quête:bow

Coming 40 years after he first started performing in bands in his native North West of England, Butterfly Mind is the most surprising release yet from Tim Bowness. From the short, sharp shocks of Always The Stranger and Only A Fool to the long-form ambition of the sensuous Dark Nevada Dream, the cinematic Electro-Ballroom of Glitter Fades and the dystopian paranoia of Say Your Goodbyes Parts 1 and 2, Butterfly Mind delivers a thrilling fusion of Art Rock invention, Post-Punk energy and epic soulful ballads. Tim’s seventh solo album features the stellar rhythm section of Richard Jupp (in his first major session since leaving Elbow) and Nick Beggs alongside a spectacular guest list including Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull), Dave Formula (Magazine), Peter Hammill (Van Der Graaf Generator), Martha Goddard (The Hushtones), Gregory Spawton (Big Big Train), Mark Tranmer (The Montgolfier Brothers / GNAC), Saro Cosentino (Franco Battiato), Italian Jazz musician Nicola Alesini, US singer Devon Dunaway (Ganga), Stephen W Tayler (Kate Bush) and, marking his first studio work with Tim for nearly three decades, former No-Man violinist Ben Coleman. Produced by Tim Bowness and Brian Hulse (Plenty), the album was mixed and mastered by Steven Wilson. Available as Limited 2CD Edition (featuring alternate mixes and bonus material), and a Limited 180g LP + CD edition featuring special die-cut artwork by Carl Glover. Also available as Digital Album.

New album from South London producer, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Wu-Lu.

Leader of the punk-rap awakening, Wu-Lu pulls inspiration from personal hardship and the underrepresented on his latest for Warp entitled 'LOGGERHEAD'. Miles Romans-Hopcraft based his artistic moniker on the Amharic word for water, “wu-ha”. True to his fluid sound and nature, he decided to change it to something that felt more liquid. He ended up with Wu-Lu, a name he has been using since 2015. His first record GINGA opened the floodgates to a career that would take him to various places, people, and genres. From breaking bones at skateparks as a teenager, to DJing as one of the original members of Touching Bass, and eventually getting signed to Warp in 2021.

As an artist, Wu-Lu seems concerned with feeling and communicating the full spectrum of human emotion. Throughout his varied discography, he touches on disparate themes and sounds, straddling a divide between blissed-out beats and grungy guitar dirges, and often mixing both into one amorphous, unclassifiable sound of his own.

On ‘'LOGGERHEAD'’, Wu-Lu hones his unique sound. On ‘Take Stage’, a despondent spoken word intro opens with sombre strings and underlying bows dragged delicately across them. Then the lights flicker to life on ‘Night Pill’, and the mosh pit with them - the bassline approaches like a hungry shark and the guitars snarl with a homemade 90s grunge energy. This grunge drawl and punk spirit is peppered with dry old-school drum sounds of classic hip-hop, with laid-back beat-oriented tracks are spread amongst those with intermittent growls, scratches, and shrieks. Sonic elements are constantly rearranged and juxtaposed throughout the album, like on ‘South’ where the fluctuating pitch of squealing guitars and screaming vocals is contrasted with the steady flow of Lex Amor.

Listening through the album you are constantly greeted with about-turns, and through the element of surprise and deft use of contrast 'LOGGERHEAD' sits at an exciting point in Wu-Lu’s genre-defying artistry.

This series highlights gems from Contemporary's extraordinary catalogue and features artists who both defined and expanded the sound of West Coast jazz.

Guitarist Barney Kessel, drummer Shelly Manne, bassist Red Mitchell, and the supremely soulful Hampton Hawes, one of jazz's most appealing yet unsun pianists, fill out the quartet scorecard of the 1958 release Four!. Although much later in his career Hawes experimented with electronic keyboards and fusion music, at heart he was a bebopper, as this session makes abundantly clear.

With material like Charlie Parker's "Yardbird Suite," his own "Up Blues," and Red Mitchell's "Bow Jest" (on which Mitchell plays his first recorded bowed solo), Hawes is at a creative peak here. Kessel, who played on the date, paid tribute to Hawes' "inexhaustible ideas on the blues…no one else in modern jazz plays the blues better." And nobody could tie a rhythm section together better than Shelly Manne, the fourth party in this boundingly energetic Four!

(2021 Remaster)

"I was trying to find where I fit musically again. I wasn’t really sure if it was Americana or if it was Country or if it was Rock – I was all over the place with my songwriting and my career. Ironically enough, COVID really gave me a chance to just turn my brain off a little bit and stop thinking. When I came out on the other side I found not only a renewed sense of my music and wanting to get out and play again, but I found a renewed sense of self. I really felt I found who I wanted to be as a writer, as a singer, as an artist. I hate to just say Country music or more Country-oriented but that’s really what it came down to and the simplicity of it. I really wanted the simplicity of the songs to carry themselves and carry the album and lead us all the way through the live show; where the simplicity creates these big, massive sounding songs and that’s what I feel like we got from this record. I’m just trying to put my own personal spin on what I think is great about Country music. I’m not reinventing the wheel here, I’m writing about things that have been written about a million times; you just try to put your own spin on things and I really feel like that’s what this album’s strength is: it’s traditional Country roots but it has a vintage Wade Bowen feel to it lyrically and sonically." - Wade Bowen

Yellow Vinyl

Following his late 2021 LP „Obi Thine Xi“, this extensive remix EP leads the last Rico Puestel album into its final conclusion, serving up substantial interpretations by Tom Wax, BOWMN and two further monikers from Rico Puestel himself! As if this wasn't enough, the highly anticipated, formerly unnamed and allegedly lost track „OTX“ is in on it too.

On the A-side, Tom Wax delivers his stronghold and contemporary Techno design of „ID“ while Rico Puestel hauls out the big analogue guns and „classical“ approach as „Modern Minimals Sound Research“ on the remix of „Voluptuous Antics Enter The Hemisphere“, reinterpreting his own work from another perspective.

Side AA brings you BOWMN with his forceful and psychedelic interpreation of „Modest“ before Rico Puestel comes in another time as „Tetzlaff“ and turns in the 80s-inspired earworm remix of „Thine“.

Last but not least, „OTX“ happens to be the concluding track of this record that people have been waiting and asking for since 2020 – finally delivered!

»1976 Kaleidoscope of Rainbows« in unmistakably a trait d’union between the british (orchestral) jazz-rock heritage and a more confident way of writing. Heading clearly to different directions, the album showcase the talent of the main composer with the singular talent of trumpet player Ian Carr (Nucleus), cello player Paul Buckmaster (otherwise known for his collaboration with David Bowie and Miles Davis) and clarinet player Tony Coe.

This is the final part of an Ardley trilogy, preceded by »Greek Variations« (1969) and »A Symphony of Amaranths« (1971). Here, Ardley uses Balinese scales – the pelog, a Gamelan scale comprising seven notes, and the slendro, an older, more commonly used Gamelan scale. They are used in a variety of note patterns, each unique combination the basis of a series of »Rainbow« compositions, from »Rainbow 1« to »Rainbow 7«. This brand new concept is fitting, showing different strategies and a more exotic feel with a certain minimalist counterpoint. A new beginning to a certain degree, with the spacey 1979 masterpiece »Harmony Of The Spheres« soon to come

Vocalists/multi-instrumentalists Claus Lessmann and Michael Voss, who also produces acts such as Michael Schenker: a combination that makes rock fans sit up immediately. Considering the two’s various collaborations - lately as members of PHANTOM V - spread over several decades, »Rock Is Our Religion« is way more than a debut. The album, which was recorded and produced by Voss at German Kidwood Studios Münstertal and Kidroom Studios Greven (only Vincent Golly’s drums were tracked by Mathi Brandstetter at Home Studios Hamburg, Germany), rather is a relevation, a bow down to genuine rock packed in 49 minutes of handmade music performed to the point. Lessmann and Voss complement each other over these 12 tracks as if they hadn’t done anything else before: from mysteriously starting opener 'Medicine Man' to lead single 'Smoke Without A Fire', the recording of 'Take My Heart And Run', circling back to one of their earlier songwriting cooperations in the '90s, and the duo’s interpretation of AMERICA’s 1975 hit song 'Sister Golden Hair' (feat. Kenny Lessmann on drums and Martin Huch on pedal steel guitar), this album impressively shows that it still doesn’t need many frills to create impactful heavy music nowadays. Amen!

Vanderwolf re-emerges with '12 Little Killers' an eclectic collection that
includes the deliciously oozing slice of psychedelia of the single Glisten,
which is heavily-slanted toward melting analogue synthesizers (Sam
Sallon) and rich layers of acoustic guitars (Chris Cordoba) and an
exquisite vocal by Max Vanderwolf
Recorded by producer Chris Wyles at his south London studio, the 12 songs were
selected, mixed and compiled by keyboardist and co- producer Sam Sallon. It's
available in a limited pressing of 500.
Vanderwolf's music spans a wide-range of genres from global beats to hard blues
to fragile balladry to prog- rock monstrosities and beyond. With a vast back
catalogue of songs to release, Vanderwolf is set to get his wild and restless
music out to the world.
Born in NYC, working in London and as of 2020 residing in Los Angeles, Max
Vanderwolf has recorded several albums and countless songs. Most of them
remain unreleased. Notably, he was vocalist and creative-force behind the semilegendary London band, Last Man Standing, whose sole album in 2008 received
plaudits from many including Mojo and Uncut.
Concurrent to his life in music, Vanderwolf has worked under an assumed name
as a music programmer and concert producer in some of the worlds' most
celebrated clubs and venues. He went from overseeing the legendary
underground downtown NYC's Knitting Factory to overseeing London's Royal
Festival Hall, where for 9 years he produced the Meltdown Festival where he
worked closely with David Bowie, Patti Smith, Jarvis Cocker, Massive Attack and
others. He has produced concerts in Brooklyn, Rome and Paris working closely
with John Cale, Sparks and the Residents.

- Tyrannosaurus Rex had headlined at the very first Glastonbury in September 1970, as last-minute replacements when The Kinks pulled out.
- Released in April 1972, the triple "Glastonbury Fayre" album featured contributions from a host of contemporary stars, including the Grateful Dead, David Bowie, Hawkwind, Brinsley Schwarz, the Pink Fairies, Pete Townshend and Marc Bolan.
- Bolan's contribution was a stereo home demo recording of a new song, "Sunken Rags", a veiled dig at the music industry of the time. This is now re-issued for the first time since 1972, on 7" orange vinyl.
- The B-side features the T. Rex studio recording of the song, along with "Jitterbug Love", both tracks appearing on the b-side of "Children Of The Revolution".

Diese LP ist für alle Valerie Dore Fans ein Must-have.

Nachdem wir uns bei der “Greatest Hits & Remixes“ LP einen Überblick über die Extended Versionen verschafft haben, gibt
es auf Vol. 2 die Radio Versionen. Fast 50 min. Hörgenuss für alle Vinyl-Liebhaber. Inkl. “The Night“, “It’s So Easy“ , “King Arthur” um nur einige der hier vertretenen Valerie Dore Klassiker zu nennen.

Embodying the mutant nature of club music in the modern age, Cocktail Party Effect comes bowling into Sneaker Social Club with a taut, wiry sound which joins dots and melts barriers at will.

The brainchild of Charlie Baldwin, who previously recorded as Kasket, Cocktail Party Effect has been forged over the past six years through heavy bursts of sound design anchored by soundsystem dynamics veering between 140 and 160 tempo zones. From 2020’s self-titled LP on Tectonic to drops on Osiris, Cold, Transfigured Time and more, Baldwin’s deftly avoided allegiance to any specific scene and instead deployed shock-inducing gear for DJs with fortitude to test on their crowds.

On SNKRX010 the commitment to physicality is prevalent across all four tracks, veering from the deadly broken beat barbs and artful fills of ‘Racka’ to the splintered breakbeat rushes and stop-start aggravation of ‘C.A.T.C.R’. ‘Grims8’ is perhaps the purest manifestation of the Cocktail Party sound though, all monochrome rigour with the contrast turned way up, powered by steely, gleaming rhythmic impulses and writhing with dense layers of sonic matter. Watch out for the glutinous bass snarl of ‘58bethe7’ though, which slams in sideways with an unabashed rave instinct crushed through a post-modern production lens.

Baldwin may be operating on his own terms, but on this 12” he demonstrates versatility to match his originality, resulting in four inventive dance destroyers tooled to bridge between styles, sets and scenes.

The Logic of Chaos is the latest release of Elisa Batti for the label One Instrument that gathers music composed over a period of 3 years. Fascinated by the idea of developing pieces with strict and limiting guidelines, the confined environment gave her the possibility to explore and expand the creativity and the freedom of composing. Each single piece has a specific story and is recorded with a different instrument.

“Asa” is produced together with Sebastian Josef Brunnlechner while composing the sound design for an installation. The piece comprises repetitions of a few simple loops layered and arranged over a carpet of long notes played with a bow. The bow has been intentionally played slowly in order to obtain as many overtones as possible. The short pizzicato melodies consist in small and simple repeated loops that appear and disappear dissolving with the other sounds. The intention behind this track is to let the beautiful sound of the instrument speak for itself evoking a dreamy atmosphere.

“Slow Fall” sees the collaboration with the pianist Marko Ivic and has an improvised approach. While Ivic was playing the piano Elisa Batti was processing the sounds on the fly. The piece is based on a minimalistic procedure, where continual loops create a scenographic effect.

“Taiga” includes different patches of the Moog Mother-32 and is an emotive landscape where sounds rise and disappear again, leaving space to thoughts and images.

The EP ends with “Ecstatic” created with the Korg Minilogue. It was part of a commissioned dance piece that afterwards has been readapted for the release. The final outcome sees a more complex and erratic behaviour.

Elisa Batti’s work induces a state where time stands still whilst simultaneously being in motion. Her sound palette is broad and expresses a high artistic achievement.

Eighteen sacred psychedelic suppositories from the laboratory of mad scientist and scalpel-happy pop mutilator Jean-Pierre Massiera. Includes
the rarest and most sought after fuzz funk, spooked surf and
interplanetary prog from ‘The French Joe Meek’ and all his schizoid splitpersonalities and freakish friends - The Maledictus Sound, Chico
Magnetic Band, Visitors, Human Egg, The Pirhana Sound and Jesus
himself.

 Let Finders Keepers introduce you to some old friends of theirs - Charlie Mike Sierra, Jean-Pierre Areisam, JPM and Co. Erik, The Horrific Child, Jesus, Les Maledictus Sound, Human Egg... This might sound like they’re flicking through the imaginary LP racks in the record shop from ‘A Clockwork Orange’ or perhaps congratulating the runners up in a
Halloween fancy dress competition but for the previously uninitiated you
have just been ordained into the congregation of the many split
personalities of one Mr. Jean-Pierre Bernard Massiera. Bow down to the
nine-headed monster as he mutates and shape-shifts back through time
to his humble beginnings in a Buenos Aires province ravaging and
pillaging the music of the European people for his own twisted
benediction along the way.

 This might, as intended, sound a little bit dramatic but if there is one
single ingredient that gives the eccentric Jean-Pierre Massiera his
distinct flavour it’s a large dollop of drama. Add sprinklings of
schizophrenia, shock, myth and macabre and you are on the way to a Bmovie broth with an acquired taste that has, like all the best cheese,
taken over thirty years to mature to perfection. Like all the best monsters,
his split personality is the key to his infamy and the secret of his blood
sucking success.

 This is why Jean-Pierre Massiera is (un)commonly known for two key
periods in his career which, like a worm, can be split down the middle to
thrive and flourish independently. To cut a long story short, Massiera is,
above all, a lover and purveyor of musique fantastique, and is willing and
able to hijack whichever stylistic vehicle that passes him buy in order to
do feed his lust. In the earlier part of his career he honed his sordid craft
amongst psychedelic circles in Nice and Quebec. From late 1972
onwards he moved to Antibes and started a disco revolution and
became an in demand cosmic record producer. For years, prog rock
obsessives and disco aficionados have wondered if there was two
unrelated freak merchants called Jean-Pierre Massiera but, in this rare
instance, exploito-maniacs from both sides of the cosmic coin are united
by the work of this singular, single-handed monstrous music
manufactory.

 Remastered and available once again on deluxe black vinyl since the
initial Finders Keepers limited edition 2009 pressing

Tape

Charlemagne Palestine (born Charles Martin ni 1947 in Brooklyn, New York) wrote intense, ritualistic music in the 1970s, intended by the composer to rub against audiences' expectations of what is beautiful and meaningful in music. A composer-performer, he always performed his own works as soloist. His earliest works were compositions for carillon and electronic drones, and he is best known for his intensely performed piano works. He also performs as a vocalist. Palestine's performance style is ritualistic; he generally surrounds himself (and his piano) with stuffed animals, smokes large numbers of kretek (Indonesian clove cigarettes) and drinks cognac.

Oren Ambarchi (born 1969 in Australia) is a composer and multi-instrumentalist with longstanding interests in transcending conventional instrumental approaches. His work focuses mainly on the exploration of the guitar, "re-routing the instrument into a zone of alien abstraction where it's no longer easily identifiable as itself. Instead, it's a laboratory for extended sonic investigation". (The Wire, UK).

Oren Ambarchi's works are hesitant and tense extended songforms located in the cracks between several schools: modern electronics and processing; laminal improvisation and minimalism; hushed, pensive songwriting; the deceptive simplicity and temporal suspensions of composers such as Morton Feldman and Alvin Lucier; and the physicality of rock music, slowed down and stripped back to its bare bones, abstracted and replaced with pure signal.

From the late 90's his experiments in guitar abstraction and extended technique have led to a more personal and unique sound-world incorporating a broader palette of instruments and sensibilities. On releases such as Grapes From The Estate and In The Pendulum's Embrace Ambarchi has employed glass harmonica, strings, bells, piano, drums and percussion, creating fragile textures as light as air which tenuously coexist with the deep, wall-shaking bass tones derived from his guitar.

Ambarchi works with simple constructs and parameters; exploring one idea over an extended duration and patiently teasing every nuance and implication from each texture; the phenomena of sum and difference tones; carefully tended arrangements that unravel gently; unprepossessing melodies that slowly work their way through various permutations; resulting in an otherworldly, cumulative impact of patiently unfolding compositions.

Ambarchi has performed and recorded with a diverse array of artists such as Fennesz, Otomo Yoshihide, Pimmon, Keiji Haino, John Zorn, Rizili, Voice Crack, Jim O'Rourke, Keith Rowe, Phill Niblock, Dave Grohl, Gunter Muller, Evan Parker, z'ev, Toshimaru Nakamura, Peter Rehberg, Merzbow, Kassel Jaeger, Anthony Pateras, Crys Cole, Giuseppe Ielasi, Judith Hamann, Sunn 0))), James Rushford, Stephen O'Malley and many more.

For 10 years together with Robbie Avenaim, Ambarchi was the co-organiser of the What Is Music? festival, Australia's premier annual showcase of local and international experimental music. Ambarchi now curates the Maximum Arousal series at The Toff In Town in Melbourne and has recently co-produced an Australian television series on experimental music called Subsonics. Ambarchi co-curated the sound program for the 2008 Yokohama Triennale. Ambarchi has released numerous recordings for international labels such as Touch, Southern Lord, Table Of The Elements and Tzadik.

Belgian drummer Eric Thielemans is one of the most idiosyncratic figures in Belgian music, someone who not only demonstrates that special musicians always seek out (and find) their own place, but above all that they always remain students of the art of questioning and listening. No musician better illustrates the difference between playing music and playing with music than percussionist Eric Thielemans. He gets to the heart of the matter with an at times extremely minimalist approach, but on the other hand he frequently relies on a range of objects beyond the regular drum kit: a drum placed on its side, a bicycle wheel with a bow, hands and the body.

Tape

Charlemagne Palestine (born Charles Martin ni 1947 in Brooklyn, New York) wrote intense, ritualistic music in the 1970s, intended by the composer to rub against audiences' expectations of what is beautiful and meaningful in music. A composer-performer, he always performed his own works as soloist. His earliest works were compositions for carillon and electronic drones, and he is best known for his intensely performed piano works. He also performs as a vocalist. Palestine's performance style is ritualistic; he generally surrounds himself (and his piano) with stuffed animals, smokes large numbers of kretek (Indonesian clove cigarettes) and drinks cognac.

Oren Ambarchi (born 1969 in Australia) is a composer and multi-instrumentalist with longstanding interests in transcending conventional instrumental approaches. His work focuses mainly on the exploration of the guitar, "re-routing the instrument into a zone of alien abstraction where it's no longer easily identifiable as itself. Instead, it's a laboratory for extended sonic investigation". (The Wire, UK).

Oren Ambarchi's works are hesitant and tense extended songforms located in the cracks between several schools: modern electronics and processing; laminal improvisation and minimalism; hushed, pensive songwriting; the deceptive simplicity and temporal suspensions of composers such as Morton Feldman and Alvin Lucier; and the physicality of rock music, slowed down and stripped back to its bare bones, abstracted and replaced with pure signal.

From the late 90's his experiments in guitar abstraction and extended technique have led to a more personal and unique sound-world incorporating a broader palette of instruments and sensibilities. On releases such as Grapes From The Estate and In The Pendulum's Embrace Ambarchi has employed glass harmonica, strings, bells, piano, drums and percussion, creating fragile textures as light as air which tenuously coexist with the deep, wall-shaking bass tones derived from his guitar.

Ambarchi works with simple constructs and parameters; exploring one idea over an extended duration and patiently teasing every nuance and implication from each texture; the phenomena of sum and difference tones; carefully tended arrangements that unravel gently; unprepossessing melodies that slowly work their way through various permutations; resulting in an otherworldly, cumulative impact of patiently unfolding compositions.

Ambarchi has performed and recorded with a diverse array of artists such as Fennesz, Otomo Yoshihide, Pimmon, Keiji Haino, John Zorn, Rizili, Voice Crack, Jim O'Rourke, Keith Rowe, Phill Niblock, Dave Grohl, Gunter Muller, Evan Parker, z'ev, Toshimaru Nakamura, Peter Rehberg, Merzbow, Kassel Jaeger, Anthony Pateras, Crys Cole, Giuseppe Ielasi, Judith Hamann, Sunn 0))), James Rushford, Stephen O'Malley and many more.

For 10 years together with Robbie Avenaim, Ambarchi was the co-organiser of the What Is Music? festival, Australia's premier annual showcase of local and international experimental music. Ambarchi now curates the Maximum Arousal series at The Toff In Town in Melbourne and has recently co-produced an Australian television series on experimental music called Subsonics. Ambarchi co-curated the sound program for the 2008 Yokohama Triennale. Ambarchi has released numerous recordings for international labels such as Touch, Southern Lord, Table Of The Elements and Tzadik.

Belgian drummer Eric Thielemans is one of the most idiosyncratic figures in Belgian music, someone who not only demonstrates that special musicians always seek out (and find) their own place, but above all that they always remain students of the art of questioning and listening. No musician better illustrates the difference between playing music and playing with music than percussionist Eric Thielemans. He gets to the heart of the matter with an at times extremely minimalist approach, but on the other hand he frequently relies on a range of objects beyond the regular drum kit: a drum placed on its side, a bicycle wheel with a bow, hands and the body.

Poltergeist has that strange power of attraction that these personalities with their icy, mysterious aura hold. As soon as Ari Girard (aka Poltergeist) appears, something happens, he catches the light and strikes the spirits.

Kämpfer LP is a ghost story where Poltergeist invites Joy Division, New Order, Talking Heads, The Cure, Can, Kraftwerk, Nine Inch Nails or Jeff Mills for its first album. At the Poltergeist banquet, the crows of cold wave and the barbarians of krautrock, the metallers of indus rock and the freaks of techno meet.

The epicentre is Berlin, the Wall, Lou Reed's Gotham, the Bowie/Eno trilogy and the toxic nights of underground clubs...

Kämpfer LP, Poltergeist's first album, reveals its dark and disturbing universe. Marked by a heavy, deep and majestic atmosphere, this project evokes, without ever saying it openly, the climatic urgency, the ineluctable destiny, the human obsession to be first, to leave a trace of its passage and the nightmares which agitate the nocturnal spirits.

Between frenetic synths, bewitching waves and marked foot, this implacable album marks the beginning of the Poltergeist era.

Scratching synths, a dark and heavy universe: we can understand Vitalic's crush, who decided to sign the project at the first listening on his label Clivage Music.

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

After the 1974 release of The End…the magnetic and controversial Warhol muse went on a fruitful partnership with French director Philippe Garrel, for almost seven films. Back in New York in 1979 she started to perform again live, appearing firstly at the CBGB with John Cale and musical partner Lutz Ulbrich (former guitarist of Agitation Free and Ash Ra Tempel)… Back in France, she met young and talented Corsican bassist Philippe Quilichini who produced her comeback, Drama of Exile, in 1981. The album was released twice, in two different versions. Hereby we present the second, appearing in 1983, after a legal controversy was settled with Aura Records that released the first issue. While the first press was a 9-track offering, this second issue excludes “Purple Lips” but adds the tracks “Saeta” and “Vegas” released on a 7″ single in 1981. For this album, Nico recorded covers of the Velvet Underground’s “I’m Waiting for the Man” and David Bowie’s “Heroes”.

Coming 40 years after he first started performing in bands in his native North West of England, Butterfly Mind is the most surprising release yet from Tim Bowness. From the short, sharp shocks of Always The Stranger and Only A Fool to the long-form ambition of the sensuous Dark Nevada Dream, the cinematic Electro-Ballroom of Glitter Fades and the dystopian paranoia of Say Your Goodbyes Parts 1 and 2, Butterfly Mind delivers a thrilling fusion of Art Rock invention, Post-Punk energy and epic soulful ballads. Tim’s seventh solo album features the stellar rhythm section of Richard Jupp (in his first major session since leaving Elbow) and Nick Beggs alongside a spectacular guest list including Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull), Dave Formula (Magazine), Peter Hammill (Van Der Graaf Generator), Martha Goddard (The Hushtones), Gregory Spawton (Big Big Train), Mark Tranmer (The Montgolfier Brothers / GNAC), Saro Cosentino (Franco Battiato), Italian Jazz musician Nicola Alesini, US singer Devon Dunaway (Ganga), Stephen W Tayler (Kate Bush) and, marking his first studio work with Tim for nearly three decades, former No-Man violinist Ben Coleman. Produced by Tim Bowness and Brian Hulse (Plenty), the album was mixed and mastered by Steven Wilson. Available as Limited 2CD Edition (featuring alternate mixes and bonus material), and a Limited 180g LP + CD edition featuring special die-cut artwork by Carl Glover. Also available as Digital Album.

Mekons + Freakwater = FREAKONS.Freakwater and the Mekons have
joined forces to sing songs about coal mining
FREAKONS, the eponymously-titled album on Fluff & Gravy Records , is the first
fruit of this visionary musical union.The Mekons and Freakwater have been
friends for decades, forged in the punk rock/ art school crucibles of late '70s
Leeds and mid '80s Louisville respectively. Both bands mined British folk and
American classic country music for three- chord songs whose lyrics fit the
nihilism or political rage or outlandish joy of the moment. Many of these songs
were about coal mining. Traditional songs about heroic union organizers, deadly
mine disasters, wailing orphans, or mining's grim history of economic and
ecological devastation fit seamlessly alongside each band's original material.
And so it is with FREAKONS.
Deep pit mines, strip mines, mountaintop removal, collapsing slag heaps. Deadly
work, poisoned water, and fantastic songs. Always fantastic songs. This is where
the FREAKONS were born, from the very bowels of the earth.
The Mekons' Jon Langford & Sally Timms and Freakwater's Janet Bean &
Catherine Irwin are joined here by the stellar string and vocal harmonies of Jean
Cook (Ida, Tara Jane O'Neil, Skull Orchard) and Anna Krippenstapel (The Other
Years, Joan Shelley, Freakwater), along with special guest, the beloved guitar
genius Jim Elkington (Jeff Tweedy, Richard Thompson, Eleventh Dream Day,
Horse's Ha, Skull Orchard, Freakwater, The Zincs).
Belgian painter Jo Clauwaert created the album's intricate gatefold cover. Images
from song lyrics and related history emerge and recede again in this gorgeously
illustrated artistic fever dream.The story of coal mining is one of ongoing pillage
and ecological devastation. It is also a story of heroic workers, struggling in
blighted circumstances to feed their families. The songs and the culture that have
risen from the mines deserve our attention. A portion of the profits from the
FREAKONS record will go to Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, a grassroots
organization dedicated to creating a better future for the Appalachian region.
Kentuckians For The Commonwealth (KFTC.ORG) works to end mountaintopremoval coal mining, and to promote political candidates who care about social,
environmental and economic justice and the transition to clean, renewable
resources

Transformer is the second solo studio album by American recording artist Lou Reed. The album is considered an influential landmark of the glam rock genre, anchored by Reed's most successful single, "Walk on the Wild Side", which touched on then-controversial topics of sexual orientation, gender identity, prostitution, and drug use. Produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson, the album was released in November 1972 by RCA Records. Though Reed's self-titled debut solo album had been unsuccessful, Bowie had been an early fan of Reed's former band The Velvet Underground, and used his own fame to promote Reed, who had not yet achieved mainstream success.

Nika Roza Danilova, die Sängerin, Songwriterin und Produzentin, die seit 2009 unter ihrem Künstlernamen ZOLA JESUS veröffentlicht, hat eine Stimme, die die Faszien der Realität durchschneidet und den rohen Nerv der Erfahrung trifft. Auf früheren Alben hat ZOLA JESUS weitgehend die Rolle der Autorin und Alleinherrscherin gespielt und jeden Aspekt des Sounds und des Aussehens ihres Projekts akribisch für sich ausgearbeitet. Diesmal erkannte sie jedoch, dass ihr gewohntes Bedürfnis nach Kontrolle sie von ihrer Kunst abschnitt. Als die Frustration darüber, dass sie nicht in der Lage war, etwas zu erschaffen, unerträglich wurde, bat sie zum ersten Mal in der Geschichte von ZOLA JESUS um externen Input. "At some point, I had to work with other people. I needed new blood. I needed somebody else." Sie schickte ihre Demos an den Produzenten Randall Dunn, der für seine Arbeit mit Sunn O))) und an Johann Johannssons Filmmusik für "Mandy" bekannt geworden ist. Außerdem begann sie, mit dem Schlagzeuger und Perkussionisten Matt Chamberlain zusammenzuarbeiten, der bereits an Alben von FIONA APPLE, BOB DYLAN und DAVID BOWIE mitgewirkt hat. In ihrem kreativen Prozess begann Danilova, eine Beziehung mit dem Unbekannten aufzubauen...

Nika Roza Danilova, die Sängerin, Songwriterin und Produzentin, die seit 2009 unter ihrem Künstlernamen ZOLA JESUS veröffentlicht, hat eine Stimme, die die Faszien der Realität durchschneidet und den rohen Nerv der Erfahrung trifft. Auf früheren Alben hat ZOLA JESUS weitgehend die Rolle der Autorin und Alleinherrscherin gespielt und jeden Aspekt des Sounds und des Aussehens ihres Projekts akribisch für sich ausgearbeitet. Diesmal erkannte sie jedoch, dass ihr gewohntes Bedürfnis nach Kontrolle sie von ihrer Kunst abschnitt. Als die Frustration darüber, dass sie nicht in der Lage war, etwas zu erschaffen, unerträglich wurde, bat sie zum ersten Mal in der Geschichte von ZOLA JESUS um externen Input. "At some point, I had to work with other people. I needed new blood. I needed somebody else." Sie schickte ihre Demos an den Produzenten Randall Dunn, der für seine Arbeit mit Sunn O))) und an Johann Johannssons Filmmusik für "Mandy" bekannt geworden ist. Außerdem begann sie, mit dem Schlagzeuger und Perkussionisten Matt Chamberlain zusammenzuarbeiten, der bereits an Alben von FIONA APPLE, BOB DYLAN und DAVID BOWIE mitgewirkt hat. In ihrem kreativen Prozess begann Danilova, eine Beziehung mit dem Unbekannten aufzubauen...

Nika Roza Danilova, die Sängerin, Songwriterin und Produzentin, die seit 2009 unter ihrem Künstlernamen ZOLA JESUS veröffentlicht, hat eine Stimme, die die Faszien der Realität durchschneidet und den rohen Nerv der Erfahrung trifft. Auf früheren Alben hat ZOLA JESUS weitgehend die Rolle der Autorin und Alleinherrscherin gespielt und jeden Aspekt des Sounds und des Aussehens ihres Projekts akribisch für sich ausgearbeitet. Diesmal erkannte sie jedoch, dass ihr gewohntes Bedürfnis nach Kontrolle sie von ihrer Kunst abschnitt. Als die Frustration darüber, dass sie nicht in der Lage war, etwas zu erschaffen, unerträglich wurde, bat sie zum ersten Mal in der Geschichte von ZOLA JESUS um externen Input. "At some point, I had to work with other people. I needed new blood. I needed somebody else." Sie schickte ihre Demos an den Produzenten Randall Dunn, der für seine Arbeit mit Sunn O))) und an Johann Johannssons Filmmusik für "Mandy" bekannt geworden ist. Außerdem begann sie, mit dem Schlagzeuger und Perkussionisten Matt Chamberlain zusammenzuarbeiten, der bereits an Alben von FIONA APPLE, BOB DYLAN und DAVID BOWIE mitgewirkt hat. In ihrem kreativen Prozess begann Danilova, eine Beziehung mit dem Unbekannten aufzubauen...

Nika Roza Danilova, die Sängerin, Songwriterin und Produzentin, die seit 2009 unter ihrem Künstlernamen ZOLA JESUS veröffentlicht, hat eine Stimme, die die Faszien der Realität durchschneidet und den rohen Nerv der Erfahrung trifft. Auf früheren Alben hat ZOLA JESUS weitgehend die Rolle der Autorin und Alleinherrscherin gespielt und jeden Aspekt des Sounds und des Aussehens ihres Projekts akribisch für sich ausgearbeitet. Diesmal erkannte sie jedoch, dass ihr gewohntes Bedürfnis nach Kontrolle sie von ihrer Kunst abschnitt. Als die Frustration darüber, dass sie nicht in der Lage war, etwas zu erschaffen, unerträglich wurde, bat sie zum ersten Mal in der Geschichte von ZOLA JESUS um externen Input. "At some point, I had to work with other people. I needed new blood. I needed somebody else." Sie schickte ihre Demos an den Produzenten Randall Dunn, der für seine Arbeit mit Sunn O))) und an Johann Johannssons Filmmusik für "Mandy" bekannt geworden ist. Außerdem begann sie, mit dem Schlagzeuger und Perkussionisten Matt Chamberlain zusammenzuarbeiten, der bereits an Alben von FIONA APPLE, BOB DYLAN und DAVID BOWIE mitgewirkt hat. In ihrem kreativen Prozess begann Danilova, eine Beziehung mit dem Unbekannten aufzubauen...

Debut full length album on the Valley of Search label by Mexican born, New York-based vibraphonist, marimbist, improviser and composer Patricia Brennan. The twelve original instrumentals that make up the album were composed and performed solo by Brennan on vibraphone and marimba. Employing unusual performance techniques and occasional electronics, many of the compositions were borne from improvisations created live in the studio at the time of recording. At times exploring silence and space, stillness and patience the album investigates new sonic territories with an endless sense of curiosity. "This album is a personal statement not only as a vibraphonist but also as an improviser and composer," says Brennan. "From bowing and bending pitch, to the use of extended effects via guitar pedals, this album reflects my vision for the vibraphone and the potential of all the possible ways it can be played. I wanted to not only incorporate all those techniques in the compositions but also wanted them to become part of my general improvisatory language." Patricia has performed with many renown musicians including singer and composer Meredith Monk and Theo Bleckmann, saxophonists Jon Irabagon and Scott Robinson, trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, drummer Marcus Gilmore, guitarist Mary Halvorson and many others. She has performed in venues such as Newport Jazz Festival, SF JAZZ, and Carnegie Hall, as well as international venues such as Wiener Konzerthaus in Vienna, Austria, Alte Oper in Frankfurt, Germany, Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City and Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Limited edition 400 copies double pack 7” single presented in a deluxe gatefold sleeve • Includes unique edit of the only song ever credited as co-written by Bowie & Ronson • Includes fully remastered contents of the promotional flexi disc issued in 1974 as well as 2 tracks recorded on Mick’s ‘Slaughter on 10th Ave’ tour at the Rainbow Theatre in London. Record 1 1/Hey Ma Get Papa (C'mon let's do it again) 2/Original 1974 Promotional Flexi Disc - Spoken word and extracts of Love Me Tender Record 2 1/Leave My Heart Alone (Live at The Rainbow) 2/Slaughter on 10th Ave (Live at The Rainbow)

Stix Records, a sub-label of Favorite Recordings, proudly presents the long awaited reissue of Version Excursions, first album by The Dynamics. Originally released in 2007 and highly hard to find today, it could be considered as a modern reggae classic.

The band composed of Bruno “Patchwork” Hovart (production & programming), Eric “Flab” True (programming) and a vocal trio made of Mr Day, Sandra “Mounam” and Stevie Levi, quickly became famous with a 7inch single series, displaying their unique recipe of covers from classic hits by Madonna, Curtis Mayfield or The White Stripes to name just a few. True to Rocksteady and Reggae’s timeless tradition, everything from Pop, Roots, Disco, Soul & Rock is distilled through their fuzzy hypnotic filters to create amazing cover versions.

Originally hailing from the villages of Cameroon, the halls of Harvard, the palaces of Versailles, the boweries of Bristol, or the squares of Provence, it’s then in Lyon that The Dynamics united and created their timeless music, both vintage and fresh. 15 years after its release, the album’s still a real success, with more than 350k listeners on Spotify every month. An achievement easily explained by the quality of the tracks gathered, which also brought the original release to become quite rare years after years, now selling for crazy prices on the second-hand market.

"Whole Lotta Love" (Led Zeppelin), "Fever" (Peggy Lee), "The Creator Has A Master Plan" (Pharoah Sanders), "Lay Lady Lay" (Bob Dylan), these are only a few of the Rock, Pop, Soul and Jazz most famous hits reimagined by The Dynamics. In addition to the original tracklisting, you'll find on our 2022 remastered edition their cover of "Music" by Madonna, previously only available as 7inch.

28th April 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the release of David Bowie’s STARMAN, the first single from THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS. To celebrate, Parlophone Records is proud to announce release details to mark the album’s Golden Jubilee.

On 17th June 2022, 50 years and one day after the original U.K. release date, THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS will be issued as a limited edition 50th anniversary picture disc, featuring a half-speed master and a replica promotional poster for the album.

THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS is the breakthrough album that catapulted David Bowie into the international spotlight. Over the past 50 years it has remained a touchstone record, growing in stature with each passing year. It is now ingrained in popular culture, its undeniable influence spanning musicians from Arcade Fire to Lady Gaga, to Harry Styles’s androgynous fashion sense to Noel Fielding’s shirts on The Great British Bake-Off to Ziggy make-up challenges on Tik-Tok.

David Bowie laid to rest the Ziggy Stardust persona in July 1973 at his infamous last show with the Spiders From Mars at London’s Hammersmith Odeon, but Ziggy’s impact reverberates to this day.

Released for the first time on vinyl, Queen’s compilation ‘The Platinum Collection’, featuring all three of their Greatest Hits albums, shows their unrivalled track record of chart-topping, award-winning, record-breaking rock and pop classics. June 17th will see the limited edition 6LP colour vinyl set released in a slipcase with brand new artwork. Each piece of vinyl will be a different colour and come in its own individually designed sleeve. The set also comes with an exclusive 24-page 12″ photo booklet. LIMITED EDITION