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The latest entry in An’archives’ ‘Free Wind Mood’ series, Ki is a trio that pits long-time collaborators Tamio Shiraishi (saxophone, voice) and Takahashi Michiko aka Mico (drums, voice, vocoder, melodica, piano, percussion) against drummer, percussionist and vocalist Fritz Welch. They each bring a wealth of experience, from Shiraishi’s early moves in the Japanese underground of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s – he was a founding member of Fushitsusha, and played with Taco and Machinegun Tango – to his legendary, late-night solo New York subway performances; he and Mico also spent some time playing with No Neck Blues Band, while Welch, currently based in Glasgow, has a long history taking in stints with Peeesseye, Lambs Gamble and FvRTvR.

Tearful Face Of My Cute Love (Is Begging To Me), named after a yakuza song, is Ki’s first LP, after CD-Rs on Chocolate Monk (Ki No Sei, 2009) and Unverified (Stops Dropping, 2010). Documenting two live performances from 2008, it’s a startling, wild freedom chase, each piece stretching languorously across one side of the vinyl, giving the trio maximum space to thunder their way through space and time. Their West Nile 2008 show, on side one, opens with a battery of drums, fierce and livid, before Shiraishi’s unmistakable and remarkable whinnying, high-zone tone slithers into earshot. The stage is set, the battle moves forward, yet there’s remarkable simpatico between the three players, with Mico and Welch volleying guttural vocal exhortations at each other. When it does offer respite – see the sudden swoop into near- silence at around 12:30– everything’s still tense; who knows what’s around the corner?

For all its fury, though, Tearful Face Of My Cute Love... is full of oddly lyrical moments, too – see the sweet melody that winds out, with gentle melancholy, near the very end of the West Nile performance. This lyricism also haunts the second side of the album, a performance from Glassland, Brooklyn, which seems more focused on the intersection of incidents, from clattering cymbals to ghostly swarms of sax scream, to dive-bombing spirals of vocoder. There’s an appealing sense of audio verité here, as though you’re in the room with the performers, shaken and stirred by every movement, lost in the interlocking maze they’re weaving in real time. It’s a bracing, thrilling document of very immediate, human music – of three bodies moving through the world, sounding their environment.


[a] a1 Tearful face of my cute love [is begging to me] (Side A)
[b] b1 Tearful face of my cute love [is begging to me] (Side B)

Radio: Total Rock Radio, Primordial Radio, HRH Radio & regional Rock Shows. Press: Metal Hammer, ZT, Kerrang! on-line, Fistful Of Metal, Record Collector, Classic Rock, Power Play, HRH Mag. Online: Facebook ads, Youtube pre-roll ads, Instagram ads and banner ads on key Metal sites. 150K label database mailing. Advertising: Metal Hammer, ZT.

First volume – though the 2nd never happened – of this ongoing collaboration between post-punk stalwarts Cherry Red and home of the western dub On U Sound. Adrian Sherwood obviously sitting behind the desk and a cast of marvelous artist leading the way for a reggae renaissance. Stolen and contaminated songs, we may take this as a reference point for 12 unreleased tracks showing the best of the UK underground rhythms. A further development of the Jamaican heritage, with handmade electronics and a forward thinking production. Mothmen ‘Afghani Dub’ is one of the leading track here, with future members of Durutti Column and Simply Red on board, this is a mystical post-industrial trip through upbeat rhythms. Along the way you’ll find the over the top vocal performance of Judy Nylon – more akin to certain no wave expressionism – futuristic vibes from Sun Of Arqa, contribution from New age Steppers supergroup and Creation Rebel teaming up with the so-called Jamaican ‘Voice of Thunder’ Prince Far I. All in all a (natural) mystic experience.

Peruvian cumbia, also know as "chicha", brings together tropical music styles from Colombia and Cuba, Western influences such as 60s beat and psychedelic rock, and mixes them with indigenous melodies from the Amazonian jungle and traditional Andean songs. The result is a unique and vibrant style of music which reverberates with life. Vampisoul's compilation includes tracks by the most important bands of the genre. Peruvian cumbia is currently being rediscovered by new audiences and there exists a thriving club and live venue scene in cities like New York, London and Madrid.
36-page booklet with extensive liner notes in English and Spanish plus photos and memorabilia.

Repress
Byron the Aquarius (aka Byron Blaylock), an accomplished keys player as much as he is a producer, has a deep love for the organic side of music. This shines through in his creations, back to his debut EP in 2007. More recently, Blaylock's skillful jazz beats have found a home on the one and only Jeff Mills' Axis Records. From his birthplace in Birmingham Alabama, Blaylock has grown into an international figure of acclaim for his explorative compositions.

Already having two successful EPs with Shall Not Fade under his belt - most recently marking the labels' 50th release with What Up Doe? Vol.2 - Byron the Aquarius returns for a gorgeous double LP. Expect the smoothness of deep house, melodic instrumental hip hop production of the J Dilla creed along with tight jazz pieces.

The New Beginning LP showcases range and expertise from the off, exploding with pulsing discordant jazz in "Amaya's Voyage". Psychedelic g-funk is the MO of "Smoke One For Huckaby", before a B-side milieu of jazz and hip hop reminiscent of Guru's Jazzmatazz. The album settles into a deep groove across its C-side, the highlight of which is the percussive workout of "Underground Was Black", complemented delicately with dazed pads and buoyant but smokey lounge jazz sounds in "Cosmic Jazz". Off kilter hip hop shines through in "Last Time We Gonna Do This" and its eclectic sound palette, then we are blindsided by the heavy electro distortion of "The End Of The World". The record closes with a collaboration of the genres explored throughout, pieced together into the pumping "Lost People of Tron". The album feels like a lap of honour around all the influences in Byron The Aquarius' sound - it's yet another artistic triumph.

Extra Soul Perception is a collaboration and community music platform which started life between the UK, Kenya and Uganda, and continues to grow and connect independent musicians worldwide. In November 2019, eight artists from Kenya, Uganda and the UK spent a week in Nairobi together exploring new tangents in soul music, the result was their 2020 debut EP 'New Tangents In Kampala, London & Nairobi Vol. 1'.

The growing collective is made up of Faizal Mostrixx (UG), Hibotep (UG), K15 (UK), Karun (KE), Labdi (KE), Lex Amor (UK), Lynda Dawn (UK) and Maxwell Owen (UK). Now with the with the addition of Itsmdnyt (UG), XL Middleton (US), Xenia Menasseh (KE), Sola (UK) and Azu Tiwaline (TUN), the collective are preparing to release their album 'New Tangents in Kampala, London and Nairobi', released 25th March.

Three years in the making, work started on the album at a writing camp in Nairobi, and was completed remotely over the course of the worldwide lockdowns of 2020 and 2021. The album celebrates the potential of collaboration, both in a physical and digital sense.

Innovators in their own fields, each artist brings unique knowledge and musical culture to the project, collectively they represent a broad spectrum of sound. The album reflects this via an inspiring mixture of beautiful soul, glitchy beats, spoken word and bumping instrumentals. Embracing the same values of the writing camp but through virtual collaborations, seeing 'soul' as much in the spiritual sense as the musical one, expanding the sound into new territories.

A fresh re-press of an Italo Disco club classic: My Mine - Hypnotic Tango. My Mine were the trio of Stefano Micheli (vocals, keyboards), Carlo Malatesta (vocals, keyboards), and Danilo Rosati (drums, keyboards) formed in 1982. Utilizing new electronic instruments like the now legendary Roland TB-303, Danilo improvised a simple but effective synthesizer bass line and passed it through the Roland Echo until something magical came out.

“Hypnotic Tango” was released on Progress Record in 1983 and became an international hit across Europe and US dance clubs in New York, Detroit and Chicago, capturing the imagination of House and Techno producers. In 1987 legendary DJ Frankie Knuckles remixed “Hypnotic Tango” at Seagrape Studios in Chicago, with assistance from studio engineers Tommy White and Brett Wilcotts. Originally released on Danica Records as the “Powerhouse Mix” named after Knuckles' club the Power House, the mix has added vocals by Frankie.

This reissue also includes the “Hypnotic Mix” released in 1990 on Rams Horn Records. All songs are remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The vinyl comes housed in a jacket with original artwork and includes an insert with photos and liner notes by Stefano Micheli.

The last and long-awaited third instalment of the trilogy "For The Luv Of It" is finally out, exclusively on vinyl. After Volume 3 and Volume 2, both critically acclaimed and supported by a worldwide audience, E.Blaze just released Volume One, with an emphasis on instrumental versions of some of his classic productions such as "Capital Q" by Infamous Mobb, "Contagious" by D.i.T.C's O.C. and AG from their oasis album, and with a mix of updated bangers from the past alongside some new productions.
The musical cocktail of beats is a feast for the ears, and a truly rare piece of hip hop mastery with a beautiful artwork cover to go with it.
The instrumental record For The Luv Of It - Volume One Reloaded - Part One is a real treasure to be added to any serious vinyl collection of the genre.

Eric Blaze (E. Blaze) is a Paris record shop owner, a worldwide music producer and a label manager at The Group NYC. Before embarking on his New York journey, he co-founded the legendary Hip Hop French group Tout Simplement Noir in 1989 and eventually decided to move to the Mecca of Hip Hop where he has worked for two decades as a vinyl specialist at world-famous A1 and Academy records, and as a music producer, crafting numerous tracks for Hip Hop finest MCs such as Krs one, D.I.T.C., Milano Constantine, OC and AG, Blaq Poet, Infamous Mobb, etc. Over the years, to highlight his skills and efforts, and most importantly recognized and encouraged by his peers. Co-signed by the best original beatmakers in the world, Lord Finesse, DJ Premier, and Large Professor, Eric released on his own New York based company four instrumental records: For the Luv of it Volume Three and Volume Two, Bandwidth and Flip Side

Recorded during the first few periods of lockdown and originally released as a cassette midway through 2021, O Yuki Conjugate's A Tension of Opposites Vol. 1 & 2 is now to be released as a limited edition, double-disc gatefold LP via World of Echo on 1st April. The enforced conditions of its creation represented a new way of working for O Yuki Conjugate founders, Andrew Hulme and Roger Horberry, a pioneering duo who have worked as close collaborators on multiple projects for almost four decades now. As such, their writing is for the first time divided in two and recognised as distinct, Horberry contributing the shorter eleven tracks that make up Vol. 1 (subtitle: At Variance), and Andrew Hulme the longer four that constitute Vol. 2 (Into the Pleasure Garden). It's fascinating to hear their approaches separated.

At Variance is defined by its mostly short-form approach, characterised by an airless ambience that recalls the late 20th Century modern minimalism of Thomas Koner, Markus Popp and the Mille Plateux universe, while in other parts, an element of the grander aspects of Eno circa Discreet Music, though retaining a characteristically gritty feel. Into the Pleasure Garden provides a notable contrast, forgoing the lightness of the preceding eleven tracks and embracing what might be understood as some of the more 'classic' elements of the OYC sound: their storm cloud-forming, heavy weather, post-industrial, fourth-world dystopia. Together and apart, OYC celebrate their 40th birthday this year, but remarkably, even under challenging circumstances, their music still retains an almost mystical power.

Future releases in the series are planned for later in the year and will continue with this approach, charting the outer reaches of the individual members musical inclinations. In the meantime, it might be worth giving some thought to start considering this pair an institution of sorts, or at least their own cottage industry.

As we emerge into the Now with a fresh perspective and renewed vigour, Red Laser Records usher in a novel epoch of Manctalo movements for our post-COVID enjoyment.

Entrusting piloting duties to four well decorated RL commandos, the EP serves to remind us all that despite everything that's happened, we can still find solace in red lasers, smoke machines and high-powered strobe lights.

Splitting open the collective dancefloor inertia is Kid Machine's 'Only Machines Allowed'.

A cybernetic b-boy jam straight outta the planet MEGOH circa 4044. Guided by electrified vocoder lines and a plutonium-grade, armoured groove this impenetrable battle rocket should issue the much needed power boost to get your body kinetics firing again when they release the e-barriers to hedonism.

Returning star fleet lieutenant Count Van Delicious has been collecting entities from the outer galaxies since his appearance on RL EP 9 ('Dark Fruit' w/ Senor Chugger).
Here he announces his return with an end-credits epic, an #inabiteveryoneelse theme from this young vet on a pants-off permo-buzz, up-scrolling through technicolored c64 visuals and deploying his now trademark zoopa-arps, euphoric synth stabs and thunderous low end shudder to deadly effect.

Meanwhile, Ste Spandex continues his cybernetic realignment surgery, dissecting a well circulated disco meme and adding voluptuous gender-neutral enhancements that'll be getting the next generation of androids frisky, despite their lack of reproductive organs. Fizzling synths, spherical repetition and a multi-dimensional mix of high voltage rhythms leaving that vocal line permanently downloaded in your memory cloud. No sharing necessary.

Scottish deep space observer Ernesto Harmon provides some cosmic ruggedness to close off our mission. Reinforced & galvanised low-end rhymix coalescing with humanoid synth expression and an infinite, carbon-free energy source keeping momentum plateaued through the morning after the night before. There's no off switch baby!

For astral travellers seeking solace in the new Now, EP12 kindly acts as an upgrade to your possibly dormant dancing system as you stumble out into the new nocturnal environment. Hopefully reminding us that the simple act of moving alongside one another in a pitch black, laser-guided club space hasn't changed that much...

Limited press, with artwork which could be the next top selling NFT, we urge our RL family to bag this collectable chronicle from the Red Laser Corp.

Historically informed violin player, prize-winning street musician, new age experimentalist, chamber ensemble performer and conservatoire deviant. The career of Valentina Goncharova (b. Kyiv 1953) shares parallels with those associated with the broader new music movement of the 20th century and the dissemination of home recording technologies.

Valentina’s was a youth spent immersed in the world of classical music study under soviet rule, first in Kyiv- later in Leningrad & now St. Petersburg, from the age of 16. With the supervision of professors M. Vayman and B. Gutnikov she learned concert violin and developed alternate playing styles alongside skilled pianists. A student of the Leningrad conservatoire during the years 1969 - 1983, her repertoire included music for violin and later expanded to contemporary music composition.

The improvisatory nature of free jazz and then-budding experimental rock circles also intrigued Valentina during this period in Leningrad. Departing from the rules of the conservatoire, she briefly performed in underground rock clubs alongside future members of the industrial group Pop- Mechanika (Popular Mechanics). This perpetual state of flux is central to the variety found within ‘Recordings Vol. 1’, though as opposed to any degree of uncertainty Valentina’s practice is one
in flux by way of earnest curiosity.

Pushing further into an exploration of solo electro-acoustic sounds, she took to home taping on a modified Olimp reel to reel recorder. Intrigued by the manipulability of dubbing and the fresh sounds of DIY effects chains, Goncharova developed pickups alongside her husband Igor Zubkov. Her infatuation with the music of Stockhausen, Xenakis, Ganelin Trio and Pierre Boulez channels through considerations of space and erratic sound design, the 3 movements of ‘Metamorphoses’ embodying this textural approach to musique concrete.

The compositional skills developed in Leningrad unfold in the romantic gestures of ‘Higher Frequencies’, whilst manipulated cello combines with synthesise keys across ‘Passageway To Eternity’.
The slow, pulsating drone soundscapes recall the likes of Robert Rutman’s US Steel Cello Ensemble or even deep listening pioneer Pauline Oliveros.

The juxtaposition of written notation and improvisatory flare is central to Goncharova’s sound world. This period of home recording documents a confluence of minimalism, free form and flirtations
with new age tropes (inc. bell chimes and cavernous vocal mantras).

Experimenting with unusual performance techniques, such as shouting into amplified cello strings, Valentina’s home studio functioned as a place to foster full artistic and creative freedom
away from any academic strictures.

Relocating to Estonia in 1984, and in parallel to the deeply personal music of ‘Recordings Vol. 1’, Valentina performed at jazz festivals and gave classical concerts across Eastern Europe. In a sense, the recordings on these discs offer only a glimpse into her lifelong body of work. Over the past few decades she has taught at Tallinn Music College, expanded and updated post- Soviet popular music repertoire, collaborated with the Russian Philharmonic Society of Estonia and given concerts and charity events alongside the Catholic Church.

Hers is a life dedicated to the exploration of sound, a career forged through careful study and ceaseless intrigue. In a time where technological interconnectedness has allowed for music of the pas
to be continually mined and evaluated through new lenses, Shukai present an artist whose tendency for private home-taping had allowed recordings to go unheard for thirty years.

Die aus erfahrenen Musikern bestehende junge Band REXUL, stammt aus NRW/Deutschland und präsentiert uns hier nun ihr Debüt Album "Erebus... Virtuosus... Alpha...". Ein wahrer musikalischer Hassbrocken, satanisch, fies und brutal gibt es hier 13 Tracks (inkl. Intros/Outros) in die Gehörgänge geballert. Purer, klassisch amerikanisch geprägter, wuchtiger Death Metal für Fans von BRUTALITY, MORBID ANGEL oder DEICIDE. Definitiv ein Death Metal Highlight !!!

"Erebus... Virtuosus... Alpha..." wurde durch B. Oprea aufgenommen, gemixt und Gernhart Studio Troisdorf gemastert. Das Cover Artwork stammt von S. Milizia.

"Wer auf MORBID ANGEL, DEICIDE, MONSTROSITY oder auch NOCTURNUS steil geht und dabei seine Lauscher auf Anspruch und Qualität eingestellt hat, sollte hier zuschlagen" - Rock Hard Magazin
"Rexul vermengen auf ihrem sehr geilen und packenden Debüt "Erebus... Virtuosus... Alpha..." gekonnt verschiedene Merkmale des US-Death Metals der frühen 90er zu einem spannenden, feurigen und virtuosen Glutofen des Todes voller Killerriffs und Brutalität! Old Skull-Sickos müssen hier unbedingt reinhören!" - Hotel 666
"REXUL legen ihr erstes Album vor und huldigen dem Ami Death Metal der frühen 90er Jahre." - Twilight Magazin
"Die Burschen sind vom amerikanischen Death Metal beeinflusst und bieten sehr gute Kost für Fans von Morbid Angel, Deicide, Immolation und Brutality an." - Time For Metal
"...eine gelungene Mischung aus Melodie und eingängigem Todesblei, ohne dabei das Ziel aus den Augen zu verlieren- eine eingängige Scheibe zu präsentieren, die sich ohne Probleme schnell ins Hirn frisst." - Raben Report
"Rexul plays old-school death metal with a stronger link to genre veterans like Morbid Angel and Deceide. With this Floridian death metal inspiration in mind, Rexul combines harsh riffs, deep growls and an atmospheric vibe in a stunning way." Markus' Heavy Music Blog
"Recommended! Category: Kickass Death Metal" Voices From The Darkside

To a degree, all musicians are a product of their environment, the places they record and the venues they play. For proof, check out the alumni of the n-wave era CBGBs venue in New York, Cabaret Voltaire’s Western Works studio in Sheffield or more recently London’s Total Refreshment Centre.

We can now add to that list the Constellations Workshop in Colwick, Nottingham, a project that provides employment through making studio furniture, for out-of-work musicians. It was here, after-hours, that the music on Brown Fang’s impressive and ear-catching debut album took shape.

Both members of Brown Fang, bassist John Thompson and guitarist Henry Scott AKA Henry Claude, have a long association with the Constellations Workshop. Though their musical projects are manifold – Thompson having toured with the likes of The Nectarine No9 and The Selecter, with Scott being both a mainstay of Nottingham jazz circuit and recording ambient music as Fang Jr – the work provided by the community-minded project has kept their heads above water and allowed them a space to record in when the shutters go down and the bandsaws get switched off.

Yet the music showcased on Sherwood Pines is more morning-fresh and sun-kissed than industrial and sawdust-sprinkled. Combining the pair’s brilliant musicianship – think languid bass guitars and Pat Martino-esque jazz guitar licks – with saucer-eyed electronics, occasional downtempo drum machine rhythms and plenty of glistening special effects, the set’s eight tracks are as blissful and becalmed as an early morning saunter through Sherwood Forest on a misty autumn morning.

For proof, check epic opener ‘Tracing Paper’, a slow-build ambient soundscape in which bubbly electronic lead lines and colourful chords sashay around Scott’s sparkling, laidback guitars, and the beguiling ‘That’s All You Can Think’, a subtle tribute to Steve Reich masterpiece ‘Electric Counterpoint’ in which slow-burn, stretched out synthesizer sounds wave in and out of a gradually evolving cycle of delay-laden electric guitar motifs.

The band’s love of classic American minimalism – as well as a shared love of the Duratti Column and Robert Fripp – comes to the fore on ‘HDMI I Love You’, which boasts a deliciously dubby bassline, Tangerine Dream style synths and the deepest of ambient chords, while ‘I Nearly Married a Human’ and ‘Fridgewords’ balance bespoke electronics – languid, dewy eyed and comforting – with Scott’s gorgeously laidback, slow-release guitars.

Every great album needs a triumphant conclusion, and Sherwood Pines is no different. You can hear everything that makes Brown Fang great on ‘Goodbye Donkey Jacket’, from the pin sharp, effects laden jazziness of Scott’s guitars and the fluid dexterity of Thompson’s bass, to the pleasingly spacey pulse of the synths and the gentle rhythms of the soft-focus machine drums. It’s a confident, ear-catching conclusion to a debut album that’s been years in the making.

Meaning all things magick and supernatural, the root of the word occult is that which is hidden, concealed, beyond the limits of our minds. If this is occult, then the Occult Architecture of Moon Duo’s fourth album - a psychedelic opus in two separate volumes released in 2017 - is an intricately woven hymn to the invisible structures found in the cycle of seasons and the journey of day into night, dark into light.

Offering a cosmic glimpse into the hidden patterning embedded in everything, Occult Architecture reflects the harmonious duality of these light and dark ener¬gies through the Chinese theory of Yin and Yang.

In Chinese, Yin means “the shady side of the hill” and is associated with the feminine, darkness, night, earth. Following this logic, Vol. 1 embraces and embod¬ies Moon Duo’s darker qualities — released appropriately on February 3, in the heart of winter in the Northern Hemisphere.

According to guitarist Ripley Johnson, “the concept of the dark/light, two-part album came as we were recording and mixing the songs, beginning in the dead of winter and continuing into the rebirth and blossoming of the spring. There’s something really powerful about the changing of the seasons in the Northwest, the physical and psychic impact it has on you, especially after we spent so many years in the seasonal void of California. I became interested in gnostic and her¬metic literature around that time, especially the relationship between music and occult qualities and that fed into the whole vibe.”

Adds keyboardist Sanae Yamada, “the two parts are also intended to represent inverted components of a singular entity, like two faces on the same head which stare always in opposite directions but are inextricably driven by the same brain.”

Montreal duo Mathieu Charbonneau (Avec Pas d'Casque, Organ Mood) and Pietro
Amato (Bell Orchestre, The Luyas) put melody and mood front and centre on this
second volume of luxuriant, immersive synth music. Like a humanist balm amidst
the ongoing wave of conceptronica, the pieces that comprise Synth Works Vol 2
were captured organically, live off the floor, on the eve of the pandemic. Recalling
elements of 70s kosmische and environmental musics, the collection finds the
longtime collaborators roving uncharted territory, ever mindful of their fellow
passengers.

In September 2021, VOLA performed an intimate show in a stunning live setting

'Live From The Pool' took place at the swimming pool of the abandoned Auderød military camp in North Zealand near Copenhagen, Denmark. Designed by the world-famous architect Henning Larsen this defunct building has become part of the Auderød nature park. A place where nature encounters the mysteries of a
once existing military base, ready to be explored.

Creating a unique experience, the bands' genre-melding music collaborates with visionary Danish audio-visual artist collective Vertigo, where light, nature, music, and concrete meet.

If now the time for voodoo amulets and protective talismans, sharpened swords and unbreakable shields, it’s also a moment for music to assume its highest form as a healing art, a source of benevolent spells, and a refuge from the chaos. After all, the best creators are always those that tap into the telluric current that exists below the surface. Those who delve into the collective unconscious so that timeliness is a happy accident; timelessness was always the intent. If Quelle Chris and Chris Keys’ Innocent Country 2 sounds like an antidote for a moment of surreal anxiety, the same could be said of it a decade from now. It’s an album best understand in a dialogue with the first volume of the series. Released in 2016, the initial Innocent Country focused on isolation, pessimism, and the notion of finding peace within pain. At a time when those feelings convey the mood of the moment, Quelle and Keys have responded with a soundtrack that offers soothing light in a bleak timeline. A hopeful record in a hopeless moment, precisely when it’s needed most.

Birthed in the bohemian enclave and epicentre of strange vibrations that is Calderdale in West Yorkshire, Hexen Valley’s story began in summer 2021 when a new formation of Gnod came together in a co-op house at the 200-year-old Nutclough Tavern. As always, the line-up of the collective shifted and morphed to fit circumstances, and soon they embarked on intensive jamming that was eventually captured by Sam Greenwood in Hebden Bridge Underground studios. Inspiration struck not only from the chemistry of the four musicians in this confined room but all around - the band’s Paddy Shine cites the likes of shop noticeboard messages and pub conversations in Hebden as lyrical sparks; channeling by his reckoning the ‘valley fever’ that exists somewhere in the chasms and contrasts between the amazing light and vivacity of the valley summit and the comparative darkness of the towns below. Meanwhile, musical shapes were making themselves known seemingly of their own volition, from ‘Still Running’, which takes shape across a sonic hinterland between Daydream Nation-style kineticism and sludged-out aggression to ‘Bad Apple’ - an entirely spontaneous piece of potent and angular post-punk intensity. Perhaps most surprisingly of all, Lou Reed’s tour-bus favourite ‘Waves Of Fear’ is hammered out with fearsome gusto into a salvo of first-take catharsis and alchemy, fit to transcend all or any oppressive atmospheres that surround.Hexen Valley is the sound of a band whose fearsome intensity is only matched by their evolutionary drive. It’s Gnod at full power, and it’s a haunted place you might struggle to leave

Birthed in the bohemian enclave and epicentre of strange vibrations that is Calderdale in West Yorkshire, Hexen Valley’s story began in summer 2021 when a new formation of Gnod came together in a co-op house at the 200-year-old Nutclough Tavern. As always, the line-up of the collective shifted and morphed to fit circumstances, and soon they embarked on intensive jamming that was eventually captured by Sam Greenwood in Hebden Bridge Underground studios. Inspiration struck not only from the chemistry of the four musicians in this confined room but all around - the band’s Paddy Shine cites the likes of shop noticeboard messages and pub conversations in Hebden as lyrical sparks; channeling by his reckoning the ‘valley fever’ that exists somewhere in the chasms and contrasts between the amazing light and vivacity of the valley summit and the comparative darkness of the towns below. Meanwhile, musical shapes were making themselves known seemingly of their own volition, from ‘Still Running’, which takes shape across a sonic hinterland between Daydream Nation-style kineticism and sludged-out aggression to ‘Bad Apple’ - an entirely spontaneous piece of potent and angular post-punk intensity. Perhaps most surprisingly of all, Lou Reed’s tour-bus favourite ‘Waves Of Fear’ is hammered out with fearsome gusto into a salvo of first-take catharsis and alchemy, fit to transcend all or any oppressive atmospheres that surround.Hexen Valley is the sound of a band whose fearsome intensity is only matched by their evolutionary drive. It’s Gnod at full power, and it’s a haunted place you might struggle to leave

Features new collaborations with Laraaji, Janie Cowan, Masayoshi Fujita, Qasim Naqvi, Brad Weber, Hanna Benn, and PRINTtEXT. A coproduction of Anchorage Museum, National Geographic Society, and Temporary Residence Ltd. What does the Earth sound like? In Stations, the 10th volume in the Field Works series, producer Stuart Hyatt approaches that question with a team of scientists working on the EarthScope experiment. Using sophisticated ground recording
devices, Field Works has created a new type of music in which human voices sing along with the actual voice of the Earth. Stations features an all-star ensemble of vocalists and instrumentalists, including Hanna Benn, Janie Cowan, Masayoshi Fujita, Stuart Hyatt, Laraaji, Qasim Naqvi, and Brad Weber. The deluxe vinyl edition includes a bonus digital album of peer reviews by Deantoni Parks, Green-House, Olga Wojciechowska, Afrodeutsche, Nathan Fake, Ben Chatwin, Sophia Loizou, Amulets, Penelope Trappes, and Alva Noto. Stations was commissioned by The Anchorage Museum and The National Geographic Society. “For those interested in the intersection between field recordings and music, this is a must-have.” A Closer Listen // “A beguiling and quietly astonishing piece of work.”

LA FAMILIA AUFLAGE!!!

GOLD, the follow-up to Alabaster DePlume's widely-acclaimed, 2020-
released cinematic instrumental LP To Cy & Lee: Instrumentals Vol. 1,
introduces the world to the artist’s truest self.

That is... though DePlume’s now known across the globe as the saxophonist who created that collection of wonderful, wordless music, he’s most known to fervent fans in his home zone of London, UK, as an outspoken poet and orator, beloved for his inspiring words of encouragement and sing-a-long-able songs about vulnerability, humanity, and courage. GOLD is a sprawling double album that finds DePlume expressing both sides of his artistic character beautifully: (1) an articulate singer and songwriter who invokes the melodious crooning of Donovan as much as Devendra Banhart or Syd Barrett, whose tunes are almost like mini-sermons, full of existential comedy and spiritual enlightenment; and (2) a brilliant composer of simple, soothing, and viscerally nourishing instrumental melodies, with a gift for expanding them into intrepid collective improvisations, led by a delicate and distinguished saxophone tone that conjures the fluttery sweetness of the great Ethiopique Getatchew Mekurya.

Packaging specs: Black & 'Eye of the Sun' coloured Vinyl 2xLP in Heavyweight Gatefold Jacket with Gold-Foil Stamp over Reverse-Board print, with Insert Sheet, IA OBI Strip and Dome-Pattern Inner Sleeves

Ltd to 100 copies

Yearly compilation album RADAR by KEROXEN, introducing the second volume in the series of themed based albums showcasing the talents and misfortunes of carefully selected musicians/bands based in the Canary Islands.

Where Radar Vol.1 (KXN012, 2020) focused its sights on rock oriented music, Vol.2 looks at the more experimental, free flowing side of electronic and sample based music, also Made in Tenerife this last year (2021).

The format stays the same as Vol.1: 4 different artists are invited to contribute 2 tracks, no rules other than do their own thing. The result being an extraordinary amalgamation of various genres and styles of the electronic music cannon including: smoky dub beats by King L. Man, tropical casiotone divagations by Usted, inverted & polyrhythmic workouts from the Tupperwear duo, ultra precise dub-tech-2step edits by Postman and organic psychedelics by freak trio Lagoss.

Yet another crucial document from a region you usually do not associate with forward thinking music, more than a simple compilation, RADAR 2 unveils the thin veil of new and uncompromising music being produced in and around the orbit of the Keroxen Collective.

It seems the Atlantic isolation works as a catalyser here, judging from the copious amount of different and challenging music we’ve been seeing from this corner of the world over the last few years. We invite you to dive with us, in the wild remote tropical waters of RADAR vol.2.

"_Acid blues punk meets freeform drone raag transcendentalism" JONNY HALIFAX is an untutored aleatoric free blues outsider. His new collection of sound is an instrumental departure into godless raag brut improvisations, layered, manipulated and sculpted into heavily immersive feral sonic collages. Invocations of an hallucinatory apocalyptic near future. Previously the creator of junkshop blues skronk one man band HONKEYFINGER, which then mutated into the gospel fuzz psych of Julian Cope endorsed JONNY HALIFAX & THE HOWLING TRUTH with their ""slitherin' electro -programmed slide guitar driven mung worship", alongside the ambient drone metal noisescapes of DEATHENTEREDINERROR, now THE JONNY HALIFAX INVOCATION channel heavy meditations on the present into an uncompromising free blues transcendentalism that burn raga-shaped holes into your chakra with searing psychedelic intensity. Inspired by Henry Flynt's avant bluegrass experiments fusing country blues with eastern acoustic musical stylings, Spacemen 3's contemporary sitar music, and the monolithic drone doom immersion of Sunn 0))), THE JONNY HALIFAX INVOCATION build hypnotic instrumental soundscapes using lap steel and homemade slide guitars, harmonica and alto sax. Underpinned by layers of acoustic and electronic drone instruments and fed through an arsenal of pedalboard electronics that would make Dave Gilmour weep. The blues are transmogrified, unhinged, reduced and re-imagined as intoxicating, trance-inducing, feedback-drenched noise paintings. AÇID BLÜÜS RÄÄGS Volume 1 plays like a psychedelic western movie soundtrack, frenzied electric lap steel guitar suites play to melting cowboy minds. Flaming tumbleweeds blow in slow motion across wide open concrete vistas. Jodorowsky's El Topo meets Ballard's High Rise in an apocalyptic knife edge disintegrating urban landscape. Shut your eyes and conjure the best nightmares you've never had. The JONNY HALIFAX musical CV also includes studio contributions to releases by Andrew Weatherall's TWO LONE SWORDSMEN, UK metal behemoths ORANGE GOBLIN, hardcore thrash upstarts HECK (formerly BABY GODZILLA), and pan european psych noise titans MELTING HAND.

A collection of instrumentals previously unavailable from Diggin' In The Crates producer, Buckwild. Buck has worked with the likes of Notorious B.I.G., Black Rob, Jay-Z, O.C., Big L, Fat Joe, Diddy, Big Pun and many, many more. Volume 2 of a 3 volume series.

Atlanta emcee Tha God Fahim remains a true outlier, releasing new music at a remarkable pace without sacrificing depth or quality. Recently, the talented artist linked with Montreal producer Nicholas Craven for two masterful new EPs within the span of a month, drawing widespread praise in the process. Now, both volumes of "Dump Gawd: Shot Clock King" are available in one physical release. Featuring guest vocals from Your Old Droog, this two-part collection unites powerful creative forces, with Fahim weaving consistently inventive street parables over Craven’s cinematic, soul-drenched production.

Tape

Lucia H. Chung is a Taiwanese experimental artist based in London. She performs and releases music under the alias 'en creux'.

Under this alias, Lucia is interested in the underlying structures of what we call noise and is examining the effects of human interventions into its complex web of tones. Repetition and chance operations are fundamental to Lucia‘s music. It is not built on the dionysian maximalism and symbolic harshness of lots of noise artists; catharsis is not reached via an explosion of sound, but via concentration on sound phenomena and small changes, which, not unlike some minimal disco night your usual mind-altering drone ritual, sucks you in more with every tiny alteration. This music is as intense as it is sensitive.

„The Liberated Mind“, in Lucia‘s own words, „is a sort of split release between two no-input configurations“. For „Wyldside“, she tuned two different feedback mixers with identical routings as close possible, as much as tuning is possible at all on these highly volatile instruments. „The two channels naturally phased in and out from each other. I guess the process was actually akin to Steve Reich's tape techniques on Come Out and It's Gonna Rain. The whole release extrapolated from that point onwards...“ Finding and replicating similar routings/settings on no input mixing desks is the nightmare of every control freak and a task doomed to failure, but in letting go and embracing these failures, patterns emerge. And thanks to Lucia‘s careful work, these patterns become hypnotic as she carves out the essence of each feedback loop, or, as she puts it: „Actually, I did remember the setting for the final track „Earthrise“, but for whatever reasons, I just cannot reproduce the sounds and it's forever lost (at least for this point in time, maybe when the conditions are primed again for the machine, the same sounds will emerge again...). I guess that's really the essences of improvised NIMB setup. Every single sound was the effect of the previous iteration and the cause of the next iteration... (Wait... isn't it just like a Blockchain? Ha!)“

A collection of no-input studio sessions improvised with Mackie 1202-VLZ Pro, TAPCO MIX260FX, MXR Phase 90 and Electro-Harmonix Bad Stone Phase Shifter. All tracks recorded live, no overdubs. Recorded in London in February 2020. Mastered by causeandcondition

Lucia also works as independent curator, producer and broadcaster at Happened. Check out Lucia‘s other albums on Hard Return, Falt and SM-LL.

Following the release of Collision and Coalescence, Slovakian label mappa commits to the duo Grykë Pyje, releasing their third LP "Squirlich Stroll". Maintaining the fabled tone of their debut on the label, Jani Hirvonen (Uton) and Johannes Schebler (Baldruin) dig deeper into the sonic vein of myth and fabric of yonder. The music in "Squirlich Stroll" unravels as a yarn brought back from a wild voyage.

On uncharted areas of medieval maps where potential dangers were thought to exist, the inscription "Here be dragons" was used to warn as much as to tempt explorers willing to cross limits. Myth awaited them as a blank page of dormant territory, yet also to be proved unlike and reinvented. In such pliable borders, wonder had the favorable conditions to blend experience and imagination, crafting creatures with an eye instead of a bellybutton, arms instead of ears and ears instead of fingers, hypnotizing spirals where a mouth should have been. These chimeras, though fictitious, allowed explorers to express their delusions along with their fears. "Here be dreams", we hear nightmares. Here be mushrooms the size of pyramids that sing lullabies for mountains. Here be talking roads that lead to volcanoes throats and spit you back to flight. Here be art of bending trees into braided bridges like in Meghalaya, and the time gap between seed and living ruins.

Let that be the compass, the astrolabe. Yet, the music in Squirlich Stroll comes with these journeys already embraced, unraveling as a story told by wanderers visiting town, nourishing fantasy. The sonic language and diction employed here are crystal clear. Sounds are sharp and pure. Growls, howls, shrieks, tingles, rattles, moans, excretions and even hymns sung by landscape and creatures alike do not run over each other. There is no chaos, but ambience, cohabitation. The duo masters dramaturgy, providing every voice with focused turns and character, guarding their parley with caution and care, convoking them mainly through soothing synth melodies that enable an analgesic, sedative mood. Clusters of sounds gathered are articulated through the album with the inherent luminosity and required stability to accomplish what peaks in, as the title of the final track reads, a new dawn.

Following the revival of the iconic 1990s dance album series, Club Culture in 2020, Stress presents Club Culture Vol. 2. Much like in volume 1, the label continue to pay homage to the UK’s rich and diverse club culture with a collection of the scene’s freshest tracks.

To celebrate the return of the series, a limited edition vinyl sampler will be available which features five of the album’s most cutting edge selections, including exclusives from Richie Blacker, and Danny Howard. Label favourites, Tommy Farrow, Ben Hemsley, and Because of Art are also included on the sampler. Each handpicked track captures the sonic essence of Stress and clubland today.

Stress brought the world many seminal house tracks in the 1990s including Bedrock’s ‘For You Dream Of’, Last Rhythm’s ‘Last Rhythm’, and Greed’s ‘Pump Up The Volume’. During the 1990’s, Stress was considered one of the world’s greatest independent record labels, where it became known for its growing influence on the progressive house scene. It gave birth to the early careers of iconic producers Sasha and John Digweed. Today it is carving out a whole new scene taking inspiration from the past but creating a whole new sound for the stable.

This is the sound of clubland and club culture.

Pressed on recycled vinyl.

Oonops's first encounter with Japanese producer Shin-Ski dates back six years when he asked him for an exclusive guest mix for his show on Brooklyn Radio. He became aware of him years ago through his group ShinSight Trio with Insight and DJ Ryow a.k.a. Smooth Current. After one more mix and two collaborations on his Resense-series plus "Oonops Drops - Vol.1" compilation via Agogo Records they started working together on a whole album of instrumentals.

For this 45 Oonops had the chance to dig through an amount of unreleased tracks and selected some of the essential essences with different influences from Jazz, Soul, Funk and much more.

This special Record Store Day 5 x 45s collection comes packaged in a limited-edition Brazil 45 clamshell collector’s box.

The long-running relationship between Masters At Work and Mr Bongo has been a fruitful affair. Beginning in the 90s, it has included releases such as their seminal 'Brazilian Beat' 12" featuring Liliana, their magnificent rework of Atmosphere’s ‘Dancing In Outer Space’, and their recent hit Surprise Chef remixes 12". The influences of Brazilian music is evident in their DJ sets and productions, take the poly-rhythms of the 'Nervous Track’ as a prime example. We couldn't think of anyone more fitting to curate the third volume in our "Brazil 45 Boxset Curated by" series than one half of the MAW duo, the mighty Kenny Dope.

For his volume of the series, Kenny selected 10 knockout tracks from the golden era of Brazilian music. As you would expect from such a legend, he surpassed the brief of simply compiling the tracks, as he re-edited and remixed a number of his favourites especially for this boxset. Amongst these exclusives is a blazing, heavy psych-funk remix of Antonio Carlos & Jocafi's 'Quem Vem Lá’, and a hip-hop breakbeat bounce woven into Luli Lucinha E O Bando's folky-MPB beauty 'Flor Lilás’. Di Melo and Miguel De Deus are also given the Dopeman remix and edit treatment.

Kenny's selections pull out some forgotten classics and recently overlooked gems, many of which were once top of the want-lists for collectors in the 90s. These include Milton Banana Trio and the irresistible version of 'Berimbao' by Jayme Marques. Along with the Brazilian funk and jazzy-bossa dancefloor-oriented tracks, Kenny has also chosen the leftfield, deeper, trippy psychedelic folk sounds of Papete.

As with previous volumes, the selections are very personal and represent the individual sound and taste of the selector digging from the rich tapestry of Brazilian music. Its unique palate and stamp are exactly what you would expect from a Master At Work.

J. J. BARNES has given us a magnificent collection of Northern Soul 45s including: “Please Let Me In”, “Real Humdinger”, “Baby Please Come Back Home” and “Our Love Is In The Pocket”. But, perhaps the most beloved of all is the 1969 crossover masterpiece “Sweet Sherry” which, ironically, JJ never recorded on a single. It first appeared and became known to the scene on the Volt Records album ‘Rare Stamps Vol 1’.
JOHN GARY WILLIAMS cut this superb crossover classic in 1973 for his lone self-titled album. The single followed later that year and is reissued here almost fifty years on.

Voltaje Raizal is the first album of the tropical futurist music project Rizomagic, an electronic music duo, that consists of Diego Manrique, director of the avant-garde cumbia orchestra Niño Pueblo, and Edgar Marun, director of the ethno-afrobeat ensemble Dorado Kandua; Two outstanding projects from Bogota's new thriving alternative psychedelic scene.

The sounds of the album are rooted in the Afro-Caribbean musical tradition, in the mixed ancestry that defines Colombian culture, and IDM. The melodic construction of the album takes inspiration from variouscultures, including Indigenous chants from Colombia’s Embera people, the traditional scales from Mali’s Bambara ethnic group, and the Ghanian palm wine guitar interpreted by a Caribbean millo flute. The mix and mastering carried out by Eblis Alvarez (Meridian Brothers, Pirañas, Chupame el Dedo) and Camilo Manchego offered the final touches that make Voltaje Raizal a fresh proposal to Colombia’s futurist tropical scene. "Rizomagic set out to recontextualize their sources. It’s no coincidence that their name comes from rhizomatic, the botanically derived term for a subterranean, horizontal network of roots".

It hasn't been long since The Wedding Present released their latest LP Going, Going... but there's already another LP in the pipeline, albeit a collection of old sessions. The Marc Riley Sessions Volume 1 collection comes out on 2nd December via Hatch Records and contains tracks from three memorable studio sessions with DJ Marc Riley from 2007, 2008 and 2010. The sessions feature songs that span the entirety of the cult indie band's career and the consistency of David Gedge's songwriting.
Marc Riley himself commented on the release of the new album: The release of The Wedding Present sessions done for our 6
Music programme over the years is something of an honour. In the great tradition of the Peel/Selwood releases on the Strange Fruit label this record proves that even without John the BBC can still be a place where great bands can continue to grow and be creative... amongst friends.' Riley also commented on John Peel's love of the cult band: There were many other bands who benefitted from the 'Peel Effect'. T oo numerous to mention. But one of those was — as if you can't see this coming — The Wedding Present. The constant support. Plays. Sessions. Encouragement. Friendship. John's love of the George Best LP (which was a heroic support considering John's affiliation to Liverpool — Manchester United's most hated rival) was well known... and until John passed away he remained a firm fan of all things 'Gedge'.'

Emerging from Lower Franconia's hidden reverse, Johannes schebler, known as ambient-poltergeist "Baldruin" and surreal folklorists Christian Schoppik & Katie Rich of "Brannten Schnüre"-fame have puzzled and amazed outernational audiences from the stranger end of the avant/lo-fi spectrum in recent years. The trio is now collectively dreaming as "Freundliche Kreisel",reaching for terra incognita rather than common ground on their most bewildering and accessible outing to date. Arch-pontifices of the electro-acoustic and outsider-art realm, they fill in gaps and invent missing links on the go with somnambulistic ease, confusing the hypersensitive and hyaline timbres of contempo-electronic aesthetics with the naïve charm of Germany's obscure Kassettentäter and mutant-NDW.

Think Daniele Mana and Lorenzo Senni digitally rewiring the 4-track recordings of Gareth Williams' Flaming Tunes or sometimes, much scarier, it feels as if it's the other way round. There certainly is an air of whimsical yet post-ironic romanticism to the songs contained here, a madcap, tongue-in-cheek ghost story as filtered through the transcendental senses of a childhood perspective. This attitude is best personified in the disarming innocence of Katie's vocals whose intonation touches on nursery rhymes as much as on dirges and bizarre 'schlager' kitsch.

Heirs to the tradition of magic realism, examining fragments of an arcane sacred mundanity like a crack in the concrete of everyday life, Freundliche Kreisel dwell on this often neglected microcosmic topography, yielding an adventurous and visionary piece of a decidedly Franconian next-level post-modern folklore.

When we first heard from recent Kompakt signing Emma Kollmorgen, with 2021’s “You Are The”, she was hymning the complexity of romance: “Love is scary as fuck!”, she said. On her debut EP, “1243”, she’s built on that intensity and offered up a five-track suite of night-vision electronic pop, bristling with a stealthy sensuality. It’s a cinematic collection, building from the brooding “Escape”, through the drifting, tactile pulses of “Taciturn”, the gritty, bustling noises that run underneath the smoke-signal torch-song of “All The Wild Animals”, and the closing, tear-stained melancholy of “Home”. “You Are The” reappears here as well, settling in perfectly amongst new friends.

It’s a completely assured first EP from an artist who’s been slowly and steadily building her own sonic world. From her early days, when she busied herself by learning guitar and joining bands, Kollmorgen always had a vision of doing something “more independent”, to allow her to find her own sound and write her own songs. A brief creative alliance with the Berlin DJ duo Dole & Kom led to some recordings and live performances. All the while, Kollmorgen was carefully shaping her production and sound designing skills with Ableton Live, and exploring distinctive musical terrain in collaboration with co-producer and multi-instrumentalist Paul Seidel (The Ocean Collective, Fern, Nightmarer). She joined the Kompakt family after a recommendation by Patrice Baumel, who also remixed her debut single with typical flair.

On “1243”, though, Kollmorgen fully inhabits her songs, gifting each of them with a sweet, subtle sway, her vocal and lyrical openheartedness balancing the bluer hues of her production. Each song is confident and poised, Kollmorgen relying on cross-thatched patterns of texture as a web to support her melodies: “I like patterns,” she says, “they give me something to hold onto, something stable in an unstable world.” The songs feel as though they’re grappling with moments of revelation and experience in Kollmorgen’s world, which makes sense, given her approach to music: “I never had a diary,” she reflects, “so writing songs is my way of expressing and dealing with life.” On 1243, you’ll catch some glimpses of life lived, made sonorous through songs beautifully sung.

Als wir das erste Mal von Emma Kollmorgen hörten, nachdem sie sich KOMPAKT angeschlossen hatte, besang sie mit "You Are The" (2021) die Komplexität von Romantik: "Liebe ist verdammt beängstigend!". Auf ihrer Debüt-EP "1243" baut sie auf dieser Intensität auf und präsentiert uns eine fünf Tracks umfassende Suite von elektronischem Pop mit ausgeprägtem Nachtsicht-Faktor, die vor verborgener Sinnlichkeit nur so strotzt. Ein geradezu cineastischer Spannungsbogen, der sich vom grüblerischen "Escape" über die treibenden, taktilen Impulse von "Taciturn", die düsteren, umtriebigen Geräusche, die den Rauchzeichen sendenden torch song "All The Wild Animals" untermalen, und die abschließende, tränenreiche Melancholie von "Home" aufbaut. Auch "You Are The" taucht hier wieder auf und fügt sich perfekt in die neue Gesellschaft ein.

Eine überzeugende erste EP von einer Künstlerin, die sich langsam und stetig ihre eigene Klangwelt aufgebaut hat. Seit ihren Anfängen, als sie Gitarre lernte und in Bands spielte, hatte Kollmorgen immer die Vision, etwas "Unabhängiges" zu machen, um ihren eigenen Sound zu finden und ihre eigenen Songs zu schreiben. Eine kurze kreative Allianz mit dem Berliner DJ-Duo Dole & Kom führte zu einigen Aufnahmen und Live-Auftritten. Währenddessen feilte Kollmorgen an ihren Produktions- und Sounddesign-Skills und erkundete gemeinsam mit dem Co-Produzenten und Multi-Instrumentalisten Paul Seidel (The Ocean Collective, Fern, Nightmarer) ihr eigenes musikalisches Terrain. Zur KOMPAKT Label-Familie kam sie auf Empfehlung von Patrice Baumel, der auch ihre Debütsingle remixte.

Auf "1243" lebt Kollmorgen ihre Songs voll und ganz aus und verleiht jedem von ihnen einen süßen, subtilen Twist, der ihre stimmliche und textliche Offenheit mit den melancholischen Tönen der Musik in Balance hält. Voller Selbstbewusstsein und Ausgeglichenheit verlässt sie sich auf durcheinander laufende Texturen und Pattern, die ihre Melodik unterstützen: "Ich mag Pattern", sagt sie, "sie geben mir etwas, woran ich mich festhalten kann, etwas Stabiles in einer instabilen Welt."

Die Songs fühlen sich an, als würden sie sich mit realen Momenten der Offenbarung und mit Erfahrungen aus Kollmorgens Lebenswelt auseinandersetzen, was angesichts ihrer Herangehensweise an Musik durchaus Sinn ergibt: "Ich hatte nie ein Tagebuch", erzählt sie, "also ist das Schreiben von Songs meine Art, mich auszudrücken und mit dem Leben umzugehen." Auf "1243" gibt sie uns einige Einblicke in dieses gelebte Leben, das durch wunderschön gesungene Lieder zum Klingen gebracht wird.

'Universal Deluge' marks a significant shift for Ethan P. Flynn and is the by-product of an intensely fruitful creative few years. His unique songwriting craft, ear for production, and versatility have already seen him work with a diverse host of familiar names, including David Byrne, Celeste, and Black Country, New Road. He also co-wrote several songs and performed on FKA twigs' hugely acclaimed album 'Magdalene' and most recently collaborated with esteemed experimental producer Vegyn on the single 'Superstition'. Created over a three-year period, 'Universal Deluge' showcases the depth and breadth of Ethan P. Flynn's distinctive, multi-faceted production methods. Building on the success of his debut album B. Sides & Rarities Vol. 1, the Universal Deluge EP plunges into the darker side of experimental pop. Combining electronic experimentation with stripped-back acoustics, it is a further example of the swirling, psychedelic lo-fi masterpieces Flynn conjures. A sound which has seen him described "as great as Bowie, I'm just waiting for the world to see it... he's a legend in the making" by UK rapper Slowthai. Speaking on the newly released single 'Father of Nine', Ethan P. Flynn says "This song is about complex family relationships between people who haven't met each other. It isn't necessarily a love song at all. There's an urge to feel a kind of affinity with your ancestors but a lot of them were probably really terrible people. I was also thinking about how many weddings had to happen in the past for a person to exist- like an incomprehensible amount of weddings led to your birth."

Released in conjunction with the reissue of the Raintears EP, Quindi is proud to present further archival finds from Italian experimental project Cabaret du Ciel. Like a Fool / Inside Loneliness is a single shining a light on the brief collaboration between Andrea Desidera, Gian Luigi Morosin and singer Barbara Volpato.

After years working as an instrumental outfit, the sessions with Volpato from 1991 were the first time Desidera and Morosin's project had welcomed in a vocalist. Of the many tracks written and recorded at that time, the best two were selected and carefully restored from the original tapes, now immortalised on vinyl and expanding the public impression of Cabaret du Ciel.

'Like A Fool' re-imagines the hazy serenity of Cabaret du Ciel in a dream pop context, injecting the soft-focus synth work with the energy of bold drums to provide a suitable framework for Volpato's voice. The crisp twang of new wave guitar completes the picture, while the trademark progression intrinsic to Cabaret du Ciel lends itself to the traditional song structures of pop.

'Inside Loneliness' is a natural companion to the A side, redolent with the heavy-hearted synth-pop romanticism of the late 80s and early 90s. The DIY sound on the track conveys an intimacy that can only come from artists recording in their own private environment, pouring their hearts and souls into a four-track recorder without a conceit other than pure, honest expression.

From the meeting of the legendary Tsugaru Jamisen Maestro Chisato Yamada with volcanic mind of the composer Tasheshi Terauchi and his Oriental Fantastic Orchestra, a collaboration and a unique record, a conceptual work, is born in which innovative songs transcend the boundaries of traditional music by mixing modernity, rural and electronic atmospheres, local arias and contemporary music.
A record with strongly evocative and cinematic sounds.

Comes with OBI and a two-panel fold out sheet with original liner notes of the time translated in English that explains in an exhaustive way the inspirations from tradition and popular music and the very accurate digital recording techniques of the time that make it a record sought after by audiophiles looking for sounds unedited in the Western tradition.

Old school friends and long-time collaborators, Mark Rowland and Paul Webber formed The Volunteered at the tail end of 2019 when they started working on new songs channeling old indie rock heroes such as Built to Spill, Guided By Voices, Neutral Milk Hotel, and Belle and Sebastian. They put out the ‘We Fall Apart’ EP in 2020 as a modest self-release and now, what started as a way to keep busy during lockdown has been expanded into a full-length vinyl and digital album, out on Scratchy Records next February. “We had the vague notion of recording an album at some point in 2020” says Mark “and we definitely intended to play more shows. We were talking to people about joining the band. It was supposed to be a big year for us.” Then the pandemic happened. Mark got COVID and was sick for more than a month, leaving him with breathing issues and a fear that he may not sing again. Stuck indoors with all plans put on ice, Mark and Paul went through their demo recordings to see what they had to work with. They took elements of those recordings, added to them, and started working on some new songs. The process was challenging as Mark was still building up his vocal strength, but they muddled through, working on each song remotely. Along the way, they recruited some friends to guest on the record, including future Volunteered member Elizabeth Sadzik, Detroit-based singer-songwriter Cody Ketchum, René Methner of German indie rock band Para Lia, solo artist Ritch Spence and Simon Bromide. It was Simon, Scratchy Records founder, who persuaded the band to make the new material into a full album having fallen head over heels for the song he guests on, Going to Amsterdam, which is released as a single on January 14th 2022. “I thought Going to Amsterdam would make a great single on Scratchy” he says. "But the more songs I heard, the more I liked, and after talking to Mark it was clear that we could make it into a full album” Mark and Paul recorded three additional songs for the album in 2021. At the same time, the full Volunteered line-up was completed with Sadzik on piano, her husband Jake on bass and Paul Douglas on drums. The sound too was broadening, with more piano being incorporated into its newest songs. The final version of We Fall Apart was completed in Autumn 2021. It’s a varied listen, from the pounding, tuneful fuzz of lead single Going to Amsterdam to the atmospheric heart-string puller The Lights. Everywhere you look there are hooks waiting to pull you in and some great pop songwriting recalling everyone from Buddy Holly and Weezer to The Triffids and Pearl Jam. For fans of: Sparklehorse, Built To Spill, Guided by Voices, Big Star, REM and Neil Young.

Cut For The Original Analog Tapes At Bernie Grundman’s Mastering. Includes Hi Res Audio Download Card. Black vinyl re-issue For Europe (2000 copies). CURTAINS is the eighth solo album by JOHN FRUSCIANTE. It was originally released on February 1, 2005. The album features contributions from AUTOLUX drummer CARLA AZAR, upright bassist KEN WILD, and THE MARS VOLTA guitarist OMAR RODRÍGUEZ-LÓPEZ. John Frusciante is an American guitarist, singer, composer, and producer. He is best known as the former guitarist of the rock band RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS (1988 until 1992 and from 1998 until 2009). He recorded five studio albums with them and was recently inducted into the ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME. Frusciante has an active solo career, having released twelve solo albums and five EPs; his recordings include elements ranging from experimental rock and ambient music to new wave and electronica. He has also recorded with numerous other artists, including the Mars Volta, for whom he was a studio guitarist (and occasional live performer) from 2002 until 2008; JOSH KLINGHOFFER and JOE LALLY, with whom he released two albums as Ataxia; and various collaborations with both Klinghoffer and Omar Rodríguez-López. He has also produced and/or recorded with Duran Duran, Wu-Tang Clan, Swahili Blonde, Black Knights, The Bicycle Thief, Glenn Hughes, Ziggy Marley, Johnny Cash, George Clinton, Johnny Marr, Dewa Budjana and others.