THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2025 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 12TH ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 8PM ON MONDAY APRIL 14th.

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2025 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 12TH ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 8PM ON MONDAY APRIL 14th.

Much sought after “Everyone Has Got To Go”, a militant 1976 roots stepper by Jamaican/Canadian singer Prince Robinson, aka R. Man Prince.

Born in Rockfort, East Kingston, Robinson auditioned, like many other hopefuls at Studio One, in his early teens, but it was not his time and he would not record in Kingston until a decade later.

After migrating to New York and then Canada, Robinson returned to Kingston in 1976 to record two incredible roots anthems at Joe Gibbs studio “Everyone Has Got to Go” and the impossibly rare “Funny Dream”. He was joined by The Soul Foundation, a vocal trio who laid the track's beautiful harmonies plus some of Jamaica’s greatest session musicians, including Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, who were not yet superstars.

The track was mixed at Channel One and the explosive “Super Bionic Version!” Dub by Ernest Hookim and Barnabas enters truly apocalyptic territory.

Luckily for all of us, inside a now battered briefcase that he took to Jamaica in 1976, Prince has kept his mastertapes and promo photos in pristine condition, knowing that his music had value and biding his time.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Shella continue to nice up the dance with a holy grail mid 70s number from the strangely fruitful Jamaican - Canadian connection. The dub is of particular interest on this one with Ernest Hookim and Barnabas offering a masterclass on the mixing board.

TRACK LISTING

A. Everybody Has Got To Go
B. Everybody Has Got To Go - Super Bionic Version 

'The Purple Bird' finds Bonnie "Prince" Billy working with a "producer" for only the second time in his illustrious catalogue. This time it's David "Ferg" Ferguson (Johnny Cash, Sturgill Simpson) who guides the songs backed by "the best band you can get in Nashville right now", country singer John Anderson and Bluegrass legend Tim O'Brien. The Purple Bird is simultaneously like and unlike other BPB records. Many of the songs are a product of multiple composers’ voices, making the shape-shifting aspect of the BPB persona more fluid than ever before.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: The most widescreen BPB record for some time comes in the form of the soaring, majestic country balladry of 'The Purple Bird'. With nods to classic country and folk as you'd expect, but also full of moments of huge cathartic melodicism and perfectly contrasting minimalism.

TRACK LISTING

1 Turned To Dust (Rolling On)
2. London May
3. Tonight With The Dogs I’m Sleeping
4. Boise, Idaho
5. The Water’s Fine
6. Sometimes It’s Hard To Breathe
7. New Water
8. Guns Are For Cowards
9. Downstream Ft. John Anderson
10. One Of These Days (I’m Gonna Spend The Whole Night With You)
11. Is My Living In Vain?
12. Our Home Ft. Tim O’Brien

Baby I’m serious! Frits Wentink’s Bobby Donny Ace Series welcomes the illusive Prince Palmer for his first vinyl release on the label. Frits himself steps up on remix duties alongside another Bobby Donny artist, Joy Jenkins to round off another killer release from the Bobby Donny camp!

TRACK LISTING

A1. Serious Play
A2. Get Down
A3. Serious Play (Joy Jenkins Vibe Mix)
B1. Sleeping City (Wake Up Mix)
B2. Polygon Island
B3. Airlift (Frits Wentink Destruction Mix)

Ewart Brown aka Cobra (later, and more prolifically known as Mad Cobra) released the Goldmine LP in 1993 for Prince Jazzbo's Ujama label. This is the first LP pressing for a collection of dubbed out versions in Jazzbo's inimitable prouction style, showcasing the talents of engineer Albert Thompson aka Junior Chemist at I&I recording studios, alongside Delroy Thompson otherwise known as the prolific mastering engineer Spiderman.

TRACK LISTING

1. Tease You Dub
2. Acid Dub
3. Middle Dub
4. Fulfillment Dub
5. Dubbing In A Goldmine
6. Fresh Fresh Dub
7. Woman Love Dub
8. A Vexful Dub

One of the greatest double albums of the vinyl era, Sign 'O' the Times shows Prince at his peak. Here, Michaelangelo Matos tells the story of how it emerged from an extraordinary period of creativity to become one of the landmark recordings of the 1980s. He also illustrates beautifully how - if a record is great enough and lucky enough to hit you at the right time - it can change your way of looking at the world.

Colombian-born, New York-raised producer and instrumentalist Felipe Quiroz aka Prince of Queens brings his unique synthesis of trans-caribbean culture with house and techno to RNT on his Merida EP. Known for releases on Names You Can Trust and his band Combo Chimbita, this lush and varied EP invites you into a world where vintage tropical sounds and modular synthesizers live side-by-side on the dance floor. With 6 songs stretched across two sides, the record explores a wide range of tempos and electronic Latin vibes, and boasts gorgeous cover art that suits the emotion of the music perfectly. Although he is a seasoned producer, Prince of Queens is still a relatively new name on the club scene…but with this definitive musical statement it’s a name that the heads will remember.

TRACK LISTING

A1. El Tiempo
A2. Que Paso?
A3. Merida
B1. Macaria's Funk
B2. Summer Rain (Dub)
B3. No Hay Na'

When Nathan Salsburg’s daughter was a baby, he often sang her to sleep in a rocking chair. At one point, he remembered a song he had taught himself as a teenager: “The Evidence” by Lungfish, the Maryland band who coined a singular brand of post-punk in the 90s and 00s. Salsburg realized he could play the guitar part with one hand, singing while holding Talya in his other arm. Though the original version of “The Evidence” is only five minutes long, it’s essentially a repetitive mantra, so Salsburg could extend it as long as he wanted–10 minutes, 20 minutes, even an hour. “It was therapeutic and calming and just lovely for me,” he says.

“And it worked on her.” Eventually Nathan and Talya moved on from their ritual, but his lullaby cover stayed in his head. So he proposed to his fellow Louisville collaborators Bonnie “Prince” Billy (aka Will Oldham) and Tyler Trotter that they record a version with Salsburg on guitar, Oldham singing, and Trotter adding drum machines and synths. They decided to pair it with a rendition of another Lungfish song, “Hear the Children Sing,” playing each tune for more than enough time to fill two sides of an album. The result is the beguiling Hear the Children Sing the Evidence, an album that displays the strengths and visions of the participants while showcasing how richly powerful Lungfish’s songs are.

TRACK LISTING

1. Hear The Children Sing (19:56)
2. The Evidence (21:08)

Wicked previously unreleased late '80s combination tune from Icho Candy & his brother Prince Junior, who are sometimes confused for each other. On the same rhythm as King Kong's "Agony and Pain" (also repressed this week). Lyrically about the struggle for freedom of the day, as resonant today as it was nearly 40 years ago.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Icho Candy muses on the struggle for the freedom over King Kong's "Agony And Pain" riddim. Its another winner from the selection of Jah Life Time reissues we've been luckily blessed with this week.

TRACK LISTING

A. Free Up
B. Free Up Dub

Deep and heavy Roots in a 70s Revival style. Self produced, written and performed by the great Prince Jamo out of UK! Shaka style

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Second 7" from this skilled new UK dub reggae star who, from what I can gather, is also the musician and vocalist as well as the dub engineer? Surely not.. Hailing from Birmingham and previously part of Ruffneck Trilogy I'm already deep into the internet finding out what I can about this dub cat. Proper old school style - love it!

TRACK LISTING

A1. The Badlands (Vocal)
B1. Dubwise

Prince Fatty's 'Mercedes Benz' with Shniece and Horseman is a rub-a-dub version of a 1970s hit from Janis Joplin that now gets a very special and very limited edition pressing courtesy of Lovedub Limited. The A-side kicks off with the spine-tingling and epic original vocal before disappearing into a world of reverb. At that point the dubby low end arrives and brings a different vibe to the stunning vocals but one that really makes a mark next to new bars from Horseman, police sirens and funky riffs. It's a tough sound system groove that is backed with a fine version and has been a firm fixture of Prince Fatty's record box for a while now.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: I couldn't imagine a better version of this classic than this Fatty version of Janice Joplin's original. It's a floor-shakingly rich and full-spectrum dubbed-out wonder.

TRACK LISTING

Mercedes Benz
Mercedes Benz (Version)

Paisley Park Enterprises, in Partnership with Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Records, announces expanded reissue of Prince & the New Power Generation’s multi-platinum album Diamonds And Pearls. This 2LP contains Diamonds And Pearls remastered for the very first time by Prince’s original mastering engineer Bernie Grundman.
Diamonds And Pearls is the thirteenth studio album by Prince, and was the first with his new backing band, The New Power Generation. Featuring six massive international singles, including the hits “Gett Off”, “Cream”, and the iconic title track, the album was a worldwide smash reaching multi-platinum status in the USA and the UK, where it remains his best-selling album.
The New Power Generation was a band that Prince believed in so wholeheartedly that he gave them co-credit on the cover of Diamonds And Pearls, something he’d only done previously with one other band, The Revolution. The group consisted of Sonny Thompson (vocals & bass), Damon Dickson (vocals & percussion), Rosie Gaines (vocals & keyboards), Michael Bland (drums), Kirk Johnson (vocals & percussion), Tony M (vocals), Levi Seacer, Jr. (bass, guitar & vocals), and Tommy Barbarella (keyboards).

TRACK LISTING

Side One
1. Thunder
2. Daddy Pop
3. Diamonds And Pearls
Side Two
1. Cream
2. Strollin’
3. Willing And Able
4. Gett Off
Side Three
1. Walk Don’t Walk
2. Jughead
3. Money Don’t Matter 2 Night
4. Push
Side Four
12. Insatiable
13. Live 4 Love

Coming off the back of the expensive Lovesexy Tour, Prince needed to replenish his coffers and agreed to record nine original songs for Tim Burton's box office smash movie, Batman, starring Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson and Kim Basinger. The 1989 album was a huge success, and featured hit singles “Batdance” and “Partyman”, as well as “Scandalous”.

TRACK LISTING

A1 The Future (04:07)
A2 Electric Chair (04:07)
A3 The Arms Of Orion (05:02)
A4 Partyman (03:11)
A5 Vicki Waiting (04:51)
B1 Trust (04:23)
B2 Lemon Crush (04:15)
B3 Scandalous (06:14)
B4 Batdance (06:13)

With the follow-up to the hugely successful Batman soundtrack album, Prince returned with yet another soundtrack album in 1991, this time featuring songs from his self-directed movie Graffiti Bridge. Features the hit Prince single “Thieves In The Temple”, plus the Prince-produced Tevin Campbell single, “Round And Round".

TRACK LISTING

A1 Can't Stop This Feeling I Got (4:24)
A2 New Power Generation (3:39)
A3 Release It (3:54)
A4 The Question Of U (3:59)
B1 Elephants & Flowers (3:54)
B2 Round And Round (3:55)
B3 We Can Funk (5:28)
B4 Joy In Repetition (4:53)
C1 Love Machine (3:34)
C2 Tick, Tick, Bang (3:31)
C3 Shake! (4:01)
C4 Thieves In The Temple (3:19)
D1 The Latest Fashion (4:02)
D2 Melody Cool (3:39)
D3 Still Would Stand All Time (5:23)
D4 Graffiti Bridge (3:51)
D5 New Power Generation (Pt. II) (2:57)

Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You – an album made as it was meant to be heard, in a room. The sound of people together – a sound we’d so recently feared that we’d lost – playing, communing, strings and wood and keys and voices singing. KSWDY presents simply, and is sung along easily and happily with in time BUT --is it family portrait or fairy tale? How does it think the world was made, and will end?

Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You was recorded in Louisville by Nick Roeder, featuring Sara Louise Callaway on violin, Kendall Carter on keys, Elisabeth Fuchsia on viola and violin, Dave Howard on Mandolin, Drew Miller on saxophone and Dane Waters’ voice. The presence of so many local players and music educators in the band lends not only to a flow of moments so fluidly encompassing of a wide range of musics from classical to Japanese acid folk and elsewhere, but perhaps even more importantly, to the sense of community, heredity and the triumph of inheritance that is the marrow and life blood of this music. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Though 'Keeping secrets...' is undoubtedly one of BPB's quietest outings in terms of its instrumentation, drawing beauty from a reasonably unadorned mixture of guitar strings and vocals, the depth of feeling and scope of the result is astounding. Heartwarming folky balladry abound, all pulled together with Oldham's unmatched sensitivity.

TRACK LISTING

1. Like It Or Not
2. Behold! Be Held!
3. Bananas
4. Blood Of The Wine
5. Sing Them Down Together
6. Kentucky Is Water
7. Willow, Pine And Oak
8. Trees Of Hell
9. Rise And Rule (She Was Born In Honolulu)
10. Queens Of Sorrow
11. Crazy Blue Bells
12. Good Morning, Popocatépetl

During the latter half of the seventies very few came close to emulating the success of the productions of Joe Gibbs and Errol Thompson. 'The Mighty Two' took the greatest of Kingston's musical and technical innovations and transformed the cutting edge into a commercial proposition that crossed over to the rest of the world. 'Under Heavy Manners'' was an essential purchase as well as a defining statement on the sombre mood of the times in the year that two sevens clash and forty years after its original release, the raw reality of 'Under Heavy Manners' continues to hit home.

TRACK LISTING

LP Tracks:
Rain A Fall - Prince Far I
Big Fight - Prince Far I
You I Love And Not Another - Prince Far I
Young Generation - Prince Far I
Shine Eye Gal - Prince Far I
Boz Rock - Prince Far I
Show Me Mine Enemy - Prince Far I
Shadow - Prince far I
Deck Of Cards - Prince Far I
Heavy Manners (album Mix) - Prince Far I

CD Tracks:
Heavy Manners - Prince Far I
Rain A Fall - Prince Far I
Big Fight - Prince Far I
You I Love And Not Another - Prince Far I
Young Generation - Prince Far I
Shine Eye Gal - Prince Far I
Boz Rock - Prince Far I
Show Me Mine Enemy - Prince Far
I Shadow - Prince Far I
Deck Of Cards - Prince Far I
Heavy Manners (album Mix) - Prince Far I
Tribute To Michael Holding - Prince Far I
Same Knife - Prince Far I
Equal Rights And Justice - Prince Far I
Best Dress - Prince Far I
Emmaanuel Road - Prince Far I
Johnny Reggae - Prince Far I
Deck Of Cards (Four Aces Mix) - Prince Far I
Heavy Discipline - The Mighty Two
Deck Of Cards Version- The Mighty Two
Different Dagger- The Mighty Two
Tasty Geezer Version - The Mighty Two
Rock Stone Version - The Mighty Two
Heavy Bowling - The Mighty Two

Prince’s debut album, released in April 1978, marked the arrival of a heavyweight talent on the music scene. At just 18 years old, Prince Rogers Nelson wrote, performed, arranged and produced the entire album (with the exception of a co-write on single “Soft And Wet”).

TRACK LISTING

A1 For You (01:06)
A2 In Love (03:38)
A3 Soft And Wet (03:01)
A4 Crazy You (02:17)
A5 Just As Long As We're Together (06:24)
B1 Baby (03:09)
B2 My Love Is Forever (04:09)
B3 So Blue (04:26)
B4 I'm Yours (05:01)

Prince’s 1988 follow-up to his masterpiece double LP, Sign O’ The Times, saw him recycle some of the material that had originally been intended for the ill-fated Crystal Ball and Black Album albums, and repurposed here along with additional material. Features the smash hit single “Alphabet Street”.

TRACK LISTING

A1 Eye No (05:46)
A2 Alphabet Street (05:39)
A3 Glam Slam (05:08)
A4 Anna Stesia (04:58)
B1 Dance On (03:44)
B2 Lovesexy (05:51)
B3 When 2 R In Love (03:58)
B4 I Wish U Heaven (02:47)
B5 Positivity (07:13)

By 1994, Prince had changed his name to [Love Symbol], and his relationship with lifelong label Warner Bros. Records was under great strain, and Come was just one of several albums that Prince delivered in quick succession to release himself from his contractual commitments. Despite a lack of support from The Artist, the album reached Number One in the UK.

TRACK LISTING

A I Come (11:13)
A II Space (04:28)
A III Pheromone (05:08)
A IV Loose! (03:27)
B V Papa (02:48)
B VI Race (04:28)
B VII Dark (06:10)
B VIII Solo (03:48)
B IX Letitgo (05:33)
B X Orgasm (01:39)

The Gold Experience, released in 1995, was the first full-length Prince album to be credited to his unpronounceable symbol and was released at the most public, heated stage of his battle with the major label industrial complex. With the word “SLAVE” written on one cheek, Prince shined on the opulent ballads “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World” and “Gold” and the defiant single “[eye] Hate U,” and the album earned widespread critical acclaim. Available as black vinyl double LP.

The Truth is widely regarded as one of Prince’s most underappreciated hidden gems. The album was originally released as an accompaniment to the 1998 triple album Crystal Ball, which marked the first time that Prince released an album totally independently. The Truth was also the first Prince album to be labeled “acoustic,” though it does contain electronic instruments and elements, and it gave listeners an unprecedented chance to hear his songwriting and voice in a stripped-down presentation. 

Death Is Not The End's 333 returns to follow a reissue of the sub-label's eponymous 45 by Prince Jazzbo, with another crucial shot from his Ujama catalogue - a much-needed reproduction of the original Replay 45, complete with vocal & version. Fully licensed from the late great foundation deejay's family. A must.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Hen's-teeth rare dancehall deejay tackle here date of origin unknown! I'd hazard a guess at mid 80s, due to its primitive digital production but don't let that detract from its speaker busting soundsystem potential. This is underground as fuck! Mega reissue. Don't sleep!

TRACK LISTING

1. Replay
2. Replay Version

This album was issued in 1980 in a limited edition pressing of 300 copies on a blank label in a plain sleeve with no credits. It has never been re-pressed since then and has become a seriously in-demand collectors' item with copies changing hands for between ?100 and ?200... Now available on Vinyl LP and CD with bonus tracks. Dub mixed at: TMC (Tooting Music Centre) Recording Studio, 118 Mitcham Road, Tooting, London by Chris Lane. We probably did it in all in about two hours and ten minutes, despite not having a lot of time, or perhaps precisely because of not having a lot of time, the resulting album, 'God Sent Dub' proved to be a masterclass in dub mixing aimed directly at the roots market, it went back to the roots of dub and echoed the stark style of some of the very first dub albums from the mid-seventies.

TRACK LISTING

Mechanical Devices Dub
My Generation Dub
People Love Jah Music Dub
Spaceship Dub
People's Minds Dub
Smiling Faces Dub
Natural Wild Dub

Garden Gaia is a part of Pantha du Prince’s ongoing exploration into the theme of ‘humans as nature’, a theme previously explored on his records Elements of Light (recorded with The Bell Laboratory) and 2020’s Conference of Trees.

Pantha du Prince on Garden Gaia: “There are scientists who say that we humans are ocean that’s been folded together. My music is about raising consciousness, about describing the reality of life and the lost paradise through the means of music. It’s about entering a free space and developing a maximum degree of openness and sensitivity to our bodies – to our mental states and the atmosphere that surrounds us.

It’s about mindfulness and a high level of awareness towards what’s happening around and within us. I’ve poured all of these experiences into Garden Gaia as music. And that’s to be taken in the literal sense of ‘pouring,’ since we belong to a flowing process on this planet. A tree also flows into the air, just as it’s connected to other trees beneath the ground through currents of communication. Our lungs flow into our bodies. And as embryos, we were flowing beings. The question is: to what extent can we adult humans continue to flow?”

TRACK LISTING

Open Day
Crystal Volcano
Start A New Life
Blume (bendik Hk Edit)
Mother Drum
Heaven Is Where You Are (bendik Hk Edit)
Liquid Lights
Alles Fühlt
Golden Galactic

Arthur Ponder, a life long Macon, Georgia resident, started his singing career in the 60s replacing Otis Redding in Johnny Jenkins & The Pinetoppersafter Otis went solo. Although he gigged extensively, he did not actually make it onto a record until around 1970. Presented here, we have mostly his 80s Modern Soul output Solo and with local group Side Show, some with was released on 45 others remain unreleased till now. Special thanks to Angelo Angione who went above and beyond to help with this project and Arthur Ponder - The Prince of Georgia Soul.

TRACK LISTING

1. Lonely Girl (feat. Side Show)
2. Sexy Lady
3. If You Want My Love
4. My Love
5. Let's Get Together For The Wrong We Have Done
6. Whatcha Gonna Do About It
7. You Are The One For Me (feat. Side Show)
8. Oh Baby Why You Want To Make Me Cry
9. You Talk Too Much
10. It's You Girl

Deluxe offering of Grammy® Best New Artist nominee Arooj Aftab’s breakthrough album Vulture Prince, featuring Grammy® Best Global Music Performance-nominated track “Mohabbat”.

Aftab’s remarkable voice, backed by a team of renowned musicians, transports listeners to the composer’s world. Intimate piano and swelling orchestral strings unveil mystical passage into Aftab’s emotionally gripping symphonic world - vast with colorful sounds and transcendent of genre.

TRACK LISTING

1. Baghon Main (feat. Darian Donovan Thomas)
2. Diya Hai (feat. Badi Assad)
3. Inayaat
4. Last Night
5. Mohabbat
6. Saans Lo
7. Suroor
8. Udhero Na (feat. Anoushka Shankar)

The Gold Experience was the first full-length Prince album to be credited to his unpronounceable symbol and was released at the most public, heated stage of his battle with the major label industrial complex. With the word “SLAVE” written on one cheek, Prince shined on the opulent ballads “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World” and “Gold” and the defiant single “Eye Hate U,” and the album earned widespread critical acclaim.

TRACK LISTING

P. Control
NPG Operator #1
Endorphinmachine
Shhh
We March
NPG Operator #2
The Most Beautiful Girl In The World
Dolphin
NPG Operator #3
Now
NPG Operator #4
319
NPG Operator #5
Shy
Billy Jack Bitch
Eye Hate U
NPG Operator #6
Gold 

James Brown had the Apollo. Jimi Hendrix had Monterey Pop. And Prince had Syracuse, New York’s Carrier Dome—the Purple Rain Tour performance that was beamed to millions live via satellite and captured for posterity in the Grammy Award-nominated concert film Prince and The Revolution: Live, and has since gone down in history as one of the most iconic live recordings in pop and rock history. 

Prince of Queens aka Felipe Quiroz lets loose his blissfully rhythms on a four track EP for NYC’s Second Hand Records. From melodic excursions through the realms of house to tougher, percussive, arp laden cuts and atmospheric techy deepness it’s an intelligent and introspective body of work. Toronto’s Ciel then flips the script on the title track, turning it into a glitched out, club ready weapon – the perfect combination to complete the EP.

STAFF COMMENTS

Millie says: Was vvv intrigued by this Prince of Queens 12", nice smooth chuggy house on a label we haven't stocked from before but this is ace.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Sound Of Life
A2. Sound Of Life (Ciel Afterlife Mix)
B1. NYC Repeats
B2. For Mike

The Blind Date Party hosted by Bill Callahan and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy and featuring AZITA, Matt Sweeney, Alasdair Roberts, Matt Kinsey, Sean O’Hagan, Bill MacKay, George Xylouris, Dead Rider, David Pajo, Mick Turner, Meg Baird, Ty Segall, Emmett Kelly, Cory Hanson, Six Organs of Admittance, David Grubbs, Cassie Berman, Cooper Crain and Sir Richard Bishop happened online in the fall and winter of ’20–’21 — but the party planning dated back to the spring of 2020. Stuck at home, with no gigs in the foreseeable future, Bill, Bonnie and Drag City needed an outreach program to keep themselves busy, not to mention sane. In the absence of any company or anything on the calendar, playing songs they loved was an idea; playing with people they loved, the desire. And making it fun — so pairing someone with someone else having no say in the matter, the essence of the blind date, was the plan. Favorite songs were chose; players from around the Drag City galaxy were messaged. Pretty soon, songs were flying back and forth — music in the air!

And thus, they were entertained throughout the summer of 2020, when so much else in the world seemed so completely wrong. By the fall, the songs started to appear online: Bill and Bonnie singing a song by someone they loved and admired; each song cut by another another artist they loved and admired, then sent to Bill and Bonny to provide the finishing touches. The spotlight pointed in every direction each week: toward the singers and writers who’d originally played the songs (Yusuf Islam, Hank Williams Jr., Dave Rich, The Other

Years, Billie Eilish, Steely Dan, Lou Reed, Bill Callahan, Jerry Jeff Walker, Robert Wyatt, Lowell George, Johnnie Frierson, Air Supply, Will Oldham, Leonard Cohen, David Berman, Iggy Pop and John Prine), toward their featured collaborators, the artists whose artwork adorned each digital single and videos made by still more collaborators. And you, the listener.

Like the best parties, it turned out to be everything and more than they’d even hoped for. So many more people were involved in the process that we can get on the page here. Suffice to say, making records over the years has required a broad sense of community and an always-surprising mix of independence and unity, inspiration and utility. Some of our best memories are those where as many of our folks as as possible were together in one place at one time. In those moments, it was just a great thing just to be there. And with others looking in . . . this was a joy one could only be infinitely lucky to feel and to take for granted, as well.

The Blind Date Party was one of these, maybe the most improbable one yet. It’s for everyone who’s here and it’s in the name of everyone who’s gone but will never go and will always live with us here. This album will too.

And thus, we are entertained.

STAFF COMMENTS

Darryl says: Combining the best elements of each others talents 'Blind Date Party' finds Bill and Will in fabulous form. Mellow, dark, country-folk laments to snuggle up to during the cold winter months.

TRACK LISTING

A
The Blackness Of The Night (feat. Azita)
OD'd In Denver (feat. Matt Sweeney)
I've Made Up My Mind (feat. Alasdair Roberts)
Red-Tailed Hawk (feat. Matt Kinsey)
Wish You Were Gay (feat. Sean O'Hagan)
Our Anniversary (feat. Dead Rider)
B
Rooftop Garden (feat. George Xylouris)
Deacon Blues (feat. Bill MacKay)
I Love You (feat. David Pajo)
C
Sea Song (feat. Mick Turner)
I've Been The One (feat. Meg Baird)
Miracles (feat. Ty Segall)
I Want To Go To The Beach (feat. Cooper Crain)
D
Night Rider's Lament (feat. Cory Hanson)
Arise, Therefore (feat. Six Organs Of Admittance)
The Night Of Santiago (feat. David Grubbs)
The Wild Kindness (feat. Cassie Berman)
Lost In Love (feat. Emmett Kelly)
She Is My Everything (feat. Sir Richard Bishop)

Recorded in the spring of 2010 and then mysteriously abandoned by Prince before its release, the statement album Welcome 2 America documents Prince’s concerns, hopes, and visions for a shifting society, presciently foreshadowing an era of political division, disinformation, and a renewed fight for racial justice. The album features some of Prince’s only studio collaborations with the bassist Tal Wilkenfeld, drummer Chris Coleman, and engineer Jason Agel, with additional contributions from New Power Generation singers Shelby J, Liv Warfield, and Elisa Fiorillo and keyboardist Morris Hayes, who Prince also recruited to co-produce the album.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: It really is a testament to the output of the purple one himself that THIS absolute stunner got left on the cutting room floor. Political spoken word, undeniable groove and impeccable instrumental performances from all involved lead to one of the greatest albums he's put out for a LONG time.

TRACK LISTING

CD TRACKLIST:
1. Welcome 2 America (5:23)
2. Running Game (Son Of A Slave Master) (4:05)
3. Born 2 Die (5:03)
4. 1000 Light Years From Here (5:46)
5. Hot Summer (3:32)
6. Stand Up And B Strong (5:18)
7. Check The Record (3:28)
8. Same Page Different Book (4:41)
9. When She Comes (4:46)
10. 1010 (Rin Tin Tin) (4:42)
11. Yes (2:56)
12. One Day We Will All B Free (4:41)

VINYL TRACKLIST WITH SIDE BREAKS:
SIDE A
1. Welcome 2 America (5:23)
2. Running Game (Son Of A Slave Master) (4:05)
3. Born 2 Die (5:03)
4. 1000 Light Years From Here (5:46)
SIDE B
1. Hot Summer (3:32)
2. Stand Up And B Strong (5:18)
3. Check The Record (3:28)
4. Same Page, Different Book (4:41)
SIDE C
1. When She Comes (4:46)
2. 1010 (Rin Tin Tin) (4:42)
3. Yes (2:56)
4. One Day We Will All B Free (4:41)
SIDE D
Etching

BLU-RAY TRACKLIST:
Welcome 2 America: Live At The Forum, April 28, 2011
Runtime: 2:13:00
Available In Stereo, 5.1 Surround And Dolby Atmos
Joy In Repetition
Brown Skin (India.Arie Cover)
17 Days
Shhh
Controversy
Theme From “Which Way Is Up” (Stargard Cover)
What Have You Done For Me Lately (Janet Jackson Cover)
Partyman
Make You Feel My Love (Bob Dylan Cover)
Misty Blue (Eddy Arnold Cover)
Let’s Go Crazy
Delirious
1999
Little Red Corvette
Purple Rain
The Bird (The Time Cover – Prince Composition)
Jungle Love (The Time Cover – Prince Composition)
A Love Bizarre (Sheila E Cover – Prince Composition)
Kiss
Play That Funky Music (Wild Cherry Cover)
Inglewood Swingin’ (version Of Kool & The Gang’s Hollywood Swingin’)
Fantastic Voyage (Lakeside Cover)
More Than This (Roxy Music Cover)

Where once was Superwolf, now roam Superwolves, the new album and demon spawn of Matt Sweeney and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy

The songs that make up Superwolves, the duo’s second album and first since 2005’s Superwolf, go boldly into undreamed-of places, and go deep, as Matt and Bonny take all the musics they know to make songs that penetrate. In classic Garcia-Hunter style, Sweeney and the ‘Prince’ first work separately, finding a path to each other in their solitary imaginings. Bonnie lyric sets delivered to Matt spark Sweeney’s guitar brain; chords and a melody are shaped, recorded fast and loose and sent back to the Prince, then the two parties meet up to sing, stitch, strengthen and finally perform them together in front of a small unsuspecting audience. Then new sets of lyrics are sent, animated and played in a high wire style until the shared songs and experiences are ready to commit to record. This is just the beginning of their fusion process, as words imply vocalizations to counter and support, and guitar lines suggest harmonic fields to subtly push into. In this process, a new creature grows out of the old one. In this name of this partnership, the guitar shares an open and fluid space with the vocals, the voices sing with the guitars—every moment in the life of Superwolves is an extravaganza, guided only by its need.

“The chemistry comes from lives, lived separately, in which music is crucial sustenance. We listen with gratitude and awe, knowing that we belong in there. We construct our dream selves with the faith that these selves will have their chance at life. We know what we are capable of doing and just need each other’s support to bring the imagined languages to life.” — Will Oldham

“I love the challenge to write melodies for Will to sing. Struggle with that challenge too. Knowing that Will’s voice will elevate the melody makes me reach higher and dig deeper for the tune. Makes me want to match it with a guitar part that holds his voice like a chalice holds wine (or blood, or whatever is needed to live the best life). I also love singing harmonies and responses to this voice of his.” — Matt Sweeney

As far as this record, as in when and how it came together, the two man crew started working on it five years ago. The first actual session, however, went down about a year ago at Brooklyn’s Strange Weather and the next took place at the Butcher Shoppe in Nashville. Sweeney oversaw the mixing of the Brooklyn sessions with Oldham overseeing the Nashville mixes. On the album, Sweeney sings harmonies along, with, and around his favorite singer, and plays all electric, acoustic, and bass guitars, joined in places by David Ferguson on stand-up bass, Mike Coltun on electric bass, Mdou Moctar on electric lead, Ahmoudou Madassane on rhythm guitar, Souleyman Ibrahim, Ryan Sawyer and Peter Townsend on drums and Mike Rojas on keys. The Bonnie ‘Prince’ sings. Does he ever. And Superwolves rules over all.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: This is a perfect collaborative effort from Sweeney & Oldham here, offsetting BPB's sometimes saccharine vocal style with Sweeney's brilliantly dynamic guitar playing. There are moments of stunning minimalistic bliss ('Resist The Urge') or more psychedelic grooving force ('Hall Of Death') but this is a constantly confounding and rewarding listen.

TRACK LISTING

1. Make Worry For Me
2. Good To My Girls
3. God Is Waiting
4. Hall Of Death
5. Shorty’s Ark
6. I Am A Youth Inclined To Ramble
7. My Popsicle
8. Watch What Happens
9. Resist The Urge
10. There Must Be A Someone
11. My Blue Suit
12. My Body Is My Own
13. You Can Regret What You Have Done
14. Not Fooling

Overflowing with musical ideas and topical lyrics that sound just as relevant today as they did when they were initially released, Prince’s iconic double album Sign O’ The Times captured the artist in a period of complete reinvention. The final 16-track album included just some of the countless songs Prince recorded in the prolific period of 1985-1987, which saw the dissolution of his band The Revolution, the construction of his innovative recording complex, Paisley Park, and the creation (and ultimate abandonment) of the albums Dream Factory, Camille, and Crystal Ball.

This September 25, The Prince Estate, in partnership with Warner Records/Rhino UK, will reissue Sign O’ The Times. This limited edition 2LP peach vinyl set and 2CD set will feature the classic album remastered for the very first time by Prince’s original mastering engineer Bernie Grundman.

STAFF COMMENTS

Patrick says: Recorded during the most productive era for the most prolific musician of all time, ‘Sign O’ The Times’ is probably Prince’s magnum opus. Overflowing with ideas, hooks and slinking funk, the Purple One tackled the personal and the political while setting the template for every good R&B album released since.

TRACK LISTING

LP1: Remastered Album (Disc 1)
1. Sign O’ The Times
2. Play In The Sunshine
3. Housequake
4. The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker
5. It
6. Starfish And Coffee
7. Slow Love
8. Hot Thing
9. Forever In My Life

LP2: Remastered Album (Disc 2)
1. U Got The Look
2. If I Was Your Girlfriend
3. Strange Relationship
4. I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man
5. The Cross
6. It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night
7. Adore

CD1: Remastered Album (Disc 1)
1. Sign O’ The Times
2. Play In The Sunshine
3. Housequake
4. The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker
5. It
6. Starfish And Coffee
7. Slow Love
8. Hot Thing
9. Forever In My Life

CD2: Remastered Album (Disc 2)
1. U Got The Look
2. If I Was Your Girlfriend
3. Strange Relationship
4. I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man
5. The Cross
6. It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night
7. Adore

Overflowing with musical ideas and topical lyrics that sound just as relevant today as they did when they were initially released, Prince’s iconic double album Sign O’ The Times captured the artist in a period of complete reinvention. The final 16-track album included just some of the countless songs Prince recorded in the prolific period of 1985-1987, which saw the dissolution of his band The Revolution, the construction of his innovative recording complex, Paisley Park, and the creation (and ultimate abandonment) of the albums Dream Factory, Camille, and Crystal Ball.

The Super Deluxe Edition will feature the classic album remastered for the very first time, 63 previously unreleased tracks, and a previously unreleased 2+ hour video concert performance from Prince’s legendary vault that illuminates his wide-ranging and prolific creativity in this era. Following the successful release of the 1999 Super Deluxe Edition in the fall of 2019, the Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe Edition represents the deepest dive to date into Prince’s vault and includes a total of 92 audio tracks across thirteen LPs in the vinyl box set or 8 CD's in the CD box set.

TRACK LISTING

LP1: Remastered Album (Disc 1)
1. Sign O’ The Times
2. Play In The Sunshine
3. Housequake
4. The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker
5. It
6. Starfish And Coffee
7. Slow Love
8. Hot Thing
9. Forever In My Life

LP2: Remastered Album (Disc 2)
1. U Got The Look
2. If I Was Your Girlfriend
3. Strange Relationship
4. I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man
5. The Cross
6. It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night
7. Adore

LP3&4: Single Mixes & Edits
1. Sign O’ The Times (7” Single Edit)
2. La, La, La, He, He, Hee (7” Single Edit)
3. La, La, La, He, He, Hee (Highly Explosive) (7” Single Edit)
4. If I Was Your Girlfriend (7” Single Edit)
5. Shockadelica (“If I Was Your Girlfriend” B-side)
6. Shockadelica (12” Long Version)
7. U Got The Look (Long Look) (12” Edit)
8. Housequake (7” Edit)
9. Housequake (7 Minutes MoQuake) (12” Edit)
10. I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man (Fade 7” Edit)
11. Hot Thing (7” Single Edit)
12. Hot Thing (Extended Remix)
13. Hot Thing (Dub Version)

LP5&6: Vault, Part 1 (All Unreleased)
1.I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man (1979 Version)
2. Teacher, Teacher (1985 Version)
3. All My Dreams
4. Can I Play With U? (featuring Miles Davis)
5. Wonderful Day (original Version)
6. Strange Relationship (original Version)
7. Visions
8. The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker (with Horns)
9. Witness 4 The Prosecution (version 1)
10. Power Fantastic (live In Studio)
11. And That Says What?
12. Love And Sex
13. A Place In Heaven (Prince Vocal)
14. Colors
15. Crystal Ball (7” Mix)
16. Big Tall Wall (version 1)
17. Nevaeh Ni Ecalp A
18. In A Large Room With No Light

LP7&8: Vault, Part 2 (All Unreleased)
1. Train
2. It Ain’t Over ‘Til The Fat Lady Sings
3. Eggplant (Prince Vocal)
4. Everybody Want What They Don’t Got
5. Blanche
6. Soul Psychodelicide
7. The Ball
8. Adonis And Bathsheba
9. Forever In My Life (early Vocal Studio Run-through)
10. Crucial (alternate Lyrics)
11. The Cocoa Boys
12. When The Dawn Of The Morning Comes
13. Witness 4 The Prosecution (version 2)
14. It Be’s Like That Sometimes

LP9&10: Vault, Part 3 (All Unreleased)
1. Emotional Pump
2. Rebirth Of The Flesh (with Original Outro)
3. Cosmic Day
4. Walkin’ In Glory
5. Wally
6. I Need A Man
7. Promise To Be True
8. Jealous Girl (version 2)
9. There’s Something I Like About Being Your Fool
10. Big Tall Wall (version 2)
11. A Place In Heaven (Lisa Vocal)
12. Wonderful Day (12” Mix)
13. Strange Relationship (1987 Shep Pettibone Club Mix)

LP11-13: Live In Utrecht – June 20, 1987 (All Unreleased)
1. Intro/Sign O’ The Times
2. Play In The Sunshine
3. Little Red Corvette
4. Housequake
5. Girls & Boys
6. Slow Love
7. Take The “A” Train/Pacemaker/I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man
8. Hot Thing
9. Four
10. If I Was Your Girlfriend
11. Let’s Go Crazy
12. When Doves Cry
13. Purple Rain
14. 1999
15. Forever In My Life
16. Kiss
17. The Cross
18. It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night

DVD: Live At Paisley Park – December 31, 1987 (All Unreleased)
1. Sign O’ The Times
2. Play In The Sunshine
3. Little Red Corvette
4. Erotic City
5. Housequake
6. Slow Love
7. Do Me, Baby
8. Adore
9. I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man
10. What’s Your Name Jam
11. Let’s Pretend We’re Married
12. Delirious
13. Jack U Off
14. Drum Solo
15. Twelve
16. Hot Thing
17. If I Was Your Girlfriend
18. Let’s Go Crazy
19. When Doves Cry
20. Purple Rain
21. 1999
22. U Got The Look
23. It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night Medley (feat. Miles Davis)

* N.B. Video Content Is Exclusive To The Physical DVD And Will Not Appear On Digital Download Or Streaming Versions Of The Super Deluxe Edition Set.


CD1: Remastered Album (Disc 1)
1. Sign O’ The Times
2. Play In The Sunshine
3. Housequake
4. The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker
5. It
6. Starfish And Coffee
7. Slow Love
8. Hot Thing
9. Forever In My Life

CD2: Remastered Album (Disc 2)
1. U Got The Look
2. If I Was Your Girlfriend
3. Strange Relationship
4. I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man
5. The Cross
6. It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night
7. Adore

CD3: Single Mixes & Edits
1. Sign O’ The Times (7” Single Edit)
2. La, La, La, He, He, Hee (7” Single Edit)
3. La, La, La, He, He, Hee (Highly Explosive) (7” Single Edit)
4. If I Was Your Girlfriend (7” Single Edit)
5. Shockadelica (“If I Was Your Girlfriend” B-side)
6. Shockadelica (12” Long Version)
7. U Got The Look (Long Look) (12” Edit)
8. Housequake (7” Edit)
9. Housequake (7 Minutes MoQuake) (12” Edit)
10. I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man (Fade 7” Edit)
11. Hot Thing (7” Single Edit)
12. Hot Thing (Extended Remix)
13. Hot Thing (Dub Version)

CD4: Vault, Part 1 (All Unreleased)
1.I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man (1979 Version)
2. Teacher, Teacher (1985 Version)
3. All My Dreams
4. Can I Play With U? (featuring Miles Davis)
5. Wonderful Day (original Version)
6. Strange Relationship (original Version)
7. Visions
8. The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker (with Horns)
9. Witness 4 The Prosecution (version 1)
10. Power Fantastic (live In Studio)
11. And That Says What?
12. Love And Sex
13. A Place In Heaven (Prince Vocal)
14. Colors
15. Crystal Ball (7” Mix)
16. Big Tall Wall (version 1)
17. Nevaeh Ni Ecalp A
18. In A Large Room With No Light

CD5: Vault, Part 2 (All Unreleased)
1. Train
2. It Ain’t Over ‘Til The Fat Lady Sings
3. Eggplant (Prince Vocal)
4. Everybody Want What They Don’t Got
5. Blanche
6. Soul Psychodelicide
7. The Ball
8. Adonis And Bathsheba
9. Forever In My Life (early Vocal Studio Run-through)
10. Crucial (alternate Lyrics)
11. The Cocoa Boys
12. When The Dawn Of The Morning Comes
13. Witness 4 The Prosecution (version 2)
14. It Be’s Like That Sometimes

CD6: Vault, Part 3 (All Unreleased)
1. Emotional Pump
2. Rebirth Of The Flesh (with Original Outro)
3. Cosmic Day
4. Walkin’ In Glory
5. Wally
6. I Need A Man
7. Promise To Be True
8. Jealous Girl (version 2)
9. There’s Something I Like About Being Your Fool
10. Big Tall Wall (version 2)
11. A Place In Heaven (Lisa Vocal)
12. Wonderful Day (12” Mix)
13. Strange Relationship (1987 Shep Pettibone Club Mix)

CD7&8: Live In Utrecht – June 20, 1987 (All Unreleased)
1. Intro/Sign O’ The Times
2. Play In The Sunshine
3. Little Red Corvette
4. Housequake
5. Girls & Boys
6. Slow Love
7. Take The “A” Train/Pacemaker/I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man
8. Hot Thing
9. Four
10. If I Was Your Girlfriend
11. Let’s Go Crazy
12. When Doves Cry
13. Purple Rain
14. 1999
15. Forever In My Life
16. Kiss
17. The Cross
18. It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night

DVD: Live At Paisley Park – December 31, 1987 (All Unreleased)
1. Sign O’ The Times
2. Play In The Sunshine
3. Little Red Corvette
4. Erotic City
5. Housequake
6. Slow Love
7. Do Me, Baby
8. Adore
9. I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man
10. What’s Your Name Jam
11. Let’s Pretend We’re Married
12. Delirious
13. Jack U Off
14. Drum Solo
15. Twelve
16. Hot Thing
17. If I Was Your Girlfriend
18. Let’s Go Crazy
19. When Doves Cry
20. Purple Rain
21. 1999
22. U Got The Look
23. It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night Medley (feat. Miles Davis)

* N.B. Video Content Is Exclusive To The Physical DVD And Will Not Appear On Digital Download Or Streaming Versions Of The Super Deluxe Edition Set. 

Overflowing with musical ideas and topical lyrics that sound just as relevant today as they did when they were initially released, Prince’s iconic double album Sign O’ The Times captured the artist in a period of complete reinvention. The final 16-track album included just some of the countless songs Prince recorded in the prolific period of 1985-1987, which saw the dissolution of his band The Revolution, the construction of his innovative recording complex, Paisley Park, and the creation (and ultimate abandonment) of the albums Dream Factory, Camille, and Crystal Ball.

This September 25, The Prince Estate, in partnership with Warner Records/Rhino UK, will reissue Sign O’ The Times. This 3CD and 4LP Deluxe Editions will feature the classic album remastered for the very first time by Prince’s original mastering engineer Bernie Grundman, along with single mixes and edits released in the period the album was released.

TRACK LISTING

LP1: Remastered Album (Disc 1)
1. Sign O’ The Times
2. Play In The Sunshine
3. Housequake
4. The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker
5. It
6. Starfish And Coffee
7. Slow Love
8. Hot Thing
9. Forever In My Life

LP2: Remastered Album (Disc 2)
1. U Got The Look
2. If I Was Your Girlfriend
3. Strange Relationship
4. I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man
5. The Cross
6. It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night
7. Adore

LP3&4: Single Mixes & Edits
1. Sign O’ The Times (7” Single Edit)
2. La, La, La, He, He, Hee (7” Single Edit)
3. La, La, La, He, He, Hee (Highly Explosive) (7” Single Edit)
4. If I Was Your Girlfriend (7” Single Edit)
5. Shockadelica (“If I Was Your Girlfriend” B-side)
6. Shockadelica (12” Long Version)
7. U Got The Look (Long Look) (12” Edit)
8. Housequake (7” Edit)
9. Housequake (7 Minutes MoQuake) (12” Edit)
10. I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man (Fade 7” Edit)
11. Hot Thing (7” Single Edit)
12. Hot Thing (Extended Remix)
13. Hot Thing (Dub Version)

CD1: Remastered Album (Disc 1)
1. Sign O’ The Times
2. Play In The Sunshine
3. Housequake
4. The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker
5. It
6. Starfish And Coffee
7. Slow Love
8. Hot Thing
9. Forever In My Life

CD2: Remastered Album (Disc 2)
1. U Got The Look
2. If I Was Your Girlfriend
3. Strange Relationship
4. I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man
5. The Cross
6. It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night
7. Adore

CD3: Single Mixes & Edits
1. Sign O’ The Times (7” Single Edit)
2. La, La, La, He, He, Hee (7” Single Edit)
3. La, La, La, He, He, Hee (Highly Explosive) (7” Single Edit)
4. If I Was Your Girlfriend (7” Single Edit)
5. Shockadelica (“If I Was Your Girlfriend” B-side)
6. Shockadelica (12” Long Version)
7. U Got The Look (Long Look) (12” Edit)
8. Housequake (7” Edit)
9. Housequake (7 Minutes MoQuake) (12” Edit)
10. I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man (Fade 7” Edit)
11. Hot Thing (7” Single Edit)
12. Hot Thing (Extended Remix)
13. Hot Thing (Dub Version)

This 2 LP release documents Prince’s mythic late-night after show perfromances. Never available as physical stand-alone release and only available originally on CD as part of the One Nite Alone box set exclusive to NPG Music Club members, the album features an hour of amazing jams and includes guest appearances by George Clinton and Musiq Soulchild. 

Considered one of the most iconic and influential double albums of all time, Prince’s "1999" was released at a major turning point in the artist’s career. After years of bossing the R&B charts, he experienced his first true crossover moment with the mega-hits “Little Red Corvette,” “1999,” and “Delirious,“ shattering barriers with his revolutionary blend of rock, funk, R&B and new wave pop, and making history by being one of the first black artists to have their videos in heavy rotation on MTV. Flawless from start to finish, perfectly produced, played and performed by a true musical genius, this falls into the ever home should have one category.

TRACK LISTING

Remastered Album (LP1 1-5 / LP2 6-11 / CD)
1. 1999
2. Little Red Corvette
3. Delirious
4. Let's Pretend We're Married
5. D.M.S.R.
6. Automatic
7. Something In The Water (Does Not Compute)
8. Free
9. Lady Cab Driver
10. All The Critics Love U In New York
11. International Lover

Bonnie “Prince” Billy stays busy - in the past five years he has released albums of previously-recorded songs by Susanna Wallumrod, Mekons, Merle Haggard; even himself) and a collaborative record with Bitchin Bajas! The only thing he hasn't done is a new album of Bonny originals - in case you weren't counting, 2011's Wolfroy Goes To Town was the last one. That's from the first half of the Obama presidency, for chrissakes!

Things happen for reasons that are often bigger than ourselves and outside of our control. They happen suddenly or they happen slowly - but they always happen one day at a time and day after day. Here's Will Oldham, on the confluence of marketplace, values, aesthetic and process that slowly built new album I Made A Place:

"In recent years, the whole world of recorded music, in the way that such music is conceived, perceived, recorded, released and distributed, has been atomized. I tried holding my breath, waiting for the storm to pass, but this storm is here to stay and its devastation is our new landscape. What else is a person to do except what he knows and feels, which for me is making records built out of songs intended for the intimate listening experiences of wonderful strangers who share something spiritually and musically? I started working on these songs thinking that there was no way I was going to finish them and record and release them. This was a constructive frame-of-mind that protected the songs until this frightening moment when we let go of them and give them to you."

The world has changed. Some things will never change. Some are gone forever. Thankfully, this isn't one of them: the wait for new Bonnie “Prince” Billy is now on a timer. What's more, the new single drops a bit of Apocalypse WOW. Picking up in a sense where last year's "Blueberry Jam" left off, "(At The) Back of the Pit" considers what to do with the things we love when it comes time for the death (and therefore, rebirth) of our painstakingly-built'n'kill't world. It's an affirming country jam: elegiac early moments give way to jaunty roots-rock strides, a horn section soulfully charting the long rays at the end of the day as well as the first rays of the new rising sun as they light on all our hopeful tomorrows.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: I think it's probably hard for someone as resolutely productive as Mr. Billy to reach the moment in a songs creation where it feels like there is no more work to be done. Fortunately for us, these delicate, tender country ballads finally reached the light of day, and we're all the better for it. As brilliantly produced and perfectly balanced as any of his previous work, whilst being more focused and melodic. Gorgeous stuff.

After dropping ‘The Clone Theory’ in 2015 production connoisseur Prince Fatty has been paving the way for something very special ever since. 2019 sees him release his second solo album ‘In the Viper’s Shadow’. Featuring a whole host of reggae and dub royalty, this project boasts a who’s who of global talent including the likes of Cornell Campbell, Tippa Irie, Big Youth, George Dekker, Shniece McMenamin, Earl 16, Winston Francis, Marcia Griffith and Horseman.

Renowned for flexing his studio muscle with some of the freshest and versatile dub sounds around, Prince Fatty’s blending old-school reggae with his own eccentric, futuristic twist, have turned industry heads for decades and ‘In the Viper’s Shadow’ is no exception. This album is 10 tracks of reggae goodness, produced to perfection in a melting pot of influences that span from multiple eras and stretch to just about every corner of the planet. Prince Fatty has worked with everyone from Lily Allen, Hollie Cook, Graham Coxon (Blur), Mungo’s HiFi, The Last Poets, The Skints, Gregory Isaacs to name a few.

After moving from Brighton to live in Sao Paulo, Los Angeles and Thailand, he’s taken inspirational sounds from across the globe and has built up a reputation of being one of the go-to producers of recent times. With a knack for selecting the perfect collaborators, whether it’s an up and coming artist or a genre-defining hero, his ability to showcase foundation laying percussion skills, mesmerising vocalists, bass-heavy triumphs and everything in between has resulted in some of the most expressive sounds around, and ‘In The Viper’s Shadow’ is the perfect example of his commitment to the cause.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Modern reggae flagbearers Prince Fatty rarely write a bad riddim. And flanked by a who's who of voices from the scene, this is an essential set for lovers of global reggae.

TRACK LISTING

Two Timer Feat. Cornel Campbell & Tippa Irie
Get Ready Feat. Big Youth
& George Dekker
Deep Sleep Feat. Shniece McMenamin
Cassandra Feat. Earl 16
Everything Crash Feat. Big Youth & George Dekker
The Break Feat. Winston Francis
Steppin’ Out Of Babylon Feat. Big Youth & Marcia Griffith
Queen Of The Minstrel Feat. Cornel Campbell
Tonight Feat. Big Youth & Earl 16
Trouble Feat. Shniece McMenamin & Horseman

Released in July 1996, Chaos and Disorder came with a rare disclaimer penned by Prince (then known as the unpronounceable “love symbol”): “Originally intended 4 private use only, this compilation serves as the last original material recorded by [The Artist] 4 Warner Bros. Records.”

Prince’s contentious relationship with the label was at its lowest point, and this record—a taut 39 minutes of dexterous guitar and simple but addictive pop melodies—was a crucial final link in the chains that kept him from releasing the music the way he wanted. Any internal turmoil was not represented in tracks like “Dinner With Delores” (a minor U.K. hit) and the rollicking title track, a staple of his live shows.

“Someone told me that Van Halen did their first record in a week,” Prince told the Los Angeles Times of the album’s quick creation. “That’s what we were going for - spontaneity, seeing how fast and hard we could thrash it out.” First time on LP Vinyl. 

TRACK LISTING

Chaos And Disorder
I Like It There
Dinner With Delores
The Same December
Right The Wrong
Zannalee
I Rock, Therefore I Am
Into The Light
I Will
Dig U Better Dead
Had U

Released ahead of 1995’s "The Gold Experience", the first album credited to Prince’s infamously unpronounceable symbol, "The Versace Experience (Prelude 2 Gold)" was a gift to attendees of the designer’s collection at Fashion Week in Paris.

Produced at the time as only a very limited edition promotional cassette, it featured remixed versions of future favorites “Pussy Control,” “Gold” and “Eye Hate U” as well as rare and commercially unreleased selections by The New Power Generation and Prince’s jazz-fusion project Madhouse. The rare promotional cassette went on to be incredibly sought after, with one copy setting a record as the highest priced cassette every sold, fetching over $4,000.

It was recreated as a limited edition cassette release as a Record Store Day exclusive in April 2019 and was one of the most popular releases. First time available on LP Vinyl.

TRACK LISTING

A1 Pussy Control (Club Mix Edit)
A2 Shhh (X-cerpt)
A3 Get Wild In The House
A4 I Hate U (Remix)
A5 319 (X-cerpt)
A6 Shy (X-cerpt)
B1 Billy Jack Bitch
B2 Sonny T. (X-cerpt)
B3 Rootie Kazootie (Edit)
B4 Chatounette Controle
B5 Pussy Control (Control Tempo Edit)
B6 Kamasutra Overture #5
B7 Free The Music
B8 Segue
B9 Gold (X-cerpt)

The definitive Prince reissue series continues with a first time on vinyl for three of his essential noughties albums, "Musicology", "3121" and "Planet Earth".
On its original UK release, Prince's 2007 album "Planet Earth" was available as a free covermount CD with the Mail On Sunday, or as part of a ticket deal for his 21 night live run at London's O2 arena. While this might have caused chaos amongst record stores at the time, it did ensure that a great late Prince album was heard by the widest audience possible. Where previous albums "Musicology" and "3121" predominently dealt with funk and R&B, "Planet Earth" is more of a mixed bag, as evidenced by its three singles, "Guitar", "Somewhere Here On Earth" and "Chelsea Rodgers".

TRACK LISTING

A1. Planet Earth
A2. Guitar
A3. Somewhere Here On Earth
A4. The One U Wanna C
B1. Future Baby Momma
B2. Mr. Goodnight
B3. All The Midnights In The World
B4. Chelsea Rodgers
B5. Lion Of Judah
B6. Resolution

This raw, intimate recording, which took place at the start of Prince’s career right before he achieved international stardom, is similar in format to the Piano & A Microphone Tour that he ended his career with in 2016. The nine track, 35-minute album features a previously unreleased home studio cassette recording of Prince at his piano captured in 1983.

The private rehearsal provides a rare, intimate glimpse into Prince’s creative process as he worked through songs which include “17 Days” and “Purple Rain” (neither of which would be released until 1984), a cover of Joni Mitchell’s “A Case Of You”, “Strange Relationship” (not released until 1987 on his critically acclaimed Sign O’ The Times album), and “International Lover”.

The album also includes a rare recording of the 19th Century spiritual “Mary Don’t You Weep” which was used to spine-tingling effect during the end credits of Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman in theatres August 2018.

STAFF COMMENTS

Patrick says: There's never really been any doubt about Prince's genius, but this previously unreleased set sees the Purple legend sweep through a handful of his many many classics, along with a couple of stunning covers, arranged/improvised for piano and voice. Intimate, expressive and unfeasibly funky, this is pretty much as good as it gets.

TRACK LISTING

1. 17 Days
2. Purple Rain
3. A Case Of You
4. Mary Don’t You Weep
5. Strange Relationship
6. International Lover
7. Wednesday
8. Cold Coffee & Cocaine
9. Why The Butterflies

Bonny sings Susanna, to simply try and save the world. Sonata Dwarf Mix Cosmos is an old companion of his and with the Chijimi house band +1 they bring it all back home again, this time to the space in Bonny’s place.

“As other practitioners are leaving the room in favor of novel forms of recording and distro and consumption, we are left with a virtual PALACE, fantastical and real structures and practices. Like we are allowed into the museum at night. We can make a great essentially live record with great songs and great players because nobody else is? ‘Wolf Of The Cosmos’... is about, as much as anything, direct engagement with recorded music. So step right up to the replicant.” - Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy is joined by musicians Emmet Kelly (bass guitar, voice, acoustic guitar), Cheyenne Mize (violin, slide ukulele, voice), Chris Rodahaffer (banjo, voice, acoustic guitar) and Elsa Madeline Oldham (juice harp).

“‘Wolf Of The Cosmos’ is a wonderful obsessive trip into the mind of one of the most important living singers” - Country Music

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Beautifully emotive country-tinged plucks, BPB's unmistakable voice and softly pulled strings make for an enchanting an absorbing journey. Yet more evidence of the unwavering excellence of one of today's most successful singer-songwriters. Brilliantly fresh, but comfortable and familiar.

TRACK LISTING

Intruder
Born In The Desert
Hangout
People Living
Stay
For You
Better Days
Traveling
Demon Dance
Home Recording
We Offer
Lily

Delusional and hopeful. Loving but injured. Full of vitriol though brimming with forgiveness. Intensely personal yet brutally open. Baxter Dury’s fifth album is both a private meditation into the very real relationship breakdown he experienced over the last year and his most ambitious and biggest work to date.

The album’s opening track is also the portal into Dury’s hazy, anti-wonderland and it comes complete with a guide, “Miami” himself: a foul-mouthed, cocksure ladies man conjured into existence via a heady mix of excess, fatigue and emotional repression. “The guy in the first song is a completely delusional person who thinks he’s a gangster,” explains his creator. The natty charm of Dury’s other records – like his debut Len Parrot's Memorial Lift or the acclaimed Happy Soup – hasn’t been lost, but by collaborating with a full band, producer Ash Workman (Metronomy, Christine & The Queens) and an orchestra, that spirit soars.

Dury recruited several vocal collaborators for the Prince Of Tears’ retinue, illuminating some of the album’s dark corners. Long-term foil Madelaine Hart returns to provide her melancholic yet knowing backing vocals to several songs, Rose Elinor Dougall adds a sinister edge to Porcelain, while Sleaford Mods’ Jason Williamson enthusiastically chimes in on Almond Milk.

chuffed is how Dury feels – perhaps surprisingly – about this album. “It was really fun to make – except for the pain I had to go through to inspire it,” he grins. “But I really like this record. My old man once said of a friend of mine: ‘Your friend has got pronoia. It’s the opposite of paranoia, it’s when you suffer from thinking everything is too brilliant.’ Well I’ve got a nice case of pronoia at the moment.” So, yeah… your heart hurts, but it is 3am so the sun will be up soon… Behold the Prince Of Tears.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Well, well. Son of Ian Dury of blockheads fame continues his dad's legacy (in a way) by producing bloody good records. This one is even more of his swooning semi-drawl, but with a more refined and melancholic air, brilliantly balanced by a host of well-curated guests. Lovely.

TRACK LISTING

1. Miami
2. Porcelain
3. Mungo
4. Listen
5. Almond Milk
6. Letter Bomb
7. Oi
8. August
9. Wanna
10. Prince Of Tears

Pantha Du Prince (Hendrik Weber) has been working with longtime engineer Kassian to create an ambient version of last year’s triumphant studio return, ‘The Triad’. This reworking showcases the otherworldly and moody delicacy that makes Weber’s music so absorbing and affecting; with the beats and most vocals removed, his dreamy sonic details come to the fore.

With ‘Best Troubador’, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy pays homage to a longtime and forever hero, the late Merle Haggard.

A singer who, some 25 years previously, first performed in public by playing a Merle Haggard song, Bonny has often cited Merle’s work in performance, on records and in conversation with anyone who was around, even talking to Merle himself for Filter magazine in 2009.

‘Best Troubador’ flips through his song book, landing on pages unmoored from their time and located anew. Moving from 1978 to 1969 to 2003 to 1981 allows the album to circle Haggard’s music in a simulation of thought and memory, slipping around from spot to spot as if they were discrete impressions, unknown but knowable yet.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Superbly uplifting plucked guitars, swooning woodwind and Mr. Billy's sweet but serious vocal delivery. It's a wonder that there could be any more gold flowing from this supremely talented songwriter, yet it continues. Touching, beautiful and sublime.

TRACK LISTING

The Fugitive
I’m Always On A Mountain When I Fall
The Day The Rains Came
Haggard (Like I’ve Never Been Before)
I Always Get Lucky With You
Leonard
My Old Pal
Roses In The Winter
Some Of Us Fly
Wouldn’t That Be Something
Pray
That’s The Way Love Goes
Nobody’s Darling
What I Hate (Excerpt)
I Am What I Am
If I Could Only Fly

'Purple Rain' made Prince sound like he could do anything, but it still didn't prepare even his most fervent fans for the insular psychedelia of 'Around The World In A Day'. Prince had made his interior world sound fascinating and utopian on 'Purple Rain', but 'Around The World In A Day' is filled with cryptic religious imagery, bizarre mysticism, and confounding metaphors which were drenched in heavily processed guitars, shimmering keyboards, grandiose strings, and layers of vocals.

Prince's eighth studio album and the last to feature his backing band The Revolution, Parade was, essentially, the soundtrack to his second film 'Under The Cherry Moon' and was viewed at the time as a creative comeback after what many people perceived as it's disapponting predecessor 'Around The World In A Day'.

Containing probably his biggest hit and scourge of every dj the world over 'Kiss' and a couple of lesser known, but absolute MONSTERS in 'Girls And Boys' and 'Sometimes It Snows In April' , 'Parade' is the sound of an artist at his creative peak.

TRACK LISTING

1 Christopher Tracy's Parade 2:12
2 New Position 2:20
3 I Wonder U 1:40
4 Under The Cherry Moon 2:57
5 Girls & Boys 5:30
6 Life Can Be So Nice 3:14
7 Venus De Milo 1:55
8 Mountains 3:58
9 Do U Lie? 2:44
10 Kiss 3:38
11 Anotherloverholenyohead 4:01
12 Sometimes It Snows In April 6:49

“Hendrik Weber is one of the leading figures in modern techno.” - Pitchfork • “A gift for generating heavily melodic mazes of sound.” - BBC

German techno auteur Pantha Du Prince (aka Hendrik Weber) releases ‘The Triad’, his first proper studio album since his 2010 breakthrough ‘Black Noise’ and 2013’s collaboration with The Bell Laboratory, ‘Elements Of Light’.

Of the new album’s conceptual framework Weber says, “‘Black Noise’ was very much about me being alone in a small room in Berlin and composing. ‘The Triad’ opens the structure to more human ways of interacting, not digitized ways of interacting. It’s not about Facebook; it's about meeting up and jamming. I wanted to cut through the digital dust that surrounds us.”

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: The tone for this whole album is set by the organically blooming electronic melodies and serene ambient sweeps of anthemic opener 'The Winter Hymn'. Nuanced and breathtaking.

Released in 1979 and written, arranged, composed, produced and performed entirely by Prince, his self titled second album was recorded in a matter of weeks and provided the commercial and critical success he craved after the lukewarm reaction to his debut ‘For You’. He would go on to reinvent and define a decade with each subsequent release but everything you could want from a Prince album is here and, nearly forty years later, ‘Sexy Dancer’ and ‘I Wanna Be Your Lover’ can still bring a discerning dance floor to its knees.

TRACK LISTING

I Wanna Be Your Lover 5:47
Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad? 3:49
Sexy Dancer 4:18
When We're Dancing Close And Slow 5:18
With You 3:59
Bambi 4:22
Still Waiting 4:24
I Feel For You 3:24
It's Gonna Be Lonely 5:30

YES! An unlikelier of collabs on the face of it comes to pass, and makes SO much sense upon consideration that you wonder why you hadn’t rioted for your right to experience this sooner. Chill, man! Life gave you a surprise — a missing peace — now GO with it.

Yessir, Bitchin Bajas and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy be in righteous and TRUE collaboration on this one, flowing ideas through the air between them, which seems a rare thing in this age where records course forth without wires, pieced together out of the zeros and ones that divide and don’t define us. The air’s meant to be shared, and that’s how Epic Jammers and Fortunate Little Ditties came to pass — a morning, afternoon and evening of frisson in blissed acceptance of the eternal recurrence. And it always came.

These guys GET each other. They share a passion for arresting the moment in the process of now, and both of ’em get music from this action in their way. Bajas have a fan in Bonny; their ability to stretch time and get in between the grains scratches his itch to LIVE in those instances. And this makes him a worthy co-jammer, a fourth plane to the BB triangle that quantifies and dimensionalizes the sound. Inevitable, then, that they’d do something. Their first blend was for the Shirley Collins tribute comp, a rendition of “Pretty Saro” that built from the starkness and tonal monophony of the auld ballads and opened the hatch to timeless stasis. But if more was desired (which it was), more would be needed — the full trio of Bajas in the room together, in audience with the ‘Prince.’ Following one of their many mini-jaunts around the country, Bitchin Bajas stopped by Bonnie’s aerie one day after tour to make it so.

It was an epic and fortunate day.

Epic Jammers and Fortunate Little Ditties contains moments of tranquility and trance, with the players integrating their separate ways, vibing off each other, making songs together. Bonny is at his spiritmelting celestial best wandering through a lifetime of fortunes that amount, when incanted, to a prayer to the god of many names. The Bajas’ access to the universal aural paintbox is unparalleled; their reach is deep. And it all went down onto a 2-track reel-toreel in primitive left-right seps that helped to define their ability to finish it in mixing. These WERE jams, with whatever preparation, gear, thought and cords — vocal and electric — backgrounded, in support of intuition and what existed AT THE MOMENT.

Epic Jammers and Fortunate Little Ditties is simple and stark and empyrean and inspirational...and pretty modal, too — probably never more than three chords! — as Bonny and the Bajas pursue the life of the spirit down ever-fading vapor trails, in a bottomless (and topless — let ’em loose!) space.

TRACK LISTING

1 May Life Throw You A Pleasant Curve
2 Nature Makes Us For Ourselves
3 Your Heart Is Pure, Your Mind Is Clear, Your Soul Devout
4 Your Whole Family Are Well
5 Despair Is Criminal
6 You Are Not Superman
7 Show Your Love And Your Love Will Be Returned
8 You Will Soon Discover How Truly Fortunate You Really Are
9 Your Hard Work Is About To Pay Off, Keep On Keeping On

Pantha du Prince's new EP 'The Winter Hymn' features the titular album cut along with the exclusive track “Post Human Palisades (feat. Bendik & Kassian)” and an extended mix of the album track “Dream Yourself Awake".

There are no Peel sessions anymore - that tradition was buried in the pyramids with John Peel himself upon the great man's passing. Of the thousands left in the wake, six are ascribed to Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - and of those six, three have been combined to form the deeply congruous experience of Pond Scum.

A span of eight years is covered, in reverse, and many chestnuts are rolled out, freed of former contexts with sparse arrangements. "(I Was Drunk at the) Pulpit" feels, ten years from inception, more vividly worn; "Death to Everyone" is loosed from its frame, the bones decoupled and spread out, giving the song a re?ective air (as opposed the biting declamation of the original); "Arise, Therefore" adapts its metronomic base, the evangelic twist of its roots made palpable. With the centre of the performance in stark relief, the gnomic qualities of two "Get On Jolly" pieces are intensi?ed. Further accenting the devoted spirit of this collection is the inclusion of Bonnie's take on Prince's "The Cross", as well as the previously-unreleased original "Beezle."

Bonnie's lone shadow casts over this lot, accompanied on the ?rst four tracks by David Heumann, but otherwise playing solo through a set of original songs (and two covers) representing a decade of progress in the almost unbearably intimate-yet-unknowable manner that was so often the vibe of those strange and wondrous days.

Layers peel to reveal the subtle artistry and refinement contained within these sessions, so begin to dig deep into the vault on January 22nd, 2016! But wait, there's more! You can download a new arrangement of "Rich Wife Full of Happiness", (which is similar in tone, but not found on Pond Scum!)!

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy’s new album ‘Singer’s Grave A Sea Of Tongues’ is released on Domino.

At the locus of five corners, mythos is in the wind; a sea of tongues boils forth, mountains spurting forth from the magma. Bonnie sings for who he was and will be and for all of us, in time.

Bonnie Billy has been quoted as saying that one of the songs on the album is a conceptual track that’s about “one day in 1973 when only two people died in the whole world.”

TRACK LISTING

Night Noises
So Far And Here We Are
There Will Be Spring
Quail And Dumplings
We Are Unhappy
It’s Time To Be Clear
Whipped
Old Match
Mindlessness
Mew Black Rich (Tusks)
Sailor’s Grave A Sea Of Sheep

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2014 EXCLUSIVE, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

RSD 2014 exclusive. 500 pressing, picture bag.

Mr Bongo is extremely proud to announce the much-anticipated release of the next installment from the legendary Prince Fatty. This time Prince Fatty is up against the mighty Mungo's Hi Fi Soundsystem.

Prince Fatty is a group put together by producer and engineer Mike Pelanconi, (whose credits include Lilly Allen's smash 'Alright Still' and Little Barrie 'Stand your Ground' ). The group also includes; Little Roy, Bubblers from the Ruff Cut Band, Style Scott from the Roots Radics, Winston Francis and Hollie Cook. Prince Fatty has worked with the likes of Bukky Leo, Nostalgia 77, Prince Buster, Lee 'Scratch' Perry and Studio One and won't disappoint the lovers of the early 70s sound.

Mungo's Hi Fi champion the evolution of reggae, dub and dancehall music and are re-invigorating soundsystem culture. They have developed formidable live shows, collaborating with foundation legends like Ranking Joe, Sugar Minott and Sister Nancy as well as top vocalists on the scene at the moment including Charlie P, Solo Banton, Mr Williamz, YT and Scotland's own lyrical lassie Soom T.

A collection of songs performed by Dawn McCarthy & Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy as learnt from The Everly Brothers. As children, the music of The Everly Brothers touched Dawn McCarthy and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy; it touches Dawn’s children and the little ‘prince’ within Bonnie today, and makes them dance and sing.

‘What The Brothers Sang’ is no mere gesture of nostalgia. These new versions rethink The Everly Brothers for the audience of listeners today; people who naturally might have no previous knowledge or experience of these songs.

Over the course of three albums - and as an in-demand remixer of artists ranging from Animal Collective to, most recently, Philip Glass - the Berlin-based musician and producer Pantha Du Prince (Hendrik Weber) has been celebrated for pushing the envelope of electronic music.

His newest effort, ‘Elements Of Light’, a collaborative project with The Bell Laboratory, is doubtless his most ambitious to date: The work is a symphony for electronics, percussion and bell carillon, a three-tonne instrument comprising 50 bronze bells.

The genesis of the project began in Oslo in the summer of 2010, when Weber was having lunch with local curators Mattis With and Håkon Vinnogg and heard, in the distance, one of the concerts played multiple times daily on a bell carillon inside the city hall. Weber was struck by how the frequencies and overtones unfolded unpredictably, influenced one another, and resonated, more or less, throughout the Norwegian capital.

With and Vinnogg suggested he compose for the carillon, which was developed in China 3,500 years ago, during the Shang Dynasty, and made its way to Europe during the Middle Ages. Weber began collaborating with the Norwegian Lars Petter Hagen, who served as arranger and conductor. For the recording, a bell carillon was shipped from Denmark to Germany, where Vegar Sandholt, the same carillonist that Weber had heard during his stay in Oslo, played it.

A separate session, in Oslo, brought together a variety of percussionists, including Weber; Martin Horntveth of Jaga Jazzist, Killl and The National Bank; Erland Dahlen of Nils Petter Molvaer Trio, Susanne Sundfør, Madrugada, Xploding Plastix, and Kaada; the researcher and performer Håkon Stene, who teaches at the Norwegian Academy Of Music; and Heming Valebjørg, of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. They contributed numerous tubular bells, marimba, xylophone, cymbals, chimes, handclaps, finger snaps and other percussion.

The album is a single continuous work, although it has been broken down into five tracks named for elements of light: ‘Wave’, ‘Particle’, ‘Photon’, ‘Spectral Split’ and ‘Quantum’. Sonically, the work is a fusion of electronic music and classical composition, and draws on house and minimalism, jazz and new music, Gamelan and Western sacred music. Influences include John Cage, Iannis Xenakis, Steve Reich, LaMonte Young and Moondog.

‘Elements Of Light’ is a natural next step in the Pantha Du Prince oeuvre. Bells figured prominently on his last album, the highly acclaimed ‘Black Noise’, which Rough Trade released in 2010. In a Best New Music review of ‘Black Noise’, Pitchfork said “each track is its own micro sound world with enough rich detail to draw you back for deeper investigation.”

There is a first time for everything. Prior to the recording, 'Wolfroy Goes To Town' was played by the whole band in performance at Chicago's Millennium Park in May, 2011. This is the first time any Bonnie album has been previewed in public before it was made in the studio!

In addition to Bonnie, the players on this record are: Ben Boye (keyboards & extra singing), Van Campbell (drums & percussion), Shahzad Ismaily (percussion, guitar, extra singing), Emmett Kelly (guitars, mandolin, harmony singing), Danny Kiely (basses) & Angel Olson (singing).

STAFF COMMENTS

Darryl says: Stark and hushed instrumentation and typically intimate vocals combine to make another Bonnie Prince Billy masterpiece. Perfect for a mellow night in with a fine whiskey. You need this!

TRACK LISTING

1. No Match
2. New Whaling
3. Time To Be Clear
4. New Tibet
5. Black Captain
6. Cows
7. There Will Be Spring
8. Quail And Dumplings
9. We Are Unhappy
10. Night Noises

"Controversy", Prince’s fourth album, was originally released by Warner Bros in 1981. For the most part, the album was an expansion of its predecessor, 1980's "Dirty Mind", continuing the mix of electro-boogie, crazy new wave-influenced funk-rockers tailor made for US high school movie soundtracks (like, wild!) and sleazoid ballads (ditto). This record was considered to be his most political to date. The album was also an important stepping stone from his early works to the more mature song writing of the mid 1980s. Worth every penny for the title track alone (surely one of the best 80s boogie-disco records?), which will set you back £20 on a 12" all by itself.

"Dirty Mind", Prince’s third studio album, originally released on Warner Bros in 1980. Produced, arranged, and composed primarily by Prince, it incorporates musical elements of electro-funk, boogie, and new wave-influenced rock music. Title track "Dirty Mind" is super-catchy and has its sights set on American college radio, while "When You Were Mine" could have been written by any of those skinny-tied power-pop trios the US churned out in the wake of Blondie. 

For this 2010 album of songs, Bonny Billy and The Cairo Gang together have built a bridge forward, assembled with riffs and bits from Emmett Kelly's guitar and the lyricism of Bonny's heart. But mostly, "The Wonder Show Of The World" was, in its making, about trust. It's a record made eye-to-eye in a room, close and careful, by and for a few men who wanted to be together, who wanted to make music that sounds as good to listen to as it did to make, and who in doing so forged something new in space, the wonder of you and of them.

TRACK LISTING

1. Troublesome Houses
2. Teach Me To Bear You
3. With Cornstalks Or Among Them
4. Sounds Are Always Begging, The
5. Go Folks Go
6. That's What Our Love Is
7. Merciless And Great
8. Where Wind Blows
9. Someone Coming Through
10. Kids

Will Oldham, AKA Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, here continues to carve his niche in the world of indie-Americana with "Beware", his seventh under his current alias. Where his preceding album, 2008's "Lie Down In The Light", was a reasonably cheerful and buoyant affair, one look at the song titles alone for this release indicate that Oldham is considerably less bright here. Titles such as "Beware Your Only Friend", "Death Final" and "I Don't Belong To Anyone" seem to suggest that the mood is significantly more sombre for this outing. The constants with Oldham, though, are his sparse arrangements and world-weary howling delivery, and "Beware" sees him continue to be a much-admired songwriter.

TRACK LISTING

1. Beware Your Only Friend
2. You Can't Hurt Me Now
3. My Life's Work
4. Death Final
5. Heart's Arms
6. You Don't Love Me
7. You Are Lost
8. I Won't Ask Again
9. I Don't Belong To Anyone
10. There Is Something I Have To Say
11. I Am Goodbye
12. Without Work, You Have Nothing
13. Afraid Ain't Me

After abandoning the Palace moniker for a straight-up solo career, Will Oldham seemed to lose his focus a bit, but rechristened as Bonnie Prince Billy, he's regained it in spades. Where his previous solo efforts sounded thrown-together and lacked real songcraft, "I See A Darkness" is probably Oldham's most consistent, rewarding batch of songs since the Palace Brothers 93 debut. For once, the ever-elusive Oldham sounds like he's making a genuine effort to communicate - the relatively straightforward (but still poetic) lyrics, nicely arranged (but still lo-fi) sonic backdrops, and song structures with hummable (!) choruses are all unprecedented and highly agreeable developments. The titular darkness pervades much of the album, but there's an underlying warmth that shines through, making this an emotionally well-balanced effort. A Bonnie Prince Billy classic!!!

"Lie Down In The Light" is the ninth Bonnie 'Prince' Billy album, and his first proper album release since 2006's "The Letting Go". It is the brightest album to date from the Bonnie 'Prince'. Brisk tempos skip among his signature slower numbers and ballads. Bonnie's vocals are among his most expressive: carefully nuanced, singing all up and down his range, showing him at a judiciously dynamic and tuneful apex. The album features Bonnie repeat players Paul Oldham and Emmett Kelly and also benefits from the multi-instrumental presence of Shahzad Izmaily, who works percussion, piano, guitar, banjo and the mysterious, sensual 'row of wrenches'. New (duet) partner Ashley Webber forges her own presence next to Bonnie in a pair of fantastic turns. Additionally, some of Nashville's finest appear in between the band's strings and harrows, adding light (and yeah, we see a little darkness too) wherever they appear.

After a devastating string of full-lengths in the early 2000s culminating in the one-two punch of 2005's collaboration with Matt Sweeney, "Superwolf", and 2006's wrenching "The Letting Go", Will Oldham seemed to be in a state of letting go himself. He re-energized his acting career with Old Joy and a goofy appearance in a Kanye West video; wrote "His Hands", the title track to soul singer Candi Staton's comeback record; and backed up Tortoise on an odd album that featured - among other throwaways - a cover of Springsteen's "Thunder Road". "Ask Forgiveness", a mini-album of his own covers, finds Oldham back in fine form even as it chips away at his hard-earned gravitas. Recorded on a lark in Philadelphia with members of the homegrown folkie outfit Espers, "Ask Forgiveness" finds Oldham lending his trademark warble to a diverse array of numbers. While Phil Ochs, Bjork, Thom Yorke, and Danzig are all given the Palace brother's spacious and shambolic indie-folk makeover here, the collection's stand-out is R. Kelly's "World's Greatest", within which Oldham discovers an earnest heart.

Like 2003's "Master And Everyone", "The Letting Go" is a quiet, introspective record that examines the human heart, but the songs here equal or better those on its excellent predecessor. Oldham's insight into the politics of self and relationships is unflinching, and his wordplay, which balances surreal poetry with heartbreaking confessionals, is at its peak. Sonically, "The Letting Go" is expansive, adding strings, subtle percussion, and ambient effects that enhance but never crowd the songs. Harmony vocalist Dawn McCarthy contributes gorgeous textures to the mix of blues, country, folk, and minstrel-like elements, and all of it makes a persuasive case that Oldham has grown into an artist of striking vision and emotional power.

"Summer In The Southeast", 2004...a camper eased down the road with master Bonnie and everyone else aboard. Whenever they saw a darkness, they pulled up and camped, then broke out the instruments and played for fans and friends all over the map. The road twisted around from Denton, Texas to Wilmington, North Carolina. They played in ten states overall (or two dozen, if you count mental states). Fans know that seeing the Bonnie 'Prince' live is an experience akin to but unlike hearing his records — it's the same man up there, but changed, somehow. And his impulses seem to be entirely switched out. Songs get the radical retune at the drop of a hat — and with every new collection of musicians, a different version! That's what we have here a set of classic Bonnie songs (and the odd Palace number) affected by their players and the environment to climb new heights time and again. Rocking and raging, dropping to whisper and lilting where they once ran, the songs are part of the joyous affair between Bonnie and his fans. The energy of these shows is in the recordings along with the music — for you to feed off of too!

The first full-length collaboration between two of indie rock's most ubiquitous figures, "Superwolf" finds wandering troubadour Bonnie Prince Billy and guitarist Matt Sweeney (formerly of Chavez and Zwan) hitting yet another musical plateau. While the terrain explored on "Superwolf" is in keeping with past Bonnie Prince Billy releases (most directly 1998's somber, haunting "I See A Darkness" and 2003's hushed, tender "Master And Everyone"), it's surprising to learn that Sweeney is credited as the sole writer of the album's music (with Oldham handling the lyrics). From soft acoustic ballads ("Only Someone Running") to plaintive sing-alongs ("Lift Us Up") to epic tales of heartbreak ("Blood Embrace"), "Superwolf" is technically a stripped-down affair, yet its impact is far-reaching and expansive. Album opener "My Home Is the Sea" perfectly captures the spirit of the project, beginning softly, but building to an electrifying climax of sloppy guitar virtuosity. With "Superwolf", Oldham and Sweeney have made an album that plays to both artists' strengths.

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.

Debut single on Clown Prince recordings, from this Wigan based singer / songwriter who cites influences as diverse as Johnny Mathis and the Sex Pistols. His songwriting encapsulates his thoughts and feelings on life with a blend of pathos and tongue in cheek humour, in the most English, self-depreciating way.

The legendary roots vocalist teams up with the Disciples for this roots / dub LP on Backyard Movement.