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"Rock and metal music have always been a haven for those who have bigger stories to tell; who have grander emotions to convey. For more than thirty years, Finnish figureheads Amorphis have done their best to carve their very own niche in heartfelt yet aggressive, melancholic yet soothing tunes. On “Halo”, their staggering fourteenth studio effort, the Fins underline their trailblazing status as one of the most original, culturally relevant and rewarding acts ever to emerge from the land of the thousand lakes. In the past, mythology and legend took the role of today’s pop culture: Stories and a set of values uniting us by giving us a voice and a tapestry on which we can find each other and identify with something. By weaving the tales of Finnish national epos “Kalevala” into their songs and interpreting them in a timeless way, Amorphis combine the role of ancient minstrels and luminaries of the modern world, honouring tradition without getting stuck in the past. The vibrant, lively, and touching beauty that is “Halo” highlights their musical and storytelling mastership on a once again soaring level: It’s a progressive, melodic, and quintessentially melancholic heavy metal masterwork plucked from the fickle void of inspiration by original guitarists Esa Holopainen and Tomi Koivusaari, bassist Olli-Pekka Laine, drummer Jan Rechberger, longtime keyboardist Santeri Kallio and vocalist Tomi Joutsen, the band’s long-standing lyrical consciousness Pekka Kainulainen and a selected group of world class audio professionals led by
renowned Swedish producer Jens Bogren. Considering the band’s prolonged journey in the forefront of innovative metal music, it’s difficult to grasp how Amorphis manages to raise the proverbial bar time and time again, presenting a more than worthy finale to the trilogy begun with 2015’s “Under the Red Cloud” followed by 2018’s “Queen of Time.” “It really is a great feeling that we can still produce very decent music as a band,” says Holopainen, a founding member of the band. “Perhaps a certain kind of self-criticism and long experience culminate in these latest albums.” To the songwriter himself, “Halo” sounds both familiar and different. “It is thoroughly recognizable Amorphis from beginning to end but the general atmosphere is a little bit heavier and more progressive and also organic compared to its predecessor,” he elaborates. Tomi Joutsen, the man with vocal cords capable of unleashing colossal, bear-like growls as well as singing soothing, mesmerising lullabies, adds, “To me, ‘Halo’ sounds a little more stripped down compared to ‘Queen Of Time’ and ‘Under The Red Cloud.’ However, don’t get me wrong: when a certain song needs to sound big, then it sounds very big.” He’s right, of course: By stripping down some of the arrangements, the monumental moments become even more monumental. That’s of course also thanks to producing renaissance man Jens Bogren who harvested the thirteen final tracks from a batch of thirty songs Amorphis offered him. “Jens is very demanding, but I really like to work with him,” says Holopainen. “He takes care of the whole project from start to finish, and he allows the musician to focus on just playing. I may not be able to thank Jens enough. Everything we’ve done together has been really great, and this co-operation has carried Amorphis significantly forward.” Indeed. Setting off with the stormy grandeur of opener “Northwards,” Amorphis take us on an epic journey through the lands of the north, their rich cultural and historical heritage and musical traditions. This is not only an album for fans or metal connoisseurs. It’s a must for every imaginative mind out there with a soft spot for cinematic soundscapes, triumphant melodies and breathtaking dynamics measuring the borderlands of light and dark. However, no Amorphis album would be complete without the imaginative and poetic storytelling of renowned lyricist and “Kalevala” expert Pekka Kainulainen. “From day one, Pekka has always been an enthusiastic and prolific lyricist for Amorphis,” says Joutsen. “It is a slow process of translating archaic Finnish poetry into English and adapting it our progressive rhythms. Fortunately, Pekka does everything on time and with great care.” Since 2007’s “Silent Waters,” Kainulainen has been navigating the mythological waters of his homeland with great skill and respect. For “Halo,” he outdid himself once again. “‘Halo’ is a loose themed record filled with adventurous tales about the mythical North tens of thousands of years ago,” he explains. “The lyrics tell of an ancient time when man wandered to these abandoned boreal frontiers after the ice age. While describing the revival of a seminal culture in a world of new opportunities, I also try to reach the sempiternal forces of the human mind.” Thirty-one years after their inception, with uncounted global tours under their belt and fourteen albums deep in their career, Amorphis still proves to be the musical fountain of youth, an extraordinary band constantly reinventing itself without abandoning its mystical roots. With “Halo”, they deliver an astonishing album that deserves to be played everywhere, transcending the realms of metal and rock by its sheer profoundness and musicality."

Barry Gray’s soundtrack LP to the 1962 series “Fireball XL5” from Gerry and Sylvia Anderson will be released on vinyl early in 2021 on Silva Screen Records, the next in a series of Anderson releases which has so far featured UFO, Supercar and Thunderbirds.

Fireball XL5 was set in 2062 and followed the exploits of the eponymous spaceship commanded by Colonel Steve Zodiac of the World Space Patrol. It was produced, like most other Anderson productions, in Supermarionation, using puppetry techniques that captured the imagination of a generation.

Composer Barry Gray collaborated with the Andersons on all the Supermarionation series, his jazzy style supplemented by the use of an electronically augmented keyboard, the Ondes Martenot, creating the other-worldly atmosphere which became synonymous with the sci-fi series.

Sixteen musical vignettes of electrifying emotion at the crossroads of ambient, modern synthesizer productions and organic orchestral music experimentation, which tint French director Jacques Audiard's new feature film with the illuminated glow of a whole new generation.

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When Jacques Audiard contacted him, Rone was just a few weeks away from receiving the Cesar award for best film score for his very first soundtrack "Night Ride", the highest honor in French film for a composer.

Throughout his career, the French director has been able to surprise his audience by playing on the codes of "genre films", while remaining faithful to the aesthetics of "art film". His cinema is both profound and entertaining, sophisticated and accessible, dark and dreamlike.

"Jacques' cinema is physical, sensual, modern", Rone says about the director, "when he asked me to do the music for Paris, 13th District , I immediately accepted, without seeing any images or reading the script. He is simply one of the greatest contemporary filmmakers."

His new feature film deals with youth in general and their sexuality in particular in a way no one may have done before. The story is based on four young characters and their existential questionings, whose destinies intertwined against the backdrop of the Parisian "Olympiades" high rises in the 13th arrondissement.

But time was already running out, as the film was set to be nominated for *Cannes' Palm D'or* at the rescheduled edition of the festival in July 2021. Between the releases of "Rone & Friends" and his remixes for Agnes Obel, Go Go Penguin and Jehnny Beth (who also plays a role in the film), the producer decided to lock himself away in in his brand-new Isola Studio in Cancale, French Brittany. He also invested in a large screen on which he projected loops of the film and started manipulating his gear. "I had Miles Davis in mind and the way he composed "Ascenseur pour l'échafaud" by improvising with his band while watching excerpts from the film."

After a first conclusive test on three scenes of the film which allowed Rone to showcase the skills he had developed in composition in various musical fields, a relationship of trust developed between the musician and the director, which resulted in over 45 minutes of Rone's music used for the final cut.

"There was a lot of music to be made in a short time, but the talks with Jacques were very stimulating. He had a fairly precise idea of what he wanted, while at the same time, I think, having the desire to be surprised, or even a little shaken up."

If the black and white aesthetic recalls the great hours of the "Nouvelle Vague", Rone´s music gives a new layer to the film which fits resolutely with 2020's zeitgeist.

This second soundtrack by Rone is a sonic urban adventure in itself. As it is used in the film, colouring in the lives of Audiard's protagonists, it will have the same impact on us, the listeners, in our own everyday lives.

Brand new in name but certainly not in heritage: Bass player Fatty is a founder member of Submotion Orchestra and has played with the likes of Newham Generals, Andreya Triana and Outlook Orchestra. Illaman is one of the fizziest, most versatile MCs in the game with a previous that flexes from Goldie’s live band to Flux Pavilion co-labs. Pravvy Prav, meanwhile, has a long career smashing tubs for Foreign Beggars, Jorja Smith, Gentleman’s Dub Club, Maverick Sabre and Jehst.

PENGSHUi is the latest project in this shared line of credentials. And quite possibly the heaviest, too. A raucous fusion of punk, grime, metal, bass and beats, PENGSHUi adds to a slow-cooking piquant gumbo of uncompromised sonic fire that’s been bubbling since 1986 when Run DMC and Aerosmith advised us to walk in a certain direction. Always bubbling but never over-boiled into a flavourless formulaic gloop, the fusion of metal and electronics still feels fresh, unruly and energetic over 30 years later.

Deluxe LP features 140g virgin vinyl; heavy-duty board jacket, artwork by Art Rosenbaum + DL. RIYL: Bob Dylan, John Prine, Townes Van Zandt, Ry Cooder, Michael Chapman, Michael Hurley, The Youngbloods & Bonnie “Prince” Billy. Jake Xerxes Fussell’s 4th album finds the acclaimed folksong interpreter, guitarist, and singer navigating fresh sonic and compositional landscapes on the most conceptually focused, breathtakingly rendered, and enigmatically poignant record of his wondrous catalog. Produced by James Elkington and featuring formidable players both familiar (Casey Toll, Libby Rodenbough) and new (Joe Westerlund, Bonnie “Prince” Billy), it includes Jake’s first original compositions; atmospheric arrangements with pedal steel, horns, and strings. One of the most striking and strangely moving moments on Jake Xerxes Fussell’s gorgeous Good and Green Again an album, his fourth and most recent, replete with such dazzling moments arrives at its very end, with the brief words to the final song “Washington.” “General Washington/Noblest of men/His house, his horse, his cherry tree, and him,” Fussell sings, after a hushed introductory passage in which his trademark percussively fingerpicked Telecaster converses lacily with James Elkington’s parlor piano. That’s the entire lyrical content of the song, which proceeds to float away on orchestral clouds of French horn, trumpet, and strings, until it simply stops, suddenly evaporating, vanishing with no fade or trace, no resolution to its sorrowful minor-key chord progression, just silence and stillness and stark presidential absence. It feels like the end of a film, or the cold departure of a ghost, and is unlike anything else Jake has recorded. In all his work Jake humanizes his material with his own profound curatorial and interpretive gifts, unmooring stories and melodies from their specific eras and origins and setting them adrift in our own waterways. The robust burr of his voice, which periodically melts and catches at a particularly tender turn of phrase, and the swung rhythmic undertow of exquisite, seemingly effortless guitar-playing here he plays more acoustic than ever before pull new valences of meaning from ostensibly antique songs and subjects. On Good and Green Again, Jake not only ventures beyond his established mastery of songcatching and songmaking into songwriting, but likewise navigates fresh sonic and compositional landscapes, going green with lusher, more atmospheric and ambitious arrangements. The result is the most conceptually focused, breathtakingly rendered, and enigmatically poignant record of his wondrous catalog. It’s also his most deliberately premeditated album, representing his fruitful return to a producer partnership after two self-produced projects, What in the Natural World (2017) and Out of Sight (2019) (William Tyler produced his friend’s self-titled 2015 debut.) This time James Elkington produced and played a panoply of instruments, bringing to Jake’s arcane song choices his own peerless sense of harmony and orchestration, balance and dramatic tension. The pair enlisted a group of formidable players including regular bandmembers Casey Toll (Mt. Moriah, Nathan Bowles) on upright bass, Libby Rodenbough (Mipso) on strings, and Nathan Golub on pedal steel. They were joined by welcome newcomers Joe Westerlund (Megafaun, Califone) on drums, Joseph Decosimo on fiddle, Anna Jacobson on brass, and veteran collaborator and avowed Fussell fan Bonnie “Prince” Billy, who contributes additional vocals. Album opener “Love Farewell” (featuring some beautiful singing by Bonnie “Prince” Billy), an elliptical tale of the folly of war, set to the world’s most heartbreaking goodbye march for a lover left behind. “Carriebelle” and “Breast of Glass” each similarly concerns, in its own way, romantic love and leavings. All three songs highlight Jacobson’s diaphanous, understated brass parts, tying them together in a true lover’s knot. “Rolling Mills Are Burning Down,” with its distant keening strings and capacious sense of space, observes and mourns the loss of work and community in the wake of elemental disaster. Nine-minute tour de force “The Golden Willow Tree,” the sole explicitly narrative song herein, is a hypnotic, minimalist rendering of a tragic maritime ballad about scuttling an enemy ship in exchange for wealth and glory and a captain’s inevitable betrayal. “Fussell is creating his own legacy within the long lineage of traditional folk musicians and storytellers that have come before him.” The New York Times // “So elegant … It’s relaxing in the way that pondering a Zen koan is relaxing, and sweet in the way that the wounded, honey-voiced blues of Mississippi John Hurt are sweet.” Pitchfork // “Music that resides at the seams of Appalachia and the cosmos.”

Take the freaked-out punked up soul of The Stooges and MC5 mix that with 60s garage trash, blend in Sabbath, AC/DC and heavy rock n roll and then hot wire that sound to a handful of freaks located in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Here it is that The Angered Wrecks were located - in an old Victorian style house in downtown Fredericton. It was here they set up a permanent rehearsal space on the main floor taking up the dining room and living room area with a full P.A. system and the long parties would begin as the Angered Wrecks cranked out an unholy primal serving of mind-numbing, eyeball-popping guttural pure rock and roll.

Lucky for us the Angered Wrecks had a primitive DIY recording set up as they recorded live off the floor with one cardioid mic taped to the ceiling to capture the entire room sound and straight into a cheap Alpine cassette deck. The results of these previously unheard recordings capture the essence of trashy rock’n roll at it’s finest, delivered with pure dereliction, and always a side of extra sleaze.
Keeping warm in the winter at another old salt box style house they would later rehearse and play gigs in, a large circle was cut in the floor so that the rising heat from the pottery kiln downstairs would (along with the right mixture of beer and ‘Purple Jesus’, weed and often speed and hot dogs) keep these boys fuelled long enough in sub zero temperatures to keep pumping out the rock’n roll savagery.
The last show they played was in the fall of ’81 at the Bug Shack after the household was served an eviction noticed with the house to be entirely demolished (just like Stooge Manor aka The Fun House).

They got a gig together the weekend before demolition, packed the bottom floor and played a blazing set. At the very end, walls were kicked apart, old cans of paint strewn about, general wanton destruction to furniture, doors, windows etc…insane. The bug shack had come to an end and shortly thereafter, The Angered Wrecks.
That these tapes have survived to this day is all thanks to John Westhaver’s archival hoarding (even though the loss of a 90 minute session of the Angered Wrecks still haunts John to this day).
So CRANK these tracks as loud as you can – these audio tapes are not for the faint of heart

Home Stories is Hainbach’s fourth release on Seil Records. It displays an uncompromising approach to sonic world building and explorative ambient music.

The majority of Home Stories was recorded in the Black Forest, the artist’s old home, but the album is far from a reflection on the past. It is about the changes this area has seen and more importantly, about transformation in general. As humans have always been changing the landscapes - for better or worse - Hainbach takes a tentative listen to what can be found in taking the well-known and changing it to the uncanny.

Thus the piano, that often serves as a compositional root sound and familiar element changes over the course of the tracks, is abstracted, re-synthesized, shaped into abstract forms and relocated to physically impossible places. The premise of this album is that transformation is possible. It frees the known to dare into the unknown.

Based out of Berlin, Germany, electro-acoustic music composer and performer Hainbach creates shifting audio landscapes, using esoteric synthesizers, nuclear test equipment, magnetic tape and a collection of idiophones. Hainbach has become known for his immersive live shows and an unique sound that is both abstract yet very much a corporal experience. Otherworldly and intimate, raw and heartfelt. On his wildly popular YouTube channel, Hainbach shares his love for experimental music techniques and his passion for forgotten machines with a wide audience. Inspiring over one hundred thousand each week to explore synthesis, electronics - and to leave beaten paths.

Tape

Home Stories is Hainbach’s fourth release on Seil Records. It displays an uncompromising approach to sonic world building and explorative ambient music.

The majority of Home Stories was recorded in the Black Forest, the artist’s old home, but the album is far from a reflection on the past. It is about the changes this area has seen and more importantly, about transformation in general. As humans have always been changing the landscapes - for better or worse - Hainbach takes a tentative listen to what can be found in taking the well-known and changing it to the uncanny.

Thus the piano, that often serves as a compositional root sound and familiar element changes over the course of the tracks, is abstracted, re-synthesized, shaped into abstract forms and relocated to physically impossible places. The premise of this album is that transformation is possible. It frees the known to dare into the unknown.

Based out of Berlin, Germany, electro-acoustic music composer and performer Hainbach creates shifting audio landscapes, using esoteric synthesizers, nuclear test equipment, magnetic tape and a collection of idiophones. Hainbach has become known for his immersive live shows and an unique sound that is both abstract yet very much a corporal experience. Otherworldly and intimate, raw and heartfelt. On his wildly popular YouTube channel, Hainbach shares his love for experimental music techniques and his passion for forgotten machines with a wide audience. Inspiring over one hundred thousand each week to explore synthesis, electronics - and to leave beaten paths.

English jazz-funk band Level 42 released their tenth studio album Forever Now in 1994. While Forever Now marked the return of original drummer Phil Gould, it was the last album before the band’s breakup. Featuring the popular singles “Forever Now”, “All Over You”, and “Love In a Peaceful World”, the album was a commercial success. It reached #8 on the UK album charts. Music critics were also generally favourable, calling it the band’s “best album since the mid-80s heyday of World Machine and Running in the Family”.

Nervous Records, the iconic label synonymous with the rise of house from the streets of New York City, will mark 30 years in the music industry by releasing the celebratory compilation LP ‘Nervous Records: 30 Years’ on October 1st (Part 1) and October 15th (Part 2).

Featuring original mixes of the label’s biggest tracks, plus remixes by some of its most celebrated acts, ‘Nervous Records: 30 Years’ is both a celebration of the past and of the future. Featuring a who’s who of electronic dance music, the long player sees names including Louie Vega, David Morales Darius Syrossian, Tensnake, Monki, Franky Rizardo, Danny Howard and more take on iconic Nervous cuts: ‘You Make Me Feel Mighty Real’, ‘Treat Me Right’, ‘Future Groove’, ‘Feel Like Singing’, ‘Get Up Everybody’, ‘Break You’, ‘Hot’, ‘End This Hate’, ‘Unspeakable Joy’, ‘Can Ya Tell Me’, ‘Jerk It’, ‘The Anthem’, ‘It Makes A Difference’, ‘Learn 2 Luv’ and ‘Don’t You Ever Give Up’.

The album marks one of the most enduring, extraordinary legacies to grace America’s illustrious music history, not just in electronica but far beyond. Founded in 1991 by Michael and his father Sam Weiss, and recognizable immediately by its distinctive character logo, the label grew rapidly, in no small part due to Michael Weiss’ practically unmatched passion for discovering new music.

“Louie Vega and Kenny Dope woke me at 4am on Tuesday night, Wednesday morning from their studio telling me they had something really different that I needed to hear,” Michael recollects. “I asked if they could play it over the phone. They said if I wanted to hear it I had to come to the studio. So of course I got myself up, got dressed and went there. That “really different track” ended up being ‘The Nervous Track’, a tune that became our signature release and was also highly instrumental in the emergency of London’s ‘Broken Beat’ movement.”

The label’s willingness to take chances on fresh sounds and innovative concepts rising up from the melting pot sidewalks of NYC ensured a body of work that has become a living musical history of the city. House cuts ‘Unspeakable Joy’ and ‘Nitelife’ (Kim English), ‘Get Up (Everybody)’ (Byron Stingily) and ‘Feel Like Singing’ (Sandy B) bump up against hip-hop anthems like ‘Who Got Da Props’ (Black Moon) and “Bucktown” (Smif-n-Wessun) and reggae cut ‘Take It Easy’ (Mad Lion); soulful flows from Mood II Swing (Kim English ‘Learn 2 Luv’, Loni Clark “Rushing”), Armand Van Helden (‘The Anthem’) and Nuyorican Soul (‘Mind Fluid’) sit alongside seminal techno singles like Winx’ ‘Don’t Laugh’. The young artists and producers who joined the Nervous Records’ family have gone on to become some of the most hallowed and celebrated dance acts of all time: Louie Vega, Kenny Dope, David Morales, Tony Humphries, Roger Sanchez, Armand Van Helden, Kerri Chandler, Kim English, Byron Stingily, Josh Wink, to name just a handful.

“We did a release with Josh Wink under his Winx alias entitled ‘Nervous Build-Up’,” Michael said. “It did well and it was obvious how talented Josh was. Subsequent to that release I was pretty persistent in asking him to continue to play me his new demos. During one phone conversation he said, “Mike I’m gonna play you something over the phone but don’t laugh when you hear it.” That demo ended up being ‘Don’t Laugh’, which became one of our biggest international hits and still to this day is one of America’s earliest and most impactful techno hits.”

As much a celebration of the label’s future as it is of their past, Nervous Records: 30 Years is but a marker in the imprints’ history, a clear sign of where they’ve been and also where they’re going. With 30 years behind them, the label’s determination to unearth new raw diamonds in the rough is as unwavering as ever.

“I’ve always been one to look at what others are doing (the industry at large) and think, “ok, are they doing this specific thing for a reason, or doing it because everyone else is doing the same thing” and make my decision based on that,” says Nervous Records’ General Manager Andrew Salsano. “In an age where data metrics and analytics reign supreme, I remain steadfast that they should be complementary to your decision and not the sole indicator to make one. So many songs today are written with 15 second hooks in mind for social media, and while there’s nothing wrong with that business model you will always be chasing the wave instead of carving out your own path and identity.

“My primary focus for the sound of the label has and will continue to revolve around signing good songs and music that has the ability to react at the street level first. The best results come from artists that are firstly given a bit of local love that grows into a global impact. Fresh ideas that express child-like curiosity and artists showing vulnerability in their music are also something I look for, artists and producers that are not making music with certain markets in mind, but rather their own style and signature that is unique but able to straddle the fine line of underground and overground.”

Still as raw, as underground and as finely tuned to the dance floor as they ever have been, perhaps the secret to the success - and the longevity - of Nervous Records has something to do with that hard, dogged, no-holds-barred NYC edge that runs through the veins of the label. With the next generation of producers rising from the clubs of New York, one thing is certain; Nervous Records will be there to find them, nurture them and bring them to the world at large, over the next decade and beyond.

Chìsake Algonquin: to chant; to conjure; to cast a spell; this generally involves a shake-house, or shaking tent, in which the conjurer goes into a trance; the conjurer then has an out-of-body experience, going into the future to predict coming events, or into the past; as well as going into any locality in the universe to seek out someone or something generally practiced for ancestral divination.

The unaccompanied flute pieces within this album are adaptations of Anishinaabeg shaking tent chants. The Anishinaabeg also known as Anishinaabe are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples that reside in areas now called Canada and the United States. They include the Odawa, Saulteaux, Ojibwe (including Mississaugas), Potawatomi, Oji-Cree and Algonquin peoples. The word Anishinaabeg translates to "people from whence lowered". The Anishinaabeg origin myths describe their people originating by divine breath.

The shaking tent or conjuring lodge was the setting for a divinatory rite performed by specially trained shamans otherwise known as Chìsakewininì. During the shaking tent ceremony the Chìsakewininì would construct a special cylindrical framework typically of birch or spruce uprights planted in the ground with respective wood hoops to bind it together. This created a tensile structure of which birch bark, deer skin, or cloth was used as a covering. Rattles of caribou and deer hooves, or cups of lead shot, were tied to the frame. The floor was usually softened with freshly cut spruce boughs. The vertical axis of the shaking tent represents the realm of mediating beings, while the horizontal axis the earth or world of humans. The Chìsakewininì would enter the shaking tent at night and once inside would not be visible from onlookers. The singing of chants and drumming would summon the Chìsakewininì's spirit helpers, whose arrival was signified by animal cries and erratic tent shaking. During this transcendent state, the Chìsakewininì could dispatch these spirit helpers or Manidò to distant regions to answer questions from the onlookers about the most auspicious places to hunt, the well-being of a distant relative, and what would happen in the future.

The chants were usually sung using vocables before, during, and after the Chìsakewininì entered the shaking tent. Like many other similar divination ceremonies, singular or collective, the opening chants begin lyrically. They gradually turn to more reductive abstract structures midway and then end in lyrical chants. This symbolizes the performer and listener leaving the external literal world, entering a more abstract state of mind, and then returning. Traditionally all songs were carved on birch bark for record-keeping with mnemonic pictographs or other marks for future use. Tally mark clustering, sometimes used for song-keeping throughout the Anishinaabeg, is used for this album's track titles and numerical sequence.

The album intro begins with the shaking of a necklace of otter penis bone, fish spine, bear teeth, elk teeth and deer hide, gifted from Algonquin Elder Ajawajawesi. It is meant to focus the listener's attention before the flute pieces begin. The warble or multi-phonic oscillation prevalent in the middle tracks traditionally represented the "throat rattling" vocalization of the tonic note or sometimes known as the horizon of which the melody floats off of. Due to the repetition of multi-phonic oscillation the performer will breathe erratically creating an altered state correlating with the Chìsakewininì ceremonial actions. All songs are repeated seven times to signify the seven sacred directions: east, south, west, north, above/sky, below/earth, and center.

After the international success of Thunderbirds, Gerry and Sylvia Anderson turned their attention to a deadly threat from Mars. Seeking revenge for an attack on their home planet,

the Mysterons plot to use their powers to bring Earth to its knees.

Across 32 episodes broadcast during 1967 – 1968, the series is remarkable for moving away from the more caricatured puppets of previous shows –

they have more realistic body proportions and the storylines are much more violent and darker in tone. Something reflected in the music which has a

more militaristic feel to it although, as always, composer Gray offers up occasional lighter tracks to break up the mood.

The opening narration of each episode sums it up –

"The Mysterons: sworn enemies of Earth. Possessing the ability to recreate an exact likeness of an object or person. But first, they must destroy...

Leading the fight, one man fate has made indestructible. His name: Captain Scarlet."

The Captain Scarlet LP will be sixth album in the series which includes UFO, Supercar, Thunderbirds, Fireball XL5 and Space: 1999.

The sixth release on Phoq U Phonogrammen, the sordid and rash U-TRAX sublabel, may be from its least known artist, but it is our personal favorite Phoq U release. The style can perhaps best be described as acid funk. Though the drums and bass lines generally are rather tight, all tracks have these quirky synth lines that give them a rather funky, dark 'cyborg feel'.
Lynx is Reyer Caderius van Veen - and he didn't chose that name himself. Reyer is from Groningen, the mayor city in the most northern region of The Netherlands. It's a vibrant student town, with lots of music going on.

In the 90s, Reyer participated in a techno-foundation, together with Thee J. Johanz (Ballyhoo Records) and Johan Sagel, who released a 12" as Jo-I on U-TRAX in 1995. Together with Johan, Reyer also formed a band called L.A.P. 01 (Live Acid Performance), which released a 12", a 10" and a remix on Jan Liefhebber's Highland Beats and a track on Ballyhoo Records (BALL 100).
Harsh starts off with some terribly hard and high tones, that sound like a nuclear plant is going to melt down. The ferocious bassdrum and grunting acid bass line add to the uncomfortable mood.
What makes us really happy is Sex On Jupiter. It's a rushed track that completely opens up around the 1:20 mark with a desolate, yet funky sawtooth 303 bassline.

On the flipside, Changes brings a nice pumping rhythm combined with a rolling bassline with all sorts of disturbing sounds on top.
The EP closes off with another highlight of darkness: Dark Mission. The track has a lovely flow, but really starts to space you out as soon as a hoarse sounding pulsating synth spreads it wings across the deliciously bubbling 303.
To be short: this is an uncomfortable record, and we love it!

Original release date: August 1996.

Marshall McLuhan’s famous edict ‘the medium is the message’ has never been more apt than with regard to modern remix culture. Although the idea of the remix goes way back to the Jamaican dub pioneers and New York disco remixers of the 1970s, the form didn’t truly come into its own until the acid house explosion of the 1980s, when remixers’ credentials often subsumed — and sometimes surpassed — the original source material. Some, among them our lost friend Andrew Weatherall, used remixing as a springboard into multiple other directions, and became auteurs in their own right.

Forged in the white-hot heat of post-acid house Britain, these Heavenly remixes are perfectly weighted with respect and irreverence, the remixer in each case carefully chosen to add heft to the song (as on Al Breadwinner’s dubwise reworking of Mattiel’s ’Guns of Brixton’— the pairing more a game of chess than a best-of-three arm wrestle).

Although Heavenly was founded in the wake of huge upheavals in electronic music, it was still imbued with its own curious parallel life. I’ve always thought of Heavenly as one of the UK’s alt-pop labels; a place where brilliant pop bands live and record, if the general public would only realise. Some of them have ended up in the real, actual charts (Saint Etienne, Doves), but that’s missing the point about Heavenly, who are, like Factory and Fast Product before them, pop music’s conscience.

There is no sense of order to this compilation and we make no apologies. It’s the Heavenly way. Think of it as a present from Loki, the Norse god of mischief. You’ll find a smattering of older tracks: album openers Saint Etienne are taken on a Poseidon Adventure with Underworld, who inject ‘Cool Kids of Death’ with typically manic energy. Elsewhere, ’90s Brum duo Mother add dancefloor pzazz to Espiritu’s innate glamour on an all-funked-up reworking of ‘Los Americanos’, and Mark Lusardi’s remix of Moonflowers’ ‘Get Higher’ is an early Heavenly classic.

On ‘Terracotta Warrior’, a perfect, psyched-out, Mancunian union is created betwixt Jimi Goodwin and Andy Votel, whilst Goodwin cohort Simon Aldred, in his Cherry Ghost guise, receives a proper Tamla-Motowning from Richard Norris (aka Time & Space Machine) on an inspired cover of Cece Peniston’s glam-house hit, ‘Finally’.

There are several of Heavenly’s current darlings here too. One of the most exciting young British prospects, Yorkshire’s Working Men’s Club, effectively remix themselves, as Minsky Rock — WMC’s Syd Minsky-Sargeant and producer Ross Orton — cleave ‘X’ into a riotous industrial racket. Jagwar Ma’s Jono Ma takes the Kraftwerkian leitmotif on ‘Automatic’ and drives the Australian jazz-funkers Mildlife down an electro-convulsive psychedelic tunnel (thankfully no-one was harmed during the making of this remix); Sheffield’s DJ Parrot and Jarvis Cocker deliver one of the outstanding remixes of 2018, turning Baxter Dury’s ‘Miami’ into a lovelorn minor opera; and, making its first appearance on vinyl, David Holmes’ Unloved project is taken on a panoramic Welsh waltz thanks to Gwenno.


There may well be no rhyme, nor reason, to how these compilations have been put together, beyond the fact that they are assembled with love, an innate understanding of the power of great pop music, and a skilled marriage of song and remixer — but does one really need anything more than that for an album to make sense? I’d suggest not.

"In Vivo" is the result of the photographic work of Klavdij Sluban at the Fleury-Mérogis Young Offender Institution (France) from 1995 to 2016 Beds in addition to his work from Izalco prison, located in El Salvador, from 2008 [visiting rooms] connected to the music of Gareth Davis.

Gareth Davis is an artist, composer and musician living in Amsterdam. He plays clarinet(s), the result of a somewhat impulsive purchase whilst window shopping in Covent Garden, London, around ten years before the turn of the century. The serendipitous location of a rather wonderful (and equally important, rather cheap) second hand record shop less than 10m from the bus stop required for seven years of schooling, combined with delivering newspapers on a daily basis, lead to a somewhat eclectic, dusty and generally unclassified taste in music.

The result. Activity covering sonic art and contemporary classical music through rock, improvisation and noise with collaborations that have included the premiering of new written pieces by composers such as Bernhard Lang, Peter Ablinger, Toshio Hosokawa and Jonathan Harvey, soloist with orchestras including the SWR Symphonieorchester, Warsaw Philharmonic and Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid, performances with groups and performers ranging from the Neue Vocalsolisten and Arditti Quartet through to improvisers Elliott Sharp and Frances Marie Uitti, electronic artists Robin Rimbaud and Merzbow and multimedia work with artists including Christian Marclay and Peter Greenaway.

"In Vivo" is his second solo release after to have recorded a bunch of collaborative albums with artists such as Scanner, Machinefabriek, Steven R. Smith, Kleefstra Brothers, Frances-Marie Uitti, Merzbow, Adain Baker, Duane Pitre and more...

Klavdij Sluban, winner of the European Publishers Award for Photography 2009, of the Leica Prize (2004) and of the Niépce Prize (2000), main French prize in photography, is a French photographer of Slovenian origin born in Paris in 1963.

He develops a rigorous and coherent body of work, nourished by literature, never inspired by immediate and sensational current affairs, making him one of the most interesting photographers of his generation. The Balkans, the Black Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Caribbean, Central America, Russia, China and the Antarctic (first artistic mission in the Kerguelen islands) can be read as many successive steps of an in-depth study of a patient proximity to the encountered real.

His images have been shown in such leading institutions as the Metropolitan Museum of Photography of Tokyo, the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris, the Rencontres d’Arles, the Museum of Photography in Helsinki, the Fine Arts Museum in Canton, the Musée Beaubourg, the Museum of Texas Tech University. His many books include East to East (published simultaneously by Actes Sud, Dewi Lewis, Petliti, Braus, Apeiron & Lunwerg with a text by Erri de Luca), Entre Parenthèses, (Photo Poche, Actes Sud), Transverses, (Maison Européenne de la Photographie) and Balkans -Transit, with a text by François Maspero (Seuil). Since 1995, Sluban has been photographing teenagers in jails. In each prison he organizes workshops with the young offenders to share his passion. First originated in France, in the prison of Fleury-Mérogis with support of Henri Cartier-Bresson during 7 years, as well as Marc Riboud and William Klein punctually. This commitment was pursued in the disciplinary camps of Eastern Europe –Serbia, Slovenia, Ukraine, Georgia, Moldavia, Latvia – and in the disciplinary centres of Moscow and St Petersburg as well as in Ireland. From 2007 to 2012, Sluban has been working in Central America with imprisoned youngsters belonging to maras (gangs) in Guatemala and Salvador. In 2015, he started photographing imprisoned teenagers in Brazil. In 2013, the musée Niépce showed a retrospective of K.Sluban’s work, After Darkness, 1995-2012. In 2015/16, he was awarded the Villa Kujoyama Residence in Kyoto, Japan. K.Sluban is member of national and international jurys, such as prix Niépce, prix de la Jeune Photographie de Niort, prix Leica, All About Photo…

Unforgotten is a British crime drama television series. The program follows a team of London detectives, led by DCI Cassie Stuart (Nicola Walker) and DI Sunny Khan (Sanjeev Bhaskar), as they solve cold cases of disappearance and murder. Each season deals with a new case, introducing seemingly unconnected characters who are gradually revealed to have some relationship with the victim. Seasons 1 to 4 were broadcasted between 2015 and 2021. A fifth series was announced, scheduled for release in 2022.

Unforgotten has received critical acclaim, with Tom Courtenay winning the 2016 BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actor for the first series and Mark Bonnar winning the 2017 BAFTA Scotland for Best Actor in Television for the second series.

Michael Price is one of the UK’s most sought after composers. His debut album Entanglement (2015) was critically acclaimed by furthermore Rolling Stone, Uncut and Clash. His work for film and television has been widely recognized in general, winning an EMMY award in 2014, a BAFTA nomination and 2 further EMMY nominations for his score with David Arnold for the critically acclaimed BBC series Sherlock.

This is a limited edition contains of 1000 individually numbered copies on crystal clear vinyl. The LP package contains liner notes by Andrew Collins and Michael Price.

Blood On Satan’s Claw – AKA Satan’s Skin in the USA, is a cult British horror movie from 1971. It’s a film from the golden age of British horror, and one that ticks most of the horror connoisseur’s boxes - it stars the Devil, Olde England, it has nudity, strange ritualism, a fair smattering of blood and of course, sublime music. Produced by cult masters Tigon, this film was the perfect companion piece to their earlier Witchfinder General (1968). Set in rural 17th century England, it tells the fine story of a small village that quickly falls under the devil’s spell. It’s brilliantly told and quite beautifully shot with a very fine cast of superb character actors.
Over many years the film has slowly gained a cultish reputation, and there are rumours that good old Tim Burton is a very big fan and used the movie as an influence for his “Sleepy Hollow” production.
The score was never released. Written by Marc Wilkinson, former director of music for the National Theatre, this cult soundtrack takes its lead from “The Devil’s Interval”, but more about that in the next paragraph. Musical appearances from the Ondes Martenot (the earliest electronic instrument) and Cimbalom add to the overall spookiness of this recording. And in 38 years the music has lost none of its depth or addictive, evil hooks. The first pressing sold out many years ago and commands high prices. A repress has been requested for many years.
Here’s Marc Wilkinson’s thoughts…
“The descending chromatic scale which features throughout the music omits the perfect fifth (the only true consonant in the chromatic scale) and therefore highlights the diminished fifth, which ever since the middle ages in Europe has been known as the Devil's Interval!!”
BRIEF ARTIST INFO: Marc Wilkinson was musical director of the National Theatre throughout the 1960s. He scored a number of films in the late 1960s and 1970s including “If” for Lindsay Anderson. Wilkinson currently lives in France.

Interiors, the title of this new release from Ultramarine, may have a topical resonance for many listeners who have found themselves in involuntary confinement during the past year, but the five tracks on this EP were actually recorded in 2011, and they represent a significant opening out of the duo's evolving musical perspective.

Ian Cooper and Paul Hammond, who had become friends while growing up together in the Essex countryside, formed Ultramarine in 1989. Throughout the 90s their distinctive music, an enticing blending of acoustic with electronic instruments, secured a loyal following and won critical acclaim. Then, throughout the whole of the next decade, Ultramarine lay dormant. Interiors documents their reawakening, with Cooper and Hammond exploring approaches to music-making made possible by recently developed software, designed specifically with live performance in mind.

Four of the five tracks to be heard here were issued digitally last year. But as Paul Hammond has pointed out, "with Ultramarine the whole point is to create an artefact, so the form and the look of the finished product is central." That's an outlook shared passionately by Simon Lewin's label Blackford Hill, and the music now available on this vinyl record is appropriately enhanced with cover art by printmaker Katherine Jones. Her imagery matches the music neatly in its nuanced interplay of solidity and shadow, line and colour, geometric form and organic growth.

Ultramarine returned refreshed in October 2011, bursting back into public awareness with "Find A Way," issued as a 7" single on their own label, Real Soon. Clive Bell, writing in The Wire, extolled its engaging mix of electronic beats with cool vocals and tropical percussion. More generally Bell embraced Ultramarine's thoughtful hybrid electronica as "music you could enjoy at home without feeling your intelligence was being scorned, or that if you were not physically in a club, you were wasting your time."

On Interiors, the roots of that slinky single are laid bare on the purely instrumental track "Find A Way Back." Its two distinct parts stretch out the beats and flaunt those tropical flourishes, shuffling and flexing, vibrant and heady, languid and sultry. This is techno filtered through the fabric of magic realism, an exotically spiced concoction, chilled and ready to be savoured at home.

With the diagrammatic clarity of its punchy thrust and spooling loops "Even When" distils the essence of Cooper and Hammond's way of working with their musical material: layering and shaping, nurturing textures, plaiting rhythms and juggling accents. The cumulative impact is almost sculptural in its physical immediacy and looming presence. In contrast, on "By Return" the duo skew the outcome, projecting a selection of limber figures into dub's auditory hall of mirrors. They are clearly revelling in the reverb, relishing the recoil and decay.

Interiors ultimately opens out onto "Decoy Point (Version)." With its ozone saturated ambience, this closing track evokes marshland and mudflat soundscapes, seabird mews, maritime signals and tidal wash. Cooper and Hammond feel deep attachment to the Essex landscape and, in particular, to the local history and physical features of the Blackwater estuary. Blackford Hill provides an accommodating home for Ultramarine's ongoing project Blackwaterside, which has featured to date a 7" vinyl record plus 28-page booklet, and a photo film with soundtrack. Now, delving into the Ultramarine archive, this welcome incarnation of Interiors offers a fascinating glimpse of the duo finding their bearings, at a vital stage along the way.

Recorded in London in the summer of 1971 by Austrian singer/songwriter Bobby Haumer and an English pick-up band, Zakarrias was issued on the highly collectable Deram label. However, Deram withdrew the album almost immediately when they discovered that Haumer didn't have a work permit. Mysteriously sounding heavy progressive with sensitive folk-psych moments. Great dynamics with contrasting guitar leads. The results have been compared to outtakes from the third Led Zeppelin album, but while the lead vocals are certainly reminiscent at times of Robert Plant, the overall sound and general air of quiet pretension is probably closer to Van der Graaf Generator leader Peter Hammill's early solo work.

2021 repress on black vinyl, first released in only 50 copies in the legendary Bunker Mantra Box, but now for a short time available to the general public. Dark and manic house from the Acid Coloniae of Cologne, by Andreas Gehm (aka The Minister), whos profile has been raised recently with a ton of hyped releases and remixes for o.a. Snuff Traxx & Robert Ownes. First part of a two parter.

The long awaited 5th studio album by Pepe Deluxé. Phantom Cabinet Vol. 1 is inspired by the golden age of records, and it features the most insane collection of instruments on any album - or anywhere - ever! From the largest to the loudest musical instrument in the world, from Alexander Bell's human ear recorder to a Tibetan human skull drum, from the oldest synthesizer in the world to a synthesizer designed for group sex, from da Vinci’s drum machine to God’s Trumpet, captured with an occult Soviet machine … This peculiar assemblage contains sounds from dozens of incredible and extraordinary instruments, recorded at various museums, universities, and private collections around the world.

The original soundtrack from director John Wayne’s American epic historical war film Alamo (1960)

What do you get when you blend a reverential take on the diverse canon of popular Caribbean music with an all-star cast of seasoned studio musicians from the heart of Brooklyn? The answer lies in Combo Lulo's much anticipated debut studio long-player, Neotropic Dream. The group takes its influence from the deep musical heritage of New York's cultural pedigree, especially the heyday of the city's Caribbean record distribution industry — a culture of music that still bubbles today in the crevices of the city's independent neighborhoods and record communities.

Despite the general scope of the muse, it's hard to precisely pin down this fantastic re-imagining. In some ways, that's why the title for the band's debut album is Neotropic Dream, a nod to the biogeographic region that encompasses the countries along the Afro-Caribbean diaspora, a region intensely diverse in its climate, fauna and flora. This theme manifests musically as you journey through Combo Lulo's original compositions and cleverly chosen covers. More than anything, it's a dreamy storm of styles and musical moments born anew. And just as weather swiftly travels and transforms the Caribbean, so the varied musical styles carry the listener from the album's start to finish. Not just a talented band's showcase of styles, but rather a sumptuous feast of savory and sweet ingredients on display, together. A musical curry roux, if you will, that fits together so harmoniously, it's no wonder the band engenders automatic appreciation both in their studio recordings and in their uproarious live shows.

Whether it's cumbia gone rock steady, or reggae gone chicha, or vocal vs. version, there's a little something for everybody on here, depending on where you drop the needle. With splendid original compositions and horn arrangements from band leader Mike Sarason and saxophonist Anant Pradhan, respectively, Combo Lulo is quickly proving themselves to be a powerhouse of the highest caliber.

The eponymous Sun Cutter debut album, released via Bronzerat Records (Gemma Ray, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, The Still).

 Sun Cutter (real name Kevin Pearce) hails from Colchester in Essex, England. Three years ago, at the age of 33, Kevin suffered a heart attack (on a golf course). As well as having to redress some lifestyle
habits, his rehabilitation involved writing and recording the Sun Cutter project. It is an album of driving, harmony-drenched indie-soul folk-pop / rock that looks to the light for reflection.

 Songs of love and protest befit the man, and his politics of empathy, evident in his lyrics, are also demonstrated by his day job as a mental health worker. His tone and delivery sometimes reveal John Lennon, Tim Buckley and Bob Dylan as an influence.

 Co-produced with pal Dean Honer (Moonlandingz, Eccentronic Research Council, Pins). Dean is also one half of I Monster, and Kevin lent his voice and guitar to the acoustic version of ‘Daydream In Blue’, which soundtracked the Magnum ice cream ads in 2020.
They have also collaborated and created ‘The Sounds of Science’, a collection of science songs for kids, released in April 2022 on Castles in Space.

 Previously he has released (under his real name) the album ‘Matthew Hopkins & The Wormhole (AWAL)’, a concept record about the Witchfinder General who lived in the same village (Mistley in Essex).

 Kevin Pearce is currently on tour with Turin Brakes

On Top Records is extremely proud to welcome back Smasher with his sophomore album, ‘Vibes In Motion’. due for release the 16/07/2021

Following the release of his debut album ‘Locked In Locked On' in 2020 which featured in numerous 'Album of the Year' lists Smasher has spent the past year offering a high level of consistency among a time which has been very difficult for creatives.

With live shows stopping to a halt Smasher has taken this opportunity with both hands building a home studio to sustain creativity a very important factor for an individual who has a burning passion to create music, he has used the time productively “Vibes In Motion” is 51 minutes of future classic British UKG encompassing Hip Hop, Grime, RnB, 2 step Garage all blended together seamlessly to bring a fresh approach to a genre he has gone extremely hard for. As with previous material, the album is produced by Smasher himself collaborating with long time friend Aaron Greenwood bringing his soulful smoothed-out keys and backing vocals the pair have a great working relationship which spans over a decade which can be heard through out the record.

Smashers journey began with a love for late 90’s UK Garage collecting vinyls from record shops and dj’ing on pirate radio, which lead him to Hip Hop, RnB, Reggae, Soul and many different uk underground music styles, followed by decades of producing records for some pinnacle uk artists most recent production credit for “Ghetts” on the critically acclaimed ‘Conflict Of Interest’ album charting at number 2 in the uk albums chart, Giggs - Landlord album, Klashnekoff - Iona to name a few, Smasher is a producer who can deliver a very high level of production no matter the genre. Over the past 2 years Smasher has gained props far and wide: from Todd Edwards to DJ EZ releasing a record under his Nuvolve imprint, to guest mix for MBE clothes designer Wale Adeyemi, comedy UKG faves Kurupt fm posting his “lockdown freestyle challenge” Numerous guest shows & live streams for Rinse fm, Kiss fm, Phaze Transition & Mind Charity, limited vinyl run presses to collaborating with Capo Lee & Ayo beats for film soundtrack “Against All Odds”

Since releasing “Locked In Locked On” the feedback for the project was so greatly received i knew how i wanted to approach this next album and with plenty of time on my hands to experiment i wanted to include more collaboration, a lot of the link ups came together organically.

I feel you get a nice balance of some new school artists like Local, Solo Jane & Hotch mixed with some UKG generals like MC Neat, Mighty Moe, Preshus, Creed & Troublesome and original “Knightz of the round table” member Luckie Luciano, i always feel a duty to pay homage but i also want to evolve the sound and take it to the next level.

Since march 2020 its been a tuff time for people i feel like there are some hidden messages in the album it leans towards the underdogs of this world and at times i feel like that but there is always this burning desire inside me to want to do better hopefully that comes across for the listener.

Already with a dedicated fan base and support from tastemaking DJs such as DJ EZ, Conducta (Kiwi Records), Toddla T (Radio 1), Heartless Crew (1xtra), Majestic (Kiss), Scott Garcia (kiss), Smokey Bubblin B (Rinse fm), DJ Redhot (Rinse fm), Dj Cartier, DJ Spoony, Artful Dodger, MattJam Lamont (Rinse fm) Shosh (Kiss Fm) Rudekid (Kiss fm) Ricky Chalrie & Melvin (BBC Radio 1) amongst others from the burgeoning UK Garage scene,

The Smasher sound especially in UKG has brought a well needed fresh flava to a genre which has had very few full album offerings, with that said its time to share “Vibes In Motion” with the universe, This will solidify Smasher as an artist in every sense of the word and undoubtedly concrete him as one of the UK’s finest talents.

Haiku Salut, the acclaimed electronica trio from the Derbyshire Dales release their fifth album, ‘The Hill, The Light, The Ghost’ on Secret Name records on August 27th. Note the LP follows in November.

A beautiful study of ghosts and memory, the gestation of the record began when Haiku Salut’s Sophie Barkerwood was given a Tascam field recorder. “I carried it around with me in case anything interesting happened. I guess I wanted to capture little pieces of the world in the same way we all take photographs,” explains Sophie. “It wasn’t immediately apparent that we would begin to use these sounds as the architecture for an album but as our writing process evolved the textures of these memories became a bank of inspiration.”

“We then began actively searching for ghosts in the world and framing the songs around their qualities,” Sophie continues. “Gathering recordings, removing them from their context and building worlds around them. Capturing and preserving personal experiences, and evoking vivid spaces. You could say the record is a miniature exploration of sound in relation to memory. Each piece is intimately connected to a place in time.”

Musically, the album marries the expansive vision of their third album, ‘There Is No Elsewhere’, which celebrated identity and community, with the darker, more contemplative feel of their fourth album, the trio’s original soundtrack for Buster Keaton’s ‘The General’. Building on the lessons learned working on ‘The General’, ‘The Hill, The Light, The Ghost’ is a cohesive suite, nine songs that combine to tell a larger story – that of experience and memory, of precious moments and echoes of past lives.

Composer, electronic music innovator, and Pere Ubu's original synthesist Allen Ravenstine returns to Waveshaper Media with the diptych LP (comprised of 1 EP per side) Nautilus / Rue De Poisson Noir, the final two parts in Raventine’s Tyranny of Fiction series. Waveshaper Media first came into contact with Ravenstine when we interviewed him in 2012 for our modular synthesizer documentary I Dream Of Wires.

Nautilus / Rue De Poisson Noir brings together 21 of the prodigious composer’s recent lyrical and abstract compositions collectively comprised of the sounds of analogue and digital synthesizers, alongside traditional acoustic instruments. The first 10 recordings, subtitled Nautilus, are found on Side A of this LP while the second 11, Rue Du Poisson Noir, comprise Side B.

Using a singular blend of acoustic and electronic instrumentation, each track on Nautilus, weaves its own wayward travelogue amidst stray bits of audio verité and wafting musical fragrances—by turns tropical and foreboding. Rue De Poisson Noir takes cues from its fragmentary companion both in palette and approach, slithering between cinematic intrigue, off-brand jazz, avant-garde mischief, and fried electro without ever batting an eye. Together they form a beguiling collection of hyperrealist miniatures that remains strange, restless, inquisitive and — most of all — evocative throughout.

For those in the know, Allen Ravenstine has been one of the most creative synthesizer players of the past forty-plus years. Ravenstine started out in the mid-1970s experimenting in his Cleveland apartment with an analogue EML 200 synthesizer, eventually creating a piece in 1975 that became known as Terminal Drive. While he had no intention of releasing his compositions, word got out about the kind of sounds he was experimenting with, which led to an invitation to join pioneering “avant garage” group Pere Ubu for the recording of the group’s first 45, “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo.” He soon joined Pere Ubu full-time, bringing to the band’s sound unpredictable textures, effects, bleeps, squalls, pulsating washes of sound—whatever he felt could enhance the soundscape of the band’s performances and recordings.

By the early 1990s, Ravenstine had grown sick of the road, band infighting and the music industry in general. Deciding a change was needed, he opted to forego music altogether, making his living as an airplane pilot. His music career remained in limbo until 2012, when an interview for the I Dream Of Wires documentary, alongside Robert Wheeler who had succeeded him as Pere Ubu’s synthesist, turned into a recording session for the duo, leading to a series of collaborative releases. As well as having his 1975 Terminal Drive recordings released to great acclaim in 2017, Ravenstine has been prolific in recent years, with Nautilus / Rue De Poisson Noir now marking his 4th solo full-length.

Revolutionary in its time, ‘The Firebird’ is a story in musical textures and dynamics perfectly suited to the Mercury technique. Dorati and The LSO present each nuance in perfect scale and balance. Recorded in Watford Town Hall, near London UK, June 7 and 9, 1959 with three Schoeps M201 microphones.

Revolutionary in its time, ‘The Firebird’ is a story in musical textures and dynamics perfectly suited to the Mercury technique. Dorati and The LSO present each nuance in perfect scale and balance. Recorded in Watford Town Hall, near London UK, June 7 and 9, 1959 with three Schoeps M201 microphones.

2021 REPRESS, first released in only 50 copies in the legendary Bunker Mantra Box, but now for a short time available to the general public. Dark and manic house from the Acid Coloniae of Cologne, by Andreas Gehm (aka The Minister), whos profile has been raised recently with a ton of hyped releases and remixes for o.a. Snuff Traxx & Robert Ownes. Second part of a two parter.

We used to enjoy presenting Chapelier Fou's work using the idea of music in the form of a treasure hunt. However, while the phrase in itself it still just as relevant today, we would never have imagined that it would become such an integral part of one of his albums. Or two of his albums to be perfectly exact - Méridiens and Parallèles. Two records with twelve songs each which answer each other back in the form of anagrams. They are like the two sides of the same planet - similar but simultaneously so different. They need to be discovered one after the other taking the time necessary to travel through the sound territories produced by his imagination. The starting point is a sombre night in Uqbar… Chapelier Fou's opening reference to Borgès was obviously not made by chance. He subsequently confided in us the objective of his diptych, namely to combine reality with fiction to question certainties and our relationships with the imaginary sphere. He has continued with his traditional classical-contemporary electronic approach which, although now known to a wide audience, has the advantage of opening up a whole range of possibilities right up to the infinite scale. Moving away from an "État Nain" (Dwarf State) to take refuge on an asteroid...Throughout Méridiens, each composition can be seen as a universe in itself or a specific landscape with its own temporality. Proof of this is the introduction to the chamber music format composed for and performed by only strings which can only be given the date we want to give it. This is "État Nain" in which violins are played like guitars. In some parts we find the spirit of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra and the idea of cheering up classical instruments and not taking everything too seriously. In other parts, we find something close to a mischievous and childish unplugged grunge anthem that could be from the French series Les Shadoks. This mischievous view of things is shown to full effect in Am Scharchtensee. The introduction shows Chapelier Fou's whole classical universe and mastery of orchestration in which "modular" electronics provide a subtle and discreet backdrop. Then, the record suddenly switches to a surrealist dialogue between these classical sounds and modular synthesizers with the flavour of the German pioneers Kluster/Harmonia to name but one example. Timelessness and imaginary places. La vie de cocagne confirms this choice of total freedom. It's traditional music with old sounds, a kind of forgotten bourrée (old French dance) in which electronic sounds disturb the established order and thus reach another musical dimension. Le méridien du Péricarde followed by Désert de Sonora push this idea of a trompe l'oreille and a hall of mirrors even further. The latter track ends almost like a catchy 80s melody and we can no longer find any logical meaning. We let ourselves be carried away by this profusion of madness and are a little amazed by this mastery of sound, composition and space. It sometimes all seems like a succession of conjuring tricks. Chapelier Fou takes not being serious very seriously indeed. The end song Everest trail is the perfect conclusion, a deadpan track in which the primary aspect of a totally classical melody in all its straightness is underpinned by a permanent exchange of electronic tweets which mocks the main musical posture. This impertinence harks back to Pierre Schaeffer who directed the ORTF's very serious experimental department in another era and allowed the development of Jacques Rouxel's series Les Shadoks thus introducing the general public to the notion of concrete music. This is also perhaps why Louis Warynski's stage name is French – because he has opted to use his French musical heritage. Thus the first singles selected from this album, Constantinople with its groovy and jazzy allure and Le Triangle des Bermudes evoke composers like Michel Magne or Michel Colombier both of whom have totally open minds and consider all music to have the same importance, namely that of sound. In absolutely all the tracks that make up Méridiens, you will find at least one detail - a pattern, melody, sometimes a simple sound - that will draw you back to explore it a little more. And the words are carefully weighed for sure. It's quite simple. This is undoubtedly his most hypnotizing and catchy album. Chapelier Fou has become a complete master of his own universe. He draws the start and finish lines himself and no one can follow him in a field that now belongs to him alone. Composed imaginary spheres, illustrated territories...Music is just as meaningful as the more visual arts. Therefore the artwork of Méridiens had to project each of the twelve tracks considered individually and not just the whole album as such. Chapelier Fou therefore asked his old friend the contemporary artist Corentin Grossman to create twelve windows to represent glimpses of the twelve worlds composed for the record. Windows or mirrors when it comes to that? You can never be sure of anything...Space OK. But what about time? The years go by and sometimes we forget that fact. But a simple glance back is often enough to gently touch the time that has passed. It is over 10 years since his first official record and he has been composing, recording and sharing his music for almost 20 years. 20 years is a long time. It makes some people look old while others fall into reassuring but sterile nostalgia. Chapelier Fou, on the other hand, has released his most ambitious project and tried to take a higher view of his discography that was itself nevertheless irreproachable. Although the journey is over we can see Parallèles universes on the horizon. Chapelier Fou has announced 12 additional tracks which are like echoes of the compositions on Méridiens' and will be released on the album Parallèles next spring. They are neither twins nor opposites – they are instead totally original new compositions which go further in exploring a universe which is already richly abundant.

Five years after the release of "Je vous dis" in 2018, Geins't Naït and L.Petitgand's second album from the "Mind Travel" and "Make Dogs Sing" collection on the German label "Offen", the duo are now writing a new chapter in their story with this fascinating poetic tale. The same mysterious and heady atmosphere which characterises the two musicians is present in this new work but clearly they have never ceased refining and polishing their sounds to give their compositions even more power and depth. Geins't Naït and L.Petitgand here offer twelve new tracks with names as enigmatic as the title "Like this maybe or This" itself and the record's whole universe. In reality, these mysterious names lead us to let ourselves be taken to the deep meaning of their creation. The subject matter is certainly difficult to grasp and invites us on an inner journey while leading us to doubt and question ourselves incessantly. There is a perfect alchemy between these two artists though this was far from self-evident as they come from two very different schools. Thierry Merigout, who is now the only representative left from the late 80's experimental project Geins't Naït in Nancy, comes from the post-industrial scene. As for Laurent Petitgand, he is a pure melodist who is best known for his work as a composer of music for films and live shows and has collaborated with Wim Wenders and Paul Auster in particular. "Like this maybe or This" is a fully accomplished symbiosis between Geinst Nait's industrial and experimental tonalities and the celestial melodies of Laurent Petitgand. "Shape of the storie" starts the album with a bewildering atmosphere which mixes a sample of a guttural voice with cavernous resonances thus prefiguring the album's general atmosphere. However, while some tracks like "HAC" fuel our existential anguish, other tracks have a poetic and melancholic tonality which touches our deepest humanity. This is the case of "Dustil" whose subtle piano notes combined with the melancholy violin show us a sublimated world. This fascinating blend of violence and gentleness makes this record an atypical work which enables listeners to lose themselves in an emotional nebula where they can perceive the turbulence and also the intensity of our inner life.

Robert Sotelo is a mercurial melodist building a resplendent world of pristine DIY pop from the ground up. The Glasgow-based artist’s songs are meticulously crafted, patchworked together with eclectic arrangements and ardent vocal performances. Each of his albums to date has been accompanied by a growth-spurt, 2017’s debut ‘Cusp’ was packed with miniature psych overtures, whilst 2018’s 'Botanical' was more keyboard-minded and playful with a near-absurdist palette of sound. ‘Infinite Sprawling’ came out towards the end of 2019 and surprised with songs pulled together like a wakeful stretch, brisk with a lightness of touch. This was neatly followed by ‘Leap & Bounce’ melding a sparse synth-pop minimalism to an emotional undertow.
This November Upset The Rhythm will release Robert Sotelo’s vivid new album ‘Celebrant’. ‘Celebrant’ was intended to be and still is to some extent a joyous wedding album (Sotelo is recently married), but in his own words “the pandemic and the death of my aunt Carmen intersected with the original concept so the album is darker than intended in places.” More cinematic and measured than prior albums, Sotelo expounds that “it is purposefully a bigger sounding attempt at my keyboard songs and I felt more ambitious about it in general.” That’s certainly reflected in these twelve sophisticated loops of song, all curiously affecting and catchy, sprinkled with Sotelo’s offbeat musings and keenly accurate observations. Guitars are rarely employed on this record with Sotelo recruiting Iain Mccall, Ross Blake, Celia Morgan and David Maxwell to contribute brass, woodwind, spoken word and acoustic drums respectively. All of these additions blend well with the album’s synthetic core, softening and subtly shaping its pop-first nature into something more nuanced, vulnerable and human.
‘Celebrant’ is a plucky synth-centric collection of unbridled songs at times surefooted at others threatened by disconnect, skilfully steered by Sotelo with typical classy touch. ‘Dear Resident’ is divinely metronomic, ‘Behaviour’ luxuriates in pitching a silken saxophone into a frenzied drum-off. ‘The Currency Is Love’ swaggers with 80s vibes aplenty: “all the globe is listening as a system of concern” sings Sotelo in clipped manner, enjoying the placement of each word in each song precisely, however seemingly stumbled upon and surreal their selection might seem. Other highlights include title track ‘The Celebrant’ with its lush environ of droning keys, swooning woodwind and baroque reverie, and ‘This Is My House’ a woozy, maze-like triumph of melody. ‘Influencer’ is similarly masterful with melancholic strains of synth, sax and voice: “extract the data from the fruit straight off the tree, conducive testing proves it’s not reality, create a substitute to simulate the tide, with rich efficiency the differences can hide.” The song itself a cipher for an ill-imagined future we might be living in already.
With ‘Celebrant’ Robert Sotelo has made an album that sounds as big as its heart and imagination, true depth of feeling, true depth of connection. It’s an ornate album, complex and thoughtful, a fitting tribute to a wedding in unsettled times. What a treat that we’ve all been invited to the reception.

With "Broken Land" Daniel Nitsch presents the first album of his latest project "Hounah" - and thus grants a deep look into his feelings and thoughts. Pieces like "Sorrow", "Fairbanks" or "Norton Bay", which invite you trace inside, are accompanied by those that present Daniel's personal views on very political and generally relevant issues, presented in songs like "Revolution", "Guilty State" or "Cash For Your Home". They cover topics like racism and gentrification, deal with the burden that imperialism places on us. Ask for what a future could look like - and how it could successfully happen at all. Thus, Hounah is not a feel-good project, "Broken Land", the title suggests it, a profound, here and there even painful inventory, which wants to stimulate reflection and further thinking. Very diverse, thematically as well as musically – and created with great attention to detail. Listening closely allows light bulb effects in terms of content, but also in terms of sound, lets us walk in the footsteps of downbeat, hip-hop, trip-hop, ambient, electronica and jazz. Hounah quickly reveals here that they are not afraid of breaks, but are also capable of soulful fusions in sound collages. The circle of friends behind Hounah, consisting of producer Daniel Nitsch, pianist Johann Blanchard, singer Lena Schmidt and guitarist Marten Pankow, came together for the album "Broken Land" in order to immediately try out further alliances: two of the songs on the album were created in creative cooperation with A-F-R-O, the internationally known rapper from Los Angeles. And so it is little surprise that each song creates a new world of sounds and thoughts – and one suspects already after the first tracks that there is more waiting for us, that "Broken Land" will not remain Hounah’s last work.

Clear Vinyl

Perc returns to Perc Trax with an EP designed to capture the energy and chaos of rave without relying on the same classic sounds that have been in constant use since the early 90's. 'Greed Dance' is Perc's first full EP in 14 months, following 'Fire In Negative' on Perc Trax back in September 2020. Since then Perc has pushed through lockdown with an intense production regime resulting in tracks being signed to Lebendig, Possession, RAW and Rote Sonne, as well as this EP for Perc Trax.

Originally started at Christmas last year, lead track 'Greed Dance' started life as an anger fueled full vocal track aimed squarely at the hypocrisy of certain sections of the dance music industry, but over time has been stripped down to a tight rhythm track with sparse vocal elements reflecting a change of mood as the UK's clubs and events were finally allowed to open again this summer.

B1 ' Resistor' takes a similar approach as previous Perc release 'Toxic NRG', looking to squeeze maximum dance floor drama out of a small group of continually tweaked sounds. Finally B2 track '240 Volts' layers rapid fire organ arpeggios over a rock solid kick & bass foundation to create something fresh for both Perc and techno in general.

'Greed Dance' will be released on limited edition cola bottle green 12" vinyl, packaged in a full colour double-sided sleeve designed by regular Perc Trax design crew Adult Art Club. The EP was written & produced by Perc at his home studio and mixed down by Perc at MAP Studios in London. The EP was
mastered by Matt Colton at Metropolis, London

With another week comes another gem to be let loose into
the world via Nice Swan. This time it’s the turn of Brighton
set Opus Kink, releasing their second offering of the year
in ‘Wild Bill’ / ‘This Train’.
 Having been recorded at the seminal Rockfield Studios in
Wales and produced by Tim Burgess, it’s every bit as
zealous and free as we’d expect and in discussing the
release, the group revealed: “‘This Train’ is a hell-forleather ride through humanity’s self-destructive tendencies
and futile battle against nature, flipping on its head the old
adage that ‘this train is bound for glory’.”
 A spooky intro converts to a fast-paced and frenetic sound
as trumpets and sax blare with feral delight. The single
comes to a screeching crescendo and we’re sonically
transported to what could easily be a pub parlour, perched
on the crimson material of a baby bar stool as beautifully
bedraggled chants echo out. They can’t remember how
they got there but are united in their message: “Don’t lose
yourself to everyone else; Don’t lose yourself to this train.”
 So far, Opus Kink have succeeded in turning listeners on
their head, leaving a simultaneous excitement and
perplexity as the struggle to brandish them with a ‘wemust-define-you’ handle ensues. With an underlying tone
likened to that of a Dickensian tale, they possess the edge
of a brooding petty criminal, the charm of a street urchin
and the philanthropic spirit of any good protagonist.
 The band have a flurry of nationwide gigs scheduled over
the coming months, including two Nice Swan showcases
alongside labelmates Malady, Mandrake Handshake and
Hallan. Taking the studio energy and general raucousness
into consideration, catching them live will be well worth a
look-in.

‘Time In The Sun’ is the fourth full length album
from Charleston, SC band Susto. The album was
written and recorded in the midst of a lot of life
changing events for lead writer / singer Justin
Osborne.
 Like everyone around the world, Osborne was
navigating the global issues felt from the pandemic
while normal life continued with its own blessings
and challenges. “We were navigating the global
and national issues that everyone else was dealing
with, but also I became a father and also lost my
father. There was a lot of contemplation going on
in my brain, a lot of personal evolution going on in
my life, and songwriting was my way of working
through it all. The title ‘Time In The Sun’ is meant
to be a monument to my own human existence
and also a tribute to the human experience in
general. I wouldn’t claim to understand what it
means to be a human, from the countless different
perspectives of the world, but I do have my own
experience to reflect on and I want to be able to
express and explain that in some way. I guess this
album is an attempt at that. At the core though, it’s
just a collection of songs about my life and my
feelings.”

Limited Edition: Previously Unissued 7" 1978 CA

These are two groovy before unheard tunes recorded at an actual live performance at Beach Bum Burt’s in Redondo Beach, California July 23rd, 1978 remastered recently at Cannonball studios in Italy.

Ira Raibon is the musical genius behind the “Indiana Funk” wrote songs for The Vanguards, The Fabulous Souls & many more, member of The General Soul Assembly and Fabulous Souls and has been a Newport Beach/Irvine/South Orange County, USA, resident music teacher/writer/performer over decades.

Both tunes are previously unreleased and now made available for the first time on a highly limited vinyl 45, so be quick to grab yours.

Clap de fin for the "Cabinet des Curiosités" : 15th and last episode of Vol.1 with The Architect.

Since last fall, Al'Tarba has been able to mix his talents with those of a beatmaker, a producer or a rapper, for hybrid experimental collaborations, composed with 4 hands or more, mixing styles and sounds. In November 2020, somewhere in France, we could hear the noise of some machines breaking a silence of lead, due to the general fever of the cultural scene. In a studio-laboratory looking like a "Cabinet des Curiosités", where far-fetched ideas are piled up on as many dusted shelves, Al'Tarba and his instruments were still running at full speed.

Anxious to find the antidote, a handful of beatmakers, producers and rappers, all gathered under the aegis of the Toulouse-based scientist, have been fine-tuning, week after week and month after month, the ingredients of their new serum. Over the seasons, they have unveiled, with regular intake, hybridizations of composed styles. Between sharing sounds, ideas, sample loops and vocal takes, like a "Cabinet des Curiosités" containing a thousand and one unusual objects.

On this foggy road and until the lightning, crossed Mounika, Structural Anomaly, Aguirre and Prometheus, Yous MC, Beus Bengal, Goomar, DeZordre, ProleteR, Degiheugi, K.D.S and Stabfinger, DJ Low Cut, DJ Nix'on, Sarbacane, Mani Deïz, Slim Paul and Grin. The day when the echo of the party is heard again in the distance, the sky is discovered the time of a new story. The clouds finally dissipate, for the last chapter of this first volume.

Between two rocks, the sea and its blue, bathed in sunlight. On the horizon, the authentic "Orange Sea" sailing in the distance. It is Al'Tarba and The Architect who arrive against all odds, to tell us the last story of the "Cabinet des Curiosités", first volume. The Architect, overproductive beatmaker and informed digger, knows how to take his audience on a journey through the world and styles. A last collaboration which promises the great crossing, its hot and ardent breath like fire, bell sound of the beginning of summer found and its epics.

Melancholy of a past world and dreamlike flights of fancy, hope of the world after, will rub shoulders in a double-vinyl album that will bring together the entire adventure. Pre-orders are now open !

So many bright perspectives, which would even let us foreshadow a forthcoming release of Al'Tarba's second solo album on I.O.T Records: "La Fin des Contes".