The Lounge Society release single 'Anything' with accompanying remixes from Richard Norris (The Grid / Time And Space Machine / Beyond The Wizards Sleeve) and Claris Coy. This is the first release from The Lounge Society since 2022 album ‘Tired Of Liberty’.

TLS are very much connected to the The Golden Lion having worked behind the bar whilst also using the venue as a practice space. Their first gigs were at the venue and they’ve also had their album release parties there. The band are from Hebden Bridge and now reside between Hebden / Todmorden and Manchester. They also now have solo projects (Flying On The Ground / Herbie May / Cam Davey). Herbie also has formed the label Red Liquorice showcasing local artists such as Lily Rae Grant.

The track was formed during weekly practice sessions in The Golden Lion live room. It’s a song driven by heavy, distorted 70s guitars; built on brooding and moody verses, giving way to an explosive chorus. A fiery heart with a cool, charismatic exterior.

Richard Norris injects some contemporary punky-funky energy into the track on the first of his remixes. Galvanizing the bassline and crunching up the drums, instantly transporting the track to the middle of the leftfield indie dancefloor. An idea furthered on his second remix, which adds much more electronic elements, drawing it out into a psychedelic spiral of epic, peaktime proportions that aligns it with some of the stuff by Factory Floor and Phantasy Sound.

Finally, Claris Coy offers up a completely alternative take featuring discombobulated squelch, scorched sfx and glitchy vox. It's the most technofied of the four productions and would work in perfectly in ALFOS-friendly club sets, of which their spiritual home at The Golden Lion is famous for!

A brilliantly conceived record by our friends out there! Highly recommended. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: The coolest band in Calderdale return after a painfully long hiatus, but it's been worth the wait! Rejuvenated and clearly ready to rock, "Anything" finds them smouldering hot; equal parts swagger and headbang; with an arrangement that'll keep you on the edge of yer seat (or dancing manically on the dancefloor). Killer!

TRACK LISTING

Side A
The Lounge Society - Anything
The Lounge Society - Anything (Richard Norris Remix)

Side B
The Lounge Society - Anything (Richard Norris Wide Eyes Mix)
The Lounge Society - Anything (Claris Coy Remix)

C Douglas releases his debut EP on Golden Lion Sounds.

This is melodious, upbeat synth-pop with vulnerability at its core.
His songs - which begin as acoustic, folk demos - take the shape of our times in the production process. Brought to life in a more contemporary setting, synthesisers, motorik beats and pulsing bass lines take centre stage. Big choruses are never far away and with a focus on energy and simplicity, each lyric and hook becomes instantly recognisable.

Generosity, open conversation and creative collaboration with Steve Cobby allowed the EP to take shape and the four tracks were finished in the home studio over the duration of two sunny weeks.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Golden Lion deliver a supreme curveball, as always keeping us on our toes. C Douglas offers up a light hearted but thoughtfully penned EP that shimmers like a spring morning and unfurls joyously. Clever arrangements, inspired songwriting and an easy to digest palette means this'll find favour right across the field.

TRACK LISTING

1. At First 04:04
2. I Like It Like That 03:21
3. If You Want Me 03:58
4. Around The Corner 03:54

In 2024 The Flightpath Estate, an online community dedicated to sharing the music and work of Andrew Weatherall, created an album in his memory and inspired by him. "Sounds From The Flightpath Estate Vol.1" was released on Golden Lion Sounds of Todmorden and sold out all its stock 1000 copies on vinyl. It made Piccadilly Records and Uncut Magazine’s end of year round ups, was Lauren Laverne’s 6 Music compilation of the week and raised over £6,000 for Andrew’s chosen charities. It featured new and exclusive music from Hardway Bros, Justin Robertson’s Deadstock 33s, The Light Brigade (David Holmes), Richard Sen, Sons Of Slough, Timothy J Fairplay, 10:40, Rude Audio and an Andy Bell cover of a Sabres Of Paradise track and opened with a Two Lone Swordsmen track that was at that point unreleased on vinyl.

Now the Flightpath Estate have done it again. "Sounds From The Flightpath Estate Vol. 2" is out this Autumn with ten more tracks inspired and influenced by the spirit of Andrew Weatherall - and all exclusive to this release... an unreleased Sabres Of Paradise track, new music from Richard Fearless (Death In Vegas), A Certain Ratio and Number, Red Snapper, Richard Norris, David Harrow, Dicky Continental, Bedford Falls Players, Unit 14 and a Two Lone Swordsmen cover by Sleaford Mods.

1500 copies, double vinyl, on Golden Lion Sounds.
Beautifully packaged with sleeve art by Personality Crisis.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Our friends in the north have done it again! The family continues to expand, with new signings sure to cause a few flutters of excitement even amongst the most ardent aficionados. Volume 1 really was an outstanding achievement, from the heart, and warming our hearts and everyone who received it. Volume 2 looks to continue to trend as GLS and The Flightpath Estate unite the tribes under the legacy of the late, great Andrew Weatherall. Simply unmissable!

TRACK LISTING

A1 - The Sabres Of Paradise - Lick Wid Nit Wit (From The Flightpath Estate Mix) 
A2 - Dicky Continental - Large Bongos 
B1 - Unit 14 - Rough Spirit 
B2 - Richard Fearless - Haywired 
C1 - David Harrow - AanDee 
C2 - Red Snapper - Qraqeb 
C3 - A Certain Ratio - Estate Kings (Number Rework) 
D1 - Bedford Falls Players - In The Trees (It's Coming Mix)
D2 - Richard Norris - Brave Raver 
D3 - Sleaford Mods - Sick Wen We X

Fragments of cult classic dance tracks sent through the sonic prism to create fresh cut and paste hybrid tracks, The Emanations acts as a production vessel for Greg Wilson and son, Ché.Their remix partnership has seen numerous releases in recent years, most notably their epic take on 'Love And Hate In A Different Time' by Gabriels for Parlophone); their two Heavenly Records remixes for Melbourne group Confidence Man, 'Out The Window' and 'Does It Make You Feel Good'; and the current 'Loose Fit' mix for the Happy Mondays on London Records.

We don't speak lighly when we say this is an incredible release. Greg and Che have created an instantly timeless modern disco classic. Warm, infectious, soul rousing, groovy and with just the right touches of finesse without being overtly flamboyant. One of those tracks that'll catch you off guard, and have you incessantly wiggling to it's fiery conclusion.

"Rumrunner" is another stroke of genius. Taking the bassline from "Keep That Fire Burning", The Emanations add gilded vocoder lines, warm pads, futuristic sfx and slick guitar chops; reigniting this instantly familiar groove with a sophisticated modernity most DJs and dancers are gonna go absolutely ape shit for.

Do NOT sleep on this one I urge you!

Proceeds of the record go to Danielle Moore Foundation, which will be set up by her family soon.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Todmorden's bastion of creativity and independence drop one of their hottest dance records to date. Greg Wilson and his son Ché have conjured up an infectious slice of grooving disco that few can resist!

TRACK LISTING

A: The Emanations - Better Days (6:13)
B: The Emanations - Rumrunner (5:39)

Adrian Flanagan (The Moonlandingz / Eccentronic Research Council) and his pals aka - Acid Klaus - return to bring their latest offering 'PTSD By Proxy'.

The first single ‘Aerodromes’ (featuring Philly Piper, one member of his current Live collective that you may know from his last single ‘You’re A Freak’) is a pulsating Italo style track with synthetic arpeggiations. Piper's haunting vocals explore the working class struggle and the death of conversation.

The second single features the wondrous voice of the Queen of Sheffield’s DIY scene ROSEY PM. The Track ‘Losing Our Way’ parks itself somewhere between the aching British electronic pop of Saint Etienne and a late night basement club session with adults who should know better!

Along with the new single comes with an exclusive low slung remix of Acid Klaus’s last single ‘Aerodromes’ ft Philly Piper by legendary producer, songwriter, impeccable creator of soundtracks and DJ - David Holmes.

The EP also features tracks with Welsh language singer songwriter and regular Acid Klaus live collective singer Cat Rin, along with Philly Piper and with short readings of prose from Adrian’s long time collaborators Maxine Peake & Lias Saoudi (Fat White Family / Moonlandingz). Adrian himself is also a featured singer on his own record. “I’m pretty good actually, a bit like a robot version of George Michael that was made up in a shed out of bits of rubbish in a backyard in Cheetham Hill. I’m definitely in the top one singers to come out of Salford, however.. I don’t do light entertainment anymore..I do heavy entertainment!!”

‘The EP is my artistic response to the horrific vista forced upon me as the earth wobbles perilously on its axis like a drunk and foul mouthed broke and broken auntie. It’s dance music you can cry too - or if you point blank refuse to look out of the window - just for dancing too whilst remaining in a state of ‘pig ignorant’ bliss!’

‘For me as an artist it’s important that someone documents this time of great historical mess by utilising heavenly voices, robotic sonics, bangin’ beats, street poetry, space chants and nifty synthetic arpeggiations whilst still remaining deep in the ice cold moment of reality.’

Proceeds from downloads will go to Medical Aid For Palestinians

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Been a while since we've heard from our friends over the border. But what better record to unite the clans in these disenfranchised times than this one from Acid Klaus. Articulating the apocalypse with a wry and hilarious cynicism and some of the brashest, discombobulating synthesis you're likely to hear this side of a Modeselektor album; Adrian and co. somehow keep a tight grip of their pop sensibilities as they drag us through the sonic hedge of life.

TRACK LISTING

1.The Solution 04:07
2.Aerodromes (Ft Philly Piper) 05:01
3.Pour Some Wood On The Fire (Ft Cat Rin) 04:44
4.Losing Our Way (Ft Rosey PM & Maxine Peake) 04:33
5.Hell Below (Ft Lias Saoudi) 02:27

Golden Lion Sounds enlist the talents of no other than Richard Norris for their latest 7". The Grid and Psychic TV star gifts us a driving, Balearic-rock classic - with an almost War On Drugs-like sensibility. Moving, evocative vocals (by Findlay Brown), swirling keyboards, gentle guitar strums and a motoric beat coalescing to form an understated but highly engrossing four minutes of song writing prowess.

Rude Audio is the alias of Mark Ratcliff and collaborators (sometimes including Dan Wainwright with whom he constructed the "Psychedelic Science" release with), and they take care of B-side duties with a galloping analogue synth workout. Slightly wonky and jarring, the concentric arpeggio rotates off-center, making for a slightly discombobulating listen eschewing the smooth and silky for something a bit more raggedy and gritty. It's brilliantly constructed; with just a few simple elements working in tandem to create a dazzling, wide-screen synth scape.

As usual - top draw music from the Yorkshire underground. Limited copies in purple and black vinyl. Check!

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Richard Norris and Rude Audio are the latest converts to the church of the The Golden Lion, with the Todmorden based hub casting its net far and wide to deliver the best from the independent underground.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Richard Norris - This Song's For You (feat Findlay Brown) 

Side B
1. Rude Audio - The Grinning

New one on cult Yorkshire label Golden Lion Sounds featuring renowned Manchester finger picker DBH (previously of Crowfoot and Thread Recordings). One of the most skillful acoustic guitarists I've ever had the pleasure of witnessing, his tracks of late have taken on a dreamy, enchanted elegance, which is the case here on "Jumbled Whole". A collage of serene strings, echoed artifacts and gentle strums guiding the mind through a blue sky vista filled with fluffy clouds and dancing daisies. Taking it straight to the meadows!

On the flip, The Utopia Strong, previously releasing on Rocket, swap the guitars for synthesizers and enter a psychedelicized alternative realm - with gated arpeggios, winding melodies and galloping drums creating the sense of a magic carpet ride through entity-rich dimensions and realities much more vast and grandiose than our own. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: I've been a long term fan of DBH - imbibing the spirit of John Fahay, Jack Rose, Bert Jansch etc - into modern finger picked soundscapes. The Utopia Strong are a new one on me - totally different in sound; but similarly, they conjure up imaginary dream worlds from their equipment of vintage synthesizers and rickety drum boxes. One of my favourite 7" sleeves the label have produced too!

TRACK LISTING

A. DBH - Jumbled Whole
B. The Utopia Strong - Gatekeeper

For a project that has taken thirty years it would be totally inadequate to call the formation of Hypocritical Beatdown a lockdown-project. There’s a deep history and psychology in these records by Violators Of The English Language and their spin-off groups Magnets (Rap Group) and ProVerbs, that combines stage-fright, loss, pride, creative-schizophrenia, racial inequality, surrealism, personal politics, brotherhood, artistic-constipation, better judgment, love, anti-love, soul searching and much more.

The one remaining untapped energy source here is perhaps FEAR, refreshing when used correctly, but never imposter syndrome. As maligned and mutated as this British Hip-Hop might appear to be, it could not be more pure. Each member of all of the Hypocritical Beatdown crew were committed to this cause as soon as the doors opened. They rapped on stages before they had even tasted beer or lost their virginity and the curse had already taken hold in the years when these youngsters still had to be back home before dark and it has never left their bloodstreams.

That’s why this record NEEDED to be made. Completed, recorded, exorcised, committed to vinyl, rotated and liberated. Not unlike the VHS tape in a well known Japanese horror film, every listened copy, complete with its broken beats, old-school sensibilities and Marmite Mancunian accents, adds to the mystic circle… breaks the dream… some people might even like it. If you were given a chance to go back and meet your teenage self, wouldn’t you?

For you early adopters, both these albums are the first full length vinyl excursions from The Hypocritical Beatdown stable who have previously just released Rap Tapes (on cassette, obviously). They both look pretty similar, but one is on yellow ten inch vinyl released in collaboration with the amazing people at Britain's coolest pub, Golden Lion in Todmorden. And the other one is a longer 12” album with a duel-layer, interactive screen printed sleeve (in various collectible colours) that literally violates the English language when you open it. There’s a lot of attention to detail here, in all fairness it didn’t happen over night, and despite all the watermarks of a communal mid-life crisis, they don’t intend to slow down at any point soon… - Andy Votel

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Fascinating archival dig by Andy Votel, revisiting early incarnations of The Violators Of The English Language and later Hypocritical Beatdown crews. Really interesting to see how that first wave of American hip-hop would influence kids in northern satellite towns. We'd all be watching Transworld Sport and trying to skateboard too... happy, pre-internet times when finding subculture and identity was an all-encompassing but thoroughly rewarding pass time. There's a integrity and innocence in these recording which really add to their charm.

TRACK LISTING

A Side - Magnets:
1. Get Ready Go
2. Panic 
3. Double Dragon, Adverb Remix
4. Paps At The Lido 

B Side - Pro-Verbs:
1. One Two
2. Pure Hip Hop
3. Science And Diction 
4. Smear 

It's our favourite mushroom quaffing quasi-spiritualist musical leaders Golden Lion Sounds, fresh with new aural delights for the changing of the seasons! Nothing quite excites me as much spotting Waka at the door clutching a new set of records from the now infamous Todmorden stable.

Lux Lyall & Andy Votel kick off number eight in the series in superbly witchcrafty style; a paganish guitar riff supplementing Lux Lyall's cryptic deadpan, spoken word monologue. A truly spellbinding piece, the mysteries of which you'll be trying to unravel throughout the night.

Over on side B, it's another Piccadilly favourite: Andrew Liles. This long-serving experimental stalwart contributes as suitable an out-there piece of electro-exotic, semi-soundtrack, semi-acoustic tomfoolery. Featuring a whole range of found sounds and sonic sorcery it sounds like a wizard got into your child's toybox and starting painting pictures.

As usual - limited copies and stupendously high demand. Orders in QUICK.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Mushroom season is upon us, and who better to soundtrack our midnight moon rituals and post-forage freakouts than the crazy cats from Todmorden. Enlisting known sonic occultist Andy Votel and pagan synth wizard Andrew Liles for a spellbound missive.

TRACK LISTING

A: Lux Lyall & Andy Votel - Six (4:07)
A: Andrew Liles - Care In The Community (3:03)

Number six in the highly collectable Golden Lion Sounds series - featuring artists and friends of the iconic Todmorden based hub and released on limited edition vinyl. A true treasure and curio of Yorkshire musical and cultural history!

Manchester's Henge take over side A with a jaunty, indie-psyche number. Guided by a waspy synth motif and marching drums, it's as reassuringly eccentric and grooving as we've come to expect from this bunch of noisy weirdos.

Speaking of weird and wonderful, anyone who's witnessed Tirikilatops crazed live show will enjoy "Tomato", which captures all the quirky Korean-influenced madness over a kinda Eurodans / K-Pop hybrid which reflects the luminous colour palette of the 7"'s center label and somehow manages to align itself with International Teachers Of Pop and recent outings by Confidence Man all at once!

The Lion roars strong once more!! Stupendously limited copies, will sell out pronto! 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Inspired, Korean influenced synth-pop madness here from Tirikilatops and the crazies at The Golden Lion. Meanwhile, local pranksters Henge embrace middle age, swapping the Quaaludes for valerian tea but remaining deliciously outrageous as ever.

TRACK LISTING

Henge - Valerian Tea
Tirikilatops - Tomato