quête:back on track

To say that The Sinseers play oldies would be a misnomer. Fronted by bandleader and son of East Los Angeles Joey Quiniones, the group has quietly chipped away at the sounds of R&B and soul for the last half-decade. Quinones and his crew have continuously created a distinctive vibe that explores all aspects of a timeless genre, bringing together their interpretation of music through an unmistakable modern lens.With their most recent effort, the aptly titled Sinseerly Yours (Colemine 2023), the band recorded most of the album live in the studio. With Quinones on vocals and keys, vocalist Adriana Flores, Christopher Manjarrez on bass, Francisco Floreson on guitar, Bryan Ponce on guitar and vocals, Luis Carpio on drums and vocals, saxophonists Eric Johnson and Steve Surman, and Jose Luis Jimenez on trombone, The Sinseers achieves their most fully realized sound to date.All of the album's stunning tracks were recorded in a converted studio space in Rialto, California, known as Second Hand Sounds. The converted studio space, which used to be a dentist's office, allowed the group to experiment with their sound like never before - this time, the group managed to take a series of big swings, only to emerge with a fuller, more pronounced version of themselves. Despite those new strides, the band remains wholly committed to its sonic aesthetic while injecting its brand of vibrant 21st-century cool.Of course, the group has never been the type to shy away from their influences as they expertly toggle between 60s pop vis-à-vie early Beatles records to obscure dancehall Jamaican tunes - all fully extrapolated and reinterpreted through modern Chicano soul sound that the group has built their everlasting repertoire on.Quinones and bandmates have continued to apply what they've learned from their previous releases and their relentless touring schedule throughout the country. It's clear here that the work is paying off, putting to practice their musical chops thoroughly with all members expertly honing their sound. The melting pot of ideas is showcased with incredibly lush orchestrations and arrangements, married with pitch-perfect harmonies, allowing the group to further solidify themselves in the pantheon of the Southern Californian songbook.

“On the Move” is a tune originally released on a very rare 7” in the mid 70ts and became the title track of the BOBBY BYRD album in the year 1993 when the Godfather’s Godfather, at least Soulbrother # 1, as Fred Wesley calls him, probably the most warm-hearted and soulful gentleman on Planet Funk, was sitting in the living room/office of his back then, brand new label Soulciety Records in Hamburg, Germany, listening to some of his old 7” singles. When Soulciety released the studio album “On the Move (I Can’t Get Enough)” in 1994, the album became a somewhat hoped for, but still unexpected success. Rare Groove-enthusiasts the world over, who knew about Bobby’s songs as well as the ones he wrote with James Brown (e.g.: “Sex Machine”), plus all the Hip Hop-fans who dug him from the countless times his songs had been sampled (Eric B. & Rakim used almost all of Bobby’s version for their hit “I Know You Got Soul”), loved these fresh but original sounding recordings. For the first time ever, this classic is now available on a SEDSOULCIETY RECORDINGS 7” vinyl, including the never released instrumental version on the flip side.

2024 Repress

Niandra LaDes And Usually Just A T-Shirt is the first solo record by John Frusciante. Between 1990 and 1992 the guitarist made a series of 4-track recordings, which at the time were not intended for commercial release. After leaving the band Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1992, Frusciante was encouraged by friends to release the material that he wrote in his spare time during the Blood Sugar Sex Magik sessions.

Originally released on Rick Rubin's American Recordings label in 1994, Niandra LaDes is a mystifying work of tortured beauty. Frusciante plays various acoustic and electric guitars, experimenting with layers of vocals, piano and reverse tape effects. Channeling the ghosts of Syd Barrett and Skip Spence, his lyrics are at once utterly personal and willfully opaque.

Frusciante's rapidfire, angular playing shows how key he was in the Chili Peppers' evolution away from their funk-rock roots. His cover of "Big Takeover" perfectly deconstructs the Bad Brains original with laid-back tempo, twelve-string guitar and a fierce handle on melody.

The album's second part - thirteen untitled tracks that Frusciante defines as one complete piece, Usually Just A T-Shirt - contains several instrumentals featuring his signature guitar style. Sparse phrasing, delicate counterpoint and ethereal textures recall Neu/Harmonia's Michael Rother or The Durutti Column's Vini Reilly.

On the front cover, Frusciante appears in 1920s drag - a nod to Marcel Duchamp's alter-ego Rrose Sélavy - which comes from Toni Oswald's film Desert in the Shape.

This first-time vinyl release has been carefully remastered and approved by the artist. The double LP set is packaged with gatefold jacket and printed inner sleeves.

For fans of Montrose, Van Halen, and Hard Rock! Red Voodoo is breaking out on the scene with their electric stage presence, polished harmonies, and classic but fresh new take on Rock ‘n’ Roll. Based out of Sacramento, CA the group has been playing clubs since 2019 and released two singles “Rise Up” and “Bring It Back” in 2020. This led to opening spots for heavy hitters in rock such as rock n roll hall of famer Sammy Hagar, Bay Area legends Y&T, Everclear, Slaughter, and many more. Red Voodoo is the youngest band to date to play the Monster Of Rock Cruise alongside Alice Cooper and Buckcherry. Now Red Voodoo has just wrapped up recording at the famous Hyde Street Studios in San Francisco working on their5 track EP with Grammy nominated producer Jaimeson Durr (Don Henley, Sammy Hagar, Nancy Wilson, etc....). Red Voodoo consist of lead singer and frontman Dino McCord, Lead Guitarist Davin Loiler, Bassist Andrew Edwards, and Drummer Andy Nathan, and is summed up best by former Van Halen vocalist, “RED VOODOO is a breath of fresh air in today’s pop culture of music. You can hear the influence of all the classic hard rock bands from the 70s and 80s with a young fresh twist.”

After releasing Flares, the multi-hatted producer and member of La Fine Équipe is back with « Birds », an ode to Lo-Fi and a testament to his love for nature and birds.

While Blanka remains the sole captain on « Birds », he also takes the opportunity to invite several of his long-standing collaborators (Sara Lugo, Onra,…) as well as new encounters (De Phase, King Krab, Papa Rua,…). All the tracks were created on the spot with the same direction. Whether in the choice of textures or instruments, all the guests and musicians put themselves at the service of the chosen theme.

Following their 2020 collaboration on "Real Bad Boldy", prolific Detroit rapper Boldy James and LA producer Real Bad Man are back at it with their new album "Killing Nothing". Picking up right where they left off, the two are creating a music score to a gritty, grimy and filthy street tale, recruiting accomplices CRIMEAPPLE, Knowledge The Pirate, Rome Streetz, and Stove God Cook to add further depth and diversity to the album's sonic landscape. Each guest artist brings their own unique style and perspective to their respective tracks, enhancing the album's richness and variety.

The collaborative masterpiece between rapper Boldy James and producer Real Bad Man blends gritty lyricism with innovative production. Boldy James, known for his intricate storytelling and vivid street narratives, brings his raw authenticity to every track, painting vivid pictures of urban life and survival. Real Bad Man's production style, characterized by its eclectic mix of boom-bap beats, soulful samples, and experimental soundscapes, provides the perfect backdrop for Boldy's wordplay.

Efficient Space welcomes Th Blisks to the fold with their mutant strain of melodica dub, torched hip hop breaks, post-punk and procession song.

Th Blisks' members have many notches on their collective belt. Amelia Besseny and Altered States Tapes’ founder Cooper Bowman are prolific in their ritualistic ambient-pop duo Troth, while Yuta Matsumura holds a formidable Sydney punk band pedigree on top of his Low Company-backed solo work. A reward for those who took the time to dig it out, Th Blisks’ 2022 debut How So? was a DIY creation that fully embraced its outsider roots, revelling in opportunities for connection through pop flourishes. Feeling like it might have been a one-off, we proclaim their return with Elixa.

With an unseen clarity of vision, Elixa conjures its meticulously fleshed out world. Those familiar pieces are all there - the mystery, the patience, a cheeky pop hook - however this time there's an intentionality to it all. A blurred dialogue stretching across Australia, it was largely recorded remotely with tracks bouncing between Bowman and Besseny in Muloobinba (Newcastle) and Nipaluna (Hobart), and Matsumura stationed in Warumpi (Papunya). Every element is carefully considered, stemming from their individual time spent as lifers in the local DIY scenes. Through these tracks you can feel that history; echoes of Castings and Vincent Over The Sink in ‘Do You Bless It?’, Bowman's distinctive submerged tape loops gurgling away under boom bap and *that* Sydney guitar tone in ‘Esk’.

Elixa attempts to bottle some pinged-eye wonder at the magic surrounding, whether in the city or the bush. Informed by the old but drug into The New, it is a begrudgingly current Australien record that respectively nods at the UK’s sound history.

Leisure Group Recordings, a side label project of Razor-N-Tape’s JKriv, drops their first vinyl release with a 7inch slab of trippy dance-floor dub by Kings Of High Speed. Launched earlier in the year with J’s pensive balearic 'Within EP,' Leisure Group now delves further back into J’s personal archive for a pair of tracks that he began over a decade earlier with his Tortured Soul bandmate, the late keyboardist Ethan White. A huge lover of dub reggae, Ethan showered these tracks with tasty and authentic organ and synthesizer stylings. The tunes sat unfinished on an old drive for many years, until J recently excavated, arranged and finished off the productions with a healthy dose of dub via a Space Echo, Eventide and other hardware delay units. Dedicated to the memory of Ethan White, one of the grooviest humans to ever walk the earth.

Experience the captivating soundscape from one of 2023’s biggest blockbusters on the Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Original Score) vinyl. The sequel to 2019’s Oscar-award winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse broke the global box-office on release, and the critically acclaimed, viral hit-making score is now available on vinyl and CD for the first time.



Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA-nominated composer Daniel Pemberton returns to expand upon the Spider-Verse’s iconic, multi-versal soundscape with a genre-defying score that seamlessly combines a 100-piece orchestra with DJ scratching, operatic vocals, techno beats, punk rock, acid-house-inspired Indian percussion, soaring synth solos, and even…a prominently sampled goose. From the Gwen Stacy’s fan favorite motif to Spider-Man 2099’s internet-breaking theme music, the film and its intricately-woven score is sure to transport you into some wildly unexpected parallel dimensions.



This double vinyl release comes pressed on two white and dark purple marbled LPs, featuring highlights from the score hand-selected by Daniel Pemberton. The package includes a stunning soft-touch gatefold jacket with spot gloss, a double-sided collectable poster and two printed sleeves with custom art – plus, an 8-page art booklet featuring liner notes from Daniel Pemberton and art from the film.

Komponist Daniel Pemberton kehrt für das nächste Kapitel der Oscar-prämierten Spider-Man-Saga zurück: Across the Spider-Verse. Für die Fortsetzung hat Pemberton seine ursprüngliche Klangwelt erweitert, um neue Geschichten im Multiversum zu erzählen, und dabei alles von opernhaftem Tenorgesang und einem 100-köpfigen Orchester bis hin zu indischer Perkussion, Punkrock, Techno-Drums, vielschichtiger Elektronik, verstimmten Celli, zeitgedehnten Beats und mehr eingebaut. 34 Tracks begleiten die Zuschauer:innen, Miles Morales und seine Gefährten und repräsentieren das facettenreiche Repertoire des Spider-Man Universums.

Gravity Loss will be the first EP released as part of Dsum's eagerly anticipated album, 'Water In The Moon.' Since his last album in 2022, he is pleased to announce a 12-track project focused purely on electro sounds, aiming between experimental ambient and Detroit techno, and which might be his most musical album to date.



To be released on his label Back Door, Dsum's fourth album has been years in the making and sees him go back to the sound of his electronic music roots. The album's inception traces back to the lockdown period of 2020, serving as a tribute to his introspective musical exploration and honoring the genesis of electronic music.



Featuring an analog sound loaded with lush pads, spatial synths, and solid raw 808 electro rhythms, tracks are brought together with a succession of short variations and instrumental snippets, contributing to a vision of what sound in outer space should be.



'Gravity Loss' alongside 'Double Distance' will be the two EPs bringing "Water In The Moon" to life, both to be released on vinyl as well as digital. This project's wax version sees ten tracks spread across 2x12" records releases in June and July, followed by the full album release in a digital format with extra exclusive tracks featuring all twelve songs in their original intended order.

Edwin Starr was a Northern Soul hero, noted for his Ric Tic and Gordy/Tamla Motown recordings in the mid to late 60s.He is best known for his international chart topper 'War' a Vietnam War protest song from 1970. These two sides are from the same album 'War And Peace' .'Time' has been one of Edwin's most in demand Northern Soul dancers for many decades and certain issues of original copies have sold for over £250. In more recent times the flipside ' Running Back And Forth' has been played and is demand on the Northern Soul/Crossover Soul scene making this a great value 45 with two brilliant tracks in demand in their own right, which epitomise the era.

The wait is over for dance music enthusiasts and vinyl collectors! The legendary Bonzai compilation series from the 90s is back with its fourth installment. Presenting the fully remastered Bonzai Compilation IV - The Fourth Level, now available as an exclusive yellow vinyl package in a gatefold sleeve. This iconic collection features an array of timeless tracks that dominated dance floors and defined an era. Don't miss your chance to own a piece of electronic music history and relive the magic of this unique and vibrant release. Get your hands on it now and experience the beats that started it all!

Simple Symmetry are back on Calypso for a second offering but this time around it's in a different format. They've enlisted remixes of tracks from their Sorry We Did Something Wrong album which first landed back in 2021 as a self-released project, which won over many fans with a sound that went way beyond the club and now gets repurposed for the dancefloor with extended and club versions. The Horsemen Of Housing & Commercial Services rework of 'Che Che' is a dark disco classic, Smaghhe & Cross rework 'Rounded With A Sleep' into something taught and trippy and INigo Vontier layers in plenty of darkness, grit and grime to his take on 'I Must Not Fear'.

Next Polyamore Recs release comes from Costariva, a really interesting project from Bologna (ITA).

‘Pantera’ intended to transport the listener into the midst of the vibrant paths of a dancing journey to the sound of Italo-disco rhythms, bringing body and soul back to the belle époque of Italian disco music.

“Miscela originale” is a blend of Catchy bass lines and shimmering melodies, amalgamated by the colours of strings and synths, the track is the result of the artistic blend between the music produced and arranged by Federico Franciosi and the words skilfully framed with an ironic and boisterous vein by Giorgio Michele Longo (aka Giargo) and Francesco Zaniboni (aka Dj Rou).

“Rivisitazione adriatica” has a catchy, sexy groove and a horns part that let you go on summer nights.

“Sam Ruffillo Rework” is a dancefloor ready track for your best peak-time in the next summer season festival.

‘Pantera’ is also intended as a veiled homage to one of the greatest and most underrated innovators on the Italian and international music scene, Pino D’Angiò.

With its infectious rhythm and playful spirit, ‘Pantera’ promises to make listeners dance and smile, instilling a little healthy and amused nostalgia in all travellers of the night.

Island Boogie arrives four years after Meecham’s previous full-length, Music Not Safari, and sees the veteran producer deliver his most ‘personal’ set yet – a collection of kaleidoscopic, cosmic-leaning, dub disco-influenced neo-boogie excursions inspired by his love of the custom-built soundsystem at Rotation Garden Party, an annual micro-festival founded by a group of friends including his former Chicken Lips production partner Dean Meredith. It's fitting, then, that the EP begins with a superb interpretation of ‘'Dévoilez-Vous’ by T-Kutt, AKA Meredith and long-term studio partner Ben Shenton. The pair’s ‘AM FM Club Mix’ sits somewhere between classic Prelude-style electrofunk, NYC proto-house and early British interpretations of American house music. Séverine Mouletin’s chopped-up improvised vocals weave in and out of sun-bright keyboard riffs, colourful synthesiser motifs, heady synth-strings, D-Train style synth-bass and delay-laden machine drums. It’s a superb re-imagination of one of the album’s most stellar moments.

The EP’s other headline-grabbing remix comes courtesy of Leng co-founder Paul Murphy AKA Mudd. He reworks title track ‘Island Boogie’, teasing out the spacey synths and languid jazz-funk grooves of Meecham’s original mix and dialling them up to the max. The resultant revision sparkles with crunchy clavinet licks, mazy synth and electric piano solos, and spacey chords rising above a mid-tempo dancefloor groove. To complete a strong package, Meecham adds two dubs in his distinctively stripped-back, tape echo-heavy style. He first takes on EP title track ‘Dévoilez-Vous’, wrapping vintage drum machine hits in oodles of space echo and dub delay while devoting more time and space to the killer bassline, Rupert Brown’s infectious hand percussion, and Mouletin’s vocalisations.

To round off the EP, he dubs out album epic ‘La Cassette’, another collaboration with Mouletin that also features additional percussion by Brown. Like the original synth-powered dancefloor dubs of the early-to-mid-80s that have long been an inspiration, Meecham’s ‘La Cassette’ dub features key musical elements – many drenched in trippy effects – popping in and out of the mix, while his sturdy drums and memorable bassline spar with Brown’s percussion below.

Good news! Pacific Rhythm returns with its first long player of 2024 on July 5th from ZG, a collaborative effort from Zansika Lachhani and Grant (aka Tony from Frank & Tony). The LP titled “Out Of The Unknown” is the followup to the duo’s first incredibly well-received self-titled LP that landed back on NYC-based label Scissor & Thread in 2022.
Over the course of 6 tracks, ZG takes their sound a step further, building rich, deep, and complex rhythm patterns paired with thoughtful and unexpected musical arrangements. The voice of Zansika ties it all together to create a unique and singular vision of modern deep dance music informed by the duo’s life-long musical journey.

“Out Of The Unknown” effortlessly flows through dramatic atmospheric downtempo landscapes, MPC-style beatmaking, late 90’s deep house, and beautifully builds a bridge between UK and US-inspired sounds. Enjoy the trip! It’s certainly a beautiful one.

Bugger Off! picked up where its predecessor left off, and rampaged on from there. Covers of Zappa’s “Willy the Pimp” and the Kinks’ “You Really Got Me” might have seemed a little obvious, but both are battered down with such a glorious lack of finesse that it’s impossible to object — anybody familiar with, respectively, Juicy Lucy and the
Hammersmith Gorillas’ versions of the same songs will come in with at least a vague idea of what to expect, but that’s about it.

“Hoochie Coochie Man” is even more disheveled, and when John Peel’s liner notes reminisce on the group’s insistence on recording live, you can tell he’s not necessarily looking back with any fondness.
On one occasion, he suggested they do a little overdubbing.

The band’s response to his words would become the album’s title. Including “Mama Keep Your Big Mouth Shut” as bonus track taken from the 1972 John Peel Session.

The Belgian producer delivers emotion driven melodic soundscapes across three originals.

DIM KELLY returns to Lee Burridge’s All Day I Dream imprint to release his three track Homily EP. On the heels of three acclaimed EPs released on the label - Nocturna Animal in 2021, Mangrove in 2022, and Pianologic in 2023, in 2024 DIM KELLY is back once again, delivering his signature melodic sensibilities that have become a consistent fixture of the All Day I Dream catalog. When DIM KELLY recently performed at the All Day I Dream of Summer Shimmer party at the Brooklyn Mirage on June 2, unreleased tracks played from the Homily EP created some of the most unforgettable moments of the show.

* A solid double A-sider from Partial Records with Everton Chambers and S'Kaya sharing the bill.
* On the A-side we have Everton Chambers, a long-time Jamaican singer whose work stretches back the 80's where he cut several memorable digital thrillers. Here he does his thing over a cut Paul Fox's `Wolf in Sheep Clothing' rhythm.
* Flip to the AA side for bass-rumbling boom shot from S'Kaya, a young promising vocalist/deejay who already has two previous releases for Partial under his belt (`Police' and `Eyes of Jah'). On this track he ride the same rhythm as Jah Marnyah's `Nah Partial' which was released last year.
* Both tunes come with dub-wise versions mixed by Dougie Wardrop.

Hard-rocking Brooklyn trio Sir Lord Baltimore’s highly sought-after debut album is a legendary precursor of the heavy metal genre, a 1971 Creem review of the disc perhaps the first to ever use the term. The group benefited from the songwriting and production team of Mike Appel and Jim Cretecos, Appel the future manger of Bruce Springsteen and Cretecos already heady from success with The Partridge Family; recorded at Vantone Studios in New Jersey, it
was mixed to fine effect by Eddie Kramer at Electric Ladyland, fresh from his work with Jimi Hendrix. Guitarist Louis Dambra co- arranged the material with Appel and Cretecos; he had earlier played in garage band The Koala as Louis Caine, and here his screeching guitar
is a major draw, backed by plodding bass from Gary Justin, as front man John Garner shrieks his vocals while pounding furious drumbeats. Aside from a tough cover of Ray Charles’ “I Got A Woman” and a track inspired by Yeats’ poem “Lake Isle Of Innersfree,” the album features heavily-stoned acid rock originals, delivered the Sir Lord Baltimore way.

** TRILOGY ***
post-punk experiments

VOLUME 1 of a series of 3 re-releases of the 80s underground solo cassette tapes by Menko Konings (aka EM / Menko / eM.)
This first re-release/remaster is the cassette tape “dedicated to Charles Bronson” (1986) by Menko, with almost one hour music

TAPE RESTAURATION / REMASTER (2024) by the grand master RUDE 66

Vocals on Debra by Tonny Timmermans (aka Antonia)

Limited edition of 50 (hand numbered) golden cassette tapes with original J-card

“When I went solo in 1983 I only had a guitar, a bass and a four track cassette tape recorder. Sometimes I borrowed a rithmebox or a synth for a couple of days. These solo cassette tapes were created in that period.” (MK)

Music journalist Oscar Smit described these tapes in the 80s - in his column Dolby of the legendary Dutch magazine Vinyl - s.a.: “Big city music, metropolis beat, drum composers, funking basses, nervous rhythm guitars, radio and TV sounds in the background and intonationless vocals.”

Nick Garrie was an unknown backpacker until his music was discovered in the late ’60s while busking in the South of France. Recognising his talent, work on a collection of recordings followed which would culminate in his legendary debut album The Nightmare of J.B. Stanislas. Set to be released in 1969 on the influential French label Disc’Az, however due to the suicide of the label’s founder, Lucien Morisse, shortly before the album’s release date, only about 100 copies of this psych pop/soft rock masterpiece came into circulation. It became a cult album in the truest sense and was finally reissued almost 40 years later. With the death of Morisse, Nick took some time away from recording only to return under an alias, writing with Oscar and Golden Globe winning composer Francis Lai. His directory of credits only grew as he worked with Paul Samwell-Smith (The Yardbirds), Alun Davies (Cat Stevens’ Band), drummer Gerry Conway and Leonard Cohen. Nick Garrie grew his audience in Europe, penning an album that would top the charts in Spain. In 2005 the album The Nightmare of J.B Stanislas was reissued, achieving critical acclaim from The Independent, BBC & Record Collector. Nick’s resurgence combined with fascination of his back story led to a new generation of music fans and musicians appreciating Garrie’s work. In this tim he was collaborated with the likes of Duglas T. Stewart (BMX Bandits) Norman Blake and Francis McDonald (Teenage Fanclub) and Gary Olson (The Ladybug Transistor). Now, for the first time ever, the classic title track is to be released as a 7” single. It is also the first ever vinyl release of Nick’s work on a UK label. The B side is a song close to Nick’s heart Around the World. This track was also written in the ’60s but had never been recorded before. It was recorded at Nick’s home in late 2023 with the help of fellow 9X9 recording artist Jamie Whelligan and musician/producer Nick Frater.

"I wish I could turn or turn back" "Sometimes it’s hard to resist the feeling that there was a crucial turn in life out of which everything else flowed. Maybe in our more reasonable frames of mind we can dismiss that thought and take our plans and intentions very seriously. But, there’s often a lurking conviction that, like the oak from the acorn or the movie from its opening scene, it is already all there. In the first moment of Relics of Our Life, anything could happen, anything could come next. But as the suspense is broken with the first notes, the world of the record springs up as both an internal experience and a landscape of which we will learn something, but definitely not everything. The songs induce a swimming sense of cycling repetition and variation where shifting details tilt the ground under us. The round and round doesn’t make us dizzy; like breathing the right way, it makes us both heavier and higher. "Pawliczek’s songs can be located in the company of the greats of Flying Nun Records – maybe the delicacy of The Great Unwashed with the heavy heart of The Verlaines and smartness of The Chills. But, ultimately, his interests are elsewhere – a heart-break song over an earthly lover feels like only the tipping point for longing and devotion that outstrips the personal. In this sense, Popul Vuh for their hymnal geometry and switched-on Palestrina, and Terry Riley for cosmic elation come to mind. The songs have sweeping and cinematic proportions and depths of field constrained by a pop economy love of leanness. "But who’s supplicating whom here? The songs’ devotional quality is not upward to the sacred or even outward to the profane. It’s more like a magnetism between its elements – sounds, voices and rhythms. The track No Talk intones “why don’t you talk to me?” over a driving guitar and one feels visited by some kind of archaic god on whom the tables have been turned, finding himself jealous of our thousand little thoughts. The record finishes with his distorted lilting dance, trying to seduce us with some red red wine that is no one’s blood, but everyone’s favorite drug." -- Karina Gill (Cindy, Flowertown) 2024

In the late 90s, the bands that Mike Badger had been part of vanished in the rear-view mirror. The La’s and The Onset were no more. With a young family and his tin-can sculptures emerging as his primary source of income, the evenings in Allerton (south Liverpool) found him quietly strumming his acoustic guitar, careful not to disturb the sleeping children. Weekends often led to the Penny Lane Wine Bar and later to Henry Epstein’s residence, a haven for revelry after closing time. A place where acoustic guitars adorned the walls, and impromptu musical sessions unfolded. In the midnight hours at Henry Epstein’s house, Paul Hemmings conceived the idea of compiling an album featuring Mike’s new tunes, which seemed to carry a basic “pastoral” theme reflective of settled domestic life. Demos were recorded on a porta-studio, and the album, initially titled “Naked and Beyond,” was crafted with starkness and simplicity, adorned with selected embellishments contributed by associates who shared drinks and stages. Recording took place at “The Lab” studio just north of the city, utilizing a Teac 24 Track machine and the warmth of analogue recording. The studio featured an old Italian “Eko” acoustic guitar, a classical guitar, Louis Johnson’s cello arrangements, and Tommy Scott’s backing vocals. Once the core of the album was laid down, the journey continued to Anglesey, to Henry Priestman’s “Gossamer Dome” Studio, where a baby grand piano, Farfisa organ, and “Parrot” accordion were added to enrich the songs with colors, harmonies, and magic, all against the backdrop of a sea view. The front cover of the album was adorned with an objet d’art created from a spiraled frying implement, part of Mike Badger’s “Lost and Found” exhibition. As the need to release the album arose, Mike Badger and his collaborators established their own label, “Viper,” and secured a distributor. The album, titled “Volume,” reflected its creation – from its initial sound considerations to the organic body of work composed in recent years. The recording process, though thorough, embraced imperfections, as Mike Badger believed that completeness emerged from these flaws, giving the performance its distinct character. The spirit of the performance took precedence over perfection, resulting in a product that felt genuine, unfettered, and honest – created simply because it was meant to be made. Now the album turns 25 it is released on vinyl for the first time via Nine X Nine Records.

All Again. That's the title of the upcoming full-length record from Philadelphia's Queen of Jeans. The LP tracks an entire arc that, by the final hazy vibrato wash of "Do It All Again," bleeds back into the ambient first seconds of the record. "Thought I'd call tonight, hear how you're dealing," Miriam Devora sings to a distant lover on opener "All My Friends" in a neon-lit, melancholy tenor, the precise sound of lonesome love. The full band joins her in a beautiful night time sway, but it's still no use: "I got all my friends around, but I'm not home til I'm alone with you."The rest of the record follows this relationship as it tumbles through loneliness and longing, to elation and joy, to pain and anger, and finally to its foggy close, where Devora admits, "If I got to do it all again, I'd find you there like I did back then."Releasing on Memory Music, All Again is principally an enveloping, rich indie-rock record, changing dance partners between cheek-to-cheek '60s pop sweetness, '90s alt-rock dirt, spacious and pained emo, and the songcraft and melodicism of the sharpest acoustic singer-songwriter acts. Devora (vocals, guitar, keys) and Matheson Glass (lead guitar, piano) took extra care this time to create a Queen of Jeans full-length that reflected in sound and structure the emotional depths they were exploring.It's the first time since their 2015 debut, Dig Yourself, that they've had a full band, with drummer Patrick Wall and bassist Andrew Nitz, to build with. Where on releases like 2022's sparkling lockdown-pop Hiding In Place Devora and Glass had gone into producer and mix/master engineer Will Yip's Studio 4 with sketches and worked with Yip to arrange the songs in studio, this time, they went in with a complete vision for the record. That allowed them to use studio time to expand the record's sonic boundaries. "We had a lot more room to play with some of the ear candy we've always wanted to explore and get weirder in the studio," says Glass.Those elements lend a physicality and playfulness to the memory and emotions that unfurl through All Again. "We're trying to tell the story of when you look back at an important relationship," says Glass. "Years go by, and the more you reflect on it, it becomes more warped and the facts become a little bit more murky. We wanted to play with that and get surreal with the story." (Literally: listen for a "monster" voice in the already-released banger "Karaoke.") The record's artwork, conceptualized by Devora, renders this idea with devastating clarity.

With a squall of guitar and a crash of drums, two years on from the release of their exhilarating debut EP, Chicago noisemakers Babe Report finally release their debut album in 2024, in the form of the rough-and-ready Did You Get Better, released this Spring via Exploding In Sound. Formed of ten new songs, and all wrapped in under half an hour, it’s an immediate and breathless arrival.

Opening track ‘Turtle of Reaper’ arrives in a flurry of noise and energy. Presented as an indictment of the fear-mongering in click-bait media, it’s a cacophonous two-minutes of scorched vocals and frenetic drums, the chorus a call back to 12/31/99, when all the news told people to turn off their computers before Y2K hit.

‘Universal’ offers something somewhat more refined, with occasional moments of restraint amid the commotion that arrives in a hardy whack of heavy riffs.

“This one is all about climbing up onto your neighbor’s back to succeed,” the band explain. “Most aspects of life are not a zero-sum game, but when they are, it feels ethically wrong to win.”

Elsewhere, ‘Allergy 2000’ is the album’s weighty centre-point, characterized by its soaring guitar lead line and stifled, murky vocals what might have started out as an experiment in writing a Yo La Tengo song soon comes into its own with a rabid tempo shift that feels indicative of the album’s fervent nature, never allowing the listener to rest on their laurels.

However it finds you or you find it, Did You Get Better finds a way to take the reins, ploughing headfirst into its journey and rarely looking back for approval, to even worry if anyone else is joining for the ride."

Two years after the release of the Polarius EP Inner Voices Of A Clown, Danny Wolfers returns to Altered Circuits, this time under his best-known alias Legowelt, for Ruins Of Cracktopolis: a collection of "hymns to survive the dystopian circus of today's techno scene" in the artist's own words. On Do You Know Who You Never Be, a short staccato lead and dark chords revolve around a monolithic kick drum pattern that takes care of the cadence and bass. A mysterious vocoder and a laser sequence that gets torn and twisted to the max join, but the track never loses its steady pace - it gets help from shakers so much mixed to the front they could be lifted from a B'more track.

Amidst the effervescing 303 lines and bold drum sequences of In A Trance Dance All Night" Wolfers finds a canvas for a stretched synthesizer jam with eighties breaking allure. This melody, together with the pads and vocal, are drenched in reverb - they float like mist ascending from the The Hague dunes. Throughout Ruins Of Cracktopolis, more vintage Dutch West Coast, the hiss-laden broken beat that guides the bass sequences and ominous blippy synth patterns switches to a 4/4 structure and back. These make for captivating shifts in pace while the minor progressions continue unfolding. Like Twin Peaks targets prime energy once the arpeggiator sequence present from the start lowers an octave. The track runs smooth like a pomade slick-back; it's only tempered slightly when the crunchy kick and tom change place for a moody chord sequence break. Even if these four tracks target the club, they are equally suited for - quoting Wolfers again - "leisurely home listening". Their greatest strengths are, as so often, their melodic aspects.

The artist is known to be a synthesizer aficionado, but his unique personal touch immediately shines through no matter which gear he works with. The machines never seem to dominate the composing process; quite the opposite: it's as if he isn't programming or registering as much as trying to teach them his take on electronic music.

Repress!
Note - Sleeve says contains a bonus CD, these represses do not have a bonus CD, they have a download card.

Hate Your Friends is the 1987 debut album by the Lemonheads, one of only three full-length releases to feature the original band line- up of Evan Dando, Ben Deily, and Jesse Peretz. The album showcases a hardcore-punk-to-pop-rock sound and sensibility as playfully fierce as it is surprising…especially to listeners who know the band only from their better-known major label recordings of the 1990s. The roots of Hate Your Friends begin with the genesis of the band itself: when high school friends Ben Deily and Evan Dando—inspired by a shared love of the 70’s absurdist comedy troupe the Firesign Theatre, literature, and punk rock—began playing their own songs together in 1985. Dando and Deily first started out as a two-piece ensemble: swapping back and forth between a shared Guild guitar (and a crappy amp) and vocal mic, and pounding a drum kit “borrowed” from the high school jazz band. With the addition of classmate and friend Jesse Peretz on bass, the two-man outfit quickly became a power trio. With a handful of original songs, a passionate love for their favourite bands—from Husker-Du, the Replacements, Black Flag and the Germs, to the Saints, Wire and ‘77 UK punk—and a tiny recording budget, the Lemonheads set about their first studio session within days of their high school graduation in June of 1986. During that summer, a significant amount of what would become the band’s debut album was recorded in Brookline, Massachusetts, with Deily and Dando sharing vocal, guitar and drumming duties. Above and beyond bass, Jesse proved pivotal as the band’s manager, booker and tireless promoter—helping arrange for the Lemonheads self-released debut EP, Laughing all the way to the cleaners, later that summer, and shortly thereafter helping establish the relationship with Curtis Casella of TAANG! records that paved the way to full-length LP Hate Your Friends. Finally, with the addition of full-time (and fairly short-lived) drummer Doug Trachten, the last songs of Hate Your Friends were recorded in the winter of 1986-7. BONUS TRACKS: This Fire Records re-issue features bonus tracks including 12 never-before-released live tracks from a 1987 radio session, rare tracks from the early compilation Crawling From Within, and additional tracks not included on the original release of Hate Your Friends (“Buried Alive” and “Gotta Stop”).

On the 8th of 10 planned releases on his BOO MOONMAN limited imprint, BOO continues to hone and refine his very particular "cosmic house" sound. As usual you'll hear masterfully crafted deep house cuts that take you on a journey thru outer (and) innerspace. Hand-stamped white label.

"80s Pop Stars Collected is the new electrifying compilation featuring the hits from legendary pop stars and bands who defined the 80s era. Unforgettable tracks included are by iconic bands, which produced a string of numerous hits, Tears For Fears ""Head Over Heels"", Culture Club ""Victim"", Duran Duran ""New Moon On Monday"", ABC ""The Look Of Love Pt.1"", The Human League ""Human"", and artists such as Paul Young ""Come Back And Stay"", Climie Fisher ""Love Changes Everything"", Rick Astley classic ""Never Gonna Give You Up"". 80s Pop Stars Collected is available as a limited edition of 2000 copies on red (LP1) and silver (LP2) coloured vinyl and includes an insert. "

Bona fide all-girl bands the Hairem, the Girls, the Debutantes, the Missfits, the Beat-Chics and the Ace Of Cups are stars of the show on this new vinyl volume in our ear-grabbing “Girls With Guitars” series, providing further confirmation that girls can do what the guys do.

This collection opens with ‘Get Away From Me’ by the mean-sounding Angels (probably not the ‘My Boyfriend’s Back’ group of that name), a slice of feisty she-rock recorded circa 1965 that remained on the shelf at Philadelphia’s Swan Records until Ace rescued it about 40 years later, and closes with ‘Glue’ by the Ace Of Cups, a hippy outfit raved about by Jimi Hendrix in a Melody Maker interview back in 1967.

Elsewhere, ballsy-voiced Joyce Harris (think Wanda Jackson meets Tina Turner) teams up with Texas bar band the Daylighters to tear the roof off ‘I Got My Mojo Working’, teenage ice skater Debbie Williams sings lead with male garage band the Unwritten Law, guitarist Chiyo fronts the Crescents on the instrumental ‘Pink Dominos’ and, well, you get the picture. Those so inclined can learn more about all the tracks on the swanky inner bag containing a picture-packed 3,000-word track commentary by series compiler Mick Patrick

The X-Cops are back! After 25 years on the lam, the original Bad Boys of Law Enforcement have returned, bringing their unique brand of heavy metal with them. And the world has never been more in need of the message they bring; “respect authority, or else!”, and they have the riffs and the fire power to back it up!

5-Track EP

Deb Demure's powerful presence and hypnotic sound has firmly defined the identity of Drab Majesty. After releasing the debut album, Careless, Drab Majesty split time between touring and studios, piecing together the ideas for the follow-up album, "The Demonstration", an album depicting Deb Demure as only one part of Drab Majesty's overall being and storytelling saga.With "Induction", Drab Majesty sets up an ethereal backdrop for which the rest of the album follows. Tracks such as "Dot In The Sky" and "39 By Design" (a song pointing to the doomsday Heaven's Gate cult) use lush, shoegaze approach to portray the fragility of humanity's loss of self, looking only to the heavens for answers. "Cold Souls" flawlessly executes Drab Majesty's arpeggiated finger picking signature, complete with washes of hazy noise and atmospheric reverb. With the addition of Mona D. to Drab Majesty's mysterious portfolio, songs from The Demonstration perpetually create new meanings and depth with every listen. After Drab Majesty wraps up The Demonstration with "Behind The Wall", one is left wondering what kind of identity is truly their own Compact disc features two bonus tracks plus four exclusive remixes by Cold Cave, Drew McDowall, Silent Servant and Martial Canterel.

Through the folded sky to America

Ten albums in three years. That's still the cosmic mission of the Berlin post-kraut trio YELKA with Daniel Meteo, Christian Obermaier, and the namesake Yelka Wehmeier.

With the album "For," there was a Label change. After releasing three albums in 2023 with Maurice Summen, head of Fun In The Church they passed the label responsibilities to Karaoke Kalk. Karaoke Kalk is a friendly label founded in Cologne known for establishing the Berlin post-wende scene (fall of the wall scene).

The trio's fourth album was also created with Arne Berger at Popschutz Studio, and the team is definitely well-rehearsed. Instead of recording the planned tracks, the band decided to improvise the session, and all tracks, except for the krauty Doors cover "The Crystal Ship," were created in 5 days in the studio, mostly on the first or second take, but with significantly more overdubs - keyboards, backing vocals, second and third guitars, percussion, and piano. The sound of "For" has become warmer, and the album begins with a kind of 60s-Kinks feeling. Overall, the current record has become much more exuberant - like Alice in Wonderland, YELKA seem to want to restore innocence to things in the opener "Smile (Into Skies)," resulting in an uplifting hiking song for experimental outdoor bohemians.

The follow-up piece "The Boar" speaks to everyone from the north, south, west, and east and here YELKA encounter a horde of wild boars on their travels, before the vocals become hardly understandable and ghostly spooled in reverse, suddenly sounding like Damo Suzuki from CAN at the height of Tago-Mago times.

Finally, YELKA‘s "Crystal Ship," simply sails away with the wild boars into remote 4D worlds between the Cocteau Twins and X-Mal Deutschland.

In the first instrumental of the album "Is this enough?", the band reverse tracks like Jimi Hendrix in his Electric Ladyland, and we dive deeper and deeper into the endless sky until YELKA finally arrive on newly trodden sound paths with "MM" to their beginnings on their debut album "Nowhere Jive." At the popular intersection of post-rock and jazz, where guest singer Bela Hagel also likes to linger for a moment: "Sie wissen" (They know), he knows that too! Surely Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser would have had a lot of fun with his shamanistic singing on his "Kosmische Kuriere" label. The guitars sound like a desert, and the reverb reminds us of the expansive space in the opening track "Skies."

Finally, we land in Amerika, or rather, YELKA ponder the melancholic question of whether anyone still wants to travel to America with them, to the land of unlimited possibilities, the haven for artist souls all over the world. "Do you wanna dance?" Yelka Wehmeier finally asks, while a chorus in the best Sun Ra manner mantra-like repeats "Cold dogs, cool cats." The whole band sings. Everything sounds good.

"Toujours l'été" is the very first Les Négresses Vertes Best Of on Vinyl. 12 classic track on white vinyl edition fairly priced , from" Sous le soleil de Bodéga", "Voilà l'été" to "Zobi La mouche " and Massive Attack's cult remix of "Face à la mer " .
Les Négresses Vertes are a cult french alternative band formed in 1987 with a unique sound. The original line up was a group of 9 friends, some of them never played music before : we can say they very quickly improved . They can be best described as a fusion of world music and alternative rock. Their particular music influences were Raï, Mediterrean music and French café / chanson française up to lyrics. They were in the same time a big band & a rock band with tremendous concerts throughout the UK & Europe . After two first and cult albums "Mlah" & "Famille Nombreuse" and the death of the former charismatic singer Helno, the band decided to keep on playing with Stéphane Mellino & (Matias) Canavese replacing Helno as the main songwriters & singers. After "Zig-Zague" & "Trabendo" albums, they disbanded in 2001.
Following a few live reunions , Stéphane & Iza Mellino ,original members, reformed the live band in 2018 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of cult debut album "Mlah" with an intensive French tour. They have kept playing since and will be back onstage from late spring 2024 for a 30 dates new tour visiting a few countries and very likely to be extended in 2025. Longue vie aux Négresses Vertes

Kurtis Walker - better known by his stage name Kurtis Blow - was the first rapper and hip/hop artist to be signed to US major record label Mercury in 1979. His first single ""Christmas Rappin"" became an instant classic selling nearly half a million copies on 12-inch. The follow-up single ""The Breaks"" sold more than a million copies, making it the very first rap single to be certified Gold. Kurtis Blow's self-titled debut album was released in 1980 and due to the success, he performed in Europe and Japan spreading the new hip hop sound all over the world. During his career, Kurtis Blow has released a total of fifteen albums and a slew of solo singles such as ""Throughout Your Years"", ""Hard Times"" and ""Tough"". The tracks ""America"", ""If I Ruled The World"" (which was later sampled by The Fugees and Nas) and ""Basketball"" further cemented his hip hop legend. Next to his solo work, he also as collaborated with The Fat Boys, Run D.M.C., Sheila E. on ""Krush Groovin'"" from the 1985 influential hip hop movie Krush Groove, René and Angela's ""Save Your Love (For #1)"", and ""Funky Stuff"" together with 2024 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee Kool & The Gang. The 2LP Kurtis Blow Collected is an overview of the biggest and best hits by one of the original Godfathers of Hip Hop.

The new album from Lebanese-American musician Solpara, Melancholy Sabotage, marks his full length debut and return to Nicolas Jaar's Other People label. While it was recorded over Covid lockdowns, Jaar had been talking about wanting to back a Solpara full-length since he put out Swing. The album came to life while Solpara was living alone in a Brooklyn loft, collecting unemployment checks and viewing ample free time as the artist residency he'd dreamed of; he'd previously been forced to make music in odd windows between numerous jobs and the unmerciful pace of city life. Free from obligations, he would wake up early to take Arabic lessons online, read Tracey Thorn's autobiography, and skateboard the deserted streets, then come home and design sounds until he had a track that felt like it needed to be released. While this easy going lifestyle was peaceful in many ways, Solpara found more complex inspiration in the emotion that stemmed from participation in Black Lives Matter protests and the 2020 Beirut Port explosion, which rocked all of his extended family members in Lebanon.

Melancholy Sabotage explores the theme of sabotaging melancholy. Echoing sounds from the post-punk, trip-hop, and ambient genres, it is about sabotaging the cycle of melancholy and looking at this process without ignoring the sources that put it into motion. It may be compared to a rattling breaking free from retention, reaching states of dreamy euphoria while simultaneously acknowledging the sources of retention, viewed from above. The sources can be personal, political, or socio-economic. They are to be apprehended post-melancholy, after the sabotaging of the initial cycle of melancholy. In other words, it is about transcending melancholy and understanding where it came from with some distance. It may be beautiful and healthy to feel for a while, but how may one sabotage this cycle when it becomes paralyzing? Ultimately, this album is about feeling melancholy but also resisting it and naming the sources that initiated it.

"Time To Hold Better" points to neglect on both personal and group levels. "This Time Last Year" is a personal time capsule. "We Keep Us Safe" is about solidarity, autonomy, and care witnessed within protest groups. "Melancholy Sabotage" is a sonic exploration of the album concept illustrating anger and sadness, but finally, resistance and liberation from these feelings. "Measures" is a more fluid exploration of the latter after the initial storm has passed. "We Don't Owe" points to bigger bodies inflicting harm on populations that we owe nothing to. "Breaking Points" harkens the times that we may lose focus while pushing to transcend melancholy. "Eviction" is about being pushed out of a space unwillingly while simultaneously being forced to move forward.

Melancholy Sabotage pulls from a range of genres, uniting electronic sounds under the same post-punky glow. It pulls from complex, heavy themes including damage and injustice, presenting Solpara's most moving body of work to date. It highlights the poignance that has always been at the heart of his fluid sound, which caters to dancefloors and avant-garde spaces in equal measure. Working with a mix of dissonant guitars, distorted drum machines, and distant, reverb-washed vocals, Melancholy Sabotage is Solpara's uneasiest outing to date. The record pinpoints the duality at the heart of Solpara's sound, which is as plaintive as it is searing.

The long running vessel for Cameron Stallones' psychedelic excursions, Sun Araw, returns to Discrepant after last year's split with Tarzana via Keroxen sister label (KRXN033).
Without much precedent in his own - already wide-ranging - back-catalog, 'Cetacean  Sensation' discards the dubby vibes, psych-rock sunburnt jams, tropical visions, or stalking sensibilities of such classic efforts as 'On Patrol' or 'Ancient Romans' towards a deeply focused and vivid solitary approach, while still retaining this Sun Araw blissed out escapist feeling.
Composed of hydrophone recordings of whales and dolphins sourced during a summer in Galicia, 'Cetacean Sensation' paints an impressionistic and sensory floating canvas that expertly escapes both academic-like documentarian purposes and any new-age spa vibrations one could associate with such subject matter. Processing those raw recordings into alluring collages that flow gracefully between moments of clear eco-location  and submerged impressions of wildlife social dynamics. By the third track - Dance of the Minke - we're introduced to this ringing MIDI tone that evokes a CD-ROM era of mystic educational programs and click-and-deploy strategies  that still feel very much like an unfulfilled future, conjured again by 'Spider Crab Elegy's sparse keyboard pads and sound effects that give way to this properly elegiac tentative melody. 'The Spider Crab Point' ends the album on a more uneasy vibe, with synth tones pointing towards no particular direction, confounding and strangely inviting at the same time. As sensations often do.
Music written and produced by Cameron Stallones using hydrophones and digital synthesisRecorded in 2019 in Galicia, ES
Mastering by Rashad Becker

Second in a series of reissues from Pierre Jaubert’s Parisound studio archive on Strut Record IS Lafayette Afro Rock Band's elusive funk/Afro original album, 'Soul Makossa' originally released in 1973. Transparent blue colored LP

In 1971, an undocumented seven-member Afro-American ensemble known as the Bobby Boyd Congress made a transformative journey from the United States to France. Bandleader Frank Abel recollects, "We sensed that the soul and funk market was saturated back home, and our original plan was a brief 6-month stint in Paris. Surprisingly, we ended up staying for a decade." Upon lead singer Bobby Boyd's return to the U.S., the group rebranded as Ice and crossed paths with independent producer Pierre Jaubert, a seasoned studio professional with credits on groundbreaking recordings alongside Charles Mingus, John Lee Hooker, and Archie Shepp, among others.

Drawing inspiration from Motown's work ethic, Jaubert initiated regular rehearsals with Ice. He recalled, "I didn't want to mimic Berry, but with seven talented musicians collaborating daily, something unique emerged." The band, residing in Paris and immersed in the African-dominated Barbesse district, began infusing African elements into their music frequently performing with Paris-dwelling Camaroonian and legendary composer Manu Dibango.

Rechristening themselves Lafayette Afro Rock Band, the group's musical direction shifted towards predominantly instrumental compositions, characterized by a weightier, more intricate Afro-funk sound. Their debut recording under this new moniker, 'Soul Makossa,' made a powerful impact with a dynamic rendition of Dibango's classic, coupled with the intense break of 'Hihache' and the contagious 'Nicky.' Initially released by Musidisc in France and later in the U.S. via Editions Makossa, the album omitted the title track due to publishing clearance issues.

Despite modest sales upon its initial release, the album's enduring influence became evident as hip-hop culture surged in the '80s, establishing it as a primary source for samples and riffs. The iconic 'Hihache' break found fame in Biz Markie's 'Nobody Beats The Biz,' and tracks from the album were lifted by LL Cool J, The Beatnuts, Kruder & Dorfmeister, and numerous others.

Gambian kora virtuoso Dawda Jobarteh and Danish master drummer Stefan Pasborg join forces to release their exhilarating live album, "Live In Turku"Turku". A captivating fusion of traditional West African sounds and contemporary improvisation. Jobarteh was born and raised in Brikama, Gambia into a musical legacy - his uncle and grandfather before him are recognized as great masters of the kora. Initially learning calabash and all other kinds of percussion at the feet of his uncle, it wasn t until Dawda s travels to Denmark that he picked up the 2121-stringed kora. He s since gone on to tour worldwide with the famous Pierre Dorge & New Jungle Orchestra and release five albums under his own name to rave reviews from leading magazines such as Songlines. Stefan Pasborg, godson and protege of famous Danish drummer Alex Riel, is a world class drummer with a deep understanding of African music few western musicians possess, evidenced by his many collaborations with the likes of Morocco s Majid Bekkas and their joint project Magic Spirit Quartet, as well as Danish trio Ibrahim Electric. Drawing on their rich musical backgrounds and extensive experience, Jobarteh and Pasborg deliver an electrifying performance that transcends borders and genres. Recorded during a mesmerizing live set at a festival in Turku, Finland in April of 2023, the album captures the essence of their collaborative spirit and explorative energy. A followup to their landmark 2016 release "DUO"", at the heart of "Live In lies a deep connection between two extraordinary musicians. Jobarteh brings his soul soul-stirring melodies and innovative approach to the traditional instrument - going electric and drawing from the explosive energy of Jimi Hendrix in jangling improvisations soaked in psychedelic futurism. Meanwhile, Pasborg, renowned for his dynamic drumming style and eclectic musical palette sits somewhere between Art Blakey, Mitch Mitchell and John Bonham, providing a rhythmic foundation that propels the music to new heights. The album"s repertoire spans a diverse range of influences, from traditional West African rhythms to contemporary jazz and beyond. Tracks such as " first recorded in 1979 by a band of Ornette Coleman alumni, pay homage to the Jazz s origins in African music, while originals like "Communication of a Kind" showcase the duo"s improvisational prowess and boundless creativity.