Lady Gaga, Adele, Amy Winehouse, Dua Lipa, Bruno Mars, Miley Cyrus, the Barbie soundtrack. Behind some of the biggest musical moments in the past two decades is one man: Mark Ronson. Now, his memoir Night People captures the music, characters, escapades and energy of his formative DJ days in 90s New York.

Mark Ronson was born a night person. With hedonistic creatives for parents, parties became his playground. Yet, having moved to New York City from London at a young age, he always felt like a bit of an outsider, until discovering himself in the pulsing, unifying joy of the city’s parties and hip-hop scene.

Each night brought a heady mix of music, ambition, danger, delight, and possibilities. Having well and truly caught the DJing bug, he worked to find his place and make his name in the city that never sleeps. Night People conjures the undeniable magic of 90s New York, when clubs were diverse, glamorous, a little lawless.

It evokes the rush of a time and place where fashionistas and rappers on the rise danced alongside club kids and 9-to-5'ers – and invites us into the tribe of creatives and partiers who came alive when the sun went down. A heartfelt coming-of-age tale, Night People is the definitive account of a cultural moment and the making of a musical mastermind.

UNIVERSITY, the Crewe-based four-piece formed of Zak Bowker (vocals/guitar), Ewan Barton (bass), drummer Joel Smith and Eddie (mascot), announce their debut album, ‘McCartney, It’ll Be OK’, following last year's incredible debut EP and a slew of shows that have them firmly established as one of the best live bands in the UK right now.

With influences from the 80's DIY noise underground, emo-core, Burroughs and obscure arthouse cinema and the likes of 'Windmill' scenesters Black Midi they're the most exciting group to emerge from Crewe since, well, ever. The tightest of friendships thrust them together in a void of culture, where in-jokes, a fourth member who plays computer games on stage whiles they thrash out (and maybe writes all the songs!?!?!), these charismatic young upstarts invite you into their gang, where the riffs are melodic, the lyrics emotional yet humorous and the drums are set to eleven.

Recorded with producer Kwes Darko (Sampa The Great, Denzel Curry) at Damon Albarn’s Studio 13 in London, ‘McCartney, It’ll Be OK’ furthers the extremely exciting beginnings of UNIVERSITY’s 2023 debut EP, ‘Title Track’, with the hooks now brighter and more melodic, the breakdowns heavier and the lyrics more refined. The band recorded ‘McCartney, It’ll Be Alright’ totally live, and it retains the delightfully unhinged energy that’s defined their work so far, with everything thrillingly close to falling apart at any minute.

TRACK LISTING

1. Massive Twenty One Pilots Tattoo
2. Curwen
3. Gorilla Panic
4. Hustler’s Metamorphosis
5. GTA Online
6. Diamond Song
7. History Of Iron Maiden Pt. 1
8. History Of Iron Maiden Pt. 0.5

After leading the cult performance art collective Lazarus Kane, Ben Hambro took a more introspective, lyrically driven approach with vegas water taxi. Their debut album, 'Things Are Gonna Be Alright', was self-released in November 2023—a beautiful yet jarring collection of songs capturing the chaos and contradictions of your twenties.

The album is getting reissued with its first-ever vinyl release via PNKSLM Recordings on June 13, 2025. The reissue includes four exclusive bonus tracks recorded live at The Windmill. Hambro, who's also collaborated with artists such as Katy J Pearson, continues to craft music that resonates and surprises.

TRACK LISTING

1. Creative Director Blues
2. Dog Race
3. Jukebox
4. Six Music Dads
5. Twenty Year Cycle
6. Shout
7. Get Clean
8. Modern Love
9. Get Clean (Live)
10. Birkenstocks (Live)
11. Six Music Dads (Live)
12. Creative Director Blues (Live)
13. Modern Love (Live)

Since the release of his 2023 record, 'The Happiest Times I Ever Ignored', Pedigo earned widespread critical acclaim, performed a stunning NPR Tiny Desk Concert, toured non-stop with the likes of Jenny Lewis, Devendra Banhart and Hiss Golden Messenger, and more. He then decamped on a 20,000-acre ranch at an artist residency in Wyoming to write his new album, which he’d later record in Ojai with Scott Hirsch and name for a “pretty devastating” episode of Little House on the Prairie from 1978. The resulting album, 'I’ll Be Waving As You Drive Away', is the final installment of what Pedigo has dubbed 'The Motor Trilogy’ – his three latest solo albums, tied together by their vehicular Jonathan Phillips artwork. An innovator of the instrumental genre, challenger of the stereotypical, and son of a truck-stop preacher, Pedigo has crafted an intentionally maximalist, genre-resistant work of warped instrumental Americana on this release, which he calls “a micro-dose psychedelic album…as if somebody had cut up a tab of LSD and put on a Fahey record.” 

TRACK LISTING

1. Long Pond Lily
2. All The Way Across
3. Smoked
4. Houndstooth
5. Hermes
6. Small Torch
7. I'll Be Waving As You Drive Away

‘Let All That We Imagine Be The Light’ is the eighth studio record from Garbage and was recorded at Red Razor Sounds in Los Angeles, Butch Vig’s studio Grunge Is Dead, and Shirley Manson’s bedroom. The record was produced by the band and longtime engineer Billy Bush. The album is unmistakably Garbage. All the hallmarks and signatures for which they are known are present here. Big angular guitars, precise, propulsive beats and cinematic soundscapes all lurk beneath Shirley Manson’s expressive voice, her lyrics bristling with attitude. It is the sound of a group at the peak of their creative powers - characteristically harnessing sonic juxtapositions and moods to create an album that thrums equally with both light and shade.

“Going into making this record, I was determined to find a more hopeful, uplifting world to immerse myself in. The title of the album, Let All That We Imagine Be The Light is a perfect, headline statement for the record as a whole. When things feel dark it feels imperative to seek out the forces that are light, positive and beautiful in the world. It almost feels like a matter of life and death. A strategy for survival” - Shirley Manson

TRACK LISTING

1. There’s No Future In Optimism
2. Chinese Fire Horse
3. Hold
4. Have We Met (The Void)
5. Sisyphus
6. Radical
7. Love To Give
8. Get Out My Face AKA Bad Kitty
9. R U Happy Now
10. The Day That I Met God

Deep West Coast Jazz-Rap instant c-l-a-s-s-i-c alert!

Perfect to chill to, Headnodic + Jazz Mafia's astounding self-titled record blends hip-hop and jazz effortlessly, bringing the two genres together with their intrinsic beauty intact. Here we get hip-hop beats made from the box (SP-12 / Maschine / Laptop / MPC etc.) that still feel like that good ol' loop-based Boom-Bap knock, mixed with an equal dose of timeless organic musicianship, shining with spontaneity, humanity and soul. This vital project came about when we opened an email from Thes One (of the mighty People Under The Stairs): "I want to introduce you to my good friend and collaborator Headnodic". Boy, are we glad he did.

Jazzy hip-hop on that mellow-melodic tip, Headnodic + Jazz Mafia is an unforgettable album with nothing but dope beats and dope bars. There's a strong chance these artists have, until now, passed you by. However, we truly believe this to be a hip-hop jazz masterpiece that'll be beloved for years to come. By way of introduction, Headnodic is a part of the fabric of underground hip-hop. From his contributions to the groundbreaking group Crown City Rockers (AKA Mission), to his production work with Lateef & the Gift of Gab as The Mighty Underdogs (Def Jux / Quannum Records), Headnodic embodies the spirit of hip-hop in a way that is both unique, rare and universal. A phenomenal talent, then, and one we were delighted to be put in touch with by Thes.

In the year 2000, trombonist, bassist, composer, arranger, and producer Adam Theis co-founded Jazz Mafia – an eclectic artist collective of forward-thinking and accomplished players in Electro, Hip-Hop, World, Classical, and Jazz. 25 years in the making, Jazz Mafia is a prolific staple of the quintessential San Francisco sound, uniting creative and accomplished Bay Area instrumentalists, vocalists, MCs, composers, and arrangers. The collective quickly garnered a reputation for its collaborative and risk-taking spirit, and over the years has worked with Roy Ayers, Lyrics Born, Zion-I, Latyrx and Blackalicious, to name a few.

Headnodic has been making beats since he was a teenager and, around the same time, he played electric and upright bass in jazz ensembles. The two genres were always intertwined for him: the jazz he loved had grit and groove and the hip-hop he loved sampled those very records, bringing that human touch to programmed beats. This album is a true collaboration between Headnodic and Adam Theis, along with The Jazz Mafia collective of musicians. In essence, Headnodic made the beats, Adam reacted with the horn arrangements but, with the extended family of musicians they pulled in, it made it feel like they were painting with infinite colours.

Indeed, some musicians - like vibraphonist Dan Neville - would replay and improvise over sampled loops, blurring the line between live performance and production. Other times, they’d strip out the sample entirely and build from the ground up with live players, leaving a recognisable loop to become a faint but welcoming echo of the original idea. How fresh is that? They enlisted some amazing vocalists and emcees: Genra, Do D.A.T., Ozay Moore (Lightheaded), Eligh (Living Legends) and Breathless brought raw lyricism.


Be With doing the vinyl for Headnodic + Jazz Mafia felt like the perfect match for all involved. As Headnodic explains, "the label’s catalog champions the spirit and sonic aesthetic we aimed for on this record — that warm, organic thickness of ’70s library records, like the re-releases they did with the KPM and Themes catalogs, mixed with Cali Hip-Hop a la Freestyle Fellowship. We wanted to channel 70s era’s rich textures, blending them with live musicianship to bring the sound full circle: from the records we’d sample for hip-hop back to musicians in a room, playing with the same raw energy. Be With gets the deep crate-digging sensibilities and love for boom-bap hip-hop, much like we do. It feels good to release music, knowing this record lives comfortably somewhere between Nohelani Cypriano and Bahamadia."

It's been mastered for vinyl by Be With stalwart Simon Francis, cut by our favourite engineer Cicely Balston at Abbey Road Studios and pressed at the legendary Record Industry in Holland. Quality to the end.

TRACK LISTING

A1 Rambissimo
A2 Zugulala
A3 Maiden Voyage
A4 Rise
A5 Risk Pt. 1
A6 Risk Pt. 2
B1 Subinodima
B2 Flummox
B3 Both
B4 All That You Could Be
B5 Talkin'
B6 Apex
B7 Roll The Credits

An English composer and multi-instrumentalist, Daniel O'Sullivan’s career has been marked by versatility and innovation. In addition to his work with Sonoton, he has composed extensively for the legendary KPM music library, contributing to its storied legacy of production music. As a deep virtuoso and collaborator, O'Sullivan has also played in a number of influential projects, including Ulver, Sunn O))), This Is Not This Heat, Grumbling Fur and Miracle (with Steve Moore), leaving an indelible mark on the contemporary experimental music landscape.

A stunning song cycle of hypnotic, experimental contemporary chamber music composed for a 14-piece ensemble. Combining minimalism, complex syncopation, detailed acoustic textures, weird intervals and samurai precision, this record will elegantly blow your mind.

When Daniel first sent us this, he pitched it as “Liquid Swords meets Michael Nyman”. Trust us, he wasn't wrong. A "unique hybrid orchestral music", it presents a confluence of Daniel's longstanding fixations; indeed, there's elements of Nyman, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Magma, Aaron Copland and RZA. But this is wholly O'Sullivan's.

O’Sullivan’s first foray into classically informed chamber music, Eros is a culmination of his long-standing fixations and expansive musical influences. The album features arrangements that are as detailed as they are emotionally resonant, showcasing his unparalleled ear for intervals and mastery of counterpoint. The music brims with complex rhythmic syncopation and a sensitivity to texture and space, resulting in a soundscape that is both intoxicating and dauntingly precise.

Recorded June 2023 and February 2024, in Brussels, London and Carmarthenshire, Wales, Eros features members of Echo Collective (Neil Leiter and Margaret Hermant), Thighpaulsandra (from seminal post-industrial band Coil), and jazz pioneer Oren Marshall. Daniel's sonic weapons of choice, in his own inimitable words, were "Big Bad Drum, Pee Anne Oh, Low End Brass, Willowy Winds & Samurai Strings." You get the picture. As a cyclical suite, this is a record that really needs to be heard in its entirety, from start to finish, to truly appreciate the genius at work here.

A jaw-dropping statement of intent, the minimalist "Golden Verses" sets the tone with its complex cue which has your neck snapping right when it feels like it needs to. Listen and you'll understand. A syncopated tangle of sharp strings, crunchy bass, drums percussion and bright piano and mallets vie for position with French horn and woodwind melody in the most compelling and unexpected ways. Quite simply, it's one of the finest album openers I've ever heard. It's followed by the atmospheric rippling minimalism of "Lyre Lyre", a gorgeous gem with shimmering chimes, bright melody, human percussion and syncopated pizzicato strings. It kinda comes on like a less-abstract Boards Of Canada, bursting with typical wonderment. The piano and string-drenched "Dolorous Stroke" effortlessly builds its warm, pastoral orchestration with flowing piano arpeggio, steadfast drums, expressive string quartet, rich low brass, woodwind and lyrical flute. Just sublime.

The insistent frenetic propulsion of "Plain Paper" is utterly beguiling, featuring a determined string motif, urgent drums and percussion, driving low brass and breathless, energetic flute. The haunting, interweaving string arpeggios that propel "Grapes Draped" presents a claustrophobic minimalism for chaos and darkness, with growling low woodwind and brass, spiky harpsichord, skittering flutes and tight drums. Up next, "Xanix Annum" is a stately minimalist waltz with expressive lyrical string quartet and delicate woodwind, anchored by drums and percussion. "Painting Rose" is a bouncy stop-start track with angular syncopated strings and a piano pulse underneath bright harpsichord and flutes. "Rotunda Garden" presents ethereal textural minimalism for landscapes and reflection with flowing string arpeggios, warm, low woodwind drones, floating choir and cymbal swells. Closing out this extraordinary side of music, the glowing, flowing minimalism of "Flowry Orb" features urgent organ, piano and woodwind arpeggios, half-time drums with shimmering cymbals, a soaring, beautiful violin solo and hypnotic vocal chant.

Side 2 opens with "Theia Mania" a determinedly off-kilter, angular track featuring low wind, brass and drum stomp in dialogue with lively string trio, woodwind and solo horn. The light, airy minimalism of "Painting Percy" is built around an interplay of rhythmic motifs for piano, low brass, bassoon, fluttering flutes, urgent strings, drums and percussion whilst "For Archetypes" is a delicate, gently syncopated chamber cue for nostalgia, nature, reflection and moments of calm, with steady piano motif, intimate woodwind and French horn, and warm, graceful strings. The urgent Ars Memoriae is a propulsive march for progress, processes and industry, underpinned by driving tuba, with determined strings, resolute drums, and vivid, expressive flute, clarinet and French horn.

The syncopated energetic minimalism of "Mirrored Seven" presents layers of melodic and cyclical piano, drums, low brass, harp, flute and strings. "Pure Ornament" follows, a slowly evolving chamber cue with flowing clarinet, string and harp arpeggio, plodding tuba and percussion, fluttering flute and graceful, lyrical solos. Stunning! Up next, "Brave Boy" moves from its tender, warm, lullaby-like intro with lyrical flute, clarinet and strings before opening into a playful backend driven by a bouncy tuba riff and syncopated piano, woodwind, string trio, and drums and percussion. Rounding out this astonishing piece, "Waxen Waned" is a warm, pastoral chamber cue with light lyrical woodwind, tender French horn and subtly pulsing string trio.

Mastering for this vinyl edition was overseen by Be With regular Simon Francis, and it was cut by the esteemed Cicely Balston at Abbey Road Studios to be pressed in the Netherlands by Record Industry. 

TRACK LISTING

A1 Golden Verses
A2 Lyre Lyre
A3 Dolorous Stroke
A4 Plain Paper
A5 Grapes Draped
A6 Xanix Annum
A7 Painting Rose
A8 Rotunda Garden
A9 Flowry Orb
B1 Theia Mania
B2 Painting Percy
B3 For Archetypes
B4 Ars Memoriae
B5 Mirrored Seven
B6 Pure Ornament
B7 Brave Boy
B8 Waxen Waned

Karman Line Collective - the group fka BE - release a new album on 20th May 2025. To Be arrives on the UK’s National Bee Day and will be quickly followed by a pair of instore gigs at Rough Trade shops in Liverpool (22nd May) and London East (23rd May).

To Be is the first album release from Karman Line Collective. Recorded by artist Wolfgang Buttress with Kevin Bales and Tony Foster (Spiritualized, Julian Cope) and Justin Goodyear, To Be is a phenomenal, immersive new soundscape for Buttress’ latest art installation - BEES: A Story of Survival - a multi-sensory experience at World Museum, Liverpool. This exhibition highlights the essential role these ingenious pollinators play within the planet’s ecosystems, as well as the existential threat faced by both bees and humanity alike due to our mistreatment of the planet.

Eight years ago, along with thousands of bees, Wolfgang Buttress worked with Bales and Foster as BE to soundtrack his multi award-winning art installation The Hive in Kew Gardens, London. The album ONEcollected that soundscape and was released on Caught by the River’s Rivertones label to much critical acclaim and featured in multiple best album of the year lists, including those of Rough Trade, The Quietus and The Guardian.

The soundscape for BEES: A Story of Survival builds on and evolves the group’s previous work on The Hive and develops it as one of the exhibition’s main narrative devices. Buttress has likened moving through the exhibition to following the contours of a song: verse, chorus, verse, chorus, middle eight, drop, chorus, chorus - much like how the eight installations in the piece meld into and inform each other. The music - along with light, sound, projection and scent - take the visitor on an emotional and sensorial journey into the secret world of bees.

Created over three years of writing and recording, To Be beautifully combines previously unheard recordings of bee communications with deeply enveloping meditative music. These unique bee communication sounds are used as raw musical stems within the composition; some are processed through guitar pedals to augment the music creating an entirely new library of sounds. Throughout the record, the listener will hear bees communicating in various ways, from the vibrations produced by their famous ‘waggle dance,’ to the sounds melittologists refer to as bees’ tooting, quacking and purring.

Over the course of the record, Karman Line Collective take the listener on a reflective journey, making connections to the changing seasons of life and our increasingly fragile relationship with nature. The music flows with it’s own mysterious beauty offering a sense of empathy and connection where the sounds of bee and human are harmoniously integrated..

To Be was recorded, mixed and produced by Karman Line Collective (Kev Bales, Wolfgang Buttress, Tony Foster, Justin Goodyear) with help from Camille Christel (words, vocals), Deirdre Bencsik (cello), Robert Howard (guitar), David Harris (trumpet) and Ian Downing (saw).

TRACK LISTING

1. Melittology
2. Portal
3. Meadow
4. Be
5. Swarm
6. Vanishing
7. Memory
8. Symphony 

Sex Mask is a 3 piece post-punk/alternative rock band based in Melbourne, Australia, drawing members who hail from various parts of the globe.

The self-contained writing/production unit comprises Vicente Moncada on drums/production, Ry Gray on vocals and lyrics, and Kaya Martin on guitars and synths.

Their music is described as "vague pop instilled with the ancient genius of your own blood," suggesting a blend of introspective lyrics, innovative soundscapes, in a context of absurdist punk.

Sex Mask has released several tracks, including "Tv Movie," "How To Be Cool At Parties," and "Birds." They have a growing organic base of listeners on streaming platforms.

Their captivating live show in 2024-25 has seen them support Fcukers, Big Special, Fat White Family and festival stages around Australia.
Following an exciting Bigsound Brisbane and SXSW Sydney in late 2024, the chaotic trio will embark on their first UK tour this spring, covering stages at Dot To Dot, Great Escape, Get Together as well as their debut headline show in London.

TRACK LISTING

A. How To Be Cool At Parties
AA. Circe

In April 2010, indie-pop band Scouting for Girls released their second album, Everybody Wants To Be on TV, which featured their Easter #1 single This Ain’t A Love Song beating Lady Gaga and Usher to the top spot where it remained for 2 weeks. The album reached #2 in the UK albums charts and is certified platinum.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
This Ain't A Love Song
Little Miss Naughty
Good Time Girl
Famous
Silly Song
On The Radio

Side B
Blue As Your Eyes
Posh Girls
1+1
Take A Chance On Us
Gotta Keep Smiling
A New Day

Heading up the B-Town scene back in 2012 alnogside Peace and Swim Deep, JAWS announced a fairwell tour for 2025 and have treated us to this 10th anniversary reissue of thier beloved debut album, 'Be Slowly'. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Time
2. Cameron
3. Gold
4. Swim
5. Home
6. Be Slowly
7. Think Too Much, Feel Too Little
8. Filth
9. Sunset State
10. Surround You
11. NYE

2024 was a defining year for Dublin quintet Fontaines D.C., whose fourth album ROMANCE was lauded as one of the year’s very best, cementing their status as one of the most exciting bands in contemporary music. Topping multiple ‘album of the year’ lists around the world, ROMANCE was quickly certified gold in the UK and saw the band nominated for two GRAMMYs and a BRIT Award among a host of accolades; a celebration of Fontaines D.C.’s ambitious world-building and bold musical evolution.

Today, Fontaines D.C. - Grian Chatten (vocals), Carlos O’Connell (guitar), Conor Curley (guitar), Conor Deegan (bass), and Tom Coll (drums) - launch into 2025 with brand new single, “It’s Amazing To Be Young”. Produced by ROMANCE album producer James Ford, it’s Fontaines D.C. at their most anthemic and is set to soundtrack a huge year of live shows for the band. The single is accompanied by a video from acclaimed BAFTA-winning filmmaker Luna Carmoon (Hoard, Shagbands), who previously directed the videos for Fontaines D.C.’s “Here’s The Thing” and “In The Modern World”. “It’s Amazing To Be Young” completes the cinematic trilogy, bringing together “In The Modern World”’s Martin (Ewan Mitchell) and “Here’s The Thing”’s Spider (Grace Collender) in an unlikely but beautifully surreal love story.

The single release precedes a huge year of live activity for Fontaines D.C., who will perform to 100,000 people across four sold out UK outdoor headline shows in London, Manchester, Newcastle and Cardiff this summer, including a 45,000-capacity event at London’s Finsbury Park on 5th July.

TRACK LISTING

A Side:
"It's Amazing To Be Young"

B Side:
“Before You I Just Forget"

Lady Wray treats us to an unstoppable two-sider while she and Grammy-nominated producer Leon Michels (Clairo / El Michels Affair) put the finishing touches on her forthcoming album. The A side “Be A Witness” showcases one of the new directions Lady Wray is taking her sound. Nicole's vocals soar over bottom heavy drum machine and Nick Movshon's funky basslines making this a proper mid-tempo dance floor filler. Lady Wray sings about a love destined to happen, celebrates the joys that come with it, and spreads the good vibes to everyone in earshot. The B side “Best For Us” is a gorgeous tune about love, commitment, intention, and overcoming the tough times. Synths and background vocals float over Homer Steinweiss' signature in-the-pocket drums creating the perfect backdrop for Cole's world-renowned voice. This one will be an instant two-step classic.

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2025 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 12TH ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 8PM ON MONDAY APRIL 14th.

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2025 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 12TH ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 8PM ON MONDAY APRIL 14th.

Following the reissue of their sophomore, self-titled LP, Acopia return to CWPT for a limited-edition vinyl 10” featuring two remixes from Daniel Avery and JD Twitch of Optimo.

Extended and remastered for dancefloors, Daniel Avery transforms the skeletal intimacy of ‘Be Enough’ into skittering, hardcore-indebted, warehouse material, as lead singer Kate Durman’s gossamer vocal holds strong beneath an onslaught of kicks and atop powerful bass weight.

JD Twitch conjures his extensive knowledge of brooding outsider music throughout a rich, lucid dub of ‘Holding On’. Coaxing out the band’s gothic undertones, Twitch pulls away a billowing sheet to reveal layers of guitar feedback that recall the resplendent gloom of This Mortal Coil or Sunn O))).

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Two futureproof sound system bangers. Avery opts for a high speed dnb rinse out while Twitch goes for crushing slice of tectonic avant-dub.

TRACK LISTING

A. Be Enough (Daniel Avery Remix)
B. Holding On (JD Twitch Dub) 

Every so often an album of such deceptive genius, of such aesthetic clarity, comes across our desk and transfixes us. Thought Leadership's III Of Pentacles is one such work of art. It's an instant classic and glides into the pantheon of timeless guitar-soul totems. Originally out on cassette only, we present the first ever vinyl issue. It's a hideously limited pressing of 300 for the world, so don't sleep on this.

It has already garnered big support from such tastemakers as Ruf Dug, Jason Boardman, Nathan Gregory Wilkins, J Walk, Evan Woodward, Justin Robertson and Heavenly's Jeff Barrett. The first time we heard III Of Pentacles, we nearly wept at the thought that something so beautiful, so bursting with real hope, could even exist in this brutal world. To quote the Quietus, "imagine if Stockport was situated somewhere along the Pacific Coast Highway rather than the M60, and you’ll have some idea of the coordinates to the post-industrial, sunburnt dream space opened up here."

So, who is Thought Leadership? What do we know about them? They reside in Stockport and are obsessed with ethereal guitar records. That’s about it. That and these X ideas shared with you, the listener.

Captured on a multitrack recorder in a terraced house in Stockport, this is as DIY as it gets. Glaringly obvious is a love for classic Factory and early 4AD. Perhaps it is the proximity to the River Mersey where the ideas arrived, and there being but three miles between where this and the Durutti Column’s classic “LC” was recorded, as the two operate across a familiar aural plain. Be it geographic or otherwise, limited by a true economy of means, namely guitar, pedals and drum machine, the fruit borne from these humble tools has been indelibly shaped by the perma-gloom that hangs low over the Manchester and Stockport environs.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: There are echoes here of Durutti Column, sure but there is a lot more influence that has been drawn from across the musical spectrum with folky interludes and shimmering, shoegazey atmospheres. Some of the riffs here sound like they could be Smashing Pumpkins ambient drifters or the more upbeat Tropic Of Cancer pieces, but it all swims with a hazy, bucolic air.

There's iconic. Then there's *iconic*.

Tumblack really is a gorgeous late-70s disco-not-disco essential. It's an absolute MONSTER that will completely blow you away; and, yes, it's as compelling and trance-inducing as the cover. The audio for Tumblack has been carefully remastered by Be With regular Simon Francis, ensuring it sounds better than ever.

Cicely Balston's expert skills have made sure nothing is lost in the cut whilst the records have been pressed to the highest possible standard at Record Industry in Holland. The cover of Tumblack is so iconic and we sought special permission from original artist Hélène Majera to recreate this at Be With HQ. It absolutely zings off the print and serves as the perfect finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue.

A MASSIVE speaker-smashing release, decades overdue. It's been bootlegged - shamefully so, many times over the years - but finally we present the first ever officially licensed reissue of this truly special Afro-disco-not-disco LP from 1979. A favourite of Harvey, Antal, Young Marco and, er, every great DJ to ever play deep records ever, basically. It's not hard to see - or, indeed, *feel* why.

Gem after gem of relentless, irresistibly funky gold, it's an incredibly revelatory album with endlessly complex drum patterns and basslines to dive into, throughout. Truly, this is uniquely FIRE music, unlike anything else you've ever heard, based on Gwo ka music from the gorgeous islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique. A thrilling synthesis of primal, hypnotic drums - the most tribal of percussive elements high in the mix throughout - with the loping synth pyrotechnics of, amongst a whole host of other greats, Wally Badarou and bass power of disco funk don Sauveur Mallia (Arpadys, Spatial & Co.)

Originally released on the seminal French label Barclay, you'd be hard pressed to even find an original copy in nice condition anywhere, let alone for a reasonable price, so it's high time an officially licensed, remastered reissue came around. It's just the latest in a long line of Be With reissues where the music sounds like the - drop-dead dazzling - cover. This here is a true drum attack. BUY ON SIGHT!

Tumblack was a short-lived project, produced and arranged by electronic wizard Yves Hayat and it can certainly be regarded as one of the first examples of Zouk, mixing powerful disco-funk arrangements with Gwo ka, traditional music from Guadeloupe. Gwo ka is an Antillean Creole term for "big drum". You can say that again! It refers to both a family of hand drums and the music played with them, which is a major part of Guadeloupean folk music.Whilst the first side is credited to the exceptional Tumblack band, the flip is given over to "Tumblack & Friends". These weren't just any old friends. Oh no, they were the absolute cream of the French scene (think Arpadys, Voyage, Le Club, Giant, CCPP, Synthesis, Swing Family) such as Sauveur Mallia, Wally Badarou, Marc Chantereau on percussion, Slim Pezin on guitar and Jean-Paul Batailley and Pierre Alain-Dahan handling drum duties.

The urgent, frantic "Fracas" gets things moving straight away with a cavalcade of drums and percussive funk before giving way to the stratospheric "Invocation", one of the album's many, many highlights. It's effectively one long heavenly drum break, a really hard, raw, tribal drum workout without a whole lot else going on - and all the better for it! One to make you sweat, no question. Up next, "Jubilé" is announced with a bellowing accapella voice, chanting the titular name before the heaviest of kicks smashes out your system and lulls you into an absolute state of bliss for nearly 6 minutes. Whoooooosh! Rounding out the sensational A-Side, "Vaudou" is a scratchy, funky patterned drum workout which - yep, yet again - absolutely slays your neck muscles, making them snap and contract in extraordinary fashion. TURN IT UP!

Ushering in the B-Side, the brief, fidgety, African chant-funk of "Parlement" segues seamlessly, beautifully into "Waka", an overwhelmingly rich gem of percussive funk. You do not want this to end, once it hits its stride. For maximum heavenly drum pleasure, you'd need to go a long way than the moment "Waka" feels like it's fading out before it kick-drum-blend into the mighty "Caraïba (Intro)". It's just staggeringly good. It's a minute-long layered drum prelude to the gigantic track which follows. Indeed, "Caraïba" is arguably the best loved and most well-known cut off the LP. And with good reason...featuring that Mallia bass, warm Rhodes and clavs, synth magic, memorably alto sax lines and, of course, tribal chanting.

Another mighty super-ahead-of-its-time classic, the bouncing bass heavy synth funk of "Chunga Funk" deploys Mallia and Wally Badarou (on Mini Moog) exceptionally well. I mean, come on, that bassline is just ridiculous. Try not to move to this one. This extraordinary record closes out with the more traditional Gwo ka sounds of "Bateau La Passé", the tribal chorus making the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. 

TRACK LISTING

A1 Fracas 1:36
A2 Invocation 4:59
A3 Jubilé 5:54
A4 Vaudou 4:09
B1 Parlement 1:40
B2 Waka 3:10
B3 Caraïba (Intro) 1:06
B4 Caraïba 3:47
B5 Chunga Funk 4:23
B6 Bateau La Passé 2:11

It’s easy to forget just how deeply weird the ’90s were. On a global scale, you had the collapse of the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact satellites (Sputnik’s Down!). Hundreds of millions of people were thrown to the wolves of economic chaos and misery, and the Cold War that had provided the defining framework for understanding the world over the previous half century suddenly evaporated. Hapless theorists were left to speculate about “the end of history,” even. Confusing! At the local level it was a time when one could sit down with one’s father as he watched NASCAR on TV and hear 'Natural One' by underground music friends the Folk Implosion — their song inescapably employed as bumper music before the next commercial break. Also confusing! One gets the sense it was a little confusing for The Folk Implosion’s John Davis and Lou Barlow, too. They were in the middle of recording 'Dare to Be Surprised', the follow-up to their 1994 debut album, 'Take A Look Inside', when it happened. The KIDS stuff — the handful of songs and instrumental tracks they’d contributed to the soundtrack of the now infamous Harmony Korine/Larry Clark film — had been something of a lark, but it was while recording it at Boston’s venerable Fort Apache that they met Wally Gagel. A happy accident: Gagel happened to be the house engineer on duty the day they showed up, but they found in him someone whose general sensibilities, and, critically, enthusiasm for new wave, matched their own.

The results marked a shift from earlier Folk Implosion efforts. The partnership between Lou Barlow, already an indie-rock veteran with two of the era’s most influential bands in Dinosaur Jr. and Sebadoh amongst his credits, and John Davis, the erstwhile librarian whose skeletal solo work paired elliptical guitar figures with lyrics that evoked the language poets, seemed at first like an opportunity to get silly with it in ways that wouldn’t have sat quite right with their other projects. What came out of Fort Apache was different: mannered, moody, dubby even (they sampled Erik Satie, for crying out loud!). Lacking the budget to go back to the proper studio that the KIDS gig had afforded them, the Folk Implosion settled instead on Gagel’s small recording space in Boston’s South End. There were rules, rules born from frank conversations. No chords. No strumming. No indie rock! They whiled away afternoons in the park writing lyrics, trading lines. And over a year of episodic sessions, a weekend here, a few days there, an album came together. When 'Natural One' blew up it could’ve changed the calculus — the opportunity was there to scrap what they’d been working on and start over with major-label money — but they elected instead to stay the course, confident in the process.

It seems a bit of a shame from this remove that 'Dare to Be Surprised' was destined to live in the shadow of the KIDS soundtrack’s success, but the ’90s were a weird time, and it was sometimes hard to recognize things for what they were. What this was, it’s clear now, is the sound of a band truly finding its feet, and forging something genuinely new in the process.

TRACK LISTING

1. Pole Position
2. Wide Web
3. Insinuation
4. Barricade
5. That's The Trick
6. Checking In
7. Cold Night
8. Park Dub
9. Burning Paper
10. (Blank Paper)
11. Ball & Chain
12. Fall Into November
13. Dare To Be Surprised
14. River Devotion

Discos Martos' second release: a 45-vinyl single from Rocksteady Romantics, celebrating the irresistible sounds of…you guessed it…rocksteady. True to the label's dedication to analog productions, this release offers what Jamaican music culture is known for: Dub music and classic soul covers in its own style.

The A-side features a fantastic dub track featuring Tibstar, designed for loud soundsystems and clubs. With its catchy and powerful horn section, this track is guaranteed to get the dance floor moving.

On the B-side, the band presents a lovely Spanish version of the classic soul tune "I'm Your Puppet," sung by Tito Ramírez. This fresh interpretation blends the original's charm with a rocksteady twist.

With this release, Discos Martos continues to honor timeless sounds while infusing them with contemporary energy.

TRACK LISTING

1. Be A Rocker (feat. Tibstar)
2. Soy Tu Títere (feat. Tito Ramirez)

"Daft Punk brought me here, he brought me Daft Punk"

Just knowing that this slice of hyper-rare disco dynamite was crafted by Thomas Bangalter's dad should be enough for you to buy this on sight, if only to understand a little bit more about Thomas and Daft Punk's background. But this is so much more than a Daft Punk family curio.

Born Bangalter in 1947, Daniel Vangarde is a French songwriter and producer. In 1975, Vangarde founded his label, Zagora Records, who we have worked closely with on this lovingly curated reissue. For years, Vangarde wrote and produced songs that remained underground, under several pseudonyms and for various artists. Dubbed "the secret father of French disco" this here groove-fulled firecracker - using his Who’s Who moniker - is for disco-funk, library music and cosmic beat lovers.

The intense, evocative opener "Palace Palace" positively throbs with raw energy and sounds, honestly, like something off Daft Punk's Discovery. The title refers to the fashionable Parisian club Le Palace, essentially the Parisian Studio 54. "I’d been to a nightclub in New York, a big ring where people were roller skating with a whistle. The atmosphere was great. The music was all disco. I made this song when I came back. A vocoder transformed my voice. Back then, it wasn’t used much." The track rides a killer groove and is deceptively complex, with layers of fantastic percussion and ace synth work going on all over it. Listed to on repeat, it's brilliance is simply undeniable.

The louche, slo-mo heater "Hypno Dance" is, in Be With's opinion, *the* deadly dancefloor track. A svelte slice of ace space disco again geared towards the roller skating dance mania of the day. So deep, so disco, so instrumental. An unreal track and, as the title hints at, totally hypnotic. The side closes with the somewhat throwaway "Popeden" - it's a jaunty number that you're probably best skipping, in all honesty. Have we ever steered you wrong?

The B-Side opens with the frankly enormous "Roll Jacky Roll" is another thrilling, high class roller-rink jam with beautiful melodies that's adored the world over. The wonky, abstract "Ad Libitum 80" is a super dope, swirling, staccato electro-funk bounce which sounds light years ahead of its time. This might be the real lowkey sleeper gem on this record. CHECK! This remarkable LP rounds out with the huge "Dancin' Machine". It's got sleek drums that emit an absolutely ace swagger and elements of Italo synth funk feels. A relaxed, slow rhythm throughout ensures you can't help but get your funk on when this crashes soundsystems. We'll leave the final word on this to Daniel: "It amuses me to think that my son Thomas was influenced by "Dancin’ Machine" for "Around The World", he says. Both songs being based on an hypnotic repetitive refrain. Both songs being, of course, timeless pieces of Euro genius.

Who's Who really is a fantastic late-70s-early 80s roller disco-funk essential. The audio has been carefully remastered by Be With regular Simon Francis, ensuring it sounds better than ever. Cicely Balston's expert skills have made sure nothing is lost in the cut whilst the records have been pressed to the highest possible standard at Record Industry in Holland.

When it came to the sleeve for this we were presented with an unusual problem: we usually have to rely on an original sleeve as the starting point for the restoration, but instead we were able to scan the original 35mm transparency of the front cover photo. The problem is that with a modern scanner the results were far sharper than when they made the original sleeve. We’ve played around with the exposure and the colour grading but we’re sorry to say that our version of the front cover still ended up looking too good! Don’t hate us.

Colin McCann, Brian Gossman, and Eric Fiscus periodically return to the grid from the remote mountains of Northern California to document their evo/involution as Vulture Feather. Touring the states throughout much of 2024, they brought the sharpened machine back to Tim Green's Louder Studios to capture their second album, 'It Will Be Like Now'.

In literary terms, the record is a work of man versus nature, except man and nature are both secret identities of a third, unnamed thing. Tears and the ocean and death are the main characters, and the initiated may get the sense that these too, belong to the absolute. It all ultimately resolves as a terrifying and beautiful love story. Sonically speaking, 'It Will Be Like Now' reports from a place where PiL and Jah Wobble never parted ways, where Johnny Marr righted the ship, where songs only need one part: the good part.

The heads will know McCann and Gossman from their time in the prehistoric Don Martin Three (recently re-issued catalog by Numero Group) and later, Wilderness (Jagjaguwar). While prior efforts are beside the point, this is undeniably the sound of people who have been making music together for 25+ years. Glistening as much as howling, the guitar and vocals function as duet, delivering The Only Story Ever Told over a concise and thunderous rhythm section. It's the sound emulating from everywhere, all the time, through thick carpets of clouds, reverberating off canyon walls, through troubled waters, and finally to your devices, your ears, your heart, if you choose to hear it.

TRACK LISTING

1. Blood Knot
2. Into Space
3. Flesh And Electronics
4. Calling From Afar
5. Sweetest Friend
6. Like Now
7. Only/Holy Names
8. Let It Through

WOW. Released on Valentine's Day 2025, Be With Records are releasing the first time reissue of the first *ever* heart-shaped red vinyl 45. Extremely limited!

The smooth titan of blue-eyed soul, Bobby Caldwell transcended genre tags with consummate ease; he was a musical icon of real class and versatility, cherished the world over.

The originals of these red heart-shaped vinyl records go for stupid money - if you can find one in good condition. Here's your chance to snag a real collectors item for fans of Bobby and, well, LOVE, the world over.

The eternal 'What You Won't Do for Love' became a national anthem. It remains that way - perhaps even more so in the past year or two. It perfectly captured Bobby's ability to infuse a contagious groove with introspective and relatable lyrics. With its instantly recognisable horn riff and Caldwell's soulful delivery, this timeless, chiller anthem continues to captivate audiences and define his musical legacy.

A perennial favourite, it has been heavily sampled, such is its unique allure; Aaliyah sang over snatches of it on 'Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number' and you can hear Caldwell’s vocal sample used for the hook on Tupac’s posthumously released 'Do For Love'.

Bobby's dynamite 'Open Your Eyes' was immortalised by the eternal J Dilla in the hip-hop canon with his production of Common’s epochal 'The Light', which heavily samples the magical 'Open Your Eyes'. On a post paying tribute to Bobby in March 2023, Questlove claimed that he "got word Brother Bobby loved it". Bobby's original has seen new life even more recently from the likes of Dwele and Kendrick Lamar and deservingly so, as its insistent drums and staccato piano created a modern-soul classic.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Taking cues from the infamous Mayer Hawthorn heart shaped disc from yesteryear; local legends Be With reissue this schmoozy doozy from Bobby Caldwell - just in time for Valentine's Day!

TRACK LISTING

1. What You Won't Do For Love
2. Open Your Eyes 

Crucial version of the classic Deniece Williams number! Karen Dixon sings it in a Lovers Rock style. From the Neville King archive and licensed for it’s first ever 7 Inch press. Complete with Instrumental Version on the flip!40 years of endless play!

TRACK LISTING

A1. I Just Want To Be Free
B1. Dub To Be Free

With her new “Let Me Be Your Fantasy” remix package, Anané continues to solidify her position as one of the most talented and charismatic recording artists in the world today. It’s never easy to take on a classic disco tune, which in this case is a song originally released in 1978 by The Love Symphony Orchestra. But working with producers Two Soul Fusion (Louie Vega and Josh Milan), Anané has crafted a new version of this song that retains the glamour of disco while also injecting a raw toughness and rhythm perfectly suited for today’s dancefloors. As is her custom on her remix packages, Anané has pulled together an outstanding team of producers to lay down their own very unique and high impact mixes, including Masters At Work, Dimitri From Paris, Mousse T, Blackchild and Moplen. Not only that, but the string section was arranged and conducted by Leroy Burgess and the instrumental credits reads like a who's who of session musician royalty. An incredibly well put together package. Limited copies!

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Here's Nervous with another one of their expansive, deluxe, 12" double packs. Featuring a plethora of royal remix talent (just look at that list!), it's a modern take on disco anthem "Let Me Be Your Fantasy" and should have the Horse Meat Disco / Southport Weekender / Glitterbox / La Discotheque crowds whipped up into a mirror ball adoring frenzy.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Let Me Be Your Fantasy (Dimitri From Paris Club Mix)
A2. Let Me Be Your Fantasy (Dimitri From Paris Dub)
B1. Let Me Be Your Fantasy (Masters At Work Clap Yo Hands Dub)
B2. Let Me Be Your Fantasy (Moplen Remix)
C1. Let Me Be Your Fantasy (Mousse T. Fantastic Shizzle Mix)
C2. Let Me Be Your Fantasy (Blackchild Remix)
D. Let Me Be Your Fantasy (Two Soul Fusion Remix) 

I’ll Be Your Rainbow is the only recorded album by classic soul singer Bobby Wilson. Originally released in 1975, the album is a perfect blend of the styles of soul that were running through the east coast underground of the early 70s. It includes elements of the burgeoning club scene on the more up-tempo songs, and sweet warm vocals on the strong mellow cuts. The album was recorded in Detroit, Philadelphia and Miami, produced by Vernon Bullock and orchestrated by Paul Riser. It features the UK soul scene hit “Deeper and Deeper”. It is the first time the record is pressed on coloured vinyl and the first repress since its original release in 1975.

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A
1. Deeper And Deeper
2. Hey, Girl (Tell Me)
3. Let Me (Put Love Back In Your Life)
4. I'll Be Your Rainbow
5. Here Is Where The Love Is

SIDE B
1. Don't Shut Me Out
2. You Make Me Feel Good All Over
3. I'll Take Good Care Of You
4. All I Need (I've Got)
5. When I Don't See A Smile On Your Face

Music To Varnish Owls By. Does Geoff Bastow have a claim for the best album title of all time? It's certainly up there. It's also one of the hardest to find library funk records. But don't let the eye-catching name fool you into thinking this isn't serious business.

As a key member of Giorgio Moroder's team, the legendary Geoff Bastow shouldn't need any introduction. You'll be familiar with his singular brilliance as the brains behind the much-sampled boogie/disco classics "You Don't Like My Music (Hupendi Muziki Wangu?!)" and "Don't Stop", released by his group, K.I.D.

But 1975's Music To Varnish Owls By is where it all began for our hero.

It's packed with incredibly soulful, soothing music that - despite being utilised a few times by Knxwledge - remains still largely un-mined. So, beat-makers, get cracking. And instead of that hyper-rare original, spend that £300 on something else.

Born in 1949, Bastow was a Munich-based English songwriter and record producer. Originally working as a guitarist and pianist in dance bands around his home county of Yorkshire, he moved to London in the early 1970s and then Munich in around 1976. He was one of the main architects of the Munich disco sound of electronic innovator Giorgio Moroder and also released heaps of killer library records for legendary labels like Bruton (with brother Trevor), Impress, JW Music Library and the Munich-based Sonoton between the 1970s-2000s. Bastow died tragically young, in Berlin, Germany on 16 March 2007, at the age of just 57. But he left behind a truly incredible electronic music legacy. He deserves to be much better known and this reissue should bring him to a fair few more ears. Let's see why...

Light-hearted opener "The Rough With The Smooth" contains a killer open drum break and is basically guitar-drenched flute-laced piano-funk. However, the first genuine highlight, "Beautiful People", is just majestic. Reflective, pastoral and silky smooth - as the title suggests, it's just straight beautiful; a chiming, deeply soulful instrumental that has to be heard to be believed. Sampled by Knxwledge but nobody else of note, which is crazy. Slo-mo soul beat "Tumbleweed" is another stone cold track just desperate to be laced by a skilled MC. Laconic, lysergic funk with nostalgic overtones, the guitar is prominent but the flute and glock really elevate it to perfection.

"Bits And Bats" is clav-enhanced Blaxploitation-esque street-funk with tough bass and crunchy drums that, despite its hardness, manages to flirt with breeziness. All in all, sumptuous, pounding wah-wah brilliance. Another huge one, up next. The insistent piano-funk head-nodder "A Change Of Pace" is a total sleuth-funk jammer, with a wonderfully soft snare and more hypnotic, melancholic flute lines. Man, we'd love to hear Alchemist chop this up. It even sounds a bit like Bastow was keeping things thoro with this one. Closing out Side A, the bright and breezy Bossa of "Janelle" makes it a perfect run of six untouchable gems. As elegant as it is sleazy, it sounds like it could've been on the classic KPM greensleeve, Piano Viberations.

Side B opens with the Ramsey Lewis-inspired "Time And A Half", a deceptively simple bass, drums and piano workout, decorated with stylish percussion with some great chord changes and hints of drama via a great bass solo. The heavy "Supersplash" is a doped-out drama suite with fuzzy wah-wah guitars, electric piano and glock. "Fillet Of Soul" is a catchy wah-wah propelled shuffle with piano and vibes, super dynamic but also incredibly chill.

"Well Above Average" is exactly that, a funky instrumental that serves as a straight ahead guitar-soul workout. Oozing bass-driven class, it gets better with every listen. Some open drums for your delectation, too. The fuzzy clav-and-vibes funk of "The Clan" - also understandably sampled by Knxwledge - is a monster head-nod slow jam whilst, seeing us out, the uber-relaxed "Sing Song" rounds things off in bright fashion with its slow but insistent clav, electric piano and glock greatness. Swoon.

As ever, the audio for Music To Varnish Owls By has been carefully remastered by Be With regular Simon Francis, ensuring it sounds better than ever. Cicely Balston's expert skills have made sure nothing is lost in the cut whilst the records have been pressed to the highest possible standard at Record Industry in Holland. The original, iconic sleeve has been restored here at Be With HQ as the finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue.

TRACK LISTING

A1 The Rough With The Smooth
A2 Beautiful People
A3 Tumbleweed
A4 Bits And Bats
A5 A Change Of Pace
A6 Janelle
B1 Time And A Half
B2 Supersplash
B3 Fillet Of Soul
B4 Well Above Average
B5 The Clan
B6 Sing Song

‘Sounding like the vibrant lovechild of Badly Drawn Boy's melodic lo-fi folk, The Beta Band's beat-conscious noodling, and the Super Furry Animals' penchant for 60s psychedelia, Parsley Sounds is one of those rare records that manage to sound modest while frequently pushing the sonic envelope.’ 8.8 on PITCHFORK (2003).

Parsley Sounds was the glorious debut album for Mo Wax by Parsley Sound. The album was one of the iconic label’s final releases before it closed in 2003 and locating a clean copy has been extremely tricky of late, unless you're flush enough to drop 150 notes on it. Mercifully, the Be With reissue, put together with invaluable assistance from the group, should remedy this situation. It's a lo-fi, bass-heavy, blunted beat treat, warped with heat haze and dreamy soft-psych and has been criminally under-heard for far too long.

As with most cult-like records, Parsley Sounds has many influential fans, far and wide. From Four Tet and Caribou to NTS's modern day breakfast hero Flo Dill, its reputation has only grown in stature. At the time, the notoriously hard-to-please Pitchfork garlanded it with a scarcely achievable 8.8 whilst, just recently, the Numero Group's Rob Sevier described it as a "visionary bit of proto-Salvia Palth (or Steve Lacy)" via a Ghostly International missive.

Parsley Sound comprised super-talented duo Preston Mead and Dan Sargassa. They released an early single (the perfect "Twilight Mushrooms", featured here) on Warp Records as Slum, before signing to Mo Wax. Hidden behind a wall of sound - fuzzy layers of beats, bleeps and symphonic synths - they were convinced they made mainstream pop music. And, in many respects, Parsley Sounds really is a beautiful pop album. It overflows with memorable, gorgeous melodies and inspired songcraft.

Killer opener "Ease Yourself And Glide" is a thing of aching, soft-psych, wonky beat-beauty. A melodic masterpiece, part Crosby, Stills & Nash, part proto-Koushik, it presents a melancholy falsetto, surging bass and blunted lead guitar. As it climaxes, gorgeous strings are ushered in to see us out. Sublime. "Twilight Mushrooms" is up next and it's an acid-drenched, strung-out acoustic-led campfire wonder. Amid layers of tape-hiss and beautiful, sun-dappled strings, its understated vocal track provides a haze of wistful innocence.

The breezy "Spring's Near" is a krautrock-inspired chiming instrumental of heavenly excellence, its warm, skipping, motorik groove and dreamy synths completely infectious. Another total highlight, the technicolour "Yo Yo" initially presents itself as a more abstract, bleepy offering but as it organically swells into ever more beautiful places, with the addition of a choppy insistent drum loop, flute bursts, horns and sweeping strings, it puts one in mind of early Manitoba and Four Tet releases. Shimmering, blissed-out greatness.

The celestial harmonies and glistening harps of the wonderfully beatless, serenely sullen "Ocean House" are very much in conversation with late-60s meditative psych whilst, closing out Side A, the jaw-dropping, lushly experimental effort "Find The Heat" comes on like Arthur Russell meets Brian Wilson. Yep, *that* good.

Side B opens with the warped, bleepy "Stevie", a brief but beautifully wonky, soulful and intricate instrumental. The more upfront vocals that propel the fuzzy "Platonic Rate" have a refreshing swagger to them, the heavy bass and neck-snapping in-the-red beats too much for any system to deal with whilst the guitars and strings have a sweeping, cinematic feel which just beguiles. The slow, urbane soul of "Candlemice" will stop you in your tracks, no matter what you're doing. It carries a delicate sadness, as does much of the album in that classic "down lifting" style we so love here at Be With.

The fuzzing, buzzing "Templechurchmansions" is a searing, soulful dubwise detonation. Heavily stoned with slow-burning jazzy snatches and a tense, moody atmosphere, it's a Tricky-adjacent gem. The album rounds out brilliantly with the ominous instrumental "Neon Breeze" before giving way to the propulsive, almost incongruous punk-funk / disco-dub of secret "untitled" track "Caution", a scratchy, smacked-out groove-fuelled workout with a female vocal dripping with 'tude. Just sensational.

Under the watchful eye - and attentive ears! - of Parsley Sound themselves, the audio for Parsley Sounds has been carefully mastered by Be With regular Simon Francis, with a few much needed tweaks here and there, according to the artist's wishes. Cicely Balston's expert skills have made sure nothing is lost in the cut whilst the records have been pressed to the highest possible standard at the always stellar Record Industry in Holland.

Preston and Dan always thought the colours on the first vinyl pressing looked a bit "washed out" vis-a-vis the original artwork which was way more vibrant. We feel we've got it popping back to the original intention with the restoration work here at Be With HQ. So with the audio and artwork now approaching completeness after 20 years, this long overdue re-issue could be considered its definitive vinyl release.

TRACK LISTING

A1 Ease Yourself And Glide
A2 Twilight Mushrooms
A3 Spring's Near
A4 Yo Yo
A5 Ocean House
A6 Find The Heat
B1 Stevie
B2 Platonic Rate
B3 Candlemice
B4 Templechurchmansions
B5 Neon Breeze

A collaboration between Duncan Bellamy (Portico Quartet) and Belinda Zhawi (MA.MOYO), Jump Ship, Sit Lean, Be Still, Stand Tall is a collection of sonic-poetry that sets Zhawi’s illuminating, elliptical words in dialogue with diffuse, explorative music and sound by Bellamy. Fluctuating between expansive contemporary classical arrangements and intimate layered vocal experiments, together they render these disparate forms into something distinct, melancholic and luminous.

Belinda Zhawi is a literary & sound artist based in London & Marseille, author of Small Inheritances (ignitionpress, 2018), & experiments with sound/text performance as MA.MOYO. Her work explores African diaspora research and narratives, and how art and education can be used as intersectional tools. Her literary & sound works have been featured on various platforms including The White Review, Vogue, NTS, Boiler Room & BBC Radio. She’s held residencies with Triangle-Asterides, France; Cove Park, Scotland; Serpentine Galleries; ICA London and was a Brixton House Associate Artist 2022 - 24. Belinda’s the co-founder of literary arts platform, BORN::FREE. She is working on her first full poetry collection.

Duncan Bellamy (b. Cambridge, UK, 1986) is a multidisciplinary artist based in London. His diverse practice encompasses painting, silkscreen, photography, sound and music. His work examines the shape of time, loss and our relationship to the past and present in a period of compressed transformation. He is a founding member of Mercury Prize nominated Portico Quartet, and has contributed sound work to the artist Hannah Collins audio-visual installation I Will Make Up A Song. Bellamy is working on a debut exhibition and new music.

TRACK LISTING

Dancesing
Stockwell
Jump Ship
Shield
Water
Tomb
Dream Sequence
La Recherche
Holes
Your Absence

We're promised Mellow Magic and that's precisely what we get, across four tracks emerging from disparate corners of the globe but united in a common mission to provide beats that work on the more relaxed end of the dancefloor. Belgian duo Charlotte & Reinhard of Rheinzand fame kick things off with a slow motion Balearic version of a well known 80s MOR classic. Ollie Loudon's 'L.M.T.' finally makes it to vinyl after long being a secret weapon in Gratts' DJ sets, where handclaps and languid strumming meet a gentle but infectious groove. Flip it over for the more tracky affairs, as Japan's Lily Ko makes an impressive debut with 'Pure Rubber', an original mix of disco foundations and always snazzy but never showy 80s synth play. Melbourne's Biancolato finishes things off with understated deep house shuffling that adds just a touch jazzy keys and dreamy, wispy pads.

TRACK LISTING

Charlotte & Reinhard For WeCanDance - To Be Free Again (Extended)
Ollie Loudon - MT (Extended)
Lily Ko - Pure Rubber
Biancolato - Resolution (Edit)

'We Will Be Wherever The Fires Are Lit', a sort of sequel to Tashi’s first DC release 'Stateless', takes the torch and storms forward, with ten improvised acoustic guitar anthems. These musical thoughts are torn from the fabric of Tashi’s life and music. “Strumming in opposition to the towers” (as he puts it) is part of an existence that is always political, even in its most abstract iterations – a truth laid bare in these deep, raw performances.

TRACK LISTING

1. Begin From Here
2. We Will Be Wherever The Fires Are Lit
3. Requiem For Jonas
4. Center Can’t Hold...
5. Flowers For The Unsung
6. Impossible Friendship
7. ...And The State Sank Into Abyss
8. New Signals///////
9. Rhythm/Refrain
10. Meet Me Under The Ruins

Especial is a label always on a mission to unearth left-of-centre perspectives on club music. This new EP, Be Honest, is just that from long-time friends Lipelis and Arsenii, who are based in Belgrade and New York but seek inspiration in the New York sounds of the 80s and hook up with Gayana for some woozy and lovelorn vocal additions. 'Be Honest' is a dubbed out and swaggering deep disco groove that comes as long, dub and cappella versions on the A-side. The 12" dance mix brings some superb house drums into the picture and the Dubplate VIP is a fresh jungle rhythm. This is an EP with something for all.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Arsenii & Lipelis deliver a mega track that's presented in both boogie, proto-house and jungle flavours. Nice up the sounds whatever time of day, or night. Top ranking.

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
1. Be Honest (Extended Mix)
2. Be Honest (Dub)
3. Be Honest (Acappella)

Side 2
1. Be Honest (12" Dance Mix)
2. Be Honest (Dubplate VIP)

The Twilight Sad are celebrating the 10th anniversary of their acclaimed fourth studio album ‘Nobody Wants To Be Here And Nobody Wants To Leave’, with a special limited edition ‘Demos’ version.

‘Nobody Wants To Be Here And Nobody Wants To Leave - Demos’ features a full album line up of demo tracks, with the original working titles, laid down in preparation for recording the official version of the album.

TRACK LISTING

1. Badlands

2. January

3. How To Shoplift
4. Proper Stranger
5. Forget Paris
6. The Airport
7. How To Jump Off The Roof

8. Better Hang Onto Yrsel
9. Interrupted

10. Sell The House See The Car
11. Cities Of The Plain

Be With Records reaching 10 years feels like a landmark worth celebrating. So we proudly present Joyride (the record) and Labour Of Love (the book) in one beautiful slipcase. We're not doing this for self-indulgent reasons. This book and record package was conceived as an opportunity to praise, shine a light on and above all else show gratitude to all the artists we've worked so closely with over the last 10 years. But not just the artists - all of the amazing people who form part of the wider Be With family.

Without question, this package represents the most exciting, daunting and rewarding thing that the label has ever put together. Some time in 2023, we had the idea that 2024 should feature some special releases, events and, well, "things". The "thing" is the very book and record you're reading about. Thanks to the brother Jim - writer and editor of the very thing - for suggesting we do a book. (I thought he was joking). Anyway, how could Be With do a book, shaped like a record sleeve and sized the same, without including a record inside to complete a very special package of "Be Withness"?

THE RECORD: JOYRIDE
10 tracks for 10 Years of Be With from 10 of our favourite artists we've ever worked with over the past decade. As a happily "all over the place" label, the music, accordingly, had to be varied in vibe and style.

We start with a gorgeous acoustic folk track from Thomas Almqvist. I first heard this when our dear friend Andre Allday - who first suggested and then facilitated the Nyanser reissue - played it during our release party for the record at the amazing Hosoi in Stockholm. As something to grab your attention from the off, it's a pretty good opener, I reckon - it'll stop you in your tracks.

We move into an almost totally "lost" Lewis Taylor track, known to and beloved by only his hardest of hardcore fans. Before now, it has only ever seen the light of day on some obscure late 90s CD of "lullabies" compiled by Joan Armatrading. Us neither!

Mic Murphy from Sass/The Mighty Soulmates/The System (!!!) allowed us to use an unreleased track from his mysterious late 90s period. He sent over 7 stunning tracks and, over breakfast one winter morning with my two sons, Rocco and Bruno, the 3 of us selected the track that made us bounce the most while chomping on our cereal.

In deep fall of 2023, myself and Steven (The Funky Paramedic™) had the great pleasure of visiting Tony Henry, leader of the legendary Manchester 80s soul-funk act 52nd Street (those who "put the dance into Factory") to speak some more about a forthcoming retrospective that's been in the works for 5 years now. Fear not - it's coming! Anyway, we went into Tony's amazing studio and he played us the track you hear, here. A demo originally meant for Phyllis Hyman (I mean, come on!), he's very kindly let us use it for this record. A thousand thank yous. It's sensational.

Side A closes out with an elegant exclusive from our favourite Japanese duo, Coastlines, a tropical jazz-funk-fusion track that only they can so effortlessly craft. Sublime.

Side B opens with another total exclusive, and the title track of this compilation. "Joyride" is like some kind of swinging, G-Funk library from the Californian master of modern cinematic soul - Maston. We love everything about this dude. Speaking of California, next up is possibly the coolest ex-pat Manc in all of the Golden State.

Kenny Dickenson's instant classic "Stupid Rain" knocked me out the first time I heard it. The way it starts as a beautifully ornate ambient piece before introducing the barest of pulses to then segue into a full slo-mo cosmic chugger just gets me every time. Man's a genius.

Our great friends from Wilco, Pat and John, comprise The Autumn Defense. Two of the nicest humans in the game and "Bluebirds Fall" is chiming folk-rock at its finest. What they do best and, beyond a tiny-run CD EP decades ago, this is the only way to own this majestic stunner.

Stimulator Jones is a Stones Throw artist who we've loved ever since the epochal "Soon Never Comes" graced our ears. We're putting out his archive beats and when I asked if he had anything fresh that hadn't yet found a home, he sent over a modern / spiritual jazz movement that just blew me away. It's here.

We round out the compilation with a staccato funk-rock track from a Prince alumnus, the one and only Andre Cymone. If this track isn't blasting from radio stations from Dublab to Gilles to NTS then there's no justice in the world.

Of course, as is our way, none of these tracks have ever appeared on vinyl before. This is the only way to own them on wax. Pretty cool. As ever, all we ever want to hear is music with soul and personality. And that's what's contained here. We think we've nailed it. We think you'll like it too.

THE BOOK: LABOUR OF LOVE
Created in conjunction with the editor and design team behind Disco Pogo, Labour Of Love is our first ever book and serves as a brilliantly rich and varied document of Be With's first 10 years. It surveys our entire catalogue with the artwork for every single release faithfully reproduced in full colour accompanied by Rob's inimitable reviews.

The book contains fresh, exclusive interviews with Ned Doheny, Leon Ware, Lewis Taylor, Tommy Guerrero, Wally Badarou, Steve Moore, Pete Fowler, Kimiko Kasai, Tony Henry (52nd Street), The Autumn Defense, Coastlines and The Mighty Soulmates.

There's also fantastic contributions from a whole host of well regarded fans of the label. We have Gilles Peterson on Ned, Trevor Jackson on Nucleus, Efficient Space on Steve Hiett and the joy of collaboration in a competitive industry, Bill Brewster on Marti Caine, Balearic Mike on Kylie and Lou Hayter on her beloved Air.

We explore the development of the Be With logo and also take an insider's look at the journey of a typical Be With record; from the mastering stage with Simon Francis, cutting it up with Cicely Balston, the artwork ordeals with Chris Stevenson, pressing matters with Record Industry, slinging product with ace distributors Word And Sound, stocking product with our favourite London record shop When Spaceships Appear and even packing records for direct orders with our very own Funky Paramedic.

There's also an irreverent look at the legendary Reissue Request Line over on Facebook, with many hints at things to come. 

TRACK LISTING

A1 Thomas Almqvist - Lullaby For Zak
A2 Lewis Taylor - Cherry Blossom
A3 Mic Murphy - Salon Du Chocolat
A4 52nd Street - I'd Fallen In Love (With The Wrong Kind)
A5 Coastlines - Hot Wind
B1 Maston - Joyride
B2 Kenny Dickenson - Stupid Rain
B3 The Autumn Defense - Bluebirds Fall
B4 Stimulator Jones - Aquarius-Pisces Cusp
B5 Andre Cymone - Sex Love Experience

The Rills have certainly shed a skin or two to reach this point, on the eve of their effervescent debut album ‘Don’t Be A Stranger’. Produced by Dave McCracken (the indie mastermind behind many Ian Brown solo records and key works by dEUS and The Rifles as well as lending a hand to albums by the likes of Depeche Mode, Sports Team, The Snuts and Beyoncé), ‘Don’t Be A Stranger’ sees these three young friends take that untapped energy that made them viral sensations and darlings of the grassroots scene and direct it something more considered, complete and heartfelt.

Warner-Webb and frontman Mitch Spencer met in their native Lincoln as young teens, losing their spare time in a skate park. A few years later, that same urge to kill smalltown boredom saw them pick up guitars and start jamming together. A brief stint living in Sheffield chasing some of that Arctic Monkeys magic saw them soon return home to university where Essex lad Mason Cassar joined as drummer and their line-up was complete. Often referenced in their music, there’s a Lincoln Imp spirit baked into The Rills’ DNA - notably in their ability to always see over the horizon and carve something out for themselves when no one else will.

TRACK LISTING

1. Seasick
2. I Don’t Wanna Be
3. Drive
4. Dads Car
5. Mistake
6. POV
7. Bones
8. Dream Of You
9. Sirens
10. Stranger
11. Angel In The Snow

“All the songs started out as poems,” says Margolin of the work that became 'Clouds In The Sky They Will Always Be There For Me', “I wanted to challenge myself.” In a song, Dana argues, the writer can always hide behind the tricks of the music and well-worn techniques such as repetition. “In a poem, though,” says Dana, “it’s just words and that’s it.” Recorded in the Somerset countryside in early 2024 by longtime Big Thief and Laura Marling engineer Dom Monks, 'Clouds In The Sky They Will Always Be There For Me' is Porridge Radio’s new album and first new music in two years. The UK band’s new album is a coming-of-age moment inspired by burnout, the music industry, the brutal collapse of a relationship and - crucially - Dana’s own increasing immersion in her craft as an artist.

“A lot of this album is about a more frenetic and desperate kind of love,” says Dana, “it is about completely losing my sense of self in a relationship, and the deep residue of insecurity and pain that lingered and clouded a new relationship.” Songs that were written as love songs - like 'In A Dream I’m A Painting' - took on new meanings as Margolin viewed the songs with a new distance. “There was a lot of love and confusion, all interspersed with exhaustion and pain.”

The Clouds sessions took place in Frome as Winter melted into early Spring at the beginning of 2024. “There were a few breakdowns,” grins Dana, in a fair assessment of recording such intimate and personal songs, “after some takes I would just collapse on the floor, so upset.” An environment was fostered where Dana could express herself and be nurtured. “We would have these big communal meals every night,” she says, “it felt very close knit and caring and warm and special.”“Our little house looked over a big hill,” remembers Dana, “there was a river running through it, it was big and bright and beautiful.” The studio itself was bright - full of beaming natural light from the large windows, a blessing for musicians used to the sealed tomb world of most recording studios, and for once the band were all able to record in the same room as the producer.

Today, Dana reflects on 'Clouds In The Sky They Will Always Be There For Me' with the enthusiasm of a real creative breakthrough. “It feels like the first time we’ve made something,” she explains, audibly delighted at the album, “it captured something about our friendship and the way that we have learnt to play together. I love the songs, I love playing them, they haven’t gotten old and it feels like it’s a special thing.” A pause. “It’s taught me so much. Following your gut to the nth point, trusting your friends and their loyalty, trusting to be able to fight with people properly. How I want to live is how I want to make records, because making records is my life because my work is my play is my job is my life. It all ties together in this thing, and there are ways to do this that might not kill me.”

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Deeply emotive pieces that are filled with moments of grand cathartic orchestration and equally, moments of shimmering calm and relatively unadorned simplicity. Brilliantly textured throughout, and endlessly appreciable.

TRACK LISTING

1. Anybody
2. Hole In The Ground
3. Lavender, Raspberries
4. God Of Everything Else
5. Sleeptalker
6. You Will Come Home
7. Wednesday
8. In A Dream I’m A Painting
9. I Got Lost
10. Pieces Of Heaven
11. Sick Of The Blues

Stimulator Jones returns to Tim Zawada's orbit with this release on Star Creature side label Tugboat Editions. A soulful, r&b tinged boogie cover of Ben White's modern soul masterpiece in both vocal and instrumental mixes. Suits you sir! 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: After slaying us earlier in the year with a full EP of original music on Star Creature, Samuel Jones Lunsford dips his toes into the Tugboat - gifting the label an inspired cover of Ben White's "I Would Have To Be A Fool".

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
I Would Have To Be A Fool

Side 2
I Would Have To Be A Fool (instrumental)

Chad Jackson and Hallmighty deliver a fresh take on classic sounds with Jazz Be Good To Me on Battle Weapons France. This hip hop/R&B release features two creative tracks. Side-1 showcases Chad Jackson's 'Jazz Be Good To Me,' a lively hip hop groove that echoes the late 80s and 90s, when dance music was a key component of the genre. Jackson updates the early 80s classic by the S O S Band with a vibrant, contemporary twist, making it a perfect fusion of old and new. On Side-2, Hallmighty presents 'What Is Stormy Love,' a masterful mash-up of Haddaway and Diana Ross & The Supremes. This track is produced so seamlessly that it feels like an original song from the late 60s, blending vintage soul with modern production techniques.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Chad Jackson - Jazz Be Good To Me
B1. Hallmighty - What Is Stormy Love

A collection of warmly melodic electronic sketches, with tracks alternately drifting beatless on the breeze or underpinned by lo-fi drums, sometimes barely held together with a delicate construction of odd synth patches and ping-pong percussion. Each piece is short and to the point, a record of perfect miniatures. Whilst this description may sound utopian, the album is conceived around themes of late stage capitalist brutality, hyper consumerism, online doom and alogorhithmic apocalypse. Beauty in the face of planetary collapse and 24/7 livestreamed genocide.

Rumoured to have been discovered by Aphex Twin sleeping on a park bench in Tokyo, Raczynski first appeared on the scene in 1999 with 3 albums in that year alone. He went on to explore hallucinatory, bassbin-rattling IDM, outsider junglism and traditional Polish folk music amongst other paths, collaborated with Björk, produced a soundtrack for a PlayStation game, and remixed the likes of Autechre, Jonsi, and CLIPPING. In 2019, Disciples began looking after his Rephlex era catalogue, putting together the Rave 'Till You Cry compilation of unreleased gold from the vaults, and reissuing his classic Samurai Math Beats LP. His last studio album, ADDLE, came out on Planet Mu in 2022.

"Bogdan was a massive inspiration for some of my tracks on the Drukqs album, the fact he was doing it all on a shit PC tracker… totally amazing. This was before 99.9 percent of people used the computer for everything. His records are so underrated." - Aphex Twin

TRACK LISTING

1. Gearee
2. Newdiv
3. Fairalign
4. Coughyspns
5. Bangsaft
6. Djstus
7. Hundrecision
8. Zownthram
9. Visionsrevisions
10. Bowgh
11. Fallybli
12. Faq
13. Yewt
14. Shttwobe
15. Sicksicksicks
16. Deweyedair
17. Rew
18. Gauq

This is the very first reissue of the much in demand double sided killer single released in 1970 on the Upsetter label. The A side is a beautiful yet wicked cover of Let It Be by the Beatles, produced by Lee Perry and performed by the Soulettes. The B side is Big Dog Bloxie, an even wackier version of the A side by Lee Perry!

TRACK LISTING

The Soulettes - Let It Be
The Upsetters - Big Dog Bloxie

SSW Mayu, a multi-talented singer who has appeared in musicals and TV dramas, covers the classic songs of yesteryear as a single cut from a compilation album by Cafe Music!

TRACK LISTING

1. You Gotta Be (Slow Night Mix)
2. Eh Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say) [Lovers Reggae Mix]

Near-ambient arrangements that float in a space between The Durutti Column, Steve Cropper and Ashra, Down On The Road By The Beach also crowns Hiett the master of recontextualization with his zero-gravity blues visions of Roll Over Beethoven, Santo & Johnny’s Sleep Walk and the 1967 Eddie Floyd soul hit Never Found A Girl.

For the first time since its inception 36 years ago, Steve Hiett’s elusive Down On The Road By The Beach is finally made available outside of Japan. Most recognized in the fashion sphere as an English photographer and graphic designer, Hiett‘s transportive audio portraits amplify his serpentine guitar to the infinite blue, recorded across Paris, Tokyo and New York with no coastline in sight. Now widely celebrated as a desert island disc, very little is actually known of its unfathomable genesis.

A career devotee of Brian Wilson’s ground breaking harmonies, Hiett shot The Beach Boys for Rolling Stone - as well as The Doors, Miles Davis and Jimi Hendrix (in one of his final performances at the 1970 Isle Of Wight Festival) - while establishing himself as a fashion photographer. Decamping to Paris in 1972, he began what would become 20-year collaborations with Vogue Paris and Marie Claire, printing his signature warm, saturated and vibrantly hued snapshots.

In 1982, representatives from Tokyo’s Galerie Watari visited him to propose a solo exhibition. Asking if he could insert a 7” of original music into the back of the exhibition catalogue, Hiett laid down ‘Blue Beach - Welcome To Your Beach’ in a Parisian radio station, playing all of the instruments himself, and two more cuts in New York with Yoko Ono, The Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan hired-gun Elliot Randall. Once dispatched, the phone began ringing off the hook with requests for him to fly to Tokyo. Assuming these long-distance callers were wanting him to check proofs for the book, it wasn’t until he arrived that he discovered CBS/Sony had facilitated an entire album. Heitt hastily gripped some petty cash, bought a guitar and retreated to his hotel room to start writing.

Entering the studio the following day, he was further surprised by a waiting room of session players known as Moonriders - one of Japan’s most acclaimed rock bands of the 1980s. Intimidated by their indecipherable sheet music, Hiett suggested Randall join them and with money being no object for major labels at the time, his wingman was on the next plane out of New York to finalise the high production indulgence.

STAFF COMMENTS

Patrick says: An underground favourite amongst Balearic and Ambient collectors, original copies of this cool and contemplative LP from Steve Hiett dried up recently, making this reissue a must have. Hiett's soundscapes and reflective guitars are every bit as beautiful as his cover photo.

TRACK LISTING

1. Blue Beach - Welcome To Your Beach
2. Never Find A Girl (To Love Me Like You Do)
3. By The Pool
4. Roll Over, Beethoven - Out Of The Beach
5. In The Shade
6. Looking Across The Street
7. Long Distance Look
8. Hot Afternoon
9. Crying In The Sun
10. The Next Time
11. Miss B.B. Walks Away
12. Sleep Walk
13. Standing There

Erland Cooper’s new album Carve the Runes Then Be Content With Silence is released – 3 years from the day the only master tape was planted deep into the Orkney soil.

The album is a recording of Cooper’s brand new three-movement composition for solo violin and string ensemble. The work marks the centenary of celebrated Orkney poet George Mackay Brown, as 2021 marks 100 years since his birth.

Inspired by natural landscapes and ruminating on time, hope, community and patience, the sole recording of the work – on ¼ inch magnetic tape, with the digital files permanently deleted – has been planted to grow and be nurtured or “recomposed” by the earth, before being exhumed and released in three years’ time. Whilst Cooper will not be unearthing the tape until 2024, he has left a trail for anyone to search and find it if they wish. A map with clues to the location of the planting site will be released via his digital platforms. If the planted tape is found, Erland will invite the discoverer to his studio to embark on a journey together for the treasured first listen. It will then be released exactly as it sounds from the earth.

Erland Cooper says, “Music can so often feel undervalued and for some, being unable to perform live has at times felt like being buried. When an idea forms there is often an urge to share it as quickly as it develops but like spotting a bird, I want to let this fly and land in its own place and time. The work is one part remembrance and one part celebration of a landmark time.” He adds: “The material on the tape may erode naturally, disintegrate and create drops of silence or the peaty soil may preserve it perfectly well. It may or may not get better with age. I may or may not fall out of favour with my composition. Any alterations to the sound and music [when it comes out of the earth] will be reincorporated into the pages of a new score and live performance, as orchestral articulations.”

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: As fascinating as the concept is of burying an album for ages and then releasing it, degradation and all (including deleting the digital files for a 'no-takesie-backsies' scenario), it's actually listening to this modern classical masterpiece where the real joy lies. Brimming with atmosphere and (ahem) dirt, it's a perfect combination of concept and execution.

Oh yes! First ever official reissue of the positively sublime and very rare Butterfly LP, recorded in Tokyo in 1979 by Japanese songstress Kimiko Kasai and jazz legend Herbie Hancock.

Due to its super-rare status as a Japan-only release, this exquisite collection of covers never got the recognition it deserved at the time, despite incredibly inspired performances from Kimiko, Herbie and the supremely talented musicians assembled for the project. From heavenly drummer Alphonse Mouzon and renowned organist Webster Lewis to bassist Paul Jackson, reedman Bennie Maupin and the master percussionist Bill Summers, the legendary performers crafted amazingly good vocal versions of Herbie / Headhunters jazz-funk. Unsurprisingly, it has been heavily in demand for many years.

The LP opens with Kimiko’s highly desirable version of “I Thought It Was You”, an elegant take on Herbie’s own anthem. Other superb re-workings include the delicately soulful “Butterfly”, jazzy groover “Sunlight”, the smooth and sexy “Tell Me A Bedtime Story” and the beautiful ballads “Maiden Voyage” and “Harvest Time”. A wonderful example of perfectly understated and masterful jazz-funk soul fusion that shouldn’t be missed, the set closes with a jaw-dropping version of Stevie Wonder’s “As”.

This lovingly curated reissue enables a long overdue reappraisal of this hitherto unavailable masterpiece. The stunning artwork which adorned the original jacket - complete with OBI strip and sumptuous 4 page folded insert - has been faithfully restored. Simon Francis’ sensitive mastering elevates the sound throughout and, as ever, it has been pressed at a reassuringly weighty 180g. Essential.

TRACK LISTING

A1. I Thought It Was You
A2. Tell Me A Bedtime Story
A3. Head In The Clouds
A4. Maiden Voyage
B1. Harvest Time
B2. Sunlight
B3. Butterfly
B4. As

FINALLY! The very first commercial release of two legendary remixes of Arthur Russell's "In The Light Of The Miracle". Both are widely regarded as transcendent masterpieces and very much befitting of the title “holy grails”.

These long-beloved mixes are the types you'd wish would last for eternity. With almost 30 minutes of music here, we very nearly get our desires granted. At last, these jaw-dropping mixes are widely available to every Arthur fan in the world. This is musical perfection.

The deep Loft classic "In The Light Of The Miracle" remained unreleased during Arthur's lifetime, finally discovered when Phillip Glass included the original version on Another Thought on Point Music in 1993. As Steve Knutson told us, when Another Thought was being put together, the plan was to release a companion album of remixes that was overseen by Steve D'Aquisto but the project only got as far as these two remixes of "In The Light Of The Miracle".

Some dodgy scans of some centre label designs suggest that Point Music might’ve been planning to release these on a 12" but it didn’t happen. The story goes that Gilles Peterson heard the remixes on a visit to the Point Music offices and wanted to release them on Talkin’ Loud. We’re not sure how many white label copies made it out into the wild, but again, these remixes didn’t make it to a proper release.

These remixes both extend and undeniably enhance the original, elevating it to new heights. The 13 minute remix on the A-side is by Danny Krivit & Tony Smith with editing duties performed by Tony Morgan. As ever with Arthur, the music is almost impossible to describe: is it Disco? Garage House? Avant Garde? None of these tags do full justice to its sheer majesty. You best just listen. Stretching out the original with some unbelievably great percussive elements, until we're in a deeply spiritual, otherworldly realm, it's just too beautiful for words. As many have claimed, it's the prototype for EVERYTHING.

The "Ponytail Club Mix (Part 1 & 2)", produced by Tony Morgan in the mid-90s, is in a more up-tempo style, with vocals higher in the mix, the BPM upped to 120 and the addition of a housey 4/4 kick drum. A 14 minute epic, you could say this is a more straight ahead "club-friendly" mix (but can things ever be that straightforward with Arthur?!) It also has some really interesting vocal parts not used in the other versions, including some vocals from guest poet Allen Ginsberg.

These remixes are part of the same original project that also produced the Another Thought album so it seems only right that they have a sleeve that matches. Thanks again to Janette Beckman for letting us use another of her photos of Arthur and the rest of the design follows what Margery Greenspan, Tina Lauffer and Michael Klotz did for Another Thought back in 1994.

Simon Francis remastered the original audio for both tracks and Cicely Balston's precise cut for Alchemy at AIR Studios ensures this 12" well and truly slaps. The immaculate Record Industry pressing will ensure this incredibly sought-after treasure finds a home in many more collections, this and every year.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: The stuff of mythical legend (five copies were famously dragged from a skip outside Fat City Records when they were told to cease and desist upon its first, unlicensed release). Be With resurrect a true holy grail of disco-not-disco and in my opinion, Arthur Russell's finest moment (I've famously requested the song be played at my funeral). With a full colour sleeve and without any skip damage, this is the definitive edition of the definitive record.

TRACK LISTING

A1 In The Light Of The Miracle (13:26 Min)
B1 In The Light Of The Miracle - Ponytail Club Mix (Parts 1 & 2) (14:10 Min)

Steve Moore returns to the library music fold and it's a total doozy: Cursed Objects is truly sensational prog-synth-wave. Featuring epic electronic explorations with chamber music and symphonic flourishes, it's our favourite thing Steve has ever done. In keeping with the horror heat of the music contained within, this vinyl release is frighteningly limited, with just 500 pressed for the world.

New York-based multi-instrumentalist/producer/film composer Steve Moore is probably best known for his synthesizer and bass guitar work as Zombi, together with Anthony Paterra. But he is also part of Miracle and Titan as well as being a prolific solo artist releasing music as Gianni Rossi, Lovelock and under his own name. Steve’s music has found a home across hallowed labels like Future Times, Mexican Summer, LIES, Static Caravan, Kompakt, Death Waltz, Ghost Box and, of course, Be With Records.

Steve released Cursed Objects for fresh library label Fold. Run by ex-KPM head Paul Sandell, it's a library with values we can all get behind. It's the first production music platform working exclusively with independent labels, publishers and artists to create a truly authentic artist-led sound, at production music rates. Here's what Steve had to say: "I had worked with Paul before, at KPM. After he left, he mentioned that he had started a new library - Fold - and I was very interested in being a part. And I happened to be working on a bunch of music at the time that I thought could fit." So here we are!

The LP opens by letting in "The Uninvited One". Calm and relaxed arpeggiated synths build around sweeping strings and plucked harp to create a mystical and hopeful feel. The title track sees dark synths merge and swell with a piano, string and harp melody that is dark, mysterious and brooding. "Evolutionary Steps" is an electro synthwave track that builds with epic strings and beats, offering an expansive and dreamy approach with a mystical and driving rhythm. Next up, "The Icarus Feather" is daring, pulsing and cinematic synthwave that builds with arpeggiated synths to a hopeful end. "Daily Affirmations" offers calm and meditative ambient synths with plucked harp and strings for a reflective, peaceful, daydreamy feel.

“Mesmer's Bauble” ushers in side two, its dark synth backing builds with plucked harp and strings building with a sense of unknown and dread; it's introspective and heartfelt. "Quiet Springs" is all mystical synths, harps and strings, building to an epic panoramic scope with a hopeful and poignant atmosphere. "Festival Of Samhain" presents a dark and brooding piano melody which builds with synths and strings to create a slow and desolate feel. "The Icarus Feather (Revisited)" is epic building synthwave with arpeggiated synths and strings and a driving rhythm - the beat builds with the strings entering a forceful and marching mood. To close, "Shard Of Medusa" rides a serious and dark piano melody and, in concert with harp and strings, it creates a suspenseful and solemn atmosphere.

Steve recorded Cursed Objects, as always, at his home studio in Albany, NY. For synths, he mostly used his trusty Prophet 6, as well as his Moog Minitaur and lots of Korg Polysix too. But he also utilised a lot of virtual instruments - he doesn't have the budget for a full string section, or a harpist, alas.

The album’s cover was designed by Chris Stevenson. The artwork is a nod to first wave cyberpunk and in particular Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash and the idea of mind viruses and cursed data. Mastering for this vinyl edition was overseen by Be With regular Simon Francis, and it was cut by the esteemed Cicely Balston at AIR Studios to be pressed in the Netherlands by Record Industry. Far from being cursed, this is another future classic library LP.

TRACK LISTING

A1 The Uninvited One
A2 Cursed Objects
A3 Evolutionary Steps
A4 The Icarus Feather
A5 Daily Affirmations
B1 Mesmer's Bauble
B2 Quiet Springs
B3 Festival Of Samhain
B4 The Icarus Feather (Revisited)
B5 Shard Of Medusa

The recording sessions for Let It Be were actually begun as rehearsals for a proposed return to live stage work for the Beatles, to be inaugurated in a concert at a Roman amphitheatre in Tunisia. Here, Steve Matteo delves deep into the complex history of these recording sessions. He talks to many of the people involved in the recording of these songs, and the accompanying documentary.

Sounds as diverse as Tropical Disco, Afro Funk, Highlife, Juju, Disco, Soukous & more combine effortlessly on the debut full LP from Bosq & Kaleta. Brilliant songwriter and former member of legendary African groups like Fela Kuti’s Egypt 80 & King Sunny Ade’s African Beats, Kaleta helms the vocal duties with his signature chants in a mixture of Yoruba, Goun, French, English & Fon.

Bosq brings his renowned balance of organic & electronic production to give the album a current but timeless feel. A fantastic cast of guest musicians from as far and wide as Colombias Choco region on the Pacific Coast, to Brooklyn, to Port Novo, Benin & Lagos Nigeria bring a depth of musicianship & musical histories to the beautiful group of tracks.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Though Columbian based, Bosq has been exploring the intersections of African and Latin music for some time. Joined by Benin-born, Lagos-raised Kaleta, this is a modern global groove record of epic proportions!

TRACK LISTING

A1. No Be Today
A2. I No Dey Play
A3. Ose
B1. Sonayon
B2. Mifon
B3. Ipade
C1. Miselou
C2. Meji Meji
C3. Debiteur Insolvable
D1. Ajanaku
D2. Ariya Tide
D3. Robojiyan

To honour AC/DC’s 50-year reign as the world’s greatest rock and roll band, Columbia/Sony Legacy proudly announce that the band’s catalogue will be available as gold-coloured vinyl LPs. Each of these limited edition LPscomes with an album-specific 12”x12” print featuring newAC/DC 50 artwork,suitable for framing.

Initially released in Australia in March 1977, a modified international version featuring the first appearance of the iconic AC/DC logo was unleashed that Summer. It’s said that while recording the solo on the title track, Angus’s amp overheated and caught fire!

Belgian artist Gratts wrote 'Sun Circles' as an empowerment anthem for his two sons and it dropped to plenty of acclaim last year. In its wake, Gratts DJed with Adelaide's multi-talented Alexander Flood on percussion and after some conversations he was enlisted to bring his jazz background to a remix of the original. He did so live as part of a quintet and the result is a super summery, airy rework with soulful vocals that linger long in the air. Detroit-based techno and ambient maestro John Beltran appears on the flip to bring a classy Balearic remix that will have you dreaming of longer, warmer nights and plenty of sun-kissed dancing fun.

TRACK LISTING

Sun Circles (Alexander Flood Live Rework)
Sun Circles (John Beltran Project Remix)

Belgian DJ and producer Gratts have joined forces with London-based vocalist Mr. Beale to follow up on to success of their well-received 'Sun Circles' release last year. Here, on the sublime 'Submerge Me', they are in fine form once more with a brooding sound that features the uniquely mesmerising mantras of Beale and plenty of raw, compelling and percussive grooves that fully lock you in and get you going. Versatile Records' own Gilb'r then steps up on the flip and manages to take things even deeper with some fine liquid dub excursions to complete a top 7"

TRACK LISTING

Submerge Me (Original Version)
Submerge Me (Gilb'r Remix)

J & M Music Co US welcomes LeBaron James for another standout four-tracker that brings raw house and smooth disco together on one EP. Up first is 'Always Be True', a deceptively simple sound that brings straight-up dancefloor beats with hooky pads. 'House Party' then has more heavy kicks and wild percussive patterns to liven up any party and 'One' then brings a more cool and laid-back disco groove that has a slick modern twist. Last but not least is 'Sugar And Spice' which brings a touch of sophisticated and chic instrumental vibes. It's a fourth different sound on a versatile EP.

TRACK LISTING

Always Be True
One
House Party
Sugar & Spice

If ever an album could transport you to the hazy sunshine and imagined halcyon paradise of Southern California in the mid-1980s, could capture the early evening warmth of hanging at an inclusive boogie jam as it approaches “magic hour” in Santa Ana or Anaheim, then it’s Vaughan Mason and Butch Dayo’s Feel My Love. A brilliantly produced deep slung, low rider funk classic originally released on Salsoul in 1983. It’s a masterpiece of “funk love music”.

Yes, this is indeed a perfectly formed five track “mini LP” of unparalleled heat, but there’s one song here that, above the rest, represents Orange County boogie-funk. A straight killer beloved by all that have had the pleasure of moving to it. A track that can fill up a dance floor within seconds of its starting. That song is the eternal title track, “Feel My Love”.

This is a work of art that made people fall in love with the funk. It transcends the limitations of genre. “Feel My Love”’s deceptive simplicity makes it perfect to drop during a house set, a classic funk party or at a west coast rap jam. It’s sexy, deeply emotional, melancholic, hopeful, passionate and just radiates so, so much raw energy. This is music.

The rest of the record is hardly filler though. Opener “Oh, Love” is a dizzying, emotional slow jam. With heaven-sent vocals riding gorgeous, sweeping keys that alternate between sweet twinkling lines and funk-fuelled stabbing. It’s sensational. A rollerskating jam named “Rollalong Songs” is an ultra-swish piece of dance floor dynamite. Its slick drums, staccato piano and neck snapping claps underscore Dayo’s buoyant vocals. It’s essentially “Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll Part II”.

The flip begins with “Party On The Corner”. Smoother than silk vocals, day-glo synths, a bubbling bassline and guitar licks that surely received the Prince seal of approval. It’s another example of how Vaughan Mason and Butch Dayo flirt with perfection so routinely. The most majestic closer, the kaleidoscopic, cow-bell-assisted synth-funk heater “You Can Do It” is a proto-rap groover that truly smokes.

This prized LP is a stone cold jam and finding original copies on vinyl at affordable prices has been tough for years. Mastered brilliantly by Simon Francis, cut by Pete Norman and with lovingly reproduced artwork, this fresh Be With reissue ensures this legendary LP now sounds, looks and feels as sensational as it should.

TRACK LISTING

A1: Oh, Love
A2: Rollalong Songs
A3: Feel My Love
B1: Party On The Corner
B2: You Can Do It

Hardly Art debut by Brooklyn-based artist Nick Llobet, aka youbet, follows their 2020 debut album on Ba Da Bing! Records.

A lovely album of layered melodic pop-rock arrangements fusing rock and electronic instrumentation with Nick Llobet’s poignant, witty, and vulnerable lyrics.

Nick Llobet (they/them) was ready to throw in the towel. Llobet, who grew up in South Florida, learned to play guitar at a very young age, dabbling in everything from classical, blues, classic rock, and flamenco. They’d spent much of their early 20s searching for their voice as an artist and as an individual, as well as for a musical community. Llobet would eventually move to Brooklyn, but after three years of looking for a hopeful artistic breakthrough, they spent much of their time in seclusion, consumed by social anxiety and imposter syndrome—and they were considering abandoning songwriting completely.

One day, while commuting through Penn Station en route to their partner’s family home in Virginia (that would also lead to the crucial purchase of a secondhand Tascam cassette recorder), they noticed Patti Smith sitting alone, waiting for a train. The typically shy Llobet decided to approach the icon, who was, in turn, delighted to see that Llobet was carrying a guitar. At the end of their interaction, Smith offered some parting wisdom: “She wished me luck and said, ‘Practice hard, Nick.’” Llobet took her advice to heart, and this chance encounter kicked off a personal and artistic rebirth.

They started performing as youbet, a play on their last name, and began “changing [their] vision for what a song could be.” youbet’s debut, Compare & Despair, a delightful gem of a record that showcases Llobet’s propensity for freewheeling whimsy and emotional intensity. In May 2019, inspired by a song-a-week writing group that produced Compare & Despair, Llobet started a second club in which contributors would upload that week’s song to a private Bandcamp. Invigorated by this small musical collaboration, the feedback, and the accountability, Llobet wrote 18 songs throughout the duration of the club, twelve of which became Way To Be.

After this songwriting marathon, Llobet spent 2020 focusing on instrumental guitar work and political engagement. By the summer of 2021, they were ready to revisit the Way To Be tracks. Over the next year-and-a-half, Llobet worked on the record relentlessly, refining the lyrics, recording, and arrangements from their apartment. Llobet self-produced Way To Be and describes the process as an enormous, labor-intensive undertaking that felt akin to “making a whole film.” Along the way, Llobet was joined by collaborators, including Julian Fader (Ava Luna), Adam Brisbin (Buck Meek), and Daniel Siles.

Across Way To Be’s 12 delightfully off-kilter tunes, Llobet uses wordplay and tongue-in-cheek humor to obliquely explore dysfunctional relationships, regret, self-confidence or the lack thereof, queerness, and self-discovery. Fuzzy at the edges and filled with playful, kinetic arrangements, Way To Be is a bridge into the entrancing world of youbet. You won’t want to leave.

TRACK LISTING

1. Carsick
2. Way To Be
3. Nurture
4. Seeds Of Evil
5. Alive To You
6. Do
7. Deserve
8. Lost
9. Peel
10. Trauma
11. Vacancy
12. Still

Over the past year, GRAMMY Best New Artist-nominated Vermont singer & songwriter Noah Kahan has exploded from his New England roots into the global mainstream and has been touted as one of this year’s biggest and best new artists.

The global sensation is back with a deluxe version of Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever). The Deluxe CD showcases seven additional tracks from Kahan’s Platinum-Certified Stick Season album as well as his

Double Platinum-Certified and first career top 10 hit “Stick Season” and Platinum-Certified top 40 hit “Dial Drunk”.

Leeds indie frontrunners English Teacher announce debut LP ‘This Could Be Texas’. Preceded by initial LP reveals ‘The World’s Biggest Paving Slab’, ‘Nearly Daffodils’ and ‘Mastermind Specialism’, which were all A-listed on the BBC 6 Music playlist, English Teacher’s remarkable ascent continues to reach new levels, having completed sold-out debut UK and US headline runs last autumn, following their thrilling debut appearance on Later With...Jools Holland. Announced as Independent Venue Week Artist Ambassador for 2024. Lead singer Lily Fontaine explains, “I want this album to feel like you’ve gone to space, and it turns out its almost identical to Doncaster. It’s about in-betweens, it’s about home, and it’s about Desire Paths." In several songs, Fontaine reflects on growing up as a mixed-race individual in a place, she says, “where many didn’t have any tolerance towards people who are different” in a post-Brexit landscape.

The debut album by Leeds frontrunners ‘This Could Be Texas’ will be released on 12th April 2023.

Lead singer Lily Fontaine explains, “I want this album to feel like you’ve gone to space, and it turns out its almost identical to Doncaster. It’s about in-betweens, it’s about home, and it’s about Desire Paths."

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: It’s impossible to categorise ‘This Could Be Texas’ accurately, I mean, we’ll whack in in the indie section because in places, it does broadly fall under the sort of music you’d expect to find there. We’ve got distorted guitars, soaring synths and snappy percussion beneath Lily’s perfectly placed, athletically chameleonic vocals, but keep listening and there are hints of post-punk and art-rock, modern classical and even folk seeping through as things move further along.

For me, the perfect opening piece is the beautiful and mysterious ‘Albatross’ which is so melodically intricate and deftly delivered that while it gives you an idea of what thematically diverse delights are in store, it doesn’t show you quite how well the band manage to pull together the sometimes disparate sound worlds. There are playful, minimalistic growers like ‘Mastermind Specialism’ which could comfortably sit on an Explosions In The Sky album, or the vocoded rhythmic nu-jazz leanings of ‘Best Tears Of Your Life’. A particular highlight for me is the dreamlike lounge of ‘Blister My Paint’, which sounds like a touch of psychedelics in a smokey late night bar, or the acidic groove and wry vocals of the instantly recognisable ‘R&B’. While there are moments in ‘This Could Be Texas’ that feel like they stick out enough to not smoothly transition to the next phrase, the fear is never realised. A wonderfully forged, impeccably conceived album and a sure sign of what’s to come from English Teacher.

Sometimes you have to move backwards to move forwards. Just ask punk cultural commentators BODEGA, whose new album sees them carve a new future from fuzz-soaked, consumerism-skewering shards of their past.

‘Our Brand Could Be YR Life’ is BODEGA's first album release through Chrysalis Records. “It’s something we’ve been wanting to do for years,” guitarist and vocalist Ben Hozie explains of ‘Our Brand Could Be Yr Life’ – a collection of catchy indie-rock ruminations on the slow-creep of corporate-think into youth culture, first written eight years ago.

‘Our Brand Could Be YR Life’'s 15 tracks explore indie-rock subgenres, self-critique and everything in between. "I think it’s our best- sounding record to date,” says Hozie, "I t’s got dance-punk. There's some shoegaze on there. There's slacker rock on there. There's psychedelic rock on there. R.E.M, too. We wanted to be another band in a long stream of missionaries, proselytising a certain type of rock subculture.” 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: It's been a couple years since Bodega's last LP, and 'Our Brand...' shows that the Brooklyn band have honed their propulsive, soaring garage-adjacent rock and with it brought in a wealth of perfectly integrated influences. Brilliantly produced and beautifully performed, it's definitely the most exciting of their releases to date.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Dedicated To The Dedicated
2. G.N.D. Deity
3. Bodega Bait
4. Tarkovski
5. Major Amberson
6. Stain Gaze
7. Webster Hall
Side B
1. ATM
2. Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Drum
3. Protean
4. Born Into By What Consumes
5. Cultural Consumer I
6. Cultural Consumer II
7. Cultural Consumer III
8. City Is Taken

Keyboardist and composer Carl Moore originally wrote, recorded and pressed only 100 (!) copies of these tracks, grabbing a quick moment of studio time during a tour of Japan in the early 1980s. Moore’s purple patch saw him becoming peers with artists such as Phyllis Hyman, Jean Carn, Janet Jackson and ‘The King of Gospel’, James Cleveland.

Carter Lake is an energetic 2 minutes 30 second blast of pure dance floor joy, that looks back at carefree days, teenage love and love lost. Moore’s voice soars, and showcases his love for the powerful stylings of jazz and gospel. On the flip, Must Be The Beat sees him explore very different textures and could easily be a long lost Prince recording found in the vaults in Paisley Park. Sounding like something jammed late at night, this one is perfect for the afterhours when there are 30 sweaty dancers left on the floor at 5am that just don’t want to go home!

This is the first release on Sweet Free Association, a new label founded by Sam Don, the DJ and curator responsible for the recent lovers rock and UK soul comps For The Love of You and Just A Touch. Born out of the wish to find another way of sharing ‘the fruits’ from his Free Association radio show and parties, these impossibly rare disco tracks are now available to a wider audience for the first time, as the vast majority of the original copies have been long lost.

Mastered at The Carvery, the lo-fi recordings have been skilfully lifted by Frank Merritt to sound big in the club, while retaining the original charm in the sound that made the tracks stand out to Sam in the first instance.

TRACK LISTING

Carter Lake
Must Be The Beat

4th studio album from the New York singer songwriter who is based in Cambridge, UK.

TRACK LISTING

Black And White
Do You Want To Start A Fight
I Just Realised
Big Grey Couch
Leather Chair
Dance We Do
18 Years
Lofted Houses
After The Storm
Should've Seen It Coming

Breakwater’s earth-shattering “Release The Beast” is unquestionably the standout song from their 1980 funk masterpiece LP Splashdown. It also came out as a now-hen’s-teeth-rare 7" in the same year and when it came to putting it out as a 7" again we just had to do it in a miniature version of the Splashdown sleeve. It’s one of the best album cover shoots of all time.

For the b-side, we’ve backed Breakwater’s biggest track with Be With’s favourite: the quietly majestic gem “Let Love In”, another winner from the same LP.

Possessing a sound and a feel that was lightyears ahead of its time, “Release The Beast” is a showcase for Breakwater’s phenomenal power-funk capabilities. The energy is astounding. It rips out of the grooves on a deep funk tip, with speaker-smashing, room-shaking drums competing with distorted funk-rock guitar, bumping bass and space-age synths. But it’s not without its compellingly haunting elements too. What else can we say? It’s a genius piece of music.

And, yes, of course this is the tune Daft Punk sampled for their 2005 track “Robot Rock”. Let’s be blunt, they lifted the Philly act’s funk-rock vamping pretty much wholesale. But to be fair to them we wouldn’t have messed with the perfection of the original either and those Parisians shone a much-needed spotlight on an innovative band from the halcyon period of post-disco funk.

On the flip, “Let Love In” is a smooth, easy glide that demonstrates Breakwater’s superb, sophisticated musicianship. The tight horn section and irresistible bass make for an undeniable groove. However, it also reveals a depth to their lyricism that’s often overlooked. In these dark days, the sentiment of the opening lines is truly one to we should all take to heart:

“It feels good to be friends with everyone, Walk around and the feeling’s in the air, No more hate can’t you see, This is really for me.”

A feel good hit for the summer if ever there was one. 

TRACK LISTING

A1 : Release The Beast (4:50)
B1 : Let Love In (4:35)

Over a year since the release of their exhilarating debut Could We Be More, Kokoroko present a new collection of remixes of tracks from their first album. The record brings together a dizzying, globe-spanning array of contemporary music’s most forward-thinking artists, each bringing their own unique identity to the project while maintaining the immersive sound-world of the original. Could We Be More Remixes is due 10th November 2023 via Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Recordings.

All the remixers share a common approach with the band, filtering global influences and backgrounds through the lens of their hometown. As a result, each remix explores and stretches the core elements of the debut in different ways. Home-grown London talents Eun and Demae, both associates of the Touching Bass collective that sprouted from the same scene as Kokoroko, turn in a spaced-out version of ‘Tojo’ that manages to be introspective and driving at the same time, reminiscent of some of the best work on Moodymann’s imprints. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A gorgeous selection of reworks from Kokoroko's brilliant 'Could We Be More'. The remixes here fit seamlessly alongside the original material, taking the original sounds and stretching their peripheries outwards, resulting in something that's a perfect listen as an extension of the original story rather than a retelling.

TRACK LISTING

1. Tojo (Eun Remix Feat. Demae)
2. Somethings Going On (Miles James Remix)
3. Home (anaiis Remix)
4. Ewà Inú (Vanyfox Remix)
5. Ewà Inú (Dreamcastmoe's Smoked Out Remix)
6. We Give Thanks (KeiyaA Remix)
7. Dide O (Ash Lauryn & Stefan Ringer Remix)
8. War Dance (Hagan Remix)

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

TRACK LISTING

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

CMAT is the stage name of Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, a global pop star who lives in Dublin with her grandparents, where she is currently recovering from an AliExpress addiction. Her influences include Dory Previn, John Grant, Paris Hilton, XTC and KFC.

TRACK LISTING

Nashville
I Don't Really Care For You
Peter Bogdanovich
No More Virgos
Lonely
Groundhog Day
Communion
Every Bottle (Is My Boyfriend)
2 Wrecked 2 Care
Geography Teacher
I Wanna Be A Cowboy, Baby!
I'd Want U

On 7" for the first time ever, one of the most important rap records ever.

It's timeless, it's genius, it's just pure beautiful brilliance. It's Common's masterpiece.

One of the best songs in all hip-hop history, “I Used To Love H.E.R.” was the first single from Common's eternal 1994 LP, Resurrection. He personifies hip-hop as an ode to the art form he once loved, lamenting how the genre became too commercialised and, due to a mass influx of mainstream rap in the 90s, some of the purity and freshness of the culture was being lost.

Common uses a first-person romance narrative to detail the history of hip-hop, resulting in an extended metaphor that's sophisticated, clever, and delivers a moral message that touched millions of people and still absolutely blows minds at the song's conclusion: "'Cause who we're talkin' about, y'all, is hip-hop"

Perfectly produced by No ID and incorporating a gorgeous, melancholic sample of George Benson’s “The Changing World”, the plaintive sonic landscape provided the ideal foundation for Common’s innovative storytelling. Almost 30 years later, “I Used To Love H.E.R.” remains one the most significant moments in hip-hop: a classic in every sense of the word.

Common did discuss the true meaning of the track in a 1995 interview on “Yo! MTV Raps”, stating: “H.E.R. stands for Hip-Hop in its Essence is Real. And all I’m talking about his how I first came into contact with hip-hop music and how it evolved into where it is now. And it’s like all these gimmicks going on, all the phoniness, ain’t nobody being real with it. Everybody’s stressing that it’s real but ain’t nobody being true to it. I think that came about because — once it started becoming a business, then people started losing their soul and they started looking at it, taking it more as a business than an artform.”

On the flip, we've stayed faithful to the track used for the original 12" release. And what a track it is. Destined to be overshadowed by the behemoth on the A-Side, the frenetic neck-snapping jazz-rap "Communism" has it all - those horns at the start, the lyrical dexterity, the beat. Oh my.

So, one of the greatest pieces of music ever, in any genre. This is not merely music. It's high art. Speaking of which, we've recreated the striking original artwork from the 12" and shrunk it down to the 7" format. It looks and sounds stunning. The most important song in rap history, if you really think about it. We all miss her. We all miss hip-hop...

TRACK LISTING

A I Used To Love H.E.R.
B Communism

Pajaro Sunrise has a new album and that is very good news."The Future Is Not What It Used To Be" presents a wonderful collection of songs that capture, almost unintentionally, the complexity of modern life.

Since his last album,"Man Of Many Faces", Yuri Méndez's days have been busy with five moves, a pandemic, several soundtracks and the surprise release of three singles in Spanish. And despite –or thanks to– the many unopened boxes, studio work, global emergencies and an unnecessarily large number of different rooms, out of those convulsive years emerged a luminous album that speaks lucidly of the passage of time, of truncated expectations that herald liberations and of growing old not as a drama, but as the long process of "learning not to worry and to love the bomb".

Throughout the album, irony shines through, as in 'Small Circus, So Many Clowns' or 'Parking Lot', while pop innocence sparkles in 'Devotion' or 'Hey Matisse'; combined also with Pajaro Sunrise's more somber moments, such as 'The Mute And The Blind', 'Shallow Waters' or 'Inhale', where Mendez's voice reaches a new degree of maturity without completely shedding the candor ofhisfirst albums.

Pajaro Sunrise is a rare specimen in Spanish independent music, a guy who treads his own path with a catalogue of exceptional songs and a diverse body of soundtrack work. He is a craftsman who has produced a flawless album which leaves room at times for traces of Mark Fisher and Ken Kesey, while other moments feature post-Lacanian puffy-cheek trumpet sounds.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Mute And The Blind
2. Small Circus, So Many Clowns
3. Devotion
4. Parking Lot
5. Hey Matisse
6. Not Hungry
7. Inhale
8. Lover Lover
9. The Real Top Of The Pops
10. Shallow Waters
11. Pointless
12. The Sweetest Thing

When Ben White was 25 years old Eddy Bongo Brown of the Funk Brothers brought him to Motown to play with Marvin Gay, 5 years later he recorded this single 'I would have to be a fool' and released it himself. Ben comes from a long line of musicians in his family, his cousins are Cab Calloway and Otis Redding.

Over the years he sessioned for Marvin Gay, Bloodstone, Carl Carlton, High Energy, Harold Johnson, J.W. Alexander, Richard T & The Salsoul Orchestra

Unfortunately, as is often the case, children came along and Ben moved away from music, this and forthcoming AOTN single 'Give Me Love' were his only solo recordings unless we can find the tapes of his lost LP further down the line.

TRACK LISTING

1. I Would Have To Be A Fool
2. Just Give Love A Try

New York’s Cleopatra label gets the Numero treatment. Hailing from Tommy Falcones swarm, Beehive lead Vickie & The Van Dykes were the sound of the coming youth revolt - Vickie had rock ‘n’ roll inher bones and rawhide in her voice. ‘I Wanna Be a Winner’ and ‘Outcast’ were songs tailored to her rebellious personality.

TRACK LISTING

1. I Wanna Be A Winner
2. Outcast

Until now, Art Feynman the eccentric alter ego of accomplished producer Luke Temple has strictly been a solo act, a way for the artist to explore surprising sonic landscapes without the burdens of identity. Slightly twisted takes on Kosmische musik, worldbeat, and art pop can all be found scattered across the Art Feynman discography, but with his new album Be Good The Crazy Boys, Feynman fully immerses himself into pools of collective madness.

Unlike his first two albums, Crazy Boys was recorded live in the studio with a full band, a first for Feynman, capturing a spirit of restless anxiety that recalls the most frenetic work by Talking Heads, or Oingo Boingo at their darkest. Despite these callbacks, the collection remains firmly rooted in modern concerns, with songs about fearing the end of the world and struggling with FOMO narratives that would be relatable if they didn’t sound so completely unhinged.

With Be Good The Crazy Boys, Art Feynman proves to be more than just a character. He represents the part of the modern collective consciousness that’s struggling to maintain balance in a toxic, chaotic world. In less skilled hands, that concept could result in a very somber listen. Fortunately, when Art Feynman gets his hands on the chaos of the modern age, it simply makes you want to dance.

TRACK LISTING

01. Early Signs Of Rhythm
02. In CD
03. Therapy At 3pm
04. All I Can Do
05. He Dances Light
06. Passed Over
07. Chasing My Life
08. Desperately Free
09. I Do

One of the few indisputable geniuses of pop music, Sly Stone is a trailblazer who created a new kind of music, mixing Black and white, male and female, funk and rock; penned some of the most iconic anthems of the 1960s and 70s, from "Everyday People" to "Family Affair"; and electrified audiences with a persona and stage presence that set a lasting standard for pop culture performance. Yet he has also been a cautionary tale, known as much for how he dropped out of sight as for what put him in the spotlight in the first place. As much as people know the music, the man remains a mystery. In Thank You, his much-anticipated memoir, he's finally ready to share his story - a story that many thought he'd never have the chance to tell. Written with Ben Greenman, who has written memoirs with George Clinton and Brian Wilson among others, Thank You will include a foreword by Questlove. The book was created in collaboration with Sly Stone's manager Arlene Hirschkowitz.

"For as long as I can remember folks have been asking me to tell my story," says Stone. "I wasn't ready. I had to be in a new frame of mind to become Sylvester Stewart again to tell the true story of Sly Stone. It's been a wild ride and hopefully my fans enjoy it too."

• Vinyl-only compilation celebrating the birth of independent Punk Rock in the UK!

• Includes some of the scene’s key names – Alternative TV, U.K. Subs, 999, The Ruts, The Rezillos, The Boys, Angelic Upstarts, The Fall – alongside landmark collectable 45s by bands like Puncture, ‘O’ Level, The Wasps and The Rowdies.

• Limited edition of 1,000 copies!

When punk arrived in late 1976, the scene acted as a catalyst for an explosion of independent labels which swiftly sprung up around the UK. Named after a classic track by Manchester’s The Drones, ‘Just Want To Be Myself’ boasts classic sevens on imprints such as Small Wonder, The Label, Rough Trade, Dining Out, Deptford Fun City and Cherry Red (all London), Zoom (Glasgow), Attrix (Brighton), Heartbeat (Bristol), Good Vibrations (Belfast) and Bent (Manchester).

Many of the individuals and bands featured would later enjoy success in various incarnations – for example, The Pack mutated into Theature Of Hate, The Outsiders’ Adrian Borland attracted acclaim with his band The Sound, ‘O’ Level’s Edward Ball made an impact with various acts including The Times and Leyton Buzzards evolved into pop combo Modern Romance!

Pure Hell and The Electric Chairs’ Wayne County were American but eligible here because the tracks were recorded in the UK.

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
1. Eater Outside View
2. The Boys First Time (alternative Version)
3. The Rezillos I Can’t Stand My Baby
4. The Valves Robot Love
5. Puncture Mucky Pup
6. The Zeros Hungry
7. The Outsiders One To Infinity
8. The Electric Chairs On The Crest
Side 2
1. The Drones Just Want To Be Myself (lp Version)
2. Maniacs Chelsea 77
3. ‘o’ Level Pseudo Punk
4. The Carpettes Radio Wunderbar
5. The Wasps Teenage Treats
6. V2 Speed Freak
7. Social Security I Don't Want My Heart To Rule My Head
8. Patrik Fitzgerald Safety-pin Stuck Inmy Heart
Side 3
1. Angelic Upstarts The Murder Of Liddle Towers
2. Alternative Tv Action Time Vision
3. The Tights Bad Hearts
4. Leyton Buzzards 19 And Mad
5. The Rowdies A.c.a.b.
6. The Outcasts Just Another Teenage Rebel
7. U.k. Subs C.i.d.
8. The Fall Psycho Mafia
Side 4
1. The Ruts In A Rut
2. The Piranhas Jilly
3. Cockney Rejects Flares ‘n’ Slippers
4. Pure Hell These Boots Are Made For Walking
5. The Pack King Of Kings
6. 999 Found Out Too Late
7. The Adicts Easy Way Out
8. Spizzenergi Where's Captain Kirk?

When Alex Stephens (A.K.A. Strawberry Guy) self-released his debut single last year, he was merely doing it out of a love for songwriting. What he wasn't expecting was a million Youtube streams and an avid fanbase. Now, the South-Wales born, Liverpool-based songwriter is ready to release a Mini-Album of his compelling, lushly produced dream-pop.

Born outside Cardiff, Strawberry Guy moved to Liverpool to study music and grow as a writer. 'I knew that it was a very artistic city with all it’s creative history, it seemed like the perfect place to move to.' he says. Whether it's playing keyboards in The Orielles or just being part of the city's growing musical scene, Alex plays music for the love of music, something that heavily translates into his adept songwriting.

The intense emotional feel of the tracks he writes is down to Alex's songwriting process, recording the entire MLP in his bedroom & producing it himself. 'I feel that it’s important to me to only write/record when you’re channeling some kind of emotion, so I would only work on it when I was in the right mood to do so.' He answers when asked about the isolated environment into which he put himself for the recording process.

Much of the inspiration for Alex's work comes from experience rather than other artists. 'When something significant happens to me, all I want to do is make music.' In terms of musical touchstones however, there's the obvious dream-pop contemporaries such as Beach House and Weyes Blood, coupled with great songwriters of old like Nat King Cole or Harry Nillson. Sonically, a blend of orchestral & synthesized melodies layer together to act as a platform for his heartfelt lyrics.

Opener 'Without You' is a fine example of this, a break-up song of sorts, with an infectious keyboard melody and swirling synths over which Alex contemplates whether it's even possible to find lasting love. The lyrics 'Do you really have to talk about the things you do with him? Do you really have to talk about your love?' hit particulary heavily.

Contrast this with the final track, the titular 'Taking My Time To Be', a powerful song of self-discovery. Beginning with downtempo piano and drums, the song breaks out into a saxophone and synth solo that wouldn't go amiss on a Badalamenti soundtrack. 'The song is about me learning to be comfortable with myself, but then wondering if I'll be accepted for being myself' Alex imparts. It's a fitting closer to a MLP driven by emotion and experience.

Currently playing his live shows with a full band of 'berries' he's hoping to get a full tour going, and says this is just the begininng. 'I won’t stop making music, I can’t help but just write, it’s something that I have to do. An album will be coming at some point, I can say that for sure.'

TRACK LISTING

1. Without You
2. Mrs. Magic
3. Intermission
4. What Would I Do?
5. Birch Tree
6. Taking My Time To Be

The Wytches need very little introduction, but it is with no little excitement that we welcome back Brighton’s purveyors of melody for album number four – all raucous and unruly, yet glistening with jagged edged poetic wistfulness and undeniable emotional clout.

The former Transgressive/ Heavenly Records act return with their fourth studio album in September on Alcopop! Records this year - and it's definitely their best yet, all raw-throat punk, stoner/doom psych, riffing swagger, and perhaps just the tiniest hint of delicious folk twinkling... Just get it in your ears. It’s glorious.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: The Wytches 4th outing is awash with the sort of grotty lo-fi rock we've come to know from the Brighton outfit, but imbued with a gothic intensity and grunge-leaning heft that we've not heard before. Clattering semi-rhythmic noises burst into huge choral passages and tearing surfy guitar lines.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
Zep Step
Maria
Sloped Old Tower
Bats
Unsure
Side B
Spark
Something To Fall Back On
Our Guest Can't Be Named
Bill Blood
Fool

Part of Tele Music Reissue Campaign, 2023 first time reissue, 140g vinyl.

European funk fusion of the highest order, Michel Gonet's Phasing News Volume 1 is the essential companion piece to the venerated Volume 2. It's truly a library treasure that every home must own. As Tele Music themselves said, it contains "tense and mysterious underscores in a range of styles"; whilst we don't disagree, we'd add swaggering, orchestral drama-funk-jazzbreaks. Vital.

Opener "Moon To Light (Number II) - A" is a total wonder. It's incredible, and what a way to begin a record. The percussion is electrifying, complimenting the dark, heavy piano, eerie organ work, electric guitar soling and rhythm section brilliance. Part B is virtually identical but without the electric guitar. The slow "Soul Cathedral (Number II) - A" is an ambient spacey synth gem which is both beatless and drenched in phased organ. Pretty captivating. Part B plays it rather straighter, a church organ continuing the same melody and tempo but with less of the swirling synthy effects.

"Light In The Rains (Number II) - A" sounds like something Diamond D would've sampled in the mid-to-late 90s, conjuring as it does that peculiar, creeping Axelrod-funk, all eerie electric guitar and organ, bass and spacey effects. Part B loses the electric guitar and adds brass.

The swirling, dramatic "Mondial Scoop (Number II)" has that urgent News At Ten feel with its prominent timpani drums whilst "Mecanic Bird Song" is a frenetic, abstract track with disorientating keyboard interplay.

*Total highlight* "Mephisto Jet (Number II) - A" rides a slick, proto-hip-hop beat with melodic, warm Rhodes yet, thrillingly, casually ups the drama with strings and timpanis. It then returns to its more mellow state. Ace. Part B adds acidy, phased percussion to create a more hypnotic, tripped out feel to proceedings. Part C is half as long but, pared back to just drums and Rhodes, it's arguably twice-as-nice.

To close, the shuffling, bell-laced urgent jazz of "Phasing News - A" is another highlight, riding a great bassline and augmented by ace drums, organ and electric guitar. Part B is also great, removing the guitar and doubling down on the head-nod funk.

The audio for Phasing News Volume 1 has been remastered by Be With regular Simon Francis, ensuring this release sounds better than ever. Cicely Balston's expert skills have made sure nothing is lost in the cut whilst the original, iconic Tele Music house sleeve has been restored here at Be With HQ as the finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue.

TRACK LISTING

A1 Moon To Light (Number II) – A 3:22
A2 Moon To Light (Number II) - B 3:30
A3 Soul Cathedral (Number II) - A 3:06
A4 Soul Cathedral (Number II) – B 3:06
A5 Light In The Rains (Number II) - A 1:38
A6 Light In The Rains (Number II) - B1:32
B1 Mondial Scoop (Number II) 2:03
B2 Mecanic Bird Song 2:58
B3 Mephisto Jet (Number II) - A 2:1
B4 Mephisto Jet (Number II) - B2:18
B5 Mephisto Jet (Number II) - C1:0
B6 Phasing News - A 2:01
B7 Phasing News 2:56

The Nashville, Tennessee, garage rock group were signed as teenagers to the prestigious XL in the UK and Thurston Moore's Ecstatic Peace label in the US, with whom they released two widely acclaimed albums. They went on to tour with the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Sonic Youth, Le Tigre etc and have been cited as influences for groups such as Paramore and Big Joanie.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Be Your Own Pet are back! finally closing out a 15 year gap with the brilliant 'Mommy'. If anything, the sort of snarling indie-punk BYOP make is even more relevant now, with the current surge in garage punk and jagged indie-music perfectly aligning with the band's classic sound. A superb LP and a very welcome return.

TRACK LISTING

Side 1:
1. Worship The Whip
2. Goodtime!
3. Erotomania
4. Bad Mood Rising
5. Never Again
6. Pleasure Seeker
Side 2:
1. Rubberist
2. Big Trouble
3. Hand Grenade
4. Drive
5. Teenage Heaven

A pianist, songwriter, producer, and vocalist from New York he is a mystical figure for record collectors, one of those artists where if you found an old dusty record with Don's name on it, you'd buy it on sight. He is best known for his 1982 magnum-opus, the eponymous album that featured the all-time classics 'Heart's Desire' and 'Holding You, Loving You'. He also collaborated with other greats such as Bernard Wright, Weldon Irvine, Roy Ayers, and Lenny White.

We couldn't believe it when Chicago DJ/ digger/ producer, Marc Davis, told us there was a vault of unreleased Don Blackman material. Marc had reached out to Don's children, Irene and Kyle, in 2019, building a relationship with Kyle with whom he shared a musical affinity. To Marc's delight, Kyle confirmed that there was indeed a treasure trove. As Kyle described it, "In 2013, shortly after my dad's passing, my sister and I collected all of his possessions and put them in a storage unit. I came across forty years' worth of music history. Hundreds of cassettes, CDs, Disks, reel- to- reels, paperwork, photos and VHS tapes. It took about ten years to organise and digitise everything. All of this magic was almost thrown away in the trash, never to be seen, never to be heard forever."

Two tracks were selected, 'Your Love Makes Me Crazy' and 'Say You'll Be Mine'. 'Your Love Makes Me Crazy' is as funky as it gets, with infectiously catchy vocal hooks, and a serious jam, whereas 'Say You'll Be Mine' is a classy, soulful boogie, instrumental number, that shows off Don's masterful piano playing. Both tracks warrant full attention and capture a master at work. He was also a one-man show when it came to production, playing all of the instruments when recording these tunes in his home studio in South Jamaica, Queens.

On first hearing the tracks, Marc knew he wanted to extend the songs and enlisted fellow Chicago legend, Tone B. Nimble, to work on the project with him. Their extension/ edit of the songs was conducted in a way that was respectful and true to how the tracks were originally recorded by Don. They extended and resequenced the groovy parts of the songs organically for the DJs and dancers.

The final words on this release are best coming from Kyle, "We are very excited and thrilled to continue to share all of this unreleased magic with the world. We hope that this music will help, heal, and inspire a new generation of artists to never give up, and to strive for what their hearts desire."

TRACK LISTING

Say You'll Be Mine
Your Love Makes Me Crazy

If God had a disco, the DJ would be playing California gospel-soul group The Supreme Jubilees. “We won’t have to cry no more,” the tuxedo-clad group would sing, in high, angelic vocals over smooth grooves. “It’ll all be over.” Prepare to dance and contemplate death all at the same time.

A band of brothers and cousins, the group was founded from two familes: brothers Joe and Dave Kingsby plus Dave’s son David Kingsby Jr., and keyboardist Leonard Sanders plus his brothers Phillips (drummer), Tim (bassist), and Melvin (tenor). The Sanders clan grew up singing together in the Witness of Jesus Christ church in Fresno CA, where dad Marion was pastor. Guitarist Larry Price–who belonged to neither family–completed the line-up that recorded the group’s first–and, prophetically, only–album, It’ll All Be Over.

Released in 1980 on the group’s own S&K (Sanders & Kingsby) label, It’ll All Be Over pinpoints a fatalistic mood exemplified by the title. Its lyrics drawn from the Old Testament, its sound from the church by way of the disco, and it’s a feel captured by the album cover–a low, orange sun setting over the Pacific ocean. It is, as Jessica Hundley observes in the brand new liner notes, “both apocalyptic and seductive.”

Making the album was not easy. Sessions began in Trac Record Co, a country and western studio in Fresno, CA, where the engineer was so put out by the group’s requests for heavier bass in the mix, he stopped the session and kicked them out. They left with four songs–one side of the album–and the record was completed at Sierra Recording Studio in Visalia, CA. Leonard Sanders reported having a spiritual encounter in his sleep while in Visalia; the next day he recorded his part of the album’s title track in a single take.

After the LP was pressed, the group took their music on tour, first in California, where they played with acts including the Gospel Keynotes, The Jackson Southernaires, and the Mighty Clouds of Joy, and then on an ill-fated trip to Texas. A follow-up album was planned for 1981, but it never materialized; having slept sometimes a dozen to a room in Texas, the men in the band were reluctant to leave jobs, wives, and kids for the hardship of the road. The group simply fizzled out, even if the friendships never did.

A copy of the album sold to a fan on that Texan tour made its way to a San Antonio record store, where it was discovered nearly three decades later by collector David Haffner (Friends of Sound). He managed to track down the Kingsby-Sanders clan at a Fourth Of July barbeque in Fresno in 2004. And he eventually introduced the group to Light In The Attic Records, which now presents the album, restored, remastered, and available to the public for the first time.

TRACK LISTING

1. It’ll All Be Over
2. Do You Believe
3. Thank You Lord
4. I Am On The Lord’s
5. You Don’t Know
6. Standing In The Need Of Prayer
7. Got A Right
8. We’ll Understand
9. Stop Today

The highly influential Khanate return with their first album in 14 years, developing their singular and signature precise, temporal abstract doom beyond all thresholds. Khanate are Stephen O’Malley (Sunn O))), KTL), James Plot- kin (OLD, Scorn, Phantomsmasher), Alan Dubin (OLD, Gnaw) and Tim Wyskida (Blind Idiot God).

Unflinching and brutal, the seeds for To Be Cruel were planted in October 2017 when Tim and Stephen spent a week in the English countryside at Orgone Studio with Jamie Gomez Arrellano. James began working these sessions into overall suites of music, a process the band has classically used on all of their prior albums. By spring 2018 initial song arrangements were proposed and over the latter half of the year bass, synth and vocal tracks were added. 2019 saw the completion of writing and recording at which point it was passed to Randall Dunn to mix, alongside the band, in 2020.

The three songs that comprise To Be Cruel are complex, powerful and multi- dimensional. The music is all-enveloping; dry, alive, rich, and blistering. Concurrent with the release of To Be Cruel, Sacred Bones will digitally reissue Khanate’s four prior full lengths - Khanate (2001), Things Viral (2003), Capture & Release (2005), Clean Hands Go Foul (2009) - with a physical reissue campaign to follow.

TRACK LISTING

1 Like A Poisoned Dog
2 It Wants To Fly
3 To Be Cruel

One of UK soul’s most fascinating artists, most enigmatic figures and most under-appreciated talents, Andrew Lewis Taylor is a prodigious multi-instrumentalist and eclectic polymath. He enjoys a fiercely loyal following which, over the years, has included celebrity champions like Bowie, Elton and D'Angelo. Numb is Taylor's sixth album, initially released on his own label Slow Reality (an anagram of his name) and licensed to Be With for this long-awaited physical edition. It captures Taylor's wholly unique, intoxicating take on lush, late-night psychedelic soul music.

Lewis wrote and recorded these 10 brand new tracks after a 17 year break from making music, although the album came together over a two-year period. The years away have done nothing to dull Taylor's unique musical vision. He still astounds. The lyrical themes, however, have shifted. Understandably, more than a decade and a half of soul searching and unflinching self-examination cannot fail to influence this most honest of songwriters, and boy does it show. Numb marks a return to the darker, more mysterious side of his output: "Brian Wilson-channels-Smokey Robinson atmospheres", as Mojo put it recently.

After playing a rapturously received gig at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC in 2006, Lewis unceremoniously walked away from music and disappeared completely. An interview in 2016 shed light on some of the reasons for Taylor’s withdrawal from the business, but there was no hint of a return anytime soon. Then in June 2021, news emerged out of the blue that he was readying new music alongside Sabina Smyth with whom he had worked first time around.

On Numb, Lewis deftly balances stark, soul-bearing lyrics with moody mid-tempo pop-soul sheen. He deals candidly with depression, mental turmoil, even thoughts of suicide - clearly more personal than Taylor's earlier songs. The music is rich, warm and layered, with infectious melodies and hooks that stick with you. A true grower of an LP, it really does reward repeated listens. As Jim Irvin in Mojo reflected, "despite the depths these plumb, it's a curiously uplifting experience, unfurling like a concept album about life's challenges with an optimistic beauty at its heart."

Triumphant dubwise horns ring out yet, almost instantly, “Final Hour” takes on a dark, downbeat vibe. With lyrics that confront (and, seemingly, confound) death head-on, Lewis ensures the groove is still there, the beats still swing and your head still nods, strings glissade. Woven around delicate yet insistent piano and subtle strings over a killer bassline, the title track “Numb” is a good example of the lyrical themes throughout the album. As Taylor reflects, "So removed I feel no pain / And for all I know I could be having the time of my life" with a coda that feels very much in conversation with Brian Wilson's finest harmonies. "Feels So Good" is sophisticated 90s-sounding soul of the highest order. The music and vocals feel simultaneously optimistic and despondent. Downlifting. A neat trick, and one Lewis has been so adept at over the years. "Apathy" is a mini-epic, a symphonic-soul gem which builds and glides and, eventually, soars. “Worried Mind" is another slow-builder, creeping out the gate in a sketchy, discordant fashion before climbing to half-crescendo but never quite breaking free of its disorientating restraint.

The brighter "Please" presents a more hopeful mood, with the refrain "I still believe" ringing out as Lewis harmonises with himself. "Brave Heart" quietly struts from step one, as Lewis's falsetto swaggers over a downtempo backdrop with ace echoey drums, beautiful strings and serene electric guitar. Closing out Side C, "Is It Cool" answers its own (non-) question with a spellbinding five and a half minutes of swoonsome deep soul that oscillates between a restrained, barely-there backdrop and a lushly full musical accompaniment of acoustic and electric guitar and organ over bass and slick drums. The penultimate track "Nearer" is a magical, soul-stirring ballad in which Lewis sings of reaching a sweet salvation and achieving a peace of mind. If the hairs on the back of your neck aren't standing up by the midway point, you might need to check your pulse. Album closer and true tear-jerker "Being Broken" places Lewis's gorgeous voice high in the mix and the wordless falsetto and melodies invite you to ponder what Pet Sounds might sound like if it were refashioned as a dubby 21st Century electronic soul album. Astonishing.

Simon Francis’s vinyl mastering spreads out the ten tracks over a double LP so, as ever, nothing is compromised. And as usual, the records have been cut by Cicely Balston at Air Studios and pressed at Record Industry. Turn it up and let the Lewis Taylor sound envelop you.

TRACK LISTING

A1 : Final Hour (4:59)
A2 : Numb (5:35)
A3 : Feels So Good (4:29)
B1 : Apathy (5:30)
B2 : Worried Mind (5:17)
C1 : Please (5:42)
C2 : Brave Heart (5:21)
C3 : Is It Cool (5:31)
D1 : Nearer (5:45)
D2 : Being Broken (4:58)

Another much-needed repress from Surfin In Kansas. This one hanged ten just under three years ago and has since become one bodacious and highly sought after slice of beach grooving joy.

"I Love You" samples The Gap Band's "Big Fun", extending the percussive breaks, doing away with all the smoochy vocal bits and upping the tempo jussst a tad before adding smatterings of extra piano goodness.

On side B, Johnny Bristol 's "Love No Longer Has A Hold On Me" is reduced to a dubbed out vox and hefty raregroove lick; the Strat part chiming away over a foundation shaking b-line and manly horns. A hefty slab of soul which is perfectly snipped and tucked by A Good Christian.

This repress won't hang around long - you have been warned! 

TRACK LISTING

A. I Love You
B. Free To Be Me

James announce details of a new album in celebration of their 40th Anniversary.
Be Opened By The Wonderful is a 20 track (19 Vinyl) of some of their most loved and rare tracks, re-imagined with a 22 piece orchestra and 8 piece choir. 

Be Opened By The Wonderful was recorded at Blueprint Studios in Manchester, orchestrated and conducted by Joe Duddell with the ORCA22 Orchestra lead by Andra Vornicu featuring the Manchester Inspirational Voices choir, directed by Wayne Ellington.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: James have been around for a bit eh? It would be easy to whip up a best of from but a portion of their discography but here we get new versions of their classic tracks, spanning four decades, beautifully orchestrated and produced. Lovely.

TRACK LISTING

CD Track Listing:
#1
Sometimes
Love Make A Fool
We're Gonna Miss You
Tomorrow
The Lake
She's A Star
Lookaway
Sit Down
Alaskan Pipeline
#2
Someone's Got It In For Me
Hey Ma
Hello
Beautiful Beaches
Why So Close
Medieval
Hymn From A Village
Say Something
Top Of The World
Moving On
Laid

Vinyl Track Listing:
Side A
Sometimes
Love Make A Fool
We're Gonna Miss You
Tomorrow
Side B
The Lake
She's A Star
Lookaway
Sit Down
Alaskan Pipeline
Side C
Someone's Got It In For Me
Hey Ma
Hello
Beautiful Beaches
Whjy So Close
Side D
Medieval
Say Something
Top Of The World
Moving On
Laid

It’s rare that a certain sound is entirely an artist’s own. Although undeniably a stew of impeccable influences – from blues to folk to Latin to dusty funk, soul and hip-hop – one cannot hear a Tommy Guerrero song without immediately recognising it as his - and his only.

The cult skater from San Francisco is globally renowned as one of the original members of the legendary “Bones Brigade” team. And as an accomplished multiinstrumentalist, his laid-back soul is beloved by all who’ve basked in its blissful glow.

There’s something elemental about this music that really stirs the soul. Strikingly beautiful and instantly addictive, it’s a kind of funk-fuelled, melody-driven, groovebased magic. There’s a serenity and heart in the playing that radiates warmth and splendour, as if crafted for endless sunsets. His albums that surfaced on Mo Wax at the turn of the century have been treasured since their release and it’s two of his most vital LPs that we’re honoured to reintroduce.

The originals were quietly pressed on to a single piece of vinyl so we’ve worked closely with Tommy this year to bring you these fresh, limited editions. They have been lovingly remastered, cut nice and loud on to heavyweight double vinyl and presented in deluxe gatefold jackets.

Soul Food Taqueria continued Guerrero’s guitar soul but represented a step forward with its polished production and greater complexity of instrumentation. Denied the promotion it deserved upon release, it flew under the radar. It is now the most wanted record of his wondrous back catalogue.

Guerrero’s atmospheric touch and subtle guitar provide lush, glimmering pieces of musical texture. Within his spacious compositions, uniquely arranged instruments flourish alongside each other to create a languid soundtrack for halcyon days.

As ever, the diversity on display is beguiling. From bossa nova, samba and cumbia rhythms to understated folk, funk and soul grooves, this is another exotic set of mellow gold; perfectly represented by ESPO’s memorable artwork. Furthermore, the title’s hybridity reflects the intoxicating sweep of stylistic flavours served up, reminding us that, however tricky it is to categorise Guerrero’s special blend, it’s always a pleasure to indulge in something so creative and adventurous.

Dubby, bass-heavy instrumentals give way to moody folk-soul – witness “It Gets Heavy”, featuring melancholic vocals from Gresham Taylor – whilst “Thank You MK” is a gentle ode to the tropics, featuring ethereal instrumentation, bright bass and warm, jazzy guitars. The second half in particular contains a number of stunning ambient tracks – check “Lost Unfound”, “Another Brother Gone” and “Broken Blood” - built around minimalist, laid-back grooves and detailed guitar orchestrations which wouldn’t be out of place on the latest Jonny Nash release.

Guerrero closes this flawless set with a moment of true beauty. Restrained and graceful, “Falling Awake” is a pared back piece containing meditative guitar melodies set against melancholic piano arrangements. It brings proceedings to the most peaceful close. Seductively good, it reminds you just how great simplicity can sound.

TRACK LISTING

A1: Intro Lectric Chile Goat (0:56)
A2: Abierto (3:59)
A3: Organism (4:07)
A4: Thank You MK (3:50)
B1: Tatanka (4:09)
B2: Interlude Train Of Thought (1:20)
B3: It Gets Heavy (3:23)
B4: Thin Brown Layer (4:39)
C1: Interlude So Many Years Ago (0:45)
C2: Terra Unfirma (4:05)
C3: Gettin It Together (3:22)
C4: Another Brother Gone (2:28)
C5: Broken Blood (3:47)
D1: Interlude And The Day Goes By (1:28)
D2: Lost Unfound (3:32)
D3: The Color Of Life (3:57)
D4: Falling Awake (3:56)

Returning after three years, the husband and wife duo of Alexi Erenkov and Alison Alderdiceaka. The Saxophones have announced the arrival of their third album, To Be A Cloud, for 2nd June 2023. Out today is the first single to be taken from it, Desert Flower, featuring a video directed by Rainbow Tunnel. "Alison wants me to try therapy, "says Alexi. “She’s a therapist herself, but I’ve never been to one. The idea of going makes me very uncomfortable. I don’t like being vulnerable in front of strangers. So, instead of confronting my discomfort, I look for an easier path. It’s never easier and it’s always unsatisfying or destructive. “Desert Flower” is about avoidance and fear impeding personal growth and the deepening of relationships. The album itself was recorded at Phil Elverum’s (The Microphones, Mount Eerie) Unknown Studio in Anacortes, WA last autumn.

A former Catholic church where the pair lived during 24/7 recording sessions, time was no object as they experimented and developed the sound of the record. Its magical setting and ample space provided natural acoustics for Alexi’s arresting vocals which were recorded live to 24-track tape, suspending them in an ambiguous historical and chronological context between analogue and digital. Enhanced by Alison’s percussion alongside the bass and keys of Richard Laws, together they made the most of the studio’s many instruments which fill out and bookend their exploration of the billions of years of evolution that have led to this moment in time. "The title was inspired by a passage of Zen monk Thich Nat Hanh’s writing in No Death, No Fear which both calms my own fear and leaves me with doubts, "explains Alexi, of the album channelling its influence of comforting yet disturbing limbo. "He uses clouds as a metaphor to illustrate the impermanence of all things, suggesting clouds are no different from people in their fleeting nature. Suffering arises when we try to preserve a person, a moment, or an experience and fail to recognize that all things are both fleeting and cyclical. Hanh contends the cloud does not die, it simply changes form, and if we look deeply, we can see the cloud in the rain.

"Now, led by Hanh’s pearls of wisdom, The Saxophones offer a further extension of grappling with mortality and the meaning of existence–this time via the second coming of parenthood. Whilst their melancholic debut Songs of the Saxophones was written amid the incessant rain of a northern Californian winter aboard the boat they lived on, and swells of emotion lapped upon buoyant follow-up Eternity Bay, their nocturnal third’s cyclical nature looks at love (fostering and growing familial and romantic feelings that eventually transform and fade with time), art and passing creativity, and self-reflecting as they consider the lifecycle of raising their two young children.

Written in their family home between calm moments once the kids had gone to bed, To Be A Cloud is attuned to the peaceful bay of Inverness, California where Alison’s family has lived for several generations. "It's where we are most at home and creative,” Alexi says. "There, the ocean and nearby beaches are endlessly inspiring. "So integral to the album, Shell Beach in Tomales Bay is also where the artwork photo was taken. "I love Alison’s expression-direct eye contact from the mysterious beauty... like the cover of a Martin Denny album. "Whether bringing the saxophone back into spotlight through instrumental solos and live performances, or delving deeper as they continue to explore the process of nurturing a new record as mindful as they do their own children, every step taken may be further from the start and yet, To Be A Cloud is another note closer to a reawakening of more good things to come.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Mist
2. Boy Crazy
3. In My Defense
4. Speak For You
5. Savanna
6. Conversation Soon
7. Goddess In Repose
8. Margarita Mix
9. Hunter
10. Desert Flower 

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2023 EXCLUSIVE, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

The seminal album from Half Japanese back on Limited edition Orange vinyl and featuring updated artwork and liner notes from Jad Fair and producer Kramer. This is the Zen of Half Japanese, of prolific songwriter Jad Fair; wide-eyed crooner, humorous raconteur and spontaneous storyteller. A genre-bending romp through the mind of the man, originally released in 1989 in a purple patch for the group, preceded by "Music To Strip By" and "Charmed Life". "Half Japanese were a song machine," attested Pitchfork, while AllMusic saw this album as a collection of "humorous lo-fi rock'n'roll hit singles."

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2023 EXCLUSIVE, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

This is Honey Bane's first vinyl release in 40 years. Music's biggest rebel turned her back on the scene in 1983, after a string of successful punk/new wave singles. Violence Grows is Bane's 1978 debut, which she wrote at just 14 years old. She recorded it under her band, Fatal Microbes. The single has been reissued, with digitally remastered audio and pressed on limited edition, "bruised" black and blue 12 inch vinyl. This is the first ever coloured vinyl in Bane's catalogue of work.

Emotive, break-beat minimalist trio GoGo Penguin are back, with their brand new album “Everything Is Going to Be OK”. Bursting with the optimism of new beginnings, with a new drummer, their new record label, (Sony Records' electronica and classical imprint XXIM Records), and a subtly updated and developed sound, the band are ushering in a more ambient era.

“Everything Is Going to Be OK” is born from a time of turbulence and loss. During an oppressive grieving period, the studio offered the band a sanctuary from real life. The resulting project, given such vibrant life here, draws its strength from a shared understanding and empathy. Life has many great aspects to it and despite the lows, we should be mindful and grateful to celebrate the highs at every turn. Through our hardships, we will emerge stronger - everything is going to be ok.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: I've loved GoGo Penguin in every iteration of their sound thus far. Minimal loungy jazz business, flickering electronica and grooving soulful instrumentals, they've all been brilliant. It's a big thing then, when I say with some confidence then that the optimistic melodic turns and perfectly produced hazy flicker of 'Everything Is Going To Be Ok' is by far my favourite GGP sound yet. Lovely.

TRACK LISTING

You’re Stronger Than You Think
Glimmerings
Saturnine
Glow
Friday Film Special
Soon Comes Night
An Unbroken Thread Of Awareness
We May Not Stay
Everything Is Going To Be OK
Last Breath
You’re Stronger Than You Think (Revisit)
Parasite
Sanctuary

Iconoclastic Afghan-American street music project Naujawanan Baidar makes its long anticipated return with "Khedmat Be Khalq," its third album and first new release in three years. Originally planned as a "studio debut" in the classic sense, a veritable avalanche of setbacks tangled and delayed the recording process over a span of several years as compounded tragedies - both international and personal - disrupted the project's intended transition from simply being a ramshackle demo/home-recording outlet for founder N.R. Safi (The Myrrors, et al) into a properly working band. At the end of the day the process of assembling what would eventually become "Khedmat Be Khalq" became a lot like that of the previous two releases: gnarled and sun-baked tracks cut up and collated into a blown out collage of sound. If there is any obvious difference this time around it is perhaps to be found in the increased focus of the material. Whereas the group's previous two projects ran the gamut from sparse acoustic improvisations to tape-loop-inspired noise, "Khedmat Be Khalq" presents a more unified hybrid of Afghan folks styles and electric energy, further exploring Safi's "maximalist minimalism" approach. Tape-saturated and over-amplified Afghan rubab, armonia, and ghichak meet pounding multi-layered rhythms that at times hint at 1970s-1980s industrial music or the heady throb of German krautrock groups like Faust or Amon Düül. Perhaps nowhere is this unique combination more striking than in Naujawanan Baidar's swirling re-arrangement of the Afghan folk classic "Raftim Az Ayn Baagh" that closes the album. The rubab melody that serves as the song's core is warped into something that in all honesty wouldn't sound particularly out of place spun between early Savage Republic and Crash Worship. Lyrically the album moves away from the more abstract and impressionistic style of Safi's earlier material towards a concrete attempt to address the struggle of the Afghan masses from the complicated perspective of the international diaspora. The songs here work to draw out and examine the contradictions and challenges faced by a people once again locked in the talons of a sociopathic religious fundamentalism, connecting the country's position to the current global fight against imperialism, militarism, and resurgent fascism, and attempting to recover obscured historical fragments and lessons surrounding the proud radical history of Afghanistan's diverse population over countless decades of intensive struggle. It is here that Naujawanan Baidar's "street music" aesthetic blossoms into a sort of avant garde agitprop - a militant soundtrack angling at a revolution.

Selected and arranged by the author, How To Be Invisible presents the lyrics of Kate Bush in a beautiful new paperback edition featuring a new cover by illustrator Jim Kay. 'The greatest singer-songwriter of the past 40 years, whose work is complex, ethereal and filled with so many secrets that one can listen to the albums for decades and still discover new delights every time.

There's not a spare word anywhere in Bush's work. Everything means something.' Irish Times

Balearic believers rejoice! Japanese tropical-fusioneers Coastlines are back with the worldwide vinyl release of Coastlines 2. The follow-up to their classic debut, this is the sound of Coastlines's global influences. If the dedication to intricate sonic details is particularly Japanese, the overarching feel captures the sprawling grandeur of the international balearic community. As they put it, Coastlines 2 presents "a more precise and beautifully polished magic hour." If that isn't Balearic, we don't know what is.

Takumi Kaneko and Masanori Ikeda don’t radically alter their sumptuous template with this second LP; and we wouldn't want them to. Yet with a more focused flow from first track to last, both Coastlines and Be With feel this is an even stronger album than their first. One thing that hasn't changed is the use of instrumentals instead of words to express their themes; namely, "the emotional expression of being soaked."

Opener "Tenderly" is appropriately titled, a gentle Latin shuffle easing you back into the Coastlines sound. An organ-heavy synthy exotica that's in step with Lovelock's contemporaneous "Washington Park". Their über-horizontal take on Hawkshaw & Bennett's "Mile High Swinger" (from Synthesiser And Percussion, reissued by Be With!) evokes cocktails-by-the-pool as the sun slowly sets. The blunted deep jazz-funk swing of "Alicia" is a rearranged reimagining of the Gabor Szabo song from his classic Jazz Raga LP. This here sounds like an outtake from The Chronic.

As the sun goes down, "Combustione Lenta" soundtracks the relaxing slow burn of an idyllic bonfire on an isolated beach. Displaying a beautiful new side of Coastlines, we're treated to Moments In Love vibes and melancholic guitar arcs. The piano-laden early morning wonder of "Night Cruise" started life as a completely different song, but the duo found a particularly good loop from the initial sketch and reconstructed it into this sophisticated 80s instrumental soul groove. "Waves And Rays" is all undulating acid waves and lighthouse light. A chopped and screwed steel drum G-Funk with soaring synths and nods toward the squelchy machine soul of Mtume and Jam & Lewis. Yes, *that* good.

The bouncy futureboogie cosmic chug of "Sky Island" represents the beginning of the sunrise, casting images of 80s Japanese fusion and definitely one to play out early doors to get the crowd stepping. "Area Code 868" is the strutting staccato sound of Joe Sample waking up in the Caribbean to craft his piano funk drenched in sunshine. Accordingly, the tentative, naive melodies of "Sand Steps" represent that vivid feeling first thing in the morning, as you step on to the sandy beach in the sunshine and take a deep breath. The world is yours.

The emotional, organ-piano-steel drum-driven "Song For My Mother" is a slo-mo show of sincere gratitude to all the great mothers. "Yasmin's Theme" is Coastlines's Brazilian homage, recalling for them that early summer feeling. It's propelled laconically by the carnival beat of batucada`s big bass surdo drum and complimented by sweeps of warm keys and radiant vocal harmonies. Blissful beatless closer "Asafuji" conjures a scene from a wonderful morning spent with the people of Shizuoka, the symbolic mountain of Japan, Mt Fuji and its inhabitants. It sounds like Dâm-FunK jamming with Sabres Of Paradise.

Coastlines 2 was painstakingly crafted, across the pandemic, at Masanori's rented place in Tokyo and then brought back to his home studio and worked on slowly and repeatedly. With limited time to see each other, the duo became more united in their "consciousness with natural progress."

Mastered by Simon Francis and cut by Cicely Balston at Air Studios, this magnificent double LP has been pressed by the good people at Record Industry.

TRACK LISTING

A1 Tenderly
A2 Mile High Swinger
A3 Alicia
B1 Combustione Lenta
B2 Night Cruise
B3 Waves And Rays
C1 Sky Island
C2 Area Code 868
C3 Sand Steps
D1 Song For My Mother
D2 Yasmin's Theme
D3 Asafuji

Technology + Teamwork’s fizzling synths, interweaving textures and punchy rhythms are beguiling on their long-awaited debut album We Used To Be Friends. However, at the heart of it all it’s the connection between the group’s two members, Anthony Silvester and Sarah Jones, the friendship the much-travelled duo have managed to maintain for nearly 15 years and a showcase of the slow-burning construction of the electronic world that they’ve surrounded themselves with.

We Used To Be Friends is ultimately the tale of two storied artists in their own right, holding onto each other through personal and career twists and turns, relocations and broader movements through respective phases of their lives. Silvester and Jones first met and then collaborated as part of biting post-punk five-piece XX Teens in 2008, eventually breaking off to forge their own path together even as the latter’s demand as a drummer grew. Performing with everyone from Hot Chip, Harry Styles and Bloc Party among many others, Jones has been a constant percussive presence across the sphere of alternative UK pop music – she’s also found time for her own solo project Pillow Person and played on records by the likes of Puscifer and Kurt Vile. Silvester meanwhile has performed in art galleries across Europe including: Fridericianum in Kassel, Kölnischer Kunstverein in Cologne, and Vleeshal in Middelburg, as well as providing sound design and composing work for several art films.

Technology + Teamwork is the constant throughout all of that though. “Technology + Teamwork's name perfectly describes how we work” Silvester explains. “Sometimes the teamwork is between each other and sometimes it’s between us and the technology.” Although going by the name Technology + Teamwork as far back as 2014, two events conspired that pulled the project into focus for the pair of them: firstly, Silvester spent a year constructing a soundproof studio shed on the border of London and Essex where he lives. Secondly, inevitably, the pandemic brought the globe-trotting Jones back home to just seven miles away from her long-time collaborator and friend. “We probably hung out more than we had for a few years” says Silvester. “Also, after all her Pillow Person releases Sarah had gotten really good with recording vocals and knowing what did and didn’t work and had a really good home studio set up. We still worked separately though, exchanging ideas via email and WhatsApp.” As with many artists through 2020 and early 2021, working separately was a new necessity that they were forced to adapt to. However, it became clear that there were creative benefits to it. “It really changed our sound and our sounds became a lot more focused as a result” Jones says. “I wanted to use the same ideas of improvisation that I might use while playing the drums for myself and apply that to melodies and lyrics.” The album bristles with hyperpop modernity. You can hear it in the manipulated vocals most prominently on Big Blue’s disco strut and on Moving Too’s heady mix of pitched up voice and burrowing sub bass. However, the pair also looked to San Francisco and the West Coast synthesis movement of the 60s, Silvester inspired by the likes of Suzanne Ciani and Don Buchla. The plaintive lo-fi and melancholy of Amsterdam incorporates Mutable Instrument’s Marbles by Émilie Gillet which – inspired by Buchla’s own synthesis work – outputs random voltages to give the track an air of unpredictability. It’s something that occurs throughout the album, the duo revelling in the happy accidents that disrupt the flow of their hook-laden pop.

“The ‘Buchlian’ ideas of music having randomness and uncertainty, completely freed us up” Silvester explains. “It felt a bit like having more members in the band, machines that didn't do what you expected or intended.” Perhaps more subtly, is the influence of 17th and 18th century Baroque music, with Silvester drawing a line between it and the 90’s R’n’B he and Jones both love – exemplified perhaps best on K+B’s percussive claps and sultry grooves. The portentous juddering synthpop of the title track, meanwhile, alludes specifically to Handel’s Sarabande. It’s typical of an album that only needs a scratch of its seemingly glossy surface to unearth a myriad of contorted touchstones and reference points that’ve fermented beneath it. Thematically there’s an anxious sense to the record, with tracks often balancing above a quiet sense of unerring tension even at their most bombastic. Moving Too is the result of an existential doubt that hit Silvester while out cycling, with the outro refrain "it's not enough to die you also have to be forgotten" a take on something Samuel Beckett once said. These worries are echoed on the album’s closing track What A Year, which borrows a lot of lines from the late drag performer and fashion designer Dorian Corey including the grimly defiant "you're gonna leave your mark somewhere in this world just by getting through it”. Those clouds offer a counter point to We Used To Be Friends, but then isn’t that what great pop albums do? Technology + Teamwork undoubtedly love the craft of the hook and the song, but they always position themselves left of centre, prepared to scuff things up, pull something out of shape or manipulate something to leave it sounding warped. Much like their friendship, nothing here is particularly linear – and it’s all the better for it. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Big tip here for fans of Confidence Man / ITOP, with snappy synths and killer vocals perfectly interwoven, resulting in a hypnotic adventure perfectly pitched for the darkened dancefloor.

Kate Fagan took the Chicago punk scene by storm in the early 80’s with her self-released single “I Don’t Wanna Be Too Cool,” which became the best-selling single ever by a local artist at the legendary Wax Trax! Records. Today, Captured Tracks is thrilled to present an expanded, re-mastered edition of I Don’t Wanna Be Too Cool as a full-length vinyl album. Fagan wrote “I Don’t Wanna Be Too Cool” after moving to Chicago from New York in the late 70’s. The track is a critique of the emergent “hipster” attitude of the disco crowd and the posturing she was witnessing among her peers in New York. With its surf-inspired drum machine, irresistible melody, and defiant lyrics, “Too Cool” was immediately embraced by club DJs, radio stations, and independent record stores. Its b-side, “Waiting For The Crisis,” also gained notice for its raw musical style and politically charged Reagan-era lyrics, which still resonate today. In the years that followed, Fagan continued to break new ground. In 1980, she co-founded the enormously popular ska band Heavy Manners (whose dance parties are still legendary), and with them opened shows for The Clash, Grace Jones, Peter Tosh, The English Beat, and many more.

The “Too Cool” single became a sought-after rarity among record collectors for decades after its initial release, until Manufactured Recordings gave it a proper reissue in 2016. Captured Tracks’ expanded 2023 follow-up features four unreleased songs, which encapsulate the gutsy, new wave energy that pulses through the original single. The final track, the reggae-tinged “Say It”, features production from the reggae legend Peter Toshand Bob Marley’s guitarist Donald Kinsey, who flew in from Jamaica to record with Heavy Manners after witnessing their impassioned live show. While the 2016 reissue re-established Fagan’s cult-classic status for a new audience, this new expanded release solidifies her place in a tradition of trailblazing, powerhouse frontwomen.

TRACK LISTING

1 I Don’t Wanna Be Too Cool
2 Waiting For The Crisis
3 Master Of Passion
4 Come Over
5 Cover It Up
6 Take Your Chances
7 Something’s Wrong
8 Say It

Long awaited repress of sell out debut Mini-LP. originally released in 2019.

When Alex Stephens (A.K.A. Strawberry Guy) self-released his debut single last year, he was merely doing it out of a love for songwriting. What he wasn't expecting was a million Youtube streams and an avid fanbase. Now, the South-Wales born, Liverpool-based songwriter is ready to release a full EP of his compelling, lushly produced dream-pop.

Born outside Cardiff, Strawberry Guy moved to Liverpool to study music and grow as a writer. 'I knew that it was a very artistic city with all it’s creative history, it seemed like the perfect place to move to.' he says. Whether it's playing keyboards in The Orielles or just being part of the city's growing musical scene, Alex plays music for the love of music, something that heavily translates into his adept songwriting.

The intense emotional feel of the tracks he writes is down to Alex's songwriting process, recording the entire EP in his bedroom & producing it himself. 'I feel that it’s important to me to only write/record when you’re channeling some kind of emotion, so I would only work on it when I was in the right mood to do so.' He answers when asked about the isolated environment into which he put himself for the recording process.

Much of the inspiration for Alex's work comes from experience rather than other artists. 'When something significant happens to me, all I want to do is make music.' In terms of musical touchstones however, there's the obvious dream-pop contemporaries such as Beach House and Weyes Blood, coupled with great songwriters of old like Nat King Cole or Harry Nillson. Sonically, a blend of orchestral & synthesized melodies layer together to act as a platform for his heartfelt lyrics.

Opener 'Without You' is a fine example of this, a break-up song of sorts, with an infectious keyboard melody and swirling synths over which Alex contemplates whether it's even possible to find lasting love. The lyrics 'Do you really have to talk about the things you do with him? Do you really have to talk about your love?' hit particularly heavily.

Contrast this with the final track, the titular 'Taking My Time To Be', a powerful song of self-discovery. Beginning with downtempo piano and drums, the song breaks out into a saxophone and synth solo that wouldn't go amiss on a Badalamenti soundtrack. 'The song is about me learning to be comfortable with myself, but then wondering if I'll be accepted for being myself' Alex imparts. It's a fitting closer to a EP driven by emotion and experience.

Behold! Yes, Blue Butterfly, one of the absolute stunners on the revered Selected Sound label is finally available for all the beat-heads. Heavyweight library funk with a psychedelic touch, the super in-demand Blue Butterfly from *deep breath* Hardy's Jet Band, Orchestra Klaus Wuesthoff, Jan Troysen Band and Orchestra Gary Pacific - was originally released in 1971. Incredibly ahead of its time, it's been rare and sought-after for decades.

For many aficionados, this is the best Selected Sound release. Loaded with fuzzy wah-wah guitar, deep flute-lines atop soulful psych-rock breakbeats and huge organ action, its uncompromising funk will blow you away. Sampled for many hip hop beats and dropped by well known rare groove DJs around the world, one jewel in particular from this glorious German vault needs little introduction. The intro to Orchestra Gary Pacific's mesmeric "Soft Wind" rides the illest, crispest drum break you've perhaps never heard - like, the drum break to end them all - alongside a smooth, deep bass line from the heavens. It featured notoriously on the beloved Dusty Fingers comps of the 90s and was brilliantly sampled by Pacewon for his eternal "Sunroof Top". Just listen and be dazzled.

Beyond this mini-masterpiece, the other killer tracks offer brilliance in abundance. Hardy's Jet Band take control of the full A side, and it's full of dynamic psych-funk bombs. Hard, "big city" industrial groovers. In particular, the initial one-two of "Sorry, Doc!" and "Wind It Up" provide thrilling funky-blues rock instrumentals showcasing relentless guitars, flutes, sax and organ, the latter containing gorgeous, hypnotic breakdowns; these tracks just slay. The title track, "Blue Butterfly" is a real deep strut of a track with fantastic soloing from guitar and flute over crisp drums whilst the highway banger "What You Call To Be Free" certainly sounds a lot like unbridled, rhythmical liberty.

On the flip, the ghost-riding "Lady In Space" is a string-drenched acid-western foxtrot. Yep. “Pop Happening” by Jan Troysen Band is a heavy, druggy psych-fuzz organ groover whilst their slow beat-organ-flute gem "A Blue Message" is a gorgeous psych floater conjuring deeply strange frontier lands. Preceding their monster "Soft Wind", the soulful, uptempo groover “Ghetto Gap” by Orchestra Gary Pacific contains solo piano and flute whilst closing out the set is the free-and-easy samba beat of "So Far".

Founded in the late 60s by German composer and musician Klaus Netzle (who recorded under the alias Claude Larson for Sonoton) Selected Sound began as a production music company specialising in jazz, orchestral and electronic recordings. You can’t miss those early LPs in their iconic glossy metallic copper sleeves with minimal German typography. Serious, classy stuff.

The audio for Blue Butterfly has been remastered for vinyl by Be With regular Simon Francis whilst Richard Robinson has handled reproducing the glossy metallic (iconic) original Selected Sound sleeve. Essential.

TRACK LISTING

A1 Hardy's Jet Band – Sorry, Doc! (3:12)
A2 Hardy's Jet Band – Wind It Up (2:52)
A3 Hardy's Jet Band – Safari Track (2:58)
A4 Hardy's Jet Band – Look At Me (2:27)
A5 Hardy's Jet Band – Blue Butterfly (2:44)
A6 Hardy's Jet Band – What You Call To Be Free (3:03)
B1 Orchestra Klaus Wuesthoff – Lady In Space (2:26)
B2 Orchestra Klaus Wuesthoff – Big Beat (2:45)
B3 Jan Troysen Band – A Blue Message (3:31)
B4 Jan Troysen Band – Pop Happening (2:29)
B5 Orchestra Gary Pacific – Ghetto Gap (2:43)
B6 Orchestra Gary Pacific – Soft Wind (2:07)
B7 Orchestra Gary Pacific – So Far (1:38)

Wow! Tonio Rubio's Rhythms is a stone-cold killer, a heavyweight library breaks LP and the inaugural release in Be With's new partnership with legendary French library label Tele Music. Yes, you lucky people, there's lots to come.

For this extremely special 50 year anniversary re-issue, we've reproduced the classic Tele Music sleeve with a full colour insert featuring rare photographs, fresh liner notes and personal memories of Tonio from the likes of Jean-Claude Vannier, Jean-Claude Petit and Janko Nilovic.

Sumptuous opener “Latin Leitmotiv” is all funky phasing effects and a killer montuno, with what sounds like piano and bass in tandem, stoking straight up Latin fire. The gritty hard funk of blaxploitation groove "Red Medium" is dripping in wah-wah attitude and head-nod oddness. The atmospheric, exotica-tinged "Dead Slow" emulates the languid, sensual afro groove of Quincy Jones’ wild masterpiece “Gula Matari” whilst the proggy, electric jazz fusion epic "Rock 73" is 9+ minutes of moody, rolling menace.

But the *real* highlight of this cult classic - and why it has long been *so* desirable - is the devastating, deep, hypnotic minimalist groove of "Bass In Action N°1". Very much in conversation with Quincy's rendition of "Hummin'", the loping, rumbling bassline and sweet electric piano over clean, crisp drums making it one of those tracks that sounds like a hip-hop beat 20 years ahead of time. Sensational. “Bass In Action N°2“ features Tonio's own vocal scat performance. Remarkable.

Antonio "Tonio" Rubio Garcia got his start playing the double bass in jazz clubs. In 1962, Tonio joined the Golden Stars, the first backing band of France’s teenage idol Johnny Hallyday. A genius musician with a unique guitar sound, he played on standards of French chanson including Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot’s "Bonnie and Clyde", Françoise Hardy’s "Tous les Garçons et les Filles", Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin’s "Je T’aime, Moi Non Plus" and Serge and Charlotte Gainsbourg’s infamous "Lemon Incest". Tonio also lent his brilliance to such legendary figures as Janko Nilovic, Jean-Claude Petit, Hervé Roy, and Jean-Claude Vannier. The latter remembers Tonio as “a secretive, mysterious man, with an endearing personality, albeit difficult to reach out to. His virtuosity as a bass player allowed me to write very innovative basslines, because he was able to play any of my eccentricities!”

The audio for Rhythms has been remastered by Be With regular Simon Francis whilst Christopher Stevenson has brought the original and iconic Tele Music sleeve back to life in all its striking glory as the finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue.

TRACK LISTING

A1 : Latin Leitmotiv (3:08)
A2 : Red Medium (6:58)
A3 : Dead Slow (3:30)
A4 : Royal Shuffle No 1 (3:08)
A5 : Royal Shuffle No 2 (3:08)
B1 : Rock 73 (9:34)
B2 : Bass In Action No 1 (3:31)
B3 : Bass In Action No 2 (3:31)
B4 : Pepper Rock (2:30)

How Could Hell Be Any Worse?, their second record and first LP is nothing short of genius. Shattered-glass guitar riffs, fast, furious drums, and a 16 year old Greg Graffin's voice for the ages. The coalescence of lyrical intellect and savage music make for a sound seldom (if ever) heard before. The impact of this record still resonates to this day. Classic tracks like Fuck Armageddon...This Is Hell, American Dream, and The Voice Of God Is Government are as crucial and socially lucid as the day they were created in a southern California garage. When the greatest punk records of all-time are discussed, How Could Hell Be Any Worse? is sure to be mentioned.

TRACK LISTING

We're Only Gonna Die
Latch Key Kids
Part III
Faith in God /
Fuck Armageddon..This Is Hell
Pity
In The Night
Damned To Be Free 
White Trash (2nd Generation)
American Dream
Eat Your Dog
Voice Of God Is Government
Oligarchy
Doin Time

Ezra Collective’s new era, a venture in discovered maturity and raised stakes, will be defined by the anticipated second album.

'Where I’m Meant To Be' is a thumping celebration of life, an affirming elevation in the Ezra Collective’s winding hybrid sound and refined collective character. The songs marry cool confidence with bright energy. Full of call-and-response conversations between their ensemble parts, a natural product of years improvising together on-stage, the album - which also features Sampa The Great, Kojey Radical, Emile Sandé, Steve McQueen, and Nao - will light up sweaty dance floors and soundtrack dinner parties in equal measure.

STAFF COMMENTS

Laura says: Infusing afrobeat, funk, dub and hip hop into their jazz foundation, Ezra Collective bring the party once again. They’ve thrown in a little Latin flavour and a whole heap of guest musicians this time around too. Where I’m Meant To Be is a shot of pure feel good energy and you can’t fail to be swept up in their positive vibrations. Sooooo good!

TRACK LISTING

1. Life Goes On (feat. Sampa The Great)
2. Victory Dance
3. No Confusion (feat. Kojey Radical)
4. Welcome To My World
5. Togetherness
6. Ego Killah
7. Smile
8. Live Strong
9. Siesta (feat. Emeli Sandé)
10. Words By Steve
11. Belonging
12. Never The Same Again
13. Words By TJ
14. Love In Outer Space (feat. Nao)

Mr Scruff designed t-shirt featuring step by step instructions for all you aspiring DJs out there.
Learn from the master.....

2CD anthology of two classic albums - ‘I Will Not Be Sad In This World’ / ‘Moon Shines At Night’ - by the Armenian master of the duduk.

‘I Will Not Be Sad In This World’

“Without doubt one of the most beautiful and soulful recordings I have ever heard” - Brian Eno

“It sounds for all intents like music from another world” - Los Angeles Times

A widely acknowledged classic by the undisputed master of the duduk, a traditional woodwind instrument from Armenia. A double-reed instrument of ancient origin and noted for its unique, mournful sound. Originally released in the Soviet Union in 1983, Brian Eno came across the musician during a visit to Moscow in the late 1980s and subsequently introduced the record to Western audiences via a reissue on his Opal label.

‘Moon Shines At Night’

“Gasparyan’s playing produces an equal amount of sadness and sweetness in every note, every phrase, and every song. Simply graceful.” - All Music

TRACK LISTING

I Will Not Be Sad In This World
A Cool Wind Is Blowing
Brother Hunter
Look Here , My Dear
I Will Not Be Sad In This World
Little Flower Garden
Your Strong Mind
The Ploughman
Dle Yaman

Moon Shines At Night
Lovely Spring
Sayat Nova
7th December 1988
Don't Make Me Cry
You Have To Come Back To Me
Tonight
They Took My Love Away
Moon Shines At Night
Apricot Tree
Mother Of Mine

“Without doubt one of the most beautiful and soulful recordings I have ever heard” - Brian Eno

“It sounds for all intents like music from another world” - Los Angeles Times

A widely acknowledged classic by the undisputed master of the duduk, a traditional woodwind instrument from Armenia. A double-reed instrument of ancient origin and noted for its unique, mournful sound. Originally released in the Soviet Union in 1983, Brian Eno came across the musician during a visit to Moscow in the late 1980s and subsequently introduced the record to Western audiences via a reissue on his Opal label.

Available on vinyl for the first time in 33 years, restoring the original 1983 artwork to its former glory, this is a unique and powerful musical statement that has had a lasting cultural impact.

TRACK LISTING

A Cool Wind Is Blowing
Brother Hunter
Look Here , My Dear
I Will Not Be Sad In This World
Little Flower Garden
Your Strong Mind
The Ploughman
Dle Yaman

Cult producer Princess Chelsea crafted her upcoming “nervous breakdown album” Everything is Going to be Alright, at home in pastoral Aotearoa New Zealand. The album, due this October, is a comforting offering. These aren’t wallowing sad songs, instead, they chronicle Chelsea Nikkel's recovery, and provide a hopeful and cathartic listen.

Princess Chelsea’s cinematic, dreamy pop has been refined over 11 years, five albums, an E.P, and 11 singles. Her delivery and songwriting is distinctive for layering almost naive earnestness with cynical, tongue-in-check wit and aural sparkles. Her 2018 girl group meets grunge track ‘I Love My Boyfriend’ and her 2011 Nancy & Lee inspired ‘Cigarette Duet’ have recently raised their heads into a wider public consciousness via the grass roots influence of a new Tik Tok Generation.

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A
1. Everything Is Going To Be Alright
2. The Forest
3. Love Is More
4. Time
5. I Don’t Know You
SIDE B
6. Forever Is A Charm
7. We Kick Around
8. In Heaven
9. Dream Warrior
10. Everything Is Going To Be Alright (Pt. 2)

Burning Witches Records are proud to announce the new electronic, glitching, mind melting double album from Cory Kilduff!

"On his 2019 BWR debut, ‘When It All Gets To Be Too Much’, Cory Kilduff made a sprawling and emotionally connected album filled with lush synth textures and heart-heavy melodies, reminding us what it was like to be young with heart-on-sleeve. On follow-up, You Will Be Safe, Kilduff makes up for a mostly beat-less debut by creating a rhythmically rich record. Kinetic rhythms intertwine with Kilduff's knack for melody, giving songs like "Was That Not An Exit", "Night Night", and "The Brighter Side Of Giving Up" dance floor integrity while never losing sight of the beating heart moving us to dance." - John Hubner.

TRACK LISTING

1. It's A Feature
2. Internal Feedback
3. The Worst Miscalculations
4. Was That Not An Exit
5. We All Break Eventually
6. The Medicine
7. Night Night
8. Probably Stable
9. Restraint In Four Parts
10. That Voice You Hear Sometimes
11. The Brighter Side Of Giving Up