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Alton Miller is back on RAWAX MOTOR CITY EDITION!
After his outstanding debut "Amazed" on RMCE012 in 2019, we are more than happy to present you "Love Inside".
A beauty of a release, full of deep huse love from Detroit inside!
Highly recommended!

LIMITED INDIES LOSER EDITION PRESSED ON BLUE TRANSPARENT VINYL! Stella makes her Sub Pop debut with the mesmerizing Up and Away, an old-school pop paean to the pangs and raptures of love. From the Greek folk-inflected get-go, we're swept up in Stella's world - and it's quite the captivating place to be. The singer-songwriter joined forces with artist and producer Tom Calvert (aka Redinho), and it was a match made in Athens; the results are heavenly. Tom caught one of Stella's gigs on a visit to the city. He reached out, they started hanging out, and the pair soon clicked creatively. Both mention chemistry when asked about their collaboration and it's clear, from what we hear, they had it in spades. The meld is seamless. Stella's songs have always riffed on American and Greek mid-century pop but Up and Away doubles down on the vintage aesthetic. Tom says he styled the record "as if it was a rare gem from the '60s found in a box of records in Athens," and Stella notes she was ready for a more "deeply Greek touch - it felt comfortable and right, smoothly fusing with the pop." The bouzouki appears on a full five tracks played by Christos Skondras who, she says, "was brilliant at improvising," while Sofia Labropoulou on the kanun "brought an insane amount of dreaminess to the last two songs. Having these amazing musicians play for Up and Away - I couldn't be more grateful." While not exclusively a confessional artist, Stella is always intimate - when she sings, it's personal. She writes "about things I feel passion for. Stories about me, about others, about all that's there in love and war." Stella was "in a very emotional state at the time, which came through in the lyrics and vocals." And it's true, her honeyed voice - layered in those unmistakable harmonies of hers - thrillingly runs the gamut from tender to terse, by turns bracing and smitten, aching and forlorn. But it's the lyrics that feel key. Across her output, Stella has proven herself a strong storyteller, and Up and Away is no exception (the guise of the medieval bard she assumes on the cover is telling). Past releases have been studded with gem-like vignettes - a diverse array of stories set tightly together to form non-linear narratives unified by emotion. Her latest feels singular in that it seems to trace a longer-form tale across songs, with each track escalating the record's erotic arc. By the end of the album, Up and Away's core concerns are clear: the conflicting and conflicted emotions inherent in love, that live on in ways we can't always understand or control. Love is like this record: when it's over, you still feel it for time to come.

DJ Support: Dam Swindle, Jimpster, Fouk,Franck Roger, Miguel Migs, Fred Everything, Tedd Patterson, Saison, Brian Tappert, Don Carlos, Sebb Junior, Ralph Session, Marcel Vogel, Marc Cotterell

Embark on a journey through the pulsating heart of Berlin's house music scene with Luca Olivotto. Italian-born and Berlin-based, Olivotto's beats resonate with the energy of the city's underground, blending seamlessly with his Mediterranean roots. As a DJ, Olivotto commands dance floors with finesse, effortlessly blending deep and house music. As a producer, he crafts sonic landscapes that evoke emotion and ignite the imagination. This album encapsulates the essence of Olivotto's musical universe: a fusion of cultures, a celebration of diversity, and a testament to the universal language of music. Experience the rhythm of Luca Olivotto, bridging continents with his electrifying sound.

LRK are excited to announce their next full album release LRKLP-08

'ALL I EVER WONDER' By Johnny Burgos

Available on LP/CD/DIGITAL

Singer, songwriter, and producer Johnny Burgos converges with veteran soul producer, Jeremy Page, (Kendra Morris, Czarface, MF Doom) to offer their first joint album together titled, 'All I Ever Wonder.' The album is a vividly vulnerable and honest effort by Burgos, lyrically and vocally, supported effortlessly by Page's masterful production. The pairing of the two seems meant to be, with a sound steeped in retro soul techniques, the album is equal parts novelty and nostalgia, equalling a timelessness that speaks to the humanity in all of us. All I Ever Wonder will be released on Vinyl, CD and all digital platforms on Friday, JUNE 28th, 2024 via UK-based Soul label LRK Records.

Johnny - "Jeremy and I have been ships passing in the night for years now. However, our first official collaboration was a 2021 remix of my song The Grey, which featured his long-time co-collaborator Kendra Morris. From the get-go, the musical chemistry was strong, so we took a shot at writing some original tunes. Since then, we've locked in on a creative groove and churned out a bunch of material. As we learned how to complement each other's musical strengths, the project took on more form and purpose, exploring heavier subject matter and expanding its range of genres. I'm pretty sure that's what makes this project so fun for us, and possibly what the early gatekeepers and listeners resonated with most. Neither of us expected such a reception to the music, which only made us more excited to hone in with more intention towards a goal. This also allowed me to bring more raw ideas to the table and have the confidence in Jeremy to hear the potential, then work his magic to extrapolate on my foundation. The teamwork in this effort was inspiring as we listened and referred to each other in every step of the process, and had a crew of killer musicians on deck for when we needed the extra feels on some joints.

We worked really hard on this record and hope it reconnects our listeners to being human in a visceral way. It's accessible, honest, and soulful because I wanted it to speak to anyone who still wants music to relate to. Music to help you through the valleys, to celebrate the peaks, and handle everything in between. It's a journey of the soul that explores ego, insecurity, love, loss, survival, enlightenment and trusting the process. It's truly 'All I Ever Wonder.' "

"All I Ever Wonder" will have its digital release through LRK Records on all platforms on Friday, JUNE 28th, 2024.

Johnny Burgos is a Brooklyn - born singer, songwriter, producer & engineer. His brand of future-soul embodies a raw uncompromising sound revealing beauty from pain, hope from despair, and the will to keep fighting. Especially influenced by his uncle and world-class percussionist, Andre Martinez, Johnny grew a fascination with the percussive rhythms of salsa and soul music, eventually manifesting into a devoted passion for Hip Hop production using an Akai MPC. With influences from Michael Jackson, OutKast, J Dilla, Lauryn Hill and D'Angelo, Johnny's music draws upon the core principles of R&B, while encompassing elements of Hip Hop, Funk, Pop, Salsa and Reggae.

Johnny has collaborated with DJ Skizz, for Mobb Deep & M.O.P., Marco Polo, Frans Mernick, Liza Colby (The Gold Setting) and led his band Bridge City Hustle, with whom he toured nationally.

As a solo artist Johnny debuted with back-to-back brand endorsements from French's Mustard and Samsung US, using them as a platform to launch his 2018 EP 'Love Through it All.' His debut album 'Gone Into The Grey' was released to critical acclaim in March of 2021 and has since been added to multiple editorial playlists by Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal, creating exponential growth. In 2022, Burgos' song 'Wild About You' was heard as the soundtrack to Neiman Marcus' "It's Your Moment" global streaming campaign. Johnny's currently amid promoting his latest album, The Tangent Tape, performing with his band The Butter, recording new collaborations and preparing his upcoming LP with Jeremy Page & LRK Records.

credits

releases June 28, 2024

Emerging Belgian DJ/producer STEYA shares her debut EP on IMF, becoming just the ninth artist to release a full body of work on Marcel Fengler's influential label.
The Berlin-based artist has stamped herself as one to watch since breaking through in 2022, a regular at RSO Berlin and Grelle Forelle in Vienna, she's also played Tomorrowland, Exhale, Rex Club andBasement in NYC.
Her first forays into production reinforced her quality, with 'Neon Reecho' featuring on RAW's Third Eye compilation in 2021, followed by the release of 'Elysian' on BCCO's second V/A as well as the excellent 'Prototype X' on the '10 Years of IMF' that dropped in 2022, followed by a standout contribution to the label's new HARDPROOF V/A series in 2023 with 'Trigger Me'.
Her debut EP crystalises 20 years of devotion to techno, presenting abroad palette of sonic influences formed since her early days as araver in Antwerp. At the same time, it continues the label's philosophy of pairing a next generation artist with one of the greats of the genre, with STEYA's hero Rolando featuring on her 'Dopamine EP' with a remix of the incandescent 'Things You Never Said'. Growing up in Belgium where the 'Knights of the Jaguar' was a staple childhood anthem, it was "one of her biggest wishes to have him as a remixer".
An EP borne through two years of dedicated studio time, 'Dopamine EP' kicks off with the electric title track, a gritty tribal outing marked by dynamic shifts in tempo throughout. 'Fast Life' is a slick bass-led cut with plenty of bottom-end kick before a punchy synth melody get sadded to the brew. Swedish producer Hertz - a favourite of STEYA's ("I've played one of his tracks in every set since the beginning of my career") joins the project to re-work the title track, upping the energy ofthe original. 'Things You Never Said' begins life centred around energetic rolling grooves, before warm synth rushes give it a distinct Motor City vibe. Rolando fittingly steps up for remix duties to close out the EP, delivering a masterclass in deep simmering techno, extending the original by two minutes.
"It's a big honour to release my debut EP on such an amazing label like IMF, which is very close to my heart. I poured my heart and soul into this project. It showcases the artistic direction I've developed overthe last few years and is an important milestone in my artist journey." - STEYA
"After experiencing many of her stunning DJ sets, it's wonderful to seeher thriving also as a producer. What really excites me is witnessing her continuous growth, always fuelled by her deep passion for music. So, I'm thrilled to release STEYA's debut EP on IMF, featuring three original dancefloor anthems and two stellar remixes by Rolando and Hertz." - Marcel Fengler

Following on from their highly anticipated debut on Steel City Dance Discs, Scottish duo Clouds, consisting of Glasgow based Liam Robertson and Berlin based Calum Macleod now unveil their second EP via the label, Positive Delusion.

Clouds waste no time in bringing us straight into their bass-soaked underworld with the title track and continue this unrelenting musical voyage with Get With It; an aggressive orchestra of distorted instrumentals, rolling percussion, bellowing bass and chopped vocals. The duo’s “mission” of achieving Rhythm Perfection is laid out bare in the aforementioned track, as its piercing stabs keep the listener hooked and chained to this ungodly underbelly of sound. Dreamarena, with its ominous rave-stabs and gut-hurdling bassline takes us eventually to our fate, as the EP reaches its darkest, deepest point with Vyperskin.

"1996-97? Yeah, that’s when New York was still NEW YORK!

That was around the time we really started to get hold of exotic herbs. Copper Haze, hydroponic! The vibes in the studio were always lovely. I had hair at the time! Dread-Locs down to my shoulders... I was still rockin’ the Wallabees, or British Walkers as we called them - representing for Brooklyn and my West Indian roots!

There was no social media, no supervision, nobody all up in our business… It was classic "mind your own business" NYC Vibes! I was DJing at a lot of the hot clubs and THE hottest afterhours in the city. There were nights when I saw Micheal Douglas roll into the afters with Grace Jones - they were there to party and unwind and I was there dropping the dope tracks for the people.

When it was studio time, with my homie Matt Echols...I was probably setting things off with some quality herbage, a big ass bag of Funyuns and my trusty SP-1200, lol. I had picked up some tips and tricks from Todd Terry and by '96-'97 I was a Shaolin with it myself! This was around the time tracks like "Flowers" and "Only Love Can Break Your Heart (Dub)" were tearing up the clubs. I wanted to be able to get my ideas out with no problem, and by then I had a lot of confidence...

Being able to Dj in some of the hottest NY hot spots at the time, I was able to really see what worked and what didn't on the dancefloor. The best House Dancers from around the world and around the Tri-State area would be at my jams. I'm talking Ejoe, Voodoo Ray, maybe kids from the Mop-Top Crew... I was definitely taking note of the kind of rhythms and sounds that would make them go crazy on the dancefloor!

And that's how we went about it - I laid down the rhythms that made it happen in my sets and translated the vibes I was picking up from NYC itself. Matt threw down musically and we were just being as creative and inventive as possible! But we always kept in mind that our job was to make the people on the dancefloor jump!

A lot of the jams from those days got signed to various record labels, we dropped a lot of them on our own label...and some of them ended up in the archives - until now!"

- DJ Romain

Pledging to Keep It Alive with her debut album in 2022 (In The Red), Liz Lamere doubles down with her latest full-length second album, One Never Knows, released on In The Red. Dedicated to her late partner Alan Vega, with whom she collaborated on his solo works for over three decades, Lamere’s minimalist approach to creating music is clearly in line with the Vega aesthetic that she helped develop with him during countless experimental hours in the studio since the late ’80s. Lamere teamed up again with her and Vega’s son Dante Vega Lamere in their Dujang Prang NYC home studio surrounded by the Suicide singer’s spectacular light sculptures, co-producer Jared Artaud, and mixing and mastering engineers Ted Young and Josh Bonati. Vega had always encouraged Lamere to create her own music. After he passed away, she began writing as a form of catharsis which became the inspirational bedrock for her solo music. Lamere said, “At the end of Alan’s life, he was using the expression ‘one never knows’ to underscore that we don’t know how much time we have in this realm or where this journey will lead us. It was a phrase that had resonated so much for me. Alan taught me to go bravely into the unknown; to be fully present in the moment and deeply explore what is already here.”

2024 repress

Music From Memory is excited to announce a special compilation that they’ve been working on for some time now; MFM053 – VA – Heisei No Oto – Japanese Left-field Pop From The CD Age (1989-1996). Compiled by long-time friends of the label, Eiji Taniguchi and Norio Sato, Heisei No Oto delves into a world of music released almost exclusively on CD and brings together a fascinating selection of discoveries from a little known and overlooked part of Japan’s musical history.

The last ten or so years have seen a global wave of interest in Japanese music encompassing ambient, jazz, new wave and pop records from the 1980s, some of which is increasingly considered the most innovative and visionary music of that time. Although some music from this period, in the form of ‘City Pop’ or ‘rare groove’ records, had been coveted by collectors and DJs for a number of years, most Japanese music from the time was little known outside and often even within Japan.

Sometime around the mid 2000s, two Osaka record store owners, Eiji Taniguchi of Revelation Time and Norio Sato of Rare Groove, along with a handful of deep Japanese diggers such as Chee Shimizu of Organic Music records in Tokyo, began to explore beyond the typical ‘grooves’ or ‘breaks’. Much like their counterparts in Europe and the US, they began delving into home-grown ambient, jazz, new wave and pop records, discovering visionary music, often driven by synthesizers or drum computers, that broke beyond the typical confines of their genres.

Spending tireless hours in local record stores and embarking on digging trips across the country, Eiji Taniguchi and Norio Sato, much like Chee Shimizu, have been at the forefront of unearthing and introducing many of the very Japanese records now loved and sought after around the world. Yet as YouTube algorithms and vinyl reissues would transport such music into the global consciousness and demand and therefore scarcity intensified for such records, so Eiji and Norio have recently begun to turn their attention to CDs.

The title of the compilation Heisei No Oto refers to the sound of the Heisei era, which began in 1989 and corresponds to the reign of Emperor Akihito until his abdication in 2019. Marking the culmination of one of the most rapid economic growths in Japanese history, 1989 also coincided with the music industry’s final shift away from vinyl in favour of CDs. And, although compact discs were first introduced seven years earlier it wasn’t until late into the ‘80s that, beyond dance music labels, CDs became the exclusive format for major and independent labels in Japan and throughout the world.

This however didn’t signal the end of the innovation in Japan. Many of those same musicians who have become known for their work in the ‘80s would continue to produce outstanding music well into the mid ‘90s, as greater innovation and advances in musical equipment allowed Japanese musicians and producers to refine and explore new sounds. While musicians such as the seminal Haruomi Hosono, whose productions feature on a number of tracks, would continue to push the boundaries of these new technologies, these technological advances also meant less established musicians were able to make use of increasingly affordable but state-of-the-art equipment.

Including music by Haruomi Hosono as well as Yasuaki Shimizu, Toshifumi Hinata and Ichiko Hashimoto who have become known and loved around the world in recent years, Hesei No Oto also features Japanese pop star Yosui Inoue, producers Jun Sato and Keisuke Kikuchi in aaddition to less established artists from the contemporary, jazz, new wave, pop and dance music scenes. Bringing together a selection of tracks that seem to define these specific genres and in fact move fluidly between a number of them, the music on the compilation is again underscored by experimentations with synthesizers and drum computers though with something of a gentle Pop sensibility. Reimagined here then under the encompassing term ‘Left-field Pop’, this is an exciting chapter in Japanese musical history that has only just begun to be fully explored.

VA - Heisei No Oto - Japanese Left-field Pop From The CD Age (1989-1996) is a 2xLP/2xCD that includes liner notes by Chee Shimizu and artwork by Hagihara Takuya and is released on February 28th.

"To celebrate the Grateful Dead's 15th anniversary in 1980, they did something extraordinary: they played a fifteen-show run in San Francisco, and an eight-show run in New York City, with the most exciting of these being an additional, acoustic 45 minute set to open every show, their first acoustic sets since 1970. These sets saw the reinterpretation of some classic Dead and solo songs, older traditional songs from the jugband days and the 1970 acoustic sets, and some new additions to the Dead's repertoire. Recorded to 32-track tape (two 16-track tape machines synced up), Reckoning is one of the greatest, most clear sounding live records the Dead ever produced. Featuring countless classics including “Cassidy”, “Bird Song”, “Monkey and the Engineer”, and “Ripple”. • Will be newly mastered by GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer David Glasser, Produced for release by the Dead’s Audio Archivist and Legacy Manager, David Lemieux"

Zur Feier des 15-jährigen Jubiläums der Grateful Dead
im Jahr 1980 unternahmen sie etwas Außergewöhnliches:
Sie spielten fünfzehn Shows in San Francisco und acht
Shows in New York City, wobei das Aufregendste daran
ein zusätzliches, 45-minütiges Akustik-Set war, mit dem
sie jede Show eröffneten - ihre ersten Akustik-Sets seit
1970. In diesen Sets wurden einige klassische Dead- und
Solo-Songs neu interpretiert, ältere traditionelle Songs aus
der Zeit der Jugband und der Akustik-Sets von 1970
sowie einige Neuzugänge im Repertoire der Dead.
Aufgenommen auf 32-Spur-Band (zwei
16-Spur-Bandmaschinen, die miteinander synchronisiert
wurden), ist Reckoning eine der besten und klarsten
Live-Aufnahmen, die die Dead je produziert haben. Mit
unzähligen Klassikern wie "Cassidy", "Bird Song",
"Monkey and the Engineer" und "Ripple".
- David Lemieux, Grateful Dead Legacy Manager und
Audioarchivar

Bassist, bandleader and composer Orlando le Fleming continues to make music that crosses genres as readily as he crosses the Atlantic - after 20 years in New York City, he"s back in his native UK, forging new pathways and renewing old partnerships. His love for the acoustic tradition continues unabated alongside his deep affection for the robust, muscular electric fusion that emerged in the 1980s. Old London friends Tom Cawley (piano/keys) and James Maddren (drums) completed the rhythm section: new acquaintance Nathaniel Facey was picked from the ranks of the UK"s brightest young saxophone players: NYC stalwart Philip Dizack flew in from the US to play trumpet. Orlando"s old schoolfriend Chris Martin contributes a starkly sincere vocal performance, singing words from a poem by Persian poet Rumi, in unison with Orlando"s daughter Nadia.

June 11, 2024 — Today, techno titan Charlotte de Witte announces her latest electrifying single, “How You Move”. The dynamic production is the second revelation from her highly-anticipated “Roar” EP, set to be released on vinyl June 20th. In sync with her latest offering, de Witte will captivate New York City once again with a monumental takeover inclusive of an Extra Butter Merchandise pop-up and a massive KNTXT show at Brooklyn Storehouse, marking a significant moment as one of the first headliners to conquer the new venue.

“How You Move” is a testament to de Witte’s signature style of pushing boundaries and encapsulating the raw essence of the techno genre. The release boasts a fusion of pulsating acid and a mesmerizing energy that promises to resonate deeply with listeners, mirroring the intense, adrenaline-fueled experiences of her live performances.

From Charlotte de Witte:
"This has been such a fun track to make. It's a high energy track containing all of the ingredients that I love the most: straightforward, engaging vocals and a powerful acid line. Show me how you move, how you get down!"

It’s a sonic exploration of motion and intensity, syncing with the heartbeat of the city that never sleeps. Coinciding with the release, de Witte’s forthcoming KNTXT takeover at the Brooklyn Storehouse is poised to be a highlight of the summer, aligning with the visceral energy of the “Roar” EP. Situated in the heart of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, The Brooklyn Storehouse is the first US-based venture from Broadrick Live – Drumsheds, and former Printworks operator – brought to fruition in partnership with Teksupport. The venue has been designed to host up to 6,000 attendees, setting the stage for an unforgettable experience.

Following her takeover last year that electrified New York City, de Witte returns to the city that never sleeps with an even bigger spectacle. Last May, de Witte kicked off an electrifying campaign and tour for her “Overdrive” EP which featured a pop-up store at Extra Butter, two sold out shows at Brooklyn Mirage and a guerilla-style surprise performance that closed down Orchard Street in NYC. This June, de Witte will deliver a high-octane immersion for New Yorkers once again with her second consecutive KNTXT pop-up shop at Extra Butter. Opening on Friday, June 21, the KNTXT pop-up at Extra Butter Lower East Side will offer exclusive merchandise, limited-run apparel and unexpected live music experiences at every turn, uniting loyal fans and new audiences alike.

Ltd. Purple & Black Splatter Vinyl. It's been four years since Zach Saginaw, aka Shigeto, returned home to Michigan from a stint in Brooklyn, NY, and since then, the multi-faceted musician has become a part of the fabric of Detroit's music scene. While always having a personal approach to his projects, Saginaw's influences for his third album, The New Monday are more about the community of Detroit than anything else. Named after a weekly DJ event called Monday is the New Monday that Saginaw does at the unassuming Motor City Wine with a group of friends, The New Monday is the result of Saginaw diving into the city's deep record culture, where there legacy of artist's of the past help Saginaw embrace his own contributions. "It's focused on a couple things and they all kind of come together to represent dierent things," explains Saginaw. "My time back in Detroit, back living in Michigan and spending time with a lot of kind of original people who have always been here, learning from them, hearing stories from them, being influenced by them, and inspired by them." While, in the past, projects like Lineage or No Better Time Than Now were rooted in strong personal messages, family and relationships respectively, The New Monday represents a communal eort where solidarity is the key. Going for a simplified approach of just trying to make good tracks, The New Monday is diverse in its styles leaning more into a dance music direction - new ground for a Shigeto project. A new air of confidence in Saginaw has expanded his horizons since his return to Detroit, but traces of his past work will continue to be present. "I don't want people to think I'm leaving anything," says Saginaw. "I'm still me. It's a result of me being immersed in the culture, and inevitably making music that is influenced by that culture whether it be house, techno, jazz, rap. It doesn't matter. It's all coming from what I love about Michigan." While The New Monday still features the jazz textures long associated with Shigeto projects, the varied elements that make up the album cohesively come together to show the distinct inspiration that Saginaw has drew from since his return home to Detroit. Like on "Barry White", which features Detroit hip-hop artist ZelooperZ (a member of Danny Brown's Bruiser Brigade crew who Saginaw also has a side project with called ZGTO), Saginaw captures everything he's been doing all on one track. As much as it's hip-hop influenced, it's a mutant that encompasses elements of dance music, jazz, and ambient sounds. Throughout The New Monday, Saginaw poignantly references the musical influences that have either always been with him or newly discovered. It is Saginaw's interpretation of Detroit's rich culture of innovative artistry, but done so with respect for the history and to contribute, not disrupt. "I think over the past four years, I can confidently say that I found my place here," describes Saginaw. "I'm happy here and I feel that I have the respect from the people I need respect from, that I want respect from. It's all of the result of embracing it and embracing, not Detroit, but embracing community, embracing family,








f A2D (FT. ZEELOOPERZ & SILAS GREEN) AAPV






f A2D (FT. ZEELOOPERZ & SILAS GREEN) [AAPV]

From Dusk, through to Dawn. A collection to accompany the change of the fields, the coastline, the colour of the sky outside your window as you take your journey.
From the compiler of Music For The Stars comes the next collection for Brighton label Two-Piers. Featuring artists such as J.J Cale, Chris & Cosey, The B-52s, The Asphodells, Bob Lind, Linda Perhacs and The Menahan Steet Band.



…This choice of tracks is just one journey, a celebration of the beauty created by the artists, the musicians, the space & sound, the dark & light.



All aboard….The Night Train.

Reissue of late-’80s release by lovably manly Australian punk rock trio! Sometime in the winter of 1989-90, I wandered into New York City’s Midnight Records, a store famous for its deep catalog of ’60s garage and psychedelic music, as well as a strong selection of classic punk rock and a cantankerous French owner with ridiculous hair. On this visit, instead of hearing a puny French bootleg of The Standells or the Seeds, as I opened the door I was enveloped in the massive opening chords to the first song on the Cosmic Psychos’ then-new album Go the Hack. “She’s a lost cause / She’s a lost, lost cause!” blasted into the air at maximum volume. In a perfect cinematic moment, the drums announced my entry, the bass dictated my walk, the air became thick with guitar fuzz and wah-wah, and snarled vocals described perfectly a girl’s descent into a cause which was lost. Instead of record shopping, I felt like I’d stepped into a biker movie and was motoring down a long, straight Outback road on a Harley. This was my introduction to the Cosmic Psychos, and I was hooked. I loved that a band could be so powerful, sound so big and unapologetically simple, and incorporate so much of what I loved about music—well, basically the attitudes and sounds of The Stooges and Ramones: setting up songs with a good title or idea, matching it with a massive riff, then running it out with squeals of wah-wah and manly disregard for cleverness or adornment. And they called themselves the Cosmic Psychos! They obviously had no regard for “makin’ it” in those days, when an alternative rock band at least had a chance to sell some records. I was an instant fan. Earlier records proved to be the same formula with even less refinement, and that was definitely a good thing. These were lovably manly Aussies singing about what they knew best: farm equipment, lusting after Elle Macpherson, wishing they were in Van Halen (for the ladies), drinking at the pub, and even more drinking at the pub. Trivia question: In what indie rock song does the lead singer bellow “I love my tractor!”? Answer: None! No scarves or looking like Stevie Nicks straight out of the hairstylist’s for these fellows. They were the real deal before the deal was dealt. And they couldn’t care less. The Psychos enjoyed a long run through the ’80s and ’90s on such Australian labels as What Goes On, Mr Spaceman, Survival and Rattlesnake, as well as American stalwarts Sub Pop and Amphetamine Reptile. Many bands from that era no longer seem vital today, lost in a murk of crisp drums, loud guitars, flannel shirts and shallow aspirations. These first Cosmic Psychos releases are as timeless and necessary as ever—still a bullshit bulldozer, a blurry loud night at the bar, a rollicking time hanging with the guys. The time has come for a new generation to be uplifted by these initial blasts from the Cosmic Psychos. Goner is proud to partner with Melbourne’s esteemed Aarght! Records to bring these platters of primal perfection back into a world that definitely needs them. — Eric Friedl, Oblivians / Goner Records 40th Anniversary tour about to hit UK / EU! Go the Hack!! Essential!!

Missing out on that super-chill, uber-jittery minimal groove thing? Let"s get real, real Ghosted again. Oren Ambarchi has been collaborating with the Fire! trio (Mats Gustafsson, Johan Berthling and Andreas Werliin) for over a decade - and both Johan and Andreas played on Oren"s Live Hubris as well. Oren and Johan began music-making together back in the early aughts - but it wasn"t until 2021 that the three of them got together to record music. That became the first Ghosted album. When they were done, it was clear they had founded a new group. A music of sustained tension and deep atmosphere marked by subtle, shifting dynamics, Ghosted was released in May of 2022 to psyched response everywhere; the trio embarked upon an ongoing series of concert bookings around Europe, with loads of other people in the world still hoping to have the chance to be in the room at the next show. Two years on, Ghosted has gone through several represses, now it"s time for the "dreaded follow up album"! Rather than go back to the well, the guys decided to tear everything down and start all over again, reimagining themselves from scratch. Just kidding! As we"ve noted, Oren, Johan and Andreas have been playing together for years and years, developing an essential telepathy within their shared space. They get each other and feed each other"s music processes on an elemental level. Why change that? What made the most sense was to go back to Daneil Bengtsson at Studio Rymden in Stockholm for a couple days, then have Oren and Joe Talia mix and Joe master it at Good Mixture in Melbourne again, then get Pål Dybwik to do some well-distinctive cover art, and once more, call it a record. That"s just what they did - and it should be no surprise at all that the new Ambarchi/ Berthling/Werliin album looks and sounds as engrossing as their debut, if not more so! Ghosted II has a definitively fresh quality radiating throughout. The mutual feeling among the three players goes deep, allowing for lots more to say every time they get together - a further recombination of elements, a new expedition through alternative angles... there"s always more, and incredibly, it"s all improvised, with next-to-nothing prepared going in and minimal overdubs after they"ve laid things down. References are shared in shorthand, with just a single word, like "Santana," or "Police" acting as working titles for certain pieces on this record (have a guess!). It"s a disservice to call them jams: above and beyond the innate feel of the songs, there"s a strong sense of structure, informed by the band"s communal aesthetic, and edified immeasurably by their time spent in concert the last couple years. As noted at the top, these guys balance their music improbably between a relaxed feel and a nervy resolve, as each member holds down their corner in an open sound field. Making Ghosted II, the band found that there"s a different kind of tension making something for an established project rather than the kind one feels making something for the first time - and they used this new variety, as before, as a kind of fuel - driving their terse minimalism fruit-fully through the process of succumbing to and then transcending guilty pleasures. Finding fresh territory in funk sketches, jazzy heads, ambient pastorals and droning soundtrack pieces, Ambarchi, Berthling and Werliin compellingly haunt a mad variety of spaces, leaving us wanting to get Ghosted II.

After the roaring X5NRG Ep released a year ago, with a driving remix from Losoul, AGP heads back to his own imprint for a new EP set to drop on Ausblick in June 2024.
A1: "Everything From Uptown" sets the tone with its sundowner House vibes, boasting a powerful punch, a deep jazz bassline, and emotionally charged chords that promise to win your heart from start to finish.
B1: Prepare to embark on a journey of reinterpretation with Altitude (aka Matt Thibideau) at the helm. This track offers a fresh perspective on A1, a bold re- appropriation that delves even deeper into the heart of the original piece, offering a mesmerizing sonic experience.
B2: Rounding off the release is a summer anthem like no other : Cocktail De L'eau. Smooth and effortlessly cool, this track has already garnered early support from
industry heavyweights Ohm and Steve O'Sullivan, making it a must-have addition to any playlist

Supported by : Ohm, Steve O'Sullivan, Thor, Fletcher, Costin Rp, Philipp Priebe, Anton Kubikov, TM Shuffle, Gabriel Belabbas, Laurent Garnier.

DJ Support from Danny Howard, Annie Mac, Mistajam, Pete Tong, Charlie Hedges, Kraak & Smaak, Maxinne, Todd Terry, Alex Preston, Full Intention, GW Harrison, DJ Rae, Rudimental, Alaia & Gallo, Illyus & Barrientos, Johan S, David Penn, Sam Divine, Riva Starr, Claptone, Nice7, Dario D’Attis, Mousse T, S-Man, Huxley, KC Lights, Friend Within, Dombresky, Gorgon City, Chris Lake, Format:B, Pirupa, TCTS, Alan Fitzpatrick, Low Steppa, Mat.Joe, Raumakustik, Eskuche

Next up on our new Toolroom Trax vinyl series, we kick things off with a fresh new banger from Italian talent Nausica who with another deep club cut 'Se Pone Loca'. Featuring rolling percussion, a hooky lead vocal with expertly placed chops, 'Se Pone Loca' is looking to lay carnage on the dancefloor. Nausica's mastered her infectious minimal, percussive sound that has seen the likes of AAA talent support her music from John Summit, to Jamie Jones, MK to Solardo proving Nausica's a name many acts are reaching for in their sets! D.Ramirez returns to Toolroom Trax with his highly anticipated remake of Bodyrox's anthemic 'Yeah Yeah'. Firmly rooted within Toolroom's foundations, releasing genre defining dance music for nearly two decades with hits such as 'Downpipe' in collaboration with label boss Mark Knight and UK pioneers Underworld, 'Colombian Soul' and many more. D.Ramirez doubles up as not only a genius in the studio, but as one of the talented Toolroom Academy tutors, teaching a new generation of producer's fundamental skills in dance music production. Remaking the Bodyrox Electro House classic 'Yeah Yeah'; an era defining masterpiece with an unforgettable synth line, D.Ramirez gives us an essential update for today's dancefloors. Label favourites, Sllash & Doppe return to Trax next with their unique style of uplifting, feel good house music. Their music is regularly found in the sets of artists like Fatboy Slim, Solomun, Bedouin, Blond:ish, Martin Solveig, Roger Sanchez and more, and the playful cousins are now conquering the world, from deck to deck, with an energetic and exuberant style that has won them favour on the dancefloors.

Closing out the sampler is Saison with their signature house sound. The London based duo have been solidly in the game for the best part of a decade perfecting their unparalleled sound of raw, feel-good house music at it's very best. With numerous releases on revered labels including Defected, Nervous, Big Love and of course their own imprint, No Fuss.

Countless radio plays on Radio 1 from Danny Howard, Sarah Storie, Pete Tong Other notable radio plays – Kiss FM, Toolroom Radio, Sirius XM, Data Transmission Radio, Radio 1 Dance Anthems, Radio 1 Party Anthems, Rinse FM, Select Radio, Tomorrowland Radio

repress !

Network’s 30th Anniversary celebrations continue with the re-issue of the debut release from the iconic label. The launch of the logo with Neal Howard “Indulge” in 1990 caused a sensation, with the track being instantly acclaimed as a Classic, and Network noted as a new label to watch.

“Indulge” hails from Chicago, but sounds like its’ DNA is Techno City Detroit.
A futuristic call to dance from Windy City mystery man Neal Howard, whose previous releases “The Gathering” and “To Be Or Not To Be” had already reached cult status. Those gems, and “Indulge” were recorded by Chicago label Phuture Sound. Plans were being laid for the transformation the Kool Kat label - the UK outlet for Kevin Saunderson, Derrick May and Juan Atkins - into Network, but the dilemma was finding something “really really special” for the first release. That search for the perfect beat ended when Network’s Neil Rushton on a visit to Chicago heard the just mixed “Indulge” on a cassette played by Phuture Sound boss Terry Baldwin, who after prolonged negotiations agreed to cancel a USA release so the new UK label could have an exclusive.

The label design for this release is a replica of the original DJ Promo 12” that introduced Network to the World with exactly the same tracks; Terry Baldwin’s much loved Club House and Deep House mixes of “Indulge”, coupled with “To Be Or Not To Be” remixes by Chicago’s Bad Boy Bill and Detroit’s Derrick May. network - it is what it was...

Das neue Album von Richard Hawley, "In This City They Call You Love", wird am 31. Mai 2024 veröffentlicht und zeigt, dass Richard Hawley die Verzerrer wegwirft und seine Stimme wieder in den Vordergrund stellt. Nach dem weltweiten Erfolg von "Standing At The Sky's Edge", dem preisgekrönten Musical, das auf seinen Songs basiert, kehrt Richard Hawley mit "In This City They Call You Love" zurück, seinem neunten Studioalbum und seinem ersten seit "Further" von 2019. 'In This City They Call You Love' enthält 12 herausragende Songs, von denen viele als 'vintage Hawley' bezeichnet werden können und zu den schönsten Balladen gehören, die er je geschrieben hat. Wunderschöne Melodien und Arrangements werden von seiner gefühlvollen und sonoren Stimme begleitet, die besser denn je klingt, und machen dieses Album zu einem krönenden Abschluss einer fast 25-jährigen, äußerst erfolgreichen Karriere.

Das neue Album von Richard Hawley, "In This City They Call You Love", wird am 31. Mai 2024 veröffentlicht und zeigt, dass Richard Hawley die Verzerrer wegwirft und seine Stimme wieder in den Vordergrund stellt. Nach dem weltweiten Erfolg von "Standing At The Sky's Edge", dem preisgekrönten Musical, das auf seinen Songs basiert, kehrt Richard Hawley mit "In This City They Call You Love" zurück, seinem neunten Studioalbum und seinem ersten seit "Further" von 2019. 'In This City They Call You Love' enthält 12 herausragende Songs, von denen viele als 'vintage Hawley' bezeichnet werden können und zu den schönsten Balladen gehören, die er je geschrieben hat. Wunderschöne Melodien und Arrangements werden von seiner gefühlvollen und sonoren Stimme begleitet, die besser denn je klingt, und machen dieses Album zu einem krönenden Abschluss einer fast 25-jährigen, äußerst erfolgreichen Karriere.

Das neue Album von Richard Hawley, "In This City They Call You Love", wird am 31. Mai 2024 veröffentlicht und zeigt, dass Richard Hawley die Verzerrer wegwirft und seine Stimme wieder in den Vordergrund stellt. Nach dem weltweiten Erfolg von "Standing At The Sky's Edge", dem preisgekrönten Musical, das auf seinen Songs basiert, kehrt Richard Hawley mit "In This City They Call You Love" zurück, seinem neunten Studioalbum und seinem ersten seit "Further" von 2019. 'In This City They Call You Love' enthält 12 herausragende Songs, von denen viele als 'vintage Hawley' bezeichnet werden können und zu den schönsten Balladen gehören, die er je geschrieben hat. Wunderschöne Melodien und Arrangements werden von seiner gefühlvollen und sonoren Stimme begleitet, die besser denn je klingt, und machen dieses Album zu einem krönenden Abschluss einer fast 25-jährigen, äußerst erfolgreichen Karriere.

Days of Shaking continues M G's exploration into the kitchen sink dramas of modern suburbia but behind these songs of frustrated opportunities and the mundane realities of day to day modern living is a world of rumour and mystery, urban myths and the magical thinking we all use to bring shape to our lives, expectations and hopes Like a modern day book of wonders, the songs of Days of Shaking hint at UFO sightings, potential cave gods and visitations of the dead in dreams, all adding to the rich texture of people's wants and needs but ultimately our belief in hope. This balance is seen in the title track and album opener where the protagonist wonders whether he has witnessed a UFO but ends more prosaically with, "Where is the party tonight?/To stand by a tiki bar with Christmas lights/I want something I can't find/ we drive around dark tenements searching". Similarly the heroic fishing photos of 'City Map' poke at deeper yearnings: "is it true you can wake up somewhere new/ just shrug it off and transform?". Often referred to as the artist's artist M G has been a much sought after collaborator in the folk and Americana scenes, having significant tenures in the Simone Felice Group, The Duke and the King, Emily Portman's Coracle Band, Blue Rose Code, The Owl Service & Jon Boden's Remnant Kings.

Days of Shaking continues M G's exploration into the kitchen sink dramas of modern suburbia but behind these songs of frustrated opportunities and the mundane realities of day to day modern living is a world of rumour and mystery, urban myths and the magical thinking we all use to bring shape to our lives, expectations and hopes Like a modern day book of wonders, the songs of Days of Shaking hint at UFO sightings, potential cave gods and visitations of the dead in dreams, all adding to the rich texture of people's wants and needs but ultimately our belief in hope. This balance is seen in the title track and album opener where the protagonist wonders whether he has witnessed a UFO but ends more prosaically with, "Where is the party tonight?/To stand by a tiki bar with Christmas lights/I want something I can't find/ we drive around dark tenements searching". Similarly the heroic fishing photos of 'City Map' poke at deeper yearnings: "is it true you can wake up somewhere new/ just shrug it off and transform?". Often referred to as the artist's artist M G has been a much sought after collaborator in the folk and Americana scenes, having significant tenures in the Simone Felice Group, The Duke and the King, Emily Portman's Coracle Band, Blue Rose Code, The Owl Service & Jon Boden's Remnant Kings.

Pirates Press Records is proud to present the new LP by 45 Adapters, entitled Unstoppable. The long-running New York City "Maximum Oi 'n B" combo are a band that lives by a few credos. "Dress Well, Drink Heavily." "Don't Trust Anyone Who Doesn't Dance." These values are on full display within the grooves of Unstoppable. Singer Pickabar & bassist Carlos are back with three new recruits to the band, and the group sounds revitalized, laying down the album in just two days at Noisy Little Critter studio with Mike Bardzik at the helm. Regarding the sentiments of the title track and lead single, Pickabar elaborates, "'Unstoppable' is about rock 'n roll and how much it shapes our lives. I've been hooked since I was a teenager and I still feel that same electric thrill listening to it, playing it, even talking about it_ There's something deeper that goes back to the root of what it means to be human. And I'm stoked to be even a tiny part of that." After fifteen years and numerous EPs, singles, splits, and collections, 45 Adapters are finally releasing their first proper LP. Longtime listeners and new fans alike are bound to agree that Unstoppable, at long last, is their definitive statement, and the record that fully captures their acclaimed live energy.

Irish producer Balmr lands on Selections after nice outings on the likes of Sofa Movement Records, Kolour Detroit and Expanded Records which have all established him as a fresh deep house artist. His love for the Motor City shines through again here with the warm, dubby drums and swirling pads of 'In Search Of' bring to mind the Midwest's best. Jon Dixon remixes with a little extra bite in the percussion and 'Forager' then layers up more dusty drums and wooden hits with diffuse synth curlicues. It's a sound that works on both head and heel and lastly, Glenn Davis remixes with a touch of jazzy cosmic class to his synth work.

LTD. BLACK CLOUD COLOUR VINYL

THE GHOST INSIDE stands as an unstoppable force in the realm of hard rock music. Fueled by unwavering determination and unyielding passion, this band has forged a path marked by resilience and redemption. Their latest endeavor, the 6th studio album titled Search for Solace, delves into the profound theme of grappling with one"s own thoughts - the internal struggle between good, bad, and evil. It explores the journey of finding comfort and making peace amidst the chaos of life"s ebb and flow. The album reflects the band"s commitment to not succumb to negativity, anger, or darkness, aligning with their identity as an uplifting and comforting musical force for fans seeking solace. Established in 2004, THE GHOST INSIDE has solidified its position as a trailblazer in melodic hard rock. Their music seamlessly combines raw aggression with profound lyricism, creating a resonant experience for their dedicated fanbase. Despite facing challenges, notably a tragic bus accident in 2015 that left some members with life-altering injuries, the band refused to be broken. Through unwavering perseverance, they made a triumphant return to the stage, defying the odds. Their music embodies a spirit of resilience, unity, and the indomitable power of the human spirit. Each thunderous breakdown and soaring melody strikes a deep chord within the hearts of their fans, serving as a testament to the band"s enduring impact. THE GHOST INSIDE"s journey is a testament to their ability to inspire and uplift through music. As they embark on a global tour starting this Spring, venturing into new territories, including South America and beyond, the band continues to share their message of strength and perseverance with audiences around the world.

THE GHOST INSIDE stands as an unstoppable force in the realm of hard rock music. Fueled by unwavering determination and unyielding passion, this band has forged a path marked by resilience and redemption. Their latest endeavor, the 6th studio album titled Search for Solace, delves into the profound theme of grappling with one"s own thoughts - the internal struggle between good, bad, and evil. It explores the journey of finding comfort and making peace amidst the chaos of life"s ebb and flow. The album reflects the band"s commitment to not succumb to negativity, anger, or darkness, aligning with their identity as an uplifting and comforting musical force for fans seeking solace. Established in 2004, THE GHOST INSIDE has solidified its position as a trailblazer in melodic hard rock. Their music seamlessly combines raw aggression with profound lyricism, creating a resonant experience for their dedicated fanbase. Despite facing challenges, notably a tragic bus accident in 2015 that left some members with life-altering injuries, the band refused to be broken. Through unwavering perseverance, they made a triumphant return to the stage, defying the odds. Their music embodies a spirit of resilience, unity, and the indomitable power of the human spirit. Each thunderous breakdown and soaring melody strikes a deep chord within the hearts of their fans, serving as a testament to the band"s enduring impact. THE GHOST INSIDE"s journey is a testament to their ability to inspire and uplift through music. As they embark on a global tour starting this Spring, venturing into new territories, including South America and beyond, the band continues to share their message of strength and perseverance with audiences around the world.

As part of the series - Blockhead presents his new album, Luminous Rubble, where the artist dives deep into KPM’s iconic music and sound design library. Blockhead has released 15 albums over the past 15 years and is regarded as one of the modern masters of instrumental hip-hop. It’s a producer’s dream: Being given access to a vast library of material to construct something completely new and exciting out of all of it and when Blockhead’s at the controls, the results are a listener’s paradise, too. The New York City-based hip-hop production legend’s Luminous Rubble is the latest missive in a particularly busy period for the underground hip-hop veteran, who’s spent the last decades lending his considerable talents to work from artists like Armand Hammer, billy woods, Murs, and Open Mike Eagle; in 2021, he released the critically acclaimed collab LP Garbology with rap legend and longtime collaborator Aesop Rock, just last year he unleashed his twelfth solo album, The Aux. “For me, as a producer who uses samples, there’s nothing better than free rein. That was so exciting for me. Their vault is the one I’m most familiar with,” he says with a laugh. “Back when I used to go record shopping a lot, I would pretty much buy any KPM record on sight. They were always a huge find at record stores. So to be able to tap into these records with no limitations was really nice. Having no boundaries can be overwhelming when it comes to the creative process. Working with these samples forced me to find middle ground in cases where I’d typically just walk away and look elsewhere.” After hearing Luminous Rubble, you’ll be happy he stuck around.

Once upon a time, DJ’s were like soaring eagles, they would spread their musical wings and fly high to wherever they wanted to go musically. It wasn’t uncommon to hear hip house and go go played alongside disco and funk, or techno being dropped on either side of something a lil’ mo’ soulful. Then the DJ’s wings were clipped and clubs became musical cages for the more adventurous DJ’s, clubs evolved into one-dimensional musical prisons and beats bubbles. Unconventionally, Marcus McGowan hails from South Carolina, and it would be fair to argue that South Carolina is a bit of a house music wasteland? Perhaps it’s this simple geographical blip that has nurtured McGowan into creating a sound that can’t be affiliated to any particular city, cities such as Detroit that is generally associated with techno, Washington is the undisputed town of go go, or Chicago, which is renowned for acid house, hip house, and jackin’ house, and of course, New Jersey is the spiritual home of soulful house. What McGowan has created is a fresh, new vibe that appears to be crossing many musical boundaries and the test pressing mailout appears to have united music lovers from numerous genres of house music AND techno alike, with its deep, techy, jazzy, soulful, sweet and melliferous flavoured vibe. Luke Una boasted that “it’s the record of the year so far”, MFSB’s Yogi Haughton called it a “classic in the making”, but all said and done, the test pressing feedback from the handful that were passed out to music lovers around the U.K. is unanimous, it’s jus’ a frikin’ solid double hitter that can’t be pigeon-holed. This is a record for majestic, soaring DJ’s and music lovers, not scabby, common or garden Columbidae garbage foragers. It’s a slice of intellectual music that will perch McGowan very high up in the producer pecking order!

Tangential Music is pleased to present the new album from veteran Spanish DJ and producer, Dj Toner (aka Antonio Herrera). Alongside his co-writer/arranger Daniel Molina and with guests that include the legendary Blue Note Records innovator Erik Truffaz and Grammy winning flautist and saxophonist Jorge Pardo, he has created a 10 track collection of slow-burning instrumentals that straddle the worlds of hip hop, jazz and electronica.

With a personal, precision tooled approach to his craft, the Andalusian has offered up an album of finely modelled downbeat moods.

At first glance, ‘Out Side’ is made up of recognisably superior hip hop instrumentals but if you listen carefully, and with patience, one can hear a craftsman at work. A wooden box is just a box until you look closer. The hidden joints, the perfect lining up of the grain, the years of artisanal graft and laser-focussed attention to detail that go into making something that has nothing present, that doesn’t deserve to be there. This is how Dj Toner operates.

The two singles that preempt the album’s release reveal different sides of his craft. ‘Camina’ struts with tough intentions. Soundtrack-y in an exploitation police drama manner, the get-out-of-my-way drum break and tension-filled chords suggest the bad cop, Erik Truffaz’s piercing lyrical trumpet lines, the good. The Afro-jazz horns led second release ‘Surprise’ is an altogether more playful, sunbaked affair. Sensual and slow-burning, there’s still an edge but it’s too hot to quarrel.

Dj Toner’s minimalist attitude to creation is shared with his co-composer Molina - an individual’s contribution may be cut to the bone, leaving just its aura or tone. The echo of a piano, a single blast of tuneful wind from a flute, a perfectly positioned drum hit.

Since the Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA began applying his beatmaking prowess to movie soundtracks, the hip hop instrumental has been acknowledged as something to listen to, as much as being used as a DJ tool or backing for an MC. Dj Toner’s instrumentals can, therefore, be seen as soundtracks. Soundtracks to his life and craft, vignettes of his environment in both the urban sprawl and the wider and slower spaces of “el campo”.

The sweet-tempered jazz-blues of ‘La Rimosa’ is a gentle welcome to the album. A simple, laid back groove with the most romantic of piano hooks that one could imagine Common dropping rhymes on. You’re kept on your toes with the odd purposeful moment of discordant interruption but the tender heart of the composition is never far away.

‘O’Beat’ hints at John Coltrane with the sparse but full-sounding upright bass before a head-snap break leads into a curious piano groove, a vintage organ swirls into a psychedelic fractal, whilst the bluesy female vocal snippets add the spice, that zing in the Granadan gazpacho.

The flamenco guitar driven ‘Flama’ is an excellent example of intricate sample placement and musicality. Old school (school yard) scratch interludes, sweet piano hooks, a minimalist but knife sharp flute contribution from Jorge Pardo, and the crunchiest of drums taking us for an intriguing walk round the corner.

We’ve mentioned them before but it’s on ‘Sweetband’ that we can feel that Wu-Tang dread hanging off its shoulders. A brooding orchestral number with powerful horns and a cavernous piano hit. The title of the piece is in stark contrast to the dark shadows of the tune.

Erik Truffaz returns in fine form on the super lethargic jazz-funk-hop of ‘The Day’. His instantly identifiable muted trumpet sound paints dazzling colours over the more earthy tones of the filtered down keys as a rubbery upright bass keeps the forward momentum. Dj Toner’s ‘Blessed Are The Weird People’ album, was rated in Jazz Magazine as one of the 20 jazz albums of 2021, so he isn’t some dilettante when it comes to playing with the complex hues of jazz but he does like to strip it to its bare essentials.

‘Fanega’ sees a gorgeous flute contribution from Jorge Pardo. An eerie boom-bap groove with sprinkles of electronic pulses and washed out chords is the canvas on which the award-winning multi-instrumentalist evokes the heat shimmer of the savannah.


‘Esperanza’ translates as ‘hope’ in English and this lovely slow, swinging jazzy groove really does provoke feelings of positivity and belief. Sublime vibraphone and another stunning trumpet offering from Erik Truffaz, take us on a journey of warm days and possibilities, the shuffling drums and sweet chord patterns are nicely finished off by a tranquil horn chorus towards its unhurried end.

‘Under Beat’ ends on a beefy boom-bap groove with a liquid funk bassline, elegant synth strings and old school scratching. Again, there’s that undisputable soundtrack edge, action and motion, the smell of the city.

There you have it, 10 tracks that go beyond the surface, deep into the dedicated craft of Dj Toner. Decades of experience and collaboration purified and refined into beat-heavy emotions, listen closely or crank it up, it’s down to you!

Over the past decade Tuccillo has steadily honed his craft as a producer and is now widely known and beloved for his contemporary twist on raw groove driven House music which has found a home on the likes of Nu Groove, Kwench, Melodeum, Holic Trax his own Unblock label and of course Kaoz Theory where he returns here following 2023’s ‘The Waves’ EP.

Title-cut ‘Sundown’ leads the release on a deep house tip with a swinging drum groove, airy chord sequences, intricate filtered vocals and a funk-infused bass line. ‘Holding On’ then shifts gears into Chicago House territory via a bouncy bassline and dubbed out vocal chops, intertwined with a playful organ melody, tension building strings and skippy percussion.

‘Whatever’ then opens the b-side with a more stripped-back feel, laying focus on crisp, low-slung drums, hypnotic atmospherics, choppy dub stabs and an amalgamation of vocal murmurs. ‘Velvet City’ then concludes the EP, encapsulating the core aesthetic of deep house with wandering jazzy keys, ethereal pads, organic drums and rumbling subs all silkily ebbing and flowing amongst one another.

Nachdem The National den Soundcheck für ihren Auftritt in Vancouver am 5. Juni 2023 beendet hatten, spielte die Band einfach weiter. Etwas braute sich zusammen: Die prägnanten Gitarrenparts von Aaron und Bryce Dessner trafen auf den Signature-Drumbeat von Bryan Devendorf. Als der Bassist Scott Devendorf loslegte, fing Matt Berninger an, einige Zeilen zu singen, die schon seit ein paar Jahren in ihm reiften. " Smoke detector, smoke detector / All you need to do is protect her", intonierte er. Ihr Tontechniker ließ die Aufnahme laufen und plötzlich war es ein 12 Minuten-Jam. Sie wussten, dass sie etwas Besonderes hatten, und nahmen die Live-Aufnahme bald darauf in Aarons Studio mit. Sie haben ein paar Minuten gekürzt, aber ansonsten das beibehalten, was auf der Bühne in Vancouver passiert ist. Dieser Song, "Smoke Detector", ist der krönende Abschluss von "Laugh Track", die überraschende zweite Hälfte eines Doppelalbums, das im April mit "First Two Pages of Frankenstein" begann. Es erwies sich als das letzte Kapitel eines Werks, das ansonsten neben dem Schwesteralbum geschrieben wurde - der Schlussakt einer Katharsis, die zeigt, was The National in den letzten drei Jahren durchgemacht haben. Vor zwei Jahren war die "Smoke Detector"-Zeile einer der wenigen Fetzen, die Matt während einer lähmenden Depression schreiben konnte und das zu einer Zeit, in der sich die Band fragte, ob sie jemals wieder ein Album machen würde. Nach der Pandemie belebte ihr neuer Glaube aneinander die kreativen Fähigkeiten wieder. "Weird Goodbyes", das bereits im August 2022 erschien, war ihr erster Durchbruch und der erste Vorgeschmack auf diese neue Ära. "Wir haben es wirklich schnell veröffentlicht, weil es wie ein Baby war, das in der Dunkelheit geboren wurde, oder so", lacht Matt. "Wir mussten es den Menschen zeigen". Aber als sie schließlich mit diesem umfangreichen Werk vorankamen, entschieden sie sich, "Weird Goodbyes" nicht auf das Frankenstein-Album zu nehmen. "Es fühlte sich an, als ob die Geschichte bereits erzählt worden wäre. Es war eine eigene Sache", sagt Aaron. "Aber es fühlte sich auch so an, als hätte es einen Bezug zu dem, was wir taten. Das war ein Teil der Logik für die Aufnahme einer weiteren Platte - wir wollten "Weird Goodbyes" ein eigenes Zuhause geben." "Laugh Track" ist das vielleicht musikalisch bedingungsloseste Album, welches die Band seit Jahren gemacht hat. Es ist aufmüpfig und dennoch leichtfüßig, doch es enthält ebenso viel seltene, ungebremste Schönheit wie Trostlosigkeit. Thematisch gibt es keine absichtliche Trennung zwischen "Frankenstein" und "Laugh Track". Während Matt auf "Frankenstein" eher auf der Suche nach einem Zufluchtsort war, hat er hier eine neue, klare Sicht auf das, was zählt. Sein dringendes Bedürfnis nach Intimität wird durch eine immer größere Angst vor der Unwirklichkeit des modernen Lebens noch verstärkt. Die Charaktere auf diesem Album (keine Vornamen, abgesehen von einer Tourmanagerin namens Alice - nur "ich" und "du") decken einander, träumen füreinander und helfen, den Schein zu wahren - und lösen damit das Versprechen von der gegenseitigen Fürsorge ein, das Matt auf dem Frankenstein-Schlusslied "Send for Me" gegeben hat. Wenn "Frankenstein" ein Zeichen für die Wiederherstellung des Vertrauens zwischen den einzelnen Bandelementen war, so ist das lebendige und neugierige "Laugh Track" das selbstbewusste Produkt dieses Prozesses und eine Absichtserklärung für jetzt und die Zukunft.

Favorite Recordings proudly presents this new official single reissue of “Feel So Good Inside”, by Lamar Thomas. A killer deep-disco and very rare collectable single, fully coordinated for reissue by French respected DJ and Tropical rare-groove specialist, Waxist Selecta.

Lamar Thomas is an American singer, composer and producer who made a short solo career in the 70s, and then formed the duo Thomas & Taylor. He has also penned few songs for Johnny Bristol, Garland Green, Nancy Wilson, Maynard Ferguson, or Johnnie Taylor among others.

In 1980, he recorded this 2 tracks single for MCA Records, who released it on a 7inch left almost unnoticed at that time. 30 years later, this brilliant disco production has become a classic rare-groove title for a few DJs and diggers, with among them, French collector and DJ, Waxist Selecta (aKa Julien Minarro).

Schooled about this rarity by DJ Klas (aKa Josh Goldman), he then made it a real favorite in his various DJ sets. Curious to learn more about this forgotten piece, he also liaised with Lamar through the web, and discovered that all the masters had burned in a California fire at Universal.

As Julien already worked on an upcoming reissue project with Pascal Rioux and Favorite Recordings (more details in 2015), he offered him and Lamar to arrange a proper official reissue and produce a new master from his own vinyl copy. Coming out in a 12inch version built for dancefloors, the package also includes a great extended mix by Waxist.

A sparsely documented yet iconic era for Ted Milton's psycho-funk afro punk fake no-wave pogo jazz group Blurt has been brought to life with an expansive collection of restored versions of live performances. Captured on early camcorders during the frenzy of counter-cultural activity that characterised Europe around the fall of the Iron Curtain, these recordings of Blurt, recently posted by fans on YouTube, are a visceral reminder of a scene whose influence is writ large on today's alternative music culture.

Ted Milton's trio have produced an impressive string of albums, not to mention his numerous solo recordings. Featuring 15 tracks spanning their extensive discography from their 1980 debut single – also the title of this collection – “My Mother Was A Friend Of An Enemy Of The People” to 1999’s “Eat Up Your House”, this live collection of performances have been digitised by whatever means available. The original sound captured by the inbuilt microphones of these camcorders and the videos concerned are in many cases the only documentation of an iconic era whose zeitgeist was so masterfully epitomised for many by Blurt.

Refurbished / restored/ repurposed using new AI tools there is a spectral roughness to them but surfing on these reconstructed waveforms, the inimitable machinations of Blurt ride out once again, emerging from a pixilated oblivion to put into perspective the peculiar absurdity of our human condition.

Released only eight months after his exhilarating debut, Bruce Springsteen's The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle contains rousing dispatches from the boardwalk, the street, the beach, and the bedroom. It explodes with energy, dares to dream, teases with humour, crackles with tragedy, clings to hope, and overflows with discovery, youthfulness, and personality. It features an unforgettable cast of characters — corner boys, teenage hustlers, doomed lovers, jazz men, junk men, factory girls, fortune tellers, alley cats, pimps, escorts, and more — illuminated by vivid colour, breathtaking detail, and poetic action.

Musically, the heartfelt 1973 record is inhabited by sympathetic vignettes and cinematic arrangements steeped in rock 'n' roll, soul, jazz, and R&B. It finds the New Jersey native looking beyond the parameters of his preceding record and seeking to move on from environments he knows well (and chronicles here) by rushing headlong toward unknown territories, adventures, and people. Underpinned by the singer-guitarist's ambitious poetic enterprise and will to succeed, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle is the album on which Springsteen becomes the Boss.

Mastered on Mobile Fidelity's renowned mastering system, pressed at RTI on MoFi SuperVinyl, and strictly limited to 7,500 numbered copies, Mobile Fidelity's UltraDisc One-Step 180g 33RPM LP set is the definitive-sounding version of Springsteen's sophomore record. Benefitting from SuperVinyl’s nearly non-existent noise floor, superb groove definition, and dead-quiet surfaces, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle plays with a clarity, energy, presence, and openness that complement the expressiveness, dynamics, and scope of the seven restless songs that comprise a work Rolling Stone ranked the 345th Greatest Album of All Time.

Beyond the audiophile sonics that practically place you behind the console at 914 Sound Studios — listen to the separation between the instruments, natural decay of the notes, interplay within the widescreen soundstaging, and nothing-to-lose youthfulness of Springsteen’s voice — this reissue takes seriously this record’s influential merit by presenting it in packaging that underlines its status. Tucked in a beautiful slipcase, the LP is housed in a special foil-stamped jacket with faithful-to-the-original graphics. This reissue is made for listeners who prize sound quality and who want to engage themselves in everything involved with the invigorating set that busted Springsteen loose from the club circuit and landed him on the radio

Determined to liberate anyone within earshot and unafraid to come on strong, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle serves as the debut of the E Street Band — not only heard but seen for the first time by most of the public courtesy of the back-cover photograph. This is where saxophonist Clarence Clemons, organist-accordionist Danny Federici, and pianist David Sancious step out of the shadows — and drummer Vini Lopez and bassist Garry Tallent again stoke a fiery rhythmic engine that helps drive the untamed, reimagined big-band swing of “Kitty’s Back,” breathless R&B thrust of “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight),” and carefree dance steps of the funky “The E Street Shuffle.”

Of course, the main attraction remains a then-24-year-old visionary on the precipice of becoming a sensation and turning a then-bloated rock scene on its head. Recorded over three months while Springsteen and company were busy touring his debut LP, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle reflects the high-octane approach the vocalist embraced onstage and drifts away from the label-dictated acoustic-based frameworks of his debut. The set also witnesses Springsteen deepening his observational skills, with narratives such as the romantically tinged “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)” and redemptive epic “Incident on 57th Street” mirroring changes taking place in the singer’s own life, small towns, and America at large.

A thrilling collision of memories, reflections, and composites — Sandy, Rosalita, and the latter’s parents are all based on actual people Springsteen knew, as is the community depicted in the opening track — the aptly titled The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle resonates decades on due to its truths, authenticity, and spirit. Those characteristics — as well as the fact that many of its lengthy songs come on as the equivalent of sweaty, feverish soul revue that won’t stop until you’ve been exhausted — also explain how this now-iconic album triumphed over the reservations of industry “experts” that both demanded Springsteen re-record it and instructed deejays not to play it.



Yet there’d be no stopping a record that saw the past, present, and future, a band whose will would not be denied, and a phenomenon who was born to run. A never-ending invitation to act real cool and stay up all night, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle always feels alright.

Luxury Apartments have spent long enough pondering in the orb of creative frustration as art charged city dwellers and have alchemised a jagged piece of guitar work that calls on the past for a quick catch up before cracking on with their day as a witty, energised and wiry punk band. Formed before your favourite East London neighbourhood became full of high rises, cockapoos and pubs with Madri & Beavertown on Draft, there’s a whole swath of words you could use to describe Luxury Apartments, but doing so might draw too many parallels to estate agent listings wo we’re gonna let their track record and new LP do the talking… LA played with the likes of TOY, TELEGRAM, Deep Tan, Es, The Chisel and Rifle before even having an LP. Mixing dry humour with a belting live show served them well while the guys were woodshedding and earnt them early fans such as Graham Coxon and Jamie Reynolds, who I can only gather shed a single tear of seeing where they came from with all the chaotic guitar-busting, skin-splitting, bottle-smashing madness of an early LA show. But we’re here talking about NOW and NOW is the time to get your pre-order for their first LP, a half hour of power smashing the atoms of 80s c86 indie on lead track ‘Energy’, 77 punk on ‘Wire’ and new garage rock explosions on ‘Taliban’ which morph in to a piece of black wax that’s 100% guaranteed to get the disenfranchised wiggling, the fed-up hurling half bricks through foxtons windows and the punk lifers flipping off yet another boss before carving out another fork in their paths of resistance.

Bill MacKay and Drag City are delirious with pride to announce the discovery of a new territory: Locust Land, a record which seeks to reflect the nerve-shredding consciousness run amok in our world today - and somehow allay it with sound. Bill"s music is a visceral crackling where it meets the air, and Locust Land can"t help but reflect its era more than any other in his discography. It"s been five years since the release of Fountain Fire - but in the interim, Bill has barely stopped moving, collaborating with artists across the spectrum, including cellist Katinka Kleijn, banjo player Nathan Bowles and keyboardist Cooper Crain. He"s also contributed to recordings by Steve Gunn, Ryley Walker, Bill Callahan & Bonnie Prince Billy (Blind Date Party), and Black Duck (on their self-titled record featuring Douglas McCombs and Charles Rumback). Forget five years - how"d he even get Locust Land squeezed out of his temporal lobes? Bill"s sense of music as art is constantly modulating - lifting off from where it is found and naturally migrating to some other place. Sometimes, that"s elsewhere - others, it"s simply to be found deeper inside the starting point. And so, the action of moving on informs the landscape of Locust Land. This manifests in several different ways. A restless energy and urgency is repeatedly felt - in the driving momentum of "Keeping in Time," "Glow Drift," and "When I Was Here" - while a dogged persistence radiates from the tone colors and percussion of "Oh, Pearl." Mating a dirge-like desolation with sparkling guitars, "Radiator" adds darkness and depth. The sense of searching, displacement and longing in vocal tracks "Keeping in Time," "Half of You," and "When I Was Here" speak literally to the tumult of current vibrations. Within the arrangements, there"s also departure from previous norms - in addition to the brilliant guitar work for which he is known, Bill plays a variety of keyboards, from piano to organ to synth, extending his music with the available voicings, while enriching the sound field without abandoning his signature brevity. For fans of his singing, and following in the recent tradition of Fountain Fire as well as his collaboration with Nathan Bowles, Keys, Locust Land expresses with an increased vocal presence - and heightened engagement, with Bill"s words and melodies drawing us closer. Also different: on his previous solo recordings, Bill played every sound. Here, he has invited other illustrious Chicagoans to join him: Sam Wagster (The Father Costume, Mute Duo) plays bass on three songs, two of which feature the percussion playing of Mikel Patrick Avery (Natural Information Society, Jeff Parker, etc.). Additionally, Janet Beveridge Bean (Eleventh Dream Day, Freakwater) adds otherworldly vocal textures to the elegiac "Neil"s Field." Whether played alone or with companions, this music projects the strength of a universal collective. Even with a piece that might earlier have passed for blissful pastorale, Bill displays some declamatory motives. The reverie which opens the album, "Phantasmic Fairy," embodies both transcendent and desperate moods, with Bill"s ineffable slide guitar playing afloat, with organs and synths, in a dream state suffused with a sense of foreboding - a requiem, perhaps for the days of unencumbered bandwidth? On the other side of the album, the strength to continue to hope appears in the lifting melodicism/exoticism of the album-closing title track, leaving the listener with the sense of having achieved a hard-won space - a place of personal contemplation and dissent, one that everyone on the planet deserves to visit every single day on earth. With cover art also by Bill MacKay (the third of his albums on Drag City to feature his work), Locust Land stands as a thoroughly personal statement from Bill to everyone everywhere.

Bill MacKay and Drag City are delirious with pride to announce the discovery of a new territory: Locust Land, a record which seeks to reflect the nerve-shredding consciousness run amok in our world today - and somehow allay it with sound. Bill"s music is a visceral crackling where it meets the air, and Locust Land can"t help but reflect its era more than any other in his discography. It"s been five years since the release of Fountain Fire - but in the interim, Bill has barely stopped moving, collaborating with artists across the spectrum, including cellist Katinka Kleijn, banjo player Nathan Bowles and keyboardist Cooper Crain. He"s also contributed to recordings by Steve Gunn, Ryley Walker, Bill Callahan & Bonnie Prince Billy (Blind Date Party), and Black Duck (on their self-titled record featuring Douglas McCombs and Charles Rumback). Forget five years - how"d he even get Locust Land squeezed out of his temporal lobes? Bill"s sense of music as art is constantly modulating - lifting off from where it is found and naturally migrating to some other place. Sometimes, that"s elsewhere - others, it"s simply to be found deeper inside the starting point. And so, the action of moving on informs the landscape of Locust Land. This manifests in several different ways. A restless energy and urgency is repeatedly felt - in the driving momentum of "Keeping in Time," "Glow Drift," and "When I Was Here" - while a dogged persistence radiates from the tone colors and percussion of "Oh, Pearl." Mating a dirge-like desolation with sparkling guitars, "Radiator" adds darkness and depth. The sense of searching, displacement and longing in vocal tracks "Keeping in Time," "Half of You," and "When I Was Here" speak literally to the tumult of current vibrations. Within the arrangements, there"s also departure from previous norms - in addition to the brilliant guitar work for which he is known, Bill plays a variety of keyboards, from piano to organ to synth, extending his music with the available voicings, while enriching the sound field without abandoning his signature brevity. For fans of his singing, and following in the recent tradition of Fountain Fire as well as his collaboration with Nathan Bowles, Keys, Locust Land expresses with an increased vocal presence - and heightened engagement, with Bill"s words and melodies drawing us closer. Also different: on his previous solo recordings, Bill played every sound. Here, he has invited other illustrious Chicagoans to join him: Sam Wagster (The Father Costume, Mute Duo) plays bass on three songs, two of which feature the percussion playing of Mikel Patrick Avery (Natural Information Society, Jeff Parker, etc.). Additionally, Janet Beveridge Bean (Eleventh Dream Day, Freakwater) adds otherworldly vocal textures to the elegiac "Neil"s Field." Whether played alone or with companions, this music projects the strength of a universal collective. Even with a piece that might earlier have passed for blissful pastorale, Bill displays some declamatory motives. The reverie which opens the album, "Phantasmic Fairy," embodies both transcendent and desperate moods, with Bill"s ineffable slide guitar playing afloat, with organs and synths, in a dream state suffused with a sense of foreboding - a requiem, perhaps for the days of unencumbered bandwidth? On the other side of the album, the strength to continue to hope appears in the lifting melodicism/exoticism of the album-closing title track, leaving the listener with the sense of having achieved a hard-won space - a place of personal contemplation and dissent, one that everyone on the planet deserves to visit every single day on earth. With cover art also by Bill MacKay (the third of his albums on Drag City to feature his work), Locust Land stands as a thoroughly personal statement from Bill to everyone everywhere.