quête:dan e mc

Kneading dough is tricky – you should know how it’s supposed to feel. If you try too hard you could make it worse. It’s a beautiful practice – creation with a gentle touch, to work at something so it can be left alone. “If it’s too drawn out it’s awful. It’s easy to give too much.” Dance in the mirror. Contemplate your veiny hands. Who do they remind you of?

You begin by mixing flour and water. “What happens when your people die? Why’d they move the rock to the other side of Ulster Park?” Eliza Niemi asks two seemingly unrelated questions in a rising melody with guitar accompaniment, like fingers playing spider up to the nape of your neck. Gentle pressure. Strands of gluten form to bind the mix. A new question lingers in the binding. When she admits “but I don’t know how to tell if I’m feeling it or not,” that question surfaces through the text. It is reiterated throughout the album. When I’m working with dough I think the same thing to myself.

On Progress Bakery, her second album as a solo artist, Eliza knows to leave some questions alone – to let juxtaposition and tension be the proof. It doesn’t have to be hard. The feelings and revelations they provoke rise in the heat. The smell is sweet. Crispy on the outside and soft all the way through. She playfully slip-slides through words and sounds and images, delighting in surprise, skimming ideas like stones cast across clear water, touching down briefly with uncommon grace.

The question provoked between those opening lines resurfaces in the strands between songs – “Do U FM” is fully formed and beautifully layered, while “Novelist Sad Face” is a short, acapella rendering of gentle curiosity. What is holding these ideas together? Some songs demand more, seem to carry a whole load – eventually the skipping stone will halt to sink and resume its idle duty – while others drift in and out of focus, the way thoughts and dreams become interwoven before the mind is sunk into true sleep.

Music and words don’t always have to interact. Where she decides to keep them apart gives a new contour to where and how she puts them together. The kind of thing you’re supposed to take for granted with songs and their singers comes alive in Eliza’s hands – the little miracle of mixing, kneading, stretching, and stopping.

So often on Progress Bakery, Eliza teases out truth and meaning by asking questions. “Do I wanna be crying?” “Do you want me good or do you want me bad?” “Do I need an eye test?” “I’m writing songs in my head while you’re going over stuff with me — is that cruel??” In “Pocky” Eliza ends with a question that feels to me like the actual biography, succinct and revealing:

I don’t wanna be made to see
I just wanna ask “what’s that?”

Grace that ought to be rare, but in its care and precision is offered humbly, with great generosity, and without announcing itself. Eliza’s simple, miraculous music is given further form and shape by a group of collaborators – invaluable guest musicians Jeremy Ray, Evan Cartwright, Steven McPhail, Kenny Boothby, Ed Squires, Carolina Chauffe, Dorothea Paas, Louie Short, and Avalon Tassonyi. Together with Louie Short, who recorded, mixed, and produced the album along with Jeremy Ray and Lukas Cheung, Eliza has cultivated a richness in sound and texture that prods and provokes the ticklish ear. Barely audible guitar tinkering, a brief lo-fi field recording of trumpets, the harmonic clicking of a looped synthesizer, a flourish of reeds, a child’s conversation, each uncanny sound perfectly placed, rippling out under a soft breeze.

Lay in bed alone at night and ask aloud to the stillness,

“What were you doing at the Albuquerque Airport?
What were you doing there??”

And hear your question answered by a dream of swelling, undulating cellos. Try to grasp at the melody and structure. It’s not an answer (if there could be one), but it moves deeper, closer to the weird layer of fleeting moments and disconnected images, barely perceptible at its core. Wait for the dream reel to click into place.

Eliza took me for a ride in Nicole (her beloved Dodge Grand Caravan) and told me she’d been thinking of the album as an embodiment of transition – and I think every transition, known or unknown, carries the weight of new meaning, skittering off the surface tension of life as you know it, creating ripples, sometimes bouncing off and sometimes breaking through. There is a trick you can use to tell if a dough is glutinous enough. You’re supposed to stretch it out as thin as you can without breaking it and hold it up to the light. If you can see through, even if it renders the world murky and uncertain, you should leave it alone. I love this trick. It’s one that Eliza seems to know intuitively: work gently and ask questions and don’t always expect answers, and when you can, take a glimpse at something new, and then leave.

Kneading dough is tricky – you should know how it’s supposed to feel. If you try too hard you could make it worse. It’s a beautiful practice – creation with a gentle touch, to work at something so it can be left alone. “If it’s too drawn out it’s awful. It’s easy to give too much.” Dance in the mirror. Contemplate your veiny hands. Who do they remind you of?

You begin by mixing flour and water. “What happens when your people die? Why’d they move the rock to the other side of Ulster Park?” Eliza Niemi asks two seemingly unrelated questions in a rising melody with guitar accompaniment, like fingers playing spider up to the nape of your neck. Gentle pressure. Strands of gluten form to bind the mix. A new question lingers in the binding. When she admits “but I don’t know how to tell if I’m feeling it or not,” that question surfaces through the text. It is reiterated throughout the album. When I’m working with dough I think the same thing to myself.

On Progress Bakery, her second album as a solo artist, Eliza knows to leave some questions alone – to let juxtaposition and tension be the proof. It doesn’t have to be hard. The feelings and revelations they provoke rise in the heat. The smell is sweet. Crispy on the outside and soft all the way through. She playfully slip-slides through words and sounds and images, delighting in surprise, skimming ideas like stones cast across clear water, touching down briefly with uncommon grace.

The question provoked between those opening lines resurfaces in the strands between songs – “Do U FM” is fully formed and beautifully layered, while “Novelist Sad Face” is a short, acapella rendering of gentle curiosity. What is holding these ideas together? Some songs demand more, seem to carry a whole load – eventually the skipping stone will halt to sink and resume its idle duty – while others drift in and out of focus, the way thoughts and dreams become interwoven before the mind is sunk into true sleep.

Music and words don’t always have to interact. Where she decides to keep them apart gives a new contour to where and how she puts them together. The kind of thing you’re supposed to take for granted with songs and their singers comes alive in Eliza’s hands – the little miracle of mixing, kneading, stretching, and stopping.

So often on Progress Bakery, Eliza teases out truth and meaning by asking questions. “Do I wanna be crying?” “Do you want me good or do you want me bad?” “Do I need an eye test?” “I’m writing songs in my head while you’re going over stuff with me — is that cruel??” In “Pocky” Eliza ends with a question that feels to me like the actual biography, succinct and revealing:

I don’t wanna be made to see
I just wanna ask “what’s that?”

Grace that ought to be rare, but in its care and precision is offered humbly, with great generosity, and without announcing itself. Eliza’s simple, miraculous music is given further form and shape by a group of collaborators – invaluable guest musicians Jeremy Ray, Evan Cartwright, Steven McPhail, Kenny Boothby, Ed Squires, Carolina Chauffe, Dorothea Paas, Louie Short, and Avalon Tassonyi. Together with Louie Short, who recorded, mixed, and produced the album along with Jeremy Ray and Lukas Cheung, Eliza has cultivated a richness in sound and texture that prods and provokes the ticklish ear. Barely audible guitar tinkering, a brief lo-fi field recording of trumpets, the harmonic clicking of a looped synthesizer, a flourish of reeds, a child’s conversation, each uncanny sound perfectly placed, rippling out under a soft breeze.

Lay in bed alone at night and ask aloud to the stillness,

“What were you doing at the Albuquerque Airport?
What were you doing there??”

And hear your question answered by a dream of swelling, undulating cellos. Try to grasp at the melody and structure. It’s not an answer (if there could be one), but it moves deeper, closer to the weird layer of fleeting moments and disconnected images, barely perceptible at its core. Wait for the dream reel to click into place.

Eliza took me for a ride in Nicole (her beloved Dodge Grand Caravan) and told me she’d been thinking of the album as an embodiment of transition – and I think every transition, known or unknown, carries the weight of new meaning, skittering off the surface tension of life as you know it, creating ripples, sometimes bouncing off and sometimes breaking through. There is a trick you can use to tell if a dough is glutinous enough. You’re supposed to stretch it out as thin as you can without breaking it and hold it up to the light. If you can see through, even if it renders the world murky and uncertain, you should leave it alone. I love this trick. It’s one that Eliza seems to know intuitively: work gently and ask questions and don’t always expect answers, and when you can, take a glimpse at something new, and then leave.

NOW Music is pleased to announce NOW Presents…Classic Soul, a stunning 5LP boxset of 85 of the greatest 60s & 70s Soul tracks ever... Out September 22nd!



LP1 opens with ‘I Say A Little Prayer’ from the “Queen of Soul”- Aretha Franklin, the peerless ‘Walk On By’ from Dionne Warwick and followed by massive hits from Marvin Gaye with the #1 ‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’ and Stevie Wonder’s ‘I Was Made To Love Her’, plus classic tracks from The Temptations and Otis Redding. Flip to the other side for legendary groups – The Supremes, The Ronettes, The Marvelettes, The Velvelettes and Martha Reeves & The Vandellas.



LP2 begins with the powerhouse vocals of Tina Turner (with Ike) on ‘River Deep, Mountain High’. Top tracks from the Jackson 5 & the Four Tops give way to a run of Northern Soul classics from Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons with ‘The Night’, ‘Tainted Love’ from Gloria Jones, Frank Wilson’s legendary ‘Do I Love You’, and ‘Green Onions’ from Booker T. & The M.G.'s. Side 2 begins with the superb vocals of Ben E. King with ‘Stand By Me’ and Percy Sledge with ‘When A Man Loves A Woman’. Another Otis Redding classic alongside the genius of both James Brown and Nina Simone brings this LP to a close.



The A-Side of LP3 kicks off with the signature smash from Aretha Franklin ‘Respect’ before the first UK #1 for the Motown label from The Supremes with ‘Baby Love’, and there’s still room for Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, The Drifters, and another #1 from Freda Payne. Side B begins with one of the most iconic and funky baselines ever on ‘Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone’ from The Temptations and the classic grooves ‘Move On Up’ from Curtis Mayfield, Isaac Hayes’ ‘Theme from “Shaft”’, the emphatic ‘War’ from Edwin Starr and the cool sophistication of ‘California Soul’ from Marlena Shaw lead to the closing track ‘Could It Be I’m Falling In Love’ from The Spinners.



LP4 begins with a run of beloved tracks from iconic artists opening with the politically charged masterpiece ‘What’s Going On’ from Marvin Gaye, followed by Al Green, Bill Withers and Billy Paul, plus The Stylistics and The Delfonics to add to the selection of celebrated groups on this release. The second side begins with the exceptional ‘Killing Me Softly With His Song’ from Roberta Flack, before the stunning vocals of Minnie Riperton’s ‘Lovin’ You’ and Deniece Williams, The Three Degrees and Gladys Knight. The Jackson 5 bring this disc to a close with their timeless ballad ‘I’ll Be There’.



LP5 contains a run of 1970s favourites beginning with ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ from Diana Ross and ‘You're The First, The Last, My Everything’ from Barry White. ‘Fantasy’ from Earth, Wind & Fire, ‘Summer Breeze, Pt. 1’ from The Isley Brothers and ‘Love Train’ from The O’Jays all feature before the Commodores kick off the final side with ‘Three Times A Lady’. Rose Royce, Peaches & Herb and a second selection from Gladys Knight & The Pips feature along with George Benson, before the “Prince of Soul” Marvin Gaye brings this essential collection home with ‘Let’s Get It On’.



85 tracks across 5 stunning LPs, NOW Presents Classic Soul... Out September 22nd!

Bells Are Ringing is the debut EP by Melbourne Funk 10 piece outfit Mondo Freaks, released following on from the single of the same name and a thrilling Dub Version by Harvey Sutherland.

Mondo Freaks formed originally as a concept band, equipped with an ever-evolving setlist of late '70s and early '80s Funk classics, their journey has seen them invited to be the backing band for the Australian tours of such luminaries as Leroy Burgess (the producer and artist behind Boogie and Disco favourites Black Ivory, Logg, Aleem, Inner Life, and Universal Robot Band) and the iconic Evelyn "Champagne" King. Having performed at the iconic local Meredith Music, Golden Plains and Panama festivals and at numerous residencies Mondo Freaks have carved their mark, returning now to ring in a new era of groove-soaked original music.

The band revolves around the rhythm section of in demand session bassist Luke Hodgson and drummer Graeme Pogson (GL, The Bamboos). Gathering some of the finest musicians from Melbourne's legendary Soul scene, they're accompanied by five incredible vocalists including Jade McRae, Susie Goble, Francisco Tavares, Aaron Mendoza and Jason Heerah.

New tracks on the EP include "Find A Way", which hits straight away with a percussion and synth hook, blending Jade McCrae's vocal delivery with an uplifting message about finding hope in trying times.

Also included is the Harvey Sutherland Vocal Mix of "Bells Are Ringing", which keeps much of the spaced out Larry Levan, Shep Pettibone re-edit approach that was on his much lauded Dub Version.

It's easy to see why his remix skills have been in demand and utilised by Disclosure, Khruangbin, BadBadNotGood, Tycho, Boston Bun, Lucius, Jungle Giants, Genesis Owusu and Franc Moody. On his own releases Sutherland has collaborated with the likes of DāM FunK and Nubya Garcia.Tightening its hold on the dancefloor, the beefed-up rhythm section rolls deep into the nocturnal hours, as mesmerising reverb loops elevate the track skywards.

Luke and Graeme got to know Harvey Sutherland when they played together backing Leroy Burgesson his Australian tour in 2018. After that Luke and Graeme played in Harvey's live band across the world and then contributed his 'BOY' album. "We were thrilled when he turned in his Dub of "Bells"", Luke said. "A kind of 'what would Shep Pettibone or Larry Levan do?' moment. It's like being transported to Compass Point Studios in '81!"

Mondo Freaks make Funk inspired by late '70s / early '80s era as it gently moved beyond Disco. That era has continued to inspire many artists, but what sets Mondo Freaks apart is their live instrumentation plus a focus on vocals and great songwriting, creating something beyond simply instrumental grooves.In the studio and in their full live lineup Mondo Freaks are a formidable ensemble who take their sound beyond mere homage, without a hint of irony or any knowing winks. Mondo Freaks simply breathe life into a timeless sound and make it feel more relevant than ever.

Produced by Scott McCannell and mixed by Kelly Finnigan of Monophonics, Record Kicks presents two brand new single from Canadian rising soul star Tanika Charles on limited edition clear 45 vinyl. “Don’t Like You Anymore and “Here When You’re Ready” are taken from the highly anticipated new album “Reasons To Stay” from the Twice JUNO nominated and two time Polaris Prize listed, Tanika Charles that is coming out in May 2025 via Record Kicks. On the A side “Don't Like You Anymore” is a mid tempo gospel funk stormer able to set the dancefloor on fire. With its boom bap smacked drums and chunky basslines, it will not be a surprise if rap/hip hop artists will get on it to sample the song. The B side “Here When You’re Ready” is an equally strong mid tempo soul number that makes this limited edition 45 vinyl a real double sider. Canadian Soul/R&B powerhouse Tanika Charles in a few years has transformed from an emerging solo artist to a commanding performer and bandleader, a staple in the Canadian soul scene. The success of her three studio album "Soul Run" (2017), "The Gumption" (2019) and “Papillon De Nuit” (2022) propelled Tanika in front of new audiences far and wide, with extensive touring in North America and Europe where she performed at Trans Musicales Festival in France, the Lärz, Germany Fusion Festival, Mostly Funk & Soul Festival and Jazz Festival in UK, the Holy Groove Festival in Switzerland, and the Canarias Jazz Festival in Spain just to name a few. Her touring career has also seen her supporting the likes of Estelle, Mayer Hawthorne, Haitus Kayote, Lauryn Hill, Bendouin Soundclash and Macy Gray

Mr. K with two slices of Philadelphia disco, from smooth and slinky on our A-side to all-out floor pounding disco madness on the B.

Janice McClain, rightly adored for her Garage classic “Smack Dab In The Middle” (feat. on MXMRK-2068) but her second single is a real under-the-radar treat. The comfortably laid back groove somewhere between a stepper and simmering midtempo disco, classy and danceable as the finest Philly soul. Originally on a small LA-based label in 1983 (and sounding like it could have come out a good five years earlier), written and produced by McClain’s uncle Milt Tennant and his writing partner Thom Page, the same team responsible for “Smack Dab” — all Philadelphia rooted, so the sound should come as no surprise. Add McClain’s heartfelt and uplifting vocal and we easily have a lost classic. Mr. K’s edit trims the rare 12-inch version down for maximum sonic fidelity for its first appearance in a 7-inch format.

The flip side vibe goes in a completely different direction, although once again has its roots in Philly. The disco remake of the standard “Brazil” was a massive hit for the Ritchie Family in 1975, topping Billboard’s dance charts and getting deep into the Top 20 on the Hot 100. The group itself was a studio concoction led by veteran producer Richie Rome, with legendary trio Sweethearts of Sigma handling vocals — you’ll recognize their trademark harmonies from other huge classics like “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now” and “Love Is The Message", studious listeners will detect a lot of similarities in the vamp section of “Brazil” and “Love Is…” as the MFSB house band launches into their trademark groove. This vamp section is unfortunately truncated on the original 7-inch single, but the always-attentive ear of Mr. K picks this point to begin his edit, starting where the original single faded out and giving us a full four-plus minutes of galloping disco delight.

Two flavors, both as tasty as it gets, all on one compact piece of wax! Another essential addition to your collection.

Toy Tonics Music Berlin presents "Para Mytho Disco". The 2nd "Kapote" album of label founder and creative director Mathias Modica.
Keyboarder, DJ, producer, music nerd, graphic designer, multi-instrumentalist, sub-culture impressario and artist (formerly known as Munk of Gomma records.)

Kapote & Toy Tonics
In the last years Kapote was in the spotlight mainly for building the Toy Tonics label with his friends. Developing a platform for new positive quality dance music with a human touch. Toy Tonics is the opposite of the dark, druggy Techno and Trance sounds of the last years.
The warm inclusive music of Toy Tonics represents a new vibe that a young generation of diverse, stylish and culturally intersted generation of dancers loves now. Kapote's Toy Tonics became the key label for that vibe. (In 2024 Toy Tonics made 150 Toy Tonics events in 18 countries. With more than 150.000 people dancing. 90 millions streams on their music.)
Toy Tonics is more than a music label: It's a audio - visual universe. A community, almost a movement.
Based on a new positive attitude and aesthetic diversity. Mixing musicianship with DJ culture, analogue music with electronic, ideas from the past with sounds from now. To create something new. Connecting dance music with graphic design, art and underground fashion.
Kapote and his gang release vinyl, posters, shirts, art fanzines and make exhibitions and partys.

Toy Tonics started in Berlin as a underground niche project. But now became the key label of the new house, wild style disco and organic dance music scene.
Probably one of Berlin's biggest electronic music phenomena along with Keinemusik and Live from Earth.

It went fast: 2020 Kapote's crew started to make small parties in Berlin's off spaces. The "Toy Tonics Jams". The parties became "talk of the town", and Berlin clubs like Griesmühle and Panorama Bar invited the crew. Then international clubs and festival called. Toy Tonics were invited to SONAR (playing the mainstage with Kaytranada and DJ Tennis), KALA festival, Montreux Jazz festival.
Now TT has a residency at Panorama Bar Berlin and sold out events in Europe leading clubs like Phonox in London, Rex Club in Paris, Tunnel in Milan.
Toy Tonics now is the reference brand of a new generation of music loving dancers. Similar to Gomma records, Kapote's former label (2003 - 2015) that was one of the key labels of the "indie dance" scene of the Y2K years (along with DFA and Output Records).

Kapote created a multi-cultural movement with graphic designers, photographers, illustrators from the Berlin scene.
They publish the Toy Tonics Pocket Poster magazine, posters and design shirts. They organize the Toy Tonics Pop Up Galleries mixing music and art. In underground venues in Berlin and in new gallery spaces and museums around Europe.
Toy Tonics has been invited by Palais de Tokio museum in Paris, Triennale Museum Berlin, Design week Milano to create events.
The new Kapote album
The 12 tracks have a very own style. Based on dance music, but going much further. "Para Mytho Disco' is a futuristic mix of sounds. It's far away from the dark monotone techno and trance music from Kapote's hometown Berlin. Instead, he creates warm friendly atmospheres full of sonic colours and little musical surprises.
Kapote's knowlege of music history and his backround as a jazz piano student and son of classic music composer is clearly inside this music. Before turning into a DJ and electronic music producer he has been playing in bands since he was 13 years old.
The album is full of emotional chord progressions played by Kapote on various keyboards. Sometimes reminding music from the past, without being retro at all. The basslines and melodies are inspired by jazz fusion from the 1970ies. And he programmed syncopated grooves that come from afro-american dance music. There are influences from Japanese electronic music (Yellow Magic Orchestra), from 1980s Synthwave and from 1990s electronica (like Squarepusher and Luke Vibert).

Kapote plays keys, bass, flutes and percussions, he plays synth solos and sings on a few tracks. The complexity of the arrangements makes this music never boring. Lot of melodies and solos that catch the listener. Colourful soundscapes that make you want to listen or dance to this album more, and discover details also after you heard it several times.

Kapote background

Before starting Toy Tonics, Kapote used to run a label called Gomma. He produced four albums under the name Munk and music for other artists.
He produced music with Peaches, Franz Ferdinand founder Nick McCarthy, with New York street art legend The Rammellzee, Italian actress Asia Argento, the first three albums of WhoMadeWho and worked with LCD Soundsystem (listen to "Kick out the chairs", the Munk song with James Murphy )
In those "Gomma days" Kapote aka Munk was also one of the main DJs for VICE magazine parties and made music for art projects and fashion brands (Margiela, Prada, Colette).
In 2015 he stopped Munk and Gomma and started Toy Tonics. He found young producers and helped to develop their sound (Coeo, Cody Currie, Gee Lane, Barbara Boeing, Sam Ruffillo). Later he founded the sublabel Kryptox to release music by Berlin based bands that make new forms of jazz or neo classical sounds.

Under the name Kapote Mathias didnt release much:
Only his Kapote debut album "What it is" (2019) and an EP called "Electric Slide" (2022) and a collabo EP with Italian producer Sam Ruffillo ("Robot Salsa").

An although his Munk and Kapote music was an underground phenomena his music has always been a favourite of many great people from the scene.
Supported by DJs like Harvey, Chromeo, Moodymann, Jennifer Cardini, Gerd Janson, MYD, Andrew Weatherall to Blessed Madonna, Justice and Laurent Garnier… to name just a few.

Auf dem vierten Album von Chrystia Cabral als SPELLLING verwandelt die Künstlerin aus der Bay Area ihr gefeiertes Avant-Pop-Projekt in einen Spiegel. Cabrals Texte auf „Portrait of My Heart“ befassen sich mit Liebe, Intimität, Angst und Entfremdung und tauschen den allegorischen Ansatz vieler ihrer früheren Werke gegen einen Blick in ihr menschliches Herz. Die thematische Unverblümtheit des Albums spiegelt sich in den Arrangements wider und macht es zum bisher schärfsten und direktesten SPELLLING-Album. Vom düsteren Minimalismus ihrer frühesten Musik über den üppig orchestrierten Prog-Pop von „The Turning Wheel“ aus dem Jahr 2021 bis hin zu diesem neuen energiegeladenen Ausdruck ihres kreativen Geistes hat Cabral immer wieder bewiesen, dass SPELLLING alles sein kann, was sie braucht. Der Titeltrack mit seinem treibenden Drum-Groove und dem hymnischen Refrain von „I don't belong here“ ist die stärkste Verkörperung der Hinwendung des Albums zu emotionaler Direktheit. Sobald sich die Hauptmelodie herauskristallisiert hatte, nutzte Cabral den Song als Werkzeug, um ihre Ängste als Performerin zu verarbeiten, und entschied sich für eine straffere, rockigere Komposition. Diese Transformation spiegelt die allgemeine Verlagerung des Albums in Richtung Energie und Unmittelbarkeit wider, die von der Kernband Wyatt Overson (Gitarre), Patrick Shelley (Schlagzeug) und Giulio Xavier Cetto (Bass) vorangetrieben wird, deren Zusammenarbeit neue Konturen des SPELLLING-Sounds offenbart. Cabral schreibt und demontiert immer noch alleine, aber die Präsentation der Songs für „Portrait of My Heart“ vor ihren Bandkollegen hat ihr geholfen, die späteren lebendigen, organischen Formen zu entdecken. Das gilt auch für die Zusammenarbeit mit einem Produzententrio: Drew Vandenberg, der Tontechniker von „The Turning Wheel“, Rob Bisel, der mit SZA zusammenarbeitet, und Psymun, der Produzent von Yves Tumor. Wichtige Gastbeiträge prägen das Album zusätzlich. Chaz Bear (Toro y Moi) liefert SPELLLINGs erstes Duett auf „Mount Analogue“, Turnstile-Gitarrist Pat McCrory verwandelt Cabrals ursprüngliches Piano-Demo für „Alibi“ in die knackige, rifflastige Version, die auf dem Album zu hören ist, während Braxton Marcellous von Zulu „Drain“ seine schlammige Wucht verleiht. Diese Teile fügen sich nicht nur nahtlos in das Album ein, sie fühlen sich wie ein integraler Bestandteil seines Universums an. Letztendlich ist Portrait of My Heart jedoch niemandes Platte, sondern die von Cabral. Sie zieht furchtlos den Vorhang über Teile ihrer selbst zurück, die sie in SPELLLING noch nie gezeigt hat - ihre Gefühle als Außenseiterin, ihre übermäßig vorsichtige Art, die Art und Weise, wie sie sich rücksichtslos in intime Beziehungen stürzen kann, um sie dann genauso schnell wieder abzubrechen. „Es ist wie ein offenes Tagebuch all dieser Empfindungen“, sagt sie.

Auf dem vierten Album von Chrystia Cabral als SPELLLING verwandelt die Künstlerin aus der Bay Area ihr gefeiertes Avant-Pop-Projekt in einen Spiegel. Cabrals Texte auf „Portrait of My Heart“ befassen sich mit Liebe, Intimität, Angst und Entfremdung und tauschen den allegorischen Ansatz vieler ihrer früheren Werke gegen einen Blick in ihr menschliches Herz. Die thematische Unverblümtheit des Albums spiegelt sich in den Arrangements wider und macht es zum bisher schärfsten und direktesten SPELLLING-Album. Vom düsteren Minimalismus ihrer frühesten Musik über den üppig orchestrierten Prog-Pop von „The Turning Wheel“ aus dem Jahr 2021 bis hin zu diesem neuen energiegeladenen Ausdruck ihres kreativen Geistes hat Cabral immer wieder bewiesen, dass SPELLLING alles sein kann, was sie braucht. Der Titeltrack mit seinem treibenden Drum-Groove und dem hymnischen Refrain von „I don't belong here“ ist die stärkste Verkörperung der Hinwendung des Albums zu emotionaler Direktheit. Sobald sich die Hauptmelodie herauskristallisiert hatte, nutzte Cabral den Song als Werkzeug, um ihre Ängste als Performerin zu verarbeiten, und entschied sich für eine straffere, rockigere Komposition. Diese Transformation spiegelt die allgemeine Verlagerung des Albums in Richtung Energie und Unmittelbarkeit wider, die von der Kernband Wyatt Overson (Gitarre), Patrick Shelley (Schlagzeug) und Giulio Xavier Cetto (Bass) vorangetrieben wird, deren Zusammenarbeit neue Konturen des SPELLLING-Sounds offenbart. Cabral schreibt und demontiert immer noch alleine, aber die Präsentation der Songs für „Portrait of My Heart“ vor ihren Bandkollegen hat ihr geholfen, die späteren lebendigen, organischen Formen zu entdecken. Das gilt auch für die Zusammenarbeit mit einem Produzententrio: Drew Vandenberg, der Tontechniker von „The Turning Wheel“, Rob Bisel, der mit SZA zusammenarbeitet, und Psymun, der Produzent von Yves Tumor. Wichtige Gastbeiträge prägen das Album zusätzlich. Chaz Bear (Toro y Moi) liefert SPELLLINGs erstes Duett auf „Mount Analogue“, Turnstile-Gitarrist Pat McCrory verwandelt Cabrals ursprüngliches Piano-Demo für „Alibi“ in die knackige, rifflastige Version, die auf dem Album zu hören ist, während Braxton Marcellous von Zulu „Drain“ seine schlammige Wucht verleiht. Diese Teile fügen sich nicht nur nahtlos in das Album ein, sie fühlen sich wie ein integraler Bestandteil seines Universums an. Letztendlich ist Portrait of My Heart jedoch niemandes Platte, sondern die von Cabral. Sie zieht furchtlos den Vorhang über Teile ihrer selbst zurück, die sie in SPELLLING noch nie gezeigt hat - ihre Gefühle als Außenseiterin, ihre übermäßig vorsichtige Art, die Art und Weise, wie sie sich rücksichtslos in intime Beziehungen stürzen kann, um sie dann genauso schnell wieder abzubrechen. „Es ist wie ein offenes Tagebuch all dieser Empfindungen“, sagt sie.

Whipped up in the dust of Rene & Rene’s Tejano tornado “Angelito,” the Dynamic label was just one among San Antonio record and real estate mogul Abe Epstein’s enterprises. Dynamic’s flagship outfit, the Commands, marched “No Time For You” up to the middle of the charts in 1966 with performance chops honed jet-sharp by the demanding Air Force Base circuit. That take off paved a runway for 20 more soulful Dynamic singles over an impressive 30-month campaign. Epstein’s open-door policy brought a diverse cross-section of Texas talent into convergence within his General McMullan Drive studio, as whites, blacks, and Latinos alike suited up for service in whichever new group the call of duty called for. Epstein’s Alamo City melting pot is ladled out here in 21 (28 on the 2LP) of Dynamic’s most intriguing dishes by the Tonettes, Little Jr. Jesse & the Tear Drops, Don & the Doves, Willie Cooper & the Webs, Bobby Blackmon & His Soul Express, and Doc & Sal. Lone Star pic sleeves, full-color dancehall photography, and rich ephemera plant a new flag for soul in soil that’s seen its share of hoisted banners.

The Jazz scene pays tribute to one of the greatest artist of all time. This time the IN JAZZ Collection focusses on Paul Mac Cartney with smooth jazz covers of some of the best titles composed by the great Macca !

Repress on Limited Crystal Clear Vinyl and Black Vinyl to coincide with new album ‘Daylight’ release

The album was recorded at the top of an East London tower block, mixed in a beach hut on Camber Sands and gilded by Bollywood strings is already setting its sights hide and wide, but when the sound and vision encompasses panoramic electronic soul laced with a viscerally personal reaction to the mad times we’re living through, we’re in the presence of something special

Our two British protagonists are Sean Dickson, a former indie star who reinvented himself as an electronic adventurist - musician, DJ, producer – whose last album Ft. featured a stellar line-up of guest vocalists, including Yoko Ono, Fred Schneider (B- 52’s), Alan Vega, Crystal Waters (fronting ‘Testify’, which topped the US Billboard dance chart) and David McAlmont - the last, a thrilling singing sensation with an illustrious history, from indie-soul pioneers Thieves and the legendary McAlmont & Butler to purer soul and jazz recordings and a striking collaboration with minimalist composer Michael Nyman.

Originally released in 1971, produced by the legendary Sandy Roberton and featuring the likes of Richard & Danny Thompson, Keith Christmas and members of Mighty Baby & Fotheringay, the album has been talked about in glowing terms by an ever increasing fanbase over the years & is highly sought after. It’s a beautiful mixture of folk, psychedelic flourishes and adventurous production combining majestically with Shelagh’s exquisite songwriting and purity of voice. It will immediately appeal to fans of Pentangle, Incredible String Band and Joni Mitchell, as well as the solo records from members of some of the biggest U.S. bands of the 1970s; David Crosby’s ‘If Only I Could remember My Name’ and Gene Clark’s ‘No Other’, and is presented here for the first time ever on vinyl re-issue.

Born in Edinburgh in 1948 before moving to Glasgow and attending the Glasgow School of Art, Shelagh McDonald’s reputation grew rapidly on the London and Bristol folk circuit, gaining a cult following. In her early twenties she cut her first album titled simply ‘Shelagh McDonald’, the following year entering the studio with producer Sandy Roberton (Ian Matthews, John Martyn, Chocolate Watch Band, Steeleye Span) to cut ‘Stargazer’. Unfortunately for Shelagh, following a bad LSD experience, she withdrew from not only the music industry but public life shortly before commencing work on her third album.

However, it is ‘Stargazer’ that continues to grow its reputation, with original copies changing hands for hundreds of pounds.

Imbued with the finest instrumentation and vocal delicacy in late ‘60s folk, the record is heightened by a progressive production approach; the slow organ grooviness in the traditional ‘Dowie Dens of Yarrow’, uplifting gospel overtones of ‘Odyssey’ and the perfect match of melancholic piano and haunting strings by Robert Kirby on the title track. These sublime arrangements all serve Shelagh’s songwriting and soulful voice that invoke the finest folk traditions but at the same time look forward.

The album is the inaugural release on new label Different Strokes For Different Folks with more genre bending, rare and cult records scheduled for 2025.

Founded by Robbie Redway and psychedelic researchers Mathieu Seynaeve and WaiFung Tsang, UK-based 'United Freedom Collective' has grown into a network of artists including Jordan Stephens, Falle Nioke, Eliza Shaddad, Labdi, William Rees and Facesoul. Originally conceived around psychedelic therapy sessions, online yoga and breathwork channels, the musical scope has expanded on each of the four EPs released on Maribou State's 'Dama Dama' label, and here continues with their debut on Multi Culti. This time Robbie takes the lead on production and sole vocal duties on all five tracks, presenting a range of influences and style. Lead single 'Between Memories' blends tropes of ecstatic dance with uplifting vocal piano house, somehow making flutes fit in with Detroit strings to epic, hands-in-the-air effect.' Title track ‘Bright Patterns’ bridges the gap between Jungle, Jai Paul, and Jamiroquai, a fusion of funky filtered disco-house and electroclash with side-chained pop vocal hooks. ’El Yo’ smooths things out, a dope, laid back groove with a measured reflection on psychedelic healing and the perils of spiritual bypassing. ‘Higher Drums’ warms things back up for the dancefloor with trumpet, afro-latin percussion, and flute flourishes. Finally, ‘Moonshine’ is a soaring, Amapiano-inflected post-desert-house ballad. Influenced, in their words, 'by birds, trees, Buddhism, yoga, headless way meditations, Jungian analysis, Zen Taoism, Chinese plant medicines, indigeneity, Amazonian and psychedelic cultures, icaros and world healing traditions,' the music is eclectic, ranging from afro-inspired jazz to Chinese folk, psych-rock to dub and dance music, an ambitious and inclusive range, collabs that extend well beyond the borders of western musical traditions. Their sound was described by Clash Magazine as an 'aural mosaic that glitters with colour and potential,' and while the sheen of the production and precision of the arrangements might seem a departure from Multi Culti's left-field endeavours, the psychedelic idealism and global connectivity make it a natural fit with the open-ended ethos of the label. Having already had radio support from KEXP, BBC6 Music (Laverne, Ravenscroft, Charles, Nemone, Letts), Jazz FM and Worldwide FM (Gilles Peterson), with a live show that sold out Dalston Curve Garde and The Waiting Room as well as supporting Maribou State for their recent comeback show at Islington Assembly Hall in London the collective's future is looking exceptionally bright.

Jetzt gibt es endlich das Debutalbum "Rapper's Delight" der Ausnahmeproduzentin Melbeatz. Obwohl Optik's First Lady bis jetzt noch keinen eigenen Release veröffentlicht hat, wählten sie die JUICE Leser zwei Jahre in Folge auf Platz 1 (2004) und Platz 2 (2003) in der Kategorie "Best Producer". Kein Wunder, da sie ja unter anderem das Top 10 Album "Der Beste Tag Meines Lebens" von Kool Savas komplett alleine produzierte.
"Rapper's Delight" sollte eigentlich ihre erste eigenständige Eintrittskarte für den deutschen Markt werden, möglicherweise beinhaltet es aber bereits das Ticket bis in die USA. Der internationalen Qualität ihrer Produktionen wegen genauso, wie dank der Unzahl höchst prominenter Gastfeatures: Kanye West (verantwortlich für diverse US-Billboard-No.1´s), Mobb Deep, die Alkoholiks, Ol´ Dirty Bastard oder Thirstin Howl (um nur einige zu nennen) haben sich alle einen höchst eigenständigen Beat der Künstlerin gepickt. Hochkarätige deutsche Gäste wie Xavier Naidoo, Curse, Cassandra Steen (Glashaus), Eizi Eiz (Beginner), Mieze von Mia, die komplette Optik Army und nicht zuletzt die lang antizipierte Berlin-Hamburg-Kollabo Kool Savas-Samy Deluxe machen das Line Up komplett.

Eine Stadt, erbaut aus purem Gold. Das kann nicht mehr als eine Legende sein. Oder gibt es sie, verborgen in der Wildnis, etwa doch?Das möchte auch Professor Mathewson herausfinden, doch ausgerechnet seine eigene Tochter stiehlt ihm seine Forschungsunterlagen. Verzweifelt wendet er sich an die Drei ???. Die Detektive kennen Barbara und können sich nicht erklären, warum sie ihren Vater hintergeht und dann spurlos verschwindet. Weiß Barbara mehr über die Landkarte, die angeblich den Weg zur sagenumwobenen Stadt weist? Justus, Peter und Bob übernehmen den Fall.

Kneading dough is tricky – you should know how it’s supposed to feel. If you try too hard you could make it worse. It’s a beautiful practice – creation with a gentle touch, to work at something so it can be left alone. “If it’s too drawn out it’s awful. It’s easy to give too much.” Dance in the mirror. Contemplate your veiny hands. Who do they remind you of?

You begin by mixing flour and water. “What happens when your people die? Why’d they move the rock to the other side of Ulster Park?” Eliza Niemi asks two seemingly unrelated questions in a rising melody with guitar accompaniment, like fingers playing spider up to the nape of your neck. Gentle pressure. Strands of gluten form to bind the mix. A new question lingers in the binding. When she admits “but I don’t know how to tell if I’m feeling it or not,” that question surfaces through the text. It is reiterated throughout the album. When I’m working with dough I think the same thing to myself.

On Progress Bakery, her second album as a solo artist, Eliza knows to leave some questions alone – to let juxtaposition and tension be the proof. It doesn’t have to be hard. The feelings and revelations they provoke rise in the heat. The smell is sweet. Crispy on the outside and soft all the way through. She playfully slip-slides through words and sounds and images, delighting in surprise, skimming ideas like stones cast across clear water, touching down briefly with uncommon grace.

The question provoked between those opening lines resurfaces in the strands between songs – “Do U FM” is fully formed and beautifully layered, while “Novelist Sad Face” is a short, acapella rendering of gentle curiosity. What is holding these ideas together? Some songs demand more, seem to carry a whole load – eventually the skipping stone will halt to sink and resume its idle duty – while others drift in and out of focus, the way thoughts and dreams become interwoven before the mind is sunk into true sleep.

Music and words don’t always have to interact. Where she decides to keep them apart gives a new contour to where and how she puts them together. The kind of thing you’re supposed to take for granted with songs and their singers comes alive in Eliza’s hands – the little miracle of mixing, kneading, stretching, and stopping.

So often on Progress Bakery, Eliza teases out truth and meaning by asking questions. “Do I wanna be crying?” “Do you want me good or do you want me bad?” “Do I need an eye test?” “I’m writing songs in my head while you’re going over stuff with me — is that cruel??” In “Pocky” Eliza ends with a question that feels to me like the actual biography, succinct and revealing:

I don’t wanna be made to see
I just wanna ask “what’s that?”

Grace that ought to be rare, but in its care and precision is offered humbly, with great generosity, and without announcing itself. Eliza’s simple, miraculous music is given further form and shape by a group of collaborators – invaluable guest musicians Jeremy Ray, Evan Cartwright, Steven McPhail, Kenny Boothby, Ed Squires, Carolina Chauffe, Dorothea Paas, Louie Short, and Avalon Tassonyi. Together with Louie Short, who recorded, mixed, and produced the album along with Jeremy Ray and Lukas Cheung, Eliza has cultivated a richness in sound and texture that prods and provokes the ticklish ear. Barely audible guitar tinkering, a brief lo-fi field recording of trumpets, the harmonic clicking of a looped synthesizer, a flourish of reeds, a child’s conversation, each uncanny sound perfectly placed, rippling out under a soft breeze.

Lay in bed alone at night and ask aloud to the stillness,

“What were you doing at the Albuquerque Airport?
What were you doing there??”

And hear your question answered by a dream of swelling, undulating cellos. Try to grasp at the melody and structure. It’s not an answer (if there could be one), but it moves deeper, closer to the weird layer of fleeting moments and disconnected images, barely perceptible at its core. Wait for the dream reel to click into place.

Eliza took me for a ride in Nicole (her beloved Dodge Grand Caravan) and told me she’d been thinking of the album as an embodiment of transition – and I think every transition, known or unknown, carries the weight of new meaning, skittering off the surface tension of life as you know it, creating ripples, sometimes bouncing off and sometimes breaking through. There is a trick you can use to tell if a dough is glutinous enough. You’re supposed to stretch it out as thin as you can without breaking it and hold it up to the light. If you can see through, even if it renders the world murky and uncertain, you should leave it alone. I love this trick. It’s one that Eliza seems to know intuitively: work gently and ask questions and don’t always expect answers, and when you can, take a glimpse at something new, and then leave.

Welcome to KOKO, Lottery Winners’ most adventurous album, while also home to their most infectious songs yet. Having played to over half-a-million people at their shows in 2024 alone, it’s a captivating album which will only see that fanbase continue to grow.Short for Keep On Keeping On, KOKO’s 12 tracks include a beautiful ode to friendship, a deliriously catchy duet with Reverend And The Makers’ Jon McClure about being unhealthily obsessed with your ex, a literally escapist chantalong funk anthem, a power ballad featuring Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger, a tender song of regret, plus the most uplifting, celebratory songs about panic attacks, ADHD and being expelled from school you’ll ever hear. There’s even a dance routine. Following on from The Lottery Winners’ third album ART (Anxiety Replacement Therapy) reached No 1 in May 2023. This is set to be another big release.

After many years of artistic collaboration, the long-awaited album, KILLING TIME, bringing together London-based MC Killa P and Italian Bass music collective Numa Crew, has finally arrived.

Killa P, a name synonymous with potent lyricism and raw energy in the Grime scene, delivers a vocal masterclass throughout his debut long-player, soundtracked by the stellar production of the Numa Crew. Together they expertly navigate genres including dubstep, grime, dub, and jungle, while maintaining a distinct and cohesive musical identity.

Not simply a collection of individual tracks, Killing Time is a meticulously crafted journey through sound system music. There are no stylistic boundaries, as the long-player encompasses the entire musical spectrum that unites the Italian crew with the London-based MC, with Killa P free to showcase his evolution as an artist. Alongside them, the album also brings together a diverse cast of friends and collaborators, vocalists, and producers, each adding their own unique flavor.

From the pulsating dubstep-infused Boys in Blue, a searing commentary on social inequality, to the reggae-tinged steppa tune Love Inna We Heart featuring Charlie P and Long Range, a plea for unity and love, Killa P's lyrical dexterity shines.

Tracks such as Champion Sound, Badman City Pt.2 featuring the French Ragga legend Big Red, and No Laugh featuring Big Chain and Bristol’s Buggsy are a nod to Killa P's roots, beautifully showcasing his mastery of grime's signature sound, while the sped-up tempos of the Fleck collaboration Jungle Leng, and Can't Get Me Down featuring Ras Demo, inject a jolt of Junglist attitude. Different Life is a vibrant ‘carnival’ jam, that infuses grime and dancehall moods and sees the great Lady Lykez on the second verse.

The album wraps on a contemplative note with Dreaming, a collaboration with Abstract Sonance, and Heartless, featuring Killa’s son GK on production, revealing an introspective note that adds yet more depth to Killa P's artistry.

As the album’s second track, Family, proclaims: ‘man a deal with family, not friends’ - a fitting line to define the album as a whole… An ode to the unity and strength of family.

Of all the artists who recorded for the Black Jazz label, keyboardist and composer Doug Carn was the most prolific, releasing four albums for the imprint. 1972’s Spirit of the New Land was his second Black Jazz release, but the first one (of two) to co-feature his wife, vocalist Jean Carn. It’s the most collectible of the bunch, showcasing Carn’s innovative approach of adding lyrics to jazz standards like Miles Davis’ “Blue in Green” and Lee Morgan’s “Search for the New Land,” while originals like “Arise and Shine” and “My Spirit” soar with spiritual fervor on the wings of his wife’s five-octave range.

Along for the ride are a stellar cast of players, including trumpeter Charles Tolliver, co-founder of the Strata-East label; saxophonist George Harper, who played with Herbie Hancock and Jimmy Smith among others; trombonist Garnett Brown, who appears on albums by Roland Kirk, Albert Ayler, and Art Blakey among his hundreds of album credits; tuba player Earl McIntyre, whose discography spans from Carla Bley to the Band; and drummer Alphonse Mouzon, founding member of Weather Report. This beautiful, uplifting album also comes with liner notes by Pat Thomas, author of Listen, Whitey! The Sights and Sounds of Black Power 1965-1975, that feature excerpts from a freewheeling interview conducted with Doug Carn himself. Pressed in blue with black swirl vinyl limited to 750 copies!

The late, great Calvin Keys’1971 debut album for the Black Jazz Records label announced the arrival of a new star in the jazz guitar firmament. Keys had spent the ‘60s backing up the crème de la crème of jazz organists—Jimmy Smith, Jimmy McGriff, Jack McDuff, Richard “Groove” Holmes—but for his first record as a leader, he was eager to play with a piano player instead. So he recruited one of the best—Larry Nash, who, besides being a member of the L.A. Express, played with everybody from Eddie Harris to Bill Withers to Etta James. Bassist Lawrence Evans, drummer Bob Braye, and flautist-songwriter Owen Marshall rounded out the group on Shawn-Neeq, which might remind some of Pat Metheny’s early work (Metheny acknowledges Keys as an influence), or Grant Green.

But what gives Shawn-Neeq extra depth is that it comes from the heart; as Keys says in Pat Thomas’ liner notes, which feature an interview with the artist: “My thing was, I write about some of the experiences that I’ve had in my life.” Keys became a fixture in the Bay Area jazz scene before he passed in April 2024; this is the album that started his journey. Another gem from the celebrated Black Jazz catalog, pressed in blue with black swirl vinyl limited to 750 copies!

Zum 10. Jubiläum farbiges Vinyl! Es war unvermeidlich: seit ihrer ersten Zusammenarbeit im Jahr 2012 für den Track "Tá bom" kreuzten sich ständig die Wege des MC und des Trios, entweder im Studio oder auf der Bühne. Es war dann an der Zeit, anlässlich des 10. Jahrestages des Labels auf der schönen Insel Réunion, bei einem Glas Rum und einer Zigarre, dass die Entscheidung getroffen wurde: Das Album "The Journey" wird im Herbst 2015 veröffentlicht und die Reise gestartet. Für die Produktion griffen die drei "Chinesen" ganz tief in die Plattenkkiste: Banjo-Methode, 30 Jahre Musik, Flöten aus den Anden, das Ziel ist einfach: aus dem geohnten Gebiet der Sample Digger auszubrechen und sich so weit weg wie möglich von Hip Hop zu entfernen, um dann wieder mit neuen Perspektiven zu starten. Die Texte von conscious rapper TUMI schwanken zwischen Ironie und Bitterkeit. Fünf der Titel wurden von Chinese Man produziert und eingespielt, einer von Leyan und Tomapam. Oben drauf runden sechs Instrumentalversionen das Album ab, darunter Beiträge von Hugo Kant, Le Syndicat Du Chrome und der Scratch Bandits Crew.

-Lagartijeando is synonymous with pushing the alt-Latin electronic scene forwards along with his contemporaries Nicola Cruz, Chancha Via Circuito and El Buho.
-7 Caminos marks Lagartijeando's 4th consecutive LP with Wonderwheel, following La Tercera Vision (2021), Jallalla (2019) and El Gran Poder (2017)
-The album was recorded between Cholula, Mexico and Tarapoto, Peru - it has the energy of the South American jungle and the volcanoes of the Mexican Altiplano.
-Touring Japan all of October 2024 with winter dates in Mexico and Latin America
-Lagartijeando has been releasing music since 2009 (both under that name and Mati Zundel). He's been associated with labels like ZZK (Nicola Cruz) and Waxploitation (Gnarls Barkley, Danger Mouse)
-His releases have sold over 15,000 physical units (Vinyl and CDs) and over 25 million cumulative streams across all DSPs
-Extensive press and blog coverage from the likes of The FADER, Vice, KCRW, NPR and many others.
-Past tour history includes dates throughout Latin America, Europe and Asia

-Lagartijeando is synonymous with pushing the alt-Latin electronic scene forwards along with his contemporaries Nicola Cruz, Chancha Via Circuito and El Buho.
-7 Caminos marks Lagartijeando's 4th consecutive LP with Wonderwheel, following La Tercera Vision (2021), Jallalla (2019) and El Gran Poder (2017)
-The album was recorded between Cholula, Mexico and Tarapoto, Peru - it has the energy of the South American jungle and the volcanoes of the Mexican Altiplano.
-Touring Japan all of October 2024 with winter dates in Mexico and Latin America
-Lagartijeando has been releasing music since 2009 (both under that name and Mati Zundel). He's been associated with labels like ZZK (Nicola Cruz) and Waxploitation (Gnarls Barkley, Danger Mouse)
-His releases have sold over 15,000 physical units (Vinyl and CDs) and over 25 million cumulative streams across all DSPs
-Extensive press and blog coverage from the likes of The FADER, Vice, KCRW, NPR and many others.
-Past tour history includes dates throughout Latin America, Europe and Asia

Soul Jazz Records' Studio One Showcase 45 features a roll call of classic Studio One
reggae legends including Horace Andy, Cornell Campbell, Bob Marley and The
Wailers, Jackie Mittoo, The Heptones, The Skatalites and more – seminal reggae
artists who all launched their careers at the legendary Studio One label.
The album was previously only ever released as a long-deleted limited-edition
seven-inch box set for Record Store Day. This album has now been expanded into a
super double-vinyl album edition as well as first time on CD, with both featuring a
massive eight bonus tracks of wicked Studio One classics and rarities. The album
also comes with newly commissioned sleeve and track notes by Noel Hawks.
Featuring seminal cuts like Bob Marley and The Wailer's original version of 'One
Love', Freddie McGregor's take on the classic 'Beat Down Babylon', Judah Eskender
Tafari's re-version of 'Danger In Your Eyes' plus more from The Skatalites, Lone
Ranger, Johnny Osbourne and more!

Mike Montgomery’s lifelong fascination with music began as a solitary endeavor. After secretly mining his dad’s record collection of golden 60s and 70s icons and tumbling headlong into 80s skateboard culture and its thrilling soundtrack, Mike learned guitar and started amassing songs on his Tascam Porta-Studio, chronicling hushed bedroom melodies with each new chord he discovered. Soon, he founded thistle, a wonderfully self-sufficient power trio that served as a rich opportunity to tinker with every stage of the music-making process. Through four LPs and two EPs between 1992-2013 and countless thistle shows criss-crossing North America, Mike discovered how to book a tour, repair equipment, run live sound, manage a label, build a studio, and foster a community of collaborators.

Inspired by R.Ring’s looseness and a growing confidence in spartan songwriting, Montgomery’s latest project - under the Nervous Verbs moniker - further peels back the layers of production and fussiness that might accompany access to a fully appointed studio. Instead of ensconcing himself in Candyland with limitless options, Montgomery treated his latest batch of songs as field recordings, often using phone memos to document melodies and entire performances at their inception, where and whenever they might materialize. He realized “there was something about the idea of noticing I had captured something of myself that I couldn’t recreate on subsequent attempts.” As he collected these home sketches, he shared them with friends (including Kelley Deal, Lori Goldston, Devin Ocampo, Joe Suer, Kate Wakefield, Rick McCarty, Adam Nurre, Matt Hart, Dan Dorff Jr., and Alexis Marsh) who responded with supportive contributions, fostering the initial sparks. “All of the extra tracks people sent me that I dressed the songs up with showed me that these were sturdy enough to hold those layers.”

Whipped up in the dust of Rene & Rene's Tejano tornado "Angelito," the Dynamic label was just one among San Antonio record and real estate mogul Abe Epstein's enterprises. Dynamic's flagship outfit, the Commands, marched "No Time For You" up to the middle of the charts in 1966 with performance chops honed jet-sharp by the demanding Air Force Base circuit. That takeoff paved a runway for 20 more soulful Dynamic singles over an impressive 30-month campaign. Epstein's open-door policy brought a diverse cross-section of Texas talent into convergence within his General McMullan Drive studio, as whites, blacks, and Latinos alike suited up for service in whichever new group the call of duty called for. Epstein's Alamo City melting pot is ladled out here in 21 (28 on the 2LP) of Dynamic's most intriguing dishes by the Tonettes, Little Jr. Jesse & the Tear Drops, Don & the Doves, Willie Cooper & the Webs, Bobby Blackmon & His Soul Express, and Doc & Sal. Lone Star pic sleeves, full-color dancehall photography, and rich ephemera plant a new flag for soul in soil that's seen its share of hoisted banners.

20 Jahre The Offenders in 2025! Und zum Jubiläum gibt's keine Nudeln von gestern neu aufgewärmt, sondern das brandheiße, nagelneue Gericht "Storm Over The Mainland" Das 10. Album der Offenders vereint in den neuen Songs alle Einflüsse und Stile der Band aus den letzten zwei Dekaden. Mit treibendem Offbeat des vorab im Januar erscheinenden "Partizani in Budapest" bis zum mit Mandoline untermalten Folk-Punk bei "Off My Chest", vom klasischen straight-foward Ska-Punks "The Way The People Think" bis zu den dominierenden Gitarrenriffs der Punkrock-Hymne "Sixteenth Round", ist es das abwechslungsreichste Album der Band. Ausgeklügeltem Songwriting, sich festsetzenden "catchy chorals" und einem perfekt abgestimmtem "kick-ass"-Sound, der für emsiges Treiben auf der Tanzfläche, vor der Bühne oder lautem Mitgröhlen sorgen dürfte! Von Anfang an engagieren und unterstützen die Offenders mit ihrer Musik und den Konzerten dabei die antifaschistische und antirassistische Bewegung weltweit. Egal ob in autonomen Jugendzentren und anderen Kultureinrichtungen, besetzten Häusern oder der Ultraszene beim Fußball quer durch ganz Europa - ihre Message ist eindeutig und findet sich selbstredend auch in den neuen Songs wieder. The Offenders sind beileibe keine Spaßkapelle, auch wenn ihre Musik davon eben jede Menge zu bieten hat. Vielleicht macht das ja auch ihren Erfolg, Glaubwürdigket und die stetig wachsende Beliebtheit seit 20 Jahren aus: "Storm Over The Mainland" jedenfalls ist jedenfalls ein Album mit Attitüde, wie es für ein Jubiläum nicht besser sein kann. Cheers & Ciao! 2005 wurden "The Offenders" um den charismatischen Sänger Valerio in Cosenza (Italien) gegründet, Ende 2008 zog es die Band in ihre neue Wahlheimat nach Berlin. Zu ihren prägendsten und bekanntesten Underground-Hits zählen unter anderem: "Hooligan Reggae" (ein Dancefloor-Klassiker vom gleichnamigen ersten Album, der weltweit in den Stadien zum Schlachtruf der antirassistischen Fans wurde) und "Marchez" (der rebellische Sound von Class of Nations - mit fast 2 Millionen Streams allein auf Spotify. The Offenders sind unzählige Male durch ganz Europa getourt, haben Russland, China zuletzt in Mexiko (Januar 2024) für ihre Konzerte bereist und sind regelmäßig Gast auf den internationalen Festival-Bühnen wie beim Mighty Sounds (Tschechien) - Rebellion (UK) - Spirit from the streets (DE), Sjock (BE) - Couvre Feu (FR) - Ruhrpott Rodeo (DE) - Los Almiros (GR) - Rudeboys Unity (CH) und viele weitere. Die Bühne teilten sie u.a. mitBad Religion, Nofx, Korn, Flogging Molly, Dropkick Murphys, Social Distortion, Uk Subs, Agnostic Front, Selecter, Discharge, Sick of it All, Real Mckenzies, Cock Sparrer, Slime, Antilopen Gang, Pennywise, Toy Dolls and many more!

20 Jahre The Offenders in 2025! Und zum Jubiläum gibt's keine Nudeln von gestern neu aufgewärmt, sondern das brandheiße, nagelneue Gericht "Storm Over The Mainland" Das 10. Album der Offenders vereint in den neuen Songs alle Einflüsse und Stile der Band aus den letzten zwei Dekaden. Mit treibendem Offbeat des vorab im Januar erscheinenden "Partizani in Budapest" bis zum mit Mandoline untermalten Folk-Punk bei "Off My Chest", vom klasischen straight-foward Ska-Punks "The Way The People Think" bis zu den dominierenden Gitarrenriffs der Punkrock-Hymne "Sixteenth Round", ist es das abwechslungsreichste Album der Band. Ausgeklügeltem Songwriting, sich festsetzenden "catchy chorals" und einem perfekt abgestimmtem "kick-ass"-Sound, der für emsiges Treiben auf der Tanzfläche, vor der Bühne oder lautem Mitgröhlen sorgen dürfte! Von Anfang an engagieren und unterstützen die Offenders mit ihrer Musik und den Konzerten dabei die antifaschistische und antirassistische Bewegung weltweit. Egal ob in autonomen Jugendzentren und anderen Kultureinrichtungen, besetzten Häusern oder der Ultraszene beim Fußball quer durch ganz Europa - ihre Message ist eindeutig und findet sich selbstredend auch in den neuen Songs wieder. The Offenders sind beileibe keine Spaßkapelle, auch wenn ihre Musik davon eben jede Menge zu bieten hat. Vielleicht macht das ja auch ihren Erfolg, Glaubwürdigket und die stetig wachsende Beliebtheit seit 20 Jahren aus: "Storm Over The Mainland" jedenfalls ist jedenfalls ein Album mit Attitüde, wie es für ein Jubiläum nicht besser sein kann. Cheers & Ciao! 2005 wurden "The Offenders" um den charismatischen Sänger Valerio in Cosenza (Italien) gegründet, Ende 2008 zog es die Band in ihre neue Wahlheimat nach Berlin. Zu ihren prägendsten und bekanntesten Underground-Hits zählen unter anderem: "Hooligan Reggae" (ein Dancefloor-Klassiker vom gleichnamigen ersten Album, der weltweit in den Stadien zum Schlachtruf der antirassistischen Fans wurde) und "Marchez" (der rebellische Sound von Class of Nations - mit fast 2 Millionen Streams allein auf Spotify. The Offenders sind unzählige Male durch ganz Europa getourt, haben Russland, China zuletzt in Mexiko (Januar 2024) für ihre Konzerte bereist und sind regelmäßig Gast auf den internationalen Festival-Bühnen wie beim Mighty Sounds (Tschechien) - Rebellion (UK) - Spirit from the streets (DE), Sjock (BE) - Couvre Feu (FR) - Ruhrpott Rodeo (DE) - Los Almiros (GR) - Rudeboys Unity (CH) und viele weitere. Die Bühne teilten sie u.a. mitBad Religion, Nofx, Korn, Flogging Molly, Dropkick Murphys, Social Distortion, Uk Subs, Agnostic Front, Selecter, Discharge, Sick of it All, Real Mckenzies, Cock Sparrer, Slime, Antilopen Gang, Pennywise, Toy Dolls and many more!

20 Jahre The Offenders in 2025! Und zum Jubiläum gibt's keine Nudeln von gestern neu aufgewärmt, sondern das brandheiße, nagelneue Gericht "Storm Over The Mainland" Das 10. Album der Offenders vereint in den neuen Songs alle Einflüsse und Stile der Band aus den letzten zwei Dekaden. Mit treibendem Offbeat des vorab im Januar erscheinenden "Partizani in Budapest" bis zum mit Mandoline untermalten Folk-Punk bei "Off My Chest", vom klasischen straight-foward Ska-Punks "The Way The People Think" bis zu den dominierenden Gitarrenriffs der Punkrock-Hymne "Sixteenth Round", ist es das abwechslungsreichste Album der Band. Ausgeklügeltem Songwriting, sich festsetzenden "catchy chorals" und einem perfekt abgestimmtem "kick-ass"-Sound, der für emsiges Treiben auf der Tanzfläche, vor der Bühne oder lautem Mitgröhlen sorgen dürfte! Von Anfang an engagieren und unterstützen die Offenders mit ihrer Musik und den Konzerten dabei die antifaschistische und antirassistische Bewegung weltweit. Egal ob in autonomen Jugendzentren und anderen Kultureinrichtungen, besetzten Häusern oder der Ultraszene beim Fußball quer durch ganz Europa - ihre Message ist eindeutig und findet sich selbstredend auch in den neuen Songs wieder. The Offenders sind beileibe keine Spaßkapelle, auch wenn ihre Musik davon eben jede Menge zu bieten hat. Vielleicht macht das ja auch ihren Erfolg, Glaubwürdigket und die stetig wachsende Beliebtheit seit 20 Jahren aus: "Storm Over The Mainland" jedenfalls ist jedenfalls ein Album mit Attitüde, wie es für ein Jubiläum nicht besser sein kann. Cheers & Ciao! 2005 wurden "The Offenders" um den charismatischen Sänger Valerio in Cosenza (Italien) gegründet, Ende 2008 zog es die Band in ihre neue Wahlheimat nach Berlin. Zu ihren prägendsten und bekanntesten Underground-Hits zählen unter anderem: "Hooligan Reggae" (ein Dancefloor-Klassiker vom gleichnamigen ersten Album, der weltweit in den Stadien zum Schlachtruf der antirassistischen Fans wurde) und "Marchez" (der rebellische Sound von Class of Nations - mit fast 2 Millionen Streams allein auf Spotify. The Offenders sind unzählige Male durch ganz Europa getourt, haben Russland, China zuletzt in Mexiko (Januar 2024) für ihre Konzerte bereist und sind regelmäßig Gast auf den internationalen Festival-Bühnen wie beim Mighty Sounds (Tschechien) - Rebellion (UK) - Spirit from the streets (DE), Sjock (BE) - Couvre Feu (FR) - Ruhrpott Rodeo (DE) - Los Almiros (GR) - Rudeboys Unity (CH) und viele weitere. Die Bühne teilten sie u.a. mitBad Religion, Nofx, Korn, Flogging Molly, Dropkick Murphys, Social Distortion, Uk Subs, Agnostic Front, Selecter, Discharge, Sick of it All, Real Mckenzies, Cock Sparrer, Slime, Antilopen Gang, Pennywise, Toy Dolls and many more!

On October 15th & 16th 2020, drummed Daniel Villarreal was joined by guitarist Jeff Parker and bassist Anna Butterss for two afternoons of recording in the backyard of Chicali Outpost in Los Angeles. For all three musicians, it was the first ensemble recording session they"d done in-person since the pandemic locked the world down just seven months prior. Some choice moments from the sessions made it onto Villarreal"s critically-acclaimed 2022 album Panamá 77, bust most of the music remained unreleased. Lados B is a deep dive into the high-level spontaneous music made by Villarreal, Parker and Butterss across those two days in 2020. Villarreal is heard leading the group through various rhythmic modes and structures for improvisation - flow as informed by the Latin soul of Fania Records as it is by the otherworldly trance of Brain Records - while Parker and Butterss draw on their extensive experience playing free together (as heard on Parker"s recently-released Mondays at the Enfield Tennis Academy, and the LA side of Makaya McCraven"s 2018 LP Universal Beings) to build harmonic buoys for their spontaneous melodicism. The result is a beautifully vivid illustration of context, creativity, and collective composition from a particularly rich moment in history.

X or Size deftly frays and soothes the ‘floor with a 3rd LP of craftily textured ambient house scuzz for Good Morning Tapes in a vein shared by Huerco S, NWAQ, Actress, Michael J.Blood and Madteo, but pushed farther into groggy and loosey-goose limbed abstraction.

Formerly known as part of ambient drone duo The Geese with Recital’s Sean McCann, and member of psychedelic mutators Regal Degal; Josiah Wolfson has, in recent years, come into his own as X Or Size, whilst retaining the trippy sense of play and experiment that coloured and defined earlier works. His 3rd outing as X Or Size continues a tradition of punning titles and subtly psyched-out, edge-of-the-‘floor dance music with six bits of submersed trippiness idealised for bobbing bodies with eyelids at halfmast, on a slow arc to other dimensions.

Blessed with the finest grasp of heady equilibrium, X Or Size pull strings like a gently psychoactive puppeteer on the 10-minute opener of dreamlike physics, and aching psych-soul downstroke of ‘Anonymous AD'. ’B O M H’ follows with thee gauziest breeze of filtered vox and harmonised textures rolled out in sun-dazed motion that makes us hanker for warmer times, and ‘Ceremonism’ sustains that flow with sloshing beatdown drums paced like an offcut of NWAQ’s ‘The Dead Bears’ marinaded with special ingredients by Madteo.

With minds/bodies well massaged and acclimated to his vibe, ‘oSSo’ screws off into even trippier zones with a nervy offbeat swing and parry spangled by wettest spring reverb, before bringing up for air in the 11 minute title piece of astral planing bliss, ready to roll another one or go head first into the pillow.

The voice of Ella Thompson has been a fundamental part of Naarm’s soul and funk history. She has toured and recorded with funk pioneers The Bamboos, lit up dancefloors with electronic duo GL and won hearts and minds across Australia with indie cult favourites Dorsal Fins. Ella now returns to her soul roots and releasing music under her own name with a brand new single ‘Cool Down My Heart’, self-produced in collaboration with multi instrumentalist Liam McGorry and featuring cameos by local heavyweights Hudson Whitlock (drums) and Will Morrisey (saxophone). Cool Down My Heart is a rich, imaginative, pop/soul track which foregrounds Ella’s beautiful voice and considerable songwriting skills.

f11 FLRNTN, Benjamin Duchenne - "Last Man Standing" (feat Sivan) (1:08)
f12 Nicholas Gunn & Harshil Kamdar - "Here I Am" (feat Alina Renae - Richard Durand remix) (1:08)
f13 DJ TH X TH3 ONE X Sue McLaren - "Everything To Me" (1:08)
f14 Matty Ralph - "Te Adoro" (1:08)
f15 Armin Van Buuren & Vini Vici - "Sarabande" (feat Anna Timofei) (1:08)
f16 Lilly Palmer - "Hare Ram" (1:08)
f17 David Forbes - "Techno Is My Only Drug" (1:08)
f18 Armin Van Buuren - "Blah Blah Blah" (Lilly Palmer remix) (1:08)
f19 Armin Van Buuren - "The Road To Your Destination" (A State Of Trance Year mix 2024 outro) (1:14)

4LP set containing 29 original / extended / full-length / 12” versions of Queer club classics – 1980-1989
‘More Sin’ features Pet Shop Boys, Sylvester, Divine, New Order, Eartha Kitt, Grace Jones, Hazell Dean, Desireless and many more.
Highlights include the hard-to-find 12” version of ‘Can’t Stop The Music’ by Village People and the rarely compiled underground club anthems ‘Pistol In My Pocket’ by Lana Pellay and ‘After The Rainbow’ by Joanne Daniëls.
All tracks fully annotated and with a foreword by Ian Wade – author ‘1984: The Year Pop Went Queer’. Following the success of the first ‘Box Of Sin’ in 2023, Demon / Edsel and Disco Discharge are proud to announce the sequel – ‘More Sin: Box of Sin 2’ will be released on 31st January 2025.

Over 4 LPs, ‘More Sin’ presents 29 choice selections from the music you might have heard on Queer dancefloors between 1980 and 1989 – a decade of dance in all its devilish delights. Meticulously researched from the published gay club charts at the time, the LP set encompasses full-length versions of Diva, High Energy, Alternative, Pop, Europop and House classics. Not only were the ‘80s Queer clubs where you were most likely to hear the latest groundbreaking developments in dance music, there was a lot of diversity on offer – on a given night you might hear a legendary soul singer’s new opus right next to some post-punks from Manchester and the latest European pop chart topper.

‘More Sin’ aims to reflect this. On ‘More Sin’, the space-age soulful club sound of Jean Carne rubs up against the widescreen Europop beauty of Desireless and cutting-edge house music from London courtesy of Wee Papa Girl Rappers… and along the way come some of the most important and era-defining artists of the decade – from Sylvester to Siouxsie & The Banshees, from Pet Shop Boys to Divine, from Hazell Dean to Grace Jones. Producing and mixing these classics is like a roll-call of the era’s studio giants – Trevor Horn, Larry Levan, Clivillés & Cole, Ian Levine, John Luongo, Bobby “O”, Martin Rushent and Stock, Aitken & Waterman to name a few. It’s time to give in to sin again.

Compton’s Most Wanted’s 1991 album Straight Checkn ‘Em is a classic in West Coast gangsta rap, delivering hard-hitting lyrics and gritty beats that capture the essence of early 90s Los Angeles street life. Led by MC Eiht, the group’s sophomore album, features standout tracks like “Growin’ Up in the Hood” and “They Still Gafflin’,” which offer raw commentary on urban struggles and survival. With its deep basslines, funky grooves, and unflinching storytelling, Straight Checkn ‘Em solidified Compton’s Most Wanted’s place in the gangsta rap movement alongside pioneers like N.W.A. Known for its realism and authenticity, the album is a must-listen for fans of West Coast rap history. Explore Straight Checkn ‘Em for a raw, unapologetic glimpse into the streets of Compton during a pivotal era in hip-hop.

Straight Checkn’ Em is a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on yellow coloured vinyl.

Celebrating 50 years of Kahil El'Zabar's Ethnic Heritage Ensemble's legacy and unwavering contribution to Great Black Music. 'Open Me, A Higher Consciousness of Sound and Spirit' is a new Ethnic Heritage Ensemble sound, constantly shifting gears and tempos in a jazz-blues continuum, in perpetual spontaneity, combining their meaningful music history with an innovative approach to arrangements, performance and improvisation. This is Ancient / Future Music for the Now and Beyond.

Open Me is a joyous honoring of portent new directions of the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble; it's a visionary journey into deep roots and future routes, channeling traditions old and new. It mixes El'Zabar's original compositions with timeless classics by Miles Davis, McCoy Tyner, and Eugene McDaniels. Thus, the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble continues affirming their indelible, half-century presence within the continuum of Great Black Music.

For Open Me, El'Zabar has chosen to push the sound of the EHE in a new direction by adding string instruments --the addition of strings opens new textural resonances and timbral dimensions in the Ensemble's sound, linking the work to the tradition of improvising violin and cello from Ray Nance to Billy Bang, Leroy Jenkins, and Abdul Wadud.

Open Me contains a mixture of originals, including some El'Zabar evergreens such as "Barundi," "Hang Tuff," "Ornette," and "Great Black Music" (often attributed to the Art Ensemble of Chicago but is, in fact, an El'Zabar composition).

As a milestone anniversary celebration and a statement of future intent, Open Me effortlessly carries El'Zabar's healing vision of Higher Consciousness of Sound and Spirit.

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

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

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

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