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Atomnation's 90th release is to be an album from long time associate David Douglas. He first appeared on the label in 2012 and now Escapism is a triumphant return across 10 tracks of deeply melodic and melancholic electronic music, with artwork by Menno Fokma.

David is a consistently high quality and prolific producer who has put out key albums like Moon Observations and Spectators Of The Universe, as well as vital EPs such as Mountain Pink and Royal Horticultural Society. He is an accomplished video editor who also edits documentaries while at the same time being an all encompassing producer. David finds inspiration in the majesty of the cosmos and the grandeur of nature and manages to capture the essence of that in his music.

This is an album that finds a perfect balance between heady underground sounds and more catchy pop tracks - an accomplished and adventurous album that takes you on an emotional ride through the ups and downs of everyday life, all with a delicate musical touch.

The music on this full-length record by The Idealist, released on Höga Nord Rekords could work as a soundtrack for a Voodoo-horror-movie. It´s creepy acid-driven sound, often with a 303 as the centrepiece of the rhythm, is the kind that you´d expected to being chased in a maze of trees to.

Something threatening lies in The Idealists second release on the label. His Leftfield/techno is both a dark cold electronic adventure with metallic percussions, both a distorted image of a vengeful nature; a forest working as a single entity to find and feed on human souls.

Just like contemporary acts like Ramadanman and Appleblim, The Idealist contributes and develops a sophisticated yet primal branch of modern, uncompromising electronic music.

With sunshine, blue skies and good times on the horizon, Toolroom is ready to usher in the summer in a huge way with the brand new summer hit from Siege – ‘Reach Out’. Making his return to the label, Siege is back with a record that promises to steal the spotlight and your all-time favourite tune. Big favourite of Carl Cox, Alan Fitzpatrick and Adam Beyer, Siege has firmly planted his foot in the scene having released a selection of quality records already this year like, ‘Give It Up’ with Mark Knight, a collab with Eli Brown and a killer remix of Green Velvet and Technasia’s hit ‘Suga’.

Flawlessly proving just why he is one of the most exciting artists and producers out there in Dance Music right now, Siege flexes his talents on ‘Reach Out’. One of his best releases yet, Siege has reworked classic George Duke’s classic 1983 hit ‘Reach Out’ into the feel-good dance track of the summer. The track itself is pure ecstasy, from the sublime vocals and chorus melodies to the solid instrumentation of the record itself. Siege manages to retain every single drop of the feel-good magic that resonated throughout the original, reinvigorating the sound for the clubs of 2021.

The single also features a killer remix from Michael Gray and Dr Packer who bring their signature style and sound to the record, emphasising the Disco elements to a whole new level and an exclusive VIP edit from Siege himself. This is a euphoria laced Disco House record through and through, ‘Reach Out’ is a sure fire summer hit, classic in the making who has brought the infectiously catchy classic record back to life in a completely fresh and new way.

Carwyn Ellis from Cardiff/Wales is a singer, songwriter, composer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He fronts Colorama, formed the Welsh folk group Bendith and hosts a regular themed radio show on Soho Radio. In 2019, Ellis embarked on the first project under his own name, Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18. Sung in Welsh and recorded mainly in Rio de Janeiro, the album, "Joia!" was nominated for the Welsh Music Prize and followed by "Mas" in early 2020. The new album "Yn Rio" is a collection of new songs recorded in Cardiff together with The BBC National Orchestra Of Wales.

In 2017 Carwyn Ellis joined the touring line-up of The Pretenders. For Ellis, a record collector and fan of Brazilian music, the opportunity to tour South America would present opportunities he couldn't have possibly imagined when he accepted Chrissie Hynde's invitation. "The first place we went to was Rio and by the time I met Chrissie for breakfast the day after our gig, I already had a bag of albums I'd just bought. I'm sitting with her and she says, 'You should meet my mates, and do something in Welsh with them! Nobody's done a Welsh language album with Brazilian musicians?"

In 2018, when Alexandre Kassin, a leading light in that Brazilian scene announced a show in London, Hynde suggested that they see it. "I met him afterwards," Ellis recalls, "and we hit it off straight away." Within weeks, Ellis was on a plane to Rio with songs that would form the basis of the first album. This creative purple patch extended into another album released early in 2021 with Carwyn working once again with Kassin plus long-time friend Shawn Lee. The songs on "Mas" drew on the environmental threats that face both Wales and South America, spidering out around the central theme of water ("rains, no rain, droughts, rising seas and flooded valleys for corporate gain. We're screwed without it and screwed if there's too much").

With "Mas" recorded but weeks away from release, Ellis received a call from Gareth Iwan Jones, head producer of BBC Radio Cymru, offering a third album to be performed in March 2021. Ellis started to reflect upon the life-changing events triggered by his South American adventures. The Welsh word 'hiraeth' which describes the longing that Welsh people feel when they're far from home, was something that he was now beginning to feel for Rio de Janeiro: "'Yn Rio' is based around a day in Rio," he explains. "The events of 2020 influenced the record inasmuch as I wanted it to be a complete antidote to what was going on. If you couldn't go on holiday in real life, you could at least put this record on."

The first single "Olá!", incorporating Jorge Ben's spirit in the chorus and rhythmic breakdown, manages to sound languorous and euphoric. "Cariad, Cariad" was a Portuguese folk poem brought to Ellis' attention by Sonya from Quarteto em Cy and arranged by Christiaan Oyens. "Tristwch 20" is a nod to "Foot and Mouth 68" by Gorkys Zygotic Mynci from "The Blue Trees", 'one of the most beautiful albums of all time', while "Ynys Aur" is named after a 1929 book by Welsh missionary J. Luther Thomas written on returning from his travels to Papua New Guinea. With Kassin unable to participate, Ellis thanks him by translating his "A Paisagem Morta" to create "Y Bywyd Llonyd". For Carwyn Ellis "Yn Rio" is an extraordinary memorial to extraordinary times."There are some days so idyllic you just want tobe able to jump back into them at the touch of a button. That's what I was searching for when I was writing these songs."

Percussionist Emmanuel Abdul-Rahim recorded this
mix of Latin and spiritual jazz in his adopted home of
Denmark in 1988. Sought after for the African
influenced ‘Kalahari Suite’, ‘Harlem’ is actually eight
tracks of brilliance that sees the veteran performer
lead a local band through their paces. A perfect
example of America meets Europe.
As Juan Amalbert he had led the in-demand Latin Jazz
Quintet who recorded for Prestige and United Artists in
the early 60s, including Caribé, which featured Eric
Dolphy. In 1966 he was asked to appear with John
Coltrane’s group at the performances that produced
the album ‘Live At The Village Vanguard Again’. Soon
after Amalbert recorded another album, which this time
featured Pharoah Sanders in the horn line-up. All that
appeared at the time was a single on Golden Earth
Records, but the album was later released as ‘Oh!
Pharoah Speaks’ in the wake of Sanders’ solo
success.
He then made the soulful 45 ‘When You Lose You
Groove’ / ‘The Knower’ and the spiritual jazz classic
‘Total Submission’ for Cobblestone, which featured the
updated version of ‘The Knower’, called ‘Al-Alim’,
which Acid Jazz included on ‘Jazz On The Corner 2’.
After that, like so many American jazzmen, he packed
his bags and headed to Europe to carry on his career,
which is where, in 1988 he recorded ‘Harlem’.
Acid Jazz are happy to officially reissue this album on
vinyl for the first time since its initial release, with full
co-operation of Rahim’s estate.

Zvrra debuts on Avian. The multifaceted artist and video game developer arrives on the label with a brace of glistening ambient Techno and Noise derivatives. The versatile producer, whose auteur approach to recorded output has yielded a wealth of dense and considered material over the years, marries melodic synthesis with glassy, effervescent sound design and considered polyrhythms to arrive at a cohesive but undeniably idiosyncratic nine track offering. Cinematic opener Bizzaroland combines vocal manipulations with phasing, noisy drones that stand in pleasing contrast to a mournful lead that delicately emerges at the midpoint. Follow up Society, offers a meditative take on stepping ambient Techno before Bizzaroland II treats the listener to a heady, stripped back slice of tripping beatless machine music. Tribal cut Figurine closes the A side and sees the material segue into more ominous territory with pulsing low end, percussive flourishes and harsh bursts of white noise. On the flip, B1 Inside sees the artist roll out another stripped back Techno experiment - this time dry and saturated and propelled by a single lead sequence that shifts about the high mids. Oracle returns to a more esoteric, undefined sonic palette - a cacophonous blend of heavily panning drones in line with the artist’s more experimental work. In the same vein Prohibited is a powerful noise cut that finds its contrast in subdued moments towards the end of its run time. As the record approaches its close, Tired Beetle settles the mood somewhat - an introspective, atmospheric ambient recording tethered with admirable low end, before off kilter invocation Untitled draws the collection to its logical end point.

MUSAR is honoured to revive the electronic-synth legend, MANASYt, with a new five-track EP as part of a three-EP series. 'Reality Defense Department' will be the Bulgarian's first material since 2012, set to release via MUSAR on December 8, 2017.
Petar Tassev aka MANASYt, hails from the twilight zone. Growing up with the blacks swans in the forest of communist Bulgaria, listening to metal and hardcore music then interpreting the moody, roughness together with inspirations from electronic new-wave music to a raw, pure and dark adventure bubbling with madness.
'Reality Defense Department' is a future horror movie soundtrack. The first track 'Memory Imprints' is a pure psychedelic-trip into the mental clinic for clockwork orange droogs. The second track 'Mobile Pharmacy' can be described as what the aliens would listen to while attacking Earth. The last original track 'Orthodox Spanking' is a dark, wayward electro track full of post-punk elements, perfect for a fetish party.
A pair of remixes by Brooklyn's wonder girl 'Via App' with a deep, dark and gothic techno rework for the late dazed hours of the morning and Norwich's kept secret, Wax Stag (an occasional collaborator with Bibio and Clark) that delivers a dreamy, cosmic twist that will linger in your consciousness for a long, long time to come.

Following 12"s from Ricardo Tobar and MANASYt, the third release on Tel Aviv's MUSAR welcomes rising UK star and Super Hexagon label boss, J.Wiltshire. The Laghan Pux EP finds Wiltshire sharing his psychedelic electronic side and brings his versatile skills together, serving up four completely different soundtracks. The gleaming sci-fi gem 'DESklep' opens the EP as a pure melodic IDM track loaded with Cornwall style while the bass-heavy title track 'Laghan Pux' is pumping as a dark & sharp peak-time trippy beast. On the B side, the mysterious Roy of The Ravers, gives you an interpretation of what proper acid sounds like, whereas 'Chained Releases' takes you on a deep and hypnotic adventure into space, full of warm guitar melodies and trancey synths.'Summon Them' closes the EP, an ambient magic piece for a hazy, orange morning where the birds just woke up and the trees singing for the first time to break the day.Early support from: Josh Wink, Danny Daze, Cinnaman, Marcel Dettmann, AME, I:Cube, The Hacker and more...

This is a super-limited strictly 1000 copy one-off only edition pressed on white coloured vinyl of this in-demand Trees Speak classic debut album.
When the band Trees Speak, coming out of nowhere, released an exclusive one-off 100-pressing white label 45, described as CAN/NEU! meets LIQUID LIQUID, it sold out so quickly (in less than 30 min) that Soul Jazz Records decided to release their album almost immediately.
Soul Jazz Records rarely release new music but found the music of TREES SPEAK’s album ‘OHMS’ so stunning and to have so many elements of music that they admired that they felt compelled to release it.
The group Trees Speak are from Tucson, Arizona and create new music that sounds like GERMAN KRAUTROCK meets NO WAVE/POST-PUNK and PSYCH ROCK – music for fans of CLUSTER, TANGERINE DREAM, CAN, NEU!, SILVER APPLES and early KRAFTWERK.
The album ‘OHMS’ sounds at times like a tripped out & moody JOHN CARPENTER/GOBLIN/MORRICONE soundtrack that seamlessly segues into propulsive, ‘motorik’ Krautrock instrumentals loaded with fuzzy, hypnotic mellotron, synths and analogue effects, as well as elements of ART ENSEMBLE free jazz, and all at times reaching a kind of post-rave psychedelia. More recent comparisons would include BEAK and GHOST BOX who draw upon similar themes and styles.
Trees Speak are Daniel Martin Diaz and Damian Diaz plus musicians from the Tucson, Arizona scene such as Giant Sand, XIXA and James Hunter. ‘Trees Speak’ relates to the idea of future technologies storing information and data in Trees and plants – using them as hard drives – and the idea that Trees communicate collectively.

Teenage Fanclub have announced details of the vinyl reissues of two more of their classic albums - Man Made and Shadows.

Released on Friday 14th December 2018 through Republic of Music, they will be packaged in faithful re-productions of the original vinyl artwork and available on heavyweight 180g single vinyl.

The band have also selected rarities, favourites and tracks previously unavailable on vinyl to include on a 7' with each album. These 7' singles will each feature two tracks and will only be available with the initial pressing of each album.

Additionally, the band are about to embark on a series of very special three night runs of shows in Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham and London where they will be playing songs from different eras on each night, these will include songs never previously performed live by the band. Very limited tickets remain for two shows only in Glasgow and Birmingham.

The Fabulous Counts were originally a teenage instrumental group of five musicians, Mose Davis (Organ and Piano), Demetrius ‘Demo’ Gates (Alto Saxophone and vocals), Jim White (Tenor Sax), Andrew T. Gibson (Drums) and Raoul Keith Mangrum (Percussion and Flute) who were later joined by the older, more experience Leroy Emanuel (Guitar and vocals). Emmanuel was invited into the group as it’s band leader by the groups manager Fred McClure, a former Detroit boxing champion who also happened to be the manager of another popular Detroit group the singing Metro’s of the hit recording “Sweetest One” fame and their subsequent respected RCA album of the same name. The Fabulous Counts would often perform at shows as the Metro’s backing band.

The Fabulous Counts first big break came after knocking several Detroit Record labels doors. They were eventually invited in by Ollie McLaughlin’s Moira studio to record, under the tutelage of Popcorn Wylie the one take hit “Jan, Jan (Moira-103). A further two Moira 45’s followed of which “Get Down People/Lunar Funk “(Moira-108) also scored high on the R&B charts. Through a deal arranged by McLaughlin The Counts released their respected “Jan, Jan” album on the Atlantic distributed Cotillion label in 1969. Moving on to Armen Boladian’s Westbound label, during 1970 the group simply changed their name to The Counts and charted with their 1971 “What’s Up Front” Westbound album, also releasing a solitary 45 “Thinking Single/Why Not Start All Over Again”. In 1972 while still part of the Westbound set up The Counts recorded two major label 45’s under the pseudonyms of Bad Smoke “Crawl Ya’ll Part 1&2” (Chess-2124) and Lunar Funk “Mr Penguin Part 1&2” (Bell 45-172), the latter being thier biggest hit. A subsequent move to Atlanta, GA saw The Counts sign with Michael Thevis’s Aware records where they recorded a further two successful albums “Love Sign” (1973) and “Funk Pump” (1975), plus a string of 45’s. In 1976 although officially never breaking up The Counts members went their separate ways to explore different life opportunity’s.



During 1978 and while still in Atlanta Leroy Emanuel borrowed money from his family and reuniting with his fellow Counts, Mose, Demo, and Jimmy Jackson Jr, they, accompanied by a local strings section recorded a session of material that spawned two songs “What’s It All About” and “Motorcity”. Which Leroy later made a deal with Terry Mendelson to release on a 45 on his TM label. The Counts had previously known Mendelson through his brother Bernie at Westbound. The TM 45 made very little noise with many of the copies having mispressed labels. Although later reissued and mistakenly credited as two previously unissued Westbound recordings on several latter Cd compilations it came to light that quite a few avid European soul collectors actually owned copies of this high quality, very elusive and desirable 45! With demand still seemingly high it seems a good time for Soul Junction to reissue it. The A-side, “What’s It All About” features its composer Leroy Emanuel on lead vocals with the other Counts adding to the backing chorus. The flipside of this 45 from the same session is the previously unreleased Mose Davis penned “Watch The Clock” which is more in keeping with the Counts traditional funk groove, enjoy.

Teenage Fanclub have announced details of the vinyl reissues of two more of their classic albums - Man Made and Shadows.

Released on Friday 14th December 2018 through Republic of Music, they will be packaged in faithful re-productions of the original vinyl artwork and available on heavyweight 180g single vinyl.

The band have also selected rarities, favourites and tracks previously unavailable on vinyl to include on a 7' with each album. These 7' singles will each feature two tracks and will only be available with the initial pressing of each album.

Additionally, the band are about to embark on a series of very special three-night runs of shows in Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham and London where they will be playing songs from different eras on each night, these will include songs never previously performed live by the band. Very limited tickets remain for two shows only in Glasgow and Birmingham.

Richard Ashcroft is set to release the new album ‘Acoustic Hymns Vol. 1’ on October 29th via RPA / BMG. The album features twelve newly recorded acoustic versions of classic songs from his back catalogue spanning both his solo career and his time with The Verve.



ABOUT



After lockdown was lifted, Richard decided to start the project as a way to reunite the community around him, bringing a selection of great musicians and old friends back together again. As the project took shape, they discovered just how varied their new approaches could be. Some of the arrangements proved to be timeless and remained similar to the originals, with years of experience and a new found passion that saw Richard’s vocals express a fresh empathy within their lyrics. Meanwhile, other songs took on a new shape in this stripped-back set-up.



The rebirth of the iconic ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ was an emotional moment for Richard. It felt particularly poignant re-recording a song that he had written almost twenty-five years ago, especially as it's now officially his composition after Mick Jagger and Keith Richards relinquished their writing credits to him.

Another big moment comes with the new version of ‘C’Mon People (We’re Making It Now)’, a duet with Richard’s old friend Liam Gallagher. The pair have often talked about recording or performing the song together since it was first released in 2000, and now it’s finally happened - the sheer energy and delight that they shared during the session is palpable as the new recording beams with a joyous feeling of optimism.



‘Velvet Morning’ is another track that has been transformed. The vocals on the original version, as featured on The Verve’s classic ‘Urban Hymns’, were sung via a megaphone that Richard had purchased from a car boot sale the day before the recording session. Now Richard’s vocal really shines as it unleashes the song’s full magnitude.



The biggest surprise on ‘Acoustic Hymns Vol. 1’ is the inclusion of ‘This Thing Called Life’, a song which Ashcroft has rarely played live. It was originally recorded with No I.D. in the USA as a highlight of his soul-tinged RPA & The United Nations Of Sound project. Now taken back to basics, the new arrangement reveals a song that feels perfectly at home alongside Richard’s most highly regarded work.



Produced by Richard with regular collaborator Chris Potter, the album features his regular live band boosted by some special collaborators. Wil Malone provides the string arrangements, which were recorded at Abbey Road Studios. In addition, Chuck Leavell (The Rolling Stones, The Allman Brothers) performs piano, Roddy Bloomfield leads the brass section, and Steve Wyreman (Leon Bridges, Vic Mensa) contributes acoustic guitar and backing vocals.



Richard Ashcroft recently announced details of four special shows, each billed as “An acoustic evening of his classic songs.” After quickly selling out two nights at London’s Palladium, he subsequently added two bigger shows at the Royal Albert Hall and the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool to fulfill huge public demand for tickets. He will play:

Farewell covers a lot of ground across the span of its 26 songs and two-hour run time. Yet every moment is a reminder of why Minus the Bear were such an experiential live band. They were always pushing forward, evolving their sound, and finding new ways to balance brainy musicianship, pop worship, meditative sentimentality, and adrenalized fervor into their own signature concoction. Further bolstered by the mix of Matt Bayles and master job by Ed Brooks at Resonant Mastering, the album sounds like a fully immersive live experience. + RECORDED DURING MINUS THE BEAR'S 2018 FAREWELL TOUR + 2021 MARKS THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FORMATION OF MINUS THE BEAR + MIXED BY MATT BAYLES (SOUNDGARDEN, PEARL JAM, MASTODON, THE SWORD) + MASTERED BY ED BROOKS AT RESONANT MASTERING (R.E.M., DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE, FLEET FOXES) + FIRST AND ONLY OFFICIAL LIVE RELEASE FROM MINUS THE BEAR + RETAIL EXCLUSIVE VARIANT ON CUSTOM OPAQUE GREY VINYL LIMITED TO 1,900 COPIES + 3xLP PACKAGE COMES IN TRIPLE GATEFOLD SLEEVE WITH SPOT INKS + 3xLP PACkAGE INCLUDES PRINTED INNER SLEEVES WITH METALLIC SPOT INKS + 3xLP INCLUDES A DOWNLOAD COUPON

When hearing Anna Gréta at the piano, you become witness to an
astonishingly mature artist, with absolutely profound technique, a
complex understanding of style and harmony and an impressively
wide range of musical expression, who has made an extraordinarily
good name for herself in just a few years on the Scandinavian scene.
Over a period of two years, partly influenced by isolation, the twelve
compositions of ‘Nightjar in the Northern Sky’ emerged, for Anna
Gréta not only as a pianist but also as a singer.
 The album title ‘Nightjar in the Northern Sky’ sets the tone for the
world of the album: A metaphor for the Scandinavian expanse,
tranquility and the close connection between people and nature, a
theme that runs through the songs in many pictures. “Nature is just an
enormous force in life. It is so much bigger than most of the other
things that otherwise seem so significant to us. And it is, in its infinite
facets, perhaps the greatest inspiration for my music. A place where
the noise falls silent and you can feel and hear yourself again,” before
adding: “Recently I have been developing a passion for bird-watching
- something that I reflect on in the title track. When you observe
nature carefully you can experience or see something unique. Sort of
like searching for love. The nightjar is a bird that is rarely seen flying
across the sky in Sweden and has been observed in Iceland less than
five times. I feel that everyone is looking for something unique in their
lives. And that nature can offer that to the ones open to see it.”
 With each of the tracks on the album she creates little, self-contained
worlds that fit into a bigger picture. Light-footed, relaxed, reduced,
concentrated. An art that required a great deal of work and attention
to detail. Together with pop-experienced producer Albert
Finnbogason, Anna Gréta chose the perfect, hand-picked line-up and
sound for each of her extraordinarily refined - harmoniously and
rhythmically - compositions.
 Although always in a coherent framework, Anna took elements from a
very diverse range of musical styles, alternating between jazz
elements and influences from pop music to excerpts from classical
and folk. All these elements create a remarkably multi-layered album,
which at the same time tells a coherent, bigger story.
 CD in 4-page digipack with 12-page booklet.
 180g vinyl with digital download code

Dave Chappelle's viral video "8:46". The video was YouTube's top trending video of 2020 with over 30 million views. The video and subsequent album are a searing rumination in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd that ignited worldwide outrage and led to protests on race inequality, police brutality and the criminal justice system. Filmed in Ohio on June 6, during the COVID-19 lockdown, "8:46" addresses one deadly plague, while in the grips of another. The B-side of the album features poet Amir Sulaiman's performance of "My Insides Out" and "We Must Win," also recorded in Ohio. It also includes "White Noise," 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence in remembrance of George Floyd and the countless victims of police brutality and systemic racism. The album cover and artwork features performance and backstage photos from Chappelle's performance as well as images from various George Floyd protests in Los Angeles, CA, all taken by Grammy-nominated artists and photographer Mathieu Britton.

Blue light. No heat. A glacial wall of denser-than-dense sound. Dallas Texas’ FROZEN SOUL lives up to their name as the sound of death metal at its most cold and classic. Riff after slow, grinding riff, there’s no mistaking the themes of isolation and suffering that permeate the quintet’s massive sonic missives. “The feeling I’m getting from playing in FROZEN SOUL is powerful in a way I wasn’t getting from other bands I’ve played in before”, says frontman Chad Green. “The sound. The lyrics. Even the logo itself has a harshness to it that just feels powerful and cold. Add to that the depression of dealing with real life and the venomous people that can inhabit it and the vibe of the band just makes sense.”
FROZEN SOUL’s brand of straightforward, in-your-face death metal is a gasp of fresh air in a genre that’s stretched the very limits of technicality. Fully formed in 2018, the quintet has rapidly made a name for itself and churned the underground with a sound that evokes the old school sound of bands like Obituary, Mortician and Bolt Thrower. That reverence for death metal’s roots was apparent from Frozen Soul’s initial four-song Encased In Ice demo (which includes a cover of Mortician’s “Witch’s Coven”) that was released in early 2019 on California’s cave dwelling, knuckle dragging, Maggot Stomp Records.

For years fans have been eagerly waiting for the release of ‘The Awesome Album’ by Pawnee, Indiana rock band Mouse Rat.
The band is fronted by Parks and Recreation Shoeshine Department Employee Andy Dwyer (Chris Pratt), who has led many local acts through the years such as Angelsnack, Everything Rhymes With Orange, Department of Homeland Obscurity, Just The Tip and Scarecrow Boat, among others.
The hits are all here: “5,000 Candles In The Wind,” “The Pit,” “Two Birds Holding Hands,” “Catch Your Dream (feat. Duke Silver)” and two additional tracks by the Scott Tanner (Jeff Tweedy)-fronted band Land Ho!. ‘The Awesome Album’ is sure to satisfy the millions of Mouse Rat fans across the globe. The Awesome Album features music from the Universal Television original series Parks and Recreation.

Ellesmere, a symphonic-prog music project founded and led by Italian multi-instrumentalist Roberto Vitelli, author of all the music and lyrics, surprisingly comes back just one year after their second album "Ellesmere II / From sea and beyond" with an amazing work in terms of freshness, energy, impact and meticulous attention towards its sound and arrangements.

First of all, "Wyrd" deserves admiration starting from the cover artwork made by Rodney Matthews, an iconic illustrator at least equal to the legendary Roger Dean. Musically, it evolves on the same path of "Ellesmere II", so the main references are classic prog outfits Yes, King Crimson, Kansas, plus a good amount of jazz-rock, present in every song; but there are also references to contemporary progressive rock and to artists such as Transatlantic, Flower Kings and Spock's Beard. "Wyrd" is therefore a third epic and even more enthralling chapter than the previous one, almost completely instrumental and captivating from the first minute to the very last one.

As per tradition, "Wyrd" also involves a series of prog-related prestigious guests: Mattias Olsson (Änglagård, White Willow / drums), Tomas Bodin (The Flower Kings / keyboards), David Cross (King Crimson / violin), John Hackett (brother of the famous Steve Hackett and a constant presence in his solo records / flute), David Jackson (Van Der Graaf Generator, Osanna / saxophone), Tony Pagliuca (Le Orme / keyboards), Luciano Regoli (Raccomandata Ricevuta Ritorno / voice), Fabio Liberatori (Loy & Altomare, Lucio Dalla, Ron / keyboards), Fabio Bonuglia (keyboards) and Giorgio Pizzala (vocals).

In a path of musical and stylistic evolution that started from the acoustic and pastoral prog of "Les Châteaux De La Loire" (2015), we hope that "Wyrd" does not represent point of arrival, but another passage towards new unexplored lands!

FEATURING REWORKINGS BY YANN TIERSEN, BILL RYDER-JONES, MALIBU, ELUVIUM and
PETER GREGSON.
140g black vinyl with lacquers cut by Alchemy, printed inner sleeve, limited to 500 copies.
Michael Price has announced a new album, The Hope of Better Weather - part reissue, part reworks - due out onThe Control Room on 15 October 2021.
The new album takes his 2012 EP, The Hope of Better Weather, originally recorded by Price alone in a room with a
piano improvising, and brings it fully to life with the addition of a series of reworkings by Yann Tiersen, Bill
Ryder-Jones, Malibu, Peter Gregson and Eluvium.
He explains, “I wasn't trying to control what anybody else was doing. Everybody that joined in with the project gives
their own little piece of freedom. I was really interested in what freedom we all give ourselves, as well as being
fascinated to see what a little germ of an idea can mean to somebody else.”
Listen to Yann Tiersen’s rework of ‘The Anatomy of Clouds’: LINK
Listen to the original version of ‘The Anatomy of Clouds’: LINK
The five pieces, alongside these new reworkings capture a stark beauty, tenderness and delicacy in their tone. But
they are also wind-like in their shifting, expansive and elemental essence - capturing an exploration of the natural
world. “Nearly 10 years ago when I recorded these improvisations, I felt like I was missing the natural world - things
like the weather, the beach at Scarborough and all those kinds of visceral things.”
When Price revisited the work in recent months - at a time when many of us found ourselves more aware of the
natural world - he reconnected with it in a way that looks to connect with his next artistic steps. “You start off with
listening to 10 year old piano recordings and then you go through the reinterpretations of people looking at that
material now through their own lens. The fixation with weather, coastlines and with people connected with nature, is
really strong all the way through this project. Coming out the other side of it, it's kind of like a Northern weather feeling
- coming out with your collar turned up with a hat on, a bit drizzly and shit outside, but with a kind of determination
that is the route forward.”
Most musicians, if they are lucky, will master one craft or field within their career. For Michael Price, he’s managed
three, with his music spanning across piano, orchestral and soundtrack work. The soundtrack work - for TV shows
such as Sherlock, Dracula, and Unforgotten, and films such as Eternal Beauty, Cheerful Weather and Just Jim - has
seen Price win an Emmy, as well as receive countless nominations (including a BAFTA nomination). His work as a
solo artist takes the form of beautiful improvised piano works, such as Diary (2017), or via lush, grand, hyper-detailed
orchestral work, as heard on critically acclaimed releases via Erased Tapes such as Entanglement (2015) and Tender
Symmetry (2018). His latest release, The Hope of Better Weather, is rooted in the piano world but also exists as a
bridge crossing into new terrain..
The process of putting together the release has been an emboldening and liberating one for Price, and he finds
himself feeling buoyant about the possibilities of what lies ahead – which includes a new solo orchestral album. “It is
super freeing and liberating,” he says. “There's these little green shoots of a freedom emerging.”

Our second LP this month is an unreleased magical modern soul LP from the band Coast To Coast, the full story below by band leader Mark Beiner...


I met Ben iverson in 1976 when I was 17 years old. I was a junior at Newtown High School in Elmhurst, Queens. At that time, I took a part time job as a Produce Clerk at Walbaum's Supermarket on Northern Boulevard in Jackson Heights, Queens, where I met Ben Iverson who was the "Frozen Food Manager." In between the music, this job was steady income, and he and his Wife, Diane, started a family and raised two Daughters, Tonia and Cytherea, whom I am still in contact with today.

Back then, I remember going to work early just to talk to him about his musical background and his time spent in the 50's and 60's with the Ohio Doo Wop Group, "The Hornets", or better known as, "Ben Iverson and The Hornets." However, Ben was somewhat quiet and at a loss for words when I questioned him with regard to "Ben Iverson and the Nue Dey Express", as well as his short career as Manager and Songwriter for Brooklyn's own, "Crown Heights Affair" in the early 70's.

Between the 50's and 60's, "Ben Iverson and The Hornets" shared billing at music events with recording artists such as, The Drifter's, Bill Haley and The Comets, Pat Boone, Etta James, Mary Wells, Nancy Wilson, Jackie Wilson, Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin, Lloyd Price and Al Green. Many of these names got their start in the 50's, which Ben met at music concert events hosted by Radio Disc Jockey, Alan Freed. Alan was truly the first Concert Promoter for Doo Wop, Rhythm & Blues, and early Rock & Roll.

In 1978 after Ben and I discussed getting together and composing music, I started writing poetry and expressing in writing my break up with my college girl friend, Paula Vasta. Paula's middle name was Marie, so in kidding around, I would call her "Paula Marie." Ben thought my lyrics were "powerful" and wanted to put them in music. Thus our first recorded 45 rpm record called "Paula Marie", backed with "I Want You Dear." This launched our musical partnership and within a year, the Coast to Coast Band was formed. Ben and I went on to writing two albums worth of material, which in turn gave us a lot of time and presence on stage at our live gigs.

The regular Coast to Coast Band members consisted of Ben Iverson on Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitarist and Co-Executive Producer, Joe Crowley, who is known today as "New York Congressman Joe Crowley." Carl (Woody Wood) Morton on Bass Guitar, Jimmy Johnson on Keyboards. Woody and Jimmy used to hang and play rap in its early days with "Run DMC" in St. Albans, Queens. Lead Guitarist, Lou Jimenez, currently owns his own recording studio, Music Labs in Elmont, Long Island. On Drums, Eddie Byam, on Alto Sax, Jay Cohen, who in the 70's used to record for "Gary U.S. Bonds." Gary Pevols on Trumpet. On Bone, Scott Burrows, Trumpet player, Steve Becker, whom we lost to Testicular Cancer at the age of 25, along side Neil Levine, Stan Stockley, Tom Russo and additional members that came and went that we used for live gigs and studio recordings.

In addition, special recognition goes out to our Producer, Recording Engineer and Multi-sound Recording Studio, Owner, Dave Weiner and staff. Dave and I launched Multi-Sound Records under the Multi-Sound label in 1980.

Last, of course myself, Mark Beiner, where I served as Executive Producer, Songwriter, Business/Marketing Manager, and background vocals.

Unfortunately, Ben Iverson passed away on March 21, 2008, and cannot be here to share this with us, but his music and voice still lives on!

Green Vinyl

Have you ever wondered what would happen if the Spice Girls smoked crack and joined forces with the Power Rangers on acid? Meet BĘÃTFÓØT. These punk-infused electronic poltergeists and big-beat acid trio are Udi Naor, drummer and founding member of electronic duo Red Axes, Adi Bronicki (who also fronts Israeli garage-punk-folk band Deaf Chonky) and ace of all trades guitarist Nimrod Goldfarb.
The band have been launching warped stoner-acid-pop out of Tel Aviv with maniacal intent and are producing post-punk rave bangers that will scorch every dance floor with a huge lethal smile. BĘÃTFÓØT
are a DIY supergroup who describe themselves as sitting somewhere between Aqua, Beastie Boys and The Prodigy.
Their music endeavours feel akin to being hurtled through a kaleidoscopic waterslide, overflowing with the spirit of 90’s youth culture. The radioactive trio are DJ’s, musicians, songwriters and producers with a diverse range of individual projects and talents, their combined sonics map your journey across the hazy astral spectrum of hip-hop, big beat and rave music. Morph these radioactive pieces with the no New Release Informationnonsense attitude of punk-rock and the venomous spitting flow of golden-era rap and you might just come close to fabricating the freakish sound of BĘÃTFÓØT.
The band’s self-titled debut is set for release on 17th September on Manfredi Romano aka DJ Tennis’ Life and Death. Founded in 2010, the imprint curates soulful dance music with a post-rock aesthetic.
This refreshingly original and experimental LP from BĘÃTFÓØT marks a new direction for Life and Death this year and beyond.
“BĘÃTFÓØT” takes unsuspecting listeners on a wild ride of unprecedented musical madness (firmly without seatbelts). Fizzy synthesiser programming stimulates you effervescently through the album like the welcomed sting of sour sweets, surprising accompaniments appear in the form of manipulated vocal lines and quirky samples, all jovially mixed together in a gummy melting pot of wild conceptualisation and starry eyed rhythms.
Thirteen tracks of unprecedented dancefloor mutations send us triumphantly into the candy-covered kingdom of BĘÃTFÓØT with open arms and infinite imagery of fanciful gutter-glam escapades. This project fulfills the role of a musical bulldozer, flattening all previous conceptions of what it means to belong to a genre and leaving behind a hot mess trail of anarchic musical fragments in its wake. The undying spirit of the nineties.
With fans that include legendary Irish born singer, songwriter and producer Roisin Murphy, BĘÃTFÓØT are a breath of fresh air set to be igniting dancefloors this summer.

Clap de fin for the "Cabinet des Curiosités" : 15th and last episode of Vol.1 with The Architect.

Since last fall, Al'Tarba has been able to mix his talents with those of a beatmaker, a producer or a rapper, for hybrid experimental collaborations, composed with 4 hands or more, mixing styles and sounds. In November 2020, somewhere in France, we could hear the noise of some machines breaking a silence of lead, due to the general fever of the cultural scene. In a studio-laboratory looking like a "Cabinet des Curiosités", where far-fetched ideas are piled up on as many dusted shelves, Al'Tarba and his instruments were still running at full speed.

Anxious to find the antidote, a handful of beatmakers, producers and rappers, all gathered under the aegis of the Toulouse-based scientist, have been fine-tuning, week after week and month after month, the ingredients of their new serum. Over the seasons, they have unveiled, with regular intake, hybridizations of composed styles. Between sharing sounds, ideas, sample loops and vocal takes, like a "Cabinet des Curiosités" containing a thousand and one unusual objects.

On this foggy road and until the lightning, crossed Mounika, Structural Anomaly, Aguirre and Prometheus, Yous MC, Beus Bengal, Goomar, DeZordre, ProleteR, Degiheugi, K.D.S and Stabfinger, DJ Low Cut, DJ Nix'on, Sarbacane, Mani Deïz, Slim Paul and Grin. The day when the echo of the party is heard again in the distance, the sky is discovered the time of a new story. The clouds finally dissipate, for the last chapter of this first volume.

Between two rocks, the sea and its blue, bathed in sunlight. On the horizon, the authentic "Orange Sea" sailing in the distance. It is Al'Tarba and The Architect who arrive against all odds, to tell us the last story of the "Cabinet des Curiosités", first volume. The Architect, overproductive beatmaker and informed digger, knows how to take his audience on a journey through the world and styles. A last collaboration which promises the great crossing, its hot and ardent breath like fire, bell sound of the beginning of summer found and its epics.

Melancholy of a past world and dreamlike flights of fancy, hope of the world after, will rub shoulders in a double-vinyl album that will bring together the entire adventure. Pre-orders are now open !

So many bright perspectives, which would even let us foreshadow a forthcoming release of Al'Tarba's second solo album on I.O.T Records: "La Fin des Contes".

Red Vinyl

From the Brvtalist:

The Brvtalist is pleased to premiere a new track from Radical G. The prolific Belgian producer returns with a massive new LP titled, The Deserted Kingdom. The album contains 10 original tracks including the new Horrorist collab and in addition the full package comes with 8 remixes from Arnaud Rebotini, Imperial Black Unit, David Carretta, B1980, Shlømo, Hadone, Lokier and CJ bolland.

A massive release featuring some of the biggest and best from across the industrial, techno and EBM spectrums, very few artists can successfully navigate all these worlds but Radical G has done it again. With our crushing premiere today of “Chaos and Silence” to the pulse pounders from Hadone and Schlømo, this one has it all.

In March 2020 Elton was forced to pause his record breaking Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour due to the unfolding COVID pandemic. As the world began to shut down, different projects presented themselves with artists Elton had enjoyed getting to know through his Apple Music show Rocket Hour. This was the beginning of one of Elton's boldest and most interesting records to date that he has billed ‘The Lockdown Sessions’. This album saw Elton coming full circle and returning to his roots as a session musician. While it was no easy feat recording during a pandemic, a completely new way of working for Elton, he leaned into the challenge with some magnificent results.

Kicking off with current single ‘Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)’with Dua Lipa, the album takes the listener on a heady journey through many different genres, all held together with expert finesse and understanding by one of the greatest champions of music of our time. Much more than a mere collaboration album, ‘The Lockdown Sessions’ is a dazzlingly diverse collection of 16 tracks with 10 brand new unreleased tracks that celebrates togetherness and sees Elton collaborating with an unparalleled range of artists only he could draw together. The enduring influence of his musical milestone with one of the most ambitious projects ever conceived. An unprecedented 20+ artists feature spanning an unbelievably vast range of genres, generations, cultures, continents and more, each contributing a unique style to the album that is sure to hold its place amongst one of pop and rock’s greatest songbooks. ‘The Lockdown Sessions’ sees Elton collaborate with GRAMMY Award winning producer Andrew Watt on five of the tracks.

In Elton’s words: “The last thing I expected to do during lockdown was make an album. But, as the pandemic went on, one‐off projects kept cropping up. Some of the recording sessions had to be done remotely, via Zoom, which I’d obviously never done before. Some of the sessions were recorded under very stringent safety regulations: working with another artist, but separated by glass screens. But all the tracks I worked on were really interesting and diverse, stuff that was completely different to anything I’m known for, stuff that took me out of my comfort zone into completely new territory. And I realised there was something weirdly familiar about working like this. At the start of my career, in the late 60s, I worked as a session musician. Working with different artists during lockdown reminded me of that. I’d come full circle: I was a session musician again. And it was still a blast.”

An unparalleled career that has forever changed the cultural landscape, Elton John’s collaborations with Bernie Taupin and others continue to shape the cultural landscape, break records, top charts and win new fans across the generations. We’ve had the book, the film, the farewell tour, the fashion collections and the greatest hits. And now with ‘The Lockdown Sessions’ available on digital formats, fans can enter Elton’s new world which is no doubt another fitting addition to his oeuvre.

Ein Weihnachtsalbum zwischen sentimentalen Pop-Balladen, Witz, Swing und Charme präsentiert Darren Criss, multitalentierter Sänger, Songwriter, Emmy- und Golden-Globe-prämierter Schauspieler und
Broadway-Star. Seine Fans lieben den gutaussehenden jungen Mann für seine Rollen in ”GLEE”, ”VERSACE: AMERICAN CRIME STORY” oder ”HOLLYWOOD”.
Jetzt erfüllt sich Criss einen Wunsch mit einem Weihnachtsalbum, das zwischen Pop und Swing a’la
Dean Martin allerbestes Entertainment unter dem Weihnachtsbaum verspricht. Sein erstes Album in voller
Länge besteht aus Originalsongs und kreativen Neuinterpretationen klassischer Weihnachtshits. Als Gäste
hat er Adam Lambert, Lainey Wilson und Evan Rachel Wood zur Weihnachtsparty geladen.

Heavy South African cut, unearthed by Dene from LCT, All about the massive title track ''Got My Magic Working''... Phat bassline, machinegun claps dipped in acid!

The origins of Amajika is a tale of two worlds colliding at the perfect moment and begin in KwaMushu Township outside Durban. Here would be where a young Tu Nokwe would set up a school to help teach other aspiring youngsters like herself in music, dance and acting. This would become known as the Amajika Youth and Children’s Art Project and would be run from the Nokwe home, a common hangout for artists at the time. Some boast 2000+ pupils going through this program while others claim it wasn’t more than a backyard dance group, but for the lucky group of kids that were members in the mid 80s it would be their chance at stardom.

It was during these years that a young aspiring playwright and musician Mbongeni Ngema had come across Tu and her group of gifted youngsters at the Nokwe family home. Although he was touring extensively at the time with the plays Woza Albert and Asinamali, the latter which eventually ended up on broadway, he would spend any time off from the tour with Tu and her dance troop. After being inspired by the American group New Edition, Mbongeni envisioned Amajika as the South African answer and decided to bankroll a studio session.

The session would take place in a private studio in Durban.The release of the first single would follow very shortly. The lead track, Tomati-So is a fun swinging groove over some basic programmed drums. The song is dedicated to Tu Nokwe sings of her unique style and kind heart. On his next tour Mbongeni would take the remaining masters with him to the US and had the track remixed. Although it never materialized in a release States side he did return with the remixed tape and release it in South Africa the following year. Much like Tomato So the song was an ode and would be dedicated to the man who was making all their dreams come true. Got My Magic Working sings of going overseas and being a star on Broadway and TV and the man who is making it all happen. All these true predictions are sung on top of a groovy acid bass by a clearly matured troop of artists.

During these years of working with Amajika, Mbongeni became very impressed with the exceeding talent of one of the members and decided to cast her in his upcoming musical Sarafina. The other children also wanted to be a part of the Broadway show but not everyone would get a role. This would be the end of Amajika as the next years would be dedicated to creating success on the musical stage. The growing kids that formed Amajika became young adults and pursued their own careers after the fact. Tu Nokwe would leave the country to return years later as the wife of Shaka Zulu on the big screen. To this day she is still very active both on stage and screen while Mbongeni is still writing and adding to the South African Musical Theatre catalog.

Fast forward 30 years from the original release to a smokey club where ESA hears Got My Magic Working played by Rush Hours Store’s own Bonnefooi. Instantly he inquires about the track from his homeland and feels it a perfect addition the repertoire of the Afro Synth band he is quietly cooking up. The band’s instrumental take ended up as the B side on a mysterious and limited white label released by Rush Hour in early 2020 but quickly sold out.

Here you have compiled the two title tracks from original Amajika singles along with the instrumental version by ESA’s Afro Synth Band for The complete Amajika experience, past to present.

Belched from Hell’s depths into the rustic charms of the Witch County, Suffolk thirty long and disturbing years ago, CRADLE OF FILTH are undisputed giants of the heavy metal realm. Imperious purveyors of a perennially unique strain of dark, dastardly and wilfully extreme metal, with deep roots in the worlds of gothic horror and occult curiosity, the band led by Dani Filth has weathered three decades of tumult and trial, earning a formidable reputation as both a singular creative force and one of the most riotously entertaining live bands the metal world has ever produced.
From primitive early works like 1992 debut »The Principle Of Evil Made Flesh« to more expansive and theatrical classics like ‘Cruelty And The Beast’ and ‘Midian’, CRADLE OF FILTH defied trends and constructed their own idiosyncratic world of foul grandeur, becoming one of the UK’s most notable metal bands in the process. Since then, they have traversed the world countless times, hoovering up plaudits and praise from an ever-expanding international fan base. Resolutely prolific, the band’s catalogue has grown in depth and stature all the while, irrespective of line-up changes or the whims of the faithful.
In more recent times, CRADLE OF FILTH have hit an unmistakable hot streak of creativity and urgency. As a new line-up coalesced around the creation of 2015’s »Hammer Of The Witches«, fresh impetus propelled the band to new heights, as the revitalised crew became more in demand around the world than ever before. 2017’s ‘Cryptoriana - The Seductiveness Of Decay’ repeated the trick with even more explosive flamboyance. Until a global pandemic brought the music industry to a jarring halt, CRADLE OF FILTH were almost permanently on the road and absolutely fucking flying. As a result, it should surprise no one that the band’s brand new album, ‘Existence Is Futile’, is yet another monumental and electrifying journey through the dark.
Buoyed by these recent triumphs, CRADLE OF FILTH recorded »Existence Is Futile« during 2020, piecing the record together in isolation, at Grindstone Studios in Suffolk with studio guru Scott Atkins (Devilment/Benediction/Vader). Although instantly recognisable as the work of these veteran blackhearts, the thirteenth CRADLE OF FILTH album is a wholly different beast from its immediate predecessors. Pitch-black, perverse and at times absurdly brutal and extreme, it hangs together with mesmerising fluidity. It is also absolutely rammed with giant, rousing melodies and moments of jaw-dropping invention. No one could mistake the venomously catchy likes of ‘How Many Tears To Nurture A Rose?’ or monstrous ballad ‘Discourse Between A Man And His Soul’ for anything other than CRADLE OF FILTH, of course, but ‘Existence Is Futile’ confirms that the band’s exploratory instincts remain as sharp as ever.
Underpinned by its huge and disarmingly organic production, »Existence Is Futile« is plainly the darkest and most unsettling album CRADLE OF FILTH have made in a while. Eschewing the band’s trademark twisted storytelling in favour of horrified glimpses into the mortal void and ruminations on the inevitable destruction of life on Earth, its poignancy and relevance to the cluster of nightmares facing humanity in 2021 is impossible to ignore, even if Dani Filth insists, not unreasonably, that he didn’t anticipate a global pandemic when the news songs were being written.
With the best possible timing, CRADLE OF FILTH were already due to make a new album during those long, lonely months of lockdown in 2020. Having grabbed the opportunity with both hands, Dani avows that unavoidable isolation from the rest of the world was the best possible incentive to get the job done, while also adding plenty of eerie atmosphere to the whole experience.
Sonically speaking, ‘Existence Is Futile’ is easily the most powerful and dramatic record CRADLE OF FILTH have ever made: it’s the sound of band’s enviable onstage chemistry spilling over into the studio, propelling each member of the band to new levels of intensity. Combined with the expected labyrinthine arrangements and moments of spellbinding bombast, ‘Existence Is Futile’ may be the most vivid representation of the CRADLE OF FILTH experience yet.
Also, diehard fans will be thrilled to learn that horror icon Doug 'Pinhead' Bradley makes a welcome return to the CRADLE fold, lending his dulcet tones to the epic ‘Suffer Our Dominion’, and to one of the forthcoming new record’s bonus tracks, as Dani explains.
“There are also two bonus tracks in addition to the album, one of which is the culmination to the ‘Her Ghost In The Fog’ trilogy, which began on »Midian«.
For this we had little hesitation in enlisting our friend and actor Doug Bradley to reprise his narrative role. Doug lives in Pittsburgh, which he refers to ‘The Pit’, thus we directed his narrative over Skype from his local studio. He adopts this almost David Attenborough-ish role on ‘Suffer Our Dominion’, which is possibly the most politically astute song we’ve written of late. As a band we usually shy from branching into politics, but it’s something that needed spouting. The fact we’re fucking our ecology up and desperately need to address the situation pronto…”
So, if we’re all going to perish in the fire of our own stupidity, we might as well have a suitably deranged and destructive soundtrack to do it by.
A bewitching, fearless nosedive into the abyss, the band's thirteenth studio album confirms the ferocious efficacy of CRADLE OF FILTH in 2021. Bold, brave, wildly imaginative and heavy as hell, the band’s latest runaway train-ride through the flames is the perfect album for these most imperfect of times. As Dani concludes, “Be like the virus! Mutate and survive!”

Belched from Hell’s depths into the rustic charms of the Witch County, Suffolk thirty long and disturbing years ago, CRADLE OF FILTH are undisputed giants of the heavy metal realm. Imperious purveyors of a perennially unique strain of dark, dastardly and wilfully extreme metal, with deep roots in the worlds of gothic horror and occult curiosity, the band led by Dani Filth has weathered three decades of tumult and trial, earning a formidable reputation as both a singular creative force and one of the most riotously entertaining live bands the metal world has ever produced.
From primitive early works like 1992 debut »The Principle Of Evil Made Flesh« to more expansive and theatrical classics like ‘Cruelty And The Beast’ and ‘Midian’, CRADLE OF FILTH defied trends and constructed their own idiosyncratic world of foul grandeur, becoming one of the UK’s most notable metal bands in the process. Since then, they have traversed the world countless times, hoovering up plaudits and praise from an ever-expanding international fan base. Resolutely prolific, the band’s catalogue has grown in depth and stature all the while, irrespective of line-up changes or the whims of the faithful.
In more recent times, CRADLE OF FILTH have hit an unmistakable hot streak of creativity and urgency. As a new line-up coalesced around the creation of 2015’s »Hammer Of The Witches«, fresh impetus propelled the band to new heights, as the revitalised crew became more in demand around the world than ever before. 2017’s ‘Cryptoriana - The Seductiveness Of Decay’ repeated the trick with even more explosive flamboyance. Until a global pandemic brought the music industry to a jarring halt, CRADLE OF FILTH were almost permanently on the road and absolutely fucking flying. As a result, it should surprise no one that the band’s brand new album, ‘Existence Is Futile’, is yet another monumental and electrifying journey through the dark.
Buoyed by these recent triumphs, CRADLE OF FILTH recorded »Existence Is Futile« during 2020, piecing the record together in isolation, at Grindstone Studios in Suffolk with studio guru Scott Atkins (Devilment/Benediction/Vader). Although instantly recognisable as the work of these veteran blackhearts, the thirteenth CRADLE OF FILTH album is a wholly different beast from its immediate predecessors. Pitch-black, perverse and at times absurdly brutal and extreme, it hangs together with mesmerising fluidity. It is also absolutely rammed with giant, rousing melodies and moments of jaw-dropping invention. No one could mistake the venomously catchy likes of ‘How Many Tears To Nurture A Rose?’ or monstrous ballad ‘Discourse Between A Man And His Soul’ for anything other than CRADLE OF FILTH, of course, but ‘Existence Is Futile’ confirms that the band’s exploratory instincts remain as sharp as ever.
Underpinned by its huge and disarmingly organic production, »Existence Is Futile« is plainly the darkest and most unsettling album CRADLE OF FILTH have made in a while. Eschewing the band’s trademark twisted storytelling in favour of horrified glimpses into the mortal void and ruminations on the inevitable destruction of life on Earth, its poignancy and relevance to the cluster of nightmares facing humanity in 2021 is impossible to ignore, even if Dani Filth insists, not unreasonably, that he didn’t anticipate a global pandemic when the news songs were being written.
With the best possible timing, CRADLE OF FILTH were already due to make a new album during those long, lonely months of lockdown in 2020. Having grabbed the opportunity with both hands, Dani avows that unavoidable isolation from the rest of the world was the best possible incentive to get the job done, while also adding plenty of eerie atmosphere to the whole experience.
Sonically speaking, ‘Existence Is Futile’ is easily the most powerful and dramatic record CRADLE OF FILTH have ever made: it’s the sound of band’s enviable onstage chemistry spilling over into the studio, propelling each member of the band to new levels of intensity. Combined with the expected labyrinthine arrangements and moments of spellbinding bombast, ‘Existence Is Futile’ may be the most vivid representation of the CRADLE OF FILTH experience yet.
Also, diehard fans will be thrilled to learn that horror icon Doug 'Pinhead' Bradley makes a welcome return to the CRADLE fold, lending his dulcet tones to the epic ‘Suffer Our Dominion’, and to one of the forthcoming new record’s bonus tracks, as Dani explains.
“There are also two bonus tracks in addition to the album, one of which is the culmination to the ‘Her Ghost In The Fog’ trilogy, which began on »Midian«.
For this we had little hesitation in enlisting our friend and actor Doug Bradley to reprise his narrative role. Doug lives in Pittsburgh, which he refers to ‘The Pit’, thus we directed his narrative over Skype from his local studio. He adopts this almost David Attenborough-ish role on ‘Suffer Our Dominion’, which is possibly the most politically astute song we’ve written of late. As a band we usually shy from branching into politics, but it’s something that needed spouting. The fact we’re fucking our ecology up and desperately need to address the situation pronto…”
So, if we’re all going to perish in the fire of our own stupidity, we might as well have a suitably deranged and destructive soundtrack to do it by.
A bewitching, fearless nosedive into the abyss, the band's thirteenth studio album confirms the ferocious efficacy of CRADLE OF FILTH in 2021. Bold, brave, wildly imaginative and heavy as hell, the band’s latest runaway train-ride through the flames is the perfect album for these most imperfect of times. As Dani concludes, “Be like the virus! Mutate and survive!”

Paul’s sixth solo studio album, Illumination, was originally released in September 2002, and is Weller’s second solo number one, it includes the hit singles “It’s Written in The Stars” (no. 7) and “Leafy Mysteries” (no. 23) and features guest performances from Carleen Anderson, Jocelyn Brown, Kelly Jones and Noel Gallagher. The 2021 reissue features faithful original packaging replication including rounded corners and was cut at London’s Metropolis Studios.

NME: "Paul has clearly regained his sense of adventure… a spirited, joyous album.” (4/5)

The Guardian: "The trinity that opens his sixth solo album is his best work in ages, by turns love-besotted, politically outraged and burning with spite. What a surprise - just when you thought Weller would never do it again, he goes and does it.” (4/5)

Echo & The Bunnymen first released the single The Back Of Love in 1982, nearly nine months before the album’s release in 1983. It became the band’s first UK top 20 single as well as charting in Ireland. It led to the release of Porcupine in 1983, with Ian Broudie, who would later form The Lightning Seeds, returning to production duties having co-produced their debut album Crocodiles.



Initially rejected by the band’s label, the album was re-recorded with Indian violinist, singer and composer Lakshminarayana Shankar, who added strings to the tracks. The result was their greatest chart performance, with The Cutter reaching #8 in the singles charts and Porcupine finishing #2 in the album charts and went on to be certified Gold. Porcupine featured on many end of year critics’ lists, with their single The Cutter still remaining highly popular to this day.

EVERY TIME I DIE is a loud rock institution committed to leaving an outpouring of chaotic passion and blissful malcontent all over their records and on the stage. With boiling charisma and unrelenting energy to spare, the Buffalo, NY band manages not one but two near-impossible tasks. They've survived two decades as an underground entity cherished for coloring outside the lines, and contrary to most career arcs, continually improving with each successive album as they charge ahead. EVERY TIME I DIE makes a glorious hardcore-punk noise. Alchemized by a swampy summoning of Southern rock and coarse poetry, the music swirls beneath sardonic and clever wordplay, cementing them as leaders, not followers. The band's ninth studio album, Radical, is 16 tracks of peak-EVERY TIME I DIE, including raucous new anthems. They deliver what you have come to know and love and then diverge into new paths. To say that "All This And War" featuring guest vocals by Josh Scogins from The '68 is absolute brutal heaviness is an understatement. It's an addictive punch in the face, you'll want on repeat. The boys then run off to explore the dark haunted woods of a more somber and melodic side in the track "Thing With Feathers" featuring Andy Hull from Manchester Orchestra. Radical proves with every track that it is a distillation of the strengths of their past, injected with their unyielding revelry and signature sarcasm while cognizant - and fiercely combative - of the present state of world affairs.

Red Vinyl

A decade since he first appeared on LUCKYME, Lunice brings
special editions of his first three EPs, with raided archives and
unreleased tracks available for the first time. LUCKYME have
also added significant remixes from the likes of Rustie and Girl
Unit to these new expanded deluxe versions.

Celebrating these influential EPs which first introduced the
world to this Québécois beatmaker. Recorded prior to his
breakthrough as half of TNGHT with Hudson Mohawke. These
are the tracks that first launched Lunice from his Montreal
bedroom to travelling the globe with his incendiary live
performances.

From producing Kanye West’s ‘Blood On The Leaves’ to touring
with Madonna, these tracks are the blueprint for everything that
came after. Flitting between minimalist electronic workouts to
heavyweight rap beats and merging those worlds in a way few
had before him.

M_SESSIONS - THE PROCESS

"M_Sessions" is offering a contemporary version of Mania D., Malaria and Matador’s music for the 40th anniversary plus the rare originals. Bringing the past into the now and into the future.
Monika Werkstatt seemed the perfect choice for new interpretations. Founded in 2015, comprising female electronic musicians and producers from the entourage of Monika Enterprise and Moabit Musik. The loose collective played dozens of improvised concerts around Europe and released a studio album and live recordings in everchanging artist constellations.

The M_Sessions involved Pilocka Krach, Beate Bartel, Midori Hirano, Mommo G, Lucrecia Dalt, Antye Greie-Ripatti, Natalie Beridze, Annika Henderson and myself. Here the form of interpretation is focussing on keeping the freedom of their improvised work and adapting it to the collective appropriation of songs. I cannot imagine a better reinterpretation of the material with its real life ups and downs and with its enthusiasm.
The original core team of Beate Bartel, Bettina Köster, Manon P. Duursma and myself selected "Rare Originals" from the repertoire of the 3 bands where we saw special relevance and beauty - these tracks are on LP2. We rediscovered live tracks, living room recordings and demo versions from our times long gone. (G.Gut)

M_DOKUMENTE // THE BOOK - THE RECORDS - THE EXHIBITION

The project M_Dokumente focuses on the All Female bands Mania D., Malaria! and Matador in the West Berlin music and art scene of the late 1970s and 1980s. We celebrate this 40 years retrospetive with a big festival weekend from 21.-24.10.2021 at Silent Green from a explicitly female perspective.
The three bands around their members Beate Bartel, Bettina Köster and Gudrun Gut played concerts in different formations from 1979 on, released records and toured around the world. The self-determined appearance of the musicians was new, raised some eyebrows and was reflected both in the music and the lyrics, but also in their unique style and the genre-crossing approach of "more art in the music, more music in the art". To this day, the bands are considered visionary, they shaped a new image of women in pop culture and are pioneers and role models for the still important and necessary emancipatory movement in the music industry. Far beyond the borders of Berlin.

3Ms

The three, reunited: Malaria, Matador and Mania D, unter einem Dach, but gutted, replaced with electronic hearts, new beats, new beasts, the time has changed, yet the politics, the problems, the heartache remains the same. 2021 sees the anniversary of the 3 M’s and therewith the production of an album of songs, covering a selection of the bands’ finest output, this time assembled by a new set of feminist misfits; producers, fangirls, instrumentalists, under the strict guidance of original members Gudrun Gut and Beate Bartel. M-Sessions features: AGF, Lucrecia Dalt, Sonae, Midori Hirano, Islaja, Natalie Beridze, Pilocka Krach, Annika Henderson (Anika), Lupe, Gudrun Gut and Beate Bartel. Beginning in West Berlin, in 1979, with the inception of Mania D, spawning Malaria! and later Matador; in a time when music was essential to movement, to escape, to space, to the scene and to the rebellion of the people; three bands stood for trial and error, trial and terror, anti- conformity, and anti-consumerism, for girl power and sticking it to the man, and for just doing whatever the hell they wanted. The three, their existence slightly staggered, with different members, different grudges, different heartbreaks, different instrumental expressions, were joined by a string of barbed wire, piecing pigeon hearts, within the playground that was the desolate ex-capital, now again capital, Berlin; a place where artists and freaks could run free amongst the wrinklies and army dodgers; no microscopes, no rules, no property developers. (ANNIKA HENDERSON)

PAURA explores the horror repertoire from the precious CAM Sugar archives taking us on a hypnotic journey into the labyrinths of fear, through the different variations that Italian horror took on from the esoteric and supernatural to the slasher films of the early 1970s; to reinterpretations of Romantic literature and gothic fiction to the splatter films of the ‘80s; and from witchcraft to metropolitan horror. This is not a real “best of” but an eclectic menu full of mysterious voices, childlike lullabies, sweet melodies, obsessive music boxes, obstinate harpsichords, crazy distortions and threatening synthesizers, conceived as a succession of sequences, as if a film edit. The new collection includes some of the most creative music ever written and strives to do justice not only to some of the best known composers in this genre, but also to many great unsung composers: From celebrated composers like Ennio Morricone, Riz Ortolani & Stelvio Cipriani to long-forgotten personalities who fed the industrial backbone of Italian cinema such as Daniele Patucchi, Marcelo Giombini & Berto Pisano. The collection includes 6 previously unreleased tracks plus 3 tracks released on vinyl for the first time and 5 tracks available commercially for the first time (originally released only as a limited promo item).

The making of “I Dreamed of Electric Sheep” was heavily influenced by the situation everyone had to face lately. “We were forced to work under very peculiar circumstances, often interrupting our studio activity because of the lockdown”, says Franz Di Cioccio (lead vocals, drums). The whole process took one year spent mostly working at home, sharing ideas and meeting at Patrick Djivas’ (bass, keyboards) home studio, before the band was able to record the album at White Studios in Milan, Italy. Being the rhythm section Cioccio and Djivas make a perfectly working team. “We both have a great passion for SciFi movies. In the past we watched many of them together. In the case of ‘Blade Runner’ we were hit by the question: Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep? - The world has been changing around us. Computers are taking over and Covid has accelerated the process. However, we strongly believe in the power of people to use their imagination and fantasy. To us this is what really makes the difference between human beings and androids.” The band considers themselves being in a similar place when it comes to music that Impressionists were in when it comes to painting: They didn’t paint fixed somatic traits for their figures with their brush strokes while PFM (Premiata Forneria Marconi) do not consider themselves limited to a specific genre. While the album tells multiple stories they are all linked to passion, love and the power of imagination. As a real treat PMF invited a couple of musicians they have been friends with for a long time: Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) on flute and Steve Hackett (ex-Genesis) on electric guitar. “I Dreamed of Electric Sheep” is simultaneously released in both English and Italian versions, hence the Italian subtitle, “Ho Sognato Pecore Elettriche". PMF’s “I Dreamed of Electric Sheep” is available in the following formats: Special 2 CD Digipak with O-Card, Gatefold 2LP+2CD & Special LP-Booklet and Digital Album.

In 1971, Bulbous Creation poured what little personal surplus they had into a full day of recording at Cavern Studios, tracking enough material for a full length album. The band wouldn’t stay together long enough to save up for a custom pressing on Rock. Singer/guitarist Paul Parkinson was deeply individualistic, and left to perform his songs as he thought they should be, as a solo act. He preferred coffee shops to concert halls, and would stick to his craft another 20 years before hanging it up. Drummer Horstmann followed suit. Jim “Bugs” Wine and guitarist Alan Lewis soldiered on, shortening their name to the more sensible Creation and adding vocalist Wayne Austin, dynamic drummer Tommy Ward, and guitarist Roger Sewell. The Bulbous Creation LP was nearly doomed to oblivion, but for the efforts of Rich Haupt, who issued an unauthorized eight song LP in 1995 on his Rockadelic imprint. Lewis died in 1998 of esophageal cancer. When Paul Parkinson died of leukemia in 2001, a lone copy turned up amongst his possessions, with piece of mind that someone, somewhere, was listening.”

There is a moment halfway through Hand Habits’ Fun Houseat which musician Meg Duffy asks the question, “How many times must I rewind the tape?”It’s a fitting question planted squarely in the middle of a sonically adventurous record concerned largely with making sense and taking stock. How much time must we spend examining our own past in order to fully understand it? How can we safely acknowledge pain in order to release it and fully actualize who we are supposed to be? Buffeted by strings, synths, and a gently-shook tambourine, the aptly-titled track, “The Answer,” highlights the emotional engine at the heart of the record. “I know the answer,”Duffy sings, “Here’s what I hope to find - it’s always mine.”