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UNKNOWN
Gummy Soul's Amerigo Gazway mixes tracks from Afro-beat legend Fela Kuti with acapellas from hip hop pioneers De La Soul to killer effect. A 33 minute long journey into the world of Afro-beat rhythms, funky horn riffs, and classic hip-hop gems. Eight tracks in total, including mash-ups of "Stakes Is High", "Trouble In The Water", "Itsoweezee" and Gorillaz track "Feel Good Inc".
Gazway says; 'I came up with the concept for this project in fall of 2010. I wanted to follow through with it not only because it was a great mash-up title and good idea, but because of the powerful impact both these artists have had on me and my music. Afro-beat, jazz, funk, and hip-hop are already so interconnected, and I always thought it would be exciting to work on a project that combined all of these elements together.'
Gazway says; 'I came up with the concept for this project in fall of 2010. I wanted to follow through with it not only because it was a great mash-up title and good idea, but because of the powerful impact both these artists have had on me and my music. Afro-beat, jazz, funk, and hip-hop are already so interconnected, and I always thought it would be exciting to work on a project that combined all of these elements together.'
STAFF COMMENTS
Matt says: Don't sleep on this much needed repress of this Amerigo Gazaway classic. Exactly the same formula as his other imperative works only with Fela Kuti & De La Soul as the source material! There's even a Gorillaz track mashed up for good measure!TRACK LISTING
Stakes Is High (5:44)
Trouble In The Water (4:43)
Oooh (feat Redman) (4:02)
Rock Co. Kane Flow (feat Mf Doom) (2:23)
Itsoweezee (3:54)
Interlude (0:24)
Much More (3:46)
Breakadawn (3:36)
Feel Good Inc. (feat Gorillaz) (4:11)
Still Ego Trippin' (bonus Track) (5:10)
Born to an American myth and raised in the wilds of Graceland, Lisa Marie Presley tells her whole story for the first time in this raw, riveting, one-of-a-kind memoir faithfully completed by her daughter, Riley Keough. In 2022, Lisa Marie Presley asked her daughter to help finally finish her long-conceived memoir. A month later, Lisa Marie was dead, and the world would never know her story in her own words; never know the passionate, joyful, caring, and complicated woman that Riley loved and grieved.
Riley got the tapes that her mother had recorded for the book, lay in her bed, and listened as Lisa Marie told story after story: about smashing golf carts together in the yards of Graceland; about the unconditional love she felt from her father; about being upstairs, just the two of them. About getting dragged screaming out of the bathroom as she ran towards his body on the floor. About living in Los Angeles with her mother, getting sent to school after school, always kicked out, always in trouble.
About her singular, lifelong relationship with Danny Keough, and about being married to Michael Jackson, and what they had in common. About motherhood. About deep addiction.
About ever-present grief. Riley knew she had to fulfill her mother’s wish to reveal these memories, incandescent and painful, to the world. To make her mother known.
This extraordinary book is composed of both Lisa Marie’s and Riley’s voices, a mother and daughter communicating across the chasm of life and death as they try to heal each other. Profoundly moving and deeply revealing, From Here to the Great Unknown is a book like no other – the last words of the only child of a true legend.
Riley got the tapes that her mother had recorded for the book, lay in her bed, and listened as Lisa Marie told story after story: about smashing golf carts together in the yards of Graceland; about the unconditional love she felt from her father; about being upstairs, just the two of them. About getting dragged screaming out of the bathroom as she ran towards his body on the floor. About living in Los Angeles with her mother, getting sent to school after school, always kicked out, always in trouble.
About her singular, lifelong relationship with Danny Keough, and about being married to Michael Jackson, and what they had in common. About motherhood. About deep addiction.
About ever-present grief. Riley knew she had to fulfill her mother’s wish to reveal these memories, incandescent and painful, to the world. To make her mother known.
This extraordinary book is composed of both Lisa Marie’s and Riley’s voices, a mother and daughter communicating across the chasm of life and death as they try to heal each other. Profoundly moving and deeply revealing, From Here to the Great Unknown is a book like no other – the last words of the only child of a true legend.
‘What makes Sex Swing so powerful is that they transcend the limitations of rock music. Their sound is so full of possibilities, violence, sexuality, sacrifice, even religion. If there was a future to look forward to for heavy guitar music, this is it’ The Quietus The locals call it Sop Ruak – eighty thousand square miles of mountains and mystery and unholy medicine. “It really is an endless seam of activity,” Sex Swing frontman Dan Chandler explains of Golden Triangle – both the title of their new album and the region between Myanmar, Thailand and Laos that inspired it. To know this contradictory corner of the world is to understand fully why the cult-beloved noise-rock artisans turned to it when writing their hotly-anticipated third full-length.
The real-life Golden Triangle is a groundswell of both natural wonder and drug production, and who combines beauty and narcotic brutality better than Sex Swing? For a decade now, this collective of revered UK underground musicians, comprising members of Earth, Mugstar, The Keep and Jaaw, have been pulling audiences into drug- like slipstreams with their alchemy of pummelling rhythms, towering guitars, and unrelenting saxophone through which glimmers of light occasionally pierce through. No wonder their Golden Triangle is an album telling distortion-shrouded tales from one of the most storied, enigmatic places on the planet, with enough invention within to fill eighty thousand miles and more. Where does this violent, hypnotic aural travelogue take you within the Sop Ruak?
The eight tracks that make up The Golden Triangle see the band – completed by bassist Jason Stoll, drummer Stuart Bell, guitarist Jodie Cox, synthesist/guitarist Oli Knowles and saxophonist Colin Webster – adventure first to ‘The Confluence of the Ruak and Mekong Rivers,’ full of shimmering orchestration and feather-light ambience. Then come stops in ‘Myawaddy’, named after a small town embroiled in bloodshed on the border of Myanmar and Thailand, and ‘Boten, Route 13’ – sparked by stories of a seemingly endless stretch of road from Laos into China. Before long, listeners are plunged into ‘Hpakant’, one of the album’s most invigorating and singular moments, lyrically inspired by a jade mine in Myanmar, where the spoils of forced labour are exchanged for prostitution and methanphetamine.
The result is a mesmerising slow-burn of sax, snaking rhythms and sinister spoken word courtesy of the Scottish-born Bruce McClure, who “took the theme and turned it into a sci-fi story of exploitation and vice,” explains the frontman. It’s a track that, like the rest of Golden Triangle, underlines the evolution Sex Swing have undertaken since forming in 2014. From the raw and primitive sounds of the self-titled debut full-length, followed up by the coruscatingType II in 2020. Sex Swing’s third effort retains those early primitive elements and adds layers of structure and complexity. Golden Triangle initial formation was that of programmed beats and bedroom recordings shared electronically in the height of the pandemic. Those ideas were then completed during intensive writing sessions at a secluded farm in Oxfordshire.
Album credits consist of recording by Stanley Gravett at Holy Mountain Studios in Hackney, mixing by Wayne Adams at Bear Bites Horse, mastering from James Plotkin, and the continued aesthetic collaboration with artist Alex Bunn. Golden Triangle bristles with a rawness familiar to fans of the British sonic punishers, but adds new elements indicative of a group never resting on their laurels or sitting in one place. Why would they, after all? There’s an entire world of mountains and mystery and unholy medicine out there to be explored. The Golden Triangle, it seems, is just the beginning.
The real-life Golden Triangle is a groundswell of both natural wonder and drug production, and who combines beauty and narcotic brutality better than Sex Swing? For a decade now, this collective of revered UK underground musicians, comprising members of Earth, Mugstar, The Keep and Jaaw, have been pulling audiences into drug- like slipstreams with their alchemy of pummelling rhythms, towering guitars, and unrelenting saxophone through which glimmers of light occasionally pierce through. No wonder their Golden Triangle is an album telling distortion-shrouded tales from one of the most storied, enigmatic places on the planet, with enough invention within to fill eighty thousand miles and more. Where does this violent, hypnotic aural travelogue take you within the Sop Ruak?
The eight tracks that make up The Golden Triangle see the band – completed by bassist Jason Stoll, drummer Stuart Bell, guitarist Jodie Cox, synthesist/guitarist Oli Knowles and saxophonist Colin Webster – adventure first to ‘The Confluence of the Ruak and Mekong Rivers,’ full of shimmering orchestration and feather-light ambience. Then come stops in ‘Myawaddy’, named after a small town embroiled in bloodshed on the border of Myanmar and Thailand, and ‘Boten, Route 13’ – sparked by stories of a seemingly endless stretch of road from Laos into China. Before long, listeners are plunged into ‘Hpakant’, one of the album’s most invigorating and singular moments, lyrically inspired by a jade mine in Myanmar, where the spoils of forced labour are exchanged for prostitution and methanphetamine.
The result is a mesmerising slow-burn of sax, snaking rhythms and sinister spoken word courtesy of the Scottish-born Bruce McClure, who “took the theme and turned it into a sci-fi story of exploitation and vice,” explains the frontman. It’s a track that, like the rest of Golden Triangle, underlines the evolution Sex Swing have undertaken since forming in 2014. From the raw and primitive sounds of the self-titled debut full-length, followed up by the coruscatingType II in 2020. Sex Swing’s third effort retains those early primitive elements and adds layers of structure and complexity. Golden Triangle initial formation was that of programmed beats and bedroom recordings shared electronically in the height of the pandemic. Those ideas were then completed during intensive writing sessions at a secluded farm in Oxfordshire.
Album credits consist of recording by Stanley Gravett at Holy Mountain Studios in Hackney, mixing by Wayne Adams at Bear Bites Horse, mastering from James Plotkin, and the continued aesthetic collaboration with artist Alex Bunn. Golden Triangle bristles with a rawness familiar to fans of the British sonic punishers, but adds new elements indicative of a group never resting on their laurels or sitting in one place. Why would they, after all? There’s an entire world of mountains and mystery and unholy medicine out there to be explored. The Golden Triangle, it seems, is just the beginning.
TRACK LISTING
1. The Confluence Of The Ruak And Mekong Rivers
2. Kings Romans Casino
3. Pat Jasan
4. Myawaddy
5. Hpakant
6. Boten, Route 13
7. Special Economic Zone
8. Wild Peacock
Dance floor in need of a little spark? Need some extra ammo in the record bag for this weekend’s set? Pleasure of Love has the key to your ignition with a new series of specialty re-edits from the vaults. "Covers Blown Vol. 1," features a pair of unlikely disco classics expertly done up in a smokin' tex-mex style.
TRACK LISTING
A1. Bailando (edit)
B1. Sexie (edit)
The secretive Only Music Matters label rolls out its seventh EP here and it's from an unknown producer or producers who seem to have a love of tech house. Opener 'AAA001A' is a warped cut for freaky 'floors with trippy vocal details and gloopy beats and bass. 'BBB001B' is more airy and light in its silky minimal rhythms but is detailed with some paranoid pads that keep you on edge while 'BBB002B' rides a nice gritty, propulsive beat and has some wonky, detuned keys adding colour. Another great outing from this low-key but high-quality label.
STAFF COMMENTS
Matt says: Terrace-friendly tech-house rollers from the delectable Only Music Matters crew. Number eight in the series and just as tasty as the rest. RIYL: Sidney Charles, Ted Amber, Craig Richards, Ricardo Villalobos etc.TRACK LISTING
Side 1
AAA001A
Side 2
BBB001B
BBB002B
Good news! Pacific Rhythm returns with its first long player of 2024 on July 5th from ZG, a collaborative effort from Zansika Lachhani and Grant (aka Tony from Frank & Tony). The LP titled “Out Of The Unknown” is the followup to the duo’s first incredibly well-received self-titled LP that landed back on NYC-based label Scissor & Thread in 2022.
Over the course of 6 tracks, ZG takes their sound a step further, building rich, deep, and complex rhythm patterns paired with thoughtful and unexpected musical arrangements. The voice of Zansika ties it all together to create a unique and singular vision of modern deep dance music informed by the duo’s life-long musical journey.
“Out Of The Unknown” effortlessly flows through dramatic atmospheric downtempo landscapes, MPC-style beatmaking, late 90’s deep house, and beautifully builds a bridge between UK and US-inspired sounds. Enjoy the trip! It’s certainly a beautiful one.
Over the course of 6 tracks, ZG takes their sound a step further, building rich, deep, and complex rhythm patterns paired with thoughtful and unexpected musical arrangements. The voice of Zansika ties it all together to create a unique and singular vision of modern deep dance music informed by the duo’s life-long musical journey.
“Out Of The Unknown” effortlessly flows through dramatic atmospheric downtempo landscapes, MPC-style beatmaking, late 90’s deep house, and beautifully builds a bridge between UK and US-inspired sounds. Enjoy the trip! It’s certainly a beautiful one.
STAFF COMMENTS
Matt says: Soulful beatdown, jazzy house, late night funk; ZG channels the spirit of the late 90s with a decidedly subtle, intimate and lights-down-low collection of tracks which will compliment dimly lit rooms with luxurious furnishings and a well stocked liquor cabinet wonderfully. A real gem of an 'all-back-to-mine' long player that'll keep you warm and cosy till sunrise.TRACK LISTING
1. Feels Like Home
2. Good Feeling
3. Meet You There
4. Call To Mind
5. Left Outside
6. The Rising
33 1/3 is a series of short books about critically acclaimed and much-loved albums of the last 40 years. Focusing on one album rather than an artist's entire output, the books dispense with the standard biographical background that fans know already, and cut to the heart of the music on each album. The authors provide fresh, original perspectives - often through their access to and relationships with the key figures involved in the recording of these albums.
By turns obsessive, passionate, creative, and informed, the books in this series demonstrate many different ways of writing about music. (A task which can be, as Elvis Costello famously observed, as tricky as dancing about architecture.) What binds this series together, and what brings it to life, is that all of the authors - musicians, scholars, and writers - are deeply in love with the album they have chosen.
By turns obsessive, passionate, creative, and informed, the books in this series demonstrate many different ways of writing about music. (A task which can be, as Elvis Costello famously observed, as tricky as dancing about architecture.) What binds this series together, and what brings it to life, is that all of the authors - musicians, scholars, and writers - are deeply in love with the album they have chosen.
Digwah is back with yet another standout release, showcasing two new rollers that expertly fuse timeless late '80s vocals with an infectious tech house rhythm and pulsating synth lines.
STAFF COMMENTS
Matt says: The trusty Digwah label returns with more exclusive, vinyl-only white label business. A techy outing this one, laced with the ghosts of Ian Brown and Sade.TRACK LISTING
A1. Couldn't Hate You
B1. Open Ended
A collaboration between Cosmocities & Japanese label Unknown Season, fusing some of their biggest releases from the last 10 years on one piece of vinyl.
Remixes come from Jimpster whose Beatless Reprise is exclusive to this release, Nick Holder & KEENE.
Limited Pressing act fast.
Remixes come from Jimpster whose Beatless Reprise is exclusive to this release, Nick Holder & KEENE.
Limited Pressing act fast.
TRACK LISTING
A1. Manabu Nagayama & Soichi Terada - Low Tension (Jimpster Remix)
A2. Manabu Nagayama & Soichi Terada - Low Tension (Jimpster Beatless Reprise)
B1. Luyo - Shanee Feat Erik Van Aro (Nick Holder’s In The Six Remix)
B2. Satoshi Fumi - Celestial (KEENE Venao 7am Remix)
Gallery is back, and this time they're unleashing a one-sided wonder just in time for the party season! Brace yourself for the ultimate sonic experience as two massive anthems collide, giving birth to a new and priceless piece of musical art.
This masterpiece has been exclusively hammered by the dynamic duo, the keepers of the coveted copies—none other than the legendary DJs, Harvey and Artwork. Get ready to be swept away on a musical journey that's set to elevate your party vibes to a whole new level!
This masterpiece has been exclusively hammered by the dynamic duo, the keepers of the coveted copies—none other than the legendary DJs, Harvey and Artwork. Get ready to be swept away on a musical journey that's set to elevate your party vibes to a whole new level!
STAFF COMMENTS
Matt says: The cat's outta the bag... Artwork mashes up First Choice, Peech Boys and some other old school goodness into an intoxicating extension that's gonna rock the discotheques all thru party season. ooowee-ooowee ... ooowee-ooowee...TRACK LISTING
A1. Don't Wait For The Doctor
Unknown Mortal Orchestra came to life in basements and bedrooms, the musical vision of Portlander-via-New Zealand Ruban Nielson that fused guitar-god riffs, choppy percussion, soul and funk. II, the sophomore album from UMO, emerged in an era rampant hedonism and isolationism and became the blueprint for everything Nielson has become renowned for. It was, and is, the solidification of Unknown Mortal Orchestra as an endlessly intriguing, brave and addictive band. Ten years on, it’s back with an expanded edition.
Written during a punishing, debauched touring schedule during which Nielson feared for both his sanity and health, II illustrates the emotional turmoil of life on the road, painting surrealist, cartoonish portraits of loneliness, love and despair. These conflicting themes are evident immediately; on the album’s sleeve is an unnerving image of Janet Farrar, the famous British witch, Wiccan, author and teacher of witchcraft. The chilling refrain of opener “Into The Sun” sees Nielson deliver the line “Isolation can put a gun in your hand,” softly, his words starkly intelligible above a warm, slow-burning melody that quickly brands itself onto your brain. His playful imagery (“I’m so lonely I’ve gotta eat my popcorn all alone”) mirrors the melody, before a solo that borders on psychotropic ends II‘s introduction. UMO is unafraid to dig deeper than the rest, their intoxicating, opiate groove bringing rock’n’roll’s exaggerated myths to life. And as it unfolds, II does find Nielson reenergized. “One At A Time” and “Faded In The Morning” boast dizzying choruses and instrumentals; these crusty hunks could have been excavated from a lost 1960s treasure trove. “Monki” unravels over seven minutes like the yarn from a stoner’s cardigan with an eye-frying pattern. “Dawn” is a minute of disconcerting noise that stands out between the nooks and crannies of the choruses, guitar solos, groove-heavy bass and drums that were recorded live by newly-recruited drummer Greg Rogove and Kody Nielson in a move away from the electronic percussion employed on album one. II closes with “Secret Xtians,” a tender observational puzzle that fizzes to a satisfied end.
In celebration of the album’s 10th anniversary Nielson’s complete collection from the II era is finally available in one compilation, and features the five acoustic tracks from the Blue EP as well as two additional B-sides. Unknown Mortal Orchestra was once Nielson’s closeted concern. With an album that uses his singular musical imagination and extraordinary talent to parade his emotions with unyielding honesty, it is now a fully realized band operating at the peak of its powers ten years on.
Written during a punishing, debauched touring schedule during which Nielson feared for both his sanity and health, II illustrates the emotional turmoil of life on the road, painting surrealist, cartoonish portraits of loneliness, love and despair. These conflicting themes are evident immediately; on the album’s sleeve is an unnerving image of Janet Farrar, the famous British witch, Wiccan, author and teacher of witchcraft. The chilling refrain of opener “Into The Sun” sees Nielson deliver the line “Isolation can put a gun in your hand,” softly, his words starkly intelligible above a warm, slow-burning melody that quickly brands itself onto your brain. His playful imagery (“I’m so lonely I’ve gotta eat my popcorn all alone”) mirrors the melody, before a solo that borders on psychotropic ends II‘s introduction. UMO is unafraid to dig deeper than the rest, their intoxicating, opiate groove bringing rock’n’roll’s exaggerated myths to life. And as it unfolds, II does find Nielson reenergized. “One At A Time” and “Faded In The Morning” boast dizzying choruses and instrumentals; these crusty hunks could have been excavated from a lost 1960s treasure trove. “Monki” unravels over seven minutes like the yarn from a stoner’s cardigan with an eye-frying pattern. “Dawn” is a minute of disconcerting noise that stands out between the nooks and crannies of the choruses, guitar solos, groove-heavy bass and drums that were recorded live by newly-recruited drummer Greg Rogove and Kody Nielson in a move away from the electronic percussion employed on album one. II closes with “Secret Xtians,” a tender observational puzzle that fizzes to a satisfied end.
In celebration of the album’s 10th anniversary Nielson’s complete collection from the II era is finally available in one compilation, and features the five acoustic tracks from the Blue EP as well as two additional B-sides. Unknown Mortal Orchestra was once Nielson’s closeted concern. With an album that uses his singular musical imagination and extraordinary talent to parade his emotions with unyielding honesty, it is now a fully realized band operating at the peak of its powers ten years on.
TRACK LISTING
1. From The Sun
2. Swim And Sleep (Like A Shark)
3. So Good At Being In Trouble
4. One At A Time
5. The Opposite Of Afternoon
6. No Need For A Leader
7. Monki
8. Dawn
9. Faded In The Morning
10. Secret Xtians
11. Swim And Sleep (Like A Shark)
12. Faded In The Morning
13. So Good At Being In Trouble
14. Swing Lo Magellan
15. Puttin’ It Down
16. Two Generations Of Excess
17. Waves Of Confidence
Eddie Leader has had his most productive year since releasing his first record under the Slum Science alias in 2004. Leader has delivered music on labels like Jovonn’s Body n’ Deep, Doorly’s Reptile Dysfunction, the iconic Hard Times label and his own Hudd Traxx in the past 12 months, most recently collaborating with Chez Damier on ‘Pressure’. This record is by far the deepest of them all. ‘Lost In…’ kicks things off and takes you on a deep hypnotic journey along the house spectrum. ‘The Unknown’ has a raw and underground vibe with a heavy bass line and takes inspiration from both Chicago & Detroit. The Tribal Manifestation Mix of ‘The Unknown' picks up the tempo on the B side for a peak time dancefloor rework. Eddie closes out the EP with ‘You’, which is a smooth vocal infused early hours future classic. Hudd Traxx have also had a very productive year and there’s still more to come in 2023.
STAFF COMMENTS
Matt says: 'Uddersfield's finest, Eddie Leader back on a true house tip. He's been firing this year, with release after quality release on a variety of labels. Back on his home turf, four deep house slayers for your late night delectation.TRACK LISTING
A1. Lost In...
A2. The Unknown
B1. The Unknown (Tribal Manifestation Mix)
B2. You
Rejected Unknown is a 2001 album released by the acclaimed musician, Daniel Johnston. This is the first time the record has been pressed to vinyl in over 20 years. "The main themes on Rejected Unknown are the themes Johnston has explored throughout much of his career: hopeless longing, unrequited love, and as might be gathered from the album's title, fear of rejection. This fear probably took on very real terms for Johnston as he was finally dropped from Atlantic Records after being held for years in contractual limbo. Rejected Unknown is unmistakably Johnston's album; he sings and plays piano and guitar, and even adds some percussion to the oddly quirky pop songs."
TRACK LISTING
1. Impossible Love
2. Funeral Girl
3. Dream Scream
4. Love Forever
5. Cathy Cline
6. Davinare
7. Party
8. The Spook
9. Girl Of My Dreams
10. Billions / Rock
11. Thrill
12. Favorite Darling Girl
13. Some Time Spent In Heaven
14. Wedding Ring Bells Blue
15. I Lose
Can I Communicate With the Unknown? is the new album from Go By Ocean, moniker of Northern California based singer/songwriter/producer Ryan McCaffrey. Co-produced alongside Tim Bluhm (The Mother Hips) and David Glasebrook, the album features contributions from a wide cast of characters, ranging from the tight knit community of Phil Lesh’s Terrapin Crossroads to the wider West Coast indie-rock scene, including members of The Mother Hips, Sugar Candy Mountain, ALO, Tea Leaf Green, and more. Building upon McCaffrey’s catalog of songs, the new album finds inspiration in the down-to-earth music of 1970’s Marin County, when songwriters like Michael Hurley and Jesse Colin Young lived out in Olema and Point Reyes, the kind of places where songs blow in on the breeze from the Pacific Ocean. Lyrically, the album trace’s a hero’s journey as the narrator struggles with addiction, eventually finding peace and freedom in a tumultuous world, wrestling with metaphysical and spiritual ideas along the way. Highly anticipated new album from Go By Ocean, co-produced by Tim Bluhm of The Mother Hips.
TRACK LISTING
1. Say Man
2. Goin’ To Die
3. Should Have Known
4. One True Golden Heart
5. Ballad Of A Masquerade
6. Roberta
7. Ascending Ghosts
8. Free
9. Autumn Days In Olema
10. Right Moon
Singer-songwriter and composer Laura Loriga was born in Bologna, Italy, and in the past decade she has been developing her work between her own country and the United States. With Mimes of Wine, her main project until recently, she has written and published three full-length records (Apocalypse sets in - Midfinger Records/Warner Chappell, 2009, Memories for the unseen - Urtovox Records, 2012 and La maison verte - Urtovox Records - ITA/Accidental Muzik - US, 2016), receiving high praise from the music press (Rolling Stone, Blow Up, Il Mucchio) and collaborating closely with her band both in the studio and in live performance.
Laura has lived in Los Angeles and then in New York, and both cities, together with Italy, have created a superimposition of influences that have led her writing to develop in a personal direction. From more abstract and classically infused atmospheres, she has gradually moved towards a kind of increased simplicity and rawness, complemented by an ongoing research in her sound palette, currently based on organs as opposed to the acoustic piano she started writing on. Her music is variegated and enriched by an array of acoustic and electric elements (among which drones, nyckelharpa, harmonium), a series of darker ballads sometimes far from song form but invariably led by her rare and striking voice, a compelling force across all the landscapes through which it moves.
At present, Laura has just finished producing a fourth album, Vever, written in New York between 2018 and 2020, and featuring the collaboration of a series of musicians among whom Josh Werner (Marc Ribot, Coco Rosie), Otto Hauser (Espers, Vashti Bunyan), Anni Rossi and Janis Brenner (Meredith Monk & Vocal Ensemble).
Over the years, Laura has also collaborated with various other artists, including songwriter Jaye Bartell, producer Adam Moseley and band Giardini di Mirò. She has also been active in film music, contributing to the soundtracks of a number of films and documentaries. Among these are Shelter, Farewell to Heaven and Lucus a Lucendo (both by Caucaso Films).
Laura has lived in Los Angeles and then in New York, and both cities, together with Italy, have created a superimposition of influences that have led her writing to develop in a personal direction. From more abstract and classically infused atmospheres, she has gradually moved towards a kind of increased simplicity and rawness, complemented by an ongoing research in her sound palette, currently based on organs as opposed to the acoustic piano she started writing on. Her music is variegated and enriched by an array of acoustic and electric elements (among which drones, nyckelharpa, harmonium), a series of darker ballads sometimes far from song form but invariably led by her rare and striking voice, a compelling force across all the landscapes through which it moves.
At present, Laura has just finished producing a fourth album, Vever, written in New York between 2018 and 2020, and featuring the collaboration of a series of musicians among whom Josh Werner (Marc Ribot, Coco Rosie), Otto Hauser (Espers, Vashti Bunyan), Anni Rossi and Janis Brenner (Meredith Monk & Vocal Ensemble).
Over the years, Laura has also collaborated with various other artists, including songwriter Jaye Bartell, producer Adam Moseley and band Giardini di Mirò. She has also been active in film music, contributing to the soundtracks of a number of films and documentaries. Among these are Shelter, Farewell to Heaven and Lucus a Lucendo (both by Caucaso Films).
Created between Palm Springs, California and Hilo, Hawai’i, V is the first double album from the Hawaiian-New Zealand singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Ruban Nielson’s Unknown Mortal Orchestra band. Designed to play as one continuous movement and road-tested on dry California freeways, V is the definitive Unknown Mortal Orchestra car record. It’s also the fifth full-length album Ruban has released in twelve years. Across fourteen sunbleached songs - written solo or with his brother Kody - Ruban draws from the rich traditions of West Coast AOR, yacht rock, weirdo pop and Hawaiian Hapa-haole music. Over a laidback blend of singalong anthems and cinematic instrumentals, he evokes blue skies, afternoons spent lounging by hotel swimming pools and the alluring darkness that lurks below perfect, pristine surfaces. It’s a duality expressed in the dilapidated sunset blues and the salt-corroded soul Ruban explores through tracks like ‘Layla’ and ‘Nadja. ’
During the pandemic’s early days, Ruban reunited with Kody at a cousin’s wedding in Hawai’i. With assistance from their father, Chris Nielson (saxophone/flute) and longstanding Unknown Mortal Orchestra member Jake Portrait, they brought everything Ruban had been thinking about together. The result was V, due for release on March 3, 2023, through Jagjaguwar. When they talked about records that moved them in that spine-shivering manner, Ruban started thinking about the 70s AM radio rock and 80s pop songs that had lurked on the edge of his subconscious mind for most of his life. He wanted to write his version of records like that, leading to the two glorious uptempo singles Unknown Mortal Orchestra released in 2021, ‘Weekend Run’ and ‘That Life’.
However, the golden good times never last forever. Not long after, health issues began to plague his extended family. Putting his recordings aside, he helped his mother and his uncle move home from New Zealand and Portland to Hawai’i, and began dividing his time between Hawai’i and Palm Springs. During this period he reconnected with his relatives, reassessed his past, and started to look at things with fresh eyes. Hawai’i brought back memories of the darker side of his parents’ lifestyle as entertainers. On those trips, he heard those classic AM radio rock records everywhere. They were inextricably intertwined with the palm trees, swimming pools, and glamorized hedonism he’d internalized from his childhood. There’s a type of music in Hawai’i called Hapa-haole (Half white). You can hear it expressed in signature Unknown Mortal Orchestra style through the humid guitar-led atmosphere of V’s penultimate song, ‘I Killed Captain Cook’. Although the songs are presented in a traditional Hawaiian manner, they’re mostly sung in English. Having been influenced by Hawaiian music since Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s first album, Ruban saw a space for himself within the tradition. When he reflected on his success, he realised he had the responsibility and platform to represent Hapa-haole music on the global stage.
During the pandemic’s early days, Ruban reunited with Kody at a cousin’s wedding in Hawai’i. With assistance from their father, Chris Nielson (saxophone/flute) and longstanding Unknown Mortal Orchestra member Jake Portrait, they brought everything Ruban had been thinking about together. The result was V, due for release on March 3, 2023, through Jagjaguwar. When they talked about records that moved them in that spine-shivering manner, Ruban started thinking about the 70s AM radio rock and 80s pop songs that had lurked on the edge of his subconscious mind for most of his life. He wanted to write his version of records like that, leading to the two glorious uptempo singles Unknown Mortal Orchestra released in 2021, ‘Weekend Run’ and ‘That Life’.
However, the golden good times never last forever. Not long after, health issues began to plague his extended family. Putting his recordings aside, he helped his mother and his uncle move home from New Zealand and Portland to Hawai’i, and began dividing his time between Hawai’i and Palm Springs. During this period he reconnected with his relatives, reassessed his past, and started to look at things with fresh eyes. Hawai’i brought back memories of the darker side of his parents’ lifestyle as entertainers. On those trips, he heard those classic AM radio rock records everywhere. They were inextricably intertwined with the palm trees, swimming pools, and glamorized hedonism he’d internalized from his childhood. There’s a type of music in Hawai’i called Hapa-haole (Half white). You can hear it expressed in signature Unknown Mortal Orchestra style through the humid guitar-led atmosphere of V’s penultimate song, ‘I Killed Captain Cook’. Although the songs are presented in a traditional Hawaiian manner, they’re mostly sung in English. Having been influenced by Hawaiian music since Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s first album, Ruban saw a space for himself within the tradition. When he reflected on his success, he realised he had the responsibility and platform to represent Hapa-haole music on the global stage.
STAFF COMMENTS
Barry says: Another stunning outing for synth-indie favourites Unknown Mortal Orchestra here in the sprawling, genre-defying behemoth that is 'V'. Full of jagged overdriven riffs and airy funk progressions, it's the UMO we know and love but to the nth degree. A superb collection, confidently summarising the sounds of Ruban Nielson’s singular project.TRACK LISTING
1. The Garden
2. Guilty Pleasures
3. Meshuggah
4. The Widow
5. In The Rear View
6. That Life
7. Layla
8. Shin Ramyun
9. Weekend Run
10. The Beach
11. Nadja
12. Keaukaha
13. I Killed Captain Cook
14. Drag
Since his first recordings in 1955, Johnny Cash has been an icon in the music world. In his newly discovered poems and song lyrics, we see the world through his eyes. The poetry reveals his depth of understanding, both of the world around him and within - his frailties and his strengths alike.
He pens verses in his hallmark voice, reflecting upon love, pain, freedom, fame and mortality. Illustrated with facsimile reproductions of Cash's own handwritten pages, Forever Words is a remarkable addition to the canon of one of America's heroes. His music is a part of our collective history, and here he demonstrates the depth of his talent as a writer.
Edited and introduced by Paul Muldoon, with a foreword by John Carter Cash, this is a book sure to delight and surprise fans the world over.
He pens verses in his hallmark voice, reflecting upon love, pain, freedom, fame and mortality. Illustrated with facsimile reproductions of Cash's own handwritten pages, Forever Words is a remarkable addition to the canon of one of America's heroes. His music is a part of our collective history, and here he demonstrates the depth of his talent as a writer.
Edited and introduced by Paul Muldoon, with a foreword by John Carter Cash, this is a book sure to delight and surprise fans the world over.
Recorded in the summer of 2020 whilst the world was in flux, the album is drenched with a feeling of freedom as Garwood and drummer Paul May sheltered from the world outside. It was, Garwood explains, “a heat soaked fever dream of our soul nectar in sonic form”. Recalling the past, gathering the elements from the present, the two artists – whose knowledge of one another’s playing is apparent throughout – work together with exquisite tones and percussive detail in this intimate recording.
Garwood expands, “In the deep summer heat wave of ‘20, when everything was closed and people were hiding, I hit the road West to join my brother in music in his place, bungalow magic. We knew we had to play - for our souls, for the soul of humanity, to bring down the machine and tyranny, to invite the angels in, to save ourselves from insanity. Play we did, the guitars detuned until bee’s wings would make the strings sing. We began with the drum, and the things that shake and rattle, the drones of the heat, we sweated and we worked it until the night calmed us.This is not a lock down album, for we were free in our spirits when this was created, free from any desires to conquer and fill our pockets with the booty of success.”
Garwood expands, “In the deep summer heat wave of ‘20, when everything was closed and people were hiding, I hit the road West to join my brother in music in his place, bungalow magic. We knew we had to play - for our souls, for the soul of humanity, to bring down the machine and tyranny, to invite the angels in, to save ourselves from insanity. Play we did, the guitars detuned until bee’s wings would make the strings sing. We began with the drum, and the things that shake and rattle, the drones of the heat, we sweated and we worked it until the night calmed us.This is not a lock down album, for we were free in our spirits when this was created, free from any desires to conquer and fill our pockets with the booty of success.”
Born from the Red Bank of New Jersey, the early days of Monster Magnet were a cosmos away from the major-label, alternative rock boom that would suck the band into the shiny MTV world of the early to middle 90s. Originally formed by Dave Wyndorf, John McBain and Tim Cronin, Monster Magnet lysergic oozed into the world in 1989 with two demo tapes – ‘Forget About Life, I’m High On Dope’ and ‘I’m Stoned, What Ya Gonna Do About It?’ – making it perfectly clear from the start where they were coming from. This was a band revelling in bad trips and the death of the hippy dream with a Manson Family stare, playing squelchy lo-fi psychedelic music with a rabid punk rock sneer, like The Stooges terrorising Hawkwind at the most unpleasant free festival imaginable. There were tales of entire audiences at their gigs being spiked with LSD. It didn’t matter if this was true or not, it all added to the mystique. This was indeed a satanic drug thing, you wouldn’t understand.
Those two demos formed the base of what would become their pivotal ‘Spine Of God’ album from 1991 and the ’25…Tab’ EP, which featured the mesmerising 32-minute opus itself, ‘Tab’.
Long considered to be the true essence of Magnet’s early psychedelic voyages, ‘Tab’ is finally returning to earth’s stratosphere with the release of ‘Test Patterns: Vol.1’,
‘Test Patterns: Vol. 1’ features a 2021 remix of ‘Tab’ by John McBain, alongside the original demo, recorded in 1988 and then released on the aforementioned ‘Forget About Life, I’m High On Dope’ in 1989.
“When Magnet started, John and I worked in record stores in Red Bank and Dave worked in the comic bookstore and we made a lot of tapes for each other,” recalls Tim Cronin. “A lot of ‘check this shit out’ kind of stuff…Hawkwind, early UFO, Amon Duul, Can, Skullflower, Morgen, Loop, Crystalized Movements, early Alice Cooper, Walking Seeds, Butthole Surfers, Spacemen 3. When we recorded the first demo and got to TAB, we just beat the shit out of it until it became heavy, noisy, weird, mean and either too long or not long enough, depending on your mood. Everything we wanted in a song (at least everything I wanted in a song), punishingly psychedelic. Jersey Shore krautrock.”
Those two demos formed the base of what would become their pivotal ‘Spine Of God’ album from 1991 and the ’25…Tab’ EP, which featured the mesmerising 32-minute opus itself, ‘Tab’.
Long considered to be the true essence of Magnet’s early psychedelic voyages, ‘Tab’ is finally returning to earth’s stratosphere with the release of ‘Test Patterns: Vol.1’,
‘Test Patterns: Vol. 1’ features a 2021 remix of ‘Tab’ by John McBain, alongside the original demo, recorded in 1988 and then released on the aforementioned ‘Forget About Life, I’m High On Dope’ in 1989.
“When Magnet started, John and I worked in record stores in Red Bank and Dave worked in the comic bookstore and we made a lot of tapes for each other,” recalls Tim Cronin. “A lot of ‘check this shit out’ kind of stuff…Hawkwind, early UFO, Amon Duul, Can, Skullflower, Morgen, Loop, Crystalized Movements, early Alice Cooper, Walking Seeds, Butthole Surfers, Spacemen 3. When we recorded the first demo and got to TAB, we just beat the shit out of it until it became heavy, noisy, weird, mean and either too long or not long enough, depending on your mood. Everything we wanted in a song (at least everything I wanted in a song), punishingly psychedelic. Jersey Shore krautrock.”
TRACK LISTING
Tab (2021 Remix)
Tab (original Demo, Recorded In 1988 & Released On 1989's ‘forget About Life, I’m High On Dope’)
Vinyl only release from God Unknown featuring the mighty LOW b/w DØMES.Low offer 'All Night' from their massively acclaimed album 'So What' on Sub Pop. 'Opal' is the first release from the Anglo / American Dømes, their debut album will be released in 2023. This is also the last ever single from God Unknown Records infamous Singles Club. Eighty artists split over forty split 7”s and finishing with an almighty bang with LOW and DØMES.
Please note Low - 'All Night' is a vinyl only track - no digital will be available.
Please note Low - 'All Night' is a vinyl only track - no digital will be available.
Never one to disappoint, DSO come correct for their 6th release on the label with a sure-fire summer, double header of East Coast meets West Coast business, amped up, ramped up and turned into club smashers.
A doubled sided twelve that slams on both tracks, Side A ‘Everyday’ is pure nostalgia giving us summer party vibes allllllll day. While the B side takes But A G to a whole new level on its own. Hot stuff.
A doubled sided twelve that slams on both tracks, Side A ‘Everyday’ is pure nostalgia giving us summer party vibes allllllll day. While the B side takes But A G to a whole new level on its own. Hot stuff.
STAFF COMMENTS
Millie says: A doubled sided twelve that slams on both tracks, Side A ‘Everyday’ is pure nostalgia giving us summer party vibes allllllll day. While the B side takes But A G to a whole new level on its own. Hot stuff.TRACK LISTING
A1. Everyday
B1. But A G
Tripe. It’s what graces the cover of Cassels’ third album, A Gut Feeling. It looks gross. And Cassels are a rock band who’ve often sounded gross. You know the adjectives. ‘Discordant’. ‘Angular’. ‘Cynical’. Shellac quickly mentioned. I’ve done it already, see?Listening to A Gut Feeling, though, Cassels sound different. Not too different – the molten riff of advance single ‘Mr Henderson Coughs’ puts paid to the idea that the London-based duo have taken a hard 180. But instead of writing as quickly as possible, riding the churn forced on DIY bands by an indifferent ecosystem, the Covid-19 pandemic gave the brothers Beck (Jim, guitar/vocals, and Loz, drums/BVs) some time to mull things over. Instead of sticking with the stripped-back recording approach of previous LPs, Jim and Loz spent time at Tom Hill’s Bookhouse Studios in South London, considering tone, layering tracks, and bringing new instruments into the fold.
Lyrically, the approach has changed too. Rather than presented as personal experience, Jim notes that his words this time around “are an intentionally muddy mix of experience, opinion, red herrings and fiction,” adding, “I found that setting myself the brief of writing character pieces offered a nice way of sneaking quite personal things into the songs without being explicitly autobiographical.” The result is the most satisfying and unexpected collection of songs in the Cassels catalogue. Instruments at turns razor-sharp and bludgeon-blunt provide the backing track to a savage, hilarious, and tender collection of short stories. Jim notes that “writing can be a great way of unearthing hang-ups and becoming acquainted with your own anxieties”. Hardly new ground for a rock band, but presented in this third person format – unbiased and filled to the brim with human warmth – these songs are more empathetic than anything the band have written before. You might have been Michael on his daily commute.
Perhaps you’re Sarah, or have a mum like her. And many of us will recognise ourselves in the heart-breaking ‘Family Visits Relative’. It’s clear that the band still aren’t afraid to tackle weighty subjects too, with A Gut Feeling picking up where their previous album, The Perfect Ending, left off. ‘Charlie Goes Skiing’ pulls a similar trick to Future of the Left’s ‘Goals in Slow Motion’ – setting a screed against consumerism to one of the most propulsive, catchy tracks on the record. It’s followed by ‘Dog Drops Bone’, a rustling loop overlaid with sad, simple chords reminiscent of a Sparklehorse tune, which uses the internal monologue of a beloved canine companion to question the true depth and sincerity of human relationships. This kicks into the breakneck ‘Beth’s Recurring Dream’ – a track exploring a sexual identity crisis which owes as much to early Los Campesinos! as it does Steve Albini. Of ‘Your Humble Narrator’, the album’s punishing, pulsing opener and A Gut Feeling’s thematic frame, Jim explains: “I liked the idea of introducing an unreliable narrator who frames the album as an exercise in manipulation for personal gain. When a person engages with a piece of art they are invariably being manipulated by the artist to some degree – that’s part of the fun. The artist aims to elicit some sort of emotional response, the audience buys into the conceit at the promise of experiencing some form of escape.” as listeners, we experience that manipulation first-hand on A Gut Feeling. But the fact Cassels have packaged it up as offal feels like another bleak wink. This is far from a stinking by-product, salvaged and sold to maximise profit. It’s nothing less than the most complete, relatable, and fully realised piece of art the duo has produced to date. Emotional response elicited. Conceit embraced. Escape gratefully achieved.
Lyrically, the approach has changed too. Rather than presented as personal experience, Jim notes that his words this time around “are an intentionally muddy mix of experience, opinion, red herrings and fiction,” adding, “I found that setting myself the brief of writing character pieces offered a nice way of sneaking quite personal things into the songs without being explicitly autobiographical.” The result is the most satisfying and unexpected collection of songs in the Cassels catalogue. Instruments at turns razor-sharp and bludgeon-blunt provide the backing track to a savage, hilarious, and tender collection of short stories. Jim notes that “writing can be a great way of unearthing hang-ups and becoming acquainted with your own anxieties”. Hardly new ground for a rock band, but presented in this third person format – unbiased and filled to the brim with human warmth – these songs are more empathetic than anything the band have written before. You might have been Michael on his daily commute.
Perhaps you’re Sarah, or have a mum like her. And many of us will recognise ourselves in the heart-breaking ‘Family Visits Relative’. It’s clear that the band still aren’t afraid to tackle weighty subjects too, with A Gut Feeling picking up where their previous album, The Perfect Ending, left off. ‘Charlie Goes Skiing’ pulls a similar trick to Future of the Left’s ‘Goals in Slow Motion’ – setting a screed against consumerism to one of the most propulsive, catchy tracks on the record. It’s followed by ‘Dog Drops Bone’, a rustling loop overlaid with sad, simple chords reminiscent of a Sparklehorse tune, which uses the internal monologue of a beloved canine companion to question the true depth and sincerity of human relationships. This kicks into the breakneck ‘Beth’s Recurring Dream’ – a track exploring a sexual identity crisis which owes as much to early Los Campesinos! as it does Steve Albini. Of ‘Your Humble Narrator’, the album’s punishing, pulsing opener and A Gut Feeling’s thematic frame, Jim explains: “I liked the idea of introducing an unreliable narrator who frames the album as an exercise in manipulation for personal gain. When a person engages with a piece of art they are invariably being manipulated by the artist to some degree – that’s part of the fun. The artist aims to elicit some sort of emotional response, the audience buys into the conceit at the promise of experiencing some form of escape.” as listeners, we experience that manipulation first-hand on A Gut Feeling. But the fact Cassels have packaged it up as offal feels like another bleak wink. This is far from a stinking by-product, salvaged and sold to maximise profit. It’s nothing less than the most complete, relatable, and fully realised piece of art the duo has produced to date. Emotional response elicited. Conceit embraced. Escape gratefully achieved.
STAFF COMMENTS
Barry says: At points arrhythmic and delightfully angular, heavy af and absolutely littered with a++ riffs, Cassels' 'Gut Feeling' is every bit the modern punk-rock monolith. At points hilariously obscure, before being brilliantly incisively candid and all above a roaring, jagged collection of time signatures and perfectly avant momentum. Very clever and VERY exciting.TRACK LISTING
1. Your Humble Narrator
2. Pete's Vile Colleague
3. Family Visits Relative
4. Mr Henderson Coughs
5. Michael's Daily Commute
6. Charlie Goes Skiing
7. Dog Drops Bone
8. Beth's Recurring Dream
9. Sarah Misses Them
James Johnston (Gallon Drunk / Nick Cave / PJ Harvey) and Steve Gullick (renowned music photographer) are pleased to announce their new album. It's a dark but beautiful trip. After working together on an art show in late 2019, the idea of making music again immediately resurfaced. Without any firm strategy, Johnston and Gullick began recording, unprompted, drawing 3 upon a shared love of noise, folk, and classical. After the first tracks began to evolve, however, they knew they’d unearthed something compelling and fresh, not to mention unexpectedly mysterious. This became WE TRAVEL TIME.The result is a deceptively crafted album that slowly reveals – and, more importantly, embraces – beauty in its cracks. Piano, voice, violin and guitar create a drifting haze, with the focus on these acoustic elements forging an imagined soundtrack which offers echoes of Big Star, Nico, Lee Hazlewood and Palace Brothers, as well as the gentle, haunting influence of contemporary minimal classical. Ambient sounds – birds, rain, cars, clocks, distant voices – also drift in and out, melting into the music’s fabric via windows left open during the early 2020 heatwave. WE TRAVEL TIME, nonetheless, resists definition, remaining enigmatically timeless.
'Genuinely funny; indeed, the story will keep you entertained for a very long time' - Sunday Times
Joy Division changed the face of music. Godfathers of the enduring alternative scene, they reinvented rock in the post-punk era, creating a sound - dark, hypnotic, intense - that would influence U2, Morrissey, R.E.M., Radiohead and many others. This is the rollercoaster story of Joy Division - the friendships, fights, fall-outs; the rehearsals and recording sessions; the larger than life characters - told by the band's legendary bassist, Peter Hook.
'Hook has restored a flesh-and-blood rawness to what was becoming a standard tale. Few pop music books manage that' - Guardian
Joy Division changed the face of music. Godfathers of the enduring alternative scene, they reinvented rock in the post-punk era, creating a sound - dark, hypnotic, intense - that would influence U2, Morrissey, R.E.M., Radiohead and many others. This is the rollercoaster story of Joy Division - the friendships, fights, fall-outs; the rehearsals and recording sessions; the larger than life characters - told by the band's legendary bassist, Peter Hook.
'Hook has restored a flesh-and-blood rawness to what was becoming a standard tale. Few pop music books manage that' - Guardian
New York’s WHITE HILLS are the opposite of a comet. They suck up an explosion of energy on the surface of the earth; from spirituality, from adrenaline, from the history of synthesized electronic music, from substance use, from philosophy, from friends and enemies alike, from MOTHER FUCKING ELECTRICITY and they focus it into a blinding beam of energy which they reflect back out into the void and this beam is a message. It is a statement which reads: “FUCK YOU. WE ARE HERE. WE ROCK, THEREFORE WE ARE.” -John Doran, The Quietus. October 2020 brings the release of Splintered Metal Sky, the long-awaited new installment in the ever vast musical cannon of WHITE HILLS. The album takes the listener on a post-punk, psychedelic ride fueled by industrial-strength fuzz and propelled by powerful beats where songs weave in and out of each other to imitate the rhythm of the city the band calls home. Splintered Metal Sky is about oscillation and evolution. It’s metamodern music looking at human existence in relation to technology and the hyper-driven architectural reshaping of a city. The music was largely inspired by the drone and roar of machinery pulsing through New York City, which is in a never-ending state of demolition and reconstruction. Dave and Ego took to the streets, gathering field recordings of sounds from the subway, drills, jackhammers, people in parks, traffic, mayhem and the occasional silence.
These recordings were then manipulated and constructed into rhythmic lines that were used as the basis for songs. The music, mixing noise with disciplined beat, embodies the paradoxical nature of the city: the grimy littered dead end alley just steps away from the sleek luxury skyscraper; the half eaten chicken bone being devoured by a rat on the subway tracks just beneath the glittering facade of the Chrysler building; the endless milling about of the 8 million people who call this slab of land home on their way to and from everywhere and nowhere. Informed by industrial innovators Einstürzende Neubauten and SPK, the avant garde post-punk of Tuxedomoon and the dub-electro of Cabaret Voltaire, the album vibrates with the energy of a sensually feral, raw beast.
These recordings were then manipulated and constructed into rhythmic lines that were used as the basis for songs. The music, mixing noise with disciplined beat, embodies the paradoxical nature of the city: the grimy littered dead end alley just steps away from the sleek luxury skyscraper; the half eaten chicken bone being devoured by a rat on the subway tracks just beneath the glittering facade of the Chrysler building; the endless milling about of the 8 million people who call this slab of land home on their way to and from everywhere and nowhere. Informed by industrial innovators Einstürzende Neubauten and SPK, the avant garde post-punk of Tuxedomoon and the dub-electro of Cabaret Voltaire, the album vibrates with the energy of a sensually feral, raw beast.
TRACK LISTING
1/Midday Memory
2/Now Manhattan
3/a:CoNSTRUCT, B:CoNSTRUCT C:CoNSTRUCT (features Synth And Samples By Jim Coleman And Ambient Guitar By Jim Jarmusch)
4/Digital Trash
5/No Fear
6/Honesty
7/Rats
8/Morning Memory 9/Illusion
Soul Jazz Records’ new album ‘Kaleidoscope – New Spirits Known and Unknown’ brings together many of the groundbreaking artists involved in the new jazz scene that has developed in the UK over the last few years.
Featured artists include Matthew Halsall, Yazmin Lacey, Ill Considered, Tenderlonious, Theon Cross, Emma-Jean Thackray and many, many more in this ground-breaking release.
As well as sharing a pioneering spirit in these new artists’ approach to frontier-crossing musical boundaries, a further theme of this album is that many also share a determination to independent practices – and most of these artists’ recordings featured here are either self-published or released on independent labels. While the attention of this new wave of jazz artists up until now has been London-based, this album shows how this movement is spread across the whole of Britain (and indeed beyond).
‘Kaleidoscope – New Spirits Known and Unknown’ shows that while there is commonality in these artists’ approach to music, there is a wide variety of styles – from deep spiritual jazz, electronic experimentalisation, punk-edged funk, uplifting modal righteousness, deep soulful vocals and much more.
Featured artists include Matthew Halsall, Yazmin Lacey, Ill Considered, Tenderlonious, Theon Cross, Emma-Jean Thackray and many, many more in this ground-breaking release.
As well as sharing a pioneering spirit in these new artists’ approach to frontier-crossing musical boundaries, a further theme of this album is that many also share a determination to independent practices – and most of these artists’ recordings featured here are either self-published or released on independent labels. While the attention of this new wave of jazz artists up until now has been London-based, this album shows how this movement is spread across the whole of Britain (and indeed beyond).
‘Kaleidoscope – New Spirits Known and Unknown’ shows that while there is commonality in these artists’ approach to music, there is a wide variety of styles – from deep spiritual jazz, electronic experimentalisation, punk-edged funk, uplifting modal righteousness, deep soulful vocals and much more.
STAFF COMMENTS
Emily says: It’s been a breathless few years for British jazz, with essential new artists appearing by the day on a plethora of labels up and down the country. Thankfully Soul Jazz are here to help us keep track, taking stock of the scene on this bumper triple vinyl collection.TRACK LISTING
A
1. Matthew Halsall & The Gondwana Orchestra - When The World Was One (7.38)
2. Yazmin Lacey - 90 Degrees (4.16)
3. Hector Plimmer - Communication Control (3.04)
B
1. Ill Considered - Long Way Home (Live At The Crypt) (8.03)
2. The Expansions - Mosaic (6.58)
3. Chip Wickham - Red Planet (5.44)
C
1. Levitation Orchestra - Odyssey (9.26)
2. Emma-Jean Thackray’s WALRUS - Walrus (2.47)
3. Tenderlonious And The 22a Arkestra - The Shakedown (6.18)
D
1. Joe Armon-Jones & Maxwell Owin Featuring Nubya Garcia - Tanner's Tango (4.48)
2. Collocutor - Gozo (6.02)
3. Makaya McCraven - Untitled (3.14)
E
1. Nat Birchall - Ancient World (9.50)
2. Ruby Rushton - Moonlight Woman (9.05)
F
1. Ebi Soda - Dimmsdale (3.11)
2. The Cromagnon Band - Thunder Perfect (5.12)
3. SEED Ensemble - Mirrors (7.38)
BONUS 7" SINGLE (With Indies Exclusive Vinyl Only)
A. Vels Trio - Yellow Ochre (Part 1) (3.04)
AA. Ishmael Ensemble - Kito's Theme (4.15)
Clientelle came from St. Albans, UK and in 1981 they released the now extremely hard to find ”Destination Unknown” album. Considered a NWOBHM masterpiece the album perfectly blends heavy and loud metal with frenetic powerpop and punk. It’s also beer-stained pubrock with glamrock-roots and even some proggish bits thrown in for good measure. Above all it’s class AAA Brittish working class rock’n’roll and a piece of UK music history that should be heard by many listeners.
This first-ever vinyl reissue is all the evidence needed for how Clientelle followed their own path. Destination Unknown opens with the punky yet poppy ”Play To Win”. It’s followed by the more complex ”My Lady”, where a series of crescendos and softer passages are punctuated by stomping, glam-inclined sections. ”Can’t Forget” comes off like if the Small Faces had been a NWOBHM-act instead of kings of the 60’s modscene. The title track verges on prog rock, but retains a rockiness. ”Missing Persons” is straight-ahead rock, again with this poppiness. Instead of reacting to trends, Clientelle did their own thing – which is why Destination Unknown stands apart, and remains as fresh as when it was released.
Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Judas Priest and Saxon all got signed by majors and sold records galore, meanwhile bands in every village across England formed. Inspired by the energy and DIY attitude of the punk scene these acts recorded and released their records all on thieir own. Many acts self released singles and a few, like Clientelle, managed to cut a full-length album. OTD Records -who brought you the Jobcentre Rejects-series- are now proud to give you the full Clientelle story.
This first-ever vinyl reissue is all the evidence needed for how Clientelle followed their own path. Destination Unknown opens with the punky yet poppy ”Play To Win”. It’s followed by the more complex ”My Lady”, where a series of crescendos and softer passages are punctuated by stomping, glam-inclined sections. ”Can’t Forget” comes off like if the Small Faces had been a NWOBHM-act instead of kings of the 60’s modscene. The title track verges on prog rock, but retains a rockiness. ”Missing Persons” is straight-ahead rock, again with this poppiness. Instead of reacting to trends, Clientelle did their own thing – which is why Destination Unknown stands apart, and remains as fresh as when it was released.
Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Judas Priest and Saxon all got signed by majors and sold records galore, meanwhile bands in every village across England formed. Inspired by the energy and DIY attitude of the punk scene these acts recorded and released their records all on thieir own. Many acts self released singles and a few, like Clientelle, managed to cut a full-length album. OTD Records -who brought you the Jobcentre Rejects-series- are now proud to give you the full Clientelle story.
TRACK LISTING
Side A.
1. Play To Win
2. My Lady 3.
Can't Forget
4. Destination Unknown
5. Nice Girl
Side B
1. Skyflier
2. Missing Persons
3. Bike
4. Missing Presumed Dead
Wellwater Conspiracy were a mid 1990's supergroup featuring Monster Magnet and Soundgarden members who wanted to live out their psychedelic rock needs that their other bands didn't provide. From their 1997 classic 'Declaration of Conformity' this 7" is a cover of the Syd Barrett penned early Pink Floyd track - Lucy Leave. Its awesome, its limited. 300 copies only. Get it whilst you can!
Charles Hayward is an English drummer and was a founding member of the experimental rock groups This Heat and Camberwell Now. He also played with Mal Dean's Amazing Band, Dolphin Logic, and gigged and recorded with Phil Manzanera in the group Quiet Sun project as well as a short stint with Gong. He was a session musician on The Raincoats' second album, Odyshape, and on one occasion played drums for the anarchist punk band Crass.
Since the late 1980s he has concentrated on solo projects and collaborations, including Massacre with Bill Laswell and Fred Frith. Begin Anywhere is his brand new solo album and shows a different side to the Charles Hayward we know. The drum set is left in the corner, and instead we get fragile yet powerful songs on piano and voice. A very personal Hayward album, let yourself be surprised.
Since the late 1980s he has concentrated on solo projects and collaborations, including Massacre with Bill Laswell and Fred Frith. Begin Anywhere is his brand new solo album and shows a different side to the Charles Hayward we know. The drum set is left in the corner, and instead we get fragile yet powerful songs on piano and voice. A very personal Hayward album, let yourself be surprised.
While recording Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s latest release, Sex & Food, Ruban Nielson, his longtime collaborator Jacob Portrait and his brother Kody Nielson, found themselves in the Vietnamese city of Hanoi playing and recording with local musicians at Phu Sa Studios. The studio, normally used for traditional Vietnamese music, found the band jamming on sessions dubbed IC-01 Hanoi: exploring the outer edges of the band’s influences in Jazz, Fusion and the avant-garde. The musicians, along with Ruban and Kody’s father, a Jazz musician in his own right, helped lay down the unique textures heard throughout Hanoi. At its core Hanoi is a record of exploration, finding its closest antecedent in Miles Davis’ experimental On The Corner – itself a record full of nods toward avant-garde composers and Jazz outsiders alike. Hanoi finds Ruban amplifying and stretching out on lead guitar, with a blown-out and wandering fuzz tone that slinks throughout the sessions. Kody and Jacob match Ruban’s melodic diversions with aplomb, mining their talents to finding as easy a role in the fusion of funk as they do in the more ambient and abstract tangents on Hanoi.
STAFF COMMENTS
Barry says: Definitely not typical UMO this, but absolutely brimming with feeling and focused on an entirely different aspect of their sound. Though they are by no means avant-garde, the more meandering ruminations of their melodic forays are exacerbated on this release, breaking into the realms of jazzy ambience, eastern flow and hypnotic woodwind. A completely surprising but thoroughly enjoyable change. Lovely stuff.TRACK LISTING
1. Hanoi 1
2. Hanoi 2
3. Hanoi 3
4. Hanoi 4
5. Hanoi 5
6. Hanoi 6
7. Hanoi 7
Unknown Mortal Orchestra (U.M.O.) was conceived as a home recording project by Ruban Nielson after spending years playing and touring in an award-winning New Zealand punk band (on the legendary Flying Nun label). The band broke up after re-locating to Portland, OR and Ruban was ready to move away from his nomadic past. His recordings as U.M.O., mainly created for his personal amusement, have now taken on a life of their own.
Ruban’s vision of creating “junkshop record collector pop” culminated in the creation of sprawling Beatles-esque guitar melodies over hammered out break-beats, spliced with an individual touch of gentle weirdness. The results deliver a surprisingly unified fusion of several influential elements - classic psychedelic rock, Krautrock rhythms and proto-hip hop beats – all interacting to create a cohesive album.
Though the songs were never intended to be performed live, the last six months has seen the project gather pace behind a wave of critical acclaim. A sold-out limited edition EP lead Ruban to construct a live band consisting of skilled producer Jake Portrait on bass and a brilliant teenage drummer named Julien Ehrlich.
Ruban’s vision of creating “junkshop record collector pop” culminated in the creation of sprawling Beatles-esque guitar melodies over hammered out break-beats, spliced with an individual touch of gentle weirdness. The results deliver a surprisingly unified fusion of several influential elements - classic psychedelic rock, Krautrock rhythms and proto-hip hop beats – all interacting to create a cohesive album.
Though the songs were never intended to be performed live, the last six months has seen the project gather pace behind a wave of critical acclaim. A sold-out limited edition EP lead Ruban to construct a live band consisting of skilled producer Jake Portrait on bass and a brilliant teenage drummer named Julien Ehrlich.
TRACK LISTING
1. Ffrends
2. Bicycle
3. Thought Ballune
4. Jello And Juggernauts
5. How Can You Luv Me
6. Nerve Damage!
7. Little Blu House
8. Strangers Are Strange
9. Boy Witch
Where are we headed? What are we consuming, how is it affecting us, and why does everything feel so bad and weird sometimes? These are some of the questions posed on Ruban Nielson's fourth album as Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Sex & Food-a delightfully shapeshifting album that filters these real-deal serious themes through a vibrant sonic lens that spans battered drum-machine funk, doomy and thrashing rock, and pink-hued psychedelic disco. Recorded in a variety of locales from Seoul and Hanoi to Reykjavik, Mexico City, and Auckland, Sex & Food is a practical musical travelogue, with local musicians from the countries that Nielson and his band visited pitching in throughout.
TRACK LISTING
A God Called Hubris
Major League Chemicals
Ministry Of Alienation
Hunnybee
Chronos Feasts On His Children
American Guilt
The Internet Of Love (That Way)
Everyone Acts Crazy Nowadays
This Doomsday
How Many Zeros
Not In Love We’re Just High
If You’re Going To Break Yourself
There's something somewhat frightening, yet utterly freeing when leaving the confines of a successful band to venture solo — especially a band whose latest record was called "effortlessly brilliant" by critics. But, such is the case with Erika Wennerstrom who is taking a brief vacation from her Cincinnati-based rock band, Heartless Bastards, to deliver her solo debut Sweet Unknown.
But fans of Heartless Bastards need not worry. The band has not broken up. "We'd been going for so long and everyone in the band was just ready for a little break. But I had songs in me that needed to come out. I didn't think it was fair to push them to keep going and I didn't want to do it without them under the band name," explains Wennerstrom, who enlisted the help of HB's Jesse Ebaugh to play bass on 8 of the 9 tracks on Sweet Unknown.
While Wennerstrom has always been honest the Heartless Bastards songs she's written, the 9 tracks that make up Sweet Unknown are even more personal and reflective, and for her, quite transformative as well.
The album kicks off with the feel-good roadtrip vibes of "Twisted Highway," which Wennerstrom says sums up her musical journey on Sweet Unknown. On the somber psych-rocker "Staring Out the Window," the artist digs even deeper into the inner workings of her mind. The upbeat and optimistic "Letting Go" epitomizes that experience. "Good To Be Alone" is just one sonic outcome of a formative trip to Big Bend taken soon after the band decided to go on hiatus.
With Sweet Unknown, Erika Wennerstrom bravely invites the listener in to experience her trials and tribulations of life amist a cozy soundscape of deeply emotive vocals and melodies to what is ultimately the soundtrack to her soul.
But fans of Heartless Bastards need not worry. The band has not broken up. "We'd been going for so long and everyone in the band was just ready for a little break. But I had songs in me that needed to come out. I didn't think it was fair to push them to keep going and I didn't want to do it without them under the band name," explains Wennerstrom, who enlisted the help of HB's Jesse Ebaugh to play bass on 8 of the 9 tracks on Sweet Unknown.
While Wennerstrom has always been honest the Heartless Bastards songs she's written, the 9 tracks that make up Sweet Unknown are even more personal and reflective, and for her, quite transformative as well.
The album kicks off with the feel-good roadtrip vibes of "Twisted Highway," which Wennerstrom says sums up her musical journey on Sweet Unknown. On the somber psych-rocker "Staring Out the Window," the artist digs even deeper into the inner workings of her mind. The upbeat and optimistic "Letting Go" epitomizes that experience. "Good To Be Alone" is just one sonic outcome of a formative trip to Big Bend taken soon after the band decided to go on hiatus.
With Sweet Unknown, Erika Wennerstrom bravely invites the listener in to experience her trials and tribulations of life amist a cozy soundscape of deeply emotive vocals and melodies to what is ultimately the soundtrack to her soul.
Three years have passed since Correatown released the critically acclaimed dream-pop album ‘Pleiades’. Highline are proud to announce the release of her follow up, ‘Embrace The Fuzzy Unknown’.
Having built a fanbase with her debut album ‘Spark. Burn. Fade’, Correatown’s listeners continued to grow through her work in TV and film music and her collaboration with Tom Brosseau as Les Shelleys. ‘Pleiades’ saw Correatown expanding both her global audience and her sonic horizons.
Correatown’s new album reflects and revels in change and evolution. Songs wonder about purpose, wonder about the future and wonder if this is all that there is. Without answers to these questions, the music implores us to ‘Embrace The Fuzzy Unknown’.
The album was produced by Angela Correa and Dan Long (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Son Volt, TV On The Radio).
Correatown’s music has appeared on ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, ‘Ugly Betty’, ‘How I Met Your Mother’ and ‘Private Practice’ and films ‘The Lucky One’ and ‘Admission’.
Beautifully crafted ethereal pop music that will appeal to fans of Feist, Regina Spektor and Best Coast.
Having built a fanbase with her debut album ‘Spark. Burn. Fade’, Correatown’s listeners continued to grow through her work in TV and film music and her collaboration with Tom Brosseau as Les Shelleys. ‘Pleiades’ saw Correatown expanding both her global audience and her sonic horizons.
Correatown’s new album reflects and revels in change and evolution. Songs wonder about purpose, wonder about the future and wonder if this is all that there is. Without answers to these questions, the music implores us to ‘Embrace The Fuzzy Unknown’.
The album was produced by Angela Correa and Dan Long (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Son Volt, TV On The Radio).
Correatown’s music has appeared on ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, ‘Ugly Betty’, ‘How I Met Your Mother’ and ‘Private Practice’ and films ‘The Lucky One’ and ‘Admission’.
Beautifully crafted ethereal pop music that will appeal to fans of Feist, Regina Spektor and Best Coast.
TRACK LISTING
Eyes To The Sky
Longshot
Small Hours
Bonfires
True North
Lucky Ones
All Horizon
Wind Sprints
My Girls
Babybird (Wonder And Dream)
Psychedelic Pirates formed in Manchester, UK in 2013. They had the aim to produce a new genre of music, one that had never been heard before and pose the question... what is music???
They have now achieved this with their debut album... The New Sound.
The Pirates use the latest computer technology and some incredibly talented musicians to make a symphony of psychedelic sounds. Each song explores a different a genre ensuring the listener is taken on a trip through new musical possibilities.
Their live show is an eccentric mix of Pirate cabaret and tantalising circus performance, including fire performance and ariel arts.
So far their quest has taken them around UK, Europe, Asia and Africa performing at various festivals and events.
Will you join their crew?
Performers // Josh Lisiuk - Vocals / Luke Slater - Ableton, Synthesizer, Kaoss Pads, Bazooki, Samples, Effects & VST's / Martyn Jarmin - Guitar, Bass Guitar / Happie - Percussion / Elliot Slater - Saxaphone / Anna Lowenstein - Violin / Tom Moon - Trumpet, Melodica, Accordion / John Lisiuk - Mandolin / Ben Of The Green - Didgeridoo
They have now achieved this with their debut album... The New Sound.
The Pirates use the latest computer technology and some incredibly talented musicians to make a symphony of psychedelic sounds. Each song explores a different a genre ensuring the listener is taken on a trip through new musical possibilities.
Their live show is an eccentric mix of Pirate cabaret and tantalising circus performance, including fire performance and ariel arts.
So far their quest has taken them around UK, Europe, Asia and Africa performing at various festivals and events.
Will you join their crew?
Performers // Josh Lisiuk - Vocals / Luke Slater - Ableton, Synthesizer, Kaoss Pads, Bazooki, Samples, Effects & VST's / Martyn Jarmin - Guitar, Bass Guitar / Happie - Percussion / Elliot Slater - Saxaphone / Anna Lowenstein - Violin / Tom Moon - Trumpet, Melodica, Accordion / John Lisiuk - Mandolin / Ben Of The Green - Didgeridoo
STAFF COMMENTS
Ryan says: Finally a new arrrtist with a new sound. Plenty of hooks without going overboard. On sail now.
It's difficult to describe the jaw-dropping astonishment that came with the release of this, Joy Division's debut album, in 1979. That four Mancunian punks could create a work of such power, splendour and originality that would change pop music forever, well, a whole new genre had to be invented for them. This had the honesty and passion of punk, but this was arty, angular, literary and unique; this was definitely post-punk, but the massive impact of this record saw Joy Division quickly transcend any pigeon-holing. With singer Ian Curtis documenting fear and alienation, and the band conjuring powerful, brooding rock that featured bass as a lead instrument, dischordant guitar and churning drums and percussion, an emotive group was turned into one of the greatest of all time by Martin Hannett's beautiful production. This is bleak, heavy music, but it's also incredibly exhilarating. In Curtis's words and monotone vocals there's doom and drama, but you could never say this was an act; this is pure, naked emotion captured on tape. There's an intensity here that still shocks.
TRACK LISTING
1. Disorder
2. Day Of The Lords
3. Candidate
4. Insight
5. New Dawn Fades
6. She's Lost Control
7. Shadowplay
8. Wilderness
9. Interzone
10. I Remember Nothing
On Multi-Love, Unknown Mortal Orchestra frontman and multi-instrumentalist Ruban Nielson reflects on relationships: airy, humid longing, loss, the geometry of desire that occurs when three people align. Where Nielson addressed the pain of being alone on II, Multi-Love takes on the complications of being together.
Multi-Love adds dimensions to the band’s already kaleidoscopic approach, with Nielson exploring a newfound appreciation for synthesizers. The new songs channel with the spirit of psych innovators without ignoring the last 40 years of music, forming a flowing, cohesive whole that reflects restless creativity. Cosmic escapes and disco rhythms speak to developing new vocabulary, while Nielson’s vocals reach powerful new heights.
“It felt good to be rebelling against the typical view of what an artists is today, a curator,” he says. “It’s more about being someone who makes things happen in concrete ways. Building old synthesizers and bringing them back to life, creating sounds that aren’t quite like anyone else’s. I think that’s much more subversive.”
Multi-Love adds dimensions to the band’s already kaleidoscopic approach, with Nielson exploring a newfound appreciation for synthesizers. The new songs channel with the spirit of psych innovators without ignoring the last 40 years of music, forming a flowing, cohesive whole that reflects restless creativity. Cosmic escapes and disco rhythms speak to developing new vocabulary, while Nielson’s vocals reach powerful new heights.
“It felt good to be rebelling against the typical view of what an artists is today, a curator,” he says. “It’s more about being someone who makes things happen in concrete ways. Building old synthesizers and bringing them back to life, creating sounds that aren’t quite like anyone else’s. I think that’s much more subversive.”
STAFF COMMENTS
Andy says: Better bottom-end for the funky psych-groovers. Their last album was well loved here, looks like this is gonna top it!TRACK LISTING
1. Multi-Love
2. Like Acid Rain
3. Ur Life One Night
4. Can’t Keep Checking My Phone
5. Extreme Wealth And Casual Cruelty
6. The World Is Crowded
7. Stage Or Screen
8. Necessary Evil
9. Puzzles
"I am an instrumental musician, described as a 'Liquid-ambient cinematic soundscape'. My music is on the most part inspired purely by the world around me, and the images of life, both metropolitan and natural. The use of classical instruments, such as flute and strings, with electronic synth and beats has unique texture to it, which brings alternative dimensions to the sound. I started out as a guitarist, when I was 15, and found that there were some limitations, sonically, so I branched out to search for other mediums to create the sound I wanted to capture. The discovery of manipulating spoken word and voice also came to my attention. These developments inspired me to begin writing, which has lead me to this album! Now three years further down the line, I have an album to present. Thank you for reading a little bit about me!"
The debut EP from Manchester based electronic duo UV (Zandra Klievens and Jonjo Feather). Two singles this year have garnered the duo a Record Store Day Recommendation from God Is In The TV and spins from the likes of Tom Ravenscroft BBC6 and Shell Zenner Amazing Radio.
The 5 track E.P. consolidates the duo’s brooding aesthetic “Effortlessly uniting a fairytale of dark underground disco, minimal techno and ethereal pop” The 405.
The 5 track E.P. consolidates the duo’s brooding aesthetic “Effortlessly uniting a fairytale of dark underground disco, minimal techno and ethereal pop” The 405.
TRACK LISTING
Still
Cuts
Receiver
Here
Room
Cassette Store Day 2014 release. '80N7' features 20 previously unreleased tracks by some of Rough Trade New York's favourite emerging acts from across the US and UK, including Manchester's Spring King, Denver's Sunboy, and London's Happyness. Operating under the premise that things sound 'better homemade,' the aim is to showcase bands that the shop feels capture the magic of DIY - they want you to hear the fingers sliding, the tiny imperfections, and most importantly, the passion that went into making them. Digital download card included. Limited to 150 copies.
If you imagine a group walked from Brittany to the Isle of Wight along to Cornwall to the end of Scotland, to America and the Americas, taking in all influence of music along the way, then you’d get somewhere to knowing what is hidden in the foothills of this album.
Sudden Death of Stars are from the medieval city of Rennes, France, which may explain why they sound like monks playing modern day Velvet Underground, Os Mutantes and Pentangle. Formed in 2010, they were complete as a band when they happened upon the only sitarist west of Paris.
James Endeacott A&R guru who signed The Strokes & The Libertines says: “garage, Nuggets, mushroom tea and a head full of dreams - heaven.”
Sudden Death of Stars are from the medieval city of Rennes, France, which may explain why they sound like monks playing modern day Velvet Underground, Os Mutantes and Pentangle. Formed in 2010, they were complete as a band when they happened upon the only sitarist west of Paris.
James Endeacott A&R guru who signed The Strokes & The Libertines says: “garage, Nuggets, mushroom tea and a head full of dreams - heaven.”
Stolen from a Crow is the genre-defying alter ego of Crispin Case-Leng, a singer, songwriter and poet who believes in pushing boundaries within music and performance in a quest to leave the mainstream far behind. Sometimes romantic, sometimes introspective, always unpredictable, Case-Leng’s music is about exploration, delving into unconventional themes ranging from social commentary, through to darkly comic fairy tales about werewolves and winged messengers between worlds. His instrumentation is similarly off-centre, dipping into seemingly incompatible areas like punk, folk and art rock, yet managing to blend them together into something new and exciting.
U.V. are an electronic duo comprising singer Zandra Klievens and writer / producer Jonjo Feather. They formed in late 2012 and are based in Manchester, U.K. They spent their formative months writing and performing in Berlin and returned to the UK in June 2013. Zandra is the former lead vocalist with NME favourites The ABC Club and Jonjo has previously released two critically acclaimed solo albums under his own name. U.V. released their first single 'Wish' in June 2013. Their new single 'Receiver' is out now on limited edition audio cassette and download.
"“Buffalo” is the result of having seen British folk-guitar legend John Renbourn perform in Salford in 2011. Acoustic bare bones Blues/Folk heavily influenced by John’s work along with that of Bert Jansch and Davey Graham, I strive to make up for any comparative technical shortcomings through vocals and lyrics. Having been trapped for 5 years in a loveless marriage to a record company, ”Buffalo” represents my stripped down freedom and looks at themes including Roman Mythology, School Shootings, Slavery and Stage Fright." - Dominic Kearne.
STAFF COMMENTS
Andy says: Rich voice and dextrous guitar make this local talent one to look out for.
These masterpieces were pivotal accomplishments for Kuti, as they solidified his rise from mere social commentator to fiercely determined cultural leader. Recorded after the brutal raid of his Kalaluta compound and the consequent death of his mother, they comprise two of the most personal statements Kuti ever made. "Coffin for Head of State" denounces the corrosive effect of Christian and Muslim influence on African life and takes to task the leaders that perpetuate the "Bad bad bad things/Through Jesus Christ our Lord." It takes its name from a protest in which Kuti and a group of supporters laid a coffin on the steps of Christian leader Olusegun Obasanjo's Dodan Barracks, the headquarters of the military government. An epic 31-minute tribute to his fallen mother, "Unknown Soldier" is one of the most ambitious recordings of Kuti's career which describes in frightening detail the events that transpired on the eve of the Kalakuta raid, including the rape of several women, beatings, mutilation, and the throwing of his mother ("the Mother of Nigeria") out of a window. The official police report after the raid blamed the attack on "unknown soldiers," and in response to this fantastic cover-up, Kuti gives a tortured, powerful performance of some of his most vivid and incendiary music
Emerging from rampant hedonism and isolation is ‘II’, the new album from Unknown Mortal Orchestra. The musical vision of Portlander-via-New Zealand Ruban Nielson started as an anonymous home-recording project that fused psychedelia, soul, choppy percussion and funk.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra came to life in basements and bedrooms after Nielson moved from his native New Zealand to Portland, Oregon with his family. Following the recruitment of bassist Jacob Portrait, new drummer Greg Rogove and a deal with Jagjaguwar, UMO toured the US with Grizzly Bear and Liars.
‘II’ builds on the breakbeat, junk shop charm the 32-year-old multi-instrumentalist and songwriter came to be renowned for following his self-titled 2011 debut, and signals the solidification of Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s position as an endlessly intriguing, brave psychedelic band. Unknown Mortal Orchestra is unafraid to dig deeper than the rest, to lock into their intoxicating, opiate groove and bring rock ‘n’ roll’s exaggerated myths to life.
Written during a punishing, debauched touring schedule during which Nielson feared for his sanity and health, ‘II’ illustrates the emotional turmoil of life on the road, painting surrealist, cartoonish portraits of loneliness, love and despair.
These conflicting themes are evident immediately; on the album’s sleeve is an unnerving image of Janet Farrar, the famous British witch Wiccan, author and teacher of witchcraft. The chilling refrain of opener ‘Into The Sun’ sees Nielson deliver the line “Isolation can put a gun in your hand,” softly, his words starkly intelligible above a warm, slow-burning melody that quickly brands itself onto your brain. His playful imagery (“I’m so lonely I’ve gotta eat my popcorn all alone”) mirrors the melody, before a solo that borders on psychotropic ends ‘II’s introduction.
As it unfolds, ‘II’ does find Nielson reenergized. ‘One At A Time’ and ‘Faded In The Morning’ boast dizzying choruses and instrumentals - these crusty hunks could have been excavated from a lost 1960s treasure trove. ‘Monki’ unravels over seven minutes like the yarn from a stoner’s cardigan with an eye-frying pattern. ‘Dawn’ is a minute of disconcerting noise that stands out between the nooks and crannies of the choruses, guitar solos, groove-heavy bass and drums that were recorded live by newly-recruited drummer Greg Rogove and Kody Nielson in a move away from the electronic percussion employed on album one. ‘II’ closes with ‘Secret Xtians’, a tender observational puzzle that fizzes to a satisfied end.
Pulling Pink Floyd, The Family Stone, The Beatles and the Soft Machine through his warped rock ‘n’ roll filter, Nielson has created a collection of expressive psychedelia. Unknown Mortal Orchestra was once Nielson’s closeted concern. With an album that uses his singular musical imagination and extraordinary talent to parade his emotions with unyielding honesty, it is now a fully realized band operating at the peak of its powers.
‘II’ is the follow up and refinement to 2011’s self-titled, critically adored debut (released by Fat Possum and True Panther Sounds).
Unknown Mortal Orchestra came to life in basements and bedrooms after Nielson moved from his native New Zealand to Portland, Oregon with his family. Following the recruitment of bassist Jacob Portrait, new drummer Greg Rogove and a deal with Jagjaguwar, UMO toured the US with Grizzly Bear and Liars.
‘II’ builds on the breakbeat, junk shop charm the 32-year-old multi-instrumentalist and songwriter came to be renowned for following his self-titled 2011 debut, and signals the solidification of Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s position as an endlessly intriguing, brave psychedelic band. Unknown Mortal Orchestra is unafraid to dig deeper than the rest, to lock into their intoxicating, opiate groove and bring rock ‘n’ roll’s exaggerated myths to life.
Written during a punishing, debauched touring schedule during which Nielson feared for his sanity and health, ‘II’ illustrates the emotional turmoil of life on the road, painting surrealist, cartoonish portraits of loneliness, love and despair.
These conflicting themes are evident immediately; on the album’s sleeve is an unnerving image of Janet Farrar, the famous British witch Wiccan, author and teacher of witchcraft. The chilling refrain of opener ‘Into The Sun’ sees Nielson deliver the line “Isolation can put a gun in your hand,” softly, his words starkly intelligible above a warm, slow-burning melody that quickly brands itself onto your brain. His playful imagery (“I’m so lonely I’ve gotta eat my popcorn all alone”) mirrors the melody, before a solo that borders on psychotropic ends ‘II’s introduction.
As it unfolds, ‘II’ does find Nielson reenergized. ‘One At A Time’ and ‘Faded In The Morning’ boast dizzying choruses and instrumentals - these crusty hunks could have been excavated from a lost 1960s treasure trove. ‘Monki’ unravels over seven minutes like the yarn from a stoner’s cardigan with an eye-frying pattern. ‘Dawn’ is a minute of disconcerting noise that stands out between the nooks and crannies of the choruses, guitar solos, groove-heavy bass and drums that were recorded live by newly-recruited drummer Greg Rogove and Kody Nielson in a move away from the electronic percussion employed on album one. ‘II’ closes with ‘Secret Xtians’, a tender observational puzzle that fizzes to a satisfied end.
Pulling Pink Floyd, The Family Stone, The Beatles and the Soft Machine through his warped rock ‘n’ roll filter, Nielson has created a collection of expressive psychedelia. Unknown Mortal Orchestra was once Nielson’s closeted concern. With an album that uses his singular musical imagination and extraordinary talent to parade his emotions with unyielding honesty, it is now a fully realized band operating at the peak of its powers.
‘II’ is the follow up and refinement to 2011’s self-titled, critically adored debut (released by Fat Possum and True Panther Sounds).
STAFF COMMENTS
Andy says: UMO's 2011 debut LP was a one-man, bedroom curio layering sun-kissed psych-pop over chunky break beats. Expanded to a three piece, the live drummer brings an untutored looseness to the band’s sound which perfectly suits the laid-back, mellow vibe of these tunes. Ruban Neilson has made a beautiful night time record; hazy, blurred and luminous. And it still has that home-studio charm: lo-fi, fuzzy and whimsical, but the psych is now the Beatles, the blues a freaked-out Marc Bolan and there's a soulfulness that recalls early ‘70s Curtis Mayfield; a gorgeous blend. Curtis comparisons extend to Ruban's guitar playing too; seemingly meandering, carefree explorations reveal themselves to be intricately worked out, melodic lines that spill into each other, sometimes with a whiff of prog, sometimes even jazz. Mixed with the white-soul and garage, plus (inter)stellar melodies, you have one funky little nugget, a dazed and dreamy gem of an album.TRACK LISTING
1. From The Sun
2. Swim And Sleep (Like A Shark)
3. So Good At Being In Trouble
4. One At A Time
5. The Opposite Of Afternoon
6. No Need For A Leader
7. Monki
8. Dawn
9. Faded In The Morning
10. Secret Xians
Boz Hayward’s third album is a collaboration with the late Brian Tibby. Shortly before falling ill, over a number of weeks Brian - the regular opener at Chorlton Folk Club - gave a series of handwritten letters to Boz, containing amongst them a series of whimsical observations of local life… Inspired by the workings of Brian’s colourful and wonderfully eccentric imagination, ‘Edward Edwardly and the Marquis of Flixton’ is Boz’s witty response, a 13 track album which, named after one of the most vivid character sketches from the collection, sets each of these to his own unique blend of orchestral urban folk music.
Born on the back of frustration, combining everything that is raw, primitive, direct and loose about rock ‘n’ roll, Blackbombers deliver instantly, with killer tunes and a big sound.
Hailing from the deep south (in the UK!), Blackbombers combine a whole lineage of rock ‘n’ roll history in true contemporary style; foot to the floor rockers meet dirty blues and distorted melody……
Hailing from the deep south (in the UK!), Blackbombers combine a whole lineage of rock ‘n’ roll history in true contemporary style; foot to the floor rockers meet dirty blues and distorted melody……
Reduced
Pirahnahead handmade mix CD, direct from the man himself in Detroit. The sometime Mahogani Music / Whasdat? house music producer delivers a great club mix CD here, mixing up house (new, old, classic) and a smattering of 80s disco tunes as well. The mix is rough and raw (hear those crackles!) with plenty of EQing as well. Dead dead limited.
Tracklisting
1. Klearvision Ft. Nina Simone – Black Is The Color
2. MJB & Chaka Khan – Disrespectful (Jovonn Mix)
3. MJB – PMS (Quentin Harris Mix)
4. Pirahnahead – Self:Con-Science
5. Tito Puente – Ran Kan Kan (Bonus Beats)
6. Dennis Ferrer – P 2 Da J
7. Dajae – Brighter Days (MAW Mix)
8. Lood – Shout N Out (MAW Mix)
9. Diplomats Of Soul – Someday We'll All Be Free
10. RSL – The Mast
11. Roger Troutman / Zapp – I Heard It Through The Grapevine
12. Funkadelic – Knee Deep
13. Change – A Lover's Holiday
14. Chic – Good Times
Tracklisting
1. Klearvision Ft. Nina Simone – Black Is The Color
2. MJB & Chaka Khan – Disrespectful (Jovonn Mix)
3. MJB – PMS (Quentin Harris Mix)
4. Pirahnahead – Self:Con-Science
5. Tito Puente – Ran Kan Kan (Bonus Beats)
6. Dennis Ferrer – P 2 Da J
7. Dajae – Brighter Days (MAW Mix)
8. Lood – Shout N Out (MAW Mix)
9. Diplomats Of Soul – Someday We'll All Be Free
10. RSL – The Mast
11. Roger Troutman / Zapp – I Heard It Through The Grapevine
12. Funkadelic – Knee Deep
13. Change – A Lover's Holiday
14. Chic – Good Times
Monroe Hips is a band masterminded by one Gib Lyn (latterly known for his work with pioneering act The Witches). This album is a self and collaboratively produced, collection of songs that play on his flighty lyrics and enigmatic guitar style. None of the songs are overstretched and are entertainingly brief but replete with thrilling ideas. “Limbo” is cinematic, romantic and tuneful whereas “Try To Decay” is a semi-acoustic yet psychedelic infusion of 60’s pop and rambling, sparkling indie. The theme threads into “The Most Beautiful She” where the sweeping strings and sparkling guitar picks, plumb into the late career highs of Lennon and McCartney. “The Girl With Potential” is spiked with Gib’s guitar as a focal point as his vocal sways across the song with an enticingly smooth verse and gruff, compelling chorus. Gib Lyn has made this album as interesting as he could, but it’s the bigger tracks that also point to something more remarkable – a sound so big and determined it would be difficult to imagine it had been put together completely off the radar and from within the city’s underground scene. An accomplishment and an incredible collection of scene breaking ideas.
John’s second release sees the return of the same melodic beauty but somehow more driving than his previous offering, ‘Tales From a Northern City.’ When asked why he wrote the album Herring says, ‘The last album was admittedly nostalgic whereas the challenge in the writing for these songs was to focus on now. Musicians often write about the past or the future in the same way we all think in life and I wanted to write an album that was about ‘Here’.
As one reviewer reflected, ‘Herring bridges that difficult divide between “popular music”, melody and “legitimate” rock with effortless aplomb... John can easily be compared to the likes of Kurt Wagner and Nick Drake as a master craftsman both lyrically and musically.”
As one reviewer reflected, ‘Herring bridges that difficult divide between “popular music”, melody and “legitimate” rock with effortless aplomb... John can easily be compared to the likes of Kurt Wagner and Nick Drake as a master craftsman both lyrically and musically.”
The Hoop is a Canadian Art Rock band based in Windsor ON formed in November 2010 by Joe LaBine (Toronto, Canada) and Jack Goodall (Bromsgrove, England). They have toured extensively in Canada, Ireland and the UK. The January release of Panda Boy (2012) - the group's debut LP - marks the beginning of a year of festivals, international touring, collaborations (notably with Paul MacDougal of Toronto's DoneFors), label launches, and exciting music.
Self produced in the band’s hometown of Liverpool, this self-titled EP is eclipsed by a haunting sense of the unknown through ghostly two-step and swathes of euphoric energy. Each of the five tracks here are underscored by distant falsetto, while submerged synthwave shimmers provide a superb spectral surround. Imagine Burial, Hype Williams or Caribou tracks remade with a leaning towards the melancholic yet uplifting indie music of Puressence or Mercury Rev.
Brooklyn, NY's Further Reductions have been building up a reputation for a while and we finally have some vinyl to show it off. Working with electronic instrumentation but not limited to electronic influences alone, Reductions are carving out their own niche of sad, beautiful pop music.
'Thru the gates of forever and into the frozen vapours of Mannattan's minimal electronic monolith in the night, Further Reductions, Shawn O'Sullivan (of Led Er Est knowings) and collaborator Katie Rose are weaving a web of reverberatory wonderment. One of not just a few of the minimal synth couple outfit armies to emerge from New York's ever living and breathing clan of the same epithet, this masculine/feminine dream drone dichotomy's synthesized incantations drift like gleaming analogue jewels of dark incandescent dance dew. Voices with the echoes of youth sung wistfully into in the well and steeped in the myst of minor discord float inside Familiar Flights'. - La Maladie Tropicale.
'Thru the gates of forever and into the frozen vapours of Mannattan's minimal electronic monolith in the night, Further Reductions, Shawn O'Sullivan (of Led Er Est knowings) and collaborator Katie Rose are weaving a web of reverberatory wonderment. One of not just a few of the minimal synth couple outfit armies to emerge from New York's ever living and breathing clan of the same epithet, this masculine/feminine dream drone dichotomy's synthesized incantations drift like gleaming analogue jewels of dark incandescent dance dew. Voices with the echoes of youth sung wistfully into in the well and steeped in the myst of minor discord float inside Familiar Flights'. - La Maladie Tropicale.
"Keep It Stupid Simple" is the first release for Scottish born singer songwriter Iain Wright now based in Adelaide. "Keep It Stupid Simple" highlights the beautiful melody of Iain's guitar and voice, whether it's the strut of the opening track "Bad Dreams" or the haunting quality of "Langdon Street" there enough in this little gem of an EP to keep you happy, yet leave you wanting more.
Formed in Manchester in January 2007, The Great Fury 'deliver a catchy brand of garage rock/blues inspired music, singing songs of modern love, classic cocktails, Orwellian visions and political views' (VMan Events). The Great Fury name encapsulates 'the media and government escalating certain situations for their own ends, so therefore is a cause of a great fury to them' (David Cross). Bridging a Liverpool and Manchester rivalry, David and Adam forged a musical bond after a chance discussion at a local gig where a rhythm section drawn from Portsmouth and a Yorkshire provided the pulse of a new sound. The band's pedigree has meant that previous incarnations have supported the likes of The Mystery Jets, Babyshambles, The Black Keys and The Cribs, and early reviews likened the sound to a 'dirty take on the Arctic Monkeys perhaps, very similar as far as vox and lyrics go... Libertines and Jamie T fans my also be tickled pink' (Bugbear Bookings).
The Manchester-based alternative rock band Blacklist was formed against a backdrop of seemingly disconnected and contradictory influences. The music is influenced by artists such as: Faith No More, Massive Attack, Roni Size and Radiohead while the songwriting and lyrics dip into a bit of Nick Cave, Chris Morris, Elbow and The Smiths. The band attempts to blend intelligent rock music with Drum & Bass while always keeping the idea of the well-crafted song at the heart of what it does.
Manchester's Manifesto haven't got many chords to play with, but their sunny take on low key 60s guitar pop ambles slowly forward like a ballad, whilst "Stuck In The Mud" sounds a bit more like it's got a Beatle in its back pocket. The style is attractive and the melodies promising. "Secrets & Lie's" and "Everyone Tells Me I'm Lazy" are two acoustic tracks which tells a story that is easily accessible and straight from the heart! And finally "Far Away" has the mix of Setting sun-Chemical Brothers and Fire Starter by The Prodigy a great overall sound and a tune to dance the night away!!
'The Christophers are wearing dark suits with quite scary yellow specs. They look like they work for a top secret government research facility. Wherever it is they've come from, anyway, they've come equipped with minimalist art-rock post-punk disco-funk so sharp it'd have The Rapture stocking up on Elastoplasts. There's a delightful cynicism about their lyrics and some killer hooks and beats. Add to that some sturdy assertive basslines, demonically abrasive guitar parts and the precision beat of a drum machine underpinning staccato near-robotic vocals, and overall you get something which takes in rather a lot of 1979 (specifically The Fall, A Certain Ratio, Wire and Talking Heads) and dumps it squarely in 2007 (there are bits where if you close your eyes it actually might be LCD Soundsystem). Scary bastards you can dance to - we like them very much, and suspect we will be seeing a lot more of them.' - Manchester Music.
"Seaside Surprise" is the debut release from Manchester based musician Simon Connor. After gigging as an acoustic solo artist for the past year the arrangements on the EP have been fleshed out with a full band, a string section and electronic beats. The well crafted songs are given a much wider scope and the sound sits somewhere in between Radiohead, Elliott Smith and Scott Matthews.
The Turner is a local singer / songwriter called Gary Tomkinson from Levenshulme, Manchester. The album "Hope Dies Last" features contributions from Sian Webley and James Youngjohns from Anna Kashfi and also from Mike Harries from Quiet Loner. It also features a string quartet on three tracks. He has frequently been compared to Roddy Frame and Tim Hardin.
Onions are Jim, Martin and Chris, three urban dandies from Withington, Manchester. With a penchant for writing upbeat no-nonsense guitar pop, they formed in the glorious summer of 2005. Already in the short two years together, Onions have played Glastonbury Festival and had one of their hits played on the main stages between acts and subsequently released on a Glastonbury compilation CD nationwide. Prior to this, Onions have supported the likes of Mystery Jets and Jim Noir, and headlined the Euro-Culture festival in Manchester. In addition, Onions have worked in coordination with Channel M on a regular basis to promote their releases, videos, gigs and their ravishing personalities.
It's difficult to describe the jaw-dropping astonishment that came with the release of this, Joy Division's debut album, in 1979. That four Mancunian punks could create a work of such power, splendour and originality that would change pop music forever, well, a whole new genre had to be invented for them. This had the honesty and passion of punk, but this was arty, angular, literary and unique; this was definitely post-punk, but the massive impact of this record saw Joy Division quickly transcend any pigeon-holing. With singer Ian Curtis documenting fear and alienation, and the band conjuring powerful, brooding rock that featured bass as a lead instrument, dischordant guitar and churning drums and percussion, an emotive group was turned into one of the greatest of all time by Martin Hannett's beautiful production. This is bleak, heavy music, but it's also incredibly exhilarating. In Curtis's words and monotone vocals there's doom and drama, but you could never say this was an act; this is pure, naked emotion captured on tape. There's an intensity here that still shocks.
Paul McCartney got Freelance Hellraiser to be the warm-up act on his last tour, letting him do reworks and mash-ups of Macca tracks old and new. The results proved to be a big crowd favourite, so the two got together to re-create the tracks in the studio, calling themselves Twin Freaks. "Really Love You" (taken from his 1997 LP "Flaming Pie") is a full on soni attack, while "Lalula" has more of a baggy disco-rock feel.