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"Chasing the funky symphonies that filled my head and my dreams..."

December 25th, 2023 - an Instagram post. Stimulator Jones shared half a dozen FIRE tracks from his beat tape archive. We were immediately drawn to the rough hewn boom bap.

"I'd release that", Rob commented.

Hours of material was shared and the result is this: Cool Green Trees (1999-2005). A collection of beats and loops Stimulator Jones created between the ages of 14-20 at home in his basement, bedroom and computer room in Roanoke, Virginia.

You will not believe the profound soulful genius contained within these naive schoolboy melodies.

December 25th, 1998 - 25 years ago to the day and his much-coveted Yamaha SU10 sampler was finally bestowed upon young Stimmy AKA Sam Lunsford: "I immediately hooked up a CD Walkman to the input jack and looped the beginning two bars of Grover Washington Jr.'s "Mercy Mercy Me". I don't know what exactly was so thrilling about hearing two measures of music repeating over and over but it was so infectious and hypnotizing and enthralling to me. I'll never forget that ecstatic rush of making my first loop - an uncontrollable, gleeful smile plastered all over my face." When you hear the pocket breakbeat symphonies featured here on Cool Green Trees, you'll feel the same sense of frisson.

In the wake of his Stones Throw breakthrough - Exotic Worlds & Master Treasures - Stimulator Jones was pegged by many as a 90s throwback artist. However, he literally IS a 90s artist. He's been recording music most of his life and he's now 40. He created the bulk of Cool Green Trees as a teenager. Everything before 2004 was recorded when Sam was still in school. He was in 8th grade when he made the 1999 tracks - he didn't even have his learner's permit. This album is a snapshot of a young man in a simpler time. Things were still mysterious back then and he was flying blind, relying on his ears and having to figure things out for himself: "I had no road map for becoming a beatmaker. I have been collecting music since I was a kid, I am a lifelong digger and seeker of cool and interesting sounds. I was there in the golden age of Hip Hop, and while I may have been a suburban white kid in Roanoke, Virginia, I was tuned in and I bought so many classic albums when they came out. I was attracted to Hip Hop because of the musical and poetic quality. I was hypnotized by the rhythms, partially because I was a drummer. I didn't brag about collecting my breakbeat records or making beats - it was something I did in isolation. It wasn't something I generally wanted to bring attention to and it didn't really score me any cool points. I certainly wasn't flexing on social media about it."

Hell, he can do that now!

Opener "Pharoah Jones" was inspired by Yesterday's New Quintet and Madlib's ability to capture that classic 70s sound whilst playing all the instruments. Sam created this one stoned afternoon by laying down a 2 bar loop and a shaker loop on his Yamaha SU700 sampler. He hung a microphone from the ceiling and played his Yamaha Stage Custom drum kit over the top before adding ender Rhodes and playing his dad's Selmer tenor sax through an Electro Harmonix Memory Man echo pedal. Yes! Up next, "Ghost Gospel" utilises a dope loop from a gospel record and adds some soul-funk drums overtop, whilst working that filter knob. Says Sam: "The loop reminded me of something Ghostface would rap over. The sample was in 3/4 waltz time but I flipped it for a 4/4 groove, a technique I picked up from RZA. "Ill Feeling" uses sped-up pieces from a dusty old funk record and putting them over a classic NOLA drum loop; gain chopping up a slow, bluesy 3/4 time signature and bending it to a 4/4 groove. Classy shit. "Capital Punishment" features drums tapped in live, inspired by MF Doom's Special Herbs series. "Do Not Adjust" consists loops found on a compilation of 70s French music at Happy's Flea Market, a classic Roanoke digging spot.

The sublime, evocative title track, "Cool Green Trees" was created when Sam was still living at home. He dumped samples off his SU10 into the family desktop and arranged them in a demo version of Pro Tools: "This track was sort of my ode to the DJ Shadow style of sample based production. Super spacey, slow, and moody. The heavily filtered drums were inspired by Alec Empire's 'Low on Ice' album. I later added some scratches and sounds from a Spider Man storybook record." "Chill Scratch" snags the final bit of a bossanova record and pairs it with a drum loop before adding experimental scratching run through an Electro Harmonix Memory Man echo pedal. "Poisonous Fumes" was made using a sampler, mixer and a turntable; a kind of mixtape beat collage with added scratches and sounds from various records. Using dialogue from superhero records was a nod to Madlib. "Welcome Aboard The Starship" is dark, downtempo trip-hop with a spooky bent. Sam paired a slow, hard drum loop with a guitar sample grabbed off a psychedelic rock record. To finish, he added various backwards sounds and weird atmospheric effects and a little scratching. Swoon.

Side B opens with "Keep On Runnin", made on a borrowed Roland SP202 sampler. Having always loved the sound of the Lo-Fi filter on those machines, reminiscent of the Emu SP1200, Sam always imagined Del or another of the Hieroglyphics crew rapping over this beat. You can certainly hear why. "Sounds Impossible" sees Sam experimenting with layering multiple kick samples at different volumes to create patterns similar to those heard by Showbiz and Lord Finesse during their God-level 1995 period. "Painted Faces" was made by chopping up a REDACTED record which he had gotten from Happy's Flea Market and paired it with a REDACTED drum loop. By the time Sam recorded "The Knew Style", he had acquired a shitty old 1960s portable turntable off eBay. It didn't function properly when he bought it but his brother opened it up, cleaned it out and got it working: "I remember he told me that there was a bunch of sand inside of it when he opened it up, as if its previous owner had taken it to the beach. I would take that turntable on my Happy's Flea Market digs so I could preview records...that's how I found this loop."

"Chicken Wing Blues Sauce" loops up a classic blues joint and pairs it with some REDACTED drums. A bit of filtering and arranging et voilà! "Kool Breeze", from 1999, is one of Sam's oldest surviving beats, as is "Sexx Bullets". The Roots sampled the same record, leaving Sam frustrated yet vindicated. "Soul Child" was an early SU10 creation, looping a dusty old Soul Children 45 and pairing it with 70s rock drum loops to great effect. "Take Off Runnin" was another loop found digging with a portable turntable. Paired with some boom bap drums it makes for a hypnotic head-nod groove. "Centurian" was intended to be a little beat interlude a la Pete Rock. The sample is from a sun-dappled soft-psych record and it's paired with a Robin Trower drum loop that just happens to fit perfectly. Sometimes you slap things together kind of haphazardly and magic happens. "Bozack" was the first beat Sam made using Pro Tools, his first foray into using chopped sounds instead of loops, an exciting new world. "Church" is beat interlude using a Phil Upchurch loop with the "Long Red" drums - a favourite break of Dilla et al. Sam was really on a tear in late 2004, probably because he was unemployed and phoneless and able to just make beats all day. He made "Splash One" on a borrowed Yamaha SU700 and again was experimenting with tapping the drums in live with his fingers, instead of using a loop or sequenced pattern. Channeling 9th Wonder, Sam used a water splash sound effect from a Batman record as a percussive element, hence the title (also a 13th Floor Elevators reference). The main loop is a backwards portion of one of his favourite Roy Ayers songs.

"Hank" is another fun little beat interlude thing, created on a borrowed Roland SP202 sampler with the fantastic Lo-Fi effect that resembled the Emu SP1200 at a fraction of the price. "73 goatee", from 99, is another of his oldest surviving beats, created in his bedroom with his Yamaha SU10 and his brother's Vestax MR-300 4-track recorder: "This one will always feel special. I can remember having a feeling all the way back then on the night that I created it that this was a solid beat with a catchy loop. There was something in the Fender Rhodes melody that resonated with me emotionally, and I had never heard a producer sample that portion before. I felt like I had found my own unique sound, my own unique loop. It came from an Ahmad Jamal '73. I actually even recorded myself rapping and scratching over this beat way back then, I still have that version in all its imperfect sloppy glory."

Sam explains just how much these tracks mean to him: "They all have immense historical and sentimental value and I'm proud of them. These beats come from an innocent, simple time when I was just figuring out how to craft these sounds. They're something very personal to me. They are the initial part of a journey that I really was taking *alone*. There was no YouTube. I couldn't Google shit. I didn't even know any other beatmakers, producers or DJs in my town that could teach me anything. It was always just me, alone, in a room with some equipment - chasing the funky symphonies that filled my head and my dreams. What I was doing wasn't cool. Most of my peers thought I was a weirdo and couldn't care less. Creating these sounds was an anti-social endeavour. In a sense, I felt like it was me against the world, and all I had to instruct and assist me were the recordings produced by my heroes - RZA, DJ Premier, Erick Sermon, Beatminerz, Showbiz, Diamond D, Beatnuts, Prince Paul, The Bomb Squad, Pete Rock, Q-Tip, E-Swift, Mista Lawnge, DJ Shadow, Cut Chemist, Peanut Butter Wolf, El-P and so many more...I dedicate this collection to them, and to my older brother Joe who has always been a musical and technical guiding light for me.

This was a time before every kid was a self-described producer and beatmaker, before everyone had a DAW, before Kanye and "chipmunk soul", before Red Bull beat battles, before there was any social media beyond chat rooms and AOL Instant Messenger, before Soundcloud, before SP-404 mania, before lo-fi beats to study to, before Splice, before targeted ads for MIDI chord packs, etc. In 99 when I told people that I had a sampler and made beats I was mostly met with bewildered confusion and indifference. Kids and adults alike would wonder why I got this weird machine for Christmas instead of something worthwhile like a Playstation or a mountain bike or even a guitar for that matter because at least that could be used to make "real music". Back then, sampling was still not widely respected as an art form - it was seen as lazy, talentless and unoriginal at best and outright criminal theft at worst. I had gotten respect for playing drums and guitar and things of that nature but this was a step in the wrong direction in the eyes of many."

The cover photo is a picture of Sam standing on his back porch in the latter part of 1998, just before he got his first sampler. He was 13 years old, in 8th grade. His dad took the picture with his 35mm film camera: "I actually wanted to be pointing my dad's .22 pistol at the camera lens but he wouldn't let me. He gave me an old walking cane to use instead. The Tommy Hilfiger puffer jacket came from the lost and found at William Fleming High School where my mom worked as a secretary. I was thrilled when she brought it home because we never spent money on expensive name brand clothing like that - we were for the most part strictly a sale rack, bargain bin, thrift store, yard sale, flea market kind of family when it came to clothes. My watch is some cheap off-brand fake gold department store watch." Mastering for this vinyl edition was overseen by Be With regular Simon Francis and it was cut by the esteemed Cicely Balston at Abbey Road Studios to be pressed in the Netherlands by Record Industry.

Sherlock Hound is the animated series from the masterpiece directed by Hayao Miyazaki and coproduced by TMS Entertainment and RAI, wich was broadcasted for the first time in 1984. The series was a success and remains to this day one a beloved classic in the world of Japanese animation.


To celebrate the recent 40th anniversary of the series, we are pleased to offer this sublime edition with its 2 discs gathering the soundtracks from the TV series and for the initial animated film (The Blue Ruby & Underwater Treasure), completed by a 8-page booklet, illustrated with beautiful artworks.


The soundtrack to the animated series was composed by Kentarô Haneda (well known for his work on the Space Adventure Cobra series) and includes the two signature songs performed by Da Capo. The anime film soundtrack is the work of Kunio Muramatsu, and also includes two songs performed by Haruko Kuwana. Immerse yourself in the fascinating atmosphere of this cult 80s anime!

Dame-Music continues to celebrate its 15 Years with the release of Vol. 2
15 Years Of Dame-Music series is an ode to the unmistakable sound of the TB-303, a core element of Bloody Mary's widely respected sound and label.
Continuing the strong momentum from Vol. 1, this release features four standout tracks from some of the most respected and forward-thinking names in electronic music: DEAS, Ben Sims & Ritzi Lee, Viikatory, and the highly anticipated return of Jerome Hill vs Fear-E to the Dame-Music roster.
Spanning three curated volumes, the “15 Years of Dame-Music” series highlights the label’s enduring commitment to underground dance music culture and its dedication to vinyl and analog sound.

"Wind, Again" is Sary Moussa’s fourth studio album and second album on Other People. Based between France and Lebanon, Moussa returns with a riveting electro-acoustic album informed by his ever-changing relationships to space, listening, and resonance as well as his growing interest in the study of harmonics in electronic and electro-acoustic music.

Years in the making, “Wind, Again” approaches distinct musical worlds and languages by bringing together improvisations by musicians performing on Western and West Asian instruments such as the Hammond organ, clarinet, saz, and buzuk with electronic arrangements and textures. Rather than force a rapprochement of these musical worlds through the instruments, and keenly aware of the weighty sonic histories they carry, Moussa proposes another way through which they can exist together in contemporary electronic composition.

Composed of six tracks, each of which demonstrate an array of recording and processing techniques, the album generates moments of tension produced by the synthesis of textural, tonal, and harmonic encounters that Moussa calls “shadows”, which outline an impressionistic musical language, existing at the edge of familiarity. Such moments permeate tracks like “Everywhere at once” and “Violence” that open with the Hammond organ and the saz respectively and slowly reveal an expansive field of sounds that showcases each of the musicians’ characteristic performances and Moussa’s densely layered textures. It is a latent yet unrelenting tension through which the composer invokes rather than represents a collective experiential state, especially familiar to those who know his environment. In “Wind, Again” these shadows are articulations of sounds steeped in traditions they are never quite tethered to. Such articulations are implied and alluded to, they play within a musical reference without the latter explicitly existing in the recording, always teetering, never completely here nor there.
Sonically and musically, the album is fueled by the cultural, social, and personal realities that Moussa was brought up and lives in.

Both personal and musical ties with the musicians who feature on the album is central to Moussa’s practice. In the title track “I will never write a song about you”, musician Julia Sabra opens with rolled piano chords, followed by Paed Conca on clarinet and Abed Kobeissy on buzuk, before Moussa’s electronic processing pieces together, lifts, and sustains the melodic direction of the track that emerged from the musicians’ separate improvisations. For Moussa: “The initial connection between the three performances was made on a track that no longer existed, the original recording was both an obstacle and necessary step for the track we hear on the record. It’s as if we were all telling different stories and I pulled on the thread that held them together”. The track, and more generally the record, is tinged with a melancholy of things lost, though it never fully succumbs to it.
“Everything inside a circle”, Moussa’s most personal track and for which he provides the only vocals on the record, harkens back to a childhood memory of listening to music with his mother in a car: “There was a sound I was looking for — a memory of a sound and how I first heard it. This track is a hybrid of that memory and what I wanted to make of it”. The track relies heavily on generativesystems and perhaps embodies most the ambiguous quality of the record’s music in its refusal to be pinned down by one musical tradition or another.
“Wind, Again” is both familiar and alien, cold and warm; it pays homage to the mechanics, materials, and tactility of the instruments and converges acoustic and synthetic spaces. What anchors the sound of the album are the elements of a whole that cannot find its own idiosyncrasy and that is precisely why Moussa’s album is a tour de force.

With Bass Temprature, rediscover on one single CD the first three vinyl EPs by High Tone: Bot Dub Seasons, Low Tone, and Bass Temperature-a total of 12 tracks that propelled the Lyon-based group into the ranks of electro-dub heavyweights. In addition to these two reissues, four extra tracks have been added, making for a 12-track album just as compelling as it's predecessor. It marks a shift toward a more roots-oriented sound while remaining firmly grounded in the electro-dub genre. The album opens with Echo-Logik, a warrior-like chant followed by a driving bassline that makes you want to move-DJ Twelve's scratches laid over the groove offer a brilliant showcase of the band's talent. The title track, Bass Temprature, follows-perhaps the least striking piece, though that's only relative given the strength of the rest. Worth noting are the mystical vocal samples in Train to Transylvania, evoking vampires and devils, while N1 Station brings a heavy psych sound, a more energetic beat, and moments that border on hard-tek. Other influences also emerge, such as the strong Eastern vibe in The Orientalist. As always, High Tone delivers a stunning dub album sure to delight ears tired of the everyday noise pollution that surrounds us.

Wytch Hazel's stellar 2016 debut Prelude confirmed these Lancastrian apprentice wizards to be Britain's most promising new hard rock band. Two years on, that promise comes to abundant fruition on II: Sojourn, an album that moves Wytch Hazel on from the innocence and exuberance of the debut to a darker, more profound and complex place, carefully wrought into optimum shape by the band's singer, guitarist, songwriter and mastermind Colin Hendra. "I'm really into the idea of an album," notes Colin. "I don't do mix-tapes, I don't listen to singles, I'm interested in albums. I want to make a good, listenable, cohesive work, that is the whole thing." Asked what inspirations were brought to bear this time, Colin has good news, and even better taste: "I was listening to plenty of Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy and Wishbone Ash last year," remarks the frontman. "This seems to be more of a hard rock album, where the last one was more rock-folk. It's definitely more rock than folk!" The most crucial influence fully expresses itself via Les Paul guitars in sweet twin harmony through cranked Super Lead Marshalls - "Exactly the same type of amp that Thin Lizzy would have used," beams Colin - a benefit of working in James Atkinson's Hand Of Law Studio, a converted gaolhouse in Leeds. "We knew there would be a lot more great gear, more amps, more options," enthuses Colin of this productive new work environment. "We were more prepared, we planned better. I had a lot more vocals to record on this album, pretty much every song has at least three harmonies, but James is a really chilled out guy, he made it easy for us. I had a very clear idea of how I wanted each song to sound, I thought about every single aspect. I probably over-prepared for this album, and it paid off!" Wytch Hazel's proud, avowed Protestant Christianity continues to set them apart from the occult hocus-pocus of their peers, and the very title Sojourn has a Biblical inspiration: "It's used a lot in the Old Testament, people would travel somewhere to stay for a short period of time," explains Colin, comparing the idea to Wytch Hazel's development since Prelude. "We're going to reside here with this sound for a while, and the next album might not sound the same. Come and have a listen to this aspect of Wytch Hazel - it's a temporary stay. We'll be here for a while, then there will be something else. I'm always writing, it's a constant stream, but I'm always trying to raise the bar, because I don't want the next album to be not as good as the other ones!"

Unreleased electronic / jazz / madness from two titans of jazz and experimentation: JOHN SURMAN and KARIN KROG.

I could now write a load of blown up puffery about how amazing this is, but everyone does that, and a lot of the time it’s all a load of bollocks. But basically this was sent to me by Karin / John when I asked if they had anything hanging about that had not been released. This came through and blew my tiny mind. Like something from prime Annette Peacock “Pony” period. Here is what John Surman said…

John Surman writes:

Back in 2012/13 there had been some talk about a big futuristic open air urban dance/theatre production for about 80/100 actors/dancers with lasers and all kinds of lighting effects on different stages. I was invited to get involved and, together with Ben and Karin, we eventually decided to get to work on some ideas. I think that the original plan was that in performance there would be a mixture of live music and electronica.

Not altogether surprisingly, bearing in mind the complexity of the project, it never moved forward and developed into anything more than an interesting idea. It was probably over ambitious & I guess the funding never came through.

The only information I that I can find relating to the production refers to two silent movies made in 1927/1928 by the filmmaker Eugene Deslaw, entitled `La Marche Des Machines´ and `Les Nuits Électriques.These were clearly intended to act as inspiration for the project.

After months turned into years it became obvious that the project was going nowhere, and so the recorded music laid around gathering dust until Johnny Trunk asked Karin if she had any interesting music that he might be interested in releasing. One thing led to another and so, finally, Electric Element found a home!

For anyone interested in the equipment used this will have to be an approximation since the memory might be playing tricks. Karin was probably using a Yamaha Rex50 f/x unit, a Roland VT-3 Voice Transformer and an Oberheim Ring Modulator. I was playing Bass Clarinet and Contrabass Clarinet through various f/x units together with a Yamaha WX5 wind synth. All the instruments and voice were also processed through Ben´s equipment. After writing this I asked Ben for his recollections and he came up with the following:

John, Karin and I created this music in 2 or 3 days in the winter of 2013 at their studio in Oslo, Norway. I followed up with another 2 or 3 days of mixing, editing and post-processing . We kept a collaborative, improvisational and free-form approach to the sessions. I grew up immersed in music such as Cloudline Blue, the 1979 duo album of Krog/Surman, and this felt like a similar approach. I have mixed sound for many of their live duo concerts and I would use effects and electronics as an

accompaniment and counterpoint to the performed music. The relation of organic and artificial sound sources in music has always fascinated. In this case, I used some contemporary digital signal processing to introduce my own aesthetic into the conversation, in particular using granular synthesis to recombine small 'clouds' of sound into alternate forms. Some of the software tools I used included Ableton Live, Max/MSP and Reaktor.

In association with WaterTower Music, Waxwork Records is ecstatic to announce MICKEY 17 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Jung Jaeil.
Mickey 17 is a madcap political science fiction satire from the mind of Academy Award winning director Bong Joon-ho (Parasite, Memories of a Murder).

Bong Joon-ho once again teams up with award-winning composer Jung Jaeil (Parasite, Okja, Squid Game). About Mickey 17, Jaeil says "Among the film soundtracks I’ve composed, the music from

Mickey 17 is the closest to my personal musical preferences. They are classic and intimate."
Waxwork Records is excited to present the debut vinyl release of MICKEY 17 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

as a deluxe colored LP featuring "Fire Hand Pour" colored vinyl, heavyweight packaging on reverse board, and an 11"x11" art print insert.

Stepping up to the plate for the second release of our catalog, we are pleased to share 'Aura Protocol', a four-track collection that taps into the emotive and melodic depths of 90s influenced progressive house from Mexico based Producer, Mahkina.

The A1 track ‘God, How Do I Handle This’ kicks off the EP with an introspective mood, blending atmospheric pads and hypnotic bass-lines. The deep, melodic structure recalls the emotional core of 90s prog, while evolving into an intricate tapestry of sounds. The second track ‘Flavour & Spice’ plays into Mahkina's latin roots. A fusion of playful percussion, and lush chord progressions, evoking the vibrant energy of classic 90s house, with an added modern twist from the artist's production style.

Flipping over to the B-Side, ’Sacoodelo" takes listeners to a well placed euphoria. Combining driving rhythms with evolving loops and rich synth work, its experimental side takes influence from the rhythmic structures of classic trancey house. The final track ‘Connected’ feels like the emotional and sonic culmination of the EP. Taking the listener on a more expansive journey, weaving through moments of tension and release via atmospheric build-ups, emotional breakdowns, and a sense of resolution toward the end.

RLF002 is a well represented embodiment of Mahkina's ability to fuse classic styles with contemporary sounds, resulting in an immersive, dynamic listening experience that resonates with both the heart and the body.

The Bluebells' Sisters is a perfect snapshot of early '80s "Sound of Young Scotland": Glasgow indie pop with bittersweet spirit, sharp hooks, and heartfelt harmonies. Signing to the then-nascent London Records, and working with a procession of esteemed producers (including Elvis Costello who became a mentor and teacher to the band), The Bluebells enjoyed three UK hits in the 1980s ('Cath', 'Young at Heart' and 'I'm Falling') before touring widely throughout Europe and North America, developing their live sound and signing to Seymour Stein's Sire Records in the U.S.

A decade later in 1993 that 'Young at Heart' hit the U.K. No 1 spot following its use as a T.V. advert for Volkswagen. Fast forward to this decade The Bluebells have reformed with a flurry of shows across the past two years including a triumphant return to Glasgow at Barrowlands for Celtic Connects, and just announced for the Acoustic Stage for Glastonbury Festival 2025.

This new edition of Sisters has been remastered and produced in consultation with the band, using the best audio sources available, including non-album singles and B-sides, bonus tracks from the original cassette edition and new liner notes from Will Hodgkinson.

Suburban Architecture continue their series of sought after 4 track EP releases with their 7th offering, 'Vivid'. This latest release once again draws heavily on influences from the jazzier, atmospheric strains of mid to late 90s Drum & Bass. Putting a contemporary spin on sounds rooted in this golden era of dance music, this new 4 track collection spans sounds from jazzy atmospherics to slightly harder edged sonics.

Opening track 'Vivid' sets the mood with atmosphere by the pound. Deep, melancholy keys drowned in reverb underpin cycling chimes and haunting vocal samples before giving way to a tearing drum track. 'Waiting' meanwhile is all about layers and texture. Lush textured vocals marry with atmospheric pads, shimmering arps and flutes before releasing into punchy, intricately programmed drums.

Over on the flip 'After All' is led by a powerful vocal refrain which carries lush pad work into crashing breakbeats and a bassline that delivers matching energy. 'Rising' closes out the release with a jazzy roller that continually shifts gears, from horn-laden atmospherics and complex drum arrangements to rowsing vocals and strings.

Grade 2 is a UK punk band from the Isle of Wight, formed in 2013. The young three-piece is made up of Sid Ryan - Bass & Lead Vocals, Jack Chatfield - Guitar & Vocals and Jacob Hull - Drums. Their music can be described as a classic punk sound, hard and fast whilst also including melodic guitar and vocal parts. Influence taken from classics such as The Clash, The Jam and The Stranglers. While touring, the band met Lars Frederiksen (Rancid) who took an interest in Grade 2 and ultimately played some of their music videos to his bandmate Tim Armstrong. Armstrong liked what he saw and not only agreed to produce the band"s forthcoming record but signed them to his label, Hellcat Records. Last December, Grade 2 flew to Los Angeles, and over the course of two weeks, tracked the dozen songs that comprise Graveyard Island. "He"s one of the most efficient people we"ve ever worked with. He knows exactly what he wants. In the studio, he wanted to capture how we sound onstage, so we were tracking songs live with a scratch vocal," vocalist/bassist Sid Ryan said on working with Armstrong.

The first and most independent of all independent producers, Joe Meek needs little introduction. He was the first to chart in both the UK and the USA with an independently produced song -which was actually recorded in his home’s kitchen- when The Tornados' Telstar took the world in 1962. Meek was, of course, one of the most in vogue producers of the first half of the 1960s, providing the soundtrack to the evolution of UK Rock’n'Roll to Swinging London, scoring hits with actors like John Leyton (Johnny Remember Me), showmen like Screaming Lord Sutch and bands like The Outlaws and The Tornados. He also produced a wide stream of R&B and freakbeat 45s that are nowadays hardly sought after by the collectors with the biggest bank accounts.

Joe Meek experimented with all kinds of recording techniques in his home studio, his tricks and gimmicks won his productions chart placement and critical and public acclaim, but none of his projects was so advanced and way out as the avantgarde experimentation showed in his I Hear a New World electronic symphony from 1960. Aided by The Blue Men formed by Rod Freeman (group leader, guitar, vocals), Ken Harvey (tenor sax, vocals), Roger Fiola (Hawaiian Guitar), Chris White (guitar), Doug Collins (bass), Dave Golding (drums) -also known as Rodd-Ken and The Cavaliers- who provided a tight base to his electronically produced sounds, Meek came up with what he envisioned as the soundtrack of the future, the sounds he envisioned were to be heard in outer space. It was too way out for its time, certainly. To the point that of all the opus, only four tracks saw the light of day on a 7" EP released on Triumph, Meeks very own label. It wouldn’t be until 1991 that the whole recordings from the I Hear a New World sessions would see the light of day on a CD issued by the RPM label.

Wah Wah offers a new reissue of this now classic early electronics masterpiece, housed in a beautiful front-laminated back-flapped sleeve and offered as a limited 400 copies only black vinyl version and an ultra-limited 100 copies only transparent purple vinyl. Get yours before they fly!

RIYL : Delia Derbyshire and The BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Louis and Bebe Barron’s soundtrack to Forbidden Planet, Raymond Scott, Tom Dissevelt & Kid Baltan, Morton Subotnick…

The first and most independent of all independent producers, Joe Meek needs little introduction. He was the first to chart in both the UK and the USA with an independently produced song -which was actually recorded in his home’s kitchen- when The Tornados' Telstar took the world in 1962. Meek was, of course, one of the most in vogue producers of the first half of the 1960s, providing the soundtrack to the evolution of UK Rock’n'Roll to Swinging London, scoring hits with actors like John Leyton (Johnny Remember Me), showmen like Screaming Lord Sutch and bands like The Outlaws and The Tornados. He also produced a wide stream of R&B and freakbeat 45s that are nowadays hardly sought after by the collectors with the biggest bank accounts.

Joe Meek experimented with all kinds of recording techniques in his home studio, his tricks and gimmicks won his productions chart placement and critical and public acclaim, but none of his projects was so advanced and way out as the avantgarde experimentation showed in his I Hear a New World electronic symphony from 1960. Aided by The Blue Men formed by Rod Freeman (group leader, guitar, vocals), Ken Harvey (tenor sax, vocals), Roger Fiola (Hawaiian Guitar), Chris White (guitar), Doug Collins (bass), Dave Golding (drums) -also known as Rodd-Ken and The Cavaliers- who provided a tight base to his electronically produced sounds, Meek came up with what he envisioned as the soundtrack of the future, the sounds he envisioned were to be heard in outer space. It was too way out for its time, certainly. To the point that of all the opus, only four tracks saw the light of day on a 7" EP released on Triumph, Meeks very own label. It wouldn’t be until 1991 that the whole recordings from the I Hear a New World sessions would see the light of day on a CD issued by the RPM label.

Wah Wah offers a new reissue of this now classic early electronics masterpiece, housed in a beautiful front-laminated back-flapped sleeve and offered as a limited 400 copies only black vinyl version and an ultra-limited 100 copies only transparent purple vinyl. Get yours before they fly!

RIYL : Delia Derbyshire and The BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Louis and Bebe Barron’s soundtrack to Forbidden Planet, Raymond Scott, Tom Dissevelt & Kid Baltan, Morton Subotnick…

The Last Question is the first album by electronics master Tim Clark. It collects his early works, when he was the Music Director of the Strasenburgh Planetarium in Rochester, N.Y. These tunes were the soundtrack to the planetarium’s adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s The Last Question short stoy. The idea was conceived by Von Del Chamberlain, director of teh Abrams Planetarium, and was taken to fruition in a joint venture bewtween the Abrams and Strasenbergh Planetariums, were the shows were premiered in 1972.

Clark composed and produced the works in the Strasenberg Planetarium’s own sound studio, equipped with three Ampex 440 recorders, a 4-channel mixing board with 18 inputs and a Moog Synthesizer. The album was released as a private pressing in 1973 and it has since become an elusive collector’s piece among electronic music afficionados. Comes with remastered sound and straight reproduction of the original artwork.

ULTRA RARE OUTER SPACE PRIVATE PRESS!

RIYL : Tonto’s Expanding Head Band, Iasos, Peter Davidson, Michael Stearns, Steve Roach...

The Last Question is the first album by electronics master Tim Clark. It collects his early works, when he was the Music Director of the Strasenburgh Planetarium in Rochester, N.Y. These tunes were the soundtrack to the planetarium’s adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s The Last Question short stoy. The idea was conceived by Von Del Chamberlain, director of teh Abrams Planetarium, and was taken to fruition in a joint venture bewtween the Abrams and Strasenbergh Planetariums, were the shows were premiered in 1972.

Clark composed and produced the works in the Strasenberg Planetarium’s own sound studio, equipped with three Ampex 440 recorders, a 4-channel mixing board with 18 inputs and a Moog Synthesizer. The album was released as a private pressing in 1973 and it has since become an elusive collector’s piece among electronic music afficionados. Comes with remastered sound and straight reproduction of the original artwork.

ULTRA RARE OUTER SPACE PRIVATE PRESS!

RIYL : Tonto’s Expanding Head Band, Iasos, Peter Davidson, Michael Stearns, Steve Roach...

Seven years after their last release (Helltown, 2018), Electric Citizen returns with their fourth album, EC4-a powerful statement of renewal and raw energy. Written by Ross Dolan with contributions from the full band, the album was meticulously crafted over several years and recorded with Mike Montgomery and John Hoffman at Candyland Studio in Dayton, KY. The album was mixed by Collin Dupuis (Lana Del Rey, The Black Keys) in Detroit and mastered by JJ Golden at Golden Mastering in California. The album art was created by Neil Krug (Lana Del Rey, Tame Impala, Weyes Blood), who the band worked with for their first album, Sateen. Now signed to Heavy Psych Sounds, the band is ready to unleash their most potent work yet-a fusion of hypnotic grooves, searing guitars, and Laura Dolan's mesmerizing vocals. EC4 is both a homecoming and a rebirth. Electric Citizen is back!

Solid red vinyl, limited to 350 copies. Seven years after their last release (Helltown, 2018), Electric Citizen returns with their fourth album, EC4-a powerful statement of renewal and raw energy. Written by Ross Dolan with contributions from the full band, the album was meticulously crafted over several years and recorded with Mike Montgomery and John Hoffman at Candyland Studio in Dayton, KY. The album was mixed by Collin Dupuis (Lana Del Rey, The Black Keys) in Detroit and mastered by JJ Golden at Golden Mastering in California. The album art was created by Neil Krug (Lana Del Rey, Tame Impala, Weyes Blood), who the band worked with for their first album, Sateen. Now signed to Heavy Psych Sounds, the band is ready to unleash their most potent work yet-a fusion of hypnotic grooves, searing guitars, and Laura Dolan's mesmerizing vocals. EC4 is both a homecoming and a rebirth. Electric Citizen is back!

Haunting, discordant and deeply unsettling, `Les Maîtres Fous' (`The Mad Masters') was written by French post-metal collective Year of No Light in response to French filmmaker Jean Rouch's controversial 1950's docufiction of the same name. Commissioned by Musée Du Quai Branly in Paris for their 2012 `L'Invention Du Sauvage' exhibition, trance-metal pioneers Year of No Light approached the ritual practices of the Hauka movement as depicted in the film and responded with their uniquely hypnotic heaviness. Performed only twice, once at the exhibition on the 6th January, 2012 and again in Bordeaux on the 29th January, 2015; this release is a live recording of the second and final performance of `Les Maîtres Fous'. Whilst Year of No Light have a long history of collaboration with forward-thinking filmmakers and visual artists, the sensitivity of this documentary's problematic subject matter and the intensity of the band's performance made this performance both a physically and emotionally demanding experience; something that can be keenly felt upon listening. Founded in September 2001 by a collection of Bordeaux's heavy scene stalwarts as an ongoing side project encompassing elements of sludge metal and shoegaze, Year of No Light released their debut album, Nord, in 2006 to critical acclaim. The subsequent years however saw a significant lineup change with the band replacing their vocalist with a third guitarist to become a fully instrumental sextet incorporating aspects of black metal, drone electronica and dark ambient into their already formidable sound. 2010's four track epic Ausserwelt and the 2013 follow up Tocsin saw Year of No Light distilling their punishing sound even further; stalling the tempo to a glacial crawl and tuning guitars ever downwards to new uncharted depths. Consolamentum, the band's first full-length release in nine years and their first with Pelagic Records, brought the outfit's crushing double-drumming percussion to the fore as a masterclass in dynamic control saw Year of No Light embrace the highest highs and the lowest lows of the intervening years. Now approaching their 25th anniversary, `Les Maître Fous' is a pressing reminder that, despite the band's long and ongoing journey, Year of No Light have never been afraid to experiment, to take risks, to square up to life's ugliness and look it straight in the eye. FOR FANS OF Neurosis, Cult of Luna, SWANS, ISIS, Russian Circles, My Bloody Valentine, Chelsea Wolfe

Haunting, discordant and deeply unsettling, `Les Maîtres Fous' (`The Mad Masters') was written by French post-metal collective Year of No Light in response to French filmmaker Jean Rouch's controversial 1950's docufiction of the same name. Commissioned by Musée Du Quai Branly in Paris for their 2012 `L'Invention Du Sauvage' exhibition, trance-metal pioneers Year of No Light approached the ritual practices of the Hauka movement as depicted in the film and responded with their uniquely hypnotic heaviness. Performed only twice, once at the exhibition on the 6th January, 2012 and again in Bordeaux on the 29th January, 2015; this release is a live recording of the second and final performance of `Les Maîtres Fous'. Whilst Year of No Light have a long history of collaboration with forward-thinking filmmakers and visual artists, the sensitivity of this documentary's problematic subject matter and the intensity of the band's performance made this performance both a physically and emotionally demanding experience; something that can be keenly felt upon listening. Founded in September 2001 by a collection of Bordeaux's heavy scene stalwarts as an ongoing side project encompassing elements of sludge metal and shoegaze, Year of No Light released their debut album, Nord, in 2006 to critical acclaim. The subsequent years however saw a significant lineup change with the band replacing their vocalist with a third guitarist to become a fully instrumental sextet incorporating aspects of black metal, drone electronica and dark ambient into their already formidable sound. 2010's four track epic Ausserwelt and the 2013 follow up Tocsin saw Year of No Light distilling their punishing sound even further; stalling the tempo to a glacial crawl and tuning guitars ever downwards to new uncharted depths. Consolamentum, the band's first full-length release in nine years and their first with Pelagic Records, brought the outfit's crushing double-drumming percussion to the fore as a masterclass in dynamic control saw Year of No Light embrace the highest highs and the lowest lows of the intervening years. Now approaching their 25th anniversary, `Les Maître Fous' is a pressing reminder that, despite the band's long and ongoing journey, Year of No Light have never been afraid to experiment, to take risks, to square up to life's ugliness and look it straight in the eye. FOR FANS OF Neurosis, Cult of Luna, SWANS, ISIS, Russian Circles, My Bloody Valentine, Chelsea Wolfe. The Dim Gleam edition is kind of a beige vinyl colour

The Southern Fold wurde 2014 in Kilkenny, Irland, von Sänger/Gitarrist/Songwriter Emlyn Holden gegründet. Die Band integriert Elemente aus Country, Blues und Gospel in einen Folk-/Roots-Sound und findet Einflüsse von so weit her wie Hank Williams, Nirvana und alles dazwischen. Holden griff mit zehn Jahren zum ersten Mal zur Gitarre, als er Elvis Presley hörte, und war in seinen frühen Teenagerjahren völlig in die alten Sun-Aufnahmen vertieft. Über die Roots-Rocker Creedence Clearwater Revival und den Punkrock schuf er sich eine vielseitige Inspirationsquelle. Die Entdeckung der Alt-Country-Pioniere Uncle Tupelo und Wilco brachte Country zurück in sein Songwriting und führte ihn auf den Weg zu The Southern Fold. Ursprünglich als Duo im Stil von Gram Parsons/Emmylou Harris gestartet, enthielt die erste EP der Band - "A True Ascension from the Wayward Path" aus dem Jahr 2016 - fünf eigene Songs sowie ein Cover von "Where Did You Sleep Last Night". Es war eine reduzierte Folk-Country-Nummer, gepaart mit sehr persönlichen Texten und zusätzlicher Instrumentierung durch Klavier, Cello und E-Gitarre. Es folgten einige Jahre intensiver Konzerttätigkeit, und bis zum Erscheinen des Albums "Bible Fear"s" im Jahr 2019 hatte sich die Band zu einer vollständigen fünfköpfigen Band entwickelt, die einen eher Folk-Rock-orientierten Sound hervorbrachte. In dieser Post-Covid-Zeit erlebten wir den Aufstieg der Southern Fold aus der Asche mit einigen neuen Singles ("Nothing to Fear" und "Before the Fall"), die 2024 im Eigenverlag veröffentlicht wurden. Zu Holden in einer neuen Live-Besetzung gesellen sich der ehemalige Blackbird & Crow-Gitarrist Stephen Doohan, die aus Mauritius stammende Madeline Leclezio am Gesang, der kanadische Schlagzeuger Gregor Beresford und der ehemalige Midnight Union Band-Bassist Brian McGrath. Diese Kernbesetzung spielte einige äußerst gut aufgenommene Konzerte bei den Kilkenny Roots 2024, im Whelan"s, Dublin mit den Frank and Walters und bei der britischen Ramblin" Roots Revue im April 2025.

In den frühen 70er Jahren war Fernsehen ein wichtiges Mittel, um Musiker in den eigenen vier Wänden bekannt zu machen. Frank Zappa, der mit seiner Tournee-Lichtshow und seinem Bühnenaufbau voll ausgestattet war, versuchte, Videomaterial für seine eigene Fernsehproduktion aufzunehmen, um es den großen Sendern anzubieten. Genau wie bei den Dreharbeiten zu The Roxy Performances Monate zuvor gab es technische Probleme, die letztendlich dazu führten, dass das Filmmaterial beiseite gelegt wurde. 50 Jahre später, mit den Fortschritten bei den Bearbeitungswerkzeugen für die Nachbearbeitung, präsentieren wir ”Cheaper Than Cheep”. Dieses neue 2-stündige Konzertprogramm bietet klassische Auftritte der Mothers-Besetzung von 1974, direkt von den neu restaurierten Original-Audio- und Videoband-Mastern aus dem Archiv. Die offzielle Zappa-Veröffentlichung Nr. 130 erscheint in einer speziellen, limitierten Super Deluxe-Edition mit dem remasterten Konzertvideo und brandneuem Dolby Atmos, 5.1 Surround sowie Stereo-Mix auf einer Blu-ray, dem Stereo-Soundtrack auf 2 CDs und 3 LPs auf 180 Gramm schwarzem Vinyl, einem ausführlichen Booklet mit seltenen, bisher unveröffentlichten Bildern und Linernotes von Ruth Underwood und Joe Travers, alles in einem ausziehbaren Schuber verpackt. Weitere Formate sind eine komplette 2-CD + Blu-ray und ein eigenständiger Soundtrack auf 3 LPs auf 180 Gramm schwarzem Vinyl

In den frühen 70er Jahren war Fernsehen ein wichtiges Mittel, um Musiker in den eigenen vier Wänden bekannt zu machen. Frank Zappa, der mit seiner Tournee-Lichtshow und seinem Bühnenaufbau voll ausgestattet war, versuchte, Videomaterial für seine eigene Fernsehproduktion aufzunehmen, um es den großen Sendern anzubieten. Genau wie bei den Dreharbeiten zu The Roxy Performances Monate zuvor gab es technische Probleme, die letztendlich dazu führten, dass das Filmmaterial beiseite gelegt wurde. 50 Jahre später, mit den Fortschritten bei den Bearbeitungswerkzeugen für die Nachbearbeitung, präsentieren wir ”Cheaper Than Cheep”. Dieses neue 2-stündige Konzertprogramm bietet klassische Auftritte der Mothers-Besetzung von 1974, direkt von den neu restaurierten Original-Audio- und Videoband-Mastern aus dem Archiv. Die offzielle Zappa-Veröffentlichung Nr. 130 erscheint in einer speziellen, limitierten Super Deluxe-Edition mit dem remasterten Konzertvideo und brandneuem Dolby Atmos, 5.1 Surround sowie Stereo-Mix auf einer Blu-ray, dem Stereo-Soundtrack auf 2 CDs und 3 LPs auf 180 Gramm schwarzem Vinyl, einem ausführlichen Booklet mit seltenen, bisher unveröffentlichten Bildern und Linernotes von Ruth Underwood und Joe Travers, alles in einem ausziehbaren Schuber verpackt. Weitere Formate sind eine komplette 2-CD + Blu-ray und ein eigenständiger Soundtrack auf 3 LPs auf 180 Gramm schwarzem Vinyl

Dj X-cess fires up his sampler for another bigg piano rave 4 track EP made in the '92 breakbeat hardcore style

Dj X-cess fires up his sampler for another bigg piano rave 4 track EP made in the '92 breakbeat hardcore style

Enjoy The Ride Records, in partnership with New Cannibal Society, proudly presents the 2xLP Expanded Deluxe Vinyl release to the Cult-Classic Horror/Comedy Cannibal! The Musical, directed by Trey Parker, co-creator of South Park and The Book of Mormon. Cannibal! The Musical is the true story of the only person convicted of cannibalism in America - Alferd Packer. The sole survivor of an ill-fated trip to the Colorado Territory, he tells his side of the harrowing tale to news reporter Polly Prye as he awaits his execution.

While searching for gold and love in the Colorado Territory, he and his companions lost their way and resorted to unthinkable horrors, including toe-tapping songs! Packer and his five wacky mining buddies sing and dance their way into your heart... and then take a bite out of it! Cannibal! The Musical is Oklahoma meets Friday The 13th Part 2. The film stars Trey Parker (South Park), Matt Stone (South Park), Dian Bachar (Baseketball, Orgazmo), Jason McHugh (Orgazmo) and Toddy Walters (Orgazmo).

For this newly expanded release, the stereo, music, and effects tracks were pulled from the digibeta tapes (thought to be lost) and have been remixed from scratch. This soundtrack also features complete dialogue scenes that lead into songs. What you'll hear is the best quality this soundtrack has ever heard! Cannibal! The Musical is housed in a gatefold jacket with brand-new art by Garreth Gibson. It is pressed on 2xLP vinyl for the first time and features 22 additional tracks available on the format for the first time, including instrumentals, dialogue, and score music. Pressed across four colorful variants, Side B also features a pop-up center label. What a Shpadoinkle day!

Over the past near-decade, Lancashire's medieval metal phenomenon WYTCH HAZEL have been honing an uncommonly wholesome, rustic and devotional brand of timewarped hard rock that's all their own, with 2016's Prelude and 2018's II: Sojourn summoning to mind fevered images of Robin Hood and his Merry Men grooving to Jethro Tull and Thin Lizzy. Yet within moments of pressing play on their third LP, III: Pentecost, the musty mystical minstrelsy takes a back seat in favour of a rich, sumptuous, anthemic late-night drivetime vibe, passionately embracing the most high-end smash-hit classic rock and metal circa its late 1970s heyday. "I thought I put a lot into the second album, but this album has been an absolute obsession," stresses the band leader, Colin Hendra. "Every aspect had to be as good as possible. We've gone back and forth, Ed was tinkering with it for months on end. There's quadruple tracking going on with the rhythm parts, then we've doubled, tripled and quadrupled all our lead parts to get that richness and fullness of sound, all meticulously planned with pages and pages of organisational notes. It wasn't just `get in the studio and see how it goes!'" he laughs. "One day I did 14 hours of vocal recording. All vocals are double-tracked, I can't express how much hard work that is. The last album feels like a breeze compared to what we've done with this - and I don't plan on ramping it down!" Musically there are gorgeous self-professed touches of Black Sabbath, Blue Öyster Cult, AC/DC and early Scorpions_"With the soloing I was trying to go for Michael Schenker" beams Colin_while the scampering headbanger I Will Not initially took a nod from Angel Witch, who Hendra was helping out on second guitar back in 2015 when the track was composed, before studio treatment made it sound "a lot more Wytch Hazelly". But perhaps the most lateral comparison is to a band from the opposite spiritual realm, with Archangel an explicit homage to Swedish faux-Satanic devil cult Ghost. "I find them fascinating, Ghost; musically great, the songwriting is spot-on," enthuses the frontman. "We share an intrinsic connection, with Bad Omen honcho Will Palmer being the person who discovered us both. "Music is created for all, it's a common grace for everyone," he affirms, "which is why the music that shows the glory of God the most, in my opinion, is not music created by Christians. It's Black Sabbath!"

This is an album made during a crucial period in South Africa’s history during which there was a palpable feeling of a slow turning towards the collapse of the apartheid state side by side with an increasingly well-organised culture of resistance through the formation of the United Democratic Front (UDF) and various affiliated bodies. However, as a result, there was increased pushback from the state security establishment, a turning to dirty tricks and the formation of hit squads whose members murdered and tortured many of our friends and created chaos throughout South Africa as well as neighbouring countries.

This album is situated in this political environment however it took advantage of the new do-it-yourself music technologies available at that time. Technologies that made it possible to make and release records without interference from traditional record company executives. Two musician friends of mine pooled their resources after their respective bands had broken up. Ivan Kadey (National Wake) and Lloyd Ross (Radio Rats) built an 8-track recording studio control room and fitted it out in a second hand caravan and called it Shifty. They parked it in a garage attached to the only house left in a demolished and derelict mining village near Soweto on the outskirts of Johannesburg.
All the work on this album was completed there, mainly after hours and mostly alone where I enjoyed an exhilarating freedom to develop a whole new set of musical skills and ideas, incorporating my love of a wide range of music I’d grown up with. Influences of 1970s progressive/kraut/and psychedelic rock combined with mbaqanga bass styles, early reggae/dub and Indian tabla rhythms. Stockhausen, early Zappa and Holgar Czukay were radio text and shredding influences, and Chris Cutler’s band Henry Cow & Art Bears helped me see a way to political expression. Mostly though was the exciting post-punk and no-wave music coming through to us from Europe and America: bands like This Heat, the Mekons, Raincoats, Sonic Youth and Pere Ubu were immensely important to me as was my reading from the period: J.M.Coetzee’s first 3 novels are strong influences on Free State Fence; the stark landscape, superstition, ritual, and sexual repression are in many of his settings. JG Ballard was a constant presence throughout that period, especially whilst living in such a surreal environment, surrounded by mine dumps, but mostly I think the whole French post-modern philosophical movement—Derrida, Foucault and of course, Baudrillard’s Simulacra and Simulation—set out a new sense of possibilities, possible ways to express oneself, ways to think, and ways to try and analyse the political intersection of public and private life. Most important at that time was the influence of sound recordings I had made and experiences garnered from working as a sound recordist on documentary films. These financed my work and later the studio and were consistent employment throughout the 1980s. Film work also enabled me to experience much of South Africa that was hidden from most. The track Independence Day is a good example; drawn from some time spent in the rural homeland of Venda. This then was the first full length Kalahari Surfers album, completed in summer of 1984 it was taken to EMI pressing plant but rejected by the cutting engineer as being ""political, pornographic and anti religious"". Chris Cutler at Recommended Records took up the challenge and released the album through his label. He wrote the original liner note

Further explorations into the deep space of the future/past by two master- improvisors who compose their wordless paintings out of thin air. Their collaborative powers are nowhere near their peak and this voyage takes them further into the Uncharted. These pieces unfold as revelatory mind blooms. Creating a canopy of sound forms inside which they speak the rarifi ed language of world creating. This isn’t just music, it’s a journey without maps, Inside.
This new LP takes Nelson & Kramer deep under the earth's seas, pulling the listener down beside them as they explore the uncharted currents that fuel the human imagination, fl uid, always moving, and always changing. It is an excursion into the lowest depths of Ambient Music, and a new beginning from the very place where life itself began. The fl oor of the ocean has a new sound, and it is breathtakingly beautiful.

Steve Queralt, bass player of pioneering shoegazers RIDE, and the writer and film-maker MIchael Smith have joined forces for a stunning four-track EP, released on Bytes in October. Over Steve’s exceptional electronic soundscapes, Michael provides spoken-word vocals in his lulling Hartlepool tones, distilling excerpts from his new book to fit with the music.

The duo were introduced by Joe Clay from Bytes during lockdown, when Steve revealed that he was looking for vocalists to work with on some music he was putting together. Joe had met Michael when he collaborated with the late, great Andrew Weatherall, who composed a soundtrack to accompany Michael reading melancholic musings from his 2013 novel, Unreal City. Joe felt that Michael could be the perfect foil for Steve and after an experiment on Vespertina, a track that had previously featured sample dialogue from Penélope Cruz, they realised they had something special and decided to work on a full release together - four tracks in the classic RIDE EP format.

“Michael’s voice has so much depth and character and I love his eye-rolling, withering view of the world,” Steve reveals. “The subject matter seemed to glue itself effortlessly to the music as if we’d been together writing in a studio working towards some grand concept.”

New Artwork. Lucrecia Dalt ist eine produktive und grenzenlose Musikerin, Performerin, Komponistin und Klangkünstlerin, die sowohl Genre als auch Form herausfordert, indem sie vertraute Elemente der Pop- und experimentellen Musik auseinander nimmt und sie auf unerwartete Weise neu zusammensetzt. Mit ihrem hochgelobten Album "¡Ay!" aus dem Jahr 2022 gelang ihr der Durchbruch bei einem breiteren Publikum. Dalt hat sich auch als Komponistin für Film und Fernsehen einen Namen gemacht, unter anderem mit ihrer originellen Filmmusik für die HBO-Serie "The Baby" und den in Cannes 2024 ausgezeichneten Spielfilm "On Becoming a Guinea Fowl". Mit ,cosa rara", ihrer neuen Single, die von Kultmusiklegende David Sylvian gemischt, produziert und mit einem seltenen Gastbeitrag versehen wurde, wird das Thema des eigenen Ichs zu einer unwahrscheinlichen Verliebtheit. "cosa rara" ist eine kühne Rückkehr von Dalt, die die Höhen der Liebe destilliert und mit Produktionspräzision und hyperfokussierter Klarheit klanglich umsetzt und den Hörer auf eine aufregende Eskapade aus Sound und Psychologie einlädt. Die B-Seite der 7" enthält Mabe Frattis "cosa rara (en la playa)"-Version, eine geisterhafte, von Fratti produzierte und gesungene Version desselben Songs, sowie eine 7" exklusive, erweiterte Version von Matias Aguayos, "cosa rara (dopamine dub)". Abgemischt von Sylvian und gemastert von Heba Kedry, ist die 7" eine einmalige, auf 500 Exemplare limitierte Pressung. RIYL: PJ Harvey, Broadcast, St. Vincent, ML Buch, Stereolab, Cate LeBon, Aldous Harding, Mabe Fratti, Dry Cleaning, Juana Molina.

»Imagination Creates Reality« returns in powerful form – reimagined, remixed, and ready for the floor, featuring four amazing artists – Italo Brutalo, Kafkactrl, The Black Chamber and Parand – each bringing their unique vision to the sound.

Wewantsounds is delighted to reissue another Warda classic from the 70s, We Malo, originally recorded in 1975 by the legendary Arabic Diva who has sampled by Jay-Z and J Dilla. The album blends traditional Arabic music with 1970s grooves, showcasing Warda's distinct vocal style. She is accompanied by a full-sized orchestra, updating the classy traditional sound with modern instruments (electric guitar, organ). We Malo was penned by composer Baligh Hamdi. This reissue features newly remastered audio, original cassette artwork and a two-page insert with a new introduction by Mario Choueiry from the Institut du Monde Arabe

Da Taylor Nordberg und Jeramie Kling den Titel der 1992er Massacre-EP "Inhuman Condition" als Namen für ihre neue Band wählten, nachdem sie das Death-Metal-Flaggschiff 2020 verlassen hatten, erscheint es plausibel, dass in den letzten fünf Jahren an diesem bewährten Old-School-Sound festgehalten haben. Das dritte Inhuman-Condition-Album "Mind Trap" ist jedoch mehr als nur Massacre 2.0 und markiert eine Steigerung auf allen Ebenen. Die Tatsache, dass sich das ursprüngliche Trio, das durch den altgedienten Bassisten Terry Butler (zu verschiedenen Zeiten ebenfalls Mitglied von Massacre) vervollständigt wird, bei der Arbeit an neuem Material nie Ziele setzt, hat sich als Segen erwiesen: "Wir haben das Gefühl, dass wir unsere Identität gefunden haben und endlich über die Verbindung zu Massacre hinweg sind", sagt Nordberg. "Beim Schreiben, Aufnehmen, Mischen und so weiter wurde nichts überstürzt. Dieses Album zeichnet sich durch eine gewisse Behaglichkeit aus, hat aber immer noch diese knallharte Kante." Die Songs auf "Mind Trap" sind dem Gitarristen zufolge ein "Kommentar zu der Welt, in der wir leben". "Einige meiner Texte befassen sich mit dem erdrückenden Einfluss der Technologie auf unsere Spezies. Die Platte hat alles - Blut, Eingeweide, Serienmörder, Sci-Fi-Horror, schlechte Menschen." Die Band produzierte das Album vollständig in ihrem eigenen Studio, und das Ergebnis kann sich mehr als hören lassen. "Mind Trap" kommt mit einem weiteren bestechenden Artwork von Dan Goldsworthy (Accept, Alestorm) und zeugt von der besonderen Chemie des produktiven Duos hinter Inhuman Condition.

Straight out of the South London cesspit comes Slick N Bobby. Chest-cesspit comes Slick N Bobby. Chest-rattling live dub nuisance meets rattling live dub nuisance meets soundsystem-adjacent sonics forsoundsystem-adjacent sonics for your brain and bosom.your brain and bosom.

Debut, double-sided single “BellyDebut, double-sided single “Belly Dub/OSOTB” features two jabs ofDub/OSOTB” features two jabs of low-end badness available onlow-end badness available on limited, heavyweight 7” vinyl andlimited, heavyweight 7” vinyl and best experienced on speakers thatbest experienced on speakers that can carry the rumble. A Boy In Dacan carry the rumble. A Boy In Da Corner-esque sino-grime creeper onCorner-esque sino-grime creeper on the A and dubby, flowing deepnessthe A and dubby, flowing deepness on the flip.

45 Jahre alt – und jetzt so frisch wie nie:

Am 27. Juni erscheint das selbstbetitelte Ideal-Debütalbum von 1980 in einer neu abgemischten Version. Für den „2025 Mix“ wurden die originalen Mehrspurbänder digitalisiert und von Moritz Enders (u.a. Kraftklub, Casper) und Annette Humpe neu abgemischt. Das Ergebnis klingt verblüffend direkt, greifbar und gegenwärtig – als wäre die Berliner Band gerade erst ins Studio gestiegen.

Der Clou: Für den neuen Mix kam ausschließlich Technik zum Einsatz, die bereits 1980 zur Verfügung stand. Der Sound ist also nicht einfach nur neu – sondern neu gedacht im Geist der alten Zeit. „Ideal (2025 Mix)“ ist nicht bloß ein nostalgischer Rückblick, sondern ein eindrucksvolles Update: Songs wie „Berlin“, „Blaue Augen“ oder „Hundsgemein“ wirken heute so kompromisslos, radikal und relevant wie eh und je.

WRWTFWW Records is very happy to release Swiss cult band Grauzone’s recording of their April 12th 1980 live show at Gaskessel in their hometown of Bern. The 9-track album, documenting the very beginnings of the group, is available as a limited edition white vinyl LP in heavy 350gsm sleeve with special artwork by band member Stephan Eicher.

Experience the early Grauzone days, live from Bern, Switzerland, with a concert recorded at legendary local venue Gaskessel, with Martin Eicher on guitar and vocals, Christian G.T. Trüssel on bass, Marco Repetto on drums, Stephan Eicher on synth, and Claudine Chirac on saxophone. The performance is a true time capsule of the early 80s underground, showcasing the punk side of Grauzone with renditions of songs that were never officially released, as well as future fan-favorite “Moskau”. A piece of Swiss music history, This limited release is a must have for all Grauzone fans and DIY archivists.

About Grauzone:

The pioneering band from Bern (Switzerland) had a short-lived but highly-regarded career which birthed a cult discography that still fascinates and resonates today. Consisting of core members Martin Eicher, Stephan Eicher, and Marco Repetto, and on-and-off participants Christian GT Trüssel, Claudine Chirac, and Ingrid Berney, the elusive group broke new grounds in the early 80s, experimenting with punk and industrial music, early techno sounds, minimalism, new wave, pop, and various electronics. With an innovative and polished approach to design, visuals, performance, and all around style and philosophy on top of their superb music, the constantly transforming unit developed a whole experience - the Grauzone experience: wild and unpredictable, yet sophisticated and cohesive, or as Swiss music historian Lurker Grand would call it, "an Art band with a Punk attitude".

Completely rejecting the music industry rules and refusing to play the game of promotion, touring, release schedules, and TV appearances even though they had a multi-platinum international hit with the song "Eisbär", the band quickly disintegrated in full convention-defying glory, leaving behind an inspiring music legacy for the world to discover and discover again, one generation after the other.

Stephan Eicher went on to be, arguably, the most successful Swiss musician ever, with an international career extending from pop chanson to experimental escapades and collaborations with Moondog, artists Sophie Calle and Sylvie Fleury, and author Martin Suter among many other luminaries. Marco Repetto flourished as a techno and ambient producer, releasing multiple projects including releases on Aphex Twin’s Rephlex label.

The 2018 live performance captured on Carlos Niño & Miguel Atwood-Ferguson’s Chicago Waves marked another beautiful turning point for International Anthem. The set was recorded at our then HQ, Co-Prosperity, the day after Niño and Ferguson performed as part of Makaya McCraven’s Universal Beings ensemble to celebrate the release of his album by the same name and recreate their contributions to the music on the record’s “LA Side”.

The release of the recording as the Chicago Waves album at the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic drove home the unmistakable sound of togetherness audible in its grooves in a way that only a society trapped in their houses for a year can truly understand. But as that year fades further into the rearview mirror, Chicago Waves still maintains its power. It’s not a mystery—this is what togetherness sounds like.
The IA11 Edition LP features our IARC 2025 obi strip, plus a new 16-page 11x11" insert booklet with additional photos and extensive new liner notes by IARC co-founder Scott McNiece.

Atlantic Records is thrilled to announce F1 The Album - the supercharged companion album to Apple Original Films and Warner Bros. Pictures’ high-octane, action-packed film F1, starring Brad Pitt. From the label that brought you the award-winning, blockbuster soundtracks Barbie The Album, Twisters: The Album, The Greatest Showman, Suicide Squad and more, F1 The Album is driven by brand new tracks from an exhilirating lineup of superstar artists.