Rhythms' is the debut album by Goatman, a new solo project by one of the mysterious members from the Swedish collective GOAT.

Recorded in GOAT’s northern Swedish home town of Korpilombolo In late 2017 - the 6 tracks on Rhythms reveal a true collision of African Rock, Jazz, Reggae, Gospel and Psych, but all put through the famous GOAT filters.
Rhythms is a very apt title for the album as each track is an exploration of the ‘groove’. From the Fela Kuti‘esqe drums and horns jam of Jaam Ak Salam, to the frantic gospel-jazz of Carry the Load. From the fuzzed Can via the ‘Bristol sound’ track of Hum Bebass Nahin, to the cinematic, Spacemen 3‘esqe drones of the album closer Baaneexu. The end result is quite an astonishing and very unique album, like what you would expect from an album made by a member of GOAT – an album that is hard to put your finger on, but one that you will keep revisiting, the more it’s sounds reveals itself.

Goatman plays all the instruments on the album bar some additional drums by Hanna Östergren from fellow Swedish bands Hills and Träd, Gräs & Stenar, and an added horn section courtesy of Johan Asplund, David Byström. One of the standout highlights of the album though is the collection of great guest vocalists Goatman has enlisted. Tracks Jaam Ak Salam and Aduna feature the very special voice of Senegalese singer Seydi Mandoza. You will also hear the vocals of Swedish based singers Amanda Werne on Carry the Load and Amerykhan on Hum Bebass Nahin. Goatman’s passion for traditional and contemporary music from around the world can be clearly heard when listening to Rhythms.

The level of authenticity and willingness for exploration that Goatman has captured truly shows a fanatical respect for the music he is greatly influenced by. But at the end of the day, Rhythms is an album that has a sole purpose, and that is for to you to enjoy, dance and have fun too! 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Who doesn't want more Goat related music? Everything they've put out has been gold, and this side project by the MAN from GOAT (get it?) is no exception. Snappy percussion, rolling horns and fuzzed-out psychedelic soloing, pulsing grooves and richly hypnotic bass. If you liked Goat, there's no way you won't like this.

TRACK LISTING

01 Jaam Ak Salam
02 Hum Bebass Nahin
03 Limelight
04 Carry The Load
05 Aduna
06 Baaneexu

Castles in Space is delighted to have been able to curate an album pulled from Robin The Fog's unreleased tape archive. A true innovator and incredible live performer, Robin comments on the album "A Loop Where Time Becomes. Rare and Unreleased Recordings 2012-2017"

After twelve years, ten albums and innumerable live shows (including at least one former underground reservoir), the Howlround sound has indeed changed quite a lot, but the basic ethos remains the same as it did back in 2012. All tracks are created by manipulating field recordings dubbed onto analogue tape, with all digital effects and artificial reverb strictly forbidden - a process that has been described by Electronic Sound magazine as ‘conjur[ing] magic’. Of the twelve tracks here, only one has been physically released on a limited edition and long out of print compilation. A second appeared on a download only release several years ago and a third was created as part of the unreleased soundtrack to a documentary. Everything else on this compilation is seeing the light of day for the first time.

All were created in South London at various periods between 2012 and 2017, five years during which the project evolved from the Radiophonic mournfulness of 2012's debut album The Ghosts Of Bush ('The ultimate Hauntological artefact' - Simon Reynolds), to 2015's tour with tape legend William Basinski, to 2016's darker and weirder soundtrack to Steven McInerney's multiple award-winning film A Creak In Time and on towards what would become the wilder, gnarlier noise of 2019's The Debatable Lands. This retrospective from the first five years marks the gradual evolution of Howlround from the earliest days conjuring 'aural ectoplasm' from nocturnal field recordings of the last days of an underground BBC studio to increasingly spurning of the external world altogether by creating blistering no-input noise and raw analogue feedback. It's been quite a trip.

Compiled with guitarist PJ Court, this 2-CD compilation boasts re-mastered music as well as a beautifully annotated booklet boasting rare photos and personal memories from the band.

Back in the mid-80s, The Primitives combined the fuzz guitars of The Jesus & Mary Chain with the pop sensibilities of Blondie and a nod to cult heroes The Velvet Underground. They swiftly rose from being a popular Indie guitar outfit to charting worldwide with “Crash”, kickstarting a craze in bands fronted by blonde female singers (Transvision Vamp, The Darling Buds et al).

Between 1985 and 1987, the band issued five singles/EP’s on independent label Lazy Records (also home to My Bloody Valentine and later Birdland) before signing with RCA.

This 2-CD set also boasts their promo-only live album at the ICA; as such, it offers their entire Lazy output from that period.

TRACK LISTING

Disc 1
1. Thru The Flowers
2. Across My Shoulder
3. She Don't Need You
4. Lazy
5. Really Stupid
6. We Found A Way To The Sun
7. Where The Wind Blows
8. Stop Killing Me
9. Buzz Buzz Buzz
10. Laughing Up My Sleeve
11. Ocean Blue
12. Shadow (Guitar Version)
13. Thru The Flowers (New Version)
14. Everything Shining Bright
15. Nothing Left
16. Across My Shoulder
17. Crash
18. Spacehead
19. Nothing Left (Sounds Version)

Disc 2
1.I'll Stick With You
2. Dreamwalk Baby
3. Buzz Buzz Buzz
4. Nothing Left
5. Out Of Reach
6. Carry Me Home
7. Don't Want Anything To Change
8. Think I'll Stick With You
9. Dreamwalk Baby
10. Run Baby Run
11. Thru The Flowers
12. Nothing Left
13. Where The Wind Blows
14. Out Of Reach
15. We Found A Way To The Sun
16. Don't Want Anything To Change
17. Across My Shoulder
18.Everything's Shining Bright
19. Buzz Buzz Buzz
20. Stop Killing Me
21. I Wanna Be Your Dog

Charting a course between electronic experimentation and the dark echoes of 1980s post-rock, ishi vu’s music transports the young artist’s philosophical meditations in Gothenburg to imagined dancefloors worldwide. Created in response to a deep transformational experience, his debut album 'La Luz' is truly unique: channelling all genres and none into a depiction of some of the most fundamental human feelings. La Luz is a vivid and poignant distillation of club culture into something familiar, temporarily distant, but fresh. With the precision of someone who has thought carefully about an exact psychological, physical - and perhaps even spiritual - effect they want to provoke.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
La Luz BLue18
This Is Your Life - Vinyl Version
Isolated Incidents

Side B
Poison Dart
Bell-Tower Trip

Side C
Neverending Elation
Brightly Burning, Yet Alone
A.S.I.S.O.A. 1000

Side D
The Wasp
SANCTUAry, It MUST HappeN AGain!
10 Tolls: A Threnody For The Luz
Persuaded To Embrace In Saving Faith
[A CURIOUS END]

After an epic licensing odyssey that's taken us almost 20 years, we're finally able to announce the 5LP boxset release of the first ever official re-issue of all five of the iconic Lansdowne recording sessions by the legendary UK jazz combo, the Don Rendell/Ian Carr Quintet.
The five albums; Shades Of Blues (1965), Dusk Fire (1966), Phase III (1968), Change Is (1969) and Live (1969), have reached almost mythical status in the collector's world. Regarded as holy grail artefacts for even the seasoned aficionado, the collective second hand market value comes to an astonishing £6000.
Many have tried - and failed - to reissue these albums by legitimate means. However, two decades since our initial approach, Universal Music has gone to great lengths to research their vast archives, and we have finally managed to succeed.
The complete Don Rendell & Ian Carr Lansdowne recording sessions have now undergone a full and unprecedented boxset reissue. We located and acquired the original analogue master tapes from the Universal vaults and created masters at Abbey Road Studios to produce audiophile quality 180g pressings replete with replica artwork - shape, design, and even paper stock. No stone has been left unturned to deliver this absolute labour of love to the highest possible standard! The enclosed booklet contains never before seen photographs, interviews with the remaining living band members and liner notes from BBC Radio 3 presenter and award-winning jazz writer Alyn Shipton.
The band played together for seven years and during this fruitful time they made a plethora of deeply melodic, post-bop British jazz compositions that later on took influences from Indo and more spiritually guided jazz. Produced by the influential Denis Preston and recorded at his Lansdowne Studios in London, the band was primarily made up of saxophonist Don Rendell, trumpeter/composer Ian Carr, and pianist/composer Michael Garrick. This is UK jazz at its absolute finest, and the quality of our box set pays testament to that.

TRACK LISTING

1 Blue Mosque
2 Latin Blue
3 Just Blue
4 Sailin'
5 Garrison '64
6 Blue Doom
7 Shades Of Blue
8 Big City Strut
9 Ruth
10 Tan Samfu
11 Jubal
12 Spooks
13 Prayer
14 Hot Rod
15 Dusk Fire
16 Crazy Jane
17 On! [clip]
18 Les Neiges D'Antan (Snows Of Yesteryear)
19 Bath Sheba
20 Black Marigolds
21 Elastic Dream
22 One Green Eye
23 Boy, Dog And Carrot
24 Cold Mountain
25 Black Hair
26 Mirage
27 On Track
28 Vignette
29 Pavanne
30 Nimjam
31 Voices
32 You've Said It 

Classic italo house EP produced in 1991 by Ivan Iacobucci under the moniker of KGB, now out on vinyl including a new unreleased remix.

TRACK LISTING

A1: Detroit 909
A2: Scream (Wake Up!)
B1: Bondage (Mysterious Remix)
B2: Detroit 909 (2021 Remix)

DEADLETTER were one of the most talked about band's of 2023, with their critically acclaimed debut EP 'Heat!' gaining nods from tastemakers including NME, CLASH, DIY, DORK and The Guardian, 2024 brings in the band's debut album, Hysterical Strength.

Having played together in groups prior, DEADLETTER was formed at the start of 2020, days before the pandemic struck. After some lineup experimentation, the addition of Will King (Guitar), Sam Jones (Guitar) and Poppy Richler (Saxophone) completed the group. Bound together by a recognition of frenetic energy and rhythm and leaving any wider ideological goal open to interpretation by the listener, it’s clear the release of their debut album heralds the next level for DEADLETTER.

TRACK LISTING

1. Credit To Treason
2. More Heat!
3. Mother
4. Bygones
5. A Haunting
6. It Flies
7. Hysterical Strength
8. Relieved
9. Deus Ex Machina
10. Practise Whilst You Preach
11. Mere Mortal
12. Auntie Christ 

Fontaines D.C. announce details of their highly-anticipated fourth album, Romance. Romance is the band’s first album with producer James Ford and is without doubt their most assured, inventive and sonically adventurous record yet. It’s set to build on the success of the Dublin-made, now London-based band’s acclaimed 2022 album Skinty Fia, which reached number 1 in the UK and Irish album charts and saw the band receiving a host of accolades including “International Group of the Year” at the 2023 BRIT Awards.

Heralding Fontaines D.C.’s latest creative (r)evolution is the explosive lead single “Starburster”. Inspired by a panic attack lead singer Grian Chatten suffered in London’s St Pancras station, the song is punctuated by sharp feral intakes of breath. Its propulsive beat and unrelenting lyrics establish self-destruction as fantasy before a brief moment of sobering clarity when the drums fall away and Chatten moves from spitting, almost-rap into an almost-psalm, his baritone rich and dreamy. It’s accompanied by a cinematic music video from director Aube Perrie (Megan Thee Stallion, Harry Styles, The Hives) that captures the song’s cathartic intensity to brilliant effect.

Romance is Fontaines D.C.s most ambitious, expansive record yet, its 11 tracks constellating ideas that have been percolating among Grian Chatten (vocals), Carlos O’Connell (guitar), Conor Curley (guitar), Conor Deegan (bass), and Tom Coll (drums) since they released Skinty Fia in 2022. These ideas crystalised while touring the U.S. and Mexico with Arctic Monkeys as the five band members shared music and found a throughline with artists that deftly build out their own sprawling creative worlds: the attitude and aesthetic sheen of artists like Shygirl and Sega Bodega, the bolshy sonic palettes of hip hop and heavy metal, Mos Def, A$AP Ferg, OutKast and Korn. They had time apart to build more singular visions for what future music could be: O’Connell went to Spain’s Castile-La Mancha and later became a new father, while Chatten spent time in LA, and Deegan in Paris. They laid deeper roots in London. Each member spent time pushing their boundaries – experimental riffs, chord progressions, and far-flung lyrical references without intentions for a record. After wrapping up the US arena tour in Autumn 2023, they spent a month writing together again, three weeks of pre-production in a North London studio, and a month in a chateau close to Paris, sleeping among studio equipment, completely immersed.

Of the album’s title, Conor Deegan says, “We’ve always had this sense of idealism and romance. Each album gets further away from observing that through the lens of Ireland, as directly as (Mercury Prize-nominated debut) Dogrel. The second album (the GRAMMY-nominated A Hero’s Death) is about that detachment, and the third (Skinty Fia) is about Irishness dislocated in the diaspora. Now we look to where and what else there is to be romantic about.”

Expounding on the theme, Chatten recalls Katsuhiro Ôtomo’s anime Akira, where the embers of love develop despite a maelstrom of technological degradation and political corruption around its characters. “I’m fascinated by that - falling in love at the end of the world,” he says. “The album is about protecting that tiny flame. The bigger armageddon looms, the more precious it becomes,” while O’Connell adds “This record is about deciding what’s fantasy – the tangible world, or where you go in your mind. What represents reality more? That feels almost spiritual for us.”

The sonic evolution of the band, who bared their teeth in early records with antagonistic punk sensibilities, is an ascent into grungier breaks, dystopian electronica, hip-hop percussion, and dreamy Slowdive-esque textures that may surprise fans. The shoegaze touchpoints first pressed on Skinty Fia unfold on Romance like a purpling bruise. But any “retro aesthetic”, as Chatten describes it, is left behind. Reflecting on the impending release, Chatten says, “We say things on this record we’ve wanted to say for a long time. I never feel like it's over, but it’s nice to feel lighter.” The fantasy is felt for better or worse, and Fontaines D.C. welcome either end of oblivion.

TRACK LISTING

1. Romance
2. Starburster
3. Here's The Thing
4. Desire
5. In The Modern World
6. Bug
7. Motorcycle Boy
8. Sundowner
9. Horseness Is The Whatness
10. Death Kink
11. Favourite

Newly signed to SO Recordings and with a debut album proper in hand, The Joy Hotel have become a word-of-mouth success story in the Scottish DIY scene, and have since taken their live show across the UK and Europe, playing festivals including Hidden Door, Doune the Rabbit Hole, Connect, TRNSMT, Twisterella, Latitude, Sound City and The Great Escape.

The band spent eleven days at Rockfield, the legendary studio in Monmouth, Wales, recording live-to-tape. When they left, they had a sound. It is often contradictory, in that it combines the songwriting sensibilities of pop and country with arrangements reminiscent of the psychedelic scene of the 60s, six-part vocal harmonies with elements of noise rock, beautiful balladry with a sense of humour, and a cinematic quality. The result of those eleven days is debut album 'Ceremony', a record that searches for the profound in the seemingly routine, and reaches out with arms wide open to wring celebration out of each moment.

TRACK LISTING

1. I Decline
2. Forever Tender Blue
3. First Joy
4. Jeremiah
5. Black Balloon
6. Rapid Eye Movement
7. Old Man's Eyes
8. While You're Young
9. No Use
10. Twenty Three (A Comedy) - Part 1
11. Twenty Three (A Comedy) - Part 2
12. Killing Time
13. Small Mercy

In January it was revealed that Thom Yorke composed the original score for Daniele Luchetti’s film Confidenza, an adaptation of the Italian drama based on Domenico Starnone’s novel of the same name. XL Recordings announces that Thom Yorke’s Confidenza original soundtrack will be released digitally on April 26, with vinyl and CD to follow on July 12.

Confidenza follows Yorke’s previous full-length score and original soundtrack for Luca Guadagnino’s 2018 Suspiria remake, Suspirium receiving a GRAMMY-nomination for Best Song Written for Visual Media. Produced by Sam Petts-Davies (Suspiria, The Smile Wall Of Eyes), Confidenza sees Petts-Davies and Yorke working again with the London Contemporary Orchestra alongside a jazz ensemble which included Robert Stillman and fellow The Smile bandmate Tom Skinner. In 2019 Yorke contributed music to Edward Norton’s Motherless Brooklyn and in 2022 he wrote two original tracks for the series finale of Peaky Blinders.

As of late, Yorke has been touring with The Smile (Tom Skinner, Jonny Greenwood, Thom Yorke), who released their second studio-album Wall Of Eyes in January which follows the band’s 2022-debut album A Light For Attracting Attention.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Big City
2. Knife Edge
3. Letting Down Gently
4. Secret Clarinet
5. In The Trees
6. Prize Giving
7. Four Ways In Time
8. Confidenza
9. Nosebleed Nuptials
10. Bunch Of Flowers
11. A Silent Scream
12. On The Ledge

Buzz-worthy post-punk outfit HighSchool continue their ascendant 2024 with the release of their highly-awaited second studio EP, Accelerator.

Collating singles ‘August 19’, ‘Doesn’t Matter’ and ‘She Took You to Narnia’, HighSchool’s second EP builds seamlessly on the sounds of their 2021 cult-classic debut Forever At Last.

Having spent the intervening years polishing their craft across Melbourne and their adopted home of London, Accelerator was produced by rising producer Finn Billingham, mixed by GRAMMY-winning engineer Philippe Weiss (Earl Sweatshirt, Nas, Drake) and mastered by Blur and Depeche Mode producer Ben Hillier.

The resulting five-track collection is suffused with emotionally charged and elliptical songwriting, conjuring the tangible aura of the band’s post-punk forebears as filtered through a lens of contemporary lo-fi bedroom pop.

TRACK LISTING

1. August 19
2. Doesn’t Matter
3. She Took You To
4. Narnia
5. Heaven’s Gate
6. Mondo Cane

Overmono first performed their version of The Streets’ seminal 'Turn The Page' at the 2022 edition of Lost Village Festival to a rapturous response. Hailed by Rolling Stone UK as a "glitchy techno banger”, it has since grown into a word-of-mouth phenomenon and a pinnacle moment in the duo’s critically acclaimed live show. From their Coachella debut to their viral Boiler Room and more recent sold-out headline show at London’s Roundhouse, the track continues to resonate across continents, solidifying its status as a timeless dancefloor anthem. Now available for pre-order on 12” black vinyl with laser etched lyrics on the b-side.

TRACK LISTING

1. Turn The Page

'Dancing On The Frontline' is the companion record to Enter Shikari's UK #1 album 'A Kiss for the Whole World'. The new record brings together remixes, non-album singles (featuring the likes of Wargasm, Cody Frost, AViVA and Fever 333’s Jason Aalon Butler), plus live recordings from the BBC Radio 1 Rock Show and Future Sounds shows.

'Dancing On The Frontline' also comes with a Blu-ray of the band's headline performances at Slam Dunk Festival 2023 and Germany's Vainstream Festival. Their much-lauded live show has since been all around the world, covering the USA, Australia, Europe, UK, Ireland and more. Audiences in the UK also witnessed the band's biggest ever headline tour to date of the country's arenas, an audio-visual spectacular that The Guardian awarded four stars and heralded as "the beginning of Enter Shikari’s greatest chapter."

TRACK LISTING

1. Goldfish (Shikari Sound System Remix)
2. Bloodshot (Shikari Sound System Remix)
3. The Void Stares Back
4. Bull
5. STRANGERS
6. Losing My Grip
7. It Hurts (BBC Radio One Future Sounds Session Version)
8. Bull Feat. Cody Frost (BBC Radio One Future Sounds Session Version)
9. 2 Be Loved (BBC Radio One Future Sounds Session Version)
10. (pls) Set Me On Fire (BBC Radio One Rock Show Session Version)
11. A Kiss For The Whole World (BBC Radio One Rock Show Session Version)
12. Bloodshot (BBC Radio One Rock Show Session Version)

“How the fuck are we going to turn this into a song?” That’s the question Lou Barlow and John Davis have asked themselves since co-founding The Folk Implosion in the early 1990s. Beginning with improvised jams featuring Barlow on bass and Davis on drums, the duo develop their beat-driven pop collages from the ground up. It’s the process they used on their debut cassette, Walk Through This World with the Folk Implosion, and one they’ve returned to 30 years later on their spellbinding, self-referencing reunion, Walk Thru Me.

Separated from their homes in Massachusetts and North Carolina, Barlow and Davis collaborated remotely, flashing back to their early friendship as penpals. A sweaty bass and drums session went down in Barlow’s attic, before they booked studio time with producer Scott Salter (St. Vincent, Spoon, The Mountain Goats).

Contrasts and comparisons are the keys to unlocking Walk Thru Me, and the Folk Implosion as a whole. Beyond the audible differences between Barlow’s soft voice and Davis’s urgent, reedy proclamations,

their approaches to songwriting are strikingly distinct. While Barlow approached his lyrics from a protective paternal perspective (“My Little Lamb”), Davis paid tribute to his late father, shining a light on their complicated relationship (“The Day You Died”). Finally, Davis’s Persian music studies in weekly Zoom lessons inspired him to integrate traditional Middle Eastern instruments such as the setar, oud, saz, and tombak.

“Because we’re so separate, part of this album is me desperately trying to telepathically communicate to John and Scott, who are 700 miles away from me,” Barlow concludes. “A big part of what I consider to be the Folk Implosion is taking disparate things and turning them into pop.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Crepuscular
2. The Day You Died
3. Walk Thru Me
4. My Little Lamb
5. Bobblehead Doll
6. The Fable And The Fact
7. Right Hand Over The Heart
8. Water Torture
9. O.K. To Disconnect
10. Moonlit Kind

Coming out on the first day of summer, the exhilarating journey of twelve songs on 'Daylight' celebrates, expresses and explores the colours and feel of summer. It will be the first of two albums from the duo in 2024 with the nocturnal sister album, 'Twilight', released on the first day of winter - December 1st.

McHifi are taking you on a journey for 2024.

TRACK LISTING

1. Daylight
2. Sun Come Up
3. Coalition
4. You Are My
5. Meantime
6. Golden Hour
7. Sad Banger
8. USB -USC
9. Summery
10. Living Things
11. Celebrate
12. The Show

SAM MORTON, the musical duo comprised of singer, songwriter and acclaimed actor and director Samantha Morton and music producer and co-songwriter Richard Russell, today announce details of their highly-anticipated debut album. Titled Daffodils & Dirt, the album will be released on 14th June via XL Recordings. Over twelve startling tracks, the pair build a deeply personal musical world that feels simultaneously intimate and delicate yet powerful and tough. The part-autobiographical suite of songs see Russell’s spartan soundscapes providing a rich foundation for Morton’s gorgeous, ethereal vocal, aided by a cast of musical collaborators that include Alabaster DePlume, Laura Groves, Jack Peñate and additional vocalist Ali Campbell (on “Broxtowe Girl”).

Despite a lifelong love of, and involvement in, music, SAM MORTON is Samantha Morton’s first ever artist project. The collaboration came about after she appeared on Desert Island Discs in October 2020 and Russell happened to be listening. He was struck not only by her song choices (including a shared love of one song in particular: “I Remember” by Molly Drake) but by the way the music weaved through her lived experiences. The pair connected and corresponded, swapping ideas, sketches and stream-of-consciousnesses. Finally, months later, they met in the studio and engaged in a period of spontaneous, intense and open-ended collaboration, one which proved to be a cathartic musical process for both parties. Daffodils & Dirt, completed during 2023, is the captivating result.

The album cover artwork features an archive photograph from acclaimed British-American photographer and visual artist Nick Waplington, who documented life on Nottingham’s Broxtowe Estate at the same time Morton was growing up there in the mid-1980s.

TRACK LISTING

1. Highwood House
2. Hungerhill Road
3. Purple Yellow
4. The Little White Cloud That Cried
5. Kaleidoscope
6. Cry Without End
7. Broxtowe Girl
8. Let's Walk In The Night
9. Greenstone
10. Double Dip Neon
11. The Shadow
12. Loved By God

It's been almost 20 years since Seasick Steve's celebrated appearance on Jools Holland's Hootenanny launched the unknown American singer-songwriter to worldwide fame, and his beat-up three-string Japanese guitar and old wooden stompbox made musical history. The overwhelming response surprised nobody more than Steve himself, and was like a lightning strike; the impact of which is still being felt close to two decades later, as he has gone onto play almost every major festival in the World, rack up over 2 million album sales, and release three UK Top 10 albums.

His new record A Trip A Stumble A Fall Down On Your Knees is released on 7th June 2024 via So Recordings and available to pre-order now. It's a record he proudly says is his favourite to date, and is announced alongside a run of UK instore and outstore shows. Steve says: “This album was made by mistake, as the title suggests we just tripped and stumbled into it, and it became my favourite album ever and the piece of work I’m most proud of to date. There’s not a week goes by that I don’t thank my lucky stars for that night on the Hootenanny which has brought us here to this record”.

TRACK LISTING

1. Move To The Country
2. Internet Cowboys
3. San Francisco Sound '67
4. A Trip And A Stumble (For Leya)
5. This Way
6. Backbone Slip
7. Let The Music Talk
8. Funky Music
9. Cryin' Out Loud
10. Elisabeth

Torchbearers of the Southern California band sound, Local Natives first drew attention in 2009 when their debut album, Gorilla manor, grabbed fans with its vibrant mix of kinetic, complex rhythms and soaring harmonies. The album drew praise for its enthusiastic balance of post-punk urgency and evocative lyricism. In 2013, the group expanded upon that sound, exploring a darker, more introspective aesthetic on their follow-up, Hummingbird (produced by Aaron Dessner of The National). Their third album, Sunlit Youth, arrived in the summer of 2016 via Infectious and Loma Vista Recordings. Its globe trotting writing process found the group experimenting with production techniques and expanding their palette of entrustments.

The classic studio setting is juxtaposed on Local Natives’ fourth full-length, Violet Street [Loma Vista Recordings] with modern production and visuals to form a timeless album. The band’s signature soaring 3-part harmonies are augmented by loops of tape, physically spliced and transformed by hand, the result of experimenting in the studio with producer Shawn Everett (Alabama Shakes, Kacey Musgraves, The War On Drugs). The band's fifth project Time Will Wait For No One [Loma Vista Recordings] serves as a harmonious return to their roots. Their sixth album, But I'll Wait For You, is a companion piece to the album prior to it. Local Natives are Kelcey Ayer, Nik Ewing, Matthew Frazier, Ryan Hahn, and Taylor Rice.

TRACK LISTING

01. Alpharetta
02. Throw It In The Fire
03. Neon Memory
04. Camera Shy
05. As Soon As You Arrive
06. Ending Credits
07. Raincoat
08. April
09. Walk Before You Run
10. But I'll Wait For You

Artist, producer, DJ and cultural trailblazer Peggy Gou announces details of her long-awaited debut album. One of the most hotly-anticipated debut records in recent years, I Hear You will be released on 7th June 2024 via XL Recordings. The ten track album is the culmination of years of work for the Korean-born artist, who’s uniquely revered as both an underground icon and global sensation, sticking by her own unwavering vision to become one of the most in-demand electronic music artists and DJs in the world. Featuring previous singles, the 2023 chart-topping global hit “(It Goes Like) Nanana” and her Lenny Kravitz collaboration “I Believe in Love Again”, the LP sees Gou stepping into the next level of her artistry and boldly claiming her voice through the kaleidoscopic lens of ‘90s house music.

Talking about I Hear You, Peggy Gou says:
“I Hear You is more than just my debut album. It embodies countless hours of dedication in my journey to create something timeless, and is a testament to the power of listening, to ourselves and to each other.”

TRACK LISTING

Your Art
Back To One
I Believe In Love Again
All That
(It Goes Like) Nanana
Lobster Telephone
Seoulsi Peggygou (서울시페기구)
I Go
Purple Horizon
1+1=11

‘Good Grief’ is the first new solo album in 25 years from songwriter and producer Bernard Butler. Between then and now, Butler had ventured into the world of pop songwriting and producing, including two seminal albums with folk musician Sam Lee, a Mercury nominated project with actor Jessie Buckley as well as working with Bert Jansch and Ben Watt From Everything But The Girl, The Libertines, Tricky and an eight-million selling, Grammy-winning record with Duffy.

Of returning to solo work after two and a half decades, Butler says ‘For a good while I was scarred and I was scared. I was happily distracted and joyously involved with so much music. I realised just being there was more than I had ever hoped for. I gave a lot to other people, but realised that my story was defined but what I was, rather than what I am. I set myself a modest commercial goal, an expectant creative one: perform to 10 people without being bottled, then find 11 the next night. Thus began the undoing of my own embarrassment. I would write as I thought and sing as I wrote until the bottles fly. And so, the songs arrived.’

Bernard booked himself into a rehearsal space in Holloway every Wednesday afternoon for months, just him, a guitar and a microphone. The first fruit of these sessions is the new single ‘Camber Sands’, “For years and years I have drawn straight lines from North London to every coastline I could see. To life-worn Londoners escape is the dream and return most likely. The story I found was not the sea but the journey. Camber Sands, Mersea Island, Dunwich, or a dozen more horizons of possibility, the sea and the seawalls, and the endless return to face the city. Camber Sands is a love song - we flee the past, the present, ourselves, to survive, to defy. The loneliest music of the resolute, the half-light and the saddest tunes.’

Round circle shows with friends Norman Blake and James Grant across Scotland gave Butler the taste for venturing back out on stage, and while writing with Jessie Buckley for the Mercury Prize nominated For All Our Days That Tear the Heart album, Bernard tucked away his own discoveries and continued the journey once Buckley returned to the silver screen. Confronting his own songwriting process, he wrote words down, away from the security of his guitar, before carving music around the lines.

‘Good Grief’ finds Bernard Butler owning three decades of work, free to perform, bookended by wildly contrasting experiences of loss, joy, and bewilderment. The album is a journey from city to coast and back, and between it, an entire spectrum of human emotion.

TRACK LISTING

1. Camber Sands
2. Deep Emotions
3. Living The Dream
4. Preaching To The Choir
5. Pretty D
6. The Forty Foot
7. London Snow
8. Clean
9. The Wind

The second solo album by Adam Ross - a musician described by Folk Radio as "one of Scotland’s most talented singers and songwriters".

The album is produced by multiple Scottish Album Of The Year Award nominated composer and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Wasylyk and released on London record label Fika Recordings. Arts bodies Creative Scotland and Help Musicians have supported and funded the album in recognition of what is shaping up to be one of the most exciting musical collaborations of 2024.

The album is a heavily lyrical collection of warped 70s-esque indie-folk ballads inspired by Adam’s relocation to the coast. The title, Littoral Zone, is a term used to define where the sea meets the land but also a nod to a style of direct, literary observations about the people, landscapes and states of mind Adam has discovered since moving there. The lyrics cover themes of nature, politics, faith, love and death and are surrounded by Andrew’s deft production featuring luscious string ensembles and brass.

The writing of the album saw Adam move away from guitar and onto piano, having bought a slightly battered upright piano from a local antiques warehouse as a first priority after moving house in 2021. Chords, melodies and musical ideas were recorded on Adam's phone before lyrics were slowly built up during his walks on the beach and clifftops around the village of St Cyrus where he now lives.

Songs like Free Will and Union Gary chart and exaggerate the at-times ridiculous minutiae of day-to-day life, with the latter musing on British foreign policy via the prism of an unkempt garden. The Going and I Get It Wrong pay tribute to the natural beauty and mystery of coastal landscapes while Brambles falls into the musical tradition of the murder ballad, with a story loosely based on an amalgamation of true events. The album's darker edges can also be discovered in Shrinking and Ego which dwell on aging and self-doubt, however Apogee looks to counterbalance such themes with a pure outpouring of love.

The album sees Adam at his most musically ambitious and precise. In contrast to his more lo-fi and DIY previous work, Littoral Zone is a painstakingly crafted record which celebrates collaboration. Andrew Wasylyk's production and multi-instrumentalist performances bring sonic sophistication which is further heightened by Pete Harvey's heart-stirring string arrangements. Gillian Fleetwood's yearning vocals are a constant highlight throughout the album, as is Rachel Simpson's exquisite brass playing. Ultimately, Littoral Zone is an album of stories and Adam's lyrical knack shines throughout.

Adam Ross is a songwriter based in north-east Scotland. He has led the cult indie band Randolph's Leap for over a decade, releasing music with independent labels Fika Recordings, Olive Grove Records and King Creosote and Pictish Trail’s Fence Records and Lost Map Records. He released his debut solo album 'Staring At Mountains' in 2022. He is known for his intricate, storytelling lyrical style which often blends humour and poignancy.

May 2024 will see the release of a brand-new solo album produced by multiple Scottish Album Of The Year Award nominated composer and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Wasylyk and released on London label Fika Recordings. Arts bodies Creative Scotland and Help Musicians have supported and funded the album in recognition of what is shaping up to be one of the most exciting musical collaborations of 2024.

Adam has a track record of playing at venues and festivals across the country such as Green Man, Celtic Connections, Belladrum and The Edinburgh Fringe. His reputation as an engaging, witty, storytelling performer was further cemented by his role in ‘The Isle of Love’, a country-wide touring theatre show inspired by his songs.

His music has received regular airplay on BBC Radio Scotland and BBC 6 Music including various singles and albums of the week. He has also received excellent press in newspapers such as The Herald and The Scotsman.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Free Will
A2. Apogee
A3. Shrinking
A4. Caught The Sun
A5. Ego
B1. Union Gary
B2. I Get It Wrong
B3. Life Is Not A Competition
B4. Brambles
B5. The Going

J Axel and Eva Essa find magical harmony on this new collaboration on the Do It Now Recordings Vinylized label. 'Turned Your Back' is a perfectly heart-melting, life-affirming bit of soul-drenched and intimate deep house with gorgeous vocals and super smooth drums all healing you to your core as the gentle rhythms wash over you time and time again. It's a faultless original but one that is also ripe for remixing and who better than Atjazz who slightly ups the tempo but keeps the deep, wavy rhythmic vibes and adds a little cosmic magic in the synths. A sublime package indeed.

TRACK LISTING

Turned Your Back (Extended)
Turned Your Back
Turned Your Back (Atjazz Extended Remix)
Turned Your Back (Atjazz Extended Remix Instrumental)

Aiming to rescue the airwaves from run-of-the-mill rap and humdrum Hip-Hop, the Hometown Heroes crew swoops into view, bringing together audiovisual evangelist DJ Yoda, soundsystem shocker Brad Baloo of The Nextmen, and legendary rhyme supplier Edo G out of Boston for a funky fix of unashamed dad-hop.

The holy trinity have dozens of classics under their belts covering Rap’s golden era to the present and ‘Hometown Heroes’ is another gem providing the sort of rewindable Hip-Hop that’s hella breezy, but still packing plenty of bluster beneath the surface.

TRACK LISTING

Side A

1. Advice
2. The Process
3. What You Wanna Do
4. Do You Right
5. Stand Still
6. Talk About It

Side B

1. Advice Instrumental
2. The Process Instrumental
3. What You Wanna Do Instrumental
4. Do You Right Instrumental
5. Stand Still Instrumental
6. Talk About It Instrumental

Written after a relationship’s end, Rowena Wise’s Senseless Acts of Beauty is a stunning and searingly honest record.

A new yet accomplished artist, Rowena grew up in the Western Australian surf town of Margaret River perfoming in her family’s folk band. Now grown up and living in Melbourne, her electric solo live performances of recent years has seen a real word of mouth build around her.

A songwriter inspired by the strong storytelling sensibilities of 60s folk icons, Senseless Acts of Beauty delivers on the promise hinted at by her live show. Full of emotional depth, its ten tracks offer heady ruminations on love, loss, and alienation. And by electing to record them all live in the room, often in one take, the kinks and blemishes add weight to the lived experience of Rowena’s lyrics.

TRACK LISTING

A1. In For The Kill
A2. Nobody’s Saviour
A3. 26 Hours
A4. Forgiving Up
A5. Indifferent
B1. Life Of The Party
B2. New Years
B3. Knife
B4. We Are Nothing
B5. Gone

Finom's (aka Ohmme) third LP. Not God produced by Jeff Tweedy. Recommended If You Like: The Beths, Soccer Mommy, Palehound, New Pornographers, Melkbelly, Lala Lala, NNAMDÏ, The Breeders, Jeff Tweedy/Wilco, The Roches. Not God is the new album from Chicago’s beloved two-headed monster, Finom (fka Ohmme). You can ask them to go into more detail about the boring reasons why they changed their name, but for now, the answer is going to be polite refusal. No. Co-fronted by Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart, Finom’s influences run vast and varied, and they put a premium on change. Produced by Jeff Tweedy in the Wilco Loft, Not God is a marvel of growth, a progression from the roots of this collaborative band whose history can be traced back to its improvised conception. This is owed in no small part to their hometown of Chicago, the life raft to so many persisters in musical adventurosity. That energy combined with Finom's dramatic vocal and musical gifts puts them in the peripheries of the legacies cemented by The Roches, Roxy Music, the B52s, Kate Bush, Cate Le Bon, and Wilco. Cunningham and Stewart are brilliant harmonizers, but harmony doesn't equate to a utopia. In Finom's maws harmony can also be a fight, holding the line until the volcano erupts. This realistic depiction of a creative relationship jolts throughout the songs of Not God, and brings the whole damn thing to life. Finom are more than one person with more than one dream. But still, they grow together, harnessed by their shared love of pop songwriting, control, chaos, and being generally freaky-deaky. Freaky in that way that is only really fun when you're doing it with a friend. As the globe spins and advancements advance, it can feel essential to return to relationships that make us feel whole, that generate energy of strength and relief. Which puts double the weight on the reality that Sima and Macie continue to pledge allegiance to each other, at the base of the volcano, in the front seat of the car as it pulls off the highway. 

TRACK LISTING

Haircut
Dirt
Naked
Hungry
Not God
A Petunia
Cyclops
Cardinal
As You Are

“Everything’s been fucked since David Bowie died or they started up the Hadron Collider” say The Janitors. This feeling is epitomised in the title of their riveting new album: An Error Has Occurred. Marking over two decades of activity for the Swedish psych-rockers, the recording is informed by heartbreak and loss as well as the dismal state of the entire planet. For The Janitors, these two polarities intertwine constantly: “What’s personal is political and vice versa.” To channel their frustration and anger, the band revived certain songs they’d shelved during the pandemic when working on the acclaimed Noisolation Sessions. They added others, written since, that suited the mood of sticking a middle finger up to the oppressive world around us. Whereas previous recordings were often layered up gradually, this time the full band (Henric Herlenius, Jonas Eriksson, Anders Thorell and Wilhelm Tengdahl) rehearsed intensely together before laying down everything live, over two days and nights, in a converted missionary church. The songs on Side A have the menace of Melvins, the swagger of The Stooges and the cosmic heft of The Heads. These are the more simply constructed and poppier pieces... or so the band believe. (One friend of theirs did consider this “delusional”.) ‘In A Bliss’ acts as the album’s radiant centrepiece. A palette-cleansing love song which recalls The Jesus And Mary Chain at their most starry eyed, it finds The Janitors searching for solace and strength in straightforward companionship. After this come the dronier numbers, drawn out with soundscapes and textures influenced by The Velvet Underground’s sonic experiments and the equally immersive atmospheres of electronic acts like Massive Attack. Hence, ‘Operator’ swings threateningly like a space-rock Swans, while the approach on ‘Farewell Spacegirl’ is jazzier and more meditative. “It can be hard to muster up some, or even any, positive energy at this point in time,” says Henric. “We are eternally grateful to have the creative output that this constellation gives us. Neither me or Jonas would probably be here, or be the same people we are, if it wasn’t for The Janitors. We’ll leave you with a quote from an old anarchist: ‘Every society gets the criminals it deserves.’”

TRACK LISTING

Anger The World
Kalfjället
Lies
In A Bliss
Operator
What Is Real?
Farewell Spacegirl

‘Black Classical Music’ is a 19-track record taking listeners through a looking glass into the exalted artist’s past and present whilst exploring themes of home and family. The album draws influence from his musical heroes Miles Davis & Rahsaan Roland Kirk and Yussef’s extensive travel around the globe that has deepened his study of rhythm.

Honourable features on “Black Classical Music” - Chronixx, Jamilah Barry, Tom Misch, Shabaka Hutchings, Miles James, Sheila Maurice Grey, Nathaniel Cross, Theon Cross and the Chineke! Orchestra, plus Venna, Rocco Palladino, Charlie Stacey & Elijah Fox

TRACK LISTING

A1. Black Classical Music Ft. Venna & Charlie Stacey
A2. Afro Cubanism
A3. Raisins Under The Sun Ft. Shabaka Hutchings
A4. Rust Ft. Tom Misch
A5. Turquoise Galaxy

B1. The Light Ft. Bahia Dayes
B2. Pon Di Plaza Ft. Chronixx
B3. Magnolia Symphony
B4. Early Dayes
B5. Chasing The Drum

C1. Birds Of Paradise
C2. Gelato

C3. Marching Band Ft. Masego
C4. Crystal Palace Park Ft. Elijah Fox
C5. Presidential Ft. Jahaan Sweet

D1. Jukebox
D2. Woman's Touch Ft. Jamilah Barry
D3. Tioga Pass Ft. Rocco Palladino
D4. Cowrie Charms Ft. Leon Thomas & Barbara Hicks 

Alex Kassian's extended rendition of E2–E4 promises a 12-minute electronic odyssey, tailor-made for diverse dancefloors from it’s spiritual home Ibiza and beyond. On the flip side, Mad Professor embarks on a club-oriented version excursion, a rare gem in its own right. This reimagining breathes new life into the classic, offering fresh perspectives for music aficionados everywhere. Hot tip for release of the Summer!

TRACK LISTING

A1. E2–E4
B1. E2–E4 (Mad Professor’s Qantas Crazy Remix)

SAM MORTON – the musical duo comprising singer, songwriter and acclaimed actor and director Samantha Morton, and music producer and artist Richard Russell – release a new single, “Cry Without End”, via XL Recordings. Featuring musician and composer Alabaster DePlume, “Cry Without End” is simultaneously fragile and powerful, a gorgeous, heart-jangling song that sees Morton’s ethereal vocal – acapella for the first verse – ultimately enveloped by delicate, lush orchestration. The single is complimented by a deeply personal music video directed by, and featuring, Morton herself.

Despite a lifelong love of, and involvement in, music, SAM MORTON is Samantha Morton’s first ever artist project. The collaboration came out after Russell reached out following her much talked-about appearance on Desert Island Discs and shared love of one of her song selections in particular: “I Remember” by Molly Drake. A period of spontaneous and intense collaboration followed, one that yielded more than an album’s worth of music and acted as a cathartic vehicle for their part-autobiographical lyricism and song-writing.

TRACK LISTING

1. Cry Without End (feat Alabaster DePlume)

In meteorology, the word Norther refers to a cold wind that blows down from the north. For Liverpool’s Ex-Easter Island Head, it’s also an apt title for the strange and multi-faceted sound of their new album that now descends upon the world at large: ever shifting, a multiplicity of sounds both acoustic and manipulated, and yet one that still moves as part of a single mighty breeze. At times it might recall the experiments of Rhys Chatham and Glenn Branca, the widescreen beauty of The Necks, the relentless experimentation of Arnold Dreyblatt or the boundary-pushing roster of Kompakt Records, yet ultimately this is music that has no direct compare.

Each of its six pieces demonstrates a different creative process. On blossoming opener ‘Weather’, whirring motors dance fairy-like atop strings and drums; on the dizzying ‘Magnetic Language’ voices are played back through phones and amplified through pickups made of magnets wrapped in copper wire; the title of ‘Golden Bridges’ refers to the brass rods the band shift beneath the strings of their guitar. All, however, tap to one degree or another into that abiding theme of the weather. Norther is Ex-Easter Island Head’s first studio album since 2016, a time spent on collaborations and one-off performances with everyone from classical musicians and fellow experimentalists to schoolchildren.

“All of the projects we were involved in between 2016 and 2024 have expanded the boundaries of what we do by exposing us to a huge variety of instruments, personalities and ways of working. It's really allowed us to see the purity of making music with a four-piece group,” says the band’s Benjamin D. Duvall.That status as a quartet is a new one, with the addition of longstanding friend and collaborator Andrew PM Hunt. Having a member of the band handling recording and mixing helped them push further and further into sonic territory that until Norther remained entirely unexplored – not just by Ex-Easter Island Head, but by any other band on earth. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Weather
2. Norther
3. Easter
4. Magnetic Language
5. Golden Bridges
6. Lodestone

Ufomammut formed in the late 90s by Poia (guitars, FXs) and Urlo (bass, vocals, FXs, synths), (rising from the ashes of past band Judy Corda), together with Vita (drums). With Levre taking over on drums in 2021, the band has undergone a rebirth, culminating in the release of the album Fenice and the Crookhead EP.

Over the course of 25 years, the band has developed a unique sound that combines heavy, dynamic riff worship with a deep understanding of psychedelic tradition in music.This has resulted in a cosmic, futuristic, and technicolor sound that fully immerses listeners.

The band has produced 10 records along with various other releases, such as compilations, EPs, and live albums.

Now, in 2024, as they celebrate their quarter-century milestone, the band is set to release their latest album, HIDDEN. This album marks a shift in the band’s musical composition, aiming for a more intense and heavy sound, and it’s the third release featuring Levre as the band’s new drummer.

The title, HIDDEN, reflects the concept of the presence of everything in our existence and the ability to bring to light what lies within us. With HIDDEN, Ufomammut delves into a sonic journey that traverses vast expanses of space and time.

From the crushing heaviness to the hauntingly melodies, from the textured compositions to the otherworldly atmospheres, HIDDEN testify the neverending evolution of Ufomammut and their mastery of creating immersive sonic experiences: a fitting celebration of their 25 years of sonic exploration and experimentation.

TRACK LISTING

1. Crookhead - 10.39
2. Kismet - 8.56
3. Spidher - 4.05 #
4. Mausoleum - 10.47
5. Leeched - 5.38
6. Soulost - 4.26

Horace Andy [a.k.a.Sleepy] must process one of the sweetest and most distinctive voices in reggae music. 1951 in Kingston Jamaica. He cut his first track in 1966 for producer George ‘Phil’ Pratt, a tune called ‘Black Man’s Country’. But it was four years later his star really began to shine when he joined the stable of Clement ‘Coxsone’ Dodd’s Studio One. It was Coxsone Dodd who renamed him Andy after another of his leading artists Bob Andy, such was his belief in Horace’s writing talent and singing abilities. Still only twenty years of age Horace used his falsetto talent to the fore and cut some impressive tracks at 13 Brentford Road, Studio One’s headquarters. Such reggae standards as ’Skylarking’, ‘Just Say Who’, ‘Love of a Women’ and ‘Something on my Mind’ to name but a few. The early 1970’s saw Horace due to political reasons move on to work with producer Bunny Lee, a move that suited his talents and beliefs, Horace being an early advocate to the Rastafarian faith.The tracks which he cut with Bunny, which we concentrate on here gave his songs a rootsy feel. The rhythms often cut at Channel ONE and Randy’s Studio17 and finalised at King Tubby’s, provided a fine backbone for Horace to recut some of his earlier classics, along side his newer songs also to become reggae standards. Like ‘Money Money’, ‘Zion Gate’ the great ‘You are my Angel’ and a version of The Heptones ‘My Guiding Star’. The power of these recordings were such that the earlier tracks like ‘Skylarking’ became hits a second time around.Proving that the ‘you can’t keep a good tune down’ mantra was alive and kicking… …A golden time for Horace and Reggae music in general… Horace would go on to work with other producers like Everton Da Silva in 1977 creating the ‘In the Light’ album and the New York based Lloyd ‘Wackies’ Barnes in the 1980’s for his ‘Dancehall Style’ recordings. Most recently his work with Massive Attack has brought his majestic voice full circle and back into the arena once more. Those ‘Massive’ recordings and this dub collection here seem to fit side by side. Horace’s distinctive vocal riding over the rhythms adding a magic as only he can .....

RESPECT JAH FLOYD.

TRACK LISTING

1 Why Oh Why Dub
2 Dub Larking
3 Zion Dub
4 Dub Money 
5 A True Dub
6 Dub Guidance
7 Dub Say Who
8 Dub On My Mind
9 Love Of A Dub Band
10 Use This Dub
11 Dub Letter
12 Dub Angel
13 Bless This Dub*
14 Dub Ah Fulfil*
*CD Bonus Track

Let the sound of the night drums and the cry of the horns empower you! The crate diggers of Jazz Dispensary are proud to present a collection of jams propelled by the spirit of nature, protest, and freedom, featuring songs from pioneering musicians Joe Henderson, Gary Bartz, Ran Blake, Azar Lawrence, A.K. Salim, and The Dungills. 

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A:
1. Afro-Centric – Joe Henderson
2. Freedom One Day – Gary Bartz Quintet
3. Theme For A New Day – Azar Lawrence
SIDE B:
4. Afrika – A.K. Salim
5. Night Drums – The Dungills
6. Three Seeds (A Suite): I) Regis Debray; II) Che Guevara; III) Malcolm – Ran Blake

Words are not to be taken for granted. Especially when they’re being bellowed, full blast, by a broad-shouldered poet with the brimstone fire of a preacher and the honesty and wisdom of a layman, over ground-shaking live beats and between anthemic blasts of melody and rousing riffage.

Words matter. History matters. People matter. And BIG SPECIAL matter.

For BIG SPECIAL - Joe Hicklin (vocals) and Callum Moloney (drums) - their sound is one that comes from vital, frustrated young working-class voices that don’t always get heard on the scale they should do. It’s a frustration that comes to the fore through a voice that is at times coarse and raw, but sensitive, desperate and soulful at others. Hicklin's brimstone-fired voice marches from guttural punk barks and serrated spoken word to soaring soul and back again, arriving siphoned from their forebears, crushed under the weight of history, and retooled for a new generation. It’s wrought, raw and angry at a world lacking options, the thinning of the common understanding between the social classes of England, exasperation at repeating cycles, and the feeling that you’re watching your own life unfold from the outside.

These are songs that channel that voice you hear when you look in the mirror and see your true self – fight songs for a world gone wrong.

TRACK LISTING

01. BLACK COUNTRY GOTHIC
02. I MOCK JOGGERS
03. DESPERATE BREAKFAST
04. SHITHOUSE
05. THIS HERE AIN’T WATER
06. MY SHAPE (BLOCKING THE LIGHT)
07. BLACK DOG / WHITE HORSE
08. BROADCAST: TIME AWAY
09. ILL.
10. MONGREL
11. BUTCHER’S BIN
12. DUST OFF / START AGAIN
13. TREES
14. FOR THE BIRDS
15. DiG!

Multi / triple Platinum, multi / triple Gold laureates Dutch duo Tinlicker release their third studio album, ‘Cold Enough For Snow’, on [PIAS] Électronique, accompanied by an album tour.

Tinlicker are an electronic music act formed in 2013, consisting of Micha Heyboer (drums, keys) and Jordi van Achthoven (drums, keys).

The ‘Cold Enough For Snow’ album features Placebo’s Brian Molko, Editors’ Tom Smith, Circa Waves, Boxer Rebellion’s singer songwriter Nathan Nicholson (known for work with Joris Voorn, Claptone, Duke Dumont), Australian singer Cloves and South African singer songwriter Julia Church.

Having conquered London’s Roundhouse last year, the duo return to the UK, to the legendary

TRACK LISTING

1. Glasshouse (feat. Julia Church)
2. Staring Down Sunset (feat. Nathan Nicholson)
3. Nothing To Lose (feat. Circa Waves)
4. Blowfish
5. This Life (feat. Tom Smith)
6. Slipstream (feat. Julia Church)
7. Who I'm Not (feat. Cloves)
8. Revolution
9. Crossroads (feat. Nathan Nicholson)
10. In Your Eyes
11. Nowhere To Go (feat. Brian Molko)
12. Strawberry (feat. Nathan Nicholson & Metropole Orkest)
13. Pretender

Vancouver duo Potatohead People (aka the duo of Nick Wisdom & AstroLogical) make their long awaited return to Bastard Jazz with their 4th album, 'Eat Your Heart Out'. Jumping off on the clean & musical production sensibilities that they have become heavily fetishized for over the last decade, the album finds the duo further stepping out from the shadow of the boards and stepping into the spotlight as vocalists, songwriters, players and musicians standing strong in their own respect.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Formula
2. Keepin'; It Kool (feat. Kendra Dias)
3. Last Nite (feat. Redman)
4. Angelwings (feat. Shafiq Husayn & Ivan Ave)
5. Distant Luv (feat. Kapok)
6. Follow Your Heart
7. Come Home (feat. Abstract Rude, T3 & Kapok)
8. Paradise (feat. Diamond Cafe)
9. Secret Mission (feat. Frank Nitt & Reggie B)
10. Everything U Need (feat. Kendra Dias)
1.1 For The Soul (feat. Moka Only)

Junior Marvin is widely recognized as an all-time great reggae musician and Musical Director and guitarist of Bob Marley’s iconic band, The Wailers. Junior’s new album, Happy Family, will be released 2/16/24 and will coincide with the theatrical release of One Love, the Bob Marley Paramount biopic feature film on 2/14/24. In the film, the role of Junior is played by his real-life son, Davo, who is also a musical artist. The first single from Happy Family will be Junior’s new recording of “One Love”.

Junior Marvin was born in Jamaica and grew up in London and met the late Tuff Gong icon on Valentine’s Day in 1977 (ironically the same day the film will be released) who touted him as the “young Jimi Hendrix of London”. Marley immediately asked Junior to join his band as lead guitarist and became one of Marley’s closest friends up until his death. Junior’s guitar playing was a huge influence on Marley, and his musicianship can be clearly heard on such seminal Marley tracks as “Could You Be Loved” (which Junior originally wrote and gave to Marley), “Waiting in Vain,” “Buffalo Soldier,” “The Heathen”, “One Love” and “Jamming”.

Junior Marvin is not just limited to reggae however; he has played with Stevie Wonder and Steve Winwood, among many others (he actually turned down an offer by Wonder to join his band Wonderlove to accept Marley’s offer to become a member of The Wailers on the same Valentine’s Day in 1977).

TRACK LISTING

1. Brother
2. Rastafari
3. Message Of Love
4. Midnight Rockers
5. Lord Have Mercy
6. Reggae Rock
7. Your Messages (Are Games)
8. Love Will (Never Let You Down)
9. Let Me Tell You Something
10. Always & Forever
11. Take Control
12. Happy Family
13. One Love
14. Fight Them Back (With Love)

"Do One” is the last song I wrote for the new album, and the first song on that album, as well as the first single. So it’s a summation of what I’m trying to say with this record, a record about survival and defiance, but also one with a sense of fun and self-deprecation. 19 years into my solo career, I’m still standing up and putting out some of my best work. It feels good.” “Undefeated” is my tenth solo studio album, and in many ways I’m pleasantly surprised by that statement. I feel very fortunate that I’m still making records and touring - fortunate and proud. The record is fired by that feeling, and a new sense of energy and liberation. It feels like a new chapter for me - after the pandemic, back in the independent world, the new lineup of the Sleeping Souls, and a slightly bewildered sense of gratitude that I’m still standing, still have something to say. - Frank Turner

TRACK LISTING

1. Do One
2. Nevermind The Back Problems
3. Ceasefire
4. Girl From The Record Shop
5. Pandemic PTSD
6. Letters
7. East Finchley
8. No Thank You For The Music
9. The Leaders
10. International Hide And Seek Champions
11. Show People
12. On My Way Y
13. Somewhere Inbetween
14. Undefeated

*Disc 2 Deluxe CD
1. Do One (Acoustic)
2. Nevermind The Back Problems (Acoustic)
3. Ceasefire (Acoustic)
4. Girl From The Record Shop (Acoustic)
5. Pandemic PTSD (Acoustic)
6. Letters (Acoustic)
7. East Finchley (Acoustic)
8. No Thank You For The Music (Acoustic)
9. The Leaders (Acoustic)
10. International Hide And Seek Champions (Acoustic)
11. Show People (Acoustic)
12. Somewhere Inbetween (Acoustic)
13. Undefeated (Acoustic)

Internationally acclaimed vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and composer
releases her new studio album featuring Floating Points, Kofi Flexxx & Carlos Niño among others, and produced by Shabaka Hutchings on Hutchings’ Native Rebel Recordings

Since graduating from Berklee College of Music, UCLA and Harvard, ganavya has quickly become a much-in-demand artist on the US scene who consistently confounds expectations. Hailed as “among modern music's most compelling vocalists” (Wall Street Journal), “most enchanting” (NPR) and "extraordinary" (DownBeat), ganavya has worked with an array of luminaries including the likes of Quincy Jones, Wayne Shorter and Esperanza Spalding and on new album like the sky, I've been too quiet she presents thirteen compelling tracks which showcase her ethereal voice and numinous energy. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Ganavya enlists an all-star cast for this spellbinding and and enchanted LP which is like Alice Coltrane's "Turiyasangitananda" given a completely modern renovation. You can clearly hear contemporary wizard Shabaka Hutchings' production influence throughout, and Floating Points' Arp Odessey drizzling through "Seal" is a particular album highlight.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
Not In An Anthropological Mood
First Notebook Of Songs
Side B
Forgive Me My
Seal
El Kebda, Let It Go
We Made It To The Underpass
Side C
Our Mother Is Our Daughter Is Our Mother
(sister Said) Home Is A Direction
We're Still At The Underpass
Side D
Call It Luck If You Want To
Call Her By Her Name, Enheduanna
Growing Sense Of Wonder
I Walk Again, Eyes Towards The Sky

2023 was a transformative year for the Baltimore singer-songwriter and producer, Nourished By Time. His critically-acclaimed debut album, Erotic Probiotic 2 picked up Pitchfork’s 'Best New Music' and featured on ‘Best Of 2024’ lists on Gorilla vs Bear (#1), Pitchfork (#5), The Guardian, The Fader, Paste and more. He collaborated with Yaeji on “Happy” from her debut album With A Hammer and remixed Dry Cleaning’s “Gary Ashby”, who he also supported on tour. Meanwhile, he embarked across Europe for his debut headline tour before returning to the US to open for Vagabon.

Signing to XL Recordings, Nourished By Time returns to announce his new EP Catching Chickens will be released on 22 March digitally and on 12” vinyl. Written between 2022 - 2023 in his home studio in Baltimore, Catching Chickens takes inspiration from the iconic scene in Rocky II where his trainer makes him chase and catch chickens as a test of agility. With tracks like “Hell of a Ride,” in which Nourished By Time contemplates the fall of the American empire and late-stage capitalism loneliness, and “Had Ya Called”, which deals with the frustrations of growing distance in friendships, Nourished By Time chronicles his own test of agility as he weaves through the motions of his newfound notability.

To celebrate the EP news, Nourished By Time releases “Hand On Me” single and music video. Shot by Josh Renaut, “Hand on Me,” explores paranoia that corrodes love and trust in a traumatic relationship. As he puts it, “the video is about being reminded that you’re an angel by other angels, featuring a surrealist commentary on celebrity culture”

TRACK LISTING

1. Hell Of A Ride
2. Hand On Me
3. Poison-Soaked
4. Had Ya Called
5. Romance In Me

Mammoth Penguins are a 3-piece indie powerhouse, showcasing the songwriting and vocal talents of Emma Kupa (Standard Fare) backed up by the noisiest rhythm section in indie pop.

May 2024 sees the release of their fourth album Here on Fika Recordings. After 2019’s big, bold and confident There’s No Fight We Can’t Both Win, and the initial shock of the global pandemic cancelling a trip to SXSW in 2020, the band returned to the studio in the summer of 2021 to start recording.

The new record leans into a raw pop-punk power-trio sound more than ever, with a deep growl in layered guitars and bursts of percussion and harmony. The songs and artwork explore themes about finding a place for yourself and familiarity with people and places. Although it turns back towards a classic three-piece sound, the band weren’t restricted by that palette, adding finishing touches of percussion, extra guitars and backing vocals in short bursts in a garden shed, and also bringing in gorgeous strings to sweeten the title track.

The sound builds on the band’s first album, Hide and Seek, which was released with the much-loved and sorely missed Fortuna POP! in 2015. The follow-up LP John Doe in 2017 was an ambitious concept album, exploring the feelings of loss and anger at a man who fakes his own death only to return years later, expanding well beyond the 3-piece rock‘n’roll template, with washes of strings, synths and samples.

The ‘Penguins have been smashing it at some high-profile support slots in the lead up to this album release, including at Allo Darlin’s joyous reunion at Islington Assembly Hall (Oct 2023) and Muncie Girls last ever London show (Dec 2023). They play the Leicester Indiepop all-dayer and Wales Goes Pop in March, before heading out on tour in support of the new album in May.

Those big singalong choruses need your voice shouting back from the crowd with joy and defiance.

Mammoth Penguins are Emma Kupa (guitar, vocals), Mark Boxall (bass, vocals) and Tom Barden (drums, vocals). Reminiscent of the pop melodies of The Beths, the indie dissonance of Land of Talk, and the guitar forward slacker rock of Weezer, Mammoth Penguins marry heart-ache indiepop with spiky guitars and Emma’s frank confessional songwriting.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Species
A2. I Know The Signs
A3. Flyers
A4. Blue Plaque
A5. Everything That I Write
A6. Here
B1. Nothing And Everything
B2. Help Yourself
B3. Old Friends
B4. Lost Friends
B5. Success
B6. A Plea For Kindness

'Cyan Blue' finds Wilson crafting a smoothly woven cyan tapestry of her eternal influences; thumping gospel piano, warm soul basslines, atmospheric electronics, and penetrating R&B melodies. Yet, it possesses a sense of vastness that rings in a new era for Wilson, one in which she’s embracing collaboration and newfound creative openness tinged with wistfulness and yearning and a reflection on youthful innocence. “I want to look through the unjaded eyes of my younger self again,” Wilson explains of making 'Cyan Blue'. “Before there wasn’t as much baggage, before so much life was lived. But I also wish that my younger self could see where I am now. It would be nice to be able to impart some of the wisdom and clarity that I have now onto her.”

Working with producers like Leon Thomas (SZA, Ariana Grande, Post Malone), and Jack Rochon (H.E.R, Daniel Caesar), 'Cyan Blue' demonstrates Wilson’s sonic expertise while also showcasing the next evolution of her time-bending songwriting. Through 13 hypnotizing tracks, she continues to use music as a vessel for unpacking relationships, which in turn allows her to meet and understand herself in life-spanning, panoramic focus. But, on 'Cyan Blue', she challenged herself to kick her perfectionist tendencies. “Before, I was extremely intentional about creating music with a strong foundation, a bed of artistic integrity,” Wilson reflects. “But that was a bit stifling, like, ‘Let me just make a great piece of art that will stand the test of time, no pressure.’ Now, I think I'm getting out of this frozen state of needing everything to be perfect. I'm more interested in capturing feelings in the moment as they happen and leaving them in that moment.”

While this is only her second album, Wilson’s influence in music has made a major mainstream impact. Wilson broke out in 2016 with her critically acclaimed EP, 'CDW', followed by 2018’s 'Stone Woman' and made her debut studio album an official coming out moment in 2021 with the critically acclaimed, self-released 'Alpha'. Over the past decade, she’s been sampled by Drake, John Mayer, and James Blake, while Patti Smith has recently praised and covered Wilson’s 2016 breakout single “Work.” Additionally, she’s collaborated with artists like Kaytranada, BADBADNOTGOOD, and SG Lewis, demonstrating that there’s no sound Wilson can’t adapt to and sprinkle her cyan-colored magic over.

TRACK LISTING

1. My Way
2. Money
3. Dovetail
4. Forever (ft. Snoh Aalegra)
5. Do U Still
6. New Day
7. Last Call
8. Canopy
9. Over The Rainbow
10. Kiss & Tell
11. I Don't Love You
12. Cyan Blue
13. Walk With Me

“We could go so far as to say that it is the human condition to be grotesque, since the human animal is the one that does not fit in, the freak of nature who has no place in the natural order and is capable of re-combining nature’s products into hideous new forms.”

So reckoned Mark Fisher in ‘The Weird And The Eerie’, which chronicled the means by which the uncanny can enter the everyday. Mwg Drwg, the second album from South Wales psychic seers Obey Cobra, is an album that dwells in exactly this kind of headspace, where the otherworldly meets the kitchen sink. Always a band who’ve sought out new dimensions to explore via their trademark warped post-punk, electronic and industrial influences, Obey Cobra have crafted surreal new shapes here. Taking influences as diverse as Diane Arbus, David Lynch and Sonic Youth, they balance out heaviosity and grace on the likes of the majestically discordant ‘Ten Of Wands’ Elsewhere, on the title track, the band sculpt a Jesus Lizard-esque rhythmic pulse, eerie vocal abstraction and the crepuscular downtempo atmosphere of Massive Attack’s Mezzanine into a uniquely haunting dreamscape. Mwg Drwg is where the weird and eerie are amplified to intimidating proportions It’s where grotesquely and beauty happily cohabit. It’s an aural exorcism of William Friedkin proportions that demands your immediate attention.

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

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

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

TRACK LISTING

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

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Sleater-Kinney's Little Rope is one of the finest, most delicately layered records in the bandís 30-year career. On the surface, Little Rope veers from spare to anthemic, catchy to deliberately hard-turning. But beneath that are perhaps the most complex and subtle arrangements of any Sleater-Kinney record. Following the critically acclaimed release of Little Rope, Sleater-Kinney present two special bonus tracks from the original recording session on RSD exclusive 7î.

Great music is often about chance meetings and impromptu creative sessions and so it is that Hell Yeah proudly serves up Sensory Blending, a new collaborative album from Italian collective Aura Safari and Finnish musician Jimi Tenor. The nine-track record is a lush and luxurious fusion of jazz-funk styles.

This glorious record came about after Tenor was playing a Hell Yeah party at Tangram in Perugia. Aura Safari were local and, in some free time the day before the gig, everyone jumped in the studio together. They had never met before but soon found plenty of free-flowing common ground and the result of that one-off session is now served up on this vibrant new album that brims with musicality, indelible melodies and subtly uplifting vibrations.

Tenor has toured the world and previously collaborated with the likes of Japanese master Calm. He is a psychedelic space-jazz-funk king, skilled musician, composer and producer who, since the mid-nineties, has released more than 25 albums and 45 EPs. Aura Safari is made up of bass, synth, guitar and keys players Lorenzo Francioli, Ruggero Bonucci, Nicola Pitassio Andrea Moretti, Lorenzo Lavoratori, Daniele Melloni and Nicholas Iammatteo, and they are label regulars who served up their sublime Island Dreams album here last year.

Says Jimi, who enjoyed his time in Perugia and adds that 'the studio session was 100% efficient. I showed up and we started to play. Almost all that was made was material that we could use for the album. I love to work fast. Quick brushstrokes. Finish! I was amazed at how intuitively the Aura Safari guys could come up with new parts for songs. I mentioned some feeling or approach and they seemed to find it just like that.'

'Bodily Synesthesia' is the seductive opener with steamy sax notes and gentle grooves that are topped by aloof vocal whispers. 'Lunar Wind' is another slow and steamy mix of jazzy keys and soulful vocal hooks, 'Bewitched By The Sea' is a more tropical and percussive number with majestic melodies and 'My Bluebell' picks up the pace with jazz-funk grooves and hustling chords. 'Last Waltz In Perugia' has freeform sax lines soaring over meticulous drums that ebb and flow and 'Gimlet' brings a playful, samba-tinged rhythm and sunny flute leads straight from South America. There's a laidback, carefree mood to 'It's Too Easy To Love You' while 'Your Magic Touch' is a dancey number that exudes melodic joy, and 'Indigo' closes in dramatic fashion with a conversational sax that sticks long in the memory.

Sensory Blending is a seamless fusion of collaborative minds from Aura Safari and Jimi Tenor and it could well be performed live at some special select shows later in the year.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Bodily Synesthesia
A2. Lunar Wind
A3. Bewitched By The Sea
A4. My BlueBell
B1. Last Waltz In Perugia
B2. Gimlet
B3. It's Too Easy To Love You
B4. Your Magic Touch
B5. Indigo

Originally released on Nice & Ripe in 1994 produced by Grant Nelson, Si Firmin & David Thackeray. Re issued & Remastered for the first time on DTR. This is an essential piece of UK Garage & Classic House in the same style as their 24hr Experience / GOD releases. Limited Pressing so act fast!

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Elbows-out, UK garage / house with hard swagger and 4x4 flavour (before it went all two-step). Still cutting it amongst today's piers, this should nice up the dancefloor no end.

TRACK LISTING

A1. 1 2 LUV
A2. SAMPLER
B1. GROOVEMENT
B2. DUBMENT

One of the most consistent new labels around, Cyphon Recordings, marks double figures with another standout release that gleans from the past, but faces the future. This time they look to the talents of Emotive Technology, a new alias from Chilean Massiande who provides a five-track EP of machine-wielding, soul-rousing techno from across the spectrum.

Although this may be the first release under his new moniker, Massiande has spent the last decade putting out productions with labels such as Housewax, Phonica, Freerange and Groovin. Firing on all cylinders from the get-go, ‘Rise’ kicks off the Walk Into The Light EP. A hyperspace melding of new beat, Italo and arp-operating techno that opens out into a slice of peak-time revelry.

The swirling textures of ‘It’s On’ follow, pushing you into the next dimension. A hypnotic, entrancing and arresting heads-down powerhouse. Crunchy and considered it's the kind of strobe-stuttering basement jam that turns heads inside out.

Two Detroit-leaning tracks ‘Your Zone’ and ‘Walk IntoThe Light’ are up next. The former is a heavyweight machine workout. Layered synth lines and crisp drum programming transfix, as that grooving low-end powers bodies into bedlam. The latter, a Motor-City-influenced tour de force. One that sees Massiande recode the circuitry to hit with a piano-laden stunner, balancing power and presence, with emotion and nuance.

Closing out proceedings, ‘The Swing’ sucks you in deeper. A resonating world of synth stabs, pulsating basslines and atmospheric electronics.

Doing the Emotive Technology namesake proud, Walk Into The Light is machine music hardwired with a heavy sense of soul.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Power house electrics, lazer guided leads and floor stomping beats make this Emotive Technology are sure fire warehouse wrecker.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Rise
A2. It's On
A3. Your Zone
B1. Walk Into The Light
B2. The Swing

Canadian deep house don Nick Holder's Fruit Loops EP is next to get the remaster and reissue treatment from Definitive Recordings. This label, now overseen by Get Physical Music, first released the EP back in 1995 when Toronto-based Holder had already become one of house music's most tasteful operators. He went on to release over 125 EPs and singles under countless aliases, in various groups, and on his labels DNH Records and Treehouse Records, as well as !K7 Records and NRK. His style spans house, disco loops and minimal Chicago grooves and is always high on immersive atmosphere. Opener 'Dance Dance Dance' brings together all those aspects of the Holder sound with its funky guitar riffs looping beneath raw drums and disco basslines. Classic Chic samples burst out of the mix to bring an air of celebration and party, and it makes for an irresistibly feel-good sound. 'Keep on Running' is a steamy and sweaty house jam with loopy drums and bass and more smartly chosen samples, this time from Roy Ayers, that bring the funk and never let up. It has long been a go-to anthem for house DJs, and the realness and rawness of the emotions in Holder's work also shine through with the filtered synths and jazzy keys of 'The Message of Love', which is complete with bumpy and irresistible drums. Last of all is the unfettered party spirit and diva vocals of the brilliantly lo-fi funk-house pumper that is 'Clap Ya Hands'. This EP hasn't aged one bit and remains a definitive piece of early Deep House history.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: A truly amazing piece of early sample-house from Canada of all places. Up there with the strongest joints from Pal Joey, Glenn Underground etc - you'll likely know most of the disco originals these are taken from but somehow they still possess a timeless, magical quality that you know any dancefloor worth its salt is gonna buzz off.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Dance, Dance, Dance
A2. Keep On Running
B1. The Message Is Love
B2. Clap Ya Hands

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The long out-of-print sophomore title from seminal El Paso, Texas band At The Drive-In, featuring favourites "Napoleon Solo," "Chanbara," and "Alpha Centauri." Drowned In Sound proclaims, ìIn/Casino/Out screams at you, beats you into a pulp along with all your conceptions of punk, chews you up and spits you out a newly formed individual" while Vice describes the record as "a document of the moment when one of punkís most exciting bands discovered what they wanted to be." Pressed on limited edition Purple & Green Smoke vinyl.

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This limited-edition MONO release of legendary jazz pianist Bill Evansí 1959 album ìEverybody Digs Bill Evansî is available exclusively on 180-gram vinyl for Record Store Day. A landmark recording, the album features Sam Jones (bass) and Philly Joe Jones (drums) and is Evansí second album on Riverside as leader. This new pressing features (AAA) lacquers cut from the original master tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and is pressed at RTI on 180-gram black vinyl. It is housed in a StoughtonÆ Tip-On Jacket and limited to 7500 copies globally.

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5-song stripped-back EP featuring guest appearances from Manchester Orchestra, Bully, and Mannequin Pussy.

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This collection, originally released in October 1993, just prior to the bandís Island debut, includes all the singles Pulp recorded for Gift Records, including both the A- and B-sides. From the opening track, Space, Pulpís confidence and talent for creating terrific pop singles ñ is in evidence. Songs such as U., Razzamatazz and Babies showcase their signature sound ñ tight pop melodies and a theatrical approach that echoes the art rock of Roxy Music and David Bowie, but with their unique twist.The compilation includes the original single mix version of Babies, released in 1992, and slightly different from the 1994 version available on the album His ëní Hers. Sheffield: Sex City, a three-part story, features a spoken vocal contribution from keyboardist Candida Doyle (one of the rare times her voice is audible on a Pulp song) reciting a selection from the book My Secret Garden by Nancy FridayRelease as an exclusive RSD blue vinyl limited edition, Remastered at Abbey Road, Long out of print

Even before the release of the debut single from off-kilter Scottish indie-pop legends Close Lobsters, the late, lamented Janice Long got them in for their first outing at the BBC’s Maida Vale Studios. They recorded a session featuring four staples from their blistering live set at the time – which was peak-hour C86.

Two of the songs included here in early versions ended up re-recorded as A-sides of singles, paving the way to a close shave with stardom via their incredible debut album ‘Foxheads Stalk This Land’, released a year later.

TRACK LISTING

Never Seen Before
Pathetic Trivia
Heaven … Rains [Going To Heaven To See If It Rains]
Nothing Really Matters

A year and a half after their first BBC session, Close Lobsters returned to Maida Vale at the behest of John Peel. What emerged was a stunning session including three songs destined for their next single ‘What Is There To Smile About?’ – among them the Lobsters classic, ‘Loopholes’ – plus a cover with near-legendary status among fans: their version of ‘Mirror Breaks’ by anarcho-punk outfit The Mob.

TRACK LISTING

Loopholes
What Is There To Smile About?
From This Day On
Mirror Breaks

(Abbey Road master but in the original sleeve) When the mysterious masked collective calling themselves Goat first emerged in 2012, armed with an incendiary debut album ‘World Music’ – there was, and there still isn’t, anyone else on earth quite like them. With their enticing mythology, music full of sinuous grooves and manic explosions of fuzz, Goat were outliers from the very beginning. ‘World Music’, received an avalanche of acclaim with critics, psych heads, outernational crate diggers etc, all left enraptured by its thunderous intensity, conjured from a singular mix of sounds from across the globe. ‘World Music’ is brimming with tracks now seen as ‘classic’ Goat live favourites. Tracks that have been wowing audiences all over the world; the afrobeat stomp of ‘Disco Fever’, the fuzz abuse of ‘Goathead’, the post-punk groove of ‘Let it Bleed’, the sing-along repetitive pop of ‘Run to your Mama’... From the first note to the last, ‘World Music’ oozes with a sonic confidence rarely seen on a debut album. What Goat have is unique – they’ve managed to create a sound unrestrained by genre or any other boundaries. So if you haven’t done so already, then it is now time you joined the Goat commune. 

TRACK LISTING

01 Diarabi
02 Goatman
03 Goathead
04 Disco Fever
05 Golden Dawn
06 Let It Bleed
07 Run To Your Mama
08 Goatlord
09 Det Som Aldrig Förändras / Diarabi 

Two house staples from the minds of Soulfuric founders Brian Tappert and Marc Pomeroy appear on wax alongside remixes from DJ Fudge and Micky More & Andy Tee. Brian Tappert and Marc Pomeroy’s impact on house as a genre is undisputed, nurturing the Soulfuric label from cult favourite to renowned powerhouse through their tireless commitment to creating and reinvigorating classics. Collectively the two have released under many monikers including Jazz-N-Groove, Urban Blues Project and Soulsearcher - the name associated with Defected Record’s debut and UK top 10 hit ‘Can’t Get Enough’. Now ‘Feelin’ Love’ by Marc Pomeroy’s Soulsearcher project and Urban Blues Project’s ‘Your Heaven (I Can Feel It)’ are spotlighted by this special vinyl release. On the A, longstanding French selector DJ Fudge’s 2023 remix of ‘Feelin’ Love’ features alongside the original Club Mix from 20 years prior. Next up, Groove Culture’s Micky More & Andy Tee’s celebrated remix of an Urban Blues Project classic, ‘Your Heaven (I Can Feel It)’ featuring Pearl Mae appears with the 1996 original.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Soulsearcher - Feelin' Love (DJ Fudge Remix)
A2. Soulsearcher - Feelin' Love (Soulsearcher Club Mix)
B1. Urban Blues Project Presents Mother Of Pearl - Your Heaven (I Can Feel It) (feat Pearl Mae - Micky More & Andy Tee Remix)
B2. Urban Blues Project Presents Mother Of Pearl - Your Heaven (I Can Feel It) (feat Pearl Mae - Soulfuric Dub) 

Favorite Recordings and Lea Lisa present "Many Shades of House": a personal selection of house music tracks that have a very special place in Lea Lisa's heart and in her record box.

Amongst this selection, "Many Shades Of House" includes many very rare and hard to find titles, mostly never reissued on vinyl until now.

Lea Lisa (Phonica Records, Wolf Music…) is a DJ, producer & vinyl addict who never stops digging and hasn’t since she first started in 1995. House music is so rich and varied that she naturally felt the desire to show and share this diversity. 'Through this compilation I wanted to present artists and records that have greatly influenced me throughout my career. Whether through the strong messages they convey or through the emotions I felt discovering each of these vinyl.' said Lea Lisa.

Carefully packed with long-forgotten US house gems (Transient's groove keeper "Higher" and a 1997 NYC House tune from Kerri Chandler in his garage house days), iconic early house/techno treasure (Mark Goddard's "Truth"), intensive journeys (Passion Dance Orchestra) to atmospheric soundscapes (Pure Science), soulful grooves (Ron Trent's boogie infused "Can't Change Me") and timeless deep house gems (Slowhouse, Abacus).

Created in 2005, Favorite Recordings presents a rich catalogue combining the productions of new artists with reissues of forgotten masterpieces all along the wide groove music spectrum, from soul / funk, jazz, disco, to reggae, hip-hop, house or electronic genres. Before launching Favorite, Pascal Rioux, founder and label honcho, started in the mid-90s with the house music label Rotax Disques. In 2014, following his meeting and affinity with French house DJ Jeremy Underground, they quickly collaborated on a series of compilations ("My Love Is Underground") curated by Jeremy and reissuing some of his finest underground house music hidden gems. Today the story starts again with Lea Lisa with this finest compilation for house music lovers…

TRACK LISTING

A1. Kerri Kaoz 6:23 Chandler - Be There (Kerri's Club Mix)
A2. Slowhouse 2 - Untitled
B1. Truth - Emotional
B2. Passion Dance Orchestra - Inner Dance
C1. Abacus - Blax Thanxs
C2. Transient Feat Sherman Benton - Higher (Club Mix)
D1. Pure Science - Ekeyz
D2. N'Dambi - Can't Change Me (Ron Trent Remix)

This limited edition 3x10" collection features the two Precious Recordings Sessions EPs along with a Radio Clyde Session EP which is exclusive to this bundle.

TRACK LISTING

John Peel Session
1. Loopholes 02:44
2. From This Day On 04:42
3. What Is There To Smile About? 02:47
4. Mirror Breaks 03:46

Janice Long Session
1. Never Seen Before 02:55
2. Pathetic Trivia 02:38
3. Heaven … Rains [Going To Heaven To See If It Rains] 03:06
4. Nothing Really Matters 03:04

Radio Clyde Session
5. Lovely Little Swan 03:48
6. Le Grande Ennui [Knee Trembler] 04:37
7. Nature Thing 03:59
8. Say Hello, Wave Goodbye 04:25

Nick & Astro are reunited as Potatohead People on this sweaty teaser 7" for their latest album 'Eat Your Heart Out'. On "Paradise", the boys have hotly tipped Canadian artist Diamond Café on for vocals. Diamond delivers a stunning vocal performance on this early 80s influenced slice of digital sex funk that comes in somewhere between Sade, El Debarge and Prefab Sprout. The man describes his music as "bathing in a cloud of honey on a very foggy night", and we couldn't agree more.On the flipside, Nick Wisdom dubs out the original, flexing the bassline's muscles with additions of swirling synth work and little bites of keyboard funk.

TRACK LISTING

1. Paradise (feat. Diamond Cafe)
2. Paradise (Nicky's 1 Nite Only Dub) [feat. Diamond Cafe]

'Remind Me' is the first definitive retrospective of an icon of 1970s and ‘80s soul, jazz and disco, Patrice Rushen, covering her peerless 6-year career with Elektra / Asylum from 1978 to 1984.

Joining Elektra after three albums with jazz label Prestige, Patrice had shown prodigious talent at an early age and had first broken through after winning a competition to perform at the Monterrey Jazz Festival of 1972. By the time of the recordings on this collection, she had become a prolific and in-demand session musician and arranger on the West coast, appearing on over 80 recordings for other artists. She joined the Elektra / Asylum roster in 1978 as they launched a pop / jazz division alongside visionaries like Donald Byrd and Grover Washington, Jr. “The idea was to create music that was good for commercial radio / R&B,” Patrice explains. “We were all making sophisticated dance music, essentially.”

Drawing on some of the leading musicians in L.A. like saxophonist Gerald Albright, drummer “Ndugu” Chancler and bassman Freddie Washington and keeping an open minded approach from her training in classical, jazz and soundtrack scores, Patrice’s music was a different, more intricate proposition to many of the soul artists of the time. “L.A. musicians were not so locked into tradition,” she continues. “None of us were accustomed to limitation and the record label left us to take our own direction.”

Early classics like ‘Music Of The Earth’ and ‘Let’s Sing A Song Of Love’ were among Patrice’s first as a lead vocalist before her ‘Pizzazz’ album landed in 1979, featuring the unique disco of ‘Haven’t You Heard’ and one of her greatest ballads, ‘Settle For My Love’. “Although ballads make you feel more vulnerable as an artist because they are often personal, I think listeners relate to that sincerity,” she reflects. By now, Patrice’s records were supremely arranged and produced as her confidence as an all-round writer, producer, arranger and performer grew. Slick dancefloor anthem ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ and the ‘Posh’ album in 1980 led to her landmark album ‘Straight From The Heart’ two years later. Receiving little support from her label, Patrice and her production team personally funded a promo campaign for the first single from it, ‘Forget Me Nots’. It went on to peak at no. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the album was later Grammy-nominated, while the track became a timeless anthem and popular sample, inspiring Will Smith’s theme for the film ‘Men In Black’ and George Michael’s ‘Fastlove’.

Patrice’s final album for Elektra, ‘Now’ kept the bar high with sparse, synth-led songs including ‘Feel So Real’ and ‘To Each His Own’. It concluded a golden era creatively for Patrice which remains revered by soul and disco aficionados the world over

TRACK LISTING

A1. Music Of The Earth
A2. Let’s Sing A Song Of Love
A3. When I Found You
B1. Haven’t You Heard (12” Version)
B2. Givin’ It Up Is Givin’ Up With DJ Rogers
C1. Forget Me Nots (12” Version)
C2. Look Up! (Long Version)
C3. Where There Is Love
D1. Never Gonna Give You Up (Won’t Let You Be) (Long Version)
D2. Number One (12” Version)
E1. All We Need
E2 Remind Me (LP Version)
E3. Settle For My Love
F1. Feels So Real (Won’T Let Go) (12” Version)
F2. To Each His Own

The time has come. After three EPs, sell-out UK tours, and a rapidly developing cult-leader status, the unapologetically uncategorisable Lynks - now signed to the renowned Heavenly Recordings - is ready to unveil their debut album Abomination. Ricocheting between visceral, abject shame and giddy, hedonistic delight, throughout the album Lynks takes us on a dizzying tour of modern queer culture via casual sex, references to Sean Cody, and a one-sided love affair with a straight tennis coach.

With their inspirations pinballing from Peaches to M.I.A, Courtney Barnett to Janelle Monae, and more, Lynks’ sound is something akin to a club night being thrown in a blender. Each genre touchstone here is hyphenated, and every endlessly quotable couplet takes a surprising turn. Self-written, self-produced, self-effacing and self-aggrandising, the album brings together half a decade’s worth of artistic and personal progression in under 40 minutes.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Bonkers, hi-nrg synth-pop from Lynks for their debut LP for Heavenly Recordings, brimming with snapping disco and scuzzy distorted beats, all with the almost robotic vocals smeared over the top. Brilliantly mad, but undeniably catchy and full of groove.

TRACK LISTING

1. USE IT OR LOSE IT
2. NEW BOYFRIEND
3. CPR
4. (WHAT DID YOU EXPECT FROM) SEX WITH A STRANGER
5. TENNIS SONG
6. I FEEL LIKE SHIT
7. ROOM 116
8. LEVITICUS 18
9. ABOMINATION
10. LUCKY
11. SMALLTALK
12. LYNKS THINKS
13. FLASH IN THE PAN

Released to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Oasis’ seminal debut single Supersonic – limited-edition pearl coloured, numbered 7”.

STAFF COMMENTS

Liam says: Lovely reissue of the possibly the best debut single of all time! On limited pearl coloured vinyl, these bad boys won't stick around for long! Comes with the amazing and much overlooked 'Take Me Away' on the B-side, top top stuff!

TRACK LISTING

A1. Supersonic
B1. Take Me Away

Tasty Recordings return with another set of straight up, party starting firepower. Five delectable edits cooked up in the kitchen of a handpicked selection of producers, that know a thing or two about splicing the spice into your life.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Vinny Terranova – Let’s Go People
A2. Disko Junkie – Just The Two Of Us
B1. Discotron – De La Disco
B2. HP Vince – Oh My Love
B3. FRASER – Chicago ‘93

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

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

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

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

STAFF COMMENTS

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

TRACK LISTING

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

Organic, electric, freeform. Pete Jolly's Seasons is comprised of melodies and textures composed live and without pretense—its grooves contain a complete and divine listening experience that surpasses all others of the era in which it was originally released, coming as close to transcendent musical meditation incarnate as one could possibly imagine. Seasons is an unsung masterpiece of ensemble groove and stellar musicianship, equally unsurpassed and inspired in its quiet excellence.

While Seasons never had significant commercial success upon its release, it has since amassed a cult following, leading collectors to pay top dollar for copies of the rare record. Out of print since 1971, it has only been reissued once on CD.

In his liner notes accompanying this release, Dave Segal puts the album’s massive demand in perspective: “British label owner Jonny Trunk put up an original pressing of the LP for sale for an undisclosed but large sum on Instagram in January 2023, and it sold in five minutes. With Seasons back in circulation, maybe Pete Jolly will finally gain the broader audience that his phenomenal skills merit,” writes Segal. “If nothing else, it serves as a valuable lesson to artists: venturing outside of your comfort zone can bring the most interesting, enduring results.”

Remastered from the original analog master tapes by Kevin Gray at Coherent Mastering, this record not only foreshadows the roots of hip-hop but manages to embody the richness of a full album listening experience that few records can offer. Its timeless appeal is rare—and its dynamic range sets it apart as an album that straddles both the jazz and pop worlds in a way that almost no others can. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the changing and complex colors of Seasons for the first time ever since its initial release.

TRACK LISTING

Leaves
Younger Than Springtime
Bees
Rainbows
Plummer Park
Springs
Seasons
Sand Storm
Autumn Festival
Prairie Road
The Indian's Summer
Pete Jolly

A periplus around Mediterranean flavors from Pellegrino on his debut mini-album: a multi-flavored cocktail of fast-moving disco groovers, spacey jazz-fusion experiments and sun-bleached funky melters. 

TRACK LISTING

At The Mercy Of Inertia
In Deriva
Sinergie
Ad Libitum
Southwind
Notturno Distopico

Since first emerging in early 2020 with the anthemic ‘Quit Fucking Around’ and releasing a critically acclaimed 3-part EP trilogy between 2020 and 2022, Francis of Delirium gained praise for distilling the angst and despair that plagues a generation who faces an uncertain present and future.

Francis of Delirium was shortlisted for 2022’s highly prestigious ESNS Music Moves Europe Award, as well as gaining accolades from the world’s music press and supporting some of the biggest artists on the planet, at still only 22 years old. A restless energy and desire to connect with the listener lies at the core of the project, with Jana’s personal lyrics being underpinned by a fierce rock sound that is as liberating as it is intense. Hailed as a Gen Z’er excitingly redrawing 90s classic indie rock (unsurprising given her chief collaborator Chris Hewett hails from Seattle and is three decades her senior) a deep admiration for contemporary acts such as Car Seat Headrest, Japanese Breakfast, Mitski, Phoebe Bridgers and Sufjan Stevens is also abundantly clear.

The upcoming album is titled ‘Lighthouse’, as their music has always straddled the line of light and darkness, both musically and lyrically. Expanding the instrumentation by incorporating more pianos and acoustic guitars, the tracks on ‘Lighthouse’ are intimate and disarming.

“Tackling big existential questions and turbulent emotions, (Francis of Delirium) throw off promising sparks of brilliance.” Pitchfork, 7.4 EP Review.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Ballet Dancers (Never Love Again)
2. Real Love
3. First Touch
4. Want You
5. Blue Tuesday
6. Cliffs

Side B
7. Starts To End
8. Alone Tonight
9. Something's Changed
10. Who You Are
11. Give It Back To Me

For multi-instrumentalist, singer and producer Halo Maud (previously known as Maud Nadal), the title of both song and album reflect from her natural reactions to the creation of the music itself.

"For me, music contains what words cannot. It is its power to shape these things, and it’s what I hope to find while taking random bits, here and there, from the pitch of each note, their texture, their timbres, massaging and mixing them together until the sound resembles what is inside me. When everything fits together well the words settle in with the music to spread their clues. That’s when the song is ready. I called the album ‘Celebrate' because I danced a lot while creating it. I now feel that I can release it into the air. I hope that it will alight in your hands and ears, keep you company and resonate within you through multiple waves.”

Those multiple waves are Celebrate’s twelve tracks. Collectively, they offer a seamless mix of French and English; analogue electronics, scratchy guitars and tumbling drums; dream pop, woozy Yé-Yé and 1960s and 2020s psychedelia.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: I was a big fan of Halo Maud's brilliant Je Suis Une île all the way back in 2018, so it was with some joy that I saw her on the new release schedule, and Celebrate has all of the wispy pop charm of that brilliant outing but with more of a focus on grand, orchestral jubilance and airy major-key crescendos. It's a lovely experience, and further cements my love of Maud's work.

TRACK LISTING

1. Celebrate
2. Terres Infinies
3. My Desire Is Pure
4. Last Day Song
5. Slowly Surely
6. Catch The Wave
7. Le Ciel Est Grand
8. You Float
9. À Te Voir
10. Iceberg
11. Pesnopoïka
12. Entends-Tu Ma Voix

Fat Dog’s second single, ‘All The Same’, b/w exclusive b-side, ‘Land Before Time’.

The history of BBC Maida Vale Sessions is familiar to The Utopia Strong. As musicians, and lifelong music fans, the legacy - the importance - of such recordings is not lost on them. Space and place influence creativity, as is the case here, and the sleeve is a loving homage to those classic BBC releases, affectionately nodding to Strange Fruit Peel Sessions from days of yore.These pieces, originally recorded live at Maida Vale for a Marc Riley session on BBC 6 Music in September 2022, capture The Utopia Strong stretching themselves and continuing to develop their aural explorations.The five-track album opens with the analogue arpeggios of ‘Minature Citadels’, a title perfectly summing up the imagery provoked by the music; evolving, jagged patterns of skylines and castellations, turrets and towers. The closing outro of squarks and drones could be twice as long and not outstay its welcome.

The nagging refrain running through ‘Lamp Of Glory’ is Mike York on the pipes, which he handmakes himself. The overall effect is a sublime, warped concoction of balearic energy and non-Western modes. ‘Disaster 2’ (a piece initially recorded on their second studio album, 2022’s International Treasure) begins with a beautiful synth drone that maintains its position, overpowering the modular patterns pulsating behind it, augmented by yet more glorious, lamenting pipes. The last two tracks both exceed ten minutes and allow the band to extend out further. Release comes as the drums kick in after six minutes of ‘The Tower Is Locked’, emulating the live sets The Utopia Strong have become famed for.The final track, ‘Weather All’, was also honed across several live performances. Having been booked for Andrew Weatherall’s Conveanza festival pre-lockdown, the band finally performed there in September 2022, following his passing. While performing this piece, the heavens opened and the entire festival, band and audience, were drenched. “It felt absolutely biblical”, says the band. Steve Davis has a rich history with the Beeb, but on this occasion he is wrangling his ever-expanding array of analogue synths, dilating his musical imagination. The heritage of the location and overall experience was not lost on the band.‘

Shortly after parting company with X-Ray Spex, post-punk icon Lora Logic went into the BBC’s Maida Vale Studios with the first incarnation of her own band, Essential Logic.

Now officially released for the first time by Precious Recordings of London to coincide with its 45th anniversary, this is that legendary four-song session for John Peel – pre-dating the group’s debut LP, ‘Beat Rhythm News’, for which these tracks would be re-recorded, and a famous 30-date Rough Trade UK tour with Stiff Little Fingers and The Normal.

TRACK LISTING

Wake Up
Shabby Abbott
Alkaline Loaf In The Area
Quality Crayon Wax OK

A rarity among Peel sessions in the mid-1990s as this one went out entirely live when the legendary DJ was sitting in for Mark Radcliffe and invited garage-punk stalwarts The Flaming Stars in to do the honours.

Never before released in any format, this outing at the BBC’s Oxford Road studios in Manchester finds the band in blistering form with a four-song blast featuring stunning versions of early singles ‘Ten Feet Tall’ and ‘Bury My Heart at Pier 13’.

TRACK LISTING

Ten Feet Tall
Spaghetti Junction
Bury My Heart At Pier 13
Down To You

Hailing from the rather more literate side of Camden’s garage-punk scene in the mid-90s, The Flaming Stars were Peel favourites over the years, recording no fewer than EIGHT sessions for the legendary DJ.

Six of them were collected on a Vinyl Japan CD at the turn of the century – but this fantastic final session is one of two never released before (the other one is PRE 042!). And what a session it is, featuring the brilliant ‘Cash 22’ (should’ve been a single!) and the noir vision of ‘Killer In The Rain’.

TRACK LISTING

Cash 22
Over And Done
Action Crime & Vision
Killer In The Rain

Yes Yes funky people, Here is a new and fresh release from the amazing Betty Black, after her first two releases "Cry me a river " & Sweet Dreams, on Skyline Recordings, we now have the honour of releasing Betty's original material - the Pandora's box has now been opened and its FULL of treasure. Sassy, funky and delivered with the incredibly sultry but snappy voice of Betty. A vocalist of LEGENDS, not to be missed.

TRACK LISTING

1. Lonely Man

Engelchen literally translates as ‘little angels’ What’s more, for many in the febrile, dangerous era of the 1930s in Nazi-occupied Europe, as they wrote letters to arrange their paths out of danger as refugees, these were Ida and Louise Cook. Ida and Louise spent much of their early years in Sunderland, and in adulthood lived in a suburb of London with their parents. They were enormous fans of opera and led relatively quiet and unfussy lives. Yet secretly these resourceful and eccentric women were using their musical obsessions as a means to help dozens of refugees escape with their lives. Their secretive heroics now almost beggar belief, and when Alison Cotton, herself from Sunderland, first discovered their story, she couldn’t understand why it wasn’t more widely known. Furthermore, she was inspired by their courage, fortitude and derring-do to compose Engelchen, a musical tribute to the duo’s lives and work, now a full-length release by Rocket Recordings.

Throughout, this story is relayed by Alison, whether acapella or by means of richly emotive string arrangements, with a deftness of touch, sensitivity and intensity that matches the feverish nature of the experiences and the unforgiving environs in which they took place. Engelchen is a transporting work whose spirit is situated in a very specific time and place, Nonetheless, the story of Ida and Louise Cook is more than merely an inspirational tribute to two mavericks who beat the odds in an unforgettable feat of altruism. It’s a celebration of the human spirit, one that reflects a universality in its narrative which transcends the boundaries of history and impacts very urgently on our daily lives. Whatever attempts may be made to tell this story, it’s hard to imagine one that resonates deeper than Engelchen.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A fittingly haunting, but beautifully presented new LP from Alison Cotton on the always-superb Rocket Recordings. Intensely cinematic instrumentals, shadowy operatic phrasing and swooning, wistful melancholy abound. A warming tribute, and a typically skilled and beautifully emotive selection from Cotton. Lovely.

TRACK LISTING

01. We Were Smuggling People’s Lives
02. The Gramophone Circle Parties
03. Engelchen
04. The Letter Burning
05. Crépuscul
06. Dolphin Square
07. Engelchen Now

Since forming in San Francisco in 1983, Frightwig have had two objectives: Spread joy and smash the patriarchy. For 40 years, they’ve succeeded on both fronts, with a mix of in-your-face hardcore energy and a fearless activist spirit.

A formative influence on the Riot Grrrl movement and beyond, the band embrace fellow freaks, sinners, and misfits - and the coven of Frightwig devotees has only grown larger and stronger with time.” – Jeanne Fury (writer and co-author of ‘Fallopian Rhapsody: The Story of the Lunachicks’)

Produced by Eric Drew Feldmen (PJ Harvey, Pixies, The Residents, Frank Black, OK Go, Captain Beefheart).

TRACK LISTING

1. Ride Your Bike
2. What Is Love?
3. War On Women
4. Big Bang
5. Aging Sux
6. A Man’s Got To Do
7. Redistribution Of Wealth
8. Crawford’s Song
9. My Crotch Does Not Say Go
10. Crazy World
11. Hot Air Rising
12. Shine Your Light
13. The Possum

F.I.D.E.L (Further Individual Delusions) is the avatar project of Paris-based composer/producer/A&R, R.DIlouya (Omar, Sly Johnson, N'Dea Davenport, Gystère, Oxmo Puccino etc - Blue Note Records, Universal Jazz, Heavenly Sweetness).

UK Funk & Soul and Northern Soul Legend, John Turrell (Smoove & Turrell - BBC Fantasy Funk Band - Jalapeño Records) and French Hip-Hop, Soul and Jazz major force, Sly Johnson (aka Sly the Mic Buddha - Multi-Platinum selling supergroup Saïan Supa Crew - BBE Records).

Hailing from North Paris and Northern England, F.I.D.E.L pays tribute with Out Of Sight to the great Post-Disco, Boogie and New Wave pop songs that shaped the world's collective unconscious at the twilight of the Thatcher / Cold War Era.

F.I.D.E.L takes this as a jumping off point and channels its sound through the care and the musical craft of the past to a yet more modern soundscape using Prophet Synthesizers, Clavinets and Drum Machines to create a fast, nervous, funky, ironic and intoxicating satire of modern-days in our now post-COVID western societies.

While most of the musical heavy lifting is done by Dilouya himself, Turrell lays down socially anchored lyrics, rooted firmly in the gritty, no-nonsense world of a working-class man, tracks such as All About Love , Straight Down to Heaven or (I Don't Give a Sh*t About) Summertime show the depths of this man's repertoire.

Sly Johnson lets his soul rip with a gut reaction to 21st century tech-infused populism on Out of Sight and Star 51.

This musical connection fused the fun-loving, loud-speaking, trouble-making friends and made them explore with irony and sarcasm the paradoxes of their time to produce what will remain as a unique body of work, testifying to the ambivalence of a generation oscillating between social concern and the desire to party!

Recorded over two week-long studio sessions in Paris, Out Of Sight showcases Dilouya's timeless songwriting and bold production style, setting the perfect ground for John Turrell's instant classic vocal performances and Sly Johnson's revered musicianship and versatility. Electrifying performances from German songstress Noraa (Out of Sight , Heartbeat) and SciFi- obsessed DKO Records' front man Larry Houl (Odd Things) complement F.I.D.E.L's take on how and why music shapes our critical sense and appetite for escapism.

"Between delusions of grandeur and social disappointment, fantasized nostalgia and neon statues bearing its effigy, F.I.D.E.L imposes with Out Of Sight its ideal for Civilization to a world that ultimately never changes."

TRACK LISTING

1. OUT OF SIGHT — F.I.D.E.L, Sly Johnson, Noraa, John Turrell & Dilouya
2. HEARTBEAT — F.I.D.E.L, John Turrell & Dilouya
3. STAR 51 — F.I.D.E.L, Sly Johnson & Dilouya
4. ALL ABOUT LOVE — F.I.D.E.L, John Turrell & Dilouya
5. STRAIGHT DOWN TO HEAVEN — F.I.D.E.L, John Turrell & Dilouya
6. L'AVENTURE MODERNE — F.I.D.E.L & Dilouya
7. ALL OF THIS IS FAKE — F.I.D.E.L, John Turrell & Dilouya
8. (I DON'T GIVE A SH*T ABOUT) SUMMERTIME — F.I.D.E.L, John Turrell & Dilouya
9. BEHIND THE WALL — F.I.D.E.L, John Turrell & Dilouya
10. ODD THINGS (Part 1&2) — F.I.D.E.L, Larry Houl, Sly Johnson & Dilouya

In June 2000, after nearly seven years since their inception, esteemed underground rap collective Jurassic 5 finally released their debut full-length album.

Despite high anticipation, ‘Quality Control’ delivered on par with Jurassic 5’s outstanding EP from three years prior.

The album clocks in at almost an hour, featuring DJ Nu-Mark and Cut Chemist’s skilful turntablism alongside the group’s signature harmonies and individual solos.

Tracks like ‘Lausd’ pay homage to hip-hop classics while exploring themes of media and adulthood responsibility.

Jurassic 5’s lyrical prowess shines on messagedriven tracks like ‘W.O.E Is Me (World Of Entertainment)’ and ‘Contribution’, showcasing a level of eloquence and compassion previously unseen in rap.

TRACK LISTING

How We Get Along (Intro)
The Influence
Great Expectations
Quality Control (Intro)
Quality Control
Contact
Lausd
W.O.E Is Me (World Of Entertainment)
Monkey Bars
Jurass Finish First
Contribution
Twelve
The Game
Improvise
Swing Set

Voyager invite Mike Storm to create his own sonic narrative. "The Pale Blue Dot"  is Mike's aural interpretation of the Voyager spacecraft missions. Each track gives its own take on the journey of spacecraft Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, with a story board for each track contained inside this limited edition press.

Netherlands native Mike is no stranger to conceptual sci fi music, with numerous releases and albums on Axis Records, plus EP releases on Warm Up Recordings and Modularz to name but a few. The Axis affiliation is tangilbiel, with the whole LP more than tipping its hat to Jeff Mills' "Something In The Sky" series - proper intergalactic space techno with its own red shifted signature.

Mostly all his tracks are written live in one take, with no recall. This makes his music very unique in the digital DAW age. Recommended! 

TRACK LISTING

A1. Prologue - The Call Of Distant Worlds
A2. Pale Blue Dot - Earths Odyssey
A3. Interstellar Sojourn - Voyagers Departure
A4. Celestial Caravan - Across The Outer Reaches
B1. Echos Of Solitude - Voices From The Abyss
B2. Stardust Serenade - Tales Of The Cosmos
B3. Gravitys Embrace - Dancing Among The Planets
B4. Lullaby For Sol - Nostalgia Of Home
B5. Epilogue - Homecoming Of A Voyager 

OOIOO, Blonde Redhead, Guerilla Toss, Rolling Stones, Liars, Marnie Stern, Yoko Ono, Battles. Clear Sun Vinyl. Reissue of Deerhoof’s 2002 album Reveille. First Deerhoof album with guitarist John Dieterich. 

Deerhoof debuts their new guitarist John Dieterich and achieves widespread critical acclaim for the first time. 2002’s Reveille is a defiant expression of artistic rebirth, spilling over with madcap exuberance, apocalyptic imagery, newfound technical confidence belying their no-budget DIY recording methods, and jarring stylistic about-faces in which no two songs sound alike. The contrast of Satomi’s ever-catchy, ever-charming melodiousness with John and Greg’s noisy, cinematic bombast still has the power to thrill and tickle and upset, more than 20 years after its initial release. Includes reimagined cover art with the faint morning glow the band had always envisioned, pressed on clear sun-colored vinyl. Complete lyrics included for the first time, written by Satomi on the center labels. 

TRACK LISTING

1 Sound The Alarm
2 This Magnificent Bird Will Rise
3 The Eyebright Bugler
4 Punch Buggy Valves
5 No One Fed Me So I Stayed
6 Frenzied Handsome, Hello!
7 Days & Nights In The Forest
8 Top Tim Rubies
9 Hark The Umpire
10 Our Angel's Ululu
11 The Last Trumpeter Swan
12 Tuning A Stray
13 Holy Night Fever
14 All Rise
15 Cooper
16 Hallelujah Chorus

Almost two decades in the game, and armed with an extensive back-catalogue of stadium belters, and record-breaking success, Kaiser Chiefs return with their brand new studio album.

Produced by Amir Amor (Rudimental), the album sees the Kaiser Chiefs return with a fresh and bold new sound. From the Nile Rodgers co-write of new single 'Feeling Alright', to the frantic 'Beautiful Girl', horn-laden Kaiser Chiefs throwback 'Job Centre Shuffle' and joyous punch in the gut that is 'Jealousy', these ten tracks are a true statement of intent from a band that continues to deliver the goods again and again.

Where 2019's Duck straddled the tide between Northern-Soul euphoria and early '00s antithesis, 2024 will see Kaiser Chiefs stepping into a renewed spotlight; a hook-heightened universe in which Ricky Wilson, Andrew "Whitey" White (guitar), Simon Rix (bass), Keyboardist Peanut and Vijay Mistry on drums, come together to once again create what they craft best; breakthrough belters for the world's dancefloor.

TRACK LISTING

Feeling Alright
Beautiful Girl
How 2 Dance
The Job Centre Shuffle
Burning In Flames
Reasons To Stay Alive
Sentimental Love Songs
Jealousy
Noel Groove
The Lads

Two-time ARIA Award-winning Naarm/Melbourne-based psychedelic jazz outfit Mildlife present their much-anticipated third studio album, Chorus. Following 2020’s Automatic and 2017’s Phase, Chorus arrives as Mildlife’s most optimistic record, serving as a sonic testament to the band’s unwavering adoration for the beguiling realms of 70s psychedelic and cosmic sounds.

“Chorus is about a coming together of disparate elements. Not in some sort of utopian aesthetic where everything works perfectly, but in the natural flow and state of things,” shares the band’s Jim Rindfleish. “It’s about cosmic compatibility and chemistry: what makes things work? Not just what makes the band work, but what makes good music, art or love? It’s the rhythm of nature”. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Mildlife in 'Ridiculously Smooth Psych-jazz Shocker'. If you haven't heard this Melbourne band's previous studio LP's or the brilliant Live In Pompeii reminiscent 'Live From south Channel Island', then now is a perfect time to hear the zenith of their creativity and songwriting capabilities. 'Chorus' is the perfect distillation of the band at their silken best.

TRACK LISTING

1. Forever
2. Yourself
3. Sunrise
4. Musica
5. Chorus
6. Future Life
7. Return To Centaurus

Alternative pop duo, YOVA release their brand new album ‘Dreamcatchers’ on 1st March 2024. Featuring nine tracks the album was written over a nine year period stretching from the duo’s inception in 2014 through to 2022. The album was recorded and mixed 2021-23 between home studios in Dorset and London. Discussing the themes behind the record YOVA explain: “The lyrics of the songs delve deeply into our lost and unrealised dreams and ideals, whether from a personal perspective or within a more global context. The tracks relate to how our dreams are caught then nurtured, realised, abandoned or destroyed. This can apply to our personal lives, but it equally informs our helplessness and on-going quest for self-identity at a time of deep geopolitical and ecological uncertainty.”

Produced by YOVA in collaboration with Rob Ellis, Alex Thomas and Martin McDougall, the record features the duo’s earlier singles “Dreamcatchers”, “Hurt Like No Hurt” and “Feel Your Fear” alongside six brand-new tracks. YOVA assembled a collective of like-minded musicians to create the sonic tapestry of Dreamcatchers including Terry Edwards (NIck Cave, Gallon Drunk, The Jesus & Mary Chain), James Sedwards (The Thurston Moore Group/ And This Is Not This Heat), Rob Ellis ( PJ Harvey, Marianne Faithfull), Daniel O’Sullivan ( Grumbling Fur, Tim Burgess), and Alex Thomas (John Cale, Anna Calvi).

YOVA are Jova Radevska and Mark Vernon. With Vernon a seasoned veteran of the alternative music scene who has managed and recorded with John Cale and co-produced tracks on PJ Harvey’s debut album ‘Dry’, a chance encounter with Macedonian vocalist and songwriter Jova paved the way for their bewitching collaborative project. Their debut album ‘Nine Lives’ was released in late 2021 to praise from the likes of Louder Than War, Electronic Sound and MOJO, with the latter hailing the album as “a beguiling debut from a duo of sonic adventurers” in their four star review. 

TRACK LISTING

Dream Catchers
Hurt Like No Hurt
Feel Your Fear
The Beating
Maybe
The Thrill Is Gone
Conviction
Addictions
Dreamcatchers (make Up Your Mind)

Heels & Souls Recordings roll into reissue number eight with a double dose of early '90s UK street soul magic, splitting the sides between two sought-after cuts from Elaine Vassell and 3rd Zone.

Step back to 1993, house music has hit, UK Soul is in full flow and its rawer, DIY street soul sibling is making its mark across the UK’s underground. Fuelled by accessible, affordable production gear and ignited through enthusiasm and an influx of ideas and sounds, two acts drew inspiration from a melting pot of genres they were exposed to, providing their take on soul as they saw it.

Up first, Elaine Vassell - ‘Never Give Up’. A rough breakbeat-driven, mid-tempo groover from a North West London production triple threat, made up of Longsy D, Pinky and Murray. Utilising Pinky’s home studio with its DX7, Juno 106, LinnDrum and 808, they masterminded a track that sits at the intersection between soulful house, hip hop and R&B. Its crunching drum loop, chest-rattling low-end and serene synth lines, lay the foundation for Elaine’s powerful yet emotive voice to take centre stage. ‘Never Give Up’ should have been a future classic, but never quite found its feet.

On the flip side another 1993 gem, as Sansel Ali and twin brothers Mark and Stephen Anglin joined forces to form 3rd Zone. Conceived in Mark’s makeshift bedroom studio, the trio laid down their first foray into recorded music, ‘You Stole My Heart’. Originally promoed as a limited whitelabel in 1991, it officially landed on the group's one and only EP ‘No Real Reason' in '93.

Armed with a handful of synth modules, a drum machine and a Korg M1, Mark, Stephen and Sansel hit with a tough but tender, underground triumph. Part dance, part romance, layering synth strings, chunky breaks and M1 stabs underneath Sansel’s heartstrung vocals and Stephen’s hip house rap interlude, it provides another perfect example of house seen through the street soul prism.

Two timeless tracks that fly the flag for the fact that big studios and big budgets aren't necessary to create songs that really resonate. Each side also contains an alternate version, with the A housing a beatless reprise of ‘Never Give Up’ and the B a tougher, bassier remix of ‘You Stole My Heart’.

Licensed from Pinky Music and 3rd Zone respectively and remastered from the original DATs by Justin Drake.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Elaine Vassell - Never Give Up
A2. Elaine Vassell - Never Give Up (Chill Zone Mix)
B1. 3rd Zone - You Stole My Heart (Vinyl Mix)
B2. 3rd Zone - You Stole My Heart (Remix)

Soulful sounds from the South of Italy, coming courtesy of Soul Departure Recordings label head Kikko Esse.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Deep Mind
A2. 4 PM
B1. Take It Easy
B2. Make It

Typifying the consummate craftsmanship of the three members' performances - each with such distinct personality and together so perfectly balanced - their perfectionist attitude to sound is maintained across the production on the album, beautifully colouring the expressionist fusion of samba rhythm, jazz progression, funk attitude and psychedelic electronics.

The album hosts a wonderful mix of tempos and styles, from Alex Malheiros' earth- shaking slap- bass on 'Dear Limmertz', which was to become a hit on London's underground disco and jazz-dance club scenes alike, to the late maestro Jose Roberto Bertrami's genial melodic Rhodes excursions on the vocoder laden, samba-jazz masterpiece 'Un Amigo', while Ivan 'Mamao' Conti's signature swing on 'Maracana' exemplifies the root of Azymuth's 'samba doidoi' (crazy samba) philosophy.

The two cover versions on the album consist of the title track which was originally penned by Milton Nascimento and Chick Corea's '500 Miles High', both of which magically reimagine the originals and further demonstrate the immense virtuosity of this cult recording. This Far Out Recordings release is mixed and mastered from the original tapes

TRACK LISTING

1. Papasong
2. Outubro (October)
3. 500 Miles High
4. Maracana
5. Pantanal
6. Un Amigo (A Friend)
7. Dear Limmertz
8. Dear Limmertz Prelude
9. Carta Pro Airto (Letter To Airto)

Foreseen by oracles and foretold by angels, the coming together of rapper Brandon “BEZ” (B Easy) Evans and beatmaker/producer Jonah Swilley was, by their own admission, a divine appointment. Both halves musically and spiritually forged in the twin flames of Georgia׳s Pentecostal churches and grassroots hip-hop scene, Revival Season tell straight-shooting tales of our golden age — chop, cops, badass bitches, self-snitches; drug-dealing and revolution — chronicling and critiquing the culture over baselines and beats that kick squarely in the teeth with a platform boot.

Much in the spirit of Swilley’s teenage bedroom beatmaking, their debut album Golden Age Of Self Snitching was pieced together largely self-sufficiently, written both remotely and in person, and recorded between a temporary studio space in a health centre and an ad-hoc setup in Swilley’s dining room. A skeleton team of outside musicians contributed additional parts — with Jordan Manly [Mattiel] and Rupert Brown [Roy Ayres, Raf Rundell] on drums, Shaheed Goodie on guest MC vocals for the jagged, spiralling ‘Pump’, and Raf Rundell [The 2 Bears], with whom Revival Season had previously made the Outernational mixtape (“equal parts Prince Paul and King Tubby”) on hand as “vibe consultant”, bringing additional production to a handful of tracks.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: We noted the similarities in beatmaking here to the recent collaboration between Earl Sweatshirt & The Alchemist, but with the pristine beat-locked percussive flow of B Easy. It's a brilliantly dynamic, scathing bite of old-school hip-hop met with new-school production. Ace.

TRACK LISTING

1. Look Out Below
2. Barry White
3. The Path
4. Message In A Bottle
5. Last Dance
6. Boomerang
7. Golden Silverware
8. Chop
9. Propaganda
10. Stars
11. Pump
12. Everybody
13. Eyes Open
14. Love To See It 

Hell Yeah kicks off 2024 in fine style with a new album from Australian producer Dawn Again. Every Dog's Hotel is a dreamy and breaks-driven downtempo excursion the artist has dubbed "pubwave."

Melbourne-based Nick Verwey has been crafting solo and collaborative cuts for the best part of a decade on labels like Houseworx and Enjoyment Division. He operates in a world where danceable grooves are paired with laid-back moods. His lo-fi sound is both sunlit and sunset-ready and is for grown-up crowds who like to get down on rooftops, sandy enclaves, or laidback living rooms. This new album, however, he describes as "pubwave" and was conveyed during lockdown when Nick and his friends were missing their favourite communal drinking spots.

"My friends and I were missing the pub, missing dance floors, missing being able to hang out and have fun," he says before explaining that, at the time, he was listening to a lot of 90s and 00s downtempo chill out by the likes of Heights of Abraham, Pork Recordings, Baby Mammoth and Bullitnuts. He came up with the idea of creating something similar but in his own way, initially with spoken word poetry from his friend over the top, though when it came to recording that never quite worked so it was shelved until later when Nick?tried again without the vocals. "The whole project has been more than years in the making. I'm super proud of the end result. I think it still nails the dreamy, Balearic "pubwave" vibe and comes with a gorgeous cover painting by my mate Holly Hunt. It's an old English haunt called the Old Neptune, and what nails the brief more than a pub that is literally on the beach?"

The title track is a welcome opening with leggy breaks and soft shakers encouraging you to sway while gazing up at the melodic stars before 'Foam Party' gets more zoned out with its vaporous chords and gentle drum tumbles. 'Journey Through The Schoonerverse' is a suspensory trip to the clouds with effortlessly loose breaks and painterly synth smears, 'Wonky Friends' has a more weighty but still dubbed out and slow motion house kick and 'Kneverending Knockoffs' keeps the energy rising with raw percussion and acidic twitches that journey through a heat haze on a warm afternoon. Closer 'Backyard Paradiso' is the horizontal finish that washes over you like rays of sun and gently breaking waves to leave you relaxed from head to toe and digital bonus 'Hard Earned Thirst' is an extra chance to luxuriate in Dawn Again's richly layered synths and leisurely breaks.

The superbly welcoming Every Dog's Hotel is a place to pull up, sink a drink, and soak into some lavish and escapist downtempo sounds.?

TRACK LISTING

A1. Every Dog’s Hotel
A2. Foam Party
A3. Journey Through The Schoonerverse
B1. Wonky Friendz
B2. Kneverending Knockoffs
B3. Backyard Paradiso

Thee Alcoholics are the brainchild of Rhys Llewellyn, a longtime Rocket Recordings alumnus whose background leans as heavily into the bassbin-shaking realms of electronic music as it does the tinnitus-inducing world of howling, cranked-up ampstacks. Not content with hammering drumskins for numerous floor-shaking records on the Rocket discography from the likes of Hey Colossus and The Notorious Hi-Fi Killers, he’s also been responsible for brain-rearranging electronic works under the Drmcnt and Acidliner monikers. Thee Alcoholics, however - which initially gestated as a result of Rhys himself wanting to pursue the somewhat hostile sound in his own head during lockdown - maps out a collision course between all of the above.

Cranky and cantankerous yet lysergically aligned, Feedback is mesmeric rock with swagger, warped into sci-fi shapes by the spirit and sonics of bass and soundsystem culture. The psychedelic shapes here are redolent of the ur-klang of The Fall and the monolithic lurch of The Heads, the motorik malevolence less an uplifting trip to the heavens than a drill down to the earth’s core. Discernible in these jackhammer beats, grimly murmured vocals and delirious dirges to certain heads may be the trash futurism of Chrome, the decomposed stomp of unsung legends Earl Brutus and the electro-punk attack of Six Finger Satellite, yet all of the above co-ordinates are waylaid effortlessly by a balls-out intensity and a fearsome intent on aural oblivion at all costs. Feedback may be elemental and primal, yet this is no psych comfort-blanket nor retro-fetishism, rather a repetition-driven journey headlong into intimidating territory unknown. Get on board, and strap yourselves in for a bumpy ride. 

TRACK LISTING

01. What’s The Crack? (What’s The Story?)
02. Baby I’m Your Man
03. Sweetheart
04. It’s So Easy
05. Pity Me
06. Feedback
07. You’re The Zero
08. Se23
09. Dumb & Happy

As one of the most traditional guitar bands to emerge during the Brit-pop era of the mid-'90s, Cast have carved out a sound that was heavily indebted to the British Invasion of the early '60s, yet it was infused with a mystical, pseudo-hippie lyrical sensibility, which lead singer John Power expanded upon. What really made Cast into a success was Power's gift for simple, classic pop hooks, as demonstrated on the hit singles "Fine Time," "Alright," and "Walkaway."

With seven Top 10 singles, three Top 10 albums and a rich catalogue of timeless songs, Cast were one of the big success stories of the Britpop era. Power’s gift for sparkling melodies and instantly additive hooks remains as strong as ever.

Power has hinted that the new album Love is The Call feels like a missing link between his time with The La’s and Cast’s first breakthrough with their debut album ‘All Change’.

TRACK LISTING

1. Bluebird
2. Forever And A Day
3. Rain That Falls
4. Far Away
5. Starry Eyes
6. Love You Like I Do
7. Love Is The Call
8. I Have Been Waiting
9. Look Around
10. Time Is Like A River
11. Tomorrow Calls My Name

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

TRACK LISTING

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

Róisín Murphy’s album, ‘Hairless Toys’, marked a significant return after an eight-year hiatus, during which she delved into personal and collaborative explorations.

Departing from her disco-infused past, the album takes a quieter and more personal approach, evident in tracks like ‘Gone Fishing’, inspired by 1980s ball culture.

Murphy’s understated delivery, notably on ‘Evil Eyes’ and the expansive ‘Exploitation’, creates a sophisticated and meditative atmosphere, avoiding the pitfalls of mere tastefulness.

Quirks, such as the synth bass in ‘Uninvited Guest’, coexist seamlessly with the album’s cohesive mood.

TRACK LISTING

1. Gone Fishing
2. Evil Eyes
3. Exploitation
4. Uninvited Guest
5. Exile
6. House Of Glass
7. Hairless Toys (Gotta Hurt)
8. Unputdownable

Roisin Murphy’s ‘Take Her Up To Monto’ stands out as an adventurous exploration, showcasing Murphy’s ability to both expand her sonic palette and maintain her distinctive style.

In this album, Murphy presents ‘Mastermind’, a disco epic that mirrors the expansive, shapeshifting quality of ‘Toys’ and echoes the grandeur found in her 2012 marathon single, ‘Simulation’. Despite the brevity of ‘Whatever’, it retains the intimate allure that distinguished her previous work.

Unlike the seamless journey of ‘Hairless Toys’, ‘Take Her Up To Monto’ offers a wilder ride. Murphy surprises listeners by steering them in diverse directions with little warning. The track ‘Thoughts Wasted’ encapsulates this diversity, seamlessly transitioning from sleek to lush to lamenting.

Throughout, Murphy pushes her signature sounds to extremes, delivering an engaging and unpredictable experience.

TRACK LISTING

1. Mastermind
2. Pretty Gardens
3. Thoughts Wasted
4. Lip Service
5. Ten Miles High
6. Whatever
7. Romantic Comedy
8. Nervous Sleep
9. Sitting And Counting

The Nouvelle Vague project was born from Marc Collin and Olivier Libaux’s desire to dust off and adapt new wave standards in a bossa nova style. Over the years, Nouvelle Vague has welcomed a host of singers on increasingly eclectic covers.

Given the concept of the Nouvelle Vague project and its obvious filiation with its cinematic counterpart, it’s hardly surprising that the group’s second album is entitled ‘Bande à Part’ (a direct reference to Jean-Luc Godard’s 1964 film, considered one of the first works of the New Wave and a precursor in the cinematic field, even inspiring Quentin Tarantino to name his own production company, A Band Apart). More eclectic than its predecessor, ‘Bande à Part’ draws its references from pre-electro (Bauhaus and its famous ‘Bela Lugosi’s Dead’, New Order), postpunk (Buzzcocks) and Eighties pop (Billy Idol).

To mark the band’s 20th anniversary, Le Label are proud to announce the reissue of this unique project album, which reappropriates songs from the punk and post-punk repertoire in the form of electro, bossa nova or folk. Enriched with numerous bonus tracks, some of which have never been released before.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Killing Moon
2. Ever Fallen In Love
3. Dance With Me
4. Don't Go
5. Dancing With Myself
6. Heart Of Glass
7. O Pamela
8. Blue Monday
9. Human Fly
10. Bela Lugosi's Dead
11. I Can’t Escape Myself
12. Let Me Go
13. Fade To Grey
14. Waves
15. Eisbaer (Bonus)
16. Israel (Bonus)
17. Ghost Rider (Bonus)
18. Pride- In The Name Of
19. Love (Bonus)
20. Confusion (Bonus)
21. Sex Beat (Bonus)
22. Mirror In The Bathroom (Bonus)
23. Sweet Dreams (Bonus)
24. Come On Eileen (Bonus)