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Our next Toolroom 4-track vinyl sampler offers some of our biggest recent releases including none other, than the boss man himself, Mark Knight who is joined by James Hurr & Cari Golden with their club focused record, 'You Are A God'. In demand Italian DJ & Producer Qubiko also returns to the label with 'Talking To Myself', whilst key members of the Toolroom family, Leftwing : Kody go back to their clubbier roots on 'Mallet'.

Last but not least fast-rising, star-in-the-making, ESSEL who is set to drop a slice of Summer with 'Try', a Piano House focused record in the classiest of fashions, akin to a classic Dusky sound. Four killer cuts that you will not want to miss this summer season!

Bristolian producer Claude Cooper returns with hot new single ‘Stay A While’, inspired by the vinyl discoveries made from months of digging and cataloguing the bulging inventory of Bedminster’s Friendly Records record shop.

‘Stay A While’ introduces some delightful twists to Cooper’s psychedelic-funk sound. Blurring the lines between sampling and performance, lush string flourishes are sliced with 6Ts girl-group vocals and rollicking piano chords resulting in a dreamy, end of night, lights up anthem in-the-making. The track is backed with the insistent ‘Dance Tonight’, a ragged bass-boogie surf-rocker that doesn’t take no for an answer.

Cooper’s irrepressible debut album ‘Myriad Sounds' (Jan ‘22) caught the attention of the UK's press and radio alike. Mojo's four star review described it as “Bristol’s beat scene backdrops late night jams”, Uncut enjoyed the "rugged psych-funk romp" and Louder than War declared "it’s vital and vibrant and exactly what we need to kick start the year”. BBC radio DJs including Cerys Matthews, Gideon Coe, Huw Stephens, Jamie Cullum, Lauren Laverne, Stuart Maconie, Tom Ravenscroft rinsed the singles, with Huey Morgan inviting Cooper to contribute a Block Party Mix for his show.

Bonus round 'More Myriad Sounds' (Apr ‘23) added Brooklyn vocalist Brain Fog to the melange with a bounty of pyretic vocal performances. DJ Mag called it “A fierce, kaleidoscopic trip” while Bandcamp Daily said “This album of cross-genre influences is as likely to get it included in any number of best-of columns, with the theme of serious fun as their common element”.

Behind the release is Friendly Records, the best little record shop in Bristol and now a burgeoning record label. Opened by Tom Friend on North Street in 2016, it’s gone on to become a hub of the local musical community. As well as Claude Cooper, the label has reissued two of Alison Cotton’s albums, 'The Twenty-Three Views' by outernational ambient jazz project Floating World Pictures, and Christian Madden & The Enemy Chorus’s organ heavy ‘The Extra Weight’.

Claude Cooper will return with a new album on Friendly Recordings this year.

Released in 1973, Lord of Lords was Alice Coltrane's final album for the Impulse! label, as well as the last instalment of a trilogy that began with Universal Consciousness and World Galaxy. Like its two predecessors, Lord of Lords features a 16-piece string orchestra that the leader arranged and conducted, fronted by a trio in which she plays piano, Wurlitzer organ, harp, and timpani accompanied by bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Ben Riley.

The original producer, Ed Michel, later stated that Coltrane worked with the top-rank classically-trained studio musicians of the string section and "opened them up so they could do absolutely astonishing things. Afterwards, the string players couldn't believe that they had done what they had done." According to AllMusic reviewer Thom Jurek, "The interplay between the three principals is lively and engaging, based on droning blues chords, and her soloing - even amid flurries of notes - comes right back to the root. Haden's bass is a beautiful anchor here, and the strings offer a lovely response to her organ and harp. Riley's cymbals are shimmering shards of light throughout, ending Lord of Lords on a very high note. She succeeds here, in ending her Impulse! period with elegance, grace, and soul."

Sharpshooters is the long-awaited collaborative album from Destruct & DJ Zole. The two Natives from Southern California who have been true contributors to the Los Angeles Hip-Hop scene for over a decade now. Sharpshooters showcases a vast arrangement of styles blended into one solid LP with a hint of nostalgia hence the title of the project.

Sharpshooters while paying homage to the golden era of Hip-Hop also has a fresh perspective on how the culture sounds today and at the same time inspired one of the greatest wrestlers, Bret Hart.

In a refreshing way it all culminates into a unique experience for the listener with amazing guest features to back it, at the end of the day Sharpshooters represents two genuine and diverse artists entering their prime and creating a timeless piece of art appropriately named after a legend’s finishing move.

Sharpshooters is released on vinyl by the label Mind The Wax as of March 8th, 2024 and includes 11 tracks.
Destruct has been in the music scene and has released over 30 studio albums including two with his live band "Inner City Soul". He has been blessed as well to run his own studio "Area 52" where he provides recording and executive producer services. He also has a film production company now called “The Resident People” where he has directed and filmed several music videos and short films with much more to come.

By today, Destruct has rocked hundreds of shows with legends like KRS-One, Slum Village, Dilated Peoples, Rakim, Psycho Realm, Method Man from Wu-Tang & more. He has also collaborated with artists such as Grammy award-winning Sirah, Sean Price, Kev Brown, Blu and Exile to just name a few.

All and all Destruct is here to be much more than your everyday Hip Hop artist, but a true contributor to the culture and lifestyle, progressing the movement forward. Destruct is here for a legacy, not a trend.

DJ Zole is a DJ/Producer from Southern California. He gained his experience coming up as a touring HipHop DJ and Producer/ Turntablist who has been a DJ for major acts ranging from Sage Francis (Strange Famous Records), Atmosphere, Abstract Rude, Project Blowed, 2Mex, and many others.

Since 2004, DJ Zole has travelled the globe performing and creating. He's a highly decorated engineer and producer with his degree in Audio Engineering Mixing and Mastering Certified through Musicians Institute Hollywood.

Optimo (Espacio) started life as a weekly club night. It was born at The Sub Club in Glasgow on a wet, windy, wintry November Sunday night in 1997. Run by JD Twitch and partner in crime Jonnie Wilkes. Optimo was a reaction against what felt like an increasingly conservative musical soundtrack in clubs here at that time. Clubland felt as if it had become very bland and a bit too serious; it was the era of the dawn of the Superstar DJ. Clubs often felt like bastions of male energy. It seemed dance music and culture was going somewhere far, far away from where it was meant to be. The notion of fun had got lost.

It was no longer the world they had devoted ten years of their lives to already, and lots of their friends felt the same. When the opportunity came up to do a Sunday night at The Sub Club it felt like the perfect opportunity to rip it all up and start again. So they did. There was nothing in the city (or possibly anywhere) like it. As the club believed wholeheartedly in what they were doing, there was no pressure from The Sub Club to fill the club. So, they embraced the freedom. Groups of people who had never been in the same room at the same time before came together. A community of kindred spirits started to emerge.

Word spread, slowly. Lots of people checked it out. Many loved it, some hated it. The core of the Optimo idea was to embrace music they loved that might work on the dancefloor from whatever era or genre they thought felt right. It might not seem very radical now but at that time it was revolutionary.

After about a year and a half, the club went from having 100 people attending most nights to suddenly one week having 500 people turn up. It was very weird. It was as if a collective light bulb went off in people’s heads in Glasgow. From that week on, until the very last weekly Sunday night at the Sub Club, in 2010, over a decade later, it was packed.

There were 550 Sunday Optimo nights. A LOT of music was played. So, what was the music? People often find it hard to pin down exactly what Optimo is. This has been a positive but also a negative as we live in a world where people want easily defined “brand identities”. The simplest definition of the music played is “music for dancing”, which of course is a very broad definition. Even better than trying to define it in words, we have these 2 volumes of music that give a hint of what that might be.

This is not a “Best of Optimo” or a “Greatest Hits of Optimo” compilation. For people who come to, or used to come to the nights there are of course “Greatest Hits”. But, over such a long timespan they are “hits” belonging to a certain moment in time and space. Someone who came to Optimo in 1997 would have a completely different notion of the big tracks at the club to someone coming in 2003, or 2010, or today. This compilation is just a snap shot missing several genres that might make up the DNA of Optimo. There is though a broad sweep through lots of music Optimo loves, that they believe is amazing. Music that they know will rock a dancefloor, that they have played between 1997 and 2023. Of course Optimo nights were not all about rocking the dancefloor. The first hour was always a time for them to play music they loved that often was far removed from the dance. Side 1, Volume 1 of this compilation is the kind of music one might hear at the very start of an Optimo night.

Optimo have always loved a good slogan. The most long lived, and fitting Optimo slogan is "We Love Your Ears", which is in essence what it is all about to them.

Optimo (Espacio) started life as a weekly club night. It was born at The Sub Club in Glasgow on a wet, windy, wintry November Sunday night in 1997. Run by JD Twitch and partner in crime Jonnie Wilkes. Optimo was a reaction against what felt like an increasingly conservative musical soundtrack in clubs here at that time. Clubland felt as if it had become very bland and a bit too serious; it was the era of the dawn of the Superstar DJ. Clubs often felt like bastions of male energy. It seemed dance music and culture was going somewhere far, far away from where it was meant to be. The notion of fun had got lost.

It was no longer the world they had devoted ten years of their lives to already, and lots of their friends felt the same. When the opportunity came up to do a Sunday night at The Sub Club it felt like the perfect opportunity to rip it all up and start again. So they did. There was nothing in the city (or possibly anywhere) like it. As the club believed wholeheartedly in what they were doing, there was no pressure from The Sub Club to fill the club. So, they embraced the freedom. Groups of people who had never been in the same room at the same time before came together. A community of kindred spirits started to emerge.

Word spread, slowly. Lots of people checked it out. Many loved it, some hated it. The core of the Optimo idea was to embrace music they loved that might work on the dancefloor from whatever era or genre they thought felt right. It might not seem very radical now but at that time it was revolutionary.

After about a year and a half, the club went from having 100 people attending most nights to suddenly one week having 500 people turn up. It was very weird. It was as if a collective light bulb went off in people’s heads in Glasgow. From that week on, until the very last weekly Sunday night at the Sub Club, in 2010, over a decade later, it was packed.

There were 550 Sunday Optimo nights. A LOT of music was played. So, what was the music? People often find it hard to pin down exactly what Optimo is. This has been a positive but also a negative as we live in a world where people want easily defined “brand identities”. The simplest definition of the music played is “music for dancing”, which of course is a very broad definition. Even better than trying to define it in words, we have these 2 volumes of music that give a hint of what that might be.

This is not a “Best of Optimo” or a “Greatest Hits of Optimo” compilation. For people who come to, or used to come to the nights there are of course “Greatest Hits”. But, over such a long timespan they are “hits” belonging to a certain moment in time and space. Someone who came to Optimo in 1997 would have a completely different notion of the big tracks at the club to someone coming in 2003, or 2010, or today. This compilation is just a snap shot missing several genres that might make up the DNA of Optimo. There is though a broad sweep through lots of music Optimo loves, that they believe is amazing. Music that they know will rock a dancefloor, that they have played between 1997 and 2023. Of course Optimo nights were not all about rocking the dancefloor. The first hour was always a time for them to play music they loved that often was far removed from the dance. Side 1, Volume 1 of this compilation is the kind of music one might hear at the very start of an Optimo night.

Optimo have always loved a good slogan. The most long lived, and fitting Optimo slogan is "We Love Your Ears", which is in essence what it is all about to them.

The Spellbound EP serves as a profound exploration into GIDEÖN's artistic soul. Commencing with politically charged tracks, "Study War No More" on side A is an acid-garage hybrid rallying support for emergency aid in Gaza. On side B, the euphoric "Marcus Garvey" urges a reconsideration of the life and teachings of the Jamaican activist. "Spellbound" delves into an ultra-deep meditation on black magic, while "Hora De Bailar" transforms into a Latin sleaze-fest, embodying the label's steadfast commitment to militant queer Deep House.

GIDEÖN describes the EP as a faithful representation of his worldview, stating, "Two of the tracks were written to soundtrack the struggles of our time. Both 'Study War No More' and 'Marcus Garvey' are pieces of music created to motivate, elevate, activate, and educate the dance floors of today in preparation for the struggles immediately before us. I see music as a weapon, a weapon in our dance music community’s arsenal that we can use to lubricate, incentivize change around us."

In addition to the politically charged tracks, the EP features two deeper, sleazier offerings that vividly capture the essence of underground queer dance floors and darkrooms. These tracks resonate with GIDEÖN's experiences at renowned clubs like Bassiani in Tbilisi, K41 in Kyiv, Berghain in Berlin, Basement in New York, and Adonis in London.

GIDEÖN boldly declares, "I set out to do EXACTLY what the global religious right-wing extremists are so opposed to: the PROMOTION of homosexuality." This sentiment underscores the EP's mission to advocate for diversity in the face of opposition.

Side A / Double A / Iko (Never Felt This Way)
Back once again with his signature big breaks sound, Double A dips into a multitude of sample genres for this party sure-shot.

A building intro pays off with a drop of bangin’ drums and funky
horns, and features a nod to his D&B / hardcore breaks origins with a sneaky vocal sample throwback around the halfway mark. If you’re looking for a sure-fire set-starter, you found it!

Side AA / Jim Sharp / Tell Me What To Do
The man who needs absolutely no introduction in the 45s world returns for his second release with Mountain 45s.

Jim takes a classic funk sample and with his usual polished touch, pays his respects to its earliest iteration as a New York party breaks mainstay.

Piano stabs, funky guitars and horns, mixed with call and response vocals alongside the originals make this one yet
another can’t miss from the maestro. Don’t sleep!

The man of many bands seems perpetually on the lookout for theunbalancedorthesurprising.Likealoveroffirstdates,Nick Wheeldon never tires of adding new formations with an ease that borders on the supernatural. After a highly acclaimed debut solo album in 2021, Communication Problems, followed by Gift in 2022, Nick Wheeldon, the Parisian Englishman from Sheffield, returns with a third opus, Waiting For The Piano To Fall. Nick Wheeldon has recorded nearly 20 albums with countless bands, including Nick Wheeldon's Demon Hosts, Os Noctàmbulos, 39th & the Nortons and Sex Sux, each of them offering him a new opportunity to refine a sound inspired by Gene Clark and Alex Chilton, at once majestic and fragile, delicate and flayed. Waiting For The Piano To Fall is the third LP in a triptych for which Nick Wheeldon has tried to capture a moment, an acoustic photograph. The band, The Living Paintings, had never playedtogether before this album and had no rehearsals before arrivingat the studio. It lends an amazing color, shape, confidence andexperiencetoNick'shypersensitiveanti-folksongs.Moreelaborate arrangements take shape around subtle country soulgroovesinwhicheventhe softestballadsswing.

Widely and rightly regarded as one of the best ever soul and funk bands, the now legendary Average White Band tore-up
the rule book and conquered the US, UK & International charts with a series of soul and disco hits between 1974 and 1980.
AWB’s repertoire has been a source of inspiration and influence for many R&B acts and they are one of the most sampled
bands in history, remaining relevant today, continuing to reach new generations of younger audiences.
•Snoop Dogg, Fatboy Slim, Ice Cube, Puff Daddy, TLC, Rick Ross, will.i.am and Mark Ronson amongst countless others, have
all borrowed sections of their grooves.
AWB’ (aka ‘The White Album’) is the 2nd album by AWB and their first for Atlantic Records produced by the legendary Arif
Mardin, originally released in 1974. The album reached #6 in the UK Albums Chart and #1 in the USA.
‘AWB’ includes the ground-breaking classic ‘Pick Up The Pieces’, also reaching #6 in the UK, as well as the coveted #1 spot
in the USA.
AWB are touring the UK in April and May 2024, “taking the album on the road”
This 50th Anniversary celebratory half-speed master version has been newly mastered by Phil Kinrade, and expertly cut
using transfers of the original audio tapes using precision half-speed mastering by Barry Grint at AIR Mastering, London
and is pressed on heavyweight 180g vinyl, with a 4-page insert.

Skydaddy, the moniker of London based musician and bandleader Rachid Fakhre, has announced his debut EP, Pilot, releasing on the 2 February 2024. Alongside this announcement, Skydaddy has shared a new single ‘His Masterpiece’

Having spent the last few years writing and producing as one half of the acclaimed musical duo Spang Sisters, Skydaddy’s debut EP Pilot promises to be a ray of light bursting out from an increasingly busy London indie scene. Combining cello, violin, flute, piano and intricate vocal harmonies, Skydaddy cuts an utterly compelling figure, leading a fluid and interchangeable band, at its largest 7 people strong, they delicately glide through intricate passages of chamber-folk-rock, into swelling orchestral crescendos.

Released today is new single ‘His Masterpiece’ a piano driven track bristling with both a sense of hope and of melancholy. Skydaddy’s vocals sit alongside ear worm hooks from violins and flute. Following on from debut single ‘That Morning’ (also on upcoming EP Pilot) Skydaddy manages to capture a sound of yearning and nostalgia, whilst still sounding completely fresh and incredibly exciting. Offering insight on the inspiration on the track, he offers:

“Inspired by the story of Claude Lantier from Emilie Zola’s L'Œuvre (Commonly translated to ‘His Masterpiece’), the song charts the plight of an early impressionist painter in Paris whose works are unappreciated and gawked at by the Parisian artistic elite who are still tethered to the Romantic trend in painting. Lantier (whose character is based on Paul Cézanne) becomes madly obsessed in a painting which he believes to be his masterpiece and the ultimate demonstration of his talent and genius; an obsession which leads to his eventual, self-inflicted demise. The song is ultimately about alienation, bitterness and the struggle of creativity.”

The Umbrellas are four renegade romantics crafting irresistible indie pop hymns. The band's self-titled 2021 debut album became a breakout moment, winning critical praise and sparking an international tour. Follow-up LP 'Fairweather Friend' goes a step further - absorbing the sonic attack of their live shows, it balances this with studio finesse, allowing the San Francisco four-piece to become the band they've always aspired to be. It's a record overflowing with highlights. The candyfloss melodies of introductory track 'Three Cheers!' are matched to an impactful percussive punch; 'Say What You Mean' finds The Umbrellas working with total confidence, letting the song ride out to its chiming conclusion, four voices working in precision. 'When You Find Out' offers rotating notes of guitar punctuated by a vocal that pushes past angst to accept a world full of hope. A lean 10 track affair, it grasps towards beatific pop while fuelled by a sense of risk, and the precision that comes from long months on the road. Allowing their live dynamic to bleed out on tape, The Umbrellas are at once more physical and yet also more controlled on their new album. It's also a record of ambition. Taking their time over each note, the four-piece have strengthened their songwriting, adding depth and assurance while unlocking their potential. Some bonds last a lifetime - The Umbrellas are ready to capture your heart. RIYL: Orange Juice, Sarah Records, early Creation, Mary Chain, C86, Lush

Life is what happens between curtain rise and curtain fall. And when you’re in the middle of your performance, it can be tough to un-blur, categorize, and interpret the details buried within the perpetual collapsing rubble of past, present, and future. On January 26th, Chayse Porter will release his third studio album, Endless / Boundless via Earth Libraries, nine new musical excavations and epiphanies the Birmingham-based songwriter dug up from life’s bedrock and polished to a shine in his basement lair. How to describe Porter’s solo work...mischievous pop? Cotton candy spun with barbed wire? Beatle-esque, Burt Bacarach-inspired soft rock left to freeze in the warped confines of a funhouse mirror? Whatever your preferred descriptor, Endless / Boundless is a fresher, more direct record than the high-concept psyche excavations of Chay’s Palace, his 2022 sophomore album. Lyrically, Endless ruminates on unrequited love, toxic American exceptionalism, and, in one of the record’s lighter moments, unexpected kindness from strangers. There’s jubilant dream pop (opening stunner “Bleeding Hearts”), shoegaze with threats of violence (“Lead Pipe Cinch”), and a cinematic instrumental centerpiece best enjoyed with eyes closed (“Copter”). With the record on the way and a live band assembled and ready to go, Porter has left listeners a trail of breadcrumbs in anticipation.

Roberto Agosta, or just Agosta as he likes to be called, is a Sicilian DJ and producer from Catania active all along the eastern coast of Sicily, a place that proved to be a soulful place and a training ground for a long career, making him an excellent music selector and a reference point in the spread of alternative music.

A soundtrack music enthusiast since he was a child, now a vinyl "serial gathere", Agosta has always put his vast knowledge at the service of a very personal sound that sums many different music styles and contaminations, simple and profound but straightforward and direct at the same time.

Agosta’s eponymous album, released on LP, CD and digital formats, was conceived during the Covid-19 lockdown, thanks to the precious collaboration of friend DJ and producer Massimo Napoli aka Galathea, with whom Roberto has already started another project called AN-AN that will produce a new record for Space Echo at the end of 2022.

This record highlights a typical chill-out aesthetic, thanks to its trip-hop and ambient rhythms and atmospheres, while a deeper exploration reveals the psychedelic essence of the entire work, a daring and exciting journey in the most primitive Sicily, and the energy that sustains all of its ten tracks.

Much of their author and his lifestyle - mainly based on meditation, the search for spiritual elevation, the relationship with nature and the regaining of contact with those particular places and with the people who live there - is revealed by those tracks that constitute a soundtrack for this spiritual but also extremely physical journey.

The song titles are, in fact, intrinsically linked to Roberto’s real life: the Gorna and Ilice mountains at the foot of Etna, the Carricante vineyard and its excellent wine, Unna, Three Chestnuts, Varanni, Don Alfio, Lady G. Each of them represents a pleasant and dreamlike narration and the escape from the complex dynamics of a city like Catania, among echoes of the most dreamy Pink Floyd, the softer side of ’70s krautrock, but also the Massive Attack and Tricky’s Bristol scene.
There’s also an excellent choice of synthesizers and overdubbed guitars, thanks to the talent of the multifaceted musician and producer Salvo Bruno Dub, and of Manuela Amalfitano, Loredana Poidomani and Deran Obika’s voices.

Agosta is an introspective, deep work with a cinematic vocation, perfectly rooted in the territory where it took shape, among sunny landscapes, lush with vegetation but also deserted and arid lands. From Sicily to the cosmos... enjoy!

Pink Marbled Vinyl

A Beautiful By Ambilique On The A Side And B Side With Instrumental By Computer Paul & Noel Alphanso

In 2013 Finland’s Oranssi Pazuzu issued their ‘Valonielu’ LP, an album of timeless creative immensity that was met with ubiquitous praise throughout the world, and solidified the band’s position as one of the most forward-thinking and interesting metal bands. Now Oranssi Pazuzu returns with the follow-up album and fourth overall, the mind-bending masterwork ‘Värähtelijä’. Oranssi Pazuzu, since birth, has never been satisfied to stick with a formula. Each album has seen the band expand upon its previous incarnation and then, like a supernova, blow it up and transform again into something recognizable but completely new. ‘Värähtelijä’ continues in this vein, giving the band much more room to diverge and explore the vast regions of hypnotic progressive psychedelia and the nebulous outer limits of Scandinavian black metal. Songs explode with radiant ultraviolet color and plunge into the deep black darkness of innermost consciousness. If ‘Valonielu’ was the creation of a universe, ‘Värähtelijä’ is the magnification and expansion of its infinite boundaries. Not meant for genre purists, Oranssi Pazuzu are on a trip all their own; modern electric pioneers on an expedition to unlock the keys to the hidden spaces all around and inside us.

What Do We Do Now is the fifth solo studio LP recorded by J Mascis since 1996. This is obviously not a very aggressive release schedule, but when you figure in the live albums, guest spots, and records done with his various other bands (Dinosaur Jr., The Fog, Heavy Blanket, Witch, Sweet Apple, and so on), well, to paraphrase Lou Reed, "J's week beats your year." What Do We Do Now began to come together during the waning days of the Pandemic. Utilizing his own Bisquiteen Studio, J started working on writing a series of tunes on acoustic with a different dynamic than the stuff he creates for Dino. "When I'm writing for the band," he says, "I'm always trying to think of doing things Lou and Murph would fit into. For myself, I'm thinking more about what I can do with just an acoustic guitar, even for the leads. Of course, this time, I added full drums and electric leads, although the rhythm parts are still all acoustic. Usually, I try to do the solo stuff more simply so I can play it by myself, but I really wanted to add the drums. Once that started, everything else just fell into place. So it ended up sounding a lot more like a band record. I dunno why I did that exactly, but it's just what happened." Two guest musicians are playing this time out; Western Mass local Ken Mauri (of the B52s) plays piano on several tracks. Since J himself has some experience with keys, when asked why he needed a hired gun, he says, "Ken is great, and he plays all the keys. I tried playing some keyboards on the first Fog album, but I'm really only comfortable playing the white notes, so it's kind of limiting. laughs Nowadays, I could just turn the pitch on a mini Mellotron to play different sounds, but black keys just seem hard. For whatever reason, I just like banging on the white ones. Seems like it's harder to figure out how to stretch your fingers around the other ones." Mauri has no such qualms and plays all the keys very damn well. He sounds especially great on "I Can't Find You," where he is Jack Nitzsche to J's Neil Young, creating one of the album's loveliest tunes. The other guest musician, Matthew "Doc" Dunn, is also prominent on this track. Dunn's steel guitar manages to both widen and soften the musical edges of the music, giving it a full classicist profile. Dunn is an Ontario-based polymath who J met through Matt Valentine. After J played on Doc's great 2022 Sub Pop single, "Your Feel," he figured it was time for payback. Both Dunn and Mauri add beautifully to the songs here, helping to transform them from acoustic sketches into full-blown post-core power ballads. What Do We Do Now is the finest set of solo tunes J has yet penned, and the way they're presented is just about perfect. Asked if he would be touring to support the album, J says he'll be doing some weekend dates, but he probably won't be putting a band together. And I'm sure these songs will sound great solo and acoustic, but the arrangements on this album are truly great and put a cool, different spin on Mascis' instantly Recognizable approach to making music. So, what do we do now? Not sure. But apparently, what J does is to make one of his most killer records ever. Hats off to him. - Byron Coley

What Do We Do Now is the fifth solo studio LP recorded by J Mascis since 1996. This is obviously not a very aggressive release schedule, but when you figure in the live albums, guest spots, and records done with his various other bands (Dinosaur Jr., The Fog, Heavy Blanket, Witch, Sweet Apple, and so on), well, to paraphrase Lou Reed, "J's week beats your year." What Do We Do Now began to come together during the waning days of the Pandemic. Utilizing his own Bisquiteen Studio, J started working on writing a series of tunes on acoustic with a different dynamic than the stuff he creates for Dino. "When I'm writing for the band," he says, "I'm always trying to think of doing things Lou and Murph would fit into. For myself, I'm thinking more about what I can do with just an acoustic guitar, even for the leads. Of course, this time, I added full drums and electric leads, although the rhythm parts are still all acoustic. Usually, I try to do the solo stuff more simply so I can play it by myself, but I really wanted to add the drums. Once that started, everything else just fell into place. So it ended up sounding a lot more like a band record. I dunno why I did that exactly, but it's just what happened." Two guest musicians are playing this time out; Western Mass local Ken Mauri (of the B52s) plays piano on several tracks. Since J himself has some experience with keys, when asked why he needed a hired gun, he says, "Ken is great, and he plays all the keys. I tried playing some keyboards on the first Fog album, but I'm really only comfortable playing the white notes, so it's kind of limiting. laughs Nowadays, I could just turn the pitch on a mini Mellotron to play different sounds, but black keys just seem hard. For whatever reason, I just like banging on the white ones. Seems like it's harder to figure out how to stretch your fingers around the other ones." Mauri has no such qualms and plays all the keys very damn well. He sounds especially great on "I Can't Find You," where he is Jack Nitzsche to J's Neil Young, creating one of the album's loveliest tunes. The other guest musician, Matthew "Doc" Dunn, is also prominent on this track. Dunn's steel guitar manages to both widen and soften the musical edges of the music, giving it a full classicist profile. Dunn is an Ontario-based polymath who J met through Matt Valentine. After J played on Doc's great 2022 Sub Pop single, "Your Feel," he figured it was time for payback. Both Dunn and Mauri add beautifully to the songs here, helping to transform them from acoustic sketches into full-blown post-core power ballads. What Do We Do Now is the finest set of solo tunes J has yet penned, and the way they're presented is just about perfect. Asked if he would be touring to support the album, J says he'll be doing some weekend dates, but he probably won't be putting a band together. And I'm sure these songs will sound great solo and acoustic, but the arrangements on this album are truly great and put a cool, different spin on Mascis' instantly Recognizable approach to making music. So, what do we do now? Not sure. But apparently, what J does is to make one of his most killer records ever. Hats off to him. - Byron Coley

Waxwork Records is proud to release THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER Original Motion Picture Sound- track by David Wingo & Amman Abbasi.

THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER is a 2023 supernatural horror movie directed by David Gordon Green. The film is the sixth installment in The Exorcist franchise

and serves as a sequel to The Exorcist (1973).The film features a number of original tracks. Most notably, the film contains Japanese language covers of

"Stayin' Alive" by Bee Gees and "Holding Out for a Hero" by Bonnie Tyler. Composer Dominic Lewis noted that the film's soundtrack represents "all vibe and no technique".



Waxwork Records is proud to release THE EXOR- CIST: BELIEVER as a deluxe double LP featuring 180 gram Black & White swirl colored vinyl, heavyweight gatefold packaging,

a four-page booklet featuring an exclusive interview with director David Gordon Green and composers David Wingo and Am- man Abbasi, layout and design by Matt Needle, and more.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is the highly anticipated new film in The Hunger Games movie franchise and is based on the 2020 same-titled novel by Suzanne Collins. This 2023 movie is the fifth installment and serves as a prequel, as the story is set 64 years before the events of the first movie. Its plot follows the events that eventually lead a young Coriolanus Snow on the path to becoming the tyrannical leader of Panem.

The music from the previous films went viral, especially with “The Hanging Tree” sung by Jennifer Lawrence and composed by James Newton Howard. Howard makes his return to the franchise after scoring the original four films. Featured throughout the album's 40 tracks is global superstar pianist Yuja Wang.

The vinyl edition of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes contains 37 orchestral tracks by James Newton Howard and 3 piano solo tracks by Yuja Wang composed by Howard. It's limited to 1000 individually numbered copies on red coloured vinyl, housed in a gatefold sleeve and includes a 4-page booklet with movie stills.

For the second instalment in our Cuban Classics series, we proudly present this sought-after slice of sublime Afro-Cuban jazz from 1976. It comes courtesy of one of Cuba’s most influential acts, Grupo Irakere. Founded in 1973 by Chucho Valdés (son of the Cuban pianist and bandleader Bebo Valdés) the group was home to many of Cuba’s finest musicians over the years. With an electrifying style and sound, they mixed traditional Cuban music with jazz, funk, and rock.

This self-titled album includes the much-loved, dancefloor heavy-hitter 'Chequeré-Son’, a Latin-jazz funk masterpiece with Cubanized bebop-flavoured horn lines, lush keys, and ‘70s hip swagger. Though 'Chequeré-Son’ is the keystone of the record, the album is laced with brilliance at every turn, from the Carlos Santana-esque channelling ‘Iya’ with its percussive Latin power, to the sultry, slick and passionate '38 1/2’. Elsewhere, the absorbing, ever-building energy of 'Juana 1600’ and steamy vocal dancer ‘Xiomara’ are also highlights of this incredible album.

Pressed on Cuba’s state led Areito Records, the album was well received internationally, garnering distribution in Finland on Love Records, in Italy on Phase 6 Super Stereo, and also in the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Venezuela.

A cherished Afro-Cuban triumph, this album has been crying out for a reissue and we’re delighted to make that happen.

toechter is an all-female trio operating from Berlin. toechter’s 2nd full-length album »Epic Wonder« sees its classically trained members blend elaborate string arrangements with ethereal indie pop and delicate rhythms. Katrine Grarup Elbo, Lisa Marie Vogel and Marie-Claire Schlameus exclusively use analogue sound sources (such as violin, viola, cello, and their voices), which were then electronically processed.

Named after the Greek god of the wind, toechters 2022 album »Zephyr« exhaled deeply with concurrently invigorating and confusing sounds. »Epic Wonder«, their second album, was created in the spring and summer of 2023. Playing with forms and contours, the music sounds like the awakening of something new. One seems to be listening to an ongoing conversation, an exchange about what music could be, where it wants to go and how it contributes to our view of life. It all rests on a simple premise:

»Every sound you hear in our universe comes from us. The string trio is the core of toechter, the starting point of all our work.«

Those looking for new worlds of sound can find them in the work of this classically- trained musicians. Whether they add voices or percussive instruments, sample the sounds, or manipulate them electronically; ultimately they are exploring the string trio's place in a world shaped by the digital.

»Prelude« opens the album, seemingly a conversation, yet not only between humans. We catch the word ›love‹ which soon morphs into pure sound images, while a violin theme tentatively takes over. Is it the dawning of a new day? The chorus of sound transforms into a fascinating rhythmic figure, creating a club-like experience that fades out in delicate structures. A perpetual transformation.

According to toechter, »Epic Wonder« is all about making connections. Connections between people, animals, plants, fungi, rocks, soils, oceans, ice caps, stars, and planets. One imagines oneself in a folk-pop song of the 60s, or even blown around by Morricone's desert wind:

»The world as we see it is in desperate need for a deeper understanding; for compassion, for empathy. We have to understand that we are all part of the same organism. Epic Wonder is a dream, a wish, a longing for kinship between all species that share the world - all that is alive.«

The acoustic throbbing and knocking in »Sea Of Serenity« makes you think of encounters with mythical creatures or planetary oceanography; and out of the mechanically clacking groove of »Shift Souls« a gentle, but steady movement awakens with voices that seem to sound from the depths of the sea. Everything is in flux, floating in and out of dimensions and elements.

The album ends with »Mercury«, spherically elegant and almost science fiction-like. Here, a pizzicato melody leads us back to the baroque, simultaneously representing a detail of intertwined sonic worlds, while the steady, housy baseline develops its driving theme.

»Creating the music for the album, we allowed ourselves to waft away with the aspiration that connections are possible. Sometimes dwelling on subtle, yet marveling phenomena like the evening fog covering a valley on Midsummer, sometimes on grandiose splendors like the genesis of mountains or the birth of a child - letting interactions and encounters with other beings float through the musical universe as drips of emotional perceptivity.«

For the visual manifestation of »Epic Wonder«, toechter has engaged with Finish up-and-coming lens-based artist Aino Kontinen. Her work will grace both the cover art of the album and accompany the first single and video as an ephemeral tale in motion.

After nearly two decades releasing music on prominent Drum n Bass labels such as Creative Source, Soul:R and Paradox Music, Paris based producer Naibu is finally launching his own imprint, Minato Music. Starting things off with this new solo LP entitled ‘Sans Soleil’, Naibu draws inspiration from the very best of 90s Drum n Bass and Anime film scores of that period, to create a modern day soundtrack that is relevant both at home and on the dancefloor.

Featuring a 40-piece strings orchestra, a Japanese women’s choir and the vocal talent of legendary singer Robert Manos, this album masterfully blends the evocative beauty of the human soul with cold synthesized sounds, deep sub basses and original hand-crafted breakbeats. This massive project, which took nearly 5 years to complete, is an emotional journey through time and a future classic.

The Bony King of Nowhere is the artistic alias of Belgian artist Bram Vanparys. He made a mark in 2018 with the release of his critically acclaimed album Silent Days. The record received consistent 4- and 5-star press reviews and was hailed as his best album to date. It also earned Vanparys a Music Industry Award (BE) for 'best author-composer'. Silent Days revealed the full potential of the singer-songwriter and his commitment to never repeat himself and keep surpassing his creative abilities.

The new album, entitled Everybody Knows, has been a long time coming, partly due to Vanparys' aforementioned pledge to artistic evolution. The first two tracks he unveiled give a definite hint of what to expect from this album. 'Are You Still Alive' and 'Almost Invisible' carry the quality mark, known colour scheme and scent of The Bony King of Nowhere, but add many more hues and details. The new record showcases the new league Vanparys is playing in. Themes like rusted patterns in society, the obedience of the everyday man, the structural false ignorance of big shots, the toxicity of online communication and other very recognisable but not always pleasant subjects. Inspired by the observations of many sociologists, Vanparys dissects our society, the loneliest ever. This album is not just disconcerting though, in its strength lies a sense of hope and vigour.

The first singles promise a new album with lots of punch and energy, while Vanparys is unveiling the complete complexion of his voice whilst remaining vulnerable and honest. On the album, he is accompanied by multi-talent guitarist Vitja Pauwels (Naima Joris), pianist Hendrik Lasure (Tamino, Bombataz), drummer Simon Segers (Sylvie Kreusch, Stadt) and bass player Jasper Hautekiet.

While the songwriting legends, particularly Neil Young and Bob Dylan, have always kept Bram company, his latest compositions also draw inspiration from more contemporary artists. The influence of PJ Harvey, Blur and Nick Cave are unmistakable when you listen to his music. While staying true to his heartfelt songwriting style and captivating voice, The Bony King Of Nowhere embarks on a journey into uncharted musical and thematic realms.

The last time this band was on tour in support of 'Silent Days', they took a big leap forward while touring 75 shows across renowned venues and festivals in Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, and France, with a packed Ancienne Belgique in Brussels as one of the highlights. Now the five-man-band, consisting of Jasper Hautekiet, Simon Segers, Thijs Troch (Nordmann), Gertjan Van Hellemont (Douglas Firs), will start this tour with shows in Ekko, Utrecht on March 6 and Ancienne Belgique, Brussels on March 8.4

The Bony King of Nowhere is the artistic alias of Belgian artist Bram Vanparys. He made a mark in 2018 with the release of his critically acclaimed album Silent Days. The record received consistent 4- and 5-star press reviews and was hailed as his best album to date. It also earned Vanparys a Music Industry Award (BE) for 'best author-composer'. Silent Days revealed the full potential of the singer-songwriter and his commitment to never repeat himself and keep surpassing his creative abilities.

The new album, entitled Everybody Knows, has been a long time coming, partly due to Vanparys' aforementioned pledge to artistic evolution. The first two tracks he unveiled give a definite hint of what to expect from this album. 'Are You Still Alive' and 'Almost Invisible' carry the quality mark, known colour scheme and scent of The Bony King of Nowhere, but add many more hues and details. The new record showcases the new league Vanparys is playing in. Themes like rusted patterns in society, the obedience of the everyday man, the structural false ignorance of big shots, the toxicity of online communication and other very recognisable but not always pleasant subjects. Inspired by the observations of many sociologists, Vanparys dissects our society, the loneliest ever. This album is not just disconcerting though, in its strength lies a sense of hope and vigour.

The first singles promise a new album with lots of punch and energy, while Vanparys is unveiling the complete complexion of his voice whilst remaining vulnerable and honest. On the album, he is accompanied by multi-talent guitarist Vitja Pauwels (Naima Joris), pianist Hendrik Lasure (Tamino, Bombataz), drummer Simon Segers (Sylvie Kreusch, Stadt) and bass player Jasper Hautekiet.

While the songwriting legends, particularly Neil Young and Bob Dylan, have always kept Bram company, his latest compositions also draw inspiration from more contemporary artists. The influence of PJ Harvey, Blur and Nick Cave are unmistakable when you listen to his music. While staying true to his heartfelt songwriting style and captivating voice, The Bony King Of Nowhere embarks on a journey into uncharted musical and thematic realms.

The last time this band was on tour in support of 'Silent Days', they took a big leap forward while touring 75 shows across renowned venues and festivals in Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, and France, with a packed Ancienne Belgique in Brussels as one of the highlights. Now the five-man-band, consisting of Jasper Hautekiet, Simon Segers, Thijs Troch (Nordmann), Gertjan Van Hellemont (Douglas Firs), will start this tour with shows in Ekko, Utrecht on March 6 and Ancienne Belgique, Brussels on March 8.4

"Along with Black Flag and the Circle Jerks, Fear helped define the sound and style of L.A. hardcore. Even though they formed during the first wave of punk in 1977, they didn’t put out an album until five years later, titled The Record. They used their music to piss off everyone around them, and they achieved that goal with flying colors on this debut album. It remains a punk classic to this day and Record Collector’s Mark Rigby called it “probably the most exciting and impressive, one-dimensional, ill-mannered, distasteful, odious ‘hate’ record ever made.” The album only spawned one single, “I Love Livin in the City”, but includes many more gems, including “We Destroy the Family”, “Let’s Have a War”, and “Beef Boloney”. The Record is available as a limited edition of 1500 individually numbered copies on translucent magenta coloured vinyl."

Komponist und Touch-Gitarrist Markus Reuter stellt mit 'Sea of Hopeless Angels' seine enorme Vielseitigkeit unter Beweis. Stand seine Arbeit mit der Berliner Avant-Garde Doom-Jazz Post-Metal Band Anchor & Burden noch ganz im Zeichen von Musik der etwas härteren Gangart, so widmet er sich in 'Sea of Hopeless Angels', seiner Duo-Kollaboration mit dem Elektronik-Produzenten und Art-Rock-Revivalisten Stefano Castagna, einer anderen, überirdischen Musik. In einer freien und gewundenen Erzählung verschmelzen Markus' cleane und ungecompte Gitarrensoli mit Stefanos instinktivem Gegenpart und dem einfühlsamen Ein-Mann-Orchester. Daß 'Sea of Hopeless Angels' dabei an Wim Wenders‘ Der Himmel über Berlin erinnert, ist kein Zufall, dienten die Engel doch zumindest teilweise als Inspirationsquelle. Das Album setzt sich mit dem Gedanken auseinander, daß Musik sowohl fundmental ist als auch stabilisierend (auch oder gerade dann wenn sie ernst ist oder eine fast schon zerstörerische Komponente besitzt).

Los Angeles wordsmith Pawz One teams up with German producer DJ Dister on the collaborative album "Watch & Learn" via Below System Records.

"Watch & Learn" captures scenarios of street life, hustling and paranoia all painted over well-crafted production. Pawz One has come off a string of recent releases that have sharpened his song writing ability while Dister has produced various projects expanding his diverse sound.

For Pawz One "Watch & Learn" has given him a chance to speak on topics that were close to heart having lost friends and family to the streets and prison as well as serving time himself. DJ Dister showcases a wide range of production that combines a classic sound with progressive elements.

The first single "World Champion" moves listeners with the energetic track fused with a dash of reggae and Pawz's combination of punchlines and wordplay. On the follow up single "Out Here", Pawz One and Guilty Simpson lay out the often ignored rules of the streets over a sinister soundtrack. "No Contest" is the last single pitting Akrobatik and Pawz One against all challengers. Next to Guilty Simpson and Akrobatik, other guest appearances by Napoleon Da Legend and Space Honey.

"Watch & Learn" provides a blend of vivid storytelling and melodic beats giving audiences of Hip-Hop something to add to of their collections.

Plantoid ist ein genreübergreifendes Quartett, bestehend aus knallharten Gitarren und himmlischem Gesang und erinnert an den psychedelischen Sound der 1960er Jahre.

First album in seven years from Maple Death Records founder James Jonathan Clancy (Italy/Canada), and the first under his birth name following previous ensembles His Clancyness (Fat Cat, Maple Death) and Brutal Birthday (Total Punk, Improved Sequence). In the interim between those projects and this latest, ‘Sprecato’, Clancy has refined and honed his vision —steadily and carefully drawing from a host of disparate influences to create a new kind of singer-songwriter album that bridges the divide between cosmic loner-folk, proto-ambient music, and the epic, intricately arranged world of vintage Italian soundtrack music. For ‘Sprecato’, Clancy has assembled a transnational cast of renowned guest collaborators; including Stefano Pilia (co-producer/guitar/modular/synths/bass), Andrea Belfi (drums), Enrico Gabrielli (flutes, PJ Harvey/Calibro 35), Francesca Bono (piano, Bono/Burattini) —while the core of the band features Dominique Vaccaro (guitars, J.H. Guraj), Andrea De Franco (synths, Fera) and Kyle Knapp (sax, Cindy Lee/Deliluh).

Written and recorded between London & Bologna, the initial spark for the album was to be found in the book length work ‘Gli Sprecati’ (Canicola Edizioni), by visionary Italian comic’s artist Michelangelo Setola, who ultimately provided Clancy with the graphics

that grace the album’s cover and overall visual sensibility. Something of Setola’s near apocalyptic pastoralism runs through the record, even as Clancy’s themes grow beyond the seed they’d originally planted. Drum machines that sound as if they’ve been excavated from the earth meet detuned pianos and guitars; bucolic traces of synths stretched beyond all reckoning. While the band is both loping and epic —with shades of Pentangle’s Terry Cox in the live drumming in particular —there’s a new emotional depth and

In the realm of modern reggae music, few labels have left an indelible mark quite like Irie Ites. With more than two decades of relentless dedication to the genre, they have steadily climbed the ranks to become one of the leading international record labels. Their latest offering, "Cream of the Crop 2023" is not just an album; it's a testament to their legacy of excellence.

If the genesis of The Big Idea was written both in the corridors of their high school and the surroundings of La Rochelle, the first chapter truly takes place in a big house in outskirts of Paris, where the six boys settled once they got their baccalaureate in 2015. Throughout these five years, The Big Idea hosted every European band playing in Paris with no landing place. The house of Champigny-sur-Marne, almost invisible in the monstrous metropolis, became a central location of the capital’s underground scene.

That creative cyclone within which the band is placed quickly shows results and the band hit it hard with their debut LP “La Passion du crime 3” (2017). This quadruple album, written as the movie score of a police investigation story, affirms something fundamental: The Big Idea is determined not to do things like everybody else. The influences of the great psychedelic rock’n’roll tribes naturally appear, the band release several record, start touring all around Europe allowing them to develop a furious alchemy on stage. But then covid brought everything to a halt. However, the band returned to La Rochelle and plotted a new, mad project.

The Big Idea becomes the first band to record an album on a sailing boat while crossing the Atlantic. Once again, the idea is fabulous, and “The Fabulous Expedition of Le Grand Vésigue” represents both the thirst of adventure of the sextet from La Rochelle, and their yearning for calm, psychedelic horizons. After the release of the documentary film and the big tour that followed this extraordinary adventure, the band decides to reaffirm the most essential part of its identity and announces for February 2024 the releasing of a new record more electric and radical, in the image of their live performance with more and more intensity. “Tales of Crematie” is a story built on a fantasy medieval backdrop, but could have however taken place in our modern era. If the elegant, psychedelics parts have not disappeared, the record’s tone is clearly more rock than what the band has ever created before, and as The Big Idea always likes to go overboard, the album will be released as a double LP in which you’ll hear trumpets as well as pianos, violins, tropical influences, post-punk, and above all, loads, loads of fuzz. Just like a toy chest whose key would’ve been thrown away on purpose, hidden arrangement treasures abound inside of “Tales of Crematie” , along with a violent revolt against the modern archetypes of “too normal music.”

VHS Head’s ‘Phocus’ album (SKA037) was voted #2 Best Album Of 2023 by BLEEP:
‘’Furthering his tireless quest in cutting up VHS tapes to make visceral electronica, his third album Phocus is the soundtrack to an “unfinished science fiction film made in the Fylde coast area”.

10-track picture disc with worldwide pressing of 500 copies.

VHS Head’s Phasia EP elaborates on the scenes and soundscapes of Phocus, building an even
further in-depth view of the world portrayed by the central character - is it the beginning and the end?

Ten Episodes you can easily binge in one go! Enjoy.

Der in einem Kellerstudio am Zusammenfluss von Mississippi und Missouri arbeitende Pipeline-Mann Howard Neal und sein passend benanntes Shoestring-Label waren die Antwort von Alton, Illinois, auf eine Frage, die niemand stellte. Die Singles von The James Family, Jimmie Green, Pete & Cheez und Carletta Sue, die in winzigen Auflagen gepresst und kaum außerhalb der Postleitzahl 62002 vertrieben wurden, sind Paradebeispiele für kosmische Midwestern-Disco auf der Suche nach einem Durchbruch. Diese schwergewichtige 10-Song-LP im Klappcover enthält ein Essay und Bilder, die diesen reinen Ausdruck von Kleinstadt-Soul vervollständigen.

"Jimmie Green Color"-Vinyl. Der in einem Kellerstudio am Zusammenfluss von Mississippi und Missouri arbeitende Pipeline-Mann Howard Neal und sein passend benanntes Shoestring-Label waren die Antwort von Alton, Illinois, auf eine Frage, die niemand stellte. Die Singles von The James Family, Jimmie Green, Pete & Cheez und Carletta Sue, die in winzigen Auflagen gepresst und kaum außerhalb der Postleitzahl 62002 vertrieben wurden, sind Paradebeispiele für kosmische Midwestern-Disco auf der Suche nach einem Durchbruch. Diese schwergewichtige 10-Song-LP im Klappcover enthält ein Essay und Bilder, die diesen reinen Ausdruck von Kleinstadt-Soul vervollständigen.