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A band with many chapters and an everchanging sound, Shudder To Think’s story began in 1986 in Glover Park, Washington DC. Bass player Stuart Hill and drummer Mike Russell had just recruited Chris Matthews to play guitar in their fledgling hardcore band Stüge (1984-86) when they suddenly found themselves in need of a new singer as well. Matthews suggested his friend Craig Wedren for the role. At the audition, Wedren’s style clashed with the style of the band’s previous singer, but the group all sensed that they might have stumbled into a “chocolate-inmy-peanut-butter” situation with intriguing potential. The group changed their name and headed into new territory. Side A of this LP is comprised of five songs from one of their first recording sessions together. The tracks chosen are songs that were only released on demo tapes, never to be re-recorded for future proper releases (this version of “Too Little, Too Late” did appear on the local punk compilation FR-5 in 1987). Side B consists of four tracks that were originally released as their first 7-inch release, the It Was Arson EP, a split release by Sammich/Dischord Records. Included at the end of side B is a version of “Take The Child” from this session (later re-recorded for their first album in 1988).

The Men They Couldn’t Hang are a British folk punk group formed in 1984. The band were well known in the UK punk scene, sharing connections with David Bowie, The Pogues and Stiff Little Fingers. Silver Town is their fourth studio album, originally released in 1989. Several singles were released from the album, including “A Place in the Sun” and “Rain Steam & Speed”. “Rosettes” was meant to be released as a single as well, but it was cancelled after the Hillsbourough disaster, as the song discusses hooligan culture.

Silver Town is available as a very limited edition of only 500 individually
numbered copies on flaming coloured vinyl.

Since roaring onto the scene, the band has cemented themselves as one of British indie's most consistent and successful groups.

The immediacy and carefree attitude are the driving motivations of this superb new release via the band's own independent label, Alt. Records. With creative collaborations including Matt Schwartz (YungBlud), Benjy Gibson (Fred Again), Kid Harpoon (Harry Styles) and The Nocturns (Mimi Webb), this record is for fans of guitar music who are not afraid of big hooks and massive choruses. The result
is their first album without compromise, reflecting the joy and energy they brought to the scene with their debut 'Open Up Your Head' and hit songs like 'Call Me Out' and 'All I Want To Hear You Say'.

The next release in the Mr Bongo Cuban Classics series, is one of Juan Pablo Torres' most-known and loved albums, the iconic Super Son from 1977. A wonderful record of tripped-out rumbas, psych-Afro-Latin funk and quirky orchestrated tracks with a big band horn section courtesy of Torres’ band, Algo Nuevo.

As well as being the director of Algo Nuevo and Cuban all-star ensemble Estrellas De Areito, the trombonist, bandleader, arranger and producer also released a wealth of albums under his own name predominately on the state-owned imprint Areito/EGREM.

Post-revolution, there was a contrast in Cuba’s musical world. State censorship was at play, but professional musicians were on the government payroll which gave them an artistic freedom. Experimentation emanated in the ‘70s and ‘80s and Super Son is a prime example of that. ‘Y Que Bien' kicks off the album taking you down a tripped-out, cosmic rabbithole, psych guitars and skat vocals opening up into a joyful funk groove laced with jazzy Afro-Cuban horns stabs. Tracks such as 'Pastel En Descarga' seem to come out of nowhere and are completely unique. Fuzzed-up guitar lines and percussion lay the groundwork, with those jubilant horns adding to the energy of this forever building track.

Elsewhere, there’s the ‘70s TV theme-tune feeling of 'Con Aji Guaguao', a playful funk number that boils and bubbles with blistering trombone playing by Torres. Or ‘Son A Propulsión' and ‘Son Riendo’, two more brilliant examples of psychedelic funk, wrapped up in a blanket of Afro-Cuban rhythms. The former sweeping you up in rushes of wind as trumpets, trombones and distorted guitars trade off, the latter, an intergalactic fiesta of tradition and exploration.

Super Son is up there as one of the funkiest Cuban records around, a playful fusion of ideas from a producer, player and group on fine form and, for us, one of our favourite gems to come out of Cuba in this period. A sheer masterpiece.

Live Volume is the first live album by American heavy metal band Corrosion of Conformity, which was originally released in 2001. The album was recorded on April 20, 2001, at the Harpos Concert Theatre in Detroit, Michigan. Although the group began with strong punk leanings, they were one of the first groups to merge punk and metal. Live Volume features live recordings from their entire ‘metal period’ from Blind until America’s Volume Dealer, including “Albatross”, “Clean My Wounds”, “Vote With A Bullet”, and “Congratulations Song”. Live Volume is available as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on silver coloured vinyl, housed in a gatefold sleeve.

Pirates Press Records is proud to present the new LP by 45 Adapters, entitled Unstoppable. The long-running New York City "Maximum Oi 'n B" combo are a band that lives by a few credos. "Dress Well, Drink Heavily." "Don't Trust Anyone Who Doesn't Dance." These values are on full display within the grooves of Unstoppable. Singer Pickabar & bassist Carlos are back with three new recruits to the band, and the group sounds revitalized, laying down the album in just two days at Noisy Little Critter studio with Mike Bardzik at the helm. Regarding the sentiments of the title track and lead single, Pickabar elaborates, "'Unstoppable' is about rock 'n roll and how much it shapes our lives. I've been hooked since I was a teenager and I still feel that same electric thrill listening to it, playing it, even talking about it_ There's something deeper that goes back to the root of what it means to be human. And I'm stoked to be even a tiny part of that." After fifteen years and numerous EPs, singles, splits, and collections, 45 Adapters are finally releasing their first proper LP. Longtime listeners and new fans alike are bound to agree that Unstoppable, at long last, is their definitive statement, and the record that fully captures their acclaimed live energy.

Bergen, Norway- Blood Command have announced their new studio album, "World Domination"(Produced by Yngve Andersen) to be released on the 29th September 2023 through Hassle and Loyal Blood Records. Alongside the announcement is the third and title track single, another self-proclaimed "loser anthem, that tells the sad story of never being good enough for the person of your dreams"

Whilst early singles have cradled audiences with their ethereal death pop sound, make no mistake, the album "World Domination" is 20 rapid bursts of every side the band has to offer. Infectious grooves, blast beats, singer Nikki Brumen’s powerful screams and riot grrrl chanting, techno interludes and that delicate side which lulls you into a false sense of security before ripping into the listener once more.

The record dives into unrequited love, the hatred of the unjust, the power of faith and the darkness of the abyss and never giving up on trying to climb out of it.

"Like various underground religious groups throughout history, Blood Command’s ever growing following, The Awaketeam, is rising around the globe, and we are not stopping until World Domination. So keep your eyes peeled for purple shrouds, three stripes and black and white sneakers."

This is Blood Command at its most interesting. Come and be a part of the movement.

"NY Psychedelic Art Rock!

Touted as the “new Doors,” Ars Nova’s second release shows the band genre-bending jazz and heavy psychedelia in a style that’s their own. Shifting from a largely classical centric sound, this was the group’s last album before going their separate ways. Pressed on pink vinyl!

Sunshine & Shadows takes the baroque-meets-psych sound of the debut and turns a bit more to the psych side. The stately brass interludes are gone, but horns still figure prominently in the mix. There’s some jazzy New Orleans flavor to a couple of the tunes, albeit twisted into a 7/4 vamp on “You Had Better Listen.”

The instrumentalists in the band, featuring trumpet and trombone, really give the music a unique flavor, setting them apart from the multitudes of other American psych bands. Ars Nova might be likened to Ultimate Spinach (but without the overly serious, pretentious lyrics) or later Zombies (though with less emphasis on the keyboards).

It’s all very well written and nicely played, and when they do a tender ballad like “Temporary Serenade,” the acoustic guitar is very lute-like, much more along the lines of classical than folk (like the later work of Jan Akkerman with Focus), and the trumpet descant adds a lovely spice.

“Well, Well, Well” is the heaviest rock tune in their repertoire, with a great electric guitar riff and hot organ playing, again set apart by trombone and trumpet. This one is definitely worth seeking out for baroque pop fans."

"NY Psychedelic Art Rock!

Touted as the “new Doors,” Ars Nova’s second release shows the band genre-bending jazz and heavy psychedelia in a style that’s their own. Shifting from a largely classical centric sound, this was the group’s last album before going their separate ways. Pressed on pink vinyl!

Sunshine & Shadows takes the baroque-meets-psych sound of the debut and turns a bit more to the psych side. The stately brass interludes are gone, but horns still figure prominently in the mix. There’s some jazzy New Orleans flavor to a couple of the tunes, albeit twisted into a 7/4 vamp on “You Had Better Listen.”

The instrumentalists in the band, featuring trumpet and trombone, really give the music a unique flavor, setting them apart from the multitudes of other American psych bands. Ars Nova might be likened to Ultimate Spinach (but without the overly serious, pretentious lyrics) or later Zombies (though with less emphasis on the keyboards).

It’s all very well written and nicely played, and when they do a tender ballad like “Temporary Serenade,” the acoustic guitar is very lute-like, much more along the lines of classical than folk (like the later work of Jan Akkerman with Focus), and the trumpet descant adds a lovely spice.

“Well, Well, Well” is the heaviest rock tune in their repertoire, with a great electric guitar riff and hot organ playing, again set apart by trombone and trumpet. This one is definitely worth seeking out for baroque pop fans."

Antibody presents this new opus by Berlin based Japanese artist Tot Onyx (Tommi Tokyo, formerly of group A).» Satire Of Desire« is her second solo album to date. Here, performance and sound art meet post-industrial deconstructivism. It’s radical, ferocious, wonderfully free and powerful.

Written under the covid-19 pandemic, "Satire Of Desire" is her radical criticism on the man-made catastrophe and sonic response to the cacotopic world that seemed less realistic than the surreal dreams of flying turtles. »My dreams started to become more realistic than the empty streets of Berlin. That's when I began wondering the difference between dream and reality, conscious and subconscious, how we distinguish them and what that even means. That was the beginning of creating this album. The beginning of the future i was unwillingly stepping into.«

Remixed and remastered reissue of the legendary ORQUESTA DEL DESIERTO self-titled debut album. Recorded at the Green Room Studio in Palm Springs in 2001 and released on the seminal desert rock label Meteorcity Records in 2002, the band's debut album immediately gathered critical acclaim for its ability to forge a new dynamic in a genre that was rapidly filling with groups cloning the heavier sounds of Kyuss. "There are, quite simply, no faults here - this is a beautiful, potent album that gives just as much attention to pop hooks as it does to atmosphere. As you can imagine, the results are astounding,"

Transparent Orange vinyl, limited to 350 copies. Remixed and remastered reissue of the legendary ORQUESTA DEL DESIERTO self-titled debut album. Recorded at the Green Room Studio in Palm Springs in 2001 and released on the seminal desert rock label Meteorcity Records in 2002, the band's debut album immediately gathered critical acclaim for its ability to forge a new dynamic in a genre that was rapidly filling with groups cloning the heavier sounds of Kyuss. "There are, quite simply, no faults here - this is a beautiful, potent album that gives just as much attention to pop hooks as it does to atmosphere. As you can imagine, the results are astounding,"

"Nonesuch Records releases Rectangles and Circumstance, an album of ten songs co-written and performed by Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion. The album follows their 2021 Grammy Award–winning Nonesuch debut, Narrow Sea, and their first record as a band, 2021’s Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part, with Shaw on vocals backed by Sō – Eric Cha-Beach, Josh Quillen, Adam Sliwinski, and Jason Treuting. Grammy-winning engineer Jonathan Low (The National, Taylor Swift) co-produced with them on both Let the Soil… and Rectangles and Circumstance. Sō and Shaw’s upcoming performances will be announced soon.

Sliwinski says in the new album’s liner notes, “After a few years of touring Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part together, with a pandemic in between, we came to record our second album, Rectangles and Circumstance, as a road-tested band who knew each other’s strengths, weaknesses, and tendencies intimately.” He continues, “Most of the songs started with instrumental pieces or fragments of pieces from Jason or Eric.

“As both a songwriter and a classical composer, Caroline is accustomed to writing lyrics as well as setting them. Going over texts with her is like working on music: I collect a handful of poems and send them over to her, waiting to see if anything catches her interest, then I modify my search based on her feedback,” Sliwinski says. “For this album, Caroline, Eric, and I sourced a group of nineteenth-century poems that shaped its expressive mode and ended up using verses by Christina Rosetti, Emily Brontë, Emily Dickinson, Gertrude Stein, and William Blake … The lyrics on this album by members of the band contain wordplay that explores the same profound feelings explored by Blake and Dickinson.”

Caroline Shaw is a musician who moves among roles, genres, and mediums, trying to imagine a world of sound that has never been heard before but has always existed. She is the recipient of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in Music, several Grammy awards, an honorary doctorate from Yale, and a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship. She has worked with a range of artists including Rosalía, Renée Fleming, and Yo-Yo Ma, and she has contributed music to films and TV series including Fleishman Is in Trouble, Bombshell, Yellowjackets, Maid, Dark, and Beyoncé’s Homecoming. In addition to her albums with Sō, Nonesuch has released her two Grammy-winning albums Orange (2019) and Evergreen (2022), both of which feature Attacca Quartet. ‘Two-Step’, the first of Shaw’s songs with Ringdown, her duo with Danni Lee, to be released on Nonesuch is available now.

For twenty years and counting, Sō Percussion has redefined chamber music for the twenty-first century through an “exhilarating blend of precision and anarchy, rigor and bedlam” (New Yorker). Their commitment to the creation and amplification of new work, and their extraordinary powers of perception and communication, have made them trusted partners for composers including David Lang, Julia Wolfe, Nathalie Joachim, Bryce Dessner, Dan Trueman, Kendall K. Williams, Angélica Negrón, Shodekeh Talifero, claire rousay, Leilehua Lanzilotti, Bora Yoon, Olivier Tarpaga, and many others. Sō has recorded more than twenty-five albums, including a performance of Steve Reich’s Mallet Quartet on the Nonesuch record WTC 9/11. Its members are the Edward T. Cone performers-in-residence at Princeton University. Sō Percussion’s educational and community work includes the Sō Laboratories concert series and the Sō Percussion Summer Institute, an intensive two-week chamber music seminar for percussionists and composers.
"

Enjoy The Ride Records in conjunction with Lionsgate proudly present Cube Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. Composed by Mark Korven (The Witch, The Lighthouse), this is the first time Cube Original Motion Picture Soundtrack has been available on vinyl. Cube is a late 90s Sci-Fi Horror film that follows a group of people through cube-shaped rooms, and has become a cult classic since its release.

Cube Original Motion Picture Soundtrack has been pressed at 45 RPM and has a custom Cube Door B Side Label. This release also includes unreleased bonus tracks and comes housed in black poly-lined inner sleeves. The jacket features the iconic poster art on the cover, with back cover art designed by Steven Wild.

Everyone associates Liverpool with the Beat Boom – and that particular wave was led by groups, not solo artists. But Billy Fury is the shining exception. Born Ronald Wycherley on Merseyside in 1941, he was very much in tune with the American Rock’n’Roll that had turned the music world upside-down and, in the late Fifties, was a very credible response to ‘authentic’ American stars like Eddie Cochran, Buddy Holly, Ricky Nelson and Elvis. This LP illustrates the two sides of Fury – the dedicated rock’n’roller whose music stood up to comparison with the American pioneers, and the Pop-chart act his record label wanted him to be.

"Loving You Backwards, the debut album from Blood, flourishes in the subtle, the ambiguous, the shades of gray. In winter of 2021, longtime Austin residents Blood made a fresh start, using a move into a house together in Philadelphia as a chance to reorient and spend time writing music around the clock. As they wrote, the sound of the band began to shift. Blood, in the past, made huge, angry, grandiose, operatic songs. Loving You Backwards, was not that. Instead, this debut record is quieter, less reactive, but no less powerful.

As an organism, Blood circa Loving You Backwards, was a six piece. Tim O'Brien is the lyric writer, but the song writing and arrangement is a painstakingly collaborative process in which the band aims for democracy over swiftness. The record also features the band’s first major work with the producer Daniel Enrique Howard, whom the band recorded with at his studio in Brooklyn. Howard helped guide Blood into this new sonic territory. It is not a bedroom project, but instead fully realized, somehow sounding both intimate like Liz Harris’ Grouper feels intimate and totally vast in the way that a Talk Talk record feels vast. It’s in the same universe as Ought in its earlier iterations.

The songs on Loving You Backwards exist in the realm of ballads, heart-wrenching and weird pop with a post rock sensibility. It explores, as the title implies, approaching a relationship in the reverse, dealing with your past while you try to stay in the present. Loving You Backwards is a record of ideas and big honesty, but it’s also a record of genuinely pristine pop. A definitive statement from a band that is more than on the rise as truly excellent songwriters and performers."

Since roaring onto the scene, the band has cemented themselves as one of British indie's most consistent and successful groups.

The immediacy and carefree attitude are the driving motivations of this superb new release via the band's own independent label, Alt. Records. With creative collaborations including Matt Schwartz (YungBlud), Benjy Gibson (Fred Again), Kid Harpoon (Harry Styles) and The Nocturns (Mimi Webb), this record is for fans of guitar music who are not afraid of big hooks and massive choruses. The result
is their first album without compromise, reflecting the joy and energy they brought to the scene with their debut 'Open Up Your Head' and hit songs like 'Call Me Out' and 'All I Want To Hear You Say'.

For the most part, J.R. omits the county, americana, and folk influences heard on All Blue though there is a shock of recognition in the always surprising power and pure tone of her voice. Rich in melody and early confidence, Julianna Riolino here draws from classic girl- group pop and contemporary indie while establishing a
characteristic song- writing template of interpreting foundational texts and iconography to portray uniquely personal experiences and emotional truths. "It's like it's who you are before you grow more" she says of J.R. now. It's an important step in the formation of an important and thrilling artist, and one of today's greatest singers. J.R. is available on Black or Yellow vinyl (indie-only).

We're old and familiar friends. These compositions represent the thing that happens when we get together. They aren't representative of one individual, one moment in time, or one chain of decisions. Some are ancient refrains, beginning life as habits and warm-ups, in-jokes; others are distilled jams; more still are refined from MIDI sketches and ideas whistled into voice notes. On whatever terms these elements become something we're happy to stand in front of you and play, to put on record, so be it.” So ANTA describe the process behind 2024's Organesson. Characteristic of the Bristolian Sci-Prog quartet, the record weaves together mesmerising, muscular riffs in insanely loud compositions that extend well into excess. Less typical is the polarisation at play, where granular polymeters will yield in an instant to passages of one or two-note simplicity. The record strides from one raging refrain to the next, lurching between devastation, joy, chaos, and stirring the themes accumulated along the way in exposition. “It comes down to those precious sweaty hours” the group suggest, “in which we get to vibrate these sounds into your face and chest, and you can dance and laugh with us. This is the stuff we remember and plan for, the moments we talk about the most when writing these songs.” ANTA's live shows, ceaseless onslaughts of deafening riffs, have been notable for maintaining the same intense energy among festival crowds or to three people in a basement. Walls of amps going full-pelt. Pounding, ornate drums and metals, wherein drummer James King is relentless in discovering strange and mighty rhythms. Full-drawbar organs, electric pianos, piercing synths from keys-man Alex Bertram-Powell. Joe Garcia's growling bass that strides rather than walks. Ben Harris' all-encompassing, dizzying guitars. Hypnotic, communal, compelling, indefinite energy. Organesson is the latest effort to put this feeling on record.

Colored edition : Black & Silver vinyl. Standard edition is sold out.

Official reissue. New remastering vinyl of the 1979 LP by Colin Potter + "silver edition" Gatefold cover + complete NWW list on Gatefold inner


Chance Meeting on a Dissecting Table of a Sewing Machine and an Umbrella is the debut album by British experimental unusual and absurd music group Nurse With Wound, released on their own United Dairies label in 1979. An unusual record which blends noise and jamming.

The album's equally unusual title is a quote from the surreal, poetic novel Les Chants de Maldoror by Uruguayan-born French author Isidore-Lucien Ducasse, written under the pseudonym Comte de Lautréamont.It has been included in the "100 Records That Set the World on Fire (While No One Was Listening)" by TheWire in 1998, and is one of the records that have had a lasting impact on avant-garde, experimental and psychedelic music.It was on this record that the famous "NWW list" appeared for the first time, featuring dozens of names of musicians and groups who had influenced Nurse With Wound - a list that now serves as a treasure map for many collectors of the genre and fans of outsider music. It's been replicated here in the innersleeve of the gatefold.

Two-tracker from Indonesian group Precious Bloom. 'Flashlight' on the A side is inspired by Euro disco with a touch of Indonesian city pop. The track 'Mojo' on the B-side explores a rhyme of witchery...

Color Vinyl Repress

The world moves faster than ever these days, and even in the digital age, things can always be counted on to go in cycles. Despite all of the advances in computer recording technology, home studios, and electronic instruments, there is a flourishing interest in analog recording techniques and in recreating the mood and sound of vintage soul records. With one foot in the past but their eyes firmly set on the future, El Michels Affair are among the leaders of a resurgent funk & soul movement from New York City that’s sweeping both the music community and the charts.

Led by saxophonist/organist Leon Michels and producer/engineer Jeff Silverman, El Michels Affair began as a loose collaboration of session musicians (including members of top-selling acts Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, the Budos Band, and Antibalas) that looked to blend some of the vibrant quality of soundtrack records with the recording aesthetic of early reggae, and the rawness of 60's rock--they called it 'Cinematic Soul.' This delicate balance was evident on their 2005 debut album Sounding Out the City, which earned critical acclaim and acted as the inaugural full-length release for Michels and Silverman’s burgeoning label Truth & Soul (also the moniker for the duo as a production team).

The buzz generated from the album and a series of moderately successful 7” vinyl singles from Truth & Soul led to an invitation by Toyota’s Scion division for El Michels Affair to accompany the rapper Raekwon of Wu-Tang Clan for a promotional concert. As avid Wu-Tang fans, not only were the band leaders thrilled with the opportunity, but Michels found that the ‘Cinematic Soul’ sound was consistent with the moods of RZA’s gritty soundscapes on the classic Wu-Tang releases. The concert was such as success, El Michels Affair went oan to play several more concerts nationwide backing Raekwon and other members of the Clan, and the shows led to the recording of two smash 7” singles featuring instrumental reinterpretations of the Wu-Tang classiac songs “C.R.E.A.M.” and “Bring Da Ruckus.” The singles combined to sell an extraordinary amount of over 7,000 units worldwide, and their success led to a contract in 2007 with indie hip hop powerhouse Fat Beats Records to record an entire album of Wu-Tang Clan interpolations entitled Enter the 37th Chamber.

Since the contract was inked, a worldwide explosion of retro soul led by Amy Winehouse, Mark Ronson, and Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings has transformed the pop music landscape, and the Truth & Soul production duo have been in strong demand, recording with everyone from breakthrough Grammy-nominated artist Adele to punk rock innovator Iggy Pop. They’ve been commissioned for official remixes of Amy Winehouse and Dinah Washington (for the popular Verve Remixed series), and produced for Australian multi-platinum acts Jet and Gabriella Cilmi.

Despite the eclectic group of clients for the Truth & Soul production company, El Michels Affair continued to build an audience within the hip hop community. A track from Sounding out the City was sampled for Ghostface Killah’s 2007 track “Shakey Dog Lolita,” and a horn part written and performed by Michels (for Menahan Street Band) was famously lifted for Jay-Z’s smash single “Roc Boys.” Truth & Soul also worked in the studio on original productions with multi-platinum producer Just Blaze (T.I.’s “Live Your Life,” Jay-Z, Usher).

With their increasing presence behind the scenes in the industry, El Michels Affair looks to have their status as recording artists rise significantly in 2009. With the release of their finally-completed album Enter the 37th Chamber, they can finally step out of the shadows of the retro-soul trend and establish their status as one of the most exciting and versatile bands in modern recorded music.

‘Empires into Sand’ is the first album of new material from Normil Hawaiians in 40 years. The group first refined their sound during the early 80s, hitting on a pastoral experimentalism that drew on ambient drone, motorik impulse and post-punk pep.
‘Empires into Sand’ came together in the familiar manner of their original three albums, with improvisation and nuance informing the blueprint of the tracks. It was with the official release of this last record ‘Return of the Ranters’ (originally recorded in 1984/85, but then unconsciously shelved) in 2015 by Upset The Rhythm that led to the group reconnecting with the intention of playing music together again. Normil Hawaiians played a launch show for that ‘lost album’ and followed that up with more concerts, including an appearance at Supernormal, a residency at the Edinburgh Festival, gigs at Cafe OTO. They were even chosen by Richard Dawson to perform with him in London.
Throughout this time, Normil Hawaiians revisited their original songs for live performance. However for a group always so interested in evolving their sound, it came as no surprise that they shirked at the idea of a faithful retread. The band pushed their songs into new inventive dimensions, still progressive at core, but now imbued with a cosmic uncanny. A cinematic approach that was always quietly present has come to the fore. The quaint weirdness of folk song, the humanity of communal practice and the group’s ecological mindedness have all found a place in Normil Hawaiians’ current sound world.
When Normil Hawaiians write and record music they prefer to gather in a remote location and live together for a while, such is their communal ethos. Being far-flung across the UK, the Family Hawaii (numbering seven key members) decided to encamp to Tayinloan, a small village on the west coast of the Kintyre peninsula in Scotland. They set up their own studio in an isolated, windswept house overlooking the sea and started the tape rolling. Noel Blanden from the band explains the process neatly: “we set up and began playing, slowly and patiently, allowing the music to take its own shape based on where we were staying and our ongoing friendship. We recorded for days, capturing everything. A lot of new and rich ideas began to emerge”.
Normil Hawaiians took their time to develop these threads at their own pace, allowing songs to mutate and settle over months. Simon Marchant deftly produced and recorded the album whilst also performing in the band, this marked the first time the band had total control of their own sound. The last few years has seen the band reconvene in Herne Bay, Faversham, London and Leith to record new parts, constantly responding to the changing form of these quietly spectral songs of defiance.
‘Empires into Sand’ incorporates samples from old rehearsals and live music into the new finished pieces, this is in continuum with their previous records. Snippets of sound from the static of short wave radio and satellite transmissions also embellish the work. In fact the whole album is stitched together with interludes, creating an acutely immersive 45 minutes. ‘Exiles’ opens the album amid swirling atmospheres, synth flights and recordings of Vilnis Egle (father of Zinta Egle from the band) retelling his experience of fleeing his home in Latvia during Soviet occupation in 1942. George Bikandy also features on this track talking about his flight from Syria in 2014. ‘Ghosts of Ballochroy’ is a winding river of a song featuring a lively discourse in Scots courtesy of Rodney Relax. There’s a commitment to truth telling present across this hopeful album populated with angels, incoming tides, long shadows and the rose-washed sun. “From our broken windscreen, we feel the breeze” soars Guy Smith triumphantly over the driving beat of ‘Waterfalls : Bedford 330’. ‘Big City Sky’ flutters and sparkles with rapid synth runs, tape-looped drums and Jimmy Miller’s commanding vocal. With ‘In The Stone’ Zinta’s melody is deliberately jagged and blunt, exaggerated by octave-layered vocals and interjections from Guy.
This is thought-provoking, boundary-bothering music. Honest in intent, a solidarity of vision. The album’s title is derived from a poem by band member Mark Tyler, who sadly passed away during the recording process and the transience of life is felt heavily throughout. Noel best coins the group’s wish for the album: “we wanted to create an album that acknowledges our history and also reflects who we are today. We remained true to ourselves and we wanted to make something beautiful without removing the edges.” ‘Empires into Sand’ certainly does that, it’s an echo from the past, an echo from the future.

The Kaiju Project is a Japanese inspired jazz group formed by the half Japanese-Austrian pianist Aseo Friesacher. Their initial idea was to bring old folk songs into a new modern context, but in addition to their compositions, this group has found their very own musical direction: a perfect blend of traditional Japanese music and meditative-creative jazz.

Aseo’s composition style is clearly rooted in Jazz, but with the use of traditional Japanese melodic elements and sounds, the music becomes very storytelling and gets a beautiful and mystic character. Also some famous soundtracks from the Ghibli movies and songs by the Japanese singer Hibari Misora, that Aseo has arranged for the band, are included in their repertoire.

The bandleader has had the vision for a long time to create this unique fusion of traditional Japanese music and Jazz in order to bring together the eastern and the western world. In fact, the meaning lies his name A-se-o, “亜為欧“: living for Asia and Europe.

The band went through a couple of changes in their formation but finally resulted in a dream team, featuring two Japanese musicians who bring the authentic sound to the band: Waka Otsu as the vocalist and Fuefuki Kana on Japanese flutes and silver flute. Furthermore there is the highly accomplished and respected ECM artist, drummer and percussionist Joost Lijbaart and the virtuosic and talented bassist Johannes Fend, who make the group complete. So far the Kaiju Project has toured in the Netherlands where most of the band members are based, they have performed in Germany and recorded their first album.

Mitos & Ritos, the debut EP by the Ecuadorian group Cruzloma, consolidates in its six songs a spirit of promoting traditional rhythms in contemporary styles, a process of reinvention and self-discovery in homage to the indigenous peoples of the Ecuadorian jungle and the riches of ceremonial music all in a mix featuring electronica, global bass and dembow. The hostile times humanity is going through have awoken a need to get back to our roots, reclaim ancestral knowledge, and question where the excessive exploitation of natural resources has led us. We have heeded that urgent call to care for everything that seems unlimited but which is increasingly scarce. And so we have looked to the past to understand our relationship with what surrounds us and establish a dialogue between the past, the present and the uncertain idea of the future. Applied to music, this has aroused the interest of artists and producers who use the rich folklore and traditions of Latin America to replicate that dialogue between what was and what will be. With this in mind, Mitos & Ritos ("Myths and Rites"), the debut EP by the Ecuadorian group Cruzloma, consolidates in its six songs a spirit of promoting traditional rhythms in contemporary styles, a process of reinvention and self-discovery in homage to the indigenous peoples of the Ecuadorian jungle and the riches of ceremonial music, based around the bambuco style from Esmeraldas on the northern coast, and the bomba del chota and the san juanito from Imbabura province. On this EP there are also sacred prayers of the Shuar nation, called Ujaj and Anets, including ceremonies like the taking of ayahuasca and of the tzan tza, all in a mix featuring electronica, global bass and dembow. It is a journey into mysticism, the jungle and the dancefloor, reflecting a search for musical identity that is at once contemporary and futurist.

One of the best reggae albums of the ‘80s and one of the real highlights in the Real Authentic Sound label catalog finally gets an LP reissue! Lascelle “Wiss” Bulgin, Albert “Apple Gabriel” Craig, and Cecil “Skelly” Spence all contracted childhood polio, and met at a Jamaican rehab center; in the ‘70s, they formed Israel Vibration and their first record, The Same Song, released in 1978 on the Top Ranking label, was an international smash. But by the time they released Strength of My Life in 1988, it had been seven years since they had made a record, having fled Jamaica in the intervening years to seek better health care and to escape the dancehall scene. Against all odds, Strength of My Life turned out to be a triumph, the beginning of the group’s partnership with the Roots Radics and a reaffirmation of the love the group’s members had for each other and a celebration, as the title goes, of the strength of their lives (we defy you not to be moved by the title track). That’s Augustus Pablo on melodica on “Greedy Dog” and Dwight Pinkney on guitar on “Jah Love Me,” by the way. Roots reggae royalty!

Los York's became the epitome of Peruvian garage sound. 'Abrázame' features a beat-influenced go-go twang guitar garage psych tone throughout and the unique voice of the iconic frontman of the band resulting an irresistible Latin garage hipshaker! Set the dance floor on fire with this first time 45 reissue of the Latin garage anthem 'Abrázame'! Los York's became the epitome of Peruvian garage sound, and the kings of the multi-group concerts which teenagers flocked to on Saturday and Sunday mornings in Lima's main movie theaters. The group was in tune with the youth from popular districts who were gradually turning morning concerts into dynamic gigs as the fashion for solo rock-ballads waned and garage sounds by bands like Los Shain's, Los Derbys, Los Juniors, Los Flyers and, of course, Los York's took over. Their supportive fans would follow them to every gig. After releasing their three first singles on MAG, featuring covers of popular hits, it took them a year to turn their ideas into songs for their first LP that was successfully released at Christmas in 1967. The original version of 'Abrázame' was included in this album and also released as a single. Although clearly based on Don Covay & The Goodtimers' r&b classic 'Mercy Mercy', the recording features a beat influenced go-go twang guitar garage psych tone throughout and the unique voice of the iconic frontman of the band, Pablo Luna, resulting an irresistible Latin garage hipshaker! A rawer, fuzzier version of the same song was released one year later and renamed as 'Abrázame baby'. How cool and handy is to have both versions together on one single artifact? Set the dance floor on fire with this first time 45 reissue of the Latin garage anthem 'Abrázame'!

Since 2002, Rebeka Warrior, poet by night, producer by day, and Carla Pallone, composer, baroque violinist turned multi-instrumentalist, have formed Mansfield.TYA. If we knew until now the sensitive world of Mansfield.TYA: meaning of melody, melancholy and minimalism, today the group returns with a poetic ode New Wave. With Monument Ordinaire, Rebeka and Carla are making their fifth album: 45 minutes of life and death, of poetry carved out of rock, imagined as words by Master Dogen on simple and catchy melodies by Jacno. An album of happy melancholy, an escape to celebrate the furious love of life, like so many cries of the heart. Always guided by emotion and constant attention to words, Mansfield.TYA shares 12 songs that make us dance even when we cry.

Chicago was a hotbed for talent in the 1970s (well, it always has been and always will be, to be honest) and one of the groups to emerge at that time was Heaven & Earth, a vital soul vocal collective. They released four high-quality albums and this one, 'I Can't Seem To Forget You', was the first on Clarence Johnson's G.E.C. Label. It is packed with super sweet vocals and Dwight Dukes' lush falsetto and has never before been reissued. This version from the good folks at P-VINE has an extra bonus cut 'Promises,' which has previously only been available as a single from 1975.

Plasma Color Vinyl. 'The way Bloomsday's Iris James Garrison writes songs feels like somewhere between a mirror and a memory. Spacious, full-bodied folk songs, they are an ode to things that are good no matter how small; they sometimes feel like the ghost of a Mary Oliver poem. Bloomsday's new record, 'Heart of the Artichoke', is a relic of unfettered creativity and community. They recount the miracles of the mundane, the memories that become sacred, an ode to all that is holy: nightswimming, songs plucked from the ether, the ways friendship can endure. Like earlier Bloomsday songs, the work here is threaded with warmth; it's simmering, crisp and deeply human, an encapsulation of the present moment. Recorded across 10 days in June 2023 in upstate New York at duo Babehoven's studio and co-produced by Babehoven's Ryan Albert, with mixing by Henry Stoehr of Slow Pulp. The record was built out with a wideranging group of collaborators, including inventive drumming from Andrew Stevens (Lomelda, Hovvdy), Alex Harwood, Richard Orofino, Babehoven's Maya Bon, Hannah Pruzinsky (h.pruz, Sister.), and Chris Daley. It was an insulated and collaborative experience: all family dinners on the back porch, bonfires, feeling a full sense of joy, of friendship, of purity in the artistic self. Collaboration is an integral part of Bloomsday's musical process. Garrison is malleable in the studio, their songwriting generous and spacious. But in listening to the record, there's a sense that Garrison leaves room for the players, for the listener; for songs to find the shapes they're meant to take. Garrison's role as maestro is crucial, singular - it's a collaborative, exploratory spirit harnessed by Garrison's intuition, and by an honest commitment to carve out creative space for play, to delve into what's known - or pushing past that, into unknown. "The ghosts of the past still come up and haunt me," Garrison says, "but I sit in what I have and see it. All of these songs are about loved ones, about personal struggles with getting out of my head and being present." Heart of the Artichoke was written from a healed, matured place - written in a moment of safety from chaos. It's a prayer for the present, an appreciation of tenderness and what happens once we give ourselves the space to really see, and really feel - becoming free and whole - an ode to the way healing allows us to bloom.

'The way Bloomsday's Iris James Garrison writes songs feels like somewhere between a mirror and a memory. Spacious, full-bodied folk songs, they are an ode to things that are good no matter how small; they sometimes feel like the ghost of a Mary Oliver poem. Bloomsday's new record, 'Heart of the Artichoke', is a relic of unfettered creativity and community. They recount the miracles of the mundane, the memories that become sacred, an ode to all that is holy: nightswimming, songs plucked from the ether, the ways friendship can endure. Like earlier Bloomsday songs, the work here is threaded with warmth; it's simmering, crisp and deeply human, an encapsulation of the present moment. Recorded across 10 days in June 2023 in upstate New York at duo Babehoven's studio and co-produced by Babehoven's Ryan Albert, with mixing by Henry Stoehr of Slow Pulp. The record was built out with a wideranging group of collaborators, including inventive drumming from Andrew Stevens (Lomelda, Hovvdy), Alex Harwood, Richard Orofino, Babehoven's Maya Bon, Hannah Pruzinsky (h.pruz, Sister.), and Chris Daley. It was an insulated and collaborative experience: all family dinners on the back porch, bonfires, feeling a full sense of joy, of friendship, of purity in the artistic self. Collaboration is an integral part of Bloomsday's musical process. Garrison is malleable in the studio, their songwriting generous and spacious. But in listening to the record, there's a sense that Garrison leaves room for the players, for the listener; for songs to find the shapes they're meant to take. Garrison's role as maestro is crucial, singular - it's a collaborative, exploratory spirit harnessed by Garrison's intuition, and by an honest commitment to carve out creative space for play, to delve into what's known - or pushing past that, into unknown. "The ghosts of the past still come up and haunt me," Garrison says, "but I sit in what I have and see it. All of these songs are about loved ones, about personal struggles with getting out of my head and being present." Heart of the Artichoke was written from a healed, matured place - written in a moment of safety from chaos. It's a prayer for the present, an appreciation of tenderness and what happens once we give ourselves the space to really see, and really feel - becoming free and whole - an ode to the way healing allows us to bloom.

The drone-pop consternations of Ekin Fil emerge through vaporous tone and forlorn, distant song, as if plucked from a dream. These exist on their own accord, moving with their own internal logic of an emotion heaviness that belies any the passing observation of this as mere shoegazing ambience. Her songs, her compositions find themselves adjacent the fragmented etherealization of Elisabeth Fraser's voice from a forgotten scene of a particular David Lynch film, as a ASMR trigger for Proustian recollection. Something profound. Something hidden. Something desolately sad.

The Helen Scarsdale Agency has had the pleasure of witnessing Ekin's continued development, maturation, and growth as a composer, having released now seven of her magnificent, under-the-radar gems. Her slow burning, dejected ballads continue to draw from the deep well of sorrow, with varying frequencies and intensities of bitter light poking through. Loves lost. A world broken. All is not hopeless, but there is a considerable amount of shit to wade through.

Sleepwalkers embraces a familiar set of metaphors in her work, that of narcolepsy and the unsettled state of existence between sleep and being awake. But she stretches herself with a set of compositions that run parallel to the work of Tim Hecker as in the gravitation soft-noise of "Stone Cold" or to a slow motion serialism that punctuates the ambient crawl of her ambitious "Gone Gone." Recommended for fans of Grouper, Rafael Anton Irisarri, A.C. Marias, and Carla dal Forno.

Waterloo To Anywhere is the debut album from the short-lived, briefly adored Dirty Pretty Things - Originally released on Vertigo Records in May 2006, the album reached No 3 in the UK charts and spawned three Top 40 singles - This re-issue is pressed on high-quality 180g black vinyl. What do you do after being in the Libertines, one of the most notorious British bands of the early 21st Century? For Carl Bart, you form Dirty Pretty Things, something of an indie supergroup of their moment. Joining Bart was Libertines drummer Gary Powell, guitarist Anthony Rossomando, who'd stood in for Doherty, and former Cooper Temple Clause bassist, Didz Hammond. Leading Waterloo To Anywhere was the infectious UK Top 5 hit Bang Bang You're Dead, which set the tone for the fabulous collection of rock, punk and ska. Recorded in Los Angeles with producer Dave Sardy and then later in Glasgow with Tony Doogan, the album showed the strength of the group's writing. Away from the standard high-octane indie of Gin & Milk and You F*cking Love It, The Gentry Cove was particularly captivating, marrying Bart's fascinating wordplay with robust Clash reggae/sea shanty interludes. Two years later, it was all over; Bart and Powell rejoined the Libertines (and Rossomando later going on to win an Oscar for co-writing Shallow from the film A Star Is Born).

Luther Vandross was more than just a great singer. An elegant and warmhearted New Yorker who became one of popular music's most beloved performers, from his solo breakthrough in the early '80s to his untimely death in 2005, Vandross was a vocalist whose understanding of singing as an art form was so profound, he changed notions of what it could be. On March 23, 1977, Vandross's album 'This Close to You', with his group Luther, enchanted listeners with soulful tunes and deep lyrics, further cementing his status in the music industry. This is a x12 trk, standard Black LP vinyl & CD. Marketing activity.

Die Loons aus Südkalifornien spielen seit mehr als 25 Jahren ihre ganz eigene Art von psychedelischem Garage- und Freakbeat. Mit ,Memories Have Faces" haben sie ihr bisher eindrucksvollstes Werk geschaffen, zusammen mit einer klasse Version von ,Cries from the Midnight Circus" von den Pretty Things. Gegründet in San Diego, haben The Loons fünf Alben und eine Reihe von Singles aufgenommen und veröffentlicht und sind in mehr Städten auf der ganzen Welt aufgetreten, als sie zählen können. Sie haben mit Ikonen der 60er Jahre wie Glenn Ross Campbell von The Misunderstood, Dick Taylor von The Pretty Things, Randy Holden von The Sons of Adam und Blue Cheer und Michael Stuart-Ware von Love zusammengearbeitet. Mike Stax, der auch die Zeitschrift Ugly Things herausgibt, ist der Leadsänger. Anja Stax spielt Bass und singt Backing Vocals. Marc Schroeder und Chris Marsteller spielen Gitarren, und Chris Cancelliere sitzt am Schlagzeug. Mike Stax war bereits ein Veteran in mehreren anderen Bands aus San Diego, darunter The Crawdaddys und The Tell-Tale Hearts, als er 1997 die Loons gründete. Ebbot Lundberg von The Soundtrack of Our Lives produzierte das Debütalbum der Gruppe, ,Love's Dead Leaves", das 1998 bei Get Hip Records erschien. "A perfect pairing of Love-influenced garage-psych and British underground in the mould of the Pretty Things played with preternatural style and ability." - Shindig Magazine "Fantastically talented - as a group and individually, they've worked so hard at their passion _ It has been one of the highlights of my life to have been involved with them." - Glenn Ross Campbell, the Misunderstood

Orebolo (or-RAY-beh-low) is an acoustic trio featuring Rick Mitarotonda (vocals, guitar), Peter Anspach (vocals, guitar), and Jeff Arevalo (upright bass). The band, comprised of members of the emergent indie rock group Goose, has built a faithful following nationwide, performing an eclectic mix of originals and covers. With their debut studio album, The Chateau, the trio finds comfort in exploring Goose's deep catalog acoustically - a feeling they hope to translate to those listening at home.

Limitierte farbige Splatter Vinyl-LP! Die Loons aus Südkalifornien spielen seit mehr als 25 Jahren ihre ganz eigene Art von psychedelischem Garage- und Freakbeat. Mit ,Memories Have Faces" haben sie ihr bisher eindrucksvollstes Werk geschaffen, zusammen mit einer klasse Version von ,Cries from the Midnight Circus" von den Pretty Things. Gegründet in San Diego, haben The Loons fünf Alben und eine Reihe von Singles aufgenommen und veröffentlicht und sind in mehr Städten auf der ganzen Welt aufgetreten, als sie zählen können. Sie haben mit Ikonen der 60er Jahre wie Glenn Ross Campbell von The Misunderstood, Dick Taylor von The Pretty Things, Randy Holden von The Sons of Adam und Blue Cheer und Michael Stuart-Ware von Love zusammengearbeitet. Mike Stax, der auch die Zeitschrift Ugly Things herausgibt, ist der Leadsänger. Anja Stax spielt Bass und singt Backing Vocals. Marc Schroeder und Chris Marsteller spielen Gitarren, und Chris Cancelliere sitzt am Schlagzeug. Mike Stax war bereits ein Veteran in mehreren anderen Bands aus San Diego, darunter The Crawdaddys und The Tell-Tale Hearts, als er 1997 die Loons gründete. Ebbot Lundberg von The Soundtrack of Our Lives produzierte das Debütalbum der Gruppe, ,Love's Dead Leaves", das 1998 bei Get Hip Records erschien. "A perfect pairing of Love-influenced garage-psych and British underground in the mould of the Pretty Things played with preternatural style and ability." - Shindig Magazine "Fantastically talented - as a group and individually, they've worked so hard at their passion _ It has been one of the highlights of my life to have been involved with them." - Glenn Ross Campbell, the Misunderstood

The classic 1981 collaboration returns expanded! • LP features two previously unissued tracks, CD/Digital adds four more Packaging features photos and new liner notes from John DeAngelis “I’m more proud of this album than anything I’ve done since I got my first gold record, toured with Elvis Presley, and joined the Grand Ole Opry.” —Skeeter Davis “This album was recorded with love all over the tapes. For us, it was the best.” —Terry Adams (NRBQ) After working with her sisters in The Davis Singers, Skeeter Davis embarked on a storied solo career. With nearly 40 charting singles between 1957–1974, her recording of “The End Of The World” (Produced by Chet Atkins) hit #2 on both the Pop and Country charts, #1 Adult Contemporary, and #4 R&B in 1962. Think about that! Since Skeeter had already crossed perceived genres, the thought of the collaboration with music’s Pandora’s Box known as NRBQ shouldn’t seem difficult to grasp. Terry Adams’ discovery of David Sisters 78 RPMs saw tracks added to early NRBQ set lists. The pairing was meant to be. She Sings, They Play was a natural coupling, and was issued to critical acclaim in 1985. “We had more fun making this record. What other group would think to do ‘Someday My Prince Will Come’ in 4/4 time?,” asked Skeeter Davis. She Sings, They Play returns nearly four decades after its original release, remastered and including six previously unissued bonus tracks – two studio outtakes appear on the LP while those and four more live tacks are now available on the CD/Digital version. The packaging contains updated artwork, photos from the sessions, and insightful liner notes from John DeAngelis. It’s a fresh look at an incredible union of two groundbreaking artists. She Sings, They Play. You enjoy!

Named "one of Europe"s most versatile and curious players" by Downbeat Magazine, Polish trumpeter Tomasz Dabrowski returns with the sophomore album from his internationally acclaimed septet. Following their eponymous 2022 debut, the ensemble proudly presents "Better",set to release on March 29th on April Records. With an atypical lineup featuring the cream of the crop of the Polish and Scandinavian contemporary improvisation scenes,"Better" captures the edge and energy of a live performance extended and elevated by the use of electronic instruments and textures. Drawing the listener in with its refined sense of space and pace, the record sees the septet navigate their way through Dabroski"s open compositional ideas, passing melodic structures around the ensemble and evolving through ethereal ambient soundscapes, scorching solos and adventurous cacophonies of collective improvisation. Drawing on a year"s worth of experience performing extensively together as an ensemble, the level of intensive listening, interactivity and trust within the group enables each instrumentalist to fearlessly contribute their voice. "Every track has a unique twist. "Upright" plays with form. "Bonzer", the use of instrumentation. "Hale & Hearty" explores textures." A testament to the ensemble"s commitment to artistic growth and creative evolution, "Better"reminds us to consider what we all can and should strive for. It"s an inspiring message that manifests in the music and radiates through every aspect of life. "We should all strive to do better. To be better versions of ourselves and observe how it resonates within and in those around us," Dabrowski says.

As we embark on this musical journey, we begin with a series of singles by female-led groups that celebrate ancestral traditions through a feminist lens.

Orito Cantora and Jenn del Tambó (Orijenn), an extraordinary musical duo with more than two decades of artistic experience, have left a deep mark on the Colombian music scene as well as in various international festivals.

Orito Cantora is a talented luthier, singer-songwriter, producer, composer and feminist from Barranquilla. Jenn del Tambó, born in Barrancabermeja, is a producer, feminist, and master percussionist specializing in the rhythms and drums of the Colombian Caribbean.
She is the founder, leader and teacher of the First Network of Drummers of Colombia and Switzerland. Their music not only makes people vibrate, but also makes them think and strengthens the cause of gender equality. Their passion for music is powerfully intertwined with their social commitment, creating energetic and passionate sonorities.