Skip James was a Delta blues enigma, whose mesmerizing guitar playing and haunting voice produced bluer than blue masterpieces. This beautifully re-mastered collection of his seminal 1931 recordings shows why his otherworldly blues cast its spell on many blues greats from Robert Johnson to Eric Clapton.
Arguably the greatest of the original Delta blues guitarists with his mesmerizing and truly unique style. 'The Rough Guide To Skip James' highlights his diverse repertoire of songs ranging from deep, dark Delta blues to upbeat barrelhouse piano tunes and spirituals.

TRACK LISTING

Hard Time Killin’ Floor Blues
I’m So Glad
Drunken Spree
If You Haven’t Any Hay Get On Down The Road
Cherry Ball Blues
Be Ready When He Comes
Little Cow And Calf Is Gonna Die Blues
Devil Got My Woman
How Long “Buck”
Jesus Is A Mighty Good Leader
Cypress Grove Blues
Illinois Blues
22-20 Blues

The album features an array of guests including Depeche Mode's Dave Gahan, Midlake's Tim Smith, Isobel Campbell, and Ed Harcourt, amongst others.

Commenting on the album, Marshall says... "During a time when the world seemed to teeter off its axis, and I grappled with personal illness and losses, music became my lifeline once more. Like a soothing medication, each note and lyric offered a glimmer of hope in the midst of darkness. Collaborating on the tracks felt like a shared journey through the universal language of music, allowing me to find my voice amidst the chaos. The title, On The Edge Of A Lost And Lonely World, felt deeply fitting then and continues to resonate now, embodying the essence of this profound musical exploration. I truly believe this album represents my finest work yet, a testament to resilience and the power of art to illuminate even the darkest of times."

On The Edge Of A Lost And Lonely World will be released on July 26th via Bella Union.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Beginning Ft Carl Hancock Rux
2. Too Many Rivals Ft Tim Smith 
3. The Immortal Ft Ed Harcourt
4. This Holding Pattern Ft James Cox
5. Brother Ft Dave Gahan
6. Born To Be Ft Peter Hayes
7. Keep Me Safe Ft Rachel Fannan
8. Dark Side Of Your Window Ft James Allan
9. Love You More Ft Isobel Campbell
10. The End Ft Madman Butterfly

The Cat’s Miaow return to World Of Echo with Skipping Stones: The Cassette Years ’92-’93, their second compilation for the imprint, and the fourth in a loosely defined series of reissues associated with the group (also including The Shapiros’ Gone By Fall: The Collected Works of The Shapiros and Hydroplane’s Selected Songs 1997-2003). It’s a smart selection of songs by one of Australia’s finest independent pop music groups, whose initial run, across the nineties, was as mysterious as it was bewitching. A generous double album featuring thirty-five songs drawn from The Cat’s Miaow’s history, Skipping Stones lets listeners in on a bunch more secrets.

An even deeper pass through the archives of The Cat’s Miaow, Skipping Stones is a welcome follow-up to 2022’s Songs ’94-’98, which pulled together material from seven-inch singles and compilations. Diving into the four cassettes that the group released over a two-year period, Skipping Stones is full of surprises, rich with unexpected and inspired detours, while reminding everyone just how clear and distinct The Cat’s Miaow’s music was from the very start. Looking in from the outside, they always felt like a group that knew just what they were doing, but intuitive as they are, they weren’t forcing anything: these songs always sound exactly what they need to be, rough edges, playful moments and all.

It's also a fascinating snapshot of one arm of the ‘international pop underground’. While they were clearly listening to music from the US, UK and elsewhere – there are glimpses of Galaxie 500, Spacemen 3, Beat Happening, and The Pastels in some of the songs here – The Cat’s Miaow also feel, consciously or not, part of a continuum of Australian underground pop that takes in The Particles, The Lighthouse Keepers, The Cannanes, The Honeys, Even As We Speak, and The Sugargliders (who they would cover several times). Like those before them, The Cat’s Miaow balanced opposing forces in their music: naivete and knowingness; fragility and strength; worldliness and world-weariness; play and seriousness; heartache and pleasure.

The four cassettes that Skipping Stones draws from – Little Baby Sour Puss, Pet Sounds (both 1992), From My Window, and How Did Everything Get So Fucked Up (both 1993) – were released or assisted by Toytown, a Melbourne cassette label of rare taste, savvy and intelligence, run by Wayne Davidson. Toytown felt like the perfect early home for The Cat’s Miaow, their cassettes rubbing shoulders in the label’s catalogue with brilliant groups like Sukpatch, The Ah Club, Kitty Craft, and Land Of The Loops. The local context is just as important, too, with The Cat’s Miaow sharing their time and creative vision with friends in The Ampersands, Stinky Fire Engine, Girl Of The World, Super Falling Star, Pencil Tin and The Sugargliders. And cassettes were an important form of exchange – cheap, easy to reproduce, not too expensive to send interstate or overseas, they were the most accessible DIY format for any group starting to spread the word about their noise.

All of this is to say, the thirty-five songs here landed in several different contexts, national and international, which goes part-way to explaining the group’s curious cosmopolitanism, the style and spirit in their sound. The Cat’s Miaow may have been bedroom dreamers, but their songs were richly informed, with the sweetest of girl-pop moves sashaying into walls of tremolo-d and distorted guitar, jangling six strings tangling with melodic bass that’s pure Peter Hook/Naomi Yang, while the gentle trickle of a drum machine or the earthy twitch of brushes on drum skins provided the spine for Kerrie’s and Bart’s lovely, unforced singing.

There are a clutch of gorgeous songs here that would reappear in a different form on later releases, classics like “The Phoebe I Know”, “Third Floor Fire Escape View”, “Not Like I Was Doing Anything” and “You Left A Note On The Table”, but plenty of other magic too, all of it finding its way to vinyl for the first time (some tracks appeared on compact disc via the compilations A Kiss and A Cuddle [Bus Stop, 1996] and Songs For Girls to Sing [Drive-In, 1997]). Remarkably, The Cat’s Miaow have also recently released a split single with Rocketship featuring newly recorded material and returned to the stage for their second-ever gig.

But this double LP on World Of Echo feels like the very core of the thing – some of the most heartbreakingly beautiful, effortlessly lush and deeply moving pop music you’re likely to hear.

TRACK LISTING

Disc 1 - Side A
How Did Everything Get So Fucked Up?
Make A Wish
Hollow Inside (original Cassette Version)
Faded (original Cassette Version)
Not Like I Was Doing Anything (original Cassette Version)
Disappointed
I Wanted None Of This
Fire Damage
Halo

Disc 1 - Side B
From My Window
Aurora
It Might Never Happen
Nothing's Ever Quite That Simple
Brighter Star
The Phoebe I Know (original Cassette Version)
Little And Small
Sleepyhead
Dust From A Memory
A 50s Ballad
A Few Words
From My Window

Disc 2 - Side C
Pet Sounds
Third Floor Fire Escape View (original Cassette Version)
You Left A Note On The Table (original Cassette Version)
Short Sighted (original Cassette Version)
I Hate Myself More Than You Do
Talking To Trees
Ice Cream
Saviour For The Hurrying Man
Ferry No. 6

Disc 2 - Side D
Little Baby Sour Puss
Nothing New (original Cassette Version)
Climb My Stairs (original Cassette Version)
Autumn (original Cassette Version)
I Really Don’t Know (original Cassette Version)
Sunday
Memphis ‘54
Walk On By
Georgie

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2024 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 20TH 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 22ND.

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2024 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 20TH 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 22ND.

2015 is a busy year for Michael Head:

His second record as ‘Michael Head and the Red Elastic Band’ has just been released on his own label, Violette - ‘Velvets in the Dark’ 7 inch single. Shack’s 1990 single ‘I Know You Well’ opens ‘Perfect Motion’, Jon Savage’s 2LP compilation as “a musical return-trip to these fondly remembered years spanning 1988-93”.

Plus, Megaphone is set to reissue ‘The Magical World of The Strands’ in its original form, with the addition of a 20-page booklet, including new liner notes by Michael Head himself and photographs testifying to the album’s sleeve work-in-progress.

The CD version will come with 2 bonus tracks – the B-Sides to the 1998 NME and Melody Maker Single Of The Week ‘Somethin’ Like You’. ‘Green Velvet Jacket’ is an acoustic solo piece by Michael Head. And Queen Matilda (demo) was recorded in early 1993 and produced by the band’s friend and live engineer Ian Eastwood on a 4-track Tascam cassette recorder.

Alongside this reissue comes ‘The Olde World’, an exclusive new album of recordings from the same sessions.

Last but not least, Michael plans his first gigs as ‘Michael Head & The Strands’ promising to play his classic album ‘The Magical World of The Strands’ in full.

After a couple of demos for the French promoter who paired him with his childhood hero Love’s Arthur Lee in 1992, Pale Fountains and Shack legend Michael Head entered a Liverpool recording studio the following year, with a new project in mind, ‘The Strands’. Michael teamed up with his brother and lifelong companion, John, his long-time drummer Iain Templeton and two new recruits, Michelle Brown on bass and Les Roberts on flute. The recording sessions would last two years and were only halted because Michael was offered a new major label deal. A deal, not for his current work, but for him to record as Shack again.

So it came to be that Stephane Bismuth, the French promoter, was left with 100 or so minutes of a thwarted project, only a third of which had made it to the mixing studio in Sheffield in the summer of ‘95.

Patch-working and weaving rough mixes and sketches – by engineer Steve Powell, made in Liverpool – with completed mixes by producer Mark Coyle who had hired an arranger and string section for sessions in Sheffield, Stephane Bismuth founded a new label Megaphone and finally released ‘The Magical World of The Strands’, in autumn of 1997.

This work-in-progress comprising sketches, rough mixes and fully orchestrated tracks, garnered great critical acclaim and is still rated by many as the "rarest jewel of the 90s", Q Magazine.

About “The magical world of the strands” :

“AS THE MAGICAL WORLD SO CONCLUSIVELY PROVES HE DESERVES THE WORLD” (9/10 NME 1997)
“THE RAREST JEWEL OF THE 90S” (Q 2014)
NME :`LIKE NICK DRAKE STRUMMING ALONG WITH THE STONE ROSES."
- **** GUARDIAN: "ONE OF THE FURTHEST REACHING ENGLISH GUITAR RECORDS THIS DECADE."
- **** Q: "INCREDIBLY AFFECTING, A STAGGERING ALBUM.
- **** UNCUT: "Regarded by many as the equal of the STONE ROSES debut."
- **** THE TIMES : ’BIGGER THAN A LEGEND '.

TRACK LISTING

1. Queen Matilda
2. Something Like You
3. And Luna
4. X Hits The Spot
5. The Prize
6. Undecided (Reprise)
7. Glynys And Jaqui
8. It's Harvest Time
9. Loaded Man
10. Hocken's Hay
11. Fontilan

CD BONUS TRACKS:
Green Velvet Jacket
Queen Matilda (Demo) 

If you haven’t encountered The K’s impassioned bangers, catch up. In the last 12 months alone, they’ve sold out a UK tour, and sold every ticket for their upcoming Manchester Academy show in under 24 hours. They opened the main stages at Isle of Wight and Neighbourhood Festivals, as well as gracing the main stages at Leeds, Reading and Kendal Calling, and tore the roof down at this year's Tramlines, with hundreds unable to get into the big top to see them play. They’ve supported Liam Gallagher, James and Blondie, their streams are also getting comfortably in the millions…not bad for a band from Warrington.

Their gigs are a guaranteed riot, with the recent 13 date sellout UK and Ireland tour leading them to being asked to put in a Royal Albert Hall appearance with Kasabian on their day off. This pulsing live reputation shouldn’t overlook the sophistication that gives The K’s their immediately identifiable blueprint though. Their debut single “Sarajevo” was one of the few rock and roll songs to namecheck Austro-Hungary, whilst notching up over 4 million streams in the process, and their recent single ‘Hoping Maybe’ became a phone-lights-on live anthem that reached number 2 on the iTunes chart, kept off the top spot only by Miley Cyrus.

So where next? The band have just been announced as main support on the upcoming tour for the recent number 1 album success story that is The Reytons, taking in arenas, warehouses and Academy venues.

Their debut album is released in early 2024 on thriving Manchester indie LAB Records. With each new release, The K’s just keep growing. A cult sensation, an irresistible, irrefutable spirit, welcoming to anyone who wants to join and escape into a better, more hopeful world.

A sublime set of roots, vocal and dubbed out instrumental magic, Close Encounters Of The Third World is a real lost gem in the treasure-filled Creation Rebel back catalogue. A true cross-atlantic collaboration - initial rhythm tracks were laid down in London in 1978, with horns and vocals overdubbed at Channel One in Jamaica, before bandleader Crucial Tony returned to London with the tapes for the album to be mixed by a visiting Prince Jammy.

Originally released on pre-On-U Sound label Hitrun, and the second album released by the group chronologically. Unavailable for 45 years, it has been carefully pieced back together, for this new edition featuring extended 12” discomix versions of “Beware” and “Natty Conscience Free”, re-cut by Frank Merritt at The Carvery. Includes new sleevenotes by reggae scholar David Katz that tells the story of the album in full, plus download card

TRACK LISTING

1. Know Yourself
2. Conspiring
3. Beware
4. Dangerous And Deadly
5. Shouldn’t Do That
6. Creation Fever
7. Natty Conscience Free
8. Joyful Noise

The Just What The World Needs label is back with its 15th EP from the eponymous production outfit behind the imprint and it carries right on from where the last one left off. 'Track 1' is a fiery and Latin-tinged Afro gem with funky rhythms and big horns that bring sunny and open-air party vibes. 'Track 2' has a hint of MPB to it with more low-slung funk grooves and steamy vocals while 'Track 3' then flips the script again with a more cosmic vibe and plenty of mad Rhodes chords. Last but not least is 'Track 4' with some lo-fi and light night melon twisting disco sounds.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Master splicer Jacques Renault with a quadruplet of disco, tropical funk and cosmic edits that are set to fly.

TRACK LISTING

Track 1
Track 2
Track 3
Track 4

Seemingly written against a backdrop of mutual heartbreaks and trauma, ‘Saves The World’ portrays the LA trio finding faith in one another, and in the sublime artistry of their songwriting.

A record rooted in redemptive qualities and propelled by its overriding narrative power, it’s sweetly fitting that Muna end ‘Saves The World’ with the promise of ‘It’s Gonna Be OK, Baby’. It’s the sound of three women moving beyond their past, their shared experiences deepening those creative bonds while moving into fresh space.

Ultimately 'Saves The World' is a bold, colourful, lyric return, one that is asserting while remaining utterly honest, completely true to themselves.

The Room is a collection of folkloric pieces from various regions around South America, as interpreted by Fabiano do Nascimento and Sam Gendel, on 7-string nylon guitar and soprano saxophone, respectively. Presented with purity and focus, soaring and lamenting, this album presents a unique journey through lesser-known musical landscapes and traditions stretching from Argentina to the Amazon.

Sam Gendal, the Californian saxophonist – perhaps best-known for his thoughtful collaborations with Moses Sumney and bassist Sam Wilkes – has long been honing slippery improvisations, pitch-bending his harmonies and sliding over rhythms. The ambient-jazz musician offers unpredictable, impressionistic takes on R&B hits from the '90s and early '00s, tackling songs by Beyoncé, Aaliyah, and Erykah Badu. Sam Gendel's ascension to beloved ambient-jazz savant has been fuelled, in part, by the inexhaustibility of his output.

Fabiano is a Rio de Janeiro-born, LA-based multi-string guitarist, composer and producer who has developed his own sound that is ever-expansive, sometimes called retro-futuristic brazilian music, borrowing from the traditions of samba and choro while echoing elements of modern jazz, experimental & electronic.

TRACK LISTING

1. Foi Boto
2. Capricho
3. Astral Flowers
4. Kewere
5. Cores
6. Txera
7. Até De Manhã
8. Poeira
9. Tupi
10. Daiana

Not far off two years from the day, Bristol's Tara Clerkin Trio return to World of Echo and the EP format for a five song collection of quixotic, emotional redolence. But do not mistake their absence for inertia. If their musical output has been a little sparse during those in-between years, limited to a few solo ventures and an astonishing ten minute long piece as a trio, their time has otherwise been richly spent: continuous writing and recording, extensive live performances across Europe and Japan, a cultivation of local and more far-flung artistic connections (musical and otherwise), and a monthly NTS show that, through the voice of others, speaks most obviously to their own unorthodox interests. It's the conflux of that winding activity that leads indirectly to On The Turning Ground, 26 minutes of probing, thoughtful composition that draws from no one specific source. Their inspirations might be centreless, but the trio still possess a very obvious anchor in the form of their hometown. Bristol stands as a city of multitudes, heterogenous and vibrant in such a way as to allow it to renew and remake time and again. Tara Clerkin Trio drink from that same well, duly reflecting a rich musical heritage built on fwd-facing electronic subcultures and experimental urges. As such, On The Turning Ground finds them subject to their own subtle internal evolution, the pervasive sense that you've caught them mid-bloom, on their way to becoming but never anything but themselves. The two instrumental pieces that bookend the EP stand as a perfect case in point, displaying an increasing mastery of compositional space. Pensive and restrained, 'Brigstow' and 'Once Around' both emanate an interstitial quality that's not so much after- as in-between-hours, miniature dub-folk symphonies held together by the kind of tacit understanding that remains the preserve of only the closest of family units. If those two tracks are shaped by a sense of shifting temporality, then the three vocal-led pieces that comprise the record's core feel like a gentle ossifying of aesthetic into something approaching their own unique form of avant-pop. 'Pop' is, of course, a broadly subjective concept, but there's no avoiding the overt sparkling melodicism of songs like 'Marble Walls' and 'The Turning Ground', undeniable re-directions of that late 90s impulse to bend pop sensibilities into off-centre terrain, to render the familiar new again. This is what Tara Clerkin Trio do, gently pulling the ground from under your feet, turning you to face something you'd not quite seen before. To view the world as they do: sideways, sometimes, all of the time.

TRACK LISTING

1. Brigstow
2. World In Delay
3. Marble Walls
4. The Turning Ground
5. Once Around

For the very first time on yellow vinyl , and following demand from an active and enthusiastic fanbase, Demon Music are proud to present a career spanning collection featuring 25 of Kirsty MacColl's most popular recordings on a 2LP set.

Between her June 1979 debut single 'They Don't Know' and her tragic death in 2000, Kirsty released five studio albums and seventeen singles, a succinct but consistently high quality body of work, much of it self written or in partnership with notable collaborators like Graham Gouldman , or Johnny Marr. Whether she was exploring themes of love and loss, or applying her original and often witty world view, Kirsty's talent as a songwriter and singer is instantly apparent on this new compilation. She was equally adept at throwing new light on old favourites look no further than her (some might say better than the original) covers of The Kinks' 'Days', and Billy Bragg's 'A New England', both included here.

The respect for Kirsty's craft can be heard in the versions of her songs recorded by the likes of Tracey Ullman, ABBA's Anni Frid Lyngstad, and Bette Midler, while her rich, unique and in demand voice saw her back Simple Minds, the Rolling Stones, The Smiths, Talking Heads, Happy Mondays, The Wonder Stuff, Alison Moyet, and Robert Plant, among others.

Born in Croydon, England, Kirsty's roots as a performer began in the fertile late '70s Punk and New Wave scene, but with her style adapting as her influences broadened, her songwriting took in Pop, Folk, Country, Rock 'n' Roll, Dance, and Latin music, all of which can be heard on this celebration of a much loved and much missed talent.

TRACK LISTING

1. Kirsty MacColl - A New England (03:50)
2. Kirsty MacColl - Innocence (Single Remix) (04:02)
3. Kirsty MacColl - They Don't Know (03:01)
4. Kirsty MacColl - There's A Guy Works Down The Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis (03:08)
5. Kirsty MacColl - Don't Come The Cowboy With Me, Sonny Jim! (03:48)
6. Kirsty MacColl - Can't Stop Killing You (04:09)
7. Kirsty MacColl - England 2 Colombia 0 (03:45)
8. Kirsty MacColl - Walking Down Madison (7" Mix) (04:39)
9. Kirsty MacColl - Free World (Radio Edit) (02:37)
10. Kirsty MacColl - Terry (03:56)
11. Kirsty MacColl - You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby (From "She's Having A Baby") (03:39)
12. Kirsty MacColl - Mother's Ruin (03:57)
13. Kirsty MacColl - Mambo De La Luna (Single Edit) (03:31)
14. Kirsty MacColl - Angel (Single Edit) (03:40)
15. Kirsty MacColl - In These Shoes? (03:39)
16. Kirsty MacColl - My Affair (Single Edit) (03:34)
17. Kirsty MacColl - Treachery (03:52)
18. Kirsty MacColl - Caroline (02:55)
19. Kirsty MacColl - Days (02:57)
20. Kirsty MacColl - He's On The Beach (Single Version) (03:31)
21. Kirsty MacColl - Soho Square (04:26)
22. Kirsty MacColl And Billy Bragg - Darling, Let's Have Another Baby (03:26)
23. Kirsty MacColl - All I Ever Wanted (Single Version) (03:31)
24. Kirsty MacColl And Evan Dando - Perfect Day (03:49)
25. The Pogues With Kirsty MacColl - Fairytale Of New York (04:37)

Limited to 1000 copies worldwide and newly remastered and optimized for vinyl. The last vinyl LP, coke bottle clear with blue swirl, sold out quickly, and there hasn't been vinyl available for nearly two years. Includes album download card, and full colour marketing sticker with: "Metallic Silver 1000 LP limited edition, Remastered + Optimized for Vinyl.

TRACK LISTING

1. Curtains
2. Change Of Time
3. The Curse
4. Southern Pacifca
5. Rattling Locks
6. Folk Bloodbath
7. Lark
8. Lantern
9. The Remnant
10. See How Man Was Made
11. Another New World
12. Orbital
13. Long Shadows

Zach Phillips & Olia Eichenbaum met online in late 2018 and quickly began collaborating remotely, and in France and Brooklyn. First working together under the name the Pearly Gates, they toured western Europe together in 2019 with a common band shared between Olia's project Œ & Zach and Ma Clément's group Fievel Is Glauque. After taking a year off, it was during the early months of the pandemic that they started sending music and lyrics back and forth. Before they knew it, the entire Perfect Angels album was written and recorded in under a month, with Olia & guests' remote overdubs taking a bit more time. It was recorded entirely to Tascam 388 1/4" 8-track tape with computers intervening only during guest overdubs, mixing & mastering.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Moat (feat. Shoko Igarashi)
2. All Love (feat. Thom Gill)
3. Orchids Are Not Sold
4. The Meaning Of Love (feat. Gaspard Sicx)
5. The Informant (feat. Ryan Power & Logan Hone)
6. Una Palabra
7. Exit From The Ultra-World (feat. Shoko Igarashi)
8. You're So Alive
9. Sightseeing
10. Sweetheart (feat. Vincent Pieuvre)
11. Fue Ayer
12. I'm Outbid (feat. Logan Hone)
13. Lamb Of Shame (feat. Logan Hone)
14. Touch Of Touch (feat. Vincent Pieuvre)
15. What Am I Gonna Do With You? (Hey Baby)
16. Angels Suffering
17. Two Minutes Of The Year
18. No Better Pain (feat. Chris Cohen)

Rhythm Foundation was the duo of James Lightbown & Peter Oldroyd, responsible for just one firecracker of piano house power in 1991. "Let The Whole World Know" was released on the Eastern Bloc-related M.O.S Records and became a big spin for one world leading DJ at the time - Sasha. 
Just w
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of this monumental record, Salford City Records have released an EP package with four fresh remixes of the track. Opening with the Rhythm Foundation vocal mix which is as true to the original vibe as you're gonna get. That epic vocal line soaring over vamping piano lines and the occassional 'woooo' to devastating effect. 

Rob Tissera & Steve Luigi contribute an electrified and highly kinetic offering which places it alongside the proto-proggy sounds that would begin to be hammered by the likes of Sasha and Digweed and soundtrack wild nights at Shelly's. 

On side B, Andy Cain perfectly bridges the gap between the original piano house sound and what would later become trance, injecting 16-bar drum rolls, rising strings and hands-aloft energy into proceedings.  

Stu Chapman drops a tastefully executed breakbeat refix, juxtaposing those happy piano chords and jubulent strings with odd blasts of rave stab tension and hardcore bass. 

 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Just when you thought you'd heard the last of Salford City Records they finish the year off with an exceptional set of (new?) remixes of the '91 piano house anthem "Let The Whole World Know".

TRACK LISTING

1 RF Vocal Mix
2 Rob Tissera & Steve Luigi Remix
3 Andy Cain Remix
4 Stu Chapman Remix

Just What The World Needs returns to their own self-titled label with a 14th outing of fiery disco heat. This is potent music that melds together jazz, funk and soul with a lashing of synth goodness. The opener is a real driver with emotive gospel vocals and mad jazz keys and the flip side comes on strong with jazz say leading the way beneath vaping chords and funky, smooth drums. Last of all is a supercharged leftfield bomb with explosive cosmic synths and the sort of energy that stands out in any set.

STAFF COMMENTS

Mine says: Driving disco with that Theo flair; acidic proto-house with a cinematic twist; and summery clarinet-guided jazz-funk. DJ Righteous certainly keeps us on our toes across three fresh edits.

TRACK LISTING

Track 1
Track 2
Track 3

The Sensual World is the sixth studio album by Kate Bush. It was released in October 1989 and reached no. 2 in the UK album chart.

It has been certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry in the UK, and Gold by the RIAA in the US.

TRACK LISTING

A1. The Sensual World
A2. Love And Anger
A3. The Fog
A4. Reaching Out
A5. Heads We’re Dancing
B1. Deeper Understanding
B2. Between A Man And A Woman
B3. Never Be Mine
B4. Rocket’s Tail
B5. This Woman’s Work

The mid to late 1960s in Brazil produced the creative arts and music movement Tropicalia, of which the band Os Mutantes were the most outrageous. Their creative cannibalism produced psychedelic gems unlike anything happening anywhere at the time. They were exactly what their name implies - a mutant genetic recombination of of elements of John Cage, The Beatles (circa "Sgt Pepper") and bossa nova. This collection brings together the best tracks from the four albums they released between 1968 and 1971; "Os Mutantes", "Mutantes", "A Divina Cemedia Ou Ando Meio Desligado" and "Jardim Eletrico".

TRACK LISTING

A1. Ando Meio Desligado
A2. Ave, Lúcifer
A3. Dia
A4. Baby (1971)
A5. Fuga No. II
A6. Cantor De Mambo
A7. Adeus, Maria Fulô
B1. Desculpe, Babe
B2. El Justiciero
B3. Panis Et Circenses
B4. A Minha Menina
B5. Bat Macumba
B6. Le Premier Bonheur Du Jour
B7. Baby (1968)

Sublime electronic underwater score from 1981 by former member of Black Sabbath. Comes with unique blank seascape sleeve with sticker sheet to make your own underwater scene sleeve. How super fucking cool is that?

SLEEVENOTES
Since I started collecting records I have been slightly obsessed with underwater music. I could analyse this in many ways but the most obvious starting point for me was the weekly dose of Sunday afternoon TV onboard the Calypso with Jacques Cousteau throughout the 1970s.

My collection of underwater LPs and singles is now extensive - in the hundreds I reckon. But in amongst it all is only one underwater soundtrack from the UK. And this is it. It took me an age to track down Jezz, but I did. And now you don’t have to take an age to track down an original super rare copy of the 1981 pressing.

These days when there are so may represses, rediscoveries and reissues, I thought we’d make this stand out a little more, so I decided to take us all back to my childhood 1970’s when I used to get a little “Action Transfer” set on very special occasions, and stick the little transfers of scuba divers, fish and mini subs all over a small paper underwater landscape. Sadly we couldn’t get classic rub down Letraset style transfers but I think Kev (DJ Food) has done a miraculous job in creating a modern version.

So sit back (mess about with the stickers) and wonder at the beautiful, submersive electronic sounds created by Jezz all those years ago. Dive in, the water is lovely.
Jonny Trunk 2023.

TRACK LISTING

Side One:
1 Wonderland In The Wilderness
2 Nature On A Knife Edge
Side Two:
3 Sunken Tombs Of The Truk Lagoon
4 Magic Of The Dolphin

Sonar Kollektiv are very proud to present a sweet slice of obscure Philly soul with deep connections to our very own Berlin family. Shirley Turner’s 1965 recording of I Wish You A World Of Happiness has long been a crate digger’s delight and now receives a very special reissue, alongside a rather stunning cover version from Hamburg based quartet, The KBCS, featuring the vocal talents of Nora Becker.

TRACK LISTING

A1. I Wish You A World Of Happiness - THE KBCS FT. NORA BECKER
B1. I Wish You A World Of Happiness - SHIRLEY TURNER

Not far off two years from the day, Bristol's Tara Clerkin Trio return to World of Echo and the EP format for a five song collection of quixotic, emotional redolence. But do not mistake their absence for inertia. If their musical output has been a little sparse during those in-between years, limited to a few solo ventures and an astonishing ten minute long piece as a trio, their time has otherwise been richly spent: continuous writing and recording, extensive live performances across Europe and Japan, a cultivation of local and more far-flung artistic connections (musical and otherwise), and a monthly NTS show that, through the voice of others, speaks most obviously to their own unorthodox interests. It's the conflux of that winding activity that leads indirectly to "On The Turning Ground", 26 minutes of probing, thoughtful composition that draws from no one specific source.

Their inspirations might be centreless, but the trio still possess a very obvious anchor in the form of their hometown. Bristol stands as a city of multitudes, heterogenous and vibrant in such a way as to allow it to renew and remake time and again. Tara Clerkin Trio drink from that same well, duly reflecting a rich musical heritage built on fwd-facing electronic subcultures and experimental urges. As such, "On The Turning Ground" finds them subject to their own subtle internal evolution, the pervasive sense that you've caught them mid-bloom, on their way to becoming but never anything but themselves.

The two instrumental pieces that bookend the EP stand as a perfect case in point, displaying an increasing mastery of compositional space. Pensive and restrained, 'Brigstow' and 'Once Around' both emanate an interstitial quality that's not so much after- as in-between-hours, miniature dub-folk symphonies held together by the kind of tacit understanding that remains the preserve of only the closest of family units. If those two tracks are shaped by a sense of shifting temporality, then the three vocal-led pieces that comprise the record's core feel like a gentle ossifying of aesthetic into something approaching their own unique form of avant-pop. 'Pop' is, of course, a broadly subjective concept, but there's no avoiding the overt sparkling melodicism of songs like 'Marble Walls' and 'The Turning Ground', undeniable re-directions of that late 90s impulse to bend pop sensibilities into off-centre terrain, to render the familiar new again. This is what Tara Clerkin Trio do, gently pulling the ground from under your feet, turning you to face something you'd not quite seen before. To view the world as they do: sideways, sometimes, all of the time.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Quietly and consciously amassing a cult base through some carefully considered releases, Bristol's Tara Clerkin Trio might by the avant jazz / punky-dubby-acoustic-industrialists you never knew you needed until now. Beautifully hushed and intimate music that's not afraid to push the envelop when necessary. Another triumph.

TRACK LISTING

Brigstow
World In Delay
Marble Walls
The Turning Ground
Once Around

If you have had your ear to the Balearic underground over the summer you might well have heard some high-profile selectors dropping cuts off this latest missive from US label Just What The World Needs. It is another sublime three-tracker that kicks off with the string-laced and upbeat disco delights of the A1. Second up is a much more slow and sensuous sound that sinks you in deep to a beach lounger as the sun fades into the sea and the sky turns flame red and orange. Things pick up again with the third and final cut - a percussive jumble of organic hits and drums overlaid with a heart-melting vocal sample and deft melodic details that drift by like wispy clouds.

STAFF COMMENTS

Mine says: Possibly the best label name of all time? Pete Blaker does it justice with three very different edits and I'm very much here for Track 2... absolute cosmic bliss!

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
Untitled
Untitled

Side 2
Untitled

This is what a living legend looks and sounds like” Rolling Stone.

The Chills reissue their celebrated early singles compilation, this 24-track expanded version of Kaleidoscope World gathers together tracks from the ‘Dunedin Double’ compilation, live recordings, ‘Doledrums’ single and the band’s seminal ‘Pink Frost’.

The collection also contains ‘The Lost EP’, with early takes on their groundbreaking ‘Submarine Bells’ album, alongside the aching ‘I Love My Leather Jacket’, perfectly illustrating the rollercoaster ride of Martin Phillipps and The Chills as portrayed in the award film The Triumph And The Tragedy Of Martin Phillipps.

“Singer/guitarist Martin Phillipps’ group was at the forefront of the extraordinary little guitar-pop scene in New Zealand in the early ’80s.. Kaleidoscope World is the major document of their early era.” Pitchfork

Part of the 80’s extraordinarily vibrant and innovative independent music scene in New Zealand, The Chills became flag bearers, taking the Dunedin sound, as championed by the Flying Nun label, to the world. Long recognised as one of New Zealand's most influential bands, Kaleidoscope World is a definitive artifact from Martin Phillipps’ groundbreaking project.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
A1 Kaleidoscope World
A2 Satin Doll
A3 Frantic Drift
A4 Rolling Moon
A5 Bite
Side B
B1 Flame Thrower
B2 Pink Frost
B3 Purple Girl
B4 This Is The Way
B5 Never Never Go
B6 Don't Even Know Her Name
B7 Bee Bah Bee Bah Bee Boe
Side C
C1 Whole Weird World
C2 Dream By Dream
C3 Doledrums
C4 Hidden Bay
C5 I Love My Leather Jacket
C6 The Great Escape
Side D
D1 Oncoming Day (Early Version)
D2 Dan Destiny And The Silver Dawn (Unplugged)
D3 Martyn’s Doctor Told Me
D4 I'll Only See You Alone Again
D5 Green-Eyed Owl (Live)
D6 Smile From A Dead Dead Face (Live)

Dust-e-1 & Priori are back with a 4 track EP of dreamy, atmospheric electronica via their ANF alias. "Passive Massive" opens with a skippy, light breakbeat combined with dreamy electronics, a hooky synth lead and plenty of cerebral sfx squiggles n niggles to keep the mind's eye active!

"Images" deploys the familiar, comforting partnership of 303 and pitched-down breakbeat. Wrapped in heavenly strings and occasional echoed out vox - a proper comedown paradise at the magic 99BPM sway.

"Technique" quickly picks up the pace for side B's excursion into sonic star clusters. A beautifully constructed soundscape that sounds like your cruising through some futuristic and highly advanced galaxy with neon blues and clean lines marking the warp speed transition.

"CBOTEOC" concludes with a liminal ambient number that'll nurse partied-out souls and frazzled e-heads with its undulated, gently unfolding beauty. Top stuff from this pair, most recommended.

Matt Says: Acid-flecked house, techno, downbeat and ambient; all coalesced into a vibrant, spirit-lifting EP of post-XTC-laden bliss. Perfecto!

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Acid-flecked house, techno, downbeat and ambient; all coalesced into a vibrant, spirit-lifting EP of post-XTC-laden bliss. Perfecto!

TRACK LISTING

01 Passive Massive
02 Images
03 Technique
04 C.b.o.t.e.o.c.

The World's Biggest Paving Slab' on limited press 7" vinyl. In words on Lily Fontaine, "“I wrote and recorded the demo in my bedroom in one day, during my final year of university in 2018. Moving to a city for university forced me to reflect on how my experience of growing up in and around Pendle, how witnessing the social, economic and political issues that exist around there in juxtaposition with the beauty of the landscape and the characters that live within in it, has shaped me into the artist and person that I am. These semi-rural stories leak into most of my writing; in particular, this song tackles delusions of grandeur and inferiority from the perspective of a small town’s local celebrities. It’s split into two halves."

TRACK LISTING

Side A: The World's Biggest Paving Slab
Side B: The World's Biggest Paving Slab (Demo)

In 2017, Nicholas Wood introduced the Saccades project with a self-titled debut album, showcasing a departure from The KVB's somber atmospherics and monumental soundscapes, embracing a stripped-back, psychedelic guitar-driven sound. The subsequent release, "Flowing Fades," in April 2021, saw Wood reincorporate synths into his compositions, drawing inspiration from a diverse range of influences including J.G. Ballard, Serge Gainsbourg, 80s dream pop, and yacht-rock. To support the album, Wood embarked on Saccades' inaugural live tour in the summer of 2021, performing a selection of dates throughout the UK, before shifting focus to their next record.

"Land of the Hearth," Saccades' latest offering, takes its name from a passage by Jonathon Meades and signals a transition for Nicholas Wood, moving away from The KVB's nocturnal soundscapes and industrial beats, and embracing a more Balearic sensibility. The album boasts a sun-kissed, dreamlike quality, occasionally nodding to the uplifting vibes of house music.

TRACK LISTING

1. Nearly Dreaming
2. One Day Soon
3. Cross Street
4. Neighbours Pool
5. Some Regrets
6. New Star Line
7. Land Of The Hearth
8. Faint Echoes
9. Little Whites
10. Dowsing
11. Solstice 

Earl Lindo production from 1984... TIP!

Teenage twins Ruffy & Tuffy deliver an apocalyptic slab of synth drenched rub a dub with what could be the first use of vocoder in reggae for 1982’s "If The 3rd World War Is A Must". This release draws from both the original 12” and the master tapes combining the best vocal cut and dub versions. It's painfully poignant lyrical content almost predicting the exact state of the world that we live in today! 

Though not prolific musicians, many may recognize the twins sparring in matching red Pony track suits in Ted Bafaloukos’ iconic 1978 film Rockers. Ahead of its time in almost every way, the lyrics dealing with global war and the nefarious use of technology, sadly seem as relevant now as they did in 1982 though some of the actors may have changed. Surrounded by elite reggae musicians from childhood it was nothing unusual for the brothers to be in the presence of elders like Gregory Isaacs, Burning Spear, Augustus Pablo, Jacob Miller and especially Bob Marley at recording sessions and in daily life.

"If The 3rd World War" was their first venture into the studio as solo artists in 1982 first at Channel One and then Tuff Gong where Wailers alumni Earl Wire Lindo and Tyrone Downie (keys and Vocoder) laid down their space age additions to the track creating a genre bending reggae / electro / dub concoction that still sounds fresh 41 years later. Wire Lindo & the twins took the mastertapes to Texas based mechanical engineer and producer Stephen 'Iya' James who ran Marcus Garvey Records and the label African Unity Productions in the unlikely reggae hub of Austin Texas. The track was not released until two years later in 1984 as a 12” which had a run of only 500 copies and is no easy find these days, often fetching up to a £100.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Killer 80s Channel One / Tuff Gong rarity which might well lay claim to be the first dub track with a vocoder present. Scarily poignant in today's society; if that vocal is a little too real, then the dub should take away all your world woes in a ganja cloud of digi-dub prowess.

TRACK LISTING

If The 3rd World War Is A Must
If The 3rd World War Is A Must Dub

The world is full of Bee Gees fans. Yet, for a band of such renown, little is known about Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb. Weren't two of them twins? Didn't one of them marry Lulu? Where does Andy fit into the Gibb family tree? And why did they storm out of that Clive Anderson interview?People tend to have their favourite era of the Bee Gees' career, but many listeners are also conscious that there is more to uncover about the band.

This book will provide the perfect route in, pulling together every fascinating strand to tell the story of a group with the imagination of the Beatles, the pop craft of ABBA, the drama of Fleetwood Mac and the emotional heft of the Beach Boys. Uniquely, the Bee Gees' tale spans the entire modern pop era - they are the only group to have scored British top-ten singles in the '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s - and includes world-conquering disco successes like 'Stayin' Alive' and 'More Than a Woman', both from the soundtrack of hit film Saturday Night Fever. But the Bee Gees' extraordinary career was one of highs and lows.

From a vicious but temporary split in 1969 to several unreleased albums, disastrous TV and film appearances, and a demoralising cabaret season, the group weren't always revelling in the glow of million-selling albums, private jets and UNICEF concerts. Yet, even in the Gibbs' darkest times, their music was rarely out of the charts, as sung by the likes of Al Green, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, and Destiny's Child. Capturing the human story at the heart of the Bee Gees, this book will be a lyrical and stylish read, delighting hardcore fans with its details while engaging casual pop readers who simply want to know more about this important and enigmatic group.

Following their debut Glastonbury Festival performance, Broadside Hacks in collaboration with British Underground today announce the UK premiere of The Broadside Hack; a new documentary telling the story of the young vanguard of UK artists sharing radical interpretations, proto-feminist narratives and queer histories through the lens of British traditional folk song.

An accompanying live album of the songs performed in the film will also be released in December on LP and digitally.

Having enjoyed its US premiere at SXSW in March, The Broadside Hack is a short music documentary produced by British Underground, created with the aid of a grant from Arts Council England and PRS Foundation. Directed by Crispin Parry and filmed by The Northern Cowboys, It explores the influence of traditional folk songs on a new generation of musicians, filmed just as the UK was emerging from the dark days of the pandemic. The documentary was made in collaboration with music collective Broadside Hacks and features influential artists and groups from the new folk scene, including Rough Trade signees caroline, former Goat Girl bassist Naima Bock, whose acclaimed album Giant Palm was released on Sub Pop earlier this year, Shovel Dance Collective, Thyrsis, Broadside Hacks and Boss Morris. Discovering a fresh vitality in the tunes and new histories in the stories they tell, the film includes conversations, dances and intimate performances filmed at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios in Box, Wiltshire between 17th and 19th August 2021.

The live concert and screening of The Broadside Hack arguably marks the close of the first chapter in the story of the UK’s new folk scene; a story in which Broadside Hacks has been central. Initially formed as a folk night, the pandemic forced it to change its shape, morphing into a collective of young, like-minded musicians who met to play folk music in South London.

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
A1 Boss Morris - Up The Hill
A2 [Interview] Shovel Dance Collective - ‘A Collective Authoring Of History’
A3 Shovel Dance Collective - The Bold Fisherman / My Husband Has No Courage In Him
A4 [Interview] Thyrsis - ‘Collaboration Across Space And Time’
A5 Thyrsis - Single Sailor
A6 [Interview] Naima Bock (Broadside Hacks) - ‘Retracing Beginnings’
A7 Broadside Hacks - Gently Johnny
Side 2
B1 Shovel Dance Collective - Merrily Kissed The Quaker
B2 [Interview] Shovel Dance Collective - ‘Queering Folk Songs Of The Past’
B3 Thyrsis - Godstow Bridge
B4 [Interview] Naima Bock (Broadside Hacks) - ‘The Broadside Hacks Folk Club’
B5 Broadside Hacks - Rain And Snow
B6 Boss Morris - Young Collins

After more than a decade of non-stop touring, acclaimed Austin songwriting duo, Kelsey Wilson and Alexander Beggins, quietly stopped touring as Wild Child. Headed in different sonic directions, the pair didn't know if they would ever make another Wild Child record. Then, what felt like the "end of the world" brought them back together. Pandemic lockdowns closed stages and drained bank accounts. As artists from all backgrounds took their shows to the internet, Wild Child was no different.

Wilson and Beggins got together to practice for a series of online performances for devout fans, and within 30 minutes they wrote the first single for what would accidentally become Wild Child's fifth album, End of the World. Mixed by Matt Pence (Jason Isbell, Elle King) and including contributions from guitarist Charlie Wiles (Paul Cauthen, John Moreland, Orville Peck), End of The World sees the pair find catharsis in art amid compound disasters.

As Wilson describes it, “I just started signing about things that were freaking me out. Wearing a mask for a year. Global warming. There's no heat, no water. It was like a dirge to begin with. But by the end we were all screaming and laughing that, yes, this might be the end of the world, but we're all together right now, making music in my living room by candlelight. It's all OK."

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A

1. Bottom Line
2. Cheap Champagne
3. Could’ve Fooled Me
4. Dear John
5. End Of The World
6. Good Luck

SIDE B

1. Love On A Bad Day
2. Photographs
3. Ride With Me
4. Sleeping In
5. Underwhelmed
6. Wearing Blue

'The World in Air Quotes' is a genre-shifting style-melting kaleidoscope of art-rock, jazz, techno, folk & industrial. The God In Hackney sound like very little else from the early 2020's and whilst 'The World In Air Quotes' innovative progenitors are manifold - Eno, Coil, Robert Wyatt, The Durutti Column, 1980s ECM jazz to name a few - it sounds beholden to none of them.

The God In Hackney's first album 'Cave Moderne' was Andrew Weatherall's album of the year for NTS Radio.

The God In Hackney's second LP, 'Small Country Eclipse', was album of 2020 for critic Sukhdev Sandhu of The Colloquium for Unpopular Culture: "Mordant music: stuttering, dread, black humour. A record that felt truly independent, beholden to no genre, out of step with all centres and signposted nodes."

"The most enthralling melange of art-rock & new wave in the last decade" Hi-Fi Choice Magazine May 2023

"Left-field art-pop with leanings to 80's pop experimentalists like Peter Gabriel or Magazine...Peter Gabriel fronting Talking Heads?" Peter Hollo / Utility Fog, April 2023

Getting right to the point, "In This Room" by The God in Hackney is definitely one of the best songs I've heard so far in 2023, and almost certainly in all of the 2020s (the 2010s are being looked into as we speak). (Larry Dolman / Blastitude! April 10 2023)

'The World In Air Quotes' is The God In Hackney's 3rd album and their most musically emotive and lyrically inventive to date. It's an album that resonates with feelings about climate change, isolation, extinction, the social impact of technology, the flattening of history—and illuminates the darkness with imaginative rhythm, melody, noise & poetry. Songs range from widescreen, anthemic rock, to strange intricately arranged jazz-influenced songs, to abstract, textural electronic pieces. There's a strain of dark and surreal comedy too that runs through the lyrics and some of the choices the band makes in their sounds and arrangements.

The core God in Hackney quartet of Andy Cooke, Dan Fox, Ashley Marlowe and Nathaniel Mellors has expanded to include American multi-instrumentalists and composers Eve Essex (Eve Essex & The Fabulous Truth, Das Audit, Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra, Peter Zummo, Liturgy) and Kelly Pratt (Father John Misty, David Byrne/St Vincent, Beirut, and Lonnie Holley among many others), signalling a new and ambitious direction for the band.

The album cover features original artwork by Iranian-American artist Tala Madani, recently the subject of a career survey exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.

TRACK LISTING

1. In The Face Of A New Science
2. Heaven & Black Water
3. Bardo!
4. In This Room
5. Red Star
6. Philip
7. Interstate 5
8. Broken Pets
9. American Email
10. A Frozen Western
11. Non-Zero Number

With a foreword by Paul McCartney'It's semi-devotional -- a really special place' Florence Welch'There are certain things that are mythical. Abbey Road is mythical' Nile RodgersMany people will recognise the famous zebra crossing. Some visitors may have graffitied their name on its hallowed outer walls.

Others might even have managed to penetrate the iron gates. But what draws in these thousands of fans here, year after year? What is it that really happens behind the doors of the most celebrated recording studio in the world?It may have begun life as an affluent suburban house, but it soon became a creative hub renowned around the world as a place where great music, ground-breaking sounds and unforgettable tunes were forged - nothing less than a witness to, and a key participant in, the history of popular music itself. What has been going on there for over ninety years has called for skills that are musical, creative, technical, mechanical, interpersonal, logistical, managerial, chemical and, romantics might be tempted add, close to magic.

This is for the people who believe in the magic.

Featuring Captain Sensible and Paul Gray from The Damned, with Johnny Moped drummer Marty Love! Who, what and why are The Sensible Gray Cells? Captain:- Paul Gray and myself being garage psych aficionados would prefer to hear more of this kind of music and this is our contribution to the cause. If I said that some of the songs were 'Damned rejects' that shouldn't be seen as an indication of inferior songwriting.. more that they're not wearing the right shirt. A Postcard From Britain came out in 2013. What have you been up to since then? Captain:- I've never been a prolific writer.. being a lazy so and so I think it's best to wait for inspiration to call.. which explains the 7 year gap..(how many albums could the Beatles have crammed in that period!) but in the meantime PG rejoined the Damned and we've gigged about a bit, which is always fun A Postcard From Britain was a snapshot of modern life. Does the new album cover similar themes or have you taken a new direction? Captain:- It's sad that high streets around the world have been destroyed by online shopping but nobody's forcing people to do it.. but what can you do. These are very strange times were living though - I just count myself lucky to have been around to witness the 2nd half of the 20th century.. a fab time for music, culture, ideas.. and that without even mentioning Benny Hill and On The Buses. The new album coincides with all this virus malarkey.. which, unpleasant as it is will undoubtedly be used by the powers that be to tighten the screws on us little people on behalf of their billionaire paymasters. Blah blah, etc. There's a bit of that hidden away in the album. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Sell Her Spark
2. Get Back Into The World
3. Don’t Say I Didn’t Warn Ya
4. Black Spider Memo Man
5. Stupid Dictators
6. So Long
7. A Little Prick
8. DJ With Half A Brain
9. Jam Tomorrow **CD Only Extra Track
10. What’s The Point Of Andrew?
11. Fine Weather Friend
12. I Married A Monster
13. You And Me
14. Another World **CD Only Extra Track

As some of you may know, Alice Coltrane was a legendary pianist, composer, spiritual leader, and the wife of John Coltrane, the most venerated and influential saxophonist in the history of jazz. In 1967, four years after meeting John, he died of liver cancer, leaving Alice a widow with four small children. Bereft of her soul mate, Alice suffered sleepless nights and severe weight loss. At her worst, she weighed only 95 pounds. She had hallucinations in which trees spoke, various beings existed on astral planes, and the sounds of “a planetary ether” spun through her brain, knocking her into a frightening unconsciousness.

The critical event of this period was not that Alice fell into the nadir of her existence, but rather that she experienced tapas, a vital period of trial. These tapas (a Sanskrit term she used to describe her suffering) helped prepare Alice for the spiritual ally she found in Swami Satchidananda, an Indian guru, with whom Alice made her first trip to India. On her second trip there, Alice had a revelation instructing her to abandon the secular life and become a spiritual teacher in the Hindu tradition – so she moved out West – eventually opening the Shanti Anantam Ashram on 47 acres she’d bought in Agoura Hills, California.

Music was the foundation of Alice’s spiritual practice. From the mid 1980’s to mid 1990’s, Alice Coltrane self-released four brilliant cassette albums. These cassettes contained a music she invented, inspired by the gospel music of the Detroit churches she grew up in, mixed together with the Indian devotional music of her religious practice, and even finds Alice singing for the first time in her recorded catalog. Originally only made available through her ashram, they are her most obscure body of work and possibly the greatest reflection of her soul.

TRACK LISTING

1. Om Rama
2. Om Shanti
3. Rama Rama
4. Rama Guru
5. Hari Narayan
6. Journey To Satchidananda
7. Er Ra
8. Keshava Murahara
9. Krishna Japaye*
10. Rama Katha

Enter Shikari are a rock band from St Albans, UK. In 2020, they released their sixth album - Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible - which also gave them their sixth album to debut in the UK Album Chart top 5. Frequently collecting Best Live Artist awards, Enter Shikari’s seventeen-year career thus far has seen them rise from teenagers touring the UK grassroots venues, to festival main stages and arena headliners worldwide.

It was in the Spring of 2022 that the band descended to the coastal town of Chichester, and a delipidated farmhouse, to rebuild their studio setup and capture their renewed momentum on record. Using only solar power to track the album–in what Reynolds says was to “bring back some sense of naivety” – the life-giving properties and Technicolor palate of A Kiss For The Whole World were made real. Reynolds continues: “Back to basics. This band - my best friends - bundled into an old farmhouse, miles away from anywhere.

Off-grid, and ready to rediscover ourselves. This album is powered by the sun, the most powerful object in our solar system. And I think you can tell. It’s a collection of songs that represent an explosive reconnection with what Enter Shikari is. The beginning of our second act”.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
01. A Kiss For The Whole World X
02. (pls) Set Me On Fire
03. It Hurts
04. Leap Into The Lightning
05. Feed Yøur Søul
06. Dead Wood

Side B
01. Jailbreak
02. Bloodshot
03. Bloodshot (Coda)
04. Goldfĭsh ~
05. Giant Pacific Octopus (i Don’t Know You Anymore)
06. Giant Pacific Octopus Swirling Off Into Infinity…

The first of a three-volume set of mind blowing LPs compiling the finest of the 60’s and 70’s output from the most legendary Argentinian label of all time: Music Hall. And what a start this is! An amazing selection of soon to be rediscovered hits ranging from pure garage madness to exotica, soul, instrumentals, 60’s beat or hard rock.

Dynamite cuts 45s release two more Jazz fusion gems by the wonderful Judy Roberts. With her amazing jazz fusion keyboard skills and dreamy vocals this single is a must. Both tracks are first time on 45. First released back in 1980 on the Inner City label over 42 years ago.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Other World
2. The River Must Flow

The first of a three-volume set of mind blowing LPs compiling the finest of the 60’s and 70’s output from the most legendary Argentinian label of all time: Music Hall. And what a start this is! An amazing selection of soon to be rediscovered hits ranging from pure garage madness to exotica, soul, instrumentals, 60’s beat or hard rock.

The first of a three-volume set of mind blowing LPs compiling the finest of the 60’s and 70’s output from the most legendary Argentinian label of all time: Music Hall. And what a start this is! An amazing selection of soon to be rediscovered hits ranging from pure garage madness to exotica, soul, instrumentals, 60’s beat or hard rock.

Songwriter and singer Sam Cooke was one of the most popular and infuential African-American fgures to emerge in the late '50s who successfully synthesized a blend of gospel music and secular themes that provided the early foundation of soul music Cooke's pure, clear vocals were widely imitated and his suave, sophisticated image set the style of soul crooners for the next decade. This collectors' LP release includes one of Cooke's fnest albums, The Wonderful World of Sam Cooke, originally issued by Keen Records in 1960. It contains some of his greatest studio recordings, including well-known hits from the peak of his career, such as "(What a) Wonderful World," "Desire Me," "No One (Can Ever Take Your Place)," "Summertime," and others that come from his spiritual background like "I Thank God" and "That's Heaven to Me."

TRACK LISTING

1. (What A) Wonderful World
2. Desire Me
3. Summertime
4. Almost In Your Arms
5. That's Heaven To Me
6. No One (Can Ever Take Your Place)
7. Win You Love For Me
8. With You
9. Blue Moon
10. Stealing Kisses
11. You Were Made For Me
12. There I've Said It Again
13. I Thank God
14. Steal Away

Noah & The Whale were one of the leading protagonists of the small but perfectly formed indie-folk scene of the early days of the 21st Century. Formed in Twickenham, the five-piece, led by vocalist and guitarist Charlie Fink, originally boasted Laura Marling in their line-up, before she left to begin her successful solo career.

Released in August 2008, Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down was like a breath of fresh air with its optimistic-yet-realistic worldview and, as The Guardia was to note, its "twinkling acoustic songs, bursting with brass, keyboards and fiddle" were "economic and brimming with sure-footed confidence."

TRACK LISTING

2 Atoms In A Molecule
Jocasta
Shape Of My Heart
Do What You Do
Give A Little Love
Second Lover
5 Years Time
Rocks And Daggers
Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down
Mary
Hold My Hand As I'm Lowered

Sean O’Hagan (Microdisney, High Llamas) compiles this retrospective of a songwriter, arranger and singer who understands the gift of the chord change, the endless intrigue of arrangement and always knows where and when the sun rises and falls. Lose yourself in this record and let me warn you. You’ll be humming the tunes and reliving the chorus’s and key changes for an age, and if you’re a songwriter you will probably be lifting the melodies without realising it.

20 years of Tapete Records - The world has changed a lot in the last 20 years but one detail has remained the same: Tapete still putting out great music. That's a bit reassuring, isn't it? So they thought in their Tapete Building in Hamburg ‘Let's look back and start a series of good, old-fashioned, fantastic label compilations in the style of "Shadow Factory", "Tamla Motown Is Hot! Hot! Hot!" or "Wanna Buy A Bridge?"...something like that. And so here is "Intact & Smiling - The Weird & Wonderful World Of Tapete Records Vol.1". It wasn't that easy to choose 28 out of about 5000 released songs, but what's easy? Therefore a series.

"Intact & Smiling Vol. 1" concentrates on the poppy side of Tapete Records, and features the likes of The Clientele, The Jazz Butcher, The Monochrome Set, Robert Forster, Lloyd Cole, Pete Astor, Comet Gain and a whole heap more.

TRACK LISTING

01. We Are Muffy – Frosted Candy
02. Martin Carr – The Santa Fe Skyway
03. Jaguwar – Crystal
04. Stereo Total – Cinemascope
05. Simon Love – Joey Ramone
06. The Jazz Butcher – Running On Fumes
07. The Proper Ornaments – Echoes
08. The Momochrome Set – White Lightning
09. Botschaft – Sozialisiert In Der BRD
10. Comet Gain – Mid 8Ts
11. Pete Astor – Water Tower
12. The Clientele – The Neighbour
13. Louis Philippe & The Night Mail – When London Burns
14. Bill Pitchard – Trentham
15. Benjamin Dean Wilson – Sadie And The Fat Man
16. Robert Foster – I’m So Happy For You
17. Elva – Athens
18. Lloyd Cole – Writers Retreat!
19. Die Höchste Eisenbahn – Job
20. Gary Olson – Some Advice
21. The Catenary Wires – Sixteen Again
22. Friedrich Sunlight – Sag Es Erst Morgen
23. Sophisticated Boom Boom – Number One In Radio
24. LAKE – Work With What You Got
25. Davey Woodward And The Winter Orphans – Dylan’s Poster
26. Der Englische Garten – Mitten In Der Nacht
27. Carambolage – Johnny
28. John Howard & The Night Mail – Intact & Smiling

Alhaji Waziri Oshomah begins his sermon before a dancing crowd. His lyrics warn about the vice of jealousy but the congregation is here to get down. We’re in a small part of Edo State in southern Nigeria called Afenmailand, which is known for being a harmonious region where Muslims and Christians live and dance together. The atmosphere is one of enjoyment, excitement, and pleasure, because to see Waziri perform is to be addressed, body and soul.

He’s the creator of a unique dance music that’s fused with local folk styles, highlife, and Western pop, and imbued with Islamic values— and he’s the greatest entertainer in all of Edo State.

They call him the Etsako Super Star.

TRACK LISTING

CD
1. Forgive Them Oh God Amin – Amin
2. Jealousy
3. Alhaji Yesufu Sado Managing Director
4. Omhona - Omhona
5. Ovini Omoekeke Alhaji Inu Umoru
6. Okhume Ukhaduame
7. My Luck Feat. Madam Hassanah Waziri And Her Velvet Voice

2LP
A1. Forgive Them Oh God Amin – Amin
A2. Jealousy
B1. Alhaji Yesufu Sado Managing Director
C1. Omhona - Omhona
C2. Ovini Omoekeke Alhaji Inu Umoru
D1. Okhume Ukhaduame
D2. My Luck Feat. Madam Hassanah Waziri And Her Velvet Voice

The final instalment to the trio of masterpieces from the legendary British rock group, The Groundhogs’ gets a reissue on black vinyl for the first time since 1991. Treading more progressive realms ‘Who Will Save The World’ sees Tony McPhee moving away from the blues territory of their earlier releases and towards a heavier more psychedelic sound. Achieving Top 10 album success back in 1972, ‘Who Will Save The World’ is the last record that features the classic line up of Tony McPhee, Pete Cruickshank and Ken Pustelnik.

A definitive collector’s item as part of the ongoing Fire Records catalogue campaign. This special reissue features the iconic artwork with sleeve notes and an interview with the original Marvel artist Neal Adams. Also includes a bonus download of an unreleased live recording from their final live show in Pocono, USA.

TRACK LISTING

Side A

1 Earth Is Not Room Enough
2 Wages Of Peace
3 Body In Mind
4 Music Is The Food Of Thought.

Side B

1 Bog Roll Blues
2 Death Of The Sun
3 Amazing Grace
4 The Grey Maze.

Bonus Track Available As DL Only “Music Is The Food Of Thought” (Live At The Pocono Festival, Pennsylvania, 1972) 

Blink-and-you'll-miss-it 7" from Terekke who touches on the kind of sublime, cushion soft dub-techno-electronica that used to be the realm of acts like Farben, Fluxion, Burnt Friedman and such like.

"2 The World" reflects deep space red-shift across a plasma lake, it's thick, viscous buoyancy supporting a whole manner of contemplative emotion before a thudding kick returns us to focus.

"Fandn" swells with a positive luminescence, airy strings and delicate, distant leads teasing the senses like seeing by the ocean at a Summer's daybreak.

Tender, sensuous movements from a master of the machines. Don't miss this one folks.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Icey, crystalline vapour-dub from esteemed sound smith Terekke. Really, really limited!

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
1. 2 The World
Side 2
1. Fandn 

Floating World Pictures is made up of Chestnutt, a founding member of Snapped Ankles, and Raimund Wong, a sound artist most recognised for his graphic work for International Anthem, TRC and Church of Sound.

‘The Twenty-three Views’ was written, mixed and produced by the pair at Total Refreshment Centre; their improvised explorations celebrate and embrace the collaborations of TRC and a wider independent network.

Album features Alabaster DePlume, Charles Prest and Kamal Rasool (Flamingods), Clémentine March and Danalogue (The Comet is Coming).

TRACK LISTING

The Village Headman Pleading With The Old Ferryman
Salt-wind Rises At The Waterfront Promenade
Til Dusk, At Devran
From 23 Views Of Sai Kung Hoi (Day One)
Fairbairn’s Floating World 
Bura Boro
Overmorrow, Monchan
Gokarna To Hampi, After Dark

The album has been Half-Speed Remastered and cut to lacquers at 33RPM, on 1x heavyweight black LP, to deliver maximum dynamic range in the sound.

Vinyl cut by Matt Colton at Alchemy Mastering, mastered by Tony Cousins at Metropolis. The album is true to the original LP design, but all images are newly re-scanned.

The album comes with a download card with a choice of digital download (Hi-Res 24bit or 16bit)

Recorded in 1984, and originally released in March 1985, Birdy marks the first occasion that Peter worked with French-Canadian producer and multi-instrumentalist Daniel Lanois who went onto co-produce both Peter’s So and US albums. The soundtrack to the Alan Parker movie of the same name – the tale of a Vietnam vet who harbours Icarus-like ambitions to fly – it finds Peter flexing his creative muscles free of any commercial pressures and has a number of tracks build out of elements of existing tracks from Peter’s third and fourth solo albums.

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A
A1 At Night
A2 Floating Dogs
A3 Quiet And Alone
A4 Close Up (from Family Snapshot)
A5 Slow Water
A6 Dressing The Wound
SIDE B
B1 Birdy's Flight (from Not One Of Us)
B2 Slow Marimbas
B3 The Heat (from The Rhythm Of The Heat)
B4 Sketchpad With Trumpet And Voice
B5 Under Lock And Key (from Wallflower)
B6 Powerhouse At The Foot Of The Mountain (from San Jacinto)

The album has been Half-Speed Remastered and cut to lacquers at 33RPM, across 2x heavyweight black vinyl LPs, to deliver maximum dynamic range in the sound.

Vinyl cut by Matt Colton at Alchemy Mastering, mastered by Tony Cousins at Metropolis. The album is true to the original LP design with a wide-spine jacket and printed inner sleeves, but now utilises colour photographs from The Last Temptation of Christ film. All images are newly re-scanned.

The album comes with a download card with a choice of digital download (Hi-Res 24bit or 16bit).

Passion – Music for The Last Temptation of Christ was released a year after Martin Scorsese’s controversy-laden film first hit the big screen in 1988. Passion tends to be regarded as a work in its own right rather than just being a movie soundtrack. It features additional music to that which was included in the film; this extra material was the result of Peter continuing to record and to resolve “unfinished ideas”. Built on a foundation of Middle Eastern and North African rhythms and melodies, Passion is unsurprisingly Peter’s most spiritual work, no more so than when the alternately ascending voices of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Youssou N’Dour and Peter himself interweave on the title track. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Youssou N’Dour are far from the only notable guests; the cross-continental gathering of musicians also includes Senegalese griot Baaba Maal, jazz drummer Bill Cobham and avant-garde trumpeter Jon Hassell among many others.

TRACK LISTING

LP 1
A1 The Feeling Begins
A2 Gethsemane
A3 Of These, Hope
A4 Lazarus Raised
A5 Of These, Hope - Reprise
A6 In Doubt
A7 A Different Drum
B1 Zaar
B2 Troubled
B3 Open
B4 Before Night Falls
B5 With This Love

LP 2
C1 Sandstorm
C2 Stigmata
C3 Passion
C4 With This Love – Choir
D1 Wall Of Breath
D2 The Promise Of Shadows
D3 Disturbed
D4 It Is Accomplished
D5 Bread And Wine

The second album from Hatchie, ‘Giving The World Away’ is the truest introduction to the songwriter at the helm of the project, Harriette Pilbeam. Although her sound arrived fully-formed, a dazzling dream-pop and shoegaze tangle, it’s here that she distills the core of herself into a record.

“There's more to me than just writing songs about being in love or being heartbroken -- there's a bigger picture than that,” Pilbeam explains. “This album really just feels like the beginning to me, and scratching the surface – and even though it’s my third release as Hatchie, I feel like I’m rebooting from scratch.”

For Pilbeam, that bigger picture explored here includes confronting her anxieties after decades of compartmentalisation; realising her own self-confidence and self-esteem; taking control of her own narrative, and her place in both her professional and personal life. On ‘Giving the World Away,’ she held herself to higher standards, especially with personal lyrical precision. At the time she started working on it, she was caught in a strange headspace. When 2018 EP Sugar & Spice and subsequent debut LP Keepsake both arrived to critical acclaim and catapulted Hatchie into an international spotlight, she felt both unsure of herself and an intense, self-imposed pressure to keep going forward. Trapped in constant motion, Pilbeam was unable to be present or appreciative of herself, both professionally and personally.

She tackles that struggle directly in the moody single “Quicksand,” written with GRAMMY-nominated Olivia Rodrigo collaborator Dan Nigro. “I used to think that this was something I could die for / I hate admitting to myself that I was never sure,” she sings, inverting the thesis of one of her early break-out singles “Sure.” And then, a few lines later, she regains her footing -- in her musicality, and in herself: “It’s all I know, and I’m taking it back.”

“Quicksand is about dealing with the realisation that you'll never be satisfied” Pilbeam comments. “I started writing it when I was home between tours in 2019 before finishing it with Joe Agius and Dan Nigro the next year. I was feeling guilty and ungrateful for not being happy about a few different things in my life that were technically going well. I had to work through some tough learned thought processes and emotions that had been working away for years to try to understand how to be happy with my present, and stop fixating on my past and future. The video digs deeper into showing this juxtaposition of such sadness and anger despite being surrounded by glamour and grandeur."

Director Nathan Castiel adds: “For ‘Quicksand', I created a video that plays off of some tropes of Hollywood glamour in a melancholy and surreal way while giving Harriette room to perform and express the song's raw emotions. We leaned into a neon-tinged after hours aesthetic and shot on 16mm which added a griminess to the opulent locations and set pieces.”

“Quicksand” sets up the rest of the record; an album about self-confidence, about reclamation, about the strange time in young adulthood where you begin to finally be able to see yourself clearly.

Produced by Jorge Elbrecht, also recently GRAMMY-nominated and known for his work with Sky Ferreira, Japanese Breakfast, and Wild Nothing, ‘Giving the World Away’ is Hatchie’s most thunderous, sprawling work yet. Featuring extensive input from longtime Hatchie collaborator Joe Agius, it takes the celestial, shimmering shoegaze and pop sensibilities of her earlier releases, but with the volume knob cranked up tenfold. Built out with percussion from Beach House drummer James Barone, it’s synthed-out, sonic opulence, a more structured and ornate musicality with traces of ‘90s trip-hop and acid house influences.

Pilbeam initially intended for these songs to go in a higher-energy direction -- she had the distinct vision of a Hatchie show turned dance party, inviting more movement and vibrancy into her live shows. But then, between Covid and the lockdowns in Australia, Pilbeam retreated more into herself, and that introspection and self-discovery served as the true inspiration for the record. Again and again across ‘Giving the World Away,’ she returns to that same theme – dismantling internalized shame and finding gratitude and steadiness, and finally being able to trust herself. Pilbeam grew up the youngest in her family, a self-described “big baby,” but says the last year and a half gave her the space to understand herself better. After years of emotional avoidance, here she excavates her fears fully.

‘Giving the World Away’ is an album about self-confidence, about reclamation, about the strange time in young adulthood where you begin to finally be able to see yourself clearly. Incisive and probing, ‘Giving the World Away’ is the clearest look at Pilbeam yet, and a relic of the power and bravery that spring forth from embracing vulnerability and putting your heart on the line.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Crystalline synths and rolling bass licks permeate the retro-tinged percussion and dreamy echoic vocals, bringing to mind the perfect pop of Tegan & Sara mixed with walls of shoegaze fuzz.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1) Lights On
2) This Enchanted
3) Twin
4) Take My Hand
5) The Rhythm
6) Quicksand
Side B
7) Thinking Of
8) Giving The World Away
9) The Key
10) Don't Leave Me In The Rain
11) Sunday Song
12) Til We Run Out Of Air

BONUS TRACKS On Download Card:
Back Into Your Arms (Hatchie's Version)
Don't Leave Me In The Rain (Demo)
Quicksand (Demo)
The Rhythm (Demo)

Get back to the rich musical universe of Daft Punk with this album dedicated to the legendary duo. Rediscover their best hits with versions interpreted by :Chilly Gonzales, Christian Prommer, The Dø, Señor Coconut, Chamberlain, Kid Loco, Soulwax and many more…

TRACK LISTING

A1. Chilly Gonzales - Something About Us
A2. Christian Prommer's Drumlesson - Around The World
A3. Emre Yazgin - Giorgio By Moroder
A4. Federation Of The Disco Pimp - Robot Rock
A5. Acoustic Beat Roots - Get Lucky
A6. The Dø - Instant Crush (Live)
B1. Señor Coconut - Around The World - Intro
B2. Flash Mob Jazz - Get Lucky
B3. Chamberlain - Veridis Quo
B4. Kid Loco - Da Funk
B5. Laura Lace - Aerodynamic
B6. Soulwax - Teachers

There are pieces of music that seek to tell us deeper stories. Others harness the talents of the players at their disposal in adventurous ways. Then there are the rare, generous works that make us think back to our roots as human beings and to our shared beginnings in the universe, that lift us in their melodies, rhythms and textures, that carry us with them.

The Unfolding is all of these things. An extraordinary eight-part collaboration between composer Hannah Peel (Mercury Prize and Emmy nominee) and Paraorchestra, it was made over three years in precious morsels of time around a global pandemic. These circumstances – unexpected when the collaboration began – add weight to its explorations in sound about who we are, where we came from, and who we could all be. The Unfolding also explores Paraorchestra’s progressive idea of what an orchestra should be, mixing analogue, digital and assistive instruments with a unique ensemble of disabled and non-disabled musicians to make magic happen, and accessible to all.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Surpassing the meditative shimmer and oscillating beauty of last years' 'Fir Wave' was never going to be easy, but this is the most strikingly beautiful piece of work I think she's ever done. Choral and otherworldly, but imbued with a levity and optimistic glimmer that Peel does so well. Mindblowing.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
A1. The Universe Before Matter [10:58]
A2. Wild Animal [3:55]
Side B
B1. Passage [5:22]
B2. The Unfolding [5:47]
Side C
C1. If After Weeks Of Early Sun [4:16]
C2. Perhaps It Made Us Happy For A Minute [4:17]
C3. We Are Part Mineral [6:06]
Side D
D1. Part Cloud [10:31]
D2. The Unfolding Credits Instrumental Version [02:19] *vinyl Exclusive Not On CD*
D3. The Unfolding Credits [02:19]

For the last single release from Jeb Loy Nichols' album, Timmion takes us back to the beginning. Of the recent "Jeb Loy" album that is, since its first track graces the single's A side. If you've not yet hopped onboard with this talented American-born but Welsh-based songwriter/singer, this is a great place to start. The spoken word intro, following on the coattails of Cold Diamond & Mink's guitar licks and horn transition in "The World Loves A Fool", is a classic storytelling move. Through his mother's interesting proverb, Jeb sets the scene for what's to follow, a lesson for the listener about life's complexities.

On the B side, we find one of the most beautiful tunes of the album, "Not There Yet". It's a gentle southern-style soul groover where Jeb lets his writing truly shine. Backed with a shimmering organ and CD&M's pulsating rhythm, Jeb recants the experiences of a musician on the road through the eyes of a crow.

Jeb Loy Nichols can crank out songs that touch and make things move inside the listener. If you're looking for that personal hit that will fly far over the heads of the masses, you've come to the right place. Double-sided pleasure for your ears, mind and soul.

STAFF COMMENTS

Millie says: Has Jeb Loy Nichols the most soothing voice? Yes, yes I can confirm he does. Beautiful soul as always that just makes you feel like everything's going to be ok (needed extra at the moment).

TRACK LISTING

1. The World Loves A Fool
2. Not There Yet

This collection brings together six pioneering figures whose legacies encapsulate the very essence of the Delta blues - the cornerstone of American popular music and the bedrock of rock'n'roll.

Like arrows through time, these seminal tracks belie the age in which they were recorded. Seminal recordings by six Mississippi Delta blues legends - Skip James, Tommy Johnson, Bukka White, Charley Patton, Willie Brown and Son House. Following on from the success of other blues titles in the Rough Guide range this is a must-have album for blues and guitar enthusiasts. All the tracks have been lovingly remastered using pioneering restoration techniques.

TRACK LISTING

Skip James - Devil Got My Woman
Tommy Johnson - Cool Drink Of Water Blues
Bukka White - Fixin' To Die Blues
Charley Patton - It Won't Be Long
Willie Brown - Future Blues
Son House - My Black Mama - Part 1
Skip James - I'm So Glad
Tommy Johnson - Canned Heat Blues
Bukka White - Shake 'Em On Down
Charley Patton - I'm Goin' Home
Willie Brown - M & O Blues
Son House - Walkin' Blues

Rhoda Dakar is back with her first solo album in seven years with Version Girl, a collection of reggae and ska covers by artists and songwriters she admires. Rhoda Dakar began her musical career as lead vocalist with all female 2Tone band, The Bodysnatchers. They only ever released two singles, 'Let's Do Rocksteady' and 'Easy Life'. After a year together they split and Rhoda went on to guest with The Specials in Europe and the USA, having featured on their second album, 'More Specials', for which she won the first of her seven gold records. After their demise, and before joining Jerry Dammers' new project, she recorded The Bodysnatchers' first original song, 'The Boiler', a harrowing tale of date rape, which was inevitably banned. The Special AKA spent the next two years recording 'In The Studio', spawning a top ten hit with 'Free Nelson Mandela'.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Man Who Sold The World
2. The Man Who Dubbed The World

Following several months of speculation, alt-rock stalwarts The Sherlocks, comprised of Kiaran Crook (vocals), Brandon Crook (drums), Alex Proctor (guitar) and Trent Jackson (bass), have announced their latest album World I Understand. While the rest of the world was put on hold, The Sherlocks were undergoing a rebirth. Two new band members Trent and Alex in and the Davidson brothers Josh and Andy stepping down. Working closely alongside Manic Street Preachers producer Dave Eringa, World I Understand stands as The Sherlocks' most unshackled and ambitious album to date.

TRACK LISTING

1. Porto
2. Falling
3. Wake Up
4. On The Run
5. Plastic Heart
6. City Lights
7. Sorry
8. Games You Play
9. World I Understand
10. Last To Leave
11. Slip Road

Daniel Blumberg has composed an enchanting new original score for Mona Fastvold’s critically acclaimed The World To Come. The film premiered at the 77th Venice Film Festival 2020 and was released in UK cinemas during Summer 2021. Highlighted as “a marvelous score” in Variety and “powerfully moving” by The Film Stage, the score includes the title track featuring Josephine Foster. Blumberg enlisted the talents of an ensemble of radical, internationally revered musicians, whilst the score was co-produced with world-renowned producer Peter Walsh (Scott Walker).

Released on Limited edition double clear vinyl and CD.

TRACK LISTING

A1 Opening (Dyer’s Farmhouse)
A2 Nellie
A3 Abigail’s Walk
A4 Tallie
A5 Flummoxed
A6 Chicken Plucking
A7 The Storm
A8 Falling In Love
B1 First Kiss
B2 The Orchard
B3 The Woods
B4 Spying House
B5 Thoughts And Townships
B6 The Fire
B7 Empty House
B8 Tallie Missing
C1 Finny Letter
C2 Atlas
C3 The Wagon
C4 Love And Death
C5 Rooftop
C6 The World To Come
D1 Abigail’s Theme (Brötzmann Solo)
D2 Tallie’s Theme (Brötzmann Solo)

The Wombats kick off the most exciting phase of their constantly evolving success story with the announcement of their fifth studio album Fix Yourself, Not The World. Recording remotely over the past year from their respective homes, the band have been working hard to produce some of the most captivating, inventive and forward-thinking music of their career to date. With frontman Matthew “Murph” Murphy in Los Angeles, bassist Tord Øverland Knudsen in Oslo and drummer Dan Haggis in London, they discussed each day’s plan via Zoom, then recorded separately, sending individual files to producers Jacknife Lee (U2, The Killers), Gabe Simon (Dua Lipa, Lana Del Rey), Paul Meaney (Twenty One Pilots, Nothing But Thieves), Mark Crew (Bastille, Rag‘n’Bone Man) and Mike Crossey (The 1975, The War on Drugs, Yungblud) to mix into the finished tracks.

“It was pure madness, to be honest,” explains Murph. 

“We’re so excited for people to hear this new album! We’ve explored new genres and pushed ourselves further than ever musically. It will always stand out for us in our memories from our other albums as we recorded it across three cities during lockdown, and we weren’t all in the same room at the same time!” says Dan Haggis. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Flip Me Upside Down
2. This Car Drives All By Itself
3. If You Ever Leave, I’m Coming With You
4. Ready For The High
5. Method To The Madness
6. People Don’t Change People, Time Does
7. Everything I Love Is Going To Die
8. Work Is Easy, Life Is Hard
9. Wildfire
10. Don’t Poke The Bear
11. Worry
12. Fix Yourself, Then The World (Reach Beyond Your Fingers)

Arp Frique's second album on Colorful World, exploring the globe via a concoction of sounds that takes in disco, synth boogie, funk and the sounds of the Caribbean, West and East Africa.

“A seed is the basis of life: a tree, food, a baby, conception, a thought, an album, a band,” says Arp Frique around the title and narrative theme of his latest album. “A seed is growth from almost nothing to everything."

It’s also linked to a track by Stevie Wonder that he often covers with the band live - 'A Seed's a Star/Tree Medley.' Arp Frique has an inherent understanding of funk and a flush-tight connection to the groove. This was apparent on his debut Welcome To The Colorful World of Arp Frique, via its fusion of disco and funk interwoven with Caribbean and Cape Verdean sounds, and it continues even more so here. If anything, the album plunges deeper into Arp Frique’s love of rhythm and groove. “I went deeper into my love for synths and drum machines from a dance floor perspective,” he says of the album. “This one has more of an electronic vibe.”

The result is an album that feels potently alive, sonically exploring the globe via a concoction of sounds that takes in disco, synth boogie, funk and the sounds of the Caribbean, West and East Africa. The album radiates the feeling of a lost gem, the kind that a crate digging aficionado may find in some far flung place that ends up with a re-release. Whilst Arp Frique expresses a real fondness for such classic sounds - “honestly I wouldn’t even know how to make modern stuff, I am stuck in the 70-80-90s and I love it there” - a tired exercise in retro nostalgia this isn’t. Instead, the album feels more like a fresh take on sounds that once ignited dance floors across the world.

On top of having the dance floor in mind, the album is also a deeply personal one. “I wanted to make this one even more personal and have the lyrics go deeper,” he says. “The lyrics on the album reflect the times we live in: the confusion, hope, despair, rebellion, unity, upgrading consciousness and divinity.” The creative process - despite benefiting hugely from guests that include Americo Brito, Mariseya, Orlando Julius and The Scorpios - is also a personal and intense one for Arp Frique. “I always think in terms of sound and emotion, the two most important aspects of music,” he says. “Every layer that I add needs to add emotion and amplify the sonic palette. It’s a very deep process that I need to do on my own - there is no other way for me. I connect to a higher level of consciousness during these sessions and all external influences need to be cut off in order for this to have maximum effect.”

The theme of the seed that runs through this album, and the connotations of a life cycle, is linked to parenthood. “My daughter, now 5 years old, is my everything and the main drive for everything I do,” he says. “I dedicated this album to her and because this album means so much to me and reflects so much, I also have a full movie almost ready to be released together with the album.” Much like the album itself, the accompanying video will touch upon the tones and styles of bygone decades. “It’s a mixture of a road movie of me and the live band, mixed with a semi-fictional autobiographical story with the album as a soundtrack, all in VHS. Think Holy Mountain meets Sun Ra movies meets Purple Rain but on a low budget with a VHS-cult vibe to it.”

TRACK LISTING

Nyame Ye
La Musique Du Soleil
Hosanna
Way Ye Me
Paa
Oi Quem Q'eu Nos Oi
Fureur Du Roi
Ecoutez
Habibi
Que Pasa
Baba Love
The Seed

‘Dark World’ collects together choice material from Normil Hawaiians’ formative early years of 1979-1981. Tagging along with the band from their peppy post-punk origins (so brilliantly debuted on ‘The Beat Goes On’) into the looser, dubbier territories that laid the foundations for the group’s landmark album ‘More Wealth Than Money’.

‘Dark World’ gathers the group’s energetic 7” singles on Dining Out and Illuminated Records, their metamorphic ‘Gala Failed’ EP (Red Rhino) and a lively last-minute Peel session from 1980, alongside outtakes, rarities and demos.

During this feverish time, founding member Guy Smith was motivated to make music that reveled in always trying out different things. Normil Hawaiians was a very fluid ensemble at this point, Guy often accompanied by Kev Armstrong and Jim Lusted encouraged saxophones, violins, synths, pianos and a select pack of female backing singers to take their post-punk sound into wilder directions. One of the earliest line-ups of Normil Hawaiians featured a 15-year old Janet Armstrong on vocals alongside Guy, ‘Ventilation’ best showcases her deadpan digressions. Janet went on to sing alongside David Bowie a few years later on his breathtaking mid-80’s gem ‘Absolute Beginners’. By this point Kev Armstrong was also guesting for Bowie on guitar duties too.

Another guest to join the ranks of Normil Hawaiians during this fertile time of cross-pollination was Bertie Marshall (aka Berlin of the proto-punk Bromley Contingent). ‘Sang Sang’ is a good example of how he was inspired to deliver his poetic treatises over the band’s atmospheric, floating improvisations. Bertie’s impressionistic influence helped the group uncouple further from rock tropes, as they became restless and more rhythmically-focused. ‘Still Obedient’ fidgets, soars and careens across the dancefloor, “if you’re ahead close your eyes, you won’t notice the subtitles” chants Guy.

By the end of this transformative two years Normil Hawaiians had spun an exceptional chrysalis around themselves. The dark world surrounding wouldn’t win out, they’d eaten-up the music and grown continuously, wrote and recorded rapidly, covered Zappa & even David Lynch and could feel the light beginning to shine through. ‘Dark World’ is a snapshot of a band in flux, finding their feet, stretching their limbs. Normil Hawaiians cover an awful amount of ground in such a short time-frame on this record and these tracks document all the glittering debris from their magpie’s nest. Emergent, hopeful and resistant in sound and ethic.

TRACK LISTING

LP Tracklisting:
01. Dark World
02. Coincidence
03. The Beat Goes On
04. Ventilation
05. In Heaven
06. Uncle Green Genes (Peel Session)
07. Memories (Peel Session)
08. Levels Of Water
09. Obedience
10. Sang Sang
11. The Return
12. Party Party
13. Still Obedient
14. Should You Forget
+ (8 Bonus Tracks Included On Download Card Too)

CD Tracklisting:
01. Dark World
02. The Beat Goes On (demo Version)
03. Coincidence
04. I Wanna
05. In Heaven
06. The Beat Goes On (7” Single Version)
07. Ventilation
08. Outside
09. Levels Of Water (Peel Session)
10. Uncle Green Genes (Peel Session)
11. Memories (Peel Session)
12. The Beat Goes On (Peel Session)
13. Obedience
14. Levels Of Water
15. Sang Sang
16. The Return
17. Party Party
18. Still Obedient
19. Should You Forget
20. Exhibit
21. I Feel Like
22. In Buttered Pieces

Ground-breaking artist Yves Tumor continues to unlock the perception of reality with a psychedelically bent off-kilter rock offering, "The Asymptotical World EP" out now on WARP. The boundary smashing 6 song EP is the next era from the pop auteur and first release from Yves Tumor following the critically acclaimed 2020 album "Heaven To a Tortured Mind". Yves Tumor continues to manipulate the genre terrain by challenging mainstream music constraints further and shifting the boundaries of contemporary art and culture in a boundlessly visceral and authentic sonic signature.

The "Asymptotical World EP" (co-produced and engineered by longstanding collaborator Yves Rothman) includes the massive single, “Jackie”, also co-written/produced by Chris Greatti (Yungblud, Poppy). The single arrived with the radical electrifying DeepFake visualizer directed and produced by Actual Objects. “Jackie” is a punctuated tale of connection in a fever dream realm featuring emotive guitars over an upbeat drum pattern, evoking the volatile magnetism between lovers that has garnered millions of streams across platforms and has received a multitude of praise. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Patrick says: Barry and I were only discussing the challenging genius of Yves Tumor the other day, and now we're in possession of an EP of brand new material. The shapeshifting, genre shredding artist is in chart conquering rock mode here, serving superbly psychedelic, surprisingly catchy indie. Highest recommendations all round I think!

TRACK LISTING

Jackie
Crushed Velvet
Secrecy Is Incredibly Important To The Both Of Them
Tuck Feat. NAKED
...And Loyalty Is A Nuisance Child
Katrina

From humble origins in New Orleans to its journey upriver to Chicago, this Rough Guide charts the 1920s “golden age” of jazz with classic tracks by legends such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington & Jelly Roll Morton as well as many other pioneering artists.

Seminal recordings by trailblazing jazz artists who paved the way for what has become a global phenomenon. Includes the instrumental brilliance of soloists including Eddie Lang, Bix Beiderbecke and Earl Hines. Following on from the success of other American roots titles in the Rough Guide range, ‘The Rough Guide to the Roots of Jazz’ is the perfect overview of the emerging styles and key performers of early jazz on one album.

Lovingly remastered using pioneering restoration techniques.

TRACK LISTING

King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band - Dippermouth Blues
Eddie Lang - Eddie’s Twister
Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers - Doctor Jazz
Earl Hines - I Ain’t Got Nobody And Nobody Cares For Me
Freddie Keppard’s Jazz Cardinals - Salty Dog
Frankie Trumbauer And His Orchestra - Way Down Yonder In New Orleans  Duke Ellington And His Orchestra - Black And Tan Fantasy 
Louis Armstrong Orchestra - Muggles
Original Dixieland Jazz Band - Tiger Rag
James P. Johnson - Carolina Shout
Bix Beiderbecke And His Gang - Ol’ Man River
New Orleans Rhythm Kings - Bugle Call Blues
Fats Waller - Muscle Shoals Blues
Fletcher Henderson And His Orchestra - The Stampede

The fifth studio album from Welsh quintet Super Furry Animals was their most commercially successful to date. A musically eclectic record, incorporating pop, prog, punk, jungle, electronica, techno and death metal, the album was shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize in 2001 and named as Mojo’s best album in the same year. 

The Super Furries had a knack of taking bits of 60s classics, modern electronics, and everything inbetween and melding them into flawless, if slightly off kilter, pop gems and here they did it to perfection.

TRACK LISTING

1. A1 Alternate Route To Vulcan Street
2. A2 Sidewalk Serfer Girl
3. A3 (Drawing) Rings Around The World
4. B1 It’s Not The End Of The World
5. B2 Receptacle For The Respectable
6. B3 [A] Touch Sensitive
7. B4 Shoot Doris Day
8. C1 Miniature
9. C2 No Sympathy
10. C3 Juxtapozed With U
11. D1 Presidential Suite
12. D2 Run! Christian, Run!
13. D3 Fragile Happiness

3CD
disc 1
1. Alternate Route To Vulcan Street
2. Sidewalk Serfer Girl
3. (drawing) Rings Around The World
4. It’s Not The End Of The World?
5. Receptacle For The Respectable
6. Touch Sensitive
7. Shoot Doris Day
8. Miniature
9. No Sympathy
10. Juxtapozed With U
11. Presidential Suite
12. Run! Christian, Run!
13. Fragile Happiness
- Receptacle For The Receptacle (maccapella Celery) – Unlisted, Hidden Track
14. Tradewinds
15. The Roman Road
16. Happiness Is A Worn Pun
17. Patience
18. Edam Anchorman
19. All The Shit U Do

Disc 2
1. Gypsy Space Muffin
2. John Spex
3. Miami Vice
4. Sanitised (rough Mix)
5. Chihuahua (unfinished, Rough Mix)
6. (drawing) Rings Around The World (acapella Phones) - Unlisted, Hidden Track
7. (drawing) Rings Around The World #1
8. (drawing) Rings Around The World #2
9. (drawing) Rings Around The World #3
10. No Sympathy
11. Tradewinds
12. Receptacle For The Respectable #1
13. Receptacle For The Respectable #2
14. Happiness Is A Worn Pun
15. Sidewalk Serfer Girl
16. Presidential Suite
17. The Roman Road
18. Patience #2
19. Shoot Doris Day
20. Edam Anchorman
21. Sanitised
22. Fragile Happiness
Tape Rewind - Unlisted, Hidden Track
Tradewinds (acoustic Mix) - Unlisted, Hidden Track
Sidewalk Serfer Girl (unused ’70s Rock Edit Section) - Unlisted, Hidden Track
Shoot Doris Day (excised Third Chorus) - Unlisted, Hidden Track
Sidewalk Serfer Girl (alternate Second Verse) - Unlisted, Hidden Track

disc 3
1. Alternate Route To Vulcan Street (bench Remix)
2. Sidewalk Serfer Girl (catatonia Remix)
3. (drawing) Rings Around The World (happy Chapel Remix)
4. It’s Not The End Of The World? (force Unknown Remix)
5. Receptacle For The Respectable (destructable Mix)
6. Touch Sensitive (force Unknown Remix)
7. Shoot Doris Day (wauvenfold Remix)
8. Miniature (goem Remix)
9. No Sympathy (kid 606 Remix)
10. Juxtapozed With U (sfa Remix)
11. Presidential Suite (high Llamas Remix)
12. Run! Christian, Run! (massimo Remix)
13. Fragile Happiness (brave Captain Remix)
Menu Music Medley - Unlisted, Hidden Track

Montréal saxophonist and electroacoustic composer Jason Sharp presents his third album on Constellation. The Turning Centre Of A Still World is Sharp’s first purely solo record and his most lucid, poignant, integral work to date. Following two acclaimed albums composed around particular collaborators and guest players, Sharp conceived his third as an interplay strictly bounded by his own body, his acoustic instrument, and his evolving bespoke electronic system. The Turning Centre... is a singular sonic exploration of human machine calibration, interaction, expression and biofeedback.

Using saxophones, foot-controlled bass pedals, and his own pulse – patched through a heart monitor routed to variegated signal paths that trigger modular synthesizers and samplers. Sharp paints with organic waves of glistening synthesis, pink noise and digitalia. Melodic strokes and harmonic shapes ripple and crest across ever-shifting seas, through an inclement cycle from dawn to dusk. The album’s six main movements navigate a world where placid surfaces are always roiled and disquieted by a deeper inexorable gyre: the gravitational pull and tidal perpetuity of our bodies made of water, buffeted by terrestrial atmospheric pressures, wrung out by emotions, coursing with blood, sustained by breath, inescapably yearning for and returning to ground again and again. Sharp’s heartbeat literally courses through these compositions – while only occasionally surfacing as a clearly audible pulse or rhythm, it physically feeds into a spectrum of generative synthetic processes that help constitute and conduct the music.
The immersive, intensive, widescreen electronic works on The Turning Centre… could sit comfortably as a masterful and stellar contribution to the space/sci-fi/synth soundtrack genre, owing to their overall sound palette and oceanic scope. But this is ultimately deeper, grittier, earthier stuff – pulsing with terrestrial granularity, charting subterranean geographies of the heart and soul.

Sharp chose an unsparing time to commit to a rigorously solo practice: pandemic lockdown occurred just as the first studio sessions with sound engineer Radwan Moumneh (Jerusalem In My Heart, Matana Roberts, Suuns) were scheduled to begin. While much of the central architecture and several themes had already been constructed, Sharp found his isolation music marinating in a socially-distanced anxiety soup beyond all imagining, yielding some profoundly deeper flavours and hues. As the album attests: he more than stuck with it. With sessions rescheduled under covid protocols in Fall 2020, Moumneh captured Sharp at a peak of technical, technological, and intangibly expressive power.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: There are few releases on Constellation Records I don't like, so this was really either going to be something I liked or something I loved. Turns out it's the latter, and i'm pretty sure the thing that swung it was the modular synths. A huge all-encompassing wall of electronic drones and intricate, crystalline sound sculptures. It's towering but fragile, beautifully warm and overwhelming.

TRACK LISTING

1. Intro
2. Unwinding Surrender
3. Velocity Of Being
4. Blossoming Rest
5. Upwelling Hope
6. Humility Of Pain
7. Everything Is Waiting For You
8. Outro

Drug Store Romeos formed at college in nearby Farnborough when childhood friends Jonny (Gilbert) and Charlie (Henderson) pinned an ad about finding a bassist for their new band to the school’s notice board – Sarah (Downie) replied and quickly proved herself a better vocalist than either of them. The trio spent the subsequent 24 hours discussing their love of Stereolab over messenger and watching Portishead and Mild High Club videos in the college’s computer lab.

The band soon cut their teeth playing live at college, at Guildford Boiler Room and Aldershot West End Centre, rather than the familiarly trodden paths in London although they did frequent Brixton Windmill as often as three times a week at one point; carrying all of their equipment back to Fleet by train as none of the band were old enough to drive. The 3am walk home from Fleet station, with amps and flight cases slung over their shoulder, would become a rite of passage; the quiet countryside influencing their hushed atmospheric sound and nocturnal aesthetics as much as their shared affection for Suburban Lawns, Broadcast, and Tom Tom Club.

Lyrical abstractness / concrete meaning. Danceability / lyingdownability. Minimalism / fullness. Introspective melancholy / playfulness. Lo fi / hi fi. Drug Store Romeos play with the senses and flip the expectations, finding the sweet spot every time. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: It's impossible not to hear a wealth of influence when listening to Drug Store Romeos, but each hint of another band really only serves to exacerbate how unique their sound is. It's wistful and wonderfully written, but melodically interesting with time signature changes and sonic curveballs being wonderfully woven into the fabric of the pieces.

TRACK LISTING

Oh, Inverted World, the earth-shattering, indie-rock-redefining 2001 debut album by The Shins, is presented here in its finest form, dressed up all nice for its 20th birthday. The classic tunes get new life by way of a full remastering job under band leader James Mercer’s watchful eye, the art is given a little extra zest via a die-cut jacket and a classy inner sleeve, and the package is rounded off with a big ol’ booklet with vintage photos, handwritten lyrics, and more.

The music, of course, is obviously essential. Aside from a friendly reminder that this is the album with the smash hit “New Slang,” as heard in the hit movie Garden State, we just need to note that the remastering job truly makes this the album James Mercer always wanted it to be. Never quite satisfied with the sonics of the original, Mercer took the 20th anniversary of the album as his opportunity to finally set the (literal!) record straight. And the results sound stellar: great for new fans, and well worth the attention of those already on board!

For old times’ sake, here’s what we had to say about this record back when it came out: Hailing from Albuquerque, NM, The Shins sprung from the ashes of Flake/Flake Music in 1997 (though those previous incarnations date back nearly a decade) – same members, different instruments, different approach. Counterpoint guitars have given way to a single guitar pitted against calculated keyboard passages; swarming indie rock machinations led to pop-based melodic endeavors (who knew?).

TRACK LISTING

Caring Is Creepy
One By One All Day
Weird Divide
Know Your Onion!
Girl Inform Me
New Slang
The Celibate Life
Girl On The Wing
Your Algebra
Pressed In A Book
The Past And Pending

In many ways "The World Loves Me And The Feeling Is Mutual" is the sister album to "The World Hates Me And The Feeling Is Mutual" but this record is a different beast. With the World Loves Me, Six By Seven return to the sound which gained them such great press and high accolades in the late 90's. Huge build-ups, feral guitars, and emotional lyrics are combined to create a sonic tension and release which is still unmatched by any other band claiming to be doing a similar thing. Six By Seven were making this type of music long before Sigur Ros or The National turned up. This record, perhaps more than any other, embodies this sound again

TRACK LISTING

A1. What You Say, Ain't What You Do 08:30
A2. Carry Me Home 04:32
A3. The Way I Wanted You 03:51
A4. Give Us A Chance 03:04

B1. Impress 04:09
B2. Resurrection (I Came Alive) 16:10.

‘Los Campeones en Vivo’ finds Danny and The Champions of the World high in the mountains of Asturias in Spain. A document of a magical night in 2018, a ragged, sweaty and emotional performance captured on tape and now available on a double CD through Loose Records. It encapsulates and celebrates the band’s ongoing mutual love affair with Spain… which has seen the band play to thousands at the famous Azkena Festival and to packed venues across the country.

“The people arrived out of nowhere and they danced and sang along all night...they blew us away. It was without doubt a night to remember, impossible to forget. It was beyond what any rock and roll band should rightfully expect"

TRACK LISTING

DISC 1
1. Let The Water Wash Over You (Don’t You Know)
2. Consider Me
3. Never In The Moment
4. This Is Not A Love Song
5. Stay True
6. Waiting For The Right Time
7. It’s Just A Game (That We Were Playing)
8. Coley Point
9. Brothers In The Night
10. Every Beat Of My Heart

DISC 2
1. Gotta Get Things Right In My Life
2. Remember Me
3. Clear Water
4. (Never Stop Building) That Old Space Rocket
5. Everything We Need
6. Long Distance Tears
7. Restless Feet

Over the course of four albums, Manchester based trumpeter, composer, arranger and band-leader Matthew Halsall has carved out a niche for himself on the UK music scene as one of its brightest talents. His languid, soulful music has won friends from Jamie Cullum and Gilles Peterson to Jazz FM and Mojo as well as an ever-growing international following. His label Gondwana Records is home to GoGo Penguin and his own albums have found Halsall exploring the modal jazz of John and Alice Coltrane, paying tribute to the hard bop of the late '50s and early '60s or most recently on 'Fletcher Moss Park' drawing on Eastern influences in his most personal statement yet. His latest album 'When The World Was One' is something of a companion piece to 'Fletcher Moss Park' (much of the music was written at the same time) but draws more explicitly on Halsall's love of spiritual jazz and Eastern music as well as his own studies in meditation and travels in Japan. Beautifully recorded at Hasall's favourite studio, 80 Hertz in Manchester, and engineered by Brendan Williams and George Atkins it features the recording debut of Halsall's large ensemble, The Gondwana Orchestra, which utilises the exotic flavours of harp, koto and bansuri flute and Eastern scales to create a global palate for Halsall's life-affirming sounds.

The Gondwana Orchestra features long time collaborators Nat Birchall, saxophone, Gavin Barras, bass and Rachael Gladwin, harp as well as Taz Modi on piano. Modi who also plays with Halsall in their more electronic trio shares his passion for spiritual jazz and plays the music with real feeling while the role of the harp here is to bring a touch of 'magical reality' a floating dreaminess that is a vital part of Halsall's elegiac and beautiful music. The drummer Luke Flowers is perhaps best known as part of Cinematic Orchestra, and Halsall describes him as 'one of the best drummers in the world' and hails him for 'playing the music exactly as I heard it in my head', Keiko Kitamura is a Japanese Koto player who is becoming an increasingly important part of the Gondwana Orchestra, her role is similar to Gladwin's in that the koto helps free up the music while also bringing a real sound of the East. Finally, flautist Lisa Mallett brings a love of Indian music to the orchestra, much travelled on the continent she brings all of her knowledge and experience to play offering a unique texture to Halsall's dreamy melodies.

TRACK LISTING

1. When The World Was One
2. A Far Away Place
3. Falling Water
4. Patterns
5. Kiyomizu-Dera
6. Sagano Bamboo Forest
7. Tribute To Alice Coltrane

Third World Pyramid is the first album that was fully recorded & produced at Anton’s new Cobra Studio in Berlin . It is the 15th full length release from the Brian Jonestown Massacre recorded from early 2016.

Featuring Ricky Maymi , Dan Allaire , Joel Gion , Collin Hegna & Ryan Van Kriedt from the band .Also Emil Nikolaisen from the Norwegian band Serena-Maneesh joins the band on this album , plus vocal performance Tess Parks and Katy Lane .

Anton Newcombe has been a very busy man these past 2 years, kicking off with the critically acclaimed Brian Jonestown Massacre album ‘Revelation’ in May 2014. After a successful UK and European tour, the BJM followed this up with the ‘+-‘ EP (Nov 2014). 2015 saw the release of ‘Musique de film imaginé’ (April); an imaginary film soundtrack album featuring the track ‘Bonbon’ which has, ironically, been used in ‘Dheepan’; the Palme D'or winner at Cannes film festival 2015. In June, Anton and Tess Parks embarked on a well received tour of the UK and Europe to support the release of ‘I Declare Nothing’. Anton finished the year with a BJM mini-album release entitled ‘Mini-Album Thingy Wingy’. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Encompassing aspects of wandering psychedelia, meditative drone and anthemic indie balladry, this newest outing from Newcome and co. is their most diverse and exciting yet, cementing them as one of the most defining and prolific acts in modern music.

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A:
1) - Good Mourning
2) - Government Beard
3) - Don't Get Lost
4) - Assignment Song
SIDE B: 
1) - Oh Bother
2) - Third World Pyramid
3) - Like Describing Colors To A Blind Man On Acid
4) - Lunar Surf Graveyard
5) - The Sun Ship

CD - Tracklisting
1) - Good Mourning
2) - Government Beard
3) - Don't Get Lost
4) - Assignment Song
5) - Oh Bother
6) - Third World Pyramid
7) - Like Describing Colors To A Blind Man On Acid
8) - Lunar Surf Graveyard
9) - The Sun Ship 

'Leaders of the Free World', Elbow's third album, sees the band try to beat down their major league contemporaries with a more ambitious set of songs. The results are impressive and may form the band's best work yet. Beginning with the beautiful, slow-building "Station Approach", and ending with the short but touching "Puncture Repair", 'Leaders of the Free World' takes in an a host of minor classics along the way including the captivating title track. The album is the result of a collaborative projecy between the band and film-makers, the Soup Collective.

TRACK LISTING

1. Station Approach
2. Picky Bugger
3. Forget Myself
4. The Stops
5. Leaders Of The Free World
6. An Imagined Affair
7. Mexican Standoff
8. The Everthere
9. My Very Best
10. Great Expectations
11. Puncture Repair

Brand new studio album! Featuring Captain Sensible and Paul Gray from The Damned, with Johnny Moped drummer Marty Love! Who, what and why are The Sensible Gray Cells? Captain :- Paul Gray and myself being garage psych aficionados would prefer to hear more of this kind of music and this is our contribution to the cause. If I said that some of the songs were 'Damned rejects' that shouldn't be seen as an indication of inferior songwriting.. more that they're not wearing the right shirt. A Postcard From Britain came out in 2013. What have you been up to since then? Captain :- I've never been a prolific writer.. being a lazy so and so I think it's best to wait for inspiration to call.. which explains the 7 year gap..( how many albums could the Beatles have crammed in that period!) but in the meantime PG rejoined the Damned and we've gigged about a bit, which is always fun - CAN WE HAVE GIGS BACK AGAIN PLEASE!!!

A Postcard From Britain was a snapshot of modern life. Does the new album cover similar themes or have you taken a new direction? Captain :- It's sad that high streets around the world have been destroyed by online shopping but nobody's forcing people to do it.. but what can you do. These are very strange times were living though - I just count myself lucky to have been around to witness the 2nd half of the 20th century.. a fab time for music, culture, ideas.. and that without even mentioning Benny Hill and On The Buses. The new album coincides with all this virus malarkey.. which, unpleasant as it is will undoubtedly be used by the powers that be to tighten the screws on us little people on behalf of their billionaire paymasters. Blah blah, etc. There's a bit of that hidden away in the album

TRACK LISTING

1/Sell Her Spark
2/Get Back Into The World
3/Don’t Say I Didn’t Warn Ya
4/Black Spider Memo Man
5/Stupid Dictators
6/So Long
7/A Little Prick
8/DJ With Half A Brain
9/What’s The Point Of Andrew?
10/Fine Fairweather Friend
11/I Married A Monster
12/You And Me

Who, what and why are The Sensible Gray Cells? Captain :- Paul Gray and myself being garage psych aficionados would prefer to hear more of this kind of music and this is our contribution to the cause. If I said that some of the songs were 'Damned rejects' that shouldn't be seen as an indication of inferior songwriting.. more that they're not wearing the right shirt. A Postcard From Britain came out in 2013. What have you been up to since then? Captain :- I've never been a prolific writer.. being a lazy so and so I think it's best to wait for inspiration to call.. which explains the 7 year gap..( how many albums could the Beatles have crammed in that period!) but in the meantime PG re-joined the Damned and we've gigged about a bit, which is always fun - CAN WE HAVE GIGS BACK AGAIN PLEASE!!!

A Postcard From Britain was a snapshot of modern life. Does the new album cover similar themes or have you taken a new direction? Captain :- It's sad that high streets around the world have been destroyed by online shopping but nobody's forcing people to do it.. but what can you do. These are very strange times were living though - I just count myself lucky to have been around to witness the 2nd half of the 20th century.. a fab time for music, culture, ideas.. and that without even mentioning Benny Hill and On The Buses. The new album coincides with all this virus malarkey.. which, unpleasant as it is will undoubtedly be used by the powers that be to tighten the screws on us little people on behalf of their billionaire paymasters. Blah blah, etc. There's a bit of that hidden away in the album.

November 2020 sees the 50th Anniversary of the release of David Bowie’s The Man Who Sold The World in North America. The album marks the beginning of a collaboration with guitarist Mick Ronson that would last through classic works including Hunky Dory, Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane - as well as the first in a 10-year series of indispensable albums stretching through 1980’s Scary Monsters…

Originally titled Metrobolist, the album's name was changed at the last minute to The Man Who Sold The World. The 2020 re-release of the album under its Metrobolist moniker has been remixed by original producer Tony Visconti, with the exception of the track ‘After All’ which Tony considered perfect as is, and is featured in its 2015 remaster incarnation.

The Metrobolist 50th anniversary artwork has been created by Mike Weller who was behind the historically controversial “dress” cover which Mercury Records refused to release.

TRACK LISTING

VINYL TRACKLISTING
Side A
The Width Of A Circle
All The Madmen
Black Country Rock
After All

Side B
Running Gun Blues
Saviour Machine
She Shook Me Cold
The Man Who Sold The World
The Supermen

CD TRACKLISTING
The Width Of A Circle
All The Madmen
Black Country Rock
After All
Running Gun Blues
Saviour Machine
She Shook Me Cold
The Man Who Sold The World
The Supermen 

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2020 RELEASE AVAILABLE ONLINE ONLY AS PART OF THE AUGUST 29TH DROP DAY AT 6PM.
LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

Limited edition on black vinyl.North Carolina folk rockers Hiss Golden Messenger re-record two of their original songs, "Cat's Eye Blue" (from their critically acclaimed 2019 album Terms of Surrender) & B-side "Standing in the Doorway" at Spacebomb Studios with contributions from their in-house orchestra.It's the latest in the Alive at Spacebomb Studios series.

A lone pair of footsteps meanders down a street in omaha, into the neighborhood bar and then into a near-imperceptible tangle of conversations – about wars, sleepless nights – a surrealist din pushing against the sound of ragtime. Then, as the background quiets, a line rings out clearly: “i think about how much people need – what they need right now is to feel like there’s something to look forward to. We have to hold on. We have to hold on.”

Thus we enter the fitting, cacophonic introduction to bright eyes’ tenth studio album and first release since 2011. Down in the weeds, where the world once was is an enormous record caught in the profound in-between of grief and clarity – one arm wrestling its demons, the other gripping the hand of love, in spite of it.

The end of bright eyes’ unofficial hiatus came naturally. Conor oberst pitched the idea of getting the band back together during a 2017 christmas party at bright eyes bandmate nathaniel walcott’s los angeles home. The two huddled in the bathroom and called mike mogis, who was christmas shopping at an omaha mall. Mogis immediately said yes. There was no specific catalyst for the trio, aside from finding comfort amidst a decade of brutal change. Sure, why now? Is the question, but for a project whose friendship is at the core, it was simply why not?

The resulting bright eyes album came together unlike any other of its predecessors. Down in the weeds is bright eyes’ most collaborative, stemming from only one demo and written in stints in omaha and in bits and pieces in walcott’s los angeles home. Radically altering a writing process 25 years into a project seems daunting, but oberst said there was no trepidation: “our history and our friendship, and my trust level with them, is so complete and deep. And i wanted it to feel as much like a three-headed monster as possible.”

As a title, as a thesis, down in the weeds, where the world once was functions on a global, apocalyptic level of anxiety that looms throughout the record. But on a personal level, it speaks to rooting around in the dirt of one’s memories, trying to find the preciousness that’s overgrown and unrecognizable. For oberst, coming back to bright eyes was a bit of that. A symbol of simpler times, vaguely nostalgic. And even though it wasn’t actually possible to go back to the way things were, even though there wasn’t an easy happy ending, there was a new reality left to work with.

And here, there is a bleary-eyed hopefulness – earnest, emotive recommitments to love appear on “dance and sing” and “just once in the world.” And throughout, down in the weeds features snippets of oberst’s loved ones speaking, in late-night conversations. The fleeting loveliness of intimate moments punctuates the bleakness of the record’s existential crisis, crackling like lightning bugs illuminating the long night.

Down in the weeds is a distillation of a prolific, enduring canon. It’s immediate and urgent, the product of its creators’ growth across a decade apart, as well as the need to make a record together to find solace from loss. Through deliberate, fearless experimentation in process, the trio made the truest bright eyes sound: the sound of a deep bond, of a band coming home, but also a seamless continuation, like bright eyes never went away. It’s the impossible, sprawling mess of human experience that bright eyes has always sought to put to tape, since the beginning – the sound of holding on. Why now? Why not?

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: It's been far too long since the last Bright Eyes album, and this one shows why we've missed him so much. Beautifully tender melodies, orchestral swoon and soaring crescendos aplenty. This is a new journey for Oberst & crew, but also warmingly familiar.

TRACK LISTING

Pageturners Rag
Dance And Sing
Just Once In The World
Mariana Trench
One And Done
Pan And Broom
Stairwell Song
Persona Non Grata
Tilt-a-whirl
Hot Car In The Sun
Forced Convalescence
To Death’s Heart (in Three Parts)
Calais To Dover
Comet Song

Straight out the gate, Nas dropped a classic. Since the release of the seminal ‘Illmatic’ album in 1994, critics and fans have been wondering if Nas peaked too early and if anything in his subsequent catalogue could be held up against this masterpiece.

To be fair, it’s hard to follow up something this flawless, a project that allied his most insightful, pitch-perfect heartfelt rhymes with the work of the best hiphop producers on the east coast.DJ Premier, Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest and Large Professor all take their turns on the album, along with the unsung L.E.S.,but it’s Pete Rock in his prime who provides the stunning backdrop for the cinematic ‘The World is Yours’.

It’s a perfect nugget of a single, weaving in the brashness of Scarface, the repetition of a snatch of T La Rock’s early Def Jam gem ‘It’s Yours’ and piano courtesy of Ahmad Jamal’s ‘I Love Music’ from his own timeless ‘The Awakening’ album (1970).Presented for the first time on 7”, the vocals of the album version and the instrumental on the flip provide the perfect opportunity to enjoy and compare the work of two masters at the top of their game.

Pete Rock’s seamless weaving of disparate samples into a compelling whole, the then little-known Nas’ statement of intent. With a maturity beyond his tender years, Nas put himself straight at the top of the pile, this Queensbridge chronicle hinting at the ambition and greatness he harboured within himself.

TRACK LISTING

The World Is Yours (Album Version)
The World Is Yours (Instrumental)

A unique compilation of tracks from blind blues musicians who left remarkable musical legacies in the face of incredible adversity. Featuring many legendary guitarists including Blind Blake, Reverend Gary Davis, Blind Willie McTell and Blind Willie Johnson

A remarkable phenomenon in the history of the blues was the vast contribution made by blind musicians, whose legacy left a lasting impact on American music to this day. From ‘The Father Of The Texas Blues’ Blind Lemon Jefferson to slide guitar evangelist Blind Willie Johnson, this Rough Guide highlights the blind blues pioneers who, against all the odds and in the face of incredible adversity, were responsible for a musical revolution.

The image of the blind bluesman is undoubtedly one of the most iconic and meaningful themes in the history of the blues. A diverse selection of tracks ranging from upbeat rags and gospel tunes to earthy blues. Highlighting the incredible contribution made by blind blues musicians that has left a lasting mark on the history of American music . Includes hidden gems by artists shrouded in mystery. Following on from the success of other blues titles in the Rough Guide range. A must-have album for blues guitar enthusiasts. Lovingly remastered using pioneering restoration techniques

TRACK LISTING

Blind Blake - He’s In The Jailhouse Now
Teddy Darby - Lawdy Lawdy Worried Blues
Blind Boy Fuller - Truckin’ My Blues Away No. 2 (Take 2)
Blind Lemon Jefferson - See That My Grave Is Kept Clean
Sonny Terry - Harmonica Stomp
Blind Joe Reynolds - Third Street Woman Blues
Blind Joe Taggart - Religion Is Something Within You
Blind Willie McTell - Stomp Down Rider
Reverend Gary Davis - The Angels Message To Me
Willie Walker - South Carolina Rag (Take 2)
Blind Willie Johnson - Nobody’s Fault But Mine
Blind Roosevelt Graves - Crazy About My Baby
Blind Gussie Nesbit - Pure Religion

It is hard to think of many 7” singles where both sides are as heavy as this one! Change The World / Try, Try was released in 1977 by Solat, a Dutchbased funk group made up of Surinamese and Dutch-Antillian musicians. Formed after ex-band members of Reality / Tony And Reality; Eddy Veldman, Franky Douglas, Ivor Mitchell and Glenn Gaddum teamed up with singer Billy Jones, Solat went on to release two singles for Poker records.

With its crossover nature, it pleases disco, funk and modern-soul collectors and DJs alike, plus due to only been released in the Netherlands, the record has now become an extremely sought-after item with a high price tag to match. Both amazing cuts are aimed straight for the dance-floor, but retain conscious and positive messages that are as relevant now as they were back then. ‘Change The World’ is an anthemic feel-good disco funk gem, whilst ‘Try, Try ‘ is reminiscent of a Mizell Brothers golden-era production. Mr Bongo present a replica edition with dinked centre and original cover and label artwork, for all to enjoy.

STAFF COMMENTS

Millie says: Reissue of these 1977 gem ‘Change The World’ and ‘Try, Try’ are funk and soul essentials to have on vinyl, it’s been highly sought after for years and the time is here to play these classics loud.

TRACK LISTING

Change The World
Try, Try

The Rough Guide to the Roots of the Blues features the greatest names in early blues music including Blind Lemon Jefferson, Bessie Smith, Charley Patton and Ma Rainey, lovingly remastered using pioneering restoration techniques. It offers the perfect overview of the many different styles and key performers of early blues on one album and an incredibly diverse selection of tracks including bottleneck guitar, barrelhouse piano, classic songster tunes and vaudeville blues It’s an album which traces the development of blues music during its early recorded history of the 1920s, offering a unique insight into the first great wave of blues artists who remain an inspiration to this day.

TRACK LISTING

Some Summer Day
Some These Days I’ll Be Gone (Take 1)
Moon Going Down
Elder Greene Blues (Take 1)
Banty Rooster Blues
Hang It On The Wall
Bird Nest Bound
Jim Lee Blues (Part 1)
I’m Goin’ Home
Going To Move To Alabama
Dry Well Blues
Troubled ‘Bout My Mother

Featuring the greatest names in early blues music including Blind Lemon Jefferson, Bessie Smith, Charley Patton and Ma Rainey. The perfect overview of the many different styles and key performers of early blues on one album. An incredibly diverse selection of tracks including bottleneck guitar, barrelhouse piano, classic songster tunes and vaudeville blues. An album which traces the development of blues music during its early recorded history of the 1920s. An unique insight into the first great wave of blues artists who remain an inspiration to this day.

The first documented description of what we now recognise as the blues occurred in 1903 when the composer and musician W.C. Handy was waiting for a train at Tutwiler, Mississippi. He heard a man playing a guitar by pressing a knife against the strings and singing a song with the line, “Goin’ where the Southern cross the Dog”. Handy went on to become a great collector and populariser of the blues and was hugely influential in bringing this local folk music from the Mississippi Delta to public attention. Along with Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey spearheaded the 1920s “classic era” of recorded blues. Handy’s ‘St. Louis Blues’ were recorded in the mid-1920s heyday of the classic blues era, shortly before the female dominance of the genre was eclipsed by the rougher sound of the country blues. Likewise, many white musicians were heavily influenced by the blues including the ‘Father of Country Music’, Jimmie Rodgers whose yodel-infused blues became a prominent element of his music.

There can be little doubt that the blues grew up in the Mississippi Delta as an elaboration on work chants, slave songs, and the lyrical and haunting field hollers. Unquestionably the most influential of all the blues forms, the Delta blues laid the foundations for what was to become rock and roll, with all roads leading to its father figure Charley Patton who served as a major influence on other legendary bluesmen who followed including Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf. Along with the guitar, the piano came into its own in the barrelhouses, as roving musicians hammered out high-spirited tunes for the drinkers and dancers.

TRACK LISTING

Kansas Joe & Memphis Minnie - When The Levee Breaks
Scrapper Blackwell - Kokomo Blues
Ma Rainey - Stack O’Lee Blues
Blind Blake - West Coast Blues
Henry Thomas - Fishing Blues
Memphis Jug Band - Stealin’, Stealin’
Victoria Spivey - T.B. Blues
Blind Lemon Jefferson - See That My Grave Is Kept Clean
Cow Cow Davenport - Cow Cow Blues
Blind Willie Johnson - Mother’s Children Have A Hard Time
Dick Justice - Brown Skin Blues
Bo Weevil Jackson - Devil And My Brown Blues
Mississippi John Hurt - Got The Blues, Can’t Be Satisfied
Hambone Willie Newbern - Roll And Tumble Blues
Clarence “Pinetop” Smith - Pinetop’s Boogie Woogie
Texas Alexander - Section Gang Blues
Blind Willie McTell - Statesboro Blues
Speckled Red - The Dirty Dozen
Charley Patton - Screamin’ And Hollerin’ The Blues
Jimmie Rodgers - Blue Yodel No. 1 (T For Texas)
Bessie Smith - St. Louis Blues
Papa Charlie Jackson - All I Want Is A Spoonful
Weaver And Beasley - Bottleneck Blues
Tampa Red & Georgia Tom - It’s Tight Like That - No. 2
Tommy Johnson - Canned Heat Blues

Formerly a musician, cinematographer and lighting designer with The Residents and a student of 'Blue' Gene Tyranny, Philip Perkins issued this astounding release on his own Fun Music label in 1983.

Perkins often worked in topographical realms, crafting environment-enriching soundscapes, albeit on a micro level. Taking cues from minimalism, environmental field recordings and home-baked ceremonial mantras, "King Of The World" is a meditation on the lives of three ancient kings who believed themselves to be the ruler of all mankind.

The post-Hassell currents of Fourth World music unavoidably come to mind. "King Of The World" sits comfortably amongst the backwards-referencing style of more recent producers - but Perkins was a contemporary of the famed trumpeter and he alchemises a DIY spirit and sound art aesthetic into his own unique province of Magic Realism. Off-centre loops of African hand percussion are overlaid with a palette of water trickles, bird calls and mutant Casio synthesizer forming deceptively simple rhythmic and textural collages, always at a level just above subliminal.

Remastered in Brooklyn by Josh Bonati and with new sleeve artwork by the internationally acclaimed book designer Luke Bird.

TRACK LISTING

PACAL
(THE SHIELD)
A1. Opening
A2. Childhood
A3. Hunting
A4. Coronation And Wedding
A5. War
A6. Funeral
A7. Conclusion

SIDE TWO:

KING OF THE WORLD
(ASSURNASPIRAL II)
B1. Morning (The Plains)
B2. Afternoon (The Village)
B3. Evening (The Courtyard)

MARCUS AURELIUS
(THE STOIC)
B4. Coronation March
B5. Duty
B6. Trying
B7. Horizon
B8. A Walk Outside

Melbourne, Australia minor key pop magicians Crayon Fields released their second album All The Pleasures Of The World in 2009. Just over a decade later they revisit this era-defining album with a deluxe vinyl reissue, including new liner notes and a raft of bonus tracks. All the Pleasures catapulted Crayon Fields from Melbourne hometown favourites to internationally acclaimed cult heroes. It was one of the year's most acclaimed Australian releases, earning a glowing review on Pitchfork and landing in countless end of year best of lists. The band headed to the US and UK/Europe for a series of tours, performing for KEXP, playing Pitchfork and Brooklyn Vegan shows at SXSW and CMJ and slogging their way from Austin to Estonia. In Australia they shared stages with the likes of Cornelius, Stereolab, Pains Of Being Pure At Heart and Built to Spill. With its loping bass lines, swooning strings and eerie, hypnotic harmonies, All The Pleasures Of The World quickly assumed the status of a 21st century indie classic. The initial vinyl run sold out very quickly, and for the last decade fans have been harrassing the band for a repress. Crayon Fields have gone one step beyond, with newly penned liner notes from frontman Geoffrey O'Connor as well as Melbourne novelist/scriptwriter Anna Barnes (Content). The first pressing is in blue/green "galaxy swirl" coloured vinyl, and the band have raided their archives to unearth a trove of rare bonus tracks. These include single B-sides, covers of Abba, Roxette and Kath Bloom, and even moog-driven lounge instrumental versions of key singles Mirror Ball and the album title track. 

TRACK LISTING

Side A:
1. Mirror Ball
2. Voice Of Paradise
3. All The Pleasures Of The World
4. Timeless
5. Celebrate
Side B:
1. Graceless
2. Where The Light Isn’t Cruel
3. Disappear
4. Lucky Again
5. You Could Wind Up Anywhere

Digital Bonus Tracks:
11. How Loved You Are
12. So Much Time
13. Come Here (Kath Bloom)
14. Mirror Ball (demo Version)
15. Take A Chance On Me (Abba)
16. All The Pleasures Of The World (Moog Version)
17. Mirror Ball (Moog Version)
18. It Must Have Been Love (Roxette)

Return To Y'Hup - The World Of Ivor Cutler Citizen Bravo, Raymond MacDonald and a host of friends from the crème de la crème of Scotland’s music scene present Return To Y'Hup: The World of Ivor Cutler, a celebration of the life and work of an artist of unrivalled musical and poetic vision. This ambitious project is a pioneering experiment in the field of imaginary archaeology: a sonic conjuring of a decades-old fictional island. The underlying concept of the album was to resurrect the mythical island of Y’Hup - a territory which Ivor Cutler dreamt up and described throughout his early recordings.

Here, the island has been populated with distinct Scottish voices alongside new arrangements of Cutler's music, featuring a large number of high profile guest artists, including: Stuart Braithwaite (Mogwai), Tracyanne Campbell (Camera Obscura), Kris Drever (Lau), Alex Kapranos (Franz Ferdinand), Stuart Murdoch (Belle & Sebastian), Pictish Trail, Emma Pollock (Delgados), Karine Polwart, Rick Redbeard (Phantom Band) and James Yorkston. Visiting the island as distinguished guests are two English vocalists, Phyllis King (Ivor Cutler’s longtime companion and collaborator) and living legend, Robert Wyatt.

TRACK LISTING

1 Here's A Health For Simon
2 Latitude And Longitude (with Phyllis King)
3 Size Nine And A Half (with Emma Pollock)
4 Mary's A Cow (with Malcolm Benzie)
5 Instance The Yam (with Alex Kapranos)
6 Pickle Your Knees (with Karine Polwart)
7 Gravity Begins At Home (with Rick Redbeard)
8 A Cow Puncher And A Bird (with Zoe Graham)
9 Boo Boo Bird (with Heather Leigh)
10 Vitamin P (with Duglas T. Stewart)
11 Green Rain (with Sarah Hayes)
12 A Tooth Song (with Adam Stafford)
13 Sh Chi (with Stuart Murdoch)
14 Women Of The World (with Tracyanne Campbell)
15 A Real Man (with James Yorkston)
16 Yellow Fly (with Kris Drever)
17 Shoplifters (with Future Pilot AKA Vs. Stranded Astronaut)
18 The Path (with Stuart Braithwaite)
19 Muscular Tree (with Megan Airlie & Limelight Ensemble)
20 Who Tore Your Trousers James? (with Rachel Sermanni & Chris Thomson)
21 I Got No Common Sense
22 When I Stand On An Open Cart (with Kapil Seshasayee)
23 I Believe In Bugs (with Jo Mango)
24 Good Morning! How Are You? Shut Up! (with Pictish Trail)
25 Out Of Decency (with Robert Wyatt)
26 Beautiful Cosmos (with Anna Miles)

Remastered for the 21st Century. First time available on vinyl since its original release in 1986. The success of Fear and Whiskey in 1985 saw the Mekons with a stable line-up and enough money to record a new album for the first time in years. The songs on Edge of the World were written and demoed in Leeds by Tom, Jon and Kevin early in 1986 and recorded at Offbeat Studios in Kirkstall with Three Johns live Soundman Tony Bonner who had recorded parts of Fear and Whiskey the year before.

"If the continuing existence of their music doesn't place these anti-American country-rockers squarely among the undefeated for you, the continuing eloquence of their lyrics ought to--whether it's Sally Timms trying to talk to the drunk she's stuck with or Jon Langford downing cat food because he doesn't feel human tonight, they haven't given up on saying their piece" -Robert Christgau / Dean of American Rock Critics ca. 20th Century. 

The record is an ambitious and expansive update of their warm, hypnotic drone-pop encompassing gently pulsing electronics, chiming guitars, minimalist piano, acoustic and synthesised drones, noise, improv and intricate brass and string arrangements, all in the service of the band’s most assured and experimental songwriting yet. Two years in the making it features guest contributions from (amongst others) celebrated singer Ed Dowie, noise group Far Rainbow, fellow space-pop travellers Firestations and the string quartet Iskra Strings. It draws on all aspects of the band’s work so far, from indie guitar pop to ambient atmospherics, via surging rhythms and layered, melancholic vocals. This is the band’s second album (seventh if you count the various remix, side-project and short run CDR and tape releases they have put out over the last few years), and is the official follow up to 2015’s debut Daylight Versions (5* The Guardian). It begins with ‘In Doors And Out Through Windows’, a minimal piano and vibraphone incantation in 7/4, with shades of Dot and Loops-era Stereolab, their summery strum replaced here with twilit, unsettling repetition and melancholy brass swells.


First single ‘Hissing Waves’ is the most pop the band have ever sounded, its skipping Insides-esque electronics and looping verses pulling the listener back to daylight and the disorienting “transparent spaces” of the city. ‘Patience’ (featuring guest vocals by Ed Dowie) is the closest the band come to the sound of ‘Daylight Versions’, cresting on waves of guitars and an insistent synth arpeggio. Elsewhere we find the title track’s pointillist strings (arranged by the band’s saxophonist Daniel Fordham), hypnotic vocal rituals on noise/improv detour ‘Bodies Carried Off By Bees’ (featuring Far Rainbow) and the Yo La Tengo-meet-Section 25 repetitions of ‘An Endless’, its bright guitar arpeggios and billowing synths unfurling across ten minutes of glorious repetition.

Titled after a Johann Wolfgang von Goethe quote (“The world is a bell that is cracked, it clatters but does not ring out clearly”) the album turns its attention away from the coastal obsessions of ‘Daylight Versions’ to more surreal and atmospheric contemplations. The album reaches its end with the fittingly grandiose ‘Paper Boats On Black Ink Lake’. The radio unfriendly (at nearly 20 minutes long) track drifts in on sleepwalk-slow guitars, recalling Earth at their most serene, while Kate Gibson and Melinda Bronstein’s vocals float over a bed of strings that could be Robert Kirby scoring Low’s Secret Name. The World Is A Bell is an album of dense and unhurried songs, rich in sonic detail and ambitious in scope, its music simultaneously intimate and epic. Guitarist and lyricist Matt says, “We wanted to create something that was completely its own thing, that was in no hurry to get anywhere and that contained large expanses for listeners to get lost in. 

TRACK LISTING

01 In Doors And Out Through Windows
02 Hissing Waves
03 Patience
04 Larches Eat Moths
05 The World Is A Bell
06 Bright Seas
07 Bodies Carried Off By Bees
08 An Endless
09 More Than Half Asleep
10 Paper Boats On Black Ink Lake 

Arguably the most iconic and lastingly influential jazz singer of all time, Billie Holiday expressed an incredible depth of emotion that spoke of hard times and injustice as well as triumph. With accompaniment by some of the finest bands of the era, these classic tracks were recorded during her creative heyday when her voice was at its potent.

This compilation includes the iconic "Strange Fruit", hailed as the song that gave birth to the civil rights movement. Holiday’s emotive voice, innovative techniques and touching songs continue to inspire artists the world over. Accompaniment from the finest bands of the era led by the likes of Teddy Wilson, Artie Shaw and Count Basie and featuring the delightful duet with Louis Armstrong "My Sweet Hunk O’ Trash". Lovingly remastered using pioneering restoration techniques, Billie Holiday not only sang the blues - she lived them.

TRACK LISTING

Good Morning Heartache
Body And Soul
I Loves You Porgy
Now They Call It Swing
I Hear Music
You’re My Thrill
All Of Me
My Man
Until The Real Thing Comes Along
The Very Thought Of You
Fine And Mellow
I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues
Trav’lin’ Light
Swing Brother Swing
St Louis Blues
You Go To My Head
Embraceable You
Any Old Time
As Time Goes By
He’s Funny That Way
Lover, Come Back To Me
I’m Yours
My Sweet Hunk O’ Trash
Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man
Strange Fruit

While recording a group of songs that would end up being part of
This World Just Eats Me Up Alive, Brian Crook took a break outside
with his bandmates. A small girl nearby ran up to a woman saying
“Mommy, mommy! There’s a vampire here!” The mother asked how
the girl knew it was a vampire, and the girl said, “He talks like this,”
and proceeded to do a growling impression of a New Zealand accent.
At the time, Brian was in a dark suit and had super long hair, and was
playing badminton….

Crook’s new solo album comprises eight years of recording, so
perhaps his undead appearance is not surprising; it comprises a span
of inspiration that seems almost vampiric, with themes suggested
by Greek mythology, a favorite 1960s author, to the abstract
electronics of Aphex Twin and Arca as influences. The album came
together in parts, slowly assembled with various contributors and
recording locations, the earliest trace having lyrical origins from 1991,
and was done during during sessions for The Terminals, Crook’s
other band (you can also add NZ legends Scorched Earth Policy and
Flies Inside The Sun to that list).

A near decade provides a lot of material for reflective songwriting.
In Crook’s revelations about life in New Zealand and his tenebrous
lyrical style there is more than a touch of comedy, albeit of a blackly
humorous, “South Island New Zealand” nature. The lyrics and music
come from a similar place as New Zealand painters Bill Hammond
and Tony de Latour, evoking a kind of ceremonial primitivism.

TRACK LISTING

1. Black Mariah
2. Dragged Both Ways
3. This World Just Eats Me Up
4. The Smoking Singularity
5. Sissyphus
6. Poisoning The Well
7. Joyce Carol Oates

Ceremony make their Relapse Records debut with their highly ambitious new album, 'In the Spirit World Now'! The album sees Ceremony at the height of their creative output, as the always-evolving Rohnert Park quintet take various influences from post punk and rock to create one of the summer's most compelling and infectious records. "In the Spirit World Now" is full of layered sonic fury and anxiety, each song building up to a point and then descending down through a militant, catchy hook. “Turn Away the Bad Thing” sets the tone, guitars climbing around the driving bass line, as Ross Farrar sings, “It’s getting harder for me to be alright/Eyes adjusting to the dark/The momentum of all these last resorts built inside of me.” Songs like “Presaging the End” and “Calming Water” feel romantic and distressed, while “Further I Was” and “Years of Love” are driven by Farrar’s rebellious energy as he repeats the hook with a deadpan realness. “Years of love can be forgotten/In the hatred of a day.” But the true stand-out is the title track, “In the Spirit World Now”, a haunting pop gem with a sticky chorus and lead synth riff that plants itself in your head as Farrar chants the track’s name over and over like a mantra. “In the Spirit World Now" is a sort of nebulous and ectoplasmic place where things may not be quite what they seem,” he says. “It means sh*t is about to get weird.” The album marks a milestone for this Northern California punk outfit who have stayed true to themselves as songwriters throughout massive sonic growth throughout their storied career.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: From the fractured art-punk aesthetic of Wire or even bits of Sonic Youth, through wide-spanning cinematic shoegaze majesty and grungy snarling anthems, Ceremony have crafted a brilliantly varied and thoroughly enthralling collection of snappy punk anthems mixed with a huge variety of influences.

TRACK LISTING

1. Turn Away The Bad Thing
2. In The Spirit World Now
3. Further I Was
4. /
5. Presaging The End
6. Say Goodbye To Them
7. We Can Be Free
8. //
9. Years Of Love
10. Never Gonna Die Now
11. I Want More
12. From Another Age
13. ///
14. Calming Water

"If Day at the Races was a sleek, streamlined album, its 1977 successor, News of the World, was its polar opposite, an explosion of styles that didn't seem to hold to any particular center. It's front-loaded with two of Queen's biggest anthems -- the stomping, stadium-filling chant "We Will Rock You" and its triumphant companion, "We Are the Champions" -- which are quickly followed by the ferocious "Sheer Heart Attack," a frenzied rocker that hits harder than anything on the album that shares its name (a remarkable achievement in itself). Three songs, three quick shifts in mood, but that's hardly the end of it. As the News rolls on, you're treated to the arch, campy crooning of "My Melancholy Blues," a shticky blues shuffle in "Sleeping on the Sidewalk," and breezy Latin rhythms on "Who Needs You." Then there's the neo-disco of "Fight from the Inside," which is eclipsed by the mechanical funk of "Get Down, Make Love," a dirty grind that's stripped of sensuality. That cold streak on "Get Down, Make Love" runs through the album as a whole. Despite the explosion of sounds and rhythms, this album doesn't add up to party thanks to that slightly distancing chilly vibe that hangs over the album. Nevertheless, many of these songs work well on their own as entities, so there is plenty to savor here, especially from Brian May. Whether he's doing the strangely subdued eccentric English pop "All Dead, All Dead" or especially the majestic yet nimble rocker "It's Late," he turns in work that gives this album some lightness, which it needs. And that's the reason News of the World was a monster hit despite its coldness -- when it works, it's massive, earth-shaking rock & roll, the sound of a band beginning to revel in its superstardom." - Allmusic.

Soul Jazz Records release this stunning new collection featuring music influential to the artist Keith Haring.

The art of Keith Haring is today one of the most recognisable of any visual artists of his generation, defining 1980s New York during an intense period when downtown artists and musicians collaborated like never before. Haring’s musical inspiration took in the punk/dance downtown sounds of clubs like The Mudd Club, underground disco at Larry Levan’s Paradise Garage, as well the early days of hip hop and electro.

The album is released to coincide with the opening of the first major exhibition in the UK of Keith Haring’s work at Tate Liverpool, which runs for the next six months.

Haring’s many friends included Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Madonna, Fab Five Freddy, William Burroughs, Jenny Holzer, Yoko Ono, Grace Jones, Larry Levan, Futura 2000.

The music here includes the work of a number of Haring’s close friends, including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Yoko Ono, Larry Levan, John Sex and George Condo (The Girls), as well as healthy dose of rare disco, early electro and New York punk/dance tracks.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Where a lot of Soul Jazz compilations focus on a genre, or a precursor of that genre, Haring's affiliated acts read like the toilet walls of CBGB, Paradise Garage and the Mudd Club. It's a brilliantly varied but cohesive snapshot of the 80s in music and art incorporating art-rock, electro and the burgeoning hip-hop scene. Absolutely essential.

TRACK LISTING

2CD 
B Beat Girls - For The Same Man
Damon Harris - It’s Music
Pylon - Danger
The Jonzun Crew - Pak Man (Look Out For The OVC)
Funk Masters - Love Money
John Sex - Bump And Grind It
Sylvester - Over And Over (12" Disco Mix)
The Girls - Jeffrey I Hear You
Johnny Dynell And New York 88 - Jam Hot (Rhumba Rock)
Talking Heads - I Zimbra
Art Zoyd - Sortie 134 (Part 2)
Class Action - Weekend (Larry Levan Mix)
Adiche - Chuka-Ja (Get Ready)
The Girls - The Elephant Man
The Golden Flamingo Orchestra - The Guardian Angel Is Watching Over Us
Gray - Cut It Up High Priest
Extra T’s - E.T. Boogie
Convertion - Let’s Do It
Yoko Ono - Walking On Thin Ice
Fab 5 Freddy - Change The Beat

3LP
B Beat Girls - For The Same Man
Damon Harris - It’s Music
Pylon - Danger
The Jonzun Crew - Pak Man (Look Out For The OVC)
Funk Masters - Love Money
John Sex - Bump And Grind It
Sylvester - Over And Over (12" Disco Mix)
Johnny Dynell And New York 88 - Jam Hot (Rhumba Rock)
Art Zoyd - Sortie 134 (Part 2)
Adiche - Chuka-Ja (Get Ready)
Class Action - Weekend (Larry Levan Mix)
Gray - Cut It Up High Priest
The Golden Flamingo Orchestra - The Guardian Angel Is Watching Over Us
Extra T’s - E.T. Boogie
Fab 5 Freddy - Change The Beat
Convertion - Let’s Do It
Yoko Ono - Walking On Thin Ice

By incorporating all manner of homemade instruments, jug bands were hugely popular in America during the 1920s and early 1930s. With an unparalleled vibrancy this ‘do it yourself’ and often overlooked approach to music was highly influential in the history of the blues. This LP set was lovingly remastered using pioneering restoration techniques.

TRACK LISTING

Memphis Sheiks - He’s In The Jailhouse Now
Whistler & His Jug Band - The Jug Band Special
Cannon’s Jug Stompers - Going To Germany
Birmingham Jug Band - Giving It Away
Earl McDonald’s Original Louisville Jug Band - Casey Bill
Tampa Red’s Hokum Jug Band - It’s Tight Like That
Carolina Peanut Boys - This Will Bring You Back
Daddy Stovepipe & Mississippi Sarah - The Spasm
Memphis Minnie And Her Jug Band - Grandpa And Grandma Blues
King David’s Jug Band - What’s That Tastes Like Gravy
Memphis Jug Band - Stealin’, Stealin’
Jimmie Rodgers & The Louisville Jug Band - My Good Gal’s Gone Blues
Picaninny Jug Band - Bottle It Up And Go
Old Southern Jug Band - Blues, Just Blues, That’s All

Named after the rough and ready bars where labourers gathered to drink and dance, barrelhouse was a raucous form of piano blues that got the juke joints swinging. From early pioneers such as Cow Cow Davenport and Speckled Red to the boogie-woogie legends Pete Johnson and Albert Ammons, this collection charts the rise and incredible influence of this good-time blues. A classic collection of up-beat piano blues originating from the ‘juke joints’ of the rural Southern States featuring many legendary blues pianists including Leroy Carr, Cripple Clarence Lofton and Montana Taylor.

TRACK LISTING

Speckled Red - The Dirty Dozen
Jimmy Yancey - Slow And Easy Blues
Cripple Clarence Lofton - Strut That Thing
Will Ezell - Heifer Dust
Walter Roland - Watcha Gonna Do?
Skip James - If You Haven’t Any Hay Get On Down The Road
Victoria Spivey - Hoodoo Man Blues
Cow Cow Davenport - Cow Cow Blues
Clarence “Pinetop” Smith - Pinetop’s Boogie Woogie
Meade Lux Lewis - Honky Tonk Train Blues
Pete Johnson & Albert Ammons - Barrelhouse Boogie
Montana Taylor - Detroit Rocks
Leroy Carr & Scrapper Blackwell - Barrelhouse Woman No.2

The Strange World of Suzie Pellet' is a hard rocking concept album featuring a dark, unsettling and mysterious tale of future street dweller Suzie Pellet. A feisty survivor in a ruined world, Suzie is the brainchild of Ian Miller, fantasy/horror artist and novelist. His surreal. nightmarish creations have graced book covers, graphic novels and films, and have given form to the works of HP Lovecraft, Tolkien and many more. Now, one of his own dark gothic characters comes to life. Not unlike Michael Moorcock guiding Hawkwind or Sandy Pearlman, The Blue Oyster Cult, or even a cranked up Moody Blues or Who, Transmaniacon bring Miller'svision to sonic life, aided and abetted by the outstanding vocal deliveries of punk poetess and avant rocker Lydia Lunch (a hind-sighted Suzie) and Maya Berlin (a future 'present-day' Suzie).

Sci-fi and space rock has always been present in Transmaniacon, a previous incarnation was XM3a who released the first New Heavy Sounds single, 'Bad Robot Man', an epic 9 min acid rock riff-fest. This was followed up (as Transmaniacon) by 'The Darkening Plain' their first concept piece containing the 25 min classic 'Quintessence of Dust' - bleak, dense, forboding, and heavy. - a sort of Killing Joke/Hawkwind/Pentagram hybrid which featured the first collaboration with Lydia Lunch. But with 'Suzie Pellet' Transmaniacon becomes more a musical collective. The core of the band remains, hard and heavy riffing guitars, overdriven Hammond Organ (and this time synth) but with the addition of Tom (Uncle Acid/Limb) Mowforth on drums they are a groovier, more athletic 70's rock beast. The twin heavyweights of Blue Oyster Cult and Mountain loom large, but this time with the added groove of an an organ-driven Black Mountain. Suzie Pellet is Transmaniacon's first true collaboration with Ian Miller. Miller resurrected his post apocalyptic tale of street survivor Suzie Pellet in a rotten and derelict London-esque urban-scape called Duht. Transmaniacon have taken and expanded Miller's vision into a story in which Pellet herself, describes the dark, underworld, its characters and situations, friends and foes, all in grisly-spoken and sung diary-like, excerpts.

Lydia Lunch was an obvious choice for the mature Pellet. A survivor of numerous underground scenes herself from punk and no-wave through noise, avant-rock and, appropriately enough here, spoken word. In 1975 Patti Smith perhaps could have been a young Susie Pellet, in 93 Polly Harvey, but now the role falls to Maya Berlin. With her band, Cold in Berlin delivering equal parts Punk, Doom and Goth over their three highly acclaimed albums (including 'The Comfort of Loss and Dust on Candlelight Records), she was perfect. And Suzie gives her the opportunity to expand her vocal (and theatrical) talents in Grace Slick or Julie Driscoll or even Chelsea Wolfe directions. Step into the nightmare world of Suzie Pellet. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: It's a pretty out-there idea, and more than fitting for the King Crimson / Blue Oyster it so readily references, but this particular concept is flawlessly accomplished and brilliantly overblown. Brilliantly heavy but nuanced psych rock with a host of talented musicians behind it makes it a must have for you LL fans out there.

TRACK LISTING

1. Inca Sunshine
2. Painted On Skin
3. The River, The Birds
4. Sexton Breen
5. Dogs Of War
6. Outrun The Pack
7. Tooled Up
8. Aerosol Death Rattle

Blind Willie McTell was blessed with an exquisite voice and sublime talent for the twelve-string guitar. This collection highlights his diverse repertoire of songs ranging from ragtime and hokum to traditional blues and gospel. This LP edition includes a download card enabling you to download the full album as well as bonus Blind Willie McTell tracks.

The record includes classics such as “Southern Can Is Mine”, “Statesboro Blues”, “Georgia Rag” and “Broke Down Engine Blues”. ‘Nobody can sing the blues like Blind Willie McTell’ sang Bob Dylan in his 1983 heartfelt dedication to the Atlanta bluesman.

TRACK LISTING

Southern Can Is Mine
Broke Down Engine Blues
Stomp Down Rider
Love Changing Blues
Travelin’ Blues
Lay Some Flowers On My Grave
Statesboro Blues
Georgia Rag
Mama, ‘Tain’t Long Fo’ Day
Atlanta Strut
Lord, Send Me An Angel
Warm It Up To Me
God Don’t Like It

This Rough Guide presents classic recordings from the heyday of the hokum craze - collection of humorous songs which show a fun and racy side to the blues. Featuring many legendary country bluesmen including Blind Lemon Jefferson, Big Bill Broonzy, Blind Willie McTell and Charley Patton, plus by blues divas Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey and Memphis Minnie.

With its early minstrel show origins, hokum was a novelty style that showed a completely different side to the blues that was upbeat, salacious and light hearted. Its spicy style often made repeated and continual sexual references by using clever and subtle (but not always) innuendo. Its popularity would last through the 1930s and its influence has remained part of the blues ever since

This new edition of Soul Jazz Records’ ‘The World Of Arthur Russell’, the seminal collection of Arthur Russell’s essential music, is released on heavy deluxe triple vinyl and deluxe tip-on Japanese style CD edition.
This album brings together some of Russell’s best-loved and most accessible works including his wide-ranging music, both solo and in groups, including Dinosaur L (the essential ‘Go Bang’), Loose Joints (the equally classic ‘Is It All Over My Face’) as well as rarities such as the 7” only ‘Pop Your Funk’, Indian Ocean’s ‘Schoolbell / Treehouse’, Lola’s ‘Wax The Van’ and more.

Arthur Russell’s music effortlessly crossed musical boundaries making it timeless. His dance music credentials are faultless and this collection features mixes from Larry Levan, Françcois Kevorkian and Walter Gibbons. Similarly, his songwriting, musicality and performance skills are equally cherished, as composer Philip Glass wrote, “this was a guy who could sit down with a cello and sing with it in a way that no one on earth has ever done before or will do again.”

When Soul Jazz Records’ ‘The World Of Arthur Russell’ first came out in 2003, Russell’s music had slipped into near obscurity. Nearly 15 years later there are over a dozen releases of his music, reissues of his original albums and more. ‘The World Of Arthur Russell’ is the classic first collection of his work available once more.

TRACK LISTING

Dinosaur L - Go Bang (Francois Kevorkian Mix)
Lola - Wax The Van
Loose Joints - Is It All Over My Face (Larry Levan Mix)
Arthur Russell - Keeping Up
Arthur Russell - In The Light Of The Miracle
Arthur Russell - A Little Lost
Loose Joints - Pop Your Funk
Arthur Russell - Let's Go Swimming (Walter Gibbons Mix)
Dinosaur L - In The Cornbelt (Larry Levan Mix)
Arthur Russell - Treehouse
Indian Ocean - Schoolbell/Treehouse (Walter Gibbons Mix)

Thelonious Monk was one of the most innovative and idiosyncratic figures in jazz history. A true originator he collaborated with some of the finest jazz musicians of all time including John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins and Miles Davis. This compilation features many of Monk’s standards including “Blue Monk”, “Round Midnight” and “Straight No Chaser”.

Almost from the outset the pianist pursued a singular artistic vision as player and composer and played a key part in the birth of the music which emerged from New York City in the mid-1940s, which, with its new harmonic and rhythmic ideas, ultimately became known as bebop.

By the time of his passing in 1982 he’d long established a classic canon, many of which are included here and are a fitting tribute to Monk in 2017, his centennial year.

TRACK LISTING

Straight No Chaser
‘Round Midnight
Epistrophy
Criss Cross
Blue Monk
Brilliant Corners
Bemsha Swing
Little Rootie Tootie

Sexy lil' 10" from the Greta Cottage Workshop. Artist by name of RDMA who's previously had around seven releases spread across a variety of labels. Here we get two smoldering downtempo house tracks, with "Flashback Of Time" being the busier of the two with concentric acid, enveloping pad sweeps and gentle perc hits gently ushering the track forward through thick midday fug when energy levels are at their most cherished. This is perfect tackle for daytime sets in the hotter party climates...

"Utopia & Vision" is even less focused; a jazz-coloured hi-hat pattern decorating unimposing atmospheres that wander through crepuscular flecked, tree-lined paths. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Flashback Of Time (7:05)

1. Utopia & Visions (4:34)