Cerca:cosmo

Hello Everybody,

In recent years, the introductory texts for the Pop Ambient compilation series, which is released every year on Kompakt as the last release before the Christmas break, often began with the sentence "Every year again...".

“Every year again”, a quiet, almost unnoticed maxim of self-evidentness. Because this is already the 25th issue to be published this year.

25 years in increasingly fast-moving times in the even faster-moving music business is an eternity that doesn't just feel like it. It is all the more remarkable how I, as someone who is always restless and often driven by this fast pace himself, pleasantly almost haven’t realised how - in pop-ambient contexts - time does not pass (or passes differently) in the best sense.

When compiling the 25th edition I was asked, among other things, what it was like that I was still doing this and whether I had a favorite track. In the spirit of bringing all the tracks together I don't have a favorite track, or all of them. But I have a favorite part (moment) that I played. In this case it was a broad chord in a change of key at minute 2:55 in the piece Circles by Max Würden. A moment of majesty and familiarity that, at that moment, contains the entire Pop Ambient cosmos, that just works and doesn't explain anything - and I said: “...that's the reason why I'm still doing this.. .”

Pop Ambient is a statement without demands. Is promise without expectation. Is a path without a destination. Every year again.

Wolfgang Voigt, October 2024

And so to the facts:

01. Leandro Fresco / Thore Pfeiffer – Goldwasserfluss

The intercontinental collaboration between the two long-standing Pop Ambient artists Leandro Fresco from Argentina and Thore Pfeiffer from Mainz is a regular part of the series. They open this year's anniversary edition with the usual filigree.

02. Pass Into Silence – Mirage

The Japanese artist Tetsuo Sakae aka Pass into Silence returns to Kompakt 20 years after his legendary album “Calm Like A Millpond”. A master of tones that are as fine as they are stoic and crystal clear.

03. Tamarma & Sebastian Mullaert – Follow Me

For the first time, the well-known Swedish producer and DJ Sebastian Mullaert will be performing on Pop Ambient in cooperation with the Georgian sound artist Tamara Davitashvili. Their piece “Follow Me” fits confidently into the intimate, familiar sound cosmos.

04. Sono Kollektiv feat. Nathalie Brum – Periadriatische Naht

Sono Kollektiv is now a fixture on Pop Ambient, this time with Nathalie Brum. In particular, Luis Reich's characteristic flugelhorn always gives their sound that special jazzy touch.

05. Thore Pfeiffer – Phase Locked Loop 1

Thore Pfeiffer is a master of shimmering surfaces and hypnotically meandering loops.

06. Andrew Thomas feat. Julia Parr – Sunshine Night

An old friend from New Zealand is back with spherical sounds. Andrew Thomas, in collaboration with Julia Parr, sprinkles finely placed piano tones into distant soundscapes and even more distant voices.

07. Segensklang – Artifacts of Synthesis

We are pleased that Segensklang will be there again this year after his brilliant Pop Ambient debut last year. Deep and beautiful.

08. Ümit Han – Im Delirium

The Cologne producer Ümit Han is back for the third time. While he has so far explored the more emotional, soundscape aspects of the Pop Ambient universe, this year's piece "Im Delirium" rises to a pulsating mountain of sound with pearly, clear, effervescent sound crystals.

09. Würden & Schäfer – Analysis Of Variance II

In their track Analysis Of Variance II, Max Würden and Lukas Schäfer embed a finely placed beat impulse in a soft bed of modulating soundscapes and pleasant psychedelic spaceyness.

10. Max Würden– Circles

Max Würden once again shows his special feeling for one of the core statements of the Pop Ambient style spectrum. The abstract chord and soundscape movement between formal construction and emotional touchability, which seems like “pop music” under the microscope.

11. Blank Gloss – Jennifer’s Convertible

The Californian guitar-ambient duo takes us into their sublimely beautiful sound cosmos with their usual aplomb. Maximum condensed transparency. Lightness - heavy as gold.

12. Hendrik Meyer – Grün War Die Klamm

Another new addition is Hendrik Meyer. The versatile musician, also known for his MYR project distributed by Kompakt, leads us with a glistening, beautiful “wall of sound” determination into the eternity of a sunset that is only ended by the following track. Filmy Music.

13. Triola – Zum Renngraben

Jörg Burger aka Triola combines his typical “handmade” impulses and accents with a multi-dimensional, digital sound scenario in a pleasantly smoky, blurred stonewashed aesthetic.

As always, the indispensable final mastering by Jörg Burger ensures that everything is brought together and the sound is fine-tuned.

And like every year, the 25th edition is of course wrapped in an abstract, floral magic creation by Veronika Unland. Over the years, the grace of her imagery has increasingly merged with the musical aura to form an unmistakable magical symbiosis.

Hallo Leute,

In den vergangenen Jahren begannen die Anmoderationstexte zur Pop Ambient Kompilation-Reihe, die jedes Jahr als letzte Veröffentlichung vor der Weihnachtspause auf Kompakt erscheint, sinnigerweise immer mal wieder mit dem Satz “Alle Jahre wieder...".

„Alle Jahre wieder”, eine leise, fast unbemerkt zur Formel gewordene Maxime der Selbstverständlichkeit. Denn in diesem Jahr erscheint bereits die 25ste Ausgabe.

25 Jahre in zunehmend schnelllebigen Zeiten im noch schnelllebigeren Musikgeschäft, sind gerne mal eine nicht nur gefühlte Ewigkeit. Umso bemerkenswerter wie mir, als ewig Rastlosem und oft selbst von dieser Schnelllebigkeit Getriebenem, auf angenehme Weise fast entgangen ist wie sehr, in pop ambienten Zusammenhängen (gedacht), die Zeit im besten Sinne nicht (oder anders) vergeht.

Beim Kompilieren der 25sten Ausgabe wurde ich u.a. gefragt, wie es ist, dass ich das immer noch mache und ob ich ein Lieblingsstück hätte. Im Sinne des Zusammenbringens von allen Stücken habe ich kein Lieblingsstück, oder alle. Aber ich habe eine Lieblingsstelle, die ich dann gespielt habe. In dem Fall war es ein breit gesetzter Akkord in einen Tonartwechsel bei Minute 2:55 im Stück Circles von Max Würden. Ein Moment der Erhabenheit und Vertrautheit, der in diesem Moment den gesamten Pop Ambient Kosmos in sich trägt, der einfach nur wirkt und nichts erklärt - und ich habe gesagt: „...das ist der Grund, warum ich das immer noch mache...“

Pop Ambient ist Statement ohne Forderung. Ist Verheißung ohne Erwartung. Ist Weg ohne Ziel. Alle Jahre wieder.

Wolfgang Voigt, Oktober 2024

Und damit zu den Fakten:

01. Leandro Fresco / Thore Pfeiffer – Goldwasserfluss

Die interkontinentale Kollaboration der beiden langjährigen Pop Ambient Stamm-Künstler Leandro Fresco aus Argentinien und Thore Pfeiffer aus Mainz, ist regelmäßiger Bestandteil der Serie. Gewohnt filigran eröffnen sie die diesjährige Jubiläumsausgabe.

02. Pass Into Silence – Mirage

Der japanische Künstler Tetsuo Sakae aka Pass into Silence meldet sich 20 Jahre nach seinem sagenhaften Album „Calm Like A Millpond“ auf Kompakt zurück. Ein Meister der ebenso feinen wie stoisch-glasklaren Töne.

03. Tamarma & Sebastian Mullaert – Follow Me

Zum ersten Mal gibt sich der bekannte, schwedische Produzent und DJ Sebastian Mullaert in Kooperation mit der georgischen Klangkünstlerin Tamara Davitashvili auf Pop Ambient die Ehre. Ihr Stück „Follow Me“ fügt sich souverän in den intim-vertrauten Klangkosmos ein.

04. Sono Kollektiv feat. Nathalie Brum – Periadriatische Naht

Mittlerweile eine feste Größe auf Pop Ambient ist das Sono Kollektiv, diesmal mit Nathalie Brum. Insbesondere das charakteristische Flügelhorn von Luis Reich gibt ihrem Sound immer wieder diesen besonderen jazzigen Touch.

05. Thore Pfeiffer – Phase Locked Loop 1 Thore Pfeiffer ist ein Meister der flirrenden Flächen und hypnotisch mäandernden Loops.

06. Andrew Thomas feat. Julia Parr – Sunshine Night

Ein alter Bekannter aus Neuseeland meldet sich mit sphärischen Klängen zurück. Andrew Thomas, in Kooperation mit Julia Parr, sprenkelt fein gesetzte Klaviertöne in weit entfernte Flächen und noch entferntere Stimmen.

07. Segensklang – Artifacts of Synthese

Wir freuen uns, dass auch Segensklang nach seinem fulminanten Pop Ambient Debut im letzten Jahr auch dieses Jahr wieder mit dabei ist. Deep and beautiful.

08. Ümit Han – Im Delirium

Zum dritten Mal dabei ist der Kölner Produzent Ümit Han. Hat er bisher eher die emotional-flächigen Aspekte des Pop Ambienten Universums ausgelotet, schwingt sich sein diesjähriges Stück „Im Delirium“ mit perlend-klaren, sprudelnden Soundkristallen zu einem pulsierenden Klanggebirge auf.

09. Würden & Schäfer – Analysis Of Variance II

Max Würden und Lukas Schäfer betten in ihrem Stück Analysis Of Variance II einen fein gesetzten Beat-Impuls in ein weiches Bett aus modulierenden Flächen und angenehmer psychedelischer Spaceyness.

10. Max Würden – Circles

Max Würden zeigt einmal mehr sein besonderes Gefühl für eine der Kernaussagen des Pop Ambient Stilspektrums. Die wie „Popmusik“ unter dem Mikroskop anmutende, abstrakte Akkord- und Flächenbewegung zwischen formaler Konstruktion und emotionaler Berührbarkeit.

11. Blank Gloss – Jennifer’s Convertible

Das kalifornische Gitarren-Ambient Duo entführt uns mit gewohnter Souveränität in ihren erhaben-schönen Soundkosmos. Maximal verdichtete Transparenz. Leichtigkeit - schwer wie Gold.

12. Hendrik Meyer – Grün War Die Klamm

Ein weiterer Neuzugang ist Hendrik Meyer. Der vielseitige Musiker, u.a. auch bekannt durch sein über Kompakt vertriebenes MYR Projekt, führt uns mit gleißend-schöner „wall of sound“ Entschlossenheit in die Ewigkeit eines nur vom nachfolgenden Stück beendeten Sonnenuntergang. Film(Musik)reif.

13. Triola – Zum Renngraben

Jörg Burger aka Triola kombiniert die für ihn typischen „handmade“ Impulse und Akzente mit mehrdimensionalem, digitalen Soundszenario in angenehm rauchig-verwischter Stonewashed Ästhetik.

Für den alles zusammenführenden, klanglichen Feinschliff sorgt, wie immer, das unverzichtbare, finale Mastering von Jörg Burger.

Und wie in jedem Jahr ist auch die 25ste Ausgabe natürlich in ein abstrakt-florales Zaubergebilde von Veronika Unland gehüllt. Die Anmut ihrer Bildsprache ist über die Jahre immer mehr mit der musikalischen Aura zu einer unverkennbaren magischen Symbiose verschmolzen.

cLOUDDEAD's debut album, compiling six 10" EPs that appeared between 2000-2001, is aurally dense and obscured. A sprawling mass of miniature beat-suites and Dadaist lyrics, this strange and beautiful 3xLP would influence a myriad of sub-genres (cloud rap, hauntology, lo-fi hip-hop, etc.) in the two decades since its initial release.

Only the three members of cLOUDDEAD – Why?, Doseone and Odd Nosdam – can speak to the group's origins, but in the context of underground hip-hop towards the end of the 20th century, their arrival makes perfect sense. Cincinnati had a vital scene; home to Scribble Jam, an annual confluence of MCs, DJs, B-boys and graffiti artists. While the trio soon relocated to the Bay Area where they co-founded the Anticon collective, their Midwestern roots – in ramshackle basements of off-campus hovels, as the "cerberus of Southern Ohio" – would remain the atomic heart of their early recordings.

As Chris Martins writes in the liner notes, "The only reason we know their names today is because of how loudly and curiously they aired their insularity. They rewrote the entire world as they knew it through their own fucked perspective, and when those mysterious 10-inches started popping up in record shops, it wasn't just a puzzle to investigate: there seemed to be a whole cosmology hidden in those grooves."

Each side of the album represents one of those elusive 10-inches, each embodying a universe unto itself. Opening salvo "Apt. A" and "And All You Can Do Is Laugh" are perhaps most emblematic of the cLOUDDEAD experience. Why? and Dose create a new language through boundless non-sequiturs, sing-song non-choruses and call-and-response hooks, while Nosdam's dexterous production shifts from crackling ambience of Flying Saucer Attack to tight Ohio Players drum breaks and oblique film samples.

Taken all together, cLOUDDEAD is an original interpretation of hip-hop in the surreal Y2K glow – a bizarre meeting point between William Basinski's Disintegration Loops and MF DOOM's Operation: Doomsday. All it took was a Dr. Sample SP-202, Tascam cassette eight-track and cheap RadioShack mic. There's truly nothing like it.

This edition has been faithfully restored by Nosdam. European exclusive version comes on clear vinyl, incl. fold-out poster and liner notes insert.

The Nightstalker - Mystical sounds from the shadows of the night The Zurich duo The Nightstalker, consisting of producers Dan Piu and Popshop (Gary Rich), create a cosmos of sound that plunges deep into the darkness and unfolds an almost magical attraction.

After two acclaimed albums on the Berlin label Childhood Intelligence, they now invite us on a sonic fantasy journey with their new mini-album ‘Isoutopic Fantasia’ on World Wide Web Records.



With six tracks that oscillate between danceable darkness and playful, surreal moments, ‘Isoutopic Fantasia’ embodies a seductive fusion of mystical depth and bizarre beauty. The sounds are addictive and lead us through a musical dream realm where each beat reveals a new twist and the melodies unfold into sprawling, unexpected dimensions. A sonic fantasy carried by the shadows of the night, in which light and darkness unite in a hypnotic dance.



All tracks written & produced by The Nighstalker (Dan Piu & Gary Rich)

Mastering by Johanz Westerman at Ballyhoo Studio (NL)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Crab Cake Records bring you Space Mutant Cutz!

CYAN & BLACK COSMOS 12 inch vinyl

Classic scratch sentences with drum loops, pads, basslines & locked grooves produced by Substrate. Perfect for practicing your cuts and juggling!

Limited edition (250 copies/colour)
Cut @ 33rpm
Side A contains 12 skip proof scratch sentences at 83bpm
Side B contains the following content* at 133bpm

All the music in the world is at your fingertips, and it's up to you to set the vibe_ So, what should we listen to? If you're having trouble deciding, turn on the radio. It's the perfect place to discover something new, or jam along to a tried-and-true station that'll never let you down.Tune In is due out 11/1/2024 via Chiefdom Records. The second of three installments in the Terrestrial Radio series, it's a carefully curated collection of instrumental fusion, designed to serve as the perfect radio mix for fans of jazz, hip hop, funk, soul, reggae and beyond. It's the latest release from Cincinnati based executive producer Doctor Bionic (Jason Grimez). As a DJ, producer, and former member of 90s rap group MOOD, Grimez' musical career revolves around hip hop. He's always preferred to sample songs from the late 60s and early 70s because of the authentic tone. "Growing up collecting and sampling records was an education, whether we realized it or not," he explained. Grimez records and produces music using analog gear to emulate the instrumentals that he's always loved as he works with some of the best musicians in the Cincinnati area to bring his ideas to life. Among others, Jonathan Luck Spaulding and Josh "Mojo" Cole made several appearances on guitar throughout the record. Every Doctor Bionic release is accompanied by a unique, thought-provoking album cover. For Tune In, Grimez worked with Refael Idan Suissa, a painter and digital artist based in Israel.Next time you're looking for some new instrumental tunes to set the tone, you can count on the growing catalog from Doctor Bionic. Tune In is available everywhere on 11/1/24.

a centrifugal spin collapses inward
sucked into the ground
vibrating with the quake beneath the crust
the folding repeats itself in time
an echo amid the buildings of a primordial era

with closed eyes
the shapes begin to take form
in the debris
objects clump together into conglomerates

a scream
trapped in water-retaining cells
the moss that embeds itself after
a short passage of time
you talk back
but I can’t hear you

something springs forth
somewhere

a remnant that remains

—
Strange Meridians is an album by multidisciplinary artist upsammy. It is released by adventurous electronic music label topo2 on November 21, 2024. The record is pressed on 180 grams of ICCS-certified bio-vinyl, housed in a heavy full-colour sleeve, and comes with a download-code to the full release. Mastering is done by Isabel Schröer at Scape Mastering and artwork by courtesy of Thessa Torsing and Kees de Klein. Poetry by Thessa Torsing with editing by Eelco Couvreur.

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

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

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

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

Der Londoner Keyboarder und Komponist Greg Foat legt eine wunderbar facettenreiche Karriere innerhalb des Jazzgenres hin und präsentiert mit "The Rituals Of Infinity" sein neuestes Werk, das er beim Worthy Earth Festival Ende September 2024 in Hampshire erstmals live aufführte. Die Titel sind inspiriert und benannt nach legendären Science-Fiction-Romanen und altgriechischer Mythologie. An dem Album wirkten prominente Jazzmusiker wie Art Themen (sax), Trevor Walker (brass), Natcyet WAkili (drums) und Jasper Osbourne (bass) mit.

Blvck Spvde and the Cosmos are “the evolution of what you think jazz is.” The ten-plus piece band is ever-evolving. Rooted to the many branches of black music, the group’s essence and mission is spiritual: to be an open channel for music of the universe to flow through…to invite voices of ancestors back into the room, and to play their part in creating many pieces of heaven on earth.

Blake Lee has always been fascinated by the unknown, and space, in its isolating, mysterious vastness, embodies this theme immaculately. The open void, captured so memorably by Stanley Kubrick in '2001: A Space Odyssey', is Blake's far-reaching canvas on 'No Sound In Space', a cinematic meditation on the cosmos that's painted in nuanced, emotionally sincere colors. The Los Angeles-based composer has been contemplating his full-length debut since 2021, using his guitar as a sonic paintbrush rather than find himself snared in its traditional aesthetic constraints. Transforming its characteristics with effects and subtle processes, he layers sustained tones and intimate improvisations, creating richly visual polychromatic utopias teeming with unknown life.

Since 2011, Blake has been most known for being the guitarist and a music director for Lana Del Rey, notching up three songwriting credits on her acclaimed ‘Ultraviolence’ full length. He sees his solo work is a form of escapism, a place where he can experiment and find comfort and catharsis outside of expectations and formal structure. The album was written instinctively, and Blake made sure he didn't force anything, letting go and getting out of his own way, listening intently as sounds and textures materialized organically. "I didn't want to ruin it by being a perfectionist," he laughs. And his collaboration with Kenyan sound artist KMRU, who runs the OFNOT label and contributes to two of the tracks on the album, occurred similarly organically.

Blake was moved to reach out to KMRU when he caught a performance of 'Natur' at Los Angeles' Zebulon in 2022, leading to a prolonged back-and-forth. They didn't meet in person until earlier this year, by which time they'd become firm friends, continuously sharing music and conversation. KMRU had lent a valuable ear to Blake, who sent early playlists of 'NSIS' that, over the months, slowly evolved into the finished album. It's the first release on OFNOT that's not by KMRU himself; the label emerged last year with the release of KMRU's own 'Dissolution Grip', and Blake's debut immediately expands its sonic universe. Alongside the playlists, Blake also provided KMRU with the tracks' raw stems, which KMRU began to edit and expand in his Berlin studio. 'Miura' and 'Waiting' are the result of this process, two sublime abstractions that augment Blake's dreamlike, euphoric tones with KMRU's pebbly distortions and booming low-end rumbles. And this same playful sense of freeness seeps into Blake's other compositions.

On the misty 'In A Cloud', he surrounds cascading string tones with soft-focus pads that swell until they're like crashing waves, and on the two 'Echoplexx' pieces, he uses delay and reverb to smudge his sounds until they're viscous residue, the harmonies obscured by whooshes of white noise and distant chimes. The mood is quieted somewhat on 'Moving Air', as Blake's swirling tones form half-heard lullabies, coalescing into a dense, melancholy crescendo, and he fills out the sound with reverberant airport recordings on 'Pan Am', letting pitchy My Bloody Valentine-esque drones warble beneath the transitory chatter. Each track melts into the next, forming a billowing, cryptic narrative that leaves more questions than answers. Blake is constantly searching, and fills his unoccupied space with warmth, perception and sensitivity.

Blake Lee has always been fascinated by the unknown, and space, in its isolating, mysterious vastness, embodies this theme immaculately. The open void, captured so memorably by Stanley Kubrick in '2001: A Space Odyssey', is Blake's far-reaching canvas on 'No Sound In Space', a cinematic meditation on the cosmos that's painted in nuanced, emotionally sincere colors. The Los Angeles-based composer has been contemplating his full-length debut since 2021, using his guitar as a sonic paintbrush rather than find himself snared in its traditional aesthetic constraints. Transforming its characteristics with effects and subtle processes, he layers sustained tones and intimate improvisations, creating richly visual polychromatic utopias teeming with unknown life.

Since 2011, Blake has been most known for being the guitarist and a music director for Lana Del Rey, notching up three songwriting credits on her acclaimed ‘Ultraviolence’ full length. He sees his solo work is a form of escapism, a place where he can experiment and find comfort and catharsis outside of expectations and formal structure. The album was written instinctively, and Blake made sure he didn't force anything, letting go and getting out of his own way, listening intently as sounds and textures materialized organically. "I didn't want to ruin it by being a perfectionist," he laughs. And his collaboration with Kenyan sound artist KMRU, who runs the OFNOT label and contributes to two of the tracks on the album, occurred similarly organically.

Blake was moved to reach out to KMRU when he caught a performance of 'Natur' at Los Angeles' Zebulon in 2022, leading to a prolonged back-and-forth. They didn't meet in person until earlier this year, by which time they'd become firm friends, continuously sharing music and conversation. KMRU had lent a valuable ear to Blake, who sent early playlists of 'NSIS' that, over the months, slowly evolved into the finished album. It's the first release on OFNOT that's not by KMRU himself; the label emerged last year with the release of KMRU's own 'Dissolution Grip', and Blake's debut immediately expands its sonic universe. Alongside the playlists, Blake also provided KMRU with the tracks' raw stems, which KMRU began to edit and expand in his Berlin studio. 'Miura' and 'Waiting' are the result of this process, two sublime abstractions that augment Blake's dreamlike, euphoric tones with KMRU's pebbly distortions and booming low-end rumbles. And this same playful sense of freeness seeps into Blake's other compositions.

On the misty 'In A Cloud', he surrounds cascading string tones with soft-focus pads that swell until they're like crashing waves, and on the two 'Echoplexx' pieces, he uses delay and reverb to smudge his sounds until they're viscous residue, the harmonies obscured by whooshes of white noise and distant chimes. The mood is quieted somewhat on 'Moving Air', as Blake's swirling tones form half-heard lullabies, coalescing into a dense, melancholy crescendo, and he fills out the sound with reverberant airport recordings on 'Pan Am', letting pitchy My Bloody Valentine-esque drones warble beneath the transitory chatter. Each track melts into the next, forming a billowing, cryptic narrative that leaves more questions than answers. Blake is constantly searching, and fills his unoccupied space with warmth, perception and sensitivity.

From Sweden with Italo to Dresden with love. Stockholm's DJ City drops his first release on Dresden's Uncanny Valley with the COSMICOMICS EP, a 100% fun record for all the senses, deeply inspired by Italo Calvino's iconic short story collection.

The stories have inspired DJ City to a record that aesthetically draws from 80s Italo Disco and 70s science fiction films. In the book, each story is based on a scientific fact about the world and the cosmos whilst using fiction to ask how we understand it. Where Calvino's stories are comical and absurd, DJ City surrenders to the sublime and romantic and moves further into the metaphysical world that Calvino created to come up with three energetic and melodic tracks bursting heavily with fantasy and drama. Deeply rooted in dance music's history, they shine with Hi-NRG-vibes, strict dancefloor commitment and little easter eggs like that Drexciya-reference in COSMICOMICS.

The cover of the record is a painting from 2020 by Swedish artist Jens Faenge called THE INN. The picture seems to have been broken up into several dimensions, and abstract details make it difficult for the viewer to know exactly what and when the scene is taking place. When shown in Shanghai, the painting was censored by government agents and had to be taken down. A testament to the power of the image. Perhaps it shows our main character, perhaps it shows us the author or the artist. Depending on who listens, who reads and who looks, a multitude of universes open.

Auf dieser Tribute-Compilation finden sich Interpretationen von Margo-Guryan-Songs von TOPS, Rahill, Clairo, June McDoom, MUNYA und Kainalu, Frankie Cosmos und Good Morning, Kate Bollinger, Pearl & The Oysters, Bedouine und Sylvie, Empress Of, Barrie, und Margo Price. Die meisten unserer Geschichten über Kultmusiker, die ein oder zwei Alben machen und dann zu verschwinden scheinen, sind von Trauer, Verzweiflung und ausgefranstem Ehrgeiz umrahmt. Nicht so bei Margo Guryan, einer begeisterten Jazz-Ausnahmeerscheinung, die Popmusik verachtete, bis sie 1966 „God Only Knows“ hörte, das ihr ein Fenster zu den Wundern öffnete, die diese Musik-Form enthalten konnte. Nur zwei Jahre später veröffentlichte sie auf dem Album „Take a Picture“ ihre eigenen kleinen Popsinfonien und erntete dafür großes Lob und hohe Erwartungen. Aber da sie sich bereits von dem Posaunisten Bob Brookmeyer hatte scheiden lassen, lehnte sie es ab, ein Musikerleben zu führen und auf Tournee zu gehen oder auch nur darüber zu sprechen. Ihre Zurückhaltung führte dazu, dass „Take a Picture“ bald in den Regalen der Discounter und letztlich in den Mülleimern landete. Sie schrieb weiterhin Songs und nahm noch jahrelang auf, arbeitete sogar mit der Band von Neil Diamond zusammen, aber meistens schien sie mit ihrem relativ privaten Leben zufrieden zu sein. Wie es sich für eine so atemberaubende und subtile Musik gehört, erlebte die 2021 verstorbene Guryan in den letzten sechs Jahrzehnten mehrere Wiederauferstehungen. Und jetzt geschieht es wieder: Kurz nachdem ihre fast geflüsterte und liebeskranke Hymne „Why Do I Cry“ sie 2021, im selben Jahr, in dem sie starb, zum TikTok-Star machte, startete die Numero Group eine Wiederveröffentlichungskampagne, aus der 2024 das hochgelobte Set „Words and Music“ hervorging. Und jetzt haben ein Dutzend Künstler - von denen keiner geboren war, als „Take a Picture“ entstand - das gesamte Album (plus einen Bonustrack) für „Like Someone I Know: A Celebration of Margo Guryan“ neu interpretiert. Empress Of, Margo Price, Clairo, June McDoom: Sie alle bestätigen Guryans Schärfe als Songwriterin und die Brillanz eines Albums, das den Werbezyklus, den Guryan vor so langer Zeit ablehnte, bei weitem übertroffen hat. Guryan wurde in einer weitläufigen Familie in Far Rockaway geboren, als der Ort noch größtenteils von Bäumen umrahmt war. Während ihres Kompositionsstudiums an der Boston University stolperte Guryan in einen Auftritt als Pianistin zwischen den Konzerten des Miles Davis Quintet, unterschrieb einen Vertrag als Songwriterin bei Atlantic Records und verpatzte eine Session mit Nesuhi Ertegun. Aber sie war nicht darauf aus, ein Gesangsstar zu werden. 1959 ging sie an die Lenox School of Jazz in den Berkshires, um für Ornette Coleman und Don Cherry zu schreiben, die Aufmerksamkeit des Dozenten Max Roach zu gewinnen und in Gunther Schuller einen langjährigen Mentor und Freund zu finden. Sie wurde eine versierte Texterin und schrieb nicht nur für Coleman und Nancy Harrow, sondern auch für Harry Belafonte und Gary MacFarland. Aber es war die spätere Begegnung mit den Beach Boys, die Guryan die Tür zu „Take a Picture“ und einer Reihe anderer großartiger Songs öffnete, von denen viele auf „Words and Music“ erschienen sind. „Take a Picture“ ist eine ausgefeilte Bestandsaufnahme der Romantik und Unentschlossenheit der Mittzwanziger, vom koketten Treiben in „Sunday Morning“ und der Verliebtheit in „Can You Tell“ bis zur verzweifelten Hilflosigkeit in „What Can I Give You“. Ihre ewig weiche Stimme, ihre kühne Songkunst und ihre völlige Offenheit: Guryan machte 1968 und darüber hinaus gewagte Musik, egal wie sanft sich diese Klänge zu bewegen schienen. „Like Someone I Know: A Celebration of Margo Guryan“ unterstreicht die Stärke von Guryans Liedern, indem es einem Dutzend verschiedener Künstler erlaubt, sie auf ihre eigene Reise mitzunehmen. Im Laufe der letzten Jahrzehnte ist immer deutlicher geworden, wie gut Guryan war, wie stabil ihre Lieder inmitten der wechselnden Geschmacksrichtungen. „Like Someone I Know: A Celebration of Margo Guryan“ ist eine absolute Bestätigung, ein Zeugnis für die anhaltende Relevanz und Brillanz von Guryans Arbeit. Ein Teil des Erlöses dieses Albums wird für die Bereitstellung von und den Einsatz für erschwingliche reproduktive Gesundheitsdienste gespendet.

Plastic Crimewave Syndicate returns with one collective foot in overdriven space-biker scuzz rock, but the other bigfoot kicking upward into new galaxies of synth punk, no-prog, and freek funk. Yes, dare we say it, the new PCWS LP, Tales From the Golden Skull, GROOVES--but from the perspective of the Japan n' Kraut/Eurorock undergrounds, coated in some nasty Windy City grime. Aided by the Chicago Cosmonaut Couriers Crew, ala famed renaissance man Mac Blackout (synths/horns/electronics), Przemyslaw Krys Drazek (trumpet) of longtime zone-jammers Drazek Fuscaldo/Mako Sica, Will MacLean on Moog keytar (!-- of local Silver vocoder-ed Apples lovin' treasures Protovulcan), plus the oldest-school synthlord Bil Vermette, who's been modulating since the 70s. We'll call Tales From the Golden Skull a near-concept lp (aren't they always?) that looks back at fallen friends and collaborators, and then into the unwritten golden future (as PCW himself hit the golden 50). The sonic journey dips into dark textural valleys, and chugging riffs rising to thee fiery heavens, as the thundering-but-subtle rhythm section of Jose "Beast but Best" Bernal and Rob "Dead Feathers" Rodak know when to crash and when to burn (one). Sir PCW lays down his trademark big muff-blastage and echo-cries, to channel the despair and feral bark of the mighty Vega/Hammill/Iggy/Dickie P/Haino/Mojo-Risin/Mizutani, but also knows when to shut up for some layered instrumental Embryo/Harvester/Fausty trance rock and dabbed/dubbed out "not-quite-shoegazin" calmness in the eye of the Ur-storm. This might be the most expansive, detailed yet furious PCWS LP yet, recorded at Rec Room studios with Eric Block, who has done all from a band with Sonic Youth's Steve Shelley to recorded Rhys Chatham 100+-peeps guitar orchestras. So strap the headphones on and absorb the tales of this spaced ritual-rock opus. Artwork - Steve Krakow

Moodena’s London-based imprint Tropical Disco’s latest offering is a shimmering journey into the heart of the underground, blending nu-disco, classic house, and contemporary electronic funk in a way that feels both nostalgic and totally fresh. Featuring four standout tracks from Vagabundo Club Social, Scruscru, Da Lukas, and Fun Kool feat. vocals from Bcleo and Anna Dee Tee, — the EP is a testament to the evolving sound of the dancefloor, where groove meets grit, and melody flirts with sultry rhythm. This release channels the spirit of sweaty basement parties, neon-soaked nights, and a collective desire to get lost in the music.

Opening the record is Colombian duo Vagabundo Club Social, presenting Latin-soaked funk colliding with shimmering brass instrumentation, creating a deep, rolling pulse that invites movement from the first beat. 'Zumba Z' is a track that feels right at home in a DJ’s warm-up set or closing down an all-nighter, with a hypnotic flow and vocals that seep into your bones.

Scruscru’s story pushes things deeper into late-night, cosmic territory. 'Konyaalti' is a lush, sun-drenched production, utilising sublime sax, Scruscru delivers a cut that's both playful and distinctly driving.

Da Lukas adds a sophisticated touch, remixing Rosario Cristofaro, and taking you on a slick ride that leans into Italo-disco influences. Swooning synths and crisp percussion form the backbone while gliding melodies create a sense of elevation. It’s elegant yet laced with energy, ideal for a peak-time set where the vibe is euphoric but refined.

Rounding off the release is veteran DJ and producer Gerardo Cinquegrana, whose playful Fun Kool moniker belies the serious funk he delivers in his production. German-born, and now Italy-based, Fun Kool’s sharp, syncopated rhythms and sexy vocal lines from Anna Dee Tee bring an irresistible groove to the forefront, with the kind of bassline that takes over your entire body and mind.

Altogether, 'Tropical Disco Volume 28' encompasses a record that’s both familiar and exploratory—rooted in the timeless grooves of disco and house but pushing forward into new musical territory and picking up sonics from different continents along the way. Whether you’re looking for late-night celestial cosmosis, sophisticated Italo-inspired dubs, or straight-up, no-nonsense funk, this release has something for every dance floor.

2024 Repress

A Colourful Storm's reissue project of Blueboy's Sarah Records albums culminates with Unisex, arguably the finest moment of the trio of Keith Girdler, Paul Stewart and Gemma Townley and a bona fide indie-pop classic. The first vinyl issue since 1994, the album has gained an immense cult following in all corners of the world and stands as an almost forgotten pinnacle of pop songwriting. "I just want to kiss you in new places, to savour the joy of living, liking you..."

Nachdem er 2022 "The Consistent Brutal Bullshit Gong" schrieb, hat sich Nate Mendelsohn immer mehr in seiner Musikgemeinde in Brooklyn, NY, verwurzelt. Er produzierte die letzten FRANKIE COSMOS- und DOUGIE POOLE-Alben, trat bei VAGABON und SAM EVIAN auf und machte Aufnahmen mit YAEJI und LADY LAMB. Diese Erfahrungen mit abenteuerlichen Künstler*innen sind in Mendelsohns Songwriting eingeflossen und haben, zusätzlich zu seinen frühen Jahren in der Jazz- und Avantgarde-Welt, ein Album hervorgebracht, das so manchem wahrscheinlich den Kopf verdrehen wird, wenn man Alben namens "Pet Sounds", "Fantasma", "Insignificance", "Blonde" oder "XO" mag. Wie auf einigen der genannten Alben verschmilzt auch auf "Well I Asked You A Question" das Physische mit dem Synthetischen: gesampelte Orchester duellieren sich mit echten Orchestern ("Fantasy"), die gesprochenen Worte eines Roboters duettieren sich mit einem menschlichen Chor ("Around"), und Geräuschexplosionen üben sich in Soli über traditionelle Rockinstrumente ("Rachel's Getting Married"). Obwohl viele der Sounds auf dem Album erweitert und gebrochen sind, arbeitete Mendelsohn mit der vollen MARKET-Band - Stephen Becker, Natasha Bergman und Duncan Standish - zusammen, um die Songs zu entwickeln. Er wollte "musikalische Unfälle mit ausgefransten Rändern - immer noch eine Gruppe von Leuten, die in einem Raum sind und Songs spielen". Neben der Kernband leisteten Katie von Schleicher, Mike Haldeman (MOSES SUMNEY, ALTO PALO), Justin Felton (L'RAIN, BIG THIEF), Rose Droll (FEIST, ART FEYNMAN) und Helen Newby mit der Technik von Adam Hirsch (Sam Amidon, Stephen Steinbrink) weltumspannende Beiträge.

RIYL: Don Cherry, Alice Coltrane, Remi Álvarez, Juma Sultan's Aboriginal Music Society, Horace Tapscott. Atrás del Cosmos were a central force in Mexico City's creative arts community, and often considered the first free jazz group in the country. Founded by a trio composed of pianist Ana Ruiz, percussionist Evry Mann, and saxophonist Henry West, the ensemble was prolific in mentoring a generation of improvisers, cultivating an expanded additive roster, and organizing workshops in downtown Mexico City including inviting Don Cherry to play and instruct on his "organic music" approach in 1977. Between 1977 and 1983, the group lived and rehearsed in a residential space behind the Cosmos theater, hence their celestial-tinged name. But despite their central importance to the local scene, Atrás was rarely recorded and had a scant international presence, leaving behind just a single cassette before their disbandment. Now issued on LP for the first time, the aforementioned tape Cold Drinks, Hot Dreams is a red-hot recording documenting the core group plus double-bassist Claudio Enriquez performing live in 1980, a delirious improvisation with high peaks and low valleys, sucking in an amalgam of influences including New York loft style, Mexican folk music, and the surrealism of Alejandro Jodorowsky into its heady gravitational pull. Ruiz's playing style is virtuosic and expressive, pulling off monumental chords and using the piano's whole register, recalling Cecil Taylor's percussive approach, Matthew Shipp's emotive voicing, and Duke Ellington's mystifying arabesques. Evry Mann dabbles in polyrhythms in tracks like the solo marimba meditation "Clapping Music II," and Henry West wails heavy in the show-stopping cut "M.D." Now finally available after forty years, the music of Atrás del Cosmos will be sure to stun spiritual jazz veterans and newcomers alike3

Ltd Edition!

12inch ausgewählter Remixe von Joe Goddards brillantem Album, 'Harmonics' mit Cosmodelica, East Coast Love Affair und Black Science Orchestra!

On Still + Bright, her highly-anticipated follow up to, Wary + Strange, Amythyst Kiah shares a dozen songs that mark an evolution in her sound. Kiah says, “With this album, I’ve always been incredibly interested in stories and philosophy. Lots of the songs are inspired by the cosmos, space, meditation, and mindfulness. It’s a way to piece out what it means to be a human being in the modern world. It’s the general idea that we should all have the freedom to decide what path we want to choose.” Still + Bright is produced by Butch Walker (Fall Out Boy, Green Day, Weezer) and features special guests including SG Goodman, Avi Kaplan, and Billy Strings. All of the songs were brought to life by Kiah and co-writers, including Sean McConnell, Avi Kaplan, Sadler Vaden, and Tim Armstrong, among others. Still + Bright is set for release on October 25, 2024. “Years in the making, Still + Bright explores what it means to be a human being in the modern world. Songwriting is my way to marry big, overarching philosophical ideas and questions into a musical, more organized arrangement. Inspired by the cosmos, space, meditation, and mindfulness – this record directly challenges religious and political dogma, stating that we should all have the freedom to decide what path we want to choose.” Recently Kiah featured in Salon talking about her love of country and bluegrass music and was included in a New York Times T Magazine spotlight and documentary: The Next Generation of Black Folk Singers. Her episode of PBS’ The Express Way with Dulé Hill aired nationally on April 30, Kiah is featured in Episode 2: “Appalachia”. She recently appeared on a panel at the Television Critics Association Press Conference which was attended by over 200 television critics around the globe. This June she will be on the road opening for Iron & Wine.

Strange Power!, the fifth record from Durham, NC-based songwriter and poet Anne Malin Ringwalt, emerges from the darkest waters of the self into a world remade. Releasing in conjunction with her second book of poetry, What Floods (Inside the Castle, Oct. 2024), Strange Power! overflows with Ringwalt's teeming and sensuous personal symbolry: glowing lilacs and gentle queens, dolphins wild and girls who grew up brave _ T.S. Eliot sung by Cat Power, backed by Mount Eerie. She sings: "I rose up from water." Ringwalt writes and performs with the authority of a lifetime spent harnessing the alchemy of storytelling; her belief in the power of words to heal and transform is palpable in each achingly- delivered lyric. Made amidst profound inner and outer change, Strange Power! also sees Ringwalt taking up the role of self-producer for the first time, mirroring and supporting the record's Orphic quest by gathering contributions from a coterie of friends wielding an electric range of American instruments. Violins, vibraphones, drum machines, electric guitars dappled with spring reverb, wind-blown shells, and a host of other numinous sounds form an unfurling and shadowy world which was then carefully honed during the mixing process (shepherded by Michael Cormier-O'Leary and Lucas Knapp) _ settling the final record in an eerie meridian between spareness and verdancy. The result is a beguiling and darkly blooming realm: the sound of a personal cosmos being remade, piece by piece. Ringwalt is at the height of her spirit as both songwriter-poet and singer, her willowy voice by turns conjuring and keening as she reckons with her deep past and the stories told since. Opening track "The Pines" sets the stage for a record of truly life-long scope: "I was a child, now I hold her / I was asleep for many years." Some songs, like the gorgeous "North Carolina" and "The Saint," were written as early as 2013 but, Ringwalt says, "insisted upon being remembered" as the record took shape; in its final form, they serve as inciting moments of self-discovery before the journey to come. "The Visionary" recalls one of Ringwalt's earliest musical breakthroughs _ her re-rendering of an Emily Brontë poem into a song at age 15 _ and, she says, "`cites' the melody of that song in the context of this new one _ a holding of the past and present and every layer in between/beyond, in utter solitude _ a solitude that reflects certain aspects of abandon as a child and an adult..." This unusually lengthy time-scale lends Strange Power! a deeply moving sense of narrative fullness. Stretches of the record _ particularly the "Judgment Day" ? "River" ? "Lilac Bloom" trifecta that form the black heart of Side 1 _ may recall familiar wanderings of personal underworlds such as Mount Eerie's Lost Wisdom Pt. 2 or Neil Young's Ditch Trilogy. Yet this hollowed landscape is in turn exorcized by the a capella "I Know," in which Ringwalt sings "I won't be gutted by you / For giving and trying to heal / I won't be gutted, I am not a fool / I deserve a love that is new" before the song concludes with a piano passage that recalls hymnal music _ suggesting a faith in life itself to offer new beginnings. Side 2 features some of Ringwalt's most powerfully introspective writing to date, as the songwriter casts off myth after myth in her search for personal transformation. By the final song, "Stories," the energy that has been gathering all throughout the record breaks loose as Ringwalt reflects: "I wrote so many stories, not knowing what the end was." But at this stage in the journey, we know there is no such thing as an ending; if the healing process is never complete, the storyteller's strange power is what finally offers liberation.

Anna McClellan's childhood summers were spent in front of the TV, cementing a love of narrative that would later reveal itself through songwriting. By seventeen, Anna was performing original songs in her hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. Her debut album, Fire Flames, garnered attention and earned her an opening slot on a Frankie Cosmos tour, setting the stage for her subsequently adored albums, 2018's Yes and No and / saw first light, released in late 2020. Now, with her forthcoming fourth album Electric Bouquet, out October 25, 2024 via Father/Daughter Records, McClellan crafts a musical journey that unfolds like one of her cherished television series. Each track is an episode, chronicling the past four years of her life - navigating a career change, a cross-country move, and relationships gone sour. Electric Bouquet is a narrative tour de force showcasing McClellan's remarkable ability to transform life's myriad of messy experiences into captivating musical stories. While writing the album, Anna attended trade school, apprenticing to become an electrician to escape the service industry grind and secure a foundational career alongside music. Eager to break free from Omaha, she decided to take her newfound electrical skills to pursue a career in the film industry in Los Angeles, CA where she's now based. Recorded in multiple sessions in Baltimore, MD and Omaha and co-produced with long-time collaborator Ryan McKeever and Another Recording Company Studios engineer Adam Roberts, Electric Bouquet shifts seamlessly between piano-driven melodies and guitar-anchored anthems, each song a miniature universe slowly opening unto itself.

"Le retour à la raison" is an ablum by Teho Teardo"s originally released in 2015. An album that brings together the music written for three Man Ray films. Not a traditional musical accompaniment but a kind of appointment in space with Man Ray. In space, music responds to only one law: truth. Here the relationship between the music and the films is perhaps the most intimate ever achieved by the composer and it is significant that it takes place with silent films in which the director cannot be present. The silent film directors are all dead, missing for decades, and must be intercepted in the cosmos, through the dreams, desires and emotional legacy of their works, like stars shining with their own light. The music is a constellation in a mysterious and seductive world and documents the experience of encountering Man Ray"s art. The project, recorded between March 2014 and May 2015 in Teardo"s Rome studio, mixed and mastered by Boris Wilsdorf at the Anderebaustelle studio in Berlin, was initially conceived for live performance. Presented at Villa Manin, the Maxxi in Rome and the Museo Nazionale del Cinema in Turin, as well as the International Arts Festival in Galway, the album also features Joachim Arbeit (Einsturzende Neubauten), Joe Lally (Fugazi) and David Coulter. The three films by Man Ray that inspired Teardo are "La Retour à la Raison" (1923), "Emak Bakia" (1926) and "L"etoile de Mer" (1928) were also screened during the concerts that followed the album release.

lp wiBola’s music melds sheer force of spirit with a sound not often heard by ears outside the remote Upper East Region of Ghana. This man who grew up herding livestock in the savannah, far away from the tropical coast and cosmopolitan cities of Accra and Kumasi, has aligned himself with national and international means of expression to transform his hometown sound into something downright avant-garde. His bold fury stems from the kologo—a two-stringed lute with a calabash gourd resonator—and Frafra language vocals, emitted in raspy bursts.

Traditionally, kologo performances occur at pito (local beer made from fermented millet or sorghum) bars, weddings, funerals, festivals or spontaneous jams on the street, which are the environments where Bola honed his craft as a solo musician. In recent years, he came into contact with people like his mentor Guy One who helped him get into the studio to document what is some of the most dynamic music to come out of Ghana since the emergence of hiplife in the mid-'90s.

Volume 7, which came out in 2009, is just one entry in a brilliant series of recordings Bola has released on CD and cassette. Although he employs a traditional instrument and the age-old mode of griot story-telling, Bola embraces elements of up-to-the-minute mainstream Ghanaian music—drum machines, synths, bone-shaking bass. Inspired by pioneering kologo greats like King Ayisoba, Bola has taken a dynamic instrument used by traditional healers and herbalists to sing to god in search of advice and taken it to futuristic heights.

*Full colour artwork coming soon, this is a digitally generated mock-up. Comes in a risograph sleeve featuring liner notes and original Saturn artwork. *

Recorded at the Choreographers’ Workshop in New York, 1963, Waaghals Records presents two songs from Sun Ra’s Continuation sessions on vinyl for the first time. Known for its lo-fi recording quality coupled with heavy use of echo and reverberation, the material recorded at the Choreographers’ Workshop holds a special place within the Sun Ra catalogue. This unique blend of avant-garde jazz and bold production methods is described as “low-budget musique concrete” by Sun Ra biographer John F. Szwed.

Taken from the 1970 Saturn album Continuation, side a features the complete unedited version of New Planet. A bouncy Ra track that somehow ends up in a sound-bath of low, throbbing frequencies and echoes. The b side, Meteor Shower, remained unreleased until 2014, making its first official appearance on vinyl here. The opening trumpet salvo warms us up for a micro trip through the vast cosmos, with more echoed percussion and a beautifully bowed bass solo. It is no surprise that in recent years this particular piece has been sampled, most recently by RP BOO and Armand Hammer.

Tape transfers and audio restoration by Michael D. Anderson and Irwin Chusid of the Sun Ra Archive.

Xylitol is the alias of Catherine Backhouse, producer and DJ under the name DJ Bunnyhausen. She was a resident DJ at Kosmische, the now dormant Krautrock club and is a fan of jungle and hardcore. She currently co-hosts the radio show Slav To The Rhythm, which focuses on vintage central and eastern European pop and electronica and she's also co-writing a book on Yugoslavian pop culture. 'Anemones' is a total project from the cover to the music. Backhouse is fascinated by early botanical illustrations of anemones and other aquatic fauna, and how the act of taxonomy reveals as much about human psychology, desire and sublimation as it does about the organic specimen as a thing in itself. Each track is a microcosm of this 'other life', an allegory for the extraordinary potential latent within bodies that the dancefloor has the power to activate. Using early jungle and garage as starting points to connect dots and open up contrasts between dance music and vintage electronics, Backhouse finds a sweet spot which, in her words "feels like something that's simultaneously still and ancient yet propulsive and ecstatic." Not afraid of letting the the hiss and flutter of the music show, 'Anemones' holds attention with ancient bubbling synths and gracefully drifting arpeggiations, occasionally brought to heel by charming melodies, all accompanied by breakbeats that explode like fireworks. 'Anemones' has a lively and unpolished aesthetic that's a kindred spirit to Nondi_'s 2023 album of smeary, water-damaged footwork, 'Flood City Trax'. 'Moebius' pits the spaced out neon chords of the track's namesake against absolutely tearing breaks, allowing time for this almost overwhelming combination to become near enough transcendental, while the bleeping melody and sad slavic chorus motif in 'Okko' feels like an artifact from an alternative future. The Drexciya meets 2-step garage of 'Dobro Jutro' creates a welcome respite at the album's midpoint before the flow builds up again to 'Daša' with its glassy sounds from a lost radiophonic workshop miniature meeting bruising kicks and snares. Meanwhile 'Iskria' has purring synth chords and 8-bit melodies evoking the cosmonaut age. The subliminal influence of the Yugo era is felt in DIY synthesis and Mitteleuropean melody and seen in song titles such as 'Jelena', 'Miha', 'Daša' (named after novelist Daša Drndič) and 'Iskria' (taken from the fictitious Balkan region in Ottessa Moshfegh's bleak fable 'Lapvona'). 'Anemones' very effectively folds experimental genres from different times and places into a very enjoyable new sound.

(Limited to 500 copies, 180 gram pressing, splattered vinyl + sticker) (Van Bellen, Chiller Twist, Mike Monday remix + original remastered for 2024) Airwave, a legend in the scene, is revisiting his iconic Velvet Girl moniker with the reissue of the timeless single "Velvet.

We are thrilled to present a special release that takes you back to the golden era of clubby trance! Airwave, a legend in the scene, is revisiting his iconic Velvet Girl moniker with the reissue of the timeless single "Velvet." Once also released on Positiva's sublabel Additive, "Velvet" now returns in an exclusive 2 x 12" splattered 180 gram audiophile vinyl package.

This collector's edition includes the classic original mixes alongside stunning remixes by Van Bellen, Chiller Twist and Mike Monday. Don't miss this chance to own a piece of history, meticulously preserved in a format that every true fan will cherish.

Die schwedischen Groove-Metal-Legenden Transport League melden sich ihrem explosiven neuen Album 'We Are Satan's People' zurück! Auf ihrem 11. Studioalbum besinnen sie sich tief auf ihre Wurzeln und entfesseln einen Sound, der sowohl nostalgisch als auch ungemein modern ist. 'We Are Satan's People' ist absolutes Must Have für alle Fans von Pantera, Clutch, COC, Mustasch, White Zombie oder Prong.

Die schwedischen Groove-Metal-Legenden Transport League melden sich ihrem explosiven neuen Album 'We Are Satan's People' zurück! Auf ihrem 11. Studioalbum besinnen sie sich tief auf ihre Wurzeln und entfesseln einen Sound, der sowohl nostalgisch als auch ungemein modern ist. 'We Are Satan's People' ist absolutes Must Have für alle Fans von Pantera, Clutch, COC, Mustasch, White Zombie oder Prong.

Dawn Richard and Spencer Zahn share a common collaborative ethos, a genuine sense of musical curiosity, and a cosmopolitan eagerness to escape the conventions of genre. That shared vision first brought them together on 2022's Pigments_icy and warm, stripped-down and grand, familiar and otherworldly_and now it has reunited them for Quiet in a World Full of Noise. By turns intimate, soul-baring, spectral, and startling, Quiet in a World Full of Noise blends atmospheric and orchestral soundscapes with mellifluous soul, jazz, and journalistic vocalizing_driving it all home with stark, confessional lyricism. The new album finds Richard at her most raw and exposed. This year, Richard's musician father experienced mini strokes while being diagnosed with cancer; and last year, her cousin Cisco was fatally shot seven times in New Orleans. Richard channels the emotional impact of these traumatic experiences of loss into her lyrics and vocal performances, which are left bare and human here, raw and unprocessed across the album. Quiet expands the definitions of what constitutes progressive, avant-garde R&B by rewriting them altogether. On paper, Richard and Zahn's audacious, impressionistic musical collaborations feel like a surprising match. Richard, a New Orleans-reared visionary, has had an improbable journey from late 2000s reality television and mainstream pop with girl group Danity Kane to become one of the most prolific, experimental, and visible indie R&B singer-songwriters of the last decade and a half, with seven solo albums under her belt. Zahn is an East Coast-raised multi-instrumentalist and composer working at the intersections of jazz, Americana, classical, and ambient pop. His growing solo discography includes People of the Dawn, Sunday Painter, Pale Horizon, and Statues I & II, as well as the duo's first release, Pigments. "Pigments was one of the best projects I've ever made," Richard says, "and the furthest I've ever been pushed as an artist." The album was a critical hit, hailed as Best New Music by Pitchfork and receiving praise from Stereogum as Album of the Week, NPR Music, Bandcamp Daily, The Fader, Bitter Southerner, and Edition, among many other publications. The making of its follow-up, Quiet in a World Full of Noise, began in 2023 in upstate New York. Fresh from a break-up, Zahn sat at his piano and poured himself into writing and recording instrumental compositions. "I wrote all these stream-of-consciousness pieces on piano, and they were eerie, spacious piano tracks," he said. He used a piano that had been unconventionally tuned to the room rather than to standard pitch. These oddly-tuned, eerie instrumental recordings were never intended to be an album. Six months later, he listened to the recordings again and sent them to Richard who immediately recognized their potential and said, "Oh, this is the next album." Richard went into the studio the next day and wrote and recorded melodies and lyrics to Zahn's piano recordings. Zahn brought in gifted musicians like Bryan Senti on strings (violin, viola, and violoncello da spalla) and CJ Camerieri on brass (French horn, flugelhorn, and trumpet). In some cases, like on the track "Life in Numbers," Zahn used only the original first-take piano recording and scratch vocal, resulting in an intimate close-up of both Richard and Zahn.

Dawn Richard and Spencer Zahn share a common collaborative ethos, a genuine sense of musical curiosity, and a cosmopolitan eagerness to escape the conventions of genre. That shared vision first brought them together on 2022’s Pigments icy and warm, stripped-down and grand, familiar and otherworldly and now it has reunited them for Quiet in a World Full of Noise. By turns intimate, soul-baring, spectral, and startling, Quiet in a World Full of Noise blends atmospheric and orchestral soundscapes with mellifluous soul, jazz, and journalistic vocalizing driving it all home with stark, confessional lyricism. The new album finds Richard at her most raw and exposed. This year, Richard’s musician father experienced mini strokes while being diagnosed with cancer; and last year, her cousin Cisco was fatally shot seven times in New Orleans. Richard channels the emotional impact of these traumatic experiences of loss into her lyrics and vocal performances, which are left bare and human here, raw and unprocessed across the album. Quiet expands the definitions of what constitutes progressive, avant-garde R&B by rewriting them altogether. On paper, Richard and Zahn’s audacious, impressionistic musical collaborations feel like a surprising match. Richard, a New Orleans–reared visionary, has had an improbable journey from late 2000s reality television and mainstream pop with girl group Danity Kane to become one of the most prolific, experimental, and visible indie R&B singer-songwriters of the last decade and a half, with seven solo albums under her belt. Zahn is an East Coast–raised multi-instrumentalist and composer working at the intersections of jazz, Americana, classical, and ambient pop. His growing solo discography includes People of the Dawn, Sunday Painter, Pale Horizon, and Statues I & II, as well as the duo’s first release, Pigments. “Pigments was one of the best projects I’ve ever made,” Richard says, “and the furthest I’ve ever been pushed as an artist.” The album was a critical hit, hailed as Best New Music by Pitchfork and receiving praise from Stereogum as Album of the Week, NPR Music, Bandcamp Daily, The Fader, Bitter Southerner, and Edition, among many other publications. The making of its follow-up, Quiet in a World Full of Noise, began in 2023 in upstate New York. Fresh from a break-up, Zahn sat at his piano and poured himself into writing and recording instrumental compositions. “I wrote all these stream-of-consciousness pieces on piano, and they were eerie, spacious piano tracks,” he said. He used a piano that had been unconventionally tuned to the room rather than to standard pitch. These oddly-tuned, eerie instrumental recordings were never intended to be an album. Six months later, he listened to the recordings again and sent them to Richard who immediately recognized their potential and said, “Oh, this is the next album.” Richard went into the studio the next day and wrote and recorded melodies and lyrics to Zahn’s piano recordings. Zahn brought in gifted musicians like Bryan Senti on strings (violin, viola, and violoncello da spalla) and CJ Camerieri on brass (French horn, flugelhorn, and trumpet). In some cases, like on the track “Life in Numbers,” Zahn used only the original first-take piano recording and scratch vocal, resulting in an intimate close-up of both Richard and Zahn.

Maelstrom returns to Central Processing Unit for the fourth time, and it's the one born Joan-Mael Péneau's lengthiest drop on the Sheffield label yet. The French artist has been a mainstay in the European electro game since the 2000s, and Malestrom brings that experience to bear on new LP The FM Tapes. He goes about this album with the assurance of a seasoned pro, combining his mastery of electro production techniques with a trademark guile to craft an expertly-paced eleven-track affair.

The first section of The FM Tapes sets out the album's stall with style and aplomb - listeners are in store for a rich feast of off-kilter machine-funk which will feature no shortage of intriguing detours. On opener 'Ondes Courtes' the mix throbs with all manner of strange electronic gristle: a distorted bass hum rattles the monitors; wisps of distortion float across the mix; eerily pretty keys wax and wane before giving way to a radar pulse.

'Ondes Courtes' is an ominous slouch of a scene-setter, and it lines things up perfectly for following cut 'Alt50ser' to lock in. This track's churning, gurgling mid-tempo rattle brings to mind the wacky insistence of Modeselektor. Maelstrom repeats the slow-fast one-two again directly afterwards - 'La Vie Sociale Des', a strange nugget that sounds like an early Eski instrumental stripped for parts and blasted into the cosmos, is an ideal prelude to the twitchy space-funk of 'My Digitone'.

Maelstrom's staying power in the electro world comes, in no small part, from his ability to apply his delightfully idiosyncratic choices to some of the genre's staple production tropes. On The FM Tapes, he marks himself out once more as a pleasingly unorthodox talent by taking tracks in unexpected directions to produce surprising - and often rather moving - results.

There are multiple cuts here which channel the more cerebral end of Richard D. James' AFX/Analord output: 'My Digitone' may be a quicksilver techno-electro number, but there's still something cinematic about the synth treatment here which softens the edges; 'Suede's minor-key oscillations bring other CPU veterans like Cygnus and Bochum Welt into view; 'Res 06', one of two Fasme collaborations on the record, is full of pathos even as the beat programming bangs and whirrs throughout.

While there's a deep emotional undercurrent to The FM Tapes, though, Maelstrom's commitment to bringing the thrills surfaces time and again. If 'Res 06' had Maelstrom and Fasme getting wistful, the album's other Fasme link-up 'Trempo' is one of the hardest club joints here, a piece of old-school Detroit energy replete with some great cascading drum production. Indeed, 'Trempo' comes in the middle of a run towards the album's end where Maelstrom takes the handbrake off - there's a wild-eyed sense of fun to 'The Operator' and 'Upside Down DX7' which has one thinking of the zany cut-and-thrust of KiNK's best work.

Maelstrom's latest drop for Sheffield's Central Processing Unit label is an album of leftfield electro numbers that bring both pounding beats and poignant production.

RIYL: KiNK, Modeselektor, Cygnus, Bochum Welt, AFX

Secrets Of Sound sold out their first release in quick fashion and now they return with a second instalment in the Exotic Origins series, designed to take you a million light years away from your current reality and deep into the far depths of space with eight superbly cosmic explorations of ambient and downtempo magic. Italians Do It Better man Johnny Jewel kicks off with some sultry sax-laced sounds, David Lynch's musical partner Dean Hurley crushes on shimmering pads and Pye Corner Audio bring a little intergalactic tension. Elsewhere there are sugary synths from Legowelt, suspensory pads from TM Solver and plenty more to help you escape to another dimension. Add to that the fact it arrives on a random variety of different vinyl colours and comes with a download code, and you've got rather a nice package.

Swiss intergalactic 3 piece experimentalists lean on a Dadaist theme for their late-night, jam-inspired, and smokey beat laden trip to the cosmos.

Distilling surf rock, jazz and ambience, energised and patched together with spoken word samples, wind instruments and, blunted hip hop beats, ali dada’s album SUM is their invitation to dadaversum’ - their eccentric universe of sound and emotion.

Featuring Orlando Ludens (guitar & ambient soundscapes), Rulla (beats & field recordings) and Max Licht (brass & trombone), experimentation is the trio’s constant and SUM is the result of jams and associative distillation’ always with a fluid sense of genre.

Whilst SUM clearly takes new and furtive steps, ali dada’s sound is wholly their own. Nothing feels rigid here and rules don’t apply. Improvisation lingers in the air, even after the last note fades. A series of sound sketches, dense in detail, stylistically rich, SUM gives licence to couch-melt, sungaze or for those used to wintry climes, add another log on the fire.

“The songs often emerge from imperfect elements or mistakes, like from a loop or glitch. or something I played that wasn’t quite clean and building on that becomes the challenge ” recalls Orlando. Rulla adds “I play a lot of instruments, very, very badly and in music production, I’m trained to craft something awesome out of wonky sounds. That’s how songs emerge from unusual sounds”.

As for who played the double bass, no one remembers. Who belongs to the band and who doesn’t is open to interpretation. Though a core group exists the spotlight remains on experimentation through jam sessions. ali dada is a construct, a dadaverse.

Highlights include the album’s opener 'abolish the police', a mix of guitars, weirded-out wind instruments and Häuserfrau’s ever chilled vocal presence. 'tone print' is the band’s first single from the album, which combines sliding guitar, the infamous psychedelic Tim as a narrator, some early CPU game sound-splats and a meteoric dope beat, providing the head nodding groove. 'ohnedi'’s ambient charm features some gorgeous manipulated choir moments and some fidgety electronic synths.

Legendary electro explorer Emile Facey aka Plant 43 is back on his Plant43 Recordings imprint. Despite being hugely prolific, the artist always managed to find fresh new creative ground with each new outing and Concrete Echo is no different. The title cut is a high-speed opener with shimmering lines, fizzing static electricity and drama in the chords that make you take note. 'Emerald Shift' is a broken beat kicker with raw claps and scintillating liquid metal leads while 'Raw Vectors' layers up acid wobbliness and textbook electro rhythms. 'Mist Memory' closes down with a melancholic vibe and heady synths that take you into the cosmos.

You can never really pin down what the excellent Emotional Repose label does and that is exactly the sinking behind the title of its superb All Trades show on NTS. The sheer eclecticism of that show is now reflected in this new two-part compilation, also called All Trades, which offers up little morsels of what they do, something like a sonic tasting menu at a fancy restaurant. There is chugging electronic dub from Apiento & Tepper, industrial clatter from Black Bones, cosmic ambient breakbeat from Paperclip Minimiser and blissed out dub from Yamila & SoFa Elsewhere amongst many more highlights.

Hidden Notes Records (Spindle Ensemble, Fran & Flora, Josh Semans) and Tardigrade Records (Cosmo Sheldrake, Howl) are excited to announce a unique collaboration to release ‘Selected Worlds’, the monumental and ambitious debut triple album by composer and pianist Daniel Inzani. Over the past 2 decades you might have seen Inzani performing with dozens of bands from Bristol’s underground alternative and avant-garde scene, blending classical, jazz, contemporary, improvisation, unusual harmony and rhythms as a band leader and collaborator. He’s released an avant-garde collaborative album with Alabaster dePlume, is the musical director and arranger for Cosmo Sheldrake’s 19 piece live band, leads his own critically acclaimed modern chamber quartet Spindle Ensemble and (the now disbanded) 8 piece Ethiopian Jazz meets Frank Zappa group Tezeta, He has toured worldwide as a keys player, collaborated with Canadian ensembles Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan and London Symphonia and co-founded Bristol’s experimental collective Bloom, leading to tours and releases with UK rocksteady favourites Count Bobo, the psychedelic space doo-wop of Dubi Dolzcek and many more. After years of recording, touring and eclectic composing he has gathered a trusted set of musicians who are both skilled improvisers and virtuoso players to record an instrumental triple album for release under his own name. The 3 vinyl discs act as albums in their own right, each with different sets of musicians, instrumentations, genres and intentions. The 3 discs were recorded live over 3 day periods in quick succession, with Daniel’s regular collaborator Cosmo Sheldrake engineering the recording sessions. It’s quite possibly the only album you’ll ever hear that starts with a neo-impressionist string quartet, goes on to merge avant-garde symphonic arrangements with group improvisation and ends with an 8 piece cosmic jazz band wigging out, yet Inzani’s voice is clear throughout making for a cohesive 2 hour odyssey from the mind of a composer whose idiosyncratic style thrives through variety Listeners will hear influences from the aforementioned composers including Mingus, Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou, Ravel and Moondog in Inzani’s music but might also find the soundtracks of Morricone and Jonny Greenwood nestled alongside the loose freeform leanings of Alabaster dePlume, the contemporary jazz of Kamasi Washington and the unique collaboration by Floating Points and Pharoah Sanders (minus the electronics perhaps.) Daniel will be performing a special preview of the album with an 11 piece band at WOMAD Festival (27.07) and a launch concert at this year’s Hidden Notes Festival in Stroud (21.09), with further tour dates to be announced