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)

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 have welcomed a host of singers on increasingly eclectic covers.

In 2004, they released their first album, simply entitled ‘Nouvelle Vague’. The album featured covers of Depeche Mode, The Clash, The Cure, Joy Division and Dead Kennedys. A very British first album in spirit (as well as in the choice of groups) where the typically London new wave atmosphere predominates but revised and corrected in a Caribbean version by the dynamic tandem.

To mark the band’s 20th anniversary, we’re proud to announce the reissue of this innovative album. Enriched with numerous bonuses, including a session on KCRW radio where the band’s constant reinvention reaches its apogee.

TRACK LISTING

1. Love Will Tear Us Apart
2. Just Can't Get Enough
3. In A Manner Of Speaking
4. Guns Of Brixton
5. This Is Not A Love Song
6. Too Drunk To Fuck
7. Marian
8. Making Plans For Nigel
9. A Forest
10. I Melt With You
11. Teenage Kicks
12. Psyche
13. Friday Night Saturday Morning
14. Sorry For Laughing (Bonus)
15. Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You) (Bonus)
16. A Forest (KCRW Session) (Bonus)
17. Just Can't Get Enough (KCRW Session) (Bonus)
18. Bizarre Love Triangle (KCRW Session) (Bonus)
19. This Is Not A Love Song (KCRW Session) (Bonus)
20. Making Plans For Nigel (KCRW Session) (Bonus)
21. Even Fallen In Love (KCRW Session) (Bonus)
22. Guns Of Brixton (KCRW Session) (Bonus)
23. Love Will Tear Us Apart (KCRW Session) (Bonus)
24. In A Manner Of Speaking (KCRW Session) (Bonus)
25. Mongoloid (KCRW Session) (Bonus)

Bebel Gilberto releases her new album via [PIAS] Recordings. Entitled “Joao”, the album is a collection of songs made famous by her father João Gilberto, widely regarded as the “father of Bossa Nova music. João Gilberto passed away in 2019 after a 70 year career in music. Bebel began singing with him as a small child and the songs she sings on this new album have been with her all her life. Says Bebel- "João" is a love letter to my father. Since my first album I've never really covered any of my Dad's music. Now it's time to present to the public the songs from João Gilberto that have influenced me since I was born- and even before”. The release of the “Joao” album will be followed by a world tour with dates to be announced shortly.

TRACK LISTING

1. Adeus América
2. Eu Vim Da Bahia
3. É Preciso Perdoar
4. Undiú
5. Ela E Carioca
6. Pato
7. Caminhos Cruzados
8. Desafinado
9. Valsa
10. Eclipse
11. Você E Eu

Fusing laidback pop sensibility with moody cinematographic soundscapes, David’s newest album D’ANGELO is the sound of a young artist getting in touch with their roots, exploring new landscapes and freeing inhibitions. Where he channelled this journey into ambience on DCXXXIX A.C. – his debut on his own label, 99CHANTS - D’ANGELO has David deconstructing pop atmospheres while in search of his past and reforming them into something deeply moving.

He admits that while his strongest emotions have their roots in his formative years, growing up in the picturesque mountain town of Palestrina outside Rome, he never used those emotions creatively, keeping them private until now. “I had never tried to have a dialogue with myself within the music that I was making,” he explains. “Suddenly there were all these questions about identity, my childhood, and an obsession with truth. Although I was scared to confront these questions – when in your life could you fully answer them? – I had to at least approach them to keep creating.”

D’ANGELO’s spiritual inspiration is rooted in Italy’s rich and complex artistic history, and how certain artists broke boundaries, such as Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, who mastered the art of polyphonic and counterpointed composition during the Renaissance. “I looked at the Italian culture I grew up with, that has always been present since I was a kid.” He says. “I had to start with a deeper study of these artists, composers, and writers who formed the cultural and emotional bonds I feel towards Italy.”

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio painted the realities of the streets over the ideals of the heavens, taking those who blended into the background of the streets and painting them as saints, as figures of ideation. “Caravaggio was a leading inspiration throughout this process. He was someone I looked up to all the time and had so much respect for; someone who was always trying to picture the implacable reality, and not compromising. Having his paintings on one screen – and my DAW on the other – was one part of the process. It was an attempt to soundtrack his art – his reality – in real time.”

D’ANGELO is an impassioned, melancholic album that exists in a space that is not easy to translate into words…but do the words always matter?