Suche:a del

Following two stunning singles, prodigiously talented producer and composer Frederic Robinson is set to drop his debut album,
'Mixed Signals', on Blu Mar Ten Music on 14th October. The album is the culmination of over a year's work and a lifetime of musical
obsession for Robinson, comprising of a series of intricately crafted and delicately emotive tracks exploring a forward-thinking
electronic vision, which he describes as "music for the listener with a broad horizon and a short attention span'.
Over its eleven tracks, 'Mixed Signals' gives Robinson the canvas to showcase the full breadth of his talents like never before.
Amalgamating the many influences that inform his productions, from drum & bass and electronica to contemporary classical
composers, 'Mixed Signals' is a brilliantly crafted and coherent artistic statement that draws upon his talents as a classically trained
multi-instrumentalist as well as an electronic producer. Filled with light and shade, impact and intricacy, 'Mixed Signals' is much more
than a drum & bass record or a collection of club tracks; this is an album in the truest sense of the word.
"So far, this album is my biggest musical project and my greatest achievement. I worked on it for about a year and went through many
different creative phases in that time, all of which are represented somewhere on the LP. It is a summary of my current talents, skills
and interests. It marks the end for some ideas and concepts and the beginning for many others." - Frederic Robinson.
Built from a collage of acoustic and electronic elements, Robinson's music is a dense patchwork of skittering rhythms, found sound
and lush instrumentation, which harnesses a compelling emotional draw as much as it does an undeniable dance floor energy. Both
immediate and nuanced, 'Mixed Signals' is a brilliant balance of contrasts.
The sweeping drama of previous single 'Theme Park' opens the album, remaining as fresh and brilliantly unique as ever, while 'Off
Topic' and 'Bloom' featuring Stray both also provide familiar touchstones, exploring esoteric manifestations of 170 bpm's outer
possibilities. Three vocal tracks are scattered throughout the tracklist, with the soft, otherworldly tones of Melanie Robinson providing
an entry point to Robinson's world of broken percussion and wandering melodies.
Elsewhere, 'Vamp Till Ready' balances rich string orchestration against a wave of skittering percussion and 'Shut' offers an expansive
beauty in its naïve, dreamlike melodies. 'Particles' showcases an innate understanding of drum & bass constructs, warping tight
breaks and deep bass against bold blasts of colour while the eponymous track explores a playfully off-kilter and delicately nuanced
downtempo vision, before the album is played out on wave of hazy melodies and light-footed rhythms with closer 'Static Float'.
'Mixed Signals' provides the broad canvas that Robinson thrives in painting with his sprawling musical influences and complex
arrangements, and the results are phenomenal. The album is a masterpiece in dance floor escapism from a talent whose career is
undoubtedly in the ascendant.

Stripped down to the core duo of Robert Görl and
Gabi Delgado and with Conny Plank again behind
the boards with crisp, focused production, with
‘Alles ist Gut (Everything Is Fine)’ DAF turned into
an honest-to-goodness German hit machine.

Even more important and impressive was how
they did it - keeping the electronic brutality that
characterized them, but stripped down to nothing
but Görl’s massive drumming, electronic bass and
synth tones, and Delgado's deep, commanding
singing. The result was and remains massively
influential. A must have for all fans of electronic
music.

"Stand In The Fire" - Warren Zevon (voc, g, p); Zeke Zirngiebel (g, voc); David Landau (g); Bob Harris (synth, p, voc); Roberto Piñón (b, voc); Marty Stinger (dr)

Warren Zevon had toured for quite some time as a songwriter in the rock scene, released a few singles and landed a flop with his debut LP in 1969 before the tide finally turned. Roughly ten years later, his live album – put together from a five-day residency at the Roxy Theater in West Hollywood – entered the annals of vinyl history as one of the best live albums of all time and was awarded four stars by the magazine Rolling Stone. Ambiguously entitled by the comprehensively educated Zevon, who had been confronted with the tough side of show business, "Stand In The Fire" delivers genial simple pure and straightforward rock right from the start, which hit the public with a vengeance. Full of vim and elation, the band pours out the significant, biting verses with fire ("Jeannie Needs A Shooter") and fuels the emotional inferno with high-speed bursts of rock ("Excitable Boy"). Zevon proves his skills as a singer and songwriter in the ballad-like yet powerful "Mohammed’s Radio". In a direct comparison to this number we have the forthright, no-nonsense hit "Werewolves Of London" with its close harmonies. Just how Zevon manages to succeed in getting his delicate voice and lyrics over to the public is shown in the powerful mix of heavy and honky-tonk ("I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead") and finally in the thunderous final number – "Bo Didley’s A Gunslinger" – with its percussive and metrically complicated antiphony.

This Speakers Corner LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head. More information under pure-analogue

All royalties and mechanical rights have been paid.

Recording: August 1980 live at The Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, CA., by Billy Youdelman and Greg Ladanyi

Production: Greg Ladanyi & Warren Zevon

In 2019, Southern Lights released the debut album of audio-visual artist Lost Few, fusing his relationship with the physical form including found sounds from the Australian wilderness and disturbed electronics, processed instrumentation and sub-bass experiments.

Those sonic experiments have been given the remix treatment by a handful of contemporary artists working within the fringes of techno. Manchester’s Karim Maas provides his dark, ritual touch to “Indecision”, Vohkinne dials up the velocity on “Quietly We Wish For Silence” with his Extended Thrust Mix, Years of Denial deliver a stunning interpretation of “Expectations Are The Devil” straddling industrial and EBM, while Dino Sabatini closes the release with a serene and introspective remake of “Many An Idle Stone”.

With previous releases on Delusions of Grandeur, Voyeurythm and more, UK producer Ben Sun delivers a gorgeous blend of deep textures that hearken back to the golden era of NY and Chicago with his Distant Messenger EP on Razor-N-Tape.

On the A-side, Transmission has all the vibey goodness of an early Strictly Rhythm record, while Sable Sun scuba dives into Larry Heard territory with lush pad swells and squelching acid lines.

On the flip, the emotive motion of Tremors builds through hypnotic arpeggiated synths, a slow-rolling bassline and crystalline melodies, and the record finishes in proto-house territory with the Peech Boys era Larry Levan-inspired Red Light. This EP may wear its influences on its sleeve, but it looks (and sounds) classy as hell.

Donato Basile has spent his whole life fighting for the music scene in his country. Making music, running a record store DJing in legal and illegal parties. We can't deny that we are in front of one of the mainstays of the Italian scene.

When we thought I've seen it all we discovered him, after his EP on OAKS. The live act just blew our heads away on Intercell last winter. His music is a compendium of rave musics and cultures twisted elegantly, focused but not taking itself too serious. This 4th music bombs are the proof that not everything is invented.

We are proud to release DJ Plant Texture as A.662 first solo EP on his own series in KAOS.

For Susanna, nothing happens in a vacuum. Every creative act responds to what's come before. And by exploring this dialogue, we can learn new things about ourselves and the world. This idea has inspired the Norwegian artist throughout her near two1decade career. It's behind her unforgettable covers of classic songs and her interpretations of the paintings of Hieronymous Bosch. And it found its purest expression on 2020's Baudelaire & Piano, a stripped back song cycle setting texts from the 19th century French poet's The Flowers of Evil. In Elevation, its followup, Susanna's engagement with Baudelaire's work blossoms into a collaborative enterprise, combining tape, spoken word and song. The result is a unique musical conversation spanning centuries and disciplines; a "time travelling" project, as Susanna puts it, that moves between creative dimensions. She brings collaborators back into the process, nurturing connections made over a series of Baudelaire & Piano live shows presented in 2020 and 2021. Composer1improviser Delphine Dora offers teasing renditions of the original French texts, layering spoken recitation and otherworldly singing in a set of atmospheric vignettes. And tape recorder soundscapes from Stina Stjern-familiar from Susanna's Hieronymous Bosch project Garden of Earthly Delights (2019)-frame the album with hiss, hum and soft fingers of melody, like mist settling on a landscape. These contributions deepen the album's mystery and its evocative power. The result is an engrossing interleaving of sounds and registers; and, as Susanna describes it, "an intuitive and collective ceremony of the ethereal and mystical in life." Elevation features work by American occultist artist Cameron (1922-1995), an adherent of Aleister Crowley's Thelema movement. Her illustrations "Witch Woman", "Pan" and "Danse" adorn the release, which will be available on cassette as well as in the usual digital, CD and vinyl formats.Oslo-based artist Susanna has released music as Susanna and the Magical Orchestra and 'just' Susanna since 2004, through labels like Rune Grammofon, ECM Records and her own outlet SusannaSonata. She has collaborated with artists like Jenny Hval, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy and John Paul Jones, highly active with different projects, songwriting/composing, and making personal interpretations of other people's songs.

Enjoy the Melodic Sunshine is a collection of songs by Cosmic Rough
Riders featuring tracks from their first two self-financed albums as well as three new tracks

The album was put together by Alan McGee's label as a starting point for mainstream listeners . The album spawned four singles including the Top 40 hits "Revolution (In The Summertime)" and "The Pain Inside".Most of the tracks on the album were recorded in a community funded recording studio in Castlemilk housing scheme and released on two self- financed albums; Deliverance (1999) and Panorama (2000). On hearing Panorama, Alan McGee signed the band to a one-album deal. The album would take the best of the first two albums as well as some new tracks.Now 21 years later Past Night From Glasgow will take the original masters, add a bonus track "I Call Her Name".

Enjoy the Melodic Sunshine is a collection of songs by Cosmic Rough
Riders featuring tracks from their first two self-financed albums as well as three new tracks

The album was put together by Alan McGee's label as a starting point for mainstream listeners . The album spawned four singles including the Top 40 hits "Revolution (In The Summertime)" and "The Pain Inside".Most of the tracks on the album were recorded in a community funded recording studio in Castlemilk housing scheme and released on two self- financed albums; Deliverance (1999) and Panorama (2000). On hearing Panorama, Alan McGee signed the band to a one-album deal. The album would take the best of the first two albums as well as some new tracks.Now 21 years later Past Night From Glasgow will take the original masters, add a bonus track "I Call Her Name".

Enjoy the Melodic Sunshine is a collection of songs by Cosmic Rough
Riders featuring tracks from their first two self-financed albums as well as three new tracks

The album was put together by Alan McGee's label as a starting point for mainstream listeners . The album spawned four singles including the Top 40 hits "Revolution (In The Summertime)" and "The Pain Inside".Most of the tracks on the album were recorded in a community funded recording studio in Castlemilk housing scheme and released on two self- financed albums; Deliverance (1999) and Panorama (2000). On hearing Panorama, Alan McGee signed the band to a one-album deal. The album would take the best of the first two albums as well as some new tracks.Now 21 years later Past Night From Glasgow will take the original masters, add a bonus track "I Call Her Name".

Enjoy the Melodic Sunshine is a collection of songs by Cosmic Rough
Riders featuring tracks from their first two self-financed albums as well as three new tracks

The album was put together by Alan McGee's label as a starting point for mainstream listeners . The album spawned four singles including the Top 40 hits "Revolution (In The Summertime)" and "The Pain Inside".Most of the tracks on the album were recorded in a community funded recording studio in Castlemilk housing scheme and released on two self- financed albums; Deliverance (1999) and Panorama (2000). On hearing Panorama, Alan McGee signed the band to a one-album deal. The album would take the best of the first two albums as well as some new tracks.Now 21 years later Past Night From Glasgow will take the original masters, add a bonus track "I Call Her Name".

'Legacy: A Tribute to Leslie West' will be released on CD, Silver vinyl and digitally.When Leslie West passed away in December of 2020, he left behind a towering legacy of epic recordings that few rock guitarists can match

But there was more to West than great songs (although, to be sure, he created a ton of them); there was his brilliant, idiosyncratic sound, a gargantuan earthmover that razed arenas and stadiums across the globe. More than just paralyzing tone, though, he also had a touch nobody could beat. Stinging, swooning and sensual melodies leapt from his fingertips – with a deft flick of his wrist, he sounded like a Delta bluesman had picked up a violin. These elements and more helped to make West one of the most significant, influential and
irreplaceable guitarists of the rock era.Originally, the album was intended to be a retrospective celebration of West's music on which the guitarist himself would perform some of his best-loved cuts with notable guests, along with a collection of new tracks. Two weeks before recording was set to commence, however, the guitarist passed away. While grieving the loss of her husband, Jenni was comforted by the constant stream of phone calls from famous musicians who
expressed their condolences, and without fail, each one said the same thing: "If you do any kind of tribute to Leslie, please let me know."An astonishing array of West's admirers – who also happened to be friends and peers – came together to celebrate the trailblazing musician on the aptly titled 'Legacy: A Tribute to Leslie
West'. Executive produced by Jenni West, Bob Ringe and John Lappen, the album features dizzying, heartfelt performances by Slash, Zakk Wylde, Dee Snider, Bachman & Bachman, Martin Barre, Joe Lynn Turner, Charlie Starr, Elliot Easton, Robbie Krieger, Mike Portnoy, Eddie Ojeda, George Lynch, Marty Friedman, Steve Morse and Yngwie Malmsteen, among others. Each track on its own is a corker,
but taken together the 12 cuts on 'Legacy: A Tribute to Leslie West' are a stunning and heartfelt testament to the true impact the guitarist had on musicians of all stripes, and as such, it's essential listening for both longtime fans and newbies.
Print coverage in Guitar Techniques, Rock Candy, Record Collector

'Welcome To The End Of The World' delivers The Dead Milkmen's
trademark twisted humour along with some underlying dark elements
that will creep in to your consciousness if you pay close enough attention

The six tracks run the gamut of weird and wild, from the heavy, Ramonesinfluenced lead single 'Only The Dead Get Off At Kymlinge', a ghost story about the haunted trains terrorising passengers on the Stockholm Metro to 'Battery Powered Rat', a jangly instrumental about two popes, a chess game, and a rat at the Vatican. ("Battery Powered Rat is one of the weirdest things we've ever done", says drummer Dean Clean.)
Musically, the band draws on industrial influences, with a strong beat- driven aesthetic. "It's a pretty good representation of the different styles of things that we do", Dean Clean explains. "It's got some sort of heavy stuff and some groovy, almost dance-oriented stuff, which is fun to say".

The Hip Hop world had long been looking for a breath of fresh air when four legendary emcees stepped up, together, as EMC. EMC consists of the Midwest phenom Stricklin, the widely respected Lyricist Lounge duo Punchline & Wordsworth, and the Brooklyn-bred, battle-tested Juice Crew all-star Masta Ace. The Milwaukee born and raised Stricklin garnered attention in the late 90s while signed to Tommy Boy Records, and Punch and Words were integral in the success of the groundbreaking MTV program “The Lyricist Lounge Show” and have released EP’s both as a group and as solo artists. After the three toured extensively with Ace in 2001, the four became extremely close. Both the rappers themselves and the fans recognized the chemistry and, according to Masta Ace, “the group idea was a natural progression of the relationships we had all made from being on the road together. It wasn’t just about the music with us, we are pretty much like brothers.” EMC started a feeding frenzy in 2007 with the release of the 12” single “E.M.C.” and the subsequent 2008 full-length album The Show. With more than 20 tracks and appearances by Sean Price, Little Brother, Ladybug Mecca (of Digable Planets), DJ Eclipse, and Money Harm (of Product G & B), The Show satisfied even the most Rap-hungry fan. And while the album proved to be a showcase of lyrical talents, the beats themselves delivered as well, with production by Marco Polo, The Are of K-Otix, Ayatollah, Nicolay, Koolade, and more. Stricklin’s personality combined with the cleverness of Punchline, the wordplay and work ethic of Wordsworth, and the leadership of the Music Man himself Masta Ace, proved to be a massive success and this sought after album is now back in print and ready to be devoured by hungry rap fans once again.

With ‘Love on My Mind’ - the six-song mini-album, mixed by Claudius
Mittendorfer (Tennis, Parquet Courts, Johnny Marr) - Bambara condense all the energy and darkness that have made them so compelling and rearrange it into something defiantly new.

Opening track, ‘Slither in the Rain’, all hissing high-hat and spectral
synthlines, is a true statement of intent. It’s minimal and atmospheric,
foregrounding Bateh’s raw vocals as he introduces one of ‘Love on My Mind’s main characters years after the events of the album are over, a lonely man who throws bottles at airplanes and dances a two-step in the pattern of a figure-8. While Bateh has always been adept at character sketches, tracks like ‘Slither’ introduce a newfound vulnerability that runs true through the entire album and cause the songs to hit on a more human level.

Similarly, ‘Point And Shoot’ - in which each stanza describes the louche, lawless scenes of “rooftop girls / standing shoulder-to-shoulder, naked figures with their hips / cocked,” busted up jaws, and couches full of burnholes captured by the snapshots of ‘Love on My Mind’s female lead - displays an autobiographical intimacy that is not as apparent in Bambara’s previous releases. This tenderness is echoed on ‘Birds’, a rare love song (from which the EP’s title is derived), and album closer ‘Little Wars’, a gripping finale of loneliness and isolation.

But while these songs may display a softer side of Bambara, it’s important to note that they haven’t lost the thrill of what attracted so many people to them in the first place. ‘Mythic Love’ (featuring vocals from Bria Salmena), with its driving bassline and ricocheting guitar lines, brings to mind past rave-ups like ‘Serafina’ and ‘Sunbleached Skulls’ but obliterates them in the process, while ‘Feelin’ Like A Funeral’ - a dangerously oscillating tale of a city knifing - is probably the most thrillingly anthemic song the band have ever recorded.

Taken together, ‘Love on My Mind’ amounts to another massive step forward for Bambara - the boldest thing they’ve ever done - and the sound of yet another breakthrough.
“Engrossing, dark and irresistible… an adventurous group, who just keep getting better all the time.” - CLASH
“Never anything less than captivating.” - Upset
“What Athens, Georgia bunch Bambara do, they do very well… the trio’s commitment to the dark side is never in question.” - DIY
“Bambara are ice cold and sharp as a knife’s edge.” - Loud & Quiet
“Brooklyn based doom-mongers delight… the trio go further than most in their quest to rattle.” - Q (4/5)
For fans of Daughters, Protomartyr, IDLES, King Krule, Ice Age.

First vinyl pressing is Limited to 1500 copies in 2 Colour variants. Transparent Aquamarine and green twisted stripe and transparent blue and cherry twisted stripe vinyl (Indies Only). Gatefold sleeve. Full download included as well. CD package is a 4 panel digipack, with a 4 page booklet. New Heavy Sounds is proud to present the new album by Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard. now known simply as MWWB. There has been some speculation amongst fan circles that the final part of the trilogy of albums that preceded this, marked the end of Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard’s five-year mission. Not so. We can categorically confirm that having officially slimmed their name down to the acronym, MWWB are continuing their voyage through the far reaches of the galaxy. The first phase of that journey is their new album ‘The Harvest’. ‘The Harvest’ is the band’s fourth album, and of course it is a record shot through with the trademark heavy MWWB sound, and their unique blend of metal and shoegaze. However it also sees the band adding more experimentation, a progressive approach, and going a bit more left field conceptually. To some extent, it shares similarities with Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’. Not only by having the mix of experimentation and melodicism as that seminal record, but also in the way that it has been engineered and constructed as a seamless piece. Nine tracks flowing into one another. Space age riff monsters segueing into shorter musical interludes, where John Carpenter, rubs shoulders with Pink Floyd and a maelstrom of moog and mellotron. There are surprises, and of course a bucketload of heavy shit. With ‘The Harvest’ MWWB have refined and honed their sound, it’s a carefully crafted distillation of ideas, written, conceived and sequenced to be listened to in its entirety (preferably in one sitting). MWWB have always loved film scores and this new album is in many ways, the soundtrack to a film. MWWB provides the musical narrative (the song titles also provide a pointer) and the listener's imagination does the rest. ‘Oblok Magellana’ and its spooky atmospherics set the scene. before things really kick in with the riffs of title track ‘The Harvest’. A grooving Sabbathian chug intro’s Jessica Ball, who at the top of her game throughout. Her voice simultaneously sweet yet dark; almost neofolk; which when put against those riffs, is always a startling juxtaposition, nevertheless it perfectly crystallises MWWB’s distinctive dynamic. ‘Interstellar Wrecking’ is a succinctly crafted nugget of John Carpenter-esque drama, you can imagine the thundering mothership forging its way through the universe on some nameless quest before encountering ‘Logic Bomb’ and its fat fuzzed-up ride through light and shade guitar/vocal interplay. Ball’s voice soaring and shimmering throughout. ‘Betrayal’ gives a nod to Pink Floyd’s ‘On The Run’ but with its freaky spoken word and four on the floor kick it’s almost a dance track, yet there’s no incongruity here. ‘Altamira’ is epic MWWB, adding large doses of psych into a melodic concoction of dreampop and metal. Ball’s vocals here are many layered and textured effortlessly gliding through the weight of the backing. ‘Let’s Send The Bastards Whence They Came’ is another little gem. A plaintive repeating synth figure that builds with bass, drums, mellotrons and synths into ‘Strontium’ which rounds off the album’s ‘heavy’ numbers, a blend of monster grooves, and Ball’s swooning vocals. Finally, and outstandingly, Jessica strips things back to a distorted guitar and voice on ‘Moonrise’. Shorn of the layers of fuzz, it is a simple, beautiful and fitting catharsis to an epic voyage. MWWB are a thrilling proposition. They demonstrate that you can seamlessly mix crushing power, experimentation and delicate vulnerability into something that transcends any genre. MWWB are Jessica Ball, vocals and synths. Paul Michael Davies, guitar and synths. Stuart Sinclair, bass and Dom McCready, drums.

First vinyl pressing is Limited to 1500 copies in 2 Colour variants. Transparent Aquamarine and green twisted stripe and transparent blue and cherry twisted stripe vinyl (Indies Only). Gatefold sleeve. Full download included as well. CD package is a 4 panel digipack, with a 4 page booklet. New Heavy Sounds is proud to present the new album by Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard. now known simply as MWWB. There has been some speculation amongst fan circles that the final part of the trilogy of albums that preceded this, marked the end of Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard’s five-year mission. Not so. We can categorically confirm that having officially slimmed their name down to the acronym, MWWB are continuing their voyage through the far reaches of the galaxy. The first phase of that journey is their new album ‘The Harvest’. ‘The Harvest’ is the band’s fourth album, and of course it is a record shot through with the trademark heavy MWWB sound, and their unique blend of metal and shoegaze. However it also sees the band adding more experimentation, a progressive approach, and going a bit more left field conceptually. To some extent, it shares similarities with Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’. Not only by having the mix of experimentation and melodicism as that seminal record, but also in the way that it has been engineered and constructed as a seamless piece. Nine tracks flowing into one another. Space age riff monsters segueing into shorter musical interludes, where John Carpenter, rubs shoulders with Pink Floyd and a maelstrom of moog and mellotron. There are surprises, and of course a bucketload of heavy shit. With ‘The Harvest’ MWWB have refined and honed their sound, it’s a carefully crafted distillation of ideas, written, conceived and sequenced to be listened to in its entirety (preferably in one sitting). MWWB have always loved film scores and this new album is in many ways, the soundtrack to a film. MWWB provides the musical narrative (the song titles also provide a pointer) and the listener's imagination does the rest. ‘Oblok Magellana’ and its spooky atmospherics set the scene. before things really kick in with the riffs of title track ‘The Harvest’. A grooving Sabbathian chug intro’s Jessica Ball, who at the top of her game throughout. Her voice simultaneously sweet yet dark; almost neofolk; which when put against those riffs, is always a startling juxtaposition, nevertheless it perfectly crystallises MWWB’s distinctive dynamic. ‘Interstellar Wrecking’ is a succinctly crafted nugget of John Carpenter-esque drama, you can imagine the thundering mothership forging its way through the universe on some nameless quest before encountering ‘Logic Bomb’ and its fat fuzzed-up ride through light and shade guitar/vocal interplay. Ball’s voice soaring and shimmering throughout. ‘Betrayal’ gives a nod to Pink Floyd’s ‘On The Run’ but with its freaky spoken word and four on the floor kick it’s almost a dance track, yet there’s no incongruity here. ‘Altamira’ is epic MWWB, adding large doses of psych into a melodic concoction of dreampop and metal. Ball’s vocals here are many layered and textured effortlessly gliding through the weight of the backing. ‘Let’s Send The Bastards Whence They Came’ is another little gem. A plaintive repeating synth figure that builds with bass, drums, mellotrons and synths into ‘Strontium’ which rounds off the album’s ‘heavy’ numbers, a blend of monster grooves, and Ball’s swooning vocals. Finally, and outstandingly, Jessica strips things back to a distorted guitar and voice on ‘Moonrise’. Shorn of the layers of fuzz, it is a simple, beautiful and fitting catharsis to an epic voyage. MWWB are a thrilling proposition. They demonstrate that you can seamlessly mix crushing power, experimentation and delicate vulnerability into something that transcends any genre. MWWB are Jessica Ball, vocals and synths. Paul Michael Davies, guitar and synths. Stuart Sinclair, bass and Dom McCready, drums.

Originally planned for issue on Strata-East, Hammond took his collaboration with Durrah to Detroit and issued his masterpiece. Lacquered by Bernie Grundman. Now-Again presents the de­nitive Tribe Records reissues. Deep, Spiritual Jazz of the highest order. The Tribe label, one of the brightest lights of America’s 1970s jazz underground, receives the Now-Again reissue treatment. This is your chance to indulge in the music and story of one of the most meaningful, local movements of the 20th Century Black American experience, one that expanded outwards towards the cosmos. In the words of the collective themselves, “Music is the healing force of the universe.” Included in an extensive, oversized booklet, Larry Gabriel and Jeff “Chairman” Mao take us through the history of the Tribe, in a compelling story that delves not just into the history of the label and its principals, but into the story of Black American empowerment in the latter half of the 20th Century. The booklet features never-before-seen archival photos and rare ephemera from Tribe’s mid-1970s heyday.

TV on the Radio's "Province" and Beverly Glenn-Copeland's "Ever New" were released more than 20 years apart, with little in common sonically, but here, they’re intrinsically linked as studies in formative musical heroes for artists with dazzling voices. For Bartees Strange, TV on the Radio is an inspiration for where he could take his own genre-bending brand of guitar-driven rock. For Anjimile Chithambo, Glenn-Copeland is a reflection of themself in every way - a Black trans musician writing profoundly resonant songs focused on identity and rebirth, and the expansiveness you can find within. "Province" began with Eric Slick, who was the producer behind the track. The multi-instrumentalist, solo musician, and Dr. Dog drummer had been obsessed with Return to Cookie Mountain, TVOTR's third record, as a kid, and found himself revisiting it again and again. This past year, he made his own rough acoustic cover of "Province," before deciding to reach out to Bartees Strange and having him contribute vocals. TV on the Radio was pivotal for Bartees -- the moment he saw the band perform is seared into his memory. He came across their performance on The Late Show with David Letterman while channel surfing one night when he was a kid, and was immediately enraptured by their performance. He hadn't known what he wanted to do musically until he saw them perform, and it changed the possibilities of his life. Here, in his interpretation of the song, his voice is cavernous here, fleshed out atop a bed of Mellotron, Moog, and MPC instrumentations from Slick and celestial swells added by Ohmme's Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart. Anjimile's interpretation of Glenn-Copeland's "Ever New" came together in a more solitary way, recorded alone in their Boston apartment. In his cover, the original seven-minute new age ballad from Glenn-Copeland's revolutionary 1986 album Keyboard Fantasies is trimmed down, sonically simplified to its core. Anjimile moves it more into a folk territory, building out the sonic world with the delicate, tender acoustic guitar lines and finger picking that's been an identifier across their own catalog. It's a more muted, subtle palette translating Glenn-Copeland's epic of springtime bloom and rebirth, but emanates that same tenderness. Anjimile's stunning vocal performance ushering the hymn into new direct clarity.

Long awaited second album from UK indie rock band Don't Worry! Since their inception in 2014, Don’t Worry have earned themselves a loyal following, releasing their debut album Who Cares Anyway? back in 2018. The band, helmed by co-lead singers Ronan Van Kehoe and Samuel Watson, write about everything from the mundanities of life to the relatively profound delivering a relatable commentary on modern day life. The band cite a diverse range of influences for their new record, combining the vocal harmonies of classic pop groups like The Beach Boys and The Beatles, the guitar stylings of US indie heroes Built To Spill and Pavement with the energy and quintessential ‘Britishness’ of acts like The Streets, The Cribs and Blur. Remorseless Swing was recorded in Spring 2021 at No Luck Audio, Exeter, a studio run by drummer Tom Gilbert. Now eight years into their journey together, Don’t Worry are showing no signs of slowing down and are very much looking forward to taking their explosive new album on the road in Spring 2022.

Symphony X founder and mastermind MICHAEL ROMEO returns with a bang! On his 3rd solo album, "War Of The Worlds, Pt. 2", and debut for InsideOut Music/Sony Music Entertainment, MICHAEL ROMEO delivers nothing short of amazing Progressive Rock/Metal. While the previous album, "War Of The Worlds, Pt. 1", already gave a good taste of the things to come MICHAEL ROMEO has refined his work down to the finest detail on his new masterpiece. Once more he was supported by the same incredibly tight rhythm-section, John "JD" DeServio (bass / Black Label Society) and John Macaluso (drums, Yngwie Malmsteen, Ark, James LaBrie). The orchestration on the album is second to none and MICHAEL ROMEO’s finest riffs underline his technical skills while the arrangements underline his overall genius. "War Of The Worlds, Pt. 2" is available as: Gatefold 180g 2LP, Ltd. 2CD version coming in an eco-friendly 6-panel Pocket Pac with a 16-page CD-Booklet (CD 2 features the instrumental version of the album), Digital Album.

REDSHARK was founded in 2012 in Barcelona - Spain, by Philip Graves (guitar) with the aim of delivering Classic Pounding Heavy Speed Metal. Their traditional 80s metal influences may plunder the nostalgia circuit but REDSHARK are ruthlessly carrying the torch with great attitude, and powerful melodic songwriting. The band had their full line up fixed in 2013 with Javier Bono on 2nd guitar, Mark Striker on drums, Chris Carrest on bass, and Pau Correas on vocals. Their debut official release "Evil Realm" ep came out in 2019 and showed the band pushing the velocity further. Those intense five songs drew a roaring response and helped to spread REDSHARK name nationwide and abroad. REDSHARK have since honed their gloriously raw yet precisely incisive, dark, catchy and addictive speed heavy metal crunch staying faithful to their original influences taken from undisputed metal legends like Judas Priest, Savatage, Exciter and Metal Church. The band's albums front cover concepts look entertaining with their comic book type of artworks depicting a mad red human shark on a killing spree. It also represents the band's out for blood impulse in churning out those hard hitting riffs and also refers to their energetic live performances. That redshark is obviously the band's mascot. In 2021, they composed and recorded their full length debut album 'Digital Race’. It was produced by Jaume Perna (Jack Dark) and mixed & mastered by Gonzalo Vivero in In The Red Audio. As always, the cover art was by Jose Antonio Vives. LG Valeta , guitar player from the much acclaimed ‘77 guests on the track 'Pallid Hands' with a stunning Flamenco guitar solo. REDSHARK is pursuing their heavy speed galore with 'Digital Race', sticking to their traditional and catchy melodic sound that has been associated with the band 80s tinged Metal since their early days.

Following the release of Collision and Coalescence, Slovakian label mappa commits to the duo Grykë Pyje, releasing their third LP "Squirlich Stroll". Maintaining the fabled tone of their debut on the label, Jani Hirvonen (Uton) and Johannes Schebler (Baldruin) dig deeper into the sonic vein of myth and fabric of yonder. The music in "Squirlich Stroll" unravels as a yarn brought back from a wild voyage.

On uncharted areas of medieval maps where potential dangers were thought to exist, the inscription "Here be dragons" was used to warn as much as to tempt explorers willing to cross limits. Myth awaited them as a blank page of dormant territory, yet also to be proved unlike and reinvented. In such pliable borders, wonder had the favorable conditions to blend experience and imagination, crafting creatures with an eye instead of a bellybutton, arms instead of ears and ears instead of fingers, hypnotizing spirals where a mouth should have been. These chimeras, though fictitious, allowed explorers to express their delusions along with their fears. "Here be dreams", we hear nightmares. Here be mushrooms the size of pyramids that sing lullabies for mountains. Here be talking roads that lead to volcanoes throats and spit you back to flight. Here be art of bending trees into braided bridges like in Meghalaya, and the time gap between seed and living ruins.

Let that be the compass, the astrolabe. Yet, the music in Squirlich Stroll comes with these journeys already embraced, unraveling as a story told by wanderers visiting town, nourishing fantasy. The sonic language and diction employed here are crystal clear. Sounds are sharp and pure. Growls, howls, shrieks, tingles, rattles, moans, excretions and even hymns sung by landscape and creatures alike do not run over each other. There is no chaos, but ambience, cohabitation. The duo masters dramaturgy, providing every voice with focused turns and character, guarding their parley with caution and care, convoking them mainly through soothing synth melodies that enable an analgesic, sedative mood. Clusters of sounds gathered are articulated through the album with the inherent luminosity and required stability to accomplish what peaks in, as the title of the final track reads, a new dawn.

Tongues, produced by Saul Williams and co-produced by Gonjasufi, is Tanya Tagaq at her most explicit and specific. Delicate, poetic passages from Split Tooth, Tagaq’s bestselling, award winning mythobiography, crash against an industrial, electronic exoskeleton. Tongues is a journey into a psychic place of healing, rebirth and artistic Power with a capital “P” that will shake the world. You can count on Tanya Tagaq to do that.

Ruth B is releasing her sophomore album "Moments In Between" via Downtown Records. With the breakout success of her debut single “Lost Boy,” Ruth B. emerged as an immediately captivating artist who drifts between moody realism and a dreamworld of her own making. An occasional poet who created her own storybooks as a child, the Canadian- Ethiopian singer/songwriter/pianist infuses all her songs with a raw emotional honesty, even as she lets her imagination wander into fantastically charmed terrain. On her sophomore album Moments In Between, Ruth pushes that dynamic to a new level of boldness and sophistication, embracing her most beautifully strange impulses while delivering her most impactful work to date. As the daughter of immigrants from Ethiopia, Ruth grew up on music from her parents’ native country and later discovered the artists who would become formative influences on her songwriting, such as Stevie Wonder and Lauryn Hill. After taking up piano at the age of eight and singing her entire life, Ruth began writing songs in her late teens and soon came up with “Lost Boy.” Initially posted on Vine in 2015, the Peter Pan-inspired piano ballad quickly went viral, with listeners undeniably drawn to Ruth’s heart-on-sleeve storytelling. By the end of 2015, she’d released her gold-certified debut EP The Intro, which led to such triumphs as winning Breakthrough Artist of the Year at the 2017 Juno Awards. Made with producers like Joel Little (Lorde, Taylor Swift) and Mike Elizondo (Fiona Apple, Regina Spektor), her gold-certified full-length debut Safe Haven arrived in 2017 and earned her three Juno nominations, including Album of the Year and Artist of the Year. Executive-produced by Patrick Wimberly (Solange, Blood Orange, Ellie Goulding), Moments In Between finds Ruth also working with producers like Ido Zmishlany (Demi Lovato, Shawn Mendes), Justin Raisen (Angel Olsen, Santigold), Doug Schadt (Maggie Rogers, Ashe), and D’Mile (a five-time Grammy Award-winner known for his work with Khalid and Ty Dolla $ign). In a departure from the minimalist alt-pop of Safe Haven, the album unfolds in a more elaborate and kaleidoscopic sound, yet never overshadows the understated power of Ruth’s vocals or the pure vulnerability of her songwriting. “For me writing songs has always been therapeutic, and I hope that hearing my songs helps other people in the same way,” she says. “Whether they’re feeling lonely or heartbroken or happy, I want them to know that someone else understands what they’re going through.”

Jonathan Kusuma makes his return to Cocktail d'Amore with a love letter to his Indonesian homeland. Each song is steeped in the ancient textures and timbres of the gamelan, brought to life through modular synthesis. 'Awalan' opens the EP with a delicate touch - otherworldly chirps and aural colours of an early morning sunrise. 'Roda Rodi' as Mr. Kusuma explains is his interpretation of interlocking as a traditional Indonesian way of life - "Gotong Royong" or "Mutual Assistance". The idea of mutual assistance is the sharing of burdens between the member of community. Modular sequences tightly fitting into one another, helping to support one another in the structure of their momentary existence. 'Kerontang' and 'Racacak' are two cuts which have Jonathan's signature sound design printed all over them. Big, booming and full of enraptured percussion. We're treated to a haunting close on 'Lorong K'. Menaced tones rising and falling, small fragments piercing through as to be bits of disintegrating concrete falling off the walls of a lost city.

A warm welcome for Frenchman INVŌKER, as he returns to TAU with more digital delights from his fertile lab. Since arriving on the scene INVŌKER has established himself through a series of phenomenal releases, each of which encapsulates his dextrous touch and vision. With impeccable production and plenty of dance floor appeal, his tracks feel like they’re made for TAU. This time he delivers a four-track EP full of flavour.

Very much at the forefront of the UK electronic scene, since 2001, Shelley Parker has innovated and thrilled with live performances, DJ sets, sound installations, and scores for contemporary dance.

Parker's recorded output is just a small part of her musical orbit. That said, a debut album 'Spurn Point' in 2014 and various singles, remixes and EPs for Hessle Audio, One Little Indie, Honest Jon's, Houndstooth, Structure Recordings and OOH-sounds have whet the appetite for more.

'Wisteria' lands on Hypercolour, and succinctly encapsulates Parker's layered and dense production aesthetic, as a myriad of concrete rhythms, breakbeat science, inner city ambience and industrial strength bass unfurl over eight uncompromising compositions.

‘Wisteria’ by Shelley Parker is available on 2LP/Digital from 25th March 2022 on Hypercolour.

South London-based 8-piece band Don't Problem is proud to present their their new album ' Liminality' planned for October 2021.

Their first three singles 'King Kong' 'Whale' and 'CD's Lament' gathered very strong media support with coverage from the likes of Mary Anne Hobbs, Jamz Supernova, Tom Robinson, WorldWide FM, BBC London, Jazz FM, Soho Radio, Amazing Radio, Radio Nova, Fip and more.

With their new album, the combo challenges the common perception of a "covers" brass band, exclusively writing original material and adding electronics, synths & strings, a reflection of their wide encompassing interests. They introduce us to a very personal journey; the moment in time where a brass band affirms their love for club culture and delivers an album that travels from heavy funk to psychedelic jazz and UK dance music.

"As 8 people writing music together, sometimes it can take a while for a tune to fully take shape. This tune came into itself in the studio which gave us the space to explore the production, sonic possibilities and instrumentation. The opening section leads to a beautiful first-take flugelhorn solo driven by lush strings, pulsing horns and electronics before reaching its soaring conclusion. The title ‘Whale’ is in reference to the Whale emoji which we use as a way to express a greatness or joy for which words can't be found."

Don't Problem's debut 'DP EP' combined the heavy funk and raw psychedelic sound of brass and drums with ferocious grime-inspired improvisation to deliver original and fresh music, aimed squarely at the dance floor. The band is comprised of 8 musicians who've played with everyone from Tenderlonius, Emma Jean Thackray, Alfa Mist, Tom Misch and Ruby Rushton to Riot Jazz.

LIMITED TO 500 COPIES. THIS IS THE REMASTERED VERSION OF EL GOODO’S SECOND ALBUM ON VINYL AT LAST.

ORIGINALLY RELEASED ON DELL’ORSO IN 2010 THE LP IS ON ECO COLOUR MIX (COMPLETELY RANDOM PATTERN AND COLOUR)
As The Sunday Times wrote back when –

This album  mixed by the Super Furries' Cian Ciaran has an incredibly sure touch in romping through 1960s (and occasionally later) pop sounds, whether early Beatles, Joe Meek meets Morricone, the Monkees or The Velvet Undeground. As the album progresses, El Goodo calmly assimilate these influences and make the sounds their own on a superb set of songs"

SFA’s young-buck buddies El Goodo are here to prove you know of at least
two Welsh bands who can kick ass, and in the hearts of some of our worlds,
save rock-n-roll. -Children of the Coal

The Welsh five piece release an album filled with summery psychedelic
harmonies and spaghetti western rhythms: a match made in vintage
heaven – PopMatters

Coyote is the sound of a band that has perfected its sense of style, while at the same time spreading its wings.- Under the Radar

Moxy Muzik are back with the second volume of their Moxy Muzik Editions. Head honcho Darius Syrossian leads the charge with 'Mercy Me', a huge favourite already with Syrossian fans after a video surfaced on the rave footage page of it absolutely booting off at Printworks and deluge of track ID requests followed. Since then, it’s been spun left, right and centre over the tail-end of 2021's festival season. Jordan Masters jumps in on remix duties too - stripping it back for a techier twist.

On the flip, Reelow comes correct with a glitched out roller, 'Daft Prunk' that has been a big hit at Darius Syrossian’s Moxy Muzik residency parties at Manchester’s Joshua brooks. Rominimal royalty Mahony then closes proceedings working his magic on the remix in trademark style.

Next up from Renegade Hardware's 'From the Vaults' rerelease series we have an EP that might have just celebrated its twentieth anniversary, but still sounds as future-proofed as ever. This is the 'Street Level EP'.
First, a bit of background. By 2001, Q Project and Spinback – or Total Science as they're known in combination – were already well-established pillars of the junglist community. Between the pair of them, they'd delivered anthems like the perennial 'Champion Sound', released on labels as disparate as Reinforced, Good Looking, Hardleaders and Metalheadz, and even dropped a full-length album, 'Advance', on their own CIA imprint.
As we journey from 'Street Level' to 'Rebel Soul' onwards to 'Room Service', we hear the influence of Total Science's junglistic roots, a sound that has remained steadfastly relevant across the generations. Breaks and samples are sliced,
twisted and manipulated into heart-palpitating arrangements, with an expert's ear for rhythm programming keeping us just the right side of insanity.
The EP is closed out with Source Direct's remix of 'Out of Touch', reconfiguring Total Science's break and bass workout into an evolving old skool-tinged surrealist landscape. So, we're shown yet another facet of drum 'n' bass music's possibilities drawn out by Hardware's roster.
And again, Renegade Hardware's 'From the Vaults' series delivers. Many current junglists are actually younger than this EP, which is why it's huge that this music has become available for them in an accessible form. Clearly, this era of stylistic meldings as jungle influence combined with drum 'n' bass technique should be a cornerstone of their musical education.

Legendary Italian musician Sergio Messina serves up his 13 track Sensual Musicology on Hell Yeah this March. It comes a couple of years after he first released on the label's Buena Onda compilation and takes in everything from demented waltz to grown-up jazz, groovy beach music to heart-aching melancholia with artwork by virtuoso Italian AD DeeMo.

Now based in Lombardy, Sergio was there at the birth of pirate radio in the mid-seventies and eventually produced Radio art for national broadcaster Rai. At the same time, his DJ career took off and he helped establish Hip hop in Rome before taking his own live show to the stage with a mix of PCs, samplers and tape recorders as early as 1989. Frank Zappa declared himself a fan and in the years since Sergio has done everything from radio art to producing Neapolitan reggae and hip hop band 99 Posse, producing his own solo albums and writing for monthly music magazine Rumore. On top of this, he has both written books about and delivered lectures on the digital porno revolution, as well as teaching History of Pop Culture at the Istituto Europeo di Design in Milan. All this makes him a truly original creative thinking who has long been immersed in many niche facets of popular culture.

Sensual Musicology took several years and four different locations to happen. Its release has been delayed by the pandemic, during which Sergio lost many friends and relatives close to him. As a result, the album is dedicated to all of them. It is a record that addresses many topics from economic migration to jazz piano, 60s blues motifs to corruption, pollution and racism via Michael Jackson covers, odes to West Coast guitar albums and spaced-out pieces of electronica.

Opening with the beautifully delicate Mingus melodies of 'Goodbye Porkpie Hat' the album roams through the bluesy Italo-American-Jamaican groove of 'Amara,' slow melancholy of 'Sometimes Remember' with classy vocals from chanteuse Valeria Rossi and 'The Way You Make Me Feel', an acoustic rebuild of Michael Jackson's hit song. Then comes the serenade that is 'Just Because You're Dead,' and ‘Sono Stufa di Tutto’ which is based around a protest speech recorded from the radio in the 1980s. Jon Hassell Beach Bar' is a musical hybridisation for dancing pleasure.

The second half of the album takes in 'Ouana Di lambo' which is the Four Twenties taking you to a cocktail bar in the tropics, 'Benjamino Placido' which is a melody for a man who inspired Sergio to start writing his columns, and 'Nowhere Special' which is a tribute to West Coast guitar albums. Closer ‘Switchblade Bolero' has a Zappaesque theme.

Sensual Musicology is a rich and diverse musical world that is as thought-provoking and deep as it is emotionally rewarding.


Early DJ Support:
Leo Mas, Phat Phil Cooper, Calm, Chris Coco, Andy (We are The Sunset), Severino (Horse Meat Disco)

For more than a decade now, Fleck E.S.C. has marked himself out as one of the most playful and prolific producers in the electro game. Across dozens of releases for labels including Bass Agenda and Science Cult, the France-born, Japan-based artist has made his name through a production style which balances limber beats with exploratory textural work.

Fleck E.S.C. debuted on Central Processing Unit in 2018 with the Discrete Opinion EP. Now, after stopping by the Sheffield label last year on a Silicon Scally remix job, Fleck E.S.C. delivers his second EP for CPU in the form of Rough Silk. The record's intriguing title proves an apt introduction to this four-track affair. These cuts are at once sleek and abrasive, anchored by robotechnic machine-funk grooves yet also full of strange, shifting shapes.

The opening title-track expertly sets out Rough Silk's stall. Heralded by gurgling synths and all manner of whirring percussive tones, 'Rough Silk' blossoms around the minute mark with the introduction of a wickedly buoyant lead synth. This is music at once visceral and full of mystery, the sound of wending through the back alleys, and the feeling carries through to the following cut 'Hat in the Cat' - as the synth pads spool out overhead, the machine-funk snap of the beat has an almost aquatic quality that links it back to Drexciya.

Much like 'Rough Silk', the record's first B-side 'Faking Sweet' also shifts gears. The opening strains of the track seem to be preparing for another insistent, expansive broken-beat pulse, but it stiffens its neck around ninety seconds in. Programmed drums whirr around a jittery machine-gun bass while discordant synths pull at the edges of the track, all of which brings a strong dystopian energy that increases further as the percussion sounds become increasingly bug-eyed.

After so much excitement, 'Digger Play' closes out the EP with a softer touch. There's still plenty of low-slung bounce to the beat, but the track runs a little slower, and there's a warm wistfulness in the synths which gives 'Digger Play' a painterly, almost poetic feel. However, while it may take its foot off the gas, the production here is as deft as it is everywhere else on Rough Silk.

With new EP Rough Silk, electro whizz Fleck E.S.C. brings the sort of casual mastery to proceedings that has characterised his career to date.

RIYL: Silicon Scally, Jensen Interceptor, Annie Hall

As for N2MU’s 7th reference Delayscape has drafted the most mature album of his career: 8 heterogeneous landscapes made of Electro, Synth and Acid to pay homage to the futuristic aesthetic of the scifi series of the 70’s.

RED/YELLOW MARBLED Vinyl

Internationally revered, multi-faceted artist Arnaud Rebotini arrives on Veyl with the new EP, 'New Territory'. While venturing into a wide array of musical genres and sonic realms, the release is still unmistakably Rebotini, fueled by infectious electro-body grooves and hypnotizing vocals.
From the utterly addictive, pulse pounding allure of “Special A” to the more industrial techno strains of 'A Noise Rose', Rebotini delivers a myriad of interconnected tracks which traverse fresh auditory landscapes but maintain a common circuitry. The poignant, anthemic lyrics of 'No More Love (No More Hate)' resonates loud and clear while the throbbing, Giallo flaire of 'Italian Sex Drive' sends shivers down the spine.
'The Pale Eastern Christ' injects a haunting atmospheric mood while the title track is irresistible ebmwave that falls perfectly in between the lines for an indelible sound that only the French producer can conjure. Rebotini’s work continues to shatter boundaries and fuse genres while essentially pioneering a category all of his own. 'New Territory' furthers the legend and keeps us begging for more.

We finally made it: BEWITH100LP! And what better way for a re-issue label to celebrate such a landmark catalogue number than to give it to a record of new music. We couldn’t resist when the artist is Official Be With Family Member Kenny Dickenson and when the music is his lovely, lovely score to French-Vietnamese artist Mai Hua's 2020 documentary film “Les Rivières”. If you enjoy the more minimal, intimate piano of the likes of Nils Frahm or John Carroll Kirby’s solo work, you’re certain to fall for this beautiful album.

Taking six years to make, Mai’s film explores what happened when she brought her dying grandmother to France, pulling together four generations of women from the same family. Kenny’s score accompanies all the pretty things, sad things, dirty, beautiful, happy, broken and reborn moments of these women’s experiences.

The whole score is built around delicate, sparkling piano motifs. At times they’re joined by cello and complemented with ambient chords and other flourishes. It’s a very particular palette that Kenny and Mai established early on, as Kenny explains: “We had agreed on a particular sonic aesthetic early on in the process - to use specific and relatively minimal instrumentation, reflecting the intimacy of the picture. So piano and cello were quite prominent in instructing a sense of space and immediacy. Until I had to get the junkyard percussion out… ”

When it comes to describing the end results, Kenny’s happy to wear his influences on his sleeve:

“When the director and I sat down for the creative meetings early in the process, we watched ‘Wolf Children’, a Japanese animation film by Mamoru Hosoda. The amazing soundtrack by Masakatsu Takagi was a launching point for me and thereafter I leaned into more modern classical composers - Reich, Sakamoto, Glass as well as Jon Hassell’s Fourth World output. Richard Reed Parry’s ‘Music for Heart and Breath’ was a good early touchstone for me and Mark Hollis’ sparse, considered and deliberate approach was a constant presence. Also labels like Ghostly, ASIP and the ubiquitous Erased Tapes should probably get a nod here too…”

We’d even suggest there’s the occasional Yann Tiersen moment in there too.

Out of sheer necessity the collaboration between Kenny and Mai continued beyond this initial creative direction. With Kenny speaking neither French nor Vietnamese, Mai acted as translator, a process that naturally lead to discussing the film beyond just what was being said in the footage. Mai herself explains just how successful this relationship felt to her: “Music plays a very important role in all my work, particularly in Les Rivières. I cried every time Kenny sent me a new composition. I felt understood in a way that words cannot describe. It was absolutely magical and I am so happy if this music can make your soul vibrate too.”

Kenny composed much of the music in London, at the same time that Mai was shooting and editing. As the film took shape and the music also evolved, another challenge presented itself when Kenny relocated to Los Angeles part way through, resulting in Arnulf Lindners beautiful cello taking on new shapes- multi sampled, played and manipulated by Kenny into new compositions.

What Kenny has put together for the film score release is definitely a “soundtrack LP”, with the music arranged to work as a proper album in its own right that should be listened to from start to finish. Indeed the album also includes a new piece “Pour Marthe” that Kenny composed in memory of Mai’s grandmother who died after the film was finished.

Kenny’s personal highlight is also ours: “When I listen back to the album as a whole now, I never want part II of the Trilogy (Belles Larmes) to end. I have fond memories of recording it and I love how the dynamic of the piece gradually evolves from falling on the ‘1 and the 3’ to the ‘1 and the 2’. It’s so short and sweet, I keep wanting it to last for longer. But it’s kind of perfect as it is.”

Pretty much our sentiment for the album as a whole.

Running a record label means we often get asked advice about pressing a record. In this case the music was too good not to offer to release it ourselves. To Kenny, having the Les Rivières score on vinyl also feels like the final part of the project.

“It’s a beautiful thing to have it on vinyl. It’s quite an intimate soundtrack so there’s something really perfect about being able to listen to it on that format. When I was a kid, my Uncle Pat who used to work at Woolworths would visit and bring random records from their record department over to us. I can remember listening to “Theme From Exodus” by Ernest Gold. I had no idea what it was about but the imagery it conjured up when listening to that record was just mind blowing to me at that age. Soundtracks can have their own life on vinyl I think, and removed from their original context is this unique format for reinvention. So I’m excited that people who haven’t (and have for that matter) seen the film can have that experience.”

This might not be a re-issue, but the Les Rivières film score album has still been given the full Be With treatment. The vinyl has been mastered by Simon Francis (under Kenny’s ever-watchful eye/ear, of course), cut by Pete Norman and pressed at Record Industry. The sleeve follows the film’s poster and other promotional material, including Lucile Gomez’s almost magical illustration.

We’re under no illusions that many people reading this will have seen “Les Rivières”, but that doesn’t really matter when it comes to listening to the score. Just on its own, Kenny’s music still captures the robustness and the delicacy of lives lived.

Some forty years into one of music’s most impactful, sometimes tense and yet curiously enduring partnerships, Tears For Fears have finally arrived together at The Tipping Point – the group’s ambitious, accomplished and surprising first new studio album in nearly two decades. Tears For Fears find themselves back in peak form at The Tipping Point, an inspired song cycle that speaks powerfully and artfully to our present tense here in 2021. This is an album that vividly recalls the depth and emotional force of the group’s earliest triumphs. Imagine a far more outward-looking take on TFF’s famously introspective 1983 debut album The Hurting set in an even more mad world, or 1985’s Songs From The Big Chair bravely confronting even bigger issues in our increasingly unruly world. Or even 1989’s The Seeds Of Love that sows a mix of love and other emotions. The Tipping Point is the bold, beautiful and powerful sound of Tears For Fears finding themselves together all over again. Available as a 1CD Mintpack, a 1CD deluxe digipak (with extra track), a Gatefold Balck 1LP.

Techno pop dance music incoming! Pretty much 10 years after its debut with the „She Knows EP“, Jet Hammer – the collaborative project of seasoned producer Nacho Marco and trusted vocalist Garen Moreno – finally expand its horizon with new songs. The Last Night EP sees the valued tradition of the extended dance mix gets rejuvenated, readjusted and reprised. Recorded between Warm Studio in Valecia and Chief’s Peak Studio in California, with influences ranging from the avant-garde fusion of Tuxedomoon to the groove of the Pet Shop Boys and the subsequent fashion that became Acid House (the UK definition, of course), the EP is home to four tracks that are cut from the same cloth.
Last Night sounds modern on the main mix and like a lost The Cure demo on the 1981 version, it’s hard to resist in either version. How We Started develops the thought into something of a power ballad and last, but not least, the instrumental version of On Your Side delivers the sugarless dessert for allergic subjects. Halcyon dance hall days ahead!