quête:forever sound

"Infinite Echo" is a fresh suite of voyaging Balearica, tinged with ocean mist. Over the years, the incredible British duo Seahwaks have crafted an expansive catalogue of trippy and cosmically-influenced, ambient instrumentals, which has seen them collaborate with the likes of Badly Drawn Boy, Tim Burgess and Jon Goddard (of Hot Chip). Helmed by perennial co-captains Jon Tye (founder of Lo Recordings) and Pete Fowler (acclaimed Welsh visual artist), their latest collection emerged from a series of scraps and vignettes informed by a breadth of eclectic chillness (mid-80's digital new age in the Higher Octave vein, Michael McDonald remixed by Oneohtrix Point Never, etc.), then fleshed out with Lyra Pramuk's Siren Songs app and Holly Herndon's Holly+ software, rendering it choral, otherworldly, and "emotional in a new kind of way." The results sound elevated and ineffable, like music heard at the edge of dreams, hinting at worlds yet to come.

“This is for the family,” Abe Linx says. “It’s not really about who doesn’t love us, it’s about those that do. The ones we motivate and inspire. It’s for those people.” The World Famous La Familia Forever is the powerful sophomore effort from Abe Linx & Tully C., two incredibly gifted emcees who have crafted a contender for the best release of 2022. Across this EP’s 10 tracks, the Indianapolis-repping duo showcase their worldview, dig into their personal histories, and firmly plant themselves on the hip-hop map. And as Abe Linx spits on the stunning track “WORLDWIDE”: “Who the f*ck gon’ tell me different?” In addition to the passion of Abe Linx & Tully C. and their collaborators, TWFLFF stands on its own because it is just so sonically engaging. The production is equally crunchy and fascinating, because it flirts with sounds crafted by legends without sounding dated. This is timeless, raw hip-hop helmed by two talented rappers and their favorite producers like Nomstks & AWSME J, as well as longtime collaborators Baleboy Geechie & DJ GB.
You can tell that Abe & Tully took their time with these songs, meticulously piecing them together in the two years since their previous release. Each cut moves seamlessly into the next, bringing that special kind of cohesion. Just listen to how “RABIES” moves into “400MPH (skit)” and then “SKYSCRAPER,” a brilliant slice of showin’-out rap elegance. While there are only three guest features on the project, they’re used to great effect and make as much of an impact as their hosts. Planet Asia stomps all over the aptly titled “SHOWOFF,” while Willie The Kid complements the smoked-out vibes of “CHANDELIER.” And when Bub Rock shows up on “RABIES”? It’s a wrap as soon as he hops on that piano-laced, dusty instrumental. TWFLFF is a mission statement, with pieces that also sound like a word of warning to anyone looking at these two sideways. Or, as Tully C. raps so perfectly on “CHANDELIER”: “I be in this b*tch, with my clique/ So don’t act stupid.” The World Famous La Familia Forever drops on vinyl right in time for the holidays through their recent partnership with Fat Beats.

2022 Repress
Many Reggae aficionados see the concentrated phase of Rock Steady between 1967 - 1969 as the Carribean's most productive era of all time. Never before had such sweet melodies, inspiring rhythms and beautiful love lyrics come together. Numerous Soul hits by the likes of Curtis Mayfield, The Impressions, The Supremes all got the bass-driven, Jamaican style treatment. "The Bunny Lee Rock Steady Years" collects some of the most essential and rarest songs of that era - in a better sound quality than ever before! It showcases a wealth of soulful singers, ranging from top acts like Slim Smith (also lead-singer in the Techniques and Uniques) or Alton Ellis to the rather unknown Cnythia Richards or Webber Sisters. All songs were produced by Bunny Lee, one of the greatest Jamaican producers, who had one Rock Steady hit after another - finally earning him the nickname "Striker".
This compilation is a valuable slice of history for Reggae and Soul fans alike, for lovers of great voices, for those who do not confuse "cool" with cold and appreciate a good love song when it comes from the heart.

Matthew Doty didn't set out to write a solo album. His first batch of weightless and brightly lit material under the name Deserta began to take shape in 2017. Shortly after finding out he was going to be a father, Doty started working on a batch of songs inspired by the joy and the unknown of the world he was about to enter. That inspiration is the sonic and emotional backbone of debut album Black Aura My Sun.

Like a hot air balloon headed straight for the stratosphere, Deserta reveals yet another side of the songwriting Doty has spent decades refining. As experimental as it is enthralling, Black Aura My Sun applies the vapor-trailed production values and sublime dynamics of Doty's previous group projects (including post-rock band Saxon Shore and the synth-laced post-punk of Midnight Faces) to a shoegaze-y sound that splits the difference between Slowdive and Sigur Rós.

Doty began finding his own musical voice in the early '00s with the sky-piercing efforts of Saxon Shore. While it was initially a collaboration with Josh Tillman (a.k.a. Father John Misty), Doty was Saxon Shore's only consistent member over the course of five acclaimed records. His responsibility spilled over into everything from booking shows to the songs themselves. He was never completely alone in his pursuit of post-rock perfection, however, so Deserta is very much a new endeavor: a trial-by-fire that was written, recorded, and mixed in total solitude.

Deserta expands and contracts, with chords that drift like clouds, drums that drag and dissipate, and hooks that hang in the air for what feels like forever. That doesn't mean Black Aura My Sun is a subtle or soft record. It actually whips up quite a racket and is particularly heavy when piped through a pair of headphones.

Deserta is Doty's main creative outlet right now and a one-way ticket to another dimension entirely.

Caution alert! On the volume 3 of the Resurrection series, Simoncino teams up with one the greatest & biggest voice in House Music: the great Robert Owens. The voice behind Mr Fingers and so many other timeless titles. He alone sums up our history, all the greatest tracks that paved the way for our sound & community (yes still though instagram & the self worships) since 40 years. The master sang for Larry Heard but also Frankie Knuckles, Satoshi Tomiie, Photek, Layo & Bushwacka!, Mr. C, Quentin Harris, Marshall Jefferson, Michael Watford, DJ Spen, Gene Hunt, Soul Clap, K' Alexi Shelby, Sandy Riviera and so many others! He is simply the greatest soulful underground vocalist for a generation of househeads. The Italian prodigy simoncino gives us a daunting ep of 6 tracks (!) which navigate between deep techno (that could be a easily played in Berghain) and the purest original house where he excels. Its inimitable style is a clever mix of chicago house tinged with the most classy techno touches. The A side composed of Riccione Part I, Riccione Part II & Masonry is completely dedicated to this kind of techno sound, very pure, very mental and at the same time incredibly funky. It's a total trip. The B side explores the more house influences of the genius of peruggia, notably on All my soul & All My Soul (Riviera Ambient Mix) in direct homage to the italo dream house sound. Pure gold. An absolute marvel. I'll Be Your Friend 4 Ever, Skylax 4 Ever ! Note that on the label's bandcamp, with the purchase of the vinyl, you can get 1 exclusive bonus track : Simoncino "Love Me Forever Or Love Me Not"

Before he co-founded the legendary Sunday afternoon event Body & Soul with fellow New York DJs Danny Krivit and Francois Kevorkian in 1996, Joaquin "Joe" Claussell was the driving force behind Instant House, an eclectic production outift who released a series of uplifting deep house records, several of which were spun by David Mancuso at the 90s iteration of his influential Loft parties.

In 1993, Instant House released their deepest single, Lost Horizons, through Jungle Sounds Recordings. The A-side, ‘Lost Horizons (The Mind Travel Saturday Night Sunday Morning Mix)’ is a seventeen-minute and twenty-second sojourn into the vibrant club sounds of early 90s NYC. Driven by a Latin-accented man-machine beat that marches into infinity, it comes backed by two shorter mixes, ‘Lost Horizons’ and ‘Lost Horizons (Percussion Bonus)’. Twenty-nine years later, Isle of Jura presents an official vinyl and digital reissue of this slow-burning deep cut.

The Instant House story begins in the late 80s at Dance Tracks, an East Village record store established by the businessman, DJ, and graphic designer Stan Hatzakis. Patronised by New York trendsetters like Frankie Knuckles and Larry Levan, Dance Tracks was considered one of the world's best underground dance music retailers.

During the winter of 1991, Stan got together with one of his best customers, Tony Confusione, to make music. A wall street guy by day and a keyboardist by night, Tony was also a serious DJ. Not long after their first recording sessions, they invited another Dance Tracks fixture, Joaquin "Joe" Claussell, to join them in Tony’s state-of-the-art home studio in Long Island. He brought a vibrant, percussive edge to the sample-based tracks Stan and Tony were cooking up. Emboldened, the three DJs began recording together as Instant House. That year, they released the Dance Trax EP.

In 1992, after Instant House had dropped two certified classics, 'Over' and 'Awade', for Jungle Sounds Records, Stan exited the group and sold Dance Tracks to Joe and his business partner, Stefan Prescott. Following Stan's departure, Joe and Tony headed into the studio for a special recording session. “I just remember how powerful the connection was while we were making that record,” explains Joe, recalling the creation of ‘Lost Horizons (The Mind Travel Saturday Night Sunday Morning Mix)’. “It was a very spiritual encounter in the studio.”

While laying out the drum patterns, sound effects, and arrangement, Joe explained the vibe to Tony, who played the lush cosmic chords and an effortless keyboard saxophone line over the top. “That was Tony completely feeling himself,” Joe reflects. “He performed majestically.”

After the release of the Lost Horizons 12”, Joe received a phone call from Cisco International Corp. A plane flight later, he was sitting in their label offices in Tokyo, talking to a senior record executive who wanted to introduce Lost Horizons to Japan. “What they were primarily doing at the time was pressing classical records - we’re talking thousand dollar plus classical reissues - and they wanted to license and distribute Lost Horizons,” Joe remembers. Three years later, Joe and Tony released 'Asking Forgiveness', their final 12” as Instant House, before parting ways with full hearts.

In the context of his career as a DJ, remixer, and producer, Joe is known for long songs and compositions. As Lost Horizons illustrates, he’s carried that impulse with him since his foundational days. “When I produce, I don’t believe in the beginning or endpoint of anything,” Joe explains. “I really despise the rules. To me, that’s not true to the art of creation. I just believe there is a flow in creation. When we were making music in the 90s, we were restricted by format, but that record could have gone on forever.”

The 12” is housed in a full sleeve jacket by Bradley Pinkerton based on the original release design.

The East Coast of England is a land living on borrowed time. Time we borrowed from the North Sea, reclaimed a thousand years ago. But now it seems that sea has come to claim it all back. Michael C Coldwell spent three years travelling up and down this rapidly disappearing shoreline, collecting ghost stories, photographing the roads to nowhere, the monumental sound mirrors and pillboxes teetering on the edges of cliffs, making field recordings of the waves and fog signals, and writing mournful electronic music from static caravans. This hauntological project finally culminated in a short essay film entitled Views from Sunk Island - and this new Conflux Coldwell album. More than just a film score, The Phantomatic Coast stretches beyond the original aims of the documentary, to evoke something deeper about our troubled relationship with the sea – the many towns and ships lost beneath the waves, and ancient forgotten lands lying out beyond the windfarms like some Yorkshire Atlantis. Memory and mythology became obvious themes in the work, as did the ruins and remains of the world wars, now slipping beneath shifting sands forever. The Phantomatic Coast will be released via digital platforms and limited edition pressed vinyl in a deluxe gatefold sleeve.

Einige Größen der florierenden Post-Punk- und Hardcore-Szene, Gitarrist Frank Iero (My Chemical Romance), Gitarrist Travis Stever (Coheed and Cambria), Sänger Anthony Green (Circa Survive), Bassist
Tim Payne (Thursday) und Schlagzeuger Tucker Rule (Thursday/Yellowcard) haben sich zusammengetan
und L.S. DUNES gegründet
Die neue Band wird ihr Debütalbum Past Lives am 11.11.22 über Fantasy Records veröffentlichen.
Losgelöst von den Erwartungen und der Ästhetik ihrer bereits erfolgreichen Karrieren, kombinieren L.S.
DUNES ihre hymnischen Songs mit einer Menge Punk-Energie zu einem Sound, der mit nichts vergleichbar ist, was es bisher gab. Vom fesselnden, dramatischen Opener ”2022” über den knackigen, treibenden
Ohrwurm ”Like Forever” bis hin zum stampfenden, ausladenden ”Permanent Rebellion” und dem abschließenden, ”Sleep Cult” ist ”Past Lives” ein emotionaler und mitreißender Ritt.

The stage is set for an almighty celebration as Groove Armada approach a huge milestone and mark the anniversary with a return to the road. New music plays a key part of the GA25 celebrations, with the duo recruiting some of today’s leading underground artists to remix their most iconic tracks, packed into a box set celebrating an award winning career that has seen them produce an impressive, record-breaking body of work.

25 years on from their debut, Groove Armada have become one of the most influential and successful dance acts of the 21st century, a position they have maintained, proving to be an influential force in the UK and globally. Over two decades of prolific productions and tireless touring they’ve proved that it’s possible to daringly explore a multitude of sounds while achieving critical and commercial success.

From huge outdoor performances to intimate parties, travelling the world, delivering their diverse dance floor-focused sound to raucous crowds on every continent, the duo have done it all. Despite their extensive list of achievements, there’s still plenty of motivation to have another huge party and go the extra mile to make GA25 one to remember, for fans new and old.

This is a real treat for fans of original minimal house sounds: a remastered and recut repress of the still hugely in demand first EP from Aspect Music. Opening up are the one and only Soul Capsule with 'Forever Love', a restlessly, tightly looped track that has pent up energy that really gets under your bones. The F Macmillan mix is more cut up still, with puddles of melody, late night freakiness and dry beats all taking you for a trip. Dark Boys then get more direct with the pinging kicks of 'Pluto Rising' and Softcore closes out with a classically colourful melodic house workout.

Beth Orton returns after six years with her new album, ‘Weather Alive’.

“Through the writing of these songs and the making of this music, I found my way back to the world around me - a way to reach nature and the people I love and care about. This record is a sensory exploration that allowed for a connection to a consciousness that I was searching for. Through the resonance of sound and a beaten up old piano I bought in Camden Market while living in a city I had no intention of staying in, I found acceptance and a way of healing.” - Beth Orton

Album collaborators include Tom Skinner, Alabaster dePlume, Shahzad Ismaily and Tom Herbert.

Big headline UK tour in October 2022, including a headline show at Koko in Camden, London.
CD housed in digipak packaging. Clear vinyl in a single-sleeve jacket and printed inner. Black vinyl, housed in a single-sleeve jacket and printed inner.

“As the music rises against the ragged pulse of her vocals, the English artist, nearly 30 years into her career, constructs an entirely new landscape for her songwriting - a wide-open space that grows stranger and more beautiful the further inside she leads us.” - Pitchfork

“The musical richness only mirrors Orton’s astounding writing” -MOJO (★★★★)

“Viscerally corporeal music, full of gristle and breath and richly ambient” - Uncut (8/10)

“‘Weather Alive’ is an enormously exciting record” - The Guardian

“Soaring” – NME

“Best New Track” - Pitchfork

“Singular and captivating” - Stereogum

Beth Orton returns after six years with her new album, ‘Weather Alive’.

“Through the writing of these songs and the making of this music, I found my way back to the world around me - a way to reach nature and the people I love and care about. This record is a sensory exploration that allowed for a connection to a consciousness that I was searching for. Through the resonance of sound and a beaten up old piano I bought in Camden Market while living in a city I had no intention of staying in, I found acceptance and a way of healing.” - Beth Orton

Album collaborators include Tom Skinner, Alabaster dePlume, Shahzad Ismaily and Tom Herbert.

Big headline UK tour in October 2022, including a headline show at Koko in Camden, London.
CD housed in digipak packaging. Clear vinyl in a single-sleeve jacket and printed inner. Black vinyl, housed in a single-sleeve jacket and printed inner.

“As the music rises against the ragged pulse of her vocals, the English artist, nearly 30 years into her career, constructs an entirely new landscape for her songwriting - a wide-open space that grows stranger and more beautiful the further inside she leads us.” - Pitchfork

“The musical richness only mirrors Orton’s astounding writing” -MOJO (★★★★)

“Viscerally corporeal music, full of gristle and breath and richly ambient” - Uncut (8/10)

“‘Weather Alive’ is an enormously exciting record” - The Guardian

“Soaring” – NME

“Best New Track” - Pitchfork

“Singular and captivating” - Stereogum

Library Music: Volume One is a sixteen track double LP collecting the North London drone pop band’s 7” singles, one-offs and compilation tracks spanning the first 14 years of the group’s existence. It includes synth pop, indie fuzz and moody motorik workouts, alongside pastoral folk sketches, dubby electronics and the occasional drone experiment. More immediate than their stretched out and slow-burning recent album tracks, the music here is taken from limited vinyl releases, album bonus tracks and music for compilations on labels as diverse as Bezirk Tapes, Second Language, Modern Aviation, and Concrete Tapes as well as the band’s current home, Where It’s At Is Where You Are. The compilation is a happily cohesive document of an inventive band that rarely stand still for long. The band says, “We wanted to gather all our early, scattered work before we move on to our next album, to remind ourselves (and others) of some of the poppier and less characteristic things we’ve done. We’ve always felt a lot more relaxed and freer making one off things for people – it’s a chance to try things that might otherwise be daunting on a full record”. Always a prolific group this is by no means an exhaustive collection, the title giving a clue to how much more they have left to share. “We have been introduced to loads of bands that we love initially through non-album compilations – Broadcast, The Chills, Stereolab, Piano Magic, Flying Saucer Attack amongst others – we wanted to add our own to that (admittedly slightly daunting) lineage.” The Leaf Library are formed around the core group of singer Kate Gibson, former Saloon and Singing Adams guitarist Matt Ashton, guitarist SJ Nelson, drummer Lewis Young and bass player Gareth Jones. They have released three studio albums (Daylight Versions, About Minerals and The World Is A Bell) as well a number of electronic and experimental albums and EPs, remix compilations and long form tracks. They have also released five Monument CDRs; an on-going series of experimental solo and side projects on their Objects Forever imprint. The band have collaborated with musicians as diverse as Alasdair MacLean of The Clientele, singer Ed Dowie, noise group Far Rainbow and string collective Iskra Strings, and have provided music for a number of exhibitions, films and performances. A collaborative album with Japanese artist Teruyuki Kurihara is due in late 2022 on the Mille Plateaux label. Tracklisting: 01 Agnes In The Square 02 Goodbye Four Walls 03 City In Reverse 04 Walking Backwards 05 Soundings 06 Diagram Loop 07 The Greater Good 08 Losing Places (ISAN Remix) 09 A Stone In Water 10 Architect Of The Moon 11 Tired Ghost 12 The Still Point 13 Wave Of Translation 14 Badminton House 15 Tranquility Bass 16 A Gap In The Trees

We return with the second Glenn Davis” 12”, a year on from his last Yore twelve-inch “Soul On My Side”, Dublin-based DJ and producer Glenn Davis returns with its sequel, the as-stellar Better Daze. The EP's melodic, soulful sound. The dynamic title cut locks in instantly with a pumping kick drum and builds layer by layer thereafter. Percussion, hi-hats, electric piano chords, and synthesizers add to the thrust of the production as it grows ever more urgent. As the track advances, Davis drapes a jazzy keyboard solo across the booming base as the swing swells to a near-ecstatic level. “Your Time” rounds out the A-side with a cut that suggests pure energy at its outset before quickly morphing into a sleek house strut. With percussion included and late-night synth atmospherics folded in, the breezy tune starts to sound like something you'd hear banging out on the Dancefloor thats surrounding you.

On the flip, Davis brings the skipping house groove of "Inner Monologue” to a fever while. Moody chords, hand drums, and a snappy groove set the scene. The female vocalist's soulful delivery and vibes-like earworm that make the tune the standout it is. Think of a dark Room and a red light bulb & House Music forever and a day.

Formed in 2005 in Sundsvall, Sweden, Technical Metal Masters SOREPTION are known for their razor-sharp technical riffs, schizophrenic time signatures topped with catchy chugging grooves and intense vocals. From this they have created their signature sound, not yet replicated by any other modern band, with a strong following to back. The band’s debut full-length Deterioration Of Minds brought major attention to the band as a formidable force in the genre. Deterioration Of Minds was released by Ninetone Records in 2010 and was rereleased by Unique Leader Records in 2014, and their follow-up punishing album “Engineering the Void” was released February 2014 also on Unique Leader Records to critical acclaim. 2015 saw SOREPTION take their technical prowess to the masses, with tours supporting extreme metal machine Cryptopsy, tech-death masters Origin, and the legendary death metal giant Cannibal Corpse. Following the on-road success, the industry and fans sat up and took notice, resulting in the band signing with Sumerian Records in 2018 releasing their next full-length “Monument of the End in the late summer of that same year. The album highlighted the growth of the outfit and continued razor-sharp precision that SOREPTION has become known for. Prior to the release of “Monument of the End” the band earned a spot on the 2018 edition of The Summer Slaughter Tour and followed it up with a support slot for Revocation on “The Outer Ones Global Invasion Part II” European Tour, solidifying them again as a live force to be reckoned with. When the world was shuttered from a worldwide pandemic, SOREPTION saw this as an opportunity to shift gears, refocus their tech machine and set out to create an album that is the natural continuation of ‘Monument of the End’, both musically and concept-wise. 2022 sees the return of SOREPTION to Unique Leader Records with the highly anticipated new album “Jord”, mixed and mastered by Buster Odeholm and featuring artwork by Caelan Stokkerman who handled artistic duties on their previous releases.

Low Company presents Yuta Matsumura’s Red Ribbon, a sequence of introspective, lavishly melodic dream-songs and amphibian atmospheres recorded in scattered periods over 2018-21. Having played in bands like Low Life, M.O.B. and Orion, and the duo Jay & Yuta (with Jay Cruikshank), Red Ribbon is Matsumura’s first solo outing, and represents a conscious effort to move away from guitar-based songwriting. He composed its nine tracks mostly on piano - layering vocals, bass, keyboards, flute (courtesy of Maeve Parker), violin/cello (Laurence Quinn) and clacking drumbox rhythms into dynamic, dubwise avant-pop structures which are supple and spacious but fizzing with detail and vivid inner life. The laconic 4/4 pulse, heat-warped synth-tones and haunting vaporous melodica of opener ‘Box Garden’ set the tone: its surreal psychedelic patternings barely concealing a deep sting of longing and regret. The cryptic lyrics suggest chance encounters, hidden logic, missed opportunities, fatalism, serendipity. A city submerged: everyone else paused mid-movement, while you’re allowed to swim free and fish-like through the streets, over the rooftops...‘Tangled Orchid’ is a tense night-drive through dry desert heat and into the unknown, running away from your old life, chased down by dust-devils of half-baked schemes and abandoned plans, while ‘Myth Machine’ drops the tempo and something mind-altering, guiding us on a tripped-out dub-disco scuba among alien flora and fauna, a world of impossible shapes and sensations. At which point, the mood of the album decisively shifts, firstly with ‘Sake No Otoh’, sung in Japanese by Haruka Sato: an instant-classic, breathtakingly intimate lover's lament that sounds like it got lost on its way to heaven and is now doomed to orbit the earth forever. The songs that follow continue in this more confessional, imploring mode. As if the travelling's done, the baggage has been cast off, and we’ve arrived at our destination, where the real process of rebirth and repair can begin. The music’s textures become less overtly dubby and electronic, with more of an organic, earthy, chamber-pop/avant-folk feel, at once sad and hopeful-sounding. Three songs in particular bear the influence of Eno’s 70s work (and its mutant bedsit offspring Lifetones, Flaming Tunes, etc): ‘‘E. Potential’, where baroquely chorused vocals - half-agonised, half-beatific - teeter on top of simple oscillating piano loops, and the stately, dawntreading ballads ‘Tabula Rasa’ and ‘No Sleep For Birds’. The bulk of the album was made prior to lockdowns and all of that; its themes of reset, self-examination, the need to f**k it all off and take spiritual stock, are timeless. Though they perhaps have a more bittersweet resonance now the world has returned pretty much to how it was, only worse. Track list: 1. Box Garden 2. Tangled Orchid 3. Myth Machine 4. Red Ribbon 5. Soko No Ato 6. Tabula Rasa 7. E. Potential 8. No Sleep For Birds 9. Zookeeper's Trial

A true love letter to house music, Larson presents his account of the ubiquitous dance music genre diving deep into its origins. Connecting the dots with some of the genre’s most beloved innovators such as Larry Heard, Boo Williams, Ron Trent, Chez Damier or Chris Brann, the Belgian producer pays tribute by adding his own emphases. Setting a bright mood, at times aiming for the dance floor, at others comforting the listener into a casual vibe, Larson is not seeking, but spontaneously drawing attention with his graceful sounds, stripped to the bone and built on an intuitive factor.

Larson hails from Liège, the South Belgian city known for its meat balls and the mighty river La Meuse, and works as a sound editor in movie production. Recognised by those-who-know as one of the most quintessential figures of Liège’s burgeoning underground nightlife scene, the time is now for Larson to step forward. His 2x12” debut release dubbed ‘Interlace Joy Motions’ is one for the house heads, shifting between 121 and 130 BPM and showcasing the diverse sounds the producer has in store.

Opening track Our Inner Sun has smiles written all over. A simple yet effective piano loop, warm strings and a delicately running acid baseline are all Larson needs to set the standard for the beauty that is yet to come. Effortlessly entertaining for close to seven minutes, here is the essence of timeless house music at work.

Pushing up the speed up to 129 BPM, A2 brings the brand new label’s title track, Larson’s take on the many meanings the name may represent. Designed for jubilant dance floor action, Hi Scores is punchy and elegant at the same time.

On the flip side, Slack Breeze is an eleven-minutes-long breezy electro trip paying homage to Detroit music pioneer Juan Atkins and offers two mixes, nicely manufactured as one auditive whole on the vinyl record with a useful visual marker in between. Be aware of the slight tempo drop between the bold Club mix and the more laid back Sensual mix.

In a cultured and charming manner, Lethal Dance opens the second 12”. Driven by a fab bassline and soft as silk string arrangements, here is a slow burner for moments lost track of time. High Jazz Travel on C2 continues this trip to lofty spaces, speeding up the pace but holding on to Larson’s well crafted dream universe, with its mellow aura almost turning into a debonair lullaby for grown-ups.

Adding another layer to the cake is Chris ‘Funk’ Ferreira, the C12 resident DJ and ½ Senga Ferreira. Also active as the mixing engineer of this double 12”, on the D1 the Brussels based producer takes up the role as remixer with his stomping and energy building ‘Magic Force’ version of Hi Scores, contributing the single vocal sample to the EP. Things come to an end with Souvenir d’Enfance, a playful and innocent conga driven house track, cherished as a safe and sound childhood memory, forever in our hearts just as this excellent debut by Larson.

Pinkshift are a vehemently unapologetic punk
band whose songs rail against prejudice and
oppression while also examining in great depth the
human condition.
 Foregoing more traditional careers in the hard
sciences / medicine, Baltimore natives Ashrita
Kumar (singer), Paul Vallejo (guitar) and Myron
Houngbedji (drums), are inspiring fans in a
different way.
 The band smash any preconceived notions of what
a punk band should look or sound like.
 After self-releasing the viral hit ‘I’m gonna tell my
therapist on you’ and the ‘Saccharine’ EP, Pinkshift
partnered with Hopeless Records to release their
debut album, Love Me Forever’.
 Produced by Will Yip (Turnstile, Code Orange,
Tigers Jaw), the band have put together an
emotionally cathartic, raucous, and powerful debut
that centres their unique perspective as POC
individuals in a scene that historically did not
represent them.

ZYX Italo Disco: Best Of : DIE neue Vinyl-Compilation-Serie für unsere weltweiten Italo Disco Fans geht in die 4. Runde. Natürlich gibt es diese Ausgabe auch wieder als 2LP-Set in farbigem Vinyl .16 unvergessene Hits und Raritäten aus den 80er Jahren in bester Soundqualität.

October Drift embark on their second album campaign after the acclaimed ‘Forever Whatever’ LP and ‘Naked’ EP in 2020. Their most successful single to date ‘Airborne Panic Attack’ was released late 2021. I Don’t Belong Anywhere, is a taut, visceral record, a step forward for the band into an even more powerful, brutal sound following their highly acclaimed debut album forever Whatever 2018. Far less introspective than their debut, I Don’t Belong Anywhere is October Drift’s totem for bringing all of us together again. “A feeling of not belonging is something everyone feels or has felt,” explains Kiran. I Don’t Belong Anywhere features previously released singles including dark grungy‘Insects’, “a coming-of-age song, about feeling life pull you in different directions”, and the biting reflection on the harsh backdrop of 21st Century living airborne Panic Attack’. The album is about connection and one that’s truly from the heart, rich with added layers of meaning it finds the band poised to explode across 2022 with their most thoughtful and exciting record yet.

The second installment of gems and nuggets straight from the infamous jukebox at Malcolm and Vivienne's King's Road SEX boutique.

Compiled again by Marco Pirroni (Adam and The Ants, Siouxsie and the Banshees) another collection of carefully curated tracks that were played on rotation at 430 kings road Chelsea, throughout 1974-1976.

Years in the making, this follow up to Marco’s 2004 “SEX: Too Fast To Live Too Young To Die” continues to complete the jukebox playlist with tracks contributed from those friends who frequented the shop - Jordan Mooney (RIP), Paul Cook, Steve Jones and Sam Bully amongst others – remembering those all-important songs that soundtracked the shop and left lasting impressions on them over 47 years ago.

Another wild ride and a kaleidoscope of jukebox bangers from The Animals to Max Bigraves, Nico to Burundi Black, these tracks undoubtedly played a heavy influence on SEX’s customer’s young ears many who would go on and change the musical world forever - Sex Pistols, The Clash, Chrissie Hynde, Siouxsie Sioux to name just a few.

Artwork supplied by Personality Crisis with unpublished photographs from Jane England, a student at the time but already understood the cultural significance and beauty of both the shop and Jordan Mooney who the compilation is dedicated to.

The second installment of gems and nuggets straight from the infamous jukebox at Malcolm and Vivienne's King's Road SEX boutique.

Compiled again by Marco Pirroni (Adam and The Ants, Siouxsie and the Banshees) another collection of carefully curated tracks that were played on rotation at 430 kings road Chelsea, throughout 1974-1976.

Years in the making, this follow up to Marco’s 2004 “SEX: Too Fast To Live Too Young To Die” continues to complete the jukebox playlist with tracks contributed from those friends who frequented the shop - Jordan Mooney (RIP), Paul Cook, Steve Jones and Sam Bully amongst others – remembering those all-important songs that soundtracked the shop and left lasting impressions on them over 47 years ago.

Another wild ride and a kaleidoscope of jukebox bangers from The Animals to Max Bigraves, Nico to Burundi Black, these tracks undoubtedly played a heavy influence on SEX’s customer’s young ears many who would go on and change the musical world forever - Sex Pistols, The Clash, Chrissie Hynde, Siouxsie Sioux to name just a few.

Artwork supplied by Personality Crisis with unpublished photographs from Jane England, a student at the time but already understood the cultural significance and beauty of both the shop and Jordan Mooney who the compilation is dedicated to.

Super limited edition pressed on heavyweight 180g vinyl housed in a picture sleeve and clear plastic outer sleeve – never to be repressed. Only 175 units.

Tokyo-based DJ, producer and sound artist Yuu Udagawa inaugurates the freshly launched Cyphon Recordings with her debut EP, ‘Forever’.

Growing up on a cocktail of everything from rock, hip-hop and Latin jazz to techno and house, Yuu’s immersive musical output draws inspiration from this diverse pool of influences to create ‘uplifting and healing’ music for the mind and body. There’s an elegance and sophistication to her productions, which stems from her desire to make music guided by the Golden Mean philosophy of finding a middle ground between two extremes: excess and deficiency.

Active as a DJ since the millennium, which saw her playing at clubs, festivals and fashion shows across the country, she soon turned her attention to music production and has since self-released a handful of singles and contributed audio commissions for Sony Playstation3, museums, theatres and apparel brands. Yuu’s meditative pallet of sounds instantly grabbed Cyphon’s third ear which led to the tracks that make up ‘Forever’: a collection of analog slo-mo electronica and leftfield minimal house that strike a perfect balance between warmth and depth.

The release opens with the titular track: a deep, emotive electro cut punctuated by a twinkling synthline and blissful vocals. ‘Mojito’ continues the EP’s voyage into the deep, matching softly spoken word with jazz-tinged chords and meandering melodies, before ’Hug Close’ strips things back, guided by a crunchy minimal groove, warm, resolute keys and reflective synths.

The B-Side steers things on a soulful course. The dark, enveloping atmosphere of ‘Illuminated Night' is lifted by bright synth stabs and harmonic R&B-flavoured vocals. These influences continue on closer ‘Stay With Us’. Slowing down the pace, the track is a wash of shimmering funk-inspired chords and shuffling rhythms, laced once again with effortless, soaring vocal tones.

DJ Feedback:

Joyce Muniz - Nice one!

Andrew Wowk - "Mojito" is awesome - such a nice groove (followed up)

Geordie Elliot-kerr - Some really interesting stuff in here. Digging the whole thing.

Simon Caldwell - Cool and different.

Paul Beller - super star release.

Fred Peterkin - Dope...

Alex Barck - Sounds fresh to me

Ruben Mandolini – Nice

Gabriel Izarraraz - great music will play for sure

Kristijan Molnar - Very nice!

Chris Loxton - superb

Danton Eeprom - Really love the production and original vibe of this record. bring it on!

Raymundo Rodriguez - cool release

** SISTER FUNK, SOUL-JAZZ and BLUE-EYED-SOUL - OBSCURE RARE GROOVES ALL THE WAY THRU! **

- the double vinyl LP comes with a full album download code
- deluxe double-gatefold LP with detailed liner notes & unseen photographs
- ALL songs appear on LP & digital for the very first-time
- sales notes by Joel Ricci (aka Lucky Brown)

When Tramp Records was founded, there really were very few ways in which the music lover could discover new music besides the traditional methods of digging, good luck, and inheritance. First there were torrent sites such as Napster and Limewire where generous collectors might digitize and upload portions of their accessions, and sometimes you could find entire radio show broadcasts of live vinyl curation made by real Disc Jockeys out there, a lot of the Deep Funk I heard for the first time in around 1999 I found this way via Disc Jockeys on radio shows from the UK, tunes were faded and mixed together and of course veiled with that unmistakable Mp3 'whoosh'. And unless you have been living as an off-grid hermit for the past 20 years, you know the rest of the story.

But though our world has changed, and even though everyone from our grandparents to our 5-year old nieces are curating their own internet playlists, I submit that the role of DJ has become even more vital, not less. We as a culture have always relied on our Disc Jockeys to introduce us to sounds that speak to their souls, to control the vibe and most importantly put forth the narrative that speaks to society as a whole. DJs are our tribal storytellers, and the music they bring us are the stories. And when a DJ like Tobias Kirmayer is telling us that story clearly and with conviction, it speaks to our souls as well.

"Countdown to...SOUL" is a compilation series that, much like Tramp Records' other critically-acclaimed comps such as Movements, Feeling Nice, and the Praise Poems Series' examines a unique facet of the Golden Era of Soul, Funk, Jazz and R&B. Perhaps, in this case the dawning of the Soul era, "proto-soul", "primitive soul", or even "pre-soul" if you will. When they were recorded, many of these tunes were still firmly ensconced in the Black Radical Jazz tradition, but there was a change in the air, something happening in the coming years that would revolutionize popular music forever. In fact, Soul had already taken over the world by the time many of these tunes were released on 45, but for various reasons, the artists and their music occupied the fringes of the idiom and therefore remained obscure. Countdown to...SOUL chronicles that beginning, that buildup, those heady moments before the lid blew off and American Black music would explode across the planet, while scouring the outskirts and tide pools for specimens that were emanating in their own respective neighborhoods and communities, so often overlooked by the American pop music machine.

Side A features barrier-breaking pioneer Frankie Staton and her message of "Love One Another" to the world that is as fresh and vital today as it was when it first came out in the late seventies. In that spirit, Tenison Stevens' appeal "Don't Rip Me Off" reminds us to treat each other as brothers and sisters.

Side B meets us at the altar of the formidable Hammond Organ with an Unknown and uncredited Organist found languishing on a one-of-a-kind unreleased acetate and moving on to explore the nexus of Soul, Bebop, and R&B with Don Patterson's "Paddy Wagon".

Side C satisfies our hunger for the blaring horn sections, big beat drums, wailing Hammonds, pleading vocals and gritty guitars of authentic Soul music (both brown and blue-eyed) with Marva Josie, Shirley Wahls and The Echomen, among others, but then takes a hard left turn into undoubtedly uncharted territory with the hybrid folk/country/soul story of Sherrif Black and poor Sally who, though she is tragically met with a terrible fate, thanks to the careful and conscientious mastering of our German engineers, the song itself remains alive and is a genuine addition to the canon.

For the remaining side, I'm gonna just let you discover this music on its own terms, as you won't find these tunes anywhere else, not on Napster, not even on Limewire, or anywhere else. I want to personally thank you for putting your trust in the DJ and for continuing to listen, study, appreciate, and share the work and mission of Tramp Records.

-Joel Ricci (May 2022)

Merging the simple with the complex. Whereabouts will be the second release from Danish guitarist/composer Rasmus Oppenhagen Krogh and compared to Krogh's critically acclaimed debut album, Distill, from 2017, this album marks new artistic directions for Krogh, both in terms of exploring the spheric versus the rhythmic dimensions, in the meeting between organic and manipulated sound sources and through its special focus on percussion. Whereabouts explores the intersection between improvisation/composition and simplicity/complexity, the relation between time and space and the sonic qualities of the musicians gathered in unity. The group consists of some of the leading voices of the contemporary Danish jazz scene, who have all worked across genres and borders, and are known for their work with internationally acclaimed bands/artists such as Girls in Airports, Jakob Bro, Paul Motian and IRAH among others. Krogh's debut album Distill was released by Centrifuga/Gateway in 2017 to positive reviews. The album was selected as album of the week by Danish Radio P8 Jazz and was highlighted as one of the ten best Danish jazz releases that year by the acclaimed Danish jazz blog Jazznyt. Besides his work as a composer and as a bandleader, Krogh has worked, as a guitarist, with artists such as Takykardia, Kentaur, Guldimund, Schultz and Forever, Jesper Zeuthen and many more.

Red Sparowes sweeping guitar orchestrations thrive unbound by narrative, reliant on the merits and strength of their power alone. "The Fear Is Excruciating, But Therein Lies The Answer" serves as a conduit where limitless amounts of imagery can reside within the grandiose scope of the quintet's lush symphonic vignettes. Though Red Sparowes’ music thrives unbound by narrative, the band provides a roadmap to their muse. Their 2005 debut album, At The Soundless Dawn, cast the scientific inevitability of the Sixth Extinction into a grand funeral oration, revealing the message within the individual track titles. Their second full-length, Every Red Heart Shines Toward the Red Sun (2006) provided a synopsis of the Great Sparrow campaign of the Great Leap Forward, laying bare its conceptual role. The Aphorisms EP (2008 digital, 2009 12" vinyl) served a thematic precursor to the next album. Red Sparowes' latest offering, The Fear is Excruciating, But Therein Lies the Answer, began with the larger existential pondering of truth, faith, order, causality, and the innate demand for an understanding of the larger world around us. While Red Sparowes’ majesty is hardly in need of story, the provision of the larger metaphor yields a heightened depth and gravity to their work. Red Sparowes consists of guitarist/keyboardist Bryant Clifford Meyer (also of Isis), bassist/pedal steel player Gregory Burns (ex-Halifax Pier), drummer David Clifford (ex-Pleasure Forever), guitarist/keyboardist Andy Arahood (ex-Angel Hair) and guitarist Emma Ruth Rundle (also of The Nocturnes). Tracks : 1 Truths Arise, 2 In Illusions of Order, 3 A Hail of Bombs, 4 Giving Birth to Imagined Saviors, 5 A Swarm, 6 In Every Mind, 7 A Mutiny, 8 As Each End Looms and Subsides

Die größten Hits von Alphaville aus 40 Jahren Band-Geschichte, komplett neu arrangiert und aufgenommen
mit dem Deutschen Filmorchester Babelsberg Alphaville, der größte deutsche SynthPop-Export und Schöpfer der legendären 80s-Hymnen „Big in Japan“, „Sounds like a Melody“ und „Forever Young“, wagt den Schritt ins Symphonische. Die Band greift zum ganz großen Besteck und katapultiert die größten Hits aus 40 Jahren BandGeschichte vom Sound der Synthesizer und Rhythmus-maschine in die Welt der menschlichen
Klangmaschine Symphonieorchester.

„Eternally Yours“ ist dabei mehr als eine bloße Übersetzung der Songs in das Klangspektrum eines großen Orchesters. Es ist vielmehr eine Symbiose zwischen Marian Golds einzigartigen stimmlichen
Fähigkeiten, dem originären Alphaville-Sound und dem
majestätisch kraftvollem Facettenreichtum des großbesetzten
Deutschen Filmorchester Babelsber

Black White Splatter Vinyl

When two musicians intensively work together for a period of time, at some point the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. If Paul Boex and Dave Miller hadn't already reached that status under their Abstract Division moniker, they certainly have now, with the release of Midnight Ensemble, their first full length album.

Those who have followed the duo since their early days of playing dj-sets together, know that it's hard to define their style anywhere beyond techno or even electronic music, as it is ever evolving and always dependent on the time of the day or night. When listening to this album, the resemblance between their unpredictable selection behind the decks and the eclectic range of subgenres on this album is more obvious than ever before. Midnight Ensemble could be interpreted as an ode to nightlife; a reminiscence of all that happens between dusk and dawn, captured and compressed into about one hour of music. An hour in which they so delicately time their changing of styles and tempos, always reading the room and always being one step ahead of the crowd.

This album is a reflection of that skill, starting its journey with soothing, moodsetting ambient, followed by timeless pieces of Detroit and dubtechno. A daring electro cut providing a refreshing break from the four to the floor tradition, only to be followed by the stripped down sound the duo is so comfortable with.

The final minutes consist of experimental breaks, one last banger to pull out the last bits of energy that is left and a beautiful outro, which concludes the allnighter vibe. There are no open endings, it doesn't make you want to stay in the dark forever. Rather it makes you want to close your eyes one last time before walking outside to see the sun come up again before going home, overwhelmed and satisfied.

DARK MEDITATION may hail from Seattle, but their sound is steeped in
traditions associated with other corners of the globe'England's workingclass cities, frosty Scandinavian towns, Southern California meccas of
the '80s
Or as the band puts it, DARK MEDITATION sounds like the bastard amalgamation
of Venom and Judas Priest fighting it out on the Sunset Strip while Danzig and
King Diamond cheer them on. While such reference points may suggest a nexus
of evil kitsch and arena-level theatrics, the band's debut album Polluted Temples
comes from a place of down- and- out urgency and punk ethics, adopting the
gloomy anthems and riff worship of heavy metal titans for their sonic exorcisms
rather than their rock n' roll panache. It's an album that basks in big hooks,
righteous guitar work, and an arena-level stomp without compromising any grit,
grime, or guts.
Tracks: Prelude / Babalon.Money.Magick / Haunt of Fear / Strange Caress (of the
night) / Masters Coil / Desolation Days / The Howling Wild / Drink of the Blade /
Nocturnal Forever / Polluted Temples

Second album in less than a year from the prolific William Dorey. Includes the singles ‘Another Day, ‘Behind The Sun’ and ‘Losing My mind’. CD packaging is gatefold with choice of 5 inserts to ‘choose your own cover’. Building on the success of 2018’s ‘Filoxiny’ (listed as one of Q Magazine’s ‘354 Albums to Blow Your Mind’) and this year’s ‘Umoja’ (“a pleasure to listen to from start to finish” – Songlines magazine) – both of whose singles have peppered the playlists of BBC 6 Music and have lead to his helming of a Bandcamp takeover - Skinshape returns with the witheringly, prophetically titled ‘Arrogance is the Death of Men’. Written and recorded between November 2019 and July 2020, Skinshape bids torecreate something akin to the ‘old style’ of ‘Oracolo’ (2015) and ‘Life & Love’ (2017). With ‘Arrogance…’, Will Dorey’s blueprint points to a simple formula, aligning a bank of fresh drum breaks recorded at the end of 2019 to whatever he had to hand, for a long player recorded in the majority at home due to the COVID-19 lockdown. Forever balanced between sweetness and a sigh, as per his position ‘Behind the Sun’, the Skinshape essence, intricate yet always reachable, at times tailored in a single session and sourcing archive bric-a-brac when required, is all around on the sweetly strummed ‘Tomorrow’ and ‘The Eastern Connection’, featuring Ivan Kormanak on drums. Maintaining an incisive knowledge of global sounds that keeps him in the filmic company of Khruangbin and El Michels Affair, Dorey’s listening to vintage Vietnamese music and Asian film scores provides the basis of ‘Sound of Your Voice’ and ‘Flight of the Erhu’, starring Wan Pinchu on Erhu violin. Acutely aware of the world’s ongoing health crisis without preaching about the whys and wherefores, the title track and ‘Losing My Mind’ reflect enforced confinement as tranquil songs of both quiet consideration yet powerful release. Dorey’s guitar pieces and wraith-like soul continue to flicker with fascination as Indian Summers and fireside retreats beckon, with ‘Watching From The Shadows’ - about “standing up for yourself, and avoiding the limelight for your own good”– and ‘Outro’ gently bringing the album to rest.

(incl. Franco Cinelli & Dorian Paic remixes)


The first record from keepitgoing. is finally here, a panorama from Switzerland all the way to Chile in our world with no borders. An EP from Camilo Gil & ONE+1 with 2 originals backed up by two contrasting interpretations from Dorian Paic and Franco Cinelli, is how we kick off our labels musical journey in our vinyl only series.

The opening original track "Can Soleietes" offers a minimal, dubby twist with sweeping chords and atmospheric pad work with hints of skippy percussion layered throughout. On the second original "Opera House" this is where things begin to turn around a darker, acidic corner consisting of rolling acid baselines and spooky pad-work. It features various chords and stabs working in the background, while the prominent acid bass moves around creating some dark, trippy vibes on the listener.

Franco Cinelli reworks "Can Soleietes" perfectly with a minimalist approach to the track, offering a more mellow and groovy interpretation of the original. One that will get you lost in the cosmos with an immediate listen. The second remix from Dorian Paic is a more stripped back affair than it's original. It is another minimalist one that represents his sound truly, as a classy remixer for the EP alongside fellow family member Franco.

Join us as we begin our journey from every corner of the world, all connected without any borders between us. Like this, anyone can express themselves freely, and really create the way they want to without any judgement or limitations. We are a forever growing family who share the goal of loving and living music together.

Das neue Album "SPARK" stellt WHITNEY als zeitgemäßes Syndikat des klassischen Pops vor, dessen Dutzend fantasievoller und liebenswerter Tracks bezaubernde Melodien um Dilla-Beats im Paisley-Stil und üppige Electronic-Elemente wickeln. So überraschend es auch klingen mag - "SPARK" ist für WHITNEY weniger eine radikale Neuerfindung als vielmehr eine ehrliche Abrechnung damit, wie es sich anfühlt, wenn man aus der Vergangenheit in die Gegenwart aufbricht, wenn man die nächsten Schritte im Leben und in der Karriere auf einmal und ganz ohne Entschuldigung macht. "SPARK" behält dabei jedoch die Wärme und Leichtigkeit von WHITNEYs früheren Werken bei. Diese Songs glühen mit der Neuheit des Hier und Jetzt. Die Anfänge von "SPARK" gehen auf den Überraschungserfolg von WHITNEYs Debütalbum "Light Upon the Lake" aus dem Jahr 2016 zurück. Die sanft verzerrten Psych-Folk-Träume fanden schneller ein breites Publikum, als die beiden je erwartet hatten. Nach Jahren des ununterbrochenen Tourens fühlten sie sich gezwungen, denselben Sound auch für ihren Zweitling "Forever Turned Around" (2019) zu verwenden. Je weiter die Aufnahmesessions voranschritten, desto mühsamer wurden diese, da Julien und Max daran arbeiteten, Versionen von sich selbst zu sein, die sie nicht mehr waren; um Songs in einer Form zu schreiben, die einfach nicht mehr passte. Es fühlte sich nicht mehr wie ihre Musik an, sondern lediglich wie ein Überbleibsel ihrer anfänglichen Begeisterung. Sie hatten kaum genug Material oder Energie, um fertig zu werden. Max und Julien wussten, dass eine drastische Veränderung notwendig war, aber sie hätten nie gedacht, dass Lockdowns im Zuge der Pandemie dies erleichtern würden. Wochen nachdem Julien nach dem Ende einer jahrelangen Beziehung nach Portland gezogen war, um einen klaren Kopf zu bekommen, folgte ihm Max in der Hoffnung, mit seinem besten Freund und Co-Autor dem langen Winter in Chicago zu entkommen. Vier Tage später wurden die Flüge gestrichen. Anstehende Tourneen wurden abgesagt. In den nächsten 14 Monaten arbeitete die Band mit einem Eifer und einer Entschlossenheit, die an ihre Anfänge erinnerten, bevor der Erfolg die Erwartungen bestimmte. Aufgenommen in Texas mit den Produzenten Brad Cook und John Congleton ist "SPARK" ein inspirierendes Zeugnis für Durchhaltevermögen und Erneuerung geworden, für beste Freunde, die einander genug vertrauen, um sich gegenseitig auf die andere Seite zu tragen.

Das neue Album "SPARK" stellt WHITNEY als zeitgemäßes Syndikat des klassischen Pops vor, dessen Dutzend fantasievoller und liebenswerter Tracks bezaubernde Melodien um Dilla-Beats im Paisley-Stil und üppige Electronic-Elemente wickeln. So überraschend es auch klingen mag - "SPARK" ist für WHITNEY weniger eine radikale Neuerfindung als vielmehr eine ehrliche Abrechnung damit, wie es sich anfühlt, wenn man aus der Vergangenheit in die Gegenwart aufbricht, wenn man die nächsten Schritte im Leben und in der Karriere auf einmal und ganz ohne Entschuldigung macht. "SPARK" behält dabei jedoch die Wärme und Leichtigkeit von WHITNEYs früheren Werken bei. Diese Songs glühen mit der Neuheit des Hier und Jetzt. Die Anfänge von "SPARK" gehen auf den Überraschungserfolg von WHITNEYs Debütalbum "Light Upon the Lake" aus dem Jahr 2016 zurück. Die sanft verzerrten Psych-Folk-Träume fanden schneller ein breites Publikum, als die beiden je erwartet hatten. Nach Jahren des ununterbrochenen Tourens fühlten sie sich gezwungen, denselben Sound auch für ihren Zweitling "Forever Turned Around" (2019) zu verwenden. Je weiter die Aufnahmesessions voranschritten, desto mühsamer wurden diese, da Julien und Max daran arbeiteten, Versionen von sich selbst zu sein, die sie nicht mehr waren; um Songs in einer Form zu schreiben, die einfach nicht mehr passte. Es fühlte sich nicht mehr wie ihre Musik an, sondern lediglich wie ein Überbleibsel ihrer anfänglichen Begeisterung. Sie hatten kaum genug Material oder Energie, um fertig zu werden. Max und Julien wussten, dass eine drastische Veränderung notwendig war, aber sie hätten nie gedacht, dass Lockdowns im Zuge der Pandemie dies erleichtern würden. Wochen nachdem Julien nach dem Ende einer jahrelangen Beziehung nach Portland gezogen war, um einen klaren Kopf zu bekommen, folgte ihm Max in der Hoffnung, mit seinem besten Freund und Co-Autor dem langen Winter in Chicago zu entkommen. Vier Tage später wurden die Flüge gestrichen. Anstehende Tourneen wurden abgesagt. In den nächsten 14 Monaten arbeitete die Band mit einem Eifer und einer Entschlossenheit, die an ihre Anfänge erinnerten, bevor der Erfolg die Erwartungen bestimmte. Aufgenommen in Texas mit den Produzenten Brad Cook und John Congleton ist "SPARK" ein inspirierendes Zeugnis für Durchhaltevermögen und Erneuerung geworden, für beste Freunde, die einander genug vertrauen, um sich gegenseitig auf die andere Seite zu tragen.

Das neue Album "SPARK" stellt WHITNEY als zeitgemäßes Syndikat des klassischen Pops vor, dessen Dutzend fantasievoller und liebenswerter Tracks bezaubernde Melodien um Dilla-Beats im Paisley-Stil und üppige Electronic-Elemente wickeln. So überraschend es auch klingen mag - "SPARK" ist für WHITNEY weniger eine radikale Neuerfindung als vielmehr eine ehrliche Abrechnung damit, wie es sich anfühlt, wenn man aus der Vergangenheit in die Gegenwart aufbricht, wenn man die nächsten Schritte im Leben und in der Karriere auf einmal und ganz ohne Entschuldigung macht. "SPARK" behält dabei jedoch die Wärme und Leichtigkeit von WHITNEYs früheren Werken bei. Diese Songs glühen mit der Neuheit des Hier und Jetzt. Die Anfänge von "SPARK" gehen auf den Überraschungserfolg von WHITNEYs Debütalbum "Light Upon the Lake" aus dem Jahr 2016 zurück. Die sanft verzerrten Psych-Folk-Träume fanden schneller ein breites Publikum, als die beiden je erwartet hatten. Nach Jahren des ununterbrochenen Tourens fühlten sie sich gezwungen, denselben Sound auch für ihren Zweitling "Forever Turned Around" (2019) zu verwenden. Je weiter die Aufnahmesessions voranschritten, desto mühsamer wurden diese, da Julien und Max daran arbeiteten, Versionen von sich selbst zu sein, die sie nicht mehr waren; um Songs in einer Form zu schreiben, die einfach nicht mehr passte. Es fühlte sich nicht mehr wie ihre Musik an, sondern lediglich wie ein Überbleibsel ihrer anfänglichen Begeisterung. Sie hatten kaum genug Material oder Energie, um fertig zu werden. Max und Julien wussten, dass eine drastische Veränderung notwendig war, aber sie hätten nie gedacht, dass Lockdowns im Zuge der Pandemie dies erleichtern würden. Wochen nachdem Julien nach dem Ende einer jahrelangen Beziehung nach Portland gezogen war, um einen klaren Kopf zu bekommen, folgte ihm Max in der Hoffnung, mit seinem besten Freund und Co-Autor dem langen Winter in Chicago zu entkommen. Vier Tage später wurden die Flüge gestrichen. Anstehende Tourneen wurden abgesagt. In den nächsten 14 Monaten arbeitete die Band mit einem Eifer und einer Entschlossenheit, die an ihre Anfänge erinnerten, bevor der Erfolg die Erwartungen bestimmte. Aufgenommen in Texas mit den Produzenten Brad Cook und John Congleton ist "SPARK" ein inspirierendes Zeugnis für Durchhaltevermögen und Erneuerung geworden, für beste Freunde, die einander genug vertrauen, um sich gegenseitig auf die andere Seite zu tragen.

The 2018 Halloween movie has the distinction of being the first film in the series with creator John Carpenter's direct involvement since 1982's Halloween III: Season of the Witch. Carpenter serves on the new David Gordon Green-directed installment as an executive producer, a creative consultant, and, thrillingly, as a soundtrack composer, alongside his collaborators from his three recent solo albums, Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies.The new soundtrack pays homage to the classic Halloween score that Carpenter composed and recorded in 1978, when he forever changed the course of horror cinema and synthesizer music with his low-budget masterpiece. Several new versions of the iconic main theme serve as the pulse of Green's film, its familiar 5/4 refrain stabbing through the soundtrack like the Shape's knife. The rest of the soundtrack is just as enthralling, incorporating everything from atmospheric synth whooshes to eerie piano-driven pieces to skittering electronic percussion. While the new score was made with a few more resources than Carpenter's famously shoestring original, its musical spirit was preserved.

After the 2021 Re-Release of “Schwingungen” (MG.ART612) and together with “Seven Up” (MG.ART613) we proudly announce “JOIN INN” as Part3 of the authorised 50th Anniversary “A.R.T.” Re-Edition Series.
“JOIN INN” is the fourth album by Ash Ra Tempel. It was recorded at Studio Dierks and originally released on LP by Ohr Musik-Produktion, catalogue number OMM 556032. Each side of the LP comprises one long track.
In 1972 ASH RA TEMPEL teamed up again with Klaus Schulze during the recording of Walter Wegmüller's Tarot album, and after one of the recording sessions, ASH RA TEMPEL members: Enke, Göttsching and Rosi, together with Klaus decided to "play it again" in a late night session. This recording led to the birth of the “JOIN INN” album, as well as two legendary last concerts in February 1973 in Paris and Cologne.
Manuel Göttsching recalls Hartmut Enke on bass and Klaus Schulze on drums being a dream-team rhythm section for him to play his guitar, especially here to hear on “Freak'n' Roll”, that was ingenious and not to replace ever since.
It was the last recording ever where Klaus Schulze (who sadly passed away this Year) played the Drums and also Hartmut (the Hawk) Enke soon after quit the Bass and music forever.
Join Inn marks the end of the collaboration with Klaus Schulze.
However, together with Ash Ra Tempel, their eponymous first album, which will be released in 2023 as the final edition of our Series, it is considered a highlight of the Krautrock movement.
As for the music itself we again refer to Julian Cope´s review from his book “Krautrocksampler” (published by Head Heritage, 1st ed. 1995):
""Freak’n’roll” fades in like it never started - just was always there from the beginning of time, a dry wah-guitar freerock riff-out unlike any of the other Ash Ra Tempel LPs, and not much like any other music. Yes, there are bluesy riff but none of them have a blues context. Manuel Gottsching’s guitar is so confident that he sometimes drops down to a simple major chord groove, whilst the Hawk pushes that round woody bass into strange overlapping rumbling melody. And ... it’s the return of Klaus Schulze on drums which propels “Freak’n’roll” to its height. No-one but Klaus has the ability to
transcend rock’n’roll in such an on-the-beat non-groove-y way and still send sparks of light into the cosmos as he does it.
-> continued on page 2“Freak’n’roll” is so egoless that it even works at a quiet volume as meditational music. Themes rise from the high tempo pulse beat, then are carried along the muscles of the song into the main area where the riff actually becomes real and expressionist for just long enough before slipping back into the musical fabric of the song.
As usual with Ash Ra Tempel, the other side is an enormous drift piece called “Jenseits (The Next World)”, a beautiful Klaus Schultze meditation of haunting synthesizer chords over which Rosi Muller tells the story of the Cosmic Couriers’ meeting with Timothy Leary. Gradually, the pulsing guitar becomes increasingly intense and turbulent, but Rosi never sounds less than freaked out. Essentially, “Jenseits” is a precursor to Klaus Schulze’s later spacey minor-key grooves.
Unfortunately, this was the last Ash Ra Tempel album in its particular ‘series.
(…) After “JOIN INN”, Manuel Gottsching took over the Ash Ra Tempel mantle alone.”

(Cargo Collective Title) RIYL: Silver Mt Zion, Rachel’s, Grails & Do Make Say Think. 180g LP, custom window-cut letterpress jacket with artworked 300gsm inner + DL. Esmerine presents Everything Was Forever Until It Was No More, its first album in five years, following a celebrated run of Juno Award winning and nominated records throughout the preceding decade. Founded by ex-Godspeed You! Black Emperor percussionist Bruce Cawdron and cellist Rebecca Foon (Saltland, Silver Mt Zion, Set Fire To Flames), the acclaimed instrumental music ensemble and has long embroidered emotive chamber works using threads of post-classical, post-rock, Minimalism, neo-Baroque, jazz, pop and a wide array of folk traditions. Esmerine conjures a distinctive and immediately identifiable sound that consistently defies the trappings of “fusion”, forging emotive cinematic soundtracks under the overriding sonic sensibilities of postpunk grit, Wall-of-Sound, drone and dark ambient. Recorded by longtime co-producer Jace Lasek (The Besnard Lakes), the new album manifestly carries on in this fine tradition. Everything Was Forever Until It Was No More completes Esmerine’s “Anthropocene” triptych: a series of album-length meditations that began in 2015. The album title itself has minor meme status in eco-artistic circles, appropriated from its original context Alex Yurchak’s 2005 book about the collapse of Soviet Russia by several exhibitions and works interrogating artistic production in the age of environmental crisis. (Foon is also well-known for her climate activism as co-founder of Pathway To Paris.) The album grapples with existential tensions between atmosphere and airlessness, seclusion and claustrophobia, forbearance and satiation, scarcity and abundance; it is one of Esmerine’s most restrained and wistful works. Instrumental densities ebb and flow, melding into each other with gauzy timbral warmth, sometimes tracing fleeting tendrils outwards, but always rotating around the saturnine gravitational force of a darkly glowing sonic center. Everything Was Forever Until It Was No More is like a somber forest lit by a closely-orbiting opalescent planet; it could be the alternate score to Von Trier’s Melancholia or Cormac McCarthy’s The Road.Esmerine planted these compositional seeds before pandemic rooted everyone in place, under the auspices of a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts and a 2019 residency at Le Château de Monthelon in France. Lasek then began documenting the band between lockdowns in various stripped-down configurations with spartan remote equipment at the rural Québec homesteads of Cawdron and Foon, culminating in final sessions at Foon’s converted barn in summer/fall 2021, notably with extensive use of the barn’s resonant acoustic piano. Brian Sanderson appears on his fourth Esmerine album since joining in 2012, continuing to expand the ensemble’s ethnomusicological sensibility and melodic sound palette with guitars, ngoni, ekonting, hulusi, and brass horns of all sorts. Everything Was Forever… also signals the full integration of bassist Philippe Charbonneau, who joined Esmerine as a touring member pre-pandemic and plays throughout the new album, along with sound design contributions via synth, tape echo and other processing. Everything Was Forever Until It Was No More features the pandemic collage artwork of Maciek Sczcerbowksi, in a second Esmerine album art collaboration following their Juno award for Album Package of the Year for Lost Voices in 2015.

Deluxe 180gram vinyl edition comes in a foil-embossed and die-cut cardstock jacket with printed inner sleeve and additional 12x12 art cards featuring the collages of Maciek Szczerbowski. All the art interacts with the die-cut jacket framing. Edition of 300. Rooted in a distinct and immediately identifiable sound_with the cello of Rebecca Foon (Saltland, Set Fire To Flames, Thee Silver Mt Zion) and the marimba of ex-Godspeed You! Black Emperor percussionist Bruce Cawdron at its core_Esmerine has long embroidered emotive chamber works using threads of post-classical, post-rock, Minimalism, neo-Baroque, jazz, pop and a wide array of folk traditions. Multi-instrumentalist Brian Sanderson, who joined the group in 2012, has furthered Esmerine's melodic and ethnomusicological sensibility ever since, expanding the ensemble's palette as its third core member with guitars, ngoni, ekonting, hulusi, brass horns of all sorts, and more. Since 2003, six stately and filmic instrumental albums have inscribed compositional landscapes through epigrammatic miniatures, longform multi-movement chronicles, and all manner of evocative musical prosody between. Marked by an inimitably turbid yet tempered pastoralism, alternately lit by dappled dawn and disquieted dusk, Esmerine's musical narratives balance asceticism and romanticism, melancholy and hope, stillness and wanderlust. Esmerine now shares Everything Was Forever Until It Was No More, its seventh full-length album and first in five years. The band surprise-dropped the full album digitally on 06 May 2022, with the CD and Deluxe 180gram LP editions hitting stores on official release date 26 August 2022. Following an acclaimed run of mid-career records on Constellation through the 2010s_the last three of which have all been finalists or winners of Juno Awards for Instrumental Album of the Year and/or Album Packaging of the Year_Esmerine began working on new music at decade's end. Under the auspices of a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts, and a summer 2019 residency at Le Château de Monthelon (an artist commune in France where the band has cherished long-standing spiritual, creative, and personal connections), compositional seeds were planted_and then pandemic rooted everyone in place. In between lockdown waves, at the respective rural Québec homesteads of Cawdron and Foon, longtime co-producer Jace Lasek (The Bernard Lakes) began capturing the band in various stripped-down configurations with spartan remote equipment. More fulsome arrangement and overdub sessions at Foon's converted barn during the summer of 2021 brought the album to full fruition_where a notable increase in the use of acoustic piano also poured forth, with just about every band member having a go. The record also signals the definitive integration of bassist Philippe Charbonneau_having joined Esmerine as a touring member pre-pandemic, he plays throughout the album on upright and electric bass, with turns on piano and synth, as well as sound design contributions via tape echo and other processing. Everything Was Forever Until It Was No More grapples with the existential tensions between atmosphere and airlessness, seclusion and claustrophobia, forbearance and coalescence. In many ways it is one of Esmerine's most restrained records. Only a few passages are driven by full percussion. There is palpably less Sturm and Drang or overt crescendos compared to its recent predecessors. The new album roils with a different sort of dynamic intensity, where instrumental densities ebb and flow within an overtonal centre, melding into each other with gauzy timbral warmth, sometimes tracing fleeting tendrils outwards, but always rotating around a saturnine gravitational force. Everything Was Forever Until It Was No More is like a dark forest lit by a closely-orbiting opalescent planet; it could be the alternate score to Von Trier's Melancholia or Cormac McCarthy's The Road.

Cool Hand Flex was an original Suburban Base artist since 1993 and published with Subbase Music ever since, with influential releases on both Subbase and his own labels run together with his brothers out of De Underground Records Store in London’s East End.

Such was its influence on the evolution of Jungle and DnB, introducing to the world the talent that is DJ Randall and releasing seminal works such as We Are i.e. that the location of that store now carries a heritage plaque. Flex now brings you De Underground EP as an incredible collectible picture disc, carrying the iconic first-generation logo, it is a must have for all vinyl collectors and those that love and respect the origins of this music.

This is much more than a piece of memorabilia though, with 4 slamming tracks to trouble your speaker system. Starting off with two brand new slices of Flex awesomeness on the Future Flex side – ‘The Bass’ and ‘Let The Music’ distinctively Cool Hand Flex production with deep subs and crashing breaks which still seem to roll into smooth yet hard DnB.

Then on De Underground side you find two highly collectible tracks ‘Ralph’ and ‘Jungle’, that have never received a repress since their initial pressing run back in 1993 despite being in high demand. Expertly remastered and sounding as fresh as ever all packaged on a beautiful 12” vinyl picture disc.

Once again this is an extremely limited pressing & we can only advise you to grab them now before they disappear. Buy now and treasure forever!!

Mississippi Bluesman Vasti Jackson is a force to be reckoned with, as an artist, Vasti is known for sweat-drenched, soul ripping performances.

In 2015 he recorded the real soul masterpiece ‘I’m Still In Love With You’. The song is a testament to the fact that true love never dies. Passion lives forevermore and grows stronger with every kiss and embrace. Share this delicious, sensual, sonic delight with that someone special, and let them know that you are still in love!

The B Side should not be overlooked either, another big sound ballad from two years earlier.