Search:definitive

When Kronos plays a piece, they become fellow composers, true collaborators. Without them, we wouldn’t have the kind of string quartet playing that we find around us today. There are two kinds of string quartet playing: the ‘Before Kronos’ and the ‘After Kronos’.” – Philip Glass

‘Kronos Quartet has broken the boundaries of what string quartets can do.’ – New York Times

Nonesuch releases Kronos Quartet’s acclaimed album Kronos Quartet Performs Philip Glass on vinyl for the first time to coincide with Kronos Quartet: Five Decades, a year-long celebration marking the quartet’s 50th anniversary. Originally released in 1995, the album features David Harrington (violin), John Sherba, (violin), Hank Dutt (viola) and Joan Jeanrenaud (cello) performing Quartet No. 2 (Company) (1983), No. 3 (Mishima) (1985), No. 4 (Buczak) (1990), and No. 5 (1991), the first piece Glass wrote especially for Kronos. Recorded at Skywalker Sound in California, the album was produced by Judith Sherman, Kurt Munkacsi and Philip Glass. The cover art features Francesco Clemente’s painting The Four Corners (1985). At the time of the album’s release, the New York Times said, ‘It contains some of Glass's best music since Koyaanisqatsi. His ear for sumptuous string sonorities is undeniable,’ while the Washington Post called it ‘An ideal combination of composer and performers.’ It was a top 10 hit on Billboard’s Top Classical Albums, and spent 12 weeks on Billboard’s Classical chart.



In his original liner note, critic Mark Swed wrote, ‘Glass’ string quartets may contain his most intimate music. They are works through which a very public composer, perhaps the most important opera reformer of our age and a longstanding collaborator in large-scale music theater, holds up a mirror to himself and his way of composing. “In an odd way,” Glass explains, “string quartets have always functioned like that for composers. I don’t really know why, but it’s almost impossible to get away from it. It’s the way composers of the past have thought and that’s no less true for me. It’s almost as if we say we’re going to write a string quartet, we take a deep breath, and we wade in to try to write the most serious, significant piece that we can.” Glass says that as he sat down to write String Quartet No. 5, he had discovered that perhaps not taking a serious tone might be the most serious way to deal with it. “I was thinking that I had really gone beyond the need to write a serious string quartet and that I could write a quartet that is about musicality, which in a certain way is the most serious subject.”’



Glass’ first numbered quartet was written in 1966; however, he did not return to the string quartet medium until 1983, when he provided incidental music for a dramatization of Samuel Beckett’s prose poem, Company. During those 17 years, Glass had formed an ensemble and developed his style in a series of increasingly elaborate pieces for it. String Quartet No. 3 is also adapted to dramatic music, this time from his score to the 1985 Paul Schrader film, Mishima. It was with the music of Mishima that Kronos became associated with Glass, recording the string quartet sections of the soundtrack and subsequently working extensively with the composer on all five of his numbered quartets. Kronos also gave the first concert performances of Company and Mishima. String Quartet No. 4 was composed in remembrance of the artist Brian Buczak, who died of AIDS in 1988.



As Kronos’ anniversary season continues with further concerts around the world, Nonesuch will reissue Black Angels on vinyl on February 16. First released in 1990, the award-winning album includes George Crumb’s title piece, which inspired David Harrington to found the quartet. Called ‘an unusually elevated and searing Vietnam War protest’ by the New York Times, it sets a dark, powerful tone for this collection, which addresses the political/physical/spiritual consequences of war. Also featured are works by Charles Ives, István Márta, Thomas Tallis, and Dmitri Shostakovich. ‘Stylishly packaged, intelligently programmed, superbly recorded and brilliantly performed,’ proclaimed Gramophone. ‘In short, very much the sort of disc we’ve come to expect from the talented and imaginative Kronos Quartet.’ The Evening Standard included it among its ‘100 Definitive Classical Albums of the 20th Century’.



Born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1937, Philip Glass is a graduate of the University of Chicago and the Juilliard School. By 1974, he had created a large collection of music for The Philip Glass Ensemble. The period culminated in the landmark opera, Einstein on the Beach. Since Einstein, Glass’s repertoire has grown to include music for opera, dance, theatre, orchestra, and film. His scores have received Academy Award nominations (including Kundun and The Hours, as well as Notes on a Scandal) and a Golden Globe (The Truman Show). Recent works include his memoir, Words Without Music, his first Piano Sonata, opera Circus Days and Nights, and Symphony No. 14. Glass received the Praemium Imperiale in 2012, the US National Medal of the Arts from President Barack Obama in 2016, and 41st Kennedy Center Honors in 2018.



Nonesuch’s relationship with Glass began in 1985, with the release of the score for Paul Schrader’s Mishima featuring Kronos Quartet. Over the years other Glass works on Nonesuch have included Einstein on the Beach (1993), Kronos Quartet Performs Philip Glass (1995), Music in Twelve Parts (1996), Glass Box (2008), as well as the soundtracks for Powaqqatsi (1988), Kundun (1997), Koyaanisqatsi (1998), and The Hours (2002), amongst others.



For 50 years, San Francisco’s Kronos Quartet – David Harrington (violin), John Sherba (violin), Hank Dutt (viola), and Paul Wiancko (cello) – has challenged and reimagined what a string quartet can be. Founded at a time when the form was largely centred on long-established, Western European traditions, Kronos has been at the forefront of revolutionizing the string quartet into a living art form that responds to the people and issues of our time. In the process, Kronos has become one of the most celebrated and influential groups of our era, performing thousands of concerts worldwide, releasing more than 70 recordings of extraordinary breadth and creativity, and collaborating with many of the world’s most accomplished composers and performers. Through its nonprofit organization, Kronos Performing Arts Association, Kronos has commissioned more than 1,000 works and arrangements for string quartet – including the Kronos Fifty for the Future library of free, educational repertoire. Kronos has received more than 40 awards, including three Grammy Awards and the Polar Music, Avery Fisher, and Edison Klassiek Oeuvre Prizes.



Kronos is prolific and wide-ranging on recordings. The ensemble’s expansive discography on Nonesuch includes three Grammy-winning albums: Terry Riley’s Sun Rings (2019), Landfall with Laurie Anderson (2018), and Alban Berg’s Lyric Suite featuring soprano Dawn Upshaw (2003); the 40th-anniversary boxed set Kronos Explorer Series; Nuevo (2002), a Grammy- and Latin Grammy–nominated celebration of Mexican culture; Pieces of Africa (1992), a showcase of African-born composers that simultaneously topped Billboard’s Classical and World Music charts; and Folk Songs (2017), Nonesuch’s 50th album with Kronos, which featured Sam Amidon, Olivia Chaney, Rhiannon Giddens, and Natalie Merchant singing traditional folk songs.

Echoes, Spaces, Lines collects Trans-Millenia Consort, Plot Zero, and Spectre, the first three albums by the late West Coast composer, healer, and medium Pauline Anna Strom. Exploring all corners of the multiverse through transpersonal form and freedom, Strom’s first three albums share a singular sensibility, different streams flowing from the same oracular font. Echoes, Spaces, Lines establishes Strom’s rightful place in the canon of great synthesists. Restored and mixed from the original reels by Marta Salogni, newly remastered, and adding Oceans of Tears, a fully realized but previously unreleased album exclusive to this box set, these are the first official reissues and the definitive encapsulation of Pauline Anna Strom’s prolific and visionary early work. These four-disc LP and CD box sets include 12 and 16 page booklet containing liner notes, an unearthed interview with Strom, and unseen ephemera.

“A piece of music never truly comes to An end. Revisiting a theme illustrates this idea that life goes on.” These are the words of Wayne Shorter, uttered in 2018 upon the release of Emanon, his final opus. On this record, the octogenarian uses dusky hues to shade in the passions of his youth - drawing and science-fiction, as well as the causes he has defended all his life - the fight against ecological upheaval and structural racism. This sentiment did not fail to resonate with Julien Lourau, who has reached a stage in life where he has begun to look back over certain pages written by the man he has always considered one of the masters of his trade. Five years later, this Parisian native has also chosen to revisit his glory days, offering reworked versions of specific tracks composed by his titular elder throughout the 80s. “When I play this music, I find myself back in my teenage bedroom. These are my standards, and they remind me of autumn in Rambouillet.” At that time, after practising his scales, Julien would also play Dungeons & dragons, and immerse himself in SF as well as heroic fantasy - epic influences which are not without a certain connection to the dreamworlds Shorter conjured up, as another fan of landscapes beyond the grasp of reality.

This album features four themes taken from Atlantis, which came out in 1985, and two from Joy Ryder, released three years later. To these, he has added a composition penned at around the same time for Sportin’ Life, the penultimate LP by Weather Report. This is rounded off by a tune taken

from Native Dancer, the record which, ten years earlier, in 1975, brought together this saxophonist who learnt his trade alongside Art Blakey, before joining Miles’ second quintet, and Brazilian Milton Nascimento.

“Between Native Dancer and Atlantis, Shorter did not release anything under his own name, but he took the time and care to really perfect his writing. Upon his return, he injected a very Brazilian form of subtlety into his compositions, especially rhythmically. And from a harmonic point of view, these themes are extremely sophisticated, and reveal truly singular colours. In fact, he decided to display the score as if it constituted the liner notes of Atlantis.”

Julien Lourau is a fan of every Wayne Shorter era, from his Blue Note days, where Mr Gone defined the bases of a truly unique repertoire, all the way to his final quartet - a reference like no other. He decided to focus on this “highly electric” period, which is not necessarily Shorter’s best known, nor his most widely appreciated - despite being a unanimous reference, Shorter has nonetheless never had a direct descendent. In Lourau’s line of sight there lies a desire to focus on typically South American tonic accents which characterise this repertoire, twinned with the ambition to switch up their actual sound “by attempting to open up onto a production highly influenced by eighties fusion". However, he admits that modifying the structures of these most unique of worlds constituted a fresh challenge. “There’s this labyrinthine harmonic system where you’ve no idea how it holds together, but where it’s actually impossible to touch the slightest element without the whole edifice wavering. It is in fact a very difficult thing to achieve!”

In order to successfully transcribe all this creativity free of obstacles, Julien Lourau once again called upon the help of Mathieu Debordes. From January 2023 onwards, Mathieu endeavoured to break down all the musical elements, on paper, before creating any actual music. The record was therefore constructed on the faith of these scores, without necessarily transiting through a creative residency - just two live gigs, to make sure the setup worked. Besides Mathieu Debordes and his synthesisers, Julien Lourau has assembled an ad hoc team by his side. On the bass, according to the track, we can hear erstwhile companion Sylvain Daniel or a new acolyte on the fretless bass, Joan Eche Puig.

Stéphane Edouard, on percussion, even dives headfirst into an unlikely proto-rap of sorts, on Pearl On The Half Shell (where, on the original version, Bobby McFerrin adjusted his interventions in a rather madcap style). Aesthete and drummer Jim Hart as well as pianist Leo Jassef also figure on this release - both were present on previous project devoted to label

CTI. “At sixteen, I wanted to sound like Michael Brecker rather than Ben Webster - that was equated with modernity in those days”, adds Julien with a smile, as for him, all this rings out a little like a logical next step, a joyful immersion into the fountain of youth. And if, for this record, he plays the soprano more than ever, the saxophone Shorter set in his sights on, he never tries to replicate an unattainable ideal note by note. What would be the point?

“Wayne Shorter is not just a saxophonist’s saxophonist. In fact, I don’t know a single person who has risen to challenge of his solos. I have not done it myself either, but on the other hand, I have retained a lot of his phraseology. His way of approaching the instrument reveals a more evanescent language, a work on colour and shape. Keeping this in mind has allowed me to gravitate towards certain elements, that in hindsight, I find echoes of in my work, even in Groove Gang.” Shorter etches out these phrases, creating a groove within which Lourau had traced subtle punctuation, managing, from a highly written base, to create fresh apertures, promises of a great escape. Emblematic of this standpoint, his regal version of Ponte de Areia, originally a wonderful dialogue between Milton Nascimento and Wayne Shorter. Here, the Frenchman takes liberties with the original melodies, without ever growing distant from the original spirit, extending one section with delicacy, offering a rubato development and then a groove “like a little suite”. Julien Lourau also renews with an accomplice from last century, Magic Malik, who lends his high-pitched vocals to the track. Though they had not recorded together for more than twenty years, the two of them got on as if they had only ceased collaborating yesterday, everything flowed naturally. The track was wrapped up in just one take, much like other themes, such as opener Who Goes There where the flautist deploys smooth, enchanted and smoky wisps.

Fundamentally, reflecting of the sleeve which features a child playing with a ball, image that could symbolise the sun just as much as the moon, Julien Lourau manages to translate the ambiguous candour which characterizes Shorter’s work - solar and crepuscular at the same time, that of a visionary and poet definitively situated outside of all chronology, but with whom Julien shares surprising and ‘timely’ coincidences. Shorter was born August 25, 1933, the same day as Julien’s father, “if we take time zones into account”, and who died on Lourau’s birthday, March 2, 2023. Should we take this as a random fact? Or could we not see here the sign of a destiny connecting the agnostic Frenchman to the man who, as a fervent Buddhist, believed in the transmission of his spiritual flow ?

Cher celebrates 25 years of "Believe" : On November 3, the Grammy Award-winning masterpiece will be released in a new, expanded " BELIEVE (Deluxe Edition) " that adds a whopping 13 remastered remixes to the mega-seller's original track listing (11 million worldwide!). The deluxe edition will be released in 3LP/2CD/Download & stream formats via Warner Records. "Believe" was an album full of dancefloor perennials - a fact that the assembled remixes in the new mastering underline once again.

"Tee's Radio One Instrumental? & "Ray Roc's Latin Soul Instrumental" from "Dov'e l'Amore?" are included here in one package for the first time, for example, along with remixes of the empowerment anthem "Strong Enough," "All or Nothing," "Dov'è l'amore" and the title track "Believe," a worldwide smash hit that sold over 10 million copies and reached #1 in 23 countries, including Germany, where it now has 5x gold status.

Cher is one of the most successful artists in history, selling over 100 million records during her unparalleled career. To date, she is the only artist:in to record a #1 single on the Billboard charts in six consecutive decades.

Hard-hitting, outspoken West Coast metalcore trio MUGSHOT has announced plans to release a new EP, "Cold Will," on November 3rd with their new label Pure Noise Records. The furious 5-track, neck-snapping record is an uninhibited commentary on sociopolitical travesties infecting the country, set to the tone of merciless rage and crushing riffs. Commenting on the EP, the band says: "'Cold Will' is crafted by the pains of life: Abuse, depression, manipulation, trauma, and other existential themes that present themselves as the rudder that directionally steers this record’s “ship.” Lyrical themes are met by and married with the crushing weight of dissonant riffs and frenetic drum patterns that further push the listener into this mental space of this record’s daunting thoughts and overall aggression. The hardcore inspired metal record consists of a frenzy of chaotically heavy riffs, abrupt tempo changes, and pure unbridled anger that all coalesce into one definitive statement. This record serves as the callout to any abusive person that has manipulatively used their power or title to take advantage of another. And to the people who we’ve lost because of these types of actions – this record is dedicated to them. When one’s voice is lost due to the distortions of life – our responsibility should be to amplify their voice and bring awareness to it."

Doppel-LP erhältlich auf gelbem Vinyl - Definitive Sammlung von Nancys seltenen Singles, Demos und bisher unveröffentlichten Stücken - Enthält 3 bisher unveröffentlichte Tracks, plus 3 Tracks, die ihr Vinyl-Debüt feiern - Das ausführliche Booklet enthält neue Interviews mit Nancy und Don Randi (The Wrecking Crew) PLUS nie zuvor gezeigte Fotos aus dem persönlichen Archiv von Nancy Sinatra - Der Ton wurde von den analogen Originalbändern von dem GRAMMYr-nominierten Toningenieur John Baldwin neu gemastert - Doppel-LP im Gatefold-Jacket mit 24-seitigem Buch - CD mit 40-seitigem Booklet // Light in the Attic feiert weiterhin die einflussreiche Karriere der Sängerin, Schauspielerin, Aktivistin und Ikone Nancy Sinatra mit einer fesselnden neuen Sammlung, "Keep Walkin': Singles, Demos & Raritäten 1965-1978", die vom GRAMMYr-nominierten Toningenieur John Baldwin neu gemastert wurde und 25 B-Seiten, seltene Singles, Cover, Demos und bisher unveröffentlichte Aufnahmen aus Sinatras reichhaltigem Katalog enthält. Das 2-LP-Set wird in einem erweiterten Klappcover präsentiert und von einem 24-seitigen Booklet begleitet (das auch in der CD-Ausgabe als 40-seitiges Booklet enthalten ist), das eine Reihe von Fotos aus der persönlichen Sammlung der Künstlerin sowie ein neues, ausführliches Interview mit Sinatra enthält. "Keep Walkin': Singles, Demos & Rarities 1965-1978" dient als Ergänzung zu der weithin gefeierten Retrospektive Start Walkin' 1965-1976 aus dem Jahr 2021, die die gesamte Karriere umfasst.

Repress! We at Now-Again unearthed so much information about the bands that recorded the definitive disco and modern soul contained in our recently launched Soul Cal anthology that we decided we had no choice but to release an album and a book at the same time. Well, following that line, the music contained on Loving On The Flip Side music is too damn good to be anonymously relaunched, decades after musical visionaries blended the best of heavy funk and sweet soul into a unified whole. And simply telling the stories of these vocalists and bands without allowing their lovelorn pleas to be heard again wasn’t an option. Thus, Loving On The Flip Side again offers the enthused a chance to listen to, read about and reflect on another great burst of black American creativity: the creation of the sublime
genre we like to call “sweet funk.”
It seems laughable to skip past Thomas East’s “Slipping Around” 7” for the cheesy funk of ‘Just A Trip,” or to listen obsessively to Lou Ragland’s instrumental funk on the Hot Chocolate LP and ignore his indolent-yet-stirring “We Had True Love.” Yet we did just that, until we first heard the Darling Dears and Funky Heavy’s beautiful
two-sider nearly ten years back. This was the record that set Loving On The Flip Side in motion, as the Darling Dears and Funky Heavy’s two songs precipitated the sweet funk genre: the dichotomy of Funky Heavy’s skull snapping rhythm section and the teenage Dears’ angelic harmonies didn’t sound like anything we’d heard before. That discovery set off a decade long search for the band and culminated in their discovery, the documenting of their stories, the emergence of their master tapes and the inclusion of their songs on Loving On The Flip Side.
The excitement we felt while listening to the Darling Dears and Funky Heavy’s masterworks forced us back into the field, in search of other sweet funk swooners and beat-heavy ballads to round out this anthology. The opportunity to present anew such wondrous soul music made the exhaustive process that produced Loving On The
Flip Side worthwhile, and allowed us to collect one-offs that escaped prior investigations into the deep funk and sweet soul genres.

Following up on last year's acclaimed Integration 12", Robbert Heynen unlocks his incredible back catalogue for four acidic reinterpretations from Greek maestro Anatlolian Weapons.

Proceeds of the record will be donated to Legacy of Hope foundation, an Indigenous led charitable association which educates and raises awareness about the history and on-going impacts of Canada's residential school system.

Demon Records is proud to present ‘Produced by Tony Visconti’, a new definitive retrospective compilation assembled with the assistance of legendary record producer Tony Visconti.
“This boxset covers five and a half decades of my efforts in the art of making iconic recordings. Some of it is familiar and some will have a eureka moment, ‘I didn’t know Visconti produced that one!’
I am honoured that Demon Records took on this enormous task.”
– Tony Visconti

Often described as one of the most important
producers in rock, Tony Visconti has helped create
countless classic musical moments. His work can be
heard on celebrated albums by artists such as T. Rex,
Procol Harum, The Moody Blues and Thin Lizzy to
name but a few.
• This new collection features 30 tracks personally
curated by Visconti, gathering together some of his
favourite production work from across his career.
• Includes tracks by T. Rex, Sparks, Thin Lizzy, U2,
Dexys Midnight Runners, Gentle Giant, The
Boomtown Rats, Manic Street Preachers, The Good,
The Bad & The Queen, and many more.
• Pressed on 2 x 140g LPs, mastered by Phil Kinrade at
AIR Mastering, approved by Tony Visconti. Artwork
designed by Grammy-winning creative studio
Barnbrook.
• Includes a 12-page booklet with previously unseen
photographs, and extensive track-by-track liner
notes by Mojo writer Mark Paytress based on new
interviews with Tony Visconti.

























x 5. U2 – A Sort Of Homecoming Live

Doppel-LP erhältlich auf gelbem Vinyl - Definitive Sammlung von Nancys seltenen Singles, Demos und bisher unveröffentlichten Stücken - Enthält 3 bisher unveröffentlichte Tracks, plus 3 Tracks, die ihr Vinyl-Debüt feiern - Das ausführliche Booklet enthält neue Interviews mit Nancy und Don Randi (The Wrecking Crew) PLUS nie zuvor gezeigte Fotos aus dem persönlichen Archiv von Nancy Sinatra - Der Ton wurde von den analogen Originalbändern von dem GRAMMYr-nominierten Toningenieur John Baldwin neu gemastert - Doppel-LP im Gatefold-Jacket mit 24-seitigem Buch - CD mit 40-seitigem Booklet // Light in the Attic feiert weiterhin die einflussreiche Karriere der Sängerin, Schauspielerin, Aktivistin und Ikone Nancy Sinatra mit einer fesselnden neuen Sammlung, "Keep Walkin': Singles, Demos & Raritäten 1965-1978", die vom GRAMMYr-nominierten Toningenieur John Baldwin neu gemastert wurde und 25 B-Seiten, seltene Singles, Cover, Demos und bisher unveröffentlichte Aufnahmen aus Sinatras reichhaltigem Katalog enthält. Das 2-LP-Set wird in einem erweiterten Klappcover präsentiert und von einem 24-seitigen Booklet begleitet (das auch in der CD-Ausgabe als 40-seitiges Booklet enthalten ist), das eine Reihe von Fotos aus der persönlichen Sammlung der Künstlerin sowie ein neues, ausführliches Interview mit Sinatra enthält. "Keep Walkin': Singles, Demos & Rarities 1965-1978" dient als Ergänzung zu der weithin gefeierten Retrospektive Start Walkin' 1965-1976 aus dem Jahr 2021, die die gesamte Karriere umfasst.

To celebrate the album"s 25-year anniversary, The Jesus And Mary Chain are reissuing their long-sold-out sixth studio album "Munki". Out on Fuzz Club, the reissue arrives on CD and gatefold double LP. The vinyl has been remastered by Pete Maher (The Rolling Stones, Jack White, Liam Gallagher). Originally released June 2nd 1998 on Sub Pop / Creation Records, "Munki" was - up until the Mary Chain"s reformation in 2007 - an experimental rock"n"roll masterclass turned swan song for the Reid brothers, whose fractious in-fighting culminated in the band"s break-up less than a year after its release. It was perhaps fitting, then, that "Munki" is argued by some as the definitive Mary Chain record in the way it seemed to chart the full array of musical directions the band had ploughed over the five records that came before.

The Chills reissue their celebrated early singles compilation, this 24-track expanded version of Kaleidoscope World gathers together tracks from the ‘Dunedin Double’ compilation, live recordings, Doledrums’ single and the band’s seminal ‘Pink Frost’. The collection also contains ‘The Lost EP’, with early takes on their groundbreaking ‘Submarine Bells’ album, alongside the aching ‘I Love My Leather Jacket’, perfectly illustrating the rollercoaster ride of Martin Phillipps and The Chills as portrayed in the award film The Triumph And The Tragedy Of Martin Phillipps. “Singer/guitarist Martin Phillipps’ group was at the forefront of the extraordinary little guitar-pop scene in New Zealand in the early ’80s.. Kaleidoscope World is the major document of their early era.” Pitchfork. Part of the 80’s extraordinarily vibrant and innovative independent music scene in New Zealand, The Chills became flag bearers, taking the Dunedin sound, as championed by the Flying Nun label, to the world. Long recognised as one of New Zealand's most influential bands, Kaleidoscope World is a definitive artifact from Martin Phillipps’ groundbreaking project.

Remastered and for the first time on vinyl this incredible 12" EP where the country legend Steve Earle teams up with the Supersuckers.

Originally released in 1997. The Supersuckers tackle an Earle song ("Angel Is the Devil") and Earle covers one of their tunes ("Creepy Jackalope Eye"), then after a joint cover (the Rolling Stones' "Before They Make Me Run," the definitive Keith Richards anthem), the originals are offered up.

I feel a deep sense of loss listening to this music, but at the same time the possibility of going beyond it through sound. It doesn't want to illustrate anything, but I would like it to be transformative, even of a feeling that sounds like death. It is an elegy." — Furtherset

The Infinite Hour is a shattered elegy synthesized in electronics. Furtherset's music does not explain, settle or justify, it rather simply manifests the grip of anguish. As a whole, the album's six compositions resemble the labored breathing of one who mourns a disappearance and fears oblivion. A feeling like having one's chest weighed down by a stone, while still being attentive to one's breath, and aware of what remains. From this dimension The Infinite Hour arises and transfigures loss into a space that is always extending: the hour is infinite, the melody is circular, and even stasis has its own measure that is exceeded into eternity.

The album was created between 2020 and 2022, in a slow process of writing and continuous refinement parallel to the previous EP, Auras. The compositions found their final form during the mixing process carried out together with composer & sound artist Bienoise (Mille Plateaux). They were later named based on references to authors who influenced and are dear to Furtherset: Amelia Rosselli, Vladimir Chlebnikov, Hubert Damisch, Dante Alighieri. Each track, composed with its live rendition in mind, manifests itself to the listener as a possible variant of a path that is never definitive. Their live performance, an increasingly distinctive moment within Furtherset's work, is a gesture of concentration and extension, where every composition is developed through meticulous variations of each singularity.

The Infinite Hour is one possible manifestation of an ever-changing musical landscape, a universe with unmistakable sounds but always on the verge of disintegrating, collapsing, and opening up spaces, times, infinities.

Furtherset is the musical project of artist and musician Tommaso Pandolfi (1995). His compositions' distinctive traits are stratifications and recursive shifting modulations, synthetic clusters and sampling, alongside rhythmic and embracing harmonies. The project is envisaged as formal research that follows a path towards saturation and layering, but is always capable of generating voids in which the listener can take their place and fill them according to their own focus.

Spiritus Mortis compilation from the Albert Witchfinder years! The definitive compilation of rare and sought after Spiritus Mortis 7" and 12" single and split tracks from the time with Sami Albert "Witchfinder" Hynninen on the vocals. These recordings have not appeared on Spiritus Mortis albums and never before in any digital format. For this compilation the songs have been completely remixed by Joona Lukala and Sami Hynninen, and the disc is expanded with exclusive bonus live material. Essential to ALL fanatics of real Heavy/Doom Metal!

Spiritus Mortis compilation from the Albert Witchfinder years! The definitive compilation of rare and sought after Spiritus Mortis 7" and 12" single and split tracks from the time with Sami Albert "Witchfinder" Hynninen on the vocals. These recordings have not appeared on Spiritus Mortis albums and never before in any digital format. For this compilation the songs have been completely remixed by Joona Lukala and Sami Hynninen, and the disc is expanded with exclusive bonus live material. Essential to ALL fanatics of real Heavy/Doom Metal!

Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 3: The Asylum Years (1972-1975) is the latest entry in Rhino’s ongoing, GRAMMY-winning series exploring the vast untapped archives of rare Joni Mitchell recordings — a project guided inti-mately by Mitchell’s own vision and personal touch. Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 3: The Asylum Years (1972-1975) will be available as a 4 LP with an accompanying book featuring photos and a conversation about this period between Joni Mitchell and longtime friend Cameron Crowe.

The collection begins with an early cut of “Cold Blue Steel And Sweet Fire,” one of two songs (along with “For The Roses”) test-driven during a visit to a Graham Nash David Crosby recording session at Wally Heider’s in Hol-lywood.

From there, listeners are treated to early demos and alternate versions from sessions from For The Roses, Court & Spark, and The Hissing Of Summer Lawns; historic live show recordings, including the entirety of Mitch-ell’s triumphant 1972 return to Carnegie Hall and a definitive gig with her Court And Spark backing band Tom Scott & the L.A. Express; and tracks from sessions cut alongside James Taylor, Graham Nash, and Neil Young.


















q 5. Sunrise Raga [3:41]

Back to Bach: after the huge success of Johann Sebastian Bach (2018), Víkingur Ólafsson has now recorded the composer’s monumental Goldberg Variations, available as a 2-LP gatefold set (pressed on 180g black vinyl). The accompanying booklet includes an engrossing and in depth essay in which the pianist discusses the work and its history. He also reflects on the performance decisions he had to make in the studio when it came to creating a definitive version of a work he’d dreamt of recording for 25 years. “At least to me, the Goldberg Variations’ genius lies not in the general, but the specific,” says Ólafsson. “As each variation unfolds, one must be wholly gripped by its individual drama and affect, drawn into its own marvellous little microcosm and filled with the joy of discovering it.” The album comes out on Deutsche Grammophon on 6 October 2023.

Lost in time yet always in season, here’s a blast of that old perennial, the punk rock, representative of the swiftly changing times around Bailey’s Crossroads, just outside Washington DC, in the early 80s. Skam recorded this stuff in 1982-1983, then broke up, leaving these songs to be released… maybe never? Or more preferably, now, to race into the bloodstream of jaded, faded today with all the vigour and rigour of Skam’s eternal youth.

Though they didn’t release any records during their three years of existence, it’d be wrong to call Skam ‘never-was’ - in addition to these recordings, there’s a trail of flyers for shows with Scream, No Trend, United Mutations and Media Disease, as well as the memories of the student alumni from Bishop O’Connell High, class of ‘83 or so.

The conglomeration of scenes around the greater DC area at that time produced a variety of bands, but the prevailing recollection of the era is of the incendiary hardcore punk and subsequent straight edge values of the Dischord bands. The band that became Skam was a world apart; they were posited for the first time by 8th graders Vince Forcier and Jack Anderson at a Jackson Browne concert, and their initial rehearsals in their parents’ basement were highlighted by covers of Beatles, Stones, Who and Led Zeppelin songs. Bad covers.

It wasn’t until they’d been playing a bit that they discovered The Ramones, and it was then that the die was cast and pedal pressed to the metal for another frantic couple of years.

The Skam recordings from 1982 have an undeniably Clash-like countenance that sets them definitively apart from the ‘First Four’ of Dischord - in some ways, prefiguring the pop-punk sound of Green Day at the dawn of the 1990s instead - but subsequent recordings found them quickly evolving - or devolving - into a personal mastery of savage riffs and tempos, as well as post-punk conceptions.

But even as they were verging into this new territory, their three years together had frayed their alliance and they soon broke up. Jack joined No Trend, Vince played in Racer X and then Second Wind. And life went on. However, the rediscovered Skam tapes make for an incredible addendum to the more well-known music of that incredible time and place

In the late '70s, The Avengers established themselves as one of the US's preeminent punk bands. Fusing incisive guitar hooks, explosive rhythms and adolescent venom, the group forged some of the most in-your-face songs of the era. Their live shows were legendary, playing up and down the West Coast and even blowing Sex Pistols off the stage at the latter's final performance.

As Byron Coley writes in the liner notes, "Of the best bands of San Francisco's first wave in 1977, The Avengers were by far the coolest and youngest sounding. They roared without irony, as though this were indeed Year Zero (and, for a moment, it was) with history being overwritten by the new. The honesty of their belief was carried by their sound. And it was convincing!"

Originally released in 1983, four years after the band's dissolution, The Avengers' self-titled LP is often referred to as "The Pink Album" for its magenta-hued cover design. Frontwoman Penelope Houston's iconic voice and razor-sharp lyrics resonate on anthems "We Are The One" and "The American In Me," while penetrating ballads like "Corpus Christi" reveal a truly out-of-body euphony.

The Pink Album remains The Avengers' definitive statement - collecting their classic Dangerhouse EP, sessions recorded with the Pistols' Steve Jones and a half-dozen revelatory demos. While much has been written about The Avengers in the past three decades, rock critic Greil Marcus puts it succinctly, "The word I always come back to is mystical, and that remains almost theirs alone."

This record"s origin story is as elusive as Pharoah was about everything Pharoah. It was born out of a misunderstanding between him and the India Navigation producer Bob Cummins, and was recorded at a crossroads in his career with a group of musicians so unlikely that they were never all in the same room again. There was a guitarist who was also a spiritual guru, an organist who would go on to co-write and produce "The Message", and a classically trained pianist - his wife at the time, Bedria Sanders - who played the harmonium despite never having seen one. At times ambient and serene, at others funky and modal, PHAROAH radically departed from his earlier work. It would become one of the artist"s most beloved records and one of the great works of the 20th century. With Pharoah Sanders" blessing, the limited edition embossed version of this 2 LP box set presents the definitive, remastered version of PHAROAH, his seminal record from 1977, along with two previously unreleased live performances of his masterpiece "Harvest Time". This is the first official rerelease of PHAROAH, which has been bootlegged often since its original release in 1977. These exceptional live versions of "Harvest Time" - which Pharoah performed during an intense European tour in the summer of "77 and which are included here for the first time - turn the original, beloved composition on its head. PHAROAH will be released a year after the legendary tenor saxophonists" untimely passing, and two years after the release of what was to become his final album, the widely acclaimed PROMISES, a collaboration between the composer Floating Points and Pharoah Sanders, featuring the London Symphony Orchestra. The first pressing of this limited edition box set comes with an embossed cover and is accompanied by never-before-shared photographs and ephemera, as well as a 24-page booklet featuring rarely seen photographs, interviews with many of the participants, and a conversation with Pharoah himself.

Repress.

RAWAX proudly welcomes Ian Pooley to the artist family!
Overthirty years into his career, Ian Pooley continues to be a favourite of house & techno fans and DJs, remaining a highly respected figure within electronic music.

He is enjoying one of the most fruitful periods of his career, with fresh material drawing more house and techno lovers to his fanbase, while classic older cuts are being reintroduced to new generations.

We are pleased to present you in future some of his timeless past & present releases. Starting with "Relations". This 2x12" came out originally in 1996 on iconic Definitive Records, runned by Richie Hawtin & John Acquaviva. The re-mastered version will be available on solid 180 Gramm vinyl

EXPANSION continues its series of 10' CLASSICS back to back with the coolest CONTEMPORARY takes of one awesome track. First off is the 70s masterpiece by master of the keyboards EDDIE RUSS, and a definitive jazz funk classic, never before released as a single, and originally from the rare 1976 LP 'See The Light', issued on CD by Soul Brother in 2008.

The newer version is by the UK's jazz funk and soul icons INCOGNITO. It's an especially recorded version that does not feature on any of their albums and has been extremely rare until this release on vinyl. Incognito have just celebrated 35 years in the business and are masters of the jazz funk vibe and this version keeps faithful to the original while being also the fresh and vibrant sound we love from the group.

Watch out for more releases in the 'back to back' 10' series which so far has featured classics are makes by Johnny Hammond and Norman Connors

Perth-based artist hub 823, led by the extraordinary producer / creator Ta-ku joins forces with Berlin's Jakarta Records for the release of Godblesscomputers's fourth full-length LP, "Faded Views." The LP melds bright electronic flourishes with laidback synth-driven backdrops, weaving tapestries of mellow folktronica and groovy jazz harmony with continuous sonic intrigue that will keep you grooving into a tropical disposition. Paying homage to his musical moniker, the Bologna-based producer makes timely metallic interjections amidst lush, effortlessly groovy soundscapes. Explore a world of found, recycled, and synthesized sound on "Faded Views" out everywhere September 8.

Bologna-based producer, DJ, and sound collector Godblesscomputers (122k Spotify listeners) has returned with the release of his fourth full-length record, "Faded Views." Godblesscomputers's latest LP "The Island" (2020, La Tempesta Dischi) earned him placement on Spotify playlists like "Brain Flood" and "Coffee Club." Since then, his appearance on Willie Peyote's track "La colpa al vento" landed GBC on "Best of Indie Italia 2022." On "Faded Views," it was Godblesscomputers's creative project to explore the sonic potentials of his direct environment, picking up recordings and threads of inspiration from the most commonplace occurrences. A sonic scavenger, Godblesscomputers explored the expanses of his-both digital and physical-soundscapes. "Faded Views" does the work of crafting a unified, yet complex compilation of the noises that mark the experience of being digital natives in ever-expanding dimensions.

Godblesscomputers's use of musique concrète and found-sound composition melds curiously with his undeniable electronic and techno acumen. Superimposing metallic electronica onto esoteric sound bytes creates the occasion for complex sound collage. "Faded Views" marks a decade since the genesis of the Godblesscomputers project; the entire LP testifies to how time warps perception and sound. Godblesscomputers's music seems to decorate time, both commemorating the moments passed with mind-melting sonic collages and looking forward to the infinitudes of the future with frenetic electronic experimentation.

Themes of impermanence and transience-hence "Faded Views"-pervade the record. Godblesscomputers blurs time as each track seeps into the next in what feels like a seamless transition. He makes these swift passages in genre as well-the record opens on "Colors" with a rich horn section which frictionlessly becomes a lo-fi dance groove. It is this melding of the analog and the electronic that makes sense of his found approach to beat-making: Godblesscomputers marries the found and the synthesized; the creator and the created; the past and the future. The process of sonic dissection and recomposition that drives much of Godblesscomputers's creative process yields not only assertive breakdowns and animated dance tracks, but also complex tapestries of sound that keep the listener ever-intrigued-piano, saxophone, and modular synthesis all find a natural home on tracks like "Hello." In an apt description, the producer's work has been described as "sounding like wood, metal, and microchip."

Godblesscomputers's artistic objective lies in blurring definitive lines, constantly shifting perspectives, genres, and origins of inspiration. On "Faded Views," this design cultivates a folktronica record that truly evades definition.

Feelgood lead single "Mirrors" is out June 30th and features a rich meld of warbling layers, mixing upbeat dance music with complex instrumentation. Stream second single, "Above the Lake," for a mellow summer cut on July 21. Finally, the effortlessly groovy third single "You Feel Me" captures a genre-warping foray into folktronica. Listen to "You Feel Me" on August 11.

All LP artwork and stunning single visualizers were single-handedly put together by multi-disciplinary designer Michael Norman. "Faded Views" will be available everywhere physically and digitally on September 8, 2023. Be sure to listen for focus track "Hello" that captures the vast scope of Godblesscomputers's musical prowess. Find the LP, CD, and digital release on 823's and Jakarta Records's Bandcamp and local record stores.

Nottingham’s hottest prospects, the four piece have been making waves with their definitive, genre-spanning sound that incorporates elements of post-punk, indie and art pop to create something remarkable and unique. 2022 saw the band release their debut EP ‘Soft Soap’ which garnered rapturous praise from BBC Radio 1, NME, Clash and more, cementing their place as an outfit to watch.

In 2020, electronic musician Nina Pixel was offered a track on a compilation album of songs from the Liptov region. What started as a rearrangement of a single folk song eventually grew in scope and size, eventually becoming a series of releases. Titled Ancestral Archaeology, the series counts two self-released EPs, an audiovisual show in co-operation with Adrián Kriška, and now, after two years, a double LP published by Weltschmerzen. In this definitive form of an album, Ancestral Archaeology reveals itself as a musical reimagination of traditional historical Slovak culture at large.

Nina Pixel averts the perils of lapsing into inauthentic fakelore by building her music with, rather than on, the ethnographic riches of Slovakia. With the eagerness of a genuine archeological prospector, Ancestral Archaeology invokes the always present but seldom perceived linchpins of folklore culture: the desperate clinging to the memory of pre-Christian paganism and witchcraft, songs with narratives of beautiful innate wyrdness that is utterly unfit for mass culture, and superstition as the most serious longing for the balance between sense and irrationality.

If we acknowledge the truism of folklore as the shared way of expression in rural society, the techno music on Ancestral Archeology proposes that, in the urban society of ours, this role is served by raves. The argument isn't as much declared as it's implied // in music and in the spoken-word lyrics that are rife with historical and contemporary sources. An 18th-century recipe by the writer and priest Juraj Fándly proposes snorting the grounded flowers of the medicinal weed Valerian as a way of curing bad vision. "It is a proven remedy!" we are repeatedly assured, and it's not hard imagining Fándly and his parishioners, strung out on Valerian, moving almost involuntarily to the rhythms of their era just as we can move to Ancestral Archeology.

Nina Pixel is a Slovak music artist based in Berlin. Lyrics are inspired by Slovak folklore traditions, songs and shared beliefs.



Manifestation tools: cello, overtone flute koncovka, fujara, gong, metal bowls, sheep bell, field recordings of Slovak forests, Andreas's tom and various drum machines.

Amanaz were serious, and they made a serious stab at an album. They titled their album Africa, according to original band member Keith Kabwe, “because of how it was shared and how its inhabitants were butchered and enslaved, its resources stolen… all the atrocities slave drivers committed. “ Thus, their “Kale,” a blues sung in Nyanja, that traced the continent’s arc from slavery to Zambia’s independence closes the album. Kabwe and rhythm guitarist John Kanyepa have a winsome softness to their vocals, which sit politely aside the feral growl of drummer Watson Baldwin Lungu, bassist Jerry Mausala and bandleader/lead guitarist Isaac Mpofu. Africa’s vibe ranges from anxious (“Amanaz”) to escapist (“Easy Street”) to straight-up pissed-off. On the “History of Man,” his voice whiskeyburned, his distorted guitar buzzing like swarming hornets, Mpofu indicts his species.
There’s a darkness to Africa not found on any other Zamrock records, and a melancholy drifts throughout, specifically on Mpofu’s more restrained “Khala My Friend,” which stands as an effective, bleak situation for the Zambian everyman, the average citizen of a struggling, new nation, who might have had relatives in conflict-torn countries on the horizon, who might have been struggling to find his next meal, who might have seen a bleaker future than his president promised. Then there’s the clear Velvet Underground-influence on the nostalgic “Sunday Morning,” which, as Kabwe
recalls, was the first song written for the album, back in 1968, when Velvet Undergound and Nico was a new release - and the underground funk of “Making The Scene.” The album also tackles traditional Zambian music and early-‘60s rock – punctuated, of course by Kanyepa’s wah-wah and Mpofu’s fuzz guitars. But every time Amanaz get too deep, too violent, they come back with an accessible song and woo their listener back to the groove. “Green Apple” is a civil song, featuring Kanyepa’s sighing guitar. It is a perfectly arranged album, from the dichotomy of Mpofu’s and Kanyepa’s lead and rhythm guitars, to the vocal harmonies, to the rhythm section’s sense of space and time, which allows Africa’s funk to build. Inexplicably, Africa was given two separate mixes and two separate presses: one version is dry, with the vocals and drums mixed loud, the other slathered in reverb, with the vocals and drums disappearing into the mix, and with the guitar solos mixed much louder. We’ve presented them both here as they each have their appeal: it’s up to the listener to pick the one he or she prefers. This is a highpoint of the Zamrock scene and we hope that this can be seen as its definitive reissue.

To mark the 65th anniversary of the album’s recording, Blue Train will be released in two special editions on September 16 as part of Blue Note’s acclaimed Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series. A 1-LP mono pressing of the original album will be presented in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket, while the 2-LP stereo collection Blue Train: The Complete Masters will include a second disc featuring seven alternate and incomplete takes, none of which have been released previously on vinyl, and four of which have never been released before on any format. The Complete Masters comes with a booklet featuring never-before-seen session photos by Francis Wolff and an essay by Coltrane expert Ashley Kahn. Both Tone Poet Vinyl Editions were produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI. Blue Train: The Complete Masters will also be released as a 2-CD set and digital collection


“Few studio experiences I’ve had can compare with the thrill of listening to the original master tapes—mono, stereo and alternate takes—of Blue Train,” says Harley. “I consider these two new versions the definitive editions of this masterpiece performance by John Coltrane.”

How can anyone do a new remix of Q-Projects definitive old skool jungle classic "Champion Sound"? Well, almost nobody could without retreading the past or losing the thread...But Hyper-On Experience isn't "nobody". Hyper-On Experience takes the original and makes something truly special, keeping the dark and nasty vibe, but bringing it up to date in a way that is both authentic and classic. Flipped with RayKeith remixing The Trip - The Erb in his unmistakeable junglist style, this is two legendary classics on one slim piece of wax....

Miles Davis created just one studio album with his original sextet: Milestones. And he made every moment count. Pairing with Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones, Davis not only laid the groundwork for the modalism that immediately followed but tailored a genuine modern-jazz masterwork laden with performances among the most explosive of his distinguished career. Sandwiched between the more famous 'Round About Midnight and the epochal Kind of Blue, Milestones remains a seminal work of art.

Sourced from the original master tapes and pressed on dead-quiet SuperVinyl, Mobile Fidelity's numbered-edition 180g LP grants each musician their own space amid broad soundstages. Afforded the benefits of a nearly non-existent noise floor and supreme groove definition, this vinyl reissue doubles as a time machine back to the February-March 1958 recording sessions.

Colors, shapes, and dimensions appear in the manner that resembles what you'd glean from behind a studio control room's window. Davis' burnished trumpet is rendered in three-dimensional perspective and seemingly coaxes the band to play with unburdened zest. Coltrane's trademark saxophone teems with lifelike tonality and images with specificity; his solos work in tandem with and against the driving rhythms. Garland's swaggering piano lines? Visualize the keys as he hits full stride, the chords and fills slithering around skeletal frameworks.

Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and selected as a "Core Collection" record by the Penguin Guide to Jazz, Milestones is as famous for its title track – widely considered ground zero for modalism and bolstered by Jones' hallmark "Philly Lick" rim shot – as the players that produced it. The launching pad for many of Davis' improvisational flights, the album teases the explorations Coltrane would soon chase. Davis' own solo work broaches territories that far exceed what he had done in his bop-rooted past. Every song is a highlight.

Take the bravado "Dr. Jackle," featuring a hot-foot pace and bebop strains, or "Sid's Ahead," which continues the album's blues theme while juggling edgy harmonics and inside-out structures. On "Billy Boy," distinguished with an arco bass solo from Chambers, Garland gets a turn in the spotlight and channels the openness practised by one of his heroes, Ahmad Jamal. Even more instructive is the band's reading of Dizzy Gillespie's "Two Bass Hit." Three years removed from the version Davis and company recorded for the trumpeter's Columbia debut, this interpretation demonstrates the extent to which the group had jelled in a relatively short amount of time.



Then there's "Straight, No Chaser," the definitive rendition of Thelonious Monk's signature piece. Coltrane's marbled playing pulls at the tune's borders, Adderley takes liberty with solos, and Davis dances around his mates, at one point quoting "When the Saints Go Marching In" while demonstrating his knowledge of tradition and casting an eye towards the future.

About that future. Garland already had one foot out the door during the Milestones sessions to the extent Davis spells him on "Sid's Ahead." Jones would stick around for a bit longer but soon plot his exit. History proves Davis navigated the changes with visionary aplomb. Yet the chemistry, excitement, and beauty the sextet achieves on Milestones cannot be overstated. This reissue helps put the album in proper perspective – and presents the music the fidelity it deserves.

The Fall's fourth studio album Perverted by Language was released in 1983. The album was produced by the band's vocalist and songwriter Mark E. Smith and recorded at various studios in Manchester.

Perverted by Language features some of The Fall's most renowned tracks, including "Garden". The album's sound is characterized by its sharp and angular post-punk guitar riffs, driven by a heavy bass and drums rhythm section, all layered with Mark E. Smith's distinctive vocals.

Lyrically, Perverted by Language deals with themes of alienation, disorder, and the unpredictability of modern life. Smith's idiosyncratic and cryptic wordplay, including his penchant for inventing new words and phrases, adds to the album's overall sense of unease and dislocation.

Despite its challenging sound and lyrics, Perverted by Language is considered by many critics and fans to be one of The Fall's finest albums, showcasing the band at their creative and innovative peak. The album is available as a limited edition of 1500 individually numbered copies on pink coloured vinyl and includes an insert.

Julian Cannonball Adderley's only Blue Note album, Somethin' Else, would likely forever be famous in music lore if just for the presence of Miles Davis. The iconic composer/trumpeter steps into the role of sideman on the 1958 set, one of just a handful of times he'd make such a move after the calendar passed the mid-1950s. Yet evaluating Somethin' Else strictly on Davis' involvement misses the big picture. Plain and simple, Adderley's jubilant work remains a jazz landmark due to the chemistry of its Hall of Fame personnel, enthusiasm of its participants, and sophistication of its arrangements – not to mention the reference-grade production and inclusion of the definitive renditions of two all-time jazz standards.

Limited to 6,000 numbered copies, pressed on dead-quiet MoFi SuperVinyl at RTI, and mastered from the original master tapes, Mobile Fidelity's ultra-hi-fi UltraDisc One-Step 180g 45RPM 2LP collector's edition pays tribute to the record's merit and includes the bonus track "Allison's Uncle." Offering reference-calibre sonics, this spectacular collector's version provides a clear, transparent, ultra-dynamic, and up-close view of a cornerstone effort that witnesses Adderley and Davis sharing horn duty alone for the only time in their fabled careers – an arrangement that occurred as a result of Adderley having joined Davis' majestic sextet a year prior.

The premium packaging and beautiful presentation of the UD1S Somethin' Else pressing befit its extremely select status. Housed in a deluxe slipcase, it features special foil-stamped jackets and faithful-to-the-original graphics that illuminate the splendour of the recording. No expense has been spared. Aurally and visually, this UD1S reissue exists as a curatorial artefact meant to be preserved, touched, and examined. It is made for discerning listeners that prize sound quality and production, and who desire to fully immerse themselves in the art – and everything involved with the album, from the iconic photos to the gorgeous finishes.

The vibrant potency reveals itself openly on an analogue set that provides full-range reproduction of an ensemble that also includes pianist Hank Jones, bassist Sam Jones, and drummer Art Blakey. Each and every snare hit, downbeat, and cymbal splash registered by the latter take on realistic proportions, blooming and decaying as they would right in front of you on a stage. Jones' foundational bass lines register with uncommon depth and palpability, the litheness of the strings and fullness of the instrument epitomizing the definition of rhythm. Stellar, too, are the surefooted 88s. Sublime in scale, tonality, and attack, with the delineation such you can practically separate the white and black keys in your mind. As for that liquid interplay between Adderley and Davis? Breathtakingly lifelike in timbre, naturalism, purity, and presence. This collector's version takes you there – there being Rudy Van Gelder's legendary New Jersey studio in March 1958 to witness it all unfold, again and again.

For reasons that extend far beyond the outstanding playing and flawless repertoire, Somethin' Else is without question a record you'll always want to watch and hear come together. As veteran critic Bob Blumenthal observed writing about the album four decades after its release, "The instant rapport achieved by the quintet is thus the product of much shared and common history, though the tensile strength that they create throughout created a totally unique feeling that can be attributed to the sensitive musicianship of all concerned, including the supposedly hard bopping leader and drummer." Such inimitable feeling, or emotion, courses throughout every passage, and no where more obviously than on "Autumn Leaves" and "Love for Sale."

Without question, the discreet interpretations of the Johnny Mercer and Cole Porter songs, respectively, found on Somethin' Else have long been considered part of jazz's alluring mystique. Adderley and Davis bring contrasting approaches to the table yet sound of a singular mind on "Autumn Leaves," with the latter's muted trumpet and the headliner's lush alto saxophone dovetailing into a performance that endures as a blueprint for expression, counterpoint, sophistication, fluidity, and linearity. Blues, melody, and romance pour from their horns. Their bandmates, picking up on the intimate vibe and calm mood here – as well as on the spry, head-over-heels spirit of "Love for Sale" – join in on the conversation with sharp economy and float-on-air roundedness.

Not to undersell the other three numbers, all deserving five-star status. Twelve measures in length, the title track offers a slow burn in swing. Written by Adderley's brother, Nat, the 12-bar "One for Daddy-O" transmits funk flavors. The closing "Dancing in the Dark" pops with lushness and temptation, its stream of bold colours and understated textures calling for a moonlight twirl, or at least fantasies suggestive of a memorable night. Somethin' else, indeed.

THE LEGENDARY 1980 ALBUM REMASTERED FROM THE ORIGINAL TAPES.
• 2LP SET WITH 12” X 12” BOOKLET.
• INLCUDES THE PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED ‘COMS 1-3 RDX SUITE’ (TAKEN FROM THE ‘COMMERCIAL
ALBUM’ MULTITRACK TAPES).
• PRODUCED WITH THE RESIDENTS AND THE CRYPTIC CORPORATION.
• THE SEVENTH IN A SERIES OF VINYL RE-ISSUES OF THE RESIDENTS’ CLASSIC 70S ALBUMS.
Formed in the early 1970s, The Residents have now been charting a unique path through the
musical landscape for 50 years. In celebration of that remarkable and unlikely anniversary, we
present an expanded vinyl edition of the classic 1980 LP ‘Commercial Album’.
Following almost a decade spent attempting to redefine what pop music could be, but with zero
hit singles to show for it, The Residents finally caved and produced their own pop music album as
the 80s dawned. But rather than have each song repeat the same minute of music three times as
per the traditional pop format, The Residents produced no less than 40 one-minute pop
masterpieces, and invited the listener to do the repeating bit themselves if they felt the need.
The resulting ‘Commercial Album’ both showcased the incredible depth of the group’s musical
palette and proved definitively that they could easily be as big as The Beatles if they wanted to.
Probably bigger, actually.
Featuring a breathless collage of toe-tappers, memorable melodies, instrumental experiments
and guest performers (Fred Frith, Chris Cutler and XTC’s Andy Partridge among them), the
record has since acquired legendary status among both fans and confused onlookers alike.
Alongside the original album, this 2LP edition presents the ‘COMS 1-3 RDX Suite’ – a brand new
interpretation of (almost) the entire album, produced by the group using the original multi-track
tapes – and a brand new sleevenote essay shedding new light on the album’s production.
‘Commercial Album’ is the latest in The Residents’ extensive ongoing pREServed series – expect
more throughout 2023 and 2024. Possibly even 2025 too, the way things are going.

The Tribe co-founder’s debut, lacquered directly from his master tapes in an all analog transfer by Bernie Grundman. The definitive reissue of this Spiritual Jazz album which set the stage for his Vibes from the Tribe The Tribe label, one of the brightest lights of America’s 1970s jazz underground, receives the Now-Again reissue treatment. This is your chance to indulge in the music and story of one of the most meaningful, local movements of the 20th Century Black American experience, one that expanded outwards towards the cosmos.

In the words of the collective themselves, “Music is the healing force of the universe.” Included in an extensive, oversized booklet, Larry Gabriel and Jeff “Chairman” Mao take us through the history of the Tribe, in a compelling story that delves not just into the history of the label and its principals, but into the story of Black American empowerment in the latter half of the 20th Century. The booklet features never-before-seen archival photos and rare ephemera from Tribe’s mid-1970s heyday.

Second album from West London, singer-songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist, Oscar Lang. A split from his childhood sweetheart sent Lang spiralling, dramatically changing the course of the follow-up to the psychedelic-tinged fuzzy-rock of his 2021 debut Chew The Scenery at the same time as driving Lang into the most creatively fruitful period of his short career. The diversion has resulted in Look Now, an astounding record that makes Lang’s previous output sound like he was just testing the waters. Chew The Scenery and three melodically-breezy EPs that preceded it introduced Lang as a songwriter of rare talents but here is where he really lays down a marker, emerging with an album that takes in playful hooks, poignant lyricism, orchestral swells, ba-roque-pop instrumentation, a record that’s expansive but never overblown, intimate at the same time as being epic. It is his definitive artistic statement. Formats; CD, LP

Gerry Cinnamon, an already legendary live performer, made history last summer after selling out Scotland's national football stadium twice over to become the first independent act - and the first Scot - to sell out multiple nights at Hampden Park. A year on, the definitive live album from the multi-platinum singer/songwriter will be released on 14 July 2023. "Well that was a trip and a half. Played all sorts of gigs all over the world but that was something else. Over 100,000 of us. Music is a magical thing that connects people in a special way. History made. Memories made more importantly. Felt the Hampden roar right in my chest and it was mighty." - Gerry Cinnamon. The homecoming shows concluded his 350,000-capacity UK and Ireland tour, originally due to happen in 2020, instead taking place across 2021-22, also included sold out shows at Birmingham and Manchester Arena, London’s iconic Alexandra Palace, the 25,000 capacity Malahide Castle, Dublin, and Musgrave Park Stadium, Cork.

It took Rouen, France over five-hundred-years to find an act as fiery as the execution of Joan of Arc, but they finally found one in the Year Of Our Lord 1977: Dogs. The absolute picks-of-the-litter and best-in-French-new-wave-rock-show, Dogs (no ‘the’), over the course of nine albums, two dozen singles and EP’s left behind an undeniable legacy, none fiercer than on their first recordings for the Melodies Massacre label. This collection compiles Dogs’ earliest releases: the ‘Charlie Was A Good Boy’ 45 and ‘Go Where You Want To Go’ 12 inch maxi-single. Fully and officially licensed from Melodies Massacre for the first time, including notes from Melodies Massacre founder Lionel Herrmani and featuring many never-before-seen photos from the band’s halcyon days, this compilation serves as the definitive portrait of the artists as young Dogs. A must for fans of all music, but especially Eddie & The Hot Rods, the early Scientists, the Flamin’ Groovies, and the Heartbreakers. Rouen, France got that Dog in ‘em – now you can as well!

Featuring 38 tracks (as opposed to the digital release, which is only 15 tracks), This is the definitive Doom Patrol Season 1 soundtrack featuring music by Clint Mansell and Kevin Kiner. The score is fantastic, mixing electronics and more traditional string-based score elements. The central theme is one of the best in recent years, and the score is moody and magnificent yet also fun and playful. It is the perfect accompaniment to the action on screen.

The Tribe founders’ collaborative debut, remixed from the original mutli-track master tapes under the direction of its creators and lacquered by Bernie Grundman. Phil Ranelin’s side has been pitch-corrected and restored to a suite, as was originally intended. Wendell Harrison’s side contains extended, full versions of two songs. The definitive reissue of this Spiritual Jazz masterpiece. The Tribe label, one of the brightest lights of America’s 1970s jazz underground, receives the Now-Again reissue treatment. This is your chance to indulge in the music and story of one of the most meaningful, local movements of the 20th Century Black American experience, one that expanded outwards towards the cosmos. In the words of the collective themselves, “Music is the healing force of the universe.” Included in an extensive, oversized booklet, Larry Gabriel and Jeff “Chairman” Mao take us through the history of the Tribe, in a compelling story that delves not just into the history of the label and its principals, but into the story of Black American empowerment in the latter half of the 20th Century. The booklet features never-before-seen archival photos and rare ephemera from Tribe’s mid-1970s heyday.

Dance music has always been grounded in a sense of place. Chicago, Detroit, London, Berlin—a zip code can tell you as much about the music as the year it was made.

But beyond the nuts and bolts of the here and now lies a netherzone where some of the best electronic music floats, impossible to pin down. Swayzak’s Snowboarding in Argentina is one such record.

The title hints at its uncanny placelessness. The music has nothing outwardly to do with Argentina, for one thing. The work of UK producers David Nicholas Brown and James S. Taylor, it was recorded in a number of locations—mostly bedrooms—around London. Yet there is little that is quintessentially British about the music.

Instead, Brown and Taylor drew much of their inspiration from, on the one hand, the luminous chords and silky heft of Detroit techno, and on the other, the staccato drums and clipped textures that were then beginning to bubble out of Berlin and Cologne.

That brings us to the question of time. For if Snowboarding in Argentina belongs to nowhere, it is equally a product of nowhen.

On a practical level, the music took shape in the mid to late 1990s, although it took nearly 10 years for it to come to fruition. Brown and Taylor began jamming on instruments, then machines, in the late 1980s. Then, after Brown suffered a serious car accident, the two musicians began working together more seriously. Trial and error yielded a promising single with a downtempo vibe that a hired-gun studio producer promptly ruined; Swayzak retreated to their bedrooms.

They learned about Chain Reaction from a radio show, found new ways to burrow into the circuitry of their machines, and by 1996 they had hit upon their sound. brought 10 copies of the first to Berlin’s Hard Wax, sold them directly to the shop for a fistful of Deutschmarks, and turned around and spent the money on records; that’s how DIY electronic music worked in those days.) The album itself appeared in 1998 on London’s Pagan label and quickly built a cult following. It was clear that the music was in conversation with its contemporaries: Heard from the right angle, it was possible to imagine it as a halfway point between the proto progressive house of Underworld and the monochromatic minimalism of Kompakt. But it also didn’t quite sound like anything else around; it was a dispatch from an unknown territory that needed no special understanding to decipher.

A quarter century later, Snowboarding in Argentina sounds simply eternal. Certain hallmarks of ’90s production are available—the music’s almost murky warmth is a reminder of what electronic music sounded like before software swallowed everything into its digital maw—but there’s nothing dated about it. The exploratory nature of these tracks, as the result of experimenting with their machines’ limitations, never eclipses their musical or emotional essence.

Long since been deemed a classic, Snowboarding in Argentina remains an underdog in the annals of electronic music. Its semi-obscurity was surely not helped by the decision to publish nine of its original 12 tracks on the CD, and seven on the vinyl, with only four appearing on both formats. Twenty-five years after its original release, Lapsus’ Perennial Series edition unites, for the first time, all the album’s tracks as a single triple-vinyl package, rounding out the 12 original songs with previously unreleased material. Working off the original DAT premasters, Swayzak have created new edits of all the tracks. The result might be considered the definitive edition of the album as it was meant to be, after a 25-year journey. It seems fitting that an album so timeless would continue morphing throughout its lifespan. For fans, it’s the chance to hear a beloved album as never before. And for newcomers, it’s the perfect introduction to a record that, in its own quiet way, reshaped the sound of electronic music, opening up new frontiers unbound by cartography or calendars.

The core of Snowboarding in Argentina appeared on a series of three two-track singles in 1997. (Taylor brought 10 copies of the first to Berlin’s Hard Wax, sold them directly to the shop for a fistful of Deutschmarks, and turned around and spent the money on records; that’s how DIY electronic music worked in those days.) The album itself appeared in 1998 on London’s Pagan label and quickly built a cult following. It was clear that the music was in conversation with its contemporaries: Heard from the right angle, it was possible to imagine it as a halfway point between the proto progressive house of Underworld and the monochromatic minimalism of Kompakt. But it also didn’t quite sound like anything else around; it was a dispatch from an unknown territory that needed no special understanding to decipher.

A quarter century later, Snowboarding in Argentina sounds simply eternal. Certain hallmarks of ’90s production are available—the music’s almost murky warmth is a reminder of what electronic music sounded like before software swallowed everything into its digital maw—but there’s nothing dated about it. The exploratory nature of these tracks, as the result of experimenting with their machines’ limitations, never eclipses their musical or emotional essence.

Long since been deemed a classic, Snowboarding in Argentina remains an underdog in the annals of electronic music. Its semi-obscurity was surely not helped by the decision to publishnine of its original 12 tracks on the CD, and seven on the vinyl, with only four appearing on both formats. Twenty-five years after its original release, Lapsus’ Perennial Series edition unites, for the first time, all the album’s tracks as a single triple-vinyl package, rounding out the 12 original songs with previously unreleased material. Working off the original DAT premasters, Swayzak have created new edits of all the tracks. The result might be considered the definitive edition of the album as it was meant to be, after a 25-year journey. It seems fitting that an album so timeless would continue morphing throughout its lifespan. For fans, it’s the chance to hear a beloved album as never before. And for newcomers, it’s the perfect introduction to a record that, in its own quiet way, reshaped the sound of electronic music, opening up new frontiers unbound by cartography or calendars.