album from Tirzah, produced by long-time musical collaborator Mica Levi. It is out today to stream in full with a physical release set for November 17th.

Stream trip9love…??? here.

It was written and recorded at both their homes and various corners of South East London and Kent.

After several recording sessions over roughly a year, eventually the music suddenly came into a sound that they wanted to follow. The tracks were built using piano loops on top of one beat, distortion added, then romantic vocal toplines. Poems centre on themes of love, both real and imagined. The world the record finds space in is a lazy club fantasy zone.

The speed, the connection and similarity between all of the instrumentals led the record to feel like one song, a diary entry of a moment or a fascination with one sound that they felt was important to go with. The nature of trip9love…???‘s release reflects how it was made.

Tirzah has confirmed several UK shows beginning next week including London’s Colour Factory as well as dates in Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, Reeperbahn Festival and Unsound before she heads to North America at the start of October.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Trip9Love sees Tirzah's effortless mixing of myriad styles and grooves realised by Mica Levi, resulting in a mindblowing cross-pollination of club ready grooves and off-kilter fractured electronica. A heady and deeply hypnotic journey.

TRACK LISTING

1. F22
2. Promises
3. U All The Time
4. Their Love
5. No Limit
6. Today
7. Stars
8. He Made
9. 2 D I C U V
10. 6 Phrazes
11. Nightmare

Back to Moon Beach (Verve Records) is an EP by no one’s definition but Kurt Vile’s. For Kurt, this collection is an expression of just how deep his well of non-album material runs.

The vinyl edition includes six tracks culled from various sessions over the last four years, representing a wide swath of the inspirational musical community Kurt surrounds himself with.

“[Kurt Vile is] the beloved and reliable purveyor of a hazy, zoned-out, weirdo brand of classicist rock.” - Stereogum.

“Vile remains our era’s great inheritor of the Neil Young/Meat Puppets/Dinosaur Jr. tradition of bending chords, spooling out hypnotic solos, and chilling with your demons until they start feeling like drinking buddies.” - Rolling Stone.

“Loose, sprawling, and filled with spacey but intimate jams that couple drum machines, smoke-curled guitars, and off the cuff vocals, [(watch my moves)] feels like being invited into Vile’s head to sit down and hang out a spell.” - Aquarium Drunkard.

“Vile’s sprawling new album captures the magic, loss and wonderment of being alive.” - AV Club

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Is it an EP? Is it'nt? It really doesn't matter, it's classic Vile, lagging instrumental groove and slow guitar twangs below KV's stoned drawl. Rich, melodic and heartfelt.

TRACK LISTING

CD (9 Tracks)
1. Another Good Year For The Roses (5:34)
2. Touched Somethin (caught A Virus) (6:31)
3. Back To Moon Beach (8:15)
4. Like A Wounded Bird Trying To Fly (5:29)
5. Blues Come For Some (5:09)
6. Tom Petty’s Gone (but Tell Him I Asked For Him) (8:15)
7. Must Be Santa (5:12)
8. Passenger Side (3:10)
9. Cool Water (Single Mix) (4:29)

VINYL (6 Tracks)
Side A:
1. Another Good Year For The Roses (5:34)
2. Touched Somethin (caught A Virus) (6:31)
3. Back To Moon Beach (8:15)
Side B:
1. Like A Wounded Bird Trying To Fly (5:29)
2. Blues Come For Some (5:09)
3. Tom Petty’s Gone (but Tell Him I Asked For Him) (8:15)

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

STAFF COMMENTS

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

TRACK LISTING

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

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

Welcome to Jaakko Eino Kalevi’s garden of earthly delights! Chaos Magic is the Finn’s wildest statement yet – a double-album of elemental pop and baroque electronics that plots a thrilling course through the Jaakko universe, drawing on cosmic jazz, dub reggae, neon synthpop, tender ballads and psych-rock nirvana, the whole thing laced with melody and mystery.

Largely written and recorded by Jaakko in his new home of Athens, Chaos Magic features musical contributions from Alma Jodorowsky, Jimi Tenor, Faux Real, Yu-Ching Huang and John Moods, as well as artwork by Flaminia Veronesi and illustrations by Vilunki 3000.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: There really is no way to narrow down Jaakko Eino Kalevi's music into genre, there is a propulsive edge to all of it but the propulsion ranges from drenched, Balearic groove to dusty minimal-wave percussion and swooning pop.

A 2LP highlight edition of the 4CD box set, features 16 select unreleased live performances.

The Bob Dylan World Tour 1978 marked the artist's first international concert dates since 1966 and his first live shows since the Rolling Thunder Revue blasted through North America in 1975-76. A major international musical event, the year-long tour found Bob Dylan performing 114 shows in Asia, Oceania, North America and Europe, to a combined audience of two million fans.

For his 1978 performances, Dylan (rhythm guitar, harmonica, vocals) led an ensemble featuring Billy Cross (lead guitar), Ian Wallace (drums), Alan Pasqua (keyboards), Rob Stoner (bass, vocals), Steven Soles (acoustic rhythm guitar, vocals), David Mansfield (pedal steel, violin, mandolin, guitar, dobro), Steve Douglas (saxophone, flute, recorder), Bobbye Hall (percussion), Helena Springs (vocals), Jo Ann Harris (vocals), and Debi Dye (vocals). The original Bob Dylan At Budokan album was produced by Don DeVito, who also helmed Dylan's Street-Legal, recorded and released during the 1978 world tour, featuring the same musicians.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Another Budokan sees One of Bob Dylan's most revered performances summarised beautifully to vinyl, with each LP representing different selection of tracks from two consecutive nights. Classic, peak live Dylan.

TRACK LISTING

Live At Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan - February 28, 1978

LP1 - Side A

1. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall　
2. Repossession Blues
3. Ballad Of A Thin Man
4. To Ramona

LP1 - Side B

1. Like A Rolling Stone
2. Blowin' In The Wind
3. All Along The Watchtower
4. Tomorrow Is A Long Time

Live At Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan – March 1, 1978

LP2 - Side A

1. Love Her With A Feeling
2. I Threw It All Away
3. Girl From The North Country
4. One Of Us Must Know (Sooner Or Later)

LP2 - Side B
1. I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)
2. You're A Big Girl Now
3. The Man In Me
4. Forever Young

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..” 

Mock Media’s debut LP Mock Media II – out November 17 on Meat Machine captures this firebrand four piece’s head-on plunge into enthralling existential contradictions: songs that explore the darkest corners of humanity, yet come out at the other end with the unwavering joy that marked their genesis. It’s an album of sneaky eclecticism: the high-wired punk rock stylings serve as Mock Media’s framework to clad their agog explorations into pop, electronic and world folk music.

Mock Media, Canada’s new supergroup, contains members: Evan Aasen, Garnet Aronyk Muhammad, Austin Boylan and Bennett Smith. Mock Media originates in Vernon, British Columbia, a small farming town surrounded by blue lakes and majestic mountain ranges. Such wholesome beginnings naturally sparked a heady wanderlust and DIY-spirit within its founding members.

The album’s connective tissue is a knack for crafty, tongue-in-cheek pop melodies and the kind of plucky storytelling that chronicles the greater complexities of life – chapters where strife and survival are usually rife. The R&B-infected “Louis wont break”, for example, references Laura Hillenbrand's novel Unbroken, which tells the story of Louis Zamperini, a former Olympic track star turned fighter pilot who spent 47 days on a raft at sea and two and a half years in a Japanese POW camp.

Lead single “Madness” confidently vaults from skittish noise punk into a zany country rock anthem, the stylistic choices mediating a greater narrative on the threshold between order and chaos: “What if you struggled to feed yourself / Would you take it from somebody else?”. “It's just looking at human history,” Aasen comments. “Because it’s been so terrible in a lot of ways. How civilized we normally are, it just takes the drop of a coin and it can turn into something real bad. And we're always kind of teetering on the edge of that. People in their own lives too: you can hit rock bottom pretty quickly, but you can also persevere.”

The seething “Father Of The Crime '' – driven by Smith’s frantic drumming – draws a parallel between polarization and the often reactive ways we handle relationships. Aronyk: “There's a lot of similarities between that sort of situation where somebody finds their significant other cheating on them, and the decision making process in that moment is similar to what happens when somebody is radicalized and pushed to do something crazy.” Opening track “ILL”, with its rumbling piano melody and Skrillex inspired synth line, littered with samples and droning horns, “ILL”, addresses a clash between mob and cult mentality on the rise.

The courting of themes like violence, imprisonment, and famine isn’t a voyeuristic act for Mock Media, but a deeper interrogation on where to unearth notions of triumph and empathy. Both in writing and execution, Mock Media II is an exercise of tension and release, the ease of the chemistry between the four musicians giving merit to the weight of the subject matter.

The frolicking “Rambo”— adorned by flute flourishes performed by Aronyk’s mom- recites a tale of a prison hustler, the titular Rambo, and his hardships of confinement. “Modern Visions” became an inspired meshing of separate musical ideas by Aronyk and Aasen, coalescing into a more electronic pop progression that required extensive tinkering and reassessing over a four-year period. “I think that track addresses a common theme through our music,” Aronyk adds. “It reflects on trying to understand violence and chaos throughout different corners of the world, and not being overcome by nihilism.”

The frolicking “Rambo”– adorned by flute flourishes performed by Aronyk’s mom – recites a tale of a prison hustler, the titular Rambo, and his hardships of con?nement. “Modern Visions” became an inspired meshing of separate musical ideas by Aronyk and Aasen, coalescing into a more electronic pop progression that required extensive tinkering and reassessing over a four-year period. “I think that track addresses a common theme through our music,” Aronyk adds. “It reflects on trying to understand violence and chaos throughout different corners of the world, and not being overcome by nihilism.”

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Ill
2. Louis Wont Break
3. Father Of That Crime
4. Rambo
5. Modern Visions
Side B
1. Madness
2. Reason
3. Touch The Ground
4. Get On The Ship
5. The Weight Is On

Culled from half a decade of home four-tracking, Remote Echoes is a hissy, crumbly, and ungrounded expression of Clay Parton and Canaan Amber’s ongoing Duster project. A mix of cassette only demos released under the banners Christmas Dust and On The Dodge, this 14 track album also includes a bevy of previously unissued stragglers. Duster’s unique blend of fuzzy guitars, bargain synths, muffled percussion, and hushed vocals anticipated chillwave, mumblecore, and corecore, elegantly illustrating the holy trinity of slacker vices: cigarettes, coffee, and the weed supreme.

TRACK LISTING

1. Before The Veil
2. Cigarettes And Coffee
3. The Weed Supreme
4. Untitled 59
5. I Know I Won’t
6. Moon In Aries
7. Glue
8. Testphase
9. Lost Time
10. Strange
11. The Mood
12. Country Heather
13. Untitled 84
14. Darby

Orbiting Human Circus’ new album is called Quartet Plus Two. What is Orbiting Human Circus? It is the continuing evolution of Julian Koster (Neutral Milk Hotel, The Music Tapes), whose music and storytelling under this moniker have encompassed immersive theatre and a Night Vale Presents podcast, as well as more traditional albums.

Central to the album are the “two” referenced in the title: North and Romika, the singing saws, whom Koster doesn’t “play” so much as encourage. “I think saws sing like angels,” says Koster. “I always have. Since I was a little boy. When you encourage them to sing, they do so earnestly and beautifully. It’s an honest and real sound.”

The origins of Quartet Plus Two are as magical and seemingly unlikely as everything else in Koster’s career. While walking through New York’s Central Park, he stumbled upon Gauvain Gamon and Kolja Gjoni—a standup bass player and drummer, respectively—playing Gershwin and Mingus, and a musical partnership was born.

Pianist Benji Miller rounds out the titular quartet, with Koster’s longtime collaborators Robbie Cucchiaro (horns) and Thomas Hughes (orchestral arranging and chimes) of The Music Tapes also contributing to the record.

The music they make together is at once familiar and unrecognizable, as Koster and Orbiting Human Circus interpret jazz compositions by Irving Berlin, Duke Jordan, George and Ira Gershwin, and others, alongside Koster’s three originals. The use of the term “composition” is intentional and speaks to Koster’s relationship with the music of Quartet Plus Two in far more evocative terms than “cover” or “standard.”

“To me it was always magical that there were these people called ‘composers’ who created symphonies and popular songs for other people to breathe into life and existence all over the world and throughout time,” he explains. “They traveled into our homes as sheet music, endless recorded interpretations, or were passed from hand to hand, village to village, like folk tales, changed by every hand that touched them. That music was something that came to life in our own living rooms and lives, songs that our grandmothers might have sung in a choir that we might sing just as earnestly. I just think it’s nice, and I would love to share that feeling in any way we can.”

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A
1. I Cover The Waterfront
2. Maria
3. Into The River Thames
4. It’s So Peaceful In The Country
5. Sea In 3
SIDE B
6. How Long Has This Been Going On?
7. If I Did, Would You?
8. Let’s Face The Music
9. Koliada
10. Maria Pt. 2

Iron & Wine’s Who Can See Forever is an accompanying live record to the film of the same name. Captured at Haw River Ballroom in Saxapahaw, North Carolina, the soundtrack features nineteen songs from the twenty plus year career of singer-songwriter Sam Beam. Having found inventive ways to re-invent his catalog live over the years, Who Can See Forever offers new and fresh versions of Iron & Wine songs including “The Trapeze Swinger”, “Boy With a Coin” and “Naked As We Came.” The film - initially intended as a live concert film - evolved into a visual portrait capturing Beam during a creative outburst that earned him four Grammy nominations in four years. Like his music, the film touches on universally personal themes as Beam juggles being an artist, husband and father. Taken as one, the soundtrack and film are a fascinating first-time glimpse behind-the-scenes of Iron & Wine.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Trapeze Swinger
2. Boy With A Coin
3. Woman King
4. Thomas County Law
5. House By The Sea
6. About A Bruise
7. Sodom, South Georgia
8. Last Night
9. Monkeys Uptown
10. Wolves (Song Of The Shepherd's Dog)
11. Grace For Saints And Ramblers
12. Dearest Forsaken
13. Glad Man Singing
14. On Your Wings
15. Passing Afternoon
16. Pagan Angel And A Borrowed Car
17. Naked As We Came
18. Call Your Boys
20. Muddy Hymnal

This November Matt Berry will release a unique collaboration with esteemed Library Music label KPM. KPM is renowned for providing the musical bedrock for so many classics of British TV and international cinema, using the best British composers - such as Keith Mansfield, Alan Hawkshaw, John Cameron and Alan Moorhouse - to do so. ’Simplicity’ follows in the footsteps of these giants, and is a worthy successor to them. Alongside his formidable acting career, Matt Berry has released a series of acclaimed albums on the Acid Jazz label. Ranging from the folk stylings of ‘Kill The Wolf’, the ambient electronica of ‘Music For Insomniacs’, to the psych rock of ‘Blue Elephant’, these have marked Berry out as an impressive musician and recording artist in his own right. Embodying the form of KPM’s original LPs geared towards film and television pitching, the album consists of 11 sharp and vibrant instrumentals, which will no doubt be heard productions for many years to come. released in special collaboration with Acid Jazz, the album is presented in a beautiful graphic sleeve, with notes that allude to the original KPM releases, for something that is instantly hip and familiar, yet unmistakably new.

TRACK LISTING

1. Top Brass
2. Driving Seat
3. Rising Bass
4. Set The Scene
5. Good Sport
6. Transition To…
7. Simple Basics
8. Widescreen
Features
9. Too Many Hats
10. Telescopic
11. Top Brass Two 

RIYL: Ra Ra Riot, Thao, Regina Spektor, Andrew Bird, Typhoon.

"Omoiyari" means to have empathy and consideration for others, and act on it. This fall, the American indie-folk multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Kishi Bashi is set to release the companion album to his forthcoming documentary song film, titled Music from the Song Film: Omoiyari. Consisting of two LPs "The Songs" and "The Score" the release showcases what is essentially the soundtrack to Omoiyari, the feature-length motion picture co-directed by Kishi Bashi, aka Kaoru Ishibashi or "K," which is being released via MTV Documentary Films in November.

Focusing on K's own six-year journey of discovery surrounding his research of the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans that followed the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the film is part social justice documentary and part song-film experiment. The album includes K's live improvisations, which are featured in the documentary, many recorded on the sites where the concentration camps stood. Written during and about the artist's transformational dive into his personal identity and serving as a broad survey of the Japanese American experience as well as the incarceration Music from the Song Film: Omoiyari serves as an evocative musical accompaniment to the lessons of empathy and compassion portrayed in the film and highlights the process and power of one of modern indie's most talented musicians. 

TRACK LISTING

Intro At The Piano
Red, White, And Blue
Improvisation At Heart Mountain
Summer Of ‘42 (orchestral Edition)
Improvisation In The Root Cellar
ļ

Introduced to the world ten years ago, Emeli Sandé MBE has become an icon of British singer-songwriting; emotional, honest, and prolific in the kind of manner that cements you as a go-to artist for heartfelt pop sensibility. This latest pop record is reminiscent of 2012, when Emeli had her first breakout hit.

How Were We To Know is Emeli's second independent album release through Chrysalis Records. “There was a lot I wanted to say about myself, and I hope that through the lyrics people will get to understand me on a deeper level.”

How Were We To Know’s 11 tracks explore intimate encounters with love in all its forms, along with the risk required to pursue it. “Once you’ve been hurt, it’s very hard to pick up the pieces again and allow yourself to be vulnerable,” Sandé says. “So I think these songs explore the bravery of love, and loving others but also yourself. These songs were pieces of a puzzle I had to put together, and now feels like the right time to share them.”

The album features production from Jonny Coffer (Beyoncé, Miley Cyrus), Jim Jonsin (ASAP Rocky, Usher, Eminem), DI Genius (Drake, Raye, Sean Paul), Rxwntree, Chris Loco and Mac & Phil.

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A:
1. All This Love
2. My Boy Likes To Party
3. Lighthouse
4. How Were We To Know
5. Too Much
6. Nothing We Can't Handle

SIDE B:
1. Like I Loved You
2. There For You
3. True Colours
4. End Of Time
5. Love

CD Only Bonus Track:
1. Cos Of You

Clara! hits AD93 with a 6 track LP ft. productions from the SKY H1, Pearson Sound & Low Jack.

'"Pulso" is about sexual desire, my desire. Me as the subject, not only the object of it. I sing my pleasure and daydreams, because it's my body and my imagination, so I know what I like to feel."

Sonically inspired by reggaeton, a genre that is personally nostalgic and reminiscent of times spent at parties listening to the imported genre as a teenager in her home country, Spain. Clara! works with producers who don’t usually dabble in the genre - SKY H1, Pearson Sound and Low Jack - in order to mix their own, unique universes with it. 

It's another unwavering statement of intent from the anything-but-the-mainstream-goes, AD 93. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Hauntingly alluring soundscapes, neck-snapping tight beats and seductive Spanish vocals equal another winner from the AD93 camp.

TRACK LISTING

Brillo
Lluvia De Sal (Feat. El Manantial)
Elle ( Feat. Kabaeushé)
Te Llevo
Pulso Gotas
Pulso Charcos

Mofak is an artist from Marseille who has been active in the world of funk and G-funk for many years, mastering the art of the talk box to perfection. After collaborating with major artists such as X-zibit, Kurupt & McEight, he's back with a solo project.

His music is even more open, with not only a funk and G-funk sound but also a nu-disco flavour that brings together even more generations and audiences.

There's no doubt that fans and newcomers alike will find something to enjoy. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Liquid syrup new boogie flavours from France. Plenty of trunk bumpin' g-funk vibes for the Jeep too.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Cosmic Kisses (Feat Daniel David)
A2. Groupy Love
A3. Superfluous (Feat Nic Hanson)
A4. In The Mothership

B1. My Love
B2. What U Want (Feat Sally Green)
B3. Down (Feat Uncle Sean)
B4. Monkey Wasnt Fonky (Feat Kokane)

The new album from Italian duo Dressel Amorosi, comprising Federico Amorosi and Valerio Lombardozzi, is a fervent homage to the realm of Italian soundtracks and library music from the late '70s and early '80s. Navigating effortlessly through a spectrum of scenarios and atmospheres, it conjures up vivid images of action-packed sequences, wistful retro vibes, chic party scenes, and hair-raising horror chills.

With a refined, contemporary flair, Spectrum celebrates early '80s cinema and its unmistakable aesthetics, steering clear of any trace of nostalgia. It weaves together elements of synth-pop, jazz-prog, electric fusion, and chill-funk across its seven compelling tracks, reimagining the past through a contemporary lens.

Compared to their previous, strictly horror-themed album, here Dressel Amorosi broaden their musical and cinematic palette, adding ingredients from the giallo, sexy thriller, comedy, and crime genres.

Their sonic exploration, too, strikes a delicate balance between the past and present. Federico Amorosi's basslines resonate with the distinctive timbre of a Rickenbacker 4003, its effects ranging from time-honored classics like the Mutron pedal to more modern marvels like the Darkglass, with a sprinkle of 'secret sauce' to ensure a signature sound. In addition, Valerio Lombardozzi's 'arsenal of machines' boasts iconic synthesizers such as the Roland Juno 106, the Korg MS 20, and the Farfisa Syntorchestra, which was a game-changer for an entire generation of Krautrock bands, including the early Tangerine Dream.

Merging an array of moods and hues into a mesmerizing chromatic tapestry, Spectrum summons the essence of late '70s and early '80s Italian cinema, reminding us of the astonishing diversity, enduring iconography, and sonic identity that defined that era. The album's packaging, artwork and graphic layout intentionally channel the spirit of a classic library music LP from that period, or rather its deluxe version. The 650g hardcover sleeve, designed by specialist Eric Adrien Lee, is complemented on the back by descriptions of the atmospheres of each track, which back in the day were meant to guide music consultants and TV programmers in their selections.

TRACK LISTING

1. Skipass
2. Voxson
3. Studio 70
4. Killing
5. Synthporn
6. Blitz
7. Redemption

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

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

STAFF COMMENTS

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

TRACK LISTING

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

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

After her album with producer High John on MPM in 2019 and collaborations with agajon, Àbáse, KUOKO, Cap Kendricks and Move 78, soul singer douniah returns with her debut solo project.

douniah imparts her debut solo project "A Lot, Not Too Much" to an unexpecting audience. Thoughtfully, the singer-songwriter invites us to embark on our own saviour. The collection of songs is steeped in artistic and emotional integrity. Production was ledand executed by Dhanya Langer, one half of band project Modha, and producer of JujuRogers' 2019 album "40 Acres N Sum Mula". Written amid the pandemic, this piece is aneffort of immense proportions - experimenting with her sound in time, wading through spirals of arduous personal challenges. 'A first impression of how my journey sounds.'Agadir-born and Hamburg-raised, douniah engages in the practice of interpreting herspirit, impressively, in German, Darija and English. We find here, a body of work that threads together the tenets of free-form poetry and romanticism, backdropped by neo-experimental jazz tendencies. In euphony, a worldly array of instruments act insymbiosis to carry us through "A Lot, Not Too Much". douniah's voice is one to fall into; her message is enunciated with every word, delivered delicately with an inventory ofriffs and ranged tone. The utilisation of choppy, note-like, freestyles bridges the EP's strong singles, into a rhapsodic whole.

TRACK LISTING

1. Half Milk, Half Water (Intro)
2. Sabah Al Noor
3. I Left, An Open Door
4. Round Full Moon (Interlude)
5. Running (feat. Okcandice)
6. Yannayer
7. Nur Für Mich
8. New Life

“Boom Boom” is the follow up of 2015’s “Traité de guitarres triolec]ques à l’usage des portugaises ensablées” . 12 new songs written by Pascal Comelade & Lionel Liminana. Featuring “solo” guitarists long time friends of Pascal Comelade: Ivan Telefunken (from Bel Canto Orquestra, also playing live with The Liminanas), Xarim Aresté & Lalo Lopez.

TRACK LISTING

1. Le Riffifi Brille En Jaune
2. Elvis Has Left The Building
3. Hypnose En Bas De Gamme
4. Fin Du Monde
5. Playitloudornotatall
6. Le Retour De Black Sabata
7. Contortionne-toi Toi-même
8. Solo De Boxe En Conserve
9. Concinacion
10. J’entends Des Voix Qui Ont Mauvaise Haleine
11. Ceci Est Un Enregistrement Magnétique
12. One Ne Mange Pas La Choucroute De Veronica

Forged in a warehouse in Liverpool's Baltic Triangle, Beatowls emerge in 2023 as a genre-defying trio. Darcie Chazen, Tom Roberts and Carl Cook, possess distinct talents, fusing elements of electro, folk, and psychedelia into captivating, dark atmospheric grooves.

The city’s urban-industrial mood inspires their sound, weaving evocative and cinematic tones into their upcoming debut album Marma.

For Fans Of : Dean Blunt and Inga Copeland,The XX, Portishead , Nancy & Lee Badalamenti/Lynch, Broadcast, Warp Records.

Above all, Beatowls embody a journey. Their story starts from a shared passion, extends into this collection of songs and sounds, and hints at a future filled with creative exploration.

From a dream in a Liverpool warehouse to a national platform, Beatowls stand on the cusp of an era promising audio adventures steeped in originality, emotive tales, and sonic diversity.

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A
01 Marma
02 I Pray
03 All I See Is Trouble
04 Nobody Knows Me
05 Twilight
SIDE B
01 Cinders
02 (Do You Want To Be) Loved?
03 Please Lie To Me
04 Dreams Of Home Invasion
05 Red Against The Twilight

‘Double Pink’ is the debut album by And Is Phi (Andrea Isabelle Phillips), a multidisciplinary artist from Norway and the Philippines now based in South East London. Set for release via Albert’s Favourites on 22nd September, ‘Double Pink’ is a nuanced world that draws on colours and texture; with influences of Joni Mitchell and Frank Zappa, 90's R&B and Madlib’s ‘Shades Of Blue’ blending languidly to produce a base for uncovering layers of self, a deep release, and fragile new form.

Written by Andrea and co-produced with Fiona Roberts and Lorenz Okello over a nine month period; ‘Double Pink’ thematically explores the many movements of internal change, speaking from a deep inner voice inside the body. The title track is an invitation to be as unapologetically hungry as you please after a long absence of life giving passion and trust in oneself. ‘White Noise’ is a recovery song playing in your soul the first time you made it back out to the dance floor after a heart break so massive it laid rest to the person you used to be. Songs like ‘Working’ and ‘Staaar’ come from a candid and contemplative aspect. Stages of grief and resilience and wonder and wisdom are all touched upon.

“The album explores metamorphosis, liminal spaces, and the multiple faces of love”, says Andrea. “I mention love as a key ingredient, because anyone who has had to push and pull and hold and yield themselves through great loss and transformation knows it ain’t gonna happen without love. Tough times ask for double love, a stronger heart, something like a double pink”.

Andrea’s story dots between periods spent living in Norway, the Philippines and England - experiencing joy and beauty battling corruption and violence in Manila, DJing in Oslo, losing her sizable record collection in a warehouse fire before making friends and family in the jazz scene in London. Every story needs a scene, a landscape, an environment; all things Andrea visualises when writing songs.

“At my heart I am emotional and imaginative, searching for freedom for my spirit. What grounds it all is coming from a family of storytellers. My father played drums and percussion, he was a great dancer and a true collector and connoisseur of music from everywhere. My wise mother instilled in me a sense of faith and grace”.

Andrea is far from new to the scene, having performed with Steamdown, Emma Jean Thackray, Hector Plimmer, Scrimshire, William Florelle and many more as a valuable and inspiring creative force within the South London music scene. Andrea also created the album’s artwork and music videos: musicality and painting evolved from her initial creative languages of drawing and dance. All aspects are dialects of her common language: singing what can’t be painted and painting what can’t be sung.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Double Pink
A2. White Noise
A3. There’s A
A4. Why I’m Shy
B1. Working
B2. Staaar
B3. Eyes That Open

Glasgow’s iconic and highly influential progressive house label Limbo Records celebrates it’s 30th anniversary. An incredible compilation across two 12”s in an expertly designed gatefold sleeve with a poster insert that takes a look back at some of the biggest tracks that graced the label over the past three decades.

A true collector’s item, showcasing the power and presence of this Scottish stalwart, lovingly remastered by Davie Forbes and reissued for a whole new generation of listeners. The compilation kicks off with Havana - Schtoom, the record that started it all given the remix from legendary Scottish duo Slam, before the party anthem ‘Buruchacca’ from Mukkaa aka Kiltie and Crichton gets a signature remix Apollo 440.

Elsewhere Gypsy hit with undeniably one of the highlight tracks in the Limbo catalogue ‘I Trance You’ and Sublime serve up another of Limbo’s classic releases, the dance floor banger ‘Transamerican’ which topped all the charts at the time.

Take to side 3 and you’ll find the second release on Limbo a percussive drum laden epic from Havana entitled ‘Shift’ that planted Limbo firmly in the must buy section of record shops across the UK. Another highlight on side 4 sees legendary Glasgow DJ Harri of Sub Club fame with his debut on Limbo – a superb slice of hard to house.

All in all, this is a serious slice of history that every collection should have nestled in its racks.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Havana - Schtoom (Slam Remix)
A2. Mukkaa - Buruchacca (Apollo 440 Remix)
A3. Ritmo De Vida - Taboo
B1. Gypsy - I Trance You
B2. Stealth Sonic Soul - Stealth Sonic Soul (Apollo 440 Remix)
B3. Sublime - Transamerican
C1. Neebro - Neebro (Floor Federation Remix)
C2. Bingo Specs Boogie
C3. Havana - Shift
D1. Havana - Shift (Ready For Dead & Stuart Crichton Remix)
D2. Harri - Skelph
D3. Ready For Dead - Ready For Dead

Wig Out! Freak Out!’, the latest compilation from Two-Piers, dives into the world of Freakbeat, Psych and Mod from 1964-1969. Pulling the cream of tracks from the UK & United States Freakbeat and Garage scenes of the time. Featuring tracks from The Sonics, The Kinks, The Action, Chocolate Watch Band, The Haunted, The Standells, Paul Revere & The Raiders, The Shadows of Knight, The Yardbirds, The Seeds and more ‘Wig Out! Freak Out!’ is packed full of Freakbeat and Mod classics as well as rare sought after nuggets.

Talking about ‘Wig Out! Freak Out!' Two-Piers compiler Mark McQuillan says "The album was inspired by my many happy DJ nights promoting my club night ‘Club Pod’ down in Brighton in the 1990s and my love of all things Sixties Freakbeat. I wanted to put as many great tracks as I could on one compilation to hopefully bring across the feeling of sheer joy from spinning these awesome tracks in a club and seeing the place go off. This compilation isn’t supposed to be a rare crate diggers album, but rather a gateway to give listeners a flavour of the scene and allow them to go off and discover new and brilliant hidden gems within the Freakbeat and Mod Psychedelia genre, and if ‘Wig Out! Freak Out!’ does that job done!"

Aimed squarely at the Alternative & 60s Club Dancefloors ‘Wig Out! Freak Out!’ Kicks off with the fuzz guitars of The Sonics ’Shot Down’, The Standells epic ‘Dirty Water’, and lesser known gem '1-2-5’ by The Haunted, before taking you down a road of pure riotous Freakbeat joy with tracks by the likes of The Birds ‘You’re on My Mind', The Wimple Winch 'Save My Soul' and The Remains ‘Don’t Look Back’. Add the epic Freakbreat grooves of The Eyes ‘You’re Too Much’ and The Open Mind ‘Magic Potion’ an chuck in some brilliant covers by The Kinks, with their take on ‘Louie Louie, Paul Reeve & The Raiders sublime version of ‘I’m Not Your Stepping Stone, Girl group The Starlets garage cover of ‘You Don’t Love Me’, ‘Gloria’ reworked by The Shadows of Knight, and The Action covering ‘Land of 1000 Dances’ and making the track their own, and your feet can’t help but move. The compilation contains lesser known gems such as The Satans ‘Makin’ Deals’, Count Five ‘Double Decker Bus’, The Poets ‘Wooden Spoon’ and The Pirates ‘Cuttin’ Out’. It also takes a turn into Mod Psychedelic territory with the Hammond led grooves of The Quik ‘Berts Apple Crumble’, The Spencer Davis Group ‘I’m A Man’ and the glorious ‘Indian Rope Man’ by Julie Drsicoll, Brian Auger and The Trinity, before ending on the instrumental blues psych rock of Davie Allan & The Arrows ‘Blues Theme’ - a journey through the very best of Freakbeat and Mod Psychedelia at the peak of its powers 1964-1969.

Two-Piers the label has brought to you such wonderful compilations as the Pop Psychédélique, Garage Psychédélique and Lounge Psychédélique compilation series introducing the listener to the worlds of French Psychedelic Pop, Garage Psych, and Lounge & Exotica Space Age Bachelor Pad Music, Waves of Distortion (The Best of Shoegaze 1990-2022) and Music for The Stars (Celestial Music 1960-1979).

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: One look at that tracklist and you know you're in for a treat. Weird psychedelic mod grooves, fuzzy guitars and syncopated swagger, soaring airy numbers and scuzzy garage-adjacent stomp. As always, presented beautifully and perfectly compiled by Two-Piers.

TRACK LISTING

A1. The Sonics - Shot Down
A2. The Standells - Dirty Water
A3. The Haunted - 1-2-5
A4. The Birds - You’re On My Mind
A5. Paul Revere & The Raiders - I’m Not Your Stepping Stone
A6. The Shadows Of Knight - Shake
A7. The Starlets - You Don’t Love Me
A8. The Wimple Winch - Save My Soul
B1. The Action - Land Of 1000 Dances
B2. Jacques Dutronc - Le Responsable
B3. The Eyes - You’re Too Much
B4. The Remains - Don’t Look Back
B5. The Kinks - Louie Louie
B6. Rita Chaos & The Quests - Hanky Panky
B7. The Argyles - Farmer John
B8. The Poets - Wooden Spoon
C1. The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band - Shifting Sands
C2. ? & The Mysterians - Up Side
C3. The Third Bardo - I’m Five Years Ahead Of My Time
C4. The Shadows Of Knight - Gloria **
C5. The Chocolate Watch Band - Let’s Talk About Girls
C6. The Open Mind - Magic Potion **
C7. Count Five - Double-Decker Bus
C8. The Satans - Makin’ Deals
D1. The Quik - Berts Apple Crumble
D2. The Spencer Davis Group - I’m A Man
D3. Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity - Indian Rope Man
D4. The Hi-Fis - Tread Softly For The Sleepers
D5. The Yardbirds - Stroll On
D6. The Pirates - Cuttin’ Out
D7. The Seeds - Pushin’ Too Hard
D8. Davie Allan & The Arrows - Blues Theme

** Exclusive Tracks For Vinyl

Hadsel is the first new full-length record since Beirut’s 2019 release, “Gallipoli,” and the first on Zach Condon’s own label, Pompeii Records. Recorded in the Norwegian island of Hadsel shortly after a physical and mental break forced Condon to cancel is 2019 tour, Condon was looking for a place to recover after being left in a state of shock and self-doubt.

Working in isolation, Condon explains, “I was lost in a trance, stumbling blindly through my own mental collapse that I had been pushing aside since I was a teenager. It came and rang me like a bell. I was left agonising many things past and present while the beauty of the nature, the northern lights and fearsome storms played an awesome show around me. The few hours of light would expose the unfathomable beauty of the mountains and the fjords, and the hours- long twilights would fill me with subdued excitement. I’d like to believe that scenery is somehow present in the music.

The resulting is collection of songs beautifully reflect that vulnerability, sense of self-determination and belief that after collapse, one can learn to manage on their own again.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Hadsel takes the foundation so perfectly laid by Beirut's extensive discography and moves the whole kit and/or caboodle into the icy climes of Norway. It's not dampened any of the warmth in Condon's music, but it lends a certain crystalline beauty and swimming, airy sparsity. Evocative and beautiful throughout.

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A
1. Hadsel
2. Arctic Forest
3. Baion
4. So Many Plans
5. Melbu
6. Stokmarknes


SIDE B
7. Island Life
8. Spillhaugen
9. January 18th
10. Süddeutsches Ton-Bild
11. The Tern
12. Regulatory

Johnny Flynn’s sixth album, and the second co-written with his friend Robert Macfarlane gathers songs that Johnny and Robert have written together since finishing their first joint album, Lost In The Cedar Wood (2021). At its heart are the oldest themes of all: death and renewal, darkness and light. The first five tracks are songs of burial, shadows and memory, while the final four are songs of awakening, light and love. The album turns around a central song, ‘The Sun Also Rises’, which stands with a foot in both dark and light.

Fuses poetry, story, landscape, history, nature and myth into a series of rich, strange songlines that criss-cross time and place, joining winter to spring, ancient to present and birth to death. As the Sun sets, so the Moon rises as its echo; as one light dies, another, altogether different light is born.

Partly recorded in an old Methodist chapel –now the home of Johnny and Rob’s friends, Cosmo and Flora Sheldrake.

Produced by Charlie Andrew (Alt-J, Marika Hackman).

BIOG
Johnny Flynn is a singer, composer, musician and actor. His musical releases to date include the studio albums A Larum (2008), Been Listening (2010), Country Mile (2013), Sillion (2017) and Lost In The Cedar Wood (2021). He has released two full live albums, Live in Washington DC (2014) and Live at the Roundhouse (2018) and various EPs and soundtracks. As well as touring the world with his band, Johnny regularly composes music for film, TV and theatre –– including work for period instruments at the Globe Theatre. Johnny’s recent acting projects include Hangmen and True West (for which he also composed the music) on stage and Emma, Beast and The Dig on film. He is currently appearing as Richard Burton in Jack Thorne’s sell-out play The Motive and the Cue, directed by Sam Mendes.

Robert Macfarlane is a writer of books about nature, people, place and landscape including Underland (2019), Landmarks (2015), The Old Ways (2012) and, with Jackie Morris, The Lost Words (2017) and The Lost Spells (2020). He also writes films (inc. Mountain and River, both starring Willem Dafoe), operas, plays and screenplays, and collaborates widely, including with artist Stanley Donwood, and musicians Cosmo Sheldrake, Jocelyn Pook and Karine Polwart. His work has been widely adapted for film, stage, television, radio, dance, music and performance, and his books have been published in more than thirty languages. In 2023 he was awarded the inaugural Weston International Award for Non-Fiction.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A rousing collection of songs from the neo-folk troubador Johnny Flynn (whose Detectorists theme is forever etched in my brain) and frequent collaboration partner Robert Macfarlane. It's a warming, bucolic selection that's every bit as beautiful as 2021's stunning 'Lost In The Cedar Wood'.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Uncanny Valley
2. Song With No Name
3. Burial Blessing
4. No Matter The Weight
5. Coins For The Eyes
Side B
6. The Sun Also Rises
7. The Wild Hunt
8. Through The Misty With You
9. Year-Long Winter
10. River, Mountain And Love

In November 2022, Cat Power took the stage at London’s Royal Albert Hall and delivered a song-for-song recreation of one of the most fabled and transformative live sets of all time. Held at the Manchester Free Trade Hall in May 1966—but long known as the “Royal Albert Hall Concert” due to a mislabeled bootleg—the original performance saw Bob Dylan switching from acoustic to electric midway through the show, drawing ire from an audience of folk purists and forever altering the course of rock-and-roll. In her own rendition of that historic night, the artist otherwise known as Chan Marshall inhabited each song with equal parts conviction and grace and a palpable sense of protectiveness, ultimately transposing the anarchic tension of Dylan’s set with a warm and luminous joy. Now captured on the live album Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert, Marshall’s spellbinding performance both lovingly honors her hero’s imprint on history and brings a stunning new vitality to many of his most revered songs.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Chan Marshall presents a beautiful recreation of Bob Dylan's legendary performance here, both faithfully honouring Dylan's stylistic inflection and adding her own twist. It's clear there's an in-depth knowledge of Dylan's works here, from a true fan and as a performance, it's flawless.

Blind On A Galloping Horse serves as David Holmes’ first solo album since 2008’s The Holy Pictures.

A 14-track interrogation of the last decade, time spent watching a decaying, fraying Britain visibly buckling in real time while tending to his own battles with mental health. Holmes’ soundtrack to this inquiry is at times claustrophobic, often euphoric, driven by the rattle and snap of analogue drum machines, wild oscillations of droning analogue synths and the voice of Raven Violet which beguiles and commands in a way that could part oceans.

On this record, there are songs of hope for an age of uncertainty; love songs to leap the barricades to and, on ‘Necessary Genius’, a comprehensive roll call of the great and good - those ‘dreamers, misfits, radicals, outcasts’ that we’ve lost and just a few who’ve managed to cling on in the churn of the 21st century. And there are elegiac electronics evocative of an endless Europe where pulsating, crackling rhythm tracks fuse with dreamlike textures and the underground pulse of psychedelic therapy to form something unique that feels nothing less than radical. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: It's no wonder we (the shop) or we (Manchester) have taken to David Holmes, with the snappy post-industrial synth-gloom of 'Necessary Genius' referencing Tony Wilson by name and by design. It's yet another bit of evidence that Holmes' musical skills know no bounds. Rich, evocative works throughout and produced as you'd expect, perfectly.

TRACK LISTING

1. When People Are Occupied Resistance Is Justified
2. It's Over, If We Run Out Of Love
3. Emotionally Clear
4. Hope Is The Last Thing To Die
5. You Will Know Me By The Smell Of Onions
6. Necessary Genius
7. Yeah X 3
8. I Laugh Myself To Sleep
9. Too Muchroom
10. Agitprop 13
11. Stop Apologising
12. Tyranny Of The Talentless
13. Love In The Upside Down
14. Blind On A Galloping Horse 

In the decade or so that hard-working New York quartet Sunwatchers have operated, the group has steadily & subtly refined their sound - a brain-blasting mixture of jazz, psychedelia, krautrock, punk, noise, & Saharan blues - into something that is avant-leaning enough to appeal to the discerning jazz & experimental music fan & weird & wooly enough to get the true heads’ toes tapping. “Music Is Victory Over Time” is the band’s 5th album, and fourth for Chicago-based Trouble In Mind Records, seeing the long-running lineup of Peter Kerlin (bass guitar), Jim McHugh (guitars), Jason Robira (drums), and Jeff Tobias (alto saxophone and keyboards) in prime form.

Album opener “World People” is a classic Sunwatchers number whose title expresses their Anarcho-Internationalist ideology (and the atypically multi-culti make up of their crowds), with an underlying melodic resonance to New Orleans funeral marches à la Albert Ayler — a triumphant call to arms to all peoples. Live fave “Too Gary”’s gang vocal shout punctuates a motorik rager named for a phrase often uttered by a badass eight year old skateboarder McHugh knew with a speech impediment (it means “that’s too scary”). “T.A.S.C.” (or “Theme For Anarchist Sports Center”) is inspired by Sonny Sharrock’s maligned 80’s output & sounds exactly like a wrathful, mutant version of a prime-time athletic show theme, replete with the requisite “sitcom ending.” The sun- scorched “Foams” - a longform piece intended to depict natural stuff like tides, nightfall, and time slowly passing, ancient, peaceful and slightly gross all at once - practically jumps out of the speakers, its palpable intensity crackling in your eardrums. The title of “Tumulus” might reference an ancient burial mound, but the music itself might be the group’s most high-tech song to date, complimented by an arpeggiating

sequencer, three different forms of tape delay and an electric saxophone; ecstatic, fiery & deeply spiritual. “There Goes Ol’ Ooze” is a smoky creeper that lets Tobias & Kerlin take a walk for a while, with respectful nods to the Stones and Steve Reich. “Song For The Gone” closes out the album, showcasing a sincerely tender moment for the gang, as an expression of love and resolve for dear friends who had recently, tragically died. Its cascading, bluesy melody attuning itself to our own collective unconscious grief.

Having the distinct pleasure of being the first band to record in John Dwyer’s new LA-based recording studio Discount Mirrors, “Music Is Victory Over Time” boasts a beefed up sound. The band worked closely with in-house engineer Eric Bauer - facilitator, troubleshooter, sonic obsessive, a legendary freak and a DIY lifer. The band also had full access to the studio’s epic armory of gear: amps, axes (it’s Dwyer’s Eddie Harris model electric sax), synths, a bass guitar once belonging to Klaus Flouride of the Dead Kennedys. Crucial for the sounds and the vibe.

The album art was created by Josh MacPhee, the activist artist, author, archivist and founding member of both the radical artist collective Just Seeds and Interference Archive, a public collection of materials from social movements based in Brooklyn. MacPhee's participation in the project works as a statement of Sunwatchers' progressive utopian intentionality, and organically underscores their involvement in revolutionary projects within and without of their hometown. Listening to “Music Is Victory Over Time”, Sunwatcher’s rebellious spirit & unbridled enthusiasm remain fully intact, but the secret sauce is their infectious irreverence in the face of the horrors of this world. Much of our best cultural commentary is Trojan-horsed to the general public via humor & satire & the band has a knack for lacing the ridiculous with the radical. It’s good to have them back.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Sunwatchers aren't for the faint hearted, it has to be said. There's a lot of the off-piste time signatures and microscopically off-kilter tuning decisions, psychy freakouts and wild untethered instrumeantals but my GOD there is groove when it comes. It's like all the atonality makes the unbeatable 'drop' all the more satisfying. An incredibly striking balance of jazz, post-rock and noise music.

TRACK LISTING

1. World People
2. Too Gary
3. T.A.S.C.
4. Foams
5. Tumulus
6. There Goes Ol’ Ooze
7. Song For The Gone

CIVIC’s breakthrough first EP, ‘New Vietnam’, plus a collection of early singles originally released between 2018-19, available for the first time outside of Australia. Single LP in a standard jacket, pressed on clear vinyl.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Those of you that haven't heard CIVIC should give them a listen if you're into the more melodic end of the Discord releases. It's punk rock, but cleverly written and perfectly played so the result ends up more like Bad Religion than Bad Brains. Brilliant.

TRACK LISTING

1. New Vietnam
2. Satellites
3. Street Machine Dream
4. Call The Doctor
5. Shackled Man
6. Burning Steel
7. Flick The Station
8. Pleasure
9. Heat
10. Needle In The Camel's Eye
11. Selling, Sucking, Blackmail, Bribes
12. Velvet Casino
13. New Vietnam [Live]

Kevin Morby writes (and records, and imagines) at an almost incomparable clip, and his most recent album, This Is A Photograph, studies life, time and mortality through myriad lenses. It’s a dynamic, buoyant record on big, heavy themes, so it only makes sense that Morby found he wasn’t quite done with it on its completion. More Photographs (A Continuum) finds new nooks, corners and vantage points. “If This Is A Photograph is a house that you have been living inside of,” says Morby, “then More Photographs is, perhaps, the same home just experienced differently. As if you, its inhabitant, have taken a tab of something psychedelic and now, suddenly, you’ve replaced your eyeglasses with kaleidoscopes.”

Here, Morby returns to his landmark album’s bottomless themes with new wisdom, new imagination, and the winking, looping callbacks that tie his full body of work together in uniquely special ways. “Everything you once thought was familiar,” he continues, “suddenly appears differently, shifting shapes, color and sonic landscapes.” “Five Easy Pieces Revisited” captures the same moment from Bobby’s point of view; “This Is A Photograph II” takes a similar tact, revisiting its predecessor from a different angle. “Triumph” explores more of the myths and deaths that surround Memphis, TN, this time inspired by Big Star’s Chris Bell. And “Kingdom Of Hearts” arrives as an origin story to both This Is A Photograph and its new companion.

“With every collection of songs,” says Morby, “I feel I must cast them out of me before moving onto the next project, and here I knew that what I had begun with This Is A Photograph was not finished. Releasing this collection is my tying a bow on that time and place in my creative life.” With a luxurious nine tracks – three re-imaginings and six brand new songs – More Photographs (A Continuum) is prequel, sequel and primer to an already rich and generous record from one of our most luminous modern songwriters.

STAFF COMMENTS

Martin says: I'm a big fan of Kevin Morby, so when I saw that he was continuing to create music in the same sound world as last years' 'This Is A Photograph', I was delighted. More washes of blissful guitar, euphoric harmonies and rich slide swells. More gold from Kevin Morby.

TRACK LISTING

1) This Is A Photograph II
2) Triumph
3) Bittersweet, Tennessee
4) Going To Prom
5) Lion Tamer

SIDE B
6) A Song For Katie
7) Five Easy Pieces Revisited
8) Mickey Mantle’s Autograph
9) Kingdom Of Broken Hearts

Previously unreleased live concert from the Jimi Hendrix Experience from 1967. The concert, which took place at the Hollywood Bowl in California in August 1967, features the original Experience line up of Mitch Mitchell on drums and Noel Redding on bass.

The concert followed their incendiary American live debut at the Monterey Pop Festival that June - and immediately preceded the US release of 'Are You Experienced', their debut album - and saw the Experience opening for The Mamas & The Papas.

Before a sold-out audience of 17,000 people, the Experience overwhelmed an unsuspecting audience with a superb show that encompassed his renditions of songs by The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters as well as signature songs such as 'Purple Haze' and 'The Wind Cries Mary'. This recording has never been bootlegged and captures the Jimi Hendrix Experience at a unique moment in their illustrious career. 

Steven Adams, formerly of The Broken Family Band releases new album DROPS on Fika Recordings. Since calling time on TBFB at the height of their success, Adams has released half a dozen albums under various names (Singing Adams, Steven James Adams, Steven Adams & The French Drops), his witty, incisive lyrics and melodic sensibilities taking in DIY indie rock, folky introspection, and off-kilter pop hooks. Originally from South Wales, Adams now lives in East London.

“Every record I’ve made has been in a hurry of some sort” says Adams of his new album, “and with this one I took my time”. DROPS is the first album to be credited to him as a solo artist since 2016’s Old Magick, his first new music since 2020, and his noisiest record to date. Armed with a new batch of material, he began by upping sticks to the Welsh countryside to experiment with drummer Daniel Fordham and bassist David Stewart - both formerly of psych oddballs The Drink. The trio then took the songs to Big Jelly, a converted chapel on the south coast, with co-producer Simon Trought (Comet Gain, Johnny Flynn, The Wave Pictures) to lay down the basic tracks for DROPS. Eschewing a full band set up (“I wanted to concentrate on one thing at a time”), recording sessions in East London followed with Laurie Earle (Absentee) on guitar and Michael Wood (Hayman Kupa Band, Michaelmas) on keyboards. Adams then took the recordings home and to the French countryside, to work alone. “I finally got my head around home recording in 2020, while things were a bit quiet. Once I worked out how to record things I realised I didn’t have to think about time. I could let the songs evolve and change once we had the basic tracks down. After a while I started to think of them as paintings; trying something one morning, painting over it in the afternoon and attempting something completely different… it was about enjoying the process, making some bangers, playing around... and giving Simon the producer a mess to sort out when it came to mixing the record". Whenever Tom from Fika Recordings checked in to see how the album was progressing Adams would reply, “it’s taking ages but it’ll sound like it was recorded in an afternoon”. The result is a dynamic and spirited collection of songs, with Adams's love of 90/00s US underground rock (Pavement's Bob Nastanovich is a fan) to the fore. DROPS is a sonically compelling piece of work: from bleak/exultant opener Out to Sea and the motorik Living in the Local Void to the weirdly funereal Fascists (where Adams imagines the “little skip in our steps” that we’ll have upon outliving some baddies), and Day Trip's psychedelia in miniature. There are also moments of tenderness: the avalanche of empathy on closing track Cheap Wine Sad Face, and I Tried to Keep it Light’s “worse things could happen… I don’t know how, but give me time”. Adams says: “I'm preoccupied by the passing of time and the way it affects how we feel. This record is about time and bewilderment and trying to make sense of things".

TRACK LISTING

Out To Sea
Living In The Local Void
Moderation
Heads Keep Rolling
Making Holes
Pas Moi
Holiday Casual
Fascists
I Tried To Keep It Light
Day Trip
Cheap Wine Sad Face

The new album by Quantic aka multi instrumentalist, DJ, composer and producer Will Holland is in many ways an evolution. Now 20 years into his career, ‘Dancing While Falling’ is the British born New York based artist’s most live sounding, euphoric and, in his own words, grown up release to date.

Predominantly recorded at his own Brooklyn studio, Selva, Quantic’s initial idea for his new album was to experiment sonically. However, after a while, he changed direction and realised that the record needed to also relate to the human condition not just his “singular pandemic wormhole”. The demos, then, started off as symphonic, loosely disco era dance music a departure from his previous Latin and Spanish instrumental releases. Influenced by legendary artists in the scene like Bohannon and Larry Levan, Quantic wanted to make a disco leaning album at first. “I’m really interested in Latin music and Afro Caribbean rhythms and I think there's a really amazing point in history where the emergence of those rhythms and its combination with American soul sparked what we now know as disco,” he says.

TRACK LISTING

1. Run (feat. Andreya Triana
2. Subway Lover
3. Stand Up
4. Unconditional (feat. Rationale)
5. Get In The Ride (feat. Connie Constance)
6. Brooklyn Heat (feat. Andreya Triana
7. Emeralds
8. Morning Light (feat. Andreya Triana)
9. Tikurin
10. Where The Flowers Grow (feat. Andreya Triana)

A Mountain of One present a brand new interpretation of their critically acclaimed LP Stars Planet Dust Me. Originally released in 2022 the album was heralded for its entrancing blend of slow-motion disco, soft rock, and psychedelia... one person particularly entranced was Ricardo Villalobos who fell in love with the record and asked to remix something from the record… something soon became everything and led us to this… Ricardo Villalobos reimagines: Stars Planets Dust Me.

The concept LP is split into two halves (day and night), commencing with three sun-drenched ‘beachside’ songs, and building into a second half of detail-rich ‘klub’ creations in distinctive style.

Additional exclusive remixes (on top of concept LP tracks) to be released on vinyl and digital, including Ricardo’s highly prized “Elko” remix of Black Apple Pink Apple 

TRACK LISTING

1. Star (Ricardo Villalobos Master)
2. Custard Last Stand / AMO1 Ambient Version (Ricardo Villalobos Master)
3. Make My Love Grow (Ricardo Villalobos Mix Down)
4. Black Apple Pink Apple (Ricardo Villalobos Remix)
5. Make My Love Grow (Ricardo Villalobos Make My Love Groove Remix)
6. Softlanding (Ricardo Villalobos Remix)
7. Dealer (Ricardo Villalobos Remix) 

For fans of minimal wave and DIY electronic pop, Oppenheimer Analysis's self-released 1982 debut cassette, New Mexico - little more than an extended demo cassette - has become something of a collector's item. While it has been reissued digitally since, it never received a vinyl release. In tribute to Martin Lloyd (the other half of the duo, alongside Andy Oppenheimer), who passed away, Minimal Wave has decided to make New Mexico available on wax. While the sound quality is appropriately dusty (it was badly recorded in the first place, of course), the music remains magical - bubbling, evocative, left-of-centre leftfield pop created with home-made synthesizers, modular hardware and little else. It's no wonder many consider it a classic album (even if was never officially released first time round).

STAFF COMMENTS

Mine says: A must have for any minimal wave / synth fan. Truly addictive!

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
1. "The Devil's Dancers"
2. "Radiance"
3. "Martyr"

Side 2
1. "Cold War"
2. "Don't Be Seen With Me"
3. "Modern Wonder"

Side 3
1. "Subterranean Desire"
2. "Scorpians"
3. "New Mexico"

Side 4
1. "Behind The Shades"
2. "Men In White Coats"
3. "You Won't Forget Me"

Following on from the warm reception to Hell Yeah and Music Conception reissuing Calm's cult Before album, the labels have come together once more to offer up a reissue of the Japanese master's highly sought-after long player Moonage Electric Ensemble. The hard-to-find original has been given an all-new mixdown from original stem files and then re-mastered by Calm himself, and the double LP will also come with a bonus 12" featuring his very own Daydream Dubs plus an obi-strip and original artwork by FJD.

The blissful yet soul-stirring Moonage Electric Ensemble, which landed first in 1999, was Kiyotaka Fukagawa's stunning sophomore album and the one that kept the bar high following his debut Shadow of the Earth. It investigated all new worlds of future jazz, ambient and downtempo and has since become a cult classic that often fetches three figures on secondhand markets. He has released over 18 albums since including Before which was reissued in 2022, though Moonage Electric Ensemble remains a favourite with those who enjoy the most accomplished and innovative sounds from the first wave of chillout.

This escapist charmer opens with the suspensory synths and piano keys of 'Unseen Small Steps' featuring spoken words from Dan Gamble, then 'Light Year' has gently tumbling rhythms and shimming synth moving about the soothing mix. 'Noon At The Moon' brings gorgeously fizzing future jazz drums and mellifluous piano playing full of subtle joy, and 'The Other Side Of The Moon' then layers up melancholic chords and chunkier rhythms that are detailed with gorgeous persuasive details and mystic flutes. 'Tsukiyo' is a new age charmer with paddy hand drums and romantic interplay between sax and trumpet, 'Between Worlds' is an ambient interlude with distant winds blowing and intimate whispers from Gamble before closer 'Authentic Love Song' rides on dusty trip hop breaks as lazy piano chords melt the heart and Gamble serves up another aloof monologue.

This is another welcome reissue of a sublime album that is not only one of Calm's finest but also a true gem in the wider world of downtempo music.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Unseen Small Steps
A2. Light Years
A3. Noon At The Moon
A4. The Other Side Of The Moon
B1. Tsukiyo
B2. Between Worlds
B3. Authentic Love Song
B4. OasisC1Light Years
C2. Noon At The Moon
C3. The Other Side Of The Moon
D1. Tsukiyo
D2. Authentic Love Song
D3. Oasis

Tom Carruthers back in full form with a massive 18 track TRIPLE LP set. Huge Tip!

This has everything you could possibly want on it, going in heavy with the 88-92' vibes all the Bleeps, Detroit strings, shuffling 909s, and Chicago 727s one can possibly want. Every track is a winner, full dancefloor fodder you'll swear are lost classics unearthed from the grave. Carruthers has consistently proved he has mastered the formula to create perfect old school tracks that will have you jackin on the floor all nite long. This collection is what dance music is about and explores the full range of formative styles in all their intricacies from top to bottom. Undoubtedly his most comprehensive and definitive work to date.

TRACK LISTING

Algorithm
Cytoplasm
Delve
Industrial Sub
Mission Control
Reprise
Voltage
Dissolution
Xxx Scene
Textures
Visions
Launch Code
Resonator
The Future
House Authority
Tonight
Darkside

Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, one of the preeminent musicians, orchestrators, arrangers and composers of our time, presents his magnum opus. 12 years in the making, ‘Les Jardins Mystiques Vol.1’ comprises three and a half hours of music spanning jazz, modern classical and ambient.

Composed, arranged and produced by Miguel Atwood-Ferguson with contributions from 50+ friends and family including Kamasi Washington, Thundercat, DOMi & JD Beck, Jeff Parker, Carlos Niño, Austin Peralta, Bennie Maupin, Lara Somogyi, Jamael Dean, Jamire Williams, Burniss Travis II, Deantoni Parks, Brandon Coleman, Marcus Gilmore and more.

For fans of Flying Lotus, Floating Points with LSO & Pharoah Sanders, Kamasi Washington, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Ólafur Arnalds.

Miguel joined an all-star lineup at the Hollywood Bowl recently, to conduct the Los Angeles Studio Orchestra in a performance of ‘Promises’, the acclaimed 2021 album recorded by Floating Points with the late tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders.

Miguel has released music on cult indie labels such as Ninja Tune, Kindred Spirits and International Anthem.

He is best known to hip-hop fans for his stunning orchestral tribute to the music of James ‘Dilla’ Yancey - ‘Mochilla Presents Timeless: Suite for Ma Dukes’ in 2009.

TRACK LISTING

Disc 01:
1. Kiseki
2. Persinette
3. Narva
4. Eudaimonia
5. Porpita
6. Nazo No Tenkai (Ernok)
7. Mångata
8. Ano Yo
9. Zarra
10. Kairos (Amor Fati)
11. Magnolia (Aisling)
12. Cho Oyu
13. Matumaini
14. Zoticus

Disc 02:
1. Légäsi
2. Votivus
3. Querencia
4. Kundinyota
5. Dragons Of Eden
6. Eunoia
7. Znaniya (Falkor)
8. Tzedakah
9. Apocrypha
10. Asherah
11. Plotinus
12. Kairos (Kefi)
13. Qumran
14. Makaria
15. Kupaianaha
16. Taijasa
17. Vesta
18. Ziggurat

Disc 03:
1. Ziya
2. Scar
3. Let The Light Shine In
4. Komorebi
5. Daydream
6. Dream Dance
7. Apotheosis
8. Magnolia (Astronomia Nova)
9. Moksha
10. Datsuzoku
11. Hypatia
12. Kuleana
13. Aldous
14. Jijivisha
15. Paititi
16. Airavata
17. Znaniya (Ahura Mazda)
18. Nag Hammadi
19. Halcyon
20. Sweet Invitation

New Robohands LP 'Palms' is the fifth album from the London based instrumentalist and producer Andy Baxter. Moving towards different genres and arrangements from his previous albums, 'Palms' features duelling harp parts, tape echo, double bass and draws inspiration from artists such as Dorothy Ashby, Azimuth, Alice Coltrane and Toquinho.

In parts tropical and synth drenched, and in others stripped back and acoustic, 'Palms' is a journey back to saturated analog recordings of the late 60s and 70s, with a subtle modern layer of glitch FX and pitch control experimentation in places. The album makes also reference to classic releases from jazz fusion that feature the legendary Arp Odyssey synthesiser, used by artists such as Herbie Hancock and George Duke.

The seventeen track album features performances from multiple session musicians including Jim Piela on saxophone and Marco Cremaschini on Rhodes, with Baxter taking on drums, guitar, bass, keys and also mixing duties. 'Palms' is a new direction for his project and a record that thematically journeys into modern reinterpretations of jazz, downtempo, acoustic and ambient music.

TRACK LISTING

1. Palms
2. Tinted
3. Moments
4. Geodesic Luxury
5. Last Summer
6. Easy
7. Driven
8. Individuation
9. Jorge
10. Modular Life
11. Nylon Days
12. One Dimensional Man
13. For Jimi
14. Saturation
15. Ouroboros
16. Piraeus Yesterday
17. Relax Pt II

Introducing the 2nd Volume of Super Biton of Segou’s Afro.Jazz.Folk collection, led by Malian conductor Amadou Bah, also known as The Armstrong Malian.

Deviation Records is thrilled to present this collaboration with The Mieruba Label Team, showcasing the diverse musical roots of 1970s Mali, combining Afro-Latin percussion, Mandingo songs, jazzy brass, and funky guitar. The album also features the captivating ArtCollage of Emma Margo incorporating visuals of Segou, Mieruba Art Center, and Françoise Huguier.

The graphic design is conceived by Les Mouches Graphic Design, with a selective varnish made from traditional Bogolan fabric of the Segou area. The audio was remastered by Raphael Jonin and cut by MB Mastering Studio in Aubervilliers.

Get ready for a full sensory experience!

TRACK LISTING

A1 - Nantan
A2 - Bouguel
A3 - A Tou N Diaye
B1 - Farafina
B2 - Ladilikan
B3 - Diarabi Muso
C1 - Djiri Maridie
C2 - Kibaru 75
D1 - Mariana
D2 - Moriba
D3 - Waraba Tchatcho

Presenting the third volume of forward-thinking electronics and peerless jungle / D&B expressionism from iconoclastic Bristol producer and DJ, Krust. An artist who has always been pushing the sonic envelope while keeping dancefloors fully locked.

Introducing 'Irrational Numbers,' a meticulously curated collection of five parts. This compilation is a treasure trove of hand-picked records and archival gems from Krust's extensive discography, thoughtfully remastered and presented anew for both devoted fans and newcomers.

Volume 3 serves us a plethora of unmissable highlights from Krust's enviable back catalogue. From the raw jump-up chaos of 'Rukus', the early rolling business of 'The Resister' to the epic genre defying voyage that is 'Soul In Motion', no stone is left unturned on what is - once again - an essential purchase for any serious lover of electronic music.

For longtime Krust enthusiasts, this project serves as a fond reminder of the boundless creativity and originality that flourished during the early 1990s and beyond. For those new to his work, it presents an enthralling introduction to innovative electronic music that has comfortably set the tone for generations to come. Get ready to experience the evolution of sound and immerse yourself in the visionary artistry of Krust.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Black Marbles 
A2. Gang Related - Rukus 
B1. The Resister 
B2. 3 Colours Black 
C. Soul In Motion 
D1. Future Talk 
D2. Future Unknown 

Teenage Tom Petties is a slacker indie punk band split between Wiltshire, England and Portland, USA. Created by vocalist and guitarist Tom Brown, (also of the jangle pop duo Rural France), Teenage Tom Petties features Jim Quinn on bass, Galen Richmond and James Brown on guitar, and Jeff Hamm on drums.

The band’s first album, Teenage Tom Petties (2022), a collaborative release by U.K. label Safe Suburban Home and U.S. label Repeating Cloud, is a low-fi, DIY recording inspired by Brown’s early love of bands like The Lemonheads, Descendents and Guided by Voices.

“I wanted the first album to sound like some shitty tape you might find in the foot-well of a car—your brother’s buddy’s band. So the nostalgic/suburban theme kind of follows—a lot of the songs address teenage emotions.”

The bands second full-length release, Hotbox Daydreams (2023)—also from Safe Suburban Home and Repeating Cloud—extends the narrative of the first, introducing a more cynical perspective as it wrestles with the impending adulthood of your twenties. Hotbox Daydreams also ups the ante, production-wise; the full line-up came together to record with Bradford Krieger at Big Nice Studios in Providence, R.I.

“The fuzz is really important to me. If a recording is too perfect or fully realized, people can’t fill in the gaps in their head,” Brown says. “So I was a little apprehensive about going into a proper studio for that reason. But it was a revelation!”

Teenage Tom Petties will be doing a short tour in England to celebrate the release of Hotbox Daydreams this coming November, with shows in Leeds, Manchester, and London. In the meantime, Brown is perfecting his Claymation skills to create short videos for the album.

TRACK LISTING

1. Trigger’s Broom
2. Stoner
3. Hotbox Daydreams
4. Find Me
5. Swingball Summer
6. Bad Hire
7. This Ones On You
8. Dipshit
9. I Got It From Here
10. Deathtrap

Welcome Back, friends, to the Yacht Soul cruise that never ends!
This theme, explored at length in the previous installment of this series, is a fertile one that just keeps on giving, and give it certainly does on the tracks we have dug up for your perusal, enlightenment, edification and enjoyment on Yacht Soul 2.

For those just joining us, the concept here concerns R&B and soul artists mining the songbooks of their white contemporaries for cover versions that serve the dual purposes of potentially garnering some crossover radio airplay as well as introducing great songs to segments of the listening public who might otherwise miss them. Some of these versions might have come about because they were personal favorites of the artist in question, others might have been strongly suggested by their labels or by the publishing company, but all of them provide an entirely new perspective on what were already fantastic songs to begin with.

So there you have it--a further dig into this nebulous concept that reveals more unexpected connections and crossed paths. Understanding the hows and whys of the way these particular covers and collaborations came to be is as fascinating as just enjoying the music itself, and there really is a lot of great music to dig into this time around! We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we did putting it together.

TRACK LISTING

1. Mel & Tim- Keep The Faith
2. Impact - Sara Smile
3. Billy Paul - It's Too Late
4. Esther Phillips - I Hope You'll Be Very Unhappy Without Me
5. John Edwards- Tin Man
6. Roy Ayers - What You Won't Do For Love
7. Arnold McCuller - Gringo
8. Richie Havens - Dreams
9. Brenda Russell - I Want Love To Find Me
10. Patti Labelle - Monkey See - Monkey Do
11. The Main Ingredient - Euphrates
12. The Isley Brothers - Listen To The Music
13. Dionne Warwick - Dedicate This Heart
14. Chaka Khan - Fate
15. Keni Burke - Love Is The Answer

London-based, Australian-born Teneil Throssell, aka HAAi, is known for a strain of sonic psychedelia that metabolises precise sound design, melodic techno, electronic pop and thundering beats. Following the release of her acclaimed 2022 album, Baby, We’re Ascending, HAAi has reached what she calls “another career milestone” - an invitation to steer the next edition of !K7 Records’ acclaimed DJ-Kicks series.

HAAi approached this mix with two concurrent goals: to continue to iterate on her artistic theme - which she named ‘always ascending’ - and to highlight her flair for hyperkinesis and drama behind the decks, which she achieves with BPM left-turns, endless upwards tilts and sharp accelerations, liminal transitions and moments of pure euphoria. Within the sweeping journey she moves through an expansive selection of heritage classics, future-facing artists, friends, heroes, and voices from close-knit communities, alongside a number of her own exclusive productions.

TRACK LISTING

2LP Tracklist:
A1. HAAi X Jon Hopkins X KAM-BU - Always Ascending
A2. HAAi - ZiGGY
B1. I. JORDAN - Life On The Wing
B2. Joshua James - We Go Again
B3. DJ PGZ - Quality High
C1. Koreless - Seven (Drumhell)
C2. Cocktail Party Effect - Make It Undone
C3. The Blessed Madonna - Strength
D1. Manni Dee, River Moon - Hot
D2. HAAi - SHiNE

CD Tracklist:
1. HAAi - Intro
2. Lähetys/Transmission - Pan Sonic
3. HAAi - Ziggy
4. The Blessed Madonna - Strength
5. Jaco - Show Some Love (Rhythm Invention Remix)
6. Agoria - Boomerang
7. HAAi - SHiNE
8. Manni Dee, River Moon - Hot
9. I. JORDAN - Life On The Wing
10. Perc & Fractal - Up (Perc Remix)
11. Radiotrance - Plasma
12. Tunnidge - Geddeon
13. Surusinghe - Bet
14. Cocktail Party Effect - Make It Undone
15. Koreless - Seven (Drumhell)
16. Christian Smith, John Selway -Total Departure
17. HAAi X Jon Hopkins X KAM-BU - Always Ascending

The Stallions compilations have become a benchmark of Bosconi's position as one of the leading house and techno labels operating out of Italy. This third instalment marks a shift in sound which also comes full circle to the music that first inspired founder Fabio Della Torre as a DJ and producer around the turn of the millennium, when punchy electro production was driving European house and techno into new zones.

All the artists featured on Vol. III are Italian, holding true to Bosconi's commitment to supporting local talent from Florence and across the country. Amongst the familiar faces is Della Torre's own Minimono collaboration with Ennio Colaci, which indulges a proudly manic palette of tweaked bleeps and dirty low-end. Elsewhere, recent additions to the Bosconi fold include veritable legends Alexander Robotnick and Marco Passarani, who infuse their unpredictable approaches to electro-techno and Italo disco with ear-snagging synth-pop and driving analogue box jams respectively to create vibrant, impassioned dancefloor monsters.

The Mechanical Man is an alias from Nicola Altieri, who leans in on a classic Italo arpeggio to create a seductive club sound which builds on his recent "Bosconi EXV" EP, while Cixxx J switches from the mood of his own Bosconi appearance for a new alias Queen Of Coins and a pivot towards heads-down electro-techno-trance with a whiff of International Deejay Gigolos. Lapucci builds on the promise of his 2021 Bosconi 12" with a sentimental fusion track which lands somewhere between old school Italo house, the snappy pulse of EBM and crisp 00s-era electro house. Meanwhile modern day Italian techno legend Lucretio of The Analogue Cops makes his first appearance on Bosconi with the playful video game stylings of "Gradius".

A great deal of space on Vol. III is given over to emergent talent, ranging from Miguel Herr's twitchy Detroitian synth-pop braindance and Twovi's vocoder-charged electro funk to DJ Rou's jacking ghetto house flavour. Giammarco Orsini and Jacopo Latini appear as Data Memory Access and deliver an emotive, punchy strain of machine soul. Feel Fly rounds the compilation off in bombastic style with an epic, cinematic workout which draws on Moroder-inspired drama without losing the forthright peak-time focus which binds the whole collection together.

Even the artwork on Vol. III serves as an opportunity to celebrate Italian creativity, as pioneering crypto artist Niro Perrone builds on his accomplished work in the field of NFTs and a background in music production to respond intuitively to the vibrant, synthetic sound of the compilation. For all the futurism in the music though, there remains a strong sense of human feeling which has marked Bosconi out since the beginning. The label remains as inspired and inspiring as ever, celebrating the fertile crossover when people manipulate technology to express themselves in an honest, playful way. Independent of wider trends or fashions, Bosconi remains true to its own idiosyncratic passions, and so "Bosconi Stallions Vol. III" stands proud as a compilation like no other.

TRACK LISTING

A1. The Mechanical Man - The Magic Number 
A2. Minimono - Grit Wave 
A3. Lucretio - Gradius
B1. Queen Of Coins - Genesis 
B2. Miguel Herrnandez - Bad Renaissance
B3. Twovi - Galassia Cosmica 
C1. Data Memory Access - Controller 
C2. Passarani - Bungy Bungy Bungy 
C3. Dj Rou - Milky Way 
D1. Lapucci - One 1st 
D2. Alexander Robotnick - It's So Easy 
D3. Feel Fly - Peach 

10 killer tracks including some all-time true classic Tubby's mixes. As before, comes in two sided hand silkscreened jacket in either orange or green print.

'You know we had to do it, so here's the near companion dub album to our recent "Roots from the Record Smith" compilation. This LP features the B-side dub versions from the original 45's of almost all the tracks from the vocal comp, nearly all taken from master tapes. For the curious and studious, here's a breakdown of the deviations from the vocal LP. Track A3, the dub version to "Heading For the Mountain", is a previously unreleased mix, in that it does not contain the explosion sound fx heard on the original 45 - these fx were added during the master cutting for the original 45 and are not on the master tape! Likewise, the original dub to Black Oney's "Jah Jah Send The Parson", titled "Version Stormy Weather" with storm sound FX was done the same way, and that version has been added here in place of a version to I Roy's "Look A Boom." Our previous reissue of the Black Oney single contained a raw rhythm cut and not this dub version with FX. Lastly, in place of a version for the Heptones "Tripe Girl" (sadly no version of the Heptones or I Roy was ever released!), we've added the version to Black Oney's "Festival '75", as found only on the impossibly rare original blank 45 release. Our previous issue of that one was backed with the Prince Far I cut on the same rhythm. A final note, the last track on this album is the dub to Ronnie Davis' "Power of Love", titled "King Tubby's In Fine Stile", and widely recognized as one of the King's all time best mixes. If you don't know, get to know. This one alone is worth the price of admission.’

TRACK LISTING

Sparkes & The Upsetters - Unity Dub
Agrovators - World By Mself Part 2
Solid Explosion Band - Mountain Dub
Lloydie Slim & The Agrovators - Jah Jah Dub
Lloydie Slim & King Tubby - Clearly State Dub
Lloydie Slim & The Agrovators - Dub Wise (Mr. Lee)
Lloydie Slim All Stars - Why Did You Version
Lloydie Slim & The Agrovators - Version Stormy Weather
Lloydie Slim & The Agrovators - Festival 75' Versipn
King Tubyy - King Tubby's In Fine Stile

It’s all about Y2K, punk-funk and indie disco!

Toy Tonics brings a collection of tracks originally released on the German label, Gomma between 2001 and 2010. Gomma was one of the key labels of the Y2K indie dance wave along with labels like James Murphy’s DFA and Trevor Jackson’s OUTPUT Records. And as the 90s revival that dominated the last years in fashion and electronic music reached its peak, the Toy Tonics gang thought it’s a good moment to re-visit some of these early 2000’s tracks that connected a more raw, indie disco and punky funk vibe. Gomma was happening in Berlin's off-location clubs like Scala and Rio, London’s Trash or 333 partys and Paris' Kill The DJ clubs.

Those Y2K clubs and the Gomma label brought together 80ies inspired Indie rock artists like Nick McCarthy of Franz Ferdinand (who’s was producing records on Gomma before getting world-famous) and electro punk princess Peaches (who did a whole disco album on Gomma records and is featured on this compilation with a cover of "Maniac" from the Flashdance movie soundtrack). Italian disco legends like Baldelli or Robotnick were poppping up in those times after years of silence (before getting hype again later) as well as Gomma’s own discoveries like WhoMadeWho (their first 2 albums where quite punk-funk and produced by Gomma’s head honcho Mathias Modica), Italian disco punkster Rodion, Parisian nasty funk dude Golden Bug, London’s mysterious prince of new wave prince Midnight Mike (who started in Gomma and later ended up on Ed Banger records) and Gomma’s main act Munk. And yes there is even DJ Severino who did an proto house remix for the label in the early Horse Meat Disco days.

That raw and nasty Gomma sound that mixed up many genres and made its own sexy, in your face music melange that was very in demand in those days from 2000 - 2010 and inspired many artists. Not just music people like James Murphy, who did music with Gomma before starting his own LCD Soundsystem or bands like Chromeo, New Young Pony Club or Soulwax who started later with a similar vibe; but also art, graphic and fashion people took inspiration from the Gomma world: Gomma’s edgy album cover designs, their poster fanzine, their colourful t-shirt designs and the whole style that the bands, DJs and people at their worldwide parties were rocking became a gloval trend. In the early 2000’s it was just art students from London’s Central St. Martins or Berlin’s UDK school that played that sound at their parties, later magazine like VICE or i - D invited Munk and the Gomma acts to their parties and later it was fashion brands like Prada, Margiela, Karl Lagerfeld and Hedi Slimane who used Gomma artists to make music at their fashion shows or events.

Gomma then in 2015 finally closed. Gomma’s head honcho and main inventor Mathias Modica stopped the whole thing, changed the name and started something new: Toy Tonics records. Yes! Toy Toy Tonics came out of Gomma and that’s why now it’s time to remember the old inspirational days.

TRACK LISTING

A1) Moullinex & Peaches – Maniac
A2) Munk - Disco Clown (Midnight Mike Version)
A3) Whomadewho - Flat Beat

B1) Golden Bug - Bisco
B2) Headman - It Rough (Chicken Lips Remix)

C1) Baldelli - Atlantide
C2) Trans Mania - Boing Boom Jack (Robotnick Remix)
C3) Leroy Hanghofer - Bathroomboogie

D1) Severino Horse Meat Disco - Bounce
D2) Rodion - Atala Ride
D3) Munk – Androgyn

bar italia are the London based three-piece of Nina Cristante, Jezmi Tarik Fehmi and Sam Fenton.

‘The Twits’ was recorded by the trio over eight weeks from February 2023 in a makeshift home studio in Mallorca, and was mixed by Marta Salogni. It finds bar italia’s economical yet evocative songcraft taking raucous, mystic, unkempt, occasionally sinister, and wholly committed turns. Songs like “my little tony”, with its in-the-red riff and excitable hooks, the cathartic four-on-the-floor of ‘world’s greatest emoter’ and the festival tent psychedelia of “Hi-fiver” need little in the way of exposition – these are exhilarating rock songs, if wayward and strange.

Other moments see the band’s increasingly signature, three-act mini-dramas moving into previously uncharted territory. Cristante, Fehmi and Fenton can each manifest a different melody, mood, and cadence – at times overlapping and linear, at others unexpectedly divergent – often within the space of thirty seconds, a tag team rooted in shared language and kinship. “Jelsy”, for instance, plays out like a conversation between friends over wistful, buzzing country blues, the alternating voices at points comforting, wry and hopelessly yearning. The sinuous, slow-burning waltz of “twist” stands out in its bare lyricism and seems to invite each band member’s individual take on a confessional.

While Tracey Denim was notable for its compact 2-3 minute compositions, horizontal and open-ended tracks like “Shoo” ebb and flow, moving from reptilian dive-bar soloing to a palpitating two-note piano coda. ‘glory-hunter’ takes playful twists and turns before ending up somewhere entirely different from where it started. “Real house wibes (desperate house vibes)” and “que surprise” imply sleepless, noirish misadventure, while at the other end of the light spectrum, “sounds like you had to be there” features some of the band’s most sweetly optimistic musical gestures yet. Closer “bibs” is a rare instance where all three can be heard in unison, as a procession of ghostly chords and lacerating feedback bookends the group’s most adventurous and rich set to date.

Released in May, bar italia’s Matador debut ‘Tracey Denim’ followed a string of word-of-mouth releases on Dean Blunt’s World Music label and received widespread attention from publications including The Guardian (“one of the albums of 2023 so far”), The Times (“excellent debut album”), The Observer (‘Artist To Watch’), NME ("a lasting impression that’s all of their own making"), The Quietus (“endlessly evocative”) and Pigeons And Planes (“quickly establishing themselves as one of the most enticing upcoming bands”). Single “Nurse!” was playlisted on BBC 6 Music and received spins from BBC Radio 1, Absolute Radio and NTS. The release was accompanied by a UK tour, culminating in a sold-out headline show at the ICA in London, which The Spectator described as “transfixing… They just make their beautiful, off-kilter music, and let you unfold your own stories on top”.

STAFF COMMENTS

Liam says: We've absolutely fallen in love with Bar Italia here at Picc HQ, so we were over the moon when we found out that they'd be releasing their second LP of 2023. And what a banger it is! Mega tunes and no bullshit, Bar Italia have honed and polished their sound even further. You won't get a better one-two punch than 'Tracey Denim' and 'The Twits' in the indie-sphere right now. So what you doing? Get on both!

TRACK LISTING

1. My Little Tony
2. Real House Wibes (desperate House Vibes)
3. Twist
4. Worlds Greatest Emoter
5. Calm Down With Me
6. Shoo
7. Que Suprise
8. Hi Fiver
9. Brush W Faith
10. Glory Hunter
11. Sounds Like You Had To Be There
12. Jelsy
13. Bibs

They say long live the king and all, but nothing’s ever set in stone. A quarter of a century since his self-inflicted coronation, and self-released debut solo album, Kenny Anderson - DIY pop voyager, ancestral seaside home restorer, squeezebox lothario, Fife for lifer, diamond miner, hijacker of hearts, and the man also known as King Creosote - has released over 100 records (at a relatively conservative guess), collaborated with the likes of Jon Hopkins,KT Tunstall, Beta Band’s Lone Pigeon, and had his songs covered and performed by artists including Patti Smith and Simple Minds. Yet he’s still standing, fallible, doubtful, patched together, bloody-minded and unbowed. He’s got a new LP, despite or perhaps because of it all. It’s called I DES.

While the record’s kaleidoscopic musical terrain plots vibraphones, accordions, e-bows, samplers, ungulates, scratched records and wine glass-drones across its landscape, there’s common ground in the wonder of the synthesiser – not to mention Anderson’s singular voice, and his roguish, roving, ever-evolving, gorgeous songs in the key of Fife.

STAFF COMMENTS

Andy says: A totally gorgeous and varied album blending tasty electronics with a whole host of acoustic instruments. There's a lot of heartache and sorrow this time out, but the over all feeling is one of a deep sense of beauty. Kenny is such a great songwriter. It's been worth the wait!

TRACK LISTING

1. It’s Sin That’s Got Its Hold Upon Us
2. Blue Marbled Elm Trees
3. Burial Bleak
4. Dust
5. Walter De La Nightmare
6. Susie Mullen
7. Love Is A Curse
8. Ides
9. Please Come Back I Will Listen, I Will Behave, I Will Toe The Line
10. Drone In B#

Desire, I Want To Turn Into You is Polachek’s first album release since her 2019 experimental pop masterpiece PANG which cemented her as a generational talent. Her profile has grown exponentially since – landing her everywhere from the direct opening spot on Dua Lipa’s 2022 North American Future Nostalgia Tour, Coachella, Lollapalooza, Glastonbury, Primavera, All Points East, Governors Ball, Pitchfork Music Festival and Outside Lands, and involved with campaigns & shows for Loewe, Dior, Eckhaus Latta and Chloé, to late night performances on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Late Night Show with James Corden. Standout viral tracks like “So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings,” have contributed to the album’s 175M global streams and counting and ignited a dance trend on TikTok.

STAFF COMMENTS

Ethan says: Back in 2019, Caroline Polachek’s first fully-realised solo outing was a surprising-yet-welcome entry into the slowly emerging glitch and ‘hyperpop’ scene. By comparison, ‘Desire, I Want to Turn into You’ is an equally polished yet more outlandish attempt at pop perfection. Every track has some left-field eccentricity over a beautifully-executed synth-pop backing that keeps you thoroughly entertained, from the flamenco guitars of “Sunset”, to a children’s choir on my personal favourite track “Billions”, to even a bagpipe solo on “Blood and Butter”.

That’s not to say that the album isn’t enjoyable as a standard synth-pop experience; production from hyperpop-aficionado Danny L. Harle ensures you’re filled with a desire to bounce around the room. However, no song on this project would work without the glue that is Caroline’s exceptional vocal performance, highlighted through a virtuosic solo in the opening seconds of the album. This opening moment guarantees you know what a talent-filled, delicate and charming listening experience you’re in for; and I guarantee you’ll listen again just for the choruses!

TRACK LISTING

Welcome To My Island
Pretty In Possible
Bunny Is A Rider
Sunset
Crude Drawing Of An Angel
I Believe
Fly To You
Blood & Butter
Hopedrunk Everasking
Butterfly Net
Smoke
Billions 

Personally curated and compiled by Johnny Marr, Spirit Power: The Best Of Johnny Marr encompasses music from across his four widely acclaimed solo albums released over the last decade (2013’s The Messenger, 2014’s Playland, 2018’s Call The Comet, 2022 double album Fever Dreams Pts 1-4), non-album single releases ‘Armatopia’ and ‘The Priest’ (w/ Maxine Peake). The collection also includes 2 brand new studio recordings Somewhere and The Answer.

Since establishing the current chapter of his solo work a decade ago, Johnny has remained a restless creative. Working and recording out of his own purpose-built Manchester studio, the Crazy Face Factory, his songwriting has embraced an instinctive sonic evolution across four full length albums.

STAFF COMMENTS

Andy says: When Johnny got back to sounding like, well, JOHNNY, again, with his debut solo album around ten years ago, the world of Indie Pop welcomed back an old friend and guitar hero with open arms. To hear his best songs stacked up like this just goes to show what a great song-writer he is, in his own right, without "her indoors", as well as being one of the all-time great UK guitarists. The proof's in the pudding. Magic.

TRACK LISTING

2LP (19 Tracks)
Side 1
Armatopia
New Town Velocity
Easy Money
Spirit Power & Soul
Hi Hello
Side 2
Somewhere
European Me
The Messenger
I Feel You
Side 3
The Answer
Dynamo
Spiral Cities
The Priest
Night And Day
Side 4
Sensory Street
Walk Into The Sea
Upstarts
Candidate
Tenement Time

Standard CD (16 Tracks)
1. Armatopia
2. New Town Velocity
3. Easy Money
4. Spirit Power & Soul
5. Hi Hello
6. Somewhere
7. The Messenger
8. I Feel You
9. The Answer
10. Dynamo
11. Spiral Cities
12. Night And Day
13. Sensory Street
14. Walk Into The Sea
15. Candidate
16. Tenement Time

Deluxe 2CD (24 Tracks)
Disc 1
1. Armatopia
2. New Town Velocity
3. Easy Money
4. Spirit Power And Soul
5. Hi Hello
6. Somewhere
7. European Me
8. The Messenger
9. I Feel You
10. The Answer
11. Dynamo
12. Spiral Cities
13. The Priest
Disc 2
1. Night And Day
2. Sensory Street
3. Walk Into The Sea
4. Upstarts
5. Candidate
6. Tenement Time
7. Hi Hello (Demo)
8. Somewhere (Demo)
9. The Answer (Crazy Face Version)
10. The Messenger (Demo)
11. Speak Out Reach Out (Crazy Face Version)

London-based duo Jockstrap have today announced I<3UQTINVU, a fully remixed version of their Mercury Prize shortlisted 2022 album I Love You Jennifer B by the band’s Taylor Skye. I<3UQTINVU - I Love You Cutie, I Envy You - is set for release on 3 November via Rough Trade Records.

The remix record is the brainchild of Skye, who was making multiple versions of the album’s original tracklisting to stay inspired during the writing of I Love You Jennifer B. The guest features on the remix record range from Ersatz, who inspired Skye to make music many years ago to IAN STARR who he only connected with online a few months ago.

Skye explains more about I<3UQTINVU, saying, “Some of the remixes are almost three years old and some are under six months old. We played a run of shows with Babymorroco when our album came out to test them all. The main thing I was interested in whilst making this music was the sonic palette and the texture of the music. The musical material didn't matter too much, it was just about the sound. That's often what moves me, not necessarily the notes but the sound. However, I'm not even sure what that means and if music can really be separated like that. Maybe it's too paradoxical. Well… it's an experiment! I'm still learning.”

Commenting on ‘Red Eye’, collaborator IAN STARR adds: "I love making songs that push the limits of my vocality and energy, and I went all-out in efforts to craft the craziest performance possible on ‘Red Eye’. Whenever I write a song, I always have the live audience in mind; performing this at my first festival with Jockstrap made me feel really great about the result! The crowd’s energy felt amazing & I’m so excited to perform it for everyone who comes to the U.S. tour!"

STAFF COMMENTS

Liam says: Fully remixed version of one of our albums of 2022, this is a must have companion piece for 'I Love You Jennifer B'. Goes to some pretty wild places but definitely worth sinking your teeth into!

TRACK LISTING

1. Sexy (feat. Babymorocco)
2. All Roads Lead To London (feat. Coby Sey & Ersatz)
3. Good Girl
4. I Touch
5. I Feel
6. Pain Is Real
7. Red Eye (feat. IAN STARR)
8. I Noticed You (feat. Kirin J Callinan)
9. Sexy 2

The three-way ‘Los Angeles’ collaboration was born out of a curiosity which just wouldn’t die. Made up of two of the most illustrious and inventive drummers of the post-punk era, The Cure’s Lol Tolhurst, and Budgie from Siouxsie & The Banshees and The Creatures, along with stellar producer and multi-instrumentalist Garret ‘Jacknife’ Lee, this unlikely alt-supergroup have spent the last four years spiriting up one of the most extraordinary albums to appear in 2023.

Perusing the tracklist, with its guest credits for, amongst others, LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy, Bobby Gillespie, Civil Rights avant-gardist Lonnie Holley, Starcrawler wildchild Arrow de Wilde and The Edge from U2, you may rightly wonder just what the 13-track long-player holds in store.

The answer: a hard-hitting and compulsively exploratory 55-minute electronic mindscrew, founded on unrivalled rhythmic expertise, fleshed out with an armoury of synths, guitars (Jacknife’s forte) and supplementary percussion, often overlaid with elite-class strings and brass, then universally twisted, manipulated and quite masterfully sculpted by Lee, with his super-producer’s hat on.

STAFF COMMENTS

Liam says: Absolutely bonkers how stacked with talent this LP is! With guest spots from James Murphy and Bobby Gillespie, this supergroup odyssey from Tolhurst, Budgie and Jacknife is an eclectic collection of rhythmic set-pieces that have plenty to show-off!

TRACK LISTING

This Is What It Is (To Be Free) (with Bobby Gillespie)
Los Angeles (with James Murphy)
Uh Oh (with Arrow De Wilde And Mark Bowen)
Ghosted At Home (with Bobby Gillespie)
Train With No Station (with The Edge)
Bodies (with Lonnie Holley And Mary Lattimore)
Everything And Nothing
Travel Channel (with Pan Amsterdam)
Country Of The Blind (with Bobby Gillespie)
The Past (Being Eaten)
We Got To Move (with Isaac Brock)
Noche Oscura (with The Edge)
Skins (with James Murphy)

Actress (Darren Cunningham) — one of the preeminent and most singular voices in UK electronic music — returns with new album LXXXVIII. The conceptual groundwork for the coming album is built on a game of chess, each track named for a particular piece. With each thoughtful move the game grows and develops over time - something we can hear reflected throughout the album’ textured and delicate layers.

The release follows 2022’s mesmerizing Dummy Corporation EP, which placed Actress firmly back in the center of underground club culture. Prior to that his 2020 album Karma & Desire — which saw guest collaborations from Mercury Prize winner Sampha, Zsela and Aura T-09 — received widespread acclaim, with The Guardian commenting the album “cements his place as one of the great poets of club culture”.

First single “Push Power ( a 1 )” premiered this year on the iconic IICON stage at this year’s Glastonbury festival, with Actress playing straight after Four Tet. LXXXVIII arrives off the back of a recent live performance at Field Day in London, one of his largest live shows this year, where he showcased visuals from ‘Grey Interiors’ - an A/V project in collaboration with experimental creative studio Actual Objects, who’ve worked with the likes of ShyGirl, Kali Uchis, LSDXOXO and have presented work at Coachella and 180 The Strand’s Futureshock exhibition.

John Cale recently invited Actress to collaborate on a track from his first album in 7 years, resulting in “MARILYN MONROE’S LEGS (beauty elsewhere)”.

TRACK LISTING

1. Push Power ( A 1 )
2. Hit That Spdiff ( B 8 )
3. Azd Rain ( G 1 )
4. Memory Haze ( C 1 )
5. Game Over ( E 1 )
6. Typewriter World ( C 8 )
7. Its Me ( G 8 )
8. Chill ( H 2 )
9. Green Blue Amnesia Magic Haze ( D 7 )
10. Oway ( F 7 )
11. M2 ( F 8 )
12. Azifiziks ( D 8 )
13. Pluto ( A 2 )

El Buho's fifth studio album may be his most personal yet. Strata draws from Robin's attempts to grapple with the tension of experiencing happiness, joy and gratitude in our daily lives with loved ones or through sharing music while the world falls apart around us. This dynamic of trying to live in the moment and enjoy the privileged life we have yet in the back of your mind there is an overwhelming sense of dread that the world will never be the same and, as climate change really starts to hit home, there are incredibly difficult times ahead. It is about our attempts to find a place of peace, balance and fulfillment between these powerful strata above and below us.

This is an album heavy with intimate and personal music that moves between personal joy and the anguish of our modern world. Timini is dedicated to Robin's second son Oscar who earned the nickname Petit Mini (Little Mini) which became 'Timini'. The track was inspired by the rustling wind and shaking leaves as Robin walked home from the hospital the evening after Oscar's birth, writing the whole track in one exhausted and emotional sitting. Gentle Breeze was inspired by the feeling of a warm early summer's afternoon with the family at home. Beautiful simplicity.

On the other hand, Alarma de Emergencia is a cumbia for the endless alarm that has been ringing, unheard across our planet for decades. Fuel Fandango singer Nita's beautiful lyrics to its sister track Cenizas de Agua reference the need to "open our hearts, look for our own reflection and break the silence" While on Brujería Bomba Estereo frontwoman Li Saument implores us to sanar (heal) and limpiar clean above Robin's trademark floating flutes and an organic dem-bow beat.

Meanwhile tracks like Piañuco show a new direction, blending the deep bass and unique rhythms of amapiano music with huayno folk melodies, featuring a whole host of musicians, including over 50 saxophone lines, meticulously recorded by argentine saxophonist Leandro Guffanti and his students in Barcelona. The album ends with Ley de Origen where we see El Búho reunited with his long-time collaborators Minük (Corazon de Rubi, Mirando El Fuego) for another moving and delicate song this time mixing Alumnis and Marcus' beautiful vocals with a deep, warm sub bass and percussion and marimbas from Colombia's pacific coast.

TRACK LISTING

1. Floating Islands
2. Cenizas De Agua (feat. Nita) [feat. Nita]
3. Gentle Breeze
4. Brujería (feat. Li Saumet) [feat. Bomba Estéreo]
5 .Piañuco
6. Timini
7. Alarma De Emergencia
8. Llanto De Los Cerezos
9. Ley De Origen (feat. Minük) [feat. Minük]

Light in the Attic continues to celebrate the influential career of singer, actress, activist, and icon Nancy Sinatra with a captivating new collection, Keep Walkin’: Singles, Demos & Rarities 1965-1978. Exploring the lesser-known gems from Sinatra’s rich catalog through 25 B-sides, rare singles, covers, demos, and previously-unreleased recordings, Keep Walkin’ was remastered by the GRAMMY®-nominated engineer John Baldwin.

The 2-LP set, pressed at Record Technology, Inc. (RTI), is presented in an expanded gatefold jacket and accompanied by a 24-page booklet (also included in the CD edition as a 40-page booklet), featuring an array of photos from the artist’s personal collection, as well as a new in-depth Q&A with Sinatra, conducted by the reissue’s GRAMMY®-nominated co-producer, Hunter Lea. The booklet also contains a fascinating interview with keyboardist Don Randi (The Wrecking Crew), who recently spoke to Lea about his hit-filled career and his 50 years of work with Nancy. 

Keep Walkin’: Singles, Demos & Rarities 1965-1978 serves as a companion to the widely-acclaimed 2021 career-spanning retrospective, Start Walkin’ 1965-1976, and marks the latest release in LITA’s ongoing Nancy Sinatra Archival Series, a partnership with the legendary artist, which honors her musical legacy through lovingly curated reissues (including her 1966 debut, Boots and the 1968 classic, Nancy & Lee), limited-edition merch, and other special releases.

More on Keep Walkin’: Singles, Demos & Rarities 1965-1978:
In 1965, 25-year-old Nancy Sinatra scored her first No.1 hit with “These Boots are Made for Walkin’,” a bold anthem for female empowerment. Brazen, sassy, and utterly infectious, it was a reintroduction of sorts for the eldest daughter of Frank Sinatra, who had been struggling to find a spotlight of her own amid a changing musical landscape. Suddenly, audiences who had initially brushed off Sinatra as too demure or out-of-touch were paying attention. Written and produced by Oklahoma-born songsmith Lee Hazlewood (with swaggering instrumentals, courtesy of Billy Strange and The Wrecking Crew), the song launched the singer’s career, as well as one of music’s most unlikely, yet compelling, creative partnerships.

Over the next decade, Sinatra continued to notch multiple hits on both sides of the Atlantic, including “Sugar Town,” “How Does That Grab You, Darlin?,” and a haunting rendition of the Sonny Bono-penned “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down).” The singer also paired up with Hazlewood for a series of popular duets (“Summer Wine,” “Jackson,” and “Some Velvet Morning”) and collaborative albums. In between best-selling LPs like Boots (1966), How Does That Grab You (1966), and Nancy & Lee (1968), Sinatra performed the theme song to the 1967 James Bond film, You Only Live Twice, and collaborated with her father on the global chart-topper, “Somethin’ Stupid.”

While these career landmarks are well-documented in the annals of pop culture history, however, much of Sinatra’s catalog remains sorely overlooked. As Keep Walkin’ co-producer Hunter Lea explains, “With the changing taste of the record-buying public in the late 1960s and the counterculture taking over, artists like Nancy Sinatra weren’t in the mainstream as they once were.” Despite that fact, “[Sinatra] kept working, recording, and performing at a voracious pace.”

Lea continues, “This compilation is a celebration of some of the many glorious recordings that may have been overlooked, forgotten, or never even released at the time. The obscurity of some of these recordings doesn’t mask the genius, brilliance, and effort that went into them; on the contrary, it’s incredible to learn that some of the lost gems are just as rich as the national treasures.”

Among the highlights is the spritely opener “The City Never Sleeps at Night,” which served as the B-Side to “These Boots Were Made for Walkin’.” Overshadowed by the colossal success of its A-side, it’s no surprise that the cinematic tune never had its proper due. Yet, Lea reveals, Hazlewood initially intended to make it the focus single. Another long-lost B-side is “The Last of the Secret Agents?,” which was paired with the Top 10 hit, “How Does That Grab You, Darlin’?” The playful song, written by Hazlewood, served as the theme to the 1966 comedy of the same name, in which Sinatra co-starred alongside Marty Allen and Steve Rossi.

Keep Walkin’ also features several choice A-sides that were never included on albums and were overlooked for one reason or another. Among them is 1966’s “In Our Time,” a rebellious anthem for ‘60s youth, which references drug culture and women’s liberation, among other topics. Speaking to the Hazlewood-penned track, Sinatra recalls, “That was a fun song. Lee was starting to do his ‘anti’ stuff. He was cynical and it showed in his writing at some point.” But, despite the themes of the song, Nancy laments that she was never embraced by the counterculture. “[drugs] knocked me out of the picture completely. I was so far removed from the hip people in those days. I think they probably made fun of my stuff.” Another stylistic departure for both artists is “Love Eyes,” a bluesy, soulful single from 1966. The song, Nancy shares, is “one of my favorites. I think what helped Lee’s writing at that point was the bigger sound.… I really love it. I think it holds up to this day.” She adds that her dreamy vocal performance was inspired by early female R&B stars like Ruth Brown and LaVern Baker.

The collection also features several outstanding covers, including a previously-unreleased rendition of the Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil classic, “I Just Can’t Help Believing” (a hit for both B.J. Thomas and Elvis Presley). This 1978 recording, reimagined as a duet, marked one of Sinatra’s brief reunions with Hazlewood, following his abrupt move to Sweden not long after 1972’s Nancy & Lee Again. Another choice track finds Nancy interpreting Neil Diamond’s “Glory Road.” Released as a single in 1971, it features one of the singer’s most cherished vocal performances. “After I worked on my voice and improved as a performer and as a singer, I embraced Neil Diamond. Anything I did by Neil Diamond, to me, is my best work.”

Nancy also looks back fondly on her moving rendition of Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine,” released in 1973 as the B-side to “Sugar Me.” The recording (which features particularly lush orchestral arrangements by Billy Strange) reunited Nancy with another close collaborator, Jimmy Bowen, who produced the singer in the early ‘60s and later introduced her to Hazlewood. “I love Jimmy,” she declares. “The records we did early on…had a depth to them that I appreciated. He heard me and saw me in a different light; he saw me as a much more serious performer, which I appreciated.”

Listeners will also be delighted to hear a pair of previously-unreleased demos: “Something Pretty” (the 1968 country hit, made famous by Wynn Stewart) and the theme to the 1965 Richard Rogers/Stephen Sondheim musical, Do I Hear a Waltz?, both of which were intended for a self-described “disco” record. Despite the two catchy takes featured on Keep Walkin’, Sinatra calls the shelved album “A disaster. I called it the disco fiasco!”

Offering additional insight into Sinatra’s career is music director, songwriter, and keyboardist, Don Randi. A member of the hallowed Wrecking Crew collective, Randi was one of the most prolific session musicians of the ‘60s and ‘70s with hundreds of credits to his name, including The Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations,” Linda Ronstadt’s “Different Drum,” and “These Boots are Made For Walkin’” – his first recording with Sinatra. For the next fifty years, he would be a fixture at her sessions and live shows. He also appears on nearly every track in this collection.

Speaking to Lea, Randi delves deep into his time with Sinatra, with a palpable admiration for the singer. “She was easy to work with,” he shares. “She was always wonderful to musicians; nobody even comes close.” The keyboardist, who met Sinatra through Hazlewood, also recalls the magic of that partnership. “I always liked working with Nancy & Lee. They had something very special that they could get out of each other. It was a good team.”

He continues, “Sinatra stood up for herself [around Lee]…He could be so cantankerous…but that’s Lee…. [Nancy] saw through it. She was so lovely and helpful to him a number of times when he really needed someone to talk to.” That said, Randi also appreciates the power of Sinatra’s solo performances. “I never thought she really needed [Hazlewood},” he reveals. “I thought her shows were just as well with everybody else; they were excellent.”

After stepping back from the industry in the ‘70s to focus on her young family, Sinatra returned to the spotlight in the mid-90s, releasing a string of new albums, including the star-studded Nancy Sinatra, which paired the artist with some of her biggest fans, including Morrissey, U2, Calexico, and Sonic Youth. Since then, Nancy’s legacy has only continued to grow. In more recent years, her impact has been recognized by the likes of Pitchfork, NPR, and Rolling Stone, while in 2020, “Boots” was inducted into the GRAMMY® Hall of Fame. Today, Sinatra remains a force in the industry, as new generations discover her influential catalog, which boasts nearly 20 studio albums and dozens of charting singles.

TRACK LISTING

The City Never Sleeps At Night
The Last Of The Secret Agents
My Baby Cried All Night Long
Shades
In Our Time
Love Eyes
Rockin' Rock And Roll (1st TIME ON VINYL)
This Town
Tony Rome
100 Years
See The Little Children
Something Pretty (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
Do I Hear A Waltz (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
Drummer Man
Zodiac Blues (1st TIME ON VINYL)
Highway Song
Are You Growing Tired Of My Love
Flowers In The Rain
Glory Road
Ain't No Sunshine
Easy Evil (1st TIME ON VINYL)
Sugar Me
Kinky Love
Dolly And Hawkeye
I Just Can't Help Believing - Nancy Sinatra And Lee Hazlewood (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

A new longform commissioned work released on the artist’s own Late Music label. String quartet version available as a 2LP and CD, or four different instrumental variations presented as the Long Gradus: Arrangements 4CD boxset.

TRACK LISTING

1. Long Gradus (strings): Part I
2. Long Gradus (strings): Part 2
3. Long Gradus (strings): Part 3
4. Long Gradus (strings): Part 4

The second self-titled album from Will Miller's Resavoir interweaves modern-day soul-jazz with bedroom beats, synth serenades and twilight sonatas – an endlessly listenable, subtly radiant symphony suitable for both the composition-minded musician’s musician and the hook-seeking playlist populist.

This album follows Resavoir’s 2019 self-titled debut album, a breakout success that landed in ‘Best of 2019’ lists by NPR Music and BBC’s Gilles Peterson, and has logged over 8 million streams across DSPs to date, and counting.

Through his movement further into an expanded palette of synths, pianos, live and programmed drums in addition to his MIDI-augmented trumpet, Miller has developed a signature cinematic soul-jazz sound rooted in hip-hop structures. No surprise, then, that his profile as a producer has raised significantly since the Resavoir debut, and that the years since have seen him operating the controls and guiding the ship on tracks for Eryn Allen Kane, Whitney, Knox Fortune, and SZA’s recently-released album SOS (which spent 10 weeks as the #1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart).

This is the backdrop for Resavoir’s second self-titled effort, a more polished and focused presentation of Miller’s evolving skills as a studio producer. His compositional touch is more articulate than ever. The short but sweet album features a massive list of contributors including Elton Aura, Whitney, Akenya, Matt Gold, Eddie Burns, Lane Beckstrom, Jeremy Cunningham, Irvin Pierce, Macie Stewart, Peter Manheim and many more.

TRACK LISTING

1. Heavenly
2. Inside Minds
3. Sunday Morning
4. Robot Dreams
5. Midday
6. Sunset
7. First Light
8. Future
9. Oh N On
10. Blutopia
11. Facets

Presented with a carefully selected set of digital multitrack master recordings from the archives of the iconic Jamaican Reggae Producer Bunny Striker Lee, next generation UK producer and dub engineer Prince Fatty (Mike Pelanconi) fed the audio into the analogue realm for mixing through a carefully built audio analogue system similar to that used by Osbourne Ruddock (King Tubby), producing 10 new dub mixes for the modern age.

TRACK LISTING

1. Jah Jah Dub The Conqueror
2. The Invasion
3. Press The Dub Along
4. Don't Try To Dub Me
5. Dub Is Shining
6. Give Thanks & Dub
7. Garden Of Dub
8. Prophetic Dub
9. No Dub In Their Heart
10. Abudajonoi

Celebrating the interconnected strands of head-tripping electronica she holds dear, Nadia Struiwigh arrives on Dekmantel with her fourth album of widescreen machine soul. "Birds Of Paradise" joins the dots between electro, techno, ambient and jungle as a reflection of the symbiotic relationship between the contrasting elements which drive all life on earth - the inescapable and chaotic forces of cause and effect. Echoing the free-spirited approach of electronic music in the mid-90s, it’s an album which rejects absolutes in favour of emotionally honest expression, true to Struiwigh’s deeply felt passion for the sounds and styles which defined her own journey into music. Since first emerging in the wider scene, Struiwigh has ably demonstrated her instinct for different sonic approaches across her accomplished career, whether exploring expansive ambience on album projects or holding down the physical intensity of a residency at Berlin techno temple Tresor. Her 2017 debut album Lenticular on Central Processing Unit most closely resembles the approach on Birds Of Paradise, where introspective beat constructions and nuanced sound design folded into a natural, flowing whole unbound by perceived rules around genre. The narrative flow uses contrasting energies to glide though distinctive spaces, unfolding with the considered pace of a truly immersive listening experience.

From the rich, undulating beatless pastures of ‘JSF48’ to the intricate mechanics of ‘02nd’, the dubby downtempo of ‘cmmn cmmn’ to the crunchy beatdown of ‘Dreamsynth’, the spaces Struiwigh defines on Birds Of Paradise are brilliantly vivid and bound together by an affinity for emotionally-charged ambience. At times the effect is nostalgic, calling to mind the exotic ecosystems of Future Sound Of London or Higher Intelligence Agency, but even these passages are charged with a restless futurism informed by the imagined vistas of science fiction as a comment on the realities of the here and now.

Widely recognised for her expertise in a multitude of production processes (not least her extensive knowledge of outboard gear), Birds Of Paradise pools Struiwigh’s devotion to her craft into an exquisite instant-classic to be savoured and absorbed in the same fashion as so many iconic electronica albums which have come before.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: High sheen advanced electronica from this new Dekmantel signing. Moving between ambient drift and hyper kinetics and heavenly frequency flux. Very nice.

TRACK LISTING

Shadow On The Left
Rainbrain
Jsf48
Hlow
02nd
Grown Trancy
Endofthe Tunnel
Cmmn Cmmn
Dreamsynth204
Parcel 33
Yep Beavers
Birds Of Paradise

A decade after his groundbreaking debut "Classical Curves" British producer Jack Latham, aka Jam City, continues to redefine genres with his effervescent new album “Jam City Presents EFM,” delivering an immaculate fusion of rattling garage, glitzy disco, thumping house, and euphoric hooks across the album’s 10 tracks with features by Empress Of (Wild n Sweet), Clara La San (“Touch Me”), Wet (“LLTB”), Show Me The Body’s Julian Cashwan Pratt (“Redd St. Turbulence”), and more.

• “the best Jam City LP to date” - Pitchfork
• “his most confident, joyous and accessible album” - The Quietus (Album of The Week)
• “from slick pop [...] to left-field excursions, the work of a truly idiosyncratic mind.” - Clash Music
• “the work of a master craftsman” - The Line of Best Fit
• “absolutely nailed it” - Loud And Quiet (8/10)

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Nice modern pop album that keenly journeys through bass, hip-house and reggaetón flavours with infectious hooks and uplifting approach. Very nice.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Touch Me (feat. Clara La San & Aidan)
A2. Times Square (feat. Aidan)
A3. Do It (feat. Aidan)
A4. Wild N Sweet (feat. Empress Of)
A5. Reface (feat. Aidan)
B1. LLTB (feat. Wet)
B2. Tears At Midnight
B3. Be Mine (feat. Aidan)
B4. Redd St. Turbulence
B5. Magnetic

Nothing But Net presents “Perceptions”, the debut LP from Los Angeles producer/beat maker Jamma-Dee aka Dyami O’Brien. Jamma-Dee has been a figure in the west coast modern funk and boogie scene, both as an accomplished DJ and music producer, having released records under his own name and producing for the likes of Joyce Wrice, Mndsgn and others.

From a musical upbringing in Los Angeles, Dyami’s adolescent obsession with record digging and beatmaking eventually led him to Dam-Funk’s renown Funkmosphere parties where he built friendships with key players in the LA funk scene and began to make a name for himself as a DJ and producer. In the second half of the 2010’s he released a series of EPs on Arcane and hosted the legendary Soul In Paradise show on NTS radio.

His first full-length, “Perceptions” is a long time in the making. Beginning with studio experiments nearly a decade ago, a version of the album found its way to producer and Nothing But Net label boss Onra, who helped guide the project to completion. The album artwork was created by outsider soul music conceptualist and painter, Mingering Mike, whom O’Brien felt compelled to reach out to after discovering his work years earlier. Thematically, the artwork, record, and its title touch on very modern themes: the alienation of life in a world of instant-gratification, an overly-connected society of masks, distorted realities and shifting identities.

Musically, “Perceptions” is the culmination of a life lived under the groove. Featuring a long list of collaborators, including Benedek, Mndsgn, Koreatown Oddity, the legendary Craig T. Cooper and fellow NBN labelmate, Devin Morrison, the double album touches on all of O’Brien’s musical influences. Album opener “Up N Down” sets the scene with it’s syrupy g-funk impressionism, before “Jamma’s Jam” bounces out of the speakers through an auburn-colored sunset haze of lush Rhodes chords and sparkling vibraphones. “It Takes A Freak” and “Datafile Groove” shuffle westward, re-imagining New Jack Swing grooves through a distinctly Californian lens. Elsewhere, the album touches on classic deep house rhythms (“Tic Toc” and “Silly”) and crystalline, downtempo R&B and UK street soul (“Joy”, “Saturday”).“U.R.” features legendary L.A. guitarist Craig T. Cooper laying down a network of stunning, silken guitar lines with absolute class.

Over the course of these 15 tracks, Jamma Dee consolidates, renovates and perpetuates the sound of his influences. “Perceptions” is a masterclass in modern funk and soul production.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Nice selection of stoned head nodders, wavy RnB and wonky-boom-bap from this LA based beatsmith.

TRACK LISTING

Up N Down
Jammas Jam
Spellbound
Dee Joy
It Takes A Freak
Tic Toc
Saturday
Baad
Every Morning
Datafile Groove
Silly
Ur
Opening Gates
Take Me Home
Its A Blessing

It’s been a little over ten years since Hailu Mergia re- emerged on the international music scene. Following the first in a series of his classic recordings reissued in collaboration with Awesome Tapes From Africa, Mergia assembled a band and began performing live again after many years driving a cab in Washington, DC. His first show back appeared on the front page of the New York Times along with a stellar review and he took off from there performing his flavor of Ethiopian jazz all over the world in the years since, including Radio City Music Hall and Montreal Jazz Festival.

Finally, we have a recorded document of the keyboard player’s powerful DC-based trio—which practices each weekend in his basement—featuring Kenneth Joseph on drums and Alemseged Kebede on bass. Beautifully captured at one of their fiery live shows at the venerable Brooklyn non-profit cultural center Pioneer Works on July 1, 2016, the concert was recorded by PW staff and mixed by Ted Young with mastering by ATFA’s expert audio extraction collaborator Jessica Thompson. The performance clarifies what many people across the globe already know: in his fifth decade of music-making Hailu Mergia continues to push the boundaries of his remarkable abilities.

Mergia and his veteran band energetically and playfully unpeel layer after layer of harmonic and rhythmic interest out of a spectrum of Ethiopian repertoire. Modern jazz demands constant reinvention and improvisation, night after night creating new works out of known modes and classic standards. This band is unstoppable when it comes to turning age-old melodies (like “Tizita” or “Anchihoye Lene”) upside down and inside out until they emerge as molten new works, often spontaneously. Mergia’s original compositions (like “Yegle Nesh”) shine brighter than ever here as well. Moving from keyboard to organ to accordion to melodica, he deftly switches instruments—often during the same song. Mergia at 77 years old seems to be working harder than musicians half his age.

Pioneer Works Swing (Live) brings into focus the kind of onstage group improvisation and deadly solo passages that reach for places Mergia and the band have never gone, on festival and club stages across four continents.

Now that Mergia has released two new recordings along with four classic reissues, he is eager to let everyone hear what he’s been doing on the road since he re-took the global stage for his victory laps. So much more than an old act from yesteryear, Mergia balances his legendary Ethiopian recordings with good old fashioned sweat-soaked live concert triumphs such as the one we have here.

TRACK LISTING

1. Yegle Nesh (6:22) €

In the early 2000s, San Francisco's Black Rebel Motorcycle Club were part of a vanguard of acts spearheading a garage rock revival - each a beacon of the staying power of gritty guitar music: The White Stripes and Dirtbombs in Detroit, The Kills in London, The Strokes and Interpol in New York, The Raveonettes in Copenhagen - the list goes on. Each made their mark, and BRMC’s take on rock and roll in the 20th century was particularly alluring - dark and atmospheric, their debut LP took them immediately out of the underground and onto stages worldwide, bringing their rock and roll manifesto to a new generation of music fans and artists.

TRACK LISTING

1. Red Eyes And Tears
2. Funny Games
3. Six Barrel Shotgun
4. Beat The Devil's Tattoo
5. Whatever Happened To My Rock And Roll
6. Spread Your Love
7. Lose Yourself
8. Fire Walker

RIYL: Silver Jews, Pixies, Husker Du, Wilco, Pavement, Superchunk, Modest Mouse.

As the front person of celebrated indie band Cymbals Eat Guitars, guitarist and singer Joseph D’Agostino spent over a decade setting autobiographical, emotionally vivid lyrics against a backdrop of soaring and compositionally ambitious rock. After four critically acclaimed LPs that solidified D’Agostino’s reputation as a gifted songwriter, he chose to break from his long-term band and debut a new project: Empty Country. On 2020’s self-titled debut, D’Agostino’s storytelling lens shifted away from personal narrative and toward fiction; psychopaths, apparitions and deplorables populated a bleak and uncanny parallel version of American dystopia. Empty Country’s sprawling and sonically adventurous arrangements—filled out by collaborating musicians including Rachel and Zoë Browne (Field Mouse), Kyle Gillbride (Swearin’), Zena Kay (Angel Olsen), and former CEG drummer Charlotte Anne Dole—ranged from luminous jangle-pop to scorching emo-punk to narcotized Americana. Though the pandemic curtailed planned touring, a seven-piece iteration of the band played one packed Brooklyn show in May 2022, supported by Charles Bissell (The Wrens) and Field Mouse; Empty Country also backed Bissell on several classics from The Meadowlands. “It was a wonderful return to live music for all of us,” says D’Agostino. “So many folks reached out to me and told me how Empty Country offered them comfort during those first several months of being stuck inside. I’m happy that it came out and connected with some people and that I was able to establish this universe I could continue to build on.”

Empty Country II, the project’s second full-length, is a thrilling expansion of that world. D’Agostino pushed himself to new places as a songwriter, crafting a collection of short stories set to music that grapple with the biggest questions now hanging over America—gun violence, the addiction epidemic, and generational hopelessness among them. In 2020, he’d moved from Philadelphia to small-town New England to be closer to family, and his new locale, coupled with the dread of lockdown, inspired him to return to the haunted world from the first LP. “It’s pretty jarring to leave a city—where you can safely assume you’re aligned with your neighbors on many political and social issues—for somewhere more rural and conservative,” says D’Agostino, noting the Trump flags and Blue Lives Matter hood wraps that dot his new dirt road residence. Across the new album’s nine tracks, D’Agostino introduces us to a bevy of characters: three generations of West Virginia clairvoyants, crushed by the weight of their secret knowledge; a group of drag queens and misfits in early ‘80s New York City; a pill mill doctor’s daughter who dabbles in necromancy; a convicted killer; a bullied kid injured and alone in the forest as night falls. Through the stories of these characters, Empty Country II delivers an engaging and deeply moving rumination on time, family, and the disintegration of America.

Despite the stoicism of its storytelling, Empty Country II cuts the darkness with beauty, humor, and an earnest belief in the transcendent power of rock music. It was recorded over two weeks at Fidelitorium, the renowned studio in Kernersville, NC, belonging to R.E.M. producer Mitch Easter. Legendary recording engineer John Agnello, whose previous collaborations with Cymbals Eat Guitars resulted in their 2014 high-water mark, LOSE, brought his trademark clarity and nuance to the process, helping Empty Country II crackle with a vital energy that imbues these stories with genuine lifeforce. Dole returned on drums for the record, her virtuosic performances lending raw power and immediacy; her twin brother Patrick joined on bass, his decades of experience uplifting the songs with subtle melodicism and formidable technicality. The group's chemistry and deep personal history are palpable, allowing them to approach the record’s complex story with subtlety and dynamism. “Mitch has collected an astounding array of weird mics, amplifiers, and oddball orchestral instruments: organs, Buddhist temple bells, bar chimes, tubular bells,” enthuses D’Agostino about the studio. “FLA,” a gripping portrait of a queer tour boat pilot in the Florida Keys pining for their absent lover, was arranged from the ground so the group could incorporate Easter’s timpani. D’Agostino considers it a high point of his lengthy discography and lauds that song’s harmonica solo as “my favorite 30 seconds of music that I’ve ever been a part of.”

Empty Country II also features some of D’Agostino’s most danceable songs—like “David,” a tribute to D’Agostino’s late friend David Berman. Featuring a lyrical tapestry of Silver Jews references and surreally beautiful images, head-nodding Philly soul grooves collapse into cosmic freeform jazz-inspired sections, ornamented with inventive hand percussion, marimba flourishes, and toe-tapping piano chords. “Recite a poem as the day vibrates,” D’Agostino sings. “I finally wrote this song for you / But I don’t know who I’d show it to.” It’s a paraphrase of W.S. Merwin’s famed short poem “Elegy”, written after the passing of his own mentor, John Berryman. On “Bootsie,” a runaway girl from West Virginia explores the crumbling, glorious 1980s New York City of Paris is Burning, finding community in a scene of drag queens who offer her a new way of thinking about what makes America—and rock music—great. Based on his own mother’s experiences at the height of the AIDS epidemic, the song has deep personal meaning to D’Agostino. “The men you thought were brave / are arrogant and depraved,” he sings against the damaged disco beats of the Dole siblings’ rhythm section. Inverting the chorus of the Talking Heads’ “Heaven,” the lyrics of “Bootsie” celebrate the underdogs and misfits: “Hell is the place where everything happens / The band’s playing all the songs ever written at once / Shape the chaos, make your little story / Baby, this life’s perfect purgatory.”

Though Empty Country II is a record about the forces that drive Americans apart, it’s also imbued with empathic love and an understanding of what binds people to family and country—in spite of the darknesses we encounter. The concept of a Great American Rock Album might scan as outdated in 2023, but with this sprawling and uncompromising epic, D’Agostino and Empty Country shatter ambivalence and confront the horrors with a community-minded sense of cautious optimism. “We may be staring into an abyss,” says D’Agostino. “But we’re all staring together.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Pearl
2. Erlking
3. David
4. Dustine
5. Syd
6. Bootsie
7. FLA
8. Lamb
9. Cool S

Hardly Art debut and first full-length by ill peach, aka accomplished pop songwriters Jess Corazza and Pat Morrissey.

The album is at once exuberantly catchy pop and genre-hopping modern experimental music.

Here’s the thing about ill peach: this band exists because they are too weird to not exist.

The seed of ill peach was first planted in the recording studios of New York City where Pat Morrissey and Jess Corazza were working together as professional songwriters, collaborating with artists like Icona Pop, SZA, Weezer, Pharrell, Big Freedia, and others. Then came the day they were offered their own publishing deal. Cool, right? Well, about that:

“Everyone kept saying, ‘The stuff that you’re writing is slightly too left-of-center—weirdo stuff,” remembers Morrissey. “Why don’t you start your own project?”

Thus ill peach, a pop band with a punk streak and a taste for both the rotten and the sweet, with an approach to making music that goes something like: “Do you want to pick up a guitar and do you want to be on this water jug and we’ll record it on the iPhone and create some weird drum pattern?”

Following a series of well-received EPs on their own Pop Can Records (a record label and artist collective Morrissey and close collaborator Jesse Schuster run with friends), a digital single for Hardly Art’s 15th anniversary series, and some colorful music videos that crystallized the band’s visual aesthetic along with their sound, ill peach’s “weirdo stuff” comes to fruition on first full-length THIS IS NOT AN EXIT: a collection of anthemic songs built out of bright pop and gritty experimental elements (Morrissey names the sculptural use of distortion on the final albums by Low as an inspiration), punctuated with hooky choruses ready to be screamed along to in the safety of your own bedroom or with a bunch of friends at one of ill peach’s intense live shows.

If ill peach first blossomed in New York, it took quarantine in Los Angeles for the project to ripen. The end of the world turned out to be what ill peach needed to get real with themselves. “It helped us creatively to zone in and removed us from the [industry] side of things to where we could just be like: this is our new identity, let's jump with both feet.”

THIS IS NOT AN EXIT’s title is a reflection of something Corazza realized during a period of personal and familial crises. “I kept walking into buildings and I’d try to exit somewhere and the sign would be like, ‘This is not an exit,’” she says. “It just felt like a metaphor for a hopeful thing—don't give up yet.” This combination of hope and anxiety is all over THIS IS NOT AN EXIT, reflected in a sonic palette (Alternative! Electronica! Indie! Radio pop! Coldplay!) as eclectic as it is unpretentious. Ultimately, THIS IS NOT AN EXIT is a record about healing, a process often spoken about in New Age-y terms but one that in reality can be really confusing and, yes, weird. But it is the beautiful strangeness of being alive that ill peach capture so well on THIS IS NOT AN EXIT. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Bloom
2. Blah Blah Blah
3. Tornado Weather
4. Hush
5. Capillary Bed
6. 17
7. Soft (Intermission)
8. Head Full Of Holes
9. Sour Like Lemonade
10. This Is Not An Exit
11. Colliding
12. Heavyweight
13. Sigh

LOVE + POP is a snapshot of a moment in not-so-far-away time; something fast, loud, moody and a little dangerous. It is, in some ways, classic Current Joys: full of wild ambition, sneaky hooks, and songs that move from concept to completion with prolific speed. But LOVE + POP also explodes myriad expectations with aggressive, deconstructed production, house music influence, and a guest appearance from Lil Yachty. It is not so much a twist as it is a unique multiverse identity for Current Joys, as Nick Rattigan’s set out to “capture this sonic moment and harken back to the way I first released music.”

The story of LOVE + POP begins with one of those house parties: the kind that bulldozes your home and, in its aftermath, leaves a wreckage that finds you flattened but also ready to be new. In that mess and mayhem, Rattigan watched Everybody’s Everything, the documentary of Lil Peep, and recorded a cover of “walk away as the door slams”. But the itch wasn’t scratched, and what began as a moment of homage morphed into something bigger, deeper and more fundamental, a point where the seemingly haphazard – in his home, in Peep’s process – opened Rattigan up to an entire creative space and a new approach to bending or even detonating genre.

Crucially, all of this was recorded at home, in what Rattigan calls a “tribute to the process of creating” in a DIY space. And what began as a singular passion project unexpectedly grew into a uniquely collaborative record for Current Joys. “I’ve set out to make collaborative records before,” Rattigan explains, “but they often end up totally me, with just a couple exceptions. But then this record gave me the opportunity to be extremely collaborative, to let other people write instrumental tracks, sending links around for people to mess with and weigh in on. I sat down to do credits and realized here were all these people and styles and they all came together and worked.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Walk Away As The Door Slams (feat. Your Angel)
2. LOVE + POP (feat. Your Angel)
3. Gatsby (feat. Lil Yachty)
4. My Shadow Life (feat. Oddbody)
5. CIGARETTES
6. Bb Put On Deftones
7. Dr Satan
8. Moon Sickness
9. Rock N Roll Dreams (feat. Brutus VIII)
10. I Feel Truth Inside Of U
11. 3lefant (feat. Slow Hollows)
12. U R THE REASON

Will Anderson believes in true love—as both concept and catalyst, aspiration and inspiration. During his 34 years, the Hotline TNT founder and architect has found such love perhaps half-a-dozen times. Each instance has prompted some enormous swing of commitment, like a cross-country move or simply being honest about his budding attraction. It is a hopeful and vulnerable way to exist, a way to ensure maximum bruising during the fall of the breakup. And so far for Anderson, that is how it has always ended, whether the air has slowly seeped out of some once-full balloon or whether it has simply popped, those expanded feelings expelled in an instant.

This tension is the brain, blood, and beating heart of Cartwheel, Hotline TNT’s second LP and an endlessly romantic testament to reaching for something that slips forever out of grasp. The byproduct of Anderson’s decades-long quest to pin down the surging sound long in his head, Hotline TNT has come to notice in the last four years through loose association with a feverish surge of shoegaze revivalism. And Hotline TNT indeed trucks in the touchstones you might expect: skywriting guitars that bathe in fluorescent hazes of distortion, blown-out drums that pound as though they’re trying to escape a concrete box, and honeyed vocals that try to rise above the chaotic mess in true-to-life mimesis.

TRACK LISTING

A-Side
1. Protocol
2. I Thought You'd Change
3. Beauty Filter
4. History Channel
5. I Know You
6. Son In Law
B-Side
1. Out Of Town
2. Maxine
3. That Was My Life
4. Spot Me
5. BMX
6. Stump

It’s been a decade since we last heard from Marnie Stern, but when her guitar bursts in like a shower of stardust on The Comeback Kid, the follow-up to 2013’s The Chronicles of Marnia, it’s like no time has passed.

But this is no nostalgia trip. The Comeback Kid is a statement of intent. “I can’t keep on moving backwards,” Stern repeats on anthemic opening track “Plain Speak,” her fingers furiously tapping the fretboard as the song joyfully zips forward like a rocket hitting warp speed. Stern continually pushes herself outside of her comfort zone throughout The Comeback Kid, including not leaning on the tapping technique that launched a thousand Eddie Van Halen comparisons. “Til It’s Over” is as straight-ahead an “alternative rock” song as Stern has ever made and there’s a cover of Ennio Morricone’s “Il Girotondo Della Note.”

“It was so great to be able to start being myself again and when I would think, ‘Oh, is that too, too weird?’ I'd remember I'm allowed to do whatever I want! This is mine. It's me,” says Stern of writing songs for The Comeback Kid. “I'm trying to go against the grain of this bullshit that when you get older, you lose your sense of taste. I want to empower people to not be so homogenous and go against the grain a little bit.”

Taking joy in your individuality is the message of The Comeback Kid, as is the realization that making music which truly reflects who you are in all your brightness and your weirdness is quite possibly the key to happiness. “This record is about reassuring yourself that happiness is not about what kind of things you have or how many things you have or what you don’t have—it’s about all the good things you do,” says Stern.

TRACK LISTING

Plain Speak (3:14)
Believing Is Seeing (1:58)
The Natural (2:48)
Oh Are They (2:16)
Forward (1:52)
Working Memory (3:09)
Il Girotondo Della Note (1:18)
Til It's Over (2:32)
Nested (1:57)
Earth Eater (3:18)
Get It Good (1:46)
One And The Same (2:20)

Obliques and Atmospheric are very happy to present their new album “Golden Apples of the Sun”. It is the result of a close cooperation between Suzanne Ciani and Jonathan Fitoussi. The American electronic music pioneer (5 time Grammy award-nominated) has joined the French composer to sign a four-hand album around mythical synthesizers like Buchla, Moog and Ems...

Mainly recorded in California, facing the Pacific Ocean, the white sound of synthesizers mixes constantly with the sound of the waves and wind. The music generated is directly blended with the surrounding elements of nature. It is both organic and live, hypnotic and rhythmical, powerful and dreamlike.

Suzanne is a five-time Grammy award-nominated composer, electronic music pioneer, and neo-classical recording artist who has released over 20 solo albums. Her work has been featured in films, games, and countless commercials as well. She was inducted into the first class of Keyboard Magazine's Hall of Fame alongside other synth luminaries. Most recently, she is the recipient of the Independent Icon Award from A2IM. Suzanne has provided the voice and sounds for Bally's groundbreaking "Xenon" pinball machine, created Coca-Cola’s pop-and-pour sound, designed logos for Fortune 500 companies, and carved out a niche as one of the most creatively successful female composers in the world.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Golden Apples Of The Sun
A2. Coral Reef
A3. Time Lapse
A4. Pinwheel

B1. Oceanium
B2. Rainbow Sequence
B3. Sonar
B4. Spirit Rock

RIYL: the Dead C, Birchville Cat Motel, Skullflower, heat exhaustion, feeling of confusion and self-recrimination et al. …aka A Bunker Intimation Vol. 1. And what have they built down there? A remodel in 40 minutes at half-time, the group temporarily slimmed and tuned to a different gait, a shifting of pulses, delay, moving air; the sound of the room and the body, of the body in the room; a room fogged as emphysemic lungs where indistinct translucent ooze lines its walls, possibly of paranormal origin, possibly of nocturnal transgression alone. The reality - as it ought - is occluded from view. Not necessarily the IFWM unit you might assume, but most certainly one of the many versions they've always been. And not so much a new beginning as an alternative diversion through the abyss. Indexe'e: aka Index For Working Musik. Onwards, inwards.

TRACK LISTING

1. Church Normal
2. Half Leib II
3. W1 Sprokla
4. Frucht Keller

German Jazz supergroup WEB WEB continue their collaboration with songwriter and producer Max Herre on their fifth album WEB MAX II, issued on Compost Records.

First joining forces with Herre for 2021 offering WEB MAX, on this new long player the band has achieved much more than just the pure continuation of a series. Roaming far from its Spiritual Jazz roots, WEB MAX II is, musically and emotionally, probably the most diverse distillation of what WEB WEB has created in its seven years of existence.

TRACK LISTING

1. Perennial Journey
2. Testimony
3. The Source Of All Things Feat. Marja Burchard (Embryo)
4. La Planète Fantastique Feat. Carlos Niño
5. Fellow Travellers
6. The 6th Dimension
7. Ólobo Feat. Carlos Niño
8. Artist Unknown
9. Zutuma
10. Look Beyond The Sun

Van Morrison unveils his 45th studio album, ‘Accentuate the Positive’.

Like this year’s acclaimed ‘Moving On Skiffle’, ‘Accentuate The Positive’ sees Van Morrison returning to one of his childhood passions: this time rock ‘n’ roll. Growing up in Belfast shortly after World War II, he was immensely inspired by the heady sounds of 20th century blues and rock ‘n’ roll. Listening to artists such as Fats Domino, Chuck Berry and The Everly Brothers, it wasn’t long until Van was intuitively reinterpreting these sounds with his own band in local hometown venues.

Several decades later, Van Morrison now revisits the genre by reimagining some of his personal favourites for ‘Accentuate The Positive’, and infusing those timeless songs with an energy that constantly challenges and expands upon its traditions. Van’s inimitable voice combined with superb arrangements and highly accomplished brings a fresh zeal to such great songs as The Johnny Burnette Trio’s ‘Lonesome Train’, Johnny Kidd & The Pirates’ ‘Shakin’ All Over’ and Big Joe Turner’s pioneering rock ‘n’ roll hit ‘Flip, Flop and Fly’.

Contributors to the album include electric guitar from the late Jeff Beck and vocals from Chris Farlowe on ‘Lonesome Train’, plus guitar from Taj Mahal on ‘Lucille’ and ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll’.

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
1) You Are My Sunshine
2) When Will I Be Loved?
3) Two Hound Dogs
4) Flip, Flop And Fly
5) I Want A Roof Over My Head
Side 2
6) Problems
7) Hang Up My Rock & Roll Shoes
8) The Shape I’m In
9) Accentuate The Positive
10) Lonesome Train
Side 3
11) A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues
12) Shakin’ All Over
13) Bye Bye Johnny
14) Red Sails In The Sunset
15) Sea Of Heartbreak
Side 4
16) Blueberry Hill       
17) Bonaparte’s Retreat
18) Lucille
19) Shake Rattle And Roll

The first official compilation of "Disco Stupenda", the party that brings back hidden masterpieces of Italian music to the dancefloor. The selection is by Tommiboy, resident DJ and founder of Italy’s most Italian party.

The 8 killer disco-funk tracks tested on the most disparate dancefloors - from clubs in London, Berlin, Copenhagen, New York, Istanbul and Tunis etc, to the Italian beach - are extremely rare gems that are hard to find even on the collector’s market.

A must-have gem released in limited editions by Mondo Groove Records.

TRACK LISTING

Nuccio Di Vico - Lasciati Amare
Momo Yang - Peggio Per Te
Patrizia Caselli - Un Amore Anonimo
Franco Camassa - Il Primo Appuntamento
Gloria Piedimonte - Chi Sei
Patrick Samson - Dinamite
Gabriella Fava - Discoteca
Spataneri Sebastiano Aria - Vagabondo Non Sono

This latest station stop off is with the famed Nippon Columbia label, one of the biggest labels in Japan, whose jazz output embraces every possible style imaginable. Focussing on the key years 1968-1981, J Jazz volume 4 sees compilers Tony Higgins and Mike Peden dig even deeper into their record collections and pull-out tracks that span styles ranging from solo to big band, jazz classical interpretations and heavy jazz rock, to febrile post-bop, white hot samba fusion, and modal psychedelic wig-outs.

J Jazz volume 4 features icons such as drum master Takeo Moriyama, keyboard magi Hiromasa Suzuki, Fumio Itabashi, and Masahiko Satoh, and guitar wizards Kazumi Watanabe and Kiyoshi Sugimoto, alongside big band maestros and innovators Nobuo Hara and his Sharps and Flats, and Toshiyuki Miyama’s New Herd. Thunderous basslines nestle alongside glistening runs of electric piano, bubbling synths and air-tight drumming as the heavy psychedelic modal blues of Jiro Inagaki flows with the infectious samba grooves of Takashi Mizuhashi featuring Herbie Hancock; Shigeharu Mukai’s fusion funk epics take the music to another level and Mikio Masuda’s driving keyboard rhythms brings the heat to an incendiary dancefloor zone.

TRACK LISTING

1. Exchange – Takeo Moriyama
2. The Ground For Peace – Jiro Inagaki & His Soul Media
3. Chakkiri Bushi – Nobuo Hara And His Sharps & Flats, Hozan Yamamoto
4. Trial Road – Tomoki Takahashi
5. A Muddy Muffin – Masahiko Sato
6. Samba De Negrito – Takashi Mizuhashi & Herbie Hancock
7. Scramble – Hiromasa Suzuki
8. A Head Wind – Shigeharu Mukai Quintet*
9. Prelude To The Afternoon Of A Faun – Nobuo Hara And His Sharps & Flats
10. Jones Street – Kiyoshi Sugimoto
11. By The Red Stream – Hiromasa Suzuki, Jiro Inagaki & Big Soul Media
12. Kaleidoscope (Edit) – Mickie Yoshino & Kazumi Watanabe
13. Ougi Denju-shiki – Toshiyuki Miyama And His New Herd
14. Toppu – Shigeharu Mukai
15. Mickey’s Samba – Mikio Masuda
16. Macumba – Fumio Itabashi*

*CD Only.

Welcome to library breaks *chopped 'n screwed*! Slow (Motion And Movement), originally released on Sonoton in 1980, is super-sought-after and full of crazy dubby, super SLLLLLOOOOWWWWW and super HEAVVVVVY library breaks. It's also home to blinding new age/synthy tracks that are equally great. It's really varied throughout, but all absolutely fantastic.

Slow features KPM/Bruton/Sonoton-legend John Fiddy, the mighty Sonoton founder and composer, arranger and conductor Gerhard Narholz in 2 of his best-loved guises - Sammy Burdson and Norman Candler (get it?) - as well as a couple of fine offerings from Antonio Campo.

Heavy opener "Slow Business 1" is veeeerrrrrrryyyyyy slooooooooow with the phased drums so beloved of Narholz but this time delivered by Campo, with a proud, deliberate piano melody and great bassline adorning the creeping rhythm. "Slow Business 2" is equally as slooooooow but without any melodic decoration. Just pure phased drums, folks! Get sampling. "Moody You" is Narholz's first track on the record and what a beauty it is. A languorous, insouciant, slo-mo guitar soul track with warm synths, electric piano and heavy drums. It sounds a wee bit like an erotic film score, and all the better for it. "Slow Groovement" is Campo's final contribution and it's definitely his best. It's an ace, moody-yet-melodic crime/blaxploitation track with gorgeous percussive elements, mellifluous Rhodes and twinkling piano over a fantastic bassline and drums with some great electric guitar soloing halfway through.

"Slow Reactor 1" is Narholz again, under his Burdson pseudonym, and it's him all the way, now, joined by John Fiddy for half the tracks. This one is a tense, phased, slo-mo thriller with mysterious percussive elements and ominous strings. "Threat To Research" contains mysterious, dramatic sounds and heaps of string-assisted tension whilst "Ion Exchanger" is replete with repetitive, strange accents and sounds; all half-tumbling drums and dead tense, again. Truly, a taut experience and ideal for adventurous sample-based beat-heads. "Wave Motions" is a real highlight and the first to feature John Fiddy. It's a beatless ambient banger with slowly changing sound waves. It sounds like Angelo Badalamenti would if he were crafting strung-out teutonic library madness in 1980. The A-Side closes with "Slow Motion Link" which is over waaaay too soon but just simply needs looping. Trust us. Phenomenally dope!

Flip over for "Scenic Vision 1" for here, ladies and gentlemen, we go sublime. It's an absolutely stunning ambient wonder, with slowly changing textures and colours that create a peaceful, gliding, tranquil atmosphere of sheer bliss. You will not want it to end. Whilst "Scenic Vision 2" adds a bass melody, "Scenic Vision 3" uses the same melody but renders it isolated and lonely in the background. Haunting, hypnotic and hyper-beautiful. "Study In Brown" is s a lengthier number, with room to stretch out, and features Fiddy back in the game. Again, a slow, isolated melody gradually segues - by way of Fiddy's mournful electric guitar solo - into a slow heavy rhythm with rumbling, groovy bass and stratospheric drums.

"Deja Vu 1" weaves swirling, disorientating magic. It's described on the original sleeve simply as "indefinite arpeggios inexplicable vision" and we can't put it any better ourselves. "Deja Vu 2" sounds like you've heard it before, it's "as above with melodic line" and really is fun. "Glistening Surface" sounds exactly as you'd expect, all frisson-inducing movements, slow waves and generally peaceful scenic sounds. This remarkable library record closes with "Laser Fight", blasting "utopian percussive sounds" that totally get under your skin like fireworks through your veins. A neat trick!

Established in Munich in 1965 by Gerard and Rotheide Narholz, Sonoton introduced library music to Germany. Initially intended to cater to the country's new TV market, the library also provided an avenue for Gerhard Narholz's astonishing musical prolificacy, and soon became a haven for a wide range of European composers and musicians. In 1969, Sonoton struck a deal with the British label Berry Music for international publishing rights, exposing its catalog to a worldwide audience; when Berry was bought out by EMI in 1973, Sonoton transitioned into a full-fledged international label, with successes in the library and commercial fields and many innovations to its credit. Now a worldwide operation with hundreds of producers and composers under its employ, Sonoton nonetheless remains an independently run business still helmed by its founders - a remarkable achievement in an era when nearly every other major library has been absorbed by a multinational conglomerate.

The audio for Slow (Motion And Movement) has been remastered by Be With regular Simon Francis, ensuring this release sounds better than ever. Cicely Balston's expert skills have made sure nothing is lost in the cut whilst the original, iconic sleeve has been restored here at Be With HQ as the finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue.

Women In Revolt! is an exhibition of work by over 100 women artists working in the UK during the 1970s and 80s. In a first of its kind showing, it explores how women used radical ideas and rebellious methods to change the face of British culture. With music, painting, sculpture, photography, film, and performance, they forged a path for women’s liberation in the UK, against a backdrop of extreme social change.

Drawing on the work and experiences of women outside the establishment and often excluded from art history, Women In Revolt! Showcases a productive, politically engaged set of communities, who paved the way for future generations. It explores and reflects on issues and events such as: the British Women’s Liberation movement, the fight for legal changes impacting women, maternal and domestic experiences, Punk and independent music, Greenham Common and the peace movement, the visibility of Black and South Asian Women Artists, Section 28 and the AIDs pandemic.

To underline this trailblazing exhibition, a compilation has been dutifully curated to further reveal the music, sound art, and prominent musicians creating during this artistic and societal paradigm shift. The music that defines and defied this era, not only soundtracked but spurred on increasingly impassioned creative output and representation for women. Bands included on the compilation like X-Ray Spex and The Slits remain front of mind for band’s espousing this robust stance both sonically and politically, with equally impactful artists included like Ludus, whose lead singer Linder Sterling also impacted the genre with her radical feminist visual artwork and music. 

TRACK LISTING

A)

1) White Mice – Mo-Dettes
2) Typical Girls – Slits
3) Idealogically Unsound – Poison Girls
4) Dear Marje – The Gymslips
5) Identity – X-Ray Spex
6) You – Au Pairs
7) Warm Girls – Girls At Our Best!


B)

1) Sightseeing – Ludus
2) No Side To Fall In – The Raincoats
3) In Love – Marine Girls
4) Trees And Flowers – Strawberry Switchblade
5) Aerosol Burns – Essential Logic
6) Launderette – Vivienne Goldman
7) October (Love Song) – Chris & Cosey 

Referencing the easy, sleazy sounds of the 90s, Viji – real name Vanilla Jenner – has been cementing herself as one of the most exciting alternative artists to watch in the UK right now.

Having previously released music on Dirty Hit, she recently signed to Speedy Wunderground and has rapidly built a loyal fanbase whilst receiving widespread plaudits from the likes of BBC Radio 1’s Jack Saunders, BBC Radio 6 Music’s Steve Lamacq, CLASH, Dork, DIY, Wonderland, So Young, and many more.

So Vanilla was recorded predominantly in London, in partnership with four-time Mercury Prize nominated producer and Speedy Wunderground label head, Dan Carey (Fontaines D.C., Kae Tempest, Wet Leg). Having finished So Vanilla in November 2022, Viji relays that every song had a different writing process – some saw her and Carey playing guitar chords together for hours, until the sounds fused into one, and others came from late night ramblings at home.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: From snarling vocals and fuzzy, grungy guitars to hushed acoustic breeze, 'So Vanilla' is a captivating and brilliantly off-piste debut from a hugely talented artist. A hefty, 90's tinged treat.

TRACK LISTING

1 Anything
2 Down
3 Sedative
4 Sundress In Pink
5 Karaoke
6 Blanket
7 Sharks
8 Slip Out Quiet
9 1850
10 Say Hi
11 White Lighter
12 Ambien

Madres is, unsurprisingly, dedicated to Kourtesis' mother. More surprising though it is also dedicated to world-renowned neurosurgeon Peter Vajkoczy. The story of how a world-renowned neurosurgeon came to appear in the liner notes of this record is one of tenacity, miracles, all-consuming love and ultimately, of hope.

When she began work on her debut, Kourtesis was seemingly unstoppable. A string of rapturously received EPs and singles made her one of the fastest rising stars in the electronic world and beyond.

She has already graced the cover of Mixmag, released a brilliantly energetic and moving Resident Advisor ‘RA Session’, appeared on ‘End of Year’ lists from the likes of The New York Times, Pitchfork, DJ Mag and Spotify (#6 Best Electronic Song) and played instant sell-out early shows at London’s Lafayette and Manchester’s YES as well as standout performances at Glastonbury, Green Man, Wide Awake and Primavera and tours supporting Caribou and Bicep.

Recommended if you like… Daphni, Logic1000, TSHA, Joy Orbison, HAAi, Jacques Greene

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A thoroughly captivating move through hazy lo-fi rave, rich rhythmic electronica and skittering IDM from Sofia Kourtesis and the ever-reliable electronic bastion Ninja Tune. It's beautifully produced, warmly dedicated and full of some of the most memorable electronic pieces i've heard in years. Superb.

TRACK LISTING

1. Madres
2. Si Te Portas Bonito
3. Vajkoczy
4. How Music Makes You Feel Better
5. Habla Con Ella
6. Funkhaus
7. Moving Houses
8. Estación Esperanza
9. Cecilia
10. El Carmen

Whether we look for him or not, we all find God somewhere. It could be in nature. It could be in church. It could be in the metaverse. It differs for each and every one of us. In terms of where God might be, The Kills aren’t necessarily saying, but the duo - Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince - certainly sound like they’ve seen him. How else could you explain the primal call-and-response between Alison’s full body blues-soul vocal catharsis and Jamie’s swaggering, guillotine-smooth guitar transmissions on the duo’s sixth full-length offering, God Games?

The Kills have emerged as international rock stars, setting the pace for the genre, shaping this era’s sound, and redefining what rock music can be in the 21st century. They’re the rare force of nature who can tour with Queens of the Stone Age or Guns N’ Roses and light up Coachella. Returning home from the road in 2019, Alison and Jamie commenced writing for what would become God Games. However, the old adage, “Make plans, God laughs,” couldn’t have been more apropos.

Stretching boundaries, Jamie encouraged Alison to “buy this 100-dollar keyboard and try to write.” She added another creative tool to her arsenal, while he tinkered with textures, sounds and “wrote on guitar less than ever,” opting to primarily compose on piano for the first time. This powerful combination of forces gave the album its own sonic identity, a new path forged in the pair’s creative bond.

The Kills decamped to an old church (a bit ironic now isn’t it?) where they recorded with old friend and Academy and GRAMMY Award-winning producer Paul Epworth [Adele]. “Paul was our very first soundman in 2002,” recalls Jamie. “Since he was with us when we had two amps, a lightbulb, and a couple of mics in a van, it seemed perfect. He knew how far it had come and could trace the thread back.”

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: The Kills have been known for pummelling a riff or two, and though there's no shortage of that on 'God Games', it's by far their most contemplative and mature outing yet. Incendiary passages are tempered with blues, post-punk and even bits of folk seep into the mix, and it's all the better for it.

Because Hold, Jack Tatum’s fifth album under the moniker Wild Nothing, was written in the aftermath of new parenthood during the pandemic, it was probably inevitable that it would be searching and existential music. But during the recording process, the artist known for synth-pop tastefulness used it as an opportunity to reach for a new sonic maximalism and wider set of influences. With contributions from longtime collaborator Jorge Elbrecht, Tommy Davidson of Beach Fossils and Hatchie’s Harriette Pilbeam, first single “Headlights On” features an acid house-worthy bass groove and breakbeat that prove Tatum is playing for the rafters.

Tatum produced the rest of the record on his own, partially out of necessity, due to the challenges of the pandemic. The songs were eventually brought to Adrian Olsen at Montrose Recording in Richmond to begin recording drums and filling in the gaps. While largely a product of isolation, Hold also reflects the things Tatum has learned from collaborators, both on previous records and during his acclaimed work with Japanese Breakfast and Molly Burch. The rest of the record was mixed by Geoff Swan, who listeners might know for his work with Caroline Polachek and Charli XCX. Swan put Tatum’s vocals high in the mix, and throughout the album, he embraces playful vocal processing like never before.

Tatum moved from Los Angeles back to his home state of Virginia about five years ago in search of a scaled-back lifestyle. The relatively suburban environment—and the occasional regret it inspired—proved to be great artistic fodder. It’s the para- dox of modern America—the suburbs are supposed to be stultifying to art, but they are so full of human desperation perfect for dramatizing. On “Suburban Solutions”, he presents an anti-jingle with an acidly bright synthesizer melody, imploring you to sign on the dotted line, put your feet up, and embrace sweet oblivion.

Adding to the song’s menacing cheeriness is a chorus-sung bridge, made with as- sistance from Molly Burch and Tatum’s wife, Dana, It was loosely inspired by the classic Martika song “Toy Soldiers” and the long-ago pop craze for children’s choirs, and he embraces the trend’s less-than-stellar reputation. By design, Hold dwells in uncertainty and fear, but in a package that encourages meditation and a bit of fun. “In the face of the pandemic, I think being a parent really forced my hand,” Tatum said. “I felt that I had no other choice but to have a positive outlook on the world. Because if I were to give in at any moment and say, “Oh, everything is horrible,” then I’ll feel as if I’ve lost and I’ve given up on my son being able to thrive in this world.”

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Another beautiful selection of hazy melodies and airy jangle from the ever-talented Jack Tatum, just this time we veer into silken synthpop territory. It's just as perfectly formed and shows what a breadth of styles Tatum has as his disposal.

TRACK LISTING

1. Headlights On
2. Basement El Dorado
3. The Bodybuilder
4. Suburban Solutions
5. Presidio
6. Dial Tone
7. Histrion
8. Prima
9. Alex
10. Little Chaos

When Black Pumas made their self-titled debut in 2019, the Austin-bred duo set off a reaction almost as combustible and rapturous as their music itself. Along with earning a career total of seven Grammy Award nominations (including Album Of The Year) and winning praise from leading outlets like Pitchfork and Rolling Stone, singer/songwriter Eric Burton and guitarist/producer Adrian Quesada achieved massive success as a live act, touring large theatres all over Europe and North and South America and delivering a transcendent show Burton aptly refers to as “electric church.” As they set to work on their highly awaited sophomore album, the band broadened their palette to include a dazzling expanse of musical forms: heavenly hybrids of soul and symphonic pop, mind-bending excursions into jazz-funk and psychedelia, starry-eyed love songs that feel dropped down from the cosmos. Wilder and weirder and more extravagantly composed than its predecessor, Chronicles of a Diamond arrives as the fullest expression yet of Black Pumas’ frenetic creativity and limitless vision.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Everyone get a little mad about second albums don't they? Then in waltz the Black Pumas with their effortlessly diverse melting pot of funk, rock and roll and soul and show everyone up. It's an intoxicating and unbelievably enjoyable endeavour and ram-packed with all the groove you could ever need.

TRACK LISTING

1 More Than A Love Song
2 Ice Cream (Pay Phone)
3 Mrs. Postman
4 Chronicles Of A Diamond
5 Angel
6 Hello
7 Sauvignon
8 Tomorrow
9 Gemini Sun
10 Rock And Roll

Traversing the everyday in 2023,the need for ritual catharsis only grows stronger. The need to lose oneself in a force bigger than ourselves, and to venture into innerspace the better to sculpt armour for the battles outside. Luckily this is the job of Bonnacons of Doom, aural soothsayers and progenitors of Trans Pennine hypnotic music.

‘Signs’-their second album for Rocket Recordings-marks both a portent of things to come, and a roadmap of the psychic pathways to survival. This masked troupe, subsumed to mystery and amassed from across the North of England, have stepped up their mission accordingly. Building on the intimidating intensity of theirself-titled2018 debut, this series of fiercely charged mantras and premonitory transmissions is possessed of a new level of communal intensity. The band’s choice of weapons-the monomaniacal intensity of the riff, the liberating binary spirit of electronics and the incantatory vocals of ceremonial leader Kate Smith-here coalesce into a metaphysical force which stands defiant of easy categorisation. Within these otherworldly manifestations lurks solace in a place where the transcendent power of heavy amplification, cosmically aligned sonic explorations and strange forces darker and more unknowable can coalesce to cathartic and redeeming effect.

‘Signs’ marks out a supernatural landscape where ancient and modern, earthly and alien congregate in the eternal now, whilst Bonnacons of Doom transcend era to light a path for the future.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Rocket recordings are the perfect home for psych-drone monoliths Bonnacons Of Doom, and the incendiary 'Signs' is brimming with scathing guitars and hypnotic vocal phrases. Brilliantly heavy, and undeniably enjoyable.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Facing
2. Esus
3. Infra
4. Limina
Side B
5. Shore
6. Signs
7. Lichen
8. Semaphore

Action Adventure is DJ Shadow's seventh solo LP, an inward-looking project, made for Shadow alone without any collaborators. DJ Shadow explains, “This album is about my relationship to music. My life as a collector and curator. All my records and tapes.”

“Ozone Scraper” is the lead single of the album campaign. It represents the feeling of transportation, of jet engines lifting the passenger somewhere impossible. It's one of DJ Shadow's favorites on the album, as it's an invitation to strap in and also sets the table for the kind of deep listening Shadow loves.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: It's DJ Shadow! You know you're getting a perfectly produced mix of cut-up hip-hop beats and funky electronica business. It's obviously brilliant, and sounds more like Entroducing than anyone else could muster to this day. Classic Shadow.

2023 will see Billy Bragg and Cooking Vinyl celebrating forty years of music from the singer, songwriter, activist and author, with a selection of releases to appeal to casual admirers and die hard fans alike. 

TRACK LISTING

Standard Single Disc LP Tracklisting:
1. A New England
2. The Milkman Of Human Kindness
3. To Have And Have Not
4. The Man In The Iron Mask
5. St. Swithin's Day
6. The Saturday Boy
7. Between The Wars
8. The World Turned Upside Down
9. Which Side Are You On?
10. Levi Stubbs' Tears
11. Greetings To The New Brunette
12. There Is Power In A Union
13. Help Save The Youth Of America
14. She's Leaving Home - Billy Bragg, Cara Tivey
15. She's Got A New Spell
16. Must I Paint You A Picture

Deluxe LP / CD Tracklisting:
1. A New England
2. The Milkman Of Human Kindness
3. To Have And Have Not
4. The Man In The Iron Mask
5. St. Swithin's Day
6. The Saturday Boy
7. Between The Wars
8. The World Turned Upside Down
9. Which Side Are You On?
10. Levi Stubbs' Tears
11. Greetings To The New Brunette
12. There Is Power In A Union
13. Help Save The Youth Of America
14. She's Leaving Home - Billy Bragg, Cara Tivey
15. She's Got A New Spell
16. Must I Paint You A Picture
17. Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards
18. The Internationale
19. Tank Park Salute
20. Sexuality
21. Accident Waiting To Happen (Red Star Version)
22. Upfield
23. The Boy Done Good
24. Walt Whitman's Niece - Billy Bragg, Wilco
25. Way Over Yonder In The Minor Key - Billy Bragg, Wilco
26. My Flying Saucer - Billy Bragg, Wilco
27. California Stars (Live October / November 1998) - Billy Bragg, The Blokes
28. Some Days I See The Point - Billy Bragg, The Blokes
29. England, Half English - Billy Bragg, The Blokes
30. Take Down The Union Jack (Band Version) - Billy Bragg, The Blokes
31. Old Clash Fan Fight Song
32. I Keep Faith
33. Bugeye Jim - Billy Bragg, Wilco
34. Never Buy The Sun
35. No One Knows Nothing Anymore
36. Handyman Blues
37. The L&N Don't Stop Here Anymore - Billy Bragg, Joe Henry
38. King Tide And The Sunny Day Flood
39. Mid-Century Modern
40. I Will Be Your Shield

Toro y Moi’s ‘Sandhills’ is both a tender love letter to Chaz Bear’s hometown of Columbia, South Carolina, and a poignant, bittersweet acceptance that one can never really go back home. Recalling Sufjan’s ‘Seven Swans’ or Karen O’s soundtrack work for ‘Where The Wild Things Are,’ these loping folk-pop songs are themselves a sort of Saturn return, reminiscent of Bear’s first handmade CD-Rs as Toro y Moi. Bear gave them out to friends in the earliest days of the moniker, the releases stuffed in the Case Logic visor of their cars, and each listen brings a little more of that detail to life: the mall after which ‘Sandhills’ is named; the teenaged friends spending aimless hours there, full of big ennui and bigger dreams; the late-capitalist decline and empty big box stores of Sandhills today. Chaz Bear, Toro y Moi, is now a globally beloved indie[1]pop icon. But ‘Sandhills’, with its banjo and lap steel flourishes and its wide-eyes wonder, concedes that you never quite totally rid yourself of those adolescent blues. You might just, if you’re lucky, develop better mechanisms (or delusions!) with which to handle them. ‘Sidelines’ tells the tale of aesthete putting himself through the high school football gauntlet. And the title track has subtle allusions to growing up a Black art kid in the American South: “saved again by calamine/ another bite/ this happens time to time/ i’m spotted white/ maybe it’s just where i’m from/ i always had my guard up/ but hypocrites keep strollin in/ and rubbin on my shoulder”. Even the closing novelty track “Said Goodbye To Rock n Roll” has all the makings of a Chris Stapleton hit if you just to squint a little. Clear eyes, full hearts, sweet jams, can’t lose. Lyrically deft and deceptively heartbreaking, ‘Sandhills’ may be a brief pit stop between grand statements from Bear, but it’s brimming with rust, guts, big moods and love.

TRACK LISTING

1) Back Then
2) Sidelines
3) Sandhills
4) The View
5) Said Goodbye To Rock N Roll

In her three studio albums to date, Gazelle Twin has looked out: out at cities, out from a tormented body, out at the squirming guts of rural Britain, but on her first album for new label, Invada Records, she turns her gaze inwards. Black Dog is an album about confronting fear, and the expectation that the things that lurked in the darkness when you were a child will disappear as you become an adult.

Black Dog tells a story that unfurls like a film. It addresses how our childhoods shaped our adulthoods: how any sense of trauma and grief is burnished onto a person’s memories forever, however much we try and escape it. Black Dog suggests how these feelings return in particular intensity when a person becomes a parent, as they watch themselves pass things on that they wish they hadn’t, wish they wouldn’t.

In some ways, Bernholz is purging herself on this album. Unlike her masked characters for previous releases, her face is recognisable and, she explains, she is “not as removed this time” from her persona. She is imagining herself as a medium for the voices inside herself, rather than looking out to displace them with other ideas. She emerges huge and godly as she does so, her voice moving from delicate tenderness to doom-driven power.

This is an album where old stories have to be pillaged, digested, and regurgitated to write new ones, where we have to question ourselves utterly. Black Dog looks back and looks in and looks back and looks in. We enter as we listen. We turn ourselves inside-out altogether.

TRACK LISTING

1. I Disappear
2. Sweet Dream
3. Black Dog
4. Fear Keeps Us Alive
5. The Long Room
6. Two Worlds
7. Unstoppable Force
8. This House
9. Author Of You
10. Walk Through Walls
11. A Door Opens

This debut album from previous Sink Ya Teeth member Maria Uzor treads softly upon opening, before charging headfirst into a cosmic landscape of electro, avant-pop, footwork and stark techno.
Nine tracks delivered as the building blocks for a world seen through Uzor’s eyes where there are no boundaries, there are no walls, just a gentle beckoning to be yourself. ‘Soft Cuts’ is a joyful and groove-led journey with unexpected twists through the darkness.

Eclectic and esoteric, the album revels in it’s own diversity. There are echos of Aphex Twin in there, of Zapp, Kate Bush and Drexciya. And yet for all it’s influences, Maria has created a body of work that’s beautifully seamless in it’s amalgamations. Play loud and lose yourself to find yourself.

This past year has seen Maria Uzor release the first single ‘Ventolin’ from the Soft Cuts album to praise and support from John Kennedy (Radio X), Amy Lame, Tom Ravenscroft, Deb Grant, and Jamz Supernova (BBC 6 Music). She has also played festivals including The Great Escape, Nox Orae (Switzerland) and Manchester Psych Fest, and collaborated with Acid Klaus, !!!, and A Certain Ratio.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: As perfect as it is for home listening, there's no doubt that the endlessly talented Maria Uzor's music is courting the dancefloor, with shimmering arps and hefty percussives perfectly working beneath her haunting, perfectly produced vocals. A heady, dynamic mix of gothic wooze and dance-adjacent rhythm.

The long-awaited debut album from CASISDEAD, released via XL Recordings. Famous Last Words is a fully realised expansion of the dystopian futurism that has captivated audiences since CAS first announced himself in 2013. Over the past decade, he’s dipped in and out of the shadows, blessing fans with cult hits while maintaining his anonymity and shunning media attention; a rejection of the spotlight that’s helped to create folklore around a rapper who’s widely regarded as one of the UK’s most inventive lyricists.

Famous Last Words is as much a sci-fi film as it is a rap record, a labyrinth of vice, crime and faded glamour. The listener steps through a portal into a realm narrated by CASISDEAD, whose command of storytelling drops you right into the underground of a city where he is the main character in a shady network of gangsters, girls and drug deals. However, Famous Last Words isn’t a story of bravado or posturing; much of the album deals in themes of loss, regret and paranoia, a persona constantly self-reflecting amongst the madness that surrounds him. The album features a carefully curated roll call of collaborators including Pet Shop Boys’ Neil Tennant, Desire, and Connie Constance. The vocalists are immersed in CASISDEAD’s hallmark 80’s-inspired synthpop soundscapes, aided and abetted by a production cast that includes Stranger Things composer Kyle Dixon and ‘Italian’s Do It Better’ label founder Johnny Jewel.

TRACK LISTING

1. Do You Trust Me?
2. A Spark
3. Loosin’
4. Steptronic
5. DEADCORP
6. Pineapple Juice
7. I Wanna Go Home
8. Actin’ Up
9. Sarah Connor
10. Do You Remember What It Was Like?
11. Marilyn
12. Aghast 6
13. Boys Will Be Boys
14. Venom
15. Traction Control
16. The Ants
17. Matte Grey Wrap
18. Pat Earrings
19. Before This
20. Jane
21. Sugar Free
22. Access Denied
23. Skydive

In the spring of 2011, MGMT was approached by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York to create a wholly unique live music experience in conjunction with the Maurizio Cattelan retrospective All, which opened that autumn. The group performed the original music at the Nov. 10, 2011 private opening, and again the following night for the public debut. Titled 11- 11-11 in honor of that date, the music will finally be released on all streaming platforms on 11- 11-22, the 11th anniversary of the hour-long, one-off concerts.

TRACK LISTING

1. Introduction
2. I Am Not Your Home
3. Unfriend
4. Invocation
5. Who's Counting
6. Whistling Through The Graveyard
7. Interlude
8. Forest Elf
9. Whistling Past The Graveyard
10. Tell It To Me Like It Is
11. Under The Porch

Duran Duran return with their new album Danse Macabre. The 13 song collection features: three brand new songs, haunting covers of songs by artists such as Billie Eilish, Talking Heads, The Rolling Stones and The Specials, and new versions of Duran Duran classics from their own catalog.

There is a rare rework B-side of fan favourite track “Secret Oktober 31st”. Guest artists include producer, guitarist and composer Nile Rodgers, Victoria De Angelis of Måneskin and former band members Andy Taylor and Warren Cuccurullo. Exquisitely packaged featuring images adapted from a collection of authentic vintage séance photos that band member Nick Rhodes sourced at auction. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Nightboat
2. Black Moonlight
3. Love Voudou
4. Bury A Friend
5. Supernature
6. Danse Macabre
7. Secret Oktober 31st
8. Ghost Town
9. Paint It Black
10. Super Lonely Freak
11. Spellbound
12. Psycho Killer Feat. Victoria De Angelis
13. Confession In The Afterlife

Every element of Egyptian Blue’s fierce, uncompromising sound feels like hypnotism fuelled by psychosis. Their grinding riffs achieve a mesmeric power through brute repetition, while their rhythm section produces taut, nervous energy and intense post-punk grooves in equal measure.

Following on from their incendiary debut E. P’s; 2019’s ‘Collateral Damage’ & 2020’s ‘Body Of Itch’, the band garnered a fervent following and had support from key tastemakers across the media including Steve Lamacq, Jack Saunders, Tom Ravenscroft, NME and Fader.

In the intervening time they have been heralded by their peers as one of the best new bands in the country; IDLES frontman Joe Talbot describing them as “fucking sick’’ and picking them as his act of choice for the BBC Introducing stage at Glastonbury 2022. Yannis Philippakis is another avowed super-fan, personally choosing Egyptian Blue as support for Foals’ run of arena shows in the UK & Europe during their Life Is Yours tour run.

With a new clarity of vision fully formed during the extended hiatus of 2-years of pandemic enforced delays, ‘’A Living Commodity’’ represents a dynamic artistic shift from Egyptian Blue and showcases in full the scale and ambition of their songwriting.

The first teaser of new music came in the form of ‘Geisha’; a psyche-tinged punk attack driven by Luke Phelps propulsive bass combined with Isaac Ide’s tight percussion, underpinned by dual frontmen Andy Buss & Leith Ambrose jagged guitar playing adding to the angsty and foreboding lyrics with Buss professing ‘’I live for only you’’ making a magnetising collage of sounds. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Matador
2. Nylon Wire
3. Belgrade Shade
4. Skin
5. In My Condition
6. A Living Commodity
7. Apparent Cause
8. Suit Of Lights
9. To Be Felt
10. Contain It
11. Geisha

Peter Hook & The Light celebrate the work of Joy Division live at Manchester Apollo in an amazing set lasting over 2 and a half hours.

TRACK LISTING

Vinyl Tracklisting
Disc 1
Side 1
1. Dead Souls
2. Disorder
3. Day Of The Lords
4. Candidate
5. Insight
Side 2
1. New Dawn Fades
2. She's Lost Control
3. Shadowplay
4. Wilderness
Disc 2
Side 1
1. Interzone
2. I Remember Nothing
3. Atrocity Exhibition
4. Isolation
Side 2
1. Passover
2. Colony
3. A Means To An End
4. Heart & Soul
Disc 3
Side 1
1. Twenty Four Hours
2. The Eternal
3. Decades
Side 2
1. Atmosphere
2. Ceremony
3. Transmission
4. Love Will Tear Us Apart
Disc 4
Side 1
1. Elegia (CD)
2. Cries & Whispers (CD)
3. Regret (CD)
4. What Do You Want From Me? (CD)
5. Vanishing Point (CD)
6. True Faith (CD)
7. The Perfect Kiss (CD)

CD Tracklisting
Disc 1
1. Elegia
2. Cries & Whispers
3. Regret
4. What Do You Want From Me?
5. Vanishing Point
6. True Faith
7. The Perfect Kiss
Disc 2
1. Dead Souls
2. Disorder
3. Day Of The Lords
4. Candidate
5. Insight
6. New Dawn Fades
7. She's Lost Control
8. Shadowplay
9. Wilderness
10. Interzone
11. I Remember Nothing
Disc 3
1. Atrocity Exhibition
2. Isolation
3. Passover
4. Colony
5. A Means To An End
6. Heart & Soul
7. Twenty Four Hours
8. The Eternal
9. Decades
10. Atmosphere
11. Ceremony
12. Transmission
13. Love Will Tear Us Apart

Smoove & Turrell return to the fold with their seventh studio album, once again showcasing their commitment to creating quality songs, with meaningful lyrics shining through in every single one. The album's title pays tribute to Ellen Wilkinson, an influential UK politician who championed social justice, and reflects their socially conscious stance and northern roots.

Lead singer John Turrell articulates their vision, urging love to reclaim its place amidst a world filled with turmoil and deception, over Smoove's masterful productions laid down with the assistance of their seasoned band members (every single one of whom is quality both live and recorded). Further collaborations with the likes of Ronnie Foster, a legend from the Blue Note camp to label mate Izo FitzRoy and her choir, adds depth to an album that addresses various themes, including unity, hope, relationships, and heartfelt tributes to departed family members. An inspiring listen for those looking to stand up for good and to support one another, for only love can conquer hate.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Light (feat. Ronnie Foster)
2. IGOTCHA
3. Mary's Song
4. Echoes
5. Empty Bottle Serenade
6. Joy!
7. Violet Hour
8. Waiting For Your Call
9. Geno's Discotheque
10. Red Ellen

18 classic songs from the Velvet Underground catalog performed by The Feelies at White Eagle Hall/ Jersey City, NJ - October 13, 2018. The Feelies have spent their entire career covering songs by the Velvet Underground and are masters of the VU sound. They toured Europe opening for Lou Reed in the 1980s, sharing meals, hanging out backstage, even joining him to perform some of his classic material. On October 13, 2018 the Feelies were invited to perform Velvet Underground songs at Jersey City, NJ’s White Eagle Hall as part of a traveling museum show of VU memorabilia.

This double vinyl album of 18 classic Lou Reed songs includes VU standards like “Sweet Jane,” “Rock & Roll” and “I’m Waiting for the Man” as well as rarely covered gems like “I Heard Her Call My Name” and “That’s the Story of My Life.” The Feelies are one of the most influential bands to emerge from the NY post punk scene of the late 1970s and have continued to perform together and make records for 4 decades. Includes guest performances from Bongos members James Mastro and Richard Barone.

Double LP Includes liner notes by veteran music journalist Howard Wuelfing. 

TRACK LISTING

01. Sunday Morning
02. Who Loves The Sun
03. There She Goes Again
04. What Goes On
05. Sweet Jane
06. Head Held High
07. I’m Waiting For The Man
08. White Light/White Heat
09. I Heard Her Call My Name
10. New Age
11. That’s The Story Of My Life
12. All Tomorrow’s Parties
13. Rock And Roll
14. We’re Gonna Have A Real Good Time Together
15. Run Run Run
16. I Can’t Stand It
17. After Hours
18. Oh! Sweet Nuthin’

My Brutal Life delves into the profound aspects of our artistic endeavours encompassing brutalism, the environment, and humanity. Throughout our ongoing creative journey, we consistently gravitate towards these themes, documenting and exploring the human experience within these environments. Our unwavering fixation on Symmetry, Synchronisation, and Repetition are the driving force in our artistic expression. Moreover, we strive to peel away superficial layers to expose the underlying emotional strata of the human aspect, unearthing the often overlooked beauty within the ordinary. Although frequently disregarded, the human aspect resonates with echoes from the past, enlightening and guiding our artistic process. Even the failures encountered serve as poignant reminders of the delicate structures we construct. My Brutal Life constitutes a pivotal component within an enduring exhibition, meticulously crafted to delve into the aesthetic and human facets of brutalism.

TRACK LISTING

A1 It´s Not Enough 00:03:16
A2 My Brutal Life 00:03:36
A3 The Mundane 00:04:45
A4 Beyond The Estate Agents Window 00:03:38
A5 Unité D´HabitaIon 00:02:26
A6 Asymmetrical Living 00:03:01
A7 Postcards For Comfort 00:02:36
B1 Hey Serry 00:02:20
B2 Droppingwell Futures 00:04:40
B3 Concrete Slit 00:03:54
B4 Future Townscapes 00:02:40
B5 Minimal ReconstrucIon 00:02:31
B6 Villa Göth Calling 00:04:11
B7 Béton-Brut 00:03:40
B8 Kahn 00:00:51

Mr Beatnick & Richard Greenan present their debut full length collaboration, "Coasty". Brought together by their twin residencies on NTS Radio, the duo have forged distinct paths in respective scenes over the last decade - as producers, DJs and label heads of imprints Mythstery and Kit Records.

The strength of their partnership is built on contrasting styles; Mr Beatnick's sound orbits the woozier fringes of house and hip-hop, while Richard Greenan has settled in the cracks between ambient, textural experimentation and the avant-garde. Here, these approaches coalesce in unexpected ways - with violin, harp, guitar and saxophone finding themselves serrated by volleys of percussion and punchily melodic bass.

With much of the music recorded during the pair's residency in Margate, the album documents a weekend toasted and skewed progressively sideways. The opening salvo of cascading synth muscle ("Goodnight Mush") and fragmented acoustic stepper ("Superb Crafty Gardens") could evoke Devo and Pete Rock breaking fried toast over a dirty fry up. Side A's pop sensibilities peak on the lucidly string-laden "Harbour Arms", complete with pristine guest vocal by bb sway.

Then, like the work of a pair of pissed beavers, things start to get pretty weird. Familiar structures ferment laterally, from the midi swamp-hop of "Bellows of the Earth", to the cooked techno-funk stylings of "Bronze Pears". "How to Draw Roger" offers a magma-like credits roll, the sun's purple yolk poached over a hoppy sea of amber.

TRACK LISTING

1. Goodnight Mush
2. Superb Crafty Garden
3. Harbour Arms (feat. Bb Sway)
4. Bellows Of The Earth
5. Sad Brasstard
6. Bronze Pears
7. To Sea Is To Be
8. How To Draw Roger

Legendary producer Dave Lee returns as AC Soul Symphony with the “Metamorphosis” LP - his most ambitious production project in his 35-year career.

With an inimitable CV and discography that includes over a thousand production credits to his name, hundreds of singles under renowned pseudonyms including Joey Negro, and three UK top 40 hits as Jakatta, Dave Lee is one of the UK’s most revered producers of disco and house music, defining each genre with a signature sound. Always looking to push the boundaries of what it means to make music, his latest project sees Dave return to one of his lesser-known pseudonyms – AC Soul Symphony – to deliver an epic disco record that takes the sound back to its roots in every way possible.

“A few years ago, I produced a remake of David Shire’s orchestral disco masterpiece Manhattan Skyline under the alias of AC Soul Symphony. I really enjoyed reworking that classic track in a way that retained my favourite parts of the original but also writing new musical sections that gave it more my own flavour.”

Comprising 15 beautifully arranged disco tracks that effortlessly span almost two hours, “Metamorphosis” is an album by definition, but at its core, much more than that – it is a labour of love, meticulously composed, arranged and crafted through a very tangible and human creative process which is unmatched by many modern producers.

“I do it because I love the process of creating something. My aim is to come up with an end result I genuinely think I’d want to buy, play and listen to if it wasn’t me.”

Inspired by happy memories from the golden era of TV and the soundtracks of his favourite childhood shows, “Metamorphosis” was borne of a desire to put the strings center stage and recreate the same analogue sounds that brought instrumental albums by Love Unlimited, MFSB and Salsoul Orchestra to life.

“I thought making a whole album of this mainly instrumental, string heavy, tv theme like music would be a really enjoyable project and one that would play to my strengths as a producer. It was also slightly new territory musically and a bit of challenge.”

Taking disco back to a physical place, “Metamorphosis” was an organic writing process that saw Dave lay down his ideas digitally, before reshaping the MIDI strings into a proper arrangement and recording them live with a 20-piece orchestra at RAK Studios. By his own admission, it is an album of pure indulgence, but by relying on digital production methods, it can be easy to lose sight of the soul that makes music such a unifying entity. Backing up the immaculate strings with catchy vocals and enough groove to level a discotheque, it’s this soulful energy that Dave has captured and expertly delivered with “Metamorphosis”.

TRACK LISTING

1. Windy City Theme
2. The Philly Avengers
3. I Want To See You Dance
4. Music For Your Pleasure
5. The Mystery, The Moment
6. It’s Got To Be Love
7. Metamorphosis
8. Tradewinds
9. AC Express
10. Losing My Mind At The Disco
11. Six Billion Dollar Man
12. Manhattan Skyline
13. Seneca Village
14. The Talented Mr Adams
15. K-Jee

Planned for what seems an age, the next Feral Child is finally ready to roll and it’s another solid gem from the mighty STUDIO KOSMISCHE. Following the hugely successful, super quick sell outs of the trio of themed full lengths earlier in the year, the band follow up with a superb re-imagined score to the infamous Kenneth Anger “Lucifer Rising” flick which began in ’72 but only saw release in 1980.

The story of the original soundtrack is pretty well known, Bobby Beausoleil (with The Magick Powerhouse of Oz Band) recording it whilst incarcerated (for the murder of Gary Hinman w/The Manson Family) after a bust up between Anger and Jimmy Page who was initially roped in.

Anyway, fast forward to 2023 and the Studio Kosmische take is utterly fabulous! Heavy on cosmic drone and ambience, with a percussive feel akin to aspects of Popol Vuh’s incredible “Aguirre” soundtrack. The ideas behind this new work are perhaps best left to Dom Keen from the band to explain: “Countless musicians have created their own scores for the dialogue-free Lucifer Rising since Beausoleil, Jagger, and Page. Some (including myself) will see this new rescore as an act of sacrilege; all I can say is that it was created in awe of, and with great respect to, everyone involved in the original work(s).

In a fortuitous parallel to what I feel is the mood of the film Lucifer Rising itself – half rooted in dream-logic; non-linearity; subconscious image-generation over conscious rational decision-making – the process of making this record was a spontaneous happening. It was an occasion formed from what manifested as more than the sum of its parts: it felt as though it created itself, I just happened to be at the controls.

Writing in 2023, the month after Kenneth Anger’s passing, my hope with this record is that it goes some way – however small – to help spread the futuristic visions that Anger dreamed when he first filmed Lucifer Rising over 50 years ago”. 

The Silver Cord', King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard's 25th studio album is a full-hearted and purposeful embrace of electronic equipment and electronic music in its own right.

The Silver Cord comes in two iterations, the 1LP Standard Edition is a shorter, more condensed version, where the 2LP Extended Mix sees every song pushed toward the 10min mark and beyond.

The 2LP edition also comes on a deluxe mirror board gatefold jacket and both editions are housed in a premium printed thick brown outer sleeve.

Trumpeter, composer and bandleader Nick Walters returns to his D.O.T. Records imprint with his majestic new album, Marine Moods. The album revives his sextet, who last appeared together on his 2019 album 'Active Imagination'. This stellar collection of musicians picks things up where they left off, delivering an exquisite suite of contemporary jazz-fusion, gleaning the very best elements from afro, modal and spiritual jazz.

‘Marine Moods’ is a collection of compositions inspired by the sea. The compositions are designed to allow space and creative freedom for all the musicians to express themselves and interact with one another. Much like the oceans which have inspired the album, the pieces take the listener through a range of moods - from the energetic optimism of ‘Gulf Stream’, through the darker hypnotic groove of ‘Hydrothermal’, to the stillness and peacefulness of the raga-inspired ‘Journey for Joan’. Recorded in one summer's day in a roasting hot North London studio, ‘Marine Moods’ is a document of six musicians and friends coming together to improvise, interact and collaborate to create something new.

The album artwork features another stunning original oil painting by Lorna Robertson, a still life of a trumpet, plant and goldfish bowl in her signature semi-abstract style. Inspired by the iconic Henri Matisse painting 'Goldfish' from 1912, the painting is about the experience of inspiration during creativity. In the imagined scene, Nick is in a blue apartment day dreaming while looking at goldfish swimming around, as he contemplates writing new music inspired by the sea.

‘Challenger Deep’ kicks things off in an infectious groove-laden fashion. Walters leads his band through an epic Coltrane-esque intro, that breaks into a snappy drum groove and catchy lead line. Rebecca Nash takes over on piano with her distinctive voicings, setting the scene for an epic flute solo from Tenderlonious. ‘Challenger Deep’ is named after the deepest point of the seabed, found in the Mariana Trench at a depth of over 10 km.

‘Gulf Stream’ kicks off in Walters’ familiar amiable style. A joyful, summery horn line leads the way, succeeded by a glorious trumpet solo from the man himself. Tenderlonious takes over with a thrilling soprano solo, matched by some masterful drum work from Laurie Lowe. That melodious lead line comes back, gradually bringing the sundown on another memorable track for the album. ‘Gulf Stream’ is named after the ocean current which flows across the Atlantic ocean, bringing warm water and weather to the shores of Western Europe.

‘Wine-Dark Sea’ is a reference to the phrase used multiple times by Homer in The Iliad and The Odyssey, often to describe rough, stormy seas. This track was a studio jam built around another catchy hook. Kudjovi Kush leads the way on percussion, before solos from Walters on trumpet and Tenderlonious on flute.

‘Hydrothermal’ is another stand out track on the album. Again, another memorable lead line lays the foundations for some more stellar solo work from Walters, Nash and Tenderlonious. Nim Sadot comes to the fore on this one, leading the rhythm section with some slick bass work that underpins the track. ‘Hydrothermal’ is named after the deep sea hydrothermal vents found in volcanically active regions, home to diverse simple life forms and bacteria, and hypothesised to have been the origin of all life on Earth.

‘Journey for Joan’ a ballad written in tribute to Nick’s granny, Joan Walters. A deep, spiritual offering capturing melancholy and joy. A fitting way to end what is another great album from Nick Walters. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Challenger Deep
2. Gulf Stream
3. Wine-Dark Sea
4. Hydrothermal
5. Journey For Joan

Jenny from Thebes began its life as many albums by the Mountain Goats do, with John Darnielle playing the piano until a lyric emerged. That lyric, “Jenny was a warrior / Jenny was a thief / Jenny hit the corner clinic begging for relief,” became “Jenny III,” a song which laid down a challenge he’d never taken up before: writing a sequel to one of his most beloved albums.

The Mountain Goats’ catalog is thick with recurring characters Jenny, who originally appears in the All Hail West Texas track bearing her name, as well as in “Straight Six” from Jam Eater Blues and Transcendental Youth side two jam “Night Light,” is one of these, someone who enters a song unexpectedly, pricking up the ears of fans who are keen on continuing the various narrative threads running through the Mountain Goats’ discography before vanishing into the mist. In these songs, Jenny is largely defined by her absence, and she is given that definition by other characters. She is running from something. These features are beguiling, both to the characters who’ve told her story so far and to the listener. They invite certain questions: Who is Jenny, really? What is she running from? Well, she’s a warrior and a thief, and, this being an album by the Mountain Goats, it’s a safe bet whatever she’s fleeing is something bad. Something catastrophically bad.

Jenny from Thebes is the story of Jenny, her southwestern ranch style house, the people for whom that house is a place of safety, and the west Texas town that is uncomfortable with its existence. It is a story about the individual and society, about safety and shelter and those who choose to provide care when nobody else will.

Recorded at Tulsa, Oklahoma’s legendary The Church Studio with Grammy-winning producer/engineer Trina Shoemaker, Jenny from Thebes is a lush collection of showtunes, pushing Darnielle as a vocalist and the Mountain Goats as a band, broadening their sonic palette once again by leaning into influences like Godspell, Jim Steinman, and The Cars.

Lifted by Matt Douglas’ horn and string arrangements, the dreamy guitar of Bully leader (and Bleed Out producer) Alicia Bognanno, and backing vocals from Kathy Valentine of The Go-Go’s and Matt Nathanson, Jenny from Thebes is a widescreen musical in scope, a melodrama of richly detailed characters and sweeping emotions.

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A
1. Clean Slate
2. Ground Level
3. Only One Way
4. Fresh Tattoo
5. Cleaning Crew
6. Murder At The 18th St. Garage
SIDE B
7. From The Nebraska Plant
8. Same As Cash
9. Water Tower
10. Jenny III
11. Going To Dallas
12. Great Pirates

Like so many of the most essential rock bands, The Gaslight Anthem have a rare gift for finding glory in the inescapable pain of being alive. On their new album History Books—their first new music in over nine years—the New Jersey-bred four-piece bring their soulful breed of punk to ten thrilling songs exploring everything from mortality to mental illness to the more precarious dimensions of human connection. In the tradition of their seminal sophomore album The ’59 Sound, The Gaslight Anthem’s sixth full-length ultimately achieves the tremendous feat of hitting every raw nerve while endlessly inspiring wildly triumphant singing-along.

“A lot of this record is questioning all the bad stuff we see in the world and the difficult things we go through in life, and asking how to deal with it,” says vocalist/guitarist Brian Fallon, whose bandmates include drummer Benny Horowitz, bassist Alex Levine, and lead guitarist Alex Rosamilia. “I think the answer is that we’re all in this together and that somehow makes it okay, even when it’s anything but easy. The main message of the album is empathy.”

The first release from their own Rich Mahogany Recordings (a label distributed via Thirty Tigers), History Books finds The Gaslight Anthem working with acclaimed producer/engineer Peter Katis (The National, Interpol, Death Cab for Cutie) and recording at his Bridgeport, CT-based Tarquin Studios. Featuring a guest appearance from longtime Gaslight Anthem champion Bruce Springsteen, History Books matches its unfussy yet gracefully crafted sound with the force-of-nature energy that’s defined the band since getting their start playing basement shows back in the mid-aughts.

“Making this album clarified that we want to keep doing what we’ve always done—because no one else can do it in quite the same way, and that’s something I’ve started to become very proud of,” says Fallon. “At the end of the day it’s just rock-and-roll music, but I really do believe it can have a positive impact on people’s lives. I think there’s so much beauty and magic in that.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Spider Bites
2. History Books
3. Autumn
4. Positive Charge
5. Michigan, 1975
6. Little Fires
7. The Weatherman
8. Empires
9. I Live In The Room Above Her
10. A Lifetime Of Preludes

Following on from the Primal Scream frontman’s brilliantly-received previous release for Ace, ‘Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down’, Bobby Gillespie brings us another slice of the music that soundtracks his life. And in this case, it’s his touring life. Drawing on the experience of ‘the way that the noise and clamour of the road can tire you out, wear you down and frazzle your nerves to shattered fragments of jangled exhaustion’, these are the records Bobby turns to for solace, for comfort, for empathy and for resourcefulness.

The compilation features an introduction from the man himself, talking us through his personal choices as though he’s sitting cross-legged on the carpet going through records with you in his lounge. Also long-time cohort of the band, Kris Needs has written extensive liner-notes, serving up an intensive track by track insight and analysis.

Titled after and kicking off with the Willie Nelson track of the same name, ‘I Still Can’t Believe You’re Gone’ leads us through a darker and deeper exploration than its predecessor, featuring Nick Cave’s funereal version of ‘By The Time I Get To Phoenix’ and Ry Cooder’s sparse and beautiful reworking of ‘Dark End Of The Street’. And we get there via such greats as Bob Dylan, JJ Cale, Donnie Fritts, Crazy Horse, Lee Hazlewood, Al Green, Thin Lizzy and so many more.

In Bobby’s own words: ‘These songs are soul savers to soothe frayed and battered nerves and to ease and settle the heart. They work on me like medicine every time. I would like to share this wonderful music that has given me strength, joy and inspiration over the years with you the listener, so that you too might get the same feelings of protection and inspiration that I do whenever I listen to these songs. We're all travellers on some kind of road through this life, and we all need respite from time-to-time - the music on this compilation is soul food of the highest order - I hope you enjoy it.’. 

TRACK LISTING

Vinyl Tracklisting
Side One
1. I Still Can't Believe You're Gone – Willie Nelson
2. Love Sick - Bob Dylan
3. We Had It All - Donnie Fritts
4. Magnolia - J.J. Cale
5. In The Rain - The Dramatics *
Side Two
1. By The Time I Get To Phoenix – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2. I Don't Want To Talk About It - Crazy Horse
3. Dark End Of The Street - Ry Cooder
4. Kind Woman - Percy Sledge
5. Wait And See - Lee Hazlewood
Side Three
1. Strong As Death (Sweet As Love) - Al Green
2. Shades Of A Blue Orphanage - Thin Lizzy
3. Heart Like A Wheel - Kate & Anna Mcgarrigle
4. When My Mind's Gone - Mott The Hoople
Side Four
1. I'll Be Long Gone - Boz Scaggs
2. The Coldest Days Of My Life Pt 1 – The Chi-Lites
3. Roll Um Easy - Little Feat
4. Brokedown Palace - Grateful Dead
5. I Feel Like Going Home - Charlie Rich

* Exclusive Vinyl Track
 

Thirteen wah-drenched acid-fried Hendrix-worshipping blown-out free love-fueled black rock jams that’ll change your life.

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A
1. Three Days Ahead LPF - Rolling Love [Part 2]
2. Little Ed & The Soundmasters Band - It’s A Dream
3. The Basement - Funky Music (Messin’ With My Mind)
4. Directory - World And Creation
5. Stone Coal White - You Know
6. Creations Unlimited - Chrystal Illusion
SIDE B
8. Solid Gold Ft. Alexander Love - Message To Planet Earth
9. Iron Force - Sweet Poison
10. Sir Stanley - I Believe
11. Flying Wedge - I Can’t Believe
12. Muse - Sunshine Road
13. Iron Knowledge - Show-Stopper
14. The Young Senators - Ringing Bells (Sweet Music) [Part 2]

After almost two years of extensive research "Can You Feel It?" compilation series is here. The majority of the artists originate from the United States, however Tramp records are extremely proud to present a couple of German bands too. The one quality these tunes all share is that they, once again, will make you get up, get down, and get ready for some more highly underrated Modern Soul, Disco and Boogie that you can feel!

Obscure but brilliant Modern Soul, Disco and Boogie grooves of which all songs have not been compiled anywhere else. Enjoy your guided tour back into the late 1970s and 80s Disco era.

TRACK LISTING

1. Matter Of Taste - Step By Step
2. Vantage Point - All Night
3. Kim McCrae - I'm Feeling It Too
4. Frankie Staton - Bi-Centennial - 1976 (feat. Speckled Rainbow)
5. Kathy Lowery - Super Dude
6. Royal Touch - What Am I Gonna Do Baby
7. Synod - You Shake Them Things
8. Pat Carpenter - Love You Use To Be So Easy
9. Swankk - If It Takes All Night
10. Ocean Orchestra - Skinflint
11. Street Life 80 - Steps On A Cloud
12. Jackie Berns - I Still Love You
13. Tory Wynter - Real True Voices
14. Chatham - I'll Be Good To You
15. Sool - Stepping Out Of Line
16. Dalton Reed - Giving On Into Love
17. Panama Gold - Gettin' Lucky
18. Ditto Memo - Upside Down
19. Ditto Memo - Feel The Heat

Following the news that all three Lush albums are going to be reissued, Emma Anderson, the band’s co-founder, has announced her debut solo album, Pearlies, which will be released by Sonic Cathedral on October 20, 2023.One of the most underrated British songwriters to emerge from the era that encompassed shoegaze and Britpop, she has teamed up with producer James Chapman (aka Maps) for this collection that combines effervescent electronic pop with psych and folk textures with lyrics covering themes such as confronting your fears, embracing independence and moving on in life.

It arrives fully formed with a burnished beauty (aided by the mastering skills of Heba Kadry) that belies its somewhat protracted creation, which began with Emma feeling disillusioned after Lush’s 2016 reunion came to an abrupt end. Left with songs and bits of music originally intended for the band, she began working with cellist and string arranger Audrey Riley and Robin Guthrie, formerly of the Cocteau Twins, both of whom encouraged her to sing her own songs. Covid put a temporary halt on proceedings, but the decision had been made. When Sonic Cathedral introduced her to James Chapman at the start of 2022, Pearlies quickly took shape and blossomed into a masterpiece, the perfect mix of Emma’s incredible, idiosyncratic songwriting and James’ electronic production nous. Plus, a little extra guitar magic on four tracks courtesy of Richard Oakes from Suede.

The finished album has somehow written its own narrative. By her own admission, Emma tends to write words and “see what comes out”, but Pearlies seems to tell the story of her decision to go it alone, with opener ‘I Was Miles Away’ posing the question: “See if I make it on my own”. The rest of the album provides the answer as it takes in everything from the unexpectedly funky first single ‘Bend The Round’, to folky finger-picking and film theme references, via psych leaning electronic pop reminiscent of Goldfrapp or Melody’s Echo Chamber. It concludes with ‘Clusters’, a stunning, Stereolab-style groove which begins with the line “and now the party’s over, the music’s at the end”. Thankfully, that is not the case. This incredible album is just the start of Emma’s long-awaited solo journey.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Emma Anderson presents her first solo album for the wonderful Sonic Cathedral, showing hints of her history in Lush but with a vigour and airy carless ease we've not heard before. It's both wildly beautiful and unendingly deep, arguably her finest work of all (Sorry Lush). Brilliant musician, and a beautiful album.

TRACK LISTING

1. I Was Miles Away
2. Bend The Round
3. Inter Light
4. Taste The Air
5. Xanthe
6. The Presence
7. Willow And Mallow
8. Tonight Is Mine
9. For A Moment
10. Clusters