Charting a course between electronic experimentation and the dark echoes of 1980s post-rock, ishi vu’s music transports the young artist’s philosophical meditations in Gothenburg to imagined dancefloors worldwide. Created in response to a deep transformational experience, his debut album 'La Luz' is truly unique: channelling all genres and none into a depiction of some of the most fundamental human feelings. La Luz is a vivid and poignant distillation of club culture into something familiar, temporarily distant, but fresh. With the precision of someone who has thought carefully about an exact psychological, physical - and perhaps even spiritual - effect they want to provoke.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
La Luz BLue18
This Is Your Life - Vinyl Version
Isolated Incidents

Side B
Poison Dart
Bell-Tower Trip

Side C
Neverending Elation
Brightly Burning, Yet Alone
A.S.I.S.O.A. 1000

Side D
The Wasp
SANCTUAry, It MUST HappeN AGain!
10 Tolls: A Threnody For The Luz
Persuaded To Embrace In Saving Faith
[A CURIOUS END]

“I was in a dream, but now I can see that change is the only law.”

With a credo adapted from science fiction author Octavia E. Butler, an album title from a collection of metaphysical poetry, and an expansion in consciousness brought on by personal crisis, guitarist and songwriter Shana Cleveland learns to embrace a changing world with unconditional love on 'News of the Universe', the new full-length from California rock band La Luz.

'News of the Universe' is a record born of calamity, a work of dark, beautiful psychedelia reflecting Cleveland’s experience of having her world blown apart by a breast cancer diagnosis just two years after the birth of her son. It’s also a portrait of a band in flux, marking the first appearance for drummer Audrey Johnson and the final ones from longtime members bassist Lena Simon and keyboardist Alice Sandahl, whose contributions add a bittersweet edge to a record that is both elegy for an old world and cosmic road map to a strange new one.

But is there any band in the world more suited to capturing the chaos of change in all its messy beauty than La Luz? Formed by Cleveland in 2012, La Luz is beloved for their ability to balance bedlam and bliss, each new record another fine-tuning of the band’s mix of swaggering riffs with angelic vocals borrowed from doo-wop and folk; a band so reliably great that it makes the huge step forward in confidence and sheer musicality that is 'News of the Universe' all the more formidable. Cleveland, also a writer and painter, has developed into a truly original songwriter with her own canon of haunted psychedelia. Yet if Cleveland has spent years writing songs about ghosts, what lurks in the shadows of 'News of the Universe' is nothing less than death itself. “There are moments on this album that sound to me like the last frantic confession before an asteroid destroys the earth,” says Cleveland.

The powerful sense of openness that permeates 'News of the Universe' is at least partially due to the fact that it is a record made entirely by women—from the performing, writing, and producing all the way through to the recording, engineering, and mastering. Working with producer Maryam Qudos (Spacemoth), the all-female environment allowed Cleveland to feel safe tapping into difficult places and expressing hard emotions women are socialized to suppress.

Unashamedly vulnerable, unabashedly feminine, and undeniably triumphant, 'News of the Universe' is another knockout record from a band so reliably great that it has perhaps led people to overlook how pioneering La Luz really are: women of color in indie music forging their own path by following their own artistic star into galaxies beyond current musical trends, always led by an earnest belief in the cosmic power of love and a great riff. Never is that more true than on 'News of the Universe', which might be La Luz’s most brutal record to date but also their most blissful.

TRACK LISTING

1. Reaching Up To The Sun
2. Strange World
3. Dandelions
4. Poppies
5. Good Luck With Your Secret
6. Always In Love
7. Close Your Eyes
8. I'll Go With You
9. Blue Moth Cloud Shadow
10. News Of The Universe
11. Moon In Reverse
12. Blue Jay

"Apaga La Luz" has proven itself to be a bonified club hit with the Tony Touch and Pablo Fierro mixes released last summer 2022. A new buzz has been created with brand new 2023 remixes by Two Soul Fusion AKA Louie Vega & Josh Milan, David Morales, Mike Dunn, and David Guetta. 

 Championed by everyone from David Morales, Mike Dunn, Louie Vega & Anané Vega to Seth Troxler, Marco Corola, Paco Osuna, The Martinez Brothers, Pablo Fierro and many more.

One of those tracks that instantly screams - inferno! The fiery Latin vocal is both arresting, infectious and rousing - certain to cause a blazing surge of energy across any dancefloor. Across the double pack we get lots of different producer's take on this bonafide instant-anthem - each keeping true to the rebellious nature of the track whilst adding shed loads of their own personality across each iteration. Mastered by Herb 'Pump' Power as spread across a lavish double pack 12" - this is best way to fully devour this red hot club hit. Don't sleep on this one folks...

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: You'll be screaming that vocal hook like a werewolf for the entirety of the evening after hearing this one! Can't choose a favourite mix as nearly every one of them is absolutely killer!

TRACK LISTING

A1. Apaga La Luz (Tony Touch OG Mix) 
A2. Apaga La Luz (Mike Dunn Re-Touch) 
B1. Apaga La Luz (David Guetta Remix) 
B2. Apaga La Luz (Pablo Fierro Raw Dub) 
C1. Apaga La Luz (Two Soul Fusion Remix) 
C2. Apaga La Luz (Two Soul Fusion Beat-Sax Mix) 
D1. Apaga La Luz (David Morales Remix) 
D2. Apaga La Luz (David Morales Alt Mix) 

On their self-titled fourth album, La Luz launch themselves into a new realm of emotional intimacy for a collection of songs steeped in the mysteries of the natural world and the magic of human chemistry that has found manifestation in the musical ESP between guitarist and songwriter Shana Cleveland, bassist Lena Simon, and keyboardist Alice Sandahl. To help shape La Luz, the band found a kindred spirit in producer Adrian Younge. Though primarily known for his work with hip-hop, soul, and jazz acts, Younge saw in La Luz a shared vision that transcended genre.

“We both create music with the same attitude, and that’s what I love about them,” he says. “They are never afraid to be risky and their style is captivating. It was an honor to work with them.” The result is an album that is both the most naturalistic and psychedelic of the band’s career. All the elements of classic La Luz are still present—the lush harmonies, the impeccable musicianship, the gorgeous melodies—but it’s a richer, earthier iteration, replete with inorganic sounds that mimic the surreality of nature—the humming of invisible bugs, the atmospheric sizzle of a hot day. After spending the last few years living in rural northern California, Cleveland’s lyrics have become more grounded, less interested in traveling to other dimensions than in peeking behind the curtain of this one. With sounds ranging from ghostly electric guitar shimmers, charging fuzz-guitar rock, soulful organ-driven dream-funk, galactic synths, and breezy ‘70s folk-pop, La Luz is an album that celebrates love- of music, of friendship, of life in all its forms. - Mariana Timony. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: It's a beautiful new LP from Shana Cleveland's La Luz, swimming in nostalgic 70's psychedelia, with wandering percussion and soaring vocal melodies, bringing to mind the Beatles circa Sgt. Pep or acid folk of the late 60's but with a keenly realised modern production sensibility. Superb.

TRACK LISTING

1. In The Country
2. The Pines
3. Watching Cartoons
4. Oh, Blue
5. Goodbye Ghost
6. Yuba Rot
7. Metal Man
8. Lazy Eyes And Dune
9. Down The Street
10. I Won't Hesitate
11. Here On Earth
12. Spider House

The sixteenth release in the LAMC 7” Series.

TRACK LISTING

A Side: La Luz – Believe My Eyes
B Side: Scully – Don’t Want That

Los Angeles has often been described as a “dream factory”--both a mecca where dreamers converge to pursue long-held aspirations, and a topography of hallucinogenic contradictions: enchanting tangerine sunsets diffused by smog, crystal-clutching spiritualists mingling with deep-pocketed narcissists, rows of scenic palms competing with garish billboards for commuters’ attention. It was against this backdrop that the four members of La Luz--singer/guitarist Shana Cleveland, drummer Marian Li Pino, keyboardist Alice Sandahl, and bassist Lena Simon—conceived of Floating Features, the band’s third studio album. For this, their most ambitious release yet, La Luz consulted landscapes both physical and psychological. References to dreams abound on Floating Features. “Loose Teeth” catalyzes nightmare fuel into a propulsive, intentionally-disorienting collision of honeyed harmonies and Takeshi Terauchi-esque jet-streams of distorted surf guitar. “Mean Dream” unsurprisingly mines dreamstate imagery, and the lyrics and melody for “Walking Into the Sun” actually came to Cleveland During a particularly-vivid night of deep sleep. Looming over the album’s Coterie of surreal figures (gargantuan cicadas, a monstrous “Creature,” The Sun King, aliens, the titular “Lonely Dozer”) is the magnificent “Greed Machine,” a skulking, insatiable engine of consumption-Nathanael West’s “business of dreams” fearsomely manifested. Only La Luz could conjure up Floating Features’ Leone-on-LSD vibes, and the album finds the L.A. band at the height of their powers--golden rebels in a golden dream.

TRACK LISTING

01. Floating Features 2:15
02. Cicada 3:13
03. Loose Teeth 2:49
04. Mean Dream 3:36
05. California Finally 3:23
06. The Creature 3:30
07. Golden One 4:16
08. Lonely Dozer 3:17
09. Greed Machine 4:21
10. Walking Into The Sun 2:47
11. Don’t Leave Me On The Earth 2:37

Seattle "surf noir" band La Luz returns with the anticipated follow-up to their breakout 2013 debut album It's Alive. Recorded in a makeshift surf shop studio with producer Ty Segall, Weirdo Shrine is a noisier, more energized effort.

For most, a brush with death would be cause for retreat, reflection, and reluctance, but Seattle band La Luz found something different in it: resilience. Having survived a high-speed highway collision shortly after releasing their 2013 debut LP It’s Alive, La Luz, despite lasting trauma, returned to touring with a frequency and tirelessness that put their peers to shame. When it came time to record Weirdo Shrine, the goal was to capture the band’s restless live energy and commit it to tape.

In early 2015, Cleveland and Co. adjourned to a surf shop in San Dimas, California where, with the help of producer/engineer Ty Segall, they realized this vision. Tracking most of the album live in shared quarters, La Luz chose to leave in any happy accidents and spur-of-the-moment flourishes that occurred while recording. The resulting album is a natural evolution of the band’s self-styled “surf noir” sound—a rawer, turbo-charged sequel that charts themes of loneliness, infatuation, obsession and death across eleven tracks, from the opening credits siren song of “Sleep Till They Die” to the widescreen, receding-skyline send-off of “Oranges” and its bittersweet epilogue, “True Love Knows.”

TRACK LISTING

01. Sleep Till They Die
02. You Disappear
03. With Davey
04. Don't Wanna Be Anywhere
05. I Can't Speak
06. Hey Papi
07. I Wanna Be Alone (With You)
08. I'll Be True
09. Black Hole, Weirdo Shrine
10. Oranges
11. True Love Knows

Seattle’s La Luz recorded their debut EP, Damp Face, in a small trailer on a hot August day. But barring the inevitable “no-AC-in-the-van” summer tour calamity, La Luz runs cool. Their brand of coolness isn’t about distance or affect; it’s a mood, and—sue me, but I’m about to totally rip off Zelda Fitzgerald: Something about this music vibrates to the dusky, dreamy smell of dying moons and shadows.

In Spanish, La Luz means “light” and that’s the perfect thing to evoke when your songs give the illusion of veering in the opposite direction. But lift out most any lyric—which is a good excuse to give a closer listen to the delicate, four-part harmonies that are fast becoming the band’s signature—and you’ll find that the aches and pains of love and loss, of living in a world where no foothold is ever a promise—all this is delivered with a nuanced dose of perfectly timed exhilaration, like the whole thing might just be worth it in the end.

Last spring, La Luz returned to that steamy trailer park to record It’s Alive – the much-anticipated follow up to Damp Face – with their friend and engineer Johnny Goss. From the first get-psyched drum roll and eerie chords of “Sure As Spring”, the dinged-up pop gem that opens the album, the rest moves like a slow drive on a dangerous road, slinking and bending as the terrain shifts. On “What Good Am I?”, the lead vocals, and the swirl of harmonies that surround it, recall the Spartan haze of Mazzy Star’s misty-eyed super hit. Smack in the middle is the title track. “It’s Alive” is a jangly rocker with a spooky refrain, oodles of ooohs, and a marauding narrative that nails down the misty logic of the rest of the album. Two instrumentals, “Sunstroke” and “Phantom Feelings”, showcase the band’s beach jam surf chops, and fall perfectly between the chilled out heartache that surrounds them.

TRACK LISTING

1. Sure As Spring
2. All The Time
3. Morning High
4. What Good Am I?
5. Sunstroke
6. It?s Alive
7. Big Big Blood
8. Call Me In The Day
9. Pink Slime
10. Phantom Feelings
11. You Can Never Know

Recorded over three years, across three continents and featuring a cast of over 80 musicians, ‘Galeria De La Luz’ is a slow burning classic in the making, to be filed alongside Jim O’Rourke, Grizzly Bear, Low and Sonic Youth’s more pastoral moments.

Centred around Matthew Nicholson, this debut release as Outshine Family follows well received output as Function which garnered high praise from The Wire, Pitchfork, and Dusted.

In recent years Nicholson has shared stages with Low, Fennesz, Animal Collective and Espers, gaining fans internationally with his quietly powerful arrangements and knack for devastating melodies.

TRACK LISTING

1. Get Laid Like An Egg
2. The Dream, The Lie
3. Alone With Your Tattoos
4. Stars Wept Upon Us
5. Always I Marvel At You
6. Flying Ear
7. Galeria De La Luz
8. Seven Tongues Tasting The Night
9. A Carol For The Speechless And The Heartbroken
10. Silly Bird
11. Natural Diamonds
12. May Death Less Darkly Find Its Way
13. Spectrum Ablaze