Buscar:bliss inc

London-based vocal and electronic collective NYX have announced their long-anticipated eponymous debut album, to be released digitally and on vinyl on 28th March 2025 via their own label, NYX Collective Records.

Alongside today’s news, they’ve also shared the first single, “Daughters”: a hair-raising, untamed cry that surrenders to the intensity of the human experience. With the lead vocal recorded in a beach-side kitchen in New Zealand, cicadas bleed through the soaring chant and heavy, visceral drums. The track opens soft and earnest, expanding in their rage, resilience, and liberation, transforming pain into a re-wilding of the spirit, a celebration of their collective power.

NYX say of the track: "Daughters” is an initiation into the underworld - an invitation to come face to face with our losses. To look towards the shame, rage, and pain embedded in our bodies, and open through the fear that has closed down our throats. These are our wild voices that want to be heard and loved - by ourselves, by our pack."

NYX is the result of years of collaboration and transformation, reflecting the collective’s signature blend of experimental vocal techniques and electronic alchemy. NYX’s debut album pulses with primal energy and delicate introspection, weaving together the ancient and the futuristic. It’s a spellbinding journey through the human experience, crafted not just to be heard, but also deeply felt.

The album brings together the group's full evolution and experimentation, collaborators on the album include sound designer, composer and NYX string player Alicia Jane Turner, harpist Miriam Adefris, as well as additional drums and production by Memory Play and Sebastian Gainsbourgh (Vessel), artwork by NYX member Shireen Qureshi, co-produced by Marta Salogni and mastered by Heba Kadry.

NYX showcases the choir's far-reaching emotional breadth. The introduction, “Mother”, is inspired by the first chapter of the foundational work of Taoism, Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching. In this, NYX’s opening prayer, the listener finds themselves in a swelling crescendo of NYX’s all-encompassing vocals and synth drones. The album spirals through swirling loops of haunting voices and layered strings that come together like crashing waves, bursting through in feral upheaval. “Through Fire” and “Daughters” erupt into heart-wrenching post-apocalyptic chorus and pounding bass-heavy drums, then slip into a blissful sound bath, “Awe”, whose choir harmonies layered with lush harps radiate pure wonderment, and the closing track, a cover of Suicide’s 1979 “Dream Baby Dream”, dissolves into reverberating echoes. NYX leaves an indelible mark, reminding us of the radical potential of healing and love.

In Greek mythology, NYX is the primordial goddess of the night, born from chaos giving birth to light and day. Inspired by this duality, NYX’s music harnesses the voice as a limitless medium for profound emotion, capturing the vast spectrum of human experience with power and authenticity.

London-based vocal and electronic collective NYX have announced their long-anticipated eponymous debut album, to be released digitally and on vinyl on 28th March 2025 via their own label, NYX Collective Records.

Alongside today’s news, they’ve also shared the first single, “Daughters”: a hair-raising, untamed cry that surrenders to the intensity of the human experience. With the lead vocal recorded in a beach-side kitchen in New Zealand, cicadas bleed through the soaring chant and heavy, visceral drums. The track opens soft and earnest, expanding in their rage, resilience, and liberation, transforming pain into a re-wilding of the spirit, a celebration of their collective power.

NYX say of the track: "Daughters” is an initiation into the underworld - an invitation to come face to face with our losses. To look towards the shame, rage, and pain embedded in our bodies, and open through the fear that has closed down our throats. These are our wild voices that want to be heard and loved - by ourselves, by our pack."

NYX is the result of years of collaboration and transformation, reflecting the collective’s signature blend of experimental vocal techniques and electronic alchemy. NYX’s debut album pulses with primal energy and delicate introspection, weaving together the ancient and the futuristic. It’s a spellbinding journey through the human experience, crafted not just to be heard, but also deeply felt.

The album brings together the group's full evolution and experimentation, collaborators on the album include sound designer, composer and NYX string player Alicia Jane Turner, harpist Miriam Adefris, as well as additional drums and production by Memory Play and Sebastian Gainsbourgh (Vessel), artwork by NYX member Shireen Qureshi, co-produced by Marta Salogni and mastered by Heba Kadry.

NYX showcases the choir's far-reaching emotional breadth. The introduction, “Mother”, is inspired by the first chapter of the foundational work of Taoism, Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching. In this, NYX’s opening prayer, the listener finds themselves in a swelling crescendo of NYX’s all-encompassing vocals and synth drones. The album spirals through swirling loops of haunting voices and layered strings that come together like crashing waves, bursting through in feral upheaval. “Through Fire” and “Daughters” erupt into heart-wrenching post-apocalyptic chorus and pounding bass-heavy drums, then slip into a blissful sound bath, “Awe”, whose choir harmonies layered with lush harps radiate pure wonderment, and the closing track, a cover of Suicide’s 1979 “Dream Baby Dream”, dissolves into reverberating echoes. NYX leaves an indelible mark, reminding us of the radical potential of healing and love.

In Greek mythology, NYX is the primordial goddess of the night, born from chaos giving birth to light and day. Inspired by this duality, NYX’s music harnesses the voice as a limitless medium for profound emotion, capturing the vast spectrum of human experience with power and authenticity.

Born out of the early 1980's Austin noise punk scene, Scratch Acid deliberately eschewed the loud, fast rules of hardcore as everything they didn't want to be and embraced a weirder, artier sound. The band's eventual permanent line-up consisted of David Yow on vocals, Brett Bradford on guitar, David Wm. Sims on bass, and Rey Washam on drums. During their brief existence from 1982 to 1987, the band released 3 records, including a full-length album (Just Keep Eating) and two EPs (S/T EP, Berserker). On March 14, 2025, Touch and Go Records will release the Scratch Acid Box Set - limited to 2000 sets worldwide. Remastered by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service, the box set includes 180-gram clear LP pressings of all three releases as well as a 24-page booklet featuring exclusive behind-the-scenes photos, liner notes by David Yow, Brett Bradford, and photographer/journalist Pat Blashill, as well as full-color paintings by contemporary artist Mark Todd from the same era as the cover art for the S/T EP and Berserker releases. In addition, this limited Scratch Acid box set includes an exclusive clear vinyl 7" with both tracks the band contributed to the 1986 Touch and Go Records compilation, God's Favorite Dog. The 7-inch includes cover art by Mark Todd as well.

After forming a friendship with Japanese hip-hop talent DJ Motive, Hell Yeah is releasing his previously CD-only album Sunset Sunrise. After initially being released as a promo to support the 7 inch lead single 'Sunrise,' it now comes on 2 x 12 inch for the first time with fresh mastering by Justin Drake. DJ Motive hails from Gifu, a small and charming city 30 minutes from Nagoya. From there he has built up a cult following for his blend of Latin, jazz and hip-hop beats over a number of albums and EPs in the last 20 years. He is also the producer behind the DeadBundy outfit that was previously remixed by countryman Calm on this label's Calm Reworks EP back in 2020. Thanks to a link from Calm, Hell Yeah founder Marco first hooked up with Motive in the pre-Covid days, twice playing his Alffo event in Gifu and hanging out to chat music. One of the many things that came up was a CD of Sunset Sunrise which has remained on firm rotation on Marco's stereo ever since and is a worldly trip into sample-heavy sounds, indie rock, hip-hop and jazz. Opener 'Sunrise' ft. Deadbundy & Chemical Codex opens with drums that lap like gentle waves on a beach as thoughtful strings and filtered vocals add to the sense of bliss. From there, DJ Motive lays down lazy broken beats and twinkling melodies that take your head above the clouds amongst lush pads and nostalgic samples. 'Chill On A Lotus' sounds like a damaged old tape as vocals, chords and strings all get smudged and smeared into a heavenly ambient soundscape, and there are plenty of loose mixes of dusty drums and jazzy keys, 'Howling 2 You' is a fusion of jazz drums and Balearic energy that slowly sweeps you off your feet and 'Walker' has squelch synth bass and heat damaged keys.

This escapist trip carries on through more broken beats and yacht rock, inquisitive jazz interludes and sunset grooves that all come with a heavy sense of inward reflection. The fragments of vocal are like half-remembered dreams, and the hooks remind of a forgotten lover while the louche beats move things forward with subtle optimism. Sunset Sunrise takes you through a full day in the life of DJ Motive and it makes for a vibrant collage of sound that reveals something new with every listen.

Iconic Swedish duo Sally Shapiro’s 4th studio album is finally here. Sad Cities enters our atmosphere & we couldn’t be more excited to share it tonight.



15 years ago, their breakout debut 12” “Disco Romance” was released on Diskokaine by our dear friend Wolfram. No one was even close to doing what they were doing back then & the world quickly took notice. Two years later, Johan reached out to Johnny to remix Glass Candy’s After Dark classic “The Chameleon” & the two stayed in touch.



Emerging like a phoenix from a 5 year hiatus, the duo worked in deep seclusion & recorded a gorgeous bouquet of pure electronic bliss. Mixed by Johan Agebjörn & Johnny Jewel, the album includes features from Highway Superstar, Electric Youth, Tommy ’86 & our very own Jorja Chalmers.

Robot84 is a master of blending Italo disco and Balearic house into perfectly escapist sounds for grown-up dancefloors and now he returns with Promo Vol 5, another vital drop in his celebrated limited edition vinyl series. This one has four more standout tracks including the lead 'Let's Do It' (Vocal) and its dub counterpart, 'Let's Do It' (Dub) alongside the Balearic-inspired 'Beats From the Far East' (which has already been hammered by the likes of Bill Brewster, Chris Coco and Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy) and the more calming sonic waters of the blissful 'Ambient Love'.

Dj Spinna’s very own Wonderwax record label is back with yet another soul-infused EP of trademark remixes from the man himself. This time around the Brooklyn producer unleashes for the first time on wax his brilliant vocal and dub versions of two tracks from critically acclaimed RnB duo King.

The 4 track EP includes the highly anticipated and unsurprisingly ace Galactic Soul remixes of “Mr Chameleon” plus the vocal and instrumental remixes of “Red Eye”, released digitally back in 2017 and never before on vinyl, showcasing once again Spinna’s amazing touch with downtempo beatdown jams.

Tomu DJ’s debut on CST Imprint shares ten atmospheric wistful ruminations on being, living, and the spiritual undercurrents that alchemize these experiences into song. Hazy memories recalled through glitchy lush lullabies, moving through whispered skittery percussive states into warm melodic vocal confessions. Playful yet exacting productions ebb and flow between pensive indietronica pop interspersed with blissful club tracks that swing from ambient, drum and bass, breaks and house for the dancers. A sanguine daydream, to be free.

Her fourth album since 2021 but first on vinyl, Tomu’s deceptively simple compositions bely complex emotions. Minimal, every element just so, nothing unnecessary. Her ability to create ideal environments for collaboration on full display.

Includes download code and riso-printed insert.

Repress!

A swelling, string-drenched slice of soulful disco, Kyoto Jazz Massive co-founder Shuya Okino’s 2011 release ‘Still In Love’ remains a hugely in-demand cut for discerning selectors, thanks to its life-affirming vocal provided by Navasha Daya and lush instrumentation. Now Glitterbox Recordings deliver a specially curated 12” package of this record box essential, as this enduring modern-day classic is given a number of re-works from dance’s A-List. This package features mixes from true DJ’s DJ The Reflex, Berlin duo Kyodai, and house legend DJ Spen, which are joined by the blissful original, illustrating the versatility of a truly special record.

**Including 12-page booklet including liner notes and artwork made by Vormlust** Lush house, electronic and italo tracks ready for club use. A beautifully produced album with absolute floor killers and emotional set-enders. FIGI's debut album, "fig.1", is a meticulously crafted compilation of 11 tracks that have been made and woven together over a span of three years. The album delves into the intriguing realm of figures, both in the context of shapes and language, where they possess the unique ability to evoke emotions and connections without being the exact representation of those sentiments. Each track on "fig.1'' originated in moments of creativity, allowing the smallest of ideas to sprout and grow into full musical compositions. Drawing inspiration from the serene landscapes of the Jura in Pays de Gex and the energy of club nights in Amsterdam, Berlin, London and The Hague. Throughout the album, FIGI skillfully captures the essence of pure bliss in some tracks, while others ignite extreme dancefloor excitement. "fig.1" marks an exciting new chapter in FIGI's musical journey, serving as a blueprint for innovative approaches to music creation. It is a demonstration of the artist's dedication to crafting a rich and diverse sonic landscape that resonates deeply with the listener.

WRWTFWW Records is in a state of total bliss as it announces the release of the Pitstop Box compiling all 24 tracks from Japanese house music pioneer Shinichiro Yokota’s two acclaimed albums Do It Again and Again (2016) and I Know You Like It (2019). The collection, available on vinyl for the first time ever, is presented as six 45rpm-cut 12inches housed (!) in a superb slipcase box set created by Lopetz, designer, illustrator, typographer, and co-founder of Swiss graphic design studio Büro Destruct. Included as bonuses are two sticker sheets.

Previously only available on CD in Japan via cult electronic label Far East Recording, Shinichiro Yokota’s album discography finally gets a long overdue vinyl release in the form of a limited-edition box set housing (!) six 12inches and a total of 24 songs showcasing the house legend’s celebrated sound. With a production style drawing from a rich blend of funk, hip hop, electronic, and Japanese influences, Yokota’s music is loved for its simplicity, its hypnotic quality, and, most importantly, its SOUL – homegrown 90s soulful melodic club music…pure love!

The Pitstop Box, full of dancefloor treasures and sprinkled with downtempo gems, not only defines Yokota’s personal journey but also resonates as an essential contribution to the house genre and Japanese music in general. It includes his house hits (“Right Here Right Now”, “Night Drive” and the list goes on), a cover of “Simoon” by Haruomi Hosono’s Logic System, and a collaboration with his longtime partner and electronic music hero Soichi Terada.

Shinichiro Yokota began his musical history in Tokyo, inspired by electronic music giants such as Yellow Magic Orchestra and Kraftwerk. He co-founded Far East Recording with the great Soichi Terada (who also worked with WRWTFWW for the Omodaka compilation) in 1990. After releasing the now highly sought after Far East Recording album with Terada in 1992 (from which his viral hit “Do It Again” is from), he took a hiatus from music and, most notably, brought his passion for sports cars to the next level by launching Night Pager, a company he started with his wife, specializing in tuning sports cars and modifying limiters for competition racers. It’s this side of Yokota’s life which has inspired the design of the Pitstop Box. He triumphantly came back to music with the album Do It Again and Again in 2016, consisting of unreleased 90s recordings as well as new material, and followed it up with I Know You Like It in 2019. His work has influenced generations of producers, and has expanded Japanese house music's reach on the global stage. Experience it on vinyl now.

Full unadulterated pleasure forever - from night drives to dancefloors.

Shaka's new drop on Selections is a delightful one that combines real jazz melodies with authentic deep house. Opener 'Sacred Church' (feat Eve - main mix) immediately wins you over with the buys keys, Rhodes chords and eco-system of cosmic synths that busy about while the soulful vocal oozes cool. Jon Cutler's Distant Music mix pairs things back and makes it more of a smoky late night sound and 'Shaker Games' then blisses you out with dusty drum depths and incidental chords that are magically feel good. 'Get Me Higher' shuts down with some superb US house vibes.

--The fourth outing on Spray’s Punctuality imprint comes in the form of the much anticipated Ode to Beachball EP by Eoin DJ. The release is a fully realised vision of moods and grooves inspired by Nalin & Kane’s 1997 chart topper ‘Beachball’.

Sparse, organic percussion, simple basslines and lush atmospherics form the bedrock of the EP, placing it firmly at the intersection of starry-eyed euphoria and heads-down club-stomp, lending the tracks a timeless but contemporary feel.

Those with their ears to the ground will know that the title number has been somewhat of a sleeper hit for the past two summers. Ode to Beachall’s understated stabs, rolling bass and transcendental vocals have soundtracked many sunsets and have bore the brunt of numerous failed shazam attempts via spins in mixes by trendsetting auteurs like Job Jobse, Sally C and label head Spray.

Bliss Inc’s remix turns up the energy dial with a club-focussed remix of Ode To Beachball, adding extra dynamics to the rhythm and low end, propelling the original into a modern hard-house roller complete with big-room breakdowns and euro-centric stabs, firmly aimed at the dancefloor.

On the flip both Infinite Well and On Lilac Skies stick to the beachball brief- swung bongos and congas, undulating low end and mercurial vocal chops add to the balearic beach techno mood of the entire EP. Both tracks are exemplary practices in dancefloor restraint and are sure to be staples in bags and sticks of discerning DJs for many summers ahead. Another stellar release from Irish atlantean Eoin DJ.

Well-versed in vintage vernaculars, Oakland-based producer/musician Mike Walti is about to return with his sophomore offering under the Organi moniker – as new album “Babylonia” follows 2020’s “Parlez-vous Français?,” a landmark in vibe acquisition ever since.

Wyldwood Studios is a portal. It’s a secret gateway to analog spheres. Cross the threshold and you’ll feel the difference: you can pick any ol’ time, any place, any tongue or vibe, in fact. Hit the dancefloor in 1967, feel that plushy loveseat in the early 70s. It’s a welcoming place where better, saner vibes are still within reach. Fueled, at least in part, by those long-classic 12”s on the walls – just imagine the sepia-tinted countenance of Melody Nelson alongside actual Birkin sans wig, right next to Shadow’s immortal crate diggers, forever blurred –, and channeled through ancient time travel devices such as the MCI 416B only to arrive on classic 2-inch tape (MM1000 aka Ol’ Bessy), it’s a haven for all things organic, for all things imbued with that warm élan. Built and run by Oakland’s own Mike Walti, countless artists from many different genres have felt that flair, creating sonic spheres and moving back and forth along the malleable axis that is space-time. Capturing magic.

Emerging from this unique portal back in 2020, Walti’s aka Organi’s first studio album was a stunning answer to its titular question – “Parlez-vous Français?” It was a soothing, somewhat psychedelic trip so magnétique and alluring that it immediately brought back those bits of Franglais you never knew you remembered. Whereas the debut LP indeed felt like a spontané voyage to the French Riviera ca. 1968, its follow-up “Babylonia” is so much more than linguistic confusion and ancient Akkadian Rhythms. Using that hidden portal near Alameda’s finest port to access all kinds of remote regions and sonic spheres, it’s super tight and feels, well, decent, even though, just like the ol’ Babylon, it’s full of surprising tongues and dreams, schemes and melodies.

“Where do we go from here?,” someone asks in opening “Organii-“ – all majestically cinematic boom bap, buoyant bass, sick strings. A fittingly massive opener that feels like cracking open a cold one after long weeks at work (that ecstatic “ahhhh”), it perfectly sets the tone for another half hour of pure time traveling, globe-spanning bliss. Whereas that certain prédilection pour all things French makes “La Rockette” so tempting and tantalizing (think MalMalNonBien), the sophomore album’s Berlin-based guest singer Nana Lacrima soon takes us elsewhere: title track “Babylonia” spins ever so softly, like a magic lantern, with images of dreamier Stones Throw funksters or Savath y Savalas looming over the steady flow of an arrangement that washes you clean like an ancient, unpolluted River Euphrates or Brazil’s actual Amazon. A sexy Portuguese-flavored anthem, occasional guest singer Alix Koliha also enters the scene to add yet another layer of French chic to this Brazilian landscape. Next, we’re back at the Riviera, but the “Italiano” version of it, splendido sunsets and bell towers in the distance, the ragazze laughing and shaking it up, perhaps even some Portofino Gin so you can really feel that “me ne batto il belin,” as your fingers align form some half-serious “ma che vuoi?”

Tim Maia-penned “Padre Cicero” (1970) deals with the stunning transformation of the titular hero – “De reverendo a lutador,” and what a soaring, sensual hook –, and Organi’s take on Elephant Memory’s “Old Man Willow” (now an “Old Man Waltz”) perfectly underlines what Walti’s Wyldwood endeavor is all about: Easy-Going Experimental Dream Pop, fueled by Gainsbourg, Broadcast, Stereolab, etc.

Later on, even though something seems to be tres complique in “Remembering Anna,” it all sounds carefree like a spontaneous Friday afternoon with a bottle of fine wine. Right before the outro, key album guest Yea-Ming Chen (of Yea-Ming & The Rumors) returns to the mic, adding her dark and dusky trademark timbre to melancholy anthem “Pictures Of Your Face”. Reminiscent of Nico and Trish (rip & rip), it’s a track that’s both dark and strangely propelling, hypnotic and hip-shaking.

A third generation Bay Area native, Mike Walti aka Organi has been running Wyldwood Studios in Oakland CA for some 15+ years (recording artists like Tommy Guerrero, Spelling, Why?, Latyrx, Del, Dan The Automator, and Big Freedia, to name but a few). A multi-instrumentalist who’s obviously in love with the 60s/70s, he loves to work with analog equipment (“We just love us some analog!” “Just listen to those relays purr…”). Recorded and mixed by Mike Walti at Wyldwood, “Babylonia” will be released on vinyl/digital by Alien Transistor.

Trapped Animal records is proud to announce the release of Despite Yourself Deluxe from 90’s legends Headswim, which has never been available on vinyl before.

For the first time, Headswim’s iconic second album is available on double gatefold vinyl, featuring 7 bonus tracks, including an unreleased version of their hit 'Tourniquet'! Lovingly released on double vinyl in a gatefold sleeve, this deluxe re-issue features seven bonus tracks including previously un-released tracks, including a previously unheard version of their biggest hit, Tourniquet featuring a string orchestra recorded at Abbey Road Studios!

The bonus material was collated by scouring through Sony's DAT tape archives, in this process the band and label found some wonderful lost recordings. The record will be available on either limited edition blue or back 180 gram vinyl. Despite Yourself, featuring the singles "Tourniquet" and "Better Made”, was Headswim’s sophomore album and documents the development of the band maturing as songwriters. “We were aiming for longevity and believed we had written a collection of songs honestly expressing who we were, where we’d been and where we wanted to go. The album was a declaration of intent, an expression of our lived experience, a light in the dark.” Originally released on 2nd September 1997 Despite Yourself reached 24 in the UK charts and would see the band tour the USA and Europe, make “several TV appearances (including Top of The Pops), film a couple of glossy music videos and get some mainstream media attention. We’d been given a chance and we’d grasped it with both hands.

ON SAND COLOUR VINYL FOR FIRST TIME

Post-Punk? Indie-Rock? Post-Hardcore? The Van Pelt walked between all these worlds. Spoken/sung vocals, anthemic pop hooks, fiery guitars and a tightly wound rhythm section made them stand outs of the DIY basement scene they emerged from.
RELATED TO: The Lapse, Native Nod, St Vincent, Blonde Redhead, Enon, Jets to Brazil, Vague Angels.

ABOUT “STEALING FROM OUR FAVORITE THIEVES”:
90s NYC indie heroes The Van Pelt have had a lasting power far greater than so many of the other once bigger bands of that era have had. The sort of interest that has neither waxed nor waned over the decades since they disbanded, yet just mysteriously continues on despite their discography being out of print since the end of the last millennium. So what is it that sets them apart? Too soft to have ran with the AmRep or Touch and Go crowds, not hip enough to have made sense on Matador or Merge, ernest yet not histrionic enough to make it onto the “best emo bands” lists, not weird enough to be on bills with Arto Lindsay and Thurston Moore, etc. In a sense, their outsider status comes not from the wings, but from the dead center eye of the storm. The 90s were happening all around them, they were witnesses thereof, yet they emerged transcendent of it all. You Follow? Maybe it’s worth having a listen to see what I mean.
Barcelona’s La Castanya records is treating us with the first ever rerelease of the two Van Pelt albums to mark the 20th anniversary of Sultans of Sentiment, their benchmark album. They teased us in 2014 that this might be on the docket with the release of Imaginary Third, a collection of singles and unreleased Van Pelt tracks which were originally intended to have been the components of their third album, including the alt-famous “Speeding Train”. Now we’ll finally have access to their entire discography. The first album, Stealing From Our Favorite Thieves is an explosion of anthems belted out as if the war was already lost yet they were hoisting that tattered banner anyhow until there wasn’t a shred to salvage. The momentum coming out of that album had every major label in the States salivating at the possibility of turning them into the next Nirvana. Instead, The Van Pelt followed it up by pulling the van into the garage, leaving the engine running, funneling the exhaust into their lungs, and blissfully deciding to bow out of the race with the epic Sultans of Sentiment. Of course as the story goes, their intended financial flop was the exact opus that jettisoned them into the history books. Buy both albums. You’ll need them both.

BRAND NEW VINYL PRESSING ON GREEN VINYL FOR FIRST TIME

Recorded in 1996, the second album from this NYC quartet featured a new line up & sound. Clean, warm, spacious guitars paired with repetitive, hypnotic songs showcased the band reaching a new peak. Beloved by those initiated, it continues to find new devotees.
RELATED TO: The Lapse, Native Nod, Blonde Redhead, Enon, Jets to Brazil, Vague Angels

90s NYC indie heroes The Van Pelt have had a lasting power far greater than so many of the other once bigger bands of that era have had. The sort of interest that has neither waxed nor waned over the decades since they disbanded, yet just mysteriously continues on despite their discography being out of print since the end of the last millennium. So what is it that sets them apart?
Too soft to have ran with the AmRep or Touch and Go crowds, not hip enough to have made sense on Matador or Merge, ernest yet not histrionic enough to make it onto the “best emo bands” lists, not weird enough to be on bills with Arto Lindsay and Thurston Moore, etc. In a sense, their outsider status comes not from the wings, but from the dead center eye of the storm. The 90s were happening all around them, they were witnesses thereof, yet they emerged transcendent of it all. You Follow? Maybe it’s worth having a listen to see what I mean.
Barcelona’s La Castanya records is treating us with the first ever rerelease of the two Van Pelt albums to mark the 20th anniversary of Sultans of Sentiment, their benchmark album. They teased us in 2014 that this might be on the docket with the release of Imaginary Third, a collection of singles and unreleased Van Pelt tracks which were originally intended to have been the components of their third album, including the alt-famous “Speeding Train”. Now we’ll finally have access to their entire discography. The first album, Stealing From Our Favorite Thieves is an explosion of anthems belted out as if the war was already lost yet they were hoisting that tattered banner anyhow until there wasn’t a shred to salvage. The momentum coming out of that album had every major label in the States salivating at the possibility of turning them into the next Nirvana. Instead, The Van Pelt followed it up by pulling the van into the garage, leaving the engine running, funneling the exhaust into their lungs, and blissfully deciding to bow out of the race with the epic Sultans of Sentiment. Of course as the story goes, their intended financial flop was the exact opus that jettisoned them into the history books. Buy both albums. You’ll need them both.

Lisbon's Para?so is back with its 14th release 'Crossroads' by local legend-in-the-making Salbany and remixes from portuguese dance music pioneer Cisco Ferreira a.k.a. The Advent and Detroit's own AMX otherwise known as The AM. The record opens with 'My Life', a warm yet propulsive detroit-referencing techno cut with pad washes, shuffling hi hats, an introspective vocal sample, cascading organ solos and arpeggios to a blissful effect. A2 'Crossroads' brings us a raw, bouncy, jam-like rhythmic section with syncopated toms and snares offset by a piano stab motif and emotive strings. 'Next Morning' closes side A, a hypnotic, curveball roller featuring a warm, rolling bass, offbeat drum hits glued together by immersive pads and UR-esque strings. Side B opener 'Mito' delves into trippier territories with admirable skill - not losing an inch in dancefloor potential - fusing bleeps and bells, beautiful chord progressions and hyper groovy drum machine programming. Techno icon Cisco Ferreira steps in with his 'Lisbon Dub' remix, transforming 'Crossroads' into a sparser, delay-infused slow-burner held together by a dope bass line. AMX brings the lead synth of 'Mito' to a lower octave, mutating it into a swingy midwestern experimental cut that inspires urgency and life force. A restless mantra emerges via the digital bonus track, an alternate 'Elevated' remix of 'Crossroads' that superbly merges original detroitian leanings and industrial textures in a no-frills peaktime banger. This is one of those records that lovingly reminds us techno is about emotion, swing, energy. As in life, nothing here sits still: movement, physical and metaphysical, is the messenger of progress.

First Word Records areproud to present a new double-AA sided collaboration from K S R and Konny Kon (Children of Zeus) - 'Part of the Plan / Faded from the Jump', available on 7" vinyl and digital.

Two of Manchester's finest r&b ambassadors, the duo team up for two tracks displaying very different styles of soul music.

'Part of the Plan' has a timeless classic feel, nodding back to the likes of Stax and Atlantic, akin to the contemporary sound of Daptone artists like Jalen Ngonda or Thee Sacred Souls. Waves crash on the dock of the bay, with [ K S R ]'s soulful tones and Konny's laidback production (accompanied by Son of Zeus, Tyler Daley on the backing vox).

'Faded from the Jump' is another three and a half minutes of bliss, taking on a sound that's more signature to the duo's previous work, individually and collectively, sitting somewhere between future r&b, neo-soul and classic Manny street soul. [ K S R ] again takes the lead on this smoothed-out cut, with Konny behind the boards on production.

[ K S R ] hails from Moss Side and has been steadily building a strong rep for himself over the past few years with a slew of releases, including an EP and several singles via First Word. He was named "R&B act to watch" by Complex, and hand-picked by Mahalia to perform an event she curated personally at London's Jazz Cafe. He's toured with artists including Pip Millet, Etta Bond, Mica Miller & The Mouse Outfit, and also collaborated with various d&b artists, such as Zero T, Lenzman, Searchlight and Makoto. Music aside, [ K S R ] has also been creative ambassador for New Balance, Foot Locker, Nike, Size? and Manchester United.

Konny Kon is best known for being one half of hip hop soul duo, Children of Zeus. With performances for Colors and Soulection, and support from peers Jazzy Jeff, Jazzie B, Loose Ends & countless others, Children of Zeus have released two highly-acclaimed albums and two EPs on Worldwide Award winning-label, First Word. Additionally to writing, performing and producing, Konny is a formidable DJ, hosting a popular monthly show on NTS Radio, and performing at numerous events; most recently supporting Mercury Award-winner's Ezra Collective at every date on their European tour, culminating in a show with Children of Zeus at Wembley Arena, London.

Both artists have had wide support across the board from numerous tastemakers, including 1Xtra, BBC Radio 1, BBC 6 Music, Rinse, Represent, Unity, Mixmag, Notion, Hypebeast and tons more. The duo have previously collaborated on 'All on You' (from the CoZ album 'Travel Light') and single 'CGWY' (from [ K S R ]'s EP 'Peace + Harmony').

This single showcases the vocals of [ K S R ] and the production of Konny Kon to a degree that exudes pure quality and class, exemplifying the power of modern British soul music.

'Part of the Plan / Faded from the Jump' is released on 7" vinyl and digital, 22nd November 2024.

With an ever-growing and insanely exciting back catalogue, including his Negative Space EP, which was released on the label in 2023, Melbourne-based artist Pugilist returns to Of Paradise, this time linking up with fellow Australian musician Pod on their shapeshifting album Iridescent, the duo’s debut collaborative release.

Comprised of nine pulsing and explorative productions, including one digital-only bonus track, Iridescent is a masterful and quietly nuanced excursion through contemporary dance music, one that sees Pugilist & Pod cultivate a unique and timeless sound of their own that varies tremendously in form, shape, and texture.

Totemic in its imaginative scope, Iridescent offers listeners a truly immersive experience that will blissfully wash over them in the safety of their own homes or take them in a transcendent grasp and guide them on a new journey through the club.

'We are thrilled to be able to bring you Yara Asmar's first two cassette releases in a deluxe remastered double vinyl gatefold package featuring all new art and design from Yara herself.

Both albums were originally released on Hive Mind Records in 2022 and 2023 and received critical acclaim around the world':

“Melancholic drifts sound through the overcast skies of synth waltzes and accordion laments, infusing ageless melodies with a sense of falling backward through time. History is stitched through gilded aural silhouettes and elegiac drones. Asmar’s music is visceral. While electronics beckon beyond the sunrise stretched through a metallic shimmer, synth waltzes and accordion laments sticks with us while we remain lost in the hazy doldrums, always crawling forward tethered to our past lives. Highest recommendation.”
Brad Rose, Foxy Digitalis

"...these tracks are a cushion against reality. Asmar creates music that unfurls in evanescent bliss, an invitation to a safe space both isolated and welcoming."
Daryl Worthington, The Quietus

"...a set that transmutes the instrument’s droning tones into a sweep of introspective, breath-catching moments of beauty"
Eric Torres, Pitchfork Best Jazz & Experimental Albums of 2023

"The combination and contrast of highly familiar and highly alien elements give Asmar's music a quality not quite like anything else I can name. The way she channels found voices into her surreal mix of sounds is particularly striking."
Byron Coley, The Wire

Stalwarts of the London music scene The Boom Yeh are at the forefront of redefining British Jazz-Funk with the release of their new album Near-Earth Objects. Featuring a host of musicians that have worked with Jamiroquai, The Brand New Heavies, Incognito, Alice Russell and Leroy Hutson.

Keep Right On
A blistering syncopated jazz-funk assault reminiscent of The Brecker Brother and Tower Of Power. Featuring solos from trombone player Tom White and sax player/horn arranger Ian Bailey, followed by a virtuosic drum solo courtesy of Alessio Barelli.

Chronic Tonic
A smooth jazz-funker with hip-hop undertones, echoing early Prince with a boogie funk outro in the vein of George Duke, propelled by bass player Matteo Grassi.

Hot Tamale
If Jimi Hendrix was stuck in a Mexican traffic jam, it would probably sound like this. An abrasive funk-rock stomper featuring a heavy duty guitar solo from band leader Jon Speedy.

Pocket Rocket
Deep pocket funk in tribute to George Clinton's Parliament-Funkadelic with be-bop infused horn riffs. Featuring solos by Paul Silver on baritone sax and guest keyboard player Carl Hudson on Oberheim synth.

Near-Earth Objects
High energy jazz-fusion exploring the universe of Herbie Hancock and The headhunters with an afrobeat inspired horn outro. Featuring guest keyboard Carl Hudson on Fender Rhodes and synth.

Othership
Bombastic big band jazz-funk with a rare groove flavoured mid section. Composed by band leader/guitarist Jon Speedy as a nod to his father Dave Speedy - a jazz trumpet player and big band leader.

Mind's Eye
Laid back Ibiza chill out mixtape vibes meets Donald Byrd and the Mizell Brothers. Featuring blissful Fender Rhodes and synth by guest keyboard player Carl Hudson.

Possibilities
A slow burner in the spirit of Roy Hargrove's RH Factor and early neo-soul with a gospel flavoured outro.

black vinyl ltd. to 200 copies incl. album download code. Neun neue Songs + Interludes auf, die euch die Falten aus dem Hintern bügeln werden. Diese fast 50 Minuten feinster, eigenständiger, brutaler, technisch- klassischer Death Metal hören zusammengefasst auf den Albumtitel "From Origin To Decay" und werden als CD, LP sowie in digitaler Form am 22.11.2024 via FDA Records (Vertrieb: Cargo Records) veröffentlicht. Alles wurde einmal erschaffen. Und alles wird vergehen. Und aus allem Verfall kann eine neue Schöpfung entstehen. Dieses Thema findet sich in den Stories der 9 neuen MAAT Songs, die sorgfältig mit 2 separaten atmosphärischen Zwischenspielen arrangiert sind, um einen Klangfluss zu erzeugen. Von der lyrischen Seite werden philosophische Fragen des Werdens, Seins und Vergehens gestellt, indem lyrische Bilder und Stilmittel verwendet werden, die von der Mythologie und Geschichte des alten Ägyptens und des orientalischen Raums inspiriert sind. Textlich und musikalisch dreht sich das Album um den Haupttrack "Perennial Bliss", der das innere Selbst innerhalb von Zeit und Raum und außerhalb von beidem reflektiert. ,From Origin To Decay' ist extrem empfehlenswert for Fans von NILE oder BEHEMOTH. Alle Songs und Lyrics wurden von MAAT geschrieben und im Soundlodge Studio von Jörg Uken aufgenommen, gemischt und gemastert. Jörg hat bereits mit vielen Künstlern wie God Dethroned, Slaughterday, Keitzer oder Anvil zusammengearbeitet.

Originally released on Robs Records offshoot Pleasure, followed by a repress on Air Trance in 1995 featuring Francesco Farfa & Kiticonti on remix duty, the debut offering from French/UK outfit Prism - aka Pascal Eloy & Grant Wilkinson - ‘Vapour Trails’ EP eventually gets a much needed reissue on Cosmocities this summer, enhanced with a remix from Bliss Inc.

From its initial sortie on the label run by Rob Gretton, former manager of legendary New Wave bands New Order and Joy Division, onto making it to a then en-vogue Italian trance imprint, this record made waves and opened new portals for many lovers of the burgeoning electronic sound, including - years later - Cosmocities head exec himself, holding the special status of being his first ever vinyl record buy. Harder was the path towards that longed-for repress, but with a twist from destiny - after tracking down one half of Prism - Pascal Eloy - to no avail, the label managed to find him through his father, contemporary composer Christian Eloy, plans were set out to release a first EP, ‘Rain’ (2022), and now ‘Vapour Trails’, which comes as the icing on the cake.

A future-facing slice of fast-track trance bound to have ravers melting in XTC thru and thru, the lead single treats us to a deluge of prismatic arps and multi-faceted synthwaves, ushering us into a vivid, mind-expanding kaleidoscope of throbbing colours and propulsive groove; an absolute killer of a tune that’s lost nothing of its frenzied punch. In the hands of Italian duo Farmakit, the track morphs into a further corrosive churner tailored for peak-time rumble in the warehouse with its calibrated mix of acid-drenched bass whorls, hard house bounce and Tangerine Dream vibrations.

Flip sides and here’s ‘O.N.V.I.’ shifting gears towards a more tribal / spiritual kind of uptempo hoodoo, running the gamut wildly from ethereal choirs to warlike drum programming, via sci-fi-indebted cosmicness and proper 303-infused salvos from outer space. New addition to the bunch, the remix from Bliss Inc. treats us to a more focussed parade of jacking house percussions, hi-NRG acid tropes and Afro funk-minded psychedelia, revving up the engines as the room temp rises from hot to sweltering. No surrender

Pique is the sensational debut solo album from Dora Morelenbaum, one of the key talents spearheading Brazil’s new musical wave. A member of the Latin Grammy award-winning band, Bala Desejo, Dora showcases a new side to her solo productions on this special LP. Whereas Dora’s first solo EP, Vento de Beirada, was a leap of faith, Pique sees her soaring as one of Brazil’s standout stars, emboldened, emphatic but ever elegant. Building bridges between past and present, it’s a funkier, more groove-based affair, weaved together with those signature, slower, celestial tracks. Touching on disco, MPB, soul, R&B and jazz, the album is enriched with an indie pop aesthetic courtesy of fellow Brazilian star and co-producer, Ana Frango Elétrico.

With an ethereal, enveloping air few can match, Dora’s gift shines through both the serene and the spirited songs contained within. The blissful, sun-soaked ‘Não Vou Te Esquecer’ opens, before the funk-fuelled, feel-good ‘Venha Comigo’ and ‘Sim, Não.’ give a glimpse of the creativity bursting from the production partnership between Dora and Ana Frango Elétrico. Elsewhere, the album reclines into hazy lean-back realms via ‘A Melhor Saída’ and ‘Petricor’, virtuoso jazz funk in the form of ‘VW Blue’ and radiant MPB through the album’s title track ‘Pique’.

The drumming is tight, fresh and swung, the horns and strings deftly arranged, as funk-driven basslines and strutting guitars mesh with playful production touches that give an added vibrancy to the record. It is an album that exhibits every side of Dora and one she has been involved in from the ground up, from the songwriting, singing, arrangement and production to booking the studio time and sourcing the artwork designer, Maria Cau Levy.

An exchange of musical ideas powers every great scene and Rio’s contemporary landscape is no different - a family of interconnected musicians and friends that collaborate on each other’s productions. Pique is graced by a wealth of these leading Brazilian lights including her Bala Desejo bandmates Lucas Nunes, Julia Mestre and Zé Ibarra, as well as Guilherme Lirio, Alberto Continentino and Tom Veloso to name just a handful. This exchange crosses generations merging tradition with modernity. In a full circle moment, Dora’s parents Paula and Jaques Morelenbaum, who featured in countless recordings from Tom Jobim's Nova Banda and Ryuichi Sakamoto to Gal Costa and Gilberto Gil, join on the album through backing vocals and arrangement.

Pique sees Dora embrace a freedom through fresh forms, showcasing the depth and diversity of her creative artistry. An infinitely listenable release that nods to Brazilian greats like Gal Costa, Banda Black Rio and Lincoln Olivetti, fused with the indie pop edge of Ana’s production. The result is truly unique and sure to be a future Brazilian classic.

8 cuts of minimalist electronic bliss

"Dark Entries calls on Philadelphia experimental duo The Ghostwriters to resurrect their 1981 LP of minimalist mayhem, Objects In Mirrors Are Closer Than They Appear.

The late Buchla maestro Charles Cohen and multi-instrumentalist Jeff Cain joined up in 1971 to craft electroacoustic chaos as Anomali, later renaming themselves The Ghostwriters. Their collaborations with choreographers and visual media artists led to their singular style, straddling improvisation and composition, the oneiric and the immediate.

1981 saw the release of their debut album, Objects In Mirrors Are Closer Than They Appear, a whirling, messy, telepathic slipstream cascading across an imaginary landscape. Recorded in Don Buchla’s childhood home, Objects offers 8 cuts of minimalist electronic bliss, equal parts icy and quirky, with standout cuts including the grooving havoc of “Fix it in the Mix” and the otherworldly hymn “Moon Chant.” These angular pearls will be cherished by fans of John Bender, Ceramic Hello, and all strains of outsider 80s electronics.

Objects In Mirrors Are Closer Than They Appear has been freshly remastered and includes an insert with photos and liner notes. Proceeds from the album will be donated to SOSA (Safe from Online Sex Abuse), a nonprofit that combats online child sex abuse and trafficking"

Steve Leach's Balearic beach-funk beast Ocean Potion, recorded with the Crystal Grass Orchestra is an absolutely ace, Ned Doheny-adjacent funky AOR / blue-eyed soul BBQ classic from 1976.

Who is Steve Leach, you ask? None other than Seasick Steve in a previous life! A French-only release on Philips, it's a hugely immediate, pop-funk firecracker. It features a wonderfully lush, full orchestral sound throughout, underpinning Steve's gorgeous voice and an army of brilliant backing vocalists.

The supporting cast is phenomenal and is arguably the salient reason this is such a fantastic record. We're talking legendary players from the French scene (think Arpadys, Voyage, Kongas, CCPP, Giant, Swing Family) such as Don Ray with his arranger-conductor hat on as well as synths, Marc Chantereau on percussion, Slim Pezin on guitar, André Ceccarelli on drums, Christian Padovan on bass and Pierre Halation on flute.

With these snakes behind the scenes, it remains a mystery how Ocean Potion is so relatively unknown. Hopefully, this long overdue reissue rectifies this and puts a stop to people dropping $200 on it.

Triumphant, horn-forward opener "The Light Of The Mind" has that uniquely Ned Doheny fidgety funk feel with a fantastically irresistible chorus and great harmonies. Just magic. The insouciant, swaggering "Hey! Hey! What You Doin To Me" is straight up white-hot feel-good funk with by turns sweeping and stabbing strings and a neck-snapping break. Crucial. Coming off like something off The Beach Boy's Surf's Up or Holland (including a sneaky "reason to live" reference that surely nods to "The Trader") is the brilliantly ominous, driving wall of sound of "Take Strength". Cavernous drums, urgent strings and a staggeringly good vocal performance make this a real highlight amongst an album of highlights. The blissful folk-funk of "The Lady Of The Sea" is a real naked heartbreaker, melancholic vibes and a beautiful flute line complementing each other perfectly. Side A closes out with "All My Life", a groovy island-funk white-reggae-tinged lilter which just about lands the right side of acceptable.

Side B opens with the gorgeous "You're The Only One Girl" before the propulsive Philly soul of "At Least We Got Love" elegantly glides into focus. Pulsing beats and piano working with that irresistible orchestra of grass. Glacial ballad "All Love's Children" has a deep New Orleans soul feel that truly soars whilst the breezy "Get Out In The Sun" owes a debt to "Crocodile Rock". It's pure pop for now people and wouldn't have been out of place on a late 70s Nick Lowe effort. Deep late-period Beach Boys gem "Golden Hues" is another heavy melancholic down lifter that really beguiles before the real reason you're all here. Pastoral closer "I Meditate Each Day" is just beautiful, and likely the reason this reissue is giving you that special feeling. Another gorgeous flute-led, folk-funk groover, it featured in a memorable mix from the Creme2laCreme crew (Raphael Top-Secret, Jerome Qpchan and Antoine Kogut) live on Red Light Radio over a decade ago and has been top of many heads' wants list never since. Just mellow out.

As ever, the audio for Ocean Potion has been carefully remastered by Be With regular Simon Francis, ensuring it sounds better than ever. Cicely Balston's expert skills have made sure nothing is lost in the cut whilst the records have been pressed to the highest possible standard at Record Industry in Holland. The original, iconic sleeve featuring a topless Steve reclining next to his piano on a flatbed truck on the beach (of course?!) has been restored here at Be With HQ as the finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue.

In 2007 an Italian film festival invites Mouse on Mars to score a film of their choice. The organizers claim to be able to clear the rights for any movie the band chooses. Werner Herzog’s fictional documentary Fata Morgana, which merges footage of several desert explorations by Herzog and his team into one continuous association, has long been a band’s favorite. The film comes with a soundtrack by Mozart, Leonard Cohen, Third Ear Band and field recordings. Andi Toma and Jan St. Werner are sent a DVD to Düsseldorf and start working. The idea is to score the film in real time so instrumentation has to be readily at hand: guitar, percussion, electronics, mouth harp, pedals, software, tapes, samplers. Once the arrangement for the three-part film is sorted Mouse on Mars bring their score to stage. Herzog Sessions is performed twice: first when the band still thought the rights had been cleared, and a second time at London’s Southbank Center knowing that Herzog would have never approved a new score.

--

Mouse On Mars – London Queen Elizabeth Hall soundtracking Werner Herzog.
By Mike Diver, 24.04.2009

Filmed in 1971, Fata Morgana is perhaps not one of Herzog’s best-known works (think Grizzly Man, Rescue Dawn, et cetera…), but then Mouse on Mars have never been ones to embrace the mainstream, quietly letting their modern, experimental take on krautrock do the talking over the years, thus producing some quietly brilliant electronica that far outweighs their modest profile.

The film itself is not altogether dissimilar to the wonderful, Phillip Glass-scored Koyaanisqatsi, with sweeping landscape shots and no obvious plot or narrative, though Fata is concentrated purely in one place – in and around the Sahara Desert, switching from images of barren wasteland to desert tribes and dead, skeletal cattle.

The obvious thing to do when soundtracking such powerful imagery is to vie for dreamy electronic soundscapes which can be sustained for a long period, and whilst this ambient shoegaze approach was present and correct (also carefully constructed and highly effective), Mouse on Mars added a human element to the performance, incorporating a live dimension by using and looping guitars, harmonicas, processed vocals and even a live horn player (quite possibly a flugelhorn. Look it up if you don’t believe me) for the final section of the film.

Some of the most interesting points arose when the duo suddenly switched from solemn, ambient tones to glitchy, bouncing electro (reminiscent of their more upbeat work) whilst on the same film shot – causing the audience mood to flick from tripped-out bliss to attentive semi-wired, utterly subverting any idea of a narrative the film may have possessed. Clever stuff.

Ranging from sinister to surreal to humorous, all the moods portrayed in Fata Morgana were successfully matched by Mouse on Mars’ live rescore – no mean feat. The duo also went above and beyond the call of duty with their own soundtrack, adding a fascinating personal signature to an already unique film.

“A huge thing for this record was to make it feel as close to our live show as possible,” says Tom Sharkett of W.H. Lung’s latest album. “We didn’t want it to sound live but we wanted to capture the excitement of the live performances.”

This is something that has become paramount to the group in recent years as they have undeniably blossomed into one of the most joyous and arresting live bands in the country. “The reason I’m in a band is to play live music,” says singer Joe Evans. “For me, music is live music. That’s what it’s for, to be played with people.”

The five-piece band, also featuring Chris Mulligan, Hannah Peace, and Alex Mercer-Main, decided to try something new on their third album after two incredibly successful collaborations with previous producer Matt Peel. In order to capture the energy, spirit and dynamism of their live shows, they relocated to Sheffield to work with Ross Orton (MIA, Arctic Monkeys, Working Men’s Club) who was able to harness this side of the band to remarkable effect. “Ross is the Sheffield Steve Albini,” says Evans. “He’s the king of not overthinking it and trusting the process of the art of recording songs. He was always there to stop us fucking around with cerebral stuff and get it down.” Sharkett echoes this too: “He was the exact producer we needed without us even realising. His productions and mixes are bombastic, lively and in your face and that’s exactly what we wanted.”

However, while this album is rooted in a sense of capturing a moment and a sparky liveness, that’s not to say it’s a raw or ragged record. It is still a meticulously composed, delicately layered and pristinely produced piece of work that, in true W.H. Lung style, runs the gauntlet from dance to pop to indie while still capturing that distinctly unique quality that is unquestionably their own. “It was a really big thing for me to realise what made us sound like us on this record,” says Sharkett. “I think the album sounds a lot more confident and self assured because of it. Some songs sound just so much like Lung and I’m really proud of that. I’m not sure we’ve done that as consistently across the other records.”

While the band have drilled deeper into finding their own singular identity, it’s not a record resting on its laurels. It’s a significant leap forward, expanding on their solid foundations while also breaking new ground. “The big difference with this record is its directness in every sense,” says Sharkett. “The songwriting is more upfront. Previously we’d focused a lot on vibe and production as opposed to just writing songs. The overall mission here was to revert to a classic songwriting structure and for the production to come afterwards.” And so what you have on this record are deeply considered and well-crafted songs, then recorded with blistering intensity in the moment, and then given a touch of experimentation afterwards. Then throw in Orton’s contributions to the band and it’s proven to be a real winning formula. “He brought a real dose of magic to the songs we’d written,” says Sharkett. “And brought an extra bit of wonk and quirkiness each time.”

The band’s ability to write more traditional and conventional songs is clearly a skill they’ve taken to with ease, at times there’s an almost Springsteen-like quality – but if he'd ever had an ecstasy period – to tracks such as ‘Thinner Wine’ and ‘Bloom and Fade’. While ‘How to Walk’ was constructed with one thing only in mind: that it would absolutely slay on stage. “I can’t wait to play this live,” says Evans. “We wanted a song to represent our live set, a new big one, and this is it.” Once again it leans towards the anthemic, with its driving, propulsive charge complete with incandescent synths and vocal melodies so irresistible you can already hear them being sung in unison by a crowd.

It’s an incredibly difficult feat to pull off a record that is more rooted in traditional songcraft while also capturing the power of a live performance, as well as pushing sonics into experimental new directions while working with a brand new collaborator. But here the band has managed to do just that. And the album’s closing song ‘I Will Set Fire To The House’ is a perfect example of such a thing. It’s a song that feels immaculately constructed but also very much alive and of the moment as its radiating synths engulf from the off, and Evans’ vocal is silky but powerful and in perfect symbiosis with Peace’s. It’s a song that captures the endless joys of music playing long into the night. “It may be a bit of a bloody bombastic way to end an album saying ‘and we’ll dance into the sunrise’,” says Evans. “But fuck it.”

MORE PRESS ON ‘VANITIES’ (MELO131)

"Vanities artily refines an exhilarating brand of up-front electro-dance" MOJO ⅘

'Idiosyncratic yet euphoric electronic pop on triumphant second LP' 9/10 Uncut

''One of the most effective alternative pop albums of the year'' 4/5 Record Collector
'Dance music for the modern age' - The Times (4*)

The 25th anniversary edition of Mariah Carey’s multi-platinum selling record, Rainbow has been pressed on rainbow vinyl and includes rare photos from the era. Rainbow is Mariah’s seventh studio album, with #1 hits, “Heartbreaker” (ft. Jay-Z), “Thank God I Found You” (ft. Joe & 98 Degrees), the globally successful cover of "Against All Odds" plus more fan favorites. This deluxe album also features several bonus tracks including, ‘Rainbow’s End,’ a brand-new recording.

Pique is the sensational debut solo album from Dora Morelenbaum, one of the key talents spearheading Brazil’s new musical wave. A member of the Latin Grammy award-winning band, Bala Desejo, Dora showcases a new side to her solo productions on this special LP. Whereas Dora’s first solo EP, Vento de Beirada, was a leap of faith, Pique sees her soaring as one of Brazil’s standout stars, emboldened, emphatic but ever elegant. Building bridges between past and present, it’s a funkier, more groove-based affair, weaved together with those signature, slower, celestial tracks. Touching on disco, MPB, soul, R&B and jazz, the album is enriched with an indie pop aesthetic courtesy of fellow Brazilian star and co-producer, Ana Frango Elétrico.

With an ethereal, enveloping air few can match, Dora’s gift shines through both the serene and the spirited songs contained within. The blissful, sun-soaked ‘Não Vou Te Esquecer’ opens, before the funk-fuelled, feel-good ‘Venha Comigo’ and ‘Sim, Não.’ give a glimpse of the creativity bursting from the production partnership between Dora and Ana Frango Elétrico. Elsewhere, the album reclines into hazy lean-back realms via ‘A Melhor Saída’ and ‘Petricor’, virtuoso jazz funk in the form of ‘VW Blue’ and radiant MPB through the album’s title track ‘Pique’.

The drumming is tight, fresh and swung, the horns and strings deftly arranged, as funk-driven basslines and strutting guitars mesh with playful production touches that give an added vibrancy to the record. It is an album that exhibits every side of Dora and one she has been involved in from the ground up, from the songwriting, singing, arrangement and production to booking the studio time and sourcing the artwork designer, Maria Cau Levy.

An exchange of musical ideas powers every great scene and Rio’s contemporary landscape is no different - a family of interconnected musicians and friends that collaborate on each other’s productions. Pique is graced by a wealth of these leading Brazilian lights including her Bala Desejo bandmates Lucas Nunes, Julia Mestre and Zé Ibarra, as well as Guilherme Lirio, Alberto Continentino and Tom Veloso to name just a handful. This exchange crosses generations merging tradition with modernity. In a full circle moment, Dora’s parents Paula and Jaques Morelenbaum, who featured in countless recordings from Tom Jobim's Nova Banda and Ryuichi Sakamoto to Gal Costa and Gilberto Gil, join on the album through backing vocals and arrangement.

Pique sees Dora embrace a freedom through fresh forms, showcasing the depth and diversity of her creative artistry. An infinitely listenable release that nods to Brazilian greats like Gal Costa, Banda Black Rio and Lincoln Olivetti, fused with the indie pop edge of Ana’s production. The result is truly unique and sure to be a future Brazilian classic.

The 25th anniversary edition of Mariah Carey’s multi-platinum selling record, Rainbow has been pressed on rainbow vinyl and includes rare photos from the era. Rainbow is Mariah’s seventh studio album, with #1 hits, “Heartbreaker” (ft. Jay-Z), “Thank God I Found You” (ft. Joe & 98 Degrees), the globally successful cover of "Against All Odds" plus more fan favorites. This deluxe album also features several bonus tracks including, ‘Rainbow’s End,’ a brand-new recording.

'We're excited to be able to bring you the latest wonderful album from Chester's boycalledcrow, after a series of superb releases for labels such as Mortality Tables, Waxing Crescent Records and Subexotic Records, including the wonderful Kullu from earlier this year.

Knott's music doesn't sit easily in any pre-existing genres, being at once strange and experimental, yet melodic and somehow comforting. His music is intimate and evocative, deeply personal, and manages to be both bucolic and yet totally 21st century, like Kraftwerk's robots dreaming of sheep.

The songs and sounds on “eyetrees” are inspired by a rich family life and the wonderful times spent with his wife and kids, both at home and out in nature.'

Knott said of the album and its inspirations:
“We enjoy spending time in the woods with our young children, creating stories about the "eye tree”. This tree, with thousands of eyes, watches over us and cares for us like family. We make fox medicine and cherish these blissful moments. The music reflects these times, seen through the colors of an old, fuzzy reel—orange, red, and yellow with blurred edges, like an old photo scorched by the sun.

I feel a deep spiritual connection to the countryside; the hands of Arcadia cradle me when I feel sad. Some of the album was created during times of sadness when I felt death was close and the lines between worlds were blurred. This feeling—that anything can happen and that life is delicate and can be taken away in a flash—permeates the music.

The song titles are stories and memories of my family, filled with hazy pinks, yellows, reds, and oranges.

Wonky acoustic guitar, broken electronics, and a warm, otherworldly space."

Co-founder and ever-present member of The Chesterfields, Simon Chesterfield's first solo album "Simon Chesterfield" features the results of a year long project re-imagining six of his own compositons as an orchestral performance. Co-produced by Ben Scott Turner, Rob Ellis (PJ Harvey) and Simon Chesterfield, the album was orchestrated by Charles Harrison. An imaginative video of lead track "Something" available on Youtube will accompany this release.

An ensemble of Wessex musicians were gathered together for this project, several of whom have now signed up for some Simon Chesterfield live adventures, including a launch party for the album on Friday 11th October at the wonderful Lyric Theatre in Bridport, Dorset. The players are: Joe Atkinson, Matt Barge, Jenny Bliss, Simon Chesterfield, Rob Ellis, Charles Harrison, Emma Kingston, Seiko Nemoto, Nick Squires, Helen Stickland, James Thornton, and Ben Scott Turner.

ANTON NEWCOMBE and DOT ALLISON just announcedthat they will be releasing an album together under the moniker All Seeing Dolls. ''Parallel' will be out in February 2025. Upfront they share the single 'That's Amazing Grace' (backed with "Siren's Echo iron Lung") and make available this 2-track 10" as a limited teaser. Anton Newcombe is the founder, the sole constant and the creative mastermind at the centre of one of music's most fascinating bands; Brian Jonestown Massacre. He's a frontman, songwriter, composer, studio owner, multi-instrumentalist, producer, engineer, father and force of nature. There have been 21 BJM albums over the last 30 years, each embarking on their own mind-expanding adventure and exploring the outer realms of rock'n'roll; psychedelic rock, country-blues, snarling rock'n'roll, blissed-out noise-pop and more. Newcombe has established himself as a once-in-a-lifetime talent, a revolutionary force in modern music and an underground hero. Dot Allison released her debut solo album Afterglow in 1999. Over the years she has strived to keep the listener on a journey - and herself too. She revolts against what she has done before, to evolve and not just occupy the same space. That journey has taken her from Afterglow's broad church (trip-hop, Tim Buckley-esque ballads, dance tracks, chilled psychedelia) to the sultry synth-pop of We Are Science (2002), the lush, baroque Exaltation Of Larks (2007) and the eclectic, rootsy drama of Room 7½ (2009). After a hiatus to raise her family she returned with the graceful acoustic folk record Heart-Shaped Scars (2021) and the haunting, barely there beauty of Consciousology (2023). The range of guest stars on Allison's records is equally broad: where else would you find a cast list that includes Kevin Shields, Hal David, Paul Weller, Pete Doherty and Darren Emerson. Likewise, Allison's own guest roles with the likes of Massive Attack, Scott Walker, Slam, Philip Shepard, The Babyshambles & Pete Doherty, underlining the huge respect her peers hold her in.

The sophomore effort from Gray/Smith refines their petroleum-based, hard-lullaby sound with a decidedly dusty precision. To call this pair's brand of country-rock détournement "cosmic" would be too breezy: L. Gray and Rob Smith prefer to stare into sunken depths, channeling their recondite affections for lay-by mauve zones and red-dirt guitar wanderings. Formed in the outer-edges of Kings and Richmond counties circa 2020, Gray/Smith is something of an East-Coast involution. L. Gray (guitar and vocals) and Rob Smith (drums, guitar and vocals) are both trusty veterans of "band's bands" like Pigeons (Soft Abuse), No-Neck Blues Band (Revenant, Locust), Rhyton (Thrill Jockey), and The Suntanama (Drag City), freewheeling groups known for mining from polyglot sources: rough-hewn folk and the spiritual avant-garde, bargain-bin hard rock and and collector's-choice psychedelia alike. On their first, self-released LP Gray/Smith, serendipitously recorded at Gary's Electric at the top of 2021, the pair trained their assured chops onto the great American song-form, honing a murky but tight approach that variously cribs "urban cowboy" and finger-picked primitivism. A string of cryptic appearances soon followed, including a short-lived residency at a now-shuttered vodka dive; a micro-tour with Coloradan songstress Josephine Foster; and a series of backyard and barroom gigs sharing stages with compatriots like Stella Kola, Blues Ambush, Samara Lubelski, and Wednesday Knudsen. Heels in the Aisle is the slipshod, burnt-out, mid-'70s unter-prog comedown to their debut's backwoods, bushy-tailed, early-'70s, country-rock meanderings_expect more unrestrained riffs, artful studio wizardry, and worn-down introspection. Joining the ranks of bloodshot-eyed, blues-rock medleys à la Canned Heat's "Parthenogenesis" and Grand Funk's "Into The Sun," "The SDSPS" is the nearly side-length opening cut, an expanded song-cycle condensing and riffing on the themes of their debut. "Help Me" ventriloquizes Pomona College outlaw Kris Kristofferson's slow-roaring ballad of libidinal woe. On the flip side, "Verrazano Tile" and the title track pay heed to lower bays of Staten Island, while their arrangement of the traditional Zimbabwean tune "Guabi Guabi" is a bright Dead/Feat-like jaunt with blissed-out wah-wah pay-off. "Gaslight Boulevard" is lean, mean, and eight-beers-in space rock, and the closing track "Kekule's Ring" is a slack-jawed, wistful crash back down to earth. All this, packaged in a luxe, expertly-printed sleeve photographed by downtown artist Lary 7 and designed by Eric Wrenn (Sophie's Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides).

Girls of the Internet’s Tom Kerridge announces the release of forthcoming album When I Was Lost, I Found Myself on Classic Music Company, Luke Solomon’s revered imprint. Following the acclaimed, self-released 2020 album ‘Girls FM’, ‘When I Was Lost, I Found Myself’ delves into a deeper and more personal journey for Tom. Spanning 12 blissed out genre-blending house records and featuring stellar vocalists such as Sadie Walker, Allysha Joy, shiv, ALLKNIGHT, Anelisa Lamola and more, Tom continues to demonstrate his innate ability to nurture talent and collaborate on this latest LP. With heavy support from BBC Radio 1, BBC 6 Music and BBC Introducing, Girls of the Internet’s previous singles from the LP, in particular ‘Never Ever Ever’ featuring Irish singer-songwriter shiv (which also saw a remix from legendary producer Henrik Schwarz) have seen the group reach new heights in recent months. Selected as BBC Introducing’s Track of the Week, both ‘Never Ever Ever’ and the following garage-inspired ‘Gravity’ featuring ALLKNIGHT have formed a path laden with anticipation for the full LP. Girls of the Internet’s manifesto is clear; to create dance music that calls back to how it was made at its inception, but with the knowledge and experience of the past 50 years of the genre.

US IMPORT** **COMES WITH DOWNLOAD CODE inc EXTRA track** LIMITED COPIES available....

SK delivering an ace cover of a sublime rock obscurity backed with a dubbed out version from L.A. veteran, Secret Circuit. TIGHT.

" Suzanne Kraft covers Sugarcane's unforgettable soft-rock-meets-modern-soul ballad "What You Do To Me." Originally released as a limited 45 and featured on WDVE's first Pittsburgh Rocks compilation in 1980, and subsequently featured on the 'Soft Rock for Hard Times Vol. 2' Mix CD in 2014. Recorded and produced by Suzanne Kraft with a pitch perfect synthesizer solo by Jordan Czamanski (Jordan GCZ) - this version expertly matches the original song's private press essence with a full sound and dynamic arrangement that is recognizably Suzanne Kraft.

Secret Circuit delivers an extraordinarily heavy dub on the flip, launching Suzanne Kraft's cover forward with bass and drums under waves of delay and echo, bouncing the song towards the iconic synth solo which Secret Circuit sends into pure soundsystem bliss.

This is the debut release of the new Soft Rock For Hard Times imprint. "

DEFTR (pron - ‘Defuture’): The Revolutionary Collaboration Redefining Ambient and Techno Music

DEFTR, the newly formed alias of Answer Code Request and Jan Wagner, presents their debut album “Run Away” on npm, introducing a captivating fusion of ambient and techno. This collaborative project marks a departure from Answer Code Request's renowned 4/4 techno framework, venturing into expansive auditory realms enriched by Jan Wagner's classical expertise.

Spanning eight meticulously crafted tracks, DEFTR's debut album explores a spectrum of blissful and resonant soundscapes. The compositions unfold with a delicate balance of ambient textures and rhythmic innovation, punctuated by evocative vocal samples that enhance the album's atmospheric depth.

Having previously released three EPs that hinted at this innovative direction, DEFTR solidifies their unique sonic identity with this full-
length release. The interplay between Answer Code Request's intricate rhythms and Wagner's ambient sensibilities creates a dynamic tension, resulting in a listening experience that is both immersive and transformative.

DEFTR's vision extends beyond the studio, aiming to bring their sound to life on stage with a focus on live performance elements, including drum machines and synths. While details of the debut album release show are forthcoming, Berlin is anticipated to host this significant event.

With their debut album, DEFTR not only establishes a new creative path for Answer Code Request and Jan Wagner but also sets a high standard for npm's inaugural release, promising an engaging and profound auditory journey.

Includes a cover of Death's Scream Bloody Gore as well as four bonus live-in-the-studio tracks!