quête:bill conti

The Mansion were initially a prison group formed by Charles Lorenzo Blakely in 1970 while serving time in the Green Bay Reformatory at Allouez, Wisconsin. The Mansion’s line up included at different times Michael Locke, Stanley Newburn, Carl Anderson, John Crawford, Michael Smith, Larry Moses, Ronald Hardin, Jerome Wagner, Larry Lister, Maurice Payne and Charles himself. One day while rehearsing in the prison chapel, the Mansion attracted the attention of the warden’s wife who happened to be showing some local dignitaries around. Impressed by what she heard the warden’s wife was instrumental in the Mansion being invited to perform for the city’s television station WBAY, where they recording two holiday programs. The warden later gave them permission to perform outside the prison which brought them to the attention of a Milwaukee neighbourhood program adviser by the name of Al Dunlap of the Commando Project One. It was through Dunlap that the Mansion recorded their solitary 45 release in 1974 “The Girl Next Door /Stop! Let Your Heart Be Your Guide” for a local Milwaukee label Gibbs (406). The label’s owner Bill Gibbs held the release back until some of the members of the Mansion were granted their release papers as at that time prisoners were unable to sign any contract agreements while still incarcerated. Although Charles Blakely remained incarcerated, he was later moved to a medium security prison in Fox Lake County, Wisconsin. While there he formed a gospel group, called the ‘Bell Tones’ who’s line up included Charles, Mayweather Lee, Joe Hayes, and Levell Rudd. The formation of this group was seen as major factor in Charles’s rehabilitation which led to his eventual parole in 1976. Once on the outside Charles with former ‘Bell Tone” member Mayweather Lee were joined by Charles (Sonny) Bryant and Jimmy Taylor to form a new ensemble by the name of The “Final Chapter”. As the final Chapter they recorded a solitary release for Marvel Love’s New World Label “Now I Know/Get Down For Your Action” (NW800) during 1980, a brief association that for several reasons was to eventually brake down. Although Jimmy Taylor left to pursue a career as a blues musician the remaining three members of the ‘Final Chapter’ continued to perform until they finally disbanded in 1987. Three previously unissued Final Chapter songs can be found on Soul Junction Various Artists CD compilation “We Got A Sweet Thing going On” Volume II. The Mansion’s Gibbs 45 is now is a highly prized and sort after item amongst Sweet and Group Soul collectors.

As Far As Death is the cross-generational debut of fire music evangelist and saxophonist Paul Flaherty with double bassist and composer Zach Rowden. The Connecticut natives forge an album of dynamic free jazz interplay that also draws on imporous textures of contemporary music - an ecstatic reflection. After a half century of blowing the alto and tenor saxes, Flaherty's playing continues to molt and electrify. Whether solo, or with collaborators (Joe McPhee, Chris Corsano, Bill Nace, Daniel Carter, etc.), his blues-based, lyrical melodies anchor lung-bursting gallops. Rowden - whether as Tongue Depressor (a string duo with Henry Birdsey), in performance with cellist Leila Bordreuil, or his own musique concrète constructions - balances harshness and elegiac drones. His past releases resemble resolute exploration into acoustics and noise. Together, Flaherty's monstrous howl is perfectly matched by Rowden's subterranean pitched drone and glacial pace. Each offers weeping lurches of tune, gasps of balladry and microtonal fields of interplay on five pieces. The side-long "Thrown Shadows" is an epic passage of avant jazz vs minimalism, as Rowden's low-register bowing offers a blackened landscape for Flaherty's most mournful notes. Artwork by Chris Corsano.

Deron Miller gives his life to the riff. Unrestrained by industry expectations and genre limitations, the boundlessly prolific guitarist and voice behind multiple beloved projects is best known as the founder, frontman, and songwriter in CKY. His authentic and effortlessly hooky heavy rock obsession returns with 96 BITTER BEINGS. Reinvigorated and ready to rumble all over again, Miller roars back with the same reverence for riffage that made underground hits out of CKY anthems like “Flesh Into Gear,” “Escape from Hellview,” and “Disengage the Simulator” from 1998 till 2011.

The familiar warmth, feel, groove, and unapologetic honesty which drove the song “96 Quite Bitter Beings” to 54 million streams (on Spotify alone) permeates the pair of albums unleashed by 96BB.

A successful crowdfunding campaign saw Miller, guitarist Kenneth Hunter, bassist Shaun Luera and Shaun’s brother, drummer Tim, conjure up 2018’s Camp Pain in limited release. North American and European touring followed, wrapping up shortly before the COVID-19 shutdowns.

“After CKY and a short break, I decided to continue, without changing the sound,” Miller explains. “Because that’s what I do. It’s what I love to do and what people say I do well. All of the guys who got in the band with me are great musicians. And each of them is hungry. They have priorities and ambitions about being in a rock band, no matter the grim state of pop music out there. If we can bring rock and metal back to the mainstream, in some way, that’s the dream.”

In 2022, 96 BITTER BEINGS unleash the long-awaited Synergy Restored, 11 songs of relentless power and vibe. Four-on-the-floor, fuzzy and visceral, proper rock n’ roll made by an actual band, rather than a bunch of overprocessed samples and otherwise stale shenanigans. Songs like “Vaudeville’s Revenge,” “90 Car Pile-Up,” and “Wish Me Dead” offer vivid reminders of the truth-telling prowess of guitars, bass, and drums. Miller is on fire, weaponizing the same knack for memorable musical epiphanies behind projects like Foreign Objects, World Under Blood, and CKY.
Miller co-founded Foreign Objects and later Camp Kill Yourself (a name born of his love of VHS slasher classics) in West Chester, Pennsylvania, in the ‘90s. Written by Miller, 1999’s Volume 1 appealed to metalheads, skaters, stoners, and punks. The album led to a stint on Warped Tour and a deal with Island Def Jam Music Group, which issued Infiltrate•Destroy•Rebuild• in 2002. Axl Rose chose CKY to support the ill-fated Chinese Democracy tour, and they also played with Metallica.
An Answer Can Be Found followed in 2005, producing the Billboard Mainstream Rock Top 40 single “Familiar Realm.” Extensive touring with Avenged Sevenfold and the like-minded Clutch followed. Carver City, in 2009, would prove to be Miller’s last album with the group he created and led. Across the four albums, Miller indulged his love of everything from ‘80s thrash metal to doom, as CKY blended high-octane ruckus with occasional bursts of Moog synths and cinematic storytelling.
Miller never stopped creating, with a handful of full albums written and released, a foray into horror movies, and parenting three children with his wife, scream queen actress Felissa Rose. Like Galactic Prey, the most recent Foreign Objects album, the 96BB records were recorded and produced by Miller and Hunter at Manifest Productions. Camp Pain was explicitly made for diehard fans who supported the creation of both albums through 96BB’s Indiegogo campaign. Synergy Restored was always intended for wider release, which it sees now via Nuclear Blast.
“I want my work taken seriously. I thank God every day that I was never overexposed, or even exposed enough commercially, to where I’m resigned to a specific moment,” Miller says. “I would rather have my self-respect, the respect of the audience, and a dedicated cult following.”

“Every time I go out, I see Nirvana, Metallica, and Misfits t-shirts. These kids may not know the music, but at least they are displaying a visual interest,” he adds. “Corporations spend millions of dollars promoting certain styles of music, but history proves that true rock will always sneak in.”

Before Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes even had an album on the shelves, they were being played on the radio in Cleveland. That’s how far back the New Jersey band’s relationship goes with the city. As the “Jukes” part of their name would suggest, Southside Johnny and his group were spiritually a band from another time. They had a big sound (and a full horn section, courtesy of The Miami Horns) that conjured a vision of a large band, jammed together on the bandstand. Which was hardly far from the truth on a number of nights. Mixing carefully chosen blues and soul covers with their own originals (and some choice songwriting contributions from Bruce Springsteen), they had a live show that was even more potent than what had been laid to tape in the studio. This 1977 performance at the Cleveland Agora was the group’s second outing at the legendary venue in less than a year. Live in Cleveland ‘77, the recorded evidence of that night, presented here for the first time by Cleveland International Records, shows exactly why they would become frequent visitors and really, honorary Clevelanders. Songs like “I Don’t Want to Go Home,” Springsteen’s “The Fever,” “Havin’ a Party” and “Without Love” were already well-loved favorites with the local audience, thanks to frequent airplay on WMMS long before they even had an album. Cleveland got a special bonus round that other cities would have killed for. Ronnie Spector had joined the group in the studio as they recorded that debut and came to Cleveland to share the stage with the Jukes, sharing her soon-to-be-legendary take on Billy Joel’s “Say Goodbye to Hollywood” with the Agora crowd. As she did with so many songs, Spector made it her own. Southside Johnny and the Jukes continue to thrill audiences with their live performances worldwide to this day. Now, thanks to the release of Live in Cleveland ‘77, you can be in the audience to hear a bit of the early magic as they were on their way to the top.

Moiré's rain-streaked and masterful Circuits album dropped this past September. RA's Andrew Ryce stated the eight-track album cast the shadowy producer into "a rarefied air occupied by the only the finest and most influential of ambient techno artists."

Now, in short order, the label returns with a remix EP charting out multiple hubs of oblique dance floor innovation. If there's a sonic motif on the A-side, it's vastly reactive interpretations of the "factory floor" element that inspired techno's pioneers. Matthew Herbert, a pioneering force in his own right, mixes steam engine percussion with the dreamy atmospherics of "Circuit 15" and comes up with eight minutes of cerebral machine funk. Tolouse Low Trax, meanwhile, continues his masterclass in modern motorik on his remix of "Circuit 7," integrating a chiming piano into a fascinating, perfectly-timed 110 BPM rhythm.

The B-side, meanwhile, doubles down on the oneiric nature of the original material. Workshop head and Avenue 66 alumnus Lowtec builds allows "Circuit 04"'s synths to billow into Gas-like immersive layering, sheets of melody are anchored by a restrained beat for an ambient techno track that doesn't tip the scales too far in one direction or the other. Rather, it achieves a perfect balance. Hamburg/Dial mainstay Lawrence closes things out with his version of "Circuit 18," which also concludes the original album. While the original has a wistful, Deckard's dream quality, Lawrence's version is deeply-rooted in the late-night German style; a low-slung bassline will keep dancers deeply rooted while those wistful chords sweep in like the violet before dawn.

Since making his mark in the ‘90s through the early aughts as a part of the legendary Boot Camp Clik and one half of “Da Incredible Rap Team” and duo Heltah Skeltah, Rock (also known as the Rockness Monsta) has been conservative with solo efforts. With one of the most distinct voices in hip-hop, the Brooklyn emcee released his full-length debut solo albumRockness AP in 2017, and now looks to step back into the spotlight with his sophomore album, Ether Rocks.

Produced entirely by Harlem, New York’s Ron Browz (Nas’s “Ether”, Jim Jones’s “Pop Champagne”, etc.), the project sees Rock’s ominous tone and sharp flow transposed from the traditional Boom-Bap beats of Da Beatminerz and others, into a sonic backdrop that retains grit yet bolsters an updated and more sophisticated style from the legendary emcee.

The 12 track LP boasts guest appearances from Method Man, Steele (Smif-N-Wessun), Ruste Juxx and more, and is available via DSPs, CD and vinyl through American B Boy Records in partnership with Fat Beats.

“Dope is dope. I'm trying to break out of the underground rap box and ease into ‘grown man rap’. This album is basically my way of showing y’all more sides to myself musically and conceptually. A lot of our culture wants you to do the same thing over and over. That’s understandable but not realistic as we are forever evolving as human beings. So, while I continue to serve jedi level barbarian bars, I’m adding some things to the menu.” – Rockness Monsta

REPRESS

“Sketches of Spain since its release in 1960 has been one of the most widely distributed and popular of all jazz records. Even people who don’t collect jazz records tend to have a copy tucked away somewhere.” - Penguin Guide To Jazz

“Sketches of Spain remains, and rightly so, one of the jewels of Miles Davis’ discography.” - Jazz Magazine (France)

“This recording is one of the most important musical triumphs that this century has yet produced. It brings together under the same aegis two realms that in the past have often worked against one another - the world of the heart and the world of the mind. To Davis and Evans goes not the distinction of five or 10 or a zillion stars in a review rating, but the burden of continuing to show us the way.” - Bill Mathieu, DownBeat

"Since 2004, ALTER BRIDGE has been one of the most consistent bands to successfully represent the rock and metal communities with their driving melodies, blazing guitar riffs and topical lyrics that resonate with fans around the globe. Their seventh album, Pawns & Kings, continues that trend with 10 unforgettable new additions to their catalog. Coming off the launch of what was shaping up to be one of the band’s pinnacle moments with Walk The Sky (#1 US Billboard Top Albums, #1 US Current Rock and Hard Music, #4 UK Official Charts, #1 UK Independent and Rock/Metal, #5 Official German Album Charts), everything came to a halt as the world would forever be changed due to the events of a global pandemic. The time the members of ALTER BRIDGE spent apart sparked a new fire and heaviness when the quartet comprised of Myles Kennedy on vocals/guitars, Mark Tremonti on guitars/vocals, Brian Marshall on bass and Scott Phillips on drums would reconvene for what would eventually become Pawns & Kings. Teaming with longtime producer and collaborator Michael “Elvis” Baskette, the album shines with massive, menacing arena-ready production while emerging as another sonic testament to the seasoned Kennedy/Tremonti songwriting dream-team. The band deliver three epic anthems, including two that clock in at over six minutes – the reflective and absolutely epic title track “Pawns & Kings”, grim-riffed, progressive influenced “Sin After Sin”, and the emotive eight-and-a-half minute journey “Fable Of The Silent Son.” “Silver Tongue” is backed by a punishing intro riff that gives way to one of the band’s most infectious choruses as Myles Kennedy sings, “Truth of a crime. You can’t outrun. Under the spell of my silver tongue,” while tracks like “Holiday” and “Season Of Promise” ebb and flow within the trademark multi-faceted metallic rock attack that has enchanted ALTER BRIDGE fans for a generation. Songs like “This Is War,” “Dead Among The Living” and “Last Man Standing” showcase the heavier side of a band firing on all cylinders, with soaring leads, hair-raising vocals and introspective lyricism abound. Mark Tremonti helms lead vocal duties on the uplifting track “Stay” – an interchanging of skills that first debuted on the band’s fourth album, Fortress, and continues to this day. Nearly 20 years into their celebrated career, one thing is for sure – Pawns & Kings offers a musical snapshot of a band that shows no signs of slowing down and continues to push itself creatively for the whole world to see. before peaking with a frenetic, metallic bridge-breakdown and piercing solo worthy of rock legend.

The second installment of gems and nuggets straight from the infamous jukebox at Malcolm and Vivienne's King's Road SEX boutique.

Compiled again by Marco Pirroni (Adam and The Ants, Siouxsie and the Banshees) another collection of carefully curated tracks that were played on rotation at 430 kings road Chelsea, throughout 1974-1976.

Years in the making, this follow up to Marco’s 2004 “SEX: Too Fast To Live Too Young To Die” continues to complete the jukebox playlist with tracks contributed from those friends who frequented the shop - Jordan Mooney (RIP), Paul Cook, Steve Jones and Sam Bully amongst others – remembering those all-important songs that soundtracked the shop and left lasting impressions on them over 47 years ago.

Another wild ride and a kaleidoscope of jukebox bangers from The Animals to Max Bigraves, Nico to Burundi Black, these tracks undoubtedly played a heavy influence on SEX’s customer’s young ears many who would go on and change the musical world forever - Sex Pistols, The Clash, Chrissie Hynde, Siouxsie Sioux to name just a few.

Artwork supplied by Personality Crisis with unpublished photographs from Jane England, a student at the time but already understood the cultural significance and beauty of both the shop and Jordan Mooney who the compilation is dedicated to.

The second installment of gems and nuggets straight from the infamous jukebox at Malcolm and Vivienne's King's Road SEX boutique.

Compiled again by Marco Pirroni (Adam and The Ants, Siouxsie and the Banshees) another collection of carefully curated tracks that were played on rotation at 430 kings road Chelsea, throughout 1974-1976.

Years in the making, this follow up to Marco’s 2004 “SEX: Too Fast To Live Too Young To Die” continues to complete the jukebox playlist with tracks contributed from those friends who frequented the shop - Jordan Mooney (RIP), Paul Cook, Steve Jones and Sam Bully amongst others – remembering those all-important songs that soundtracked the shop and left lasting impressions on them over 47 years ago.

Another wild ride and a kaleidoscope of jukebox bangers from The Animals to Max Bigraves, Nico to Burundi Black, these tracks undoubtedly played a heavy influence on SEX’s customer’s young ears many who would go on and change the musical world forever - Sex Pistols, The Clash, Chrissie Hynde, Siouxsie Sioux to name just a few.

Artwork supplied by Personality Crisis with unpublished photographs from Jane England, a student at the time but already understood the cultural significance and beauty of both the shop and Jordan Mooney who the compilation is dedicated to.

LANGUISH is a band that has relied on speed to deliver their message in the most caustic and devastating way possible, but conversely they’ve taken their time to reach the point they’re now at; they stand on the precipice of releasing their third studio album, Feeding The Flames of Annihilation. World events forced a creative go-slow which granted them time to ‘hyperfocus’ on crafting a sonically pernicious 11-track ode to human beings accelerating their own demise. Despite the album being swathed in nihilism, the occasional glimmer of optimism pushes through in the form of class solidarity and hopeful resistance. But for the majority of the 25 minute runtime, malevolence and misanthropy reigns - articulated more clearly than ever before by vocalist, Sean Mears. Although grindcore continues to make up a good deal of the LANGUISH calling card, a considered leaning towards death metal allows room to enunciate their distaste with more clarity - both literally and metaphorically. The world-weariness felt by its authors is coloured with rage, disappointment and a cycle of hitting rock bottom over and over. Inspired by the socialist anthems of Woody Guthrie, LANGUISH takes swipes at landlords, megacorps, and billionaires - with few escaping their scathing sulfur.

** SISTER FUNK, SOUL-JAZZ and BLUE-EYED-SOUL - OBSCURE RARE GROOVES ALL THE WAY THRU! **

- the double vinyl LP comes with a full album download code
- deluxe double-gatefold LP with detailed liner notes & unseen photographs
- ALL songs appear on LP & digital for the very first-time
- sales notes by Joel Ricci (aka Lucky Brown)

When Tramp Records was founded, there really were very few ways in which the music lover could discover new music besides the traditional methods of digging, good luck, and inheritance. First there were torrent sites such as Napster and Limewire where generous collectors might digitize and upload portions of their accessions, and sometimes you could find entire radio show broadcasts of live vinyl curation made by real Disc Jockeys out there, a lot of the Deep Funk I heard for the first time in around 1999 I found this way via Disc Jockeys on radio shows from the UK, tunes were faded and mixed together and of course veiled with that unmistakable Mp3 'whoosh'. And unless you have been living as an off-grid hermit for the past 20 years, you know the rest of the story.

But though our world has changed, and even though everyone from our grandparents to our 5-year old nieces are curating their own internet playlists, I submit that the role of DJ has become even more vital, not less. We as a culture have always relied on our Disc Jockeys to introduce us to sounds that speak to their souls, to control the vibe and most importantly put forth the narrative that speaks to society as a whole. DJs are our tribal storytellers, and the music they bring us are the stories. And when a DJ like Tobias Kirmayer is telling us that story clearly and with conviction, it speaks to our souls as well.

"Countdown to...SOUL" is a compilation series that, much like Tramp Records' other critically-acclaimed comps such as Movements, Feeling Nice, and the Praise Poems Series' examines a unique facet of the Golden Era of Soul, Funk, Jazz and R&B. Perhaps, in this case the dawning of the Soul era, "proto-soul", "primitive soul", or even "pre-soul" if you will. When they were recorded, many of these tunes were still firmly ensconced in the Black Radical Jazz tradition, but there was a change in the air, something happening in the coming years that would revolutionize popular music forever. In fact, Soul had already taken over the world by the time many of these tunes were released on 45, but for various reasons, the artists and their music occupied the fringes of the idiom and therefore remained obscure. Countdown to...SOUL chronicles that beginning, that buildup, those heady moments before the lid blew off and American Black music would explode across the planet, while scouring the outskirts and tide pools for specimens that were emanating in their own respective neighborhoods and communities, so often overlooked by the American pop music machine.

Side A features barrier-breaking pioneer Frankie Staton and her message of "Love One Another" to the world that is as fresh and vital today as it was when it first came out in the late seventies. In that spirit, Tenison Stevens' appeal "Don't Rip Me Off" reminds us to treat each other as brothers and sisters.

Side B meets us at the altar of the formidable Hammond Organ with an Unknown and uncredited Organist found languishing on a one-of-a-kind unreleased acetate and moving on to explore the nexus of Soul, Bebop, and R&B with Don Patterson's "Paddy Wagon".

Side C satisfies our hunger for the blaring horn sections, big beat drums, wailing Hammonds, pleading vocals and gritty guitars of authentic Soul music (both brown and blue-eyed) with Marva Josie, Shirley Wahls and The Echomen, among others, but then takes a hard left turn into undoubtedly uncharted territory with the hybrid folk/country/soul story of Sherrif Black and poor Sally who, though she is tragically met with a terrible fate, thanks to the careful and conscientious mastering of our German engineers, the song itself remains alive and is a genuine addition to the canon.

For the remaining side, I'm gonna just let you discover this music on its own terms, as you won't find these tunes anywhere else, not on Napster, not even on Limewire, or anywhere else. I want to personally thank you for putting your trust in the DJ and for continuing to listen, study, appreciate, and share the work and mission of Tramp Records.

-Joel Ricci (May 2022)

Ford and Evans have shared the stage in Europe, North America and even
Japan and already released one album The Sun Room together in 2019
(earMUSIC)
With Common Ground they continue their creative relationship as Bill Evans
explains. “Every now and then, like-minded musicians are able to get together in
the studio or on the same stage and create interesting music together. It’s the
blending of each other’s influences and styles, and the will to create something
new and fresh that can turn this ‘creative meeting’ into something special. I
believe myself and Robben share that same ideology. Robben and I both love all
kinds of music whether it’s classic blues, soul, rock and roll, you name it. This
openness to combine different kinds of music and create something musical and
special is what brought me and Robben together in the first place. Robben
composed some of the most inspiring music I’ve played in a long time. Our
writing styles blend seamlessly.”
The title track features the vocals of popular German singer Max Mutzke.

Legendary Iowan icons SLIPKNOT have announced details of their widely anticipated new album, THE END FOR NOW…, which will be released September 30th on Roadrunner Records.

The band has also shared the album’s lead single “The Dying Song (Time To Sing)” with an official music video directed by the band’s own M. Shawn ‘clown’ Crahan. The “The Dying Song (Time To Sing)” video, and the track itself, sees one of the world’s most popular and deeply enigmatic bands relentlessly charting new ground as they continue to redefine, revitalize, and reimagine the scope of rock music.

Produced By SLIPKNOT and Joe Barresi, THE END FOR NOW…. includes the band’s 2021 surprise single “The Chapeltown Rag” and follows their widely celebrated 2019 album WE ARE NOT YOUR KIND, which marked SLIPKNOT’s third consecutive #1 on the Billboard 200 and debuted at #1 on the UK Album Chart..

Legendary Iowan icons SLIPKNOT have announced details of their widely anticipated new album, THE END FOR NOW…, which will be released September 30th on Roadrunner Records.

The band has also shared the album’s lead single “The Dying Song (Time To Sing)” with an official music video directed by the band’s own M. Shawn ‘clown’ Crahan. The “The Dying Song (Time To Sing)” video, and the track itself, sees one of the world’s most popular and deeply enigmatic bands relentlessly charting new ground as they continue to redefine, revitalize, and reimagine the scope of rock music.

Produced By SLIPKNOT and Joe Barresi, THE END FOR NOW…. includes the band’s 2021 surprise single “The Chapeltown Rag” and follows their widely celebrated 2019 album WE ARE NOT YOUR KIND, which marked SLIPKNOT’s third consecutive #1 on the Billboard 200 and debuted at #1 on the UK Album Chart..

‘Amorpha’, a side-long shower of synthetic bells and bass, as
patterns interlock and repeat and the beat within the bar lines
shifts constantly, forms a new, latest miniature of infinity. You flip
it, and ‘Geomancy’ resets you, starting anew, with heavy drift and
drone leading into a space of shorter broken lines and Middle
Eastern tonalities, that roll back into ether again - new spaces, but
mysteriously consonant with the vibe.
 ‘Bajascillators’ arrives almost five years since their last official fulllength, 2017’s ‘Bajas Fresh’. In the eight years prior to ‘Bajas
Fresh’, Bitchin Bajas issued seven albums, plus cassettes, EPs,
singles… wave after wave of analogue synth tones and zones
extending into a stratospheric arc. Each release its own
headspace, shape and timbre, each one sliding naturally into their
implacable, eternal gene pool.
 Following the flow, always, the Bajas went ever-deeper-and-higher
on these records, whether making soundtracks or collaborating
with Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, using only fortune cookie fortunes as a
libretto. Plus engagement, with a steady stream of shows and
tours around the world; live re-airings and expansions of the space
captured in their records as they continued to grow and flow - all
the way through, really, to the present moment.
 Plus, there have been releases since 2017 - a split 12”, a 7”
single, digital track release and two ‘Cuts’ cassettes, plus the allcovers cassette release ‘Switched On Ra’. But the overall number
of releases, plus the five years between long players, implies a
potential distance between phases, a new line in the sand. The
sound of Bajascillators bear this out. How couldn’t it? Compared to
2017, this is a different world.
 Mastered directly from half-inch analogue tape, ‘Bajascillators’
floats transparently from the speakers, its expansive grooves
gathering resonance and building momentum over the four sides,
from genesis to re-conclusion, cascading ecstatically. The elastic
magic of time at its brightest. As the world keeps turning, so too do
Bitchin Bajas, in the same unknowable way. You can’t explain it -
just keep turning.

It’s common knowledge that KOMPAKT’s TOTAL series serves as our yearbook, a musical wrap up of the past 12 months. Therefore it doesn’t come as a surprise that this year’s edition is informed by another pandemic year, where dancefloors were still mostly deserted and the devastating developments in Eastern Europe. Kompakt’s A&R team still kept on foot on the imaginary dancefloor, while scouting different realms apart from the big room euphoria. Anyway, brain dance has always been a key ingredient to our catalogue.

The Voigt brothers are opening this years vinyl edition in an unusually romantic fashion. ‘Why’ combines a bubbly FM bassline with lush washes of looped guitars. High off the (presumably high) heels of her recent album ‘Jesus Was An Alien’ she delivers a spanking new excursion into her sonic world, ‘The Hill’. Our Mexican friend Rebolledo makes his first ever solo appearance on TOTAL with his trademark hypnotic desert sound. Jürgen Paape is calling a spade a spade with ‘Le Monde À Changé’ – The world has changed indeed. Our prodigal son, Matias Aguayo, returns to the mothership with ‘Cinco Y Rojo’. An exercise in Chicago-esque groove theory paired with a cheeky visitor from Denmark. Spot the reference and win a pair of hooves. It’s hard to find a quality party around Cologne without Jonathan Kaspar on its bill. Rightly so, as he continues to hone his craft as an impeccable DJ and producer. Michael gives the tremendously talented Danish singer songwriter eee gee a proper Mayer treatment and Kompakt founding member Jörg Burger closes off the festivities with a groovy midtempo chugger that reminisces ‘Blue Lines’ era Massive Attack as much as the late Andy Weatheralls low slung psychedelia.

Es ist allgemein bekannt, dass die TOTAL Reihe eine jährliche Positionsbestimmung des Kölner Labels KOMPAKT darstellt und der Jahrbuch-hafte Charakter war ja auch immer beabsichtigt. So wundert es wenig, dass man TOTAL 22 die Irrungen und Wirrungen des zweiten pandemischen Jahres 2022 deutlich anhört. Die A&R Abteilung des Labels hatte zwar – trotz geschlossener Clubs – weiter mindestens einen Fuss auf dem imaginären Tanzboden, aber man spürt, dass es ein eher verhaltener Jahrgang geworden ist. Dance Tracks brauchen einen entsprechenden Resonanzraum – und der war zumindest bis zur Deadline dieser Platte kaum gegeben. Aber Kopfdisco gehörte schon immer zum kompakten Repertoire. Letztlich entsteht in diesem vom Big Room los gekoppelten Bereich meist die interessanteste Musik.

Die Gebrüder Voigt eröffnen TOTAL 22 auf einer unerwartet romantischen Note. Quirlige FM Bässe schmiegen sich an verhuschte Gitarrenloops, so dass es eine wahre Freude ist. Perel hat gerade ihr fulminantes Album “Jesus Was An Alien” abgeliefert und spurtet bereits mit Siebenmeilenstiefeln (oder vielleicht auch Pumps?) zum nächsten Ziel: ‘The Hills’. Unser mexikanischer Freund Rebolledo ist erstmals solo auf einer TOTAL zu finden und beschwört mit ‘The Sharper Image’ seinen hypnotischen Prärie Sound herauf. Jürgen Paape nennt das Kind direkt beim Namen: Le monde a changé… Die Welt hat sich verändert – ein Kommentar zum Zeitgeschehen, der keiner Erklärung bedarf. Nach längerer Abstinenz hat Matias Aguayo wieder am Mutterschiff angedockt. ‘Cinco Y Rojo’ ist ein Lehrstück in Sachen Chicago-esquen Grooves, kombiniert mit einem frechen Besucher aus dem Dänemark der 80er. Findet die Referenz und gewinnt ein paar nagelneuer Hufen. Es ist derzeit schwer eine qualitativ hochwertige Party im Rheinland zu finden, auf der Jonathan Kaspar nicht spielt. Zurecht, denn er schärft seine Skills als DJ und Produzent wie ein Sushi Chef sein Messer. Michael Mayer dreht die überaus talentierte Singer Songwriterin eee gee auf links und überlässt seinem Weggefährten Jörg Burger das letzte Wort. "Crawling Up That Hill’ ist ein slicker Midtempo Groover, der in seiner behutsamen Psychedelik irgendwo zwischen Massive Attack in der ‘Blue Lines’ Epoche und Andy Weatherall changiert.

Charley Crockett will release his latest album The Man From Waco on September 9th via Son of Davy/Thirty Tigers. Crockett wrote or co-wrote all 14 songs on the album, and in many ways The Man From Waco is the purest distillation of his artistry to date. What started as a demo session with producer Bruce Robison at Robison’s studio The Bunker outside Austin, TX turned into the first album Crockett has ever made with his band The Blue Drifters backing him from start to finish. Mostly first takes with only a handful of overdubs, The Man From Waco finds Crockett refining his singular “Gulf & Western” sound which continues to captivate an ever-growing legion of fans. “I just wanted an honest partnership: do it at your place, live to tape, everybody in the room,” Crockett says of the recording experience, and Robison was happy to accommodate. “The magic is in the performances on that tape. That’s what Bruce wanted to do, that’s what I wanted to do. When we were done, I said ‘these are masters, not demos.’” Crockett won “Emerging Act of the Year” at the 2021 Americana Honors & Awards and made his Austin City Limits TV debut a month later. He received billboards in Times Square from Spotify and CMT, performed at several top tier festivals including Austin City Limits and Merlefest, and was featured in an exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. 'Music City USA' released in Sept 2021, stayed at #1 on the Americana radio charts for six straight weeks and the album debuted on 14 different Billboard charts. Globally, Crockett’s music has been streamed over 190 million times, with 93 million streams coming in the past year. 'Lil' G.L. Presents Jukebox Charley', released in April 2022, was celebrated by press outlets such as Holler, Billboard, The Tennessean, Saving Country Music, Rolling Stone and more. Charley's success has caught the attention of CBS' Anthony Mason, who produced a CBS Mornings segment that was televised April '22.

Wu-Tang Clan’s own Cappadonna connects with acclaimed producer Stu Bangas for a lyrically potent, sonically raw new album, 3rd Chamber Grail Bars. The album follows strong 2021 releases from both artists, Donna’s Black Tarrzann and Stu’s Deathwish, and it represents the emcee’s first full-length collaboration with a single producer. The result is a tight, cohesive listen full of sharp verses, neck-snapping instrumentals, and some stellar guest features.

The two first worked together on the Wu rapper’s 2013 album, Eyrth, Wynd & Fyre, when Stu produced a pair of notable cuts (“We Hood Rich Now” and “Chains”). “I knew that he was feeling the beats,” Stu said. “And I saw an opportunity to reach out to him and took it.” They reconnected via industry A&R, M-Eighty, who provided Donna with a folder of instrumentals from the producer. And for the emcee, the timing was perfect because of how the beats “fit my mood and energy in the moment.”

The energy is one of a time-tested lyricist with a lot on his mind—and plenty of clever ways to get his point across. You can hear that on the piano-laced, eerie “Continuous Threat” with Planet Asia, as well as the straight-up dope “Tryna Survive” featuring ILL BILL. Both tracks showcase Donna’s gifts with the pen as well as his talents as a collaborator. Other standouts include the raucous “Bring It Out,” which also happens to be Stu’s favorite cut on the LP. “I love everything about it—the beat, the intro, the subject matter of the verses, the raw hook, all of it,” he explained.

As you’ll hear on the album, it’s clear that it was created not only for the love of the culture, but also out of mutual respect for the other artist. Stu referred to 3rd Chamber Grail Bars as “a life goal of mine that I have checked off,” while Donna had glowing praise for his collaborator. “Stu’s catalog may be as great, iIf not greater, than any producer I can name,” he said.

Over the course of the last five years, the Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio have established themselves as the world's premier funky organ trio. The organ trio, along with founder and manager Amy Novo, continues to devise the perfect blend of raw, passionate music and engaging industry practices. Through a firm partnership with label Colemine Records, the trio has garnered Billboard charting albums, sold out shows, tens of thousands of albums sold, and millions of streams. Lofty accomplishments for an instrumental organ trio. Now, with permanent drummer Dan Weiss behind to kit, DLO3 is proud to present Cold As Weiss, their third studio album to date that finds them tighter than ever, and continuing to push funky instrumental music to a new generation of fans.

Coming out on July, Jazz Codes is Moor Mother's second and latest album for Anti- and a com?panion to her celebrated 2021 release Black Encyclopedia of the Air. Jazz Codes uses free jazz as a starting point but the collection continues the recent turn in Moor Mother's multifaceted catalog toward more melody, more singing voices, more choruses, more complexity. In its warm, densely layered course through jazz, blues, soul, hip-hop, and other Black classical traditions, Jazz Codes sets the ear blissfully adrift and unhitches the mind from habit. Through her work, Ayewa illuminates the principles of her multidisciplinary collaborative practice Black Quantum Futur?ism, a theoretical framework for perceiving and adjusting reality through art, writing, music, and performance, informed by historical Black ontologies.The songwriter, composer, vocalist, poet, and educator Camae Ayewa spent years organizing and performing in Philadelphia's underground music community before moving to Los Angeles to teach composition at the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music. She released her debut album as Moor Mother, Fetish Bones, in 2016, and has since put out an abundance of acclaimed music, both as a solo artist and in collaboration with other musicians who share her drive to dig up the untold. She has performed and recorded with the free jazz groups Irreversible Entanglements and the Art Ensemble of Chica?go, and made records with billy woods, Mental Jewelry, and YATTA.

A Boogie Wit da Hoodie will be releasing his third studio album ‘Artist 2.0’ on vinyl on the 5th August.

The Bronx-bred artist Artist Dubose, better known as A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, first hit the rap scene with the breakout hit “Still Think About You” which was featured on his 2016 debut mixtape, ARTIST. The mixtape also introduced fans to “My Shit” which went on to become RIAA certified platinum and was also listed as one of “The Best Songs of 2016” on Apple Music. A Boogie quickly proved himself to be one of the game’s newest heavyweights after XXL dubbed him as “one of the hottest and newest up-and-comers in hip-hop” and included him in the 2017 Freshman Class. The young star also went on to release the 3x platinum “Drowning feat. Kodak Black” along with the platinum certified singles “Jungle” and “Timeless.” A Boogie went on to release his highly anticipated, now gold certified, debut album, THE BIGGER ARTIST, which quickly sprung into the Top 5 on Billboard’s Top 200. He also became the top emerging acting in the U.S. as he simultaneously sprung to #1 on Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart.

It is easy to see why The New York Times named A Boogie “the most promising young rapper the city has produced in some time.” A Boogie earned a BET Award Nomination for “Best New Artist” at the end of 2018 in addition to releasing his gold-certified sophomore album, HOODIE SZN, which made its debut at #2 before spending three non-consecutive weeks at #1 and maintaining a stunning 17-week streak within the top 10 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. The album also soared on streaming, garnering over 83 million streams the week it went #1. Following his latest album as well as his sold out “A Boogie Vs. Artist” tour, there’s no doubt A Boogie will continue to make waves and redefine the sound of New York rap.










[i] 9. Calm Down (Bittersweet) [feat. Summer Walker]

“Irreverent and playful” MOJO // “...an utterly distinctive, mental world.” The Financial Times // “From keening ballads to haunting waltzes, Paradise has never seemed stranger” Shindig // “There’s a buoyancy to even the most lacerating lines now, a liberating relief in pressing on” Uncut // Way back when, before the pandemic, and before the release of Alex Rex’s last album Paradise escaped the confines of lockdown, Alex Neilson took a break from the road and set about putting together a record of poems extracted from the collapsed goldmine of his brain. Returning to his experimental roots, Mouthful of Earth’s cutting and oft heart-wrenching stanzas are set to music largely from underground legends Alastair Galbraith, Richard Youngs and Alex’s cult experimental drone record Belsayer Time (originally released on Time Lag Records in 2006. This is the first time that this music has ever been made available digitally). And for one track, Alex reunites with ex-Trembling Bells mucker Lavinia Blackwall for some free-form experimental jazz, reminiscent of the more psychedelically unhinged moments of Cammell/Roeg´s Performance soundtrack. To quote Stuart Maconie’s sleeve notes for the record, “One of the first things I learned about Alex’s musical imagination and modus operandi was a joy in collaboration, and Mouthful Of Earth continues in a tradition that has seen him work with many kindred spirits across many genres; Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Current 93, Jandek, Kan Mikami, Shirley Collins, Six Organs of Admittance, Josephine Foster and Baby Dee. The list is disparate and stellar, the results are always interesting and alive.” Continuing in the spirit of collaboration, Mouthful of Earth’s words and music are accompanied by a digital book of drawings by Kent-based visual artist, musician and art psychotherapist, Benjamin Prosser (Insta: @benjaminprosser). These are not so much literal illustrations as reactions. The combination of poems and visuals works a suite of haunted vignettes, dense with bleak humour and hallucinatory images. “The phantom hand of a lover pressed over the mouth of your mother” / “the whole gurning universe” / “the collapsed farmhouse of my mouth”. Mouthful of Earth is both visceral and corporeal, flecked with blood, sweat and beers. Or as Alex puts it "a continuous project of describing the human spirit pushed to the point of crisis”. Mouthful of Earth finds beauty in scarring and peace in torment. It’s both an assault and a balm of sorts. Life, says Neilson “is not a golden arc / It's a bent aerial / connected to a vast and terrible machine/operated by a child”. But listen hard and you will also hear beauty… “The song of yourself, roaring like a cloud, explicable only by light”. With sleeve notes by BBC Radio presenter and author Stuart Maconie, Mouthful of Earth is released on limited edition vinyl (300 copies only) and digitally via Neolithic Recordings. Reminiscent of his early work with Trembling Bells, and again featuring Lavinia Blackwall on vox, the track is a red herring; a nod towards a lighter shade of darkness.

For Fans Of… Dr. John, Allen Toussaint, The Faces, Joe Cocker, Leon Russell, Buddy Miles, The Meters, Father John Misty. "I just wanted to be honest about everything, from my musical influences to my story," muses Neal Francis. After years of dishonest living - consumed by drugs, alcohol, and addiction - such sincerity is jarring from the 30-year-old Chicago-based musician. Liberated from a self-destructive past and born anew in sobriety, Francis has captured an inspired collection of songs steeped in New Orleans rhythms, Chicago blues, and early 70s rock n' roll. There is a deep connection between Francis's childhood - his obsession with boogie woogie piano, his father's gift of a dusty Dr. John LP - and the songs he's created. The result is an astonishing collection of material without parallel in the contemporary funk and soul scene. The influences are unmistakable: the vocal stylings of Allen Toussaint and Leon Russell; the second line rhythms of The Meters and Dr. John; the barroom rock 'n' roll of The Rolling Stones; the gospel soul of Billy Preston; the roots music of The Band. Francis pays tribute to the masters but has his own story to tell: "It's the life I've lived so far." After playing his first live show in November 2018, Francis was signed by veteran agents Joshua Knight and Phil Egenthal of Paradigm Talent Agency. 2019 brought a North American tour supporting Australian band The Cat Empire as well as radio play on KEXP, KCRW's The Morning Becomes Eclectic, and BBC Radio 6. Francis and his four-piece band performed at festivals such as Summer Camp and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and shared the stage with The Meters and Lee Fields & The Expressions. Francis continues to tour relentlessly to promote his own music. "I'm doing this to fulfill a drive within myself, but also to pay tribute to the gifts I've been given. And it comes from a place of immense gratitude. I've been given so much in my life, especially in the last two years, that this feels like a bonus." Also Available From Neal Francis: These Are The Days 7”.

For genre-bending band Whiskey Myers, 2019’s self-titled and self-produced album offered a watershed moment. With Rolling Stone raving that the “irresistible” album was “the record the band was poised to make” while declaring them “the new torch bearers for Southern music” in a story titled “How Whiskey Myers Won Over Mick Jagger and Made the Album of Their Career;” Billboard and No Depression naming the album to best-of-the-year lists; 41,000 first week album sales; and the project debuting atop both the Country and Americana album charts (as well as at No. 2 on the Rock charts, behind only a re-release of The Beatles’ Abbey Road), the band celebrated mainstream success a decade in the making. Now, after spending 21 days isolated at the 2,300-acre Sonic Ranch studio deep in the heart of their native Texas, just miles from the U.S./Mexico border, the Gold-certified renegades have doubled down on what they do best: sharing honest truths with no-holds-barred instrumentation, letting the self-produced music speak for itself. Yet with Tornillo, named for the border town that is home to the pecan orchard-filled recording complex and set for release on July 29 via their own Wiggy Thump Records with distribution by Thirty Tigers, the six-piece band has taken their solid decade-plus foundation and pushed themself to further explore new sonic landscapes. “It’s going to have a little bit different sound,” lead singer Cody Cannon shared recently with Outsider. “It’s still Whiskey Myers at its core, but it’s kind of fresh… We did a lot of bass and horns on this one, which is something we’ve always wanted to do. Just being fans of all that old music and Motown stuff, and a lot of the stuff coming out of Muscle Shoals, old rock and roll. “We’re going to bend genre even more, I think, with this new record,” he continued. “It’s all over the place. But that’s fun, right? I hate the whole ‘Put it in a box. You gotta be this.’ … That’s not art to me. I love the idea of just doing, really, whatever you feel. It comes out a certain way because that’s just how it comes out. Whiskey Myers never really tried to be a certain way. It’s just how we are. So I think that’s really the whole thing about music, or the beauty about music; it’s just that freedom to create.” Tornillo as a whole does exactly that, drawing as much inspiration from Nirvana as from Waylon Jennings – even adding the legendary McCrary Sisters’ gospel influence to the project on background vocals. With Cannon leading the way on songwriting, the album also features writes from lead guitarist John Jeffers and fellow bandmembers Jamey Gleaves and Tony Kent, as well as rising singer/songwriter Aaron Raitiere (Anderson East, Oak Ridge Boys, A Star is Born).

Following the incredible reception to Deb Never’s most recent releases ‘Someone Else’ and ‘Sorry’ being championed by Radio 1s Annie Mac and Jack Saunders as ‘Tune Of The Week’ ‘First play’ & ‘First Wave’ stating that “Deb Never is a really special artist, someone with limitless sonic horizons and the most brilliant lyrical finesse! Deb Never has all the makings of stardom and her journey is truly under-way!”, along with continuous support from Matt Wilkinson and Zane Lowe Apple Music 1 shows, New York Times, Billboard, The Fader, Variety and Spotify’s continued love in both Pollen and LOREM adding to the playlist description ‘how are we supposed to focus when this Deb Never track exists’. In the lead up to her highly anticipated second EP, Deb Never teases us with another single ‘Disassociate’. The EP is due to drop this July, yet this is only an introduction to what is to come and to be an extremely exciting year ahead for Deb Never.

One of the most active bebop trumpeters, Kenny Dorham started in the big bands of Mercer, Ellington, Lionel Hampton, Billy Eckstine and Dizzy Gillespie and eventually landed in the Charlie Parker Quintet. In addition, he was a charter member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, recorded as a sideman with Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins and replaced Clifford Brown in the Max Roach Quintet. Throughout his career he can be heard playing trumpet on various recordings with Lou Donaldson, Sonny Stitt, Fats Navarro, Kenny Clarke, Mary Lou Williams and many more musical legends.

“Quiet Kenny” is a jazz masterpiece. Recorded by the great Rudy Van Gelder with a group of musicians playing at the top of their game, this title continues to be one of the most collectible Jazz LPs due to its high demand and short supply.


PLAYERS:

Kenny Dorham, trumpet
Tommy Flanagan, piano
Paul Chambers, bass
Art Taylor, drums

Repressed

It's been four-years since La Coka Nostra released their sophomore album, Masters Of The Dark Arts, (the groups first project without Everlast was also their most critically acclaimed project - featured collaborations with Vinnie Paz, Sean Price & production from DJ Premier and Statik Selektah) and the music industry has changed considerably in that time. However, a few things still remain constant; La Coka Nostra will always be as their aptly-titled 2009 debut verified, A Brand You Can Trust, and the group will continue to dazzle their rapid fan-base with sold out shows around the globe with their rau-cous live performances. Always known for tackling controversial topic matter, the group’s new album, To Thine Own Self Be True, finds them once again in torchbearing mode, addressing subjects that most artists shy away from.“This album was created during a time of unique and individual transformation for each member of the group” ILL Bill stated. “Speaking for myself, it’s been a heavy last couple of years.It’s definitely the most personal record we’ve made under the La Coka banner and while we’re still making music that’s hard as fuck, there’s a maturity to this latest batch of songs that makes it different from a lot of the older stuff. I notice the biggest reactions come from the songs our listeners can personally relate to and we needed to make a record like this right now, not only for the fans, but for ourselves. I got alot off my chest on this one. Making music can be extremely therapeutic and making To Thine Own Self Be True was a rebirth and a re-ignition for me.” Slaine had a similar take on the projects thera-peutic manifestation “You don’t put as many years in the game as we have without having ups and downs. We all have gone through struggle and adversity—personally and professionally”Slaine la-mented. “This album was recorded as I walked out of a very dark time toward a place of truth and understanding. Music has been how I feed my family, my plane ticket around the world and a place I’ve built real friendships; but at the very core it’s a tool I use to get through life.This album is a moment in time. It is visceral and real.” While DJ Lethal continues to oversee the production end ofToThine Own Self Be True, the group also enlisted Statik Selektah, Marco Polo, Salam Wreck (D-12, Obie Trice, Proof, B-Real, Tha Dogg Pound) & ChumZilla (from the Demigodz) and get vocal contributions from extended family members such as Vinnie Paz, Apathy, Q-Unique, Sick Jacken, SKAM2? & Rite Hook.

Since forming on O'ahu, Hawai'i, in 2009, The Green has become one of
the most successful and beloved bands in the reggae genre
During their relatively short career, the band has been awarded a "Best Reggae
Album" nod from iTunes (2010, for their self-titled debut), four coveted Na Hoku
Hanohano awards in their native Hawai'i (2014, including Group of the Year, two
time Reggae Album of the Year and Entertainer of the Year), and two #1 Billboard
Reggae chart debuts, along with charting on the Billboard Top 200. Not bad for a
band that was formed by six members of Hawai'i's tight- knit music scene to
record a few songs and have some fun. The Green was one of the first Hawaiian
reggae bands to tour extensively on the mainland, as well as going further afield
to New Zealand, Japan, and other locales. Before becoming a headliner on their
own, the band supported bands like Bruno Mars, Rebelution, Iration, Soja, and
Damian Marley. The Green's fourth studio album, 'Marching Orders' continues the
group's steady march to the top ranks of their genre and beyond, with early
reviews already calling it "innovative" and "imaginative."

Imperfect Stranger is the pseudonym of Glasgow based soundtrack composer and producer Kenny Inglis. “Everything Wrong is Right” is his debut solo album for Castles in Space.
Born in 1975, Kenny didn't listen to much music, unless it was the opening credits to a TV show or a film score that had caught his ear. "I loved the pre-title music on a lot of those 80's U.S. TV shows. From the family orientated stuff like The A-Team, to darker dramas such as The Equalizer. My mother would let me stay up to watch the opening sequence of the latter then send me to bed because the story would be too heavy for a kid. That left me with this hanging sense of ambiguity as to what would happen in that hour after the titles came up.”
Exposure to a work colleague’s tiny project studio in a kitchen cupboard was a lightbulb moment for him and the experience of utilising music technology as a way of writing and producing entire tracks stirred a wave of determination to chase a career in music using the opportunities that technology could offer. Kenny figured the best way to move forward was to start a small project studio and learn his craft as a recording engineer. "It was a bit of a shock to the system. I literally had no idea how to work any of the equipment. Kenny focused on learning as much about the craft as he could whilst winging his way through recording and mixing everyone from the likes of singer/songwriters to bands, to voiceovers artists and anything in between. "Eventually, I stopped writing the music I thought people would want to hear, and started writing the music I wanted to make. I didn't come from a music loving background, but I was always obsessed by the way music and film would interact - how music brings this atmosphere and tone to even the most mundane visual stuff. I wanted to capture that. I wanted to grab some of that ambiguity I felt from the TV shows of my childhood and make it into a project of some sort". That project was Spylab. A dark, downtempo project with a cinematic edge. The initial demo consisted of three tracks, with the melancholic 'This Utopia' leading the playlist.
"At the time you did demos on normal cassette tapes. I remember having this endless battle with the bias control to try and get the best sound I could on these little tapes. Ten went in the post one Monday morning, and the following Monday there were three offers from three different labels. Studio K7 were interested in a singles deal, as was Flying Rhino in London. But then there was an offer from a Chicago based label by the name of Guidance Recordings. They wanted an album, and were offering a $15,000 advance. It wasn't a difficult decision to make"
Writing and recording Spylab 'This Utopia' began in 1999. The album took a whole year to produce. The album was to catch the attention of Mary Anne Hobbs at Radio One. At the time Mary Anne was presenting The Breezeblock - a late Sunday night show with an eclectic playlist of alternative electronic music. Picking out the album's title track 'This Utopia', Mary Anne would go on to play it no less than 8 weeks in a row. A request for Spylab to DJ on the show was to follow. "I had never DJ'd before. I think I had a week to figure out how to do that and put a playlist together. I'm not entirely sure how I pulled that off.” In March 2001 the Spylab album was finally released to a hoard of excellent reviews. A North American live tour would follow. From the launch party in Los Angeles, to a sell out show at SXSW in Austin. "I then started a new project under the name Cinephile. It had some of the core elements of the Spylab sound but it was deeper, more cinematic.” Kenny received news that a track from the previous project Spylab had been requested by HBO for the first episode of a new TV drama called Six Feet Under. This was to become a major turning point in Kenny's career. The Spylab track 'Celluloid Hypnotic' dropped during a poignant party scene of the first Six Feet Under episode. Within a couple of days Kenny was getting requests for music from other music supervisors. "It was a chain reaction. The Six Feet Under sync was like the tip of an iceberg. One day I called CBS in America and they put me on to the CSI music supervisor and I managed to get on a call with him. I sent the Cinephile stuff out and within a few months I got this fax through from CBS - a quote request for one of the tracks for a potential use on CSI. It changed my life."
The tone and style of Kenny's music sat perfectly with the CSI score requirements. So much so he found himself part of a pool of incidental writers who worked on all three aspects of the franchise - CSI, CSI: NY, and CSI: Miami. This would continue until 2013, when the last of the series would come to an end.
"I was juggling a bunch of stuff for those ten years. Writing material for CSI, whilst releasing new Cinephile stuff and playing live. As Cinephile continued to gather pace, one of the tracks from Kenny's efforts on CSI was chosen for the Hollywood trailer for the Samuel L. Jackson film 'Lakeview Terrace'. Further trailers would follow, from Gangster Squad to Dead Man Down, Spike Lee's Undisputed Truth, to Fifty Shades Freed.
At the same time, Kenny picked up his first factual commissions in the UK, and this too would be the beginning of a regular run of fully scoring factuals and documentaries. By 2021, six of these had won BAFTAs. He also would find himself soundtracking adverts for the likes of Nike, Audi, and American AirlinesIn early 2020, Kenny made a return to focusing on his own music under the pseudonym Imperfect Stranger. A tweet from Colin Morrison from Castles In Space regarding a charity compilation album 'The Isolation Tapes' caught his eye. Kenny had made a start on his debut album as Imperfect Stranger and submitted the track 'Hymn To The Sun' (which would become the lead track on the album). Further discussions ensued, and the album found a home on CiS. "I had been doing TV and film stuff for almost ten years. It paid the bills and was as close to a 'real job' as I'd had, but I yearned to get back to writing for myself, so doing an album for Castles in Space was a joy.
“The music I write is like a diary. There's an authentic narrative to everything i do. I don't write tracks for the sake of writing. I write tracks to diarise and process the stuff that I've lived through, and the experiences that have come along with the passing years. That's what makes me tick. It's a very public and vulnerable way of expressing myself. If people want to know the real me, all they have to do is listen."

“V I N C E N T” is FKJ’s second album and signals a new dawn, not just as a go-to producer and remixer for artists like PinkPantheress and Moses Sumney but as an artist in his own right, continuously selling out headline tours across the globe with his acclaimed ‘one-man-band’ live shows, and having a billion plus streams across all platforms for his music.

The concept for “V I N C E N T” came about during a solo trip to Los Angeles before 2020. “I just stayed in this house totally on my own, turned my phone off and had some time away from everything to figure out what I wanted to do.” He realised he wanted to tap into the freedom of being a teenager: “back then, I was making music strictly for playfulness, without overthinking it,” he says. “V I N C E N T’s” opening and closing songs underline the sentiment of the new album: the future-jazz of ‘Way Out’ (a playful mini soundtrack in one; a dainty piano motif underscored by a skittering trap beat and serene strings) and the lullaby-styled “Stay A Child”. “I wanted to get back some of that lost innocence of making music purely for pleasure,” he says.

Back in his home studio in the Philippines, with no wifi and an impending global lockdown, FKJ was quite literally cut off from the world, able to explore music’s endless possibilities. “Sometimes I would get into it for the whole night and go to bed when the sun came up.” Out of this freedom comes an expressionistic, touching album that’s impossible to pin down. There’s no more hiding behind a branch of leaves, as he did on the cover of his 2017 debut: “V I N C E N T” marks FKJ out as a crucial new voice. He’s redefining chillout music with his bursts of late-night jazz sax and piano, coupled with his wood-cabin whispery vocals, recalling Bon Iver’s early work, and those Santana-styled guitar flourishes.

Much of “V I N C E N T” is wilfully romantic, sometimes super sexy, and often with its head in the clouds, as on tracks like “Us”, a dreamy ode to his wife June, or “IHM”, which has a 90s hip-hop flavour slowed right down to lights-out tempo. Not entirely a solo record, ((( O )))) appears on ‘Brass Necklace’ – which has the soft power of The Internet and Stevie Wonder’s keys. It’s no wonder that lead single ‘A Moment of Mystery’, featuring Toro Y Moi, has a spacey vibe: while recording in San Francisco together, FKJ, Toro and his keyboard player Tony took some of what Tony called “holy water” – “we shared this bottle and took a bit of a trip,” laughs FKJ. The result is a gentle electronic ode to long-term love that could rival Tame Impala for melodic progginess.

Little Dragon’s Yukimi Nagano vocal, meanwhile, laces its way through the stunning “Can’t Stop”, and there is a call back to FKJ’s dancier beginnings with “Let’s Live”, a galvanising techno-pop number that blends piano, handclaps and soulful vocals to dazzling effect. Each of FKJ’s songs glistens, lambently, with a myriad of ideas but it never sounds overblown or too dizzying.

“V I N C E N T” is a marvel – and testament to the magic that can happen when you dig deep. “This was a challenging record,” he says. “I’m a perfectionist and it’s hard to shake that off. But once I did, and I let the music take over, I felt totally free.”

‘An Awesome Wave’ is finally back in stock on vinyl as the band celebrate the 10th anniversary of this classic debut record. Described by The Guardian in their Albums Of The Year coverage as “Remarkable and Rewarding:, ‘An Awesome Wave’ won the band the Mercury Music Prize and an Ivor Novello award, the album has since gone platinum in the UK and continues to receive critical acclaim. This album saw the start of a remarkable trajectory for the band who became one of the most successful British bands of the millennium. alt-J have now sold in excess of two million albums and their songs have been streamed over two and a half billion times. Their follow up album This Is All Yours was a UK number 1, GRAMMY and BRIT Award-nominated album. Released in 2017, album number 3 RELAXER flew straight into the top 10 of the UK album chart ahead of a summer of major international shows-including a headline show at London’s O2 Arena; and headline performances at numerous festivals and became their second album to be nominated for the Mercury Prize. 2022 saw the release of their 4th album The Dream which reached top 3 in the Uk and was one of the best reviewed records of 2022.

20th Anniversary edition pressed on Californian Sunburst vinyl with
newly designed artwork and bonus 7” featuring ‘Brown Eyes’ and the
previously unreleased ‘The Earth From Above’.
 ‘California’ was released in 2002 to massive critical acclaim and reached
a much wider audience across Europe. Features the hit singles ‘This
Life’ and ‘Ordinary Day’.
 The album features Glenn Garrett on bass, Neil Conti (David Bowie /
Prefab Sprout) on drums and Dickon Hinchcliffe (Tindersticks ) and Rick
Carter (The Sisters of Mercy) on keyboards.
 ‘California’ was mostly co-written with Italian composer Marco Sabiu,
who collaborated with and was mentored by the late, great Ennio
Morricone.
 Perry Blake, Sligo-born singer / songwriter, is one of music’s great
untapped resources. After his first three singles - taken from his debut
album - received Single Of The Week on Jo Wiley BBC Radio 1, Blake
moved to France, where he was met with critical acclaim with his next
four albums, touring Europe with Carla Bruni and writing two songs for
Francoise Hardy’s Platinum-selling album ‘Tant de belles choses’,
appearing on various TV shows in France as her special guest.
 You may very well wonder what to expect of an album with American
West Coast orientations from an Irishman who happens to be critically
acclaimed on the Continent but is largely ignored in Britain. Thankfully,
Blake lives up to his billing with apparent ease. His song writing is
evidently mature and melodic; he incorporates lush orchestral
arrangements with tender vocals; and combines pop-like hooks with a
deep sonic texture.
 ‘California’ is a thriving and absorbing collection of songs in which
orchestral arrangements strain with emotion, melodies thrive and bloom,
like The Verve at their peak, though far more fragile and balmy.
 ‘California’ is ether for the soul - a truly magnificent and touching
collection of frankly beautiful songs, which is up there with class of Bryan
Ferry, The Blue Nile and anyone else who can turn a night around.
 Blake’s glimpses of people living a state of mind is one of those great
escapes it’s very hard to get away from. His gift here is to take a
subdued, grown-up collection of songs but make them sound like they
deserve daytime radio.
 Radio - Radio 2 Jo Whiley session.

Akae Beka's inimitable style, developed over decades performing with St. Croix based band Midnite. At the point of his untimely passing in 2019, he had released over 70LP's. His prolific output coupled with his uniquely rich, deep, multilayered songwriting and uncompromising devotion to RasTafari has earned him a place amongst the reggae legends.

The production trinity, Zion I Kings have been involved collectively and individually in co-creating some of the most highly regarded contributions to the vast Akae Beka catalogue.

Now available on 12" vinyl courtesy of Before Zero Records, Portals was originally released on CD and Digital in 2016. It garnered critical acclaim and held position in the billboard charts top 10 for 2 weeks. Produced collaboratively between Zion I Kings and Vaughn Benjamin (Akae Beka), who co-produced & arranged 5 of the 13 songs himself, alongside the ZIK players in St. Croix's Aqua Sounds Studio. The album's sound continues a trajectory of textural, guitar-driven roots reggae that Zion I Kings and Padraic Coursey first explored on the track "Weather the Storm" on 2014's Beauty for Ashes.

Now available on 12" vinyl courtesy of Before Zero Records.

An appealing blast of West Coast new wave, with good songs played with
blistering intensity
The late 1970s and early 1980s were an explosive and exciting period for
music and the local San Francisco music scene was no exception
Jack Casady had been playing constantly from 1965-1972 as Jefferson Airplane,
continuing on as Hot Tuna on through 1977. Hot Tuna took a bit of a break and
SVT was born of this period, and these recordings represent this period so well.
Brian Marnell, Paul Zahl, Bill Gibson, Nick Buck and Jack Casady made some
exciting and somewhat furious music during this time period, bringing back such
memories of all of their live shows

For fans of Blue Öyster Cult, Blue Coupe, and Classic Rock! Albert Bouchard is best known as one of the founding members of Blue Öyster Cult. The original band sold millions of albums for Columbia Records with such classic songs as “Don’t Fear the Reaper” and the #1 hit on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart “Burnin’ For You”. As a songwriter, he wrote many BÖC songs including the very popular “Astronomy” (which was covered by Metallica on their 1998’s release Garage Inc) and the live staple “Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll”, which he also sang lead vocals. “Imaginos 2 – Bombs Over Germany (minus zero and counting)” sees Albert continuing the Trilogy of Imaginos, a concept album about an alien conspiracy that is brought to fruition during the late 19th and early 20th century through the actions of Imaginos, an agent of evil. The album weaves scripts and poems by the late Sandy Pearlman. It features guests Ross The Boss (Dictators), Joe Cerisano (Silver Condor, TSO), and reunites original Blue Öyster Cult members Eric Bloom, Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser and Joe Bouchard, as well current BOC member Richie Castellano, who all contribute to this latest installment. The album also features reworks of classics like “Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll”, “The Red and the Black”, and “Dominance and Submission”. Due to the overwhelming response to Imaginos II, we are now releasing a Double LP gatefold version which includes an extended version of “Independence Day”, plus the bonus “When War Comes (Instrumental Mix)”.

Demon Music is proud to bring together a selection of popular and exciting classic Northern Soul Anthems on a new 2LP thirty-three track collection. These are the original recordings by some familiar names and one or two that may have passed you by.

As the Sixties came to a close and the initial success of labels like Atlantic and Motown began to wane, there remained a dedicated fanbase of Soul devotees who would rather be out on the floor than wearing flowers in their hair. They continued to seek out new and previously overlooked releases, many on small labels that had never enjoyed chart success, making surprise hits of a few in the process.

Northern Soul could easily have passed into music history as a fad, something on the fringes of mainstream popular music; instead its popularity has remained and even grown. It is no longer the preserve of venues in the north of England (who had always attracted coachloads of devotees from across the nation), with Soul clubs opening in Europe, Asia, Australia and even - in perhaps the ultimate example of "coals to Newcastle" – America

Every few years Northern Soul enjoys a resurgence in popularity and welcomes a new generation of younger fans, keepers of the faith. This collection is for those with a passing interest and fans both old and
new - music fashions may change but the quality, the infectious excitement and the urge to get up and dance has endured in these fantastic records.

Paradise Garage pilgrims, Loveface, are back and it sounds like there’s something for everyone on this 4 track EP!

The A side continues their De-Mix series with another 80’s boogie refit of an early 90’s house classic vocal and an Italo House mix using a classic disco vocal getting strong support from Horse Meat Disco.

The B side has another 80’s inspired italo disco/proto house heater that has summertime written all over it and a deeper 80s fused house affair with a disco tinged vocal as the centrepiece.

4 tracks designed for every club, festival, boat and beach near you this summer...


DJ Feedback:

Louise Chen (NTS Radio / Rinse FM) – That Italo House mix is just TOO GOOD!

Severino Panzetta (Horse Meat Disco) – LOVE FANTASY for me

Jim Stanton (Horse Meat Disco) – I like these will be great in NYC sets

Damian Harris (Skint Records) Great…again. Consistently good and interesting series. Pablo’s Theme and Give It To You my favourites.

Gino Grasso – Topppp

Bill Brewster – Yeah like it

Alinka – Nice one

Patrick Vidal – Uplifting and happy, great dancefloor release

Carly Foxx – Loveface that you are is the one for me…

Joshua James – Dreamy

Ben Davis – FAB EP x

La Mano – Class

Nu Azeite - Lovely

Continuing the remastered, repressed series, we have two amazing remixes from Billy ‘Daniel’ Bunter & J.D.S. First there is Just Another Artist – Rhythm, already an amazing track but under the guidance of Billy Bunter & J.D.S. on remix duties they took this track to the next level! Then they turned their hands to what was already an absolute classic, Sunshine Productions – Take Me To The Top. They took parts of the original track and turned the dial right up to the max, threw them back into the pot and added their own flare and style to produce a remix that tore up raves both back in the day and still today on the old skool circuit.