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The second strike of Leipzig’s new electro offshoot sets
Friedrich Ernst on the offensive. With these four new tracks
he progressed his sound signature from a playful but
reected 8bit world soundtrack on SELF001 to a rm and
gritty b-boy attitude. With SELF002 the do-it-yourself label
team of DJ Unisex and Friedrich Ernst back up nothing less
than their label mission: "We believe in the human mind as a
self-learning system" – and it has the basement dance in the
eye. Classic electro otakus will parté about the succinct
elements that ts each other seamlessly on Class Beat while
the groove remains alert and phantasmagoric. Back 2 The
Ol_ Skool invites two breakdance crews to battle out who
owns the oor: the pale electro robot boys on the left and the
hoover sound loving UK hardcore girls on the right. Wildstyle
is the living proof that a tight 808 groove still smashes
especially hard when complimented with a proper breakbeat.
Best played loud and from vinyl. The last bit of the whole
enchilada is almost tranquilizing until you realise how far
your stone rolled already. Rhythm Control is a crowd pleaser
with endless qualities. Collaboration partner Dominik
Widmann delivers the stunning artwork again for their
ongoing conceptual series with his acrylic paintings.
Included as A2 inlay print in every record.

"Satriani and his touring band, who all recorded remotely in separate areas of the world during lockdown, deliver an album-length journey that never dulls. The Elephants of Mars crackles with an exciting new energy, briskly traveling through stylistic roads that feel freshly updated, viewed through new eyes.
From the gripping, sci-fi madness of “Through A Mother’s Day Darkly,” to the isolation felt in a decaying urban landscape, as depicted in “Sahara,” to the general endorphin levels that peak as the elephants finally roar in the title track, The Elephants of Mars will stampede across your mind, leaving a sonic imprint that doesn’t fade.
Thanks to the pandemic removing all time constraints, The Elephants of Mars truly represents the album that Satriani himself hoped he could deliver with his band. “We did everything. We tried the craziest ideas. And we entertained every notion we had about turning something backwards, upside down, seeing what could happen.”"

"Satriani and his touring band, who all recorded remotely in separate areas of the world during lockdown, deliver an album-length journey that never dulls. The Elephants of Mars crackles with an exciting new energy, briskly traveling through stylistic roads that feel freshly updated, viewed through new eyes.
From the gripping, sci-fi madness of “Through A Mother’s Day Darkly,” to the isolation felt in a decaying urban landscape, as depicted in “Sahara,” to the general endorphin levels that peak as the elephants finally roar in the title track, The Elephants of Mars will stampede across your mind, leaving a sonic imprint that doesn’t fade.
Thanks to the pandemic removing all time constraints, The Elephants of Mars truly represents the album that Satriani himself hoped he could deliver with his band. “We did everything. We tried the craziest ideas. And we entertained every notion we had about turning something backwards, upside down, seeing what could happen.”"

Spain’s fastest-rising band, Belako are announcing a very specialedition of their 2020 album ‘Plastic Drama’. The new, deluxe double LP will be released on 8th April via BMG and includes exclusive remixes by the likes of Wolf Alice, The Vaccines, Hinds and Crystal Fighters.

Hailing from the small town of Mungia near Bilbao, Belako have been playing non-stop in Spain and beyond these past few years, building a dedicated fanbase in their native country, which has quickly been spilling out into other parts of Europe and the US.
2020’s ‘Plastic Drama’ was the band’s fourth record, but the first since signing a major international record deal, and certainly their most ambitious to date. Self-produced by the band, ‘Plastic Drama' searches for “the real meaning of things in a world that translates everything into assembly lines, manufacturing and the exploitation of living beings,” say the band. “It’s about the harsh reality our generation is facing and the only good use of new technology, which is the ability to spread the word and call for action. The title of the album has another message, as it also reminds us the first world issues we’ve come so keen to complain about. We can only hope for a more responsible human legacy”.

They were named best new band by Rolling Stone Magazine (ES) and ‘Plastic Drama’ picked up top UK support from the likes of 6 Music, Clash, DIY, Dork, The Line Of Best and NME who hailed the record as ‘a bold next step from a band who have never been afraid of the weird or the wonderful. Belako step up and earn their place among the major players of the scene’.

Relentless in their craft and a ferocious live act at their core, Belako were the first band to tour Europe in the summer of 2020, breathing new life into old forgotten Spanish cinema drive-ins across the country for their live shows. The ‘Belako Pandemic Tour’ documentary was premiered at the San Sebastian International Film Festival and will soon arrive on digital platforms.

Having supported the likes of DMA’s, QOTSA and Liam Gallagher at Finsbury Park, and played major international festivals such as Primavera, SXSW, Rock En Seine & Benicassim, Belako’s explosive live performances have excited crowds from small dive bars in their early days to huge international festivals. Their anything-can-happen stage attitude showcases the power, electricity and punk ethos of this exciting young band, which also lead to them being the first ever Spanish act to be booked for the main stage at Reading & Leeds Festival.

Fast forward to 2022, Belako reinvigorate ‘Plastic Drama’ with a 50-date world tour to be announced shortly, kickstarted with the release of their new deluxe edition album in April, featuring remixes by some of alternative music’s biggest names. The band will also celebrate the release with an album launch party on the rooftop of Madrid’s prestigious Riu Plaza on April 6th. Details for all UK dates this summer will be revealed in the coming weeks.

Loraine James' new ambient-minded alias, Whatever The Weather, follows her 2021 solo LP Reflection (Hyperdub). In contrast to her club music sensibilities, this mode embraces keyboard improvisations and vocal experimentation, foregoing percussive structure in favor of shaping atmosphere and tone. From this divergent headspace emerged new coordinates and climates, a new outlet: Whatever The Weather. A longtime fan of ambient-adjacent Ghostly International artists such as Telefon Tel Aviv (who she'd ask to master the album), HTRK (whose singer Jonnine Standish features on Nothing), and Lusine (whom she remixed at the start of 2021), James saw the label as the ideal home for this eponymous album of airy, transportive tracks as they began to formulate. The titling on Whatever The Weather works in degrees; simple parameters allowing James to focus on the nuances as a mood-builder. Her suspended universe fluctuates; freezing, thawing, swaying and blooming from track to track. James describes her jam-based approach for the sessions as "free-flowing, stopping when I felt like I was done," allowing her subconscious to lead. The improvisations have an intrinsic fluidity to them, akin to sudden weather events passing over a single environment - the location feels fixed while the conditions vary. The album opens at "25°C," a sunshower of soft hums and keys. As the longest piece, it serves to establish stability, the inflection point where any move above or below this temperate breeze breaks the bliss. Given James' proclivity for organized chaos in her production, this scene is fleeting, naturally. From that utopia, we plummet to the most melancholic read on the meter, "0°C," its isolated synth line traversing a hailstorm of steely beats and static. Next, the dial jumps for the propulsive standout "17°C." Like a timelapse of springtime in the city, the single accelerates across a frenzy of frames; car horns, screeching brakes, and crosswalk chatter fill the pauses between rapid jolts of multi-shaped percussion. For portions of the work, James leans neo-classical, rendering pensive vignettes of cascading piano keys and warm delay. "2°C (Intermittent Rain)" ends the A-Side on a short and stormy loop; a resulting sense of reset permeates the B-Side's opener, "10°C." The producer mingles intuitively on echoed organ, locking into and abandoning atypical rhythms that suggest her jazz-oriented interests. "4°C" and "30°C" display the range of James' vocal experiments. The former chops and pitches her voice to a rhythmic, otherworldly effect, the latter reveals James at her most straightforward (she cites Deftones' Chino Moreno and American Football's Mike Kinsella as inspirations), singing tenderly and unobstructed for nearly the duration before beats collide in the climax. Whatever The Weather closes at "36°C," while a sweltering heat by any standards the track eases along comfortably on a chorus of synth waves, acting as an apt bookend for this evocative, sky-tracing collection that started in a similar state. Cyclical, seasonal, and unpredictable, true to its namesake.

The disjointed space between personal happiness and global sorrow is
where Smrtdeath's new album it's fine makes its home
Written and recorded during the pandemic, one of the most dramatically isolating
experiences of our lives, the album finds Smrtdeath's Mike Skwark in a
surprisingly contented state, newly coupled up and living in bliss.'It's Fine' was
produced by Matt Malpass, who Skwark calls "fucking incredible." He's a Grammynominated producer who has worked extensively with Blink 182, along with other
artists surfing across similar genre borderlines as Smrtdeath, like Trippie Redd,
Machine Gun Kelly, and 311. His bombastic approach to sound blends perfectly
with Smrtdeath's near-spiritual use of harmony.
it's fine is loaded with amazing featured artists, a who's who in the pop punk
scene. The first song recorded for the album , "Adding Up," features Blink 182's
Mark Hoppus on vocals and guitar, and his presence brings an epicness to the
track. On "Sober," it's clear that falling in love has helped him grow up—but not too
much. Skwark calls the song, which features both Lil Lotus and Lil Aaron, the
result of "an internal conversation I've been having." It balances both the
seriousness of the subject with the fun he wants to leave behind perfectly.
"I like this album the most out of anything I've done, and I want everyone to like it
the most," Skwark says. He hopes to tour the record when the pandemic allows,
with a live band. "I want to do something less familiar to everyone, something
more like, Whoa. Something where I'm larger than myself," he says.

Sounds move across the limits of space and time to leave imprinted in the mind an album of memories full of colors and emotions, a travel journal that from the farthest corners of the world burns every kind of distance and returns through warm and strongly evocative sounds the colors, scents, rhythms, the atmospheres of distant lands. The result is a rich and evocative soundscape, where images become sounds and sounds images, where the elements of nature echo voices of different places and cultures, distant in space but deeply similar and intimately connected.

Imaginária Records has commissioned the refined experience of Giovanni Santucci and LucaEffeSunset a journey through the sounds of the world, which from the enveloping wave motion of the warm Iberian beaches carry us to the crystalline dripping of waters and voices of the Mexican jungle, crossing Balearic rhythms and Brazilian brilliance, letting ourselves be captured by the persuasive voices and the chasing rhythm of the magical formulas of the masciare, ancient mysterious witches of southern Italy. In this journey, which represents the first stage of a wide-ranging project (a trilogy that will take the shape of new musical experiences gathered around the themes of the places first and then of the return), an exciting centrifugal movement that attracts towards a single center: the beating heart of a single Mother Earth; voices, suggestions, rhythms, emotions from the far/near, in order to confirm, together with Raymond Murray Schafer, that in the end "the whole world is sound".

The next release on Cultivated Electronics Ltd shines a light on some of the fresh talent emerging from within the Electro scene across this double-vinyl 12" which will be pressed on balck and colour vinyl editions. IMOGEN has enjoyed a whirlwind rise, and her reputation as one of the most talented newcomers is well recognised. Her discography includes releases on Earwiggle, Shared Meanings and fabric where she is also a resident DJ, and presents a monthly radio show on NTS. She opens the compilation with the tough beats and twisted melodies of 'Anatta'. ARMEC (Robbie Mecrow) is an Electro and Acid producer from Manchester who has already impressed with releases on Nebulae, Echocentric, Further Electronix and most notably 20/20 Vision. His beat-led track 'Acute' delivers a serious punch with plenty of sub-bass. Russia's SERGEY TIMOSHOV is the promoter and resident DJ at Warehouse, held weekly at the Propaganda club in Moscow. Here he utilises that experience in fine style for his club-ready 'Electro Beats 1'. UK artists OBSERV and CYPHON collaborated on their debut EP for Gunfinger Food last year, but here they deliver 1 track apiece. Obzerv brings pure destruction on his tumultuous track 'Octro'. While Cyphon, known for his live hardware sets, supporting artists like Assembler Code, Radioactive Man and Afrodeutsche, plus releases on International Chrome and Blind Allies brings dark phunk to 'Nightmare'. KHALILIAN is probably best known as one half of US duo Joonam (with Elon Admony) who have been self-releasing on their Balagan label for the last few years. 'Valda' pitches things down with Detroit-esque chords and a deep, subterranean atmosphere. TOM FAZAK is a 21 year old DJ/Producer from Cardiff now based in Bristol. Better known as a DJ, he's spent the past 9 year collecting records and garnering inspiration from all aspects of dance music. For the last 3 years he's focused on production and draws on cosmic influences for his contribution, 'Weightless'. LINDSAY GREEN is one half of Co-Accused, long-standing residents of Glasgow's prolific underground club scene via their club nights in Paisley's Club 69 and the launch of their Co-Accused Records label in 2021. Going solo for the closing track, 'Creepin' bridges to gaps between Electro, Techno and Acid.

Stalactite is a collaborative recording project by renown Japanese artist and multi-instrumentalist Susumu Mukai AKA Zongamin and producer Drew Brown, whose discography ranges from his own group Off World to a variety of integral productions for artists such as Blonde Redhead and Beck. Their self-titled debut for the ESP Institute is a grand gesture, a broad stroke that illustrates both singular focus and vast complexity, which is no easy feat considering the almost oppressive immediacy and availability of tools at the disposal of contemporary artists. There’s a level of creative confidence and discipline needed to work so fundamentally, and whether or not the listener has an appetite refined enough to process the tasteful subtleties throughout this production, these same subtleties accumulate regardless and land that listener in a highly considered and developed space. The deceptively naive melodic approach consistent across these nine tracks can feel transparent, familiar to a point the listener can anticipate its path, but when listening with acute focus we find a variable range of texture, temperature, depth and negative space. As alumni of the Minimal, Cold Wave, Synth Pop era, Susumu and Drew successfully personify a motley crew of synthesizers to work in concert, reduced to their core personalities and presented as their most honest selves — austere, shy, cinematic, percolating, bulbous, glistening, cantankerous, rubberized, clumsy and animated. Each masterfully paired with complimentary counterparts, these players assemble into a sound-stage we typically find in live recordings, enveloping and inviting us to the center of an acoustic cavern to wade through sonic impressions of monolithic stalactites.

Joe Tatton, keyboard player with UK/US funk/soul jazz kings The New Mastersounds, releases this new 7 inch single in March 2022 and this time there is a lovely double A-side 7" physical vinyl option. Two tracks that showcase Joe's skills as a pianist and vocalist and confirm his talent for writing quality original compositions.

"Timeline" is Joe's spotlight on today's social media obsessed society delivered in the style of his musical hero Mose Allison. The latter was the legendary Mississippi born/New York based jazz/blues musician and singer whose wry and intelligent lyrics married to amazing original music shone a light on society and the world from the mid-1950s until his death in 2015. Mose was a huge influence on musicians like Georgie Fame, Van Morrison and Ben Sidran and was and still is one of Joe Tatton's favourite musicians of all time. This song is the title track for Joe's debut solo album due for release later this year on Rodina Music.

"Stomp" is a slow bluesy instrumental funk burner that has a New Orleans swagger about it and features Joe's grand piano solo followed by JTQ band member Gareth Lockrane cutting loose on the flute. If you like music by Allen Toussaint, Ramsay Lewis and Herbie Mann, you'll be feeling this one.

Joe Tatton has been a member of The New Mastersounds now for 16 years now and has recorded over a dozen albums and many singles with them playing organ, piano and keyboard. Annually, he tours 8-9 months a year with the band, mainly in the USA but also across Europe and Japan too. Prior to joining The New Mastersounds, Joe held down the keyboard role with UK jazz-funk kings The Haggis Horns appearing on their first two albums "Hot Damn!" and "Keep On Movin". He's also featured on piano/keyboards on the worldwide hit single "Put Your Records On" by Corinne Bailey Rae.

Over the years he has played live sets with Maceo Parker and Fred Wesley as well as Art Neville, George Porter Jr and Zigaboo Modeliste of The Meters. He's always maintained his own trio under his own name as a side project, releasing singles and EPs via ATA Records (UK) and Color Red Music (USA).
A few years ago, he needed to find the time and place to record them. So in 2020, between New Mastersounds gigs, he managed to book a few days at a studio near Nashville USA, "The Rockhouse", run by Grammy winning engineer Kevin Mckendree. He hooked up with a couple of Nashville session musicians, Steve Mackie (double bass - longtime Dolly Parton bassist) and Kenneth Blevins (drums), and put down all his original songs and also a cover of Mose Allison's "Ever since the world ended", the first single released last year

Now comes the second double A-side single and a further taste of what's in store from Joe and the band later this year when the "Timeline" album drops later in the year. However this time, there's a lovely little black vinyl offering for all the record lovers out there. Just a small first pressing which will no doubt sell out very quickly so people need to jump on it super fast. Once they're gone, they're gone.
"Time line / Stomp" double A-Side single by the Joe Tatton Trio. Released worldwide on Rodina Music - March 31st March 31st 2022.

Planet Mu presents ‘ADDLE’ – Bogdan Raczynski’s first album of new music in 15 years. Marking a change from the high-octane jungle tekno braindance for which he is most commonly known, here we find the Polish American musician in a more melodic and zen-like place of peace, which is ergonomic and decluttered, whilst also bittersweet and tinged with melancholy. ‘ADDLE’ is closest in spirit to 2001’s tender ‘myloveilove’, or the light-hearted ditties of this year’s ‘BANANS’ EP, but is also a markedly new milestone. A robust and bottom-heavy rhythm section juxtaposes with sad electronic tear jerkers, at points laced with the soft cooing wail of his vocals, which are loaded with a haunting, heavy and almost wounded emotion. Bogdan comments “Calm is great. You need to take a breather in the eye of the storm now and then. But the real growth happens in turbulence, when your feelings oscillate in and out of sync. It’s not dry land you’re after. You’re trying to build a new island while on a piddly raft. Beleaguered and weary you lay the foundation with your bare hands while the rain lashes your back; a new place for you and yours to moor yourself to until the next storm hits. ‘ADDLE’ is about that storm, its adjacent periphery, and what you look like, in and out, when you set foot. As space and time push against you, that process of adapting becomes an anchor. Among that state of being addled, out of flow, seemingly untethered, there is beauty.”

Although less unhinged and riotous than some of his previous work, ‘ADDLE’ is no less impactful. Lean, punchy and purposeful, this seemingly simple combination of beats and melody belies a razor sharp skill, which bursts with verve and virtuosity. Across its eight unique and moving tracks the listener experiences tenderness, feelings somewhere between unease and comfort, and a sense of reflection, with Bogdan seemingly gazing at twinkling stars, but with his view distorted by welling-up. Sonically, spaces range from razor-sharp choppage, juddering heavyweight head-nodders, bit-crushed siren squall and something akin to Philip Glass’ ‘Candyman’ score played through a high-tech-fairy-tale music box. There’s also a warming, life-affirming moment as close to deep house as Bogdan will ever comfortably get, neck-snapping metallic percussion, Casiotone on steroids and reverberant warehouse throb. Booming drum machines are a prominent factor too – reminiscent of early hip hop instrumentals – but spirited off somewhere, lost in purgatory. Bogdan Raczynski (born 1977) is a Polish-American electronic musician. Raczynski’s work draws inspiration from the chaotic breakbeats of jungle and hardcore rave as well as traditional Polish music and other sources. He has collaborated with Bjork, remixed Autechre, CLPNG and Jonsi from Sigur Ross, and toured with Aphex Twin, who commented how “his records are so underrated.” Bogdan was also a roster mainstay of Richard James’s seminal Rephlex label, with additional releases on Warp, Ghostly, Disciples and Unknown to the Unknown. A keen proponent of tech, he created a sample pack using pollution and recently collaborated with Polyend on a custom made banana-themed tracker.

Swarm Intelligence continues to push techno into unchartered territories with a bold new self-titled EP and label. The debut EP explores emergent technology and dystopian themes. Autonomous weaponry is hinted at in the title of the first two tracks before the resultant human resilience of ‘The Glory Is You,’ and finally AI’s awakening and gaining of sentience on ‘Edge of Chaos’. Opener ‘Lethality’ is an intense and arresting weapon. Slamming kicks and frosty synths create a wall of impenetrable techno sound that will strike fear into any dance floor. ‘Slaughterbot’ is just as punishing and dark. Mangled vocals are locked in a prison of caustic synths and tortured drums as a post-apocalyptic meltdown plays out all around. There is subtle drum funk to ‘The Glory Is You’ that lifts you above the drama. Lithe kicks bring a sense of energy as haunting sequences, bright stabs and fizzing synths weave their way in and out of the mix. The brain-frying ‘Edge of Chaos’ closes down with monstrous effects, laser-like synths firing across the track and seriously weighty and distorted drums powering things along. Swarm Intelligence is the sound of an unknown techno future made brilliantly real.

Clear Vinyl

The Psychedelic Romance experience is birthed, combining future-facing electronic music, art and healing. The venture is a collaboration between former Trouw & De School resident JP Enfant, energy practitioner & artist Cuevawolf and artist & label manager Maren Monika Brombeiss. It will offer an immersive sensory experience to its audience via an event series and label, with music produced at 432hz, a frequency known to uplift emotional wellbeing.

The trio linked in Amsterdam last year. JP had been previously running Psychedelic Romance events at the legendary Trouw, an opportunity he used to explore the musical terrain linking techno, UK bass and ambient. Over the years, the cream of the underground scene was invited to play, from Pearson Sound to boundary-pushing dubstep/bass producer 2562. He met Cuevawolf by chance mid-way through 2020, after fate would have the Mexican artist “stuck” in the Dutch capital during the pandemic. The click was instantaneous. Seasoned music industry professional and yoga practitioner Maren Monika completed the triangle. Together they seek to combine their passion for cutting-edge electronic music with consciousness-raising events and healing.
The label strand of Psychedelic Romance comes to life via JP Enfant’s ‘Somewhere Else EP’, a veritable musical Rubik’s Cube encompassing techno, ambient and bass. The five-track work includes a remix of lead track ‘Muzieklokaal’ from Bristol’s acclaimed experimental producer LCY, who reworks the playful original into a dynamic pastiche of industrial breaks and techno.

Dubbed a “local legend” of the Amsterdam scene by RA, JP Enfant has built up a credible reputation with gigs across Europe including Berghain, Melt Festival and fabric. His nuanced approach to techno has seen releases on Planet X, a.r.t.less and DGTL Records.

The conscious ethos of the project runs through every thread of Psychedelic Romance. Alongside the music being produced at 432hz, a frequency believed to support a calm body and mind, at upcoming Psychedelic Romance events, Cuevawolf will play the crystal singing bowls, which will transition the night from an uplifting sound healing session into an immersive electronic rave experience, led by JP. “Our goal is to create purposeful healing frequencies through music and art that ultimately raises and harmonizes our audience’s vibration,” Cuevawolf explains. “The idea is to marry electronic music and spirituality providing a safe space for transcendental and self-healing experiences that evolve onto a dancefloor.”

Psychedelic Romance hosted an intimate family and friends gathering during ADE week at Amsterdam’s Pamela, with music led by JP and emerging Amsterdam selector DJ Corridor. On the label front, other artists slated for appearances on Psychedelic Romance include Dutch techno artist Mary Lake and ascendant Austrian talent Arthur Robert.

180g LP + 10" im Gatefold mit Thermographie, bedruckten Innenhüllen und Download Coupon. GY!BE kehrt mit einem weiteren Soundtrack für unsere Zeit zurück, wie ihn nur dieses unnachahmliche und ehrwürdige Ensemble schmieden kann. Das neue Album besteht aus zwei fesselnden, 20-minütigen, LP-Seiten füllenden Epen aus lärmgetränktem Breitwand-Post-Rock, während die beiden begleitenden 6-minütigen Stücke der 10" die Band aus Kanada in ihrer verheerendsten, eindringlichsten und elegischsten Form zeigen. Unerbittliches Tuckern blüht auf, während einige der hochfliegenden, brennenden Melodien der Band inmitten von Geigen- und Basskontrapunkt abprallen und zusammenlaufen. Field Recordings und aufgewühlte, halb-improvisierte Passagen umrahmen diese inbrünstigen Epen. Ergreifende Atmosphären, geräuschhafte Orchestrierung, Drone, hypnotische Swingtime-Crescendos, unaufhaltsam geschichtete Türme aus verzerrtem Klargesang: STATE'S END verkörpert jede geliebte Facette der Band. Fünfundzwanzig Jahre später ist dieses neue Album so vital, mitreißend, zeitgemäß und unerbittlich wie jedes andere in der geschichtsträchtigen Diskographie von Godspeed You! Black Emperor. So wie STATE'S END die ganze Bandbreite der klanglichen Trademarks von Godspeed vereint, so umspannt auch das Album-Artwork die gesamte visuelle Geschichte der Band: die körnige, monochromatische Fotografie der letzten Veröffentlichungen findet ihren Weg auf die Innenhüllen, während das Klappcover auf die ikonischen Grafiken früherer Klassiker wie Slow Riot For New Zero Kanada und Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven zurückgreift. STATE'S END ist mit Illustrationen von William Schmiechen versehen, wobei die Taijitu-Blumen auf der Vorderseite und die Tränengaskanister auf der Rückseite des Covers in erhabener, thermografischer, schwarzer Tinte auf dem Doppelvinyl-Albumcover abgebildet sind. Das leuchtende Kreuz von Godspeeds Debütalbum F#A#INFINITY taucht auch auf der Innenseite des Klappdeckels wieder auf, als wiederkehrende Hommage an das elektrifizierte Hügelkreuz in der Heimatstadt der Band in Montreal. STATE'S END wurde im Oktober 2020 in Montreal im Homebase-Studio der Gruppe, Thee Mighty Hotel2Tango, von Jace Lasek aufgenommen und abgemischt, dem altgedienten und preisgekrönten Indie-Produzenten (und Mitbegründer von The Besnard Lakes), der mit Godspeed bei dieser Aufnahme zum ersten Mal zusammenarbeitet. Danke fürs Zuhören. UNSERE SEITE MUSS GEWINNEN. (R.I.P. D.H.) ENG audiophile 180gLP + 10" in gatefold jacket with thermography, colour flood interior, artworked inners, DL card. GYBE returns with another soundtrack for our times, like only this inimitable and venerable ensemble can forge. As the heretical impudence of the anarcho-punk title implies, Godspeed harnesses some particularly raw power, spittle and grit across two riveting 20-minute side-length trajectories of noise-drenched widescreen post-rock: inexorable chug blossoms into blown-out twang, as some of the band's most soaring, searing melodies ricochet and converge amidst violin and bassline counterpoint. Field recordings and roiling semi-improvised passages frame these fervent epics, and two shorter self-contained 6-minute pieces find the band at its most devastatingly beautiful, haunting and elegiac. Poignant atmospherics, noisedrenched orchestration, drone, hypnotic swingtime crescendos, inexorably-layered towers of distorted clarion sound: STATE'S END encapsulates every beloved facet of the band. Twenty-five years on, this new album is as vital, stirring, timely and implacable as any in Godspeed You! Black Emperor's storied discography. Just as STATE'S END summons the gamut of Godspeed's constituent sonic trademarks, so the album artwork spans the entirety of the band's visual history: the grainy monochromatic photography of recent releases finds its way onto the inner sleeves, while the gatefold cover art harkens back to the iconic graphics of earlier classic records like Slow Riot For New Zero Kanada and Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven. STATE'S END features illustrations by William Schmiechen, with the front cover taijitu flowers and back cover tear gas canisters rendered in raised thermographic black ink on the double-vinyl album jacket. The illuminated cross from Godspeed's debut F#A#8 also makes a reappearance on the inside gatefold drawing, in recurrent homage to the electrified hilltop landmark crucifix of the band's Montreal hometown. STATE'S END was recorded and mixed in Montreal in October 2020 at the group's homebase studio Thee Mighty Hotel2Tango by Jace Lasek, the veteran awardwinning indie producer (and co-founder of The Besnard Lakes) who works with Godspeed for the first time on this recording. Thanks for listening. OUR SIDE HAS TO WIN. (R.I.P. D.H.)

Very limited new repress coming, note new price. An air of the unsettled is a staple of Robert Lloyd’s career, from The Prefects’s dank dexterity and jittery paranoia of the first Nightingales’ release, Idiot Strength, onward through four decades of top-notch recordings. If the unique persona of Lloyd and crew always came across on their ten albums and countless line-ups, it was largely as an acquired taste of the musical cognoscenti. Labels good and bad seemed to feel, at one point or another, a public duty and a point of pride to release a Nightingales album before returning to the business of business. Four Against Fate is remarkable. It’s the work of what’s now the band’s longest-serving line-up. The instrumental precision of any version of Nightingales has been one of the band’s defining hallmarks, but the psychic interplay of a group can take a few albums to kick in with full majesty - here’s proof of that. The rhythm section of Fliss and Andi functions now on a purely intuitive level. Jim’s work now ranks with that of any guitarist in modern ‘rock’ music, not just in originality, but also across an egalitarian mass of inspiration. Each member sings. Although Robert’s voice functions as the band’s superego, Fliss takes lead in several songs. Few bands today sound as much like a single unit as do Nightingales, but this group has the bonus of a distinct and credible musical language, exemplified by The Desperate Quartet, which comes across as both a medieval war march and the anthem of looming apocalypse. When at the song’s halfway point, American classical musician Clara Kebabian’s violin and Mark Bedford’s (of Madness) double bass overtake the Robert, Fliss, Jim and Andi, it’s a jawdropper of such intense perversity that it alone defies the listener to not play the album again from the start. Not that this album lacks ‘hits’ - The Top Shelf, Everything Everywhere All Of The Time, Devil’s Due and The Other Side are stunners. Robert claims Four Against Fate is the first of his album on which he skips no tracks on playback! Finally, the world has awakened to one of British music’s last treasures. After forty years of new labels, this is the first time Nightingales have released an album on the same label as their last full-length.

It begins with a rustle of noise, equally reminiscent of distorted factory noise and a cassette recording of cathedral bells unspooling, before a near-robotic beat and stuttering bassline enter the fray. Initially, you could be forgiven for thinking you’ve stumbled across the lost tapes of Joy Division’s early Warsaw incarnation, but the atonal blast of strafing guitars fading in and out soon make you realise this is a very different proposition. This is The Drin, and ‘Engines Sing for the Pale Moon’ is their debut album. It’s also one of the best things you’ll hear all year. Helmed by Dylan McCartney, drummer of the rock band Vacation, The Drin originally released this album as a hyper-limited cassette via Future Shock. It’s as much of a departure from McCartney’s usual output as it is for Drunken Sailor Records; songs don’t so much explode out of the gate as drift towards you like a creeping fog that turns your skin inside-out and leaves you sloshing organs all across the carpet. Second track ‘Guillotine Blade’ shows the pieces all coming together, a dubbed-out riot of claustrophobic noise that feels like Pere Ubu trapped in a cupboard one minute, and ‘Warm Jets’-era Eno trying on Bauhaus’ trenchcoats the next. Meanwhile, ‘Down Her Cheek A Party Tear’ unfolds across jittering, skittering rustles of drums and an undulating bassline, making you wonder why post-millennial post-punk so often settles for dickheads shouting non-sequiturs over landfill indie, when it could be entering these dark, unsettling territories instead. The Drin like to get weird. The Drin like to get wild. The Drin rarely cut loose, but that’s because the trip is already intense and haunting enough without things getting raucous in here as well. Hey kids, turn off those shite band name redacted records and get into this; you deserve so much better, and better’s right here. Fall into it, immerse yourself and step forward into a brave new world. I love this record

Eyedress' fourth album 'Mulholland Drive' is the latest evolution of the
Filipino musician's unique sound
Following his 2020 breakthrough 'Let's Skip To The Wedding', which introduced
global hits 'Jealous' and 'Romantic Lover', the new record features collaborations
with some of his favourite artists - King Krule, Dam-FunK, Triathalon, Vex Ruffin
and more, while staying true to his vision."This album is about loving yourself and
your life" Eyedress.
Album art by Brain Dead.
Recent Eyedress highlights:
'Jealous' hit 240M streams across platforms.
'Romantic Lover' hit 60M streams across platforms.
#14 Rolling Stone's 'Trending 25' for 'Romantic Lover'.
#19 Rolling Stone's 'Breakthrough 25', featuring "the fastest-rising artists of the
month".
Radio support from from Phil Taggart on BBC R1, Jamz Supernova on 1Xtra,
Steve Lamacq Tom Ravenscroft & Gilles Peterson on 6Music, and BBC Asian
Network.
Press support from Pitchfork, Hypebeast, DIY, Dummy, FADER, Alternative Press,
Pigeons and Planes, and Crack.

Montparnasse Musique is a balance of two distinct sensibilities: Algerian-French producer Nadjib Ben Bella’s passion for raw organic beats, and South African DJ Aero Manyelo’s love of DIY synthesis in the digital realm. It’s a bold blend of fresh and processed flavours; the acoustic grit of traditional Africa combined with the pulse of modern Johannesburg — gqom, kwaito, techno, afrohouse. Together they produce an electro-acoustic sound, loaded with infectious hooks, uncompromising and authentic. For their self-titled debut EP, the cross-continental duo collaborates with Congolese bands Kasai Allstars, Konono Nº1, Mbongwana Star and Basokin on five audacious dance tracks forged from the tribal rhythms and mystic voices of the Kasai rainforests, amplified by the aggressive growl of hand-wrought instruments from Kinshasa’s urban wilderness, and augmented with the slick precision of an EDM toolkit. The end result is an inevitable evolution of Congotronics into a sharp-edged, club-ready sound. Nadjib Ben Bella is a DJ and producer who draws influences from the gnawa music of his North African roots and a diverse range of Sub-Saharan sounds from musicians he has worked with over the years. Most recently he has been touring Europe with West African band Les Amazones d’Afrique. Aero Manyelo, a name now synonymous with the burgeoning South African house scene, has honed a distinctive electronic sound that translates across the international club circuit and has attracted a broad range of collaborators — including Idris Elba and The Mahotella Queens on the opening track of an album inspired by the Nelson Mandela biopic Long Walk to Freedom. The EP was recorded and mixed by Kwezydoctor at Khaima Studio in Lille, France.



c 3 Bitumba (feat. Mbongwana Star) Extended
d 4 Sukuma (feat. Muambuyi) [Extended]
[Extended]

‘This Here Feels Good’ is the sound of an artist using music as
their second language. With all music self-produced / written,
Kay Young is defining an original generation of Black British
Music.

Moving between tightly rapped verses and glorious vocal
performances, often within the space of one track as well as
across the whole EP.

The release is a stunning collection of songs which expands
upon the sonic blueprint Kay has already laid out, that caught
the attention of Jay Electronica and Jay-Z, who later signed her
to Roc Nation.

She delves deeper into dance and soul while continuing to
explore themes of familial legacy and cultural relation, keeping a
perfect balance between lyrical vulnerability and musical uplift.

Live TV performance for Other Voices (Dec 2021), TV
performance for BT Sport (May 2021), Clash New Gen Artist
(autumn 2021), plus performances last year at Boiler Room
Festival, South Facing Festival, BBC Intro Live Summer By The
River, Live at Leeds Festival and more.

Supporting Jay Electronica for UK tour.

“uplifting groove” - The Fader

“pertinent, powerful lyrics” - Cool Hunting

“Young will undoubtedly keep shining” - Line of Best Fit

“Pure and bright promise.” - Beats Per Minute

“Kay Young finds a balance between smooth vocals and hardhitting lyrics” - Gigwise

“one of the UK’s most promising up and coming talents.” - Alfitude

“...an extremely exciting future ahead.” - CLASH Radio - 6 Music, BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio London, BBC 1Xtra, Amazing Radio A-List.

Chris Imler likes to play drums standing up. He‘s the dandy with the killer offbeat, or, as one major German newspaper once put it, the "Grand Seigneur of the Berlin Underground". He has been making his mark on countless Berlin musical affairs since long before the fall of the Wall, with The Golden Showers, Peaches, Oum Shatt, Driver &Driver, Die Türen, Jens Friebe, to name but a few. He has also been perfoming across Europe as a solo artist for the past decade.

In "Operation Schönheit" (German for "Operation Beauty"), he has recorded his most, well, beautiful album to date. But Benedikt Frey's warm production subverts its own beauty with a multitude of clanking and ingling synth sounds, making the work very much about the cosmetic surgery it performs on itself. It's all in the tradition of the more experimental and electronic side of post-punk in which Imler and his unique groove are rooted. It doesn't take insider knowledge of Berlin's post-punk underground to realise that that Imler groove consists of rhythm that sings, vocals that dance and a look that fits, as illustrated by "Disappoint Me", his latest video: https://youtu.be/YeVJ75ljjB8

Elsewhere - such as in "Movies" - the rhythm sings, less electronically reduced, into the acoustics of an old, high-ceilinged Berlin apartment; metal clatters, a zither trembles and Imler plays with the metronome. Sometimes he moves ahead of time, sometimes trails behind it. He always manages to be in his very own groove, which carries everything along. And this is precisely the essence of the Imler rhythm, which lends itself to being applied to the very rhythm of life: Stretch and compress your time and loop it according to your own groove! Optimise nothing but feel everything! And dance to it! Even when contemplating everyday information overload, as Imler's high-speed mumbling suggests in the hectic yet smooth opening track "Temperature".

But being the ultimate night owl he is, Imler manages to make even the odd bout of paranoia seem like a good thing: like some kind of krauty, groovy B-horror-soundtrack-inflected high-pressure environment, "Whip Me" is a cross between Conrad Schnitzler and Bauhaus. In the title track, whose lyrics were written together with Jens Friebe, he intones: "You want to be something greater / You break your leg / When it heals again / You break it again" and sounds like the most gleeful fatalist you can imagine. Because in his city, one can still lose oneself better than anywhere else - a night easily becomes a whole universe that can be traversed, marvelled at and played with, and one might find one's old self again only when hearing "church bells" and "small birds singing". At least that's how Imler illustrates it in "Emptiness full of stars", and it seems likely that those "stars" are the human companions of the Berlin night in question.

And so once again Imler becomes Berlin's most important cultural ambassador: that scene of the eternally, and somehow successfully, failing creatures of the night, once the envy of the international postmodern bohème, has, despite many claims to the contrary, not been completely "optimised away", and its attitude to life is perfectly summed up in Imler's groove. And, of course, his look. "Schau Hin" (German for "Look!"), he sings in the track of the same name, masterfully dubbed out with the help of Melbourne's Leo James.

Quite right! Look - and listen.

Yours, Johannes von Weizsäcker (The Chap)

Birthed in the bohemian enclave and epicentre of strange vibrations that is Calderdale in West Yorkshire, Hexen Valley’s story began in summer 2021 when a new formation of Gnod came together in a co-op house at the 200-year-old Nutclough Tavern. As always, the line-up of the collective shifted and morphed to fit circumstances, and soon they embarked on intensive jamming that was eventually captured by Sam Greenwood in Hebden Bridge Underground studios. Inspiration struck not only from the chemistry of the four musicians in this confined room but all around - the band’s Paddy Shine cites the likes of shop noticeboard messages and pub conversations in Hebden as lyrical sparks; channeling by his reckoning the ‘valley fever’ that exists somewhere in the chasms and contrasts between the amazing light and vivacity of the valley summit and the comparative darkness of the towns below. Meanwhile, musical shapes were making themselves known seemingly of their own volition, from ‘Still Running’, which takes shape across a sonic hinterland between Daydream Nation-style kineticism and sludged-out aggression to ‘Bad Apple’ - an entirely spontaneous piece of potent and angular post-punk intensity. Perhaps most surprisingly of all, Lou Reed’s tour-bus favourite ‘Waves Of Fear’ is hammered out with fearsome gusto into a salvo of first-take catharsis and alchemy, fit to transcend all or any oppressive atmospheres that surround.Hexen Valley is the sound of a band whose fearsome intensity is only matched by their evolutionary drive. It’s Gnod at full power, and it’s a haunted place you might struggle to leave

Birthed in the bohemian enclave and epicentre of strange vibrations that is Calderdale in West Yorkshire, Hexen Valley’s story began in summer 2021 when a new formation of Gnod came together in a co-op house at the 200-year-old Nutclough Tavern. As always, the line-up of the collective shifted and morphed to fit circumstances, and soon they embarked on intensive jamming that was eventually captured by Sam Greenwood in Hebden Bridge Underground studios. Inspiration struck not only from the chemistry of the four musicians in this confined room but all around - the band’s Paddy Shine cites the likes of shop noticeboard messages and pub conversations in Hebden as lyrical sparks; channeling by his reckoning the ‘valley fever’ that exists somewhere in the chasms and contrasts between the amazing light and vivacity of the valley summit and the comparative darkness of the towns below. Meanwhile, musical shapes were making themselves known seemingly of their own volition, from ‘Still Running’, which takes shape across a sonic hinterland between Daydream Nation-style kineticism and sludged-out aggression to ‘Bad Apple’ - an entirely spontaneous piece of potent and angular post-punk intensity. Perhaps most surprisingly of all, Lou Reed’s tour-bus favourite ‘Waves Of Fear’ is hammered out with fearsome gusto into a salvo of first-take catharsis and alchemy, fit to transcend all or any oppressive atmospheres that surround.Hexen Valley is the sound of a band whose fearsome intensity is only matched by their evolutionary drive. It’s Gnod at full power, and it’s a haunted place you might struggle to leave

Very limited double black vinyl, Download Card Included. No returns. This is for Indies Only. Seminal post–hardcore band Girls Against Boys are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the 1996 release of their critically acclaimed album House of GVSB with a double vinyl reissue of the album. Packaged in a full-color gatefold jacket, side A and B are the original album remastered by Bob Weston (Shellac). Side C and D feature odds and ends from the band’s 90s era work including sought-after b-sides, singles, compilation tracks, and one previously unreleased recording. Beginning February 4, 2022, GvsB will embark on their first tour since 2013. The band will be playing songs from across their entire catalog with stops in Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, and Seattle, among other cities. European dates to be announced soon. “the great ’90s post-hardcore thud-masters” Stereogum // “A pathbreaking hard-rock opus that plays like one long money shot” SPIN #5 Top Album of the Year

Back in May 2019, Vancouver trio Corner Boys released their sole album… and promptly split a few months later. In retrospect, they couldn’t have known that the album’s title (‘Waiting For 2020’) would soon seem grimly ironic - and we all know why, right? No reason to go over all that shit again. But while the past two years have at least seen drummer/songwriter Patrick McEachnie staying active across two essential records with hardcore heroes Chain Whip, lockdown saw him switching roles. Basically, he bought a guitar and made an excellent record all on his lonesome, and as followers of his other projects will have come to expect, it’s fucking excellent. ‘Glad To Be Forgotten’ is the debut album by Pack Rat - in some ways you can see some level of crossover with Corner Boys in its manic energy and dedication to hooks (cuts like ‘Next Time Hit Me’ and ‘My Own Reality’ are so damn catchy, you could be forgiven for thinking you’ve already been listening to ‘em on repeat for the past 20 years). Familiar reference points show up (the melodies of the Pointed Sticks; the garage-slanted rifferama of Rudi or The Undertones) while a tinny budget synth keeps things ticking along nicely, just to remind you that this is a homespun DIY project. But honestly, this has the feel of a fully fleshed-out project and leaves you desperate for another fix of its sweet’n’sour tang. For anyone who loves the collision point between ‘New Rose’, powerpop sunshine and sheer rock’n’roll exuberance, this is essential. For everyone else, this is surely the gateway to all of that good stuff. You want to hear the tunes that’ll star on future generations’ equivalents to the Killed By Death comps? That’ll set your pulse soaring and your pogo muscles into overdrive? That’ll remind you of why this punk rock business still feels worth dedicating your life to, even after all this time? Hey, Pack Rat’s got ‘em. Now do your part

While sailing safe towards the glorious shores of release number 60 across the whole catalogue, we are proud to present you a previously unissued alternate take of the immense recording that saw the light on Brute in 1967, and earned a well deserved induction in the hall of fame of the greatest rare soul records of all times by becoming a steady classic at all major worldwide soul events starting from Stafford.

LA FAMILIA AUFLAGE!!!

GOLD, the follow-up to Alabaster DePlume's widely-acclaimed, 2020-
released cinematic instrumental LP To Cy & Lee: Instrumentals Vol. 1,
introduces the world to the artist’s truest self.

That is... though DePlume’s now known across the globe as the saxophonist who created that collection of wonderful, wordless music, he’s most known to fervent fans in his home zone of London, UK, as an outspoken poet and orator, beloved for his inspiring words of encouragement and sing-a-long-able songs about vulnerability, humanity, and courage. GOLD is a sprawling double album that finds DePlume expressing both sides of his artistic character beautifully: (1) an articulate singer and songwriter who invokes the melodious crooning of Donovan as much as Devendra Banhart or Syd Barrett, whose tunes are almost like mini-sermons, full of existential comedy and spiritual enlightenment; and (2) a brilliant composer of simple, soothing, and viscerally nourishing instrumental melodies, with a gift for expanding them into intrepid collective improvisations, led by a delicate and distinguished saxophone tone that conjures the fluttery sweetness of the great Ethiopique Getatchew Mekurya.

Packaging specs: Black & 'Eye of the Sun' coloured Vinyl 2xLP in Heavyweight Gatefold Jacket with Gold-Foil Stamp over Reverse-Board print, with Insert Sheet, IA OBI Strip and Dome-Pattern Inner Sleeves

The Brkn Record is a new project led and produced by Jake Ferguson, the co-founder and bass player for the UK's foundational deep jazz outfit the Heliocentrics. With fellow Heliocentrics co-founder and legendary drummer Malcolm Catto, Ferguson has been a regular collaborator with globally recognised artists including Archie Shepp, Mulatu Astatke, Melvin Van Peebles, Orlando Julius and many others. The Architecture of Oppression Part 1 represents Ferguson's debut as a bandleader and orchestrator, and manifests as a committed and soulful response to ongoing and systemic anti-black racism, social oppression and state violence both at home in London and across the globe. Combining poetry, testimony and song with rich and cinematic backdrops, Ferguson has produced a sui generis sound that conjures flavours of Arthur Verocai, Ennio Morricone, classic library productions, Madlib-style deep-jazz beat science, and psychedelic soul. With bandmate Malcolm Catto on drums, Ferguson draws on their long years of collaborative experience in the Heliocentrics to build an album of striking texture and depth.

The Brkn Record is a new project led and produced by Jake Ferguson, the co-founder and bass player for the UK's foundational deep jazz outfit the Heliocentrics. With fellow Heliocentrics co-founder and legendary drummer Malcolm Catto, Ferguson has been a regular collaborator with globally recognised artists including Archie Shepp, Mulatu Astatke, Melvin Van Peebles, Orlando Julius and many others. The Architecture of Oppression Part 1 represents Ferguson's debut as a bandleader and orchestrator, and manifests as a committed and soulful response to ongoing and systemic anti-black racism, social oppression and state violence both at home in London and across the globe. Combining poetry, testimony and song with rich and cinematic backdrops, Ferguson has produced a sui generis sound that conjures flavours of Arthur Verocai, Ennio Morricone, classic library productions, Madlib-style deep-jazz beat science, and psychedelic soul. With bandmate Malcolm Catto on drums, Ferguson draws on their long years of collaborative experience in the Heliocentrics to build an album of striking texture and depth.

First Word Records is very proud to welcome back Don Leisure, with a brand new 25-track album 'Shaboo Strikes Back'.

Five years have passed since the first 'Shaboo' album was released. A collection of beats and pieces that documented the road trip of Don's youth - hip hop music interspersed with Asian radio station jingles of old, dedicated to Bollywood actor, Nasser 'Shaboo' Bharwani - Don Leisure's late uncle.

This album was heralded as "the best album of its kind since J Dilla's 'Donuts'" and deemed "unmissable" by the folks at Piccadilly Records. It also had strong support from BBC 6 Music's Tom Ravenscroft ("very, very good this indeed"), Huey Morgan ("my beat of the week"), Worldwide FM's Lefto ("defo down with this"), Rob Da Bank ("this is wicked") and the likes of Mathieu Schreyer (KCRW, LA), Alex Ruder (KEXP, Seattle), Kid Fonque (5FM, South Africa), Om Unit, Jon1st, Mr Thing, Rob Luis (Tru Thoughts), Dom Servini (Wah Wah 45s), Tim Parker (NTS) and tons more from across the globe.

Don Leisure is a DJ and producer based in Cardiff, Wales, sometimes known as one half of Darkhouse Family, along with Earl Jeffers. He's been a prolific beat-maker for many years, releasing under a variety of monikers for labels such as Metalheadz, International Anthem, Fat City, Izwid, Earnest Endeavours and Group BraCil. His most recent release was a remix for Gruff Rhys, which was released on Rough Trade.

In 2020 he was nominated for the Welsh Music Prize for his 'Steel Zakusi' project, and has dropped several releases for First Word, including the acclaimed 2019 'Halal Cool J' album and various Darkhouse Family projects, including collabs with artists as diverse as Charlotte Church, Om'Mas Keith and Children of Zeus's Tyler Daley, additionally to remixes from DJ Spinna and label-mate, Kaidi Tatham. As a DJ he has provided mixes for BBC 6 Music, NTS, Rinse FM, Solid Steel and Boxout FM in India, as well as performing at The Jazz Cafe, Fabric and on Boiler Room.

'Shaboo Strikes Back' is a much-awaited sequel to the 2017 smash, and again features a modest 25 tracks. Psychedelic fuzzy samples and phat beats aplenty, Don Leisure once again takes us on a far-out trip across soundscapes. A real tapestry of flavours, from jazz to reggae, and from the soulful to the spiritual, this time round he's invited a few special guests to join him on his travels - most notably Welsh legend Gruff Rhys provides the vocals on 'Neon Drizzle (Hotel Shaboo)', whilst acclaimed multi-instrumentalist Angel Bat Dawid and Jazzman-signed harpist Amanda Whiting lend their talents to 'All Praises Due'. There is even a special cameo appearance from his young daughter, (aka Shaboo's great-niece!), Naima, on 'Naima's Dream'.

Once again, this is a journey into sound.

'Shaboo Strikes Back' is released on vinyl & digital by First Word Records, March 2022.

Dedicated to Nasser 'Shaboo' Bharwan
























x 24: Neon Drizzle (Hotel Shaboo) feat. Gruff Rhys

Shit And Shine is back on home turf with Riot Season again for another festering collection of filth and ooze.
Raw . Brutal . Live sludge.
Recorded in Austin, Texas bedrooms and kitchens during shitty lockdown.
It’s fucking HEAVY!

One of the all-time greats of Brazilian jazz fusion, Flora Purim, returns with her first studio album in over 15 years, 'If You Will',released on Strut. Conceived as a celebration of her music and collaborations, the album explores new compositions alongside fresh versions of Flora's favourite personal songs and positive lyrics from across her varied career. The album is the latest chapter in Flora's long, illustrious and varied career. As well as her celebrated partnership with Airto and herearly days with Quarteto Novo, Flora has worked with Stan Getz, Gil Evans, Miriam Makeba, George Duke, Chick Corea (as an original member of Return To Forever), Dizzy Gillespie's United Nation Orchestra, Uruguayan band Opa and many more. Her solo albums on Milestone remain true jazz fusion classics.

A masterful mix of timeless American soul with vintage 1970s African samples in a most rewarding way – musical traveler Eamon teams with production duo Likeminds for No Matter The Season, his second album for Now-Again. “I’ve been singing since I was a tike, promoters used to call me ‘the boy wonder’, but with this record it felt new, almost like I was singing every note as if my life depended on it,” says Eamon from his home in Southern California, a far cry from his native Staten Island, New York City. But you wouldn’t know his birthplace from the way he sings, especially on No Matter The Season, where Eamon put a new spin on vintage samples from the Now-Again catalog, crafting beats from various African rhythms such as Amanaz’s Zamrock, the Hygrades Nigerian funk, and Ayalew Mesfin’s Ethiopian tezetas. Shortly after the release of his last Now-Again project, Captive Thoughts, he began working with the production duo on two original compositions that appear on No Matter The Season. But as time went on, he came upon the idea of completing the album by sending the duo samples from the Now-Again catalog to work with. Which were expanded upon with a multitude of live instruments. “There was something special about combing through the African records at Now-Again,” Eamon reflects. “I had never heard the variety of funk and soul that existed in places like Lagos and Addis Ababa, it was like a history lesson in Rhythm & Blues. I was hearing the godfathers of the movement here in the US. I wanted to pay my respect to that lineage. Since singing in my father’s doo-wop group as a kid, I’ve always used music from the past to create and express something new in the present. But to be able to do that across continents and get back to the roots…that was really impactful for me.” Likeminds, helmed by Chris Soper and Jesse Singer, two East Coast transplants to LA who are as comfortable chopping up samples on an MPC as they are playing classic instruments, using vintage microphones, or recording to tape, offer up what could be described as a West Coast spin on the revivalist soul sound championed by Daptone Records. “For sure, the album is soaked in an old school feel, but to still tap into the depths of my soul today is always the end goal,” Eamon states. All but two tracks are based on Now-Again samples, using the classic rhythms as accompaniment to showcase Eamon’s emotional singing style that is still as honest and raw as when he was a 16, singing about heartbreak. The end result, No Matter the Season, is a celebration of the musical relationship between Africa and America and the thrilling soul music that relationship has spawned since the 60s and 70s. “My hope is people know that I’m not leaving anything on the table in this chapter of my career,” Eamon reflects. “Only thing I can do is pour my heart out on every single line. Even though I’m writing and screaming to the heavens about my joy, my pain, my love…these are songs for everyone, everywhere, anytime. You’re gonna walk away feeling something. This is why I titled the album No Matter The Season.”

Signed to Columbia Records, Maren Morris is one of the leading country music voices of her generation. The 4 x platinum selling 'The Bones' topped the US Billboard country songs chart for an incredible 19 weeks in 2020. She has since won multiple awards. This album is the follow up to 2019's critically acclaimed 'Girl'. This is an 11 song album available on standard LP and CD. Strong support at radio, with plays across R2, Absolute, Virgin and ILR specialist shows. Ads, features, interviews and reviews across all press. Online/social media activity. Poster campaign and database mailout.

ARCHITECTS’ new album captures a historic live stream performance
event at the iconic Abbey Road studios: spiritual home to legends like
The Beatles and Pink Floyd

Dubbed For Those That Wish To Exist at Abbey Road, the album features a reimagined orchestral version of their masterpiece album For Those That Wish To Exist, backed by their friends in the Parallax Orchestra, the well- respected UK based orchestra made up of some of England’s best and most versatile classical musicians, arranged and written by Simon Dobson, Parallax Orchestra’s conductor and a three times British Composer award (BASCA) winner for his
compositions.Vocalist Sam Carter speaks to the cultural importance of Abbey Road Studios, “It’s such an important part of music in not only the U.K. but all across the world. Some of the biggest and most important records of all time were recorded there. It’s such a joy to even be allowed into the building, let alone to record there. It’s a very special place; I still can’t quite believe we were able to create there.”

ARCHITECTS’ new album captures a historic live stream performance event at the iconic Abbey Road studios: spiritual home to legends like The Beatles and Pink Floyd. Dubbed For Those That Wish To Exist at Abbey Road, the album features a reimagined orchestral version of their masterpiece album For Those That Wish To Exist, backed by their friends in the Parallax Orchestra, the wellrespected UK based orchestra made up of some of England’s best and most versatile classical musicians, arranged and written by Simon Dobson, Parallax
Orchestra’s conductor and a three times British Composer award (BASCA) winner for his compositions. Vocalist Sam Carter speaks to the cultural importance of Abbey Road Studios, “It’s such an important part of music in not only the U.K. but all across the world. Some of the biggest and most important records of all time were recorded there. It’s such a joy to even be allowed into the building, let alone to record there. It’s a very special place; I still can’t quite believe we were able to create there.”

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.

GLOK is the electronic alter ego of Andy Bell; best-knownas the guitarist in venerated shoegazers Ride, alongside stints in other famous groups, with a noteworthy solo careertoo. This October his first album proper as GLOK - 'Pattern Recognition' - is released via Ransom Note Records' sisterlabel Bytes. Although usually renowned for purveying the finest quality jangle, drone and general guitar-based magic, Bell's forayinto dance music should come as less of a surprise than immediately meets the eye. There are parallels between the genres within the sonically-deep layers, hypnotic sound and trance-like headspaces, or, as he puts it more succinctly: "GLOK is all about the push and pull between electronic and psych in my music." Although not a full-blown concept album, 'Pattern Recognition' has a loose thread which takes in a week of life, from weekend to weekend, with each of the vinyl's four sides capturing different mind states across that transition. Each side has a distinct feel that's different to the last but inherently cohesive - much like the changes an individual goes through over 7 days. Across the album with loving craft Andy weaves together throbbing dubbed-out acid, steamy jack trax, levitational psychedelia, sparkling Balearic, techno, Kosmische, shoegaze, art rock and Compass Point-style post punk -with just a hint of ambient, new age and contemporary classical too.

REPRESS

5th album by the nine-piece instrumental collective from Amsterdam, Jungle by Night. Incl. downloadcard
After almost a decade of heating up dancefloors across the globe, Jungle by Night have reached manhood. In the process of creating their 5th album, the nine-headed collective melted years of passion, friendship, and influences from krautrock, dance, jazz, afrobeat together into new instrumental prose, fluently speaking the language of their instruments.

The band is an oddball ensemble within its own cosmos. A danceable and thundering live-act, connecting with crowds like no other, with beaming fun and energy along the way.

Released in 1983 on a miniscule run of 300-self-financed LP’s, Dennis Taylor’s ‘Dayspring’ remains a lost masterwork of transcendental instrumental guitar. An important missing link between the 60’s folkloric experimentalism of John Fahey and Robbie Basho, and the new age atmospherics mined by William Ackerman and Michael Hedges in the early 80’s. Though Taylor’s guitar playing remains crisply unadorned on these 10 tracks, his technique and his compositions stretch beyond the folk roots of the genre. He crafts a soundworld that is both immersive and familiar. His pastoralism has a spaciousness - a pianistic drift - that feels truly timeless.

Taylor cut his musical teeth through the 60’s and 70’s playing with garage rock bands, and later finding his footing in the world of jazz/folk fusion. Sometime in the early 70’s, Taylor found his most profound inspiration to date when he witnessed a live performance from Takoma Records luminary, Leo Kottke. Enraptured by Kottke’s ability to fill the room so completely, with the sound of just one instrument, Taylor was determined to follow a similar path. Thus, he began composing music for solo guitar. He spent nearly a decade writing and honing his pieces, finally entering a studio in 1982 to commit them to tape. Taylor likened the recording experience to “a living room concert.” He recorded each song in a single take, in the order they appear on the album. Paying out of pocket for the recording sessions, studio time was at a premium, so Taylor had arrived prepared. And the results speak for themselves.

Dennis Taylor’s guitar playing is clean, precise, and masterfully proficient. And yet, ‘Dayspring’ is not merely a document of technical ability. His compositions are deeply
expressive. Taylor’s deft fingerpicking is married to achingly beautiful melodicism. His arpeggios chime and roll with painterly expression. Across the breadth of ‘Dayspring’, Dennis Taylor strikes a perfect balance between wistful nostalgia and bold expansion. Though Taylor initially hoped to release his album with new age progenitors Windham Hill, he ultimately decided to release the album on his own. He self-financed a pressing of 300 LP’s, which were largely distributed locally in his hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska. And now, Morning Trip is supremely proud to bring this album back to light. An important missing piece in the expansive tapestry of instrumental guitar music, finally restored.

Hot Creations prepares to welcome in a milestone release this March, as Riton’s Gucci Soundsystem project makes its debut on the label with Fuck Me Right feat. DJ Funk & Vula. Made up of Grammy Award winning producer Riton and long-term friend Ben Rymer, the single features legendary Chicago house veteran DJ Funk and esteemed Basement Jaxx vocalist Vula.

The single begins with Vula’s enchanting vocals, the likes of which open into rapid kick-hat combos. A funky, guitar-like bassline swiftly complements proceedings, as 4x4 drum patterns march on to create that four-to-the-floor feel. It’s an outright party anthem - as to be expected from Jamie Jones’ flagship imprint - but one that retains a soulful underlying groove courtesy of DJ Funk and Vula’s signature contributions.

Riton is a globally-recognised artist in today’s music world. Crossing the bridge between contemporary pop and underground electronic music, the renowned British producer received a Grammy nomination in 2017 for one of the year’s biggest singles: Rinse & Repeat. He followed this up by winning a Grammy Award in 2019, for his production work on Silk City (Mark Ronson & Diplo) and Dua Lipa’s Electricity. Since then, Riton has continued to work with some of the industry’s most iconic talents, including Kylie Minogue, The Chemical Brothers and Gorgon City to name a few.

Ben Rymer has been a stalwart of London’s club scene for decades. One half of Gucci Soundsystem and formerly a part of The Fat Truckers, the likes of whom toured with Jarvis Cocker’s rock band Pulp, Ben’s club history boasts performances across some of the scene’s most respected night time venues, including Fabric, London and Space, Ibiza.