For their fifth collaboration Marc Barreca and Kerry Leimer set aside their more abstract creative approaches to composition in favor of basing the music of Arrhythmian on beats. Using rhythm as texture, the tracks gravitate to concussive and bass voices, high bpm rates, and constantly evolving timbres shaped by granular synthesis, sampling, heavy processing, audio manipulation, rich distortion, with the maximum dynamic range vinyl can offer. “We’re always thinking about sound quality, about what’s possible in a recording for vinyl demands a very specific approach. Pitch, dynamics, layering, density all play a more significant role in analog recording and reproduction,” says Leimer, as Barreca continues, “Let’s just say it’s not music you can dance to...” Arrhythmian is released as a double disc vinyl set, produced to safely allow the grooves their maximum possible excursion while giving one’s stylus a rewarding and demanding workout. Marc Barreca and Kerry Leimer have worked on a nearly parallel musical course for more than forty years. Nearly parallel because their musical paths do occasionally cross. First in 1980 with “Four Pages From An Unfinished Novel” on K. Leimer’s first solo album Closed System Potentials. Again during the live performance of Music For Land And Water and for the massive loop piece “Heart Of Stillness” from The Neo-Realist (At Risk) by the virtual group Savant. K. Leimer founded Palace Of Lights in 1979 and has been actively producing music since the mid 1970s. Marc Barreca has created and performed electronic music since the mid-1970s. His 1980 vinyl album, Twilight, was among the first releases for Palace of Lights Records. Their work is part of the Collection of the British Library. With Steve Peters, Leimer and Barreca form the collaborative trio Three Point Circle

TRACK LISTING

1. Panic For Ideas
2. Exfiltration
3. Engulfed
4. My Missing Years
5. Misplaced Trust
6. Haze Of Being
7. Caldera
8. Acquired Learning
9. Known To Some
10. Loss Of Will
11. Agonists
12. From The Rubble
13. The Impartiality Of Sound

Armed with an already extensive back-catalogue of stunning music, Palace return with the announcement of their brand new, deeply personal, fourth studio album, Ultrasound - out April 5th, 2024. The record’s production sees the band reunited with Adam Jaffery, 8 years after working together on their debut album, and arrives off the back of ‘Part I - When Everything Was Lost’ and ‘Part II - Nightmares & Ice Cream’, the band’s 2023 companion EPs. While writing the first batch of songs for the album, frontman Leo Wyndham’s partner suffered a late miscarriage, which left the band’s chief song-writer bereft and adrift. Ultrasound naturally became an open diary of their year-long struggle from devastation to deliverance.

“It was incredibly hard to comprehend what had happened, how to deal with it and how to move forward,” Leo says. “The album is the journey of that absolutely earth-shattering experience - starting with a loss, then a period of processing, and then finally acceptance, release and growth. And being in awe of women within that. Their dignity, strength and courage in how they can deal with these things that feel beyond a man.”

Volume 4 of Krust's career spanning collection is here, boasting some serious deep dives into his archives alongside some serious classics that every DJ and listener should own! Once again, this collection shows the breadth of Krust's anachronistic style and original flavour. Often imitated, but never bettered, this latest instalment once again shows it should be done. Truly original and engaging music from the streets of Bristol.

'Irrational Numbers' is a meticulously curated collection of five parts, available on both vinyl and digital formats. The compilation is a treasure trove of hand-picked records and archival gems from Krust's extensive discography, thoughtfully remastered and presented anew for both devoted fans and newcomers.

'Irrational Numbers' features a dizzying array of self-released 12" cuts, exclusive unreleased VIPs and dub-plates, alongside epic major label widescreen classics. It's an unmissable journey through the sonic output of one of the UK's most distinctive and forward-looking producers.

Volume 4 offers up the dubplate only mix of 'Asian Love Dance' for example, the anthemic 'Jazz Note II' for the heads and futuristic roller '21st Century' as well the groundbreaking 'Coded Language' featuring the stellar vocal talents of NYC poet and MC Saul Williams.

For longtime Krust enthusiasts, this project serves as a fond reminder of the boundless creativity and originality that flourished during the early 1990s and beyond. For those new to his work, it presents an enthralling introduction to innovative electronic music that has comfortably set the tone for generations to come. Get ready to experience the evolution of sound and immerse yourself in the visionary artistry of Krust.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: The forth volume of Krust's essential back catalogue collection further reinforces the ingenuity and originality of this UK stalwart. Alongside Dillinger, I can't think of anyone who engineers basslines better. There's so much weight and funk to his bottom end! We're four volumes in and the quality is still sky high! One of the best to do it, amply demonstrated across this collection.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Angles
A2. Asian Love Dance (Remix)
B1. Jazz Note II
B2. Burning (Alt. Mix)
C. 21st Century
D1. Not Necessarily A Man
D2. Coded Language Ft. Saul Williams 

Write. Record. Break. Recategorize. Reassemble. In K. Leimer’s most recent work, he returns to his long running interest in developing relationships in sound that are not composed, not planned, not under conscious influence or control. Phrases and patterns emerge from dense layering and editing; melodic elements are split apart, re-voiced and reset in successive contexts. A music of distressed fragments, Spall originates from acoustic, electric, synthesized, manipulated, torn, and piece-work audio that combines into complex, layered, and flowing pieces of unexpected turns and contrasts. Modified, melted, and shaped into shifting sonic environments that fuse the clear signal with the distorted, the recognizable with ambiguous, Spall is music mined from an abandoned quarry.

TRACK LISTING

1. Implied Music
2. Aimless Plight
3. Vagary
4. Compartments
5. Passive Search
6. In Difficulty
7. Forage

Welcome to the unmissable second part of this momentous collection, collecting the output of a true outlier in UK creative culture, an artist that has helped change the landscape of electronic music, KRUST.

Introducing 'Irrational Numbers,' a meticulously curated collection of five parts, available on both vinyl and digital formats. This compilation is a treasure trove of hand-picked records and archival gems from Krust's extensive discography, thoughtfully remastered and presented anew for both devoted fans and newcomers.

'Irrational Numbers' features a dizzying array of self-released 12" cuts, exclusive unreleased VIPs and dub-plates, alongside epic major label widescreen classics. It's an unmissable journey through the sonic output of one of the UK's most distinctive and forward-looking producers.

This 2nd volume of seminal and forward thinking music from the legendary Bristol producer and DJ boasts a plethora of unmissable cuts; the staccato and clipped jazz funk of 'Blaze Dis One', the widescreen epic futurism of 'True Stories' and the all-time classic anthem 'Warhead' all feature, proving what a formidable and original force Krust is.

For longtime Krust enthusiasts, this project serves as a fond reminder of the boundless creativity and originality that flourished during the early 1990s and beyond. For those new to his work, it presents an enthralling introduction to innovative electronic music that has comfortably set the tone for generations to come. Get ready to experience the evolution of sound and immerse yourself in the visionary artistry of Krust.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Quiz Show 
A2. Witchcraft 
B1. Blaze Dis One 
B2. DJ 
C1. True Stories 
D1. Warhead (Steppa Mix) 
D2. The Last Day 

From the instrumental cinematic-soul outfit behind 2021's critically acclaimed The Black Stone Affair comes Whatitdo Archive Group's most recent foray into the realms of the esoteric and arcane, and their most adventurous album to date.

After The Black Stone Affair enthralled record collectors by traversing the cinematic landscape of an imagined 1970s Spaghetti Western, Palace Of A Thousand Sounds finds Whatitdo Archive Group entrenched deeper in the worlds of mid-century exotica and library music—from the Tropicalia-steeped Amazon to the minor key tonalities of the far-out Near East.

When the dust finally settled from their debut album, composer and tireless sound scientist Alexander Korostinsky set out to discover the band's new direction, with the ultimate goal to breathe new life into the mid-century era sound with the compass of modernity as his guide.

From its conception in 2021, Palace has sought to carry on a legacy set in motion by the likes of Martin Denny, Les Baxter and Juan García Esquivel. Korostinsky, guitarist Mark Sexton, and drummer Aaron Chiazza recorded the album in marathon sessions from Korostinsky's Studio "A," in Reno, Nevada—a mysterious sonic laboratory where the year 1970 has yet to happen, and vintage analog equipment interfaces with modern musical perspectives and experimental recording techniques to produce era-defining sounds.

Not content to appeal to the sensibilities of armchair anthropologists, Palace Of A Thousand Sounds finds the band interrogating the genre itself while making studious tributes to the real places and times it draws from. It's in this tension between here and there, fantasy and reality, that Whatitdo Archive Group find their groove.

Drawing from a century of pop and folk sounds from around the world the way only 21st-century crate-diggers can, Palace is rooted in an undercurrent of heavy funk that is decidedly here and now. Whatitdo Archive Group showcase the breadth of their influences with disarming confidence, equally at home behind sweeping harp, loungey vibraphone or Turkish bağlama saz. A lush seventeen-piece orchestra commanded by award-winning composer Louis King (Janelle Monáe, Monophonics) completes the instrumental mélange, enticing listeners to imagine a borderless planet unified by melody and rhythm.

The album is unafraid to explore the strange and uncomfortable in pursuit of an authentic musical identity, subverting expectations in pursuit of forwarding the genre while paying homage to its past. Fans will appreciate the architectural complexity of the record accessible only through multiple listens—each visit to the palace yielding new details to marvel at, curiosities to ponder, grand mysteries to explore.

Once the needle drops, W.A.G carefully guides you from room to room, sound to sound within the walls of the album's sonic palace. Listening becomes an aural journey providing glimpses into different worlds both real and imagined; you are everywhere and nowhere all at once—a guest in the grand halls and hanging gardens of time and sound.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Cinematic and engrossing arrangements which drift between stylistic boundaries. This Milanese group should be on the radar of lovers of global grooves and esoteric exotica.

TRACK LISTING

1. Enter The Palace
2. Beyond The Crimson Veil
3. Astral-Desia
4. Delirium
5. Exotique
6. Sun Harp
7. The Cashmere Chamber
8. Iron Tusk
9. Secrets In The Sand
10. Mirage
11. Ritual Of Gods
12. The Second Moon
13. Forbidden Cove

Manchester band Afflecks Palace return with their sophomore LP.

Produced by J. Fender, Afflecks Palace vocalist and Spirit Of Spike Island label boss said “This album is an ode to escapism from the modern day obsession with superficial status, wealth and success - propelled by social media F.O.M.O (fear of missing out)”.

If you're not from round here, the band are named after the legendary shopping emporium which is just down the road from us. Afflecks Palace was, and still is, a mecca for all things "alternative"( a word from back in the day!) and rose to fame during the heady days of Madchester. It was also  home to the Identity clothing shop which became famous for it's legendary "On  The Sixth Day God  Created Manchester" t-shirts.

Afflecks Palace are real music magpies, in the best possible sense. They've taken the energy and attitude of '89 and created super melodic guitar gems that tip their (bucket) hat to The Stone Roses, Inspirals and the like, as well as plundering classic pop from the 60s via Britpop and right  through to the present day. In doing so they've managed to create their own euphoric, hook filled sound. 

The new soundtrack to dancing til the sun comes up and weekends mooching around the Northern Quarter, thers's just a vibe and spirit around this band that's gonna be difficult to resist.

STAFF COMMENTS

Andy says: Like a greatest hits of Manchester music, all rolled up into one jangling, baggy, indie-pop nugget, this band are gonna go far.

TRACK LISTING

1. Dancing Is Not A Crime
2. Holidays
3. Wide Eyes On The Night Bus
4. WAKE UP!
5. Patchwork Quilted Veins
6. Big Fish, Small Pond
7. Ghosts On The Underground
8. I'm So Glad You're On Ecstasy
9. Hey Stranger
10. Find Your Place

Jules Maxwell is keyboard player with Dead Can Dance, and as well as being in the band for their forthcoming tour, he will also play a solo set as support each night.

Cycles is the latest album of work by Irish composer Jules Maxwell whose music has featured at London's National Theatre, The Royal Opera House, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and The Roundhouse. Cycles is an exquisite album of meditative instrumental music. It is quiet and circular in nature but deeply atmospheric and dramatic at moments.

Recorded in 1984 for a special performance for a satellite TV broadcast, this iconic gig at The Camden Palace features Middleton’s finest on top of their game and includes songs taken from ‘Script of the Bridge’ & ‘What Does Anything Mean? Basically’...

Released on vinyl for the first time, this album also includes 4 bonus tracks from the Arsenal concert, which was recorded for an independent Catalonian local tv channel, in 1985...

The cover art has been exclusively designed by Chams guitarist Red Smithies, who designed all official Chameleons studio releases.

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
1 Don't Fall 4:14
2 Intrigue In Tangiers 3:22
3 Monkeyland 4:29
4 Second Skin 5:40

Side 2
5 Singing Rule Britannia (While The Walls Close In) 3:40
6 Pleasure And Pain 4:04
7 Return Of The Roughnecks 3:28
8 A Person Isn't Safe 4:47

Side 3
9 In Shreds 3:59
10 Splitting In Two 6:28 (ATV Cover Version)
11 Here Today 3:55
12 Thursday's Child 3:16
13 Paper Tiger 4:01

Side 4 - Bonus Tracks From The Arsenal Gig, Recorded For An Independent Catalonian TV Show Called "temps Estranys" (strange Times..!).
14. Return Of The Roughnecks
15. Less Than Human
16 Splitting In Two
17.Here Today

Following a limited 7” vinyl release of Sun Palace edits in 2020, BBE Music finally delivers the full-length versions of Moodymann and Kenny Dope’s ‘Rude Movements’ remixes, alongside brand new interpretations by François K, Frankie Feliciano and OPOLOPO, plus a special edit by Phil Asher. François Kevorkian needs no introduction to fans of House and electronic music. Featuring keys by Eric Kupper, his ‘SATS Dub’ and ‘TradMix’ versions of ‘Rude Movements’ are simply classic works, summoning House music’s golden era forward in time, to the here and now. Bonus spaced-out ‘Flerken Space Bubbles’ and beat-less ‘Atmosphere’ revisions are also included in the digital version: both invaluable tools for DJs. Ricanstruction label founder and long-time champion of the good groove, Frankie Feliciano delivers a slick and faithful update of ‘Rude Movements’, with a slight Latin soul twist. Swedish mix-king OPOLOPO turns in a typically live-sounding, funky and dancefloor-ready jam (ready whenever the dancefloor is, anyway) The full, extended version of Moodymann’s remix retains the original jammed feel of Rude Movements, adding stellar flute, sax and piano solos to that hypnotic vibe. Kenny Dope’s Afro-Latin inspired ‘Dancefloor Powder’ version is joined this time by a rough’n’ready, street tough ‘O'Gutta’ mix; calling all b-boys and b-girls!

Made famous by David Mancuso at his New York Loft Parties, ‘Rude Movements’ was an obscure Brit-funk b-side recorded in the home studio of Mike Collins. The track’s unique sound, coupled with pristine sonics and production values caught the audiophile ears of Mancuso, and the rest is history. Soon the track found its way into the hands of Loft Party denizens Larry Levan, Nicky Siano, Frankie Knuckles and Danny Krivit and continues to influence house and electronic producers through to this day.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says:

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Rude Movements (Moodyman Remix - Extended Version) (8:28)
2. Rude Movements (Frankie Feliciano Remix) (6:12)

Side B
1. Rude Movements (Kenny Dope Dancefloor Powder Remix) (8:11)

Side C
1. Rude Movements (OPOLOPO Remix - Extended Version) (7:15)
2. Rude Movements (Kenny Dope O'Gutta Remix - Extended Version) (6:37)

Side D
1. Rude Movements (Francois K SATS Dub) (10:10)

Recorded live on 9th November 2018 (their only UK show of 2018), ‘education entertainment recreation’ is a brand new live album from London’s Alexandra Palace.

Sonically spectacular, spanning 2 hours 20 minutes, the show joyously mixed New Order classics, their latest acclaimed album ‘Music Complete’ and Joy Division’s finest.

Opening with ‘Singularity’ from ‘Music Complete’, they eased back in time to 1993’s ‘Regret’, to ‘Love Vigilantes’ from 1985’s ‘Low-Life’ to ‘Ultraviolence from 1983 debut ‘Power, Corruption and Lies’.

Later, their power over the dance floor was proven by sublime performances in the manner of the celebrated extended 12 inch remixes they are synonymous with - on ‘True Faith’, ‘Blue Monday’ and ‘Temptation’ before a Joy Division mini set to end.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: This superb set from Alexandra Palace sees New Order in peak form, and perfectly captures the raw energy and unbelievable musicianship of this legendary band. A perfect mix of older material and new, with all the hits being perfectly placed throughout. Presented in gorgeous triple LP, double CD and even one format with a blue ray of the show! Essential.

TRACK LISTING

2CD Set
CD 1:
1. Introduction
2. Singularity
3. Regret
4. Love Vigilantes
5. Ultraviolence
6. Disorder
7. Crystal
8. Academic
9. Your Silent Face
10. Subculture
CD 2:
1. BLT
2. Vanishing Point
3. Waiting For The Sirens Call
4. Plastic
5. Perfect Kiss
6. True Faith
7. Blue Monday
8. Temptation
9. Atmosphere
10. Decades
11. Love Will Tear Us Apart

2CD/ BluRay
2CD Tracklisting As Above
BluRay (Film)
1. Introduction
2. Singularity
3. Regret
4. Love Vigilantes
5. Ultraviolence
6. Disorder
7. Crystal
8. Academic
9. Your Silent Face
10. Tutti Fruitti
11. Subculture
12. BLT
13. Vanishing Point
14. Waiting For The Sirens Call
15. Plastic
16. Perfect Kiss
17. True Faith
18. Blue Monday
19. Temptation
20. Atmosphere
21. Decades
22. Love Will Tear Us Apart

3LP Set
LP 1 / Side 1
Introduction
Singularity
Regret
Love Vigilantes
Ultraviolence
LP 1 / Side 2
Disorder
Crystal
Academic
Your Silent Face
LP 2 / Side 1
Sub Culture
BLT
Vanishing Point
LP 2 / Side 2
Waiting For The Sirens’ Call
Plastic
Perfect Kiss
LP 3 / Side 1
True Faith
Blue Monday
Temptation
LP 3 / Side 2
Atmosphere
Decades
Love Will Tear Us Apart

With Brexit upon us, MUCK AND THE MIRES and London’s own Dirty Water Records have raised the garage rock banner high over the palace proclaiming a new chapter in rock and roll. This new full-length, produced by the legendary Jim Diamond (White Stripes, The Fleshtones, The Sonics) features a royal 14 songs, allowing the group to explore deep all of their favorite rock sub genres. There’s the Power Pop punch of “Cupid’s Not A Friend of Mine”, '70s AM gold sounds on “Too Soon To Fall In Love”, a bit of Psychedelia in the form of “Strange Waves”, gritty garage-punk (“I’m Your Man”) and a return to their Merseybeat roots with “Don’t Start Running Away” Boston's International ambassadors of garage rock 'n' roll, Muck and the Mires, have been described as a blend of the Hamburg era Beatles and the CBGBs era Ramones.

Their songs are reminiscent of the 1960's British Invasion, all two minutes long and ALL POTENTIAL HITS! Their live show is a high energy blast of fast-paced, post-punk gritty garage rock and roll. They have built a worldwide following through relentless touring, radio and satellite airplay and a string of recordings, produced by Kim Fowley and Jim Diamond, considered by many to be cult classics. In 2004 the band gained worldwide recognition when they were featured on MTV as the winners of Little Steven Van Zandt's (E-Street Band/Underground Garage) national battle of the garage bands contest. The band has performed coast-to-coast in the USA, UK, EU, South America, Canada & Japan. Sharing bills with many of their heroes including The Sonics, NY Dolls, Ray Davies, Flamin' Groovies, The Stooges, Paul Collins Beat, The Fleshtones, The Remains, and even Beatle Pete Best. The palace gates are open and all our invited in for a smashing time. Long live Rock and Roll and Greetings From Muckingham Palace! MUCK AND THE MIRES and Dirty Water Records raise the garage rock banner high over the palace, proclaiming a new chapter in rock and roll. 

TRACK LISTING

1 This Time
2 I'm Your Man
3 Too Soon To Fall In Love
4 Strange Waves
5 Mint Condition
6 Sunny Feeling
7 Don't Start Running Away
8 Messed Up Mary
9 The Way It Was Before
10 Cupid
11 Hashtag Loneliness
12 Good Enough
13 Act Fast
14 Break It All

In June 2020, mid lockdown, Nick Cave performed a live set in the vast grandeur of in the West Hall of London's Alexandra Palace. The performance, featuring just Nick at the piano, was filmed and streamed in July and was a beautifully sombre affair that sat perfectly with the mood and uncertainty of the time. 

In recent years Nick has performed several solo shows with just a piano, covering material spanning his entire career, but whether it is the shadow cast by the global pandemic or the majestic splendour of the location, this songs here seem somehow more poignant than ever. Although recorded in such a vast space it is the intimacy of the performance that makes it such a compelling listen. Wonderful.

The Telegraph ****
"Cave's solo live stream could be the most the beautiful and sombre performance he's ever given"

The Guardian ****
"Cave’s performance in an empty hall, with just piano and voice, seems to try and ward off the terrifying silence of the Covid-19 age”

Evening Standard ****
"Gravitas echoes beautifully in the void of an empty Alexandra Palace"

The Independent ****
"‘Idiot Prayer’ performance is stately and beautiful”

The Arts Desk ****
"The dramatic minimalism of this setting is perfect for an expressive face, and such powerfully emotional songs”

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: There is absolutely no stopping Nick Cave. Even a global pandemic can't halt his transformative live show, and the bleak solemnity of one man and a piano only serves to exacerbate the intoxicating experience.

TRACK LISTING

Spinning Song
Jubilee Street
Far From Me
Idiot Prayer
Sad Waters
He Wants You
Brompton Oratory
Higgs Boson Blues
Palaces Of Montezuma
Stranger Than Kindness
Into My Arms
Girl In Amber
The Ship Song
Man In The Moon
Nobody's Baby Now
Papa Won't Leave You, Henry
Black Hair
(Are You) The One That I’ve Been Waiting For?
Galleon Ship
Waiting For You
The Mercy Street
Euthanasia

Four years after their critically acclaimed debut on Static Caravan Records, Manchester / Dundee based duo Art Of The Memory Palace announce their highly anticipated new EP, ‘Dusk at Trellick Tower’. With this new work, the duo accelerate their trajectory since 2015’s incendiary debut, ’This Life Is But A Passing Dream.’ Upon its release the latter was called “Fresh and euphoric…an incredible debut” by The Quietus and “Fantastically addictive” by The Sunday Herald, while Shindig! Magazine proclaimed, “A spine-chillingly satisfying journey into kraut-influenced electronica”. In the years since, AOTMP have released a split 7” with esteemed Welsh psych label Fruits de Mer Records, a long sold-out spoken-word collaboration with acclaimed Scottish author James Robertson, and a limited-edition cassette-only French Noir soundtrack album on Horror Pop Records.

Radio support has come from Gideon Coe and Tom Ravenscroft on 6Music, Vic Galloway on BBC Scotland and Andy Weatherall on NTS. Raz Ullah (synths / tape loops) has become an intrinsic part of Jane Weaver’s touring band, while Andrew Mitchell (vocals / synths / guitar / bass / drums) has released two albums under his ‘Andrew Wasylyk’ moniker. ‘Dusk at Trellick Tower’ is inspired by Hungarian Brutalist architect Erno Goldfinger; a towering presence in Modernism who courted controversy throughout his life. Known for being a humourless man prone to vicious rages, as well as the inspiration for Ian Fleming’s most notorious Bond villain, Goldfinger. Across the six tracks, Ullah and Mitchell channel the darkness and dystopia which grew from much of Erno’s work, building synth-heavy sonic edifices evoking lonely night time walks along empty echoing corridors, urban decay and towering, impassive concrete monoliths. Using analogue synthesizers, drums, bass and tape loops processed through long chains of effects pedals, Art Of The Memory Palace strive for greater depths with this release, weaving menacing hooks and icy vocals together with droning chords and ambient soundscapes and creating their own shade of dark, beautiful melodies in the process. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: There really is no better duo of thoroughly excellent people and oustanding musicians in the UK right now that Raz Ullah and Andrew (Wasylyk) Mitchell. It's an outstanding combo, with beautiful melodies and evocative synths shining any idea of winter out of your head. A beautiful, rich tapestry of sound and a huge progression than their already mindblowing cassette debut from 2017. Absolutely stunning.

Nowadays is the much anticipated follow-up to Palace Winter’s acclaimed debut album.

Palace Winter are Copenhagen-based Australian Carl Coleman and Dane Caspar Hesselager. Their debut single was released in 2015, followed by an EP and in the summer of 2016, their debut album, ‘Waiting for the World to Turn’ had arrived. All released via Copenhagen-based label Tambourhinoceros.

The support that followed was widespread. Number 1 on Hype Machine and overwhelming reviews from heavy hitters like The Guardian, NME and Line of Best Fit. Radio support came from Guy Garvey, Lauren Laverne and Tom Ravenscroft at BBC 6 Music, KCRW, KEXP, Norway’s P3 and Denmark’s P6.

The band have successfully brought their cinematic psych-pop to the stage. With an increasing number of sold out live shows under their belts, fans have not been left disappointed by their hypnotic and mind-blowing live sets. Having already supported Noel Gallagher and played Guy Garvey’s Meltdown, Roskilde, Green Man, Sziget in Budapest, Latitude and Secret Garden Party, amongst many others, Palace Winter are well placed to blow the roof off 2018.

TRACK LISTING

Birth
Take Shelter
Pursuit Of
The Ballroom
Empire
Baltimore
Come Back (Left Behind)
The Accident
Demon
Acting Like Lovers
Kenopsia

Released in 2015, The Grey Catalog departs from Leimer’s typical obsessions with understatement and homogeneity to range freely across rhythmic, melodic and disassembled forms. Incorporating percussion, electric guitar and bass as well as found sound, digital and analog synthesis and sampled instruments, The Grey Catalog spins off multiple intimations of musical forms.

“A resplendent soundworld rich in keyboards, strings, guitar, bass, and electronics is presented throughout, and it quickly becomes apparent that describing Leimer’s material as ambient proves to be a bit of a misnomer. Yes, the tempo is typically slow and the music far from frenetic, but the amplitude of sounds within a given arrangement makes for an always arresting listening experience...the sensibility that comes through the tracks feels as much Eastern as Western, given the material’s meditative bent and lulling rhythmic flow.” – Textura.

Everyone at forwind is delighted to present our tenth long player, from our furthest flung neighbour and new artist, emerging Tokyo composer and producer Tomonari Nozaki.

He may not be the only artist to have forsaken the convenience of producing his music on a macbook but there haven't been many we have heard who have produced such a thoroughly captivating sound from their old reel to reel tape units and analogue equipment in recent times.

‘Tomo's' hugely immersive sound feels like opening an old dusty wooden box and hearing a frayed melancholy soundtrack to somewhere standing outside of time and the concerns of the world. It manages to be remote and indenable in parts but has such spirit and warmth it's hard not to let yourself become completely absorbed.

Tomonari has been previously released under his UNKNOWNjp. alias on the Slovakian Label Soun Records. ‘North Palace’ sees him make his physical release debut, the first of hopefully many more. Anyone who has been following the forwind story so far will know we don't go for bluster. Hand on heart this is genuinely sublime stuff.

For a limited period both formats come with a free 5 postcard set in a printed wallet. Each postcard featuring the artwork of the release.

The mini album 'Hope' was another change in sound, and featured arrangements by Sean O Hagan, then of the High Llamas. Featuring six songs including a cover of Leonard Cohen’s Winter Lady, Oldham’s voice is set in a reflective and soft-hued sound throughout.

The use of piano as a lead instrument suggest a parlour-song atmosphere, something which is enhanced by Oldham’s frequent repetition of lines in the lyrics, which also expand on his own brand of surrealism. On ‘Untitled’ Oldham sings ‘Did you like the cake? some of it was nice’ as though the importance of the cake is of a more far-reaching consequence than the cake and anyone who may be eating it realises.

TRACK LISTING

1. Agnes, Queen Of Sorrow
2. Untitled
3. Winter Lady
4. Christmastime In The Mountains
5. All Gone, All Gone
6. Werner's Last Blues To Blockbuster

For a limited period both formats come with a free 5 postcard set in a printed wallet. Each postcard featuring the artwork of the release.

On 'Viva Last Blues', Oldham ‘went electric’. Recorded by Steve Albini and including Plush’s Liam Hayes and Sebadoh’s Jason Lowenstein in the cast of accompanying players, the album is as dramatic and accessible as any Oldham has released.

During the accompanying tour and in press shots for ‘Viva’ Oldham often wore a cowboy hat. The record has a distinct Western, frontier-town feel, on ‘Work Hard / Play Hard’ Oldham and band rock-out in suitably blue-collar fashion. The lyrics to ‘The Mountain Low’: ‘If I could fuck a mountain, oh lord I would fuck a mountain’ (Oldham insisted the song was released as a single) were the first to feature the denuded eroticism that would be a hallmark of Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy’s song writing.

On ‘New Partner’, one of the album’s most celebrated tracks, Oldham sounds both warm-hearted and unsentimental – an emotional position that colours many of his lyrics. ‘Viva’ was the first time Oldham had been heard in such clarity and the interplay between the band and his voice produces some startling vocal performances.

Oldham also sounds at his most relaxed and loose on many of the songs, hitting the high notes with abandon as the music ebbs and flows around him, or, as he sings in ‘Viva Ultra’ ‘Are you jealous of the show we put on?’

For a limited period both formats come with a free 5 postcard set in a printed wallet. Each postcard featuring the artwork of the release.

'Lost Blues' was the first compilation Oldham released. The collection rounds up many of the Palace singles and B-sides along with some unreleased recordings.

The debut Palace Brothers single: ‘Ohio River Boat Song’ is included as is Oldham’s version of Sally Timms of The Mekons song ‘Horses.’ Although a cover ‘Horses’ is one of the definitive Palace songs. Oldham’s voice wavers with an intensity he saves for more emotional lyrics and an extraordinary guitar solo by David Pajo cuts through the rest of the song with a delightfully unhinged aggression (Oldham had asked Pajo to play a solo that sounded like Slash).

Other highlights of Lost Blues are the songs from the ‘West Palm Beach / Gulf Shores,’ two of the dreamiest tracks Oldham has recorded and a highlight of the Palace canon. The live version of ‘Riding’ is also a revelation. Originally featured on the ‘There Is No One” album, the song was an agnostic foot stomp about brothers and sisters, here it is turned into a three guitar assault. The contrast perfectly illustrates how Oldham refused to be constrained by any signature style, but how everything he did under the Palace name was instantly recognisable as his and his alone.

TRACK LISTING

1. Ohio River Boat Song
2. Riding
3. Valentine's Day
4. Trudy Dies
5. Come In
6. Little Blue Eyes
7. Horses
8. Stable Will
9. Untitled
10. O How I Enjoy The Light
11. Marriage
12. West Palm Beach
13. Gulf Shores
14. (End Of) Traveling
15. Lost Blues

For a limited period both formats come with a free 5 postcard set in a printed wallet. Each postcard featuring the artwork of the release.

The debut Palace Brothers album was released in 1993 when much American music was going through a particularly bombastic period. In contrast ‘There Is No One’ sounded like a field recording, as though a tape of back porch confessionals recorded by Alan Lomax as an example of high Southern Gothic style, had been newly discovered and released.

The sense of other worldly timelessness was enhanced by the song titles, which were rich in biblical imagery and a backwoods sensibility: ‘Idle Hands Are The Devil’s Plaything”, “I Tried To Stay Healthy For You”, “O Lord Are You In Need?” The music on the record was equally arcane and ancient sounding. Banjos and loose snare drums rattle together in accompaniment to Oldham’s guitar and voice as he sings songs of a desperate and broken worldview. That he was just twenty-two at the time led some critics to wonder if Oldham was acting out a role as a Steinbeck character.

Listening to the record almost twenty years after its release it’s impossible to underestimate “There Is No One’s” influence on what would become known the New Weird America or alt-country, and that any questions about Oldham’s integrity, motives or authenticity are a dead end compared to this dark, unsettlingly brilliant record.

For a limited period both formats come with a free 5 postcard set in a printed wallet. Each postcard featuring the artwork of the release.

The second Palace Brothers album was originally self-titled (or untitled), though the moniker "Days In The Wake" was appended to later pressings. The release is at once a progression from and reduction of the twisted lo-fi country-folk of the debut album. "Days In The Wake" is essentially just Oldham, his cracked tenor and his acoustic guitar. The songs aren't as unremittingly dark as on the previous recording, since Oldham injects a fair amount of stream-of-consciousness humour and light-hearted, elliptical song-poetry. The extreme sparseness amplifies the emotion in Oldham's voice and lyrics though, and on "You Will Miss Me When I Burn" the emotional desolation is harrowing, bringing to mind the best work of Mark Eitzel. The brainy non-sequiturs of the closing "I Am a Cinematographer" are evidence that there's more forethought than savant at work in Oldham's artistic process.

Representing four different countries, including Canada, Hong Kong, Italy and UK, Sunny Day Sets Fire make soaring, wistful music that reflects their wide ranging backgrounds and influences. Based in London, SDSF were originally a trio, but Mauro (vocals/acoustic guitar), Onyee (vocals/synths/drums) and Max (guitar/baritone guitar) eventually enlisted Ed (bass/synth) and Matthew (drums/keys) to complete and create the band's trademark rich and textural sound. Sunny Day Sets Fire (the name taken from a band name generator off the internet) are a very hardworking band. Since 2007, the band have released singles and EPs across Europe, US and Australia, been remixed by the likes of CSS, Diplo and The Cool Kids, had one of their tracks, "Lack of View", added to the soundtrack of US film "American Teen" and have toured the globe relentlessly. "Summer Palace" is a beautifully crafted collection of quirky songs that range from the euphoric-pop of "Adrenaline" and "Wilderness" to the dark romanticism of "Mandarins". And although the band cite Love and The Velvet Underground as musical influences, it is difficult to pinpoint another band that sounds just like them. Their varied backgrounds help make "Summer Palace" a truly unique tapestry of enduring pop gems.

Tracklisting
1. Wilderness
2. Stranger
3. Teenagers Talking
4. End of the Road
5. All Our Songs
6. Smallest Heart on Earth
7. Mandarins
8. Siamese
9. I Dream Along
10. Adrenaline
11. Hollywood
12. Brainless
13. Map of the World
14. Lack of View

Following on from his masterpiece, "Master & Everyone", Bonnie Prince Billy (aka Palace aka Palace Brothers aka Will Oldham) returns with "Greatest Palace Music", which is a Nashville recorded, technicolor re-rendering of the fans' favourite Palace songs. Moving away from the sparseness of previous releases, the playful attention to melody here will entice a whole new audience, without (fans will be pleased to know) compromising the emotion and honesty at the core of Will Oldham's work.