Skip James was a Delta blues enigma, whose mesmerizing guitar playing and haunting voice produced bluer than blue masterpieces. This beautifully re-mastered collection of his seminal 1931 recordings shows why his otherworldly blues cast its spell on many blues greats from Robert Johnson to Eric Clapton.
Arguably the greatest of the original Delta blues guitarists with his mesmerizing and truly unique style. 'The Rough Guide To Skip James' highlights his diverse repertoire of songs ranging from deep, dark Delta blues to upbeat barrelhouse piano tunes and spirituals.

TRACK LISTING

Hard Time Killin’ Floor Blues
I’m So Glad
Drunken Spree
If You Haven’t Any Hay Get On Down The Road
Cherry Ball Blues
Be Ready When He Comes
Little Cow And Calf Is Gonna Die Blues
Devil Got My Woman
How Long “Buck”
Jesus Is A Mighty Good Leader
Cypress Grove Blues
Illinois Blues
22-20 Blues

Warren James are James Kirk (Orange Juice) & Warren McIntyre (Starry Skies), joined for live outings by Hal on bass and Michael (V-Twin/1990s) on drums.

James Kirk is a founding member of Glaswegian indie legends Orange Juice with his jangly, melodic guitar riffs (he also wrote their jangletastic song 'Felicity'). A few months ago his old bandmate Edwyn Collins asked him, alongside original Orange Juice drummer Steven Daly, to join him for a sorta OJ reunion on his farewell shows in Glasgow and London.

Warren McIntyre is the singer in the 7-piece Starry Skies. He has performed live across Europe - including at Paris's famous 'Caveau de la Huchette' and the Prague Opera Hall - and in New York's East Village. Starry Skies melody driven songs have found an audience on over 100 radio shows worldwide - including New York's WFMU.

James and Warren recently joined forces after being asked to play the opening of the exhibition 'Christmas Day Down A Goldmine: A New Seam' by artist Willie Sutherland and then at Glas-Goes Pop, in 2022. They have become a prolific songwriting duo since then and their first single, limited edition double AA side Miss Green Tea / Costa del Culzean, was featured on both Scottish Radio and 6Music.

'Tales From Film City' was mostly recorded in the songwriting / recording studio they have established in Glasgow's Film City in Govan - the same place where Franz Ferdinand recorded their debut. The album also features input from Gerard Love (ex-Teenage Fanclub) and Chris Geddes (Belle & Sebastian), amongst others.

TRACK LISTING

1. Iron Star 
2. On The Bayou 
3. Costa Del Culzean 
4. Miss Green Tea 
5. Road Man 
6. Mountain Greatest Of All Time
7. Fox And Circle 
8. Prairie Lights 
9. Verlaine And Rimbaud 
10. Sheltering Sky 
11. That’ll Do 

The Guy Hamper Trio was formed by Billy Childish, after a chat with his friend James Taylor. Billy and James had played respectively in The Milkshakes and The Prisoners, often sharing the same bill in the early 80's, leading to Billy's blues ensemble The Natural Born Lovers being the support act for the early shows of The James Taylor Quartet.

The Guy Hamper Trio is: Billy Childish (a.k.a. Guy Hamper) on guitar, his wife Julie on bass and Wolf on drums - who as it happens was the drummer in the original incarnation of JTQ - and of course features James Taylor on Hammond organ. The Guy Hamper Trio provide a bottom end, Blues-influenced instrumental mayhem for those unafraid of dirt, germs and true grime. With no particular wish other than to be recognised as the best at playing badly, they refuse to obey the usual rules of combat and music.

On this very record we have 'Taulkinham, Tennessee' on Face A, with 'A Surprise To You, No Surprise To Me' on Face B. Once again, after consultation with experts in the field, it was decreed that for the enjoyment of Mods, jive experts, lost revellers, and those prone to frequent discotheques, these tracks needed to be on a 7" single and made available throughout England, the UK, Europe, the USA, Timbuktu and indeed Penzance.

TRACK LISTING

1. Taulkinham, Tennessee 
2. A Surprise To You, No Surprise To Me

Tennessee's Oliver James, a time-capsule of classic R&B sound, returns to the Colemine label with two new tunes pressed onto one must-have 45. The A-side features his first new track since 2022. '1-2-3' is an upbeat soul stomper à la Memphis and Stax. Nick DeVan and Vincent John (Eraserhood Sound) co-wrote the track; they finalized the instrumentals but were stumped on the lyrics. That's when James was called in, and he used his time working at a church to shape the lyrics that eventually became this number. The B-side was a collaborative effort with Nashville's gritty-funk ensemble The Gripsweats. It's an earnest song with lyrics inspired by James & DeVan's commiseration. "I'm no stranger to love that I used to know'," laments James; his favorite line of the song. Cushioned by lush string and horn arrangements, 'Nothing Is Forever' is a melancholy and heartfelt foil to the A.

TRACK LISTING

A Side.
1-2-3.

B Side.
Nothing Is Forever

This 29‑track anthology traces Brown’s extraordinary journey, from his early breakthrough with the Famous Flames, where his raw gospel‑trained vocals first caught fire, to the explosive grooves of the J.B.’s and the unstoppable momentum of his solo career. It captures the full spectrum of his artistry: the tight, horn‑driven punch of "Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag", the energy of "I Got You (I Feel Good)", the emotional depth of "It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World", and the revolutionary funk innovations behind "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine", "The Payback", "Gravity" and "Living In America."

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A
1. Please, Please, Please *
2. Try Me *
3. Think *
4. Papa's Got A Brand New Bag *
5. I Got You (I Feel Good) *
6. Ain't That A Groove *
7. It's A Man's Man's Man's World *
8. Cold Sweat *
9. Say It Loud - I'm Black And I'm Proud *
* featuring The Famous Flames

SIDE B
1. Give It Up Or Tur nIt A Loose
2. Funky Drummer
3. Brother Rapp
4. Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine
5. Super Bad *
6. Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved
7. Soul Power
*featuring The J.B's

SIDE C
1. Hot Pants (She Got To Use What She Got To Get What She Wants) *
2. Make It Funky
3. Talkin' Loud And Saying Nothing
4. King Heroin
5. Get On The Good Foot
6. I Got Ants In My Pants
7. The Payback
*featuring The J.B's

SIDE D
1. Woman
2. My Thang
3. Get Up Offa That Thing
4. Bodyheat
5. Living In America
6. Gravity

As keyboard maestro James Taylor arrives at his 40th year leading his
Quartet, he has re-signed with his original label Acid Jazz and is embarking
on a series of the most radical projects he has ever worked on.

Following his first classical album ‘Shadows and Dreams’ earlier this year,
he brings the Quartet together for a remarkable new album.

‘Te Deum’ sets the ancient, 4th-entury Christian text to intense jazz, funk,
and Latin grooves. The music sees the James Taylor Quartet working
alongside the children of the Benenden Chapel Choir, and a guest horn
section and legendary Acid Jazz percussionist Snowboy.

Lead track ‘Have Mercy On Us’ mixes Brazilian samba with Gregorian
chants, ‘The Comforter’ sounds like a Donald Byrd with voices Blue Note
Records experiment, and last year’s radio favourite ‘Wildflower’ mixes
bossa nova with sunshine pop harmonies and a positive message.

TRACK LISTING

1. Have Mercy On Us
2. We Praise Thee Oh
God
3. Save Thy People
4. The Comforter
5. Wildflower
6. Find A Way
7. Heaven and Earth
8. Glory Of The Father

Forged from the fire of internal struggles, Loraine James was wrestling with confidence and a desire for change when she embarked on 'Detached From The Rest Of You'. A guiding hand came through producing 2025's 'Clandestine' EP with singer Anysia Kym, which gave her the experience of a more 'pop' setting and the tools and insight to work her instrumentals into more conventional shapes; a shift from club driven sounds and winding instrumentals into more precise song forms.

Loraine’s production is stripped to the bone, soundscapes of clicks and glitches inspired by Aoki Takamasa, Ryoji Ikeda, and the early-00s Clicks & Cuts school. Here, often with not much more than sparse keyboard chords to fill in with subtle colouring, she uses the space around the sounds and vocals to draw the listener in to a succinct and direct album, her most confident yet.

Guest contributors include vocalist Sydney Spann on 'In a Rut', Alan Sparkhawk (Low) on downcast anthem 'Peak Again', Miho Hatori (Cibo Matto) on 'Flatline', Anysia Kim on 'Score', and Tirzah on 'Habits and Patterns'. Finally her old spar, the rapper Le3 bLACK returns to spit fire with the jazz-indebted track 'Ending Us All' with Fyn Dobson backing on tumbling drums.

TRACK LISTING

1. A Long Distance Call
2. The Book Of Self Doubt
3. In A Rut Ft Sydney Spann
4. Score Ft Anysia Kym
5. Seems Like I A6. Flatline Ft Miho Hatori
6. Peak Again Ft Alan Sparhawk
7. Habits And Patterns Ft Tirzah
8. Wish I Was Like U
9. Ending Us All Ft Le3 BLACK X Fyn Dobson
10. Forever Still (Steel)
11. See Through

James K’s critically-acclaimed third album, 'Friend', opens as a portal, a constant earworm that continually resonates with listeners as the map of its emotional cartography shifts into new ground. The map continues to unfold with the announcement of Friend Remixes. K has invited friends to rework twelve tracks. Dance floor and heavy hitting bangers flit across the record, reworked by electronic pioneers Objekt, Drew McDowall (Coil), Hesaitix (M.E.S.H) and Arushi Jain, as well as collaborators and contemporaries Special Guest DJ, Priori (who both co-produced elements of Friend), JASSS, K Wata, Yushh , Roza Terenzi, Loidis and Stone.

TRACK LISTING

1. Days Go By (K Wata Remix)
2. Blinkmoth (Special Guest DJ VIP)
3. Doom Bikini (Hesaitix Remix)
4. Idea.2 (Yushh Remix)
5. N’Balmed (JASSS Purple Mix)
6. Rider (Drew McDowall Remix)
7. On God (Roza Terenzi Remix)
8. Peel (Loidis Remix)
9. Play (Objekt Remix)
10. Lung Slide (Stone Remix)
11. Hypersoft Lovejinx Junkdream (Priori Remix)
12. Collapse (Arushi Jain Remix)

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2026 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 18TH 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 (BST) ON MONDAY APRIL 20th).

War Child - x1 Orange Marbled Gatefold LP Vinyl - The Great Western was James Dean Bradfield's first solo offering, originally released in 2006. Long deleted and much sought after, this vinyl edition is the first time the album has been available on colour vinyl, a fitting way to mark it's 20th anniversary.

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2026 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 18TH 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 (BST) ON MONDAY APRIL 20th).

"This is fire-breathing music in the tradition of free jazz legends Pharaoh Sanders and Archie Shepp that sends the messy spirit of Pavement down roads the rockers could never have imagined." - Tom Moon (NPR) Celebrating the 20th anniversary of four jazz greats getting into the studio to add some swagger to slacker with this double LP of an enchanted rumble through Pavement cuts with a free jazz slant! This is the first ever LP release of the critically acclaimed CD from 2005, dramatically expanded with bonus material into a double LP. On coloured vinyl, featuring liners by Jim Allen, and art newly revised by Steve Keene!

The Guy Hamper Trio is: Billy Childish (a.k.a. Guy Hamper) on guitar, his wife Julie on bass and Wolf on drums - who as it happens was the drummer in the original incarnation of JTQ - and of course features James Taylor on Hammond organ.

The Guy Hamper Trio is: Billy Childish (a.k.a. Guy Hamper) on guitar, his wife Julie on bass and Wolf on drums - who as it happens was the drummer in the original incarnation of JTQ - and of course features James Taylor on Hammond organ. Here we have twelve fine songs of bottom end, blues-influenced instrumental mayhem, with something bold, something new, something borrowed, something blues! 

'Trying Times' is James Blake’s seventh studio album and features British rapper Dave, and singer-songwriter Monica Martin. Written between Los Angeles and London, it’s a record about being in love whilst battling the limits of the self against a backdrop of global uncertainty. He explores the tension between intimacy and isolation, the pressure to curate and perform even as everything, inside and out, feels fragile and precarious. Themes of reflection, both literally and metaphorically, run through the record’s visual presentation, as Blake holds a mirror to the contradictions of modern connection - how we see ourselves, how we’re seen by others, and what gets lost in between. It’s about the disorienting loop of joy and dread: feeling safe in love, yet knowing the bubble could burst at any moment; struggling to stay present while global anxiety and private doubt pull you in different directions. A meditation on love, identity, and fragility in an age where the world feels balanced on a knife edge.

Since emerging in the early 2010s, British producer, songwriter, and musician James Blake has become one of the most influential artists of his generation. He has earned nine GRAMMY® nominations and two wins, a Mercury Prize, and an Ivor Novello Award, while his groundbreaking blend of electronica, soul, hip-hop, and alternative R&B has shaped the sound of contemporary music. Across six acclaimed albums, including his GRAMMY®-nominated 'Playing Robots Into Heaven', the platinum-selling ‘Overgrown', and the UK Top-5 'Friends That Break Your Heart', Blake has evolved from post-dubstep visionary to globally celebrated vocalist, composer, and producer. His signature sound and midas-touch production have supported some of the most defining artists and albums of the last decade, including Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Frank Ocean, ROSALÍA, SZA, Travis Scott, Jay Rock’s GRAMMY®-winning hit “King’s Dead" and most recently ground breaking UK rapper Dave.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1 Walk Out Music
2 Death Of Love
3 I Had A Dream She Took My Hand

Side B
1 Trying Times
2 Make Something Up
3 Didn’t Come To Argue (ft. Monica Martin)

Side C
1 Days Go By
2 Doesn’t Just Happen (ft. Dave)
3 Obsession
4 Rest Of Your Life

Side D
1 Through The High Wire
2 Feel It Again
3 Just A Little Higher


Exclusive Bonus 7”
Side A: So Far Away (Carole King Cover)
Side B: Landslide (Fleetwood Mac Cover)

The No Fuss label hits release number 15 with another tasteful exploration of the deeper end of the house spectrum. This Various Artists 12" opens with James Curd's funky, loopy remix of Saison's 'Feel This', which is a subtle good time groove. Saison then steps up with a remix of Yuichi Inoue's 'Night In The Room', which is a jazzy and expressive sound that rides a fat bassline. Flip it over for Saison & Piem's 'Fall On Me', which is a timeless and driving deep house gem with fleshy chords and seriously weighty dub kicks, then Local Options' 'Catch Hell' is gritty and punchy but seriously hot.

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
1. Saison - "Feel This" (James Curd Remix)
2. Yuichi Inoue - "Night In The Room" (Saison Remix)

Side 2
1. Saison & Piem - "Fall On Me"
2. Local Options - "Catch Hell"

Revered for his Hammond organ work, soul-jazz grooves, and his three decade career leading The James Taylor Quartet, maestro keyboard player
James Taylor releases his first album of classical works.

His long association with Acid Jazz Records continues, as the label also
steps into the classical world for the very first time.

Recorded solo on a Steinway grand piano, Taylor performs some of his
favourite pieces from the classical cannon, with familiar tunes alongside
lesser-known works on this beautiful, atmospheric recording. His
interpretations show a deep love of classical music.

Always one to evolve, just as the James Taylor Quartet introduced Herbie
Hancock to the indie scene of the late ‘80s, Taylor in turn introduces his
audience to a new repertoire, with a remarkable, fresh and modern solo
classical piano album.

TRACK LISTING

1. JS Bach - Polonaise In G Major BWV 130
2. Beethoven - Sonata No.20 Opus 49 'Leichte Sonate’ First Movement
3. Beethoven - Sonata No.20 Opus 49 'Leichte Sonate’ Second Movement
4. CPE Bach - Solfeggietto In C Minor
5. Beethoven - Sonata No.8 Sonate Pathetique Second Movement Adagio Cantabile
6. JS Bach - French Suite No 5 Gavotte
7. Mozart - Sonate KV 545
8. Scarlatti - Allegretto In E Minor
9. Beethoven - Sonata No. 14 Opus 27 ‘Moonlight Sonata’

Beijinho do Brasil is back with LA-based producer and multi-instrumentalist James Matthew Seven.

Recorded in a small studio on the beach in Oaxaca, Mexico, "Feels Good, Do It" brings to mind a lost recording from Marcos Valle's fruitful time in LA with Leon Ware. Funky and soulful with warm Fender Rhodes and a horn section reminiscent of Banda Black Rio, the tune is a breezy, mid-tempo groove dedicated to embracing life's pleasures. Originally with vocals in English, the track was translated and re-recorded in Rio de Janeiro by Fabio Santanna. Fabio has a long-established reputation in Brazil as a torchbearer of modern funk and boogie, continuing in the lineage of artists like Robson Jorge and Lincoln Olivetti. This outing showcases his more laid back, soulful side, the perfect complement to Matty's warm and seductive arrangement. Fabio is the Leon Ware to Matty's Marcos Valle. Or is it the Marcos Valle to his Leon Ware? Either way, it's another LA to Rio match made in heaven

About the flip side, "Ilha Racional" the label boss had this to say:
'I had this dream where I was in a dive bar discotheque somewhere in the Caribbean. A thick cloud of smoke hung in the air as the selector dropped this bass-heavy bop that had the whole crowd vibing. Then, out of nowhere, in walked Tim Maia with a bag of mushrooms. He proceeded to grab the mic and preach about this alien world of rational energy. Shit was bugged out. When I woke up, James Matthew Seven had sent me this track to check out.'

Written, produced and recorded in Oaxaca, Mexico by James Matthew Seven. Vocal recorded in Rio de Janeiro by Fabio Santanna.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: A new label debuts in our racks showcasing a summery and heartfelt sound that's guaranteed to drag you out of the doldrums of a Manchester winter. The label name literally means: 'A kiss from Brazil'... and these two sun-blushed smoochers certainly deliver some fluttery feels for those seeking healing.

TRACK LISTING

1. Feels Good, Do It (feat Fabio Santanna) 
2. Ilha Racional 

Hot off the heels of producing Benefits’ critically acclaimed album Constant Noise earlier this year, and following a continual flow of live shows, singles, EPs, collaborations and remixes by the likes of Hayden Thorpe, Blood Red Shoes & Benefits. The former Pulled Apart By Horses guitarist turned electronic pathfinder James Adrian Brown unveils his long-awaited debut record Forever Neon Lights.

A deeply personal yet outward-looking debut, Forever Neon Lights is a conceptual record that draws on memory, imagination, and transformation. Across its tracks, Brown reflects on childhood wonder, the excitement of possibility, and the struggles and triumphs of chasing a creative life. The Blackpool Illuminations serve as both literal and metaphorical inspiration: dazzling, unending, and powered by unseen energy.

Sonically, the album finds Brown pushing into new territory with long-time producer James Mottershead, weaving pulsing electronics, immersive textures, and evocative melodies into a dynamic, shifting instrumental landscape. It marks a bold evolution from his guitar-led past into a fully realised electronic vision.

Speaking about making the record, Brown says:
 “This album is me laying everything out, the things I’ve carried since being a child, the hopes, dreams, and doubts I’ve felt as an adult, and the stubbornness to see things through. Writing and recording it felt like reconnecting with that wide-eyed version of myself who thought the lights back in Blackpool wrapped right around the entire country every Christmas and went on forever. It’s about taking that feeling and turning it into something lasting and real.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Forever Neon Lights
2. Generator
3. Sidestep
4. The Firing Range
5. Promenade
6. Northwestern
7. Poster Child
8. Up In The Nest
9. Somewhere I'm Not
10. Remember

From Bach to Brahms, Mahler to Messiaen, any composer worth their salt has written for the pipe organ. And so when James McVinnie put the idea to Tristan Perich to write for the king of instruments, it was perhaps not a surprise that the New York contemporary-classical composer had already considered the possibilities of marrying his signature 1-bit electronic music with an instrument that has reverberated down the centuries. The resulting piece that started with a conversation between the two back in 2016 is undoubtedly Perich’s most ambitious work to date.

'Infinity Gradient' is an hour-long symphony in seven movements for organ and 100 speakers in 1-bit audio, recorded for this album at London’s Royal Festival Hall at Southbank Centre, where McVinnie was artist-in-residence throughout 2024. The 100 speakers are set across the stage – a recurring element in Perich’s work for over two decades, this time featuring four giant subwoofers, 24 medium-sized speakers, and 72 small speakers – against the backdrop of RFH’s imposing organ; the piece is as visually striking to look at as it is to listen to.

TRACK LISTING

1. Infinity Gradient: Opening
2. Infinity Gradient: Section 1
3. Infinity Gradient: Section 2
4. Infinity Gradient: Section 3
5. Infinity Gradient: Section 4
6. Infinity Gradient: Section 5
7. Infinity Gradient: Section 6
8. Infinity Gradient: Section 7

Guitarists Jake Xerxes Fussell and James Elkington join forces for Rebuilding, the original soundtrack to the motion picture of the same name. Directed by Max Walker-Silverman & Starring Josh O'Connor, Meghann Fahy, & Amy Madigan. Known for their distinctive voices in contemporary folk and experimental music, the duo crafts an evocative score that blends lyrical guitar passages with atmospheric textures. Rebuilding captures both the intimacy and expansiveness of the film, offering a moving standalone listening experience.

TRACK LISTING

1. Prelude
2. Mountain Time
3. A Cowboy Without Cows
4. Glow In The Dark
5. The Magic Boots
6. Riding To The Ranch
7. Callie Rose
8. Brother Theo
9. Daybreakers
10. Rebuilding
11. Chilli Roast Waltz
12. Contemplating The Moon
13. Don't Steal My Heart Away
14. Things We Lost
15. County Z
16. Night Library
17. Begin Again

Nothing But Love – The Definitive Best Of is a comprehensive, career spanning highlights collection from James. The release documents the band’s journey through their singles as well as fan favourites and selections made by the band.

The 5LP takes fans on a chronological journey from the beginning of the band’s releases up until the present day. The deluxe set features two new tracks, ‘Wake Up Superman’ and ‘Hallelujah Anyhow’. Additional highlights include ‘Laid’, ‘Sit Down’, ‘She’s A Star’ and ‘Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)’ as well as tracks from James’ most recent number 1 album, Yummy, with 12 tracks appearing on vinyl for the first time ever. The 5LP vinyl set is housed in a rigid slipcase with an accompanying booklet which contains exclusive track commentary from members of James.

The 3CD takes fans on a chronological journey from the beginning of the band’s releases up until the present day. The deluxe set features two new tracks, ‘Wake Up Superman’ and ‘Hallelujah Anyhow’. Additional highlights include ‘Laid’, ‘Sit Down’, ‘She’s A Star’ and ‘Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)’ as well as tracks from James’ most recent number 1 album, Yummy. The 3CD includes an accompanying booklet which contains exclusive track commentary from members of James.

This 2LP set is the ultimate James setlist, a highlights selection including two new tracks, ‘Wake Up Superman’ and ‘Hallelujah Anyhow’. Additional highlights include ‘Laid’, ‘Sit Down’, ‘She’s A Star’ and ‘Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)’.

TRACK LISTING

2LP SET
LP1
Side A
1 Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)
2 Laid
3 Tomorrow
4 Sometimes
5 Waltzing Along
6 Nothing But Love

Side B
1 Sit Down
2 Beautiful Beaches
3 She's A Star
4 Ring The Bells
5 Hallelujah Anyhow

LP2
Side A
1 Say Something
2 Just Like Fred Astaire
3 Moving On
4 Wake Up Superman
5 Sound

Side B
1 Come Home (Flood Mix)
2 Born Of Frustration
3 Out To Get You
4 Way Over Your Head
5 Hymn From A Village

3CD SET
CD1
1 What's The World
2 Hymn From A Village
3 Chain Mail
4 So Many Ways
5 Johnny Yen
6 What For
7 Ya Ho
8 Sit Down (Rough Trade Version)
9 How Was It For You?
10 Come Home (Flood Mix)
11 Lose Control
12 Sit Down
13 Sound
14 Born Of Frustration
15 Ring The Bells
16 Seven
17 Out To Get You
18 Sometimes
19 Laid
20 Jam J

CD2
1 Say Something
2 Honest Joe
3 She's A Star
4 Tomorrow
5 Waltzing Along
6 Play Dead
7 Destiny Calling
8 Runaground
9 I Know What I'm Here For
10 All Good Boys
11 Just Like Fred Astaire
12 We're Going To Miss You
13 I Defeat
14 Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)
15 Chameleon
16 Whiteboy
17 Waterfall
18 Crazy
19 Dust Motes
20 Interrogation

CD3
1 Moving On
2 Curse Curse
3 All I'm Saying
4 To My Surprise
5 Nothing But Love
6 Girl At The End Of The World
7 Busted
8 Many Faces
9 Leviathan
10 All The Colours Of You
11 Beautiful Beaches
12 ZERO
13 Love Make A Fool
14 Is This Love
15 Life's A Fucking Miracle
16 Way Over Your Head
17 Wake Up Superman
18 Hallelujah Anyhow

5LP SET
LP1
Side A
1 What's The World
2 Hymn From A Village
3 Chain Mail
4 So Many Ways
5 What For
6 Ya Ho

Side B
1 How Was It For You
2 Come Home (Flood Mix)
3 Lose Control
4 Sit Down
5 Sound

LP2
Side A
1 Born Of Frustration
2 Ring The Bells
3 Seven
4 Sometimes
5 Laid

Side B
1 Say Something
2 Out To Get You
3 Jam J
4 Honest Joe
5 She's A Star

LP3
Side A
1 Tomorrow
2 Waltzing Along *first Time Available On Vinyl*
3 Destiny Calling *first Time Available On Vinyl*
4 Runaground *first Time Available On Vinyl*
5 I Know What I'm Here For

Side B
1 Just Like Fred Astaire
2 We're Going To Miss You (Single Version) *first Time Available On Vinyl*
3 All Good Boys *first Time Available On Vinyl*
4 I Defeat *first Time Available On Vinyl*
5 Getting Away With It (All Messed Up) (Single Version) *first Time Available On Vinyl*
6 Chameleon *first Time Available On Vinyl*

LP4
Side A
1 Whiteboy
2 Crazy *first Time Available On Vinyl*
3 Dust Motes *first Time Available On Vinyl*
4 Moving On
5 Curse Curse

Side B
1 All I'm Saying (Radio Edit) *first Time Available On Vinyl*
2 To My Surprise
3 Nothing But Love
4 Girl At The End Of The World
5 Many Faces (Radio Edit) *first Time Available On Vinyl*
6 Leviathan

LP 5
Side A
1 All The Colours Of You
2 Beautiful Beaches
3 ZERO
4 Love Make A Fool

Side B
1 Is This Love
2 Life's A Fucking Miracle
3 Way Over Your Head
4 Wake Up Superman *first Time Available On Vinyl*
5 Hallelujah Anyhow *first Time Available On Vinyl*

About the album:
Nothing But Love – The Definitive Best Of is a comprehensive, career spanning highlights collection from James. The release documents the band’s journey through their singles as well as fan favourites and selections made by the band.

The 2LP set is the ultimate James setlist, a highlights selection including two new tracks, ‘Wake Up Superman’ and ‘Hallelujah Anyhow’. Additional highlights include ‘Laid’, ‘Sit Down’, ‘She’s A Star’ and ‘Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)’.

The 5LP takes fans on a chronological journey from the beginning of the band’s releases up until the present day. The deluxe set features two new tracks, ‘Wake Up Superman’ and ‘Hallelujah Anyhow’. Additional highlights include ‘Laid’, ‘Sit Down’, ‘She’s A Star’ and ‘Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)’ as well as tracks from James’ most recent number 1 album, Yummy, with 12 tracks appearing on vinyl for the first time ever. The 5LP vinyl set is housed in a rigid slipcase with an accompanying booklet which contains exclusive track commentary from members of James.

The 3CD takes fans on a chronological journey from the beginning of the band’s releases up until the present day. The deluxe set features two new tracks, ‘Wake Up Superman’ and ‘Hallelujah Anyhow’. Additional highlights include ‘Laid’, ‘Sit Down’, ‘She’s A Star’ and ‘Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)’ as well as tracks from James’ most recent number 1 album, Yummy. The 3CD includes an accompanying booklet which contains exclusive track commentary from members of James.

TRACK LISTING

2LP SET
LP1
Side A
1 Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)
2 Laid
3 Tomorrow
4 Sometimes
5 Waltzing Along
6 Nothing But Love

Side B
1 Sit Down
2 Beautiful Beaches
3 She's A Star
4 Ring The Bells
5 Hallelujah Anyhow

LP2
Side A
1 Say Something
2 Just Like Fred Astaire
3 Moving On
4 Wake Up Superman
5 Sound

Side B
1 Come Home (Flood Mix)
2 Born Of Frustration
3 Out To Get You
4 Way Over Your Head
5 Hymn From A Village

3CD SET
CD1
1 What's The World
2 Hymn From A Village
3 Chain Mail
4 So Many Ways
5 Johnny Yen
6 What For
7 Ya Ho
8 Sit Down (Rough Trade Version)
9 How Was It For You?
10 Come Home (Flood Mix)
11 Lose Control
12 Sit Down
13 Sound
14 Born Of Frustration
15 Ring The Bells
16 Seven
17 Out To Get You
18 Sometimes
19 Laid
20 Jam J

CD2
1 Say Something
2 Honest Joe
3 She's A Star
4 Tomorrow
5 Waltzing Along
6 Play Dead
7 Destiny Calling
8 Runaground
9 I Know What I'm Here For
10 All Good Boys
11 Just Like Fred Astaire
12 We're Going To Miss You
13 I Defeat
14 Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)
15 Chameleon
16 Whiteboy
17 Waterfall
18 Crazy
19 Dust Motes
20 Interrogation

CD3
1 Moving On
2 Curse Curse
3 All I'm Saying
4 To My Surprise
5 Nothing But Love
6 Girl At The End Of The World
7 Busted
8 Many Faces
9 Leviathan
10 All The Colours Of You
11 Beautiful Beaches
12 ZERO
13 Love Make A Fool
14 Is This Love
15 Life's A Fucking Miracle
16 Way Over Your Head
17 Wake Up Superman
18 Hallelujah Anyhow


5LP SET
LP1
Side A
1 What's The World
2 Hymn From A Village
3 Chain Mail
4 So Many Ways
5 What For
6 Ya Ho

Side B
1 How Was It For You
2 Come Home (Flood Mix)
3 Lose Control
4 Sit Down
5 Sound

LP2
Side A
1 Born Of Frustration
2 Ring The Bells
3 Seven
4 Sometimes
5 Laid

Side B
1 Say Something
2 Out To Get You
3 Jam J
4 Honest Joe
5 She's A Star

LP3
Side A
1 Tomorrow
2 Waltzing Along *first Time Available On Vinyl*
3 Destiny Calling *first Time Available On Vinyl*
4 Runaground *first Time Available On Vinyl*
5 I Know What I'm Here For

Side B
1 Just Like Fred Astaire
2 We're Going To Miss You (Single Version) *first Time Available On Vinyl*
3 All Good Boys *first Time Available On Vinyl*
4 I Defeat *first Time Available On Vinyl*
5 Getting Away With It (All Messed Up) (Single Version) *first Time Available On Vinyl*
6 Chameleon *first Time Available On Vinyl*

LP4
Side A
1 Whiteboy
2 Crazy *first Time Available On Vinyl*
3 Dust Motes *first Time Available On Vinyl*
4 Moving On
5 Curse Curse

Side B
1 All I'm Saying (Radio Edit) *first Time Available On Vinyl*
2 To My Surprise
3 Nothing But Love
4 Girl At The End Of The World
5 Many Faces (Radio Edit) *first Time Available On Vinyl*
6 Leviathan

LP 5
Side A
1 All The Colours Of You
2 Beautiful Beaches
3 ZERO
4 Love Make A Fool

Side B
1 Is This Love
2 Life's A Fucking Miracle
3 Way Over Your Head
4 Wake Up Superman *first Time Available On Vinyl*
5 Hallelujah Anyhow *first Time Available On Vinyl*

Mike James Kirkland, who has been out of the musical spotlight since 2020, returns with the first single from his upcoming fourth album, releasing on Ubiquity/Luv N Haight in early spring 2026.“Glowin’” finds the Los Angeles-by-way-of-Yazoo City, Mississippi, artist collaborating with the Bay Area-based Monophonics on a cover of Dr. John’s deep album cut from the 1969 ATCO release, Babylon.That same year garage rockers The Rationals, whose cover inspired this rendition, cut the only other version on their sole full-length.Having sat in record bins for far too long, it’s beyond time for the beautiful mantra to return to listeners’ ears.Where the original blended a spiritual jazz ethos with a subtle but jaunty horn arrangement, Kirkland’s interpretation smooths out the proceedings.Lyrical elements from the Rebennack-penned verses are minimally rearranged while keeping a strong connection to the song’s roots.Kirkland showcases a confident and pensive delivery, while Kelly Finnigan provides dreamy background vocals that beautifully accompany an understated bass line and flute solo.Sixty years since Kirkland entered the music business with his family and over 50 years since his debut solo album, it’s a sensational return to form from an artist who wants to do more than just hang on in there.

TRACK LISTING

1. Glowin'
2. Glowin' (Instrumental)

James Hayford (from Shoes) & Bigga Bush (from Rockers Hi-Fi) team up for a 4 track split EP. On the A-side, laid-back beats underpin deep, dubbed out atmospheres & psychedelic textures, before explosive breakbeats take over. A spacious dub stomper & a head-nodding summer chugger round out the AA. LImited import copies. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Tasty dubbed out, downbeat curio from two top ranking beatsmiths. Nicely understated, next-day nodders that'll encourage you to keep the curtains drawn that little bit longer.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Flower Of Thy Womb
A2. Flower Of Thy Womb (BiggaBush Version)
B1. Come To Crunch
B2. Sole Sister (James Hayford Shoes Remix)

It was during the Sixties when Etta James truly found her musical direction and made a lasting mark as a soulful pop and blues diva. Presented here is her debut album which spawned her signature songs, "At Last" and "I Just Want To Make Love To You". Both were massive chart hits and are still two of the most popular songs played on radio and soundtracked into TV adverts 65 years after their release.

Noted for its varied choice in music from jazz standards to blues numbers to doo wop and rhythm & blues, At Last ranked at #191 on Rolling Stone's 2022 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

"What makes At Last a great album is not only the solid hits it contains, but also the strong variety of material throughout. On this album one hears the singer at her peak in a swinging and varied program of blues, R&B, and jazz standards." - ***** Stephen Cook, AllMusic

TRACK LISTING

Anything To Say You're Mine
My Dearest Darling
Trust In Me
A Sunday Kind Of Love 
Tough Mary / Next Door To The Blues
Don't Cry Baby
Fool That I Am
I Just Want To Make Love To You
At Last
All I Could Do Was Cry
Stormy Weather
Girl Of My Dreams
Spoonful
It's A Crying Shame
Something's Got A Hold On Me

In 1978, a 'Factory for Sale' sign gave Alan Erasmus and Tony Wilson a name for their fledgling Manchester club night. Though they couldn' t have known it at the time, this was the launch of one of the most significant musical and cultural legacies of the late twentieth century. The club's electrifying live scene soon translated to vinyl, and Factory Records went on to become the most innovative and celebrated record label of the next thirty years.

Always breaking new musical ground, Factory introduced the listening public to bands such as Joy Division, whose Unknown Pleasures was the label's first album release, New Order, Durutti Column and Happy Mondays. Propelled onwards by the inspirational cultural entrepreneur, Tony Wilson, Factory always sought new ways to energise the popular consciousness, such as the infamous Hacienda nightclub, which enjoyed a chequered 15-year history after opening in 1982. Now fully revised and expanded with a new chapter, Shadowplayers is the most complete, authoritative and thoroughly researched account of how a group of provincial anarchists and entrepreneurs saw off bankers, journalists and gun-toting gangsters to create the most influential record label of modern times.

Based on both archive and contemporary sources, the book tells the full story of Factory' s heroic struggles, its complex web of inventive, idiosyncratic and tragic personalities, and ultimately, the acclaimed and much-loved music it produced.

Crate digger and music enthusiast James Endeacott compiles ‘Unlock Your Mind With Morning Glory’ for Two-Piers Records – A glorious heady mix of the weird and wonderful eclectic music from his radio show ‘Morning Glory’

“One weekday afternoon towards the end of 2017 I sat in The Lyric pub on Great Windmill Street, Soho with my dear friend Raf. I’d just finished another of my weekly Soho Radio shows and was starting to think about the next one. Raf had been on as a guest playing some of his favourite tunes of the day. We had a few drinks, told a few stories and started to plot and scheme. It was always a dream of mine to have a daily radio show. Radio had always informed and excited me from my early teens listening to John Peel under the blanket when I should’ve been either sleeping or revising right up to the present-day musical excursions of NTS, WFMU and numerous internet based stations.

We decided to speak to Adrian and Dan who ran Soho Radio to see if they’d be up for us doing a daily morning show. To our surprise they were into the idea and within 5 minutes Adrian came up with the name Morning Glory. We all liked it. We were all excited. It was all systems go. In December 2017 Raf and myself started a daily 2 hour show. We did the show together, got guests in and the musical policy was whatever we felt like that day. After several months Raf found the mornings too much. Off he went into the distance occasionally coming back with a smile, and a bag of new music. I carried on alone and then suddenly in March 2020 the world stopped, and we went into lockdown.

We set up in my house in Catford, Southeast London and carried on. The show became 3 hours a day and I started to invite friends, record labels, record shops, bands etc.. to supply me with hour long mixes that I played every day. The show took off during this time. My musical tastes expanded as I spent all day long searching for new sounds from around the globe. People started to send me more and more music. I became obsessed with the show. The audience started to take to social media and ask for certain tracks or artists to be played. I got listeners to make me mixes to play on the show and I did several phone interviews with musicians while playing some of their favourite tunes.

I was grateful that Soho Radio left me to my own devices. They never told me what to do or what to play – they trusted me and I trusted my instincts.

The music on this compilation is not a ‘best of’ it’s just how I felt when I compiled it at the start of 2025. Apart from a couple of tracks they are all things I’ve come across since the show started in December 2017. If I did a list of tracks now I’m sure it would be completely different. Surely that’s the point. We never stick in one place. We are always moving and searching. Always trying to unlock our minds. Put it on. Take your time and let it take you somewhere” James Endeacott 2025

TRACK LISTING

A1) Anuradha Paudwal – Gayatari Mantra
A2) Baba Zula – Arsiz Saksagan (Cheeky Magpie)
A3) Orchestra Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp – So Many Things (To Feel Guilty About)
A4) Christopher Martin – Playing Games With My Heart
B1) Geir Sundstøl - C’est Vide En Ville
B2) Brother Ah – Transcendental March (Creation Song)
B3) Les Abranis – Therrza Rathwenza
B4) Sparkels – That Boy Of Mine
C1) Maximum Joy – Stretch (7” Mix)
C2) Chillera – SCHAX
C3) Elijah Minnelli – I Hope The Goats Come Back (ze-hood De-sham Lichdal)
C4) Siti Muharam – Pakistan
D1) Muriel Grossmann – Traneing In
D2) Catford Gyrations – Land Of 1000 Presets **
D3) Living Daylights – Let’s Live For Today
D4) Natalie Bergman – Shine Your Light On Me
** Exclusive Track On Vinyl

CD Tracklist:
1) Anuradha Paudwal – Gayatari Mantra
2) Baba Zula – Arsiz Saksagan (Cheeky Magpie)
3) Orchestra Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp – So Many Things (To Feel Guilty About)
4) Christopher Martin – Playing Games With My Heart
5) Geir Sundstøl – C’est Vide En Ville
6) Brother Ah – Transcendental March (Creation Song)
7) Les Abranis – Therrza Rathwenza
8) Sparkels – That Boy Of Mine
9) Maximum Joy – Stretch (7” Mix)
10) Chillera – SCHAX
11) Elijah Minnelli – I Hope The Goats Come Back (ze-hood De-sham Lichdal)
12) Siti Muharam – Pakistan
13) Muriel Grossmann – Traneing In
14) The Living Daylights – Let’s Live For Today
15) Natalie Bergman – Shine Your Light On Me

James K follows up on AD 93 with her third album, 'Friend'. The oneiric fogs of James K lifting into vision have stirred and shaped the landscape of contemporary music since her first release. It is not hyperbole to say that K has consistently beta-launched sounds and perspectives that have rippled across many mediums for years, defining a way that is both singular in vision and marked by collaboration and shared dreaming. Known for her polychromatic hypersensitivity, K’s hauntological dream pop is making ‘music that slows the anxious heart while holding a mirror to {the} deep-rooted angst we prefer to leave unspoken.’

An opening of the portal, 'Friend' is the culmination of a decade of K’s work; the gates of which gleam like a slow drip of melodic infusion, at once a remedy and an inquiry. Friend encapsulates a lifelong praxis of intuitive music making, delivering a more precise and controlled sound, with versions of songs shifting into focus like recovered memories. Feeling her way through textures, a return to, and a melding of, the voice and technical mastery, these soundscapes lay down a framework over time that traces the history of her practice. James K has been a cosmic point of the aesthetic underground across the world, as a vocalist, producer, artist and collaborator. Her breathy, lilting vocals have floated across some of the past year’s best music. Expanding and ethereal, they make you feel like the call is coming from inside the house.

You can trace touch points across her lengthy catalogue, spanning from the foundational urgency of 2013’s debut 'Rum' EP, to the prismatic elasticity of PET (She Rocks!/Dial), to the strange-faced, visceral and, at times, sepulchral intoxication of Random Girl (Incienso), from the universal ecstasy of trip-hop lullaby ‘Scorpio’ (AD 93). To this day, her transmutative career has led K to amass a bouquet of collaborations with artists like Heith, Moin, Fergus Jones + Huerco S., Priori, Yves Tumor, Drew McDowall, LEYA, and others.

Friend is K’s return to the core; with a vault of hard lessons and inimitable love to draw from. Based in New York where she was born and has lived most of her life, there is a constant evolution of the city which she embodies sonically, like the growth, decay and push, pull of relationships and spaces. At the crux of these crossroads is the homespun and ever-evolving DIY rave culture which continues to embody and cycle through lives of its own. This ecology spans across geographical lines and remains the touchstone and core of the james K vocation: the backbone and infrastructure from which her distinctive command of interwoven guitar and electronic arrangements ultimately coalesces. Grafting fragments of the real and the surreal is the provenance she draws from in her thoughtful and emotive international performances including Dekmantel, Sustain Release, Mutek, iii Points, and more.

TRACK LISTING

1. Days Go By
2. Blinkmoth (July Mix)
3. Doom Bikini
4. Idea.2
5. N’Balmed
6. Rider
7. On God
8. Peel
9. Lude (Unwind)
10. Play
11. Lung Slide
12. Hypersoft Lovejinx Junkdream
13. Collapse (Falling Forward Blissfully All The Time)

First time vinyl reissue, expanded and deluxe double gatefold 140g double vinyl, remastered audio with restored artwork and fresh liners written by Paul Hillery (Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours)

Alan James Eastwood's glorious 'Seeds' is a certified folk-funk lost-classic.

But who was Alan James Eastwood? He had never hit the big time and commercial success eluded him. By the mid-1970s, his musical career was pretty much over and he was almost unknown except among deep heads, amongst whom he would gain cult status.

Original copies of the 1971 vinyl release of 'Seeds' exchange hands for high sums, if you can find one. This expanded 2LP contains an extra record, collecting 9 rare non-album singles and is presented in a gatefold sleeve complete with freshly commissioned liner notes courtesy of Paul Hillery (Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours).

With the long overdue deluxe reissue of this prized artefact, we hope to finally shine a light on the unheralded genius of Alan James Eastwood. RIYL Nick Drake, Rodriguez, Richie Havens. 

TRACK LISTING

1. She's Getting Married In August
2. Evenin' Rain
3. Les Papillons
4. Zeena
5. Virgin Morn
6. Seeds 
7. Crystal Blue 
8. Lady Carole 
9. Lotus Child 
10. Last Prayer 
11. Hymn For Today
12. Boston 
13.Blackbird Charlie 
14. My Sun
15. Closer To The Truth 
16. Strange News
17. Moonchild 
18. Red Shoe Truckin' 
19. Beautiful 
20. Opal Blue Sunday

‘Songs for Nina and Johanna’ is the beautiful new album from James Yorkston, this time featuring not one but two of Sweden’s most recognisable female vocalists. Recorded in Stockholm with Nina Persson (The Cardigans), Johanna Söderberg (First Aid Kit) and members of The Second Hand Orchestra, these are songs about family, love and parenthood. Tender and heart-breaking yet overwhelmingly life-affirming, ‘Songs for Nina and Johanna’ is a vital addition to the James Yorkston catalogue.

Songs for Nina and Johanna is the beautiful new album from James Yorkston, his sixteenth on Domino and his third to be recorded in Stockholm in conjunction with members of The Second Hand Orchestra. Nina Persson (The Cardigans), who teamed up with James on his previous critically-acclaimed album, The Great White Sea Eagle, this time divides singing duties with Johanna Söderberg (First Aid Kit), the two of them singing separately with James on five and four tracks respectively.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: I've always been a huge fan of the otherworldly vocals of Nina Persson and this gorgeous LP from James Yorkston features both Nina and Johanna from First Aid Kit singing alongside Yorkston's perfectly pitched syrupy drawl. It's beautifully written and performed even more beautifully than you'd expect. A wonderfully warm, evocative study in collaboration.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. I Can Change
2. Oh Light, Oh Light
3. A Moment Longer
4. Love / Luck
5. Where's The Time?

Side B
6. Rabbit
7. Love That Tree
8. Oh Sparrow, Up Yours
9. I Spooked The Neighbours
10. With Me, With You

Dinked Edition Bonus CD EP: “Reimaginations” By The Second Hand Orchestra
1. Time Was Short (5 1/2 Min To Be Exact)
2. With You, With Me (in Swedish)
3. A Moment Longer (Lina Langendorf Solo Saxophone)
4. Where’s The Time? (Instrumental)

The Guy Hamper Trio was formed by Billy Childish, after a chat with his friend James Taylor (Hammond organ). Billy and James had played respectively in The Milkshakes and The Prisoners, often sharing the same bill in the early 80's, leading to Billy's blues ensemble The Natural Born Lovers being the support act for the early shows of The James Taylor Quartet.

The Guy Hamper Trio is: Billy Childish on guitar, his wife Julie on bass and Wolf on drums - who as it happens was the drummer in the original incarnation of JTQ - and of course features James Taylor on Hammond organ. The Guy Hamper Trio provide a bottom end, Blues-influenced instrumental mayhem for those unafraid of dirt, germs and true grime. With no particular wish other than to be recognised as the best at playing badly, they refuse to obey the usual rules of combat and music.

Their first 45 (Polygraph Test / Sally Sensation) was released in 2009, followed by a full-length studio album, 'All The Poisons In The Mud', appearing, as if by magic, in 2022, followed by six 7" singles (via Damaged Goods and Spinout Nuggets), and also four further full-length albums.

This handsome record includes 'Mary Mary' on the opening face, with Face B including 'Type 2 Error'. Once again, after consultation with experts in the field, it was decreed that for the enjoyment of Mods, jive experts, lost revellers, and those prone to frequent discotheques, these tracks needed to be on a 7" single and made available throughout England, the UK, Europe, the USA, Indonesia and indeed Portsmouth.

TRACK LISTING

1. Mary Mary
2. Type 2 Error 

James Mac has had a breakthrough year with recent single’s, ‘Try Again’ & 'The Boy Is Mine', topping the charts and receiving support from the likes of Keinemusik, Cloonee, and Armin van Buuren. His new single, 'Breathe', continues to highlight his gift for creating immersive House Music with powerful vocals. The package also features his collab with Lazarusman – ‘Manifest’ and on the flip we have the 2 previous single’s as an added bonus.Act Fast!

TRACK LISTING

A1. James Mac - Breathe (Extended Mix)
A2. James Mac & Lazarusman - Manifest (Extended Mix)
B1. James Mac & Vall - The Boy Is Mine (ft. Rosalie) [Extended Mix]
B2. James Mac & Vall - Try Again (Extended Mix)

The music industry as you've never seen it before – from the bottom. Music. We all love it. We can't live without it! But what exactly is it? Why is it so awesome? And who are the mysterious figures who create it, perform it and keep us all stocked up with the good stuff? What's it really like to be in a band and just how bad is the music industry? In his new book, rock'n'roll underdog James Kennedy takes us on a tour through the hidden lives of the every-day musician – this isn’t hotel room trashing but how 99% of musicians live in the real world.

Blowing away the usual mythologies and pulling no punches, Loud Medicine is a rough and ready rollercoaster ride – OK, transit van ride – into the secret world of the modern day musician. It’s also an exposé of music’s many enemies, a manifesto for change and a love letter to everyone’s favourite medicine. There will be rants, dramas, a cast of dysfunctionals, big ideas, industry scam shockers, truth-bombs, f-bombs, the likely crucifixion of a beloved music icon or two – and yes, of course, there will be road stories. So come and squeeze in amongst the drum cases and warm beers, and let’s hit the road! 

Chiminyo is a UK-based jazz/electronic artist and the founder of the new label NRG Discs (having previously released on Brownswood, Nightdreamer, Gearbox, and Astigmatic, with artists such as Gary Bartz, Shabaka Hutchings, Maisha, Nubya Garcia, Cykada, Uniri, as well as solo). Chiminyo is a versatile musician who blends the raw energy of live drums and percussion with cutting-edge electronic production.

His early solo releases showcased his knack for unique approaches to making music, using self-coded software to trigger synths and samples from every cymbal crash and drum hit, eliminating loops and click-tracks. This DIY, tech-driven methodology allowed Chiminyo complete, spontaneous control over his music—all from the stool behind his drum kit—creating a sound that is both daring and innovative.

Chiminyo's latest project, NRG, continues this trend of innovative thinking. Born from discussions around the UK jazz scene, Chiminyo concluded that this musical expression is less about "jazz" and more about the energy (NRG) that fuels it. As a result, NRG has evolved into a semi-regular event where Chiminyo brings together some of London's finest musicians for live, improvised performances that encapsulate the spirit of the scene. These live recordings are then given the magic production treatment by Chiminyo and co-producer Aviv Cohen, transforming them into the masterpieces we get to hear on wax.

The first three NRG LPs were a massive success, generating over 600,000 streams, selling over 800 copies (without distribution support), and receiving airplay on BBC Radio, Jazz FM, NTS, Soho Radio, and many more. High-profile DJs like Gilles Peterson and Jamz Supernova championed the albums, which were also covered in print by The Guardian, Jazzwise, Echoes Magazine, and various online channels. This success led to an invitation to record a live album at Ronnie Scott's, one of London's most iconic jazz venues—an incredible opportunity for any artist.

NRG 4 brings together some of the best jazz and electronic musicians in London. The album features Marisia Osu (harp), James Akers (tenor saxophone), Daniel Casimir (double bass), Lyle Barton (synthesizers), and Tilé Gichigi-Liperé (live electronics)—an all-star lineup whose members have released multiple records on Concord, Brownswood, Jazz Re:freshed, Astigmatic and more, and have collaborated with artists such as Laura Misch, Nubya Garcia, Blue Lab Beats and Emma-Jean Thackray. Three tracks are graced with features from Jorja Smith's backing vocalist BAELY and Cuban saxophone maestro Regis Molina.

Limited to 400 12" LPs (350 standard, 50 screen-printed limited edition).

TRACK LISTING

1. Luminescence (feat. Marysia Osu, James Akers, Daniel Casimir, Lyle Barton & Tilé Gichigi-Liperé)
2. Sonder (feat. Marysia Osu, James Akers, Daniel Casimir, Lyle Barton & Tilé Gichigi-Liperé)
3. Into The Storm (feat. Marysia Osu, James Akers, Daniel Casimir, Lyle Barton & Tilé Gichigi-Liperé)
4. Serenity (feat. Marysia Osu, James Akers, Daniel Casimir, Lyle Barton & Tilé Gichigi-Liperé)
5. Ascendance (feat. Marysia Osu, James Akers, Daniel Casimir, Lyle Barton, Tilé Gichigi-Liperé & Regis Molina)
6. Chrysalis (feat. Marysia Osu, James Akers, Daniel Casimir, Lyle Barton & Tilé Gichigi-Liperé)
7. Beam (feat. Marysia Osu, James Akers, Daniel Casimir, Lyle Barton & Tilé Gichigi-Liperé)
8. Nightfall (feat. Marysia Osu, James Akers, Daniel Casimir, Lyle Barton, Tilé Gichigi-Liperé & BAELY)
9. Levitate (feat. Marysia Osu, James Akers, Daniel Casimir, Lyle Barton, Tilé Gichigi-Liperé & Regis Molina)

Following the hyperactive 'Blood Karaoke' (2022, Reading Group), 'Performing Belief' builds rhythmic thickets from gathered sounds interwoven with synths, drum machines and other samples. Having built these rhythmic nests, Krivchenia then called on two contemporary mages of the low end: electric bassist and fellow Angeleno Sam Wilkes (Wilkes/Gendel) and double bassist/multi-instrumentalist from Krivchenia’s native Chicago, Joshua Abrams (Natural Information Society). Wilkes and Abrams bring the presence of a grounding human witness to the rhythmic undergrowth, providing a centering and even at times melodic voice to the gathering. This alchemy carries a profoundly fresh sense of time, blurring the edges of the quantized grid and the generic boundaries of electronic music.

The core of the album is a lush, opulent matrix of percussion ranging from the familiar—hand claps and drum machines—to the mysteriously verdant, sampled largely from Krivchenia’s own performed field recorded collection. For years, he would record any and all of his musical encounters with natural objects: performing on a particularly resonant log on a hike, throwing rocks into a pristine pond, tap dancing in the mud. This archive of “natural” sounds became the fertile soil out of which the tracks on “Performing Belief” grew. What is gained in the process is not just a novel set of sounds, but a new rhythmic language. The particular give, the anticipatory rustle, the extra breath of a hollow log when functioning as a kickdrum provides a greenness that overtakes the rhythmic grid, giving this music a peculiar kind of stickiness. This rhythmic language, set in Krivchenia’s long-fermenting electronic musical palate, feels like a revelation, even while it calls back not only to his wonderfully elastic timekeeping behind the kit with his beloved band Big Thief, but also to his prior work in computer music as well as his deep study and love of the vast human archive of drumming. 'Performing Belief' is in good company in the rank and file of the legendary Planet Mu label. From the foundational early releases of the likes of Jega and Venetian Snares, to the contemporary envelope-warping work of Jlin and hundreds of brilliant releases in between, Planet Mu has been a beacon of forward-thinking rhythmic music for decades, informing Krivchenia’s own sense of the weird metaphysics of musical time since he was a kid. Krivchenia’s contribution to this history calls to mind the principle of organic danceability that subtends Mu’s whole catalogue, while bending our sense of rhythm in new and gracious dimensions. Krivchenia brings out the loamy complexity of natural rhythms, a clearing as generous as it is inviting. Let the drummer give you some.

TRACK LISTING

1. James Krivchenia - Undesigned
2. James Krivchenia, Sam Wilkes & Joshua Abrams - Judge The Seeds (a/ Happiness For No Reason B/ Bright Sadness)
3. James Krivchenia & Sam Wilkes - Probably Wizards
4. James Krivchenia, Sam Wilkes & Joshua Abrams - Sympathetic Magic
5. James Krivchenia, Sam Wilkes & Joshua Abrams - Bracelets For Unicorns (a/ The Spiritiual Body B/ The Articulate Body)
6. James Krivchenia, Sam Wilkes & Joshua Abrams - Filling In The Swamp
7. James Krivchenia & Sam Wilkes - The Wounded Place (a/ Subliminal B/ Anonymous)
8. James Krivchenia & Sam Wilkes - Metaphoric Leakage

Dynamic, multi-limbed house outfit Girls of the Internet have collaborated with Athens of the North for a special, limited edition two track tour 12", with the remaining few copies now available. Sampling a mystery gem from the AOTN catalog, Girls of the Internet create a proper party record with A side 'Somewhere Someone'. Smiles on faces all round this summer. On the B, James Alexander Bright's 'Your Love' (from '24's amazing LP 'Cool Cool' Dynamic, multi-limbed house outfit Girls of the Internet have collaborated with Athens of the North for a special, limited edition two track tour 12", with the remaining few copies now available. Sampling a mystery gem from the AOTN catalog, Girls of the Internet create a proper party record with A side 'Somewhere Someone'. Smiles on faces all round this summer.

On the B, James Alexander Bright's 'Your Love' (from '24's amazing 'Cool Cool' album) gets flipped into Gospel-tinged house track 'Where Is Your Love', a song that's been going down a storm on ts 'Your Love' (from '24's amazing 'Cool Cool' albumheir recent tour together.

Blink and they will be gone! No repress!

TRACK LISTING

1. Someone Somewhere
2. Where Is Your Love

Catchier than a spot of herpees during fresher's week; Live A Little get Latrell James on board for an infectious slice of party-starting hip-house business. With a tasty deep house groove a la MCDE or Andres, "GGG" sees vocalist James fire over a deadly verse-chorus combo which should have the whole gaff unified in its enjoyment. 

On side B, Caserta references Patrick Adam on his "P&P" remix which bumps and flexes with new boogie / modern funk vibe complete with darting synth stabs and glistening pad presets.

Top stuff from all involved! 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Party starting fire that so easy to enjoy even the squares'll be shuffling around the booth with big wide grins! Altogether now - 'get it, got it... good!'.

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
1. GGG

Side 2
1.GGG (Caserta Pushing P&P Mix)

In 2023 James Elkington released 'Me Neither', a double album of solo guitar improvisations and experiments. He ended up thinking of it as a wordless collection of library music. 'Library music’ is a trove of anonymously produced sound that can be plundered for any kind of use and Elkington, the Chicago based British guitarist, finds a freedom in this music that seems to come out nowhere.

He follows up Me Neither with 'Pastel De Nada', a new 2xLP set where the 27 tracks amount to more of a toolkit than a library. Bright, optimistic strums like ‘The Lyre Concordia’, layered meditations like ‘Morny in the Earling’ and ‘The Caves at Aurangabad’, and tracks like ‘The Equal Spacing’ that tick and whir like little machines for generating joy. Elkington squares his guitars off against textures, atmospheres and whispers of percussion.

TRACK LISTING

1. Morny In The Earling
2. I, Altered
3. An Anechoic Orchestra
4. Sun Rats
5. Pont Du Poivre
6. Draw A Head
7. Ortemega
8. The Equal Spacing
9. Nonpareils In A Bottle
10. Nana Femur
11. The Submersible Community
12. Don’t Tell Anyone
13. Golden K
14. Ever In The Latening
15. Window Weapon Speaks
16. The Lyre Concordia
17. Fast Eyes (And Neck)
18. The Unexpected City
19. A Moon Crows
20. Build Your Background
21. No Time Is Passing
22. Very Berk Squad
23. Everybody’s Colleyland
24. The Caves At Aurangabad
25. All Cats Are Bored
26. Daft Zenith Nought
27. Night Felt

Welcome to The Little Book of Oasis Insults, now kindly p*ss off. Or stay - if you've got the backbone to handle some of the most savage, side-splitting, and downright brutal takedowns ever unleashed by Noel and Liam Gallagher. This is your one-stop shop for the funniest, most outrageous insults ever fired.

Whether it's roasting pop royalty like Adele ('music for f*cking grannies'), Prince Harry ('asshole'), their old mate Gary Neville ('he looks like an estate agent'), or anyone else who dared cross the Gallagher firing line, this book captures the brothers at their sharpest - taking no prisoners and offering zero apologies. It's part wit, part war, and 100% Oasis. With more insults than Liam's had parkas, and packed with hilarious illustrations, this is the perfect gift for Oasis fans, insult enthusiasts, or anyone who appreciates the art of a perfectly delivered burn.

So, crack it open, have a laugh, and then get out of here, you muppet!

The Guy Hamper Trio was formed by Billy Childish, after a chat with his friend James Taylor (Hammond organ). Billy and James had played respectively in The Milkshakes and The Prisoners, often sharing the same bill in the early 80's, leading to Billy's blues ensemble The Natural Born Lovers being the support act for the early shows of The James Taylor Quartet.

The Guy Hamper Trio is: Billy Childish on guitar, his wife Julie on bass and Wolf on drums - who as it happens was the drummer in the original incarnation of JTQ - and of course features James Taylor on Hammond organ.

The Guy Hamper Trio provide a bottom end, Blues-influenced instrumental mayhem for those unafraid of dirt, germs and true grime. With no particular wish other than to be recognised as the best at playing badly, they refuse to obey the usual rules of combat and music.

This long playing record proves that The Guy Hamper Trio and James Taylor are a perfect team. The fourth in this ‘series’ of finely crafted compositions, listen out for several tracks also featuring Bash Brand and Tub Johnson as stand in rhythm section (in effect Thee Headcoats). Let’s hope there’s plenty more from the leaders in jazz/pop mayhem!

TRACK LISTING

1. Bo Pug
2. Shapes Of Things
3. The Goddess Tree
4. The Cuckoo's Cuckoo
5. If The River Was Whiskey
6. 2 Minutes From 10am
7. Chatham's Burning
8. Rock All The While
9. The Magpie's Flown
10. For Your Love
11. I'll Carve Your Name
12. Modern Terms Of Abuse

The James Taylor Quarter were the original group on the Acid Jazz scene, and 'In The Hand Of The Inevitable' was their 1995 triumphant Top 40 return to the Acid Jazz label.

Recorded over a year, produced by James Taylor and Acid Jazz Records founder Eddie Piller, it was a thrilling compendium of everyone’s favourite musical influences, from Hammond grooves, funk rock, and Mizell Brothers inspired fusion. It became James’ best-selling album, and in retrospect his most popular album amongst his fans.

The original vinyl issue was missing two tracks that were on the CD and this 30th Anniversary Edition is released on double vinyl with those two tracks now included. The release includes picture sleeve inner sleeves with in-depth sleeve notes by Acid Jazz’s Dean Rudland and new pictures from the album sessions, housed in a wide-spine sleeve.

TRACK LISTING

1. Love Will Keep Us Together
2. 3 Mile Island
3. Free Your Mind
4. Haitian Breakdown
5. Good Thing
6. Let’s Get Together
7. Segue No. 1
8. Stepping Into My Life
9. Whole Lotta Love
10. Journey
11. Sounds Of Freedom
12. Keep On Moving
13. In The Hand Of The Inevitable
14. Astral Plane*
15. Love Ballad*

*CD Only

1959 saw Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans and the other members of Miles's sextet come together to record the bestselling jazz album of all time: Kind of Blue. 3 Shades of Blue follows the paths of Miles, Coltrane and Evans to the mountaintop of 1959 and their roads on from there. It's a book about music and business, race and heroin, and an astonishing meditation on creativity and the strange hothouses that can produce its full flowering.

But above all this is the story of three very different men - their struggles, their choices, their inspiration. The tapestry of their lives is, in James Kaplan's hands, an American Odyssey.

Hammer Films has long held a special place in the hearts of horror fans, defining the British genre during the 1950’s with classics such as Dracula and The Curse of Frankenstein. Composer James Bernard scored both and went on to compose the music to a host of horror films for Hammer during the Sixties and Seventies. His distinctive clashing harmonies, often doubling the musical theme a tone higher, raise the on-screen action to a frenzied pitch, terrifying 20th Century cinema goers to the degree that his scores have become synonymous with the titular monsters.

TRACK LISTING

Side A: Dracula
1 Main Title From Dracula
2 Arrival At Castle Dracula
3 Plan Revealed/Plea For Help/Dracula's Rage
4 The Mausoleum/Harker Stakes The Bride/Empty Casket
5 The Diary/Van Helsing Finds Harker
6 Sleep Well/Dracula Seduces Lucy

Side B
1 Lucy's Second Encounter/Garlic Flowers
2 Aunt Lucy/Lucy Is Released
3 Mina Ensnared/It Was There
4 Allergic Reaction/Mina's Submission
5 Bloodstained Mina/The Cellar
6 The Final Battle
7 Rhapsody For Lucy (Lucie)

Side C: The Curse Of Frankenstein
1 Main Title From The Curse Of Frankenstein
2 A Brilliant Intellect/It's Alive
3 The Gibbet
4 An Offer Of Help/Goodnight Professor/The Professor's Brain
5 The Creature/He's Gone

Side D
1 The Creature And The Blind Man/You Shoot Well/I'll Give You Life Again
2 Justine's Fate
3 Get Up/Final Confrontation/The Guillotine

Timeless soul, 'Cool Cool' is the standout title track from James Alexander Bright's recent album. It's an immediately enchanting gem, with tendermusicianship and a stripped back production highlighting James' voice, pitchedsomewhere between Eddie Chacon, Beck and Michael McDonald. Athens of theNorth's in-house band East Coast Love Affair add a delightfully psychedelic Balearicpiquancy with an beautiful dub version on the flip.

'Cool Cool' has been enjoying a plethora of worldwide support; seeing James insession for Gilles Peterson, suppling a Block Party mix for Huey Morgan, interviewedby Bandcamp Weekly.

The past six years has seen James release a veritable treasure trove of music:'Mallorca' and 'Strange Folk' EPs, debut album 'Headroom', joyous second 'Float', analbum of collaborations and reworks with cosmic Americana-disco DJ/producer duoFlying Mojito Bros, and a new project with Groove Armada's Tom Findlay as Bright & Findlay. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Cool Cool
2. Cool Cool (ECLA Beautiful Dub)

There is nothing that can touch the sound made by a close-knit group of people who have been playing together for years and years and years, playing as though their lives depended on it. For many years, all our lives did, and actually, I’d suddenly realised, they did still. One winter’s night, Alex James received an unexpected call.

Blur had been invited to play their biggest gig ever: Wembley Stadium. The only trouble was, he and his bandmates hadn’t spoken to – or even shouted at – each other for years. And he now had five children, an out-of-control menagerie of cats, and a sprawling farm to run.

This is the story of what happened next. Taking us behind the scenes of a raucous, rollercoaster year, Alex describes how the band made a surprise – and emotional – return, recording an acclaimed album and playing sold-out shows around the world, from Colchester to Colombia and beyond. Plus: how he went on a crash diet to fit back into his ‘Britpop Trousers,’ somehow organised an entire festival of his own, and tried to perfect the recipe for a giant Frazzle.

Over the Rainbow is a heartfelt and hilarious account of what it feels like to be catapulted back into the limelight with one of the world’s biggest bands. It is a love letter to Blur, to friendship and to music. And it shows us all that, however old – or hungover – we might feel, nothing’s ever truly over: it’s always just the start of the next thing.

JS is an alias of James Zeiter and is also the name of his own label. This seventh transmission once again showcases his signature take on minimal, dub and techno. 'JS-07' rolls out with deep, pillow drums and well buried sub bass that slowly sweeps you up and locks you into a state of hypnosis. 'JS-07R' on the flip side is run through with slightly more warmth and light, like beams of sun piercing the surface of an ocean and catching microscopic organisms floating on the sea bed. It's a heady sound full of soul.

TRACK LISTING

JS-07
JS-07R

Leifur James, an innovative electronic music producer, returns with his third album, 'Magic Seeds'. The record represents his most personal and collaborative work and blends live recordings and analogue synths to create an organic, rhythmic sound reminiscent of trip-hop and hip-hop.

'Magic Seeds' explores themes of growth and reconnection, featuring unexpected musical moments and influences from 90s electronic music to neoclassical. Tracks like 'Smoke in the Air' and 'Inner Child' high-
light his ability to balance emotional peaks with deep, moody atmospheres. The album’s dynamic range and authenticity reflect James's commitment to musical freedom and societal reflection, making it a compelling sonic collage of his recent experiences.

Over the past few years, Leifur James has steadily built a reputation as a vital new voice in electronic music on both sides of the Atlantic. He’s played prestigious London venues like the Barbican and Village Underground in London and toured Europe, as well as being named Pitchfork and KCRW’s ‘best new music’ in the US, and his music has been championed by the likes of tastemakers Gilles Peterson, Mary Anne Hobbs, Bradley Zero and actor Cillian Murphy, and from BBC 6Music to NTS via KCRW and RMC Italia. James has also enjoyed further flagship press support from Consequence of Sound, Clash, CRACK, Passion of the Weiss, XLR8R, Complex, MixMag, DJ Mag, The Vinyl Factory, and more.

TRACK LISTING

1. Smoke In The Air
2. Magic Seeds
3. Measure Of Mind
4. Euphoria
5. Forest Of Love
6. Inner Child
7. Lay
8. Wake Up Spring
9. Room 68
10. Alive 

Experience the divine power of gospel music with the reissue of the legendary album Together by Gloster Williams and The King James Version. Originally released in 1977 on Gospel Roots Records, this seminal work is now re-released for the first time on vinyl, courtesy of Regrooved Records.

Together captures a moment in gospel music that is both timeless and transcendent. Led by the dynamic Gloster Williams, The King James Version choir brings an electrifying blend of traditional gospel with hints of soul and R&B, creating a sound that uplifts and inspires. This album is famed for its stirring harmonies, powerful lyrics, and the passionate delivery that fans and newcomers alike will find deeply moving.

Highlights of the album include the soaring title track, "Together," which has been a staple in gospel music playlists for decades, celebrated for its message of unity and spiritual upliftment. Each song on the album is crafted with care, featuring intricate arrangements and a raw emotional energy that captures the essence of gospel music's golden era.

This reissue is a meticulously remastered version that enhances the original recordings while preserving the authentic sound that made Together a must-have for gospel collectors and enthusiasts. It's pressed on high-quality vinyl to deliver the best listening experience, ensuring that the richness of the choir’s vocals and the depth of the instrumentation are beautifully rendered.

Don't miss this opportunity to own a piece of gospel history. The reissue of Gloster Williams and The King James Version’s Together is a testament to the enduring power of gospel music to console, celebrate, and connect us. Add this vital record to your collection and let its messages of faith and fellowship fill your home with joy and inspiration.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Get Ready For This
A2. What Good Is A Song
A3. No, No One
A4. He Loves You Interlude
B1. There's Not A Friend (Part One)
B2. Touch My Life
B3 . Monologue) Together
B4. There's Not A Friend (Part Two)

Fabulous double-sider combining deep funk and lowrider soul on one 45! Be quick, limited pressing.

TRACK LISTING

1. Hanging In
2. When Is She Coming

A vibrant kaleidoscope of sound, colour and emotion, British multi-hyphenate James Alexander Bright's new album 'Cool Cool' is set for release on 26th July via Athens Of The North. A dynamic set of urgent funkers, gentle soul ballads, head-nodders, fuzzy folkers and straight-up disco bangers span 10 songs that soundtrack fertile daydreams, esoteric dancefloors, languorous reflection, and wild excursions in nature and beyond.

James' voice, pitched somewhere between Eddie Chacon, Beck and Michael McDonald, takes a confident lead on this new record. Whether tenderly caressing on the title track's beautiful soul minimalism or deployed passionately on boogie machine 'Straight Line'; it's an immediately recognisable signature. Impressive multi-instrumentalism sees him perform on guitar, bass, keys, programming, percussion, production and myriad quirky effects; across song subjects that cover searching for truth, imagining the distant future, teen nostalgia, relaxation exploration, aspirations of freedom, and classic tales of love and romance.

"'Straight Line' started out as a wonky homage to 80s & 90s radio", says James. "It's based on the memory of meeting someone you want to stay up all night listening to music with". Disco highlight 'Your Love' is"based on the feeling of love and chasing it. It has a certain kinetic charm but holds a melancholic note also". Similarly, on soulful paean to romance 'Fall For You' James explains"You know when you've loved. To love is a magical thing whether it's an experience, an object, or a person; we've all loved and lost".

"'Cool Cool' is the most stripped back song I've ever written,"he confesses."Recorded in one afternoon with no special effects or production tricks, it feels quite timeless". In contrast the uninhibited 'Aguas Blancas' flexes with exuberance. James explains"It's a homage to one of my favourite beaches on the island of Ibiza. I was imagining being there as I made this. What's not to like about big waves, a buzzing beach shack bar, and nudity?".

As always with James' music, what started as a solo endeavour organically morphed into more of a family affair. Initially written and recorded at his home studio in the rolling hills of the Hampshire countryside, the tracks on 'Cool Cool' were completed in sessions with regular collaborator Peter Lyons in East London and Linkwood at Athens Of The North in Edinburgh. Old friends and new contribute vocals (Kerry Leatham and Katharine Alice), drums (Gillan McLaughlin and Joris Feiertag), and synths (Reuben Vaun Smith on 'Aguas Blancas'), plus collaborations with Wolverhampton electronic duo Letherette on 'I Feel Alive' and Ugandan/Nottingham singer-songwriter and guitarist Daudi Matsiko on 'Hear'.

James says"Some of these people I was in bands with as a kid, which is a pretty magical thing. I've been a fan of Letherette for years so it was a buzz when I asked Andrew to work on some tracks together and he was really into it. When Daudi shared a guitar part he wasn't sure what to do with on his Instagram stories, I messaged him to say "I'll make a track out of this!" and that then became 'Hear'".

The past six years has seen James release a veritable treasure trove of music: 'Mallorca' and 'Strange Folk' EPs, debut album 'Headroom', joyous second 'Float', an album of collaborations and reworks with cosmic Americana-disco DJ/producer duo Flying Mojito Bros, and a new project with Groove Armada's Tom Findlay as Bright & Findlay.

James balances music alongside the creative duality of a job in illustration and the responsibilities and constraints that come with raising a young family. Utilising any spare moment to write and record new ideas, his creative output under various projects had been relentless. Turning his back on apathetic major label offers in his early 20s, he's released through cult DIY label Tape Club Records, German stalwart !K7 Music and now with Scottish tastemaker Athens Of The North, presenting an evolving vision of a sound that has touched on everything from outsider art-rock to machine funk, mystic folk to experimental jazz.

TRACK LISTING

1. Straight Line
2. Your Love
3. Fall For You
4. Cool Cool
5. Catch My Breath
6. Aguas Blancas
7. I Feel Alive (feat. Letherette)
8. YSYSYS
9. Fuzzy Yellow Magic
10. Hear (feat. Daudi Matsiko)

Electro-boogie-machine 'Straight Line' is taken from 'Cool Cool', the upcoming third album by British multi-hyphenate James Alexander Bright. "'Straight Line' started out as a wonky homage to 80s & 90s radio", says James. "It's based on the memory of meeting someone you want to stay up all night listening to music with".

James' passionate voice, pitched somewhere between Eddie Chacon, Beck and Michael McDonald, takes a confident lead over a melange of body-popping LinnDrum beats, a host of swooping, fuzzy synths, and backseat-rocking bass. Initially written and recorded at his home studio in the rolling hills of the Hampshire countryside, 'Straight Line' was completed with regular collaborator Peter Lyons in East London.

It's backed on 7" vinyl with the wonky dancefloor wobbler 'Oh My', sounding something like Theo Parrish producing Arthur Russell after a sleepless night.

The past six years has seen James release a veritable treasure trove of music, including 'Mallorca' and 'Strange Folk' EPs, debut album 'Headroom', joyous second 'Float', an album of collaborations and reworks with cosmic Americana-disco DJ/producer duo Flying Mojito Bros, and a new project with Groove Armada's Tom Findlay as Bright & Findlay.

James balances music alongside the creative duality of a job in illustration and the responsibilities and constraints that come with raising a young family. Utilising any spare moment to write and record new ideas, his creative output under various projects had been relentless. Turning his back on apathetic major label offers in his early 20s, he's released through cult DIY label Tape Club Records, German stalwart !K7 Music and now with Scottish tastemaker Athens Of The North, presenting an evolving vision of a sound that has touched on everything from outsider art-rock to machine funk, mystic folk to experimental jazz.

A dynamic set of urgent funkers, gentle soul ballads, head-nodders, fuzzy folkers and straight-up disco bangers.

TRACK LISTING

1. Straight Line
2. Oh My

2023 was a remarkable year for James - with a Top 3 album (their 9th Top 10 album), a sell out UK tour with a 25 piece orchestra and 8 piece choir onstage with them, a stunning special guest appearance at Latitude Festival, a headline show at The Acropolis in Greece and receiving the Icon award at The Ivor Novello awards in recognition of their songwriting. Amongst all of this, the band have recorded their new album to be released in April 2024. It is produced by Leo Abrahams (who has previously collaborated with Jon Hopkins, Brian Eno, Jarvis Cocker, Imogen Heap and Regina Spektor) and mixed by Cenzo Townsend (Courteeners, Specials, Keane, Snow Patrol, Everything Everything).

2024 is already shaping up to being another huge year for the band - their June Arena tour is their biggest ever tour and they are already close to selling out both The O2 and the new Manchester Co-Op arena. James release their new album Yummy, with the first single ‘Is This Love’. The artwork for both the album and first single was designed by Stephen Kennedy (Studio Fury) who is responsible for a number of iconic works over the years including the Rolling Stones’ latest album Hackney Diamonds.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: One of the most legendary bands in Manchester's storied musical history return for their latest LP, 'Yummy'. It's got all of the soaring melodic turns and presents a perfectly produced, meticulously paced backdrop for Tim Booth's instantly recognisable vocals. Another brilliant statement from a band that show no signs of slowing down.

TRACK LISTING

Standard CD And LP Tracklisting:
1. Is This Love
2. Life Is A Fucking Miracle
3. Better With You
4. Stay
5. Shadow Of A Giant
6. Way Over Your Head
7. Mobile God
8. Our World
9. Rogue
10. Hey
11. Butterfly
12. Folks

Deluxe 2CD Tracklisting:
1. Is This Love
2. Life Is A Fucking Miracle
3. Better With You
4. Stay
5. Shadow Of A Giant
6. Way Over Your Head
7. Mobile God
8. Our World
9. Rogue
10. Hey
11. Butterfly
12. Folks
13. Anyone But You
14. Close Enough
15. Mine To Lose
16. Activist Song
17. Won’t Be The Same
18. Tell Me Something
19. Poolewe Day1Jam4
20. Arpen Charp
21. Deliver The Dawn
22. Something Of A Pleasure
23. Walk Tall
24. 50s Out Takes

The duo's third album of instrumental guitar recordings pushes their sinuous compositions into labyrinthine new shapes, interlocking and interlocutory, supported by a cast of stellar collaborators. Interwoven among the dazzling original pieces is a fascinating array of covers, ranging from traditional Breton dance tunes to a deconstruction of Neneh Cherry's "Buffalo Stance." How it was made - in two segments of three days, one in early Winter, one in late Winter, in Chicago—is a testament to James and Nathan’s enthusiasm for the project. As they’d done on their previous two duo records, each brought fragments of varying lengths to the table (literally James and his family’s kitchen table) and, in varying degrees of frenzy, built songs out of them. Some, like “Numb Limbs,” took several intense hours of tinkering, mostly for Nathan to carve sympathetic designs around the knotty edifice James had constructed—thus its title. Others, like “Death Wishes to Kill” (a phrase lifted from a T.F. Powys novel the two had each recently read and loved) took its feverish shape in forty minutes full of shrieks and groans and hysterical laughs hard-stopped by James rushing out, late, to get his son from school. The acceptable window for coffee consumption was pushed to its reasonable limits, and then beyond them, slamming up against a reasonable hour to start drinking beer. As with Ambsace, the covers on All Gist outline a Venn diagram of Elkington and Salsburg’s abiding interests. On one end is a faithful arrangement of English composer Howard Skempton’s resplendent “Well, Well, Cornelius” (1999); on the other is a composite of two traditional Breton dance tunes (pieced together from Canadian, Irish, and Breton sources); and in the middle where else is a transmutation of Neneh Cherry’s monumental “Buffalo Stance” (1988), a song that no one aside from James and Nathan would ever have thought for a moment could or should be made into fodder for two acoustic guitars. But it was, and with delicacy and joy and sincere reverence for the original, which they painstakingly deconstructed. All Gist perhaps demonstrates more than anything the precarious balance struck between what the Elkington-Salsburg duo is exemplified by cramming to compose or remember guitar parts in James’s kitchen and what the duo could be if it was the engine of a small orchestra in a government-funded arts enclave in some Central European country … where they’d be contractually obliged to perform in matching well-tailored suits.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Death Wishes To Kill
A2. Long In The Tooth Again
A3. Numb Limbs
A4. Nicest Distinction
A5. Well, Well, Cornelius
B1. Explanation Point
B2. Fears Of This Nature
B3. Rule Bretagne
B4. All Gist Could Be Yours
B5. Buffalo Stance

Salford City Records continue to resurect the golden days of piano house through their tasteful reissues and, more recently, these new releases inna retro-tinged style!

Label stalwarts Project D and James Sempie certainly know how to rouse an e-soaked spirit or two on this new one - "Movin Now", featuring Pierre Feroldi captures the spirit of hardcore and piano house with all the catchy sampling, galloping bassline, gated vox and laser guided melodies you need for a night buzzing your tits off on the waltzers or at the industrial park. A real top drawer offering from the label which, if you wanna blag your mates, you could pass off as a lost piano relic from '92. 

The same formular is deployed on second track, "30 Mins" - with a proper eurodans bass and hip-house vocal sampling while a real Moving Shadow sqealing lead brings the hardcore feels. This one's got a proper vocal part too (uncannily sounding like Michael Jackson), and is produced in extra dizzy fashion for extended waltzer damage. 

Onto side B and "The Beat Is Working" utilizes the classic 'pumpin' jumpin' sample from Chris & James whilst adding dreamy piano chords and vamping sax. "The Only One" closes off the fun with hard sax blasts, glistening arps, and more whoops, wails and cries of ecstasy from need within the groove.

Really nice to see Salford City Records actually adding to the cannon of vocal piano house, as well as reissue the choice hits to our receptive lugholes. Nice work cru. Checkit massive! 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Waltzer-ready, arms aloft, breezy piano house that blows in off the Mersey / Irwell winds and straight to Bowlers industrial estate. Serious stuff for the old skool. Whistle cruu insiiide!

TRACK LISTING

A1. Movin Now
A2 30 Mins
AA1 The Beat Is Working
AA2. The Only One

Australian DJ and producer James Mac joins forces with France based Vall for their Afro House rework of Aaliyah’s 2001 hit ‘Try Again’. This follows their debut hit single together 'The Boy Is Mine' which remained the #7 highest selling record on Beatport overall for 3 months. The vinyl includes official remixes from house music legend David Penn, French producer Holseek and Sydney based DJ/Producer on the rise Ben Miller, as well as the Sasson Remix of ‘The Boy Is Mine’.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Extended
A2. Ben Miller 4am Afro Dub
B1. David Penn Remix
B2. Holseek Remix
B3. The Boy Is Mine (Sasson Remix)

Suffolk-based singer songwriter James Varda’s fourth and final album before his death from a long battle with cancer in 2015, Chance And Time, reissued on Unspun Heroes is an astonishing aural document of a creative, forward -thinking musician coming to terms with a life slowly evaporating away. There is hubris, melancholy and an undeniable weight of sadness in these ten songs but, miraculously, there is also a stoic realisation and acceptance from Varda that is both heart-wrenching and deeply affecting. On Chance And Time Varda reconnects the human spirit to the land, a heavy, fearful heart to an optimistic soul, and in a beautiful poetic flourish gives a real tangible sense of loving and hope to his family and friends offering genuine reassurance and even, at times, a green light for celebration.

Carrying a certain air of mystique, that same sense of a ‘other worldliness’ if you will of say a Karen Dalton or a Jeff Buckley, Varda’s delivery and tone carries huge emotional weight here and an unique ability to add an honest perspective and warmth to the starkest of realities. The hard hitting impact of the opening tracks is blunt and sharply defined. There is pain, hardship, and fear wrapped in these tales - ‘The Doctor Spoke, Two Hearts Broke” - made all the more hitting as this is a real life journey in the here and now being catalogued. As we move towards the second half of the record there is something even deeper and truly incredible at play. Varda’s whole demeanor is one of understanding and acceptance - hear the celebratory shamanic vibe of the extraordinary ‘Pass It On’ and the poignantly reflective, chokingly sad finale ‘We Won’t Dream’ - bringing to an end a record that will leave a mark on everyone who hears it. Real art is both timeless and omnipresent, these songs from James Varda will hang in the air forever and be there for those who look to find understanding, joy and a sense of hope. Chance And Time is both an extraordinary record and poignant study of life and living, of death and what comes after.

James Varda released four albums between 1988 and his death in 2015. A fledgling career beginning on the singer-songwriting folk scene where his arrival was met with both curiosity and critical acclaim as was his debut, the John Leckie produced Hunger. Any momentum was lost however as it would be ten years before the next, In The Valley was met with a ruffle of applause. Cancer took hold of the troubadour and for a number of years Varda lived life and wrote songs until The River And The Stars appeared like a phoenix from the flames as he began to wrestle with the realities of his situation. It’s a record that beautifully lays the ground for this his masterpiece that was to follow.

Unspun Heroes, a new label set up by Simon White, has the sole purpose of finding and reissuing albums that he considers both undervalued and seemingly ignored. All releases will be on vinyl only complete with Obi strip and extensive liner notes. Each will be individually numbered and limited.

TRACK LISTING

1) It’s Not Quite Too Late
2) May This Moment Ever Glow
3) The Doctor Spoke
4) Our Love Will Never End
5) Only Love
6) Let My Place
7) One Thing After Another
8) Pass It On
9) Beside The Sea
10) We Won’t Dream

Next full length up on Feral Child sees a welcome reunion for both label and artist; having teamed up lots in the past, JAMES TOTH and label head Dom, join forces for another beauty.

This time round, 11 previously (and mostly- certainly in these forms) unreleased home recordings and demos from a 10 year period between 2012 and 2022. Titled “Demon Stations”, it’s a beautifully seamless collection, mercifully saved from the relative oblivion of bandcamp / digital only demos and released on vinyl.

Many of course know James best from his Wooden Wand moniker, alongside his work with the likes of Michael Gira and Thurston Moore etc, then one would hope last years’ “Birthday Blues” 33 artist tribute / comp covering songs from various points of James’ career (feat Meg Baird, Lee Ranaldo, Six Organs of Admittance amongst others) will only have raised his star further….

On this collection, James says ““Demon Stations” is a compilation of songs from five different digital-only demo collections I released on Bandcamp between 2021 and 2023. I relied on the ears and judgment of my old friend Dom to curate this comp, allowing him to choose his favorites from over 60 songs. While I might have chosen an entirely different batch of tunes, I was happy to defer to Dom, as I’ve never had much perspective when it comes to assessing my own material.

All of the songs were recorded at home, mostly on the same day they were written. Most are first takes, intended to provide a template for a theoretical band to follow if and when the songs were to be re-recorded “properly” at a later date. A few have since been re-recorded for studio records, and a few others remain in contention for future studio records.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: An evocative, beautifully performed selection of minimal acoustic guitar and vocals, reminiscent of traditional country music, but lightened with Toth's wry lyrical direction and light touch on the guitar. It's as ever, another brilliant release from Dom PY / Feral Child and further shows his dedication to the musical cause.

Multi-hyphenate artist James Alexander Bright releases soulfully tender paean to romance 'Fall For You', backed with urgent funker 'Viper Flames'. This new music heralds James' third solo album, currently being recorded and mixed, which is planned for release via Athens of the North mid 2024.

On 'Fall For You' James says "You know when you've loved, to love is a magical thing. Whether it's an experience, an object, or a person; we've all loved and lost. The senses, vibration and elements have a wondrous strength and power. Love is the most powerful of all."

Following the release of !K7 debut album 'Headroom' ("Blissful choruses, sweetly nagging refrains and a lo-fi sensibility. Hard not to love" Mojo), James featured on Groove Armada's album 'Edge Of The Horizon', contributed 'Under The Sun' to the Too Slow To Disco: The Sunset Manifesto compilation and released single 'It's Alright' with Feiertag. His second album, the joyous 'Float' ("Vivid intermingling of buoyant breakbeat drum loops, sunkissed psychedelic folk song, retrofuturist synthesisers and hot buttered British soul" Test Pressing), was released in July 2022 with singles 'Drink This Water', 'Wheels Keep Turning' and 'Sundown' feat Fink paving the way. This was followed in early 2023 by 'Mirage In The Mojave' ("One hundred percent proof dancefloor ready" Louder Than War), an album of collaborations and reworks with cosmic Americana-disco DJ/producer duo Flying Mojito Bros. On radio his tracks have been played across BBC 6 Music (where he's recorded guest mixes for Tom Ravenscroft and Huey Morgan), Amazing Radio, Bandcamp Weekly, Worldwide FM, Soho Radio, KCRW, Triple J and BBC Solent (who chose his track 'Tigers Roar' to soundtrack Portsmouth FC's 2019 journey to Wembley – awkwardly James is a Saints fan).

A new project with Groove Armada's Tom Findlay as Bright & Findlay - married around their shared love of machine-led funk, outsider soul, 70s-80s nautica and 21st century basement disco - was released via Athens of the North in summer 2023. Solid tastemaker support included BBC 6 Music's Gilles Peterson, who included 'Slow Dance' amongst his tracks of the year, and Huey Morgan, for whom the duo recorded a Block Party mix.

STAFF COMMENTS

Paul says: Nestled proudly at the front of my record bag ready for my next Sunday session, Athens Of The North never fail to deliver the goods and this modern soul 7" is just the ticket.

TRACK LISTING

1. Fall For You
2. Viper Flames

To mark the 35th Anniversary of the label, Acid Jazz has been reissuing seminal records from their catalogue on colour vinyl.

The second James Taylor Quartet release in the series, following ‘The Money Spyder’, this version of ‘Mission Impossible’ is pressed on a fitting red vinyl. 

The original release track-listing showcases JTQ’s sixties soundtrack odyssey – driving organ instrumentals from the beginnings of Acid Jazz.

Alongside Lalo Schifrin’s iconic title track appear tracks by Herbie Hancock, Paul Simon and Bacharach & David, before the Taylor-penned original ‘The Stooge’ closes out this lean, hip collection.

TRACK LISTING

1. Blow Up
2. Mission Impossible
3. Goldfinger
4. The Cat
5. Mrs. Robinson
6. Alfie
7. The Stooge

Me Neither is a 29 track double album of instrumental guitar music. While juggling a number of other projects James Elkington began writing "music for which there was no purpose." It became a new way of working for him - waking up each morning and improvising and recording the first thing that came into his head. "The only rules I gave myself were that I should make most of the sounds with a guitar, changing the speed or processing the recordings afterwards to get the effect I was looking for." Before long he had an albums worth of material. About mid-way through the second album Elkington had a liberating thought: he was making his own version of library music "if you’re writing library music, you don’t have to know what it’s for - that can be someone else’s job.

TRACK LISTING

1. No-Shows
2. Burial At See
3. A Message For The Janesville King
4. A Round, A Bout
5. Look Spectral!
6. The 100-Faced Magma
7. A Breathable Liquid
8. The Permeable Realm
9. Section 2
10. Double Orchid
11. Part The Thin Painter From His Work
12. Every Second Morning
13. Section 3
14. Me Neither
15. Contact Twig Entanglement
16. New Red Masterpiece
17. Cup Cape
18. The Bird Renamed
19. Psycasts In Love
20. Where For Do I Run
21. The Home Counties
22. Today’s Dictation
23. Untidled
24. Sleep Baguettes Sleep
25. Infintu B
26. Tree Breather
27. The Incredible Waist Of Time
28. Nor Yet Door But The One
29. The Winner Takes It All

The sound of acid jazz on one record – heavy, organ-driven instrumentals from Hammond maestro James Taylor and his quartet. Part of Acid Jazz 35th Anniversary series, highlighting core releases from the label. The debut album from The James Taylor Quartet, premastered and pressed on clear vinyl.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Money Spyder
2. One Way Street
3. Car Chase
4. The Spiral Staircase
5. Mr. Cool’s Dream
6. A Real Mean Time
7. The Onion Club
8. The Stroll
9. “Los Cuevos Pablo”
10. Midnight Stomp
(The New Rumba)
11. Buzy Bee
12. In The Park 

2023 sees 40 years of James. As part of the celebration UMR is reissuing the band’s breakthrough album, Gold Mother on 2LP gold vinyl. Combining the 1990 and 1991 versions of the album it includes the iconic anthem Sit Down as well as How Was It For You, Come Home (Flood Mix) and Lose Control.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
Come Home (Flood Mix)
Lose Control
Government Walls
Side B
God Only Knows
You Can't Tell How Much Suffering (On A Face That's Always Smiling)
How Was It For You
Sit Down
Side C
Walking The Ghost
Gold Mother
Top Of The World
Side D
Come Home
Crescendo
Hang On

‘Gentle Confrontation’, Loraine James's third Hyperdub album, opens a new chapter of her real and sonic life in which she examines her past and present. It's a positively languid, enjoyably disjointed set made while listening to her teenage favourites; math rock and emo-electronic such as DNTEL, Lusine and Telefon Tel Aviv. The album also features an ever more diverse set of peers, placing them in her unusual musical settings and drawing out sensitive and reflexive performances. At other times the album stretches out into a drifting ambience as if seeking a sense of bliss in the everyday. ‘Gentle Confrontation’ is about relationships (especially familial), understanding, and giving back a little grace and care, while the tone of the record criss-crosses watery ambience with denatured rhythm and asmr beats. These 16 tracks are Loraine's best work yet, and a personal and musical leap forward, delivering a totally unique vision of electronic pop music.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: The inimitable Loraine James effortlessly mixes languid lounge jazz, scattered electronics and woozy downbeat on her third album for veteran electronic superlabel, Hyperdub. It's full of melodic hooks, submerged under a wash of beautifully produced electronic soup, and it's my favourite thing she's done by far. Brilliant.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Gentle Confrontation
A2. 2003
A3. Let U Go Ft. KeiyaA
A4. Déjà Vu Ft. RiTchie
B1. Prelude Of Tired Of Me
B2. Glitch The System (Glitch Bitch 2)
B3. I DM U
B4. One Way Ticket To The Midwest (Emo) Ft. Corey Mastrangelo
C1. Cards With The Grandparents
C2. While They Were Singing Ft. Marina Herlop
C3. Try For Me Ft. Eden Samara
C4. Tired Of Me
D1. Speechless Ft. George Riley
D2. Disjointed (Feeling Like A Kid Again)
D3. I’m Trying To Love Myself
D4. Saying Goodbye Ft. Contour

(CD BONUS TRACK : Scepticism With Joy Ft. Mouse On The Keys)

Playing Robots Into Heaven follows the critically acclaimed Friends That Break Your Heart and will see James return to the electronic roots of his Hessle, Hemlock and R&S Records days.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A beautiful juxtaposition of the smooth post-dubstep bread & butter of musical polymath James Blake, and a wonderfully implemented selection of jagged modular synth lines and tense, rich atmospheric drones. For me, the perfect combination of his already established sound and a more exploratory instrumental direction. Stunning.

TRACK LISTING

1. Asking To Break
2. Loading
3. Tell Me
4. Fall Back
5. He’s Been Wonderful
6. Big Hammer
7. I Want You To Know
8. Night Sky
9. Fire The Editor
10. If You Can Hear Me
11. Playing Robots Into Heaven

"The Year Of the Leopard" confounds categories. If there's a traditional side to it, it's following the tradition of individual singer-songwriter albums which conjure and inhabit a genre which lasts just as long as the needle's in the groove. Produced by former Talk Talk member Paul Webb, Yorkston approached him after hearing his understated but enthralling work on "Out Of Season", Webb's Rustin' Man album with Beth Gibbons (Portishead). And what they've come up with is another warm, mellow, gentle folk album which could snuggle up nicely next to "Moving Up Country" and knocks his last LP into a cocked hat! Lovely.

James Yorkston returns with his 4th studio album "When The Haar Rolls In" and proves once again why he is one of the most essential songwriters of our time. Returning with his trusty Athletes, along with some legendary English folk names - Norma Waterson, Mike Waterson, Marry Gilhooly, Olly Knight, there is much to mine for Yorkston fans of old and new, all the ambition, beauty and pathos of his previous albums sweeps through with soothing, lush arrangements of all sorts.

Wonderful timeless folk-tinged pop from James Yorkston. He's been compared to everyone from Shane Macgowan to John Martyn, and there's definitely a bit of Nick Drake in there too. The more I listen to this album, the more I love it! 

The Beasts of History is the new album from Michael James Tapscott, featuring contributions from members of Gospelbeach, Howlin' Rain, Sugar Candy Mountain, Papercuts, Elephant Micah, Tarnation, Odawas, Yea-Ming and the Rumours, and more. Nearly four years in the making, the album pulls from disparate strands of American ephemera to create a uniquely captivating collection of songs that play out like one act plays, full of doomed anti-heroes and beautiful losers; calling to mind the small town dramas of Bobbie Gentry, the golden age pop of The Beach Boys, the lonely jangle of The Beau Brummels, the echoing melodies of Lee Hazlewood, and the experimental ethos of ambient folk. Highly anticipated sophomore album from Michael James Tapscott. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Reno News (Intro)
2. Cheap Hotel
3. The Hills Of Montreal
4. Bobby’s Army Jacket
5. Roll, Little Sparrow
6. The Lonely Evergreen
7. Bobby’s Reprise
8. Los Peñasquitos Falls
9. When Lisa Got Pregnant
10. Her Mysterious Past
11. Leopard Print Coat

One of the most long-awaited albums, for our shop anyway. Yorkston's debut was one of the surprise records of the year back in 2002 and all of us loved it. Now this one does sound, initially at least, to be less 'Pop'. Instead this feels like a proper folk album. Not 'Hey Nonny Nonny', just more serious, focussed....dense with banjos, mandolins and accordians. The production's slightly fuller thanks to Four Tet's Keiren Hebden and the songs all deal with romance, nature and (everyday) magic. There's the odd sea-shanty too and it all feels very warm, real and unconcerned with commerce or, indeed, 'normal' life. What a lovely world this record inhabits. Add him to the list of greats?

A wonderful album full of Balearic vibes, funky riffs and mellow moments, originally released in 1980. BBE Music are excited to announce this highly sought after album titled ‘Will & James Ragar One”.

James and Will Ragar hail from Louisiana, where their early education into music began. At a young age they moved to New Orleans - where they heard live Jazz for the first time. This inspiration is demonstrated through their free approach to this album. Their natural evolution through the Louisiana club scene saw them develop and hone their talents of adding that southern swag to covers they did, almost making them their own.

‘Will and James Ragar One’ is a blend of acoustic and electric tones, carefully and cohesively put together by the brothers. ‘As the Day Grows Tired’ is the first song on the album and one of the first songs James wrote. The theme for ‘She’s Laughter’ is about returning home to someone you love and features a heavy guitar solo. ‘My Shining Sun’ has an unusual jazz form and is an ode to the joy of playing music. ‘Don’t Wish’ was inspired by a jazz chord progression that was a favourite, James played the solo on a pearwood soprano recorder. Gary Roberts played percussion on the session and also played the flute on ‘Just a Wanderer’.

TRACK LISTING

1. As The Day Grows Tired
2. She's Laughter
3. My Shining
4. Don't I Wish To Be Free
5. Melting Pot
6. Needs
7. Parade
8. Louisiana Fall
9. Hidden Away
10. Just A Wanderer
11. Oregon
12. Forever
13. Bayou Paradise

Following my recent phone call with Prof. Benson, I left him to continue his 92nd birthday celebrations with his family. We'd talked about his life, his music, his achievements. Throughout our conversation it struck me what a kind, humble and pleasant man he was. I felt that I was in the presence of greatness – not the egotistical greatness that emanates so often from high achievers, but that of someone who had simply won at life.

"I was a music teacher. I wasn't trying to make a record to compete, I was trying to make a record so the students would have something to remember the experience that we had... I was doing it for the kids."

It was 1973 that Prof. James Benson had self-funded his private press LP for the benefit of the teenage musicians he tutored at Cal Poly, California. The album was a momentous achievement for him and his young protegees, something they were all proud of, and rightly so. Taking inspiration from their recent trip to Africa and blended with the radical jazz associated with the young minds of early '70s black America, the Gow-Dow Experience is a unique foray into the enthusiastic mindset of up-and-coming jazz musicians, as encouraged by their mentor Prof. Benson.

We present the album as it was released in 1973 with a heavyweight tip-on jacket and 180g vinyl or on CD. We also include an insert with liner notes and photos provided courtesy of Prof Benson. The LP and CD come with 4 additional tracks taken from the recording session. Until now these tracks have never been heard since the day they were recorded - believe me, they're worth the wait!

Made with love from Jazzman - because we love to dig deeper!

TRACK LISTING

1. Nigeria, West Africa
2. Song For My Black Mother
3. Barry Rae
4. Compared To What
5. Malcolm IX
6. Spring 2000
7. Brother Don
8. Psychedelic Sally
9. Compared To What (Alternate Take)
10. You Are Arrogant
11. Brother Don (Alternate Mix)

Originally issued in 1959 to capitalize on the crossover success of his single 'Try Me', James Brown's debut LP Please,Please, Pleaseis a collection of 16 of his A and B-sides recorded for the Federal label between 1956 and 1958. It was also the debut studio album for the Famous Flames, and Originally released as 'James Brown and His Famous Flames'. Evenly split between ballads and up-tempo shouters, the songs here all fall into the same sax-driven, gospel-influenced style that you could hear in any Southern chicken shack or nightclub during the late 1950s. James Brown: lead vocals plus: The Famous Flames: Kenny Burrell, Nafloyd Scott, John Faire, Eddie Freeman (guitar), Clarence Mack, Edwyn Conley, Carl Pruitt (bass), Alvin "Fats" Gonder, Ernie Hayes (piano), Edison Gore, Reginald Hall, "Panama" Francis (drums), Wilbert "Lee Diamond" Smith, Ray Felder, Cleveland Lowe, Clifford Scott (tenor saxophone), George Dorsey, John B. Brown (alto saxophone), Bobby Byrd, Johnny Terry, Sylvester Keels, Nashpendle Knox, Bill Hollings, J.W. Archer, Louis Madison (background vocals). Produced by Ralph Bass, Andy Gibson. Recorded at King Studios, Cincinnati and Beltone Studios, New York City (NY) between 1956 and 1958.

TRACK LISTING

1. Please, Please, Please
2. Chonnie-On-Chon
3. Hold My Baby's Hand
4. I Feel That Old Feeling Coming On
5. Just Won't Do Right
6. Baby Cries Over The Ocean
7. I Don't Know
8. Tell Me What I Did Wrong
9. Try Me
10. That Dood It
11. Begging, Begging
12. I Walked Alone
13. No, No, No, No
14. That's When I Lost My Heart
15. Let's Make It
16. Love Or A Game
17. This Old Heart

James Ellis Ford has been hidden in plain sight for his entire two-decade-long career. The composer, multi-instrumentalist, producer and songwriter has worked with some of the biggest names in music, from Arctic Monkeys to Depeche Mode via Foals, Gorillaz and Kylie Minogue and as part of Simian Mobile Disco and The Last Shadow Puppets’ touring band. 

This year he takes centre stage with a bewitching debut solo album, ‘The Hum’. It is as much a homage to the tender and eccentric English pop music of Brian Eno and Robert Wyatt as it is love letter to his wife and son’s Palestinian roots; as much exploration of the pastoral verve of Canterbury prog as it is informed by the dynamics of modern hip-hop production; as much a madcap Radiophonic voyage into the cosmic unknown peppered with Can-like grooves. With ‘The Hum’, James Ellis Ford has finally come out of hiding.

TRACK LISTING

01. Tape Loop #7
02. Pillow Village
03. I Never Wanted Anything
04. Squeaky Wheel
05. The Yips
06. Golden Hour
07. The Hum
08. Caterpillar
09. Emptiness
10. Closing Time

Electronic explorer James Holden returns with a generically unconstrained new album of rave music for a parallel universe that seeks to reconnect with the feelings of hope, freedom and possibility that characterised the earliest days of dance music, coming to terms with his own musical past in the process.

In contrast to its jazz adjacent live band predecessor The Animal Spirits, Holden's trippy fourth solo artist album is more of a continuous sound collage, artfully juxtaposing audio worlds and field recordings with an anything goes approach in the style of early nineties pastoral classics like The KLF’s Chill Out and the sprawling radioscapes of Future Sound of London.

Physical formats include a colourful 12 page booklet of original illustrations by Jorge Velez (Professor Genius).

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: James Holden has been an inspiration for many a year, deftly moving from jagged instrumental genius ‘The Inheritors’ through jazzy ambient fare ‘Animal Spirits’ to this latest album, imbued with the spirit of both. It's a sprawling and multi-faceted triumph, another indication that Holden is one of the greatest producers around.

TRACK LISTING

1) You Are In A Clearing
2) Contains Multitudes
3) Common Land
4) Trust Your Feet
5) The Missing Key
6) In The End You’ll Know
7) Continuous Revolution
8) Four Ways Down The Valley
9) Worlds Collide Mountains Form
10) The Answer Is Yes
11) Infinite Fadeout
12) You Can Never Go Back

BBE Music announces the first-ever re-issue of this sun baked folk/jazz hybrid 45 by Louisiana brothers Will & James Ragar. First released in 1981, this private press 7" showcases Will & James' songwriting skills, refined performance and sophisticated compositions. Remastered by Frank Merritt the re-issue has an analogue warmth that the brothers say sounds even more pleasing than the original. Will & James Ragar began as the Will James Band performing on the popular 'Crawfish Circuit' of Southern Louisiana - this circuit included New Orleans, Thibodaux and Baton Rouge. They played blues, rock and jazz combos, covering everything from James Taylor to Jimi Hendrix. Eventually evolving into an acoustic folk-rock duo by the time they entered the studio in 1980. Both tracks on the 45 were recorded at River City studios in Baton Rouge in 1980. The engineer had the Allman Brothers on his list of recording credits, so they felt they were in excellent company. "Bayou Paradise" was an ode to the beauty of Southern Louisiana. The famous Sunshine bridge over wetlands as the sounds of migrating geese echo overhead on their journey down the Mississippi River flyway. The Atchafalaya river basin flows into the Gulf of Mexico near Lafayette creating a large wetland area and lush lakes connected by endless bayous. Miles and miles of lush swamps with many uninhabited areas just waiting to be explored.

"Forever" captures the exhilaration of new love, focusing on its intoxication and ecstasy without looking ahead to the reality of a life on the road. The soulful chorus inspires motion and enthusiasm. The shadow of Woodstock had a defining role against tradition. Things were changing socially. Loving someone forever was always part of the dream but seemingly broken in an age of break-ups and divorce. The optimistic hope that "love will survive" was half dream and half pessimistic glance forward at the social trends of relationships that were to follow. The studio band included Will & James. John Smart on keyboards, he's solo on "Forever" was achieved with the Legendary Analog Prophet synth and saturated the studio with rich layers of its distinctive sound, driving the up-tempo chorus. Dave D'Aubin, a versatile bass player whose resonant tone is very present on both songs. Tommy Jefferson is on drums, an alumnus of the Southern University jazz program, the same place Randy Jackson and Billy Cobham studied. Tommy used a tight higher pitch snare drum on the recording, a sound that would soon become very popular, but at that time was a little ahead of the curve. The session was recorded on analogue tape using the 24-track MCI recorder and mixed down to analogue tape for the single. Will & James added vocal harmonies and soaked up the fidelity during mix-down. The release coincides with the long-awaited re-issue of the brothers' album 'Will & James Ragar One'. This much sort after private press long-player was originally released in 1980 and sold locally in a limited run has now been fully remastered by Frank Merritt. BBE Music presents the album in a glorious gatefold with extensive sleeve notes. This time the vinyl will be pressed over 2 discs to produce the best sound possible.

TRACK LISTING

1. Forever
2. Bayou Paradise

In 2018, Rian Treanor left his home in Rotherham, UK, and headed to Kampala for a residency at Nyege Nyege's villa studio. The mind-expanding experience inspired his critically acclaimed 2020 full-length "File Under UK Metaplasm", but that wasn't the end of the story. Treanor also spent time working alongside Acholi fiddle player Ocen James, developing an improvisation-heavy collaboration that would push both musicians' idiosyncrasies into completely new places.

Treanor wanted this collaboration to be as tactile and reactive as a live performance with traditional instruments, so he set about working on a digital process that would synchronize with James' approach. Using physical modeling techniques, Treanor created an instrument that explored the tunings and sounds of the a'dungu, an arched harp, and the nah or nag. With Ocen playing his rigi rigi, a single string violin, they intuitively experimented with the spectral properties of sound, using texture and acoustic contours as their structural framework. They were able to develop a sound together that was unconventionally rooted in traditional Ugandan culture, but shuttled into different dimensions of noise, computer music and radical UK rave.

"Saccades" is the buffer between two vastly different sonic universes, united in respect and sprightly curiosity. Treanor's hyperactive computer-controlled rhythms are immediately identifiable on opening track 'Bunga Bule', but the sound palette is distinct: it's more flexible and less digital. James' expressionistic fiddle strokes are a revelation, contorted into hoarse squeals and rough vibrations that rub and flex off Treanor's tin can shuffle. The fertile back and forth continues through the ruff DSP tumble of 'As It Happens', before James cracks open the melodic core of his instrument on 'The Dead Centre', allowing Treanor to dispense with rhythm and meet his fiddle strokes with heavenly drones.

Each track steps down a different avenue for the two artists, from the nightmarish microtonal twang of 'Memory Pressure' to the 4AM inverted sci-fi club pressure of 'Naasaccade' and the folky dancefloor swing of 'Rigi Rigi'. And when the album closes on a cacophonous remix from Vienna laptop noise pioneers Farmers Manual it's an unexpected gift that makes perfect sense. "Saccades" is a cross-cultural collaboration that swerves simplicity but refuses to over-complicate itself - it's about interaction, improvisation and passion.

TRACK LISTING

1. Bunga Bule
2. As It Happens
3. The Dead Centre
4. Agoya
5. Memory Pressure
6. Naassaccade
7. Rigi Rigi
8. Tiyo Ki
9. Casascade
10. Remo Rom (Farmers Manual Remix)

In the liner notes to this grooving 1969 album, featuring a big band led by drummer Louis Bellson and arranged by Impulse! star Oliver Nelson, the Godfather of Soul explains that he is a “jazz man at heart.” Brown’s soul consigliere, saxophonist Maceo Parker, helps make this a swinging, spirited and satisfying set of standards and JB hits.

Verve By Request Series features 180-gram vinyl, pressed at Third Man in Detroit..

TRACK LISTING

1. Homestretch (Side A)
2. If You Could See Me Now (Side A)
3. Passin’ The Buck (Side A)
4. Soulin’ (Side B)
5. Soulsphere (Side B)
6. My Secret Passion (Side B)

James Yorkston, Nina Persson and The Second Hand Orchestra release The Great White Sea Eagle, the follow up to James Yorkston and The Second Hand Orchestra’s The Wide, Wide River - a Guardian Top 10 Folk Album of 2021.

The record didn’t start life as a follow up; in early 2021, Yorkston began visiting his studio in Cellardyke, Fife and for the first time, starting writing songs on the piano as opposed to his usual guitar as he gazed upon the sea outside his window.

After sending the first five or six songs to Karl-Jonas Winqvist (the ringleader/conductor of TSHO), they began to discuss working on the music together. With Yorkston’s shift from guitar to piano, they thought about what other changes they could make to their process which led to the involvement of a guest singer and the legendary Nina Persson (The Cardigans) was brought into the fold.

They followed the same methodology as The Wide, Wide River – apart from James, Nina and KJ, none of The Second Hand Orchestra had heard the music prior to entering the studio – and the arrangements were made up on the spot. Yorkston summarises: “Everyone who was playing in The Second Hand Orchestra, in their own way they are all unique and colourful players. There was no-one there who didn’t know what to do. I would bring them the songs, we would start one - I would play it, and second time round people would start singing and playing, and by the time we had done it three or four times we would hit record and we would be ready to go. And the thing that they all had was the ability to give each other space and to come up with their parts based on what other people were playing naturally was a very quick process, and they were all so open, nobody was egotistical. Everything was just happy. I love the wildness in it.”

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: It's the second cracking Dinked release for the week and sees The Cardigans' Nina Persson team up with the endlessly talented James Yorkston and The Secondhand Orchestra for a beautiful LP brimming with brittle guitars and twinkling piano, all topped with those instantly recognisable vocal talents. A very welcome meeting of minds.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
Sam & Jeanie McGreagor
An Upturned Crab
Keeping Up With The Grandchildren, Yeah
The Heavy Lyric Police
A Sweetness In You
A Forestful Of Rougues
Side B
Peter Paulo Van Der Heyden
Mary
Hold Out For Love
The Harmony
The Great White Sea Eagle
A Hollow Skeleton Lifts A Heavy Wing

Alabama's native son, Early James, will release his sophomore album, Strange Time To Be Alive, on July 29th, 2022. The lyrical wordsmith conjures the ghosts of great southern gothic writers from Eudora Welty to William Faulkner, while channeling the haunted spirits of Tom Waits and Townes Van Zandt. The album evokes a timeless amalgam of forsaken blues, wistful folk, and Tin Pan Alley crooning, anchored by the singer’s unmistakable voice that sways from gravel-filled shouts to pained, forlorn whispers – and songs that tread in the waters of darkly themed broken hearts, with the wry humor of the sad clown.

On the road again since August 2021, Early James will continue touring consistently through 2022. Confirmed upcoming tour dates are with The Black Keys and The Ghost of Paul Revere. Previously, Early James has played Newport Folk and toured with The Lone Bellow, The Marcus King Band, Zachary Williams, and Shovels & Rope.

Released in 2013, ‘Regions of Light and Sound of God’ was the debut solo album from Jim James of My Morning Jacket.

This deluxe reissue features the original album plus a second LP of twelve B-sides, demos and alternate versions, including ‘State of The Art (Demo)’ and the previously unheard ballad ‘Begin Again’.

The double LP is housed in a rainbow foil tip-on gatefold spot matte jacket with revised artwork, a fold-out handwritten lyrics insert and new custom inner-sleeves and centre labels. Pressed on clear/purple blob vinyl.

TRACK LISTING

‘Regions Of Light And Sound Of God’
State Of The Art (A.E.I.O.U.)
Know Til Now
Dear One
A New Life
Exploding
Of The Mother Again
Actress
All Is Forgiven
God’s Love To Deliver

Bonus Disc
All Is Forgiven (Alt Version)
State Of The Art (A.E.I.O.U.) [Demo]
A New Life (Alt Version)
Dear One (Demo)
Actress (Demo)
God’s Love To Deliver (Demo)
You Always Know
Read Between (Begin Again)
Epichord
Sweets
Moving Away (Alt Version)
Hallway Of Trees

‘Jim, I’m Still Here’ is the second album from James Righton under his own name; produced by David & Stephen Dewaele of Soulwax and released on their label DEEWEE, the album follows The Performer released in 2020. James’ musical past is well documented; as the frontman of the genre inventing Klaxons, he helped create a revolution in British music and spawned a youth subculture. ‘Jim, I’m Still Here’ is a captivating meditation on the artists experience of the pandemic as James looks to conceptualize the myriad of emotions and events into a fascinating third person narrative. One of the album tracks features Benny Andersson from Swedish pop legendary band ABBA, with whom James has been working on putting together their new live band.

TRACK LISTING

1. Livestream Superstar
2. Pause
3. Touch
4. Release Party
5. Real World Park
6. Never Give Up On The City 
7. A Day At The Races
8. I Want To Live
9. Lover Boy
10. Empty Rooms
11. Playing To Win
12. Farewell Superstar

Revised reissue of the acclaimed first-ever book-length investigation into French Touch.

"Updated version features previously unpublished interviews with Daft Punk, Laurent Garnier, Cerrone, Jean Jacques Perrey, Motorbass, Chris Le Friant (aka Bob Sinclar), Air, Etienne de Crecy, La Funk Mob, Cassius, The Micronauts, Stardust, Benjamin Diamond, Modjo, DJ GilbR, i-Cube, DJ Cam and many more...

During the second half of the 1990s, Paris experienced a dance music revolution thanks to groundbreaking artists like Daft Punk, Air, Super Discount, Motorbass, Cassius, Dimitri from Paris, Bob Sinclar and many, many more. It was a scene that became known as French Touch and was heralded throughout the world as the epitome of dance music cool, forever placing Paris on the dance culture map.

Journalist and author Martin James was there right from the start, documenting the scene from its inspirations to its earliest moments and onto its global breakthrough. In the process, he inadvertently provided the French Touch moniker that became adopted throughout the world.

Drawing on a dazzling array of exclusive interviews with the biggest names in French electronic music history, French Connections explores France’s significant contribution to dance music culture that paved the way for the French Touch explosion."

Polarity, the first album from percussionist and multi-instrumentalist James Larter is a cross-genre Psychedelic journey with driving rhythms at its core.

Larter has always been obsessed with rhythm; whether it be the roaring sound of Brazilian Samba or the intricate and hypnotic drums from the African diaspora, music that makes people move is a passion. He is an in demand musician that has played with a staggering variety of groups and artists from Sampha to the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Hailing from the UK and studying in London and New York, his soundscape crosses genres and styles all with a psychedelic twist. Marimba and vibraphone feature heavily with echoes of electronic music played out by an all-star accompanying 10 piece band.

STAFF COMMENTS

Millie says: This is really really beautiful, jazzy rhythms swoop down and pick you up with this one.. especially enjoying the track Indras Net with Maddy's vocals lifting it to the next level.

TRACK LISTING

1. Polarity
2. Indra's Net (feat. Maddy)
3. Sorbet I
4. And Then There Were Vibes (feat. Will Heard)
5. Sorbet II
6. Salvadora (feat. Will Heard)
7. Espresso Martini
8. Desesperada (feat. Alba)

Contemporary pianist and composer James Heather announces his second album ‘Invisible Forces’ out via Ahead of Our Time, Ninja Tune founders Coldcut’s first record label. Influenced by the sensibility of electronic, ambient, orchestral and post-rock music but channelled through solo piano and his classical and jazz grounding, the album follows the release of the critically acclaimed ‘Modulations: EP2’, released in 2021.

Heather’s new album is about becoming aware of invisible forces around us to help deepen understanding of self and our connection to the world, from tuning into the natural world and getting lost in its patterns and energies to gaining more knowledge around ancestral lines such as the concept of epigenetics. It’s about looking that bit deeper into things, into areas that are not instantly visible but are all around us to achieve this. “Composing these songs gave me an anchor to feel more present in life after some troubling times and sent me on a journey to rediscover a kind of wonderment with the world. I hope the Invisible Forces universe will bring warmth to other people too.”

Recorded, mixed and produced by Heather in his new home studio on a refurbished Bosendorfer 200 grand piano utilising various microphone techniques, ‘Invisible Forces’ is a love story to the instrument that was his first love. A step forward compositionally from his 2017 debut album ‘Stories From Far Away On Piano’, the songs are grander, deeper and broader in emotional range and are developed through a series of improvisation techniques rarely seen in the often notated world of classical music. He describes his music as “pulse music” with each track performed in a single take and with their roots in this live improvisation, often honed on the road where Heather moves between tender to more propulsive, trance-inducing dynamics. He memorised each movement, then subtly adapted, adding more complexities and compositional dexterity over time before committing to the final take. His approach to the new compositions, finds him playing freely, with no metronome or official notation to recall or dictate the piece but instead using just his muscle memory, feel and instinct to decide where each track will go.

A deeply personal and autobiographical album, the first four tracks on ‘Invisible Forces’ come from inside, about life dreams that end up becoming devastatingly flawed (or not) as in ‘Meant to Be’, to complications around the sharing of grief and moving on in ‘No Time Limit to Grief’. Elsewhere, the loss of the “sixth” sense of balance in Heather’s father due to a brain tumour is addressed in ‘Balance,’ while Heather acknowledges trusting in his inner being to overcome life’s difficulties and look out once again with positivity in ‘In Your Spirit’.

Heather’s profound sense of awe at the big wide world outside of the self is considered in ‘Ultraviolet’ – the realisation that everything is connected in the universe, often in unseen ways, like a magic that surrounds us while ‘Forgotten Cities’, is a dreamlike interest in lost civilisations who built at one with nature and the stars above to cities today affected by war, nostalgic for peaceful times, hoping their city won’t be forgotten. ‘Invisible Forces’, the core of the album, absorbs all the albums messages, and connects different stages of Heather’s own compositional history from childhood to now. “I feel like one of the messages in my music is an activism for peace and equality for all, it is political but just done in a minimalist way. It’s about learning to love ourselves but also to love others even more.”

Throughout the closing stages of ‘Invisible Forces’, Heather questions the journey towards the end of a life, a feeling transcending perhaps even joy. A feeling of connecting back to ancestors long since gone and the realisation they might be effecting him now in subliminal ways as in ‘Ancestral Future Now’, to ‘Beginnings,’ which looks at the evolvement of the natural world around us.

Empathy and compassion are two key themes underpinning the album, in particular with the most personal song in ‘Hidden Angel’, a letter of forgiveness to a missing lorry driver who put Heather in a coma in 2008 whilst he was cycling and may not know that he miraculously survived the episode. A topic which Heather has never addressed before in song, he was given just a 5% chance of survival and he endured both the mental and physical challenge of adjusting back into life, changing him fundamentally as a person through many highs and lows as he battled back to full fitness, an experience that he now looks at as a positive. ‘I am lucky that at last my life is now filled with a joy I could never have dreamed of before, dealing with the aftermath of such trauma can take time. The driver couldn’t be located some years later and I always wanted to let him know I survived, in case he didn’t know, and to tell him I’m ok and that I hold no anger. The whole experience has given me an increased empathy to people that may be going through something heavy and to face mortality head on at such a young age, whilst a shock, has deepened my understanding of life.”

The album concludes with ‘Immortal Beloved’, a song about the treasuring of love, and a reference to the famous letter Beethoven, an early influence on Heather, wrote and never sent to someone unnamed.

The album artwork is by long-time collaborator Suki and is a representation of the many invisible layers of our inner and outer worlds. Inspired by the structure of earth, each layer or journey is connected to the next through implied space and time transcending to unknown depths. ‘Invisible Forces’ is as much about emotional growth as it is physical awareness. The album art interprets this tension through a series of contrary emotions where wonderment and solitude, awe and isolation, contemplation and silence can be found in equal measure. Informed by real world invisible forces, the art is designed using computational techniques. Procedural materials and the movement of light create hyperreal terrains that feel both familiar and unfamiliar.

TRACK LISTING

Meant To Be
No Time Limit To Grief
In Your Spirit
Balance
Ultraviolet
Forgotten Cities
Invisible Forces
Ancestral Future Now
Beginnings
Hidden Angel
Immortal Beloved

Daptone Records presents The James Hunter Six's latest offering, With Love: a heart-shaped collection of candle-lit ballads and love songs.

Plucked like so many "he loves you" petals from the vast and sumptuous garden of his Daptone Recordings, these twelve lilting melodies have been selected and sequenced with great care, tenderness, and intention by Daptone staff for the solitary purpose of compiling some of the criminally overlooked treasures in the James Hunter Six's critically acclaimed catalog.

TRACK LISTING

1. Something’s Calling
2. I Don’t Wanna Be Without You
3. Who’s Fooling Who
4. If I Only Knew
5. Carina
6. Take It As You Find It
7. This Is Where We Came In
8. Heartbreak
9. It Was Gonna Be You
10. Never

Jameszoo (Mitchel van Dinther) returns to Brainfeeder with a new album – “Blind” – embarking on further adventures on the fringes of jazz and electronica. Imbued with the same spirit of adventure and experimental outlook as his previous work on the label, the recordings were shaped by van Dinther’s studio sessions at Willem Twee Studios – the specialist analogue studio in Den Bosch (Netherlands) with an unrivalled collection of vintage synthesizers – amongst other locations.

“In music and other arts there is a heavy emphasis on the artist,” says Mitchel. “Which composer, which soloist, which performer and the shifting emphasis between them all colours what we hear. Is it possible to create something that bypasses this? A project that forces active objective listening?”

These were the questions that Mitchel was pondering as he embarked on making “Blind”. Was he successful in his endeavour? “I didn’t even come close to be completely honest,” he laughs. “But all these (sometimes silly) attempts became the backbone for this new album.”

Mitchel started by trying to bypass himself as the protagonist, beginning by remotely recording musicians and collaborators reshaping his initial ideas and concepts, step by step morphing the music as if repainting a portrait again and again. “I tried to stop force-feeding my own preconceived notions of what music should sound like. Instead I would politely impose new ideas to the compositions, crossing fingers it wouldn't reject these ideas like a failed organ transplant. Then something special started to happen, where the music seemed to grow almost self aware. I really enjoyed this process of letting loose and actively listening!”

Fascinated by the idea of a non-existent soloist, Mitchel recorded all sorts of motorised instruments to attempt to embody this idea. For example, the Disklavier (motorised piano) which allowed for precision and the execution of passages unplayable by the human hand. “It really helped me aesthetically detach from the human aspect,” he says. “The Disklavier started to embody the music’s characteristics.”

“Blind” exists as an album and a short film directed by Sven Bresser and Mitchel van Dinther himself. The film stemmed from conversations that Mitchel had with the fantastic performer Saïd Gharbi who is blind and who was kind enough to share his experiences on translating his senses to something he can only partly experience himself. “We talked about his process of exploring and engaging with his other senses after losing his sight,” explains Mitchel. “Through these conversations we decided on making a short movie together to accompany the album, portraying Saïd’s and my own experience of this music and our senses.”

Finally, in an ultimate attempt to transform into music itself Mitchel asked the cult Chilean-French filmmaker and artist Alejandro Jodorowsky the question: ‘how do I shape-shift?’, with Alejandro answering the question via a recorded tarot reading. “He had no more than a few minor details about me and was guided by his cards to formulate his response, which was a dazzling 14 minute long answer where I felt like he could see me and my world without me physically being anywhere near him,” says Mitchel smiling.

Supported by a cast of exceptionally talented friends on “Blind” who share van Dinther’s passion for improvisation and invention, Mitchel once agains links with his long term writing partner and keyboard whizz Niels Broos, Swedish bassist Petter Eldh and drummers Richard Spaven and Julian Sartorius, all of whom contributed to van Dinther’s debut album “Fool” (2016). Violinist Diamanda La Berge Dramm, pianist/organist Kit Downes (ECM), visionary trumpeter Peter Evans, trailblazing British saxophonist Evan Parker (a pivotal figure in the European free jazz movement), drummer Christian Lillinger, Brainfeeder label mate Oliver Johnson (Dorian Concept), saxophonist John Dikeman and the acclaimed sound explorer Matthew Bourne also contribute.

Slow Wave of Long Comfort was co-produced by Matthew Redfern at Sunny Side Sound Studio in Burton Upon Trent, in between stretches of isolation in 2020.

Mastered by Chesney.

Matthew Redfern appears on all pieces, contributing various synthesisers and tape delay manipulations. Jonny Hill appears on all pieces adding guitar, clarinet and voice.

Overwhelming love to Ami and Lucas.

Thank you to Matthew for his patience and generosity, to Jonny for his continuous support and to Woodford Halse for their confidence.

Dedicated to our dear friend Miles Cooper Seaton. I still think of you being out there.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Part tribal folk, driven ambient and soaring, ritualistic drone, 'Slow Wave..' is a wonderfully effective statement and a wildly evocative, moving listen. Absolutely packed with twists and turns and every bit the exciting prospect from a great artist on an enduringly wonderful label.

TRACK LISTING

1. Still 13:15
2. Other Light 06:44
3. Inner Light 06:12
4. Golden Spear 08:22
5. Meet Me Here 05:04

Mercury Music Prize and GRAMMY®Award winning UK singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer James Blake drops his first album in two years, "Friends That Break Your Heart". His tear-jerkingly poignant, auto-tuned & self-produced style has become a symbol of greatness across the UK scene, and his deeply personal songwriting and lyrical prowess shine through every release.

Adding a shimmering patina and haunting presence to soul and pop music's existing framework, James Blake is widely celebrated as a visionary and pioneering UK artist. "Friends That Break Your Heart" sees him emerging into the New Normal with plenty to say, with that familiar, rain-soaked melancholy and sentiment here to ease you through your next heartbreak or internal crisis. Blake makes the sadness more palatable but underlying it all is a sense of overcoming your insecurities & demons, and bettering yourself for times in which we live. It’s a positive message that holds it all together.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: James Blake has carved out a unique niche of mournful post-dubstep, moving from strength and landing on this, possibly his most emotionally raw outing yet. There are melodies here shrouded in the usual trundling electronics and loungey jazz-indebted ambience, topped with Blakes athletic vocal takes, sometimes simply unadorned and in other instances, stretched with Blake's trademark autotune.

TRACK LISTING

CD Tracklist:
1. Famous Last Words
2. Life Is Not The Same
3. Coming Back (feat. SZA)
4. Funeral
5. Frozen (feat. JID & SwaVay)
6. I’m So Blessed You’re Mine
7. Foot Forward
8. Show Me (feat. Monica Martin)
9. Say What You Will
10. Lost Angel Nights
11. Friends That Break Your Heart
12. If I’m Insecure

LP Tracklist:
Side A
1. Famous Last Words
2. Life Is Not The Same
3. Coming Back (feat. SZA)
4. Funeral
5. Frozen (feat. JID & SwaVay)
6. I’m So Blessed You’re Mine

Side B
7. Foot Forward
8. Show Me (feat. Monica Martin)
9. Say What You Will
10. Lost Angel Nights
11. Friends That Break Your Heart
12. If I’m Insecure

Recorded in part before the Covid pandemic struck, the album was produced by the Grammy award-winning Jacknife Lee (U2, REM, Taylor Swift, Snow Patrol, The Killers). On production duties with James for the first time, he bought a fresh approach to their sound, working remotely from his studio liaising with Tim (his Topanga Canyon neighbour) liaising with Jim in a daisy chain, reimagining their demos, and capturing the band in all their virtual glory.

The result is a record with the most fresh and festival ready tracks of their 38-year career, the sound of one of Britain’s best bands, deconstructed and reassembled by one of the world’s most renowned producers. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: There's no denying that James have a legendary legacy behind them, but with 'All The Colours Of You' we get proof that Booth & co are far from finished. Beautifully written stadium rock pieces sit well with more downplayed, hushed numbers and form a cohesive and enjoyable whole.

TRACK LISTING

1. ZERO
2. All The Colours Of You
3. Recover
4. Beautiful Beaches
5. Wherever It Takes Us
6. Hush
7. Miss America
8. Getting Myself Into
9. Magic Bus
10. Isabella
11. XYST

Made during summer 2020, Loraine James’ second Hyperdub album, ‘Reflection’, is a turbulent expression of inner-space, laid out in unflinching honesty, offering gentle empathy and bitter-sweet hope. ‘Reflection’ further develops a unique pop sensibility realised on last year’s ‘Nothing EP’, while tones of Drill and R&B seep through into this collection too. In contrast to the brash splashes of 2019’s ‘For You And I’ LP and the grimey anger of ‘Nothing’, ‘Reflection’ is pared-down and confident, taking the listener through how last year felt as a young black queer woman in a world that has suddenly stopped moving, the arc of the album peppered with Loraine's diaristic confessions.

Starting positively with the gentle pop-trap of ‘Built To Last’ ft Xzavier Stone, into the bumpy instrumental of ‘Let's Go’, the album switches tone with ‘Simple Stuff’, followed by regular collaborator Le3 bLACK amplifying Loraine's vulnerability on the downcast drill of ‘Black Ting’, then ‘Insecure Behaviour And Fuckery’ is a techno glide which pairs Nova's confrontational plea for respect, delivered in monotone autotune, against deep Drexciyan chords. With Baths on vocals, the weightlessness of ‘On The Lake Outside’ soothes numb feelings, and Eden Samara explores the shadow world of anxious dreams on the airy R&B of ‘Running Like That’. Closing track ‘We're Building Something New’ with Manchester rapper Iceboy Violet brings the album together, confidently suggesting a new world is in reach. ‘Reflection’ is a brave step forward for a unique and creative 21st century musician

TRACK LISTING

A1. Built To Last (ft Xzavier Stone)
A2. Let's Go
A3. Simple Stuff
A4. Black Ting (ft Le3 BLack)
A5. Insecure Behaviour And Fuckery (ft Nova)
A6. Self Doubt (Leaving The Club Early)

B1. On The Lake Outside (ft Baths)
B2. Reflection B3. Change
B4. Running Like That (ft Eden Samara)
B5. We're Building Something New (ft Iceboy Violet)

LA-based producer, composer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist James McAlister is a rare creator, and highly sought after collaborator. Perhaps best known for his work with Sufjan Stevens, McAlister has also appeared on record with Lorde amongst many others, and is a regular contributor to Aaron Dessner’s projects, including the latest albums from Taylor Swift, folklore and evermore. His regular work with film music includes The Two Popes, The Big Sick, and Ron Simonsen’s recent films. In 2018 he joined Stevens, Casey Foubert, St. Vincent and Moses Sumney for the Oscar performance for music from Call Me By Your Name, where he played piano and a bottle of cupcake sprinkles. With nearly countless projects to his name, it was in 2017 that his collaboration with Stevens, Nico Muhly, and Bryce Dessner entitled Planetarium was released by 4AD.

Around the same time McAlister started a deep dive into a personal sonic realm that has manifested as an ambient project under his own name. 2018 saw the release of Three Breaths, the first offering from this exploration. 2021 will see the second installment, an album called Scissortail which vividly puts McAlister’s evolving master craft on display. It is a collection of moving, meditative, immediately satisfying and quietly stunning work. It is the sound of an artist letting go entirely of pre-conceptions or expectations, instead mining the depths of that very real and abstract place of sound, texture, color and feeling. Some songs arrive almost intuitively, while others feel mechanically made, fed through the framework of synthesizers and the patchwork of recording gear. And with that comes a compelling duality to the work; a machine grace informing the on-going but subconscious dialogue between energy and material, sensitivity and asceticism.

TRACK LISTING

A
1. Portrait (5:39)
2. Slow Wave (5:14)
3. Cycle 3 (6:16)

B
4. Crowns (5:29)
5. G0 (5:33)
6. Cycle 5 (5:04)

James Johnston (Gallon Drunk / Nick Cave / PJ Harvey) and Steve Gullick (renowned music photographer) are pleased to announce their new album. It's a dark but beautiful trip. After working together on an art show in late 2019, the idea of making music again immediately resurfaced. Without any firm strategy, Johnston and Gullick began recording, unprompted, drawing 3 upon a shared love of noise, folk, and classical. After the first tracks began to evolve, however, they knew they’d unearthed something compelling and fresh, not to mention unexpectedly mysterious. This became WE TRAVEL TIME.The result is a deceptively crafted album that slowly reveals – and, more importantly, embraces – beauty in its cracks. Piano, voice, violin and guitar create a drifting haze, with the focus on these acoustic elements forging an imagined soundtrack which offers echoes of Big Star, Nico, Lee Hazlewood and Palace Brothers, as well as the gentle, haunting influence of contemporary minimal classical. Ambient sounds – birds, rain, cars, clocks, distant voices – also drift in and out, melting into the music’s fabric via windows left open during the early 2020 heatwave. WE TRAVEL TIME, nonetheless, resists definition, remaining enigmatically timeless.

Following the release of their highly acclaimed new album ‘Sister’ in March 2020, Ultraísta have announce a remix package featuring the talents of Floating Points, FaltyDL, Zero 7, Crate Classics and Leifur James. Ultraísta are formed by Grammy-winning producer/engineer/musician Nigel Godrich, best known for his two decades helming Radiohead’s groundbreaking studio output; celebrated drummer Joey Waronker, who’s toured and recorded with everyone from R.E.M. and Beck to Roger Waters and Elliott Smith; and singer Laura Bettinson, an acclaimed solo artist whose work combines synthdriven electropop and dreamy vocal looping.

TRACK LISTING

Ordinary Boy (Floating Points Remix)
Ordinary Boy (FaltyDL Remix)
Ordinary Boy (Zero 7 Remix)
Ordinary Boy (Crate Classics Remix)
Ordinary Boy (Leifur James Remix)

Driving, melancholic electronica, ‘Wise Old Man’ is a nod to what can be expected of James’ second album, Angel In Disguise, showcasing a more experimental side to his production. Traversing through musicality, progressive synths and introspection, this first single unveils the producer’s distinct sound with disorientated vocals; speaking of the interplay between reason and emotion, the lyrics repeat “Wise old man in my brain, soul bursting through my veins”, opening the gates to this captivating electronically steered opus.

This news comes after an incredible few years for the artist. 2018 saw James release his esteemed debut album A Louder Silence on Night Time Stories and follow up remix EP that championed upcoming electronic talent including Bruce, FaltyDL and Whities producer, Coby Sey, on rework duties; projects which captured the attention of key tastemakers including Resident Advisor, Pitchfork, Mixmag, Electronic Sound and Future Music UK.

An aesthetically driven artist dedicated to marrying powerful visual backdrops with sonic explorations, James teamed up with Hungarian director, Balázs Simon; producing the critically acclaimed, ‘Wurlitzer’ project which saw widespread support from the likes of Boiler Room, CLASH, Directors’ Notes, Motionographer, the UK and Berlin Music Video Awards, the London Short Film Festival, Dublin International Film Festival and more.

Angel In Disguise promises to explore the themes of love and loss through a masterful blend of harmonic vocals from James himself, nuanced electronic soundscapes and vibrant percussion - punctuated by bespoke visuals, directed by Balázs Simon. This exciting project is expected to make waves and see James step up, exhibiting his discerning ear and painstakingly honed production craft on a seminal label.

TRACK LISTING

1. Circles
2. Black Lens
3. I Ran With You
4. Wise Old Man
5. Angel In Disguise
6. Ritual
7. Alien (feat. Coby Sey)
8. Strange With You
9. Rebel

Chicago songwriter and guitarist James Elkington who has collaborated with everyone from Richard Thompson to Jeff Tweedy to Tortoise recorded his sophomore album at Wilco’s Loft, expanding upon his celebrated 2017 debut Wintres Woma (PoB-034) as well as his recent production and arrangement work for the likes of Steve Gunn, Nap Eyes, and Joan Shelley. Casting glances back to British folk traditions as well as toward avant-garde horizons, these brilliant new songs, as accessible as they are arcane, buttress Elkington’s brisk guitar figures and baritone poesy with strings, woodwinds, and backing vocals by Tamara Lindeman of the Weather Station.

“An epiphany… a cryptic storyteller and dazzling acoustic guitarist.” Rolling Stone

“Elkington stands apart among the wave of 21st century guitar soloists. Beautiful, complex, and assured.” Pitchfork

“A convincing, warmly whirling weather system of his own.” The Guardian

“James Elkington is a friend of mine, and I have long enjoyed and indeed found satisfaction from witnessing the juicy fruits of his successful labors. Though it sounds like a line culled from a murderous Child ballad, “Ever-Roving Eye” has everything to do instead with the slipperiness of satisfaction, and the equal parts virtue and vice that is being your own mule and driver. Meticulously planned and quickly tracked (the Elkingtonian way), it includes Wintres Woma alumni Nick Macri (James’ longtime bass colleague) and Macie Stewart (violin), plus new recruits Lia Kohl (cello), Spencer Tweedy (drums), The Weather Station’s Tamara Lindeman (vocals), and the prolific Paul Von Mertens (Brian Wilson) on woodwinds. Where the first record was more firmly situated in the sonic tradition of England’s more interesting 1970s folk revivalists, Eye engages in a broader wrassle, roping in echoes of British library musics, horror-film soundtracks, demure psychedelia, and more rocking elements of folk-rock. The result is a record even more elaborate, shrewd, thoughtful and confessional than its predecessor. Ever-Roving Eye is instead a sublime distillation of the humane wisdom of a dude who’ll never be; the dude who sings on the single, “Nowhere Time”: “There’s a master plan somebody understands / And I wish that one was me.” It might well cast a pox on the concept of satisfaction altogether. Though it still satisfies the hell out of me”. Nathan Salsburg, December 2019

TRACK LISTING

A1. Nowhere Time 4:25
A2. Sleeping Me Awake 3:02
A3. Leopards Lay Down 3:47
A4. Moon Tempering 3:13
A5. Rendlesham Way 4:14
B1. Late Jim's Lament 2:54
B2. Carousel 2:50
B3. Go Easy On October 3:02
B4. Ever-Roving Eye 4:41
B5. Much Master 4:24

James Alexander Bright's music is as visual a voyage as it is a sonic one; a kaleidoscope of colours that swirl, swoon, soar and sing. Stepping into his musical world is a multi-sensory experience, one where smooth grooves, wonky rhythms, dreamy melodies and immersive atmospheres coalesce to form their own sphere. “Sound as vision,” says Bright of the audio aesthetic he relates to and aims for. “Music you can bite into.”

Based in the Hampshire countryside and an illustrator by day, Bright’s world is often a dual one but one where elements overlap and inform one another. “I spend a lot of my day creating things visually and everyday life can be an assault on the senses, ”says Bright.“ Evening is my quiet time; time for my ears. Invariably I’m inspired by the things that people and creatures do in the dark.

”This creative duality extends beyond just the visual and the music too. It’s found deep rooted in the music itself, which explores a mix between lo-fi and hi-fi, possessing an intimate bedroom recording-like quality but with production that sounds glowing and golden. Similarly, the sunny sheen found in the music-via a kind of psychedelic pop meets electronic soul-is one born from dichotomy.“I feel at home in the deep south of England,” he says. “I’m in the middle of nowhere with lots of green land, fresh air and head space. I feel like the sunshine in the South in the summer months really reflects in my music. However, I tend to make music in the dark hours and winter months, so it’s almost like the music is my sunshine and happy place in these moments.

”The end result is also an album that exists in a dual world, one that at times has enough bounce and buoyancy to fill a dance floor-as on the disco funk strutting “Lead Me Astray”- and others feels perfectly suited to introspective headphone listening as on the breezy, woozy ambience of “Cala Llenya”.The latter track pays tribute to the Ibiza beach of the same name, whereas “Dancing with the Birds”- a delicate exploration of pastoral folk-is a nod to one of Britain’s most beloved treasures. “It’s based on a late night walk having just watched a David Attenborough documentary, featuring these beautiful birds that have a crazy mating dance. I love his documentaries and I was listening to a lot of Bert Jansch. The next night I had this vision of dancing birds come into my mind.

”Elsewhere Headroom touches upon, in Bright’s own words, 60’s sunshine doo-wop, mutant disco, and mystic mountain top vibes. It’s an album that explores a great deal yet even amidst its dualities it retains a sense of cohesion throughout. It’s a mixture that Bright feels pleased to have managed to juggle so seamlessly. “I think there is a good balance around experimentation on the record-a nice mix between fun and substance.”

TRACK LISTING

A1. Go
A2. Outside
A3. Lead Me Astray
A4. Cala Llenya
A5. Dancing With The Birds
B1. Gold
B2. Damn
B3. 6AM
B4. Kip On The Highline
B5. Friends (Lovers Lost)

After coming to prominence as the frontman of the Mercury Prize-winning Klaxons, recording with Arctic Monkeys and crafting his Shock Machine project, James Righton releases his debut solo album “The Performer”.

‘The Performer’ stands in stark contrast to the electro-hedonism of Righton’s work with Klaxons. Instead, it spins through various points from 1970 onwards. It touches on the suave art-lounge of Roxy Music, the jangly grooves of R.E.M., the sumptuous psychedelia of latter day Beach Boys and the songwriting gift of Nick Lowe. In short, it uses classic elements as the groundwork for something which feels a natural fit for now.

The album flits between two core themes. Fatherhood has changed Righton’s life. It’s altered the relationship with his wife Keira Knightley, which he explores on the 90s-tinged pop-rock of “Start” and the crescendo that soars through “Lessons In Dreamland, Pt2”. But there are simpler emotions too, with the unrequited love and sweet harmonies of “Edie”, a song he wrote for his daughter when she was just a few days old.

“The Performer” was written, performed and produced by James Righton, with the help of some select collaborators. James Ford (The Last Shadow Puppets, Simian Mobile Disco) performed drums throughout and bass on two tracks; Sean O’Hagan (High Llamas, Microdisney) contributed string arrangements; saxophone was provided by Jorja Chalmers (Bryan Ferry) and Josephine Stephenson (Thom Yorke, Ex:Re) contributed additional piano and string arrangements.

TRACK LISTING

The Performer
Edie
See The Monster
Devil Is Loose
Lessons In Dreamland, Pt. 1
Start
Are You With Me?
Heavy Heart
Lessons In Dreamland, Pt. 2

Back in the spotlight with a sublime new rhythm and blues record, James Hunter follows up six critically acclaimed albums with his latest recording, Nick of Time, set for release on Brooklyn’s renowned soul label Daptone Records.

Nick of Time is a shining testament of how a master songsmith continually draws fresh water from a bottomless well. Recorded and produced by Bosco Mann, Nick of Time features one of today’s foremost soul singers at the top of his game performing with musicians who’ve backed some of the biggest contemporary music stars including Daptone artists Sharon Jones and Charles Bradley. Nick of Time will be internationally released on March 6, 2020.

For Nick of Time, Hunter and Daptone co-founder Bosco Mann hunkered down in the label’s Penrose Studios in Riverside, California for what certainly will be one of 2020’s standout soul recordings. Unmistakably another stunning James Hunter album, Nick of Time is a voyage between beautiful, mid-tempo rumba recalling early King/Federal releases, while lush arrangements summon lost tracks from early '60s Burt Bacharach sessions. Nick of Time is steeped in an era when soul records were driven by earth-shattering vocal performances. James Hunter hands down ushers classic soul music into the 21st Century with a sense of timelessness that’s rare these days.

James Hunter is an everlasting writer of compelling narratives sung with true grit while backed by an ace band of New York City’s finest musicians. Nick of Time finds Hunter in the company of Victor Axelrod (piano), Adam Scone (organ), Rudy Petschauer (drums), Myles Weeks (bass), Michael Buckley (baritone saxophone), and Freddy DeBoe (tenor saxophone). On the road for an extensive U.S., U.K., and European tour in support of Nick of Time, Matt Slocum (keyboards) takes the reins on keys for a hearty James Hunter Six ensemble ready to electrify soul music fans as they hit venerable stages in a city near you in spring 2020.

TRACK LISTING

1. I Can Change Your Mind
2. Who's Fooling Who
3. Till I Hear It From You
4. Never
5. Missing In Action
6. Nick Of Time
7. Brother Or Other
8. Ain't Goin' Up In One Of Those Things
9. Take It As You Find It
10. Can't Help Myself
11. How 'Bout Now
12. Paradise For One
13. He's Your Could've Been

The satin-voiced songwriter’s latest is No Beginning No End 2 - a sequel to his 2013 album that resurrects the bold eclecticism we first fell in love with, while taking us on a journey through both celebration and introspection.

This is his first set of new music on his own label/collective, Rainbow Blonde Records. The album is chock-full of collaborators who are auteurs in their own right - Laura Mvula, Aloe Blacc, Ledisi, Erik Truffaz, and Hindi Zahra, to name a few - appearing in unexpected sonic contexts. With the backing of a wildly good band held down by rhythm sections in Los Angeles and Brooklyn (befitting Rainbow Blonde’s bicoastal status) the songs are warmer and more defined than ever, balancing classic songwriting against immersive vibe

STAFF COMMENTS

Millie says: Soulful vocals that can make your knees weak, Jose Jones new album is warming and beautiful and worth the eight year wait. A mixture between Soul, Nu Jazz and slow R&B is the perfect combination.

TRACK LISTING

I Need Your Love
You Know What It Do
Feels So Good
Turn Me Up
Just The Way You Are
Baby Don't Cry
Nobody Knows My Name
Take Me
Home
I Found A Love
Saint James
Miss Me When I'm Gone
Oracle (????)

Taken from the 4 Star Shindig Reviewed LP Intergalactic Sailor, James McArthur And the Head Gardeners AA sided single is the only physical release from this session. Tourist Town is smothered in James's hushed vocals, The flip Plane Sailors grooves acoustic guitars and beats. Think Jansch & Drake with the Beta Band. WIth help from Syd Arthur this limited single was originally released as part of the Wonderfulsevens subscription club. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Tourist Town
2. Plane Sailors 

James McVinnie is known as one of the world's leading organists. His work as a performer encompasses music from the 16th century to the present day. He is a member of Icelandic record label Bedroom Community. He has collaborated with many leading figures in new music including Philip Glass, Angelique Kidjo, Nico Muhly, Martin Creed, Richard Reed Parry, Bryce Dessner, Darkstar, Hildur Guðnadóttir, David Lang, Sarah Davachi many of whom have written large scale works for him.

The compositions were commissioned by No-Nation with PRSF for Music and debuted as ‘The Secret Life of Organs’ in 2016 with a run of live dates in the UK supported by Arts Council England. The original pieces have since been revised to make up "All Night Chroma". Performed at the Harrison & Harrison organ of the Royal Festival Hall by James McVinnie. Composed and produced by Tom Jenkinson of Sqaurepusher. 

TRACK LISTING

Mono Chroma (2013)

01: Voix Célestes
02: Mutations With Reeds
03: Flutes With Major Bass
04: Reeds & Flûtes Harmoniques

Poly Chroma (2016)

01: Mixtures
02: Bombardes & Cymbel
03: Flutes 
04: Full Organ