Cerca:eli b

Following in the footsteps of 'L'Espròva', a record released in 2018 by and 'Mantras', a body of long instrumental pieces, Ernest Bergez joins Jacques Puech, Elisa Trebouville and Loup Uberto to explore the possibilities of a collective energy. L'Herbe De Détourne achieved to catch the vivid energy of the band playing live and combined it with all the sonic explorations the musicians had in mind for a long time, in a completly free state of mind. Themes and songs are wound up in complex rhythmic gears and follow one another in a continuous momentum. Freely digested, the traditional repertoire from the Massif Central mutates and hybridises with invented forms, inspired by traditional Greek, Persian and North African music... The result is music that is as much for the ears, the feet, as for the guts and perhaps the heart.
It can be a ball, a concert, or a spontaneous ceremony. The Occitan language takes a central place, both as musical material and as a poetic and emotional springboard. Inspired by traditional canvases, a poetic form emerges and makes its way through the old words, passed from mouth to mouth.

Ursprünglich 1989 veröffentlicht, war dies das dritte Studioalbum der Band bei Atlantic Records. Das Album erreichte Platz 155 der U.S. Billboard 200 und hielt sich acht Wochen lang in dieser Hitparade. Enthält den klassischen Track "Elimination". Limitierte Auflage in
rot-schwarzem marmoriertem Vinyl.

SQÜRL was formed by Jim Jarmusch and Carter Logan in 2009 to score Jarmusch's movie The Limits of Control. Over a decade later and with numerous EPs and film scores under their belt, SQÜRL are set to release their very first full length record. Silver Haze was produced by Randall Dunn, who has also worked with the likes of Sunn O))), Boris, Earth, Zola Jesus, and Marissa Nadler, all of whom are artists that SQÜRL cite as inspirations. The album enlists Charlotte Gainsbourg, Anika, and Mark Ribot as collaborators, resulting in a communal offering that shares an energetic lineage with the New York School of Poets, a school they nod to on the track "John Ashbery Takes a Walk," which features Gainsbourg and turns two early Ashbery poems into an irresistible melodic siren's song. Silver Haze expands on SQÜRL's passion for creating rich textural sounds, finessed by a keen ear for production. The band is known for playing with everything from analogue synths to broken radios and pulling inspiration from painters, writers, and birds on the street. Silver Haze is a poetic journey of spoken words, dynamic instrumentals, drone riffs and distorted effects, one that features tubular bells and a cello in addition to their signature stacks of delay, encircling the listener in a warm oscillation both delicate and devastating.

SQÜRL, the duo of filmmaker Jim Jarmusch and Carter Logan, have announced their debut album, Silver Haze, out May 5th via Sacred Bones.

‘SilverHaze’ was produced by Randall Dunn, who has also worked with the likes of Sunn O))), Boris, Earth, Zola Jesus, and Marissa Nadler, all of whom are artists that SQÜRL cite as inspirations. The album enlists Charlotte Gainsbourg, Anika, and Mark Ribot as collaborators, resulting in a communal offering that shares an energetic lineage with the New York School of Poets.



‘SilverHaze’ expands on SQÜRL’s passion for creating rich textural sounds, finessed by a keen ear for production. The band is known for playing with everything from analogue synths to broken radios and pulling inspiration from painters, writers, and birds on the street. ‘Silver Haze’ is a poetic journey of spoken words, dynamic instrumentals, drone riffs and distorted effects, one that features tubular bells and a cello in addition to their signature stacks of delay, encircling the listener in a warm oscillation both delicate and devastating.



The announcement of ‘Silver Haze’ comes on the back of sold out live shows across Europe. Originally intended to happen in 2020, the rescheduled dates saw Jarmusch and Logan perform an original live score to four films by Man Ray. More live dates will follow in due course.

Gegründet von Gitarrist Michael Amott nach seinem Ausstieg bei den inzwischen legendären Carcass und Jahre vor der Einführung ihrer erstaunlichen deutschen Sängerin Angela Gossow, ernteten ARCH ENEMY 1996 mit dem Metal-Meilenstein Black Earth erstmals Lob. Dieses erste Album einer Band, die später zu einer der größten ihres Genres werden sollte, mit dem ursprünglichen Sänger Johan Liiva, wurde von makellos technischen Doppelgitarren und einer bis dahin ungehörten Mischung aus Melodie und Aggression angetrieben - eine Alchemie, die die Grenzen des melodischen Death Metal neu definierte. Black Earth war der Grundstein für einen einzigartigen Trademark-Sound, der der Band half, ihren Ruf als eine der Eliten des Genres schnell zu festigen, was sie bis heute ist.'Black Earth (Re-Issue 2023)' ist in 2 Formaten erhältlich.- Schweres 180g Vinyl schwarz und farbig, inklusive 2-seitigem Einleger- Special Edition CD, die in einem "PocketPac" (umweltfreundliche Verpackung) und einem 16-seitigen Booklet kommt

Gegründet von Gitarrist Michael Amott nach seinem Ausstieg bei den inzwischen legendären Carcass und Jahre vor der Einführung ihrer erstaunlichen deutschen Sängerin Angela Gossow, ernteten ARCH ENEMY 1996 mit dem Metal-Meilenstein Black Earth erstmals Lob. Dieses erste Album einer Band, die später zu einer der größten ihres Genres werden sollte, mit dem ursprünglichen Sänger Johan Liiva, wurde von makellos technischen Doppelgitarren und einer bis dahin ungehörten Mischung aus Melodie und Aggression angetrieben - eine Alchemie, die die Grenzen des melodischen Death Metal neu definierte. Black Earth war der Grundstein für einen einzigartigen Trademark-Sound, der der Band half, ihren Ruf als eine der Eliten des Genres schnell zu festigen, was sie bis heute ist.'Black Earth (Re-Issue 2023)' ist in 2 Formaten erhältlich.- Schweres 180g Vinyl schwarz und farbig, inklusive 2-seitigem Einleger- Special Edition CD, die in einem "PocketPac" (umweltfreundliche Verpackung) und einem 16-seitigen Booklet kommt

Demon Records presents a new collection of 24 UK garage anthems, brought together on vinyl for the first time, exploring the very best of the UK garage scene and packed full of classic floor-fillers.

Across the two 140g vinyl, highlights include tracks such as - Craig David ‘Fill Me In’, The Streets ‘Has It Come To This?’, Artful Dodger and Romina Johnson ‘Moving Too Fast’, Shanks & Bigfoot ‘Sweet Like Chocolate’, T2 ‘Heartbroken’ plus 19 other massive tracks.

• Pressed on two 140g vinyl, housed in printed inner sleeves.

• An essential collection for any UK garage fan!

"Gardiners Lesart von Purcell, dramatisch, hyperfein, manchmal brennend, überwältigend, immer bezaubernd, darf in der Diskographie des aufgeklärten Musikliebhabers nicht fehlen.

Purcell selbst ist da! " Magazine Diapason King Arthur wurde erstmals Mitte 1691 im Dorset Garden Theatre in London aufgeführt.
Es erwies sich als das populärste und beständigste aller Bühnenwerke Purcells und erlebte während des gesamten achtzehnten Jahrhunderts und darüber hinaus Wiederaufnahmen.

Jetzt erscheint diese bekannte Aufnahme von John Eliot Gardiner zum 80. Geburtstag des Dirigenten auf Vinyl.

Multidisciplinary artists Lex Rütten and Jana Kerima Stolzer alias A2iCE & BO3 are the faces behind Paryìa records’ fourth release – further manifesting Paryìa's role as a genre-bending entity while also expanding the artist’s respective portfolio. The debut EP Extracted Soil unites four enthralling tracks with broken beats and evocative percussions as the common denominator, including a remix by Mor Elian. With this release Paryìa brings together sound, art and physical elements, conceptually working around the artist's exhibitions, combining different formats and creating space to break out of conventions and experiment freely.

Through the 24 pieces, rare and unpublished, carefully selected for this double LP, BEATITUDE agnès b. MUSIQUE and Kwaidan Records offer a retro-futuristic sound journey through this musical period so rich, so diverse and so innovative. And, in order to properly celebrate the launch of this long-awaited volume 3, the 1st DES YOUNG GENS MÖDERNES festival will be organized in November 2020 at La Station - Gare des mines, with an intergenerational line up highlighting the musical lineage and the influence that this cold wave scene continues to exert on many emerging artists.

In the movement itself, music makes us aware of the passing of time, always tracking toward itself like a clock. An album is an experience of sound; it can make us believe something imaginary - as if a flute can play itself. The recording becomes any interpretation of motion we want it to be.

Everyone in Water was written and performed by KV Hopper and Elizabeth LoPiccolo. KV is a musician and product designer living in Portland, OR. Elizabeth is a musician, film photographer, and performer living in Brooklyn, New York.

Everyone in Water began with modular synthesis at Portland’s Synth Library in the Fall of 2019. The Synth Library is a collectively run arts organization that supports the education and experimentation of diverse artist communities. Arranging sequencers, generators and filters resonated and inspired new exploration. Sounds evolved over a year as KV shared synth tapestries with Elizabeth in Brooklyn. Voice and flute melodies started to weave in and lyrical themes centered around the sense of place.

Walking & Working is about a ritual of returning home. Household Gloves is about a desire to share a home with someone you know but doesn’t know you. Moving Plants Again is about your home in favor of all living things.

Eliott Litrowski and Voiski’s could have done so 15 years ago, after a first meeting in Paris on the Island of Swans, during a ‘Free Party’ event shut down by the police. But it didn’t. Each one followed his own way, and if their paths crossed many times, they only began collaborating in 2021.

Cracki Records’s 10th anniversary Compilation was the trigger: the two artists locked themselves in the studio to create what has become since their signature sound: The Friendship Spacecake, a perfect alliance, driven by their common love for analogic synthesizers, between Eliott Litrowski’s hybrid electro and Voiski’s post-trance.

Neither of them wanted to stop at this stage. One is living in Copenhagen, the other in Paris, yetcreating an album together quickly became the next obvious step.
This common desire led to the beginning of the suitably called Superski duo: a great name that encapsulates both artists’ committed live performances, their unusual musical language, between electro, trance and Italo, and their vision of an uncompromising, colorful and positive club culture.

Oberheim 6, Jupiter 8, TR808, Roland JX8P, Microwave XT and FutureRetro XS, all synthesizers are limitlessly pushed to their last breath, creating an almost retro-futuristic decor for the artiststo evolve in.

Their debut album “Mondo Moderno” will be out March 31st

Pale Blue unveil the penultimate single from their forthcoming album on Crosstown Rebels with ‘Together Alone’, accompanied by a driving and hypnotic remix from Kölsch. Artists with renowned solo careers alongside their ever-evolving journey as the critically acclaimed duo Pale Blue, Mike Simonetti and Elizabeth Wight continue to showcase why their collaborative material is much-loved from all corners of the electronic realm and beyond. Arriving on the heels of the release of the playful and charming ‘No Words’, the pair return to Damian Lazarus’ Crosstown Rebels with the third and penultimate single ahead of their forthcoming album release as they switch up the mood and veer into wistful territories across the absorbing ‘Together Alone’ - backed by a remix from Kompakt mainstay and electronic heavyweight, Kölsch.

A carefully created journey across almost eight minutes, ‘Together Alone’ is an exemplary showcase of balance and restrain as delicate melodies and hazy tones float amongst subtle nimble percussion arrangements, blooming synths and Wight’s captivating vocals for a deep dive into dreamy spheres. Bringing his own take to the record, Danish electronic pioneer Kölsch heads to Crosstown Rebels with his excellent crafted ‘I Have You’ remix, as he builds on the original with a powerful and emphatic introduction of anthemic leads, crisp kicks and a warping bassline rooted at the track’s core to transport the production firmly into the heart of the dancefloor.

The rattle of drums, scattered along the beaten track, hypnotically guiding you to a place not yet visited; yet all too familiar. Whispers and forgotten chants in surround sound luring an inner urge to surrender, to drink from Sepehr’s Diaspora Cocktail. The 5 track EP finds dwelling on Planet Euphorique for its historical 20th release, emitting a vibration of deeper dance and intriguing electronia the label is notorious for. The first sip opens your ears to the Iranian-American’s sonic sphere, rooted in live freakouts that may or may not be fuelled by his potent audio elixr, a signature special of hedonistic heat. Intoxicated by fragments of percussive EBM, tweaked out dungeon techno and sexy electro, the liquid drips and the delicious potions are stirred and shaken for your pleasure.

Brazilian experimental multi-instrumentalist Carla Boregas follows plates for Bokeh Versions and Hive Mind with a ghostly set of deep listening electronics that plays like a symphony for an imagined woodwind orchestra.

Carla Boregas is best known from her tenure in São Paulo's genre-bending experimental post-punk scene, playing in long-running outfit Rakta as well as other related offshoots. Her solo material has been knottier to unpick, here developing ideas from a collection of unfinished fragments and notebook scribbles exploring the possibility of finding a wind instrument that could be played collectively by several musicians. Coinciding with the pandemic, however, she soon realised the inherent risks involved with sharing breath and so the concept took a different direction, with added resonance.

Boregas developed a synthetic alternative, layering vocals and environmental recordings to suggest wind instrumentation without attempting to mimic it. The sounds here are airy, but rarely diegetic - on the title track, Boregas uses analog arpeggios and plucked, sustained tones to approximate the kosmische world of Ash Ra Tempel or more recently Emeralds, as if trapped in a wind tunnel, moved forward by an unseen force.

There's a whisper of the ancient past that harmonises with Wojciech Rusin's speculative medieval gasps, and Bloedneus & de Snuitkever's severely underheard ‘Milli Mille’, an examination of the ancient Greek aulos. On ’Grafia Do Invisível' the sound is completely different again, but the concept remains, using precise analog drones and minuscule timbral shifts to imitate the character of a wind instrument and simultaneously harmonise with the deep listening meditations of Éliane Radigue and Kali Malone.

A voice enters the frame on 'Sopro’, chopped into deviated gulps and syllables, creating a language that's unfamiliar and percussive. The use of breath is subtle, and vocalisations criss-cross between synths and faint whistles, forming an expression that's different from its predecessors but intrinsically interlinked. This is where ‘Pena Ao Mar’ excels, by viewing breath and its application in electronic music from multiple angles simultaneously. Fans of Lucy Duncombe, Lucrecia Dalt, or Sarah Davachi - don't miss this one.

John Eliot Gardiner feiert am 20. April 2023 seinen 80. Geburtstag. Parallel zu der 64-CD umfassenden Box werden zudem noch zwei bedeutende Alben auf Vinyl veröffentlicht: Händels Wassermusik und Purcells King Arthur.

Als dieses Album 1980 mit Händels Wassermusik aufgenommen wurde, war das Ensemble English Baroque Soloists erst zwei Jahre zuvor gegründet worden.
John Eliot Gardiner hatte 1964 zunächst den Monteverdi-Chor und 1968 das Monteverdi-Orchester gegründet, das auf modernen Instrumenten spielte.
In den späten 1970er Jahren wechselte das Orchester zu historischen
Instrumenten und wurde zu den English Baroque Soloists.

Das erste Konzert unter dem neuen Namen fand 1977 bei den Innsbrucker Festwochen für Alte Musik statt. Die Wassermusik-Suiten sind eine der ersten Aufnahmen der English Baroque Soloists. Gardiners Ästhetik bestand aus Genauigkeit, instrumentaler Perfektion, Intonation und Dynamik - es ging darum, alle Vorurteile, die es damals über den Barock geben konnte, abzubauen

"Released in April 1966 by Decca Records, Aftermath was the Rolling Stones’ fourth British studio album. It was issued by London Records in the US in June 1966. Recorded at the RCA Studios in California, it was their first album released in true stereo.
It is also one of the first ‘popular’ albums to eclipse the 50-minute mark, and contains one of the earliest rock songs to exceed 10 minutes (the blues jam Goin’ Home). The album’s release was briefly delayed by controversy over the original packaging idea and title – Could You Walk on the Water? – due to London Reocord’s fear of offending Christians in the US.

The album was considered an artistic breakthrough for the band, being the first to consist entirely of Jagger–Richards compositions, (after their maverick young manager, Andrew Loog Oldham, had shut them in the kitchen of their flat until they had written some more original songs!).
It also featured strongly the immaculate guitar work of Brian Jones and the remarkably wry, observant song-writing of Jagger–Richards
Jones played a variety of instruments not usually associated with their music, including sitar, dulcimer, marimbas and Japanese koto, as well as guitar, harmonica and keyboards, though much of the music is still rooted in Chicago electric blues. The burgeoning influences of psychedelia, Bob Dylan and the tensions around the world, are evident in classics like Paint It Black, an eerily insistent number one hit, available on the US version of the LP.

Other classics included the jazzy Under My Thumb, where Jones added exotic accents with vibes, and the delicate Elizabethan ballad Lady Jane, with distinctive dulcimer, the wry observational Mother’s Little Helper with its unashamed lyrical drug references, and the overlooked gem – the brooding, meditative I Am Waiting.

The American edition was issued with a shorter track listing, substituting the single Paint It Black in place of four of the British version’s songs, in keeping with the industry preference for shorter LPs in the US market at the time."

"Released in April 1966 by Decca Records, Aftermath was the Rolling Stones’ fourth British studio album. It was issued by London Records in the US in June 1966. Recorded at the RCA Studios in California, it was their first album released in true stereo.
It is also one of the first ‘popular’ albums to eclipse the 50-minute mark, and contains one of the earliest rock songs to exceed 10 minutes (the blues jam Goin’ Home). The album’s release was briefly delayed by controversy over the original packaging idea and title – Could You Walk on the Water? – due to London Reocord’s fear of offending Christians in the US.

The album was considered an artistic breakthrough for the band, being the first to consist entirely of Jagger–Richards compositions, (after their maverick young manager, Andrew Loog Oldham, had shut them in the kitchen of their flat until they had written some more original songs!).
It also featured strongly the immaculate guitar work of Brian Jones and the remarkably wry, observant song-writing of Jagger–Richards
Jones played a variety of instruments not usually associated with their music, including sitar, dulcimer, marimbas and Japanese koto, as well as guitar, harmonica and keyboards, though much of the music is still rooted in Chicago electric blues. The burgeoning influences of psychedelia, Bob Dylan and the tensions around the world, are evident in classics like Paint It Black, an eerily insistent number one hit, available on the US version of the LP.

Other classics included the jazzy Under My Thumb, where Jones added exotic accents with vibes, and the delicate Elizabethan ballad Lady Jane, with distinctive dulcimer, the wry observational Mother’s Little Helper with its unashamed lyrical drug references, and the overlooked gem – the brooding, meditative I Am Waiting.

The American edition was issued with a shorter track listing, substituting the single Paint It Black in place of four of the British version’s songs, in keeping with the industry preference for shorter LPs in the US market at the time."

Four essential UK lovers rock / dub selections from the late 70s and early 80s featuring the sought after vocal cut ‘Our Tune' by Marie Pierre produced by Dennis Bovell and the Fender Rhodes laced heavyweight rhythm cut ’Fe We Dub’, featuring trombonist Henry Matic - Both originally released on Patrick Cann's PC Music imprint reissued here for the first time from studio tapes placed alongside Elizabeth Archer & The Equators classic reggae cover of ’Feel Like Making Love’ back-to-back with the dub ‘Version’ aka ‘Feel Like Making Dub’. Cut loud on 12” single for the first time.

a wonderful journey into the third Rapax round with Eliaz, Stigma, Doordie and Lapucci

Ambassade’s 2019 ‘Duistre Kamers’ album was a huge favourite here at Optimo Music towers so we jumped at the chance to release the follow up; ‘The Fool’.

Following hot in the heels of the acclaimed ‘Young Birds / Palette’ 12” on Optimo Music, ‘The Fool’ is destined to be another Cold Wave, Synth, New Industrial, Experimental …whatever you want to call it …classic. We asked Ambassade to tell us a bit about the album – Born from several years of research and contemplation on the human mind ‘The Fool’ can be understood as a reflection to the dark energies – natural, political, human and otherwise – that are released when it comes to religion, greed and power.

Historically, some rulers have used religion to legitimise their power. We were also inspired by wanting to examine what negative impact religion can have from the fact that it’s always dominated by men.

This was pursued by exploring a wide range of diverse and unusual types of instruments that took on a new approach of tonal expression, with the use of detuned choral and voice samples, droned tape loops and DIY metal and found percussion. It’s from these diverse sources that the process of creativity keeps persistently mutating. This process was focused through the enigmatic electronic and percussion composition from the band which alternates between foreground and background for the haunting vocal performances.

New year, new energy, new music...

We’re all waiting for that tune to land in our lap, reach up and slap us simultaneously in the ears, feels, souls and feet. That big sonic blast of emotion and inspiration that sets the tone and gets us excited about a new season of shows.

Hard Times Records present ‘All I Need’, a powerful, slab of house music positivity that smacks of ‘first anthem of the year’ vibes and comes courtesy of one of house music’s biggest pioneers AND a certified UK House music institution that permanently changed the face of global club culture over 30 years ago... Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley and Hard Times.

Neither Hurley or Hard Times need any introductions, but both have histories that deserve so much more than this hype-fuelled promo blurb. Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley is a certified legend. As one of the pioneering House music artists to emerge from Chicago’s primordial 80s phenomenon and the first ever to score a UK number one Hit with ‘Jack Your Body’, the multiple Grammy nominated artist has been a powerful source of energy and inspiration ever since as one of the most consistent forefathers of this scene.

Hard Times have played an equally influential role and are arguably responsible for some of the most defining moments in uk House Music. One of the first club nights to import the US titans to UK dancefloors, the Yorkshire brand were instrumental in creating a blueprint in international DJ culture as they invited the biggest pioneers and legends to their events that began in the sleepy town of Mirfield, but eventually sprawled across the UK with line-ups that ranged from Todd Terry to Masters at Work to Deep Dish and every titan in between. A dominant force throughout the 90s, Hard Times wound down in the 2000s as its founder Steve Raine took a break from the industry to become a sheep farmer, which he still does to this day... Safe in the knowledge that he helped to create an ethos for uncompromising underground House Music that remains steadfast to this Day.

The Hard Times label originated back in 1994 And ran alongside the club night, boasting a small but elite catalogue. It’s about to thrive on a whole new level as Hard Times returns as a label with its first new material for over 20 years with ‘All I Need’.

Timeless yet forward-thinking, loaded to the brim with precision groovemanship, glazed with a strong Latin twist and sprinkled with the gorgeous vocals of Sara Garvey, who many will instantly recognise from her Nightmares On Wax collaborations, ‘All I Need’ is a pedigree house anthem-in-waiting. Universal in vibe and spirit, fully transcending trend or flavour-of-the-month fickleness, this taps into the source and has full potential to be the first big boundary-breaking house hit of 2023... 36 years after Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley topped the charts with ‘Jack Your Body’!

It comes complete with a rainbow of remixes from some equally eye-opening heavyweights: Alex Arnout, Eddie Leader, Terry Farley & Kevin Swain and DJ Skip (who runs S&S Records with ‘Hurley) all provide different perspectives on ‘All I Need’, giving it even more scope and depth to slap us simultaneously.

Elias Devoldere is the drummer in bands such as Nordmann, Hypochristmutreefuzz, Suwi, Robbing Millions, and John Ghost. Following an ep, Kaiku, released last summer, Bloomed > Exploded is his debut full length as a solo artist. Besides writing and singing, he composed, played, recorded, and produced the bulk of the ten songs himself. 'Everything blooms', he explains the title of his first album. 'Until it explodes, and something else is able to grow from it'. In this case, what came full cycle is an intimate coming-of-age album of intangible atmospherics, crisp melodies, and understated rhythmical patterns.

BLOOMED >

'As a kid, I just wanted to play football, you know?', says Elias. 'But when I was eight years old, my parents made me choose between drawing school and music school'. And thus began a dedication to rhythm for Elias. At 18, he enrolled at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in his hometown of Ghent, opting for a jazz education. 'Not because I aspired to become a master 'jazz drummer', but to learn music, to become a good musician'. It was at the academy that, after an impromptu jam session, Nordmann first came together. The exhilarating instrumental quartet went on to win second place at the prestigious Humo's Rock Rally in 2014, and released three albums to critical acclaim, with a new one in the works.

Devoldere, in the meantime, had completed his degree with a craving - ironically - for music. 'I was in over my head with jazz for such a long time, and went on an epic discovering spree. Moses Sumney, James Blake, Kendrick Lamar, Connan Mockasin... Lots of stuff I had missed over the years. In a way, I reconnected with the kind of music I was into before jazz dominated my life. Pink Floyd was my first love, for instance, and later Radiohead proved to be a game changer. Diving back into those kind of sounds, I was feeling the urge to follow my old dreams, of being a solo artist - or something more than 'just' a drummer, anyway. So I bought a guitar, an interface for my laptop, and started writing'.

EXPLODED

When he released his 5 track ep Kaiku in the summer of 2021, it summarised a lot of firsts for Elias. First time writing lyrics, first time as a lead vocalist, first time recording his own songs all by himself. The songs had been around for a while, but taking those leaps took a long time. 'Making the ep helped me to find my voice, in every way possible'. Still, in the aftermath of the pandemic, the songs on Bloomed > Exploded sprouted in a time of upheaval. 'Musically the album is quite serene, gentle even. But the themes speak of internal unrest and uncertainty. There are a lot of questions on the album, as it turned out. Duality, as the title suggests, coming from the struggle between a wish to turn everything upside down and a search for peace. Honestly: the prospect of my 30th birthday was messing with my head too'.

Recording during a period of solitude in France, Elias initially relied heavily on synthesizers and drum machines. 'Explode / Boalis was one of the first songs I wrote for this album, and pivotal for its atmosphere, based mostly on electronic elements. Later, I did use 'real' drums on most of the other songs, though, and contributions from other musicians, but the overall mood is very cohesive'. 'Pure', that's how Bruno Ellingham, the UK engineer who mixed the album, described it. Much to the delight of Elias, who reached out to Ellingham because of his previous work with bands such as Massive Attack and Portishead. 'Hearing the end result, I thought he really captured the essence of the original demo's. For me, that adds to this album being a sincere reflection of my true self. 'Take a dive/ Into the place where it's more quiet', as I sing in the last song, that kind of sums it up for me'.

This one takes us back! We originally reissued Waltel Branco's 'Meu Balanço' in 1995, it was one of the first releases to come out on Mr Bongo. It is a much-requested title with original copies becoming ever more-scarce and the price tag increasingly rising, so it feels fitting to present this stunning record once again for all to enjoy.

Waltel Branco was born in Paranaguá, Brazil in 1929 and died in Rio de Janeiro in 2018. During his triumphant career he accumulated an impressive musical portfolio. A true maestro who from the 1950s onwards appeared on productions as a guitarist, writer, conductor, composer, and arranger. He worked with some of the greats of Brazilian music including Elis Regina, Dom Um Romao, Bossa Três, Marcos Valle and Tony Bizarro to name just a few.

'Meu Balanço' was originally released on CBS Records Brazil in 1975. It is Brazilian big band, orchestrated jazz-funk at its finest. Echoing the library and film productions created in Europe and the USA at the time, it also displays the hallmarks of Waltel’s heritage with distinct threads of Brazilian flavour running throughout. The musicians on the record include under-the-radar players that were the backbone of the Brazilian music industry in the 1970s including Luizão Maia on bass, Edmundo Maciel on trombone and Paulinho Braga on drums.

The album flirts between jazz-funk, cinematic library excursions, breaks and beats, easy-listening, and 70s cop show instrumentals. It is a breezy ride into Waltel's world, wonderfully nostalgic and of another time and place, yet snippets of the production echo the beats of contemporary hip-hop iconic artists such as Madlib, knxwledge and The Alchemist.

Elissa Suckdog's first full release arrives via her own imprint, the counterpart to Klon Dump's KLON series. DOG001 follows her Girls/Dudes Try white label edits and features an itchy A and a soothing B, watched over by F1's last female competitor Giovanni Amati and historian Michael Parenti.

'Unconscious Collective' is the first album by PS5 - the new ensemble led by Pietro Santangelo (Nu Guinea, Slivovitz, Fitness Forever) - and it will be out for Hyperjazz Records on 21th May 2021.

It's a musical experiment where layered memories and hidden feelings resonate as if they arise directly from the most recondite part of the unconscious and produce a suspension of the stream of consciousness. With the aim to create a state of trance and override the human reason, this is an imaginary round trip across the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, ideally connecting Naples with North Africa and Latin America.

The arrangements wrote by Santangelo are based on great freedom of improvisation: while the melodic textures of the two saxophones didn't give any clear references, the other musicians followed the rhythmic pulse and its unpredictable ways. The music moves naturally along an imaginary line highlighting the ancestral connection between Jamaica and Ethiopia or between Nigeria and Cuba. In the background, Naples is a synthesis of all the sonic ingredients, mixed and cooked in its own mystical and spicy belly.

Besides Santangelo himself on the tenor and soprano saxophones, the collective is made up of: Paolo Bianconcini, a brilliant Neapolitan percussionist with a very deep Afro-Cuban background; Giuseppe Giroffi, young and talented alto and baritone saxophonist; the bassist Vincenzo Lamagna and the drummer Salvatore Rainone, both loyal members of the former Santangelo's trio.

Recorded live at the Auditorium Novecento in Naples, the legendary studio of Phonotype Records, 'Unconscious Collective' is mixed in analog format by Fabrizio Piccolo, and mastered by Davide Barbarulo at his 20Hz20KHz Studio.

Pietro Santangelo

Pietro was born, lives and plays in Naples. As a saxophonist and composer, he has released five albums with Slivovitz and one with his PS3 trio (Clinamen, Emme records 2017). Graduated in Digital Sound Processing at the Faculty of Physics of Federico II University, he is involved and engaged in the Italian scene of radical improvisation (Franco Ferguson, Elio Martusciello and Officina Arti Soniche, Collettivo NISE).

Multi-instrumentalist since forever, he has collaborated with Nu Guinea, Enzo Avitabile, Fitness Forever, Marzouk Mejri, Dennis Bovell and many others.

He's also author of soundtracks and electronic musician. He appreciates analog photography, loves walking outdoors. He hates biographical notes.

A diabolical marriage of metal and Nordic folk, Finntroll sound like nobody else in metal. The band's career was nearly cut short in 2003 when the vocalist left and guitar player Somnium died accidentally. Eventually the others decided to carry on with the band and released Nattfödd ("Nightborn") in 2004 on Spinefarm. The album is in many ways the ultimate Finntroll record, a definite high point in their 20-year career: an eccentric, catchy and relentless barrage of folkish metal. Nattfödd has not been available on vinyl since the limited original pressing. Lipposen Levy ja Kasetti are proud to release an official reissue, mastered for vinyl by Mika Jussila of Finnvox, who was also responsible for the original pressing.

You can't claim to know anything about Danish jazz unless you're familiar with the great and beloved tenor saxophonist Jakob Dinesen - aka Dino.
Dinesen's reputation as a versatile and virtuosic saxophonist has brought him all over the world and has cemented him as one of Denmark's most
sought-after musicians, performing with jazz, rock, pop and world music elite for the past 30 years. Now, at the age of 54, he is a fully-formed,
dynamic tenor titan with an instantly recognisable voice. His sound on tenor has a tenderness that's totally his own, and his phrases glide and soar
with a seemingly effortless technical command of the instrument.
In early December 2021, Dino travelled to the United States to record with one of his heroes - legendary American drummeer Jeff 'Tain' Watts - who
at 62 years old is considered by many to be the most prominent and influential drummer of his generation. In addition to Dino and Tain, this
resultant album also features two young virtuosos from Denmark - guitarist Jacob Artved and bassist Felix Moseholm - both still in their twenties but
making waves with their incredible talent, drive and taste.
The result is a recording that takes listeners on a journey offering plenty of room for each of the four musicians to shine brighter than ever before.
Jakob Dinesen - tenor saxophone; Jeff 'Tain' Watts - drums; Jacob Artved - guitar; Felix Moseholm - bass.
A limited edition 180g vinyl release.

For a quarter of an hour, Zürich was the navel of the world. Let's look back: at New York's CBGB's, pre-punks were shredding away, Malcolm McLaren, as a man with a fine-tuned taste for the hip, imported the sound to London, where his sweetheart Vivienne Westwood dressed the test-tube band The Sex Pistols. A few pop magazines later (we are in an analog world!) punk bands sprouted everywhere, like shiny pimples on poorly fed teenagers. Contrary to legend, even back then, it was often those with a musical background who were the most successful. One such example, Henrich "Wüste" Zwahlen, who had learned the violin, attended a jazz school and went into prog-rock before joining the Nasal Boys, one of the first punk bands in Zürich. The scene included the female band Kleenex (cover: Fischli of art heroes Fischli/Weiss), whose minimalism was praised by the London music press, while the world's most important rock theorist, Greil Marcus, wrote an ode highlighting Zürich's role as the birthplace of Dadaism. A fertile ground for the militant youth movement that exploded in 1980 and stirred up the city of banks, protestantism and boredom with raw wit and expressive violence. Gathering at concerts of local bands and fueled by endogenous and artificial substances - they paid homage to exuberance and self-indulgence.
The mantra of "everything-is-possible" was driven forward on the musical front by progress in terms of means of production: analog electronic instruments were no longer reserved for hippie nerds, who sat in front of large plug-in boards like autistic-psychedelic switchboard operators connecting cables for their sound carpets. Now snazzy stage personnel elicited fast-paced sounds from handy devices often made in Japan. Kraftwerk was fashionable, the Zurich duo Yello experimented with new synthetic sounds, and the groundbreaking album "Alles Ist Gut" by the Düsseldorf based duo D.A.F. (Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft) was released, which chanted its program of provocation times danceability with lines such as "Tanz den Jesus Christus, tanz the Mussolini, tanz the Adolf Hitler." In England meanwhile, electronically backed New Romantic bands were replacing New Wave. The Human League, Heaven 17, Duran Duran, OMD, Depeche Mode or Visage stormed the charts.
In Zürich's underground, the duo Aboriginal Voices caused a stir at that time. A couple, good-looking, styled, looking cool into the cold neon light, with a danceable beat and sequenced electro sounds, to which Micheline gave a very unique touch when she sang in French and English. Micheline had a classical piano education, had left home early, worked as a lighting technician in a strip joint and at Booster, the hottest boutique in town (one of the relicts that still exists). Voilà: a musician who was as stylish as she was tough. She was already playing with Wüste in the band "Doobie Doos", a band where everyone played an instrument they didn't master. In 1980 the Aboriginal Voices were formed, initially with vocalist Magda Vogel (of later UnknownmiX fame), who was trained as a classical singer.

Frustrated by organizational friction and constant hassles with band lineups, Wüste and Misch decided to do everything as a twosome: self-mixed, self-styled, self-produced. With the top-of-the-line Linn drum machine clocking the beat, Wüste's guitar and Micheline on the Yamaha synthesizer created a unique sound of danceable electronic music. Whereby the Aboriginal Voices acted as a kind of proto-influencer, receiving the latest equipment to try out, especially since they made it a point not to work with tapes, but to design everything for live shows. They had an interface built for the legendary Roland MC-4B, who sequenced the modular Roland System 100M but where one output controlled a light show synchronized with the sound. A pioneering act that fit well into the DIY spirit of punk, with its self-distributed tapes and fuck-you attitude towards the cretins of the music industry. Consequently only two cassettes and an EP were released. There was something futuristic about the sound, the vestiary style and the electronics, while the attitude remained rebellious. Of course something so deeped in the Zeitgeist wasn't meant to last. Wüste moved to New York, Micheline stayed in Zurich, both still active in the music scene to this day.

Sven Regener, head of the band Element of Crime and one of Germany's most successful pop writer said a few years ago when asked if he knew of any Swiss music: "Of course! In 1983, a Swiss band called Aboriginal Voices played with us at a festival in Zurich. Great, avant-garde electro-pop. That was my first encounter."

If you ever saw them live, you never forgot them, and so over the years you belonged to a teeny-tiny circle of insiders, happy to be joined after all these years by new aficionados who appreciate the sound of that quarter-hour, when Zurich was ravishing, creative and exciting.

- Thomas Haemmerli

'The dynamic pop-meets-R&B duo, Two Another, today announce their hotly anticipated debut album “Back to Us”, an album that traverses themes of self-acceptance, queer identity, letting go of the idea of perfection and hope for the future. Blending alt-pop, funk and R&B, the upbeat buoyancy of Two Another’s sleek yet energetic productions on “Back To Us” has an infectious potency to transform a mood or an outlook track after track. The duo again confirm their unparalleled talent as they channel raw emotion into undeniable grooves across the ten tracks which are pumped with compelling stories executed by the honeyed melodies of Eliot Porter and the joyous synths of Angus Campbell.

Electronic duo Pale Blue return to Crosstown Rebels with ‘No Words’, the second single from their forthcoming album ‘Maria’, with remixes from DJ Tennis and Perel.

Italians Do It Better founder Mike Simonetti and Silver Hands’ Elizabeth Wight’s rich and storied careers within the electronic realm and beyond only elevated further with the launch of their Pale Blue project in 2015, unveiling a series of critically acclaimed releases via Simonetti’s 2MR imprint with plaudits including Pitchfork, FACT and Resident Advisor, to name just a few. Having provided the first look into their forthcoming album on Crosstown Rebels entitled ‘Maria’, scheduled for release on the label later this year, the pair return to open March with the second single from the project, ‘No Words’ - accompanied by remixes from DJ Tennis and Perel.

Detailing the backstory to the record, Simonetti notes both upcoming single ‘No Words’ and the majority of the tracks on the duo’s forthcoming album project were made on the exact synths used to create Jaydee’s iconic 1993 hit, ‘Plastic Dreams’.

Guided by a captivating bassline accented by Wight’s charming vocals, which flutter amongst the mix, ‘No Words’ is a hooky and compelling production that ebbs and flows across its near five-minute duration with effortless ease, capturing the playful nature alluded to by Simonetti. Life and Death head honcho DJ Tennis’ remix arrives next, veering down a hazy yet absorbing path as crisp organic drums and engrossing melodies form around the vocals and journey through light and dark textures.

The B-side of the record belongs to DJ/producer, vocalist and DFA Records favourite Perel, offering a cosmic dive through spacey synths, skittering bleeps and pops, and tough kicks across her take on the production - before distorting and warping the vocals and shifting the emphasis on the ever-evolving electronics across her ‘Dub Version’.

Freestyle puts out another reissue 12" in their drive to unearth rare and classic UK funk, soul & boogie records - this time a much needed pressing of the late Candy McKenzie's heavy boogie-funk cover of Patrice Rushen's classic Remind Me. Produced by Candy's late cousin, and seasoned session bass player, John McKenzie (and licensed from the family estate) this was originally released in 1983 - and comes with an excellent dubbed-out 'Different Style' instrumental version on the flip.

-----------------------

Candy McKenzie (1953-2003) was a North West London-based vocalist from a Guyanese family heavily steeped in musicianship . She began learning the piano at a young age, picking up vocal harmony from her father, a jazz bass player. Her brothers Bunny & Binky, were also celebrated bassists. Candy would marry young in 1970 at the age of 17, though just one year later her brother Binky (who played with the likes of Cream, Alexis Korner & John Mclaughlin in the late 60s) tragically killed her mother and father, along with Candy's husband in an attack at the family home to which Candy was present. Candy was also injured but escaped with her life.

In the years that followed the tragedy Candy, regularly accompanied by her brother Bunny, would find reggae vocal session work - often at the Chalk Farm Studios frequented by many key producers & acts. She found her way onto Aswad's first album and Keith Hudson's legendary Flesh Of My Skin Blood Of My Blood LP - and a little while later on a couple of sessions with Bob Marley for Island, under the supervision of Lee Perry.

The latter two parties took a keen interest in Candy, with Island wisking her away to Jamaica in 1977 to record an album at the legendary Black Ark. Her vocals found their way onto The Congos seminal Heart of the Congos LP, but the album she recorded with Perry was shelved - with just the Black Art holy grail 12" Disco Fits / Breakfast in Bed finding it's way to release at the time.

Back in London, Candy spent the early to mid 80s recording various lovers and funk/soul 12"s, including this fantastic cover of Patrice Rushen's Remind Me, produced by her cousin John. She went on to record singles for labels like Elite & Cooltempo throughout the '80s and early '90s, and appeared as backing vocalist with the likes of Leonard Cohen, Whitney Houston, Elton John and Diana Ross. She passed away in 2003, with her one and only album recorded at the Black Ark finally seeing release on Trojan in 2011.

Candy's cousin John McKenzie got his starts in the music industry in the mid 70s as part of prog group Man and communal festival rockers Global Village Trucking Co., as well as playing with the likes of Annette Peacock and Steve Hillage. His father Mike McKenzie was also a key Carribbean jazz figure in the UK throughout the early 1950s, through to the '60s and '70s. John would become a heavily in-demand session musician - playing with everyone from the Eurhythmics to Bob Dylan - while also finding time to produce this record, alongside a couple of excellent 12"s with Mel Gaynor as Finesse, between 1982 and '83. He would regularly tour the world as a live musician for a huge array of headline acts, appearing on multiple chart hits, and in his later years was a member of the excellent group Ibibio Sound Machine. He lost his battle with cancer in 2020.

This reissue is dedicated to the memory of both John & Candy McKenzie.

"Denial” and "Anger" are the first and second movements in Michael Leonhart’s, The Normyn Suite #1: (Soundtrack to the Five Stages of Grieving), which is both a requiem and celebration, inspired by the life and death of Leonhart’s 15-year-old dog, a female mini dachshund named Normyn.

Suite #1 first appeared on the Michael Leonhart Orchestra 2022 album "The Normyn Suites" (Sunnyside Records) and was inspired by “The Kübler-Ross Grief Cycle,” a model introduced by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in her 1969 book, On Death and Dying. “The Five Stages of Grief” is a critically acclaimed study on how humans handle loss.

For Leonhart's suite in five parts, he expands the MLO’s live performance palette of brass, woodwinds and strings to include choir and found percussion over gritty breakbeat drums from Nick Movshon. Leonhart shares, “I wanted ‘Denial’ and ‘Anger’ to have an emotional tension and raw quality, almost a whiplash effect..."
The Normyn Suites is an elegy; to listen is to spend time in that space of loss, reckoning, questioning, and mourning. At the same time, though, with each note, each phrase, we are propelled back into life,” reflects author Alexandra Horowitz in the stirring liner notes.

After several years of intense performance activity, the Italian sound artist and
vocalist SARA PERSICO releases her debut EP "Boundary", to be followed by a full album.


Born and raised in Naples, Berlin-based sound artist / vocalist SARA PERSICO cut her teeth
experimenting on the fringes of Naples' fiery underground experimental/noise scene, developing a
technique that would integrate her voice with analogue electronics, field recordings, and samples.
PERSICO holds a BA from the Conservatory of Napoli and a Master's Degree from the
Conservatory of Bologna and gained several residencies and scholarships like Temp Studio,
Lisbon (2018), Amplify Berlin (2021), Sonoscopia, Porto (2022), Sardegna Teatro - V2 Unstable,
Argentiera (2022). She presented her work in festival and events like Ballroom Blitz Beirut, CTM
Festival, Ortigia Sound System Festival/Bosco Colto, Codex Club, Documenta Fifteen, Dancity
Festival, Radical DB, Life Libertas Festival, among others.


As improviser and performer, she has collaborated with a wide spectrum of artists, joining EVELYN
SAYLOR's vocal ensemble for CATERINA BARBIERI's acclaimed "light-years" show at Rewire
Festival and London's Southbank Centre, and worked on projects alongside THE EX's ANDY
MOOR, TONY ELIEH (KARKHANA), LUDWIG WANDINGER, DIRAR KALASH, ELVIN BRANDHI,
RECORDAT, and many others.

She's also a fearless DJ who's able to straddle vastly different worlds, offering just as much
attention to abstract electronic sounds as she does bass-heavy club music, noise, and vocal
experiments. She is currently a resident on Bethlehem's Radio Alhara.

All this energy and experience radiates from her solo debut "Boundary": PERSICO's expressive
vocals play a central role, but her command of precisely sculpted electronic textures and dynamic
rhythmic structures is just as crucial to the overall experience.
Deconstructed beats, experimental voice, harmonic music, distorted rhythms craft a dense
introspective work that explores intimately the boundaries of the self. Identity rupture as a survival
technique, a voice-research climax with an unconventional approach - multi-faceted ideas melt in a
heavy-aesthetical 6 track solo EP that brings together different styles like noise and clubby sounds.

Nach seinem Debüt-Produzenten-Tape “AKA DER COACH” in 2021 folgt am 10.03.2023 nun der lang ersehnte Nachfolger “AKA DER COACH II” – und die Tracklist lässt allen Rap Liebhaber*innen das Wasser im Mund zusammenlaufen. Torky Tork vereint die Crème de la Crème der Deutschrap-Elite aus Helden wie Dendemann als auch der neuen Wilden wie Young Meyerlack oder Xaver und ist damit verantwortlich für Featuring Tracks, die es so noch nie zu hören gab!

Real post-punk from Cincinnati, Usa. Recently featured in the Netflix "Elite" series, this record is a must-have for all the lovers of the old raw d.i.y. synthpunk sound.

Rare Groove Collection Explore the fusion of world music with soul, funk and disco through the Rare Groove Collection. With this new volume, discover unique groove tracks straight from Jamaica! Fully remastered original versions Oriental RARE GROOVE A trip to the oriental peninsula following the steps of the Lebanese disco of Elias Rahbani, cradled by the Morrocan Soul of Ouiness or trained by the Lybian melodies of Ahmed Fakroun...

2023 REpress
A North American road trip of coming of age garage soul mapped by Ivan Liechti, Ghost Riders is Efficient Space’s latest narrative compilation, hovering in a liminal emotional ravine between moonlight melancholy, teenage heartache and unchecked, unrealised ambition. Across seventeen open hearted ballads recorded 1965-1974, the 2LP collects and connects dots between British Invasion fanatics, child prodigies, the loners and the luckless, in a kind of trans-continental survey of those swept up in rock’n’roll mania and buoyed by local newspaper ads promising fame and gold records.

From the tangerine dreams of 8th grade all-girl combo The Mod 4 to the tri-state jukebox aspiring echoes of The Tempters, The Yardley’s poetic Farfisa vamp and lilting folk pop, and The Landlords’ weepy break up b-side blues, these are mostly one shots by dreamers whose experience was brief before being checked back to the reality of suburban normality and realistic career options. Hailing from the regional backwaters of Illnois, Arkansas, Nevada, Massachussets, Ohio, Idaho, Texas and beyond, the licensed artists were scouted by way of local fire departments, spiritualist fellowships and animal welfare centres, often barely a stones throw from where their contributions were originally laid.

A barely teenage Dennis Harte's ‘Summer’s Over’ perhaps best taps the collection’s essence. A gut-wrenching lament of the passing of the season as if it was the last on earth. Flanked by players from The Left Banke, Harte, a now-piano tuner to the stars, is from the minor segment that found longevity in showbiz. Likewise with Michigan icon Lyn Nowicki who cast her ghostly voice over Beatles cover song chameleons The Common People and Jerry McGee, The Ventures member and conduit of Dr. John’s ‘Twilight Zone’.

Ghost Riders simmers with the scent of youthful summers, the pang of schoolyard romance, and the excitement (and disenchantment) of teenage naïveté, delivered via a deceptively simple and frequently wonky garage band set up. The vision of record collector and graphic designer Ivan Liechti, these eternal psych-folk howlers are further crystallised by Colin Young’s fastidious audio restoration, the original artwork of Elise Ganebin-de Bons and an aptly penned forward from Sonic Boom.