quête:james vernon

Mit 'Under a Familiar Sun' veröffentlicht The Vernon Spring alias Sam Beste ein faszinierendes Album zwischen Jazz, Ambient, experimentellem Pop und elektronischem Songwriting. Beste, einst Pianist in Amy Winehouse’ Band und Kollaborateur von u. a. MF DOOM, Joy Crookes und Beth Orton, entfaltet hier ein vielschichtiges Werk voller emotionaler Tiefe und klanglicher Finesse.

Entstanden in seinem Heimstudio in Brighton, verarbeitet das Album persönliche Themen wie Vaterschaft, Verantwortung und Selbstverortung in einer instabilen Welt - getragen von Beste’s charakteristischem, improvisationsnahem Klavierspiel und feinfühliger Produktion. Mitwirkende wie Autor Max Porter (Grief is the Thing with Feathers), Cellistin Kate Ellis und die in Brooklyn lebende Künstlerin aden verleihen dem Album zusätzliche Tiefe.

Ein durchkomponiertes, atmosphärisches Werk mit klarer Handschrift - für Fans von Bon Iver, James Blake, Nils Frahm oder Moses Sumney.

Hawksmoor’s new album ‘Oneironautic’ on Soul Jazz Records follows on from last year’s critically acclaimed ‘Telepathic Heights’, as well as a re-release of his album ‘Saturnalia’ on the Library of the Occult label earlier this year.
James McKeown, AKA Hawksmoor, continues his fascination with the sounds and sensibilities of 70s/80s German electronic groups – think early CLUSTER, HARMONIA, CAN, NEU!, HANS-JOACHIM ROEDELIUS and MICHAEL ROTHER.
On this new album ‘Oneironautic’, he successfully combines these pulsating ripples of Germanic electronica with a number of decidedly English references: the soaring, hypnotic and pastoral qualities of BRIAN ENO, circa ‘Another Green World’; the long, sustained lines of ROBERT FRIPP’S FRIPPERTONICS; and the poetic feel of early DURUTTI COLUMN.
McKeown combines all of these elements while also remaining with one foot firmly in the British melodic hauntological modular synth aesthetic of hauntology – Ghost Box, Mount Vernon Arts Lab, Focus Group et al.
Once again using strictly modular synths, electronic drum rhythms, and guitars, Hawksmoor has created an electronic landscaped music world that is both new and old, immediately identifiable and yet utterly unique.

Kurt Wagner is back, mit neuer Platte, neuen Sounds und neuen Überraschungen, alles wie immer eigentlich, nur anders. Die Songstrukturen entstanden nicht wie üblich an der Gitarre, sondern wurden als Midi-Piano Miniaturen geboren." Die Befreiung von diesen Einschränkungen führte zu einem überraschenden neuen Sound, mit abgeschliffenen Kanten und durch Kurts eigene, spezifische Linse betrachtet. Etwa zur gleichen Zeit bereitete er sich auf eine Live-Show beim Eaux Claires Sommerfestival in Wisconsin vor, das ursprünglich von Justin Vernon von Bon Iver und Aaron Dessner von The National gegründet wurde. Inspiriert von der Originalität der Performances, die er während des PEOPLE Festivals 2018 in Berlin gesehen hatte, und einigen der Leute, die er dort getroffen hatte, machte er sich wieder einmal auf die Suche nach etwas Neuem und wandte sich an Ryan Olson und Andrew Broder, um seine groben Piano-Ideen zu konkretisieren. Wir müssen an dieser Stelle nicht erwähnen, dass die Show nie stattfand, aber die Ideen wuchsen weiter und führten zu etwas Größerem, zu einer ganz neuen Ära für Lambchop. Außerdem mit dabei Trompeter CJ Camerieri und Grammy-Preisträger Jeremy Ferguson kehrt als Co-Produzent zurück. Da schien es auch ein günstiger Zeitpunkt zu sein, einen weiteren Musiker an Bord zu holen, der ganz hervorragend zu Lambshop passt, eine Zusammenarbeit fühlte sich für viele längst überfällig an. Zum ersten Mal spielt James McNew, ein langjähriger Freund sowie Mitglied von Yo La Tengo, am Kontrabass.

Alternative pop duo, YOVA release their brand new album ‘Dreamcatchers’ on 1st March 2024. Featuring nine tracks the album was written over a nine year period stretching from the duo’s inception in 2014 through to 2022. The album was recorded and mixed 2021-23 between home studios in Dorset and London. Discussing the themes behind the record YOVA explain: “The lyrics of the songs delve deeply into our lost and unrealised dreams and ideals, whether from a personal perspective or within a more global context. The tracks relate to how our dreams are caught then nurtured, realised, abandoned or destroyed. This can apply to our personal lives, but it equally informs our helplessness and on-going quest for self-identity at a time of deep geopolitical and ecological uncertainty.” Produced by YOVA in collaboration with Rob Ellis, Alex Thomas and Martin McDougall, the record features the duo’s earlier singles “Dreamcatchers”, “Hurt Like No Hurt” and “Feel Your Fear” alongside six brand-new tracks. YOVA assembled a collective of like-minded musicians to create the sonic tapestry of Dreamcatchers including Terry Edwards (NIck Cave, Gallon Drunk, The Jesus & Mary Chain), James Sedwards (The Thurston Moore Group/ And This Is Not This Heat), Rob Ellis ( PJ Harvey, Marianne Faithfull), Daniel O’Sullivan ( Grumbling Fur, Tim Burgess), and Alex Thomas (John Cale, Anna Calvi). YOVA are Jova Radevska and Mark Vernon. With Vernon a seasoned veteran of the alternative music scene who has managed and recorded with John Cale and co-produced tracks on PJ Harvey’s debut album ‘Dry’, a chance encounter with Macedonian vocalist and songwriter Jova paved the way for their bewitching collaborative project. Their debut album ‘Nine Lives’ was released in late 2021 to praise from the likes of Louder Than War, Electronic Sound and MOJO, with the latter hailing the album as “a beguiling debut from a duo of sonic adventurers” in their four star review

Introducing the anticipated 7" re-release of the Equasions single 'It's So Hard To Say "So Long"' & 'World Of Lonliness'. A timeless soul/funk single recorded in San Antonio in 1971, revered by sweet soul collectors internationally, has now become available for the first time in over 50 years through Symphonical Records, in partnership with band leader/songwriter, Robert Williams.

This limited repress is a testament to the sound of San Antonio. The Equasions were immersed in the city's defining impression, performing alongside other local acts Royal Jestors, Sunny & The Sunliners, The Primes, Joe Jama plus many more, all of whom worked to carve out the Alamo sound, one that resonates continues to inspire today.

The 5-piece vocal group, led by Robert Williams, consisted of Vernon Shannon, James Hartfield, Ricky Cotton, and Lamar Sumter. Brackenridge High School graduates, the group were formerly known as 'The Volumes', with their first single being released on Manny Guerra's imprint, 'Garu'. Two years later, the group switched members and formed their new name, recording their single at Joey Internationals studio.

Robert remarks that both songs were written as a universal message; for no one in particular but everyone can relate to. 'It's So Hard To Say "So Long"', is a poignant sentiment to lost love, yet hope created through beautiful harmonies, whereas 'World Of Lonliness' is a psychedelic reflection of society of the era, which Robert mentions remains true today.

Rare Groove Collection Explore the fusion of world music with soul, funk and disco through the Rare Groove Collection. With this new volume, discover unique groove tracks straight from Jamaica! Fully remastered original versions Jamaican Rare Groove From the beginning of the 60s to the end of the 80s, Jamaica had a worldwide influence with ska, rocksteady, dub and reggae, but the small Caribbean island did not escape the global trends of funk, soul and disco. This mix of influences has given birth to unique groove songs, highlighted by this Jamaican Rare Groove. Double vinyl Jamaican Rare Groove From the beginning of the 60s to the end of the 80s, Jamaica had a worldwide influence with ska, rocksteady, dub and reggae, but the small Caribbean island did not escape the global trends of funk, soul and disco. This mix of influences has given birth to unique groove songs, highlighted by this Jamaican Rare Groove.

This album, recorded live after the release of Bertrand Burgalat's first album (The Sssound of Mmmusic, 2000), is a unique testimony of a passionate encounter, of explosive concerts and an exceptional musical adventure, a mixture of soulful rhythms, oniric keyboards and songs with chiseled lyrics and harmonies.

Out of stock on vinyl for decades, it will be reissued and published in December 2022, with a text by Philippe Manœuvre. 21 years after its first publication, it has not aged a bit. It includes tribute covers ("Follow Me" by Amanda Lear, "Tears Of A Clown" by Smokey Robinson), and a version of "Easy Tiger", recorded at the same time for Depeche Mode.

"This album brings back the great psychedelic concerts that Bertrand gave at the time. For me, Aux Cyclades électronique is in the running for the title of most beautiful song in the world, I haven't changed my mind."
Philippe Manoeuvre, excerpt from the innersleeve note, April 2022

"A.S Dragon is arguably the best French rock band of today. Nearly an hour of psyche-magnetic madness, the spectacular collision of a Gainsbourg theorist playing his melodies to a Jefferson Airplane from Clignancourt charged with pushing all galactic limits."
Philippe Manoeuvre, Rock & Folk, October 2001

"Bertrand Burgalat meets A.S Dragon could satisfy both French Touch fans and Rock'n'Roll purists. It sounds like the resurrection of a sixties garage rock band, somewhere between Detroit and Combs-la-ville. Burgalat for charity."
Philippe Barbot, Télérama, November 2001

"This is a fantastic remix! It sounds a bit like 70's funk. Bertrand has taken the song and reworked it from top to bottom, re-recording people on every part. It sounds like a James Bond song. It's really one of the best remixes we've ever done. "
Martin Gore (Depeche Mode) on "Easy Tiger", Magic, May 2001

"I wish this song could last my whole life..."
Virginie Despentes, on "Aux Cyclades électronique", "Vernon Subutex

The legendary Tony Cook, one of the most influential artists of Funk music, and James Brown’s drummer, has produced many great records since the early 80’s, from Boogie, Electro Funk, and House Music.

This EP showcases the versatility of Tony Cook’s creative repertoire and is a testament to his very unique style of production with unreleased songs.

Startisha introduces Naeem as a restlessly creative artist with an impressionistic, genre-bending album. As a complete work, Startisha exemplifies artistic daring and emotional intelligence while exploring new ideas and sounds, and philosophically excavating the artist's histories. Startisha may be loaded with impressive collaborations and left-field sounds, but don't get it twisted_this music comes straight from Naeem's heart, representing the journey he's taken to get to this point as well as what lies in the future for him. Baltimore-hailing Naeem Juwan has spent much of the last decade stretching his creative legs in a variety of ways: he's hit the road with artists ranging from the Avalanches and Bon Iver to Big Red Machine and Mouse on Mars, took part in a 37d03d residency in Berlin, and was selected as the music resident in 2019 for New York's Pioneer Works space. Through it all, he's been building the songs that make up Startisha, a record a half-decade in the making that featured Juwan pulling from creative circles all across the U.S. to craft a truly unique document of sound. After studio sessions in Philadelphia and New York, Juwan decamped to Minneapolis and holed up in Justin Vernon's home studio, where Startisha continued to come together with contributions from Vernon, Ryan Olson (Gayngs, Polica), Swamp Dogg, Velvet Negroni, Francis and the Lights, and regular collaborators Amanda Blank and Micah James.

Fieldwave is the new compilation from Nonclassical that unearths new compositions with field recording at their heart. Curated by DJ and sonic adventurer Nick Luscombe (Late Junction, Musicity), it highlights a new wave of sonic artists incorporating natural sound into their work.

The idea for this new compilation series is to reflect a burgeoning area of sonic creativity that has gone from very niche to something much more commonplace. As a DJ at BBC Radio 3's Late Junction, Nick would receive music every day that contained some element of field recording. Many of the artists contained within have received airplay on Late Junction as well as on Late Junction and other experimental programmes. The release features sound artists Kate Carr, Mark Vernon and Hojo+Kraft, singer-songwriter Daren Hayman (Hefner), and accordionist Tuulikki Bartosik.

Over the years Kid Loco has become a reference in the French electronic music landscape. Firstly, known for being an activist in the French underground music scene, he cofounded Bondage Records in 1982. With Bondage Records, he introduced several bands to the French alternative music scene like Bérurier Noir, Ludwig Von 88 or Washington Dead Cats. Alongside his activity of label manager, he composed and released under the name of Kid Bravo, an experimental music at the crossroads of rock and electronic. Astonished by the beginnings of the instrumental hip-hop of DJ Shadows, Jean-Yves Prieur aka Kid Loco experimented new ways of composing music with the sample technic in his own studio near Orly. This new musical adventure led to the birth of a mini album Blues Project released in 1996 on Yellow Productions.

Exploring further his own psychedelic universe, he released his first album A Grand Love Story in 1997 under the name of Kid Loco. Acclaimed both by the French and international music review, “A Grand Love Story” established itself as an iconic album of the trip-hop and electronic music scene. During the two years following its release, Kid Loco continued to invent his own musical universe nurtured by multiples influences. In 1999, he released Jesus Life For Children Under 12 Inches, an album featuring thirty remixes he composed for French and international artists (Pulp, Talvin Singh etc.) as well as his mixed compilation for the famous DJ KICKS collection released on the German electronic music label, !K7.

After a first European tour, Kid Loco returned to his studio, nicknamed “The Lafayette Velvet Basement” and composed his second album Kill Your Darlings released in 2001. Compared to his previous compositions, Kill Your Darlings features more tracks without sampled vocals. Eager to explore new musical horizons, Kid Loco produced in 2004 the original soundtrack of the American movie The Graffiti Artist directed by James Bolton (Narrative Feature Sound Award – Austin Film Festival 2003). Cruising to new musical galaxies, Kid Loco continued to compose and released the album Party Animals & Disco Biscuits in 2009 followed in 2011 by the album Confessions Of A Belladonna Eater. In addition of his albums, Kid Loco continued to experiment with the production of compilations celebrating the trip-hop music with “Trip-Hop Classics” released in 2010 followed by a second opus released in 2013 on Wagram Music.

2019 marks the return of Kid Loco with his track Here Comes The Munchies selected in the original soundtrack of the show Vernon Subutex (Canal +), the vinyl reedition of his cult album A Grand Love Story and for the first time the digital release of the album Confessions Of A Belladonna Eater with exclusive remixes.