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Back in the day, when he was the drummer for Poni Hoax, Vincent Taeger would sing in French whatever came to his mind backstage after concerts, just for fun, to amuse his friend the late Nicolas Ker. Since then, time has flown by, undoubtedly bringing its share of ups and downs. Nonetheless, today, this artist with a long career is finally releasing his debut album as a singer, OK Crooner. It's indeed an album for a singer, but also one for a musician. For this part, Taeger doesn't come alone; he brings along the Jazz Kamasutra, a sexy sextet that knows how to play everything and will later accompany him on stage. To get to this point, Vincent Taeger had to stop playing around with big names like Air, Damon Albarn, Justice, Lenny Kravitz, Skepta, Tony Allen, Oumou Sangaré, Jeff Mills, Archie Shepp, Sampa the Great, Andrea Laszlo de Simone... More than half of the major artists with whom he once collaborated, contributing to their albums or simply laying down a drum, bass, or any other heavy instrument line. Before OK Crooner, he also transformed into Tiger Tigre. This roaring alias was used for a first solo album, instrumental and so deep that one might have thought the ghost of François de Roubaix had taken shape. But that was before, before this exceptional musician decided to dive into the vast ocean of French variety to give a sequel, a culmination to this project. During COVID, Vincent Taeger started frantically listening to Souchon, Chamfort, Gotainer, and Christophe. Inspired by his elders, while not renouncing his attachment to the meticulous arrangements reminiscent of Alain Goraguer's soundtracks, he picked up a pen to jot down snippets of songs to accompany his increasingly sophisticated compositions. And the worst part is that he enjoyed it! Coming from rap, he has a knack for punchlines. Throughout the album, he delivers just as many harsh or soft words as good ones, alternating between risqué humor, Gaulish wit, and poetry. Partially recorded at Studio Ferber, but mainly at home with his partner, known by the alias La Plongée, who co-produced the album for the occasion, OK Crooner is a key album in Vincent Taeger's discography. Besides being the one where he finally unveils his voice to the public, without pretense as it is prominently featured and minimally, if at all, retouched, Taeger also offers music that suits him perfectly. Sharp yet accessible, jazz, pop, baroque, classical, modern, and resolutely marked by Tony Allen's legacy, which he daringly mixes with Beethoven in the Fifth Symphony. His alter ego, Vincent Taurelle, with whom he has produced many albums, took care of mixing this one.

Born as a culture and art movement that began in the Bronx in New York city in 1973, Hip Hop emerged from neigh- borhood block parties thrown by the Black Spades, an African-American group that at the time was describes a being a gang, a club, and a music group. Since then, and for the last fifty years, Hip hop culture has spread to both urban and suburban communities throughout the United States and subsequently the world, Furthermore, it has become a phenomenon that influenced music, fashion and pop culture as a whole. An album that features many of the most influential artists of the genre, including Run DMC, LL Cool J, Grandmaster Melle Mel, Ice-T, Slick Rick, Eric B, & Rakim, Naughty By Nature and Big Daddy Kane among many others. It also includes a curated selection extrac- ted from the Rap Mania: The Roots Of Rap event, which was a bi-coastal simulcast concert that brought together some of the most popular Hip Hop artists of that era for a one-time-only show. East Coast Hip Hop meets West Coast Hip Hop before the gangsta craze and east vs west rivalry really got started. The show was a celebration of the 15th Anniversary of Hip Hop and took place simultaneously at the Apollo Theater in New York City and The Palace Theater in Hollywood. With fantastic artwork and remastered sound, this is essential collection, that any hip hop fan will treasure and that will help as an introduction to those interested in knowing more about a movement that changed the course of pop culture. Also, remember that this is not available on streaming platforms.

Originally released on a Partial 10” in 2019, `Mediation’ became a hit on the underground roots and dub sound system scene with regular plays from the late Jah Shaka, amongst others.

This 12” reissue features the original vocal and dub cut, but also contains two previously unreleased dubplate cuts.

Hailing from Limerick, Ireland, Eva Keyes has a very bright and distinctive voice with an undeniable hint of Sinead O’ Connor and Dolores O’Riordan.

Produced by Dublin-based Dan Taliras.

FELT welcomes back Civilistjävel! with »Följd«, the follow-up to last year’s »Brödföda«. 7 tracks further chronicling his melancholic murk, ever drifting towards that faint dub glow. Features a collaboration with Thomas Bush Jolly Discs.

Uncanny are the nocturnal sounds that ebb patiently from Tomas Bodén and his machines. His music continues to uncover equal parts beauty and dread from isolation, a purposeful slow pace guiding those gentle noises through the arctic air surrounding its author. No matter the weather, these expressions as Civilistjävel! continue to find a loving home on Fergus Jones’s FELT imprint.

On »Följd«, he naturally develops on the inclinations found on »Brödföda«. »XIII«’s unsettling warble melts into the dusky spurts of »XIV«. Further on, the dew-glowed ambience of »XV« precedes »XVI«’s dub trudge which casts a hypnotic grey shadow. »XVII«’s wind-swept acid redux then quietly transitions into the stunning introspective drone of »XVIII« before closer »XIX« comes into view, its positive dawn enacted through Thomas Bush’s croons lilting amongst organs, guitars and tempered sound design.

Civilistjävel! continues to emote a great deal with very little, a reliable abstract practitioner that posits »Följd« as an arresting audio tale within his celebrated oeuvre.

Including wanted vinyl tracks by Marshall Jefferson, Calvin Harris, Sub Focus, Kölsch, D*Note, CamelPhat, Amber Broos, Dennis Ferrer and Fiocco.

In Todmorden, the oddly-named market border town in West Yorkshire with a habit for embracing the weird and wonderful, a burst of sunshine is a precious thing. Through the thick of Winter, through every season in fact, the town’s folk are used to the wind and rain, fog and mist. As much a part of the town as the trademark deep valley it sits in, here the lay of the land invites the weather in, just as it does the many musicians, artists, and unique characters that have come to call the place home over the centuries.
Bridget Hayden is one such soul who found a home among these hills. The experimental musician, who invites the ghosts in for the classic folk songs that make up her stunning new album, knows only too well about such weather, how rare and treasured the breaks from it are. Her favourite thing to do in the valley, she says, is “to make the most of every tiny minute of sunshine.”
Such aspirations nearly derailed the recording of Cold Blows the Rain, her new eight-song collection released via the Todmorden- based label Basin Rock. Having hired the town’s Oddfellow’s Hall to record these new songs in the late summer of 2022, Hayden says the weather was so good she ended up basking in every second of it, only moving inside to begin recording when the sun was setting, working deep into the night to make up the time.
There’s a good chance, however, that it had to be this way. The songs that make up Cold Blows the Rain are not made for the sunlight. They come, instead, wrapped in mist and coated with drizzle, those elements shaping the album as much as the voice and the instruments held within, as real but ambiguous as the ghosts that linger in the shadows. The sound of the dark valley floor.
Mostly centred around meditative and experimental improvisation, Bridget’s work to-date has seen her spend more than two decades recording and performing on the underground music scene. She’s also toured internationally both as a solo artist and as part of bands such as Schisms and The Telescopes, while working on various side-projects with the likes of Folklore Tapes.
For all of this sonic exploration, so much of her work has been formed around elements of traditional folk aesthetics and, over time, she began to piece together a collection of reinterpreted traditional songs that she absorbed as a child from her mother: through The Dubliners and Muddy Waters, to Bessie Smith and The Leadbelly Songbook. Harvesting her love for Nina Simone, Karen Dalton, Margaret Barry, and more, Bridget takes these traditional songs and transforms them into something uniquely evocative
"It goes back to the womb,” Bridget says of that connection. “I would not call it a memory as it is so deep within my blood and bones. My mum was the source, she sang all the time, as part of life. So it was a very lulling and natural introduction. It seemed common to hear her singing – unbeknownst to her – in time with a raindrop dripping at the window,” Bridget continues. “I’ve always wanted to do a folk record as I love these songs so much. It comes much more naturally to me to sing other people’s words, especially when they’re as beautiful as these old verses.”
Underpinned by waves of analogue reverb, and led by Bridget’s stirring and weather-beaten voice, the songs on Cold Blows the Rain drift and crawl like low heavy clouds on flat-top hills, shaped by the land. The backdrop is equally as arresting, all subtle gloom cast in shadow, a gentle but pronounced swirling of textures, crafted from harmonium and violin courtesy of The Apparitions (Sam Mcloughlin and Dan Bridgewood-Hill).
“The weather speaks the most eloquently about human loss,” Bridget says, articulating such sentiments. “It’s good to feel enveloped by something so much vaster than ourselves. The rain and the tears all become one.”

Volume 1 of this expertly curated project of 90s Italian House - put together by Don Carlos.

If Paradise was half as nice… by Fabio De Luca.

Googling “paradise house”, the first results to pop up are an endless list of European b&b’s with whitewashed lime façades, all of them promising “…an unmatched travel experience a few steps from the sea”. Next, a little further down, are the institutional websites of a few select semi-luxury retirement homes (no photos shown, but lots of stock images of smiling nurses with reassuring looks). To find the “paradise house” we’re after, we have to scroll even further down. Much further down.

It feels like yesterday, and at the same time it seems like a million years ago. The Eighties had just ended, and it was still unclear what to expect from the Nineties. Mobile phones that were not the size of a briefcase and did not cost as much as a car? A frightening economic crisis? The guitar-rock revival?! Certainly, the best place to observe that moment of transition was the dancefloor. Truly epochal transformations were happening there. From America, within a short distance one from the other, two revolutionary new musical styles had arrived: the first one sounded a bit like an “on a budget” version of the best Seventies disco-music – Philly sound made with a set of piano-bar keyboards! – the other was even more sparse, futuristic and extraterrestrial. It was a music with a quite distinct “physical” component, which at the same time, to be fully grasped, seemed to call for the knotty theories of certain French post-modern philosophers: Gilles Deleuze, Félix Guattari, Paul Virilio... Both those genres – we would learn shortly after – were born in the black communities of Chicago and Detroit, although listening to those vinyl 12” (often wrapped in generic white covers, and with little indication in the label) you could not easily guess whether behind them there was a black boy from somewhere in the Usa, or a girl from Berlin, or a pale kid from a Cornish coastal town.

Quickly, similar sounds began to show up from all corners of Europe. A thousand variations of the same intuition: leaner, less lean, happier, slightly less intoxicated, more broken, slower, faster, much faster... Boom! From the dancefloors – the London ones at least, whose chronicles we eagerly read every month in the pages of The Face and i-D – came tales of a new generation of clubbers who had completely stopped “dressing up” to go dancing; of hot tempered hooligans bursting into tears and hugging everyone under the strobe lights as the notes of Strings of Life rose up through the fumes of dry ice (certain “smiling” pills were also involved, sure). At this point, however, we must move on to Switzerland.

In Switzerland, in the quiet and diligent town of Lugano, between the 1980s and 1990s there was a club called “Morandi”. Its hot night was on Wednesdays, when the audience also came from Milan, Como, Varese and Zurich. Legend goes that, one night, none less than Prince and Sheila E were spotted hiding among the sofas, on a day-off of the Italian dates of the Nude Tour… The Wednesday resident and superstar was an Italian dj with an exotic name: Don Carlos. The soundtrack he devised was a mixture of Chicago, Detroit, the most progressive R&B and certain forgotten classics of old disco music: practically, what the Paradise Garage in New York might have sounded like had it not closed in 1987. In between, Don Carlos also managed to squeeze in some tracks he had worked on in his studio on Lago Maggiore. One in particular: a track that was rather slow compared to the BPM in fashion at the time, but which was a perfect bridge between house and R&B. The title was Alone: Don Carlos would explain years later that it had to be intended both in the English meaning of “by itself” and like the Italian word meaning “halo”. That wasn’t the only double entendre about the song, anyway. Its own very deep nature was, indeed, double. On the one hand, Alone was built around an angelic keyboard pattern and a romantic piano riff that took you straight to heaven; on the other, it showcased enough electronic squelches (plus a sax part that sounded like it had been dissolved by acid rain) to pigeonhole the tune into the “junk modernity” section, aka the hallmark of all the most innovative sounds of the time: music that sounded like it was hand-crafted from the scraps of glittering overground pop.

No one knows who was the first to call it “paradise house”, nor when it happened. Alternative definitions on the same topic one happened to hear included “ambient house”, “dream house”, “Mediterranean progressive”… but of course none were as good (and alluring) as “paradise house”. What is certain is that such inclination for sounds that were in equal measure angelic and neurotic, romantic and unaffective, quickly became the trademark of the second generation of Italian house. Music that seemed shyly equidistant from all the rhythmic and electronic revolutions that had happened up to that moment (“Music perfectly adept at going nowhere slowly” as noted by English journalist Craig McLean in a legendary field report for Blah Blah Blah magazine). Music that to a inattentive ear might have sounded as anonymous as a snapshot of a random group of passers-by at 10AM in the centre of any major city, but perfectly described the (slow) awakening in the real world after the universal love binge of the so-called Second Summer of Love.

For a brief but unforgettable season, in Italy “paradise house” was the official soundtrack of interminable weekends spent inside the car, darting from one club to another, cutting the peninsula from North to centre, from East to West coast in pursuit of the latest after-hours disco, trading kilometres per hour with beats per minute: practically, a new New Year’s Eve every Friday and Saturday night. This too was no small transformation, as well as a shock for an adult Italy that was encountering for the first time – thanks to its sons and daughters – the wild side of industrial modernity. The clubbers of the so-called “fuoriorario” scene were the balls gone mad in the pinball machine most feared by newspapers, magazines and TV pundits. What they did each and every weekend, apart from going crazy to the sound of the current white labels, was linking distant geographical points and non-places (thank you Marc Augé!) – old dance halls, farmhouses and business centres – transformed for one night into house music heaven. As Marco D’Eramo wrote in his 1995 essay on Chicago, Il maiale e il grattacielo: “Four-wheeled capitalism distorts our age-old image of the city, it allows the suburbs to be connected to each other, whereas before they were connected only by the centre (…) It makes possible a metropolitan area without a metropolis, without a city centre, without downtown. The periphery is no longer a periphery of any centre, but is self-centred”.

“Paradise house” perfectly understood all of this and turned it into a sort of cyber-blues that didn’t even need words, and unexpectedly brought back a drop of melancholic (post?)-humanity within a world that by then – as we would wholly realise in the decades to come – was fully inhuman and heartless. A world where we were all alone, and surrounded by a sinister yellowish halo, like a neon at the end of its life cycle. But, for one night at least, happy.

Back in stock due to popular demand, the 23rd release in our signature Brazil 45’s series served up a double header of classics from Sonia Santos and João Donato.

First up, 'Poema Ritmico Do Malandro (Balanço Do Crioulo)' is a beautiful track from the instantly recognisable Sonia Santos. A song that drifts from classic to psychedelic samba, laden with strings, horns and crowd noise. First released on 7” by Copacabana in 1971, but never on an album, originals fetch up to £100 per copy. A different version of this song also appears on the truly excellent Zito Righi Alucinolandia LP.

On the B side, 'Cala Boca Menino' is taken from João Donato’s much sought after and requested Quem É Quem LP. Quirky percussion, bubbling keys, horns and a hypnotic vocal. Donato is a hugely prolific force in Brazilian music and worked with the likes of including Tom Jobim, Astrud Gilberto, Cal Tjader, Dom Um Romao and Gilberto Gil amongst others. ‘Cala Boca Menino’ was released on a 7” in 1973 in Brazil, but is very difficult to find at a reasonable price and in good condition these days.

“Richard Davies is one of the last great songwriters on planet Earth. Every song on Composition Book is up there with his finest and so it's no small feat that after 35 years of making beautiful records, this one is his best.” – Robert Pollard / Guided By Voices Australian mad scientist Richard Davies has long flown under the popular radar with his groups The Moles and Cardinal, but his 10 albums are loved and championed by indie rock royalty. The Flaming Lips, for example, have recorded a Davies song and backed him up on a Moles tour in 1995. A scholar of the songwriting of The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Dylan et al., Davies spins off subtle, catchy indie rock melodies, sometimes reassembled in bizarre Frankenstein arrangements and deconstructed sonic derangements. On Composition Book, The Moles have evolved with emphasis on acoustic guitar and divine female voices. Davies’ lyrical non sequiturs and caustic wit sting, surprise and delight. “The Australian-bred, New England-based Richard Davies has long been a secret-handshake artist for indie diehards; his songs suggest self-contained pop hits from a crooked dimension.” – The New Yorker “The greatest differentiator between the work of the Moles and that of their contemporaries, though, is Davies himself. As a presence, there is something deeply and beguilingly inscrutable about him, a purposeful blankness that betrays an enormous amount of weight and depth behind it, and oozes both vulnerability and vitriol when it breaks and cracks.” – Pitchfork

Nara Leão’s Dez Anos Depois, released in 1971, is a stunning double album that revisits her musical journey and celebrates her contributions to Brazilian music.

Known as the “Muse of Bossa Nova,” Leão recorded this reflective and intimate collection of reinterpreted classics in both Paris and Rio de Janeiro.

The recordings also include the involvement of Tuca, renowned for her work on Françoise Hardy’s La Question, whose contributions enrich the album with her distinctive guitar playing and musical sensitivity.

Dez Anos Depois captures the essence of Brazil’s rich musical heritage while highlighting Leão’s versatility and artistry.

This album serves as both a tribute to her earlier works and a timeless introduction to her legacy, making it essential listening for fans of bossa nova and Brazilian music. Dez Anos Depois is available on black vinyl

Colemine Records is proud to present the first 45 from Aaron Frazer's latest LP, Into The Blue. The A side, "Fly Away" is a tune largely built on a sample of the Hi-Five track of the same name, and features thudding drums and dense guitar riffs. Cowritten by Lydia Kitto of Jungle, this tune is a perfect mix of 70's soul and 90's R&B. A true summertime jam! On the flip, "Play On" sits a little bit more in the midtempo cut with super tight drums, bass, and synths anchoring the track. The lyrics are a coaching up session and serve as positive encouragement, and Frazer's vocal delivery pushes that home. Mega catchy hook with just the right amount of swagger....play on player.

Mr Bongo is proud to present an official reissue of Zé Rodrix E A Agência De Mágicos ‘O Esquadrão Da Morte’. Written, arranged and composed by the genius of Zé Rodrix and performed by his band 'Agência de Mágicos’, this Brazilian library funk beauty is the soundtrack to Carlos Imperial's 1975 film of the same title. Echoing European soundtrack maestros such as Roy Budd and Ennio Morricone, but with a Brazilian swagger, Zé Rodrix's score is a sublime gem that needs rediscovery.

Rich in 70's soundtrack cool, the score is packed with orchestrated jazz, chase scene-funk, breaks, psychedelic freakouts and plenty of drama. The loose and quirky break-beat jazz-funk of 'Assalto' feels almost tailor-made for today's hip-hop production aesthetic. The opening drum break of 'Esconderijo' is a sampler’s dream and has already been reinterpreted by the Turkish Rapper Anıl Piyancı, as well as Brazil's DJ Caique.

Carlos Imperial was a jack of all trades. As a songwriter and music producer, he created a highly impressive back catalogue. It includes working with or writing songs for Tim Maia, Elza Soares, Brigitte Bardot, and Wilson Simonal. He also co-wrote the rare cult Brazilian 7" compacto 'Lindo Sonho Delirante (L. S. D') by Fábio. Carlos Imperial wrote liner notes and was an actor, filmmaker, television presenter, and media figure. His film 'O Esquadrão da Morte' is a violent heist movie starring Beto Bandeira, Claire Chevalier, and Baby Conceicao; in the vein of exploitation films and gritty, raw B-Movie cinema of the day. Both the film and album share striking, macabre artwork by artist Benicio.

The instrumentalist, arranger, and singer-songwriter Zé Rodrix has a musical achievements list that is also one to admire. He’s worked with the cream of Brazilian music, having written songs covered by the greats, including Quarteto Em Cy, Ronald Mesquita, Elis Regina, Karma, and Célia, to name just a few. His written arrangements have graced the music of Luli Lucinha E O Bando and Helio Matheus. He was a member of the iconic group Som Imaginário and played piano and synthesizer on Secos & Molhado's classic 1973 album.

We are super pleased to make this dusty treasure available again. It is a wonderful soundtrack score that more than holds its own with its European and American counterparts of the era.

Das neue Album der kalifornischen Punks von Destroy Boys - inklusive der Tracks Shadow (I'm Breaking Down) & Plucked.
In Zusammenarbeit mit Carlos De La Garza entstanden (Bad Religion, Paramore, The Linda Lindas), umfasst das neue Album Funeral Soundtrack #4
alles von Garagenpunk bis hin zu 90er Jahre College-Indie-Rock. Auf dem neuen Album sind Missy Dabice von Mannequin Pussy und Kat Moss von
Scowl zu hören.
Das Trio, bestehend aus Sängerin Alexia Roditis, Gitarristin Violet Mayugba und Schlagzeuger Narsai Malik, tourte bereits mit Alkaline Trio & Taking
Back Sunday durch Großbritannien, trat beim Slam Dunk, Roskilde, SBAM! und Sziget auf, war mehrmals in den USA unterwegs und trat beim Riot
Fest, Dia De Los Deftones und Coachella auf. Außerdem supporteten sie Blink-182 + Turnstile & Pierce The Veil im Jahr 2023. Für 2024 sind Auftritte
beim Lollapalooza und eine Tour mit Cavetown und Mother Mother geplant.

Released in 1982 by Rita Marley Music, the label owned by Bob Marley's wife, Rita Marley, CASUAL-T's "Prescriptions For Love" is a record shrouded in mystery. Its mellow feeling, charming visuals, and extreme rarity due to limited pressing make it a coveted item among diggers, representing modern soul and rare groove.

The album is packed with the essence of early '80s US modern soul and disco, starting with the invigorating opening number "Don't Play With Sparks" (M1), reminiscent of EW&F with its horn and chorus work. Other highlights include the disco-infused groove of "Hands Off" (M2), the breezy "All Out Of Breath" (M3), and the urban soul track "Thank You For Your Love" (M7) with its quintessential '80s synthesizer work. The only reggae-style track from Rita Marley Music, "I Want You Here With Me" (M8), features sophisticated chorus work, leading into the sweet soul tracks "Let's Hold On" (M9) and "You Never Walk Alone" (M10) that conclude the album.

Adventurous big band jazz featuring such renowned composers and arrangers as Masao Yagi, Kiyoshi Yamaya, Norio Maeda, and Masahiko Sato. This is Sharps & Flats' greatest masterpiece.

Sharps & Flats, led by Nobuo Hara, has led the Japanese big band jazz scene with its diverse activities and outstanding musicality. They have produced many works throughout their long career, but this album, Little Giant, is considered one of their most representative works. The original was released in 1970 as part of Victor's Japanese Jazz series. Of note is the participation of such renowned composers and arrangers as Masao Yagi, Kiyoshi Yamaya, Norio Maeda, and Masahiko Sato.

In addition to the original songs by each member, the album also features a unique arrangement of Oliver Nelson, who has a close relationship with Sharps & Flats. The arrangements are as detailed as they are adventurous, and the performance quality is high enough to make them a reality. The hipness of "Little Giant," the strength of "Dark Horse," the edgyness of "Orbit 8:11," the elegance of "Flexibility"... The dynamic performance with the right amount of tension is captivating. This is a masterpiece that brings out the best of Sharps and Flats' ability and charm.

Today, chart-topping vocal powerhouse Teddy Swims releases four new surprise tracks on I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 1.5). The project includes his chart-conquering smash hit ‘Lose Control,’ which recently claimed the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and has surpassed 1 billion streams across all platforms.

Among the four new tracks on I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 1.5) is ‘Hammer to the Heart,’ a moody anthem with a stirring, stadium-ready chorus, ‘Tell Me,’ an understated alt-leaning offering that explores loss and heartbreak, and ‘Apple Juice,’ the kind of soulful throwback that Swims does better than anyone. Another unforgettable highlight is ‘Growing Up Is Getting Old,’ an acoustic treasure that captures the Atlanta native’s magnetism like never before.

Bringing new life to the electrifying sounds of Peru’s golden era of cumbia, *CHICHA POR FAVOR Vol. 1 is a highly anticipated limited edition vinyl release, featuring 12 rare tracks from the historic El Volcan label, known for its groundbreaking cumbia in the highlands of Cusco, Peru. This curated collection, spanning the 1970s and 80s, delivers listeners an immersive sonic journey into the heart of Peru's tropical music heritage.

For vinyl collectors, cumbia enthusiasts, and aficionados of Latin American musical history, this album is a rare treasure, packaged with an exclusive insert detailing the cultural origins of each track and offering in-depth insights into the socio-musical evolution of Peruvian cumbia. This release is the inaugural volume of CHICHA POR FAVOR, a project aimed at preserving and celebrating the defining sounds of Peruvian tropical music.

The tracks featured in CHICHA POR FAVOR Vol. 1 offer a uniquely authentic perspective on Peruvian cumbia’s intricate layers, capturing the influence of coastal rhythms, Andean folklore, and Amazonian beats, fused with elements of rock and psychedelia. From the driving electric guitars of *Grupo Atlantic*’s “Danza Atlantic” to the lively, Amazonian-infused grooves of *Los Invasores* and *Los Tigres*, the album reflects a diversity of styles that arose during a transformative era in Peru’s music scene. Notably, the release revives the distinctive sound of *El Volcan* a Cusco-based label that became a beacon for cumbia in the Andes and beyond.

Peruvian tropical music emerged in the 1960s as a fusion of traditional Andean sounds with electric guitar-driven interpretations of Afro-Caribbean and American rock influences. The insert, included with each vinyl, presents a well-researched narrative of the genre’s genesis and evolution, from early instrumental adaptations of huayno rhythms to the psychedelic Amazonian sounds that became its signature.

This compilation is not only a celebration of Peru’s cultural legacy but also an educational experience, designed to give listeners a comprehensive understanding of the geographical, cultural, and musical landscapes that shaped this genre.

X-Coast unveils 9-track 2xLP The Riviera Collection on his label Riviera Records.

Hot on the heels from remixing instant dance hits such as Shygirl's '4eva' and DJ Gigola's 'La Batteria' and spotted in the studio with adored vocalists Eartheater and Miss Bashful, Serbian-born, NYC-based DJ/producer X-Coast returns with a collection of signature tracks that feel like the lost treasure chest of his dance island.

X-Coast is your favorite DJ's favorite producer, whose tracks you’ve undoubtedly danced to, whether on a massive festival stage or at an intimate, underground rave. Over the past decade, he has quietly but consistently shaped the pulse of dancefloors worldwide, with a distinctive style that traverses genres like house, techno, electro, drum and bass, and trance. This rare versatility has led X-Coast to release on the likes of Mall Grab’s Steel City Dance Discs, Diplo’s Higher Ground, Anetha’s Mama Told Ya and DJ Haus’s Unknown To The Unknown, to name a few.

What sets X-Coast apart is not just his ability to move fluidly between styles but the unique character embedded in every track. His productions have an undeniable warmth and authenticity, often evoking the raw, euphoric spirit of the 90s and 00s rave era. This nostalgic yet forward-thinking approach makes his music feel timeless, effortlessly blending old-school rave energy with modern production techniques. It's a quality that has made him a go-to for DJs across the board, whether they’re playing peak-time techno sets or deep, groovy house sessions.

On The Riviera Collection, released on his own label, Riviera Records, X-Coast opens the vault to reveal a diverse range of tracks that showcase his deep connection to multiple eras of electronic music. This collection reflects the breadth of his eclectic DJ sets, where various sounds and styles converge into a cohesive journey. Each track feels like a contemporary reimagining of a classic moment in dance music history.

From the early 2000s tribal influences layered with X-Coast’s signature chord work on ‘Neapolis,’ to the soaring, synthetic trance energy of ‘Desert Storm,’ and the infectious, camp vibe of the diva house ‘Hold Me Baby,’ the collection takes us on a nostalgic trip back to the origins of rave culture. It echoes a time when DJs crafted a journey through genres, playing everything from house to trance to techno in one seamless night.

The collection’s first hidden gems and long-awaited singles are “Da Boing Boing Trak” and "Put Your Hands Together". Both staples in his sets at iconic venues and festivals like Pitch Music & Arts, fabric, Circoloco, AVA Festival, Melt!, and Intercell, this track has been in high demand among fans, finally seeing its release. With The Riviera Collection, X-Coast continues to cement his status as a versatile producer capable of bridging the gap between past and present, while delivering music that moves crowds everywhere.

Limited Edition White Vinyl

At the forefront of a rising wave of Brazilian artists captivating international audiences, Nyron Higor brings a quiet yet potent sense of wonder to his new self-titled album. Born in Maceió, Higor’s latest work is rooted in the traditions of Northeastern Brazilian music and golden-era MPB. Within the peaceful surroundings of his home, Higor weaves these roots together with global influences and contemporary production techniques, for a uniquely dreamlike vision of hope.

Following the success of his self-released debut Fio de Lâmina—an instrumental record of delicately balanced rhythmic and harmonic patterns, which earned support from tastemakers like Mr. Scruff, Gilles Peterson, and John Gomez—Higor’s new album is a move towards a more expansive, lyrical exploration of transcendence and triumph. As Higor explains, “This album is a test of resistance and a big event in my life as a young Black man from the Northeast and coming from a humble background, financially speaking, its context is political.”

Taking his demos and unfinished tracks to São Paulo, Higor worked alongside friends and collaborators from Brazil’s vibrant contemporary music scene—including fellow Maceioense artists Bruno Berle, Batata Boy, and New York-based Brazilian vocalist Alici Sol—assembling a rich musical landscape and a cutting edge development on the musical world from which he emerges.

For Higor, the process of recording and producing in close collaboration with Berle and Batata Boy allowed him to fully cultivate the emotive power of his compositions. Album opener "Ciranda" sets the tone with a slow frevo rhythm, as wistful trombone melodies and melancholic acoustic guitar harmonies create an atmosphere both intimate and grand. Lead single "São Só Palavras," featuring Alici Sol and Bruno Berle, captures both the lightness and depth of young love in an all too fleeting minute-and-a-half moment of soaring brilliance.

Building upon the instrumental sound of his debut, “Louro Cantador” with its playful organ, birdlike whistles and elegant acoustic guitar, emanates a kind of rare natural beauty, as each sound dances amidst the gentle pulse of Higor's bass—his main instrument.

Through ten carefully crafted tracks, Higor’s acuity for sound and silence draws listeners into a place that feels both deeply personal and universally resonant. “Above all, I value making music that brings me genuine satisfaction. I’m always looking for depth in the things I create.”

This album is a testament to the timeless themes that define Higor’s artistry, as well as his creative drive to overcome the obstacles he faces. Conveying his feelings of jubilance for his work, Higor notes, “This work is liberating, contemplative and victorious!” Each track invites the listener to experience the raw intimacy, the joy and longing, and the otherworldly ingenuity of Brazilian music, which seems to endlessly keep us coming back for more.

CREDITS

Ciranda (Nyron Higor)
Tico Lima: Trombone, Nyron Higor: Drums, Bass, Synthesizers, Electric Piano, Guitar, Molho de Jatobá, Ganzá, Caxixi, and Indigenous Whistle

Louro Cantador (Nyron Higor)
Nyron Higor: Drums, Bass, Keyboards, Guitar, Percussion, and Direct Sound

Demo Love (Nyron Higor)
Nyron Higor: Drums, Bass Synth, Keyboards, and Synthesizers

São Só Palavras feat. Alici, Bruno Berle (Nyron Higor, Batata Boy, Alici Sol, and Bruno Berle)
Alici Sol: Vocals, Bruno Berle: Vocals and Bass, Nyron Higor: Drums, Guitar, Keyboards, Synthesizers, and Whistles

Estou Pensando Em Você feat. Johanna (João Menezes, Rubens Adati)
Nyron Higor: Vocals, Johanna: Vocals. Bruno Berle: Vocals, Rubens Adati: Piano, Guitar, Programming, Stefan Costilhes: Bass, Batata Boy: Programming

Maravilhamento feat. Nathalia Grilo (Nyron Higor, Nathalia Grilo)
Nathalia Grilo: Vocals, Nyron Higor: Drums, Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, and Synthesizers

Som 24 (Nyron Higor)
Nyron Higor: Sampler, Keyboard, Bass Synth, Vocoder, and Steel Guitar

Pizzicato (Nyron Higor)
Nyron Higor: Double Bass and Keyboards

Eu Te Amo (João Menezes)
Nyron Higor: Vocals and Bass, João Menezes: Guitar, Batata Boy: Rhodes Piano, Bruno Berle: Xylophone

Me Vestir De Você feat. Johanna (Paulo Novaes and João Menezes)
Nyron Higor: Vocals, Johanna: Vocals, Bianca Godoi: Drums, Bruno Berle: Bass, Guitar, Percussion, and Rhodes Piano, Batata Boy: Rhodes Piano and Guitar

===================

Tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8 were recorded by Nyron Higor in Maceió

Track 4: Bass and Synthesizers recorded by Ico dos Anjos. Vocals recorded by Batata Boy at Estúdio Rural

Track 5: Guitars, Bass, Programming, and Pianos recorded at Inhame Estúdio. Coproduced by Rubens Adati

Tracks 9 and 10 Recorded and Co produced by Ico dos Anjos

Mixed by Batata Boy, Ico dos Anjos, Bruno Berle, and Nyron Higor

Mastered by Batata Boy

Produced by Batata Boy, Bruno Berle, and Nyron Higor

Lacquer Cut by Caspar Sutton Jones @ Gearbox Records

Cover photo by Claudio Virginio

Vinyl centre label artwork by Tadáskía

Sleeve design by Alessandro Renaldin

Welcome into the world of scarse music for the ultimate connoisseurs, fine taste beatmakers and holy grails collectors.
You made a step close to The Edge.
From cult Italian soundtrack and 80's iconic anime, English and French library music, to tunes that made Hip Hop iconic anthem, Medline picked 10 compositions to cover, among his favorite crate diggers treasures.

With a 30 years Dj's culture, he unite on vinyl a collection of underground classics.
When other musicians sample, as former beatmaker, he found his fulfillment by playing the entire tracks, as homage to these composers.

In 2018 Solstice has set the corner stone of this unique artwork at the cross road of Jazz, Funk, Soul and Hip Hop worldwide culture.
With The Edge, the out of boundaries producer, placed the level even more higher.
The whole work is incredible, for a man alone, without music theory knowledge but playing flutes, horns, keyboard, guitar and many more instruments... creating in his little home studio the sound of a 70's orchestra.

Challenging and epic:
Epic for covers like A Day In The Life, Beatles cover by Les Demerle, took by Buck Wild for O.C. Time's Up and of course the eponym David Axelrod's The Edge on David McCallum album.

Challenging, for library anthem like Hot Dog, Ghetto or Keep Quiet by Jacky Giordano, sharp and definitely audacious.
Despite the variety of the ten themes, the man's touch is present each time, into the texture, sound taste and balance. Like a chef bringing up to date magical recipes.

The archetypal type of records My Bags loves to release, "The Edge" is built as a crate digger paradise, a timeless record linking past and present into a highly concentrate of divine grooves.

The Vinyl Only label is a hot one amongst heads and now it hits double figures with a cheeky new 7" packed with plenty of delicious dub. It is the work of the Vinyl Only Allstars and A-side cut 'Dub, Dub, Dub' is just that - a big bottomed sound with cavernous low ends, oodles of reverb and some well-treated vocals floating in amongst the liquid chords. 'Find A Reason' is another rich soundscape with natty guitar riffs, filtered vocals and a sunny disposition with some playful pianos.

This mini-LP from Amon Tobin is a beautiful artefact commissioned by the mind-blowing art installation Omega Mart by Meow Wolf in Las Vegas.

Produced by Creed Taylor and originally issued on the CTI label in 1975, Jim Hall's Concierto followed the path of Miles Davis' celebrated Sketches of Spain in presenting, among other tunes, an arrangement of Joaquín Rodrigo's "Concierto de Aranjuez."

The LP was an all-star venture, with Hall accompanied by such luminaries as Chet Baker, Paul Desmond, Roland Hanna, Ron Carter and Steve Gadd. Desmond had a long history of recording with the guitarist, but this was Hall and Baker's first out of just two recorded encounters.

Concierto received a **** ½ rating on AllMusic, with reviewer Anthony Tognazzini stating that it "ranks among the best albums of Hall's superb catalog and the personnel is a jazz lover's dream come true."

BASta! is the solo project of double bass player and composer Joris Vanvinckenroye, in which he explores and pushes the limits of the double bass. In this project, using looping and effect pedals, Joris creates an almost orchestral sound, using the full range of his instrument-from the deepest basses to the highest notes. These layered compositions weave complex rhythms and melodies into a rich and compelling soundscape.

The debut album of BASta!, Cycles, was released in 2009 on the label Homerecords.be and marked the beginning of an adventurous journey that brought BASta! to numerous stages, both solo and in collaboration with multidisciplinary productions by Rode Boom and Retina Dance Company, among others. Besides BASta!, Joris has been active for decades in bands such as Aranis, Troissoeur and MOTYK (formerly Flairck), with which he performs internationally, from Mexico to China and from Oman to the United States. He also composes music for dance, theatre and multidisciplinary productions, including Rode Boom's successful production Unknown Evidences, which has been performed over 600 times in France, Morocco and Denmark, among others.

Joris Vanvinckenroye:double bass, Viola da Gamba
Composed and recorded by Joris Vanvinckenroye,
Mixed at Studio Cucurucu by Jesse De Roo
Mastered at Elektropolis by Uwe Teichert
Album produced by Nik Bartsch

A new full-length from THE ORB following last year's acclaimed album MOONBUILDING 2703 AD.

An expertly crafted ambient experience from two pioneers at the height of their creativity

180g standard vinyl version comes with download code of the full album

Being pioneers with a new album created in no more than 6 months, THE ORB are bound to be exposed to fan expectations running high, while quizzical questions about little fluffy clouds and the good old times take over. It's especially jarring as the duo of accomplished soundsmiths Alex Paterson and Thomas Fehlmann has become known for its genre-bending curiosity and surprising sonic detours, exploring experimental soundscapes as well as club-friendly beats.



The funny thing is, though, that whatever the context, you know a track from THE ORB when you hear it. Case in point: COW / CHILL OUT, WORLD!, their latest full-length offering - a masterful ambient album that branches out in many directions, but unmistakably sounds like THE ORB in either ear (and probably to your third ear, too).



"The idea was simply to make an ambient album", Dr Paterson explains, "we didn't look back and study earlier recordings, but wanted a more spontaneous approach, a focus on THE ORB today, our vibe in 2016."



In contrast to their much-acclaimed previous full-length MOONBUILDING 2703 AD (KOMPAKT 330 CD 124) - which took years to prepare and finetune -, the new album was produced over the course of only five sessions in six months, directly following the like-minded ALPINE EP (KOMPAKT 339): "it got so spontaneous that a track like 9 ELMS OVER RIVER ENO (CHANNEL 9) consisted only of material collected at North Carolina's Moogfest in May - second-hand records from local stores, field recordings, live samples from gigs that we liked, and of course an excursion to the Eno River, which actually exists. This geographic intimacy and the spontaneity are among the top reasons why we love this album so much."


Herr Fehlmann sees the duo's relentless gigging schedule as a formative influence on the new album: "the countless performances we've played in the last years - probably up to 300 - have brought us closer as a musical unit. The spice of our concerts is improvisation - a fertile process that we've brought to the studio, where we operate with very simple rules of engagement (in this case "ambient") and go wherever the flow takes us." It's an approach that one might expect from traditional acoustic instrumentation, not necessarily an electronic set-up, but for THE ORB it works wonders: "we're quite happy and also a little bit proud that we've reached this level of unscripted levity with purely electronic means. We're finessing ourselves, sort of, always looking for the next sonic surprise that leaves us rubbing our eyes about how the heck we got there."


Once more, THE ORB's trademark playfulness is on full display on COW / CHILL OUT, WORLD!, and it doesn't limit itself to the multi-layered sampling and psychedelic sound composites that the duo has become known for - you'll find it in the album title as well. The simple invitation (or order) to chill out (relax Calm the eff down) is converted into an acronym - and the cow that you might expect to find on a Pink Floyd cover or with iconic UK chill-out/dance pranksters The KLF. It's not so much an obscure trope coming full circle as a perfect example for THE ORB's multitimbral approach to sound and meaning - a compelling, immersive journey to diverse places and impressions.



Each track title is a conceptual work in its own right, playing with multiple references, some of which remain highly personal and mysterious. But the greatest feat of THE ORB's latest outing might just be how all this semantic doodling never gets in the way of the actual listening, at all times directly relating the artists' sonic vitality and cheerful nosiness. Chill out world! and treat yourself to an outstanding new ambient experience from THE ORB.

Blackest Ever Black presents Sleep Heavy, the debut album of broken-hearted, downtempo R&B/street-soul and supremely atmospheric, introspective electronics from Jabu: a trio comprised of vocalist/lyricists Alex Rendall and Jasmine Butt, and producer Amos Childs.The group was born out of Bristol's Young Echo collective: an ecosystem unto itself which has birthed and nurtured a number of other notable soundsystem-rooted projects and artists to date including Kahn & Neek, Sam Kidel, Ishan Sound, Ossia, Asda, chester giles (the title Sleep Heavy comes from a giles poem) and Killing Sound (Childs with Kidel and Vessel).

Fabio Monesi teamed up with Tom Carruthers for a solid EP of pure house music.

“Waxwork Records is thrilled to present CASTLE FREAK Original Motion Picture Soundtrack composed by Richard Band (Re-Animator, From Beyond, Puppet Master). This 1995 direct-to-video release directed by Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator, From Beyond) has gone on to become a sought after Horror cult classic.

Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton star as John and Susan Reilly, and Jessica Dollarhide as their blind daughter Rebecca. After visiting John’s newly inheri- ted 12th-century castle, the family soon realizes that they are not alone amongst the medieval stone walls. Chained up in the dungeons is Giorgio, the hideously disfigured son of the castle’s former owner. When Gior- gio escapes and wreaks havoc upon the unsuspecting Reillys, the family is brought to their breaking points.

Richard Band is an award-winning American com- poser who has written the music for over 100 fea- ture films, television series, and more. His score for Castle Freak features the innovative use of a string quartet in the film’s prologue, bringing a classical flair to his tense and terrifying score.

Waxwork Records is proud to release Castle Freak on vinyl for the first time. Featuring a heavyweight die- cut gatefold jacket with all new artwork by Anthony Petrie and pressed on “”Dungeon Splatter”” colored vinyl.”

Pressed at Quality Record Pressings. Tip-on old style gatefold double pocket jacket by Stoughton Printing

Donny Hathaway's second album, released in April 1971, can be considered the antithesis of a "sophomore slump." The collection of cover songs found the artist not only spotlighting his talent, but his tastes. Among the songs he chose to cover on the LP was Leon Russell's "A Song for You," taken from Russell's debut album which was barely a year old at the time. Hathaway's impassioned version is so strong that many listeners are still shocked to discover that the song is indeed a cover.

With songs by Billy Preston ("Little Girl"), Mac Davis ("I Believe in Music") and Van McCoy (Gladys Knight and the Pips' 1964 hit, "Giving Up"), the record didn't exactly ignite the charts, peaking at No. 73 for the week of July 24, 1971 (the No. 1 album in America that week: Carole King's Tapestry). Hathaway's second LP is so much more than its chart performance.

Atlantic producer Jerry Wexler took over most of the production duties, with Hathaway producing one track, the self-penned "Take a Love Song." One of just three solo studio albums Hathaway recorded before his tragic death in 1979, Donny Hathaway is a truly timeless classic that will never go out of style.

Pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings, and housed in a tip-on old style gatefold double pocket jacket by Stoughton Printing.

180-gram 45 RPM double LP. Pressed at Quality Record Pressings. Tip-on old style gatefold double pocket jacket with textured stock by Stoughton Printing

Boz Scaggs' self-titled album, released in 1969, is an iconic and pivotal record in his career, marking a shift in his musical direction to incorporate elements of soul, R&B, and showcasing his musical versatility.
Departing from the Steve Miller Band after a two-album stint, Boz Scaggs found himself on his own but not without support. Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner, his friend, helped him sign with Atlantic Records and the label had him set up shop in Muscle Shoals, recording his debut album with that legendary set of studio musicians, known for their down-and-dirty backing work for Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett, among many other Southern soul legends.

AllMusic writes: "The Muscle Shoals rhythm section, occasionally augmented by guitarist Duane Allman, gives this music genuine grit, but this isn't necessarily a straight-up blue-eyed soul record, even if the opening 'I'm Easy' and 'I'll Be Long Gone' are certainly as deeply soulful as anything cut at Muscle Shoals." Scaggs dabbled in country and blues along with the soul and R&B that grounds this record.

The extended 11-minute blues workout "Loan Me a Dime," functions as much as a showcase for a blazing Duane Allman as it does for Boz. But even with that show-stealing turn, and even with the Muscle Shoals musicians giving this album its muscle and part of its soul, this album is still thoroughly a showcase for Boz Scaggs' musical vision. "Loan Me a Dime" is blues-rock classic. It showcased Scaggs' soulful vocals and Allman's remarkable guitar skills.

Boz Scaggs' songs garnered significant radio airplay and helped introduce Boz Scaggs to a wider audience. The impact of Boz Scaggs extended beyond its initial release. It has continued to influence and inspire subsequent generations of musicians, particularly those interested in blending blues, rock, and soul.

This definitive deluxe 180-gram 45 RPM 2LP Analogue Productions (Atlantic 75 Series) reissue of Boz Scaggs, housed in a tip-on old style gatefold double pocket jacket with textured stock by Stoughton Printing, will be a highlight in your most-listened-to album rotation.

Pressed at Quality Record Pressings. Tip-on old style gatefold double pocket jacket by Stoughton Printing

Donny Hathaway's second album, released in April 1971, can be considered the antithesis of a "sophomore slump." The collection of cover songs found the artist not only spotlighting his talent, but his tastes. Among the songs he chose to cover on the LP was Leon Russell's "A Song for You," taken from Russell's debut album which was barely a year old at the time. Hathaway's impassioned version is so strong that many listeners are still shocked to discover that the song is indeed a cover.

With songs by Billy Preston ("Little Girl"), Mac Davis ("I Believe in Music") and Van McCoy (Gladys Knight and the Pips' 1964 hit, "Giving Up"), the record didn't exactly ignite the charts, peaking at No. 73 for the week of July 24, 1971 (the No. 1 album in America that week: Carole King's Tapestry). Hathaway's second LP is so much more than its chart performance.

Atlantic producer Jerry Wexler took over most of the production duties, with Hathaway producing one track, the self-penned "Take a Love Song." One of just three solo studio albums Hathaway recorded before his tragic death in 1979, Donny Hathaway is a truly timeless classic that will never go out of style.

Pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings, and housed in a tip-on old style gatefold double pocket jacket by Stoughton Printing.

2024 Restock

A warmly intimate album from Joao Gilberto - one that has the singer and guitarist in the same special space as his wonderful albums from the early 70s - a bit more sophisticated than the bossa years, but equally personal throughout!

GREAT AMERICAN GHOST is relentless in every way, shape, and form. Hellbent on pushing the envelope in every conceivable fashion since their inception in 2012, they have steadily grown as a genre defying group amongst their peers in the aggressive music world. With bludgeoning riffs and a ferociously uncompromising message, they grow stronger with every new addition to an impressive discography. The New Hampshire quartet aims to stretch the bounds even further with their forthcoming release, and having found their home with Sharptone Records, there is nothing off limits. Nothing taboo. Nothing that can't be mined as an influence or used as a milestone to further an already sharpened sound. The promise of devastating music with extreme intent is fully realized, and the future is theirs to conquer.

Over the past half century, Tony Levin has been a prolific session player and one of the most active live performers on the planet. He’s contributed his talents to over five hundred albums amongst which include 15 with Peter Gabriel and 18 with King Crimson (counting live, studio, and compilations) alongside contributions to the work of John Lennon, Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, Herbie Mann, Paul Simon and many others. On tour, he’s traveled the World many times over with the aforementioned King Crimson, Peter Gabriel, and several of his own bands including Stick Men
.
This Fall, he’ll stage 65 performances in North America as a member of BEAT, celebrating King Crimson’s ‘80s repertoire alongside Adrian Belew, Steve Vai and Danny Carey interpreting “Discipline, Beat and Three of a Perfect Pair.”

Levin’s seventh solo album, and his first since 2007, is an autobiography of sorts, with the themes drawn from Levin’s musical life. It features a myriad of collaborators from his half-century-plus on the road and in the studio with Peter Gabriel, King Crimson and many, many others.

Features a Murderer’s Row of guest musicians including Robert Fripp, Vinnie Colaiuta, Earl Slick, Mike Portnoy, Steve Gadd, Jerry Marotta, Gary Husband, L. Shankar, Pete Levin, Jeremy Stacey, David Torn, Pat Mastelotto, Larry Fast, Steve Hunter, Manu Katche, Alex Foster, Dominic Miller, Markus Reuter, Collin Gatwood, Chris Pasin, Jay Collins, Josh Shpak, Don Mikkelsen.

Released in 1966 on Verve Folkways (a partnership between Verve Records and Moses Asch's Folkways Records), Mixed Bag was Richie Havens' official debut album and tackles a variety of song styles, hence its title. Among its highlights are Havens' readings of Bob Dylan's "Just Like a Woman" and The Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby." The album received a ****½ AllMusic rating, with reviewer Jim Newsom stating that, "Richie Havens' finest recording, Mixed Bag captures the essence of his music and presents it in an attractive package that has held up well. It's the sound of Havens' distinctive voice coupled with his unusual open-E guitar tuning, rather than the specific lyrical content of the songs, that pulls the listener in. 'Handsome Johnny,' one of Havens' best known songs as a result of the Woodstock film, is a classic anti-war ballad, stoked by the singer's unmistakable thumb-chorded strumming.

From a world of its own, somewhat like ours, yet a bit different. Familiar sound, but in a slightly different order, upside down or backwards, with different instruments or in another language just beyond comprehension, that still, somehow, makes sense and carries us further in search of musical discovery. With playful and creative interaction and exceptional chemistry, Mari Kvien Brunvoll, Stein
Urheim, and Moskus take another step into uncharted musical territory. The result is the Album Barefoot in Bryophyte. The members of this quintet are frequent figures in the Hubro discography but had not played together before this project. The collaboration began as the commissioned work Branches & Limits for Voss Jazz Festival in 2023. The music has an immediacy, an unusual combination of song material spontaneous improvisation and musicianship that made the concert a favorite among both critics and audience at the festival. Mari Kvien Brunvoll and Stein Urheim have written the songs that were further developed together with Moskus. The open and improvisational approach is evident, in the blending of the known and unknown in their songs. They have a curious approach to creativity, with lyrics that are both open for interpretation and poignant at the same time

After almost two years without a release, Naarm 5-piece Zombeaches return with a post-punk whirlwind of a track. A Taste of Oxygen immediately hooks you with its chaotic garage rock sound, with frantic drums, and scratchy guitar lead. The reverb and distortion partnered with a commanding vocal performance create a hypnotic feeling, drawing you in completely.
What sets this track apart is the energy switch from the raw, aggressive energy in the verses entirely flipped to a more brooding chorus with beautiful harmonies, before being taken right back to the madness of the verses, almost experiencing whiplash as a listener.
Amongst this sonic chaos, lyricist James Young shows off his impressive songwriting skills, detailing how exciting and colourful the big city looks from the outside, only to realise how unhealthy the lifestyle can be.
A Taste of Oxygen is our first taste of their upcoming album, which is set for release later this year. This track sounds like it was made to be experienced live in a sweaty, crowded venue, so definitely keep an eye out for that opportunity

"577 Records’ The Sea, The Space, and Egypt, Vol. 1 is what happened when old friends and a new connection united in the name of music. A heartfelt tribute to the great Sun Ra, the otherworldly album debuts the collaborative gifts of Michael Sarian (on the trumpet), Matthew Putman (on the keys), Federico Ughi (on the drums), and up-and-coming Cuban bassist Ledian Mola.

Sure, most of these musicians have played together in the past. Sarian and Putman have made many albums together, while Putman and Ughi have conspired on melodies for fifteen years. However, we guarantee you have never heard them all in one spot like this.

Alabama’s Sun Ra rose to the top of the Chicago music scene in the 1940s with something unprecedented. A cosmic pioneer of Afrofuturism, he became known for his diverse and unique avant-garde experimentalism. Modern artists champion him as a true innovator.

The new band revives the late Sun Ra’s magic in this appropriately named new release. Matthew Putman even plays the same keyboard model as the experimental music icon (the Rocksichord). Even the cover art is a nod to Sun Ra's ancient Egyptian influences, featuring an upside-down pyramid over a galactic setting created by Robert Mirolo.

Meanwhile, Ledian Mola adds vocals inspired by Cuban folklore to these incredible improvisations. The album marks Mola’s first time recording with the other artists in the group (and 577 Records), but you would never know it. Their abstract rhythms sound like they’ve been playing together for a lifetime! He was hand-chosen for this project from 577 Records’ 2022 SOF music residency in Italy and has performed at several of the New York Forward Festival's live events."

Trumpet by Michael Sarian.
Keyboards by Matthew Putman.
Bass by Ledian Mola.
Drums by Federico Ughi.

Rob Mazurek graces the Keroxen Records waves with a genre defying album of field recordings, modular electronics, trumpet harmonies and spirit call chants.

An unstoppable force since his first recordings in the early 90’s Rob Mazurek has been at the forefront of experimen-tation and adventurous improvised music for most of the last 4 decades. The American composer, cornetist, and visual artist has been developing his own style of improvisational music with a myriad of collaborators, too many to list but amongst them true giants of the 20th and 21st century music cannon like Bill Dixon, Pharoah Sanders, Jeff Parker, Roscoe Mitchell, Yusef Lateef and Naná Vasconcelos amongst many many others.

Nestor’s Nest is yet another addition to Mazurek’s mammoth catalogue of cosmic unity, coming like a spur of the moment whilst staying at Nestor and Pura’s house in Tenerife during the Keroxen Festival edition of 2023. Dead time doesn’t exist for the American cornetist and whilst hanging at the organisers house Mazurek decided to record and interact with his colourful tropical surroundings. Mangos, Papayas and Star Fruits all make an appearance here as does the quietness of an idyllic garden juxtaposed with Mazurek's stormy interferences, unleashing his modular synths and other acoustic paraphernalia into an ecstatic mix of pure celestial energy. As he beautifully states on the albums back cover:

Fruit from the trees of life, Stop All War. Stop the Killing, Open the senses, Breath. Listen . Feel!

Rob Mazurek: Modular Synths, Moog Sub 37, PolyEvolver, Trumpets, Voice, Bells, flutes

Made from field recordings in and around the Keroxen Tanque and the House of Nestor and Pura in Tenerife, Canary Islands.

Final mix at Marfa Experimental Studio, Marfa Texas
Mastered by Daniel Baez
Cover photo by RM

The band, known for their energetic rock'n'roll live shows, has released two EPs and four studio albums
in the many years of their band history. The trio with their "earthy, straightforward guitar rock and just
the right amount of snotty cheekiness" - as the press likes to describe the typical MDH sound.