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From Alehouse to Playhouse Bjarte Eike and his barnstorming Barokksolistene capture the vital spark of Restoration London’s entertainment scene with a captivating new recording for Rubicon Classics! The Playhouse Sessions will be released on 23 September 2022 to coincide with Barokksolistene’s concert double-bill at London’s Southbank Centre.

‘A smattering of Purcell, dances from Playford’s Dancing Master, shanties, reels and ballads succumb to a nine-piece ensemble drawing on Baroque, jazz and folk styles for a no holds barred hooley of riotous improvisatory give and take,’ (BBC Music Magazine review of The Alehouse Sessions, August 2019)

London’s musicians, pushed in the 1650s, to the margins of society by order of Oliver Cromwell, found room for new forms of entertainment in city-centre taverns and alehouses. They remained there long after the restoration of the monarchy, performing sets of dances, theatre songs and bawdy ballads to audiences glad to be free from Puritan constraints on pleasure.

Norwegian violinist Bjarte Eike and his Barokksolistene have restored the spirit and substance of those long-forgotten performances with their Alehouse Sessions, hailed by The Times as ‘irresistible’ and ‘fabulously unrestrained’ by The Guardian. Five years ago the Norwegian violinist and his band scored a best-selling album with The Alehouse Sessions on Rubicon Classics. They return to the label with another compelling collection of music and words of the kind on offer more than three centuries ago at Henry Purcell’s favourite Westminster watering holes. The Playhouse Sessions, set for release on Rubicon Classics on 23 September 2022, reflects the uplifting energy and engaging emotional contrasts of Barokksolistene’s Alehouse performances.

“The album contains a sort of inner narrative that runs through the recording,” says Bjarte Eike. “It has become like a play in its own right, with each track being a small tale within a larger story.” The recording’s tracklist includes Eike’s beguiling arrangements of music from Purcell’s semi-opera The Fairy Queen and his own original compositions on words from the play on which it is based, Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream; popular songs and ballads such as ‘The Irish Washerwoman’, ‘I often for my Jenny strove’ and ‘The Three Ravens’; tunes from Purcell’s welcome odes and stage shows, Come ye sons of art and Dido and Aeneas among them; the ‘Willow Song’ from Shakespeare’s Othello; Eike’s own voice in Puck’s monologue from Act 5 of A Midsummer Night’s Dream; and John Dowland’s sublime air ‘Can she excuse my wrongs’.

London’s theatres were closed at the start of the English Civil War in 1642 and remained shut until the Restoration. Alehouses offered redundant musicians, actors and dancers a place to scrape a precarious living and soon became their creative refuge. “Although a few surviving theatres reopened in 1660 with the return of Charles II, there was little money around to rebuild those that had been demolished,” observes Bjarte Eike. “And a generation of musicians had already found an audience in places like the Black Horse in Aldersgate Street. So popular were their alehouse sessions that Cromwell tried to abolish them! But they outlived him and became part of Restoration musical life.” The form of a Barokksolistene Alehouse, he adds, is like a creative room. “Within its framework I can frequently refurbish the show with new contents. The Playhouse project is likewise an extension of the ever-evolving Alehouse Sessions. Together they tell the story of music and theatre in London during Cromwell’s time and after the Restoration. Of course there’s an historical context to what we do. But there’s also the practical context – which is even more important to me – of connecting with a contemporary twenty-first century audience. An Alehouse / Playhouse performance is not something for the museum; it's about music made in the present moment, just as it was in the London alehouses of Purcell’s day -- with their playhouses annexed to the rear of the beer-drinking saloons. The encounter of musicians onstage and the audience in the hall is the real magic of it. We have to fuse the audience into the action of our performance!”

The Playhouse Sessions will be launched on Friday 23 September with a late-night concert at the Purcell Room and a post-concert Alehouse Session in the foyer of the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Soprano Mary Bevan is set to join Eike and his Alehouse Boys for the first half of their Southbank Centre double-bill, offering unique interpretations of songs from Purcell shows and other hits from the late seventeenth-century London stage. “The Southbank Centre is a direct descendant of concerts given in the 1650s in the alehouses of London,” notes Eike. “These alehouses after all staged some of the world’s first public concerts. Later, after the Restoration, it became common for promoters to advertise alehouse concerts in the press and offer subscription tickets. Purcell and his fellow musicians were thus just as at home performing there as they were in the chambers of the royal court or in London’s new theatres.”

Bjarte Eike launched his Alehouse Sessions in company with like-minded musicians 15 years ago. The ensemble comprises a core of regular performers, all of whom have committed to memory a huge setlist of up to four hours of music. Typically they meet a day or so before a concert tour to share a meal and make music together; then next day, re-grouping thirty minutes before the show, they discover Eike’s select-menu for the evening. “That ensures that every show is fresh,” he notes. “I make sure we never repeat the same programme twice. It’s therefore essential to work with people who share my outlook and dare to adventure. We’re into a high-risk sport, with lots of traps and places where the unexpected appears - for good or for ill. And so the audience knows we’re vulnerable. But our skill is seen in how we re-act on the hoof to the unpredictable. That’s authenticity and honesty - and above all it’s a performance that’s genuine.”

Armed with a classical training and a background in folk music and improvisation, Bjarte Eike was drawn naturally to Early Music in all its stylistic variety. “I never really felt at home with only one genre,” he recalls. “Early Music allowed me to study profound, complicated compositions, but performing it has also opened up the chance of rebellion and uproar! Early music offers wide, multi-faceted areas of musical exploration for me. You find, for instance, links to different types of music wherever you look in seventeenth-century English repertoire. And I am fascinated by all these connections. They offer a foundation for the Alehouse Sessions and for all Barokksolistene performance more generally. Every member of the group plays, sings, dances and improvises without limitation. We’re all interested in the many different fields of being a stage performer and pushing hard at the ‘normal’ boundaries of what it means to be a classical musician.”

The apartheid boycott In the 80s, the world – rightly - stepped up its boycott against South Africa’s apartheid government. But this had unexpected and sometimes adverse consequences for South Africa’s music professionals and consumers. Musicians still needed to work live shows both at home and abroad, and to make and sell records. The youth still aspired to clubbing and partying at the weekend after hard, poorly paid jobs under the thumb of an oppressive government. Music was their sanctuary: specifically, African- American inspired soul, jazz, boogie, disco and funk. Unique diversity Producing musical excellence was nothing new for South Africa, even in the 80s: both traditional and jazz music of various genres had been performed, showcased and recorded for decades with the assistance of some of the most skilled and ingenious sound-engineers and producers in the world, the jazz players rivalling their American peers in many cases. But what makes Mzansi 80s popular music unique is that it had to – and for the most part, did- appeal to a multi-ethnic, multilingual population almost like no other in the world, for its geographical size. There may have been many tribal and political differences between Zulu, Sotho, Xhosa, Tsonga and others day-to-day, but when it came to the weekend, those differences often melted away for a while on the dancefloor. Paul Ndlovu had kwaZulu fans as well as Shangaan followers; Black Moses and the Soul Brothers had followers and fans with everyone..and so on. And everyone- detractors and lovers alike- were content to settle on the monicker ‘Bubblegum’ as a general description. Mzansi took disco- and slowed it down a bit.. ..exactly as 90s and early 2000s South African DJs and mixers took House- and slowed it down a bit to develop Kwaito, Gqom and – later – Amapiano. The Roland TR-707 sampler came along in 1985- at just the right time for the flowering of Mzansi disco and boogie. And in the artful hands of arrangers, engineers and producers such as Peter “Hitman’ Moticoe, whose work figures on several of the tracks here, it became something unique to South Africa. 'Yebo! Rare Mzansi Party Beats from Apartheid's Dying Years' compiled by John Armstrong is out BBE Music on x3 vinyl set in a gatefold sleeve, CD, and across digital platforms for download and streaming.

Jabee's Am I Good Enough is the prolific OKC hip-hop artist’s most ambitious project to date. Several years in the making, Am I Good Enough compiles four EPs of brand-new music (22 tracks total), each recorded entirely with a different producer. The resulting four EPs each could stand alone as powerful individual works, but combine to make one of the most remarkable and compelling artistic statements of Jabee’s career. Am: produced by Derek Minor I: produced by Blu Good: produced by Conductor Williams Enough: produced by Havoc (of Mobb Deep). Am I Good Enough is available on 2xLP, housed in a gatefold jacket with inner sleeves showcasing each of the four EP’s individual covers.

Tee Illa is a musician and beat maker based in Pretoria South Africa. This is his 2nd single released on Selected Works and encompasses breaks, Lo-Fi hip hop and house music influences. Tee Illa blends a wide range of musical genres and combines influences such as Hip Hop, house and Breaks music with South African, Afro Futurism and Traditional African music into his own brand of exciting electronica. Coloured and standard black vinyl, comes with art print.

Tee Illa is a musician and beat maker based in Pretoria South Africa. This is his 2nd single released on Selected Works and encompasses breaks, Lo-Fi hip hop and house music influences. Tee Illa blends a wide range of musical genres and combines influences such as Hip Hop, house and Breaks music with South African, Afro Futurism and Traditional African music into his own brand of exciting electronica. Coloured and standard black vinyl, comes with art print.

In March 2022, EMPIRE assembled some of Africa's finest singers and songwriters, the musical equivalent of Ocean's Eleven, at a writing camp in San Francisco. The result is Where We Come From, Vol. 1, a 15-track compilation featuring Afrobeats royalty Wande Coal, Tiwa Savage and Olamide as well as Tanzanian duo Navy Kenzo, Cape Verde's June Freedom and a host of other stars across Nigeria and Ghana - KiDi, Fireboy DML, Kizz Daniel, Tolani and more. The sounds traverse East, West and South of the continent, incorporating drill, amapiano, trap and Afrobeats in fashioning an album that at once sandwiches luxury between lust and love while also being a flagpost to hedonism. The cover art, created by Nigerian artist Dricky Stickman, incorporates all 15 songs into the final product, illustrating unity, community and culture. “This project ‘Where We Come From, Vol. 1’ is a perfect example of music having no limitations,” Kareem Mobalaji, Regional Head West Africa said. “Yes we are from Africa, but we are truly determined to reach the entire world with our voice, which is music.”

Repress.

The first in a series of compilations by Jura Soundsystem is a blend of Dub, Ambient, Downtempo, Boogie and Proto House with a focus on music never before released on Vinyl, sought after out of print titles and some special versions edited specifically for the album.
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The intention with this project was to delve deeper into the reissue pond and unearth some lesser known tracks and artists. Highlights include Smackos (AKA Legowelt) Ambient epic 'We Can Watch Alf In The Hotel Room', never before released on Vinyl, the Dub / Psych hybrid of Minus Group's 'Black Shadow', Kash's sought after 'Percussion Sundance' and special edits of Ken Dang and Tabou Combo.

The end of the album includes some soothing Ambient tools.

One of this year’s breakout success stories from the UK’s current thriving independent music scene,
critically acclaimed seven-piece Black Country, New Road present here their highly anticipated second
album ‘Ants From Up There’ via Ninja Tune.
 Debut album ‘For the first time’ was shortlisted for the 2021 Hyundai Mercury Prize. The band
performed ‘Track X’ live on BBC 4.
 ‘Ants From Up There’ was written in lockdown in the early part of 2021 when the band were unable to
go on tour as planned to support their album release. The result is a stunning collection of songs and a
move in direction to a more crossover, alternative sound beyond the experimental and ‘post-punk’
nature of their debut.
 New album expands on their unique concoction to create a singular sonic middle ground that traverses
classical minimalism, indie-folk, pop, alt rock and a distinct tone that is already unique to the band.
 Extensive global touring in 2022, including their biggest London show to date at the Roundhouse, full
UK and European Tour in April/ May. Sold out 2021 shows include Brighton, Liverpool, Manchester,
Birmingham, Glasgow, Bristol and Dublin and more.
 2021 festival dates include End Of The Road, Latitude, Fusion, Roskilde, Dour, Bol Festival, Pohoda,
Le Guess Who, Dour. In 2022 they’ll play Primavera Sound, Dour, Way Out West, Bad Bonn Kilbi, Bol
Festival.
 For fans of IDLES, Black Midi, Squid, Phoebe Bridgers, Jockstrap, Nick Cave, The National,
Radiohead.
 Deluxe 4LP 140g vinyl box set with bonus ‘Live from the Queen Elizabeth Hall’ double LP, black paper
inner sleeves, 4 art prints, lyric booklet and sticker.

Black Duck captures a band already deeply in tune with one another. The three-piece super-group consists of Douglas McCombs, Charles Rumback, and Bill MacKay each has a distinct musical voice that is instantly recognizable, yet blends seamlessly with one another-their time performing together, playing to the moment and reading each other and the spaces they"re in formed a fluency between the trio which allows them to follow each other down winding paths and short tangents alike. McCombs is a founding member of Tortoise, Pullman, and Brokeback and the long-standing bassist for Eleventh Dream Day, an artist whose contribution to the music world can not be overstated. MacKay began releasing records in the early 2000s. He has released several acclaimed solo albums with Drag City as well as a duo album each with Nathan Bowles (Banjo, Black Twig Pickers), and Katinka Kleijn (Cello, Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO)), and two beloved records with Ryley Walker. Rumback burst onto the fertile Chicago improvised music scene in the early 2000"s. His fluid technique and expressive playing garnered him much attention. In addition to his solo releases, Rumback has recorded with Ryley Walker, jazz greats such as Jim Baker, James Singleton, and Greg Ward. Black Duck"s debut is a testament to that fluency, an expedition led by three veterans into alluring worlds bathed in myriad splendors. Black Duck is a gallery of sonic tapestries, unbound by any genre constraints. Black Duck redefines what two guitarists and a drummer can do, pieces move from breezy shuffles to stormy blues rumbles to gorgeous textural drones. Playing entirely improvised live sets for years helped develop the trio"s acute senses for one another, knowing precisely how to listen to the others and bolster whatever direction they move in. In the short time the trio have played together, they have performed at Big Ears Festival and alongside acts like Yo La Tengo.

"Good things come to those who wait", says Matt Harris aka Hyroglifics about the theme of his debut album, 'I'll Wait, I Guess', a personal journey to hope and healing reflected through 16 tracks of ever-evolving music and the stories that lie within them. "I believe that good things happen with time, however, I also wanted this album to depict the realities of waiting for something and how seemingly hopeless it may seem at times".

After committing to music full time after getting picked up by RBMA for 2016's Montreal academy, Hyroglifics has released key tracks and EPs on Critical Music, 20/20 LDN, Hooversound, and System. Written and recorded in Bristol before sessions in London and Los Angeles, where he now lives, 'I'll Wait, I Guess' is his most diverse body of work so far. Though led by the detailed drum and bass he's best known for, the album also includes tracks leaning towards grime, half-time, hip hop, techno and ambient music.

"I really wanted to create something that shows my range as a producer and artist", Hyroglifics explains. "My taste is always evolving, so it's hard to pin down a specific 'sound', as I really enjoy exploring the process of trying to create hybrids of genres."

High Roller Records, black vinyl, ltd 500, A4 insert, Cassette transfer, audio restoration and mastering by Patrick W. Engel at TEMPLE OF DISHARMONY in November 2020 / January 2022. Artwork and text restoration and extension by Alexander von Wieding.

High Roller Records, black vinyl, ltd 500, insert, Cassette transfer, audio restoration and mastering by Patrick W. Engel at TEMPLE OF DISHARMONY in November 2020 / January 2022. Artwork and text restoration and extension by Alexander von Wieding.

High Roller Records, black vinyl, ltd 500, insert, Cassette transfer, audio restoration and mastering by Patrick W. Engel at TEMPLE OF DISHARMONY in November 2020 / January 2022. Artwork and text restoration and extension by Alexander von Wieding.

History has proven that when the world is in flames, it ignites the empathetic artists to siren their words, music, and rhythm, to blanket our society"s fury and nurse scorched souls. The seemingly endless years of pandemic lockdown and social distancing, coupled with the turbulent plague of civil unrest and racial injustice, called on Vintage Trouble to step into their battle wear. Like so often before, they have spun records to drop onto the fighting grounds, with the intent to freeze the frame long enough to momentarily halt the warring world. And while at ease, we can freely choose to think before we strike or decide to retreat, rather than thoughtlessly charge into repeating history. This collection of heavy hymns is from the heart, and it provides a necessary rise to our ever reckoning.

100-150 TRANSPARENT ORANGE / BLACK VINYL EDITIONS Sunfruits are pleased to announce their forthcoming debut album, One Degree. In high anticipation ever since the Melbourne/Naarm band released their Certified Organic EP in 2020, the album sees their most mature and conceptual songwriting to date. As heard in recent singles ‘End Of The World’, ‘Believe It All’ and ‘Made To Love’, the album showcases Sunfruits’ knack for writing memorable pop songs and their desire to use their music for good. The album is filled with anthemic choruses, melodic psychedelia, harmonious ballads and danceable indie pop, interplaying with potent lyrical messages of hope and despair. Through the album’s 11 tracks the band explore environmental collapse, resilience, self-reflection, love and relationships, all textured with a coming-of-age feel. On their debut album One Degree, the band presents new-age, anthemic psychedelia and indie-pop, similar to MGMT and Pond. The album’s memorable guitar hooks and garage-rock grit nods to artists such as Ty Segall and 70s glam-rocker, T. Rex, while the album’s softer moments echo the cinematic folk of Weyes Blood. Sunfruits take this eclectic mix of influences and create something uniquely their own, branded by euphonious four part vocals that have become a big part of their new sound. One Degree lets the listener sit with their feelings and encourages them to experience the rawness of human existence — highs, lows and the in-betweens. Touring UK/EU in September, including a date at the Manchester Psych Fest.

Tee Illa is a musician and beat maker based in Pretoria South Africa. This is his 1st single released on Selected Works and encompasses house, UK Garage and Future Funk influences. Tee Illa blends a wide range of musical genres and combines influences such as Lo-Fi Hip Hop, house and breaks music with South African, Afro Futurism and Traditional African music into his own brand of exciting electronica. Coloured and standard black vinyl, comes with art print.

Tee Illa is a musician and beat maker based in Pretoria South Africa. This is his 1st single released on Selected Works and encompasses house, UK Garage and Future Funk influences. Tee Illa blends a wide range of musical genres and combines influences such as Lo-Fi Hip Hop, house and breaks music with South African, Afro Futurism and Traditional African music into his own brand of exciting electronica. Coloured and standard black vinyl, comes with art print.

Label boss Carlo rallies the troops again. This time for his own new collaborative EP, ‘VERSUS’.
Aterral regular, firm family favourite and one of the labels founding artists, Black Loops, steps up on the gorgeously groovy ‘Hungover’. No cloudy heads or slow steps on this collab. Woozy keys yes, but these are kept true by the spritely xylophone melody and warm rolling bass. A perfect opener from this pairing.
Following his popular DOS despatch, ‘Be Pe Em’, much was expected of Emanuele Barilli’s new adventure alongside Carlo. ‘Lelazo’ doesn’t disappoint. Sharp shuffle, filtered keys and popping bassline, all make for a perfect beach-bound soundtrack. Close your eyes, feel the sun on your skin.
From Hungover to another victim of the session, as Carlo teams up with German producer Hauke Freer on ‘Maison.’ Deep, low slung vibes on this ode to the sound we all love. Beautifully constructed, from its patient creamy bassline to its bright rimshots and tender vocal. This is our house. Our home. Come on in.
The most personal of Carlo’s new tracks brings things to a close as he teams up with his young son on ‘Einhorn Poops’. The sun’s warmth is felt again on this beautifully crafted slice of balearic house that matches O's vocals to the equally innocent chimes and bird song to create a fitting and sublime finale.

For the third time to the house of Sakskøbing we are witnessing return of a close friend to the label, Portland-based Aaron Carlson who goes by the moniker ac$. This legend of a human being has crafted a 5 audio pieces which has been made on his modular machines at his home studio and showcases a good range of what I believe we call house music. With the first release he has done for the label that went out in the year 2017 and marks a 6-year friendship between the artist and all of us fellas who hold his music dear to the hearts. The record turned out to be warm, personal and true to the artist’s vision you’ll agree if just like us you have been following the man’s sound output over the years. Very importantly it teaches that bean curd is not only good for your body but for the mind as well and let’s not even start to count how many things you can do with it. You know what they say…

Ebo Taylor “Twer Nyame” is being reissued on vinyl by Comet Records, pressed on high quality vinyl, with label designs and artwork as per the original release.
Originally released in 1978 on Philips-West African-Records. Classic highlife sounds; uptempo grooves, vocals, tons of percussion, guitar, horns and organ lines. Featuring
the stand-out ‘Atwer Abroba’.

Ebo Taylor is one of Ghana's finest producer/arrangers.

Taylor was heavily influential in the unique sound that emerged from the country in the 70's; a combination of traditional Ghanaian with Afro-beat, jazz, and funk rhythms.

He worked with bands including Stargazers Band, Broadway Dance Band, Black Star Highlife Band (with Teddy Osei and Sol Amarfio who later joined Osibisa), Apagya Show Band and fellow musicians C.K.Mann, Gyedu-Blay Ambolley and the legendary Pat Thomas.

High Roller Records, reissue 2022, black vinyl, ltd 200, lyric sheet, poster, restored original artwork, mastered for vinyl by Patrick W. Engel at Temple of Disharmony

High Roller Records, reissue 2022, black vinyl, ltd 200, lyric sheet, poster, restored original artwork, mastered for vinyl by Patrick W. Engel at Temple of Disharmony

High Roller Records, reissue 2023, black vinyl, ltd 200, lyric sheet, poster, restored original artwork, Mastered for vinyl by Patrick W. Engel at TEMPLE OF DISHARMONY in September 2020. Cutting by SST Germany on Neumann machines for optimal quality on all levels

Sammath begann als Black Metal Band, die Ende 1993 von Jan Kruitwagen gegründet wurde, nachdem er von Australien zurück in die Niederlande gezogen war. Jan war sehr stark inspiriert80er Jahre Thrash und australischer Metal. Das erste Demo "Zwaardbroeders bij de Bergengte" (Brothers of the Sword at the Mountain Pass) wurde 96 veröffentlicht und führte dazu, dass das deutsche FolterRecords Label Sammath unter Vertrag nahmen.

Das erste Album "Strijd" (Schlacht) wurde 1999 veröffentlicht.2001 entwickelte sich Sammath zu einer Live-Band, Bassist Ruud Nillesen stieß zu diesem Zeitpunkt dazu. Seitdem wurden fünf weitere Alben veröffentlicht und viele Live-Shows gespielt.2013 unterschrieb Sammath bei Hammerheart Records und veröffentlichte das furiose Album "Godless Arrogance". Kurz darauf, im Jahr 2016, stieß Wim van der Valk (Inquisitor, Centurian) zur Band am Schlagzeug und Sammath wurde zu der mächtigen dreiköpfigen Kriegsmaschine, die sie heute ist. Alle in der Band begannen, eine größere Rolle bei den Arrangements der Musik zu spielen. Nach der Veröffentlichung des zweiten Albums auf Hammerheart "Across the Rhine is only Death" fanden gut aufgenommene Live-Shows in Deutschland, Serbien, Rumänien und Russland statt.

In the digital age, words are no longer just symbols of communication, but a powerful tool that gives rise to meaningful interconnections between different universes.

Words have the power to transcend time and space, connecting two souls destined to meet.

Il Significato delle Parole (the meaning of words) is Adiel's new effort on her DanzaTribale, a crossover of two minds, generated together with musician Flavio Accorinti: techno sounds like the restless soul that pervades our days, deconstructed atmospheres like shattered generational dreams. The fusion of two cosmic currents, two ways of thinking and creating, characterized by an immanent power, pushing us to imagine new urban primitivism. Two creative processes, transcending individual boundaries to connect into a single overarching vision, to explore new forms of art and storytelling.

The EP, mixed by Donato Dozzy and mastered at Rome's Enisslab Studio by Giuseppe Tillieci, starts with Nulla Resta, a defragmented, dreamlike, ascending climax markedly cyberpunk: dense with references to 90s Progressive Dream, Nulla Resta, with its dulcet melodies, transports us to an artificial reality, a spiritual reality albeit dominated by technology. A reality suspended between fantasy and materialism.
Suspended, like the second track (Sospesa): dark trip-hop's echoes adorned by the voice of Jordie Devlin Mcmorrow. "Shadows on the walls orchestrate our downfall." Dystopian futures intertwine with mysteriously dreamy pasts in a fatal spiral of redemption.
But words remain the catalysing element of this EP.
Parole(words) represents a communicative rare faction that embraces tribes near and far. Black drums echo in the distance in an intimate ballad, in an epic ride, in an ethereal metaphysical journey to the dissolution of the boundary between time and space, between memory and perception.
Notturna, on the other hand, is the epilogue we all deserve; a solemn twilight, a lysergic, dragging escape from the objectivity of the real world.

The images of life do not simply exist in a vacuum. They are defined by the energy that surrounds them, and it is the explanation behind each of these words that we must find if weare to truly understand them. Thanks to the meaning of words, sooner or later, we will be all united again.

Opeth wurde von den Kritikern für ihre Kombination aus progressiven Einflüssen und vernichtendem schwedischem Death Metal gelobt. Diese farbigen 140g Re-Issues sind ein Muss für Fans und Sammler, denn sie wurden von keinem Geringeren als Jens Bogren (Opeth, Katatonia, Amorphis, Sepultura) mit Unterstützung von Mikael Åkerfeldt ein liebevoll remastert. Die Aufnahmen wurden mit halber Geschwindigkeit in den berüchtigten Abbey Rd von Miles Showell (ABBA, Beatles) geschnitten, und das gesamte Artwork wurde von Dan Capp sorgfältig restauriert und so gestaltet, wie es die Band ursprünglich beabsichtigt hatte.

Es gibt nur wenige Bands, die es mit den Schweden von Opeth aufnehmen können oder wollen. Seit ihrer Gründung 1990 in dem kleinen Stockholmer Vorort Bandhagen haben die Schweden alle Konventionen über den Haufen geworfen, sich trotzig gegen alle Widrigkeiten durchgesetzt und - was am wichtigsten ist -12 atemberaubend schöne und intensive Alben geschaffen und sich damit zu einer der besten Bands der Welt entwickelt.

Opeth wurde von den Kritikern für ihre Kombination aus progressiven Einflüssen und vernichtendem schwedischem Death Metal gelobt. Diese farbigen 140g Re-Issues sind ein Muss für Fans und Sammler, denn sie wurden von keinem Geringeren als Jens Bogren (Opeth, Katatonia, Amorphis, Sepultura) mit Unterstützung von Mikael Åkerfeldt ein liebevoll remastert. Die Aufnahmen wurden mit halber Geschwindigkeit in den berüchtigten Abbey Rd von Miles Showell (ABBA, Beatles) geschnitten, und das gesamte Artwork wurde von Dan Capp sorgfältig restauriert und so gestaltet, wie es die Band ursprünglich beabsichtigt hatte.

Es gibt nur wenige Bands, die es mit den Schweden von Opeth aufnehmen können oder wollen. Seit ihrer Gründung 1990 in dem kleinen Stockholmer Vorort Bandhagen haben die Schweden alle Konventionen über den Haufen geworfen, sich trotzig gegen alle Widrigkeiten durchgesetzt und - was am wichtigsten ist -12 atemberaubend schöne und intensive Alben geschaffen und sich damit zu einer der besten Bands der Welt entwickelt.

Opeth wurde von den Kritikern für ihre Kombination aus progressiven Einflüssen und vernichtendem schwedischem Death Metal gelobt. Diese farbigen 140g Re-Issues sind ein Muss für Fans und Sammler, denn sie wurden von keinem Geringeren als Jens Bogren (Opeth, Katatonia, Amorphis, Sepultura) mit Unterstützung von Mikael Åkerfeldt ein liebevoll remastert. Die Aufnahmen wurden mit halber Geschwindigkeit in den berüchtigten Abbey Rd von Miles Showell (ABBA, Beatles) geschnitten, und das gesamte Artwork wurde von Dan Capp sorgfältig restauriert und so gestaltet, wie es die Band ursprünglich beabsichtigt hatte.

Es gibt nur wenige Bands, die es mit den Schweden von Opeth aufnehmen können oder wollen. Seit ihrer Gründung 1990 in dem kleinen Stockholmer Vorort Bandhagen haben die Schweden alle Konventionen über den Haufen geworfen, sich trotzig gegen alle Widrigkeiten durchgesetzt und - was am wichtigsten ist -12 atemberaubend schöne und intensive Alben geschaffen und sich damit zu einer der besten Bands der Welt entwickelt.

Merging a dynamic curio of melodic guitars, disconcerting monologues and a rhythm section both technical and unruly, London’s Legss create a wholly unique and mesmerising sound. New EP Fester is a literary and disarmingly lyrical collection of art-rock songs laden with ideas and sun-licked beneath the bus smog of anxious skies.

Even when leaning into more melodic territory, there’s a pervasive uneasiness that underpins both the vocals and instrumentation. Just as you drift into the relaxing arpeggio flow, vocalist Ned Green’s soft soliloquy accelerates to an exasperated yelp and we’re jolted by discordant noise-rock stabs dragging us into Legss’ deliciously feverish and poetic world.

“The lyrics were written in the summer, when you’re sun-drunk and romantic, and the buses look like they’re kissing as they cross each other, and everyone’s got a cold sore. But beneath all the sunny games there’s a bittersweet desire to be someone or something else.” - Legss

Fresh from supporting the likes of Pom Poko and Hotel Lux, Legss release Fester via The State51 Conspiracy on 16th June. Pressed on 12” black vinyl in a sealed polybag liner.

The next chapter of the Natural Information Society is here. Since Time Is Gravity, credited to Natural Information Society Community Ensemble with Ari Brown, presents a newly expanded manifestation of acclaimed composer & multi-instrumentalist Joshua Abrams nearly 15 year, 7 albums &-counting flagship ensemble. Joining the core NIS of Abrams (guimbri & bass), Lisa Alvarado (harmonium) Mikel Patrick Avery (drums) & Jason Stein (bass clarinet) are Hamid Drake (percussion), Josh Berman & Ben Lamar Gay (cornets), Nick Mazzarella & Mai Sugimoto (alto saxophones & flute), Kara Bershad (harp) & Chicago living legend of the tenor saxophone Ari Brown. Recorded live to tape at Electrical Audio & The Graham Foundation, cover painting Vibratory Cartography: Nepantla, by Lisa Alvarado. 2xLP on Eremite USA, 2xLP & CD on Aguirre/Eremite Europe. Out 14-04.

Since first developing Natural Information Society in 2010, Joshua Abrams has been gradually expanding the group’s conceptual underpinnings, its musical references & the sheer number of the group’s members. Its music is, in a sense, an expansive form of minimalism, based in repeated & overlaid rhythmic patterns, ostinatos & modality. Its roots, its scale & its meaning become clearer in time. If time is gravity, it also allows us to carry more. Having begun as fundamentally a rhythm section with Abrams’ guimbri at its core, the version here can stretch to a tentet, including six horns.

Abrams has been expanding his minimalism gradually, but he has long understood a key to minimalism’s potential: the breadth of its roots in the late 1950s & early 1960s, ranging from the dissatisfaction of young European-stream composers with the limitations of serialism to the simultaneous dissatisfaction of jazz musicians with the dense harmonic vocabulary of bop & hard bop. The former began exploring rhythmic complexity & narrow tonal palates in place of harmonic abstraction (Steve Reich’s Drumming, Philip Glass’ Music with Changing Parts; perhaps above all Terry Riley’s In C & his late ‘60s all-night organ & loop concerts); the later reduced dense chord changes to scales (signally with Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, but rapidly expanding with John Coltrane’s vast project). In the 1950s the LP record opened the world with documentation of Asian & African musics, key influences on both minimalists & jazz musicians. If John Coltrane’s soprano saxophone suggested the keening shehnai of Bismillah Khan, the instrument was rapidly taken up by two key minimalists, LaMonte Young & Riley, similarly appreciative of its flexible intonation, the same thing that kept it out of big bands.

If the guimbri, the North African hide-covered lute that Abrams plays with NIS, involves a rich tradition of hypnotic healing music associated with the Gnawa people, Abrams’ music also touches on other musics as well — other depths, memories & healings, different drones, rhythms & modes. As the group expands on Since Time Is Gravity, he has made certain jazz traditions in the same stream more explicit as well. If there is a mystical & elastic quality involved in the experience of time, both in direction & duration, you will catch it here. The parts for the choir of winds expand on the roles of Abrams’ guimbri, Mikel Patrick Avery & Hamid Drake’s percussion & Lisa Alvarado’s harmonium: at times, the winds are almost looping in the tentet version, each hitting a repeating note in turn, at once drone & distinct inflection on temporal sequence. The brilliance of the work resides in Abrams’ compositions, the NIS’ intuitive execution & in Ari Brown’s singular embodiment of the great tenor saxophone tradition, including the oracular genius of Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, & Yusef Lateef. The three pieces by the expanded NIS featuring Brown —the opening “Moontide Chorus” & “Is” & the ultimate “Gravity”— have an immediate impact, & togther might be considered a kind of concerto for tenor saxophone. Here Brown presses almost indistinguishably from composed melody to improvised speech, getting so close to language that he might have a text. Everything here is a sign. Note the tap of the Rhythm Ace that links “Moontide Chorus” to “Is”, the attentive heart always present, even when signed by a machine. There’s a link here to the methodologies & meanings of dub music & the linear & vertical collage of beats, textures & tongues: treated with reverence, a sample of a beat-box can be as soulful, as hypnotic, as a mbira or a tamboura. If those pieces with Brown are heard as a suspended concerto, the three embrace & enfold the other works, like the sepals of a flower. That placement will also touch on the mysteries of our perception of time.

Particularly in “Is”, but elsewhere as well, a phenomenon of transcendence arises in which time appears to be tripartite, at once moving backwards & forwards & standing still. This is an act of technical brilliance certainly, but also an illumination of music’s ability to represent temporal consciousness through polymetrics. This particular listener has only heard it before in a few places, including the horn shouts & bowed basses of Coltrane’s Africa, in moments of Charles Mingus’ The Black Saint & the Sinner Lady, in certain pieces where tapes were literally running backwards, & earlier still in Dizzy Gillespie’s Cubana Be, Cubana Bop, in which the composer George Russell & conguero Chano Pozo found a music that spoke at once in the voices of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring & the vestigial rites, rhythms & songs of the Yoruba language & Santeria religion of inland Cuba.

In Joshua Abrams’ compositions & the realization of them by the NIS, in the time of one’s close listening & memory thereof, distinctions between the “natural” & the “social”, the “quotidian” & the “transcendent” are erased, suspended or perhaps irrelevant. Consider two of the ensemble pieces, one named for nature, the other social science. In “Murmuration” the repeated wind figures of flute & alto saxophone combine with the interlocking patterns of harp, guimbri & frame drum (tar) to create a perfect moving stillness, not an imitation but a witness to the miracle of the starlings’ astonishing collective art, a surfeit of beauty that might be the ultimate defense tactic.

“Stigmergy” takes its name & concept from the Occupy movement’s Heather Marsh, who proposes a social system based on a cooperative rather than competitive models, one in which ideas are freely contributed & developed as ideas rather than an individual’s property. In its form, Abrams’ “Stigmergy” is the closes thing to traditional jazz, a series of accompanied solos by each of the wind players. However, the composed accompaniment is a radically collectivist notion: a repeated rhythmic figure, call it ostinato or riff, in which the different winds each play only a note or two of the figure, a concept both more collectivist & individualistic in its conception than any typical unison figure. It suggests another of the underlying recognitions that propel the Natural Information Society, the group as social organism, the teleology of hypnotic anarchy, all parts in place, functioning systematically, evolving & expressing itself, its nature & society, as a transformative organism.

George Lewis has described music as “a space for reflection on the human condition”. This suggests that, rather than a “distraction”, at least some music might serve as a distraction from distraction. It’s a focus, a clarity, a awareness, an external invitation to interiority, as if music itself is a model for form & contemplation, an organism contemplating for us or as us. If that is a possibility, & I am sure I have heard such musics, than this music is among them. How many of our rhythms, melodies & harmonies (cultural, historical, biological, psychic) might such music carry, translate & transform in the particulate ecstasy of our own murmuration? (Stuart Broomer, April 2022)

More than four years after his previous EP and after having released some remixes and collaborations with Agar Agar, Black Devil Disco Club or the Italian design studio Burro Studio, LeonxLeon comes back with a new EP, passing to the electronic shaker the styles of music listened since the last release.

4 tracks all as different as each other with first Itanewa, where the Parisian producer tries for the first time to give voice, without vocoder, well aware that on a track inspired by South African productions of the 80s, an instrumental version only would not be enough to do justice. It is thus in a kind of invented Esperanto that the lyrics, a call to lightness and simplicity according to the artist, are distilled between synthetic bass, keyboards and other percussions.

On Piano Mondo, we leave rather in the direction of South America with pianos of Bossa inspiration on a bass italo-disco, rises and descents as if we were in Val d'Isere and breaks just long enough to catch its breath.
The idea of Solid Dose is completely different since it was a question of taking the post new-beat dance sound of the beginning of the 90s, with a big blow, hence the title, of the synthetic bass sound "Solid Bass" which will be used in a lot of ways at this period and which is coming back in force nowadays, and to mix it with the Nordic touch of dance music for a soaring, evolving track, with arpegios which cross each other and an acid line which finally makes its appearance here.

The last track is a wink to the well-known movie that gave its name to the whole project: it is indeed Luc Besson's Léon that we are talking about, re-cut on the dialogues of Nathalie Portman and Jean Reno, supported by a simple rhythmic, analogical bass and electronic kick at the service of a dark atmosphere, closing the record at the antipodes of the first track, without ever having left the universe of melodies and percussions that already characterized the previous releases of LeonxLeon.

Smoke M2D6's boundary-pushing musical production and Jedi-like audio engineering have earned him wide and enthusiastic artistic acclaim, as well as a host of awards. As an MC, Smoke M2D6 has toured the country, performing in all of the lower 48 states, and was one of the original founding members of Northwest super-crew OLDOMINION. Though Smoke M2D6 has not released an album since the 2006 opus Bleed, he has been super-busy creating beats and producing other artists including many of his Oldominion crew mates Onry Ozzborn, Nyqwil, IAME and JFK. The global pandemic finally cleared the deck, allowing Smoke M2D6 to get back to doin' his thing: "When the quarantine started I found an old JFK verse from 2013 where he was talking about a pandemic - 'I've got to build on this,' started cutting it up." We start with an overwhelming feeling of being at the beginning of societal collapse: Quarantine Heart Throb, a mass pak of apocalyptic art. Featured are several NW hip hop legends and mainstays, artists Smoke M2D6 has either "mixed for them, produced for them or is a fan of them." If you are a fan of Smoke M2D6 and have been waiting since 2006 for this album, "You will not be disappointed - - - Quarantine Heart Throb shows my growth as a person, a producer, an engineer and as a rapper." Far out. Smoke M2D6 also appears on (and produced) the K Northwest hip hop compilation All Your friends Friends KLP255.

Death Is Not The End's 333 sub-label drops a much needed reissue of Rupie Dan's My Black Race 12" from 1982. A huge Shaka selection featuring one of the heaviest dubs available from this era of UK roots production. Originally written and produced by Rupie for his Flag Records label, with engineering from Tony Addis (later of Addis Posse and the Warriors Dance label).

"The lyrical idea for My Black Race came about during the 1980/81 social/racial revolution that took place in several cities all over England, including London, Liverpool, Birmingham, Leeds etc. I was living in Bradford, West Yorkshire at the time and was a DJ/Sound System operator on Jah Scorcher International Sound. I also co-hosted a Reggae show on an independent radio station Called Pennine Radio 235. In my regular job I was a youth and community leader with the Bradford education council. I was fully connected and in touch the community.

Seeing how the media used the events of the social uprising as a weapon to further discriminate against the African & Caribbean community committed me to say and do something to elevate the minds of especially young people who were already demoralised by the rhetoric that brought about the so called "riots" of the time. It was during this time that the lyrical foundation of "My Black Race" was laid. The rhythm came later after hearing Barry Brown's "No Wicked Shall Enter the Kingdom of Zion". In the summer of 1982 I entered into the Addis Ababa recording studio on Harrow Road, Paddington and recorded the song having moved to London the previous year. Musicians featured included Victor Cross on bass and Mark Wright on drums (both from the Ariwa band), Rizzo on guitar, Tan Tan and Bami on Horns (all 3 from Aswad band), Bubblers on Piano/Organ (Undivided Roots/Ruff Cutt Band). Lead vocals were provided by myself, with backing vocals Jenifah Gad and Niomi who was working with David Bowie at the time. The engineers were Bubblers and Tony Addis (later of Addis Posse & the Warriors Dance label).

Jah Shaka was in the studio during the entire recording session. I was aquatinted with him as I was previously involved in a 3 way soundclash with Shaka, Quaker City and my sound at the time Jah Scorcher. Some years later I was in Terry's Dub studio in North Acton cutting some dubs when King Jammys and Bunny Lee walked in and heard the song. Bunny was responsible for the production of Barry Brown's "No Wicked Shall Enter the Kingdom of Zion". Thankfully they were both impressed by the track which delighted me as a young up-and-coming artist/producer. The rest is history as we know it. Jah Shaka was mystically constant hence his attachment and love for the song. Jah bless and guide him."

Discover all the gems of Synthwave music in a double vinyl special release! Let yourself be carried along by the return of the 80's wave in a trendy electro style!

Ruhig verlief die Karriere von Sieges Even nicht. Nach den ersten beiden Alben verzeichneten sie den ersten Besetzungswechsel auf der Sängerposition, auf den Album „Sophisticated“ (1995) und „Uneven“ (1997) betrieben die Holzwarth Brüder (Bass und Drums) die Band weiter.
Doch man fand sich wieder mit Gitarrist Markus Steffen zusammen
und rekrutierte den Ausnahmesänger Arno Menses, der zuvor als Schlagzeuger aktiv war. Mit diesem Line Up eroberte man die Herzen der Progfans, aber auch die von anspruchsvollen Metalheads. Erneut waren Sieges Even zum richtigen Zeitpunkt am richtigen Ort.

„The Art Of Navigating By The Stars“ wurde in dem Black Solaris Studio von Uwe Lulis (heute auch bekannt als Gitarrist von Accept) aufgenommen und erschien bei InsideOut Music, damals im SPV Vertrieb. Es folgten traumhafte Kritiken, auch für die im Anschluss stattfindende Tournee.

Natürlich war 2005 nicht an Vinyl zu denken, so dass diese Wiederveröffentlichung bereits von vielen Fans erwartet wird.
Aber auch die CD ist seit einigen Jahren „out of print“, so dass auch hier Handlungsbedarf bestand. Die Grafiken der Doppel-LP im Gatefold wurde vom Originalkünstler Thomas Ewerhard erstellt und das Audiomaterial getrennt für Vinyl und CD remastert.

Das Konzept rund um „The Art Of Navigating By The Stars“ begeistert heute noch ebenso wie die sowohl vertrackte und harte, aber eben auch gefühlvolle Musik. Hier waren Sieges Even einfach die deutschen Großmeister.

Sieges Even‘s career has not been quiet. After the first two albums, the band had its first change of singer. On the albums „Sophisticated“ (1995) and „Uneven“ (1997), the Holzwarth brothers (bass and drums) kept the band going. But they ended up with the guitarist Markus Steffen and recruited the outstanding singer Arno Menses, who was previously active as a drummer. With this line up, the band has won the hearts of prog fans, but also of demanding metalheads. Once again, Sieges Even was in the right place at the right time.

„The Art Of Navigating By The Stars“ was recorded in the Black Solaris studio by Uwe Lulis (also known today as Accept‘s guitarist) and released by InsideOut Music, then distributed by SPV. This was followed by dream reviews, also for the tour that followed.

Of course, there was no question of releasing a vinyl in 2005, so this reissue is already expected by many fans. But the CD has also been „out of print“ for a few years, so it was also necessary to act in this context. The graphics of the double LP in gatefold were made by the original artist Thomas Ewerhard and the audio material was remastered separately for the vinyl and the CD.

The concept of „The Art Of Navigating By The Stars“ is still exciting today, as is the music, which is both complicated and hard, but also full of emotion. In this sense, Sieges Even were simply the great German masters.

Super limited edition. 2LP comes with an alternative artwork and three bonus tracks! Gatefold, neon pink / black / blue striped vinyl. Limited to 250 copies.

Alright! 2023, Black Rainbows are back with 12 fresh, brand new tunes! The new album sounds huge, with of a great deal of attention paid to the guitars in the recording, and it seems that the band has finally found the perfect balance and tone for their heavy super stoner sound!

This album gives you not only incredible heavy rock-stoner gems, but also: one space acoustic song, one super psychedelic suite and one melodic trippy ballad that adds a perfect mixture of what is sure to be the best album released by the band so far! "Superskull" has been recorded by Fabio Sforza (the same producer of the last two recordings), in May 2022, and after much work and effort by the band in mixing and mastering, the album will see the light of day one year later. The incredible artwork has been delivered by the brazilian artist Pedro Correa.

Super limited edition. 2LP comes with an alternative artwork and three bonus tracks! Gatefold, neon pink / black / blue striped vinyl. Limited to 250 copies.

Alright! 2023, Black Rainbows are back with 12 fresh, brand new tunes! The new album sounds huge, with of a great deal of attention paid to the guitars in the recording, and it seems that the band has finally found the perfect balance and tone for their heavy super stoner sound!

This album gives you not only incredible heavy rock-stoner gems, but also: one space acoustic song, one super psychedelic suite and one melodic trippy ballad that adds a perfect mixture of what is sure to be the best album released by the band so far! "Superskull" has been recorded by Fabio Sforza (the same producer of the last two recordings), in May 2022, and after much work and effort by the band in mixing and mastering, the album will see the light of day one year later. The incredible artwork has been delivered by the brazilian artist Pedro Correa.

Super limited edition. 2LP comes with an alternative artwork and three bonus tracks! Gatefold, neon pink / black / blue striped vinyl. Limited to 250 copies.

Alright! 2023, Black Rainbows are back with 12 fresh, brand new tunes! The new album sounds huge, with of a great deal of attention paid to the guitars in the recording, and it seems that the band has finally found the perfect balance and tone for their heavy super stoner sound!

This album gives you not only incredible heavy rock-stoner gems, but also: one space acoustic song, one super psychedelic suite and one melodic trippy ballad that adds a perfect mixture of what is sure to be the best album released by the band so far! "Superskull" has been recorded by Fabio Sforza (the same producer of the last two recordings), in May 2022, and after much work and effort by the band in mixing and mastering, the album will see the light of day one year later. The incredible artwork has been delivered by the brazilian artist Pedro Correa.

Higher Octave is a pairing of two guys intrinsic to the UK rave and hardcore scene. David Salvi, owner of Pro-One Records, the label to originally release this record along with a slew of other artists such as Law & Auder, Bay B Kane, Submania, Utomica and DJ Hopa, who is the other half of Higher Octave. David was also half of the group Utomica, whose Rok A Bye track was repressed by Vinyl Fanitiks in 2020 and has long since sold out.

David always credits Hopa as the guy with the ideas… he was out at all the raves and was always on point with how tracks should sound and any new trends that were incoming were hot on his radar. David was the guy with the studio, ready to help make Hopa’s ideas into reality.

A sought after release, originally released in 1992, with ‘Raise The Bones’ being the track that had the most rotations in the clubs and on the pirates back in the day.

Limited pressing on 180g heavyweight black vinyl, presented in a black inner sleeve with a Vinyl Fanatiks 3mm spined housebag.

Sieges Even‘s career has not been quiet. After the first two
albums, the band had its first change of singer. On the albums
„Sophisticated“ (1995) and „Uneven“ (1997), the Holzwarth brothers (bass and drums) kept the band going. But they ended up with the guitarist Markus Steffen and recruited the outstanding singer Arno Menses, who was previously active as a drummer. With this line up, the band has won the hearts of prog fans, but also of demanding metalheads.

Once again, Sieges Even was in the right place at the right time. „The Art Of Navigating By The Stars“ was recorded in the Black Solaris studio by Uwe Lulis (also known today as Accept‘s guitarist) and released by InsideOut Music, then distributed by SPV. This was followed by dream reviews, also for the tour that followed.