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Den Titel für sein Album "Classical Soul Volume One" hat Pianist und Komponist Alexis Ffrench an klassische Hip Hop-Mixtapes angelehnt. Kurze Melodie-Fragmente aus Soul-Hymnen wie "Ain't No Sunshine" und "A Change Is Gonna Come" verbindet er, wie "Samples" im Hip Hop, mit seinen eigenen Kompositionen. Diese sind von persönlichen Momenten und Erinnerungen inspiriert. Alexis Ffrench sagt: "Dieses Projekt hat etwas von einem Rundumblick und ist auch das Ergebnis eines '360°-Prozess', bei dem ich zurückgeschaut, aber auch nach vorne geblickt habe". Der Tod seines Vaters war ein fundamentaler Einschnitt, ein Verlust, der nachhallte und Alexis neu auf sein Leben blicken ließ. Eine Auszeit in der Natur, in den Highlands von Schottland, brachte ihm Ruhe und Zeit zur Reflexion. "Diese Erfahrungen veranlassen dich, darüber nachzudenken, was man hat und wirklich liebt", erklärt er. Insofern ist "Classical Soul Volume One" auch eine universelle Erzählung von Verlust und Liebe und dabei eine Feier des Lebens.

Rhetoric & Terror is Berlin-based Hemphill’s second album since leaving Liars back in 2016.

No stranger to reinventing his approach towards composition, Rhetoric & Terror feels like we are – perhaps for the first time – opening a doorway into Hemphill’s personal life, to his disparate sonic influences, his wide-ranging journeys through philosophy, and his own reflections on his role as an artist.

Like different thoughts and feelings emerging in a state of meditation, Hemphill invites you to pause on one ‘scene’ for a moment before moving onto the next. There’s space to get lost here – both emotionally and in the colour of the album’s wide-ranging textures.

With his wife Angelika Kaswalder on vocals throughout the album and multi-instrumentalist Morgan Henderson – a longtime friend of Hemphill’s since Henderson’s time in the post- hardcore band The Blood Brothers - adding woodwind, Nonpareils is no longer simply a solo project – and it’s apparent in this openness.

The name of the album – Rhetoric & Terror – describes this split that Hemphill is making from the conceptual nature of his first solo album (2018’s Scented Pictures), and the new direction that he – perhaps – hopes to continue taking. The title comes from a chapter in Giorgio Agamben’s book, “The Man Without Content”, where he describes the concepts of rhetoric and terror to describe two different types of writers: the rhetorician and the terrorist. The terrorist is a misologist who is only into the feeling; the rhetorician is committed to logic and form.

“With Rhetoric & Terror, I wanted to start with emotions and feeling. I was playing with my kids, listening to Cocteau Twins, I have a wonderful partner, and it seemed very contrary to any sort of growth to sequester myself from this life in order to get into character as a musician. Instead, I tried to remove the boundaries between my creative life and my. responsibilities and have it all be one fluid thing. All things at all times, and trust that this will guide my music rather than more intellectual concepts or limitations.”

Despite its catalysts being in philosophy and conceptual art, Hemphill has created an album that’s deeply “emotionally available”. It’s also helped him take a new stance on life that combines his life as a partner and parent in a kind of unity with his role as the artist. It’s plain to hear as a listener – Rhetoric & Terror, despite its intimidating name, is welcoming
and playful, even during its most intense moments.

First re-press since the initial 2019 release of critically acclaimed album featuring Yeah Yeah Yeahs' lead vocalist Karen O, and Danger Mouse, one of the most influential artist/producers of the 21st Century.

Debuting in March 2019, Lux Prima was hailed by Pitchfork as a “dreamy and poignant collaboration.” It featured the single “Woman,” which was accompanied by a memorable Spike Jonze-directed live performance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The single was also nominated for the Best Rock Performance Grammy.

The new package includes the original artwork plus a 16 page booklet highlighting their interactive exhibition “An Encounter with Lux Prima”, held at Los Angeles’ Marciano Arts Foundation featuring a 360 degree soundscape of the album mixed at famed Skywalker Ranch.

Kordhell is an anonymous musician, artist, and record producer based in
Los Angeles. He's previously played in various extreme metal acts, until
abandoning these projects for his mysterious Electronic music project,
under the new moniker "Kordhell". In early 2022, Kordhell's song
"Murder In My Mind" exploded on TikTok and YouTube, helping the song
reach the top of the Billboard Dance charts, UK top 100, and its recent
RIAA platinum certification in the US.
Boasting a massive 9 million+ monthly listeners, and over 2 billion Spotify
streams to-date, Kordhell is one of music's fastest growing streaming
stories and artists of the past few years. In 2023, Kordhell provided the
opening song for the popular movie "Fast X", the newest film in the Fast
& Furious saga. Since the start of 2024, he's provided music for various
productions and games, including Asphalt 9, Netflix, VALORANT, Arcane
and many more upcoming.

Equator is the sixteenth studio album by the British rock band Uriah Heep, released in 1985. It marked a departure from their earlier progressive rock sound towards a more commercial and accessible style, incorporating elements of pop rock and AOR (album-oriented rock). It peaked at #79 in the UK albums chart. The album features a lineup consisting of Mick Box (guitar), Lee Kerslake (drums, vocals), Trevor Bolder (bass guitar, vocals), Phil Lanzon (keyboards), and Peter Goalby (vocals). This album was the last to feature Kerslake and Goalby before their departure from the band. Singles on the album include ""Rockarama"" and ""Poor Little Rich Girl”. Equator is available as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on smoke coloured vinyl and includes an insert.

Alice Taylor was a popular session singer who sang background vocals for several local Philly groups including The Delfonics during the height of the Philly Soul boom of the early to mid-1970’s.

In 1974 Alice under the auspice of producer Emanuel ‘Manny’ Campbell Jr and fellow Philadelphian musician/composer Charles R. Bowen entered the famed Sound Room Studios in Upper Dardy PA, to record a session of her own. This session yielded two songs. The more commercial pop soul orientated “(I’m In Love With A) Rock ‘n’ Roll Singin’ Superstar”. A song which took influences from other popular songs of the time that mentioned one’s love for Rock ‘n’ Roll singers and taking road trips to L.A (Los Angeles) in an attempt to cash in. Although the elongated song title may at first be a tad off-putting the recording showcases Alice’s vocal talents to the full and in itself is a very good record. The second song “Sounds Ridiculous” is based around the theme of a girl falling in love with a guy who spends most of his time daydreaming rather than getting a regular 9-5 job. An excellent record that should find favour with 70’s/crossover soul fans alike.



Manny Campbell Jr used some of Philadelphia’s finest musicians on Alice’s session, notably session drummer Earl Young, reputedly the first exponent of the hi-hat cymbal a style of drumming used extensively throughout the disco period. Young had honed his skills during the 1960’s with his band The Volcanos, recording sessions for the Arctic and Harthon Record Labels. The Volcanos later became The Moods before morphing into The Trammps who Young recorded on his Golden Fleece Label with the group recording several further disco hits for Buddah Records prior to their worldwide hit “Disco Inferno” for Atlantic Records. Young’s strumming can be found on many other Philadelphia International, Sal Soul and MFSB recordings. The string and horn arrangements on the session were provided by another MFSB (Mother Father Sister Brother) pool of musician’s member, Don Renaldo.



“I’m In Love With A) Rock ’n’ Roll Superstar/Sounds Ridiculous” came out in November of 1975 as an initial pressing run of 500 copies for promotional use which sadly were not of the best quality with some background noise being present in the introduction on both sides of the single, a possible detrimental factor in the release gaining any significant airplay. It’s was the second and final release on Emandolynn Music’s short lived, Stage-Art label. The first release being another of Manny Campbell’s acts The Nu-Rons & Co “Disco Hustle/Can’t Do Enough Girl” (Stage-Art 1001). Sadly, Alice Taylor passed away sometime during the 1980’s. Soul Junction through its ongoing relationship with Emandolynn Music have taken the opportunity to license these now very sort after Alice Taylor songs, which have been remastered to remove the aforementioned sound problems present on the original release. Which are now presented to you as a 3 track EP which also includes a previously unissued alternative mix of “(I’m In Love With A) Rock ’n’ Roll Singin’ Superstar, a recent master tape discovery.

Globally renowned Danish group WhoMadeWho has returned with their 8th studio LP, the highly emotive and melodic Kiss & Forget, marking their first album release since 2022’s acclaimed UUUU. The ever-evolving outfit step into a new era with a vibrant collection of 13 tracks featuring indie electronic, pop, house, disco, synthwave, and more elements. Boasting an impressive list of album collaborators - RY X, Blue Hawaii, Adriatique, Kölsch, and nour - Kiss & Forget offers a concoction of diverse sounds that evoke the collective’s perpetually youthful spirit. Kiss & Forget is due for release on September 13th via the band’s imprint, The Moment.

Despite their extensive and storied career, WhoMadeWho - comprised of Tomas Høffding, Tomas Barfod, and Jeppe Kjellberg - has been having one of their best years yet. Since announcing the album in late 2023, the band has teased fans with a series of singles that highlight the diverse sonic palette of Kiss & Forget. The nostalgic lead single, “Children,” boasting the angelic timbres of the Danish children’s choir Vesterbros Ungdomsgård, became an instant hit, earning Pete Tong’s highly sought-after “Essential New Tune” title on BBC Radio 1. This was followed by the ethereal “Love Will Save Me” featuring GRAMMY-nominated RY X, the dreamy “Kiss Me Hard” with Canadian indie duo Blue Hawaii, and “Heartless” with fellow venerated Danish electronic producer Kölsch.

A new album by Medway's premier alt-folk outfit The Singing Loins! Yes indeed. We caught up with Rob Shepherd to find out more about their brilliant new LP Twelve_ Q: "The new album is called Twelve. Could you settle an office debate - is it your 12th album or have you called it that because it has twelve songs on it? (We thought Here On Earth was your 12th but not according to Discogs. Also, our ability to count accurately has diminished over the years!)" A: "A bit of both. Course, there's the 12 songs, but then, depending on how you count, it's also our 12th album (from 91-98, there's the 1st 4 LPs that Damaged Goods collected together on The Complete & Utter - that's a comp though, so we can't count that eh - then there's At The Bridge with Billy, so that's 5_..we can skip Alive In Dunkerque as well cos it's a live album....then there was 2004-13 where we made four more with you, then in 2019 we got back together and made 13 Moon Songs From Merry Hell, released on the Vacilando 68 label...so that's 10_and then we did another record with Billy, The Fighting Temeraire_ so yeah, that makes this one number 12)." Q: "The album has features newly recorded versions of several Loins classics. Was it a difficult decision deciding which back catalogue songs to record?" A: "No, pretty easy - it's basically the 12 songs we enjoy playing the most with the current lineup. Saying that, it's been a bit of a meandering road getting to this point. Since Brod passed away, Arf & me have done few nights of Loins songs - and it's felt good - celebrating the songs we all wrote together - so that started the selection process. Oli, Arf's lad, joined us on percussion and then Rich, who Billy had introduced to us, joined on violin - then Chris came along to play the drums, so Oli switched to guitar - and through all that we were refining the set of songs, and we got a point where we felt that, yeah, we've sort of worked out how to do this (you know, respecting and celebrating our past, without coming on like a tribute band to ourselves), so it made sense to make the album - just to reflect where we'd arrived at....so we went into Jim's Ranscombe Studios and bashed them all out live in a couple of hours....no overdubs, no fussing over mistakes....just sing and play the songs as if it was a gig." Q: "It's been 33 years since the debut Loins' LP - How does it feel to be the elder statemen of Kent's alt-folk scene?" A: "Ha ha, are we? We don't know any other folk bands, alt or not, so it doesn't feel as though we're qualified to be the statesmen of anything! Elder, certainly, but statesmen? Nope." Q: "There's been plenty of gigs recently with more to come around the album's release, including some European dates. For people who've not seen you before what can they expect from a Loins gig?" A: "Yeah, as I said, now that we've worked out how to do this, and as we're having so much fun with it, we thought we'd get out & about. We're off to Serbia immediately after the album's release, so that'll be an adventure - Serbia was always special for us (Aleks, the promotor, took us out there to play seven or eight times in all) and we've stayed in touch over the years, so it'll be lovely to see everyone out there again. As for what can anyone expect when they see us? "Riotous fun filled joy" I've just been told, but best let everyone else be the judge of that!" Q: "The Singing Loins wouldn't have existed of course if it wasn't for Chris Broderick. Chris sadly passed in 2022. What would he have thought about the fact you're carrying on with the band and recording new music?" A: "Yeah_ he'd be happy. In the week before he passed away, he asked Arf & me over, basically to say goodbye and tie up any loose ends. And he told Arf that we should carry the Loins on. So yeah, I think he'd be pleased and proud that we're keeping the songs, and his words, alive."

Recorded in 2014, Mid-City Island is the first ever project to be released from Moses Sumney. Moses recorded the entire EP from his apartment in Mid-City, Los Angeles straight to cassette on a four-track recorder that TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek lent him. To mark the 10 year anniversary of Mid-City Island, Moses kept good on a promise he made to himself all those years ago, broke and starting out - that he would press it to vinyl in a decade. Reflecting back on that period, Moses says "Mid-City, Los Angeles was more of a concept than a place. Seemingly nobody had ever heard of it, and yet it was the geographic center of the city. Living there felt analogous to my disposition as a 'rising' Angeleno - highly visible and invisible at the same time. I sat on my bedroom floor and wrote 'Plastic.' Throughout his 10-year career, Moses Sumney has consistently evaded definition as an act of duty: technicolor self-directed videos and monochrome clothes; Art Rock and Black Classical; blowing into Fashion Weeks from a small town in North Carolina; seemingly infinite collaborators, but one staggering voice. Consistent across the worlds of music, fashion, and film is his assertion that the undefinable still exists and dwelling in it is an act of resistance.

This is the quartet's second LP, recorded in 1971, and contains mostly Peruvian songs with a strong Cuban flavor where Pancho Acosta’s electric guitar reaches vertiginous heights and is combined with outstanding conga and timbales playing. Extremely rare and hard to find in its original issue, this is the first-time reissue. Remastered from the original tapes. The guitarist Francisco "Pancho" Acosta Angeles (1946) played a significant role in spreading love for Cuban rhythms across Peru, those sunshine beats breaking through the cloudiness that hangs over Lima most of the year, as the city bears a closer resemblance weather wise to London than to Havana. In 1967, after making a name for himself with his six-stringed skill, he made his vinyl debut with Compay Quinto. Shortly after Pancho left Company Quinto, he joined Los Kintos. When Los Kintos disbanded, Pancho Acosta swiftly moved on to his next project for MAG: the Cuarteto Yemayá, formed by tumba drummer and singer Miguel Montoya, bassist Máximo Pecho and timba drummer José Luis Fiallega, all under Pancho's direction and arrangements. The quartet's debut album, "Ecos del Trio Matamoros", was a tribute to the Cuban trio of the title and comprised cover versions as well as a couple of their own songs. This is the quartet's second LP, recorded between July and August 1971. "El Tic Tac" contains mostly Peruvian songs. The foreign versions on the album include the classic 'Compay Gallo', written by Miguel Matamoros; 'Toribio carambola' and 'El Tic Tac', from the repertoire of the Cuban Trio Servando Diaz; and 'Sandunguéate', best known in Celia Cruz’s version. ‘Oye Mi Son' and 'Oye Mi Guitarra' were composed by the album's lead vocalist, Miguel Montoya. Percussionist Jorge Mariazza (Los Pachas, Manzanita y su Conjunto) co-wrote 'Descarga Yemayá' with Pancho, which features outstanding conga and timbales playing. Pancho also composed tracks on his own: 'Me Voy a Monsefú', 'Mi Provinciana', 'Yo Me Voy de Aquí' and 'Flaca y Fea', the latter
with a Beatle-like intro where his Japanese electric guitar reaches vertiginous heights (he never used sound effects in his recordings). Cuarteto Yemayá released one more album for MAG. In 1973 Los Kintos reformed, with the addition of the bass, percussionist and guitarist from Cuarteto Yemayá. Pancho Acosta has continued his career as a composer and arranger to this day

Dark Entries and Honey Soundsystem Records have teamed up once more to release the final volume of gay porn soundtracks by San Francisco-based musician and producer, Patrick Cowley. One of the most revolutionary and influential figures in the canon of disco, Cowley created his own brand of Hi-NRG dance music, The San Francisco Sound.' Born in Buffalo, NY on October 19, 1950, Patrick moved to San Francisco in 1971 to study at the City College of San Francisco. He founded the Electronic Music Lab at the school, where he would make experimental soundtracks by blending various types of music and adapting them to the synthesizer.

By the mid-70's, Patrick's synthesis techniques landed him a job composing and producing songs for disco superstar Sylvester, including hits like You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)', Dance Disco Heat' and Stars.' This helped Patrick obtain more work as a remixer and producer. His 18-minute long remix of Donna Summer's I Feel Love' and his production work with edgy New Wave band Indoor Life were both of particular note. By 1981, Patrick had released a string of dance 12 singles, like Menergy' and Megatron Man'. He also had founded Megatone Records, the label upon which he released his debut album, Menergy'. Around this time Patrick was hospitalized and diagnosed with an unknown illness: that which would later be called AIDS. Throughout 1982, he recorded two more Hi-NRG hits, Do You Wanna Funk' for Sylvester, and Right On Target' for Paul Parker, as well as a second solo album Mind Warp'. On November 12, 1982, he passed away.

In 1979 Patrick was contacted by John Coletti, owner of famed gay porn company Fox Studio in Los Angeles. Patrick jumped on this offer and sent reels of his college compositions from the 70s to John in LA. Coletti then used a variable speed oscillator to adjust the pitch and speed of Patrick's songs in-sync with the film scenes. The result was the VHS collections Muscle Up' and School Daze' released in 1979 and 1980. Afternooners' is the third collection of Cowley's instrumental songs, recorded in May 1982. These recordings were culled from two 23-minute reels in the Fox Studio vaults. All songs were originally untitled, so we've used the titles from Fox Studio's 8mm film loops. This compilation also includes three bonus tracks found in the archives of fellow Megatone Records recording artist Paul Parker and the attic of teenage friend Lily Bartels. Influenced by Tomita, Wendy Carlos, and Giorgio Moroder, Patrick crafted a singular sound from his collection of synthesizers, percussion, modified guitars, and hand-built equipment. The listener enters a world of forbidden vices, evocative of Patrick's time spent in the bathhouses of San Francisco. The songs on Afternooners' reflect the advances of the equipment available at the onset of the 1980s. Cowley's unadulterated electronic forms are stripped down and dubbed up. Lush electronic percussion, soaring synthesizer riffs and low slung funk grooves comingle on these magnificent soundscapes.

Featuring 70 minutes of music never before released on vinyl. All songs have been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, CA. The vinyl is housed in a gatefold jacket designed by Berlin-based artist Gwenael Rattke, featuring black and white photos of Patrick in his studio that opens to a full color array of x-rated scenes from the Fox Studio vaults. Included is a fold-out poster featuring a handmade collage using photography and xeroxed graphics of classic gay porn imagery and an essay from Drew Daniel of Matmos. For Patrick's 67th birthday, Dark Entries and Honey Soundsystem Records present a glimpse into the futuristic world of a young genius. These recordings shed a new light on the experimental side of a disco legend who was taken too soon.

Los Angeles-based ASHRR are back on 2020 Vision ahead of a new album and this time serve up their own superb version of The Romantics's 1983 hit 'Talking in Your Sleep.' In their hands, it becomes a club-ready sound with a vocal you may recognise as it featured in the Mad Max episode of Stranger Things. Add in some DFA-inspired punk funk vibes and with all the instruments reapplied while new layers of bass and synth are added and you have one fantastic new version. Balearic don Fernando steps up for two remixes, first stripping things back to a deep house sound and then bringing some dub disco vibes to the fore.

Two years after the stunning AFRICA OSCURA, Four Flies Records is back with another gem from Giuliano Sorgini's secret archives, this time one which unearths some of his darkest, eeriest music – that is, pieces he composed in the mid-70s for some of the most infamous, low-budget horror movies ever made in Italy.

This collection brings together a selection of original recordings from those movies, which were directed by "Italian Kings of the B's" Angelo Pannacciò, Salvatore Bugnatelli, Luigi Batzella, and Guido Zurli, with whom the Roman composer worked intensively throughout the 70s. Due to the very low-budget nature of the films, Sorgini recorded the soundtracks entirely on his own, in his Cat & Fox Studio in Rome. He played drums and percussions and added overlapping layers of analogue synths to create a superbly sinister soundscape, thus turning a constraint into an opportunity.

The result is a journey into the mysterious atmospheres of the Italian occult-sounding music of the time, something very close to the dark electronic masterpieces that made Sorgini famous, such as ZOO FOLLE or THE LIVING DEAD AT MANCHESTER MORGUE.

OCCULTO features ten previously unreleased tracks characterized by enigmatic moods, obscure beats and esoteric themes. All tracks are taken from original master tapes that remained buried in the composer's archives for decades.

The LP comes in a deluxe jacket and inner sleeve designed by Luca Barcellona. Also available in digital format with three previously unreleased bonus tracks.

Necrodeath is one of the most important and outrageous names in extreme metal; formed back in 1984, it is one of the first extreme metal bands originating in Italy. They take inspiration from Slayer, Dark Angel, Possessed, Venom, Kreator, Bathory, Celtic Frost and Sodom. The band is also renowned for its live performances and notably for their "wall of sound". The band released a cult-demo tape titled 'The Shining Pentagram' and obtained an incredible success in the underground, which is still considered a real "piece of thrash/black history". Tons of tributes in major magazines, fanzines and other underground outlets highlighted the release of the first two legendary albums 'Into The Macabre' (1987) and 'Fragments Of Insanity' (1989). And today after dozens of full lengths, EPs and side projects the long voyage to hell is not over yet. New Necrodeath album, anticipated by the single on vinyl and video "Transformer Treatment", is the confirmation of a trade-mark consolidated in almost forty years, where the old school of extreme metal is present throughout the album. "Singin 'in the pain" is a concept based on the movie "A Clockwork Orange" by Stanley Kubrick, where the band takes us on a one-way black/thrash journey, represented by immorality and violence, and back to a vain attempt at redemption and normality.

Bomp Records of Burbank, California was likely the most significant American independent record label of the 1970s. In 1979 Voxx was founded as a subsidiary of Bomp as a specialty label for '60s-styled garage and psychedelic inspired music and was home to the debut album of the Pandoras. The Pandoras really got started back in 1982 when triple threat Paula Pierce (guitar, vocals AND songwriter) met singer and guitarist Debbie Mendoza at Chaffey College Rancho Cucamonga, one of those dozens of small communities that make up the greater Los Angeles area. According to stories told around the campfire, Paula had posted an advertisement on the bulletin board inside the college's cafeteria. The ad was both simple and direct: Wanted: female musician to jam with. As legend has it, the ad also stressed a keen interest in 60's garage punk music. Debbie answered Paula's ad, and soon the two girls were bringing guitars to school and holding impromptu jam sessions between classes. A little later that year, Paula brought in Gwynne Kahn on keyboards and second guitar, and Debbie convinced drummer Casey Gomez to join. People who were around at the time pinpoint December 1982 as the official beginning of the Pandoras as a band. The Pandoras didn't waste any time getting down to business. They started gigging regularly, and their repertoire of tasty garage nuggets expanded substantially, fueled both by Paula's talented songwriting and also no doubt by her relationship with Unclaimed frontman Shelley Ganz and his extensive knowledge of obscure 60's gems. The Pandoras unleashed their first recordings on the world in 1983 with the "I'm Here, I'm Gone" EP on Moxie records. It was a meaty slab of girls in the garage punk rock, and while maybe not as polished as subsequent efforts, it clearly showed off the talent of the band. Greg Shaw had been alerted to the band a few months earlier, and always one to know a good thing when he heard it, he quickly signed them. "It's About Time" saw the light of the day in 1984 on Voxx Records and became one of the first and best efforts of authentic 1960's-styled garage punk to emerge from the revival scene. It was pure garage gold! Today, 40 years after its original release date, we are thrilled to reissue this essential '80s garage punk gem as part of a series of releases celebrating Bomp! 50th anniversary. Our issue includes 3 bonus tracks and liner notes by Gravedigger V's John Hanrattie. "Paula Pierce refused to play it cute. On The Pandoras' debut album she out-snarled, out-screamed, out-fuzzed and out araged the male-dominated competition-like a well-aimed go-go boot to the jugular." - Mike Stax, Ugly Things Magazine "As good a '60s punk record as any contemporary combo is likely to make." - Trouser Press

SWASTIKAS FOR NODDY is possibly, probably, maybe, or not, a seminal and sidereal masterpiece, the inspiration for 93,000 Masks On Nothings, none of which were Groovy. For me, well, it was my first Hallucinatory PickNick, and the skies turned Pixie Red for it.

I was given the album’s title during an Acid Trip: seeing Noddy Crucified In The Sky, I asked God what the most inappropriate BirthDay present for Noddy might be. God answered me from the Acid Whirlwind: “Swastikas!”

I recorded her in a run-down basement studio in West London, whilst I was simultaneously recording IMPERIUM. On playing the finished album to certain well-chosen friends, I was told by them that I had “destroyed Current 93”, and that it sounded like “demented children on drugs singing Simon & Garfunkel in a playground”. I then knew the album sounded exactly as I had dreamed it to sound, and as God had intended it to sound. Had I ditched the earlier darkness, and skipped into flowered fields? Great Black Time had already told me “NO!—GO!”

Remastered by The Bricoleur at Bladud Flies!, and with the original artwork refreshed and reborn by Rob Hopeye, this 12” vinyl picture-disc comes in a full-colour die-cut sleeve, which is printed on both the outside and inside.

This is one of the first 4 reissues of the entire back catalogue of C93 on picture-disc and standard vinyl, in the lead-up to the publication of my autobiography at the end of 2025, whilst I also work on many other recording, publishing, and painting projects, and Watch And Pray! Each release in the picture-disc vinyl reissues series is limited to 1,000 copies, and the titles will not be repressed as picture-discs once they have sold out.

The records is released in two options. Both hvae 180g vinyl records. The first version has two black vinyls and the second limited edition (numbered 100 pieces) has one turquoise vinyl and the other red.

Over the last three decades, Auckland, New Zealand, has given birth to several generations of musicians, DJs, and producers who operated within the interzone between jazz, blues, soul, funk, Latin music, hip-hop, house, boogie, and broken beat. Across two slow-cooked albums that sit at the intersection of machine funk and vivid live instrumentation, Odyssey (2016) and their forthcoming sophomore release Long Road (2024), After 'Ours - the group project of pianist and composer Michal Martyniuk and drummer, guitarist and producer Nick Williams - have comfortably located themselves within this antipodean tradition.

Born and raised in Auckland, Nick Williams grew up surrounded by music from a young age. At home, his mother, Mary Anne, a record collector and DJ with deep, diverse vinyl crates, kept his ear sharp. By the time he was eight years old, he was regularly joining his musician father on stages across Australia in his blues rock band Slippery Sam. In his early twenties, Nick began leading the eleven-piece Auckland Latin-dub-funk fusion big band Tangent, who performed regularly until the late 2000s.

Michal Martyniuk, on the other hand, grew up on the opposite side of the world in Szczecin, Poland. After playing classical music for twelve years and attending jazz school, he relocated to New Zealand with his family in his teens. While studying at Auckland University Jazz school, Michal came into the orbit of the legendary New Zealand saxophonist, composer, producer, and band leader Nathan Haines, who brought him into the same world as future collaborators like Tama Waipara, Batacada Sound Machine, Sola Rosa and Nick.

Inspired by the rich stories of jazz, neo-soul, electronica, and dance music from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean and the open-eared Auckland scene they emerged from, After 'Ours formed in 2011. Born out of a friendship cultivated through playing together at bars and nightclubs around town and home studio sessions. "Nick had family and work, so I had to wait all day," Michal says. "We'd come to the studio at 10 PM and go till 3 AM. That's how we came up with the name.

Session by session, After 'Ours revealed itself to be a creatively fertile meeting of minds. "We both have our angles, but it works well in the end," Nick reflects. "It takes the music to a place we can't get to by ourselves."

Between 2011 and 2016, they wrote and recorded Odyssey with a cast of musical collaborators that included KP, Sharlene Hector & Kevin Mark Trail (UK), Matt Nanai, Nathan Haines, Jakub Skowronski, Nick's partner Ange Williams (nee Saunders) and British producer Mike Patto from the lauded UK future jazz group Reel People. Influenced by the smooth yacht rock of Steely Dan and Donald Fagan, the warm midtempo bounce of A Tribe Called Quest and J Dilla, and the complex jazz/RnB bop of Robert Glasper, Odyssey was a labour of love that emphasised community, warm-hearted hospitality, and care.

Seven years on, they're finally ready to return with Long Road, an album that contains some of their best work yet. As well as reconnecting with past collaborators Kevin Mark Trail and Ange Williams, Long Road sees After 'Ours calling on assistance from Louis Baker, Jakarta-based saxophone player Kuba Skowroński, bassist Dan Antunovich, Los Angeles-based drummer Chris Bailey and the journeyman British soul artist Omar Lyefook.

Across ten songs that plot a stargazed course through their antipodean spin on UK broken beat, jazz, modern soul, and blues rock, Nick and Michal build on everything they learned while writing and recording Odyssey. In the process, they take their joyful musical visions to sublime new heights.

The records is released in two options. Both hvae 180g vinyl records. The first version has two black vinyls and the second limited edition (numbered 100 pieces) has one turquoise vinyl and the other red.

Over the last three decades, Auckland, New Zealand, has given birth to several generations of musicians, DJs, and producers who operated within the interzone between jazz, blues, soul, funk, Latin music, hip-hop, house, boogie, and broken beat. Across two slow-cooked albums that sit at the intersection of machine funk and vivid live instrumentation, Odyssey (2016) and their forthcoming sophomore release Long Road (2024), After 'Ours - the group project of pianist and composer Michal Martyniuk and drummer, guitarist and producer Nick Williams - have comfortably located themselves within this antipodean tradition.

Born and raised in Auckland, Nick Williams grew up surrounded by music from a young age. At home, his mother, Mary Anne, a record collector and DJ with deep, diverse vinyl crates, kept his ear sharp. By the time he was eight years old, he was regularly joining his musician father on stages across Australia in his blues rock band Slippery Sam. In his early twenties, Nick began leading the eleven-piece Auckland Latin-dub-funk fusion big band Tangent, who performed regularly until the late 2000s.

Michal Martyniuk, on the other hand, grew up on the opposite side of the world in Szczecin, Poland. After playing classical music for twelve years and attending jazz school, he relocated to New Zealand with his family in his teens. While studying at Auckland University Jazz school, Michal came into the orbit of the legendary New Zealand saxophonist, composer, producer, and band leader Nathan Haines, who brought him into the same world as future collaborators like Tama Waipara, Batacada Sound Machine, Sola Rosa and Nick.

Inspired by the rich stories of jazz, neo-soul, electronica, and dance music from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean and the open-eared Auckland scene they emerged from, After 'Ours formed in 2011. Born out of a friendship cultivated through playing together at bars and nightclubs around town and home studio sessions. "Nick had family and work, so I had to wait all day," Michal says. "We'd come to the studio at 10 PM and go till 3 AM. That's how we came up with the name.

Session by session, After 'Ours revealed itself to be a creatively fertile meeting of minds. "We both have our angles, but it works well in the end," Nick reflects. "It takes the music to a place we can't get to by ourselves."

Between 2011 and 2016, they wrote and recorded Odyssey with a cast of musical collaborators that included KP, Sharlene Hector & Kevin Mark Trail (UK), Matt Nanai, Nathan Haines, Jakub Skowronski, Nick's partner Ange Williams (nee Saunders) and British producer Mike Patto from the lauded UK future jazz group Reel People. Influenced by the smooth yacht rock of Steely Dan and Donald Fagan, the warm midtempo bounce of A Tribe Called Quest and J Dilla, and the complex jazz/RnB bop of Robert Glasper, Odyssey was a labour of love that emphasised community, warm-hearted hospitality, and care.

Seven years on, they're finally ready to return with Long Road, an album that contains some of their best work yet. As well as reconnecting with past collaborators Kevin Mark Trail and Ange Williams, Long Road sees After 'Ours calling on assistance from Louis Baker, Jakarta-based saxophone player Kuba Skowroński, bassist Dan Antunovich, Los Angeles-based drummer Chris Bailey and the journeyman British soul artist Omar Lyefook.

Across ten songs that plot a stargazed course through their antipodean spin on UK broken beat, jazz, modern soul, and blues rock, Nick and Michal build on everything they learned while writing and recording Odyssey. In the process, they take their joyful musical visions to sublime new heights.

Diese „men of Steele“ waren wieder einmal fleißig! Nur ein Jahr nach ihrer bombastisch-epischen Veröffentlichung ‚The Passion Of Dionysus‘, die im Sommer 2023 erschienen ist, wird am 23. August 2024 über Steamhammer/SPV auch die unvergessene zweite Virgin Steele-Scheibe ‚Guardians Of The Flame‘ als Digi-CD und Gatefold-Doppel-Vinyl-LP sowie in digitaler Form wiederveröffentlicht

David DeFeis hat der Wiederveröffentlichung ebenfalls den Spitznamen ‚The Anniversary Edition‘ gegeben, denn wie beim Re-Release des Virgin Steele-Debüts hat er das komplette Album von Anfang bis Ende neu gemischt. Er sagt: „Es macht Sinn, diesen Titel hinzuzufügen, denn genau wie bei Virgin Steele 1 ist auch dies eine ganz besondere Neuauflage. Auch hier gilt: ‚Guardians Of The Flame‘ ist ein großes Fest! Jeder Song wurde liebevoll restauriert und mit festem Glauben, heißem Herz und hartem Stahl neu gemischt.

Sara May grew up on a dirt road just outside a small Ontario town known for its Honda plant and Potato Festival. Over the course of ten indie-leaning, alt-country tracks on 'Legacy', her latest album as Falcon Jane, she expounds on that origin story through the great archetypes of country music: the drinker, the vagabond, the absent father. She presents these characters with a clarity and empathy that feels almost transgressive-a loving touch that crosses our rural / urban divides. But these are Sara's stories too: her rural childhood, her move to Toronto, her current home in the working class town of Shelburne, and her life on the road. She comes by it honest. And the transformation on 'Legacy' isn't just lyrical. Alongside producer José Contreras (By Divine Right), Falcon Jane refine their sound-pushing toward folk and country like contemporaries Waxahatchee and Angel Olsen. May's voice, the one constant from 2015's 'Alive n Well' EP, through the dream pop of her 2018 debut album 'Feelin' Freaky', to the sprawling indie rock of 2020's 'Faith', is more powerful here, sitting atop the warm, Nashville-leaning production. The result is both striking and blindingly obvious: Sara May has found her way back home.

Sara May grew up on a dirt road just outside a small Ontario town known for its Honda plant and Potato Festival. Over the course of ten indie-leaning, alt-country tracks on 'Legacy', her latest album as Falcon Jane, she expounds on that origin story through the great archetypes of country music: the drinker, the vagabond, the absent father. She presents these characters with a clarity and empathy that feels almost transgressive-a loving touch that crosses our rural / urban divides. But these are Sara's stories too: her rural childhood, her move to Toronto, her current home in the working class town of Shelburne, and her life on the road. She comes by it honest. And the transformation on 'Legacy' isn't just lyrical. Alongside producer José Contreras (By Divine Right), Falcon Jane refine their sound-pushing toward folk and country like contemporaries Waxahatchee and Angel Olsen. May's voice, the one constant from 2015's 'Alive n Well' EP, through the dream pop of her 2018 debut album 'Feelin' Freaky', to the sprawling indie rock of 2020's 'Faith', is more powerful here, sitting atop the warm, Nashville-leaning production. The result is both striking and blindingly obvious: Sara May has found her way back home.

"Magdalena Bay, the Los Angeles-based duo of Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin, create magical pop music that floats in the ether of our collective social cosmos. While they call California home, their essence lies in the clouds, emitting unique yet familiar frequencies of synthesized nostalgia, kitschy catchiness, and warped neo-hooks. Suited for the times, Magdalena Bay blends the known and felt with innovative sonic landscapes.

Tenenbaum and Lewin met as teenagers in a Miami high school music program. Tenenbaum, who moved from Buenos Aires to Florida at age one, and Lewin, a guitar shredder influenced by his dad’s prog and concept rock records, quickly recognized their kindred spirits. They formed a prog band called Tabula Rasa and began a romance. Both were skilled musicians; Tenenbaum a pianist and singer, and Lewin self-taught in production and music theory. Despite attending different colleges, they maintained their band, traveling hours to rehearse before realizing two things: their relationship was undeniable, and prog rock wasn’t resonating with young audiences.

Shifting their focus to pop, they explored its craft, leading to the creation of Magdalena Bay. They learned the complexities of pop writing and production, striving to create something interesting within the genre. Describing their music broadly as ""pop,"" they released several EPs and singles before debuting their album, ""Mercurial World,"" in 2021. Praised for its melodic hooks and meticulous production, it was often labeled as ""synth-pop.""

Their success is reflected in streaming numbers, social media followers, and festival appearances. Magdalena Bay's stylized online aesthetic complements their music, creating a cohesive artistic vision. Tenenbaum says, “We love extending the world of our music past sound into videos or graphics.” Lewin adds, “We’re trying to create an atmosphere or an emotional quality with it.” This integrated approach, termed ""world-building,"" is central to their artistry."

Electronic titan Sasha combines with Sentre for the latest in a series of collaborative releases. The release of 'Glastacy' coincides with this year’s Glastonbury festival and comes with something special for fans.

Even by his own high standards, electronic luminary Sasha is in a superb run of form that has already yielded some stellar singles in the last year, both solo and in collaboration with like-minded talents. TheGRAMMY Award-nominated artist is renowned for pushing musical and technological boundaries, as well as for platforming exciting sounds on his Last Night On Earth label. The next release finds him working with Sentre, aka Dave Gardner & Dennis White, who have been electronic mainstays for many years. They have plenty of major credits under their belts, including working with Sasha on his seminal ‘Involver’ album and also 'Track 10' which they made with Sasha many years ago. It was Pete Tong’s Essential New Tune at the time and is one of many gems from these self-confessed studio nerds.

The release of ‘Glastacy’ also marks a new approach for Sasha and LNOE as they extend their relationship with fans beyond just the music. For the first time, along with the single release, fans will be able to collect and own the single artwork for free. The label has always sought to marry together music and art across its releases and now fans get the chance to own a piece for themselves. Using pioneering technology, those who claim the art will also be able to convert it to a smartphone wallet pass which will bring with it future benefits and surprises from Sasha and LNOE.

'Glastacy' is their latest collaboration, and it works angelic, wordless vocal sounds into heavenly loops that shimmer in and out of focus. Deft hi-hits and a supple bassline bring movement as a lead synth motif rises up out of the mix to bring dramatic tension and take dancers to the stars. It's emotive, hypnotic techno of the highest order, with a spine-tingling breakdown leading towards more trance-inducing musical pleasures. The Intro:Outro Mix is an ambient tool stripped of beats.

Plush, the 1982 studio album by the Eighties synth-boogie band Plush, is a standout in the genre. The band, consisting of Siedah Garrett, Tony Phillips, and Ambrose Price, was known for their smooth blend of R&B, funk, and synth-driven melodies. Garrett, who later gained fame as a solo artist and songwriter, brought a distinctive vocal presence to the band. Not long after the band broke up, she was discovered by Michael Jackson, for who she later provided backing vocals and co-wrote ""Man In The Mirror"" with. The album was produced by Bobby Watson, René Moore and Angela Winbush. It features catchy tracks like ""Free and Easy"" and ""We’ve Got the Love,"" showcasing their polished production and soulful harmonies. Despite not achieving major commercial success, Plush has garnered a cult following for its authentic early Eighties sound. It's a significant work within the disco boogie genre, reflecting the transitional period of early Eighties music and is one of the rare and sought-after albums from that era. Plush is available on coloured vinyl for the first time as a limited edition of 500 copies on red coloured vinyl and includes an insert.

Young Marble Giants' "Colossal Youth" has mystified and beguiled audiences since its 1980 release. Seen by primary songwriter Stuart Moxham as "a last gasp" at making a record, Stuart insisted the one-off 7" deal offered by Rough Trade be altered to allow an entire album . . . that paid off when with a big seller which produces cover versions even from bands whose members were a decade or two away from being born on the album's release. When YMG disbanded, Stuart was at a loss; he'd never envisioned a follow-up. A series of experimental recordings made with pal Phil Legg (Essential Logic) and supported by other YMG members, musicians from This Heat and Swell Maps, old Cardiffian pals, and new friends like Vivien Goldman resulted in an album, "Embrace The Herd", as The Gist. Released just before Rough Trade made bold moves toward pop charts with Scritti Politti, The Smiths and others, the album was odd for its time, but has since taken on the lustre of genius. Years of silence followed, thereafter intermittently broken by the odd release from small labels. Stuart delved into family life, though he never stopped writing and recording. In more recent years, two retrospective compilation of lost recordings by The Gist have been released, as well as a superb collaboration with French arranger Louis Philippe, "The Devil Laughs". "Fabstract" is the final gathering of Stuart's lost recordings. Compiling long-lost YMG-era tracks with the recent brilliance of "Crow, Crow" and "Suburban Monochrome", through bits of whimsy and vastly alternate versions of fan faves, this diverse album shouldn't work . . . but it does, telling a satisfying story of an underrated talent whose mistake was following his muse, not the charts. This album precedes a new recording, years in the making, produced by Dave Trumfio, which promises to be Stuart's most complete - and original - work since "Colossal Youth". Tracks:

As one of the most enigmatic figures of the 1970's Italian soundtrack and library music network Emma De Angelis and her short recording career provides thirsty fans of speedball psychedelic rock and drum heavy instrumental funk with a tight discography rivalling many of the long-standing bastions of the otherwise male-orientated business. * Strictly limited to 1000 copies.*
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Born in Rocca di Papa, near Rome, into a flourishing musical environment Emma was the younger sister of future award-winning composers Guido And Maurizio De Angelis, a duo, who under names like Oliver Onions and Dream Bags, would write chart-topping lyrical theme tunes for a wide range of Italian crime, Giallo and Spaghetti Western films featured alongside full scores by Ennio Morricone and the Magnetic System composers (Bixio Frizzi Tempera).
With encouragement from her brothers, Emma, who would also write music under the pseudonym of Juniper, would record a tight clutch of solo-penned material and seldom credited studio contributions to Guido And Maurizio's film commissions, such as the score for Giuliano Carnimeo's Simone e Matteo: Un gioco da ragazzi (aka Convoy Buddies). While simultaneously pursuing a career as an illustrator and set designer the De Angelis family contacts would lead Emma to the offices of Romano Di Bari, whose up-and-coming Flirt label was finding success providing custom built mood music for use in TV and film. Alongside important composers like Alessandro Alessandroni, Gerardo Iacoucci and A. R. Luciani, the young Emma Di Angelis would record a small number of tracks for a compilation called Underground Mood (credited in the small print to E De Angelis - not to be confused with Italian singer Edoardo De Angelis). It is from this rare LP that the record you are now holding is compiled. Within the Flirt family of labels Emma De Angelis would also share schedules with other important female composers such as Daniela Casa and Giulia Kema' De Mutiis - both of whom have appeared on dedicated Finders Keepers releases.
The tracks on this record provide us with a rare glimpse into Emma De Angelis' short musical career before she became a full-time visual artist. With an unknown personnel or studio date it is easy to speculate a potential family jam in Piero Umiliani's Sound Workshop studio in 1972. One only has to take a listen to Guido And Maurizio's instrumental theme Gangster Story from Enzo G. Castellari's 1973 thriller High Crime (which later appeared on Tarantino's Death Proof soundtrack) or the trippy title theme to Paolo Poeti's kinky 1976 drama Inhibition to spot the family resemblance

80s alt country punk outfit, Lone Justice, with Maria McKee, Ryan Hedgecock, Marvin Etzioni and Don Heffington are in full flight with the release of a brand new 7". Taken from their forthcoming album, Viva Lone Justice, 'Teenage Kicks' is a rambunctious slice of punk angst that sounds like it was recorded in one take. It's a timeless anthem with a joyous riff that explodes into a hail of feedback. A favour returned as Maria McKee, the songwriter of Feargal Sharkey's only solo hit 'A Good Heart', Lone Justice cover The Undertones' Peel-approved favourite with the artwork of the single being a nod to the original. "As much as we loved Merle Haggard, George Jones, and many other authentic hard core Country artists, we were also deeply impacted by Punk; from the Velvet Underground (we were playing "Sweet Jane" live as early as 1983) to the MC5 ("Sister Ann" is on the album "Viva Lone Justice")." Backed with 'Nothing Can Stop My Loving You' that's cut with a wild, squeezebox-powered interpretation of the George Jones and Roger Miller country stomp. "Speaking of George Jones, here's one written by George Jones and Roger Miller. Two of our favorites! We played this song at nearly every show starting in 1983. This ragged and right live recording captures the fire from a sold out show at The Palace in Los Angeles and features Jo-El Sonnier on lead accordion documenting the only time Sonnier played with LJ. "Nothing Can Stop My Loving You" is the only live track on Viva Lone Justice." // "A roots rock band that took Los Angeles by storm in the 80s and developed a smaller but deeply enthusiastic following outside the Golden State

Are you a mannequin in the eyes of your beloved? Does your partner compare your relationship to a factory that emits plumes of smoke? Are you in love with a seductive and destructive Credit Default Swap? Someone who sucks you in with skyrocketing short term erotic returns - only to ghost you until you crash so hard that you end up broke(n) in your own bed? Do you pay $300 an hour out of pocket to a psychiatrist who promises to help you strike a deal with a difcult parent - one that will produce more stable long term returns on your psychic investments? If so, then you, my friend, may be drowning in the sea of Love in the Time of Capital. It's where everyone would love to drown. It's a new album from John Davis of The Folk Implosion that fnds him backed with confdence by Eli Moore and Andrew Dorsett of the indie pop band Lake. It was recorded by Nich Wilbur at the Unknown, a cavernous recording studio in Anacortes, WA that has been a favorite destination for indie rockers around the nation. Ben Brodin recorded Megan Siebe playing strings on two tracks at his Hidden Branch studio in Omaha, and the album was mixed by Scott Solter in Durham NC. Arrangements are based on the classic power pop trio of drums, bass and electric guitar. Those elements are tastefully embellished with organs and pianos that call to mind records by classic rock bands like Tom Petty's Heartbreakers. That is, if the Heartbreakers were fltered through the Northwestern International Pop Underground tradition, and cast a critical eye on how commodity culture shapes the way we think of ourselves and our intimate relationships. The album also features four ballads, three drum and electric guitar free, for all you late night introspective heads.

Milkcrate Mondays has got a red hot 7" on its hands here with DJ Abel and DJ Spinobi taking one side each. The former kicks off by, says the label, "taking an Ocean classic for a trip to Miami." His take on 'Lost' is a funk-laced jam that blends r&b vocals with bubbling beats and jazzy keys into something brilliantly seductive. On the flip side, DJ Spinobi lays down some heavyweight Afro drum patterns and raw rap bars on 'Bay Bunny' while 'PRVNZA VIP' is a more blissed-out island sound with reggaeton undertones and angelic Spanish vocals up top. A real summer weapon.

-Daniel Zelonky (aka Low Res) has been producing records since 1978. Notable credits span from The Misfits to his own iconic club track "Amuck".
-His 2022 orchestral funk celebration of "Marvin Gaye's Trouble Man" has earned critical acclaim. This record, featuring many outstanding musicians, breaks the mold of history-conscious record making, eschewing the slavish copying of past styles which has become so common, and exemplifying the label’s stated mission of “Reimagining a futuristic past” where “weird vistas of fresh possibilities unfold before us...”
Suite Crude Revue is a rotating cast of outstanding performers committed to an unshackled aesthetic. Produced, composed, and arranged by Daniel Zelonky, this single presents songs for imagined films.
“Cowpoke Detox” might be termed “spaghetti jazz”. It’s a strange hybrid of spaghetti western style baritone guitar lines supporting jazz noir harmonies, creating a surreal backdrop for the tale of an unrepentant murderer, who feels regret only in terms of the consequences he’s facing.
“Blue Ramen #1” is a lover’s lament, set to what might be termed a “Hollywood samba”: One imagines Los Angeles session players emulating samba for a commercial film, not an authentic Brazilian band. The lush aural environment culminates in a dreamy closing vamp with the impassioned vocal set amid a swirl of improvised trumpet, violin, and piano. This haunting, yet ironic song may well have found its way into the popular consciousness ... if the movie had actually existed!

In November 2023 we celebrated NOW’s 40th anniversary with a collection of massive Pop hits – but with 40 years of hits to choose from we had to leave out so many fantastic tracks – so it’s time to continue that celebration with NOW That’s What I Call 40 Years - Part 2 – again honouring the legacy with a stellar selection from the past four decades of NOW. Embark on a musical journey from 1983 right up to the present day. Released on a triple vinyl set pressed on Green, Clear Transparent, and Pink LPs with 43 essential hit tracks. and 100 essential hit tracks across the 5 CD set

LOS ANGELES—To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the celebrated Talking Heads and Jonathan Demme’s concert film Stop Making Sense, the set will be re-released as a 2LP and 2CD/Blu-ray set this summer.

Released last year, the sold-out Deluxe Edition of the soundtrack will return as a 2-LP black vinyl on Rhino and 2-LP crystal clear vinyl at retail. Both variants feature a 12-page booklet with liner notes from all four band members –Tina Weymouth, David Byrne, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison—and band photos. The 2CD/Blu-ray version includes the entire 28-page booklet from last year’s Deluxe Edition and a Dolby Atmos mix of the complete concert, mixed by Jerry Harrison and E.T. Thorngren, who also mixed the original release. Both will be available on July 26. Pre-order now.

The band appeared together for a sold-out screening and Q&A last night at the Pantages Theater, the same theater at which Stop Making Sense was recorded. They were joined by Blondshell, who performed “Thank You For Sending Me an Angel.” Another special screening with the band will occur in Brooklyn at the King’s Theater on June 13, with the Q&A hosted by Questlove and The Linda Linda’s performing “Found a Job.” The two events cap off a banner year of celebrations for what many consider to be the best concert film of all time.

The inspiration for Stop Making Sense came when director Jonathan Demme saw Talking Heads perform during the band’s 1983 tour for Speaking in Tongues. Afterward, he approached them with the idea of making the show into a concert film. They agreed and worked together over the next few months to finalize the details. Ultimately, Demme filmed three shows at Hollywood’s Pantages Theater in December 1983 to create Stop Making Sense.

The concert film presents a retrospective of the band up to that point, with a performance that weaves together songs from all six of its studio albums. The show progresses methodically, opening with Byrne onstage performing “Psycho Killer” alone with a drum machine. After each song, he’s joined by a new band member until Weymouth, Frantz, and Harrison are all on stage with him. The group continues to grow throughout the concert as members of the stellar touring band are added: keyboardist Bernie Worrell, percussionist Steve Scales, guitarist Alex Weir, and backup singers Lynn Mabry and Ednah Holt.

The band performs 18 songs in Stop Making Sense, including its recent single at the time, “Burning Down The House.” That summer, the song was in heavy rotation on radio and MTV, helping the song become the band’s first top 10 hit in America. It was, however, a different song from Speaking in Tongues that was destined to deliver one of the film’s signature moments. Talking Heads would perform “Girlfriend Is Better” wearing the now iconic, oversized suit inspired by costumes worn in traditional Japanese theater. For good measure, a picture of David Byrne in the suit also graces the album cover.

Stop Making Sense focuses mainly on music by Talking Heads but does include a few songs recorded outside the band: “Genius Of Love” by Tom Tom Club, “What A Day That Was” and “Big Business” from Byrne’s 1981 album, The Catherine Wheel. Limited edition vinyl versions of both of these albums, along with Harrison’s The Red And The Black, were released for this year’s Record Store Day.

When it arrived in September 1984, Stop Making Sense was an artistic and commercial triumph. The film had people dancing in theatre aisles, and the soundtrack sold over two million copies. Just last year, the Library of Congress added Stop Making Sense to the National Film Registry in recognition of its cultural, historical, and aesthetic significance.

Weymouth praises Demme as a collaborator: “…Jonathan was a very enthusiastic, highly adaptive, and imaginative guy who was just as good a listener as he was a talker and collaborator. From the get-go you just got the impression he was as flexible as he was disciplined. Being team players, that boded well for a great relationship and a great film!”

Harrison says the film still holds up today: “To me, Stop Making Sense has remained relevant because the staging and lighting techniques could have been created in a much earlier time period. For example, Vari-Lights, lights with motors to re-aim them, had just come into vogue. Had we used them, there would have been a timestamp on the film, and it eventually would have felt dated...The absence of interviews, combined with the elegant and timeless lighting, created a film that can be watched over and over.”

Byrne says it’s interesting that this album was – for many people – an introduction to Talking Heads. “We had done a live album before this, but coupled with the film, and with the improved mixes and sound quality, this record reached a whole new audience. As often happens, the songs got an added energy when we performed them live and were inspired by having an audience. In many ways, these versions are more exciting than the studio recordings, so maybe that’s why a lot of folks discovered us via this record.”

Frantz recalls the sheer joy surrounding the entire Stop Making Sense experience. “I’m talking about real, conscious, transcendent joy… I’m talking about what the Southern gospel people call ‘getting happy,’ which means ‘to be filled with the Spirit.’ That is what happened to us onstage every night, and from my seat behind the drums, I recognized that this was happening to the audience too. Joy was visible in front of me and all around me every night.”

‘Road Less Travelled vol.2’ once again brings together the imprints far-reaching community of artists spanning London, Los Angeles, Montreal, Budapest, Copenhagen, Barcelona & beyond. The compilation floats between shoegaze, moody electronics, and shimmering synths; featuring new and original music from the likes of Nourished By Time, Mark William Lewis, and Untitled (Halo). Road Less Travelled Vol.2 sees the label continue to amplify the voices of these singular artists who continue to sculpt their respective sounds. It’s a follow-up to 2022’s ‘Road Less Travelled vol.1’ which was celebrated by Resident Advisor, CRACK, The Wire, Dazed, Clash, NTS, Tom Ravenscroft, and Jamz Supernova.

Scenic Route continues to reaffirm its position as some of London’s premier tastemakers; building a grassroots following via their sell-out live shows featuring the likes of Chanel Beads, James Messiah, Mark William Lewis, Delilah Holiday, and more. Paired with ground-breaking releases including Nourished by Time’s debut album ‘Erotic Probiotic 2’ garnering the coveted Pitchfork’s 'Best New Music' and was widely regarded as one of the ‘Best Albums of 2023’ with features on Gorilla vs Bear (#1), Pitchfork (#5), The Guardian, The Fader, Paste and more. Most recently releasing Vanessa Bedoret’s (Astrid Sonne band mate) debut album ‘Eyes’ in the words of Boomkat ‘a timeless bouquet of raptures and ballads iced with shearing strings and shatterproof electronics’ having additional support from Vinyl Factory, Resident Advisor, Bleep, Nina, The Fader and more.

This album was recorded in Philadelphia in 1977 by Rare Feelings, a band led by Rick Mason, who was fully involved as songwriter, arranger, and producer while also supporting the band's groove as bassist. This is a superb example of one of the few soul and funk hard diggers that every hard digger has wished to have and has been lucky enough to acquire, and it is a masterpiece that is numbing not only in its sound but also in its vintage-inspired artwork! Rick Mason's bass roars, the organ and horns fold in and out, and a faintly haunting vocal (?) enters, blended with an exquisite psychedelic feel. The opening track "Rare Feelings" (A1) blends exquisite psychedelic sensation with slap bass, swirling intro, raging horns and organ, and then suddenly changes the tone to mid-tempo with the intertwining of bewitching vocals again. The song suddenly changes to a mid-tempo and leads to "Dope" (A2) with its bewitching vocals, a sound that is worthy of being called rare groove! The instrumental number "Metamorphosis Funk" (B2), which features not only bass and organ, but also continuous drum fill-in, fast cutting guitar and solo, and flute lead, is sure to get the floor going! This is the first official reissue in the world!

An incredible, uplifting joint from New Zealand soul artist Arjuna Oakes. His second release on the Albert’s Favourites imprint overflows with the clear enjoyment of the band featuring legendary Nathan Haines. We’d say there’s a reasonable nod to D'Angelo’s essential Spanish Joint within these grooves.

The b-side delivers a vinyl exclusive – a downtempo, moody little number with an emotional drive that is deeply compelling – one to get lost inside.

DJ Feedback:

Gilles Peterson (BBC Radio 6 Music) - 'Watch out for a great singer from New Zealand called Arjuna Oakes' Gilles Peterson (BBC Radio 6 Music)

I was sent an unfinished version of Dose Your Dreams so that I might contribute string parts. I couldn’t stop listening to the rough mixes I received. A friend asked me how the record was. I replied, “My God, Fucked Up have made their Screamadelica.” And psych-rock-groove it is. The drums mixed wide, propensity for drones, for delay pedal, for repetition, groove. The politics and aesthetics of hardcore married to an “open format” approach to genre. Elements of doo-wop, krautrock, groove, digital hardcore. “None of Your Business Man” opens the album in familiar enough territory, a sax assisted exit from an office space. But things get psychedelic very quickly. By the time the title track arrives, Mike Haliechuk is whispering, wah pedals are in full effect, and we’re wearing oversized t-shirts and pinwheeling. “Accelerate,” the lyrical centrepiece of the album, storms in like Boredoms on a bullet train and dissolves into a digital nightmare. The album closer, “Joy Stops Time,” finds Fucked Up at their most Düsseldorfian, nearly eight minutes of blissful motorik. At the center of it all is Damian Abraham’s scream a man chained, a man tortured, a true protagonist. The effect is one of an epic, every chapter attempting its own narrative devices, its own genre hybridization and it works, it works so insanely well. The drama unfolds like a miniature world of many parts being explored, a map being illuminated, location by location. As with David Comes to Life, there is a story here. David who once came to life is now indentured to a desk job. David meets the elderly Joyce who closes his eyes, opens his mind, and sends him on a spiritual journey. David embarks on his own metaphysical odyssey. He sees a stage adaptation of his own life. He speaks to an angel in a lightbulb. He sees an infinite series of universes as simulations within simulations. Meanwhile, Lloyd Joyce’s lover was sent, decades ago, by Joyce on the same odyssey, but was lost in the void. Lloyd seeks to be found and reunited with his lover. Where will David end up? Will Joyce and Lloyd be reunited? Dose Your Dreams meaning: treat your dreams as you would a dream, allow yourself to be lost within them, allow them to open your heart and your mind, enjoy them as you would a drug. Reach out for my hand and pull me close. Owen Pallett.

Hospital Records’ jazz-infused drum & bass supplier and Goldfat Records co-founder Mitekiss drives into 2021 with his ‘Night Bus Stories’ EP, with four brand new tracks that are some of his best work to date.
Following on from the triumph of his ‘Objects To Push’ EP which received support from legendary figures including LTJ Bukem and DJ Fresh, Mitekiss’ latest release is profound and from the heart.
’City Angels (feat. Milo Merah & RSWT)’ beckons with sombre guitar licks and piano chord progressions drenched in melancholy. Milo Merah lays down captivatingly sincere vocals as he proves himself to be one of London’s rising musical talents. Nottingham born and bred, MC and vocalist RSWT showcases his deep-rooted musical ability as his vivid bars are flawlessly intertwined amongst Mitekiss’ orchestral strings.
Trickling ride cymbals and soulful keys set the scene on ‘Rain (Falling Down)’ as Mitekiss’ love for jazz eminently shines through. Mr Porter graces the track with a sublime vocal hook which drifts above delicate drums and off-beat bass notes.
In honour of the night bus on which he was a frequent traveller, Mitekiss exposes his deeper and darker side on ‘N68’. Tearout breaks, moody synth drones and a ruthless bassline make a mind-bending sonic imprint demonstrating Mitekiss’ diverse range of production mastery.
Teaming up with esteemed talent Javeon who’s no stranger to vocalling an array of drum & bass anthems, ‘Ring Alarms’ is a raw and irresistible stepper that encompasses enchanting melodies and warm flourishes.
Beyond his latest ‘Night Bus Stories’ EP, Mitekiss continues to demonstrate his taste-making abilities through the running of his very own label, Goldfat Records, which has proven to be ahead of the curve by putting out some of the most forward-thinking and sonically diverse drum & bass this year. With previous releases also on Shogun Audio, Skankandbass and his own Goldfat imprint, Mitekiss is building up a solid discography which is guaranteed to set the precedent for the sounds of tomorrow.

LOS ANGELES—To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the celebrated Talking Heads and Jonathan Demme’s concert film Stop Making Sense, the set will be re-released as a 2LP and 2CD/Blu-ray set this summer.

Released last year, the sold-out Deluxe Edition of the soundtrack will return as a 2-LP black vinyl on Rhino and 2-LP crystal clear vinyl at retail. Both variants feature a 12-page booklet with liner notes from all four band members –Tina Weymouth, David Byrne, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison—and band photos. The 2CD/Blu-ray version includes the entire 28-page booklet from last year’s Deluxe Edition and a Dolby Atmos mix of the complete concert, mixed by Jerry Harrison and E.T. Thorngren, who also mixed the original release. Both will be available on July 26. Pre-order now.

The band appeared together for a sold-out screening and Q&A last night at the Pantages Theater, the same theater at which Stop Making Sense was recorded. They were joined by Blondshell, who performed “Thank You For Sending Me an Angel.” Another special screening with the band will occur in Brooklyn at the King’s Theater on June 13, with the Q&A hosted by Questlove and The Linda Linda’s performing “Found a Job.” The two events cap off a banner year of celebrations for what many consider to be the best concert film of all time.

The inspiration for Stop Making Sense came when director Jonathan Demme saw Talking Heads perform during the band’s 1983 tour for Speaking in Tongues. Afterward, he approached them with the idea of making the show into a concert film. They agreed and worked together over the next few months to finalize the details. Ultimately, Demme filmed three shows at Hollywood’s Pantages Theater in December 1983 to create Stop Making Sense.

The concert film presents a retrospective of the band up to that point, with a performance that weaves together songs from all six of its studio albums. The show progresses methodically, opening with Byrne onstage performing “Psycho Killer” alone with a drum machine. After each song, he’s joined by a new band member until Weymouth, Frantz, and Harrison are all on stage with him. The group continues to grow throughout the concert as members of the stellar touring band are added: keyboardist Bernie Worrell, percussionist Steve Scales, guitarist Alex Weir, and backup singers Lynn Mabry and Ednah Holt.

The band performs 18 songs in Stop Making Sense, including its recent single at the time, “Burning Down The House.” That summer, the song was in heavy rotation on radio and MTV, helping the song become the band’s first top 10 hit in America. It was, however, a different song from Speaking in Tongues that was destined to deliver one of the film’s signature moments. Talking Heads would perform “Girlfriend Is Better” wearing the now iconic, oversized suit inspired by costumes worn in traditional Japanese theater. For good measure, a picture of David Byrne in the suit also graces the album cover.

Stop Making Sense focuses mainly on music by Talking Heads but does include a few songs recorded outside the band: “Genius Of Love” by Tom Tom Club, “What A Day That Was” and “Big Business” from Byrne’s 1981 album, The Catherine Wheel. Limited edition vinyl versions of both of these albums, along with Harrison’s The Red And The Black, were released for this year’s Record Store Day.

When it arrived in September 1984, Stop Making Sense was an artistic and commercial triumph. The film had people dancing in theatre aisles, and the soundtrack sold over two million copies. Just last year, the Library of Congress added Stop Making Sense to the National Film Registry in recognition of its cultural, historical, and aesthetic significance.

Weymouth praises Demme as a collaborator: “…Jonathan was a very enthusiastic, highly adaptive, and imaginative guy who was just as good a listener as he was a talker and collaborator. From the get-go you just got the impression he was as flexible as he was disciplined. Being team players, that boded well for a great relationship and a great film!”

Harrison says the film still holds up today: “To me, Stop Making Sense has remained relevant because the staging and lighting techniques could have been created in a much earlier time period. For example, Vari-Lights, lights with motors to re-aim them, had just come into vogue. Had we used them, there would have been a timestamp on the film, and it eventually would have felt dated...The absence of interviews, combined with the elegant and timeless lighting, created a film that can be watched over and over.”

Byrne says it’s interesting that this album was – for many people – an introduction to Talking Heads. “We had done a live album before this, but coupled with the film, and with the improved mixes and sound quality, this record reached a whole new audience. As often happens, the songs got an added energy when we performed them live and were inspired by having an audience. In many ways, these versions are more exciting than the studio recordings, so maybe that’s why a lot of folks discovered us via this record.”

Frantz recalls the sheer joy surrounding the entire Stop Making Sense experience. “I’m talking about real, conscious, transcendent joy… I’m talking about what the Southern gospel people call ‘getting happy,’ which means ‘to be filled with the Spirit.’ That is what happened to us onstage every night, and from my seat behind the drums, I recognized that this was happening to the audience too. Joy was visible in front of me and all around me every night.”

The Brazilian composer, pianist and producer, Mário Castro Neves and his group, Samba S. A.'s self-titled album from 1967 is oozing with class. It possesses that archetypal 60's bossa nova, jazz, samba sound. We’d place it up there with Sergio Mendes at his finest, Tambo Trio or Milton Banana. It’s a breezy ride that touches on easy listening at times, but it holds it together with a cool swagger. Biba and Thaís Do Amaral's vocals are on point, with a relaxed delivery that compliments the tracks with the sublime beauty à la vocal groups such as Quarteto Em Cy, who Biba also sang with, as well as with Antonio Adolfo's e A Brazuca. Also appearing on the record is bassist extraordinaire, Novelli who worked with Milton Nascimento, Nelson Angelo E Joyce, Airto, and many of the greats of Brazilian music of the time.

The album has long been a favourite with DJs and collectors over the years, with songs selected for compilations by Gilles Peterson and Nicola Conte. One of the centrepieces of the album, 'Candomblé’, has been sampled by Cut Chemist on his track 'Povo De Santo'. The song 'Naña' is punchy and light with dancefloor-jazz appeal. The gloriously catchy 'Vem Balançar' is a brilliant bossa shuffler. A superb listen throughout, the album sticks to a framework but delivers in spades.

Though released on the major-label RCA Victor, original copies are elusive, sought-after items with a price tag to match. For this reissue, we have opted for the Mono master, mirroring the original 1967 Brazilian pressing. Instantly familiar, the album has a welcoming feeling of nostalgia and is something that stays with you from the first listen.