Record Store Edition: Signed hardback + exclusive CD.

The accompanying 'Strange Things Are Happening' CD is a career spanning compilation which includes tracks from the seminal 'Jack The Tab' 1988 acid compilation, to The Grid's 'Floatation', through to later tracks as Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve with Erol Alkan, and a host of classic remixes and exclusive new tracks.

A memoir by one of the most influential and ubiquitous underground British musicians of the past thirty

Leafy St Albans is an unlikely starting point for one of the great psychedelic/acid house musicians of his generation, but, like so many others who brought radical change to the counterculture, Richard Norris' story starts in the suburbs.

Strange Things Are Happening documents his journey from punk through the emerging DIY indie culture to producing the UK's first acid house album, Jack the Tab; being one of the only unsigned artists to grace the cover of NME, to being one of the first faces on the scene at Shoom and Spectrum during the 1988 Summer of Love; finding international fame with The Grid in the early 90s, to working with Joe Strummer and a cast of thousands as a remixer, writer and producer. Embracing a psychedelic lifestyle along the way, Strange Things Are Happening is a funny, improbable and frequently wild journey down the rabbit hole.

Richard Norris has been involved in almost every aspect of music and its business for many decades. This is an insider's tale of inspiration and collaboration, working with some of the most iconic artists in music and beyond. We travel to basement acid parties in London to ten thousand strong raves in Ibiza. From Amsterdam with Timothy Leary, to Tijuana with Shaun Ryder and Joe Strummer, on a bumpy ride in Joe's beat up 1955 Cadillac, to the customs hall at Heathrow with Sun Ra, Top Of The Pops, LA film sets, around the world and back again. Strange Things Are Happening is a celebration of creativity and passion, of chance meetings turning into lifelong friendships, and of what is possible with an independent spirit, with an open mind and heart. Not quite Do It Yourself, more Do It Yourselves - a testimony to how small groups of people can affect and change the cultural landscape; a story about doing what you love and being eternally curious; about the inevitable occupational dead ends and wrong turns that happen when you jump in headfirst, and what is learnt along the way.

A memoir by one of the most influential and ubiquitous underground British musicians of the past thirty

Leafy St Albans is an unlikely starting point for one of the great psychedelic/acid house musicians of his generation, but, like so many others who brought radical change to the counterculture, Richard Norris' story starts in the suburbs.

Strange Things Are Happening documents his journey from punk through the emerging DIY indie culture to producing the UK's first acid house album, Jack the Tab; being one of the only unsigned artists to grace the cover of NME, to being one of the first faces on the scene at Shoom and Spectrum during the 1988 Summer of Love; finding international fame with The Grid in the early 90s, to working with Joe Strummer and a cast of thousands as a remixer, writer and producer. Embracing a psychedelic lifestyle along the way, Strange Things Are Happening is a funny, improbable and frequently wild journey down the rabbit hole.

Richard Norris has been involved in almost every aspect of music and its business for many decades. This is an insider's tale of inspiration and collaboration, working with some of the most iconic artists in music and beyond. We travel to basement acid parties in London to ten thousand strong raves in Ibiza. From Amsterdam with Timothy Leary, to Tijuana with Shaun Ryder and Joe Strummer, on a bumpy ride in Joe's beat up 1955 Cadillac, to the customs hall at Heathrow with Sun Ra, Top Of The Pops, LA film sets, around the world and back again. Strange Things Are Happening is a celebration of creativity and passion, of chance meetings turning into lifelong friendships, and of what is possible with an independent spirit, with an open mind and heart. Not quite Do It Yourself, more Do It Yourselves - a testimony to how small groups of people can affect and change the cultural landscape; a story about doing what you love and being eternally curious; about the inevitable occupational dead ends and wrong turns that happen when you jump in headfirst, and what is learnt along the way.

The second ultra limited installment of Richard Norris' journeys into the outer reaches of dub has landed.

Mixing influences from roots reggae to On U Sound to Basic Channel and beyond, these six tracks offer warm and lush sonic landscapes to sink into.

Praise for Volume One - "Richard Norris is making the music of his life right now. All of Oracle Sound is smooth, completely enveloping and utterly hypnotic, with sounds and textures you want to reach out and touch." (Joe Muggs, Bandcamp Electronic Music of the Month)

TRACK LISTING

1. Regal Dub
2. Pagan Dub
3. Mystery Dub
4. Glory Version
5. Rockers Sci Fi
6. Stronger Together 

Golden Lion Sounds enlist the talents of no other than Richard Norris for their latest 7". The Grid and Psychic TV star gifts us a driving, Balearic-rock classic - with an almost War On Drugs-like sensibility. Moving, evocative vocals (by Findlay Brown), swirling keyboards, gentle guitar strums and a motoric beat coalescing to form an understated but highly engrossing four minutes of song writing prowess.

Rude Audio is the alias of Mark Ratcliff and collaborators (sometimes including Dan Wainwright with whom he constructed the "Psychedelic Science" release with), and they take care of B-side duties with a galloping analogue synth workout. Slightly wonky and jarring, the concentric arpeggio rotates off-center, making for a slightly discombobulating listen eschewing the smooth and silky for something a bit more raggedy and gritty. It's brilliantly constructed; with just a few simple elements working in tandem to create a dazzling, wide-screen synth scape.

As usual - top draw music from the Yorkshire underground. Limited copies in purple and black vinyl. Check!

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Richard Norris and Rude Audio are the latest converts to the church of the The Golden Lion, with the Todmorden based hub casting its net far and wide to deliver the best from the independent underground.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Richard Norris - This Song's For You (feat Findlay Brown) 

Side B
1. Rude Audio - The Grinning

Deep Listening 2019 - 2022 features the best of Richard Norris' recent ambient, downtempo and deep listening music.

This reflective, meditative take on electronic music has been a daily practice for the musician for some years, and has resulted in numerous releases on the Group Mind and Inner Mind labels. Included are a number of 'Music For Healing' tracks, part of an ongoing series of releases specifically created for relaxation and anxiety relief. The results have been quite phenomenal. People have given birth to this music, and there have been many reports of people using this music to help anxiety, stress and bereavement.

Richard Norris is well known for his work with Soft Cell's Dave Ball in the Grid, and Erol Alkan in Beyond The Wizards Sleeve, as well as many solo releases, productions and remixes. He has been called 'the electronic musician's electronic musician', and the results are all over this double album, with warm analogue bubble baths heavily featured. Dive in... 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: LOVE a bit of Richard Norris, and this collection sees some of his best work collected together for a Deep Listening monolith. The series was a source of constant joy and relaxation for me during the pandemic, so it's great to see a summary of the myriad pieces collected together so perfectly. An essential collection for any ambient fans.

TRACK LISTING

1. Eighty Eight
2. December
3. Cornflower
4. Borders
5. I Know How You Feel
6. Through The Window
7. January
8. Four
9. Ultramarine
10. June
11. Nine
12. Grains Of Light
13. In A Heartbeat
14. The Golden Age
15. Deep Orange
16. One
17. Signal To Power
18. Super Wolf Moon
19. Two
20. Space

Triple CD set collecting rare cuts and cult favourites from the worlds of psychedelic, pastoral and funky folk, 1968-1975.

Focusing on the outpouring of psychedelic folk flavours that emerged swiftly after the first psychedelic era.

Featuring some wonderful selections from long collectable acts such as Sunforest, Mellow Candle, Trees, Heron, Trader Horne, Christine Harwood and many more. 

Compiled by Richard Norris (Beyond The Wizards Sleeve/The Grid) , the compilation is themed around UK and Irish music from that hallowed period, and comes with a 7000 word essay and sleeve notes from the musician/producer.

Celebrating the collision of traditional folk with new psychedelic studio techniques, new and exotic textures, and a developing groove. It's a wide and broad range of styles, drawing from folk, its oral storytelling tradition, and also from jazz, beat, rhythm and blues, and the more mind opening sounds of psychedelia.

Housed in a 3 CD digipack, designed in a striking wraparound collage by Lyndon Pike .

TRACK LISTING

DISC ONE
1. FAT MATTRESS Leafy Lane
2. KNOCKER JUNGLE Not Even A Letter
3. DUFFY POWER I Need You
4. MIKE HURST Face From The Past
5. RAY FENWICK I Wanna Stay Here
6. HARDIN AND YORK Natural Gas
7. OPEN ROAD Mother Earth
8. PAUL BRETT Motherless Child On A Merry-Go-Round
9. THE WOODS BAND Noisey Johnny
10. MEIC STEVENS Yorric
11. MARC ELLINGTON You Just Can’t Believe What You See
12. ALAN JAMES EASTWOOD Crystal Blue
13. ARRIVAL La Virra
14. DANDO SHAFT Cold Wind
15. LINDA HOYLE Hymn To Valerie Solanas
16. NIRVANA Nova Sketch
17. BRIAN DAVISON’S EVERY WHICH WAY Castle Sand
18. JADE WARRIOR Yellow Eyes
19. WRITING ON THE WALL Buffalo

DISC TWO
1. CHRIS HARWOOD Wooden Ships
2. BRIDGET ST. JOHN Fly High
3. DANDO SHAFT Rain
4. HERON Lord And Master
5. MELLOW CANDLE Silversong
6. TREES Murdoch
7. KEITH CHRISTMAS Foothills
8. TRADER HORNE Morning Way
9. MILLER ANDERSON Shadows ‘Cross My Wall
10. THE GHOST Time Is My Enemy
11. KEVIN COYNE Flowering Cherry
12. SECOND HAND Hangin’ On An Eyelid
13. FUCHSIA Shoes And Ships
14. MIKE HURST Place In The Country
15. AMBER Swan In The Evening
16. GLOBAL VILLAGE TRUCKING COMPANY The Inevitable Fate Of Ms Danya Sox
17. MIGHTY BABY Jug Of Love

DISC THREE
1. SUNFOREST Magician In The Mountain
2. CHRIS HARWOOD Crying To Be Heard
3. WIZZ JONES City Of The Angels
4. JADE WARRIOR Lady Of The Lake
5. KNOCKER JUNGLE Oh To Be Free
6. BRIDGET ST. JOHN Silver Coin
7. FRIENDS In The Morning
8. ALAN JAMES EASTWOOD Lotus Child
9. THE DEVIANTS Bun
10. JADE Amongst Anemones
11. PRINCIPAL EDWARDS MAGIC THEATRE The Death Of Don Quixote
12. YVONNE ELLIMAN Hawaii
13. THE OCCASIONAL WORD The Evil Venus Tree
14. IAN A. ANDERSON Goblets And Elms
15. BILL NELSON Rejoice
16. ZIOR Time Is The Reason
17. CURTIS KNIGHT WITH ZEUS New Horizon
18. LINDA LEWIS Reach For The Truth

Music For Healing is a series of long form tracks to aid stress and anxiety relief in these challenging times.

Now available on vinyl for the first time this edition collects The Longform Series 5-8.

The series totals four hours of listening time. Use them as background ambience, as immersive deep listening, in combination with meditation or any other practice. Music For Healing tracks are crafted and recorded in real time with no Artificial Intelligence involved.

Music For Healing is a series of long form tracks to aid stress and anxiety relief in these challenging times.

Now available on vinyl for the first time this edition collects The Longform Series 1-4.

The series totals four hours of listening time. Use them as background ambience, as immersive deep listening, in combination with meditation or any other practice. Music For Healing tracks are crafted and recorded in real time with no Artificial Intelligence involved.

After a host of well received ambient releases, Richard Norris is back with the motorik, trance inducing electronic groove of 'Hypnotic Response'.

Influenced by German 70's music, psychedelia, hypnotic repetition and an old Korg 55 drum machine, these tracks veer from the expansive eleven minute workout 'Arca' to the mesmeric sequences of 'In Flight', from the propulsive Kosmishe rhythm of 'Free Ride' to the electronic lullaby 'La Lune'.

A widescreen and mesmerising set, with accompanying retina altering artwork and vinyl. Dive in deep.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Aaah, Richard Norris. I am a huge fan of his 'Elements' release from last year, so it's a huge joy to have his latest collection of snappy cosmic beats and spine-tingling arpeggios to wrap the ears around. It seems like there's no stopping Norris at the moment, with all of his monthly 'Music For Healing' releases providing vital relaxation during lockdown only adding to the excellence of his physical output. 'Hypnotic Response' is a triumph in every way.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. In Flight
2. Arca
3. Free Ride

Side B
4. Gamma & Delta
5. Reflections Of Kyoto
6. La Lune

Music For Soundtracks is an album of ten ambient, atmospheric pieces Richard Norris has recently created for film and TV.

They feature in BAFTA winning director Kieran Evans’ recent Sky Arts documentary ‘Cold War Steve Meets The Outside World’, as well as Marc Issacs’ latest film ‘The Filmmaker’s House’. The tracks range from widescreen electronic dance to immersive deep listening cuts, all with a marked sense of space and landscape. Dive in…

“Glistening synth-pop number” - Dummy

“This track is the highest grade of electronic pop” - i-D

'They Know' combines pop vocals, synth textures and clipped garage beats, while exclusive track 'White Noise' shuffles along on electro rhythms. Richard Norris is brought in for the remix, utilising his know how as the Grid for a house remix of 'They Know'.

Amateur Best is the alias of Birmingham-based “personal pop” musician, songwriter and producer Joe Flory.

His second album ‘The Gleaners’ was released via Brille Records (The Knife, Gwilym Gold, John Wizards).

‘They Know’ follows the release of single ‘Marzipan’ which picked up radio support from Radio 1’s Annie Mac and Huw Stephens and XFM’s John Kennedy and Eddy Temple Morris.

TRACK LISTING

They Know
White Noise
They Know (Richard Norris Remix)