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SHOLTO's 'Letting Go of Forever' is an expansive double LP that digs deep into his other-worldly blend of cinematic soul, and psychedelic library music. Drawing on influences spanning Mozart, Arthur Verocai, Piero Umiliani and David Axelrod, the record sits alongside contemporaries including Robohands, The Ironsides and Surprise Chef.

A captivating listen, well worth the investment of time across its 26-track run time, SHOLTO explores the concept of letting go as a painfully natural ritual, characterising the art of being able to do so as riddled with complexities and anguish. Morbid to some, but beautifully freeing to others, the art of letting go of the idea that anything should be forever can be relieving, allowing us to cherish what is in front of us in the moment.

Be it in the face of the deaths of friends and loved ones or weddings and celebratory moments, everything is just passing, and SHOLTO spins a delicate balance between this dark and light on the record, pursuing the narrative that you can always turn a negative into a positive.

Emotional Response is proud to welcome renowned multi-instrumentalist Alan Briand aka Shelter, to the label with a striking new EP that delves deep into the realms of modern Digi-Dub.

Over a myriad of releases Shelter’s dextrous ability to straddle genres, from ambient, Balearic, improvisation and most recently a series of acid ragas, releasing on an impressive roster of today’s electronic labels including Antinote, Growing Bin, International Feel, Séance Centre and his own Protopost imprint.

After making waves on Emotional Response's All Trades compilations with his standout track "The Four Knights Dub," Briand returns to further explore his passion for digital dub and UK roots. Across four tracks, all recorded live, he merges sound design, found sounds, and world music with seismic basslines, creating a truly immersive sonic experience.

The rise of Digital Dub is often traced to the groundbreaking "Under Me Sleng Teng" by Prince Jammy / Wayne Smith, but it was the UK's later reversioning – adding electronic drums to roots and steppers rhythms – that gave birth to the unique sound of Digi-Dub.

Shelter pays homage to this tradition, drawing inspiration from the likes of Alpha & Omega, Bush Chemist, and Jonah Dan. His process is as raw as it is innovative: building an analog setup with a MIDI sequencer, DCO synth, live vocals, and sound effects fed through Boss pedals. Digital drums from the KPR77 and DD10 are layered in, with everything mixed live to tape, no overdubs, capturing the raw, live energy of the performance.

This EP must be experienced as a whole – a continuous live set of steppers 4/4 rhythms, cryptic titles (a nod to chess tactics) that acts as rewinds, paying tribute to dub classics of the past.

Loyle Carner will release his highly anticipated sophomore record, 'Not Waving, But Drowning' on 19 April via AMF Records.

'Not Waving, But Drowning' follows Loyle's BRIT (Best Male, Best Newcomer) and Mercury Prize nominated, top 20 debut 'Yesterday's Gone'. The bedrock of honest and raw sentimentality that you heard on 'Yesterday's Gone' left an inextinguishable mark on music in general and UK Hip Hop in particular, standing out as an ageless, bulletproof debut.

'Not Waving, But Drowning', Loyle's new album, gives yet more evidence - as if it were needed - of his razor-sharp flow and his unique storytelling ability. Yes, he can rap, but he allies that with the sensitivity of a poet, the observational skills of a novelist, and warmth of your best friend. The album opens with 'Dear Jean', a letter to his mother in which he's telling her that he has found the love of his life, 'a woman from the skies', and he's moving out.

It goes without saying that Loyle's music is hard to categorise, but what is even more impressive is that for someone who grew up listening to Mos Def, Biggie Smalls, Roots Manuva, and Wu Tang Clan, he doesn't sound like any of them. Although he might from time to time give lyrical nods to them, he's no imitator.

Loyle loves cooking. There are two tracks on this album named after chefs. The British-Israeli chef Yotam Ottolenghi, and the now deceased Italian chef Antonio Carluccio. 'Ottolenghi' the first single from the album was featured on the BBC Radio 1 B-list, BBC 6 Music A-list and has already been streamed over 5 million times.

Loyle refers to real life for everything, the title of 'Yesterday's Gone' came from a song of his step father, the title of his new album 'Not Waving, But Drowning' comes from a poem by his grandfather, which in turn came from a Stevie Smith poem. What you hear on the track 'Krispy' is real. He is pouring his heart out to his best friend Rebel Kleff after their relationship went downhill, he invites him on the track to say his piece but he doesn't turn up, so we get a flugel solo instead.

Loyle also has his own personal black consciousness movement. When he refers to his 'fathers' in the track 'Looking Back' he really is referring to two fathers. His biological father, a black man who he knows, but knows very little of, and his step father, a poet and musician who happens to be a white man but died a sudden unexpected death from epilepsy (SUDEP). With no real emotional ties to his biological father, but a deep connection with a deceased step-father, where does a young child turn He succinctly captures many of the great, unspoken, cultural and historical paradoxes of multicultural Britain on 'Looking Back'.

An album like this is hard to find. It is for those who like their Hip Hop to have soul, and their soul to have spirit. This is because it works on so many levels, but it is reflecting the personality of its creator. There are a host of collaborators here, Jorja Smith, Rebel Kleff, Kiko Bun, Kwes, Jordan Rakei, Sampha, Tom Misch and more, but none are overpowering. They blend righteously into place.
Loyle is not bitter with people who have let him down, or a society that lets so many down, but the combination of anger and love he has gives his voice the perfect blend of strength and vulnerability. This might be a coming of age album, but it's also a coming of ageless album. Loyle's 2019 Spring tour - which includes London's Roundhouse - sold out within 20 minutes of being on sale.

Not Waving, But Drowning



A rapper that raps about family is hard to find. The boys in the 'hood' tend not to be that interested in how much a 'brother' loves his mother, or how much he misses his dad, or even how much he misses his best friend. The boys in the 'hood' tend to be obsessed with the size of their cars, girls, bank accounts, and other personal 'possessions'. Loyle Carner's Mercury and BRIT Prize nominated debut 'Yesterday's Gone' (Released 2017), made it clear that he wasn't that kind of rapper. In fact, every time I talk to him about his work we talk about the world, and we tended to confuse ourselves by calling his work rap, poems, or songs, sometimes in the same sentence. They are in truth all of these things.



Here's some poetry.



Honestly I need them.

I hate them but I grieve them

I think I've finally found the reason

Trust

Like the fire needs the air.

I won't burn unless you're there.





'Not Waving, But Drowning', Loyle's forthcoming new album, gives us yet more evidence, (if it were needed), that he still has what rappers call, flow, but he hasn't lost any of his story telling qualities. Yes, the boy can rap, but a rapper with the sensitivity of a true poet, the observational skills of a novelist, and warmth of your best friend. The album opens with 'Dear Jean', a letter to his mother in which he's telling her that he has found the love of his life, (a woman from the skies), and he's moving out. He really loves the woman from the skies, but he still loves his mum, and so he reassures her that there is no competition, and tells her that 'She's not behind me or behind you, but beside we and beside two', his words. Or to put it another way, moving out without moving out. My words.



It goes without saying that Loyle's music is hard to categorise, but what is even more impressive is that for someone who grew up listening to Mos Def, Biggie Smalls, Roots Manuva, and Wu Tang Clan, he doesn't sound like any of them. Although he might from time to time give lyrical nods to them, he's no imitator. He says finding his own voice was something he always found easy. Although young, (in terms of a musical career), he has confidence in his own words and his own voice, and has never been tempted to sound like he's been hanging out in the USA, or rolling in 'Grime' on the mean streets of East London. And so when it comes to the creative process he doesn't simply find a beat to jump on and ride. Beats are important, but they are tenderly layered with samples, keyboards, or live drums, all imaginatively assembled for the laying on of words. Some tracks start with the idea, some with poetry, and some with a verse from a singer or some other melodic inspiration, but there is no formula.



Here's some poetry.



Don't hold any memories of us

Rather hold you everyday until the memories are dust

Yo we only caught the train

Cos you know I hate the bus





A prolific reader, who has dyslexia is hard to find. Add ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) to that and life should become even more difficult. To deal with your difficulties you devise coping strategies, which can differ from person to person. Loyle loves cooking. There are two tracks on this album named after chefs. The British-Israeli chef Ottolenghi, and the now deceased Italian chef Antonio Carluccio. Loyle describes himself as 'weird' because he is happy to read a cookbook as if he was reading a novel or a book of poetry. He has opened a cookery school for young adults not just because he loves food and wants to make more of it, but because it is one of the few things that can focus the ADHD mind. And when it comes to his other love, football, his approach is the same. Focus. He wanted to be a striker he says, up front scoring goals, but found his best position was in midfield because he was able to focus, check options, and see passes ahead of time, providing passes for other players just when they needed them. He says, 'You don't grow out of ADHD, you grow into it.' Loyle is also working with Levi's® on their music project where he is mentoring young musicians over a six month period, culminating at Liverpool Sound City festival.



More poetry.



When the going is tough

I wait till it falls on deaf ears

Hearsay

Without the boundaries of love



He also said, 'Ask most people and they will say that they love their mothers, but most are not going to rap about her'. On his first album Loyle's mum Jean wrote about the 'scribble of a boy' that growing up would take things apart to see how they worked. On this album she speaks with pride about a man who has found his place in the world.



Yes, poetry.



I'm still looking for the answers

Trying to find the right questions

Still waiting for my fathers

But can't break them in to sections



This poetry is serious. Loyle has his own personal black consciousness movement. He told me that he always felt safe at home, and being the darkest one in the family never meant a thing, but then when he had to face the outside world he felt hostility. It shook him up. Now he had to start asking questions, but what were the questions. This is serious. When he refers to his 'fathers' in the verse above taken from the track 'Looking Back' he really is referring to two fathers. His biological father, a black man who he knows, but knows very little of, and his step father, a poet and musician who happens to be a white man but died a sudden unexpected death from epilepsy (SUDEP). So to whom would a young black (or mixed race) kid turn He succinctly captures many of the great, unspoken, cultural and historical paradoxes of multicultural Britain when he says, 'My great grandfather could of owned my other one.' We are a people descended from enslaved people on one hand, and enslavers on the other, something we are still struggling to come to terms with, and this can be apparent in one family. A big book could have told you that, but here we get it in one line on the track, Looking Back.





Loyle refers to real life for everything. The album is peppered with captured moments that he records on his phone. These moments can range from conversations with taxi drivers, to capturing the moment when England scores a goal in the world cup. The title of 'Yesterday's Gone' came from a song of his step father, the title of his new album 'Not Waving but Drowning' comes from a poem by his grandfather, which in turn came from a Stevie Smith poem. What you hear on the track 'Krispy' is real. He is pouring his heart out to his best friend after their relationship went downhill, he invites him on the track to say his piece but he doesn't turn up, so we get a flugel solo instead. Yes people, this is real.



An album like this is hard to find. It is for those who like their Hip Hop to have soul, and their soul to have spirit, this is an album for those who have, (I'm sorry, I'm going to say it), emotional intelligence. This is because it works on so many levels, but it is reflecting the personality of its creator. There are a host of collaborators here, Jorja Smith, Rebel Kleff, Kiko Bun, Jordan Rakei, Sampha, Tom Misch and more, but none are overpowering. They blend righteously into place. Loyle is not bitter with people who have let him down, or the society that has let him down, but the combination of anger and love he has gives his voice the perfect blend of strength and vulnerability. This might be a coming of age album, but it's also a coming of ageless album. His first album worked, and this second album is a continuation of that work. Not creating a form, but being formless, as someone like Bruce Lee once said.

And here's some poetry from mum.



We talked long in to the darkest hours

Until we saw the burnished sky

And our eyes stung

As our words blurred and became thoughts

As we were silenced by the dawn

We clung to each other like sailors in a storm

Big Crown is proud to present Crown Jewels Vol. 3. As we are approaching seven years as a label these compilations have given us an opportunity to put the different artists on the label together on the same release. These compilations are something of a calling card for the "Big Crown Sound" where we get to put the most well established next to the newest on the roster and through that paint a picture of the overall ethos of the label. It's been extremely satisfying for us when the fans of one Big Crown artist discover another one because they are label mates. We put out these Crown Jewels comps with the hope that it will continue that process. Even though not all BCR artists can be found in the same aisle of the record store, after listening to Crown Jewels Vol. 3, it should be clear how they all fit on the same record label. When we started Big Crown we wanted to have a label that's only boundaries were defined by our taste, not by genre. Seven years later, we can say we have been able to do that. There is a sound, but that sound stretches into a lot of different directions, but that sound is uniquely ours. Thank you to everyone who has supported us thus far and please stay tuned as we continue pushing our sound and putting out tunes we believe in.

The next release from 29 Speedway is Break, the new EP from NY’s Relaxer, the long running alias of Daniel Martin-McCormick (Black Eyes, Ital and co-founder of Dripping), and it signals a decisive shift in his music. The tape features two remixes by the singular DJ Marcelle.

What happens when dubby drum & bass meets Dischord’s post-punk colossus Black Eyes? “Break” is the new EP from NY’s Relaxer, the long running alias of Daniel Martin-McCormick (Black Eyes, Ital and co-founder of Dripping), and it signals a decisive shift in his music.

Prompted by friends to write a drum & bass live set just as Black Eyes was reuniting, the results didn’t quite fit the d&b genre. But it felt right. Quick, nimble, with room for the ferocity of his favorite post punk and some of the spaciousness of dub. Evergreen vibes, really, but seen from a fresh perspective.

Honed over a period of two years, the five tracks on “Break” fuse Relaxer’s careening, technoid sounds with free jazz-tinted drum programming, snarling sound design and spacious echo trails. It’s a perfect fit for 29 Speedway’s future-facing, exploratory anti-genre approach to electronics. The tape features two remixes by the singular DJ Marcelle and mastering by Dubplates & Mastering.

It’s a tough call which is the bigger cult classic, the Tank Girl movie or its accompanying soundtrack, but on balance, we’d have to go for the soundtrack. Yeah, the film had a cast composed of some of the most colorful characters (Iggy Pop, Ann Magnuson) and character actors (Malcolm McDowell, Ice-T, and of course the almighty Lori Petty!) in show biz.

And, its dystopic, resource-starved desert setting, intense action sequences, and lead female character mark it as a feminist (albeit funnier) precursor to Mad Max: Fury Road. But check out the soundtrack’s bona-fides: assembled by Courtney Love herself, it features a Who’s Who of ‘90s female rock including Hole, Björk, L7, Veruca Salt, and Belly among others. Plus, it even has tracks that were exclusive to its release, like a unique version of Devo’s “Girl U Want,” “Mockingbird Girl” by The Magnificent Bastards (a side project of the late Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots), and a duet of “Let’s Do It, Let’s Fall in Love” between Joan Jett and The Replacements’ Paul Westerberg. In short, if there ever was a score that needs to be on wax, this would be it. We’ve done it right, too, with a gatefold jacket featuring the trademark comic book art and stills from the film, and neon coral vinyl pressing for its 30th anniversary!

Seit der Veröffentlichung ihres gefeierten Debüts "Versions of Modern Performance" 2022 (u. a. mit Höchstwertung um US-Rolling Stone) hat sich vieles für Nora Cheng, Penelope Lowenstein und Gigi Reece verändert. Im Herbst desselben Jahres zog die junge Band von Chicago in die Ostküstenmetropole, wo Penelope und Nora an der New York University ihr Studium begannen und das erste Mal überhaupt Musik außerhalb des elterlichen Zuhauses schrieben. Der Einfluss der neuen Umgebung macht sich unmittelbar im Sound bemerkbar. Zugleich wendet sich der Blick in Zeiten beispielloser Veränderungen nach innen. Im Januar 2024 kehrten Horsegirl nach Chicago zurück, um die neuen Songs aufzunehmen. Im "The Loft" Studio stellten sich dort ein Fokus und eine Intimität ein, wie sie wohl nur entstehen können, wenn es schlicht zu kalt ist, das Gebäude zu verlassen. Cate Le Bon führte die Band derweil in neue, helle und klare Sound-Gefilde, die Raum und Textur gegenüber den dichten Soundflächen des Debüts in den Vordergrund rücken und das charakteristische Songwriting von Horsegirl betonen. Dazu zählt auch der erstmalige Einsatz von Violinen, Synths und Gamelan. Die Leadsingle "2468" ist ein Beispiel für die offenkundige Experimentierlust auf "Phonetics On and On". Mit seinen Raincoats-artigen Streichern und energischen Drums verdreht einem der Song in seinem fortlaufenden Crescendo immer mehr den Kopf. Das dazugehörige Video stammt von der Schriftstellerin und Regisseurin Eliza Callahan und wurde von Alexa West choreographiert. Es ist schwer vorstellbar, dass Songs wie die auf "Phonetics On and On" augenblicklich von irgendwem anderes stammen könnten als von diesem Trio bester Freundinnen. Nora, Penelope und Gigi schreiben mit ungefilterter Aufrichtigkeit über Szenen ihrer Jugend als Momentaufnahmen des Lebens. Die Liebe zueinander ist dabei in jedem Augenblick spürbar und resoniert durch und durch im Zusammenspiel auf ihrem zweiten Album. Horsegirl gründeten sich 2019 in der umtriebigen DIY-Szene Chicagos. Die damals 17- und 18-jährigen Schülerinnen zählen Yo La Tengo und Pavement zu ihren erklärten Vorbildern. Ihr Debüt, auf dem Steve Shelley und Lee Ranaldo als Gäste zu hören sind, nahm die Band in Steve Albinis Studio mit John Agnello (Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr.) auf. Zuletzt tourten Horsegirl u. a. mit The Breeders.

The Velveteers bring a visceral energy to their explosive sophomore album, A Million Knives. The album is a blistering rock anthem infused with melodic indie songwriting. With GRAMMY Award-winning producer Dan Auerbach at the helm, the Boulder, CO trio encapsulates the raw, forceful, and profoundly heavy energy of their live performances and laser-focuses a spotlight on tightly crafted songs as they carve out their own distinctive niche. Driving The Velveteers is the commanding presence of frontwoman Demi Demitro, a no-bullshit, five-foot-something spitfire with thunderous guitar riffs and soaring vocals, backed by the incendiary duo of Baby Pottersmith and Johnny Fig on drums. The band's signature dual drum setup creates a thunderous foundation that propels their gritty, dynamic garage rock sound. On A Million Knives, this setup melds seamlessly with a more modern indie rock influence-the attitude of Wolf Alice, the colossal sound of Queens of the Stone Age, and the singular lyrical voice of Hole. The Velveteers have built a dedicated following through relentless touring and electrifying performances, sharing stages with renowned acts such as Smashing Pumpkins, The Black Keys, Greta Van Fleet, Guns N' Roses, and Des Rocs. With A Million Knives, The Velveteers offer a compelling testament to their rising stardom, a rock 'n' roll album as beautiful as it is terrifying.

2023 was a whirlwind year for Oracle Sisters. The trio—Julia Johansen, Chris Willatt, and Lewis Lazar—followed the release of their debut album Hydranism with a globe-spanning tour that captivated fans and critics alike. From the highways between Knoxville and Nashville to sold-out clubs in rain-soaked Seattle, and festival stages across the UK, they logged countless hours on the road. Their journey was a tapestry of exhaustion and exhilaration, falling apart, brawls and disputes, love and acceptance. By the year’s end, just two days before Christmas, they found themselves in Tokyo, reflecting on the fleeting nature of time and the fragments of inspiration gathered along the way. It was there the seeds for their next album, Divinations, began to sprout. Composing as a true trio for the first time, Oracle Sisters pieced together sketches formed during stolen moments on tour. These fragments coalesced into Divinations, an album shaped by the band’s nomadic existence. The recording sessions spanned cozy Parisian studios, a barn in northern France, and the storied Valentine Studios in Los Angeles. Their creative process embraced experimentation—swapping primary instruments, playing with toy drum machines, and crafting melodies on quirky tools like the OP-1 and a baby Casio keyboard. This spirit of discovery lent the album a sense of spontaneity and wonder. At its core, Divinations channels mysticism and timeless storytelling. The band’s songwriting draws on diverse influences, from the surrealist poetry of Baudelaire and Rimbaud to the introspective philosophies of Carl Jung. Musically, echoes of Talking Heads, Air, and Leonard Cohen resonate throughout the album and tracks like “Riverside” delve into existential questions— “How far are you going? Is it more than money can buy?” Elsewhere on the album “Marseille,” born in the city that gave the song its name, kicks off as a trance with lyrics that play between the sincere and desperate self-help affirmations, we give ourselves while trying to find a bridge between our individual lives and a universal feeling. Lead-single “Alouette” is Oracle Sisters at their most direct; propelled by a driving bassline and exuberant strings, the track summons the sound of 80’s, 90’s, and early 2000’s rock n roll as they sing about “getting out of dodge, finding a pirate ship and sailing home.” Inspired by the book Caliban and the Witch, “Blue Left Hand” is a lyrical tapestry weaving together history, philosophy, and cultural critique. The lyrics, “It’s in the harbor of every page / It’s in the corner of the playwright’s stage / And every player and every fake / And every witch that we burned at the stake,” reflect on the forces that shaped the capitalist society we know today. Across Divinations’ 11 tracks it’s not only geographic boundaries that were crossed but also the boundaries of time and circumstance. While their work may not consciously reflect specific worldly events, they seek to embrace the universal and offer a space for healing. “Good music would make sense to a farmer in 17th century France as it would to a pastry chef in Slovenia in the 21st century,” shares Lazar. “It’s not written for any temporal powers that be. It’s about expressing our common humanity and taking it from there.” This intuitive approach fuels Oracle Sisters creative process - whether composing in a frozen French farmhouse or performing live with an ever-expanding lineup of collaborators, the band remains committed to exploring the unknown. Through Divinations, they hope to leave listeners feeling transcendent, levitating on waves of intuition and discovery.

The third album Fort Sensible by Brisbane alt-rockers Tape/Off is a genuine labour of love, a passionate dose of opinionated heart-on-sleeve rock’n’roll representing not just a place but a time with its cache of meticulously-crafted guitars, robust rhythms and socially-conscious lyrics mining both the personal and the political.

While musically they veer seamlessly between intricacy and intensity their words cut straight to the quick, the songs caustic and catchy in equal measure, making Fort Sensible by far the most ambitious and accessible album in the band’s storied decade-plus history.

Tape/Off’s first two albums - Chipper (2014) and Broadcast Park (2018) - were both longlisted for the prestigious Australian Music Prize, yet Fort Sensible takes the tried and tested Tape/Off aesthetic to a whole new level as the band seek to both share the creative load and fully harness their innate collective chemistry.

The guitars of Nathan Pickels and Ben Green weave together like an electric tapestry, the resultant soundscapes both intricate and ambitious whilst still entirely capable of busting out massive riffs with the best of them, their inherent simpatico now built upon by years of experience playing off each other. From a rhythmic perspective Tape/Off's propulsive drummer Branko Cosic's immense power and Cameron Smith's robust, expressive basslines combine to provide the perfect rhythmic bottom-end throughout the record.

Excitingly Tape/Off's sonic palette has been broadened substantially on the new album, with Pickels' angry and angst-laden diatribes throughout Fort Sensible now augmented by Green and Smith taking vocal turns at junctures, adding a whole new dynamic and dimension to proceedings.

At a time when our leaders seem lacking and the world needs the redemptive powers of art and music more than ever, Tape/Off announce themselves as a serious force to be reckoned with the uncompromising power and beauty of Fort Sensible!

Black vinyl / 505mcn paper / 30 x 60 cm Insert with Liner Notes by Tony Higgins printed on 250 mcn Lenza Top Recycling Paper / Condensed interview to Spata Sisters and exclusive pictures.

Personnel:
Enzo Randisi - Musser Percussion Keyboards
Riccardo Randisi - Acoustic Piano, Rhodes, ARP & Korg Keyboards
Marcello Pellitteri - Drums
Giuseppe Costa - Acoustic Bass & Electric Bass Guitar
Mimmo Cafiero - Congas & Percussions
Sandro Palacino - Tenor and Soprano Saxes
Loredana Spada - Vocalist
Cinzia Spata - Vocalist
Mary Lo Giudice - Vocalist
Mariella Gueli - Vocalist

Notes:
Did someone say Summer? Sicily is what Cuba is to the Caribbean, sun, sea, easy and friendly people with lots of troubles! You won't find anything better around that identifies the summer more than this album by Enzo Randisi who at the beginning of the 80s put together a Swing Ensemble as a tribute to that "cheerful" movement of Jazz music. But Enzo and his fellas just couldn't stay on track and put in the best that the alternative Palermo area could offer in that historical period, like the sisters Cinzia and Loredana Spata, who brought the production to a next level in the vocal version of All Blues or in Chic Corea's Spain. But what really struck us was Charles Cables' version of "Quite Fire" (here missspelled as "Quite Fair"), released a few months earlier only in Japan and which would only become famous in the 90s with the Acid Jazz movement, and this tells us a lot about how hungry Enzo and Riccardo were of musical knowle, to be able to find some pearls in a city with basically no record shops and isolated...well...it's on an island! For this re-press we enlisted Tony Higgins, who recently finished a very long commitment and greenlight to delight us with his polished English...Welcome back Tony!

Black Vinyl / 350 mcn double white coated paper / Poster sleeve / PVC outers / Original artwork / Exclusive 30x30 cm insert with Q&A by Tony Higgins with Ole Matthiessen printed on on 250 gram Gardamat coated paper. Archive picture from original recording session printed on 350 gram Gardamat paper. Archive pictures printed on 375 gram Vintage Bindakote Monolucido. All papers are acid free an printed with food based inks.

Personnel: 

Jesper Nehammer - tenor saxophone
Ole Mathiessen – piano
Jon Finsen – drums
Henrik Hove - bass

Notes:
Danish jazz band founded in 1969. Band line up: Henrik Hove on bass, Ole Mathiessen on piano, Jesper Nehammer (later Thors Hammer, Alrune Rod and Entrance) on tenorsax, and Jon Finsen on drums. Played for a while every Monday in the famous Jazzhouse Montmatre in Copenhagen.
Tordenskjolds Soldater only made this record (1970).
The small record label Spectator Records was founded in 1969 by Jørgen Bornefeldt a former journalist from Danmarks Radio in coorporation with the jazz musician Carsten Meinert. Meinert recorded two albums on the label. He only joined the company in the beginning. Cindarellaistudiet The studio was destroyed august 6th 1972 by a major fire. And that was the end of Spectator Records. From 1969 to the end, the label recorded at least 23 lp albums and 9-11 singles/EP's. The picture shows Henning Kragh Pedersen from Cinderella in Spectators studio. The great Danish rock band Gasolin recorded their first single – Silky Sally - on Spectator Records. It was no success and sold only 155 copies. Silky Sally is now one of the most sought after Gasolin singles among collectors and is of course very expensive.
The music from Spectator Records is mostly jazz, progressive rock and hippie free style. But they also made strange records for children, education etc. Most records were issued in very small numbers (300-500). Some of the best progressive rock in Northern Europe was recorded here.
Quality of vinyl was often poor - even new looking records can have audible problems. Covers and labels are primitive and cheap. On the other hand the creativity could be outstanding - check the Furekaaben cover gallery or the artwork of William Skotte Olsen from Green Grass. Several record from the labels are cult today. A perfect copy of certain records costs a fortune.
Master tapes was never found after the fire in 1972. Unofficial reissues and bootlegs are therefore made on the base of the original records. Recordings that never made it to the vinyl got lost in the fire. Both Cinderella and The Copenhagen based band, Lines lyst, had material readdy for lp's which was never recorded. (Tony Higgins)

Vinyl Only / Original artwork / Black Vinyl / 400 mcn paper / 30x30 cm insert with notes by Tony Higgins and graphic elaboration printed on 250 gram G.F. Smith Colorplan / PVC outers


Personnel:
Jorge Ruiz Lopez – Double Bass
Roberto Fernandez Trumpet
Leandro "Gato" Barbieri - Tenor Sax
Ruben Lopez Furst – Piano
Pichi Mazzei - Drums

Notes:
Jorge López Ruiz is one of most versatile of musical talents to emerge from Argentina. As a bass player, composer, performer and arranger he has worked across many genres including jazz, pop as well as stage productions and feature films.

BA Jazz was originally released in 1961 on Vik Records as the debut album from Lopez Ruiz featuring a mix of covers and original material. Alongside Ruiz Lopez are Roberto Fernandez on trumpet, Ruben Lopez Furst on piano, Pichi Mazzei on drums and a young musician called Leandro Barbieri on tenor sax. Leandro became better known at Gato Barbieri, who went on to build an international reputation working with Charlie Hayden, Don Cherry, Dollar Brand and Carla Bley and recording for Impulse! Records, Flying Dutchman and A&M Records.
The BA Jazz album has been a rarity for years and original pressings attract huge amounts from collectors. It's rarity is matched by the fantastic music contained with its grooves. It's a genuinely important record in the development of jazz in South America. (Tony Higgins)

Released in 1971, Get Off in Chicago captures the essence of an energetic concert featuring Harvey Mandel and key figures from the Chicago blues scene. Alongside Mandel, known for his innovative guitar playing, are renowned musicians such as John Bishop and Gregory E. Stinson, who contribute their talents on guitar. The rhythm section, with Peter Milo on drums and Nick Tountas on bass, anchors the tracks in a powerful groove. The album shows blazing solos, bold improvisations, and a collaborative spirit that transcends genres. This unique blend of blues, rock, and jazz highlights the collective genius of these talented artists.

As soon as Martin Circus was born in 1969, the band laid foundations for the French "Pop Musique" genre, deliberately turning its back on both French yéyés and rock'n'roll to better embrace psychedelia and the French language. In 1971, they were a pioneering, innovative group moving as fast as a speeding train, building upon everything they found on the way. However, faced with band members changing often, management issues and music evolution, Martin Circus ended up trying to fit in every style: soul, R&B, glam rock, disco, new wave, 80s mainstream music. To follow their journey is to listen to the world shifting along music charts. Behind the scenes, since the very first days of the band, one man had been pulling all the strings. Manager and artistic director Gérard Hugé used to work for both the band and the label - this has never been good news. What he cared about the most was getting records out, no matter who played on them. In the mid-70s, he registered the Martin Circus name, granting himself full power over the band. Deciding that it no longer had either a lyricist or a composer, he made the remaining musicians embark on a series of American 60s hits adaptations. As a result, they made tons of money : "Marylène" was a huge hit and gave them a new impulse. The Martins adopted a new look by wearing shiny Courrèges-style suits and platform boots, and on stage they performed dance moves choreographed by the eccentric Amadeo. They completely fit into the disco craze which was about to take over. Still, their music blended doo-wop and rockabilly with glam rock and funk music. They eventually hit disco with a soundtrack in the mannerof French disco groups such as Space and Voyage. Effortlessly, they released the epic 14- minute "Disco Circus", a track which was to become a real underground gem. DJ and remixer François Kevorkian then released it on the American Prelude label in a self-edited version, shortened to 7 minutes while retaining all the dazzling passages of the original track. It came to be a hit in the clubs of New York and Chicago, making a lasting impression on everyone who heard it. It got sampled on at least 40 tracks over the following decades and featured in dozens of bootlegs and prestigious compilations - by Laurent Garnier, Carl Craig, Juan Atkins, Joey Negro, The Beatnuts, The Rapture, and by Danny Krivit in the DJ culture film Maestro. As the 80s arrived, Martin Circus once again changed the way they looked and their style. Inspired by Devo and their cold dance music, by Buggles' synthpop and Plastic Bertand's postpunk. Throughout their career full of ups and downs, Martin Circus nonetheless managed to keep up with one stable element: contrary to what they seemed, the musicians never took the easy way out. Their playing and arrangements were consistently flawless and polished, they relentlessly dedicated themselves to playing quality music and this can only compel admiration. As Coco Chanel once said, "Fashion goes out of fashion, style never does."

Short n’ Sweet showcases the scintillating spirit of Sabrina Carpenter, the pocket-sized popstar with a larger than life artistic presence. With a gold album & multiple platinum singles under her belt, it’s no wonder that ‘Espresso’, the debut single from the album, has it all: lyrics that make you giggle & blush and songwriting that makes you wish you’d thought of it first. The deluxe album is released with the 12 standard tracks plus 5 additional songs.

In the late 1980s, as techno and house made its way around Europe, mutating as it hopped from city to city, one young DJ from Curacao made a mistake that would inspire a brand new sound. While he was performing at Den Haag's Club Voltage, DJ Moortje accidentally dropped a dancehall track at 45RPM rather than 33, and let it play out. Thirsty for a hi-NRG sound, the crowd loved the squeaky vocals and rapid beat, and bubbling (or bubbling house) was born.For the next couple of decades, bubbling was a crucial part of Holland's Afro-diasporic club landscape. And as a new generation of wide-eyed young DJs and producers began to take the reins, it evolved accordingly. In the late-2000s, Den Haag-based teenage prodigy Guillermo Schuurman followed in the footsteps of his uncle DJ Chippie (one of the genre's co-founders) and cousins DJ Daycard, DJ Master-D, Stiko Jnr and DJ Justme, and began performing and writing beats. Using Fruityloops, he fused familiar bubbling rhythms with rap and R&B samples, trance synths and electro house wobbles, and his tracks quickly became a regular fixture on the Dutch circuit."Bubbling Inside" is a collection of Schuurman's most essential cuts from the era (2007-2009), with a couple of newer productions added for context. Crafted solely for the dance, most of these tracks were never properly released and have been painstakingly hunted down and collected by the Nyege Nyege Tapes together with Sascha Roth from Pantropical in Rotterdam and De Schuurman himself. Hearing them together highlights just how forward thinking the young producer was, steering a Dutch institution into the future.2008's 'First One' is a proto-Berghain belter, with booming bass-heavy kicks underpinning the kind of cheeky melodies that remain the calling card of the genre. 'Pier Je Bil!!' ratchets up the tempo, twisting bubbling's syncopated dancehall kicks into a rapid-fire club clatter and decorating them with steel-pan melodies. Elsewhere, 2019's 'Domina' shows how Schuurman's production style has developed as he mutates trap percussion, dubstep bass and eerie synth textures, while retaining the DNA of bubbling. "Bubbling Inside" is a testament to the evolution of the bubbling genre, as witnessed by one of its most visionary producers.

In the late 1980s, as techno and house made its way around Europe, mutating as it hopped from city to city, one young DJ from Curacao made a mistake that would inspire a brand new sound. While he was performing at Den Haag's Club Voltage, DJ Moortje accidentally dropped a dancehall track at 45RPM rather than 33, and let it play out. Thirsty for a hi-NRG sound, the crowd loved the squeaky vocals and rapid beat, and bubbling (or bubbling house) was born.For the next couple of decades, bubbling was a crucial part of Holland's Afro-diasporic club landscape. And as a new generation of wide-eyed young DJs and producers began to take the reins, it evolved accordingly. In the late-2000s, Den Haag-based teenage prodigy Guillermo Schuurman followed in the footsteps of his uncle DJ Chippie (one of the genre's co-founders) and cousins DJ Daycard, DJ Master-D, Stiko Jnr and DJ Justme, and began performing and writing beats. Using Fruityloops, he fused familiar bubbling rhythms with rap and R&B samples, trance synths and electro house wobbles, and his tracks quickly became a regular fixture on the Dutch circuit."Bubbling Inside" is a collection of Schuurman's most essential cuts from the era (2007-2009), with a couple of newer productions added for context. Crafted solely for the dance, most of these tracks were never properly released and have been painstakingly hunted down and collected by the Nyege Nyege Tapes together with Sascha Roth from Pantropical in Rotterdam and De Schuurman himself. Hearing them together highlights just how forward thinking the young producer was, steering a Dutch institution into the future.2008's 'First One' is a proto-Berghain belter, with booming bass-heavy kicks underpinning the kind of cheeky melodies that remain the calling card of the genre. 'Pier Je Bil!!' ratchets up the tempo, twisting bubbling's syncopated dancehall kicks into a rapid-fire club clatter and decorating them with steel-pan melodies. Elsewhere, 2019's 'Domina' shows how Schuurman's production style has developed as he mutates trap percussion, dubstep bass and eerie synth textures, while retaining the DNA of bubbling. "Bubbling Inside" is a testament to the evolution of the bubbling genre, as witnessed by one of its most visionary producers.

Hardanger is a collaboration by Mariska Baars (aka Soccer Committee), Niki Jansen, and Rutger Zuydervelt (aka Machinefabriek). The title refers to the instrument played by Jansen, the Hardanger fiddle. It’s a fresh addition to the established musical chemistry from regular collaborators Baars and Zuydervelt.

The music on Hardanger started with improvisations by Niki Jansen, guided by Mariska Baars, who responded with vocal and guitar recordings. Rutger Zuydervelt used this material as the building blocks for the two long-form pieces found on the album. These tracks are like two sides of the same coin, one a collage-like electro-acoustic piece, the other more drawn-out and contemplative.

--

Mariska Baars is probably better known as soccer Committee, creating an experimental blend of ambient rooted in folk music, with minimal arrangements. She has been releasing albums since 2005. In addition to her solo output she is part of improvisation ensemble Piiptsjilling and Fean (Laaps, 2020) and has worked on several duo albums with Rutger Zuydervelt. On other occasions she collaborated with a.o. Annelies Monseré, Wouter van Veldhoven, Peter Broderick and Greg Haines.

Niki Jansen is a violinist who plays both the regular and a hardanger fiddle.She specializes in folk music, especially old Dutch folk music. She plays in various ensembles like Twee violen en een bas (with Jos Koning and Willem Raadsveld), and country quartet Daisy Chain. In addition to music, she also works as a sustainability advisor for governments and institutions and manages a food forest in a cooperative.

Rutger Zuydervelt is perhaps better known as Machinefabriek, the alias under which he releases music since 2004. The stream of releases since is vast, many of them collaborations (with Peter Broderick, Gareth Davis, Chantal Acda, Dirk Serries, and many many more). He regularly works with Mariska Baars, with whom he also plays in Piiptsjilling and Fean (Laaps, 2020). Zuydervelt is an avid composer of scores for film and dance performances, and also works as a graphic designer.

As Jess Sylvester finished his Hardly Art debut as Marinero in the fall of 2020, he realized it was time for a change. Sylvester grew up in Marin County, on the doorstep of San Francisco. It was a nurturing community for a high-school punk with a pompadour and, later, for a sober songwriter with a proclivity for moody psychedelia. But he wanted to be challenged and inspired by a new setting and scenario around strangers who prompted him to approach his music in unexpected ways. So in September 2020, as the world continued to reel in lockdown, Sylvester headed several hours south to Los Angeles, a city that, despite the relative proximity, the film buff knew largely from classic and cult films situated there. When he arrived, he kept digging into that cinematic past-Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye, with John Williams' classic theme, or classic 90s movies about East LA, many featuring Edward James Olmos. They shaped his understanding of his new town just as it began to open. This is one pillar of the multivalent and endlessly lush La La La, Marinero's new album about sobriety, identity, and fantasy that is playfully named both for the city that helped shape it and the sophisticated pop it contains. Sylvester wrote about characters outside of himself, whether considering the heroine reckoning with her own version of keeping clean or the screenwriters whose work was deemed communist simply as a political convenience. He linked those songs with motivational anthems about self-acceptance and playful numbers about flirting through food, shaping a 12-song set rich with humor, empathy, and encouragement. Sure, La La La is a continuation of the slippery genre play Sylvester started with 2021's Hella Love, 2019's Trópico de Cáncer, or even before that. But it also feels like a fresh beginning for Marinero, as Sylvester realizes how boundless this project can be. He began to think about the music of his childhood, how his mother is from San Francisco with Mexican roots, and how he'd heard so much salsa growing up as an impetuous teenager. So he wrote "Taquero," a red-hot salsa tune that uses tacos and their trappings as a source of endless metaphors for come-ons. And then there was the Ray Barreto or Santana-inspired "Pocha Pachanga," with organ gliding and percussion pulsing beneath his yearning vocals, warped as if by desert winds. In Los Angeles, he found a wealth of players who spoke this music like language itself (including Chicano Batman's Eduardo Arenas), all ready to play with and push these familiar forms. Sylvester has also been sober for 21 years, since a cross-country sojourn to attend college in Boston ended in a chemical haze. Today, he sees friends facing the same decisions he made two decades ago, and he brings bits of that experience to bear in songs that feel like self-help anthems. Recorded with a musical hero (and labelmate) of his, Chris Cohen, "Sea Changes" feels like sunshine breaking through dark clouds, as Sylvester acknowledges the newfound confidence and clarity in a friend who has stepped away from destructive habits. In the past, Sylvester has been intractably linked to his identity as a Mexican-American, born to parents from Mexico and Irish- American descent who settled in San Francisco. That can be limiting, of course, tying him to notions of sound and style that aren't always correct. On La La La, he simultaneously steps into and out of those preconceptions, singing tracks above salsa in joyous Spanish or pondering the dynamics of the Hollywood Ten and blacklists above mysterious lap steel and teasing trumpet. His identity, then, should now be clear: He is a Californian, making music shaped by the diversity of encounters and experiences that are a central part of that state's fabric. Never before has he presented himself so fully and unabashedly on tape as with La La La, an album Sylvester built with new inspirations to deliver new charms.

"Chewing The Fat" marks a new chapter for Franc Moody.

This album delves into the duo's creative depths, breaking away from traditional norms and

showcasing a more refined sound than their earlier work.

Partially recorded at LA 64 Sounds Studio and Damon Albarn’s Studio 13 in West London,

the album’s sonic landscape is significantly shaped by Albarn’s collection of synthesizers,

especially some Russian models.

Drawing inspiration from live performances by Massive Attack and LCD Soundsystem,

the result is a sound that leans less toward disco,

embracing a grungier, more gritty attitude.

So 2020 was going to be the year of Van Weezer -- the big riffs rock album Weezer made as an homage to the metal bands they loved growing up -- until, thanks to the global pandemic, it suddenly wasn't. The entire time, however, Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo was busy at the piano, writing a very different album that referenced another vital musical touchstone of his youth: The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds.



Throughout the summer of Covid-19, he and the band -- along with a 38 piece orchestra -- chipped away at masked recording sessions until the record was complete. The result is an album called OK Human -- a cheeky nod to Radiohead's technophobic future-trip OK Computer, but sounding nothing at all like that record. Taking the listener bit by bit through parts of Cuomo's every day, it's a Technicolor symphonic spree that meditates on how over-and-under-connected we all are, particularly in a year where we can see each other with greater ease, but actually can't physically be near each other at all.





OK Human is also packed to the brim with some of the best, most personal songs Cuomo has written in the last decade, all of which shine brighter and bolder with splashes of string and horn arrangements courtesy of album producer Jake Sinclair and arranger Rob Mathes. It's hard to imagine any other band who came up in the alt haze of the 90s creating a simply perfect orchestral pop album, but that is exactly what Weezer's done; OK Human is a testament to the excellent, enduring melodies Cuomo has written since Weezer's inception, and the ones he continues to write today.

Ginnels never let up. Though it has been, staggeringly, eight long years since the last irresistible jangle pop transmission under the Ginnels moniker, nothing much has changed in Mark Chester's approach when it comes to the practice of music making, even if much everything else for Chester has seen considerable flux – he's now a father of two, and most shockingly of all for an indie popster of his ilk, gainfully employed. "It definitely started the same way all Ginnels stuff starts," Chester explains, "which is just me looking through five years of phone demos and going 'that's a decent song' and 'that's a decent song', and if you keep that up then you have a full album."

The man himself might be coyly committed to making his process sound as pedestrian as possible, but from the moment the delicate chiming introduction of album opener 'The Body Was Gone' goes widescreen – revealing an expanded sonic palette richer in timbre and exponentially wider in scope than anything Chester has let out into the world thus far – it is apparent that "The Picturesque" is poised to be less than parochial in its sonic purview.

From here, "The Picturesque" plays like a gauzy road trip Super 8 footage cutting between scenes of sunset at Monument Valley and B-roll from around middle-Ireland, entirely soundtracked by some enchanted mixtape of heretofore unheard B sides from REM, XTC and The Go-Betweens, unexpected guest appearances from the surprisingly together-sounding ghost of Johnny Thunders and snippets from your coolest friends' unreleased instrumental experiments. All liberally rippled with Chester's unique ear for melody and appetite for the unexpected when it comes to crafting guitar parts. And this, by design, feels like a Guitar Record, above all else.

For all its effortlessly sticky lyrical and melodic twists, "The Picturesque" separates itself within the mighty Ginnels catalogue in both the dexterity in playing and diversity in tone on show across these 12 tracks. And 12, of course as we know, being the optimum number of tracks for any LP to have, so bonus points for that too.

And pure full album of Jungle BIG TIME !!! Enjoy the pure pearl it is ! BOOM !

Los Angeles-based experimental jazz collective High Pulp will release
their new album Days in the Desert in peak sweltering summer heat on
July 28
The titular desert is both literal and metaphorical: it's the Mojave Desert that the
band powers through on their many DIY tours around the country, and the band's
founder / drummer Bobby Granfelt perceives the desert as "a spiritual quest" as
well. Amid the trials of our present moment, you must look within, relying solely
on your own instincts to keep moving forward. "You're in the desert and it's a long,
lonesome process and a lot of times you have to check yourself to ask 'Is this
right? Is this good? Is it too out?'" he says.
High Pulp's Days in the Desert makes this vision come true, finding the West
Coast band fully emerging into their own sound. Rooted in the jazz tradition while
also smitten by indie- rock and electronic music, High Pulp was willing to grab
from all these sounds at once to pursue something truly their own. Their third fulllength album (following 2022's promising Anti- debut Pursuit of Ends), Days in the
Desert reveals the band realizing their strengths, deepening their own bonds, and
pushing all these skills into a thrilling new sonic vista all but unimaginable just a
few years before

The duality of "man" is a subject that has been explored in art for centuries, from writings of the Bible to Descartes, all the way up to filmmakers like Lynch, Cronenberg, & Carpenter. Who is your "true self" & what do they want? With their sixth studio album "Wish Defense" (again for longtime home Trouble In Mind Records), Chicago trio FACS take a good, long look in the mirror to face themselves. The return of original member Jonathan Van Herik - who stepped away from the group just before their debut album "Negative Houses" was released in 2018 - replacing longtime bassist Alianna Kalaba brings renewed vigor & a marked angularity from the band's more recent output. The songs still hit hard, but the approach is sideways - the roles have changed since Van Herik's original tenure & his previous time with Case & powerhouse drummer Noah Leger in Disappears; now on bass, Van Herik was originally the group's guitar player and features on the debut, while current guitarist Brian Case played bass. This role reversal has helped the band's dynamic, offering up a different musical perspective than before, now revisiting the trio's long-going collaboration with some distance and time. Case notes that the lyrics on "Wish Defense" revolve around doppelgängers or "doubles", tackling the idea of facing yourself and observing your ideas and motivations. Look no further than the album's title track; "Enter the mirror / Double walker / An intimate / Wish defense / Is it real? / You beside me / The detail / Terrifying / Abject self / Your grief / A public / Performance". Case lays out the entire album's theme in one stanza; Are your actions & emotions your true self? Or are they a performative aspect of that "other" person you put forward? Case says that ultimately the sentiment is "_don't let the bastards get you down, there's something beyond this moment, like hope - but not in the naive belief that ultimately people are good". "Wish Defense"s artwork is also a subtle reference to "Negative Houses"' art, returning to that album's black & white starkness & minimalism. The album's checkerboards everywhere are offset reflections of themselves, mirrored with the album's lyrics printed front & center on the cover. Everything is out in the open. A final note; "Wish Defense" is the last album engineered by Steve Albini. Two days were recorded at Electrical Audio in early May of 2024 before Steve's untimely passing, with renowned engineer & friend Sanford Parker stepping in to finish the session 24 hours later, tracking the last bits of vocals and overdubs. Longtime collaborator John Congleton mixed the album as Albini would have; in Electrical Audio's A room, off the tape, using Albini's notes about the session.

The duality of "man" is a subject that has been explored in art for centuries, from writings of the Bible to Descartes, all the way up to filmmakers like Lynch, Cronenberg, & Carpenter. Who is your "true self" & what do they want? With their sixth studio album "Wish Defense" (again for longtime home Trouble In Mind Records), Chicago trio FACS take a good, long look in the mirror to face themselves. The return of original member Jonathan Van Herik - who stepped away from the group just before their debut album "Negative Houses" was released in 2018 - replacing longtime bassist Alianna Kalaba brings renewed vigor & a marked angularity from the band's more recent output. The songs still hit hard, but the approach is sideways - the roles have changed since Van Herik's original tenure & his previous time with Case & powerhouse drummer Noah Leger in Disappears; now on bass, Van Herik was originally the group's guitar player and features on the debut, while current guitarist Brian Case played bass. This role reversal has helped the band's dynamic, offering up a different musical perspective than before, now revisiting the trio's long-going collaboration with some distance and time. Case notes that the lyrics on "Wish Defense" revolve around doppelgängers or "doubles", tackling the idea of facing yourself and observing your ideas and motivations. Look no further than the album's title track; "Enter the mirror / Double walker / An intimate / Wish defense / Is it real? / You beside me / The detail / Terrifying / Abject self / Your grief / A public / Performance". Case lays out the entire album's theme in one stanza; Are your actions & emotions your true self? Or are they a performative aspect of that "other" person you put forward? Case says that ultimately the sentiment is "_don't let the bastards get you down, there's something beyond this moment, like hope - but not in the naive belief that ultimately people are good". "Wish Defense"s artwork is also a subtle reference to "Negative Houses"' art, returning to that album's black & white starkness & minimalism. The album's checkerboards everywhere are offset reflections of themselves, mirrored with the album's lyrics printed front & center on the cover. Everything is out in the open. A final note; "Wish Defense" is the last album engineered by Steve Albini. Two days were recorded at Electrical Audio in early May of 2024 before Steve's untimely passing, with renowned engineer & friend Sanford Parker stepping in to finish the session 24 hours later, tracking the last bits of vocals and overdubs. Longtime collaborator John Congleton mixed the album as Albini would have; in Electrical Audio's A room, off the tape, using Albini's notes about the session.

The duality of "man" is a subject that has been explored in art for centuries, from writings of the Bible to Descartes, all the way up to filmmakers like Lynch, Cronenberg, & Carpenter. Who is your "true self" & what do they want? With their sixth studio album "Wish Defense" (again for longtime home Trouble In Mind Records), Chicago trio FACS take a good, long look in the mirror to face themselves. The return of original member Jonathan Van Herik - who stepped away from the group just before their debut album "Negative Houses" was released in 2018 - replacing longtime bassist Alianna Kalaba brings renewed vigor & a marked angularity from the band's more recent output. The songs still hit hard, but the approach is sideways - the roles have changed since Van Herik's original tenure & his previous time with Case & powerhouse drummer Noah Leger in Disappears; now on bass, Van Herik was originally the group's guitar player and features on the debut, while current guitarist Brian Case played bass. This role reversal has helped the band's dynamic, offering up a different musical perspective than before, now revisiting the trio's long-going collaboration with some distance and time. Case notes that the lyrics on "Wish Defense" revolve around doppelgängers or "doubles", tackling the idea of facing yourself and observing your ideas and motivations. Look no further than the album's title track; "Enter the mirror / Double walker / An intimate / Wish defense / Is it real? / You beside me / The detail / Terrifying / Abject self / Your grief / A public / Performance". Case lays out the entire album's theme in one stanza; Are your actions & emotions your true self? Or are they a performative aspect of that "other" person you put forward? Case says that ultimately the sentiment is "_don't let the bastards get you down, there's something beyond this moment, like hope - but not in the naive belief that ultimately people are good". "Wish Defense"s artwork is also a subtle reference to "Negative Houses"' art, returning to that album's black & white starkness & minimalism. The album's checkerboards everywhere are offset reflections of themselves, mirrored with the album's lyrics printed front & center on the cover. Everything is out in the open. A final note; "Wish Defense" is the last album engineered by Steve Albini. Two days were recorded at Electrical Audio in early May of 2024 before Steve's untimely passing, with renowned engineer & friend Sanford Parker stepping in to finish the session 24 hours later, tracking the last bits of vocals and overdubs. Longtime collaborator John Congleton mixed the album as Albini would have; in Electrical Audio's A room, off the tape, using Albini's notes about the session.

Brand new album by BLC MIRROR CLB in glorious transparent LP.
The band brings you 10 indie rock songs focusing on love in all its forms: deception, happiness, sadness, conclusion or redemption.
But don't misunderstand it, these are not cheesy love songs. They are factual situations where everybody can wander and find echo of life.

10 years after the original release we bring back the 5th and final release on the Belgian Subcom label, in collaboration with Obscur Records. From deep and dark acid electro vibes to pumping acid core. Colored vinyl, varying from bright yellow to pink to blue, no 2 copies are identical. A-side for Subcom by G303, one of the few releases under his Stroman alias B-side by Collision for Obscur.

Beaten To Death’s brutal and innovative sound is somewhat melodic, in a strange way, and that’s why their sound is often called ‘melodic grindcore’; an oxymoronic definition, some might even say a moronic definition, but still the definition that best applies to this Norwegian quintet’s music. Beaten To Death consists of members from Insense, Tsjuder, The Cumshots, Gothminister and She Said Destroy and have won fans over globally for their energetic, strangely melodic and innovative approach to grindcore. With their combination of hysterical blast beats, meaty grooves, double guitar twang attack, asshole-of-god-earthquake bass and tongue in cheek lyrical approach to the shittiness of life, Beaten To Death have dug out their very own little niche in the music world. Their new sixth album “Sunrise Over Rigor Mortis” was recorded and mixed by Tommy Hjelm, and the amazing artwork is once again by William Hay. Since their last album from 2021, all the band members have aged horribly, and this is also the theme of the album. The positive thing about getting closer to the grave, is that profound grindcore poetry comes much easier than when the member were still carefree youngster, frolicking in the Norwegian forests…

Four years after "The Watchful Eye Of The Stars", Adrian Crowley returns with a new John Parish-produced album "Measure of Joy" to be released on the brand new label Valley of Eyes Records. This is album 10 for Crowley: an achievement number and maybe even a career high, but the music doesn"t bother with that. They are just great songs. Crowley is a songwriter and a poet. Here, also, he is in the company of John Parish, who is always more than a producer. "Measure of Joy" is a nocturnal album. Not in the usual commonplace sense of dark and moody though it can be. The night is present in the sounds that can only be noticed when most things rest. In the lost transmission and the ghost lips that talk on the phone over sleepy jazz.

Limited Indies “white split vinyl variant while supplies last. RIYL: Unwound, MBV, The Jesus Lizard, SUUNS, Preoccupations, METZ, Les Rallizes Denudes, The Dead C, Echo & The Bunnymen, Liars, This Heat, PIL. Sixth studio album from the Chicago trio. Features newly-rejoined original member Jonathan Van Herik. Recorded at Electrical Audio May 6 & 7, 2024 - final album recorded by Steve Albini. The duality of “man” is a subject that has been explored in art for centuries, from writings of the Bible to Descartes, all the way up to filmmakers like Lynch, Cronenberg, & Carpenter. Who is your “true self” & what do they want? With their sixth studio album “Wish Defense” (again for longtime home Trouble In Mind Records), Chicago trio FACS take a good, long look in the mirror to face themselves. The return of original member Jonathan Van Herik - who stepped away from the group just before their debut album “Negative Houses” was released in 2018 - replacing longtime bassist Alianna Kalaba brings renewed vigor & a marked angularity from the band’s more recent output. The songs still hit hard, but the approach is sideways - the roles have changed since Van Herik’s original tenure & his previous time with Case & powerhouse drummer Noah Leger in Disappears; now on bass, Van Herik was originally the group’s guitar player and features on the debut, while current guitarist Brian Case played bass. This role reversal has helped the band’s dynamic, offering up a different musical perspective than before, now revisiting the trio’s long-going collaboration with some distance and time. Case notes that the lyrics on “Wish Defense” revolve around doppelgängers or "doubles”, tackling the idea of facing yourself and observing your ideas and motivations. Look no further than the album’s title track; “Enter the mirror / Double walker / An intimate / Wish defense / Is it real? / You beside me / The detail / Terrifying / Abject self / Your grief / A public / Performance”. Case lays out the entire album’s theme in one stanza; Are your actions & emotions your true self? Or are they a performative aspect of that “other” person you put forward? Case says that ultimately the sentiment is “...don’t let the bastards get you down, there’s something beyond this moment, like hope - but not in the naive belief that ultimately people are good”. “Wish Defense”s artwork is also a subtle reference to “Negative Houses”’ art, returning to that album’s black & white starkness & minimalism. The album’s checkerboards everywhere are offset reflections of themselves, mirrored with the album’s lyrics printed front & center on the cover. Everything is out in the open. A final note; “Wish Defense” is the last album engineered by Steve Albini. Two days were recorded at Electrical Audio in early May of 2024 before Steve’s untimely passing, with renowned engineer & friend Sanford Parker stepping in to finish the session 24 hours later, tracking the last bits of vocals and overdubs. Longtime collaborator John Congleton mixed the album as Albini would have; in Electrical Audio’s A room, off the tape, using Albini’s notes about the session.

Limited Indies “white split vinyl variant while supplies last. RIYL: Unwound, MBV, The Jesus Lizard, SUUNS, Preoccupations, METZ, Les Rallizes Denudes, The Dead C, Echo & The Bunnymen, Liars, This Heat, PIL. Sixth studio album from the Chicago trio. Features newly-rejoined original member Jonathan Van Herik. Recorded at Electrical Audio May 6 & 7, 2024 - final album recorded by Steve Albini. The duality of “man” is a subject that has been explored in art for centuries, from writings of the Bible to Descartes, all the way up to filmmakers like Lynch, Cronenberg, & Carpenter. Who is your “true self” & what do they want? With their sixth studio album “Wish Defense” (again for longtime home Trouble In Mind Records), Chicago trio FACS take a good, long look in the mirror to face themselves. The return of original member Jonathan Van Herik - who stepped away from the group just before their debut album “Negative Houses” was released in 2018 - replacing longtime bassist Alianna Kalaba brings renewed vigor & a marked angularity from the band’s more recent output. The songs still hit hard, but the approach is sideways - the roles have changed since Van Herik’s original tenure & his previous time with Case & powerhouse drummer Noah Leger in Disappears; now on bass, Van Herik was originally the group’s guitar player and features on the debut, while current guitarist Brian Case played bass. This role reversal has helped the band’s dynamic, offering up a different musical perspective than before, now revisiting the trio’s long-going collaboration with some distance and time. Case notes that the lyrics on “Wish Defense” revolve around doppelgängers or "doubles”, tackling the idea of facing yourself and observing your ideas and motivations. Look no further than the album’s title track; “Enter the mirror / Double walker / An intimate / Wish defense / Is it real? / You beside me / The detail / Terrifying / Abject self / Your grief / A public / Performance”. Case lays out the entire album’s theme in one stanza; Are your actions & emotions your true self? Or are they a performative aspect of that “other” person you put forward? Case says that ultimately the sentiment is “...don’t let the bastards get you down, there’s something beyond this moment, like hope - but not in the naive belief that ultimately people are good”. “Wish Defense”s artwork is also a subtle reference to “Negative Houses”’ art, returning to that album’s black & white starkness & minimalism. The album’s checkerboards everywhere are offset reflections of themselves, mirrored with the album’s lyrics printed front & center on the cover. Everything is out in the open. A final note; “Wish Defense” is the last album engineered by Steve Albini. Two days were recorded at Electrical Audio in early May of 2024 before Steve’s untimely passing, with renowned engineer & friend Sanford Parker stepping in to finish the session 24 hours later, tracking the last bits of vocals and overdubs. Longtime collaborator John Congleton mixed the album as Albini would have; in Electrical Audio’s A room, off the tape, using Albini’s notes about the session.

Limited Indies “white split vinyl variant while supplies last. RIYL: Unwound, MBV, The Jesus Lizard, SUUNS, Preoccupations, METZ, Les Rallizes Denudes, The Dead C, Echo & The Bunnymen, Liars, This Heat, PIL. Sixth studio album from the Chicago trio. Features newly-rejoined original member Jonathan Van Herik. Recorded at Electrical Audio May 6 & 7, 2024 - final album recorded by Steve Albini. The duality of “man” is a subject that has been explored in art for centuries, from writings of the Bible to Descartes, all the way up to filmmakers like Lynch, Cronenberg, & Carpenter. Who is your “true self” & what do they want? With their sixth studio album “Wish Defense” (again for longtime home Trouble In Mind Records), Chicago trio FACS take a good, long look in the mirror to face themselves. The return of original member Jonathan Van Herik - who stepped away from the group just before their debut album “Negative Houses” was released in 2018 - replacing longtime bassist Alianna Kalaba brings renewed vigor & a marked angularity from the band’s more recent output. The songs still hit hard, but the approach is sideways - the roles have changed since Van Herik’s original tenure & his previous time with Case & powerhouse drummer Noah Leger in Disappears; now on bass, Van Herik was originally the group’s guitar player and features on the debut, while current guitarist Brian Case played bass. This role reversal has helped the band’s dynamic, offering up a different musical perspective than before, now revisiting the trio’s long-going collaboration with some distance and time. Case notes that the lyrics on “Wish Defense” revolve around doppelgängers or "doubles”, tackling the idea of facing yourself and observing your ideas and motivations. Look no further than the album’s title track; “Enter the mirror / Double walker / An intimate / Wish defense / Is it real? / You beside me / The detail / Terrifying / Abject self / Your grief / A public / Performance”. Case lays out the entire album’s theme in one stanza; Are your actions & emotions your true self? Or are they a performative aspect of that “other” person you put forward? Case says that ultimately the sentiment is “...don’t let the bastards get you down, there’s something beyond this moment, like hope - but not in the naive belief that ultimately people are good”. “Wish Defense”s artwork is also a subtle reference to “Negative Houses”’ art, returning to that album’s black & white starkness & minimalism. The album’s checkerboards everywhere are offset reflections of themselves, mirrored with the album’s lyrics printed front & center on the cover. Everything is out in the open. A final note; “Wish Defense” is the last album engineered by Steve Albini. Two days were recorded at Electrical Audio in early May of 2024 before Steve’s untimely passing, with renowned engineer & friend Sanford Parker stepping in to finish the session 24 hours later, tracking the last bits of vocals and overdubs. Longtime collaborator John Congleton mixed the album as Albini would have; in Electrical Audio’s A room, off the tape, using Albini’s notes about the session.