Born in 1952, Albert Nadeau was a French-Caribbean singer ,organist and songwriter from Martinique, known for blending local Caribbean rhythms with funk, soul and reggae inflections.

After fronting the local group Les Leopards, he recorded a small but potent set of tracks in the late 1970s that showcased his raw, emotive voice and taste for groove-driven arrangements.

At the heart of that period stands 'I Am Black' from his 1977 solo LP. The track is a slow- burning tropical- funk/ reggae cut built around a loping groove, organ- based chords and Nadeau's gritty, passionate lead vocal. Musically it sits between biguine-tinged island rhythm and 1970s funk/soul. Though it never entered the mainstream charts, 'I Am Black' is admired for the way it bridges Caribbean musical tradition with the Black Power and soul currents of its era, it has in recent years become one of the most sought-after Caribbean songs.

Brother Mudada, born Alan Fortune, is a veteran Trinidad & Tobago calypsonian who began his career in 1961. He is known for socially conscious music that reflects calypso's tradition of political and cultural commentary. Over the decades, he earned major recognition in the Caribbean, including winning the Calypso Monarch title in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, in 2004 and later receiving a national honor, the Hummingbird Silver Award, for his contribution to music and culture. One of his most influential songs is 'Forward Ever', a calypso anthem centered on perseverance, resilience, and collective struggle. The lyrics encourage listeners to "struggle on," using patience, wisdom, and understanding like weapons in life's battles, and remind them to help others along the way. The song's message and Mudada's delivery have helped solidify his standing as a cultural voice for determination and unity within Caribbean society.

TRACK LISTING

1. Albert Nadeau - I Am Black
2. Brother Mudada - Forward Ever

A year and a half after the release of their Latin Grammy-nominated album, 'Me Chama De Gato Que Eu Sou Sua', the award-winning Brazilian trailblazer, Ana Frango Eletrico, returns with two new songs: 'A Sua Diversao' and 'Nao Tem Nada Nao'.

Both tracks are the result of a remarkable collaboration with legendary Brazilian artist Marcos Valle, creating a dialogue between generations.

First up, Ana drops the laid- back sultry Brazilian- funk gem 'A Sua Diversao', written alongside Tuca Monteiro and co- produced by Guilherme Lirio. With a breezy '80s tinged feel, the sumptuous bassline, funk strutting guitars and cosmic synths are the perfect match to Ana's instantly recognisable vocal tones. A track with a nostalgic air but a contemporary flair, it includes guest backing vocals by three of Brazil's finest, Dora Morelenbaum, Marcos Valle, and Patricia Alvi.

Next, a firm favourite from their live show, Ana reinterprets and re-records a 1973 Marcos Valle classic 'Nao Tem Nada Nao', written collaboratively with Eumir Deodato and Joao Donato. During Ana's tour across 11 countries and over 40 sold-out shows, this cover quickly became a fan favourite. As audiences began tagging Valle in Instagram stories, he showed his support by reposting Ana's performances. This online exchange blossomed into a real-life connection when the two artists met at a benefit concert for Rio Grande do Sul and the idea of a collaboration materialised.

Putting their own distinctive spin on the recording, Ana duets with Valle, who features on vocals and Rhodes. As the track progresses it morphs seamlessly into a reimagination of Crystal Water's anthemic 'Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)' from 1991. This inspired yet unlikely combination blends exquisitely and is a perfect distillation of Ana's energetic and absorbing live presence.

TRACK LISTING

1. A Sua Diversao
2. Nao Tem Nada Nao

An incredibly special project between decorated Manchester punks Loose Articles and lauded Marseille rapper NADIR, the inviting clash of cultures come together in a beautiful smash hit - penned as a love letter to Manchester and Marseille, merging culture, camerarderie and football.

You try genre defining this one??? The B Side remix by The Beatmasters is currently bouncing across dancefloors across the UK and France.

TRACK LISTING

Marseille, Manchester (In The Area)
Marseille, Manchester (In The Area) [The Beatmasters Mix]

Marissa Nadler has spent the past two decades crafting a singular body of work defined by spectral beauty, haunting lyricism, and a voice that feels both ancient and intimate.

Since her 2004 debut Ballads of Living and Dying, the Boston-born singer-songwriter has become a revered figure in the worlds of dream- folk, gothic Americana, and atmospheric rock. Across acclaimed releases like Little Hells, July, and For My Crimes, Nadler has seamlessly woven tales of longing, mystery, and memory with ethereal instrumentation and poetic depth. With New Radiations, Nadler pares back to a more minimal, drumless sound--letting her voice and fingerpicked guitar take center stage. The album feels intimate and clear- eyed, offering a quiet yet resonant collection of songs that reflect an artist ever attuned to the power of subtle transformation.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: It's a folky week this week isn't it! While Marissa Nadler's sound can fall anywhere within the hilariously broad remit of 'Singer-Songwriter', in this instance we get the deeply moving sound of beautifully produced guitar and Nadler's famously evocative vocals, but draped atop a core of haunting goth-country and ambient drone. Mixed by Randall Dunn (Earth / SUNN O))) ), which might not surprise you all that much when you hear it. Brill.

TRACK LISTING

It Hits Harder
Bad Dreams Summertime
You Called Her Camellia 
Smoke Screen Selene 
New Radiations 
If It's An Illusion
Hatchet Man
Light Years
Weightless Above The Water
To Be The Moon King
Sad Satellite

More sounds of the summer this time on Japanese import label Funtown. Six tracks expertly re-jigged for the dancefloor by in demand Nad Tujdi. Properly mastered (with love) for an extraordinary audio cosmic experience! Vinyl only, limited copes - you know what to do!

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: More sounds of the summer this time on Japanese import label Funtown. Six tracks expertly re-jigged for the dancefloor by in demand Nad Tujdi. Properly mastered (with love) for an extraordinary audio cosmic experience! Vinyl only, limited copes - you know what to do!

TRACK LISTING

A. Get Real
B1. Italian Airlines
B2. General Hospital
C. Gamma Ray Rock
D1. Funk Jam
D2. Ooh Chukka

Following three acclaimed albums, a string of sought-after 45s, and collaborations with vocalists including Yurika and Sophia Solompon, championed by esteemed tastemakers such as Gilles Peterson, Cerys Matthews, and Jeremy Sole, ‘Nadir’ finds Sababa 5 at their enigmatic and irresistible.

Sababa 5's latest album, ‘Nadir’, delves into a darker, more sophisticated, and cinematic fusion of psychedelic soul and Middle Eastern rock. The title, Nadir, is an astronomical term referring to the point on the celestial sphere directly beneath an observer, diametrically opposite the zenith. Metaphorically, it signifies the lowest point or a moment of adversity. This duality resonates with the band's exploration of contrasting musical themes—melding the cosmic and the terrestrial, the ethereal and the grounded.

The name encapsulates the album's essence, reflecting a journey through deep, introspective soundscapes that are both otherworldly and rooted in raw, earthly grooves.

‘Nadir’ opens with 'VU' - close to four minutes of mysterious, darkly seductive, rhythm-driven funk. Swirling guitars, an Arabesque electric organ, and raga-like drones evoke the haze of a smoky Cairo bar, while the track nods to their close musical kin, vuvuvu, whose raw, noisy, and playful energy has rubbed off on the band.

The title track itself conjures the sultry ambiance of a Mediterranean night, plunging listeners into a realm of intrigue and intensity. A brooding bassline sets a suspenseful tone before a synth-led melody, laced with Italian motifs and Middle Eastern tonalities, unfolds— recalling the cinematic flair of soundtrack legends like Piero Umiliani and Stelvio Cipriani. Subtle wah-wah guitar accents add a psychedelic touch, echoing the acid rock elements of classic Poliziotteschi scores.

However, not all tracks dwell in darkness; 'Tell' sports a brighter tone reminiscent of ‘Aspan’. Leaning into Turkish ballad territory - except with synths taking the lead part - it is both melodic and melancholic, buoyed by an irresistible groove that offers a refreshing counterpoint to the album’s shadowy moods.

A must list album for fans of The Heliocentrics, Khruangbin, The Dap Kings, and Moğollar.

Nadir stands as Sababa 5’s most compelling and listenable offering yet - a transcontinental journey where hypnotic grooves, cinematic arrangements, and evocative Middle Eastern scales create vivid imagery, compel movement, and touch the soul.

TRACK LISTING

1. VU
2. Zenith
3. Descent
4. Nadir
5. 2025
6. Tell
7. Atom
8. Ignition
9. Sab
10. Timor
11. Into Orbit

NAD aka Dan Tyler of the legendary Idjut Boys arrives at Duca with a bouncing 4 track of obscurities, all wrapped in a sheen of echo and reverb.

The Idjuts’ have released on a myriad of labels, including Noid, U Star and Smalltown Supersound, being one of the originators of the 90s edits revival, DJing the globe including to almost cult-status in Japan, as well as remixing the likes of DJ Harvey, Brian Ferry and Dimitri From Paris

A master of editing, Dan’s move to Oslo has seen him step out solo to remix the likes of Todd Terje (Olson), Mudd (Claremont 56) and King Sporty (Emotional Rescue) and not forgetting running the Record Mission edits label with old friend Nick The Record.

"Das Wordy" hits with a bump, the gastarbeiter NAD rockin’ like Tom Tom Club on Stasi steroids. La nouvelle musique of "Histoire De Cul" sweeps the catwalk, sweeping past Le Palace queue, hitting Cuevas’ dancefloor to 'effet sensuel'.

Rocking out is NAD’s nature, "Kropps Smack" a body with a mind of its own, come down, come all night…boody language.

"Release The Pigeon" is a smooth ride home, the music nomad, the gypsy man, one of these days he’ll settle down.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Immediately causing quite the stir amongst Picc staffers, customers and further afield into the leftfield disco upper echelons - new EP from the legendary maverick Dan Idjuts and it's a fabulously wonky trip into the dubbed-out, disco-not-disco thud, rattle and strut, with elements of new wave thrown in for good measure. Unmissable!

TRACK LISTING

A1. Daw Wordy
A2. Histoire De Cul
B1. Kropps Smack
B2. Release The Pigeon

Nadine Shah recorded live at London's O2 Forum, Kentish Town.

TRACK LISTING

1. Keeping Score
2. Fast Food
3. Sad Lads Anonymous
4. Club Cougar
5. Topless Mother
6. Ladies For Babies
7. Food For Fuel
8. Even Light
9. See My Girl
10. Stealing Cars
11. French Exit
12. Twenty Things
13. Trad
14. Fool
15. Holiday Destination
16. Greatest Dancer

‘Laini Tani’ conveys a heady, exhilarating rush of excess, evoking a sultry haze of balmy nights that stretch effortlessly into dawn while clubs continue unphased. Each track serves as a vignette, capturing fleeting yet vivid moments of introspection, defiance, or unrestrained euphoria. Through intricate wordplay, layered metaphors, and personal symbols, El Shazly crafts an aural and lyrical tapestry vibrant with meaning, where every note and phrase hints at a more intimate narrative. The album is one of contrasts - between indulgence and contemplation, spontaneity and observation - inviting the listener to lose themselves in its enchanting rhythms while deciphering the deeper truths woven into its fabric.

The soundscape of the album is a rich balance that forges a dynamic interplay between classical Egyptian improvisation, voice manipulation and electronic beats. Nadah teams up with 3Phaz as co-producer, and her long-term collaborator, Sarah Pagé on harp and electronics. It captures not only the chaos and beauty of urban life but also the private battles and triumphs within it that define the human experience. Together, the tracks create a compelling portrait of an artist unafraid to embrace vulnerability and honour the power of music as a salve for the soul, as well as one immersed in a creative community that encourages this.

TRACK LISTING

1. Elnadaha
2. Kaabi Aali
3. Banit
4. Eid
5. Enti Fi Neama
6. Dafaa Robaai
7. Labkha
8. Laini Tani
9. Ghorzetein

Drummer and Composer Nadav Schneerson, based in London has been making moves in the UK Jazz scene having already played with the likes of Charlie Stacey (Yussef Dayes), Steamdown, Dargz, Finn Rees (Allysha Joy), Don Glori and many more across the UK scene and beyond. Highly in demand as a drummer, he's been bubbling as a bandleader with his full 7 piece ensemble gracing many stages in and around London. Having met many of his musical collaborators through Tomorrows Warriors such as Sultan Stevenson, his ensemble line ups feature musicians who have played with many great artists such as Ebi Soda, Levitation Orchestra, Hak Baker, Moses Boyd and much more. Nadav's music is a unique blend of contemporary jazz with various influences from around the Middle East and all being informed by the bustling UK Jazz styles which surround him.

Nadav Schneerson's debut album, Sheva was recorded over two days at the Fish Factory Studio in London. All tracked live, the impressive 7 piece outfit shines through the dynamic range of tracks on the album. Featuring Drums, Double Bass, Grand Piano & Fender Rhodes, Trumpet & Flugelhorn, Tenor Sax, Trombone & Live FX and Oud, there are tracks that are more modal and freeform, allowing the soloists to really let loose. Whereas there are compoisitons more thoroughly arranged, with intricate parts intearweaving through each voice.

TRACK LISTING

1. Yalla
2. Sheva
3. Juju Man (feat. Afronaut Zu)
4. Interlude (Sultan's Taxi)
5. House Of Pillars
6. Negev
7. Stampede

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

Two supreme MPB/bossa-nova cuts courtesy of our leading Brazil 45's lady, Claudia.

On the A side, 'Deixa o Morro Cantar' features on Claudia's very first 7", released in 1965 by RGE Brazil. A classy, horn-infused number that really brings out the warming tone of Claudia's iconic voice.

Take to the flip for Claudia's version of the legendary 'Mas Que Nada'. It's a jazzier, folk- funk take on the Jorge Ben classic, that provides a great alternative version of this timeless song.

TRACK LISTING

Deixa O Morro Cantar
Mas Que Nada

Enter Now Brightness feels different for Nadia. It is an album, she says, of departure and questioning, that has reminded her how songwriting can be “the most useful thing to do with pain and joy and thoughts and feelings and anger.” That through music we can find great change. “I’m so much better off now that it exists,” she says. “Now feels like a new time.” On this record, Reid moves ever further from her earlier folk inclinations, establishing a sound that is distinctly her own. Enter Now Brightness is a record of poise and great beauty, the sound of a cellular shift, of pain giving way to tenderness and joy. It takes its title from a passage in a book Reid was reading from a line that seemed to call out to her from the page: ‘Brightness entered the study.’ “It was the image of opening the curtain, or turning the light on, or of standing in the wings of a theatre and waiting to go on stage. It’s the idea of life beginning now.”

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Gorgeous, sonically rich ballads that have almost entirely eschewed the tender folky minimalism that we've come to know from Reid. Both wonderfully immersive and endlessly melodic, her pieces shine with jubilance and keep the superb songwriting we've come to know from her. Beautiful.

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A:
1. Emmanuelle
2. Cry On Cue
3. Baby Bright
4. Hold It Up
5. Changed Unchained

SIDE B:
1. Second Nature
2. Even Now
3. Hotel Santa Cruz
4. Woman Apart
5. Send It Down The Line

An essential figure in the fusion between jazz and bossa nova, pianist/ composer Sergio Mendes, who passed away on the 6th of September (1941-2024), recorded over 55 releases under his own name.

This release presents the complete original album 'Voce Ainda No Ouviu Nada', (literal translation: You Still Haven't Heard Anything), originally released in the US as 'The Beat of Brazil'.

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
1. Ela E Carioca
2. O Amor Em Paz
3. Coisa No.2
4. Desafinado
5. Primitivo
6. Olhou Para Mim
7. Love For Sale
8. On Green Dolphin Street

Side 2
1. Nana
2. Corcovado
3. Noa Noa
4. Garota De Ipanema
5. Neurotico
6. Influenza Do Jazz
7. Tema Sem Palavras
8. Diagonal

On the A side, Brazilian Samba luminary Elza Soares, covers Jorge Ben's classic 'Mas Que Nada'. Originally featured on her brilliant 1970 Sambas & Mais Sambas LP on Odeon, it's tougher drums, punchy piano and Elza's stunning vocal tones make this a perfect dancefloor heater. With over 34 albums to her name in a career that spanned 60 years, Elza is a certified legend of Brazilian music.

Little is known about the artist responsible for the B side track, Elizabeth. Nicknamed 'Gatinha do Mato' (loosely translated as 'Jungle Cat') she was involved in the Jovem Guarda movement that fused rock n roll and youth culture with Brazilian styles in the '60s. 'Vou Falar- Lhe Francamente' is a majestic, horn- infused number laced with emotion, that we originally found at one of our favourite, now defunct, spots 'Tony's Hits' in Sao Paulo. The record was originally released on 7" on RGE in 1970.

TRACK LISTING

Elza Soares - Mas Que Nada
Elizabeth - Vou Falar-Lhe Francamente

Ethereal dream gloom from a voice so unique they had to create an entirely new genre to contain all four octaves.

Mixing classical music with synthesizer and acoustic guitar, Happy Rhodes’ ‘ecto pop’ never quite broke outside upstate New York, but that didn’t stop gothic Americana queen Marissa Nadler from reinterpreting ‘Where Do I Go’ in 2018.

Both the original and cover have been paired here, housed in an elegant black and silver sleeve, with embossed braille lettering for the visually impaired.

TRACK LISTING

Marissa Nadler ‘Where Do I Go’
Happy Rhodes ‘Where Do I Go’

Nadine Shah announce her fifth album Filthy Underneath, the follow up to 2020's critically acclaimed Kitchen Sink and 2017's Mercury Prize nominated Holiday Destination.

Filthy Underneath chronicles a period of unprecedented turbulence in Nadine Shah’s life. And yet, the experience of listening to it is oddly life-affirming – a parade of ghosts spanning the entirety of Nadine’s thirty-seven years, moving with balletic beauty to the music that Nadine and long-time co-writer and producer Ben Hillier have created around them, with renewed emphasis on placing melody and movement front and centre.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Shah's wonderfully emotive brand of majestic call-to-arms rock takes a perfectly manicured turn into the outer reaches of synth, stadium pop and world music. It's a beguiling and perfectly measured whole, and one that proves that Shah has *plenty* more where 'Holiday Destination' came from. Ace.

TRACK LISTING

1. Even Light
2. Topless Mother
3. Food For Fuel
4. You Drive, I Shoot
5. Keeping Score
6. Sad Lads Anonymous
7. Greatest Dancer
8. See My Girl
9. Twenty Things
10. Hyperrealism
11. French Exit

Another Life is the second album by singer-songwriter Nadine Khouri. Recorded in London and Bristol with producer John Parish (PJ Harvey, Dry Cleaning) the album extends a collaborative partnership that began with Khouri's acclaimed 2017 debut The Salted Air.

Her debut The Salted Air was hailed by MOJO as "A thing of dark possessed beauty" in their four-star album review, celebrated by Q as a Critics Choice record, and selected as one of Rough Trade's Albums of the Year in 2017.

Nadja’s latest full-length offering Labyrinthine, recorded during the pandemic and concurrently with their Southern Lord album Luminous Rot, finally sees a CD release on the band’s own label, Broken Spine.

Labyrinthine explores themes of identity and loss, monstrosity and regret, extreme asceticism, the differences between labyrinths and mazes, taking inspiration from Haruki Murakami’s Killing Commendatore, Ursula K. LeGuin’s The Tombs Of Atuan, and Victor Pelevin’s reinterpretation of the story of the minotaur and Ariadne, The Helmet Of Horror.

While this might be Nadja’s heaviest, doomiest album to date, it is unique in the band’s extensive catalogue as each track features a guest vocalist: Alan Dubin, legendary American vocalist from O.L.D., Khanate currently Gnaw; Rachel Davies, vocalist and bassist from the British band, Esben & The Witch; Lane Shi Otayanii, a Chinese multi-media artist and vocalist in Elizabeth Colour Wheel; and Dylan Walker, American vocalist from grindcore / noise band Full Of Hell. Nadja has released numerous albums on many different underground labels—Alien8 Recordings, Daymare Records, Robotic Empire, Hydrahead Records, Gizeh Records, and Important Records, to name a few. The duo has toured extensively around the world, including performances at such festivals as SXSW, FIMAV, Roadburn, Donaufest, Le Guess Who, Incubate, and Unsound, and has shared the stage with such artists as Earth, OM, Khanate, Tim Hecker, Ben Frost, and Godflesh.

Heavenly Recordings release a 20th anniversary vinyl of Nada Surf’s classic album Let Go. This is the first time Let Go has appeared on Heavenly vinyl.

Let Go was the third album by the New York trio Nada Surf (Matthew Caws, Daniel Lorca, Ira Eliot). By the time it was released on Heavenly in the summer of 2002, the band had already witnessed a good deal of the highs and lows of the music industry, having had a breakout MTV hit before being dropped by their US label and having to go back to 9 to 5 jobs. Sessions were entirely self-funded, with the band paying the producers in dollar bills earned from the merch table at their shows.

When a cassette of the album initially arrived at Heavenly, it was with no preconceptions, just a “you’ll like this” nod from a mutual friend. And they were right. Let Go is a power pop masterpiece - all soaring melody and closing time melancholy. It quickly became the soundtrack to day and night in the office and on release picked up glowing reviews from Q (“melodic… mature… intelligent… wistful” 4*), Rolling Stone ("Nada Surf show enough smarts and panache to leave most of their Nineties-rock peers eating hot dust” 4*) and Entertainment Weekly (“a comeback effort that grows more popular with each spin”).

Twenty years on, Let Go is getting its first ever vinyl release on Heavenly. This new cut reinstates the UK tracklisting over four sides of vinyl (previous pressings were over three sides with one side left blank - us neither).

TRACK LISTING

A1 Blizzard Of ’77
A2 The Way You Wear Your Head
A3 Fruit Fly
B1 Blonde On Blonde
B2 Inside Of Love
B3 Hi-Speed Soul
C1 No Quick Fix
C2 Killian’s Red
C3 Là Pour Ça
D1 Happy Kid
D2 Treading Water
D3 Paper Boats 

Reissued for the first time, "Fragmentos da Casa" by Brazilian percussionist Marco Bosco, was originally released in 1986, by Carmo, owned by Egberto Gismonti. Carmo also released albums by Gismonti, Piry Reis, Fernando Falcão, Nando Carneiro and André Geraissati, among others.

Brazilian percussion is a universe apart. The fusion of African and Brazilian cultures and rhythms has generated many talented musicians who have gone deep into Brazilian roots to search for its essence and thoroughly research all of our diversity. Many of the percussionists have been transformed into an "export products” worshiped worldwide: Airto Moreira, Naná Vasconcelos, Djalma Corrêa, Fernando Falcão, Pedro “Sorongo” Santos and Marco Bosco, among many others. Marco Bosco started his personal journey in the 70s, but the biggest impact happened when he released his first solo work, Metalmadeira (1983), a journey made up of acoustic and electronic textures, sons of nature, vocoders, synthesizers and sequencers.

Fragmentos da Casa, his second solo album, had a striking concept, explained by the artist himself, from the original press release : “Antagonizing the synthesized universe of digital equipment and instruments to an acoustic aesthetics; plus emphasizing the timbristic characteristics of percussion: Fragmentos da Casa is a musical interpretation of a journey - one night and one day - through the rooms of an imaginary house”In 1986, Marco Bosco's percussive arsenal was unique and extremely peculiar, containing chizanzhi, caxixis, purrinhola, requo-requo, shequeres, berimbaus and lingo drum, among other instruments.This fusion of acoustic and synthetic, promoted by some Brazilian artists in the 80's and celebrated worldwide, still brings memories to the percussionist. For him, the arrival of those electronic gadgets "was the best thing that happened on the planet".

This reissue includes a reproduction of the original artwork, new testimonies by Marco Bosco and a a long article signed by Bento Araujo, author of the series of books "Lindo S onho Delirante", which investigates audacious and fearless music produced in the Brazilian underground.

The track "Sol da Manhã" was included in "Outro Tempo"(Electronic and Contemporary Music from Brazil 1978-1992), compilation by DJ John Gomez released by Dutch music From Memory.

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A
A1. Fragmentos
A2. Sol Da Manhã
A3. Dia Claro
SIDE B
B1. Tua Casa, Minha Casa
B2. Quarto
B3. Sala
B4. Cozinha
B5. Pela Janela

Mixed by DAVID PAJO (Slint, Tortoise, Will Oldham and more..) Nadja is a duo of multi-instrumentalist Aidan Baker and bassist Leah Buckareff—active since 2005—and making music which can be described as ambient doom, dreamsludge, or metalgaze. Nadja’s signature sound combines the atmospheric textures of shoegaze and ambient/electronic music with the heaviness, density, and volume of metal, noise, and industrial. For their new album, Luminous Rot, the duo retain their overblown/ambient sound, and explore shorter and more tightly structured songs reflecting their interests not only in metal, but post-punk, cold-wave, shoegaze, and industrial. 

Thematically, Luminous Rot explores ideas of 'first contact' and the difficulties of recognising alien intelligence. This was in part inspired by reading such writers as Stanislaw Lem and Cixin Lui -- in particular, theories on astro-physics, multi-dimensionality, and spatial geometry in "The Three Body Problem" -- as well as Margaret Wertheim's "A Field Guide To Hyperbolic Space," about mathematician Daina Taimina's work with crochet to illustrate hyperbolic space and geometry.

The album was recorded between their home studio, Broken Spine Studios, or Nadja’s live rehearsal studio, both in the district of Lichtenberg, Berlin. Luminous Rot marks the first album mixed by someone else, who in this case was David Pajo. The band comment, “as big fans of Slint, we thought he might fore-front the more angular, post-punk elements of our music - the mix is quite different from our previous albums. But, as usual, we had James Plotkin (Khanate, OLD, etc) master the album as we trust his ears and aesthetic, as he's mastered numerous records of ours.”

TRACK LISTING

1 Intro
2 Luminous Rot
3 Cuts On Your Hands
4 Starres
5 Fruiting Bodies
6 Dark Inclusions

An early devotee of shoegaze and the dreamy melancholia of bands such as Mazzy Star and Sparklehorse, Khouri began her career as an acoustic singer-songwriter in New York, selfreleasing her first EP ‘A Song to the City’. Returning to London, she was eventually discovered by producer John Parish (PJ Harvey, This is the Kit) and began writing songs for what would become her first LP, ‘The Salted Air’ released in 2017. The album earned plaudits from the likes of MOJO and Drowned In Sound, was celebrated by Q (Feb 2017 Critics Choice) and selected as one of Rough Trade’s Albums of the Year 2017. In the past year, Khouri has toured in the UK and Europe and has shared the stage with artists such as Low, John Parish, Aldous Harding, H. Hawkline, Howe Gelb, Adrian Crowley, and many more.

Self-produced and recorded in London in between touring commitments, Khouri’s latest offering was mixed by Alan Weatherhead (Sparklehorse, Julien Baker) and is a powerful return from her acclaimed debut. If her debut ‘The Salted Air’ were an allegory for displacement, in ‘A New Dawn’ Khouri has found the shore and displays a quiet, newfound confidence. The title track, which premiered on CLASH in August, opens with droning harmonium, cascades of tremolo guitar and mermaid-like backing vocals.

‘To Sleep’ sees violinist Basia Bartz doubling Khouri’s nylon string guitar in a pizzicato set against swelling harmonium, piano and flurries of guitar delay. Penned as “a lullaby she wrote from the point of view of a younger self” in a war zone, Khouri deals with the sounds of shelling by singing herself to sleep: “Teach me / A melody / So I can hum myself to sleep”. The beautifully arranged EP highlights Khouri’s talent for creating songs that feel both vast and intimate, as her sumptuous vocal takes centre-stage with poignant lyrics set against delicate atmospheric soundscapes.

TRACK LISTING

1. A New Dawn
2. To Sleep
3. The Hours

The eighth album from Marissa Nadler, For My Crimes, is the sound of turmoil giving way to truth. The songs stare down the dark realization that love may not be enough to keep two people together through distance and differing needs. By asking these difficult questions about her relationships, Nadler has found a stronger sense of self and a sharper voice as both a songwriter and a vocalist, culminating in her most evocative entry in an already impressive discography. 

Following the release of 2016’s acclaimed Strangers, Nadler’s relationships were put to the test as she left the Boston area on tour. She wrote throughout 2017 about this tension, and ended up with three times as many songs as she needed. But after reviewing the demos with her co-producers Justin Raisen and Lawrence Rothman, Nadler wrote a flurry of tight but no less intense new songs in the week before arriving at Rothman’s Laurel Canyon studio, House of Lux, in early January. She considered it a challenge to herself, applying new strategies and structures to the craft of “slow music” she’s honed over the last 15 years. From that group of songs came nearly all of the singles on For My Crimes, some of the most indelible of Nadler’s career.

The opening title track is classic Nadler: a sweeping, vaguely Southern drama of voices, strings, and acoustic guitar, that walks the fine line between character song and personal indictment by metaphor. “For My Crimes” spawned out of a songwriting exercise in which Nadler wrote from the perspective of someone on death row, but the song casts a dark shadow over an album that turns marital conflict into inner reflection. Helping Nadler dig down into the song’s remorseful soul is her old friend Angel Olsen, who serves as a distraught echo from beyond in the chorus.

“Blue Vapor” has an intoxicating raw energy luring you in, somewhere between Springsteen and a grunge band playing MTV Unplugged back in the day. It feels at once tight and improvisational, balancing on little more than Nadler’s steady strumming and vulnerable harmonies with Kristin Kontrol (of Dum Dum Girls), until the heavy, purposeful style of Hole drummer Patty Schemel conjures chaos in the second half. This slow burn feeling is all too appropriate for a song centred around repeating patterns and creeping numbness in a relationship. “Blue Vapor” names that strange ambivalence and turns it into a chant that hangs in the air long after the song ends.

Dreaminess and eeriness have often been two sides of the same coin in Marissa Nadler songs. Where “For My Crimes” and “Blue Vapor” come from her dark side, the album has plenty of moments that twinkle in their sadness and sentimentality. “I Can’t Listen to Gene Clark Anymore” is one of those highly specific songs you’ll get if you’ve ever lost a favourite band to your own broken heart. It sways perfectly in its bittersweet-ness, like a slow dance you never want to end. After the strings swell and the bass pedals kick in, Nadler coos, “Cause I remember/The songs you sang/To me when it was you/I was falling for.” Later, closing track “Said Goodbye To That Car” turns a final odometer reading into a rhythm for a catchy, wistful hook: “1-1-9-6-5-7, and the engine blew/“1-1-9-6-5-7, and I thought of you,” Nadler lulls, harmonizing with herself. It’s an ingenious way to capture the end of an era in one small moment, and she moves as delicately as you would handling an old photo with her sweet oohs.

Bolstering the intimacy of these songs is the strong feminine energy that defined their recording. Between Rothman’s fluidity with both gender and genre (as heard on his 2017 album The Book of Law), and Raisen’s track record of successful collaborations with strong women (Olsen, Kim Gordon, Charli XCX), Nadler felt empowered to explore without judgement in the studio. With the exception of a single saxophonist, every player on the album is a woman of notable pedigree and distinct style, many of whom have played with Nadler over the years. In addition to the cameos by Angel Olsen and Kristin Kontrol, Sharon Van Etten sings backup on “I Can’t Listen to Gene Clark Anymore” and “Lover Release Me.” Mary Lattimore joins on harp for “Are You Really Gonna Move to the South,” while the great experimental multi-instrumentalist Janel Leppin plays strings throughout the record.

These women and others helped make For My Crimes as dynamic as it is intimate, but Nadler’s mesmerizing voice—stripped of nearly all reverb—is what sits at the center of these songs. You can hear the emotional range of her performances more than ever before, from the spectral harmonizing of “Are You Really Gonna Move To The South” to the cheeky boredom of “All Out Of Catastrophes,” two other highlights. As a singer, she has never sounded more confident than she does here.

Adding to the album’s deeply personal feeling is its abstracted artwork, featuring Nadler’s original oil paintings. Though Nadler is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and a semi-retired art teacher (she has one student left—a 95-year-old named Doris), For My Crimes marks the first album cover bearing one of her paintings. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Nadler has never failed to tickle the feels with her own brand of gothic acousticry, slowly morphing from quiet folk ballads into grand, echoic anthems. Layering Nadler's haunting vocals on top of each-other to great effect and underpinned with a spine-tinglingly haunting instrumental sensibility, this is without a doubt, her greatest work. Beautiful.

TRACK LISTING

1 For My Crimes
2 I Can't Listen To Gene Clark Anymore
3 Are You Really Going To Move To The South?
4 Lover Release Me
5 Blue Vapor
6 Interlocking
7 All Out Of Catastrophes
8 Dream Dream Big In The Sky
9 You're Only Harmless When You Sleep
10 Flame Thrower
11 Said Goodbye To That Car

Here to remind us that music is not just an audible experience, Minneapolis/New York’s Nadine make melodies that transcend acoustics. Their debut album oh my is collection of sophisticated modern pop songs that resonate in the gaps, the space between deadlines and timelines.

More akin to poetry set to music, Nadine is all about exploring feeling. Whilst most poets revel in the personal, Nadine's process is collaborative whose core is singer Nadia Hulett (part of the loose collective Phantom Posse) and Julian Fader and Carlos Hernandez (both of Ava Luna). The trio's practice is marked by their commitment to playfulness, curiosity, and fluidity.

Nadine's songs have one foot standing firm in pop, but ebb and flow with exploration and experiment. Polyphonic melodies swing and gambol, instrumental layers take generous flourishes and unexpected turns with an ear to the wondrous and occasionally weird, crafting jazz-tinged lounge-pop all held together by Hulett’s characteristic vocals, strong with a sincerity and gentleness that holds the listener. Let go of old ideas. Listen for tricks of the light. What does it feel like?

TRACK LISTING

Side A:
#53
Nook
Ultra Pink
Plinth
Not My Kinda Movie
New Step
That Neon Sign

Side B:
Pews
Contigo
Little Self In The Garden
Can’t Be Helped
Peace In The Valley

Nadia Sirota’s new album ‘Tessellatum’ is released via Bedroom Community. ‘Tessellatum’ is an album and a film, with music composed by Donnacha Dennehy and animation by Steven Mertens, performed by violist Nadia Sirota and gamba player Liam Byrne.

The film and the music both work with the idea of man vs. nature. Steven Mertens’ electric animation toggles back and forth between man-made geometric perfection and the natural oddness of the deep ocean. Donnacha Dennehy’s addictive timbres move between tuning systems created by humans and the ones found in natural resonance. As a result, the two elements support and enhance each other, using the same form and structure to create an incredibly moving work of art.

All fifteen string parts were performed by Nadia Sirota and Liam Byrne on viola and bass viol. The album was recorded in Iceland’s famed Greenhouse Studios by Paul Evans and mixed by Valgeir Sigurðsson. Produced by Nadia Sirota. Music composed by Donnacha Dennehy. Performed by Nadia Sirota (violas) and Liam Byrne (bass viols).

For most of us, 2016 was a tumultuous and ugly year - one steeped in political chaos and an air of uncertainty. For Nadine Shah, these headlines had been a big part of her life for years and ‘Holiday Destination’ - her brilliant and compelling third album out on 1965 Records - sees her stepping out of the shadow of the complicated relationships she examined on her second album ‘Fast Food’ and taking account of the world at large.

Shah pulls no punches, exploring equally pertinent, difficult topics with similar intelligence and personality; from global issues such as the Calais refugee crisis and the Syrian civil war, to the more personal problems of inner turmoil surrounding the pressure of social conforming, the state of our mental health and simply encouraging others to have empathy. However, despite its themes, ‘Holiday Destination’ is anything but a difficult listen. From the off it immediately becomes apparent that Shah and collaborator, co-writer and producer Ben Hillier’s knack for sharp hooks and rhythms have only progressed further.

For Shah, the first ideas for ‘Holiday Destination’ came back in 2014: “I saw this really shocking news piece. It was about migrants and refugees turning up on the shores of Kos in Greece by the thousands. There were some holidaymakers being interviewed and they were talking about how ‘they’re really ruining our holiday’. The fact that they had no shame in saying that whilst being interviewed, on national television... it really shocked me. This is what I am seeing across the globe: people unashamedly saying these awful things. It’s like, wow - people really don’t care and they’ll happily talk about how they don’t care. That’s why it’s called ‘Holiday Destination’.”

TRACK LISTING

Place Like This
Holiday Destination
2016
Out The Way
Yes Men
Evil
Ordinary
Relief
Mother Fighter
Jolly Sailor

A richness of voice; a depth of emotion; and wise beyond her years; with Listen To Formation, Look For the Signs, 23-year-old New Zealand native Nadia Reid has claimed her place as one of the country’s most evocative and profound young songwriters. Her music traces the sharp mountain peaks, azure coastline, and mirrored images of the land and sky that pinpoint her home country’s vast open landscapes.

“For me, inspiration for writing happens everywhere,” explains Nadia. “On buses, airplanes, walking, driving… it can be very unpredictable. My songs have a strong connection to the places they were written, from Port Chalmers, to Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland.”

Whether nerding about with friends, stunning audiences into silence with her spellbinding live shows or unwinding in the tranquillity of her favourite hometown spot overlooking Port Chalmers’ harbour through her large-rimmed spectacles, Nadia Reid has achieved a gloriously fresh and eloquent new folk sound. “I’ve been in New Zealand my whole life and guess at times I take for granted the serene beauty that I live so closely with,” she says of her music’s majestic affiliation with nature. Mapping out tales of change and loss, whilst drawing inspiration from reading, writing, the human condition, falling in and out of love, death, and birth - it all lends to a superbly balanced album that moves surreptitiously between sparse and fragile melancholia to beautifully brutal lyricism with a philosophical maturity that bellies her years.

Born in Auckland, Nadia’s acoustic roots stem from an upbringing in a musical household where attending folk clubs and festivals were regular occurrences on the family calendar. “I was lucky to witness a lot of live music and theatre performances because my mum was an actress. I was encouraged to learn piano and guitar, and attended a Steiner school where we spent a lot of time in nature, singing songs.” Before long Nadia was listening to The Be Good Tanyas with friend and fellow recording artist Aldous Harding, which spurred her chosen career path. “There was something spiritual about the Tanyas’ records - I vividly remember the goose-bump feelings up my arms, a true connection to the lyrics and vocals,” she recalls. “[Aldous] was the first person who told me I had a good voice and I thank her for that. I admire her as an artist and writer, and we like to keep up with what each other is up to.”

Creating her own enchanting wonderworld, each of Nadia’s songs explores the elements; truly organic, her vocals ebb, flow and soar but are always ignited with fire from the gut. Her lyrics clearly reference lush landscapes but equally reflect alienation provided by the surrounding Pacific Ocean and mortality of living in such close proximity to Mother Nature’s wrath, as experienced whilst living in Christchurch at the time of 2011’s devastating earthquake. “It shook the city to its core,” Nadia recalls. “I’m sure living through it has shaped my personality and writing. My first EP was recorded just months afterwards, it was a strange time. We were all quite fragile, but I was braver somehow.”

Boldly infusing folk with full flavour, Listen To Formation, Look For The Signs was produced by Ben Edwards, owner of Lyttelton Records in his Sitting Room studios with Nadia’s band consisting bassist Richie Pickard, guitarist Sam Taylor and percussionist Joe McCallum. Whilst 'Reaching Through’s rich but unhurried nature evokes She Hangs Brightly -era Mazzy Star and intricate nuances of Beth Orton are recalled on lead single ‘Call The Days’ which talks of moving to a new town and was the first song penned after Nadia moved from Christchurch to Wellington; spurred on by a “panic attack” and being “worried about making the right choices in life”. Elsewhere ‘Runway’ and ‘Some Are Lucky’ immediately channel Nadia’s love of TBGT’s Jolie Holland and appreciation for New Zealand’s Maori music by Maisey Rika and Anika Moa, plus the inspirational narratives of Kenyan-born Somali poet Warsan Shire.

"It has all that well-smoked wisdom, that mingling of strength and yearning that seems to charge the work of all my favourite female artists – Laura Marling, The Weather Station, Sharon Van Etten and Tift Merritt, to name but four. Reid is just 23, and since I am loathe to run that “old beyond her years” line, let us simply say that when I hear a young artist making an album as soulful and rich and self-possessed as Listen to Formation, Look for the Signs, I feel so thrilled not only for the existence of that record but for all the music they will make over all the years to come.” THE GUARDIAN.

TRACK LISTING

Runway
Track Of The Time
Reaching Through
Holy Low
Just To Feel Alive
Seasons Change
Some Are Lucky
Ruby
Call The Days
Holy Loud

Umbra Sum is Ed Sánchez-Gómez, a Costa Rican expatriate. Following a love/hate relationship with classical guitar studies at the University of Costa Rica, Umbra Sum emerged in 2003 as a way of reconciling with the instrument. After leaving Costa Rica, Ed wandered around Europe and later Argentina, where he acquired a taste for the South American folk music that permeates his work. He left Argentina to study improvisation in Chicago, where he currently resides.

'Aún no has demostrado nada' is the first official release by Umbra Sum: an eclectic mini-album that has hints of the summertime harmonies of the Beach Boys, the psychedelic folk of Los Jaivas, the doleful spirit of Hood, and the melodious uproar of My Bloody Valentine and Dinosaur Jr.

In this debut album, harmonious noise, snaking rhythms and layered voices all serve as a chorus that creates a lyrical mural, hearkening to the heavens and earth: like a rudimentary yet well-made treehouse made of exotic woods, projecting out from within the dense Indie-Rock forest that surrounds us.

'Aún no has demostrado nada' was recorded by Ed Sánchez-Gómez in Evanston, IL; mixed by Joel Jiménez-Cabezas in Goshen, IN; and mastered by Jeff Lipton (Arcade Fire, Bon Iver, The Magnetic Fields) at Peerless Mastering in Boston, MA.

TRACK LISTING

1. Años Como Flores
2. Que El Verano Nos Perdone
3. Nuestro Imposible
4. ¿Quién Dijo Miedo?
5. Aún No Has Demostrado Nada
6. Hazmerreír
7. Dulce Reposo