quête:d ren

STEPPENDOOM ist das spannende neue Projekt des in New York City und London lebenden italienisch-schweizerischen Toningenieurs, Sounddesigners, Komponisten und Multiinstrumentalisten Marc Urselli. Der Produzent hat herausragende Musiker aus dem Genre des Doom Metal und legendäre indigene Sänger aus aller Welt, die sich der uralten Tradition des Kehlgesangs widmen, eingeladen und zusammengebracht.
Zu den renommierten Künstlern, die dem Ruf des dreifachen Grammy-Preisträgers Marc Urselli gefolgt sind, zählen unter anderem aus dem Metal-Bereich Matt Pike (SLEEP, HIGH ON FIRE), Aaron Aedy (PARADISE LOST), Steve Von Till (NEUROSIS), Christopher Juul (HEILUNG), Dave Chandler (SAINT VITUS) und Scott "Wino" Weinrich (THE OBSESSED) und solche berühmten Meister des Kehlkopfgesangs wie das Alash Ensemble, Batzorig Vaanchig "Zorigoo", HUUN-HUUR-TU, Tanya Tagaq, Albert Kuvezin (YAT-KHA) und Alexey Tegin.
Die uralte Kunst des Gutturalen Gesangs lebt in den Grasländern, Tundren und in den Herzen der Menschen weiter, die in ihrer lokalen Umwelt in und mit der Natur leben. Der Heavy Metal entstand dagegen in Englands industriellem Herzen unter dem Schlagen von Stahlhämmern und dem Lärm des mechanisierten Abbaus von Kohle. Beide Musikstile haben jedoch eine tiefe Sehnsucht nach Freiheit und Menschenwürde gemeinsam.
Gängige literarische Floskeln, mit denen eine Fusion von Musik aus scheinbar gegensätzlichen Genres und Gruppen mit Schlagzeilen wie "Clash of Cultures" oder "Kollision der Welten " beschrieben werden, treffen auf Marc Ursellis STEPPENDOOM offensichtlich nicht zu. Dieses Fest der künstlerischen Einheit lässt sich vielmehr mit der Phrase "Wenn sich Welten vereinen" zusammenfassen.
Marc Urselli's STEPPENDOOM braucht am Anfang unvoreingenommene Ohren und einen offenen Geist, um Gehör zu finden. Obwohl das Album und seine Lieder eine gewisse Aufmerksamkeit und Zeit benötigen, um sich an die ungewohnten Klangwelten zu gewöhnen, offenbaren sie letztendlich eine atemberaubende Schönheit. Vor dem geistigen Auge schweben Adler über Städte, Steppenwinde erwecken Herzen und Geis, während sich Eis in arktische Tiere verwandelt und viele andere Wunder geschehen. Uralte Magie verbindet sich in diesen Songs mit moderner Energie und schafft etwas revolutionäres Neues, in dem eine der ältesten Ausdrucksformen der Menschheit enthalten ist: der Schrei nach Freiheit!

Following the success of Aesop Rock's most recent solo album, Spirit World Field Guide, he returns to deliver the instrumental version of those interdimensional adventures. Aesop has long been celebrated for his talents as a lyricist, but he has continually grown and evolved as a producer as well. While the original Spirit World Field Guide was packed with insightful chapters of firsthand know-how into the terrain, wildlife, and social customs of our parallel universe, the Spirit World Field Guide Instrumentals not only set the tone but also provide the roadmap for you to take your own journey. Welcome to the Spirit World. Explore with intention. "He's never before been such a commanding presence behind the boards. The beats here are the best of his career, full of torque and life." - Pitchfork "The strongest collection of beats he's ever produced." - Passion of the Weiss Official instrumentals from Aesop Rock's critically acclaimed album, Spirit World Field Guide, available for the first time. Album produced entirely by Aesop Rock, except for "Sleeper Car" produced by Hanni El Khatib. Additional album instrumentation provided by Grimace Federation and Hanni El Khatib Vinyl packaging includes 12" matte gatefold jacket, printed record sleeves, and one each of transparent cloudy effect green/blue double-vinyl, plus free digital download card. Album artwork illustrated by renowned artist Justin "Coro" Kaufman

‘Dead End Kings‘, eines der ehrgeizigsten Werke der Band,
wurde in den Ghost Ward Studios und in The City Of Glass
aufgenommen. Anders Nyström und Jonas Renkse kümmerten sich um die Produktion des Albums, während David
Castillo, der für seine früheren Kooperationen mit Katatonia
sowie Opeth und Bloodbath bekannt ist, für den Mix des
Albums verantwortlich war. ‘Dead End Kings‘ war das
Aufnahmedebüt von Gitarrist Per Eriksson für die Band,
zusammen mit dem neuen Bassisten Niklas Sandin.

Having torn up raves for well over a decade, the Detroit duo Rickers and Ted Krisko AKA Ataxia present their debut longplayer ‘Out Of Step’. Featuring guest spots from close peers DJ Minx, Andrés and Mr Joshooa, they twist house, techno, electro, breakbeat and rave into revitalized new shapes; embellished with a touch of soul, funk and hip hop. With backgrounds in hardcore and punk, Ataxia’s debut is suffused with that energy, attitude, and approach; this is raw, lean and unashamedly no-nonsense dance floor tackle that goes straight for the jugular. Heavily analogue, the album experiments with tape saturation, which harks back to the duo’s formative years in bands, recording demos to cassettes. These straight-up, in-the-red tracks give preference to overdriven drum machines, rather than generic polished sheen, but conversely, it’s all deceptively well-crafted too; ‘Out Of Step’ is a standout record that’s big in character, bringing to mind the renegade spirit of Underground Resistance, and the bombastic brilliance of The Prodigy and Chemical Brothers.

Defiantly optimistic despite the state of the world, a “life is good” vocal sample meets minor chords sliding over 808 hats on the exemplary house/techno pumper ‘Detroit Gospel’, before a lighter moment on the album, but no less impactful with its hefty low-end thump, is ‘Pine Island’ featuring Motor City hero Andrés. Together they cook up a Motown-inspired house cut awash with horn swells and backup singers, bouncing to wide swung funk bass, in classic 313 style. ‘Language’ turns the club on its head – busting out one of the most distinct basslines in recent times, and bristling with buzzy, undulating chords, whilst ‘Maxia’ features influential Detroit royalty DJ Minx. Inspired by her classic ‘A Walk In The Park’, with a fat distorted kick and stealthy bass groove, this is low-slung, stripped-back, heads-down coolness. The high-tech funk of ‘Spit In Your Percolator’, is laser-guided in its efficiency, with a strobe-like, increasingly intensifying energy, peppered with clever, tripped up vocal chops. With the next cut, conveyor belt noises and fast churning low-end gives way to a dubbed-out breakdown, on the deep breakbeat roller ‘98 Degrees’. Charged with a blistering, rave intensity, ‘Number Streets’, is a futuristic distorted techno workout that booms through the subs, whilst ‘The Formulator’ mixes filtered snippets, abstract synth noises and melodic bleeps with a bassline echoing Paperclip People’s ‘The Floor’. Closer to the UK definition of hardcore, combining 4/4 and breakbeat, ‘The Pusher’ evokes the spirit of late 80s orbital raves, adding a natty keys solo, and deadly bass used sparingly, for even deadlier effect. ‘Feels Like’ sees Rickers and Ted team up their studiomate and fellow TV Lounge resident and club booker, Mister Joshooa. Inspired by Photek but also almost UKG in style, this breakbeat session is stamped with MJ’s signature chopped vocals and intricate rhythmic interplay. The bubbling, wobbly loose swing of ‘WM’ is constructed around a classic chopped-up MTV cribs sample, with a filtered vocal creating a far out psychedelic effect – all of which is propelled apace by a huge bruising LFO. The LP concludes in fine style with ‘Dance The Bridge’, where bouncy beats and wigged-out keys meet bright, gently uplifting synth chords that bring a clear-skied mood; ending the record as it began, on an optimistic note.

‘Out Of Step’ marks another chapter in the ongoing relationship between Life and Death co-founder DJ Tennis and Ataxia. Their connection goes back to the earliest days of the label, where they played gigs together on some of Tennis’ initial visits to Detroit. It’s a friendship that’s blossomed organically over the last decade through their shared love of punk and hardcore, and led to the fruition of one of Ataxia’s most compelling projects to date. Labels to release Ataxia’s output include legendary Detroit techno imprints Planet E and KMS, plus the seminal American house label Nervous Records. Their catalogue also includes music for Visionquest, Leftroom, 20/20 Vision and Seth Troxler’s Play It Say It.

At the spearhead of the music press, Tsugi presents for the first time its selection in this vinyl CHILL-OUT from Rone through Baxter Dury and Modeselektor.

Blue Vinyl

Throughout his productive career, Carl Oesterhelt has proven to be an artist who finds it easy to move between musical genres and concepts. Much of his work has been within classical and chamber music, but he has also scored museum exhibitions and he is sometimes part of The Notwist crew as an angular figure on the Munich scene.

In Umor Rex we have been lucky enough to publish an array of Oesterhelt's universes. In Eleven Pieces for Synthesizer (Umor Rex 2019) we heard his kosmische side, where the connections with Harmonia or Klaus Schulze were amalgamated with ecclesiastical organ pieces and intense semi-automatic rhythms. A deeply melodic, fresh album. Pure syntax of the modern synthesizer. Further, in The Aporias of Futurism (Umor Rex 2021), in collaboration with Andreas Gerth (Driftmachine, Tied & Tickled Trio), Oesterhelt showed what is perhaps his darkest side —a work full of nuances within concrete music and midnight atmospheres. As deep and cerebral an album as it is surprising and catatonic.

Yet it seems that Carl Oesterhelt has another ace up his sleeve. Now he surprises us with The Dualistic Principle, a fantastic album full of weird but charming electronic melodies, rhythms that push the body to movement, sometimes syncopated and abstract, others permanent and fluid. In this work, Oesterhelt invited Johan Simons to give voice to the lyrics. The Dualistic Principle is a sort of rendition of a philosophical review or a nostalgic memory of the glamorous years. There is also underlying humor in the Post / Space-pop / Munich-disc assortment. The Dualistic Principle is the score to an imaginary film of contemporary hedonism.

All music & lyrics by Carl Oesterhelt. Voice by Johan Simons. Additional strings played by the Ensemble für synkretische Musik. Recorded in Munich & Bochum, Germany. Mastered by John Tejada in Sherman Oaks, USA. Artwork by Daniel Castrejón in Mexico City.

A rich musical journey comprising eleven songs, Madrid channels the chaotic charms of the Spanish capital where Nev has recently relocated.

"I love the way life works here. It's organised chaos. Walking
the neighbourhoods of Lavapiez and La Latina you begin to see how everything is perfectly balanced...how to eat, how to party and then how to relax! It's perfection. When it all gets too much I run away to
the English countryside"

Side A cut 'The Ring' calls to mind Cowboy In Sweden era Hazlewood while that Mustang bass, scratchy guitars and cool 60's drum fills invoke Serge and Vannier for ' Silver Screen' and title track 'Madrid'. Scott 4 is obviously a touchstone and Nev has never been one to hide his reverence for one of the greatest albums of all time. Seven minute wonder 'Under The Skin' channels Walker's

Peter Gregson, renommierter Komponist, Cellist und Exklusivkünstler bei Deutsche
Grammophon, präsentiert sein sechstes Studioalbum Quartets: Three and Four. Das Album
bildet den Nachfolger seiner 2016 und 2017 erschienenen EPs Quartets: One und Quartets:
Two und schließt den konzeptionellen Kreis des Komponisten, ein „Quartett aus Quartetten“
zu kreieren.
Die ersten beiden EPs, aufgenommen in den Londoner AIR Studios, zeigten eine Bewegung des
Komponisten ausgehend von einem rein akustischen Gesamtklang auf Quartets: One hin zur
Verwendung von Synthesizern als weitere instrumentelle Ebene auf Quartets: Two. Auf dem neuen
Album, das die verbleibenden zwei Quartette einschließt, entwickelt Gregson seine Ideen zu Sound
und Aufnahmen auf der ersten Hälfte des Albums – Quartets: Three – weiter und fügt sogar noch
mehr elektronische Effekte hinzu, um reichhaltige Schallstrukturen zu erschaffen. Während er auf der
zweiten Hälfte – Quartets: Four – zu einem rein akustischen Setup in eine eher klassische Klangwelt zurückkehrt. Quartets: Three and Four wurden in Paul Epworths The Church Studio und im Abbey Road Studio
3 aufgenommen. Das Album erscheint am 11. November digital, zusammen mit der Veröffentlichung einer
Deluxe-Version, die alle vier Quartette auf CD oder Vinyl vereint.

Zucker ist ein Riot-Pop-Duo bestehend aus Chris Schalko (they/them/keine) und Pola Lia Schulten (she/her/hers). Beide haben sich 2012 im Hamburger Pudel Club kennengelernt. Die explosive Energie aus dem Proberaum tragen sie schon kurz darauf und mit 2 1/2 fertigen Songs im Gepäck auf einer legendären Tour mit Trümmer quer durch Deutschland. Die Energie des wütenden, dem Pop verschriebenen jungen Duos ist ansteckend und scheinbar endlos. Zucker rennen los: Sie spielen mit Die Sterne, Carsten "Erobique" Meyer, Frau Kraushaar, Messer, Die Nerven. Doch irgendetwas zwickt und hakt. Das eigene Album bleibt auf der Strecke. 2014 wird Feminismus noch nicht groß geschrieben. 2016 trennt sich die Band. Beide fangen für sich solo nochmal von vorne an und erfinden sich neu. Pola Lia Schulten arbeitet als Gastsängerin und Live-Musikerin, schreibt Chorarrangements u.a. für Carsten "Erobique" Meyer, Stella Sommer und Pantha du Prince Sie komponiert Musik für mehrere Theaterstücke und veröffentlicht als Pola X 2019 zwei Singles. Chris Schalko zieht nach Berlin, gründet das Soloprojekt Gigolo Tears und spielt Konzerte unter anderem auf der Fusion und in der Berghainkantine gemeinsam mit der Live-Band The Crybabies. 2021 ist die eigene Energie plötzlich zurück und die vielen Versuche ihres Albums noch immer zu schade zum Verrotten. Zucker beschließen sich zu reuniten und endlich ihre Debütplatte herauszubringen.

Laila Sakini's new album 'Paloma' arrives via Modern Love and is her most striking and ambiguous to date - a pointed and timely meditation on hope and hierarchies that riffs on Zbigniew Preisner's magical "The Double Life of Veronique" score and enduring outsider music tome "The Langley Schools Music Project". Subtly transcendent, fathoms-deep music.

When Laila Sakini's debut album ‘Vivienne’ arrived in 2020, it felt like the record we were waiting for to map out our tangled reactions to an uninvited reality. Never self-consciously strange, it revealed itself slowly and cautiously, like a shadow in the corner of the eye, or an alchemical symbol in a bowl of alphabet spaghetti. This time around Sakini has worked her unique world-building to an even finer point, forming six tracks around a theme that's so close to our heart it's almost beating in time. Initially inspired by Krzysztof Kieślowski's 1991 arthouse classic "The Double Life of Veronique", the cult Polish director's enduring modern fairytale that serves as a cosmic rumination on identity and choice. Detailing two identical women - both singers, both in love - the film lets one live as the other dies, forcing us to consider the implications of art and endurance in the face of life's myriad challenges.

Sakini takes Polish composer Zbigniew Preisner's influential score for the film and uses it as a jumping-off point for ‘Paloma’, bending the more grandiose moments into baroque awkwardness on opening track 'Fluer D'Oranger' and evoking the mood of scene-setting cues 'Weronika' and 'Véronique' on the recorder-led 'The Light That Flickers In The Mirror'. And while Preisner's score zeroed in on the musical virtuosity of the film's lead characters, Sakini reinterprets that as a metaphor for self-discovery. Playing piano, violin, glockenspiel, timbale, recorder, and occasionally singing, Sakini captures a mood of innocence that immediately transports the listener back to simpler times. Her music isn't self-consciously simplistic, but forcing herself to interface with instruments impulsively rather than studiously, her sounds are all heart, no filigree.

In spirit, it reminds us of cult Canadian album "The Langley Schools Music Project", a collection of 1970s recordings of school kids singing rudimentary renditions of pop songs in a school gymnasium. That album's genius was in the bottling of hope and innocence: the feeling of joy from hearing and wholesomely interacting with music that's known and loved without a sense of hierarchy or desire for cultural clout. Sakini subtly subverts this by evoking the amateur spirit in the most bewitching way; instead of sourcing her ideas from Bowie, Fleetwood Mac and the Beach Boys, her stock is the established art canon, and by reforming those sounds she makes an insightful comment on intellectualism and access. European classical music is all too often trapped behind the frosted glass of respectability and assumed skill - craft replaces spirit, and technique replaces soul. By approaching these gestures from a different angle, Sakini softens the edges sonically and intellectually, finding music that bubbles with emotion, and most strikingly - hope.

Her choice of instruments and the way she interacts with them allows us to feel as if we're not only listening but contributing. It's a bottom-up way of absorbing art that's traditionally been top-down, and a reminder that we're all part of the experience, whether we're humming along to the remnants of a theme as it dribbles out of an ear in the shower, or dreaming of spotlights in a parallel life that may or may not be real. Sakini's music is nostalgic in a sense, but nowhere near the buttered popcorn and high-fructose candy migraine of the Netflix/Spotify algorithm generation of regurgitated churn. She makes sounds that remind us of what time and experience may have stolen from us, and how we might recover it.

Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh & Irish Chamber Orchestra have breathed new life into the noble, classical songs of our ancestors with this new album, R is n Reimagined.The sean n s tradition is undergoing a revival During lockdown, award- winning singer Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh's renditions of classic sean n s songs such as An Ch ilfhionn or R is n Dubh introduced a new generation of listeners to these melodically complex and richly ornamented songs. Now Nic Amhlaoibh joins the Irish Chamber Orchestra for R is n
ReImagined, an exciting new project that pairs her peerless vocals with fresh
orchestral arrangements of sean n s songs. Kilkenny Arts Festival and the Irish
Chamber Orchestra have co- commissioned special arrangements from six
leading Irish composers: Cormac McCarthy, Paul Campbell, Linda Buckley, Sam
Perkin, Niamh Varian- Barry and Michael Keeney. Produced by D nal O'Connor,
Roisin ReImagined explores the connections between classical and traditional
music, and reimagines these timeless songs for a new era. These works typically
date from the 16th-19th century, and bear the hallmarks of high art and learning.
In many instances, they bear witness to the artistic culture of Gaelic Ireland,
which was under siege and endangered; the high art of their era. Amongst them
are classics such as R is n Dubh, An Ch ilfhionn, Sl n le M igh & An tSeanbhean
Bhocht. Nic Amhlaoibh's distinct voice and outward- looking approach has
elevated these songs to yet another level through this project, and along with the
Irish Chamber Orchestra and producer D nal O'Connor, she has given a platform
to a tradition that gives a deep insight into the Irish psyche. These sean-n s songs
emerged from a practice that was part of a wider European and international
culture, and this project will resonate with people from every corner of the world.
The new incarnation of these old songs is a beautiful, uplifting sonic journey,
especially for those fortunate enough to experience it live, and is sure to leave an
imprint on the consciousness of the Irish song tradition.

Renowned fiddle player and tireless musical adventurer Sam Sweeney
returns with the passionate, raw and expressive new album 'Escape That'
The record ties together the threads and footpaths of all of Sam's musical loves;
an honest and fearless expression of himself, combining pop hooks and
aesthetics with his pioneering work in the world of traditional dance tunes.
'Escape That' simultaneously presses the reset button on what a folk record
should sound like while marking a major stride forward for Sam into the world of
composition. Written without ever touching the violin, Sam retreated to his attic
during the lockdowns of 2020-21 and created over twenty pieces of
music. Composed almost entirely on synths and guitars, with snapshots of loved
ones and memories as inspiration in a time of isolation, he devised a way of
writing where he'd lay down a chord sequence and then record an improvisation
over the top. On listening back, anything that could be considered a hook would
be kept, everything else was deleted and tracks developed by linking the hooks
together to create dance tunes. Sam then translated the melodies back to the
fiddle, an instrument of which he is considered a modern master. Nominated four
times, and winner in 2015, of Musician Of The Year at the BBC Radio 2 Folk
Awards, Sam has been at the forefront of the revival in English music for the last
fifteen years.
He is a veteran of the mighty Bellowhead, former and inaugural Artistic Director of
the National Youth Folk Ensemble, a founder member of ground- breaking trio
Leveret as well as a passionate and experienced educator. He has collaborated,
recorded and performed with The Full English, Eliza Carthy, Martin Carthy, Jon
Boden, Fay Hield and Emily Portman as well as creating his own theatre
production Made In The Great War.

Renowned fiddle player and tireless musical adventurer Sam Sweeney
returns with the passionate, raw and expressive new album 'Escape That'
The record ties together the threads and footpaths of all of Sam's musical loves;
an honest and fearless expression of himself, combining pop hooks and
aesthetics with his pioneering work in the world of traditional dance tunes.
'Escape That' simultaneously presses the reset button on what a folk record
should sound like while marking a major stride forward for Sam into the world of
composition. Written without ever touching the violin, Sam retreated to his attic
during the lockdowns of 2020-21 and created over twenty pieces of
music. Composed almost entirely on synths and guitars, with snapshots of loved
ones and memories as inspiration in a time of isolation, he devised a way of
writing where he'd lay down a chord sequence and then record an improvisation
over the top. On listening back, anything that could be considered a hook would
be kept, everything else was deleted and tracks developed by linking the hooks
together to create dance tunes. Sam then translated the melodies back to the
fiddle, an instrument of which he is considered a modern master. Nominated four
times, and winner in 2015, of Musician Of The Year at the BBC Radio 2 Folk
Awards, Sam has been at the forefront of the revival in English music for the last
fifteen years.
He is a veteran of the mighty Bellowhead, former and inaugural Artistic Director of
the National Youth Folk Ensemble, a founder member of ground- breaking trio
Leveret as well as a passionate and experienced educator. He has collaborated,
recorded and performed with The Full English, Eliza Carthy, Martin Carthy, Jon
Boden, Fay Hield and Emily Portman as well as creating his own theatre
production Made In The Great War.

Since starting Babehoven in Portland, Oregon in 2017, Maya Bon has
shown herself to be a gifted heart-on-sleeve songwriter, using music to
peel back the layers of her own experience "sometimes sad, sometimes
surreal, always vividly rendered " to reveal universal emotional truths
hidden in the most intimately personal of details
After a handful of self- released EPs and their label debut on Double Double
Whammy with 2022's "Sunk" EP, Babehoven's first full-length album "Light Moving
Time" is due October 28 2022.
"Light Moving Time" is emblematic of Babehoven's wide range of dynamics, and
each of those sounds are taken further. You can hear the pared-down languor of
"Yellow Has a Pretty Good Reputation", the smoldering guitars of "Demonstrating
Visible Difference of Height", the peculiar charm of "Nastavi, Calliope", and the
soft tenderness of "Sunk". Alternating seamlessly acrossstyles, Circles and
Philadelphia have the wispy ambient calm of a Liz Harris track, I'm On Your Team
falls somewhere between a flowy country song and an 80s power ballad, Marion
contains the plucky indie- folk warmth of Hovvdy, and Stand It and Pockets are
coated with My Bloody Valentine's wobbly shoegaze. But in contrast with those
EPs, these tracks utilize Bon's voice with greater emotional impact than ever
before. Pressed on Bone Color vinyl

Laurel Premo's latest solo work presents original and traditional music
voiced on finger-style electric guitar and lap steel
Perhaps by its most honest classification "roots guitar," the sonic vocabulary of
'Golden Loam' is informed by guitar's antecedents in American traditions - fiddle
and banjo, the rhythms, melody and intonation therein, as well as that music's
relationship to movement. Glowing, droning, tugging, scraping, revolving, Premo
bears renewed electric dirt, the golden loam layered by centuries of folk.
Following 'The Iron Trios' (2019), Premo's sophomore release builds on the dark
roots world she arranged, with seeking, untethered delivery and a masterful use
of space, on a dynamic wave of warm, gritty sustain. Laurel's vocals on two
pieces "Hop High" and "I Am A Pilgrim" are traditional calls beaconing the guitar's
response, and fold in timberly like additional instrumental lines sustaining the
drone. 'Golden Loam' was self produced and recorded during the pandemic
lockdown of summer/fall 2020. The majority of the record is solo performance,
but two featured collaborators are woven in to this embodied rhythmic collection.
Percussive dancer Nic Gareiss (Michigan) appears on tracks 5 & 9, and bones
player Eric Breton (Quebec) on track 3. Laurel Premo is a Michigan-based artist
who has been writing, arranging music and touring since 2009 with vocal and
instrumental roots acts. She is internationally known from her duo Red Tail Ring.

On April 29, MCC Magna Carta Cartel broke the 5 years silence with the
new speaker-breaking single "Silence", the first from their long awaited
second album "The Dying Option" - An album best described as rock
music from the world of dreams
Led by Martin Persner, one of the Nameless Ghouls of Ghost. MCC create
cinematic sounding themes with captivating melodies and poetic lyrics. Their
upcoming album "The Dying Option" offers a ticket into a state of mind seldom
seen or heard in modern music. Here they manage to use classic rock to create
an ambience beyond the regular riffs of today's rock and deliver ten fantastic
songs far beyond what anyone could have expected. "The Dying Option" is
produced by Niels Nielsen (In Flames, Ghost, Dead Soul) together with MCC. The
album artwork is created by the renowned film director Claudio Marino
(Behemoth, Watain, King Dude) and David M. Brinley (Ghost). MCC teamed up
with acclaimed Swedish film director Sebastian Jern for the Silence-video.

"Jazz'n'Beats" is a new mini-compilation selected by Oonops and it's named as the eponymous "Oonops Drops"-series on Brooklyn Radio.

In the mix are renowned beatproducer DJ Mitsu The Beats from Japan who joined forces with 1Co.INR for a laid back instrumental tune with a well known core melody. Next up label-graphic design head honcho is back with a new'n'sweet mini beat called "Parakeets" before we get to the flipside. This gets started with German underground rap & producer duo 4Trackboy & Echomann a.k.a. Retrogott & Twit One who drop a sharp and jazzy dope tune for this release which gets rounded down with a beautiful jazzy hip-hop instrumental by Japanese jazz musician and composer Kazumi Kaneda.

Get your hands on these limited pieces of recycled vinyl.

Gianluca Petrella is one of the most internationally renowned Italian musician, composer and producer, winner of the Down Beat Critics Poll in the "Rising Stars" category for two years in a row. Cosmic Renaissance is a music collective led by Ganluca with Mirco Rubegni (trumpet), Riccardo Di Vinci (electric bass, double bass), Simone Padovani (percussion) and Federico Scettri (drums, samplers), with Soweto Kinch (vocals and tenor sax) as special guest among others. Cosmic Renaissance's aim is to write and play music that actually starts from jazz and reaches new heights and music genres, in the name of unity, discovery, connection, understanding and other beautiful things that make us human. Try to imagine all this into music, and you'll have an idea of how "Universal Language" really sounds!

Damian Schwartz makes a welcome return to Pulp for his third full-length album, La Sal De Tu Especie. The 11 track record was written over the last three years as a way of coping with some tough experiences and features remixes
from K15 and Gifted & Blessed. It once again finds the Madrid producer serving up the sort of richly musical house that has always stood him apart.

Schwartz has been away for a while but emerged in the early 2000s with an artful take on house music. As a student of jazz, composition and bass, his intricate grooves have always been embellished with real melodic craftsmanship. In the past, they have come on this label, Esperanza and A Harmless Deed which he co-runs with Jose Cabrera. He has put out two albums before now and also works under the Epiphany alias as a producer and live act. He is a real master of his analog machinery and someone who never fails to bring fresh ideas. This superbly adventurous and widescreen new album proves that once again and shows off diverse influences such as 90s broken beat by acts like Hanna and 4 Hero, the early IDM of LFO and Aphex Twin and the Detroit house and electro styles of greats such as Juan Atkins, Teknotika, Marcellus Pittman and Kyle Hall.

It kicks off with Renacido which is a cinematic synth opener that places you into orbit. La Elipa is expansive and jazzy house with cosmic chord work over the tight, punchy kicks and Lopp then gets physical with broken beat drums and funky bass dancing around each other to uplifting effect. The superb Zwei Danke is another masterclass in off-grid beat programming and soulful machine sounds that captures the essence of early Detroit house.

It is remixed by K15, a vital London beatmaker with credits on labels like Eglo and Wild Oats. His version showcases rugged, lo-fi and dusty drums softened by heart-melting chords and angelic vocal coos.

Schwartz's 'Morro Da Urca' is a suspensory ambient interlude that makes way for the crisp electro-funk and starry-eyed pads of 'Rufo,' then 'Meco' cuts loose
with boogie bass and glistening drums and perc that voyage through a whole eco-system of bright, nebulous synths. 'Mika' is another out of this world house composition with majestic leads and pixelated pads that bring warmth and future soul. There is real electricity in the freeform keys and corrugated drums of Coney Island that will ensure any dance floor takes off.

Final remixer Gabriel Reyes-Whittaker aka GB (Gifted & Blessed) is a composer and sound artist whose music is a constant exploration of the bridge between the technological and the ancestral. He flips 'Loop' into an Afro-future jazz dance with infectious percussion and expressive chords that never rest.

La Sal De Tu Especie is a timeless fusion of jazz freedom and house grooves that takes you into a magical new dimension.

"Switch Records was started by myself alongside Bill Campbell in the early eighties", says Aaron Harry - a library music producer who began using Lansdowne Studios in Holland Park for his productions on the renowned Bruton Music label. The studios had been operating there since the late 1950s, becoming the breeding ground for some key & early UK jazz and pop records (owner Adrian Kerridge teamed up with Joe Meek to lay down the first recordings there in 1958). It was here that Harry and engineer Chris Dibble started to work together as a regular team. After spending some time at the studio observing them in acton, Kerridge and (Burton MD) Robin Phillps "recognised what a good team Chris and I had become. So, it was inevitable that I would also make pop music alongside Production Library Music."

The output of the relatively obscure Switch label is the result of this work, and Freestyle has licensed 3 of the most hard to come by 12"s as part of their series of rare & foundation UK funk & soul records. This one, Steppin' Out on the Groove was written by the late Tony Jackson, "a renowned session singer/musician that I had worked with on numerous occasions" says Harry, and also a key brit-funk figure who formed part of a string of UK groups throughout the 70s and early 80s (Sweet Dreams, Midnight, Ritz & Indigo) and later went on to be successful as lead singer in Rage. He died in 2001. Backed up with a killer instrumental that really lets the solid production shine, this one is an essential in any DJ or collector's bag.

Red Vinyl

Das erste Album des britischen Produzenten und Songwriters seit "Rennen" von 2017 wird am 4. November 2022 auf Vinyl und CD veröffentlicht. Nachdem er zuvor längere Zeit in Wien und Los Angeles gelebt hat, wohnt der in London geborene SOHN nun in den Pinienwäldern von Katalonien, Spanien, und es ist diese neue Umgebung, die ihn zur aktuellen Single "Segre" inspiriert hat. "Trust" markiert für den Solokünstler eine seismische Verschiebung in der Wahrnehmung und Ausrichtung und spiegelt SOHNs neue Verantwortung als Vater von drei Kindern wider. Der Umzug von Los Angeles in die Ruhe Kataloniens und die Erfahrung der Elternschaft veränderten seine Einstellung und auch seine Arbeitsweise: "Ich spürte eine Offenheit, die ich vorher nicht kannte, und mir wurde klar, dass ich es nicht mehr allein schaffen konnte - mir fehlten Gemeinschaft und Freundschaft im Leben und im kreativen Prozess", sagt SOHN. Zum ersten Mal in seiner jahrzehntelangen Karriere lud der Produzent andere ein, ihm bei der Verwirklichung eines neuen Albums zu helfen, und kehrte nach LA zurück (wo er "Rennen" aufgenommen hatte), um mit Yakob, Mike Sonier, Chris Tabron, Jesse Boykins III, Ryan Linvill, Noah Le Gros und Emile Mosseri zu arbeiten. Gemeinschaft, Intimität, Familie und Offenheit sind die Schlüsselthemen auf "Trust", wenn der britische Produzent über sein vergangenes Leben (Wien in 'Figureskating, Neusiedlersee') und seine gegenwärtige Realität ('Montardit', 'Segre') reflektiert. Indem er seinen kreativen Prozess für andere öffnet, lädt Toph Taylor den Hörer dazu ein, sein bisher intimstes und persönlichstes Werk zu erleben. "Auf dem Debütalbum "Tremors" war es so, als wäre ich hinter Glas, aber auf "Trust" fühlt es sich an, als könnte man in diesem Raum sitzen, und nicht nur alleine, man sitzt mit mir, einigen Musikern, einigen Freunden in einem Zimmer."

Ohne die Möglichkeit, live aufzutreten und auch privat von den vielen Einschränkungen betroffen, verlagerte sich der Fokus von DISILLUSION in den letzten zwei Jahren voll und ganz auf die Band sowie auf die Aufnahme ihres vierten Albums "Ayam". Der Effekt ist hörbar: "Ayam" klingt tiefer, noch vielschichtiger und ausgereifter als seine hochgelobten Vorgängeralben. Der Detailreichtum in der Musik der deutschen Avantgardisten ist jedoch nie ein bloßer Selbstzweck, sondern die Komplexität dient immer dem Song und dem "Malen" von Bildern für das große Kopfkino. Während DISILLUSION enger zusammenrückten, kamen auch alte Gewohnheiten auf den Prüfstand. Um etwas Neues auszuprobieren, überließ die Band den Mix ihres neuen Albums erstmals anderen Händen und Ohren als den eigenen. Die Wahl fiel auf den renommierten Produzenten Jens Bogren (OPETH, KATATONIA, MOONSPELL), was sich einmal mehr als wahrer Glücksgriff entpuppte. Die geradezu magische Fähigkeit des Schweden, die Eigenheiten einer Band deutlich herauszuarbeiten, verlieh DISILLUSIONs ohnehin schon einzigartigen Sound einen hörbaren Feinschliff. So wurde beispielsweise der Gesang in ein klangliches Rampenlicht gestellt. DISILLUSION gründeten sich im Jahr 1994 in Zwickau um Sänger und Gitarrist Andy Schmidt herum. Die Ostdeutschen schafften das seltene Kunststück, sich bereits mit der Veröffentlichung ihres Debütalbums "Back to Times of Splendor" im Jahr 2004 einen exzellenten Namen im Bereich des progressiven Melodic Death Metal zu erwerben. Mit dem folgenden Langspieler "Gloria" (2006) gelang der Band ein Quantensprung und eine rasante Evolution in mehrere Richtungen gleichzeitig. Als zuletzt "The Liberation" im Jahr 2019 erschien, beschrieben Kritiker das Album als logische Fortsetzung von "Back to Times of Splendor". In den Songs spiegelten sich 15 Jahre zusätzliche Erfahrung in Andy Schmidts musikalischer Entwicklung wider. "The Liberation" kombinierte die besten Qualitäten von DISILLUSION: Das perfekte Zusammenspiel von massivem Metal verschmolz mit Momenten purer Euphorie aber auch ruhiger Introspektion, die eine klangliche Achterbahnfahrt voller leidenschaftlicher Emotionen erzeugte. Mit "Ayam" segeln DISILLUSION erneut zwischen den Sternen zu neuen Konstellationen der harten Gitarrensounds. Dabei bleiben die deutschen Avantgarde-Pioniere ihrem generellen Kurs treu, werfen aber auch immer wieder den Anker aus, um funkelnde neue Klangwelten zu erkunden. "Ayam" bietet eher eine aufregende Evolution als radikale Revolution. Dieses Album ist ein goldenes Ticket für die außergewöhnliche musikalische Reise des Lebens. Kommt alle an Bord, Anker hoch und Leinen los!

Mit 'Seeing the Elephant' haben THE OFFERING ein Album geschaffen, das so reichhaltig, abenteuerlich und gefühlvoll ist wie nichts anderes, das man in nächster Zeit hören wird. 'Seeing the Elephant' entstand während des Chaos der Proteste von 2020 und der darauffolgenden kulturellen Umwälzungen und ist ein herausforderndes (und letztendlich lohnendes) Album für extreme Zeiten. Auf dem Nachfolger des hochgelobten Debüts 'Home' von THE OFFERING aus dem Jahr 2019 startet die Band mit dem frenetischen, 7-minütigen Opener 'WASP' in eine politisch aufgeladene Hochphase und steigert dann die Dynamik und den Klang, indem sie sich durch elektronisch angehauchte Tracks wie 'With Consent' und das treibende 'Rose Fire' windet und mit dem epischen Abschlusstrack 'Esther Weeps' zu etwas Schönem und Erhabenem gelangt. Sänger Alex Richichi und Gitarrist Nishad George haben mit Hilfe von Mixer Zach Weeks (Kvelertak, The Armed) in den renommierten God City Studios in Salem, Massachusetts, ein neues Gerüst aus vergangenen Arbeiten konstruiert und THE OFFERING als eine Band bewiesen, die nicht nur die Norm herausfordert, sondern sie auch verfeinern und neu definieren wird. THE OFFERING 'Seeing the Elephant' ist erhältlich als: Standard CD Jewelcase, black LP, Digitales Album

Emerging from a live recording at St.Mary's Episcopal Cathedral in 2021, Alliyah Enyo’s ‘Echo’s Disintegration’ is a transformational project; a coded reflection on loss, metamorphosis and rebirth.

It’s a work of two parts, each incarnation informed by the parameters of the recording environment. In the initial live performance, Alliyah harnesses the organic echo and reverb formed by the vast open space of the cathedral. Her luminous vocals break through a dense sea of layered noise, a reverberating wailing drenched in heartache.

Her words are fractured and frayed, broken into segments, and enshrouded in mysticism. Yet through the ambiguity, there’s an innate spirituality to the work; iridescent melodies are heightened by the imposing presence of the surroundings.

The five studio tracks, made in retrospect, carry the live performance within the DNA of their reinterpreted sounds and loops. Recorded in Glasgow’s renowned Green Door Studio, constructed reel-to-reel tape loops further fragment and transform compositions, evoking the intoxicating tape feedback of Eliane Raidgue and the harrowing loops of William Basinski.

There’s a radiant clarity to the recordings, Alliyah’s voice implemented as the guiding instrument, the heady sensuality of her vocals layered and echoed in enchanting formation. Through the agony and longing, we reach reincarnation in the culminating euphoria of ‘the healer’. We’re left amongst the blissful reverberations of an awakened soul.

Echo’s Disintegration is the debut album by Alliyah Enyo. The work has received early support from Jack Rollo (NTS), Lucinda Chua (NTS), Pako Vega (Fade Radio, Athens), Elina Tapio (Radio Radio, Amsterdam), Conna Harrawy (INDEX:records) and Martyna Basta (Unsound festival).


Alliyah Enyo - Bio
Alliyah Enyo is an Edinburgh-based artist. She comes from a visual-arts background which is evident in her theatrical live performances that encompass elaborate stage design and choreographed dance. She recently performed her 9-month collaborative project ‘Selkie Reflections’ for Hidden Door festival, working with dancers and classical musicians to explore Siren and Selkie myth. She has performed at multiple venues across Scotland and previously supported Erika De Casier.


Somewhere Between Tapes - Bio
Somewhere Between Tapes is a Glasgow-based record label, formed in 2022 via connections made at local community radio station Clyde Built Radio and at Green Door Studio’s sound workshop.

The label is primarily drawn to working with artists who use experimental processes, often as part of an interdisciplinary practice, where live performance and visual accompaniments are intrinsic to the work. Our focus is on diaristic, sensitive approaches to sound, from ethereal ambient to avant-folk and psychedelic-infused electronics.

The label is run by Lizzie Urquhart and Tim Dalzell. Both are residents at Clyde Built and have contributed to Mutant Radio, Refuge Worldwide, Lyl Radio and Rinse FM. Collaboratively and independently their shows are characterized by their reflective nature, designed for deep listening. This is supplemented by their online mix series ‘Somewhere’, and involvement in co:clear; a new collaborative listening series formed with Conna Haraway of INDEX:Records that commenced with a performance by Berlin-based artist Perila.

50th Anniversary Reissue! With the original gatefold layout plus all lyrics, new liner notes plus an interview with vocalist Harri Saksala. The album has been remastered for vinyl by Finland's premier progressive rock specialist Pauli Saastamoinen at Finnvox. Kalevala and especially their debut album People No Names is a prime example of a record that should've been big, sold only a handful and only later on was reappraised as the masterful progressive rock epic that it is. Originally released 50 years ago on Finnlevy, then one of the largest labels in Finland, and not marketed at all, there were not more than 500 copies of the album pressed. When people finally realised the quality of the music on this piece of wax, prices for original copies on the second hand market went blasting through the roof and eventually into four figures. Kalevala's story began at the turn of the new decade in 1970, and they played Cream-style hard rock with a power trio lineup. The band's founding member Remu Aaltonen was kicked out the following year, and a renewed lineup immersed themselves in progressive rock. People No Names was released in 1972, and eventually Finnlevy had no idea what to do with this kind of difficult new youth music. This 50th Anniversary reissue is put together with the approval of original vocalist Harri Saksala The album is remastered for vinyl by Pauli Saastamoinen at Finnvox.

The first new album in over a decade from world-renowned singer-songwriter, Nina Nastasia. Produced by Steve Albini. Riderless Horse is my first solo record, and it’s the first record my former partner, Kennan Gudjonsson, didn’t produce. I haven’t made an album since 2010. I decided to stop pursuing music several years after my sixth record, Outlaster, because of unhappiness, overwhelming chaos, mental illness, and my tragically dysfunctional relationship with Kennan. Creating music had always been a positive outlet during difficult times, but eventually it became a source of absolute misery. Riderless Horse documents the grief, but it also marks moments of empowerment and a real happiness in discovering my own capability. Steve Albini produced this record with me, and Greg Norman assisted. It was exactly the right environment to work on this record. We all had meals together, cried, laughed, and told stories. It was perfect. It made me realize how much I love writing, playing and recording music. Terrible things happen. These were some terrible things. So, what to do – learn something valuable, connect with people, move the fuck out of that apartment, remember the humor, find the humour, tell the truth, and make a record. I made a record.

repress

Levon Vincent returns with his fourth full-length studio album Silent Cities a striking departure from his previous records. This, his first release experimenting with the cassette format, Silent Cities is a kind of mixtape through more private moods and personal pitches (literally given Levon’s non-standard tunings).

While Levon has always pro
duced dance floor jams with the intention of raising people’s heart rates, Silent Cities began with 72 bpm: his average resting heart rate, and the concept of tuning the music he was making to his own body rather than increasing anything. This brought the tempos down to 72 bpm or even half of that, at 36bpm. Programming the record during the empty cityscape of Berlin lockdowns, this is the first time Levon’s created an album for the home stereo or for headphone listening whilst navigating through a city. A mixtape specialist in his youth; he was always wanted to play with the cassette format. The results are sure to delight any listener, with the ever-present ambient, krautrock, shoegaze, hip-hop and electro influences coming to the foreground on this work.

“I was expanding further along the lines of a surprise favourite from my previous LP, a song called She Likes To Wave To Passing Boats which was not a 4 on-the-floor piece to play in clubs but a more impressionistic piece of music that I wrote to expound some emotions one day” says Levon. “It was a song written using just intonation. I really love how warm the pure 4ths sound, so when working on the new LP Silent Cities I decided to use my own tunings”.

Historically, the use of just intonation has meant that such instruments could sound "in tune" in one key but at the expense of more dissonance in the other keys. None of the songs on Silent Cities use standard Western equal temperament, Levon created his own scale designs coupled with the ancient ratios found in just intonation.

Born in Houston in 1975, Levon’s life changed dramatically when his parents moved their family to New York in 1981, uprooted from what he knew, the shock, the change from Houston to New York at 6 years old, is referred to constantly in Levon’s Musical output over the years. Levon's family moved houses in and around NYC from 1981 -2010, never more than a mile or two from the WTC. He lived on the Lower East Side during his teenage years and early 20s. This time period and this locale are also a big theme recurrent in his music as he tries to convey how the "downtown" lifestyle and culture-melding affected him so much at a tender age. He cut his teeth working in record shops around lower Manhattan, and while working at the Halcyon Record shop in Brooklyn he (alongside DJ Jus-Ed) was instrumental in creating the wave that came to be known as the "NYC House Renaissance" circa 2010. During the Y2K years he studied 20th C post-minimalism at Purchase college of New York under James McElwaine (who tangentially produced Man Parrish’s Self-Titled proto-hip-hop debt LP). Levon was fortunate to study theory with avant-garde composer Dary John Mizelle and orchestration under conductor Joel Thome. He undertook masterclasses with Philip Glass and also served as intern for John Kilgore, engineer for Steve Reich, where he was present for notable mix sessions such as “Violin Phase.”

Post-minimalism clearly remains an influence not to mention the early sampler stars of 80s freestyle and synth pop. Mixing such far-reaching influences is something Levon executes tremendously well. The first track Everlasting Joy moves at a head nodding 96 BPM tempo, reflecting formative influences like Paul Hardcastle’s Rainforest or Art Of Noise’s Moments in Love. “Those types of songs were a big eye opener for me as a youth, because it was where I realised songs in popular culture didn’t have to be kept to just 3 minutes, and they didn’t require vocals either. So, Everlasting Joy is a song with that intention, one that might be radio-friendly, despite the long arrangement and without vocals. You could say it was inspired by 107.5 in NY because that was a station I listened to a lot in the 1980’s.”

The majority of demos on Silent Cities were recorded before Covid-19 hit the world - when Levon had found a studio space outside of home in his adopted city of Berlin. It was a career first - working on music outside the bedroom. This riding the train or bicycling ‘going to work’ in Berlin opened up a new mood in his music, using the time back and forth to be inspired - commuting as an NYC transplant who still feels as a tourist in Berlin, with a pair of headphones, looking out the window on the train, or stopping on bridges and parking his bike to enjoy Berlin's skyline and horizon. Then, the pandemic struck and “work” came to a halt. Levon had recorded so much material during that year in the studio out of house it seemed like an inflection point for him to lighten the burden of the possessions he was carrying.

“People close to me have watched me give away synths and hardware regularly and I have given away my record collection every few years for my whole life. As a struggling artist in my 20s who had worked in record stores that whole time, I learned that moving constantly with 12k records just wasn't the way to live. So, in light of the pandemic, I set up a shop online, and sold all my music equipment. I also created a separate shop for all my sneakers and clothes. Easy come, Easy go. This provided me with a slow drip type of income that carried me quite well through the pandemic and it allowed me to focus on my own art and music. Getting rid of all my possessions felt like a weight being lifted from my shoulders and I was able to stay the course and remain committed to the music. I needed a further 2 years to mix and arrange the LP. If it weren’t for the pandemic, I would not been able to make this type of LP, so in light of everything, I was able to turn a depressing time in to something lasting and musically very positive.”

You can hear how his approach to a cassette release retains the "Medium is the Message." ethos. Silent Cities is a spooling, warm piece about life memories and embodiment.

"Stockholm Soul" is the third album by the Swedish synth-darkwave band T.G.T.B. Sounds and composition reveal a more mature level, engaging the listeners in almost 50 min of danceable dark electronics.

Discover the wonders of Brazilian music from 60s, 70s & 80s. A wave of modernity invades the country and Soul, Funk & Disco influences merge with traditional genres such as Bossa Nova, Samba or Batucada. This union led to a colorful and cheerful groove symbolizing the transformation of Brazil.

For over a decade, Names You Can Trust has presented a variety of new music that has grown from a prolific network of talented musicians in Colombia's capital city. Frente Cumbiero, Romperayo, La Boa, and Meridian Brothers are some of the important names to have reached a well-deserved global audience. The scene itself in Bogotá has been on the cutting edge for some time, and this new generation of musical spirit has naturally become a beacon in the tropical music community, not only as a standard bearer for honoring tradition but as well as the ability to flip that tradition on its head, with thoughtful modern and technological experimentations. The good news is that there are no signs of this particular renaissance slowing down, as some of these marquee names in the aforementioned list have expanded their creative output as producers, engineers and mixers.

In this case, Meridian Brothers creator and musical savant, Eblis Álvarez lends his expertise to a new emerging septet of tropicalistas, La Sonora Mazurén, named after a northern neighborhood in Bogotá. The group's mission is best described as an exploration into the many influences of tropical music that have thrived in Colombia for decades. Thinkcumbia,chicha,charangaandvallenatoto name a few, and that's where we land on with the group's debut single for NYCT. It's an apt illustration of the band's range, starting with the A-side's quintessential "Charanga Mazurén," a throwback to pure dancefloor accordion bliss, a pulse that is synchronized with the aura of Colombia's legends such as Landero, Meza, or Gutiérrez. The B-side "Cachicha" is a take on the all-importantchicha, which has become an inescapable and essential part of Peru's nationalcumbia, and likewise a staple within Colombia's borders since the advent of the popular style on record back in the day. That tradition continues here, the familiar pluck of the psychedelic guitars mixed with an array of synthesized sonics, the palette of Peru mixed with that of producer Álvarez's wizardry and the group's talented players.

Reggie B returns with his much awaited NBN release "Tinky's Jam.” This is his first full length album since “Soulofunkaquarian” released with INnatesounds. The album was most definitely worth the wait. It takes the listener through a personal and musical journey inspired by the birth of his son, who he affectionately calls “Tinky,” and the connection they share. Tinky was a major part of this album, oftentimes found in the studio during the conceptions of many of the songs. This album is unlike any other record released by the Kansas born producer, multi instrumentalist, singer and arranger. After the birth of his son, he was inspired and encouraged to get back into the musical game by the head of NBN, Onra. "Tinky's Jam" is something of a family affair with friends and old collaborators playing their part.

Born into a musical family to parents who were two sides of the same coin, a father who was one of the most renowned drummers in Topeka, Kansas funk and jazz fusion scenes and a mother who was one of the most prominent gospel singers in the city. The apple didn't fall far from the tree and Reggie has spent his life performing and playing with a healthy slew of releases.

This album is the result of countless days in the studio which yielded scores of a dozen slabs of head nodding funk.

Mostly instrumental and showcasing Reggie's many styles from the heavy bounce of "Futuristic Slow", to the George Clinton nod on "P For Life", and the crafted soul of "Gone Fishing" with Dominique Sanders to the cool street jazz feel of "Realize" with Donald Hates's sax adding flare as well as the beat of "Nose Dive" providing the nod factor for the heads.

Closing out the LP ``Tinky's Dance" - a raw soulful jam that lies somewhere between Prince and Larry Heard - for Reggie "the whole project felt like a gift to me and my baby boy Tinky! I wanted to let him know he’s always in my heart and soul and I love my Tinky man infinitely! It’s a children's album for the elevated child like Tinky!”

Ringing from hi-fi headphones and blown-out boombox speakers alike
comes the overloaded guitar genius of "Easy Listening", a record of rock
n' roll daydreams and terminal boredom, and 2nd Grade's long awaited
second LP.Like a blue slushy on a hot day, Easy Listening is a sweet
respite
Like the Blue Angels touching down on the Las Vegas Strip, Easy Listening is
impossible to ignore. And like a janitor mopping up beer on the floor of the
Hollywood Palladium in 1972, hours after the Rolling Stones have finished
Ventilator Blues and climbed onto the bus, Easy Listening knows the glory and
cost of escapism, abandon, and the soul of rock n roll. Philadelphia's 2nd Grade
(Peter Gill, Catherine Dwyer, Jon Samuels, David Settle, and Fran Lyons) is a band
both obsessed with and worthy of rock stardom, and Easy Listening proves their
status as virtuosos of the power pop renaissance.Sonically and lyrically, Easy
Listening pays tribute to a guitar lineage linking the Stones to the Flamin'
Groovies, to Redd Kross and Guided By Voices. With its spiraling hooks and
handclapped quarter note beat, lead single Strung Out On You sounds like an
alternate reality post-Radio City Big Star cut. In 2nd Grade's world, music history
is a prism, not a linear progression. Famous teens transcend time on the outro to
Teenage Overpopulation, a shouted cacophony of names including Tommy
Stinson, Lizzie McGuire, and Joan of Arc. The line between the love of an
audience and that of a romantic partner is blurred on songs like Hands Down and
Me & My Blue Angels. Across the album, hi- fi and lo- fi styles splice together;
playful references and surreal hints of impossibility build a complex, believable
world atop a foundation of simple and sticky melodies that resonate on very first
listen. Pressed on Blue Jay Color vinyl.

Emmet Cohen's time has come, since his debut Mack Avenue release,
'Future Stride', Cohen has toured the world consistently " bringing the joy
of music to people in need during a global pandemic" all while hosting
weekly livestream concerts from his home in Harlem, NY
These livestreams provided a sense of community and a home to the displaced
musicians of New York, reminiscent of the 1920s rent parties. On 'Uptown in
Orbit', his sophomore release for Mack Avenue, Cohen brings the tradition of jazz
to the forefront while providing the modern twist needed for the current times.
Featured on this release is trumpeter/educator Sean Jones, saxophonist Patrick
Bartley, bassist Russell Hall and drummer Kyle Poole.

Debbie Gibson is thrilled to announce the release of her first ever holiday
album, 'Winterlicious
' Ranging from a mix of sparkling originals and beautiful reimagined covers,
Gibson has enlisted her dream team of Sean Thomas ('The Body Remembers'/
Hallmark), Fred Coury (Cinderella/ Emmy award winning composer/ producer),
Sylvia MacCalla (Selena Gomez), Joey Melotti (Barry Manilow), Joey Finger
(Donny & Marie) and musicians Lydia Ansel (electric violin) and indie artist
BONZIE (accordion), to create an album that is sure to become a holiday classic.
This spirited and soulful album, Gibson's first in this genre in 36 years, features a
magical collaboration with her pop soulmate Joey McIntyre, who co- wrote the
new holiday anthem "Heartbreak Holiday" for those missing that special someone
during the holidays. Gibson's Daddy Joe joins her on a stunning new rendition of
"White Christmas" and her infectious, up- tempo, original song "Christmas Star,"
which came out in 2021, is also included.

After Quiet Places (2020) Andreas Vollenweider has grouped his music
on his new album according to atmosphere and character: Slow Flow is a collection of pieces with a relaxed, flowing feel, while "Dancer" is full of movement and rhythm All 11 songs on "Slow Flow" and "Dancer" were created between 2010 and 2021 in collaboration with British producer Andy Wright (Eurythmics, Simply Red, Jeff Beck, Simple Minds, among many others). The two were supported in their
creative process by Vollenweider's talented circle of friends, who laid the foundation for the songs: Walter Keiser (drums), Andi Pupato (percussion), Daniel Kueffer (bass clarinet), Oliver Keller (guitars) and the young Swiss rapper and beat boxer Steff La Cheffe, a.k.a. Stefanie Peter. The music of "Dancer" also reflects Vollenweider's connection with Africa. The South African vocal harmony band Africapella and singer Ayanda Nhlangothi embody this connection. The London Session Orchestra, consisting of musicians from the Royal Symphonic
Orchestra under the direction of James McWilliam, filled out the sound.
Renowned British producer and arranger Peter Vettese is responsible for most of the orchestration. The recordings took place at Andreas' Lakeside Studios in Switzerland, as well as at SABC Studios in Johannesburg, South Africa, and finally at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London. Andy Wright's long-time sound engineer Gavin Goldberg has set new sonic standards for Vollenweider's music
with his work, and is able to delight even the most discerning audiophiles with a punchy yet transparent, dynamic soundscape.

Promise & Illusion is the first LP from Ecka Mordecai, following the release of her solo Critique + Prosper on Takuroku in 2020. Cello, voice, horsehair harp, violin and field recordings combine to spin narrative melody, rich intimacy and melancholic landscapes. Composed around an exploration of la charnière (from the French ‘hinge’), Promise & Illusion begins with the sound of footsteps and a door opening and closing repeatedly, unsure whether to let us into the mysterious interior beyond. We are reminded of the house of Penny Slinger in An Exorcism, an abandoned mansion of gothic hallways and inky corridors. “woe are we” twists violin and voice together into the sort of tension and high drama heard in “The Executioner” - Henning Christiansen’s soundtracks made for the films of his partner Ursula Reuter Christiansen in the 1970’s. Then things begin to soften, almost despite themselves. Distortion on ‘a unit has no unity’ can’t quite smother a rising tune on warped harp. The cello on ‘indigos’ - its voice pizzicato with a velvety sustain - brings comfort and clarity. Mordecai hums a line, feeling out the edges of a song in an intimate release of tension. We are across the threshold - into a romantic sort of nocturnal gloom that feels somewhat out of place in London’s experimental music scene. Trained on viola da gamba as part of a renaissance youth group in the historic midland town of Stafford, Mordecai went on to study performance art in Brighton, later graduating in sound art in London. She performed with David Toop and Rie Nakajima as part of Allan Kaprow’s Yard at the Hepworth Gallery, as well as performing scores by Yoko Ono and George Brecht solo at White Cube Gallery as part of Christian Marclay’s Liquids exhibition. Later, various moves across the north of England found her working with Andrew Chalk and Tom James Scott (forming the trio CIRCÆA), Miles Whittaker (of Demdike Stare) and performing alongside free improvisers. A myriad of influences have crossed her path, her work slowly taking shape across music concrète, improvisation and performance art. A more recent recording with Valerio Tricoli as ‘Mordecoli’ made during the development of Promise & Illusion found its final form as a cassette - a collage of sustained tones, ominous atmospheres and brief 4th wall dissolving vocal interaction. With both CIRCÆA and Mordecoli, Mordecai deals with landscapes - playing with the imaginary over the real and using improvisation as a useful way to dream. On Promise & Illusion, Mordecai sharpens her focus and pivots toward the interior over the exterior - the landscape becoming a personal, psychological one - both comforting and strange. Tracks 4, 5, 7 & 10 recorded and mixed by Adam Matschulat in December 2020. All others recorded and mixed by Ecka Mordecai. Mastered by Shaun Crook at Lockdown Studios, London. Artwork by Ecka Mordecai. Layout by Zofia Sobota.

Track list: 1 la charnière I 2 woe are we 3 a unit has no unity 4 indigos 5 study of a flame 6 la charnière II 7 promise & illusion 8 hush now you say 9 tempera 10 mistakes & continue

Fred "Sonic" Smith - lead vocals, lead guitar (saxophone on C2) Scott Morgan - guitar, vocals (lead vocal B1 and B4) Gary Rasmussen - bass, vocals (lead vocal C1) Scott "Rock Action" Asheton – drums. A Real-O Mind Production • Possibly the last live recording of Sonic’s Rendezvous Band who broke up in spring 1980 • The Band almost a supergroup, formed out of the ashes of Detroit’s finest The Stooges, The MC5, The Rationals & The Up • This complete concert recorded on home turf at the Second Chance in Michigan sees the introduction of new songs China Fields, American Boy, Flight 505 into the set already crammed with live favourites Heaven & Earth, Sweet Nothing, So Sincerely Yours, Earthy, and of course the one and only recorded song, City Slang • Vinyl presented in a gatefold sleeve with printed inner bags and liner notes by Ken Shimamoto. SIDE A A1. Song L (3:56) A2. You're So Great (3:18) A3. Sweet Nothing (5:46) A4. Hearts aka Detroit Tango (4:43) SIDE B B1. Heaven & Earth (4:03) B2. Gone With The Dogs (5:55)

Abandoning doo-wop for hard funk through Funkadelic and related act Parliament, George Clinton became the cosmic funk warrior extolling sex, drugs, and funk ‘n’ roll, using bubbling bass, rock-star guitars, full horn sections and powerful choruses to venture into funk’s deep space. The P-Funk Power cherry-pics some fine live concert moments from Clinton and his P-Funk All Stars, the highlights including a riveting rendition of ‘Let’s Take It To The Stage,’ and super-extended takes of crowd-pleasers ‘Cosmic Slop’ and ‘Atomic Dog,’ culminating in the excessive funk space trip of ‘Funkentelechy (Where’d You Get That Funk From),’ the man and his band on peak form from start to finish. All killer, no filler!

For Fans Of: J. Tillman, Phosphorescent, Low, Damien Jurado, Bill Callhan. “It’s going to be hard to talk about this when it’s done.” So begins A Mold For The Bell, the new album from Colorado singer-songwriter and producer Logan Farmer. What follows that enigmatic lyric is a collection of stark and ambient folk songs, tethered solely by Farmer’s unadorned vocals, acoustic guitar, and moving embellishments from contributors, including saxophonist Joseph Shabason (who also mixed the album) and renowned harpist Mary Lattimore. With the help of Grammy-nominated producer Andrew Berlin (Gregory Alan Isakov), Farmer tracked all of the vocal and guitar parts over two days in the early months of 2021. The tracks were recorded quickly, live in the studio to capture the raw intimacy and immediacy of Farmer’s live performances. The rest of the album’s creation occurred remotely, over texts, phone calls, and emails with Shabason and a handful of other musicians, as wildfires, insurrections and the pandemic raged around them. “I was working at a bookstore that winter,” Farmer explains, “and I’d walk to my shift every day, obsessing over lyrics and early mixes in a cheap pair of earbuds.” These daily walks would take him past a church, where he’d often stop on the sidewalk and listen to the bells at the top of the hour. “I’ve always loved the sound of church bells, but as the situation worsened, what began as a comfort began to feel ominous, almost threatening.” This experience, alongside influences as disparate as Tarkovsky’s film Andrei Rublev and the novels of Olga Tokarczuk, led to a collection of songs that are similarly foreboding, expanding upon the stark and spacious universe of Farmer’s last album (2020’s Still No Mother) to reveal an atmosphere that’s even more oppressively still, like an abandoned Victorian home. Tracks: 01 Silence or Swell 02 Cue Sunday Bells 03 Horsehair (feat. Mary Lattimore) 04 Crooked Lines 05 William 06 The Moment 07 Renegade 08 South Vienna

Treviso, Italy-based two piece Kill Your Boyfriend will release their fourth album 'Voodoo' on October 14th via Sister 9 Recordings (Europe), Little Cloud Records (North America) and Shyrec (Itay). A frantic and hypnothising bacchanalia of Psych & Industrial tinged soundwaves, the new album is a collection of reverb laden necromantic charms, summoning the souls and bones of the greats in the Rock & Roll pantheon of the 1950s. The duo delivers such glittery dark enchantment via 7 hoodoo hymns, travelling with a crumbling, ghostly and magically whizzing Rocket 88, in the company of Marie Laveau and madame Lalaurie. It's a relentless whirl of Voodoo-Psych, Industrial-Billy, Electro-GrisGris, which you can dance to. The new LP follows 'Killadelica', where Kill Your Boyfriend had refined their debut signature sound, bridging the gap between the semi-obscure but hauntingly fascinating tradition of Veneto's Post-Punk (Death In Venice, Evabraun, Pyramids, etc.) and contemporary Psych-Nouveau. With 'Voodoo', Matteo Scarpa and Antonio Angeli, explore new genres and expand the sonic borders, without losing their original intent. They replace the synth bass with a bass-guitar, adding more fluidity and weight to a renewed and punchier rhythmic section. Electronic and acoustic percussion are fuller and heavier, and the band's new stomp-machine is a hyper-convulsive version of the saturated Rock & Roll and R&B drumming, from the cheap garage studios of 1950s indie labels. Sida A is the most Rock & Roll of the two, and it is inspired by Michael Ventura's essay "Hear that Long Snake Moan", which brought forward the idea that "the Voodoo rite of possession by the god became the standard of American performance in Rock’n’Roll" where the performers "let themselves be possessed not by any god they could name but by the spirit they felt in the music”. Each song invokes one or a set of the lost souls of the Rock & Roll era, with 'The Day The Music Died' referring to the infamous 3rd of February 1959. Side B descends deeper into the magic swamps of Creole magic, with music taking on a much more liturgical function, conjuring shamanic possessions via extra layers of tribal percussion. The band says of side B: "we see it as a one long ritualistic descent into a psychedelic underworld made of echoing voices, claustrophobic spaces populated by lost souls, enchanters and witchdoctors."

TRACKLIST 1. The King 2. The Man In Black 3. Mr Mojo 4. Buster 5. The Day The Music Died 6. Papa Legba 7. Vodoo