Welsh musician Gwenifer Raymond's 2018 debut album, 'You Never Were Much of a Dancer', introduced a new voice on acoustic guitar, receiving 5 stars in The Guardian, big spreads in MOJO and UNCUT, and airplay on multiple BBC programmes. This led to months of touring on the European festival circuit. Her second album, 'Strange Lights Over Garth Mountain', finds Raymond ranging into unexplored experimental territory, drawing from her Welsh roots.

TRACK LISTING

1. Incantation
2. Hell For Certain
3. Worn Out Blues
4. Marseilles Bunkhouse, 3am
5. Gwaed Am Gwaed
6. Ruben's Song
7. Eulogy For Dead French Composer
8. Strange Lights Over Garth Mountain

US outfit Garth only left behind a small trail of records, but this obscure 1980 7" still carries the peculiar charm of disco's stranger back rooms. Recorded between New York and Los Angeles across the late 70s, 'Special Part Of My Life' opens in warm, soulful territory through Henrietta Pam Garth's soft vocal glide, before J. Albert Garth gradually enters the frame and pushes the track somewhere more feverish and floor-facing. There's a lovely looseness to it all: the groove is slightly frayed at the edges in that very particular pre-digital way. On the flip, 'The Groove' heads somewhere far murkier, featuring wiggling synth effects and huge hovering atmospherics drifting over the top of the beat that gives the whole thing this faintly eerie quality which, honestly, makes it all the better.

TRACK LISTING

Special Part Of My Life
The Groove

Tokyo's Realrockdesign collective marks a full 30 years of cross-disciplinary creativity with the first of a planned trilogy. The A-side hands over a crown jewel from West Coast legend DJ Garth's Grayhound catalogue in 'Twenty Minutes Of Disco Glory', which gets remixed by DJ Harvey with a slow, deep, dark and come-to-me groove with a fizzy motif lingering like a trapped bee. The flip turns to German veteran Nectar, who is enjoying some deserved time back in the spotlight and shows why here: 'Fairy Trails' is a deliciously psychedelic descent into the underworld that perfectly befits its title. 'What Tha?' is paranoid and unsure with a writhing bassline, detuned synths bringing a freaky edge and a dubby, shuffling groove that is as inviting as the rest of the track is wonderfully weird.

TRACK LISTING

DJ Garth & ETI - Twenty Minutes Of Disco Glory (DJ Harvey Remix)
Nectar - Fairy Trails
Nectar - What Tha?

Welsh musician Gwenifer Raymond’s 2018 debut album, You Never Were Much of a Dancer, introduced a new voice on acoustic guitar, receiving 5 stars in The Guardian, big spreads in MOJO and UNCUT, and airplay on multiple BBC programmes. This led to months of touring on the European festival circuit. Her latest, Strange Lights Over Garth Mountain, finds Raymond ranging into unexplored experimental territory, drawing from her Welsh roots.

In her own words : My new album, 'Strange Lights Over Garth Mountain', has eight songs in it. All were recorded in a basement flat in central Brighton, locked-down amidst a global pandemic. I recorded them myself and neither I, nor any of the songs saw said outbreak coming. Coronavirus may have dictated the circumstance under which the album was recorded but it did not otherwise inform any of the compositions that run through it; like I said, we didn't see it coming. Growing up in Wales was not a theme strongly present in my first record (perhaps not too surprising in an album of 'American Primitive'), but I feel as though my memories of that time have started to insinuate themselves in the tunes here.

In my opinion, landscape does a lot to shape a community's folk music; from my childhood I recall tall, spooky trees, black against the grey sky, breath misting in cold air, and I have tried to take something of Welsh folk horror to make my own 'Welsh Primitive'. Whilst this isn't the only theme present in the album, childhood memories do form the background for a couple of tracks: coal trains steaming along the foot of our garden, rattling the glasses on the kitchen table; and the titular 'Strange Lights...' dancing above the peak of the mountain which loomed over the house where I grew up. Dead men also feature prominently, as well as personal tragedies and the madness of touring. It's possible this album is leaning more into the left-field than the first - the songs are longer and more 'compositional' for lack of a better word, rather than deriving so heavily from the folk and blues traditions, though, they're still there - all of those dead men are hard to shake. Some parts go fast and others go slow. Sometimes I play more aggressively than I intend to and other times I play exactly as aggressively as I intend to. I still say it's punk music and I have no idea what key the last tune is in.For Erik Satie, Master Wilburn Burchette, and Ruben the dog.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: At points taut, but brilliantly emotive throughout, 'Strange Lights...' is an album full of rhythmic twists and unbelievably skilful and effecting performances.

TRACK LISTING

1. Incantation
2. Hell For Certain
3. Worn Out Blues
4. Marseilles Bunkhouse
5. Gwaed Am Gwaed
6. Ruben’s Song
7. Eulogy For Dead French Composer
8. Strange Lights Over Garth Mountain 

In the mystical cycles of the sonic universe, every so often Manchester conjures up, seemingly from nowhere, an absolutely mind blowing LP; up there with anyone else the world over. Following in the footsteps of Moodymann's "Black Mahogany", Trus'me's "Working Nights", Floating Points' "Shadows" and more recently, Kyle Hall's "Boat Party" and llum Sphere's "Ghost's Of Them And Now", we have this expansive, full-vision of sound presented by our fair city's very own Garth Be. I don't make these comparisons lightly, but it's rare that something quite so perfect reaches our shop - and it's with great honour that I write these notes. "Marquis" opens with delightfully radiant pads and glowing licks that wrap around a bouncy, disjointed groove which Kyle Hall would be proud of. "Dreamline" retains that jazzy bounce and bright, optimistic keyboard work; joining the esteemed ranks of Vakula and all the aforementioned cats when it comes to sophisticated organic sound palettes. Then he flips the script. "Don't Want" is a PERFECTLY constructed MPC jam which should have Andres wetting his pants and Theo scratching his head. So onto the B-side and "Housekeysonbrandy" moves towards a 2AM dancefloor, rolling a tough mechanical train wreck across deep aquatic pads. The perfect pairing of hard edged tension coupled with blissful release. Smoothly inserting another smoky sample from the archives of Afro-American heritage. "Monday Club / Tuesday Nite" is possibly the elevated 'top ring of the pyramid', and aptly titled "On and On" - you won't want this beauty to end. Simple but ridiculously infectious, think "JB's Edit" on Theo’s SS001 - it really is that good. "GYB3" is the celestial workout you've been waiting for, and oh so perfectly timed! It's like Garth's some cosmic shaman, guiding us through our trip like a seasoned galactic explorer. In his own words - 'find your place in the cosmos and unwind your mind!' I felt like I'd been on a 250mics acid trip by the end of this track. Finally we have the most delectable of outro's with "Teakayo" - again working the MPC like Shane Warne works the reverse swing. Leaving you desperate for more, BE keeps things painfully tight and succinct, not a single groove on the record is wasted, and at least three of the tracks could well be extended across a whole side of a twelve inch. It's that Madlib-styled intensity which cuts each track at its very peak, keeping you riding the wave till the very end, with absolutely no room for boredom. Unrivalled.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: In the beginning there was Moodymann’s ‘Black Mahogany’, then came Trus'me and ‘Working Nights’, and the world of soul-infused crate-dug house music was good. Carrying on in the tradition of such luminaries we have our city's very own Garth Be, instantly making me draw comparisons to the aforementioned 'classics' of the genre, alongside more recent titles - Floating Points ‘Shadows’ and Kyle Hall's ‘Boat Party’. Distinctly informed by North England's rich dance music heritage, ‘The Seven Movements’ goes everywhere it's possible to go in seven tracks, from jazz-inflected house jams, celestial, meditative states and MPC grooves executed with all the style and finesse of a Shane Warne leg break. Garth Be is a cosmic shaman, guiding us through our trip with ease.
In his own words: "Find your place in the cosmos, and unwind your mind!" When the needle reaches the end of the record, you feel like you've been on one hell of a hallucinatory journey. A glorious story which ends perfectly with him securing Piccadilly’s coveted number two spot. Garth privately pressed the album himself at the start of the year, having no idea of the Earth-shaking, bar-raising potential hidden deep within the wax. It’s been an absolute pleasure both seeing the album gather momentum, writing the first set of sleeve notes and, most importantly, inflicting its mesmerising tones on our customers! Leaving you desperate for more, BE keeps things painfully tight and succinct, not a single groove on the record is wasted and it's that Madlib-styled intensity which cuts each track at its peak, leaving you riding the wave till the very end, with absolutely no room for boredom. Unrivalled.

Patrick says: We've been waiting for this to drop ever since we heard "Monday Club / Tuesday Nite" on the TP. Incredible, organic and soulful, this is the one.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Marquis
A2. Dreamline
A3. Don't Want

B1. Housekeysonbrandy
B2. Monday Club / Tuesday Nite
B3. GYB3
B4. Teakayo