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I grew up fascinated with the music played late at night on the radio.
As a kid, when times were tough and I couldn't get myself to sleep, I would tune the radio to my favourite FM station and dream on.
This was back in the late 80's and lasted until the mid 90's, a time when I was getting hooked by Hall & Oates, Loose Ends, Maze, S.O.S. Band, Soul II Soul, and other artists that used to rule the dial in the wee hours.
So this music didn't only comfort and nurture me at the time, it also shaped my music personality.

When Renata approached me in order to work on the first ever compilation for Hello Sailor, I knew the selection would end up reflecting this side of me. It had to come from the heart.
It also had to bring to the table something different than what's already associated with Brazilian music, and exploring our own take on the street soul genre sounded good.
It was never done before and it's also faithful to Brazil's musical heritage.

Back in the 80's and into the 90's, it was very common at parties to have a slow dance moment in between the more uptempo sections. A timeout from all the frantic dancing, when people could cool off and flirt in a more romantic way. (It does sound like a great idea to have this intimate just-the-two-of-us moment in the middle of a party; maybe it explains the number of marriages at that time.)
This is a tradition that goes back to the black music balls in the late 70's, which helps to explain why the majority of the early rap acts from Brazil used to have a couple of romantic songs in their albums. When you add to this recipe the power of the mellow pop acts during the aforementioned period, one can realise why it extended its tentacles to deeper depths of pop music in Brazil.

This compilation features some of my favourite music ever, songs that I've crossed paths with in different moments of my life.
Fernanda Abreu, for instance, is a longtime crush - I have been in love with her music since the mid 80's when she used to sing in a band called Blitz, which my mom loved.
Afrodite Se Quiser, on the other hand, created some buzz while the group was active with the minor hit "O Que Que Ela Tem Que Eu Nao Tenho", from their first album (1987), but I didn't know about "Fora de Mim" until 2015. My point is: even if it took me 25 years to find this track, I had a reserved spot in my brain for it and it laid there perfectly as if it innately belonged there.
It's a built memory, and I love playing with this idea when presenting music to people.

Street Soul Brasil is part mellow pop, part R&B, part rap.
One can surely feel a lot of street energy from the B Side. The music reflects the influence of international pop at the time, but it also shows how Brazilians are talented in making any sound their own!

This compilation is supposed to be a mixed collection of songs, something that might trigger the feeling of flipping through an old photo book full of tender memories. These are songs that should speak straight to the heart, music to comfort and heal, music that deals with joy and pain, feelings that I always liked being transmitted through music.
It's among the best forms of therapy. It worked for me and I hope it works for you...

Bastard Jazz is proud to present the new EP from Vancouver's AstroLogical, also known as one half of production duo Potatohead People. With a long list of collaborations outside of the group ranging from Pomo, Phife Dogg, Illa J and Chin Injeti - Astro's new EP "Private World" resides somewhere in between jazz, soul, ambient and future electronic vibes with it's lush keys, chunky breaks, and deep musicality.

Nate Drobner aka. AstroLogical is a multi-instrumentalist producer/composer based in Vancouver, B.C. Canada.
After releasing a number of solo instrumental hip-hop projects through the net label Jellyfish Recordings in the early 2010's under the AstroLogical alias, he had began focusing his energy on the producer duo Potatohead People; a collaborative project with his old friend Nick Wisdom, eventually getting noticed signed by Brooklyn-based record label Bastard Jazz in 2012 (with the help of Nightmares On Wax). Their 2018 full-length sophomore album 'Nick & Astro's Guide To The Galaxy' was released to great acclaim and led them to be invited to Jazzy Jeff's annual Playlist Retreat alongside such luminaries as Lord Finnese, Young Guru, and Pharaohe Monch.

“Ta Da” is the debut full length from J. McFarlane Reality Guest, the collective name for the trio headed by the eponymous McFarlane. As a member of the group Twerps, McFarlane has traversed guitar-centric, melodic pop music for some years while honing a highly unique, personal musical language. Ta Da is the first recorded unveiling of McFarlane’s affecting, oblique songwriting panache. Originally released in her native Australia on Hobbies Galore, Ta Da will be released worldwide by Night School in June 2019.

Wheezing into view with a troubled reed instrument set against a s of whoozy synth lines, Human Tissue Act is a foggy curtain the listener is invited to peel back. The dissonant notes are left to dance entwined, with clarinet heralding a Harry Partch-esque mallet percussion interlude. It’s a mood. With no resolution in sight, an audience dragged closer into uncertainty is suddenly drenched with the light of inter-weaving wah wah synth and saxophone. I Am A Toy introduces us to McFarlane’s vocal, an effortless and matter-of-fact, accented statement that quietly takes the reins. While McFarlane’s previous work in Twerps might reference 80s UK and antipodean guitar pop, Ta Da showcases a different influences immersed in psychedelic music and synths. It’s a brilliant, deft concoction swimming in Young Marble Giants-type minimalism washed with bare pop and harmony similar to Kevin Ayers making sense of a Melbourne suburb full of faces half-recognised in the blanching sun.

What Has He Bought begins with a Casio-keyboard rhythm pattern, palm-muted guitars and immaculately enunciated vocal give way to a burnt melodica part that elevates the spirits. Simple patterns repeated, like a well-tempered pop song that does what it needs to do and no more, build into the sound of summer leaking orange juice. They’re moments of joy, layered on top of each other like a melting cake. Do You Like What I’m Sayin’ recalls Marine Girls covering a classic ‘66 Garage nugget, organ lines fighting funk with guitar chords played just behind the percussion. “In a talking world, meanings are the same. Words want to hold on to the people they contain. Do you like what I’m sayin’?” We’re in a Beckett play perhaps, obtuse absurdities rendered pretty. Alien Ceremony is a heart-melter, given a melancholic timbre by bowed double bass it’s a tragi-comic piece that almost reeks of Robert Wyatt at his mid-whimsical twisting a fugue completely out of shape. Beneath the layers of harmony and twinkling instrumentation you sense there’s a genuine sadness somewhere even if it remains veiled.

Through out Ta Da, McFarlane plays with counterpoint and contrast to sometimes delirious effect. On Your Torturer, a simple, upbeat chord progression is hard panned, underpinning a flute solo which seems out of place, hence making it completely in place on this warmly surreal album. My Enemy is a slowly swinging eulogy to a failed relationship punctuated by analogue synth burbles, with our protagonist simply asking, in the aftermath, “can we be nice?” Here McFarlane’s vocal is straight forward, lyrically conversational but still not completely in focus, a surreal kitchen sink drama filtered through a dream where everything is in the wrong place. It’s a fine precursor to Heartburn, which similarly borrows BBC Radiophonic Workshop-style noise synths and the use of space to carve up the simple “You Will Make My Heart Burn” line. At this point, the listener has been in such close proximity to McFarlane’s show, the reality guest in a performance where they’re the sole audience member, that when Where Are You My Love rises on the horizon as a sleepy, psychedelic send off it’s uplifting. The vocal drifts away into the sunset, simple and direct. It leaves the listener slightly confused, perhaps, but grateful for the gentle surprise.

Koryu Budo Records is a new techno label based in Madrid. This is their second release, as for the first release, it will only be released on vinyl (300 copies).

This EP named ‘The Last Gift’ has been written and produced by HD Substance, the Spanish producer, DJ, journalist, owner of SUBtl recordings and teacher at The Bass Valley. 2018 marks his 30 year anniversary in electronic music and he keeps on playing techno all over the world, releasing techno in a constant basis, teaching techno at The Bass Valley, writing techno for Beatburguer, Clubbingspain, Pole Group or Falling Ethics and releasing other people’s techno in his own label SUBtl.

The EP opens with "No Body Cares", a complex and timeless track, an orgy of analog psychedelia, the sequences that seem extracted from old clocks are mixed together to offer a hypnotic and enveloping sensation.

In second place, we find "Red Lady", pure and raw techno that is nourished with a devilish bass line, that immerses us in a sinister and dark universe. Direct simplicity.

"Red Lady_Sarcoma version" follows the line of the original track, though the main bass line disappears and in its replaced by syncopated sounds that take away some of the aggressiveness of the track but nourish it with more groove.

A work of great maturity, which shows this producer as one of the great names of techno.

Jan St. Werneris A Critically Acclaimed And Internationally Recognized Sound Innovator. In A Myriad Of Ways, As A Solo Artist, A Collaborator, Through His Group Mouse On Mars, As A Producer , Or As A Course Instructor At Mit, Werner Has Challenged Traditional Approaches To Creating And Experiencing Music. The Sixth Installment Of His Fiepblatter Catalogue Series, Glottal Wolpertinger, Endeavors To Transcribe The Phenomenon Of Sound As Anarchic And Highly Sensitive Material. His Multilayered Presentation Of The Project Highlights The Ways In Which Sound And Music Can uctuate And Morph Depending On Context. In Keeping With The Series' Collaborative Nature, The Pieces Include Contributions From Guitarists Aaron & Bryce Dessner Of The National, Who Werner Also Collaborated With On Mouse On Mars' Dimensional People, And The National's Sleep Well Beast. Glottal Wolpertinger Was Initially Conceived As A Radio Installation For Documenta 14 With Each Of The Tracks Broadcasting Individually Over The Course Of Ten Weeks And Culminating In A Convergence Of All Eight Tracks At A Performance In Athens. The Pieces Consist Of Microtonally Tuned Feedback, Multispectral Drones Which Werner Modulated And Fltered With A Purposeful, And Indeed Vocalized, Emphasis Given To The Different Frequencies And Textures Used. Glottal Wolpertinger's Incarnation As A Recording Is No Less Potent Than Its Preceding Forms, But Serves As A Continuation Of The Project's Evolution As A Distinct Listening Experience.

Margino (real name Kim Kallie) is a South African artist. She recorded her first song
at the age of eight, when she performed ''Montreal'' with her mother Judy Page. She
sang with the reggae group Kariba and jazz rock outfit Turbo in the early 80's, and
later did backing vocals for Future and others. She first shot to fame as a solo star
with a version of ''Holiday'' (written by Lisa Stevens and Curtis Hudson, credited as
Cathy Hudson), which was released at the same time as Madonna's version.
Margino also had a hit in 1983 with a cover of In-Deep's ''Last Night a DJ Saved My
Life'', that went to #16 on the South-African Top 30 and charted for 10 weeks. She
now runs a Performance Academy from her studio, and continues to perform on
stage at events around Cape Town.
Recorded at RPM Recording Studios (Johannesburg, South Africa) in 1985, Happy
People is a flawless album with dancefloor hits such as ''Happy People'', ''I'm
Getting Out'' and ''One Hot Night'' and downtempo tunes such as ''You Turn Me On'',
''You Need A Woman'' and ''You''. All rhythm tracks were played by Attie Van Wyk
(Keyboards, Synthesizer, Drum Machine) and Danny Bridgens (Guitar). The full
album is a cream of boogie funk, disco and pop.
For this reissue, Jamwax took the pleasure to remaster the sound from the original
tape. The artwork was also remake with Andy Warhol ''Marilyn Monroe'' pop art
style, for your eyes pleasure.

After expanding its roster and musical scope into jazzier terrains with Jukka Eskola Soul Trio, Timmion now introduces Sami Linna Quartet. Led by guitarist Linna, this international group of elite players paves way for their full length album with the single release "Mode For Tomorrow" b/w "Umoya".

The single hints to what's to come with a deep modal tune referencing 1970's spiritual jazz on the A-side, and groovy soul jazz on the flip. You can immediately hear that these compositions have been crafted with thorough understanding of the tradition, but with passion and capability to breath them to life in this modern age.

The lineup is truly something to write home to. Linna himself has over 20 years of experience working in the Finnish jazz scene, same as saxophonist Jussi Kannaste. Organist Mikko Helevä plays in Jukka Eskola Soul Trio as well as a host of other top jazz groups. But it is drummer Dana Hall who's is the most seasoned member of this experienced troupe. Namedropping might seen lame, but in this case we'll take it there as Hall has worked side to side with Joe Henderson, Kenny Barron, Bobby Hutcherson, Ray Charles, Horace Silver, and Benny Golson to name a few.

Both tracks get a single edit treatment here and the full length versions will be available on the coming album. This is not jazz for the faint hearted, but the real deal meant for real people.

Creating a composition means making decisions. During times in which you virtually have all sounds that have ever been recorded at your availability, composers must choose between infinite possibilities. The duo Ellicist does not perceive this contemporary ocean of possibilities as too much choice, they are swimming in it. Ellicist are weaving thick textures from the most diverse tones and rhythms. Their tracks are placing synthetic buzzing, the croaking of frogs, low frequency billowing and humming, flutes, the droning of flies, and the whole spectrum of the digital creation of sound next to one another. This intensity of sensations is not supposed to overstrain the listener, it invites them to follow a process. This music does not have a strict structure; instead, it is breathing openness at every moment. Ellicist are incessantly oscillating between abstraction and elements of pop music. Melodies are being hinted at, and sounds are being piled up, at times tirelessly. Fragments of etheric choirs or field recordings are unfolding their associative power. The melodious Ink is a track full of touching intimacy and is in constant motion until it eventually pauses to create a silent ocean of sound. Passage People is permeated by a groove of throbbing synths. The tapestries of sound of Ponds & Graves, on the other hand, are creating the foundation for expressive percussions. Ihnen Steg is almost a dub track. During the opener Hennepin and its follower Lilei sounds of palpable corporeity are being combined with ones that are hardly tangible. Point Defects has a incredible spatiality. At one point you might believe that you are able to precisely localize the sounds in an imaginary system of coordinates. And then the whole systemization crumbles. It is an astonishing production: you can almost taste the sounds. Biographical Notes: Ellicist are Thomas Chousos & Florian Zimmer. Chousos studied composition in Greece before moving to Berlin, where he is working as a producer and sound engineer under the moniker Tadklimp. Florian Zimmer has been playing with several groups. Besides Ellicist he is a member of Saroos and Driftmachine.

An exploration of traditional Chadian music with an electronic twist...

Chad is in many ways a blind spot on the map of today's global musical conversation. Overlooked, misunderstood and misrepresented, outside observers rarely concede the country an autonomous voice over its past, present and future. N'Djamena, the dusty capital of Chad with its well-kept stories of boundary-breaking musical collaborations and thirst for experimentation is a city that reflects the country's diversity: the arid North, bordering the Sahara, where nomadic tribes revere the endless desert with their handcrafted instruments. The lush tropical South, where the frenetic drumming of local initiation ceremonies blends with sounds of neighboring Congo and Cameroon. Right in the middle: N'Djamena, a forgotten melting pot of cultures and peoples bursting with unrecorded stories of life at the margins of the world's attention.

Tackling this view is precisely one of the aims of Pulo NDJ. In May 2018, Nickodemus accepted an invitation from Hape Collective to travel to N'Djamena to teach a group of young adults DJ'ing and electronic music production, which resulted in the encounter between and a group of talented artists from Cameroon, Chad, Congo and Togo. After a weeklong series of listening to original songs & demos, the recordings continued in a pop-up studio created by DJ Buosis & Nickodemus which culimated in Desert To Douala, an album featuring 11 songs, all originally written and recorded in N'Djamena.

The project found its inspiration in the city's un-narrated diversity and seeks to explore the possibilities offered by technology to demonstrate how the country's rich heritage connects with existing musical conversations. It strives to create bridges in a world of walls. It has been a yearlong creative process that built friendships and fostered understanding among people united by a passion for music and creation.

Available on vinyl for the first time in 40 years, Outernational Sounds is proud to present a masterpiece from the Los Angeles jazz underground - Horace Tapscott's burning, spiritualised 1978 set, The Call.

One of the unsung giants of jazz music, the composer, bandleader, arranger, pianist and community activist Horace Tapscott was the undisputed keystone in the grassroots Los Angeles jazz scene. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, his radical community arts and music formations the UGMA (Underground Musicians Association, later changed to UGMAA - Union of God's Musicians and Artists Ascension), and his protean big band, the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, were at the epicentre of music, culture and politics in the Los Angeles area.

From their 1960s base at the Watt's Happening Coffee House on 103rd St, to their decade-plus- long 1970s residency at the Immanuel United Church of Christ on 85thE St and Holmes Ave, Tapscott's groups were the beating heart of underground music in LA. Hundreds of musicians passed through and played their part. Major figures in LA jazz such as Arthur Blythe, Azar Lawrence, Jimmy Woods, John Carter, Bobby Bradford, Sonny Criss, Ndugu Chancler and dozens of others all paid dues or just got down with Tapscott, not to mention the core Arkestra regulars who have since become celebrated names - Nate Morgan, Jesse Sharps, Adele Sebastian, Dadisi Komolafe, Gary Bias, to mention only a few.

Tapscott and the Arkestra were down on the ground - playing fundraisers in park and street, organising teach-ins and workshops for young and old, mixing it with radical theatre groups, firebrand poets, political radicals, Black separatists, community groups and churches. They lived communally, and built an ark for the Black arts in the heart of the city. But as a result of this grassroots community focus and Tapscott's antipathy to the music industry, the Arkestra didn't record for nearly two decades. That only changed when long-time jazz fan Tom Albach started Nimbus Records. The label was initiated specifically in order to document Tapscott and his circle, and the first three records showcased Horace and the Arkestra.

The Call was put together from two studio sessions in April 1978, one at Hollywood Sage and Sound, one at United Western - the latter session had the addition of a string section, who can be heard on the moody Cal Massey composition 'Nakatini Suite' and Jesse Sharps' swinging modal trip, 'Peyote Song No. III', with its swirling soprano solo. In keeping with the communal nature of the Arkestra, the other two compositions, 'The Call' and 'Quagmire Manor at Five A.M.' are also by Arkestra members. But at the centre of the music is the builder of the Ark, the visionary whose original call to action started a movement whose legacy continues to this day - Horace Tapscott.
Heed The Call!

In 1986 iconic group The Future Sound of London released the UK Top 40 chart album 'Dead Cities', from which came a track 'Yage'. Such has been the interest in this masterpiece of electronica over the years that the guys have been back into the studio to revisit it.

Here, on this limited edition, individually numbered LP press exclusively for 2019's Record Store Day comes the results. 'Yage 2019' takes the core of the original and rebuilds it. All together there are eleven tracks reconstructions and interpretations, woven together (as FSOL do) into a 42 minute dreamscape journey across the 2 sides of vinyl. Only 1000 copies of this release will be pressed on vinyl.

" I used to live in rue de Clignancourt, and remember as a kid going to the 14th of July West Indian ball organized by my father rue André Del Sartre in Montmartre every year. There I would meet, among others, saxophonist Robert Mavounzy. Sticking to the area, my older brother had a band and often played at the famous venue La Cigale, where even Henri Salvador joined him for a jam from time to time."Since childhood Serge Fabriano bathed in music, to-ing and fro-ing between his native Guadeloupe and Paris where he grew up. He attended the music conservatory, learnt how to play bass, met and played with many musicians and was ultimately angling for a career as a music teacher. But Serge had wanderlust; he lived to meet new people and was passionate about travel.Thus, it was in a squat located rue de Flandres in the 19th district of Paris that Serge Fabriano met by chance zarb player Djamchid Chemirami, one of Iran's greatest percussionists, who invited him to the Arts Festival of Shiraz-Persepolis. After a month-long motorcycle journey, he and his guitar teacher, Roger Bénichou, arrived in Tehran. Sadly their guitars didn't survive the journey. It was there that he met, among others, Woody Shaw, Max Roach and his wife Abbey Lincoln. Serge also formed a friendship with saxophonist Gary Bartz and stayed on a month playing with the cream of the musicians who'd attended to the Festival.During the mid-70's, he alternated between teaching classes and live gigs, and performed in Germany with a funk band comprised of ex-GIs from the US Army. He also met the members of Chick Corea's group, Return to Forever, and especially Stanley Clarke who became a great source of inspiration to him.From 1978 onwards, Serge Fabriano put aside teaching and devoted more time to music. He became a musician's musician, doing studio recordings with rock bands. He also played with members of the Caribbean diaspora, which included the great drummer Marcel Lollia (known as Velo), Patrick Jean-Marie, Guy Conquette, Winston Berkley, Mino CineluDuring the "Ayatollah Comédie" musical comedy tour organized by the Journal Liberation, Serge met actor Pierre Clémenti (Il Gattopardo, Belle De Jour, The Conformist). This was a game-changer : "I was trying to record my first record. Clémenti suggested the Studio Beaubourg in Paris. "The group Fabriano Fuzion - Fabriano Unit Zion - was born.The band brought together some of the Caribbean's most inspired musicians: Martinican-born Mario Canonge on the piano (his first appearance on an album), Alain-Jean Marie on the synthesizer, Edouard and Pierre Labor on saxophones, Claude Vamur (Kassav ') on the drums, singer/percussionists Marie-Reine Lamoureux and Marie-Céline Lafontaine, percussionists Roger Raspail, Sully Cally and Hector Ficadière (Tumblack, Vent Levé) on Ka percussions.It is precisely the Gwo Ka - this ancestral 'root' music deeply embedded in the heart of the Guadeloupe musician - which constitutes the rhythmic backbone of this first opus. The Gwo Ka, the jazz, the poetry and the spiritual vibe are gathered here to form a splendid album; one of the true masterpieces to emerge from the French West Indies.Rarely will a band have borne its name so well than Fabriano Fuzion - its music is a multiple and collective work in which each element brings its identity and its richness, conferring to this major work a truly fusional dimension.

Caetano Veloso's seminal first '68 Tropicalia monster in MONO, must have or what...

First Authorized North American Vinyl Issue of Caetano Veloso Courtesy of Third Man Records!

IN VERY RARE MONO VERSION

Caetano Veloso's self-titled debut solo album is one of the most important and influential Brazilian (and, dare we say, South American) albums of all time. With the release of this seminal album, Veloso would become the leading voice of Tropicália. The songs on this album immediately connected with people. "Alegria, Algeria" was his breakout hit that gained traction as a hymn for liberty advocates, juxtaposing images of Coca Cola, guerrilla groups, bombs and Brigitte Bardot as part of the everyday experience. The album's first song "Tropicália" was an anthem for the whole movement; it's a fragmented allegory, a structure borrowed from friends in the concrete poetry scene, touching on divergent cultural symbols, events, allusions and idioms, nimbly representing and critiquing the many contradictions in the new Brazilian dictatorship.

"Superbacana" (translated as "Supergroovy") follows a hyperbolic superhero's use of technology to fight a gang of cowboys led by the money-hungry Uncle Scrooge, serving as allusions to American imperialism and greed felt in their country, all in the rapid-fire structure of a comic book. The subtext in all these songs, which the dictatorship would not immediately catch, were that these repressed but glaring contradictions, not the bountiful sunny paradise that the military regime was pushing, were the true national identity. Unfortunately, these cleverly veiled jabs in Veloso and his contemporaries' bodies of work gained greater and greater exposure as the movement became more and more popular, leading to the arrest, imprisonment and forced exile of Veloso and many of his cohort. Despite these difficulties, the Tropicalists continued creating in exile, strongly influencing artists both at home and abroad.

This is the first authorized North American vinyl issue of Caetano Veloso. Whether you're a longtime fan or first-time listener, Third Man Records could not be more proud to spread the compelling story of this album, this artist and the Tropicália movement.

- 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL
- FIRST PRESSING OF 750 NUMBERED
COPIES ON ORANGE VINYL

Primarily released to showcase the sublime talents of one of Jamaica's most celebrated vocal trios, The Heptones, the aptly titled Heptones & Their Friends album features a selection of superior reggae sides by the group alongside hugely popular works from the three of reggae's biggest stars of the period: Judy Mowatt, Nicky Thomas and Peter Tosh of The Wailers.

Backed by top session crew, the Now Generation, the Joe Gibbsproduced selection is of a predictably high standard throughout, with highlights including Be The One', a pitch-perfect slice of classic roots, a gloriously cheesy pop cover of the Drfters' Save The Last Dance', the strident Freedom To The People' and one of the biggest Jamaican hits of the early 1970s, Hypocrite'.

Fresh off their latest VA, The Press Group hand the reins over to up-and-coming Ukrainian producer Sasha Zlykh, here delivering his debut 12" effort. Clocking in with a quartet of club-oriented weapons and off-road house-y pumpers that shall bring dancefloors to a slow but steady simmer, the Kyiv-based producer blends in an avalanche of breaks-strewn rhythms, bleepy melodies and reshuffled UK bass patterns to create his own distinctive hybrids, halfway straight dance functionality and non-formulaic experimentality.

As playful in essence as it is serious in its execution, 'Lie To Your Mom' EP starts off with the title-cut, which works a wonky swagger that proves all the more infectious as bars fly by. Engineering a finely-woven mix of off-kilter drum programming, raucous analogue belches and volatile harp stabs distorted to the max, the track's shadowy intro is eventually offset by overlapping tides of luminous pads, released as one lets the light break through a vampire den. 'RnB Ritual' follows up close in the vein, meshing a brooding late-night-ish atmosphere with playful percussive mechs and sustained rhythmic accidents.

Flip sides and you'll be treated to a choice pair of remixes from in-house groove traders Rupert Marnie and Youthman. First in line, Marnie turns 'Lie To Your Mum' into a straight jacking and shuffling Chicagoan chugger. Going deeper into soulful terrains and lavishly-textured expanses, TPG's main operator exploits the whole melodic potential of Zlykh's original, bringing its anthemic power to further completion beautifully. More on the dubby end of things, Youthman adds his uniquely vibey touch to the main cut, deftly navigating betwixt a classic deep house kinda vibe, post-rave'y electronics and a Basic Channel-esque sound spectrum, which all in all should have people instinctively clapping their hands as their mind begins to sink into a weirdly introspective sense of euphoria.

Left Ear are issuing two previously unreleased Full-Length versions of Space Farm's mid 90's Egyptian inspired tracks. Both, 'The Dawn of Birds' and 'Camels in Desert Air' were initially cut short to allow for additional remixes on the original release. For their 2019 issue, Left Ear have decided to focus only on these downtempo original songs allowing the heavy percussion and synth workouts to shine through on a loud 45RPM press.

Space Farm is the story of three friends Darrin, Bill and Waleed their love for 80's NY culture, Egyptian music and a cross continental business plan that never materialised. Darrin and Bill grew up in North New Jersey only a few miles from NY city and met while studying in '90. Bill spent his formative years listening to the emerging sounds of 80's left-leaning New York radio stations, while Darrin immersed himself in the DJ and B-Boy culture. Fast-forward to '94 and the two found themselves living in Boulder, Colorado. By this time the tag-team had started producing music and would look to their NJ roots for a group name, deciding on the title 'Space Farm' after a kooky local petting farm they often cracked jokes about. Armed with an open mind and a bunch of old studio gear the duo began producing music inspired by 80's NY, however after a budding friendship began with Egyptian native Waleed they were inspired to start experimenting with Egyptian and Arabic sounds. After hearing their output Waleed pushed for the release of an Egyptian inspired record saying 'it would sell like crazy in Egypt', that 'he would bring it back to Egypt on his next visit and get it to all the right people that need to hear it'. The record got done but, due to circumstances beyond their control it never made it over to Egypt. The duo performed live a few times in Boulder before finally returning to NJ. Darrin recalls playing their final party in Boulder in which the Space Farm record was played from start to finish, 'Some joker ran up to us while we were playing and kept signalling to up the tempo we were like F Off! raver boy'.

In folklore, the witching hour or devil's hour is a time of night associated with supernatural events. Creatures such as witches, demons and ghosts are thought to appear and to be at their most powerful and magic is thought to be most effective at this time.

It is also the time when we are at Underground parties, this is considered the main time of the party before it tapers off into the ethereal realm of translucent soundscapes and marionette dance moves. This is when we feast on sound intoxication and our parallel daywalker skins are shed into ancient dances and rites of sacred drums.

The witching Hour takes our souls back to our ancient pagan rituals of music and dance till the cleansing of dawn, this is where revelations happen and where groups of like minded people form a coven of sorts and bond in non verbal communications thru the expression of movement.

This is a new label project from Jay Tripwire and TJ Mc Au, they will be presenting underground minimal sounds specifically designed for the dancefloor and for the DJ.

This EP features Creepshow and Klangtone. Creepshow is a dark bassy roller with an eerie underground atmosphere that holds the groove but it also designed for mixing and layering. Klangtone features a percussive groove, voices from the Tikuna rainforest tribe and a haunting modular flute line with a massive sub bass that is sure to rattle bassbins. This is classic Tripwire with modern production but still keeping the his roots of his trademark sound.

On her deeply moving debut album At Weddings, Sarah Beth Tomberlin writes with the clarity and wisdom of an artist well beyond her years. Immeasurable space circulates within the album's ten songs, which set Tomberlin's searching voice against lush backdrops of piano and guitar. Like Julien Baker and Sufjan Stevens, she has a knack for transforming the personal into parable. Like Grouper, she has a feel for the transcendent within the ordinary.

Born in Jacksonville, Florida, and now based in Louisville, Kentucky, Tomberlin wrote most of At Weddings while living with her family in southern Illinois during her late teens and early twenties. At 16, she finished her homeschooling curriculum and went to college at a private Christian school she describes, only half-jokingly, as a "cult." By 17, she had dropped out of school, returned home, and begun to face a period of difficult transition in her life. The daughter of a Baptist pastor, Tomberlin found herself questioning not only her faith, but her identity, her purpose, and her place in the world.

"I was working, going to school, and experiencing heavy isolation," Tomberlin says of the time when she first began writing the songs on At Weddings. "It felt monotonous, like endless nothingness. It was a means to get through to the next step of life." In songwriting, Tomberlin found relief and lucidity she had trouble articulating otherwise. When she was 19, she wrote "Tornado" on her parents' piano, and began to develop confidence in her music. A year later, she had written enough songs to fill an album.

Throughout At Weddings, Tomberlin's lyrics yearn for stability and belonging, a near-universal desire among young people learning to define themselves on their own terms for the first time. "I am a tornado with big green eyes and a heartbeat," she sings on "Tornado," her voice stretching to the top of her range. Rich, idiosyncratic imagery — a fly killed with a self-help book, brown paper bags slashed violently open, clouds that weep over a lost love — sidle up to profound realizations about learning to be alive in this world. "To be a woman is to be in pain," Tomberlin notes on "I'm Not Scared." On "A Video Game," she muses, "I wish I was a hero with something beautiful to say."

Tomberlin cites the hymns she grew up singing in church as her greatest musical influence, and while At Weddings in many ways documents the unlearning of her childhood faith, it's easy to hear the reverential quality of sacred music in her songs. "A lot of hymns talk about really crazy stuff — being saved from the depths and the mire, judgment. When you actually realize what you're singing, it becomes really overwhelming," Tomberlin says. "I grew up singing in church. I was still helping to lead worship when I started coming to terms with the realization that I didn't know if I believed. I felt nauseous and shaky reading these words I was singing and feeling their intensity. If I did believe this, how could I sing these words without being scared out of my mind That's what's influenced how I write."

At Weddings is laden with reverence for music itself, for the power it has to heal others and help people navigate their lives. It is a record about learning to love oneself and others without reservation, from a place of deep sincerity — a lifelong challenge whose tribulations Tomberlin articulates beautifully. "My number one goal with my music is for honesty and transparency that helps other people find ways to exist," she says. With At Weddings, this remarkable young songwriter offers up comfort and wonder in equal measure.

a1 | Any Other Way
a2 | Untitled 1
a3 | Tornado
a4 | You Are Here
a5 | A Video Game
b1 | I'm Not Scared
b2 | Seventeen
b3 | Self Help
b4 | Untitled 2
b5 | February

'Sounds from the Great House! Outernational Sounds proudly presents a Nimbus West spirit jazz essential: the Creative Arts Ensemble's classic debut One Step Out. Mastered at 45rpm on double vinyl for enhanced sound, this release features all tracks at full length for the first time on wax.

One of the most sought after and highly regarded titles to have appeared on Tom Albach's celebrated Nimbus West imprint, the Creative Art Ensemble's One Step Out is a timeless work of spiritualised jazz. A true gem from the Los Angeles jazz underground, the album was pianist and composer Kaeef Ruzadun Ali's first recording as leader of the Creative Arts Ensemble, the only large ensemble group that emerged directly from Horace Tapscott's legendary Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra community jazz group.

A Los Angeles native, Kaeef was introduced to the Tapscott circle in the late 1970s. His first experience of the Arkestra's ethos was through PAPA tenorist Michael Session, who took him to the famous 'Great House' at 2412 South Western Ave., LA - a large mansion house which members of the Arkestra had taken over as a space for communal living. Life in the Great House was a continuous stream of music, dance and community events. 'When I walked in there,' recalled Kaeef, 'it was like this whole rush came over me, just from going in the front door...It was like a very, very warm feeling of love. I went and I came out with 'Flashback of Time', and that was my first arrangement.'

Kaeef quickly became a significant contributor of compositions to the Arkestra's songbook - his piece 'New Horizon' would be recorded by Horace Tapscott for the latter's Tapscott Sessions series. But 'Flashback of Time' would eventually appear on One Step Out, played by the new group he had put together from stalwart Arkestra members. Inspired by both Tapscott's example and by the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Kaeef had wanted to follow their lead by assembling a larger unit. 'I would like to form a group that would be an extension of the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra,' he told Tapscott. The group was to be known as the Creative Arts Ensemble, and One Step Out, released in 1981 by Nimbus West, was their debut.

Featuring seasoned Arkestra regulars including reedsman Dadisi Komolafe, drummer Woody 'Sonship' Theus and altoist Gary Bias, with veterans Henry 'The Skipper' Franklin on bass and George Bohannon on trombone, One Step Out is a key document of the Los Angeles radical jazz underground. Featuring the sanctified vocals of Kaeef's sister, B. J. Crowley, the album is a tour de force of spiritually energised independent jazz music. Community uplift and sacred vision straight from the Great House, back on vinyl for the first time since 1981!

The artwork recreates the cover of the band's 1977 debut album with modern fashion icons Duckie Thot and Jazzelle Zanaughtti

'I've had the great privilege of producing some of the greatest artists in the world so when it came time to collaborating for my own record the barometer was shall we say pretty high' explains Nile. 'Nao, Mura Masa and Cosha were important to me and to be able to debut the songs we wrote live with them on Later . . . With Jools before we've even put out recorded versions makes it even more special.'

Nao shares: 'We all grew up on CHIC! No matter who you are or where you're from, they're one of those bands that have sound tracked at least one part of your life. So to now be part of that story and playing in the band - albeit temporarily - is just wild. We've had such great fun making records and playing together, it's been a joy. I'm so glad they're back, the world - especially right now - needs more CHIC!'

'BOOGIE ALL NIGHT' ft Nao is lifted from the long anticipated 10th studio album 'It's About Time'.
Coming this September though Virgin EMI, it's the group's first album in 25 years!!

Inspired by talent, multiple Grammy-winning composer, producer, arranger and guitarist Nile Rodgers is always collaborating, working with musical superstars and breaking artists alike. He amplifies his legacy by constantly traversing new musical terrain and successfully expanding the boundaries of popular music. The new record sees the UK's Nao, Mura Masa, Stefflon Don, Cosha and Craig David share in the journey alongside the likes of California's Anderson .Paak and Chicagoan Vic Mensa, with many more exciting collaborations to be announced.

The album's cover revisits a strong sense of conceptual aesthetics that have run through the bands career since the very start. The artwork of their debut self-titled album (inspired partly by Roxy Music album covers such as 'Stranded' and 'Country Life') featured Valentine Monnier and Alva Chinn, and personified the band's unique style and intent. The 'It's About Time' cover features models Duckie Thot and Jazzelle Zanaughtti. Shot by Britt Lloyd and directed by Greg Foley, co-founder of V Magazine, Duckie and Jazzelle are not only modern fashion icons, but also activists making huge strides for women of colour in fashion.

'When I first came up with the concept for the first CHIC album cover more than 40 years ago it was a deliberate statement that we could all be abundant, we could all be with the beautiful people, we could all be included, we could all have good times. Looking at the world today for the release of 'It's About Time' I felt that it was important to make those statements again for a new generation' Nile explains.

As the co-founder of CHIC, Rodgers pioneered a new musical language with chart-topping hits like 'Le Freak,' (the biggest selling single in the history of Atlantic Records!) and 'Everybody Dance', even sparking the advent of hip-hop with 'Good Times'.

His work in CHIC and his production work for artists like David Bowie, Diana Ross, and Madonna have sold over 500 million albums and 75 million singles worldwide while his innovative, trendsetting collaborations with Daft Punk, Avicii, Sigala, Disclosure, and Sam Smith have kept him in the vanguard of contemporary music.

Nile Rodgers & CHIC have already confirmed several festival performances across the UK this summer, including Isle of Wight and Wilderness, full list of dates below.

Rodgers transcends all styles of music with a catalogue of work that's garnered him plaudits from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (2017) and the Songwriters Hall of Fame (2016). More recently, he was appointed as the first ever Chief Creative Advisor for Abbey Road Studios to cap off a year that included 'festival best' performances at both Glastonbury and Coachella and a BBC Music Awards nomination as 'Best Live Performance Of 2017'.

In just a year of existence, Chloé's Lumière Noire has brought emerging artists and promising newcomers together - and this first compilation of 13 brand new tracks expands the roster, exposing the label's eclectic vision in full daylight. When Chloé talks about her label, she puts forward the fundamental values that informed her own musical journey, her trust in her own musical taste - and, of course, the predominance of human relationships: 'I followed
my bliss and only commissioned tracks from artists that I respect and whose music I love. That to me is Lumière Noire's musical palette.' With this 13- track, unmixed compilation, Chloé makes a case for a label aesthetic that is based in open-mindedness. Familiar, elemental Lumière Noire artists are represented, as are new faces, producing a kind of group photo presaging what's next for the fledgling label. Lyon's Markus Gibb leads the track listing with Kuru with a deep chiaroscuro matching the label's ethos, followed by other mainstays Il Est Vilaine's Farenheit 451, which evokes Ray Bradbury's retro-dystopic angst with the
band's usual electro-pop elegance. Sutja Gutierrez, who released in debut EP, The Legend of Time on Lumière Noire in April, pursues his electro Shamanism with the ceremonial Allodoxaphobia, while Iñigo Vontier (whose EP Aluxes came out on the label in late 2017) brings his C O N T R A project
online with track Taurus, a further development in voodoo house. Elsewhere, Suuns lead singer Ben Shemie, who lent his fascinating art-rock croon to Recall, a single from Chloé's Endless Revisions LP, contributes A Million Kinds, a synthy, psych-pop debut that is as brilliant as it is surprising. On to the freshman class: Dutch producer Drvg Cvltvre (who gets personal kudos
from Chloé with each new 12') brings the uncompromising dark electro of his hypnotic and claustrophobic Last Rites. Jonathan Fitoussi's airy, minimalistic Cercles Polaires brings the respite of his recent Versatile Espaces Timbrés LP (a collaboration with Clemens Hourrières): 'I met him at Xavier Veilhan's
Studio Venezia at the Venice Biennale. He's a great guy, and his universe is unique,' says Chloé. Benedikt Frey's deep techno track Iaon, is on par with his smash 2017 album, Artificial, out on ESP Institute. First-timers are also part of the recruits: Bajram Bili with the ten cerebral minutes of Restart, Théo Muller with the ultra-deep Douce Transe, and Lumi, a Basque band that fuses
electronic sounds with acoustic instruments, brings the ompilation to a close with a track commissioned by Chloé. These audacious choices are anchored down with the likes of Permanent Vacation pioneer Lauer's hooky, 80s-infused Pythor ('Just like him, I was a resident of the Robert Johnson, and he was a guest of mine at one of my Lumière Noire nights at the Rex. He is one of these people whose music I highly appreciate'); Aergeworc & Franck Agrario, half of English duo Swayzak David Brown's project, weaves an ethno* mood into Grace's techno. Bringing together different generations, genres, and styles That may not necessarily be Chloé's MO. She invokes a more arbitrary, personal logic: 'I like to mix of-the-moment tracks and more timeless one, but the rule is above all 'do I love this or not'. That was my ethos when I started Lumière Noire.' In that way, the label is definitely in keeping with its time

In 2008, Aaron Dessner sent Justin Vernon an
instrumental sketch of a song called 'Big Red Machine' for
'Dark Was The Night'. This was before they had met in
person. Justin wrote a song to it, interpreting the 'Big Red
Machine' title as a heart. 10 years of friendship later, there
are 10 more songs. 'Big Red Machine'. Each song includes
a large number of collaborators via the PEOPLE platform
and the record was produced by Justin and Aaron with
longtime collaborator Brad Cook and engineered by
Jonathan Low primarily at Aaron's studio Long Pond in
Upper Hudson Valley, NY.
PEOPLE is a steadily growing group of international artists
who have come together to create and share our work
freely, with each other and everyone. It was born out of a
wish to establish an independent and nurturing space in
which to make work (generally around music) that is
collaborative, spontaneous and expressive in nature and
where all unnecessary distractions or obstacles that get in
the way are removed. PEOPLE is for the benefit and
development of the artists involved and just as
importantly, for those who would like to access and enjoy
the output. It is as much about the process of making
work and showing all that openly as it is about the final
outcome.

Bill Brown and Al Hall jr met around 1971, they were both in south central L.A and shared the same apartment building, also in the same building was Doug Carn and brownstone singer billy Wilson.
These studio sessions were don't at Paramount studios Hollywood where Al Hall jr was working for producer Art Smith a&c music.
The main distributor for A&C was Accent records. So the Soul Injections very first single "Stay off the moon" was released via Accent, as was Bill Browns "Bip Bam" The group wasn't that pleased with how Accent handle the releases so Bill took it upon himself to set up his own label called Brownstone records. Many musicians were called in for studio sessions these included
Doug Carn, organ; Kirk Lightsey, keyboards; Mel Bolton,
guitars; Mel Lee, drums; Al Hall jr (trombones), Willaim 'Bill'Henderson strings.
The label was met with some confrontation from other Hollywood labels and many of the Brownstone releases were told not to hit the shops by Mafia run labels. Later around 1975 Brownstone released a track by Everyday people feat Alexis "world full of people"....A now cult soul 45 ....But wait, we at Super disco edits have unearthed the original tapes with the very first incarnation of that song and music, different lyric content and sung by Bill Brown. Not just this you get the instrumental on the b side!!

Composer Tashi Wada has performed for years with his father Yoshi Wada—artist, composer, and early member of the Fluxus movement. However, they have rarely appeared together in studio settings. Nue, the fourteenth entry in RVNG Intl.'s intergenerational FRKWYS series, finally brings Tashi and Yoshi, along with an eclectic group of close friends and extended family, together on tape.

Nue draws on aspects of Tashi's background for his widest vision to date—among them the minimalist bagpipe music of Yoshi, who co-composed three of the tracks, the psychoacoustic and perceptual explorations of his mentor, composer James Tenney, and reimagined forms of ancient and devotional music. The album, however, is not a tribute to the past or a recapitulation of familiar sounds. Instead, Nue is an intertwining of people and ideas as a means of growing, of looking inward to move outward, and of looking back to move forward.

To achieve this growth, Tashi assembled a core group of fellow travelers, including Yoshi, composer Julia Holter, producer Cole MGN, and percussionist Corey Fogel, to give life to this multifaceted suite. As an experience, Nue subtly navigates the interactions, intimacy and spaciousness of this group.

The album's title itself is a nod to Tashi's abiding interest in duality and the unknown: nue is a mythological Japanese chimera with the face of a monkey, the legs of a tiger, and a snake for a tail, a composite form, at once disturbing and otherworldly. But, as the composer points out, nue is also French for naked—stripped of complexity, bare and exposed, but also raw and essential.

From the doubling of tones—and the world of harmonic nuances such an action produces—to the rich interplay between individual musicians, all baring their own personalities and experiences through shared performance, Tashi's compositions allow space for these elements to join and grow. The multipartite creature that is an ensemble melds in the simplicity and purity of the music itself.

As explained by Tashi, each part was written with an individual in mind, not simply an instrument. And each individual performer makes their mark, from Holter's vocal performances on the cresting, oceanic 'Mutable Signs' and 'Ondine' with guest vocalists Simone Forti, Jessika Kenney and Laura Steenberge, to Fogel's resonant, precise percussion on 'Bottom of the Sky.' Producer Cole MGN, who has worked extensively with artists like Beck and Ariel Pink, helped to create a world of sound with minimal yet multi-dimensional materials. Like many of its influences, Nue uses deceivingly simple means to create complex, coherent worlds and narratives.

Tashi notes the influence of legendary Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector, whose work looked inward, investigating memory and emotion and dream, to understand the often overwhelming world outside the self. Like Lispector's classic novel Near to the Wild Heart, Nue cleaves these archetypal dualities—world/self, old/new, complex/simple—to create a work that allows them to coalesce into something singular.

As Tashi states in his liner notes: 'My desire was to create something both old and new sounding—ancient and futuristic—and ultimately something of its own world and other. Nue is a vision, an endless night of dreams, and a personal history of sorts, full of joys and demons.'

Continuing with the saga of solo works, SUR presents Jorge Gamarra's first EP on the label, featuring a debut production from the cross-genre group People People.

One afternoon in 1975, friend and fellow music traveler, Harold Schroeder, showed up at Poo-Bah Record Shop where Tom Recchion worked selling records and experimental music to people, forcing them to buy albums that he swore would change their lives. Harold asked if Tom wanted to share in a studio space close to the shop. After seeing it Tom immediately said "YES!". They moved in and divided the space in half. On Tom's half he made drawings, paintings, performances, video, sculptures, installations, and music. Harold had his all set up for music with his newly acquired Steiner-Parker synth and guitars and things. At the beginning they played under the name The Two Who Do Duets. Soon the late-night jam sessions that took place in the back of Poo-Bah moved over to the fourth floor of 35 South Raymond. It was pretty beat up and derelict, the way one imagines an artist's studio to look. They could make all the noise they wanted. No one else was on their floor. The music heard on this LP has remained unheard since it was recorded and was created just before and right after the inaugural concert by the Los Angeles Free Music Society (LAFMS) groups Le Forte Four, Doo-Doettes, and Ace & Duce. That concert took place in late January 1976. The sessions on this release feature members of the newly formed and expanded Doo-Doettes, which now included Dennis Duck, Juan Gomez, Harold Schroeder, and Tom Recchion, as well as Ju Suk Reet Meate from Smegma and Ace, of Ace & Duce. 35 S. Raymond eventually became a sort of LAFMS headquarters, with Chip Chapman of Le Forte Four, artist and future Extended Organ vocalist/guitarist Paul McCarthy, and soon to become singer for Nervous Gender, punk/folk artist Phranc, who along with many other artists and musicians, moved into the building. 35 S. Raymond allowed for free expression and explorations of all sorts. Some wild parties ensued, not to mention the luxury of endless hours of experimentation. Parking was free and so was the art and music. Ace found the tapes for side one ("Tom's Studio") in his archive and Ju Suk Reet Meate found the tapes for side two ("50 Of Every American Are Machines") and edited them both for this release. No overdubs or remixing was emplo

At first, it's difficult to pinpoint exactly what makes Our Girl so special, or why the Brighton-formed, London-based trio's music stands out within a busy crowd of fellow guitar-wielding-types. But if an explanation didn't jump out when they first emerged with a debut EP of mighty fuzz-soaked songs in November 2016, it surfaces with 'Stranger Today', a debut album of personal, emotional juggernauts that could have only been made by these three people: Guitarist / vocalist Soph Nathan, bassist Josh Tyler and drummer Lauren Wilson.

Since forming in Nathan and Tyler's Brighton home four years ago - Wilson joining as a late recruit when she was wowed by a demo of their self-titled debut track, and 'Stranger Today''s opener - Our Girl's members have only had pockets of time to work together. A day booked in a local studio here, a soundcheck there, full-time jobs and other projects meant the three rarely had a concentrated, collective patch. This changed in September 2017, when they stayed in Eve Studios in Stockport for a week, recording with Bill Ryder-Jones. Their week in Stockport became a crucial catalyst for what would follow. Ryder-Jones is a guitar virtuoso himself ('He did stuff neither me or Soph had ever seen anyone do before,' Tyler remarks), and he became an unofficial fourth member of the group.

'Stranger Today' is a special debut for several reasons: First, because it's the sound of a band beginning to grasp their own value and place in the world. Secondly, because you can hear the trio's hunger to finally get in the same room and put to tape years' worth of scrapbooks, half-finished ideas, and a slowly-forming feel for how their first album would actually sound. 'What band isn't itching to make their debut But it's quite frightening, knowing you're about to do it,' Wilson remembers.

The real clincher, however, is Our Girl's dynamic, and how it plays out across 'Stranger Today'. Best friends in person, the trio share the same close kinship and chemistry on record. On one side is Nathan's visceral lyricism, which has a habit of detailing and chipping away at precise moments; the first heart-flutter of a new crush; the moment a long-term friendship begins to ebb away. Around her, Tyler and Wilson's rhythm section carefully mirrors each feeling Nathan conveys. When she sings pointedly about love ('I Really Like It'), she's backed by a major-key afterglow. When the subject turns on its head ('Josephine'), out steps a wall of taut, earth-shaking noise. They each 'serve the song,' in Wilson's words, moving in sync but with their own personal slant. Not least on the closer 'Boring', where all restraint is thrown aside and the trio let out one final, violent thrash. They inhabit a space bigger than the first loves, sleepless nights and growing pains that define this record.

Nathan remembers being in Brighton four years ago, shortly after Our Girl formed, and realising, 'I was finally in the band I wanted to be in.' Almost half a decade later, and this eureka moment is sewn up on 'Stranger Today'. It's the sound of three friends totally at ease in their own space, discontent with being anywhere else; a vibrant document of what it's like to be young, invigorated and amongst people who feel the same.

The group Shake was the brainchild of the elusive soul and funk singer/producer Lenis Guess from Norfolk, Virginia. It is now considered one of the great overlooked funk bands of the late 70s Virginia scene - a tight little combo with a warm style that's just right for the dancefloor! The VA groove of the time was a different take on the styles being used up north in Philly and New York - as the groups were often more traditionally funk-based, especially in their instrumentation - but played in a mode that was upbeat and soaring, perfectly suited for the disco-era dancefloor, yet handled with the sincerity of an indie soul group. Shake communicate a heck of a lot in their music - moving through some great original tunes written by producer Lenis Guess, done with some nicely personal touches that maintain the indie spirit of the set, even though the group's overall sound is tightly professional. Originally released on Guess records, it includes the Kon & Amir favourite 'Lost In Space', but the whole album is just great.

Apollo is proud to welcome Paul Frick to the fold. Frick is a Berlin-born music composer primarily known as one part of the group Brandt Brauer Frick. Stunningly despite a 20+ year history of making music 'Second Yard Botanicals' is his debut album.  With BBF keeping Frick inspired and busy since 2009, other ideas had piled up until a temporary break allowed him to fully dive into them - "While it took so long until I made my first album, it took about two months once I started.Exploring a vast number of instruments, field recording and deconstructed breakbeats woven with undulating filters and gossamer melodies, the album sees Frick drawing on the world around him in a free associative style ; "A word I sometimes had in mind was - Alltagspoesie', the poetry of everyday life," he explains. "The thought that however small and unimportant things and people are, they - or we - all hint towards each other, if not to say towards the whole. The fact that half of the pieces on the record are short miniatures has to do with that. Throwing something in and hearing what it tells.

WHITE RING mark a triumphant return with a brand new full-length Gate Of Grief, due out on Rocket Girl on 22 June 2018. Their debut album arrives a full eight years since their benchmark EP, Black Earth That Made Me, which sold out almost instantly, making their records some of the most highly sought after on the underground scene and earning them a cult following across the globe. Swerving from aggressively abrasive to beautifully ethereal, musically they draw from varied and challenging palette, whilst tackling themes of loss and acceptance due to struggles with drug addiction and existential dread on a broader scope.

WHITE RING were originally formed by Bryan Kurkimilis and Kendra Malia, before they were joined by Adina Viarengo, with Bryan and Adina currently touring as a duo. One of the most acclaimed proponents of the "Witch House" movement, WHITE RING blend heavy, distorted electronics with eerie, unsettling vocals. However, their new material, created over the course of seven years, pushes the boundaries further, subverting genre ideas and mashing them all together, with industrial, metal, rave, chopped and screwed, rap, grunge, neo folk, post punk and new wave all in the mix. As Bryan Kurkimilis explains; 'We treat our influences like tools to create a certain feeling. We are interested in covering more ground than sticking to a certain formula.'
Bryan and Kendra originally met on Myspace in 2006. At the time Bryan lived in New Orleans and Kendra was in New York, and they didn't even meet face-to-face until 2008 after they had already released a few singles. In 2010 they released the EP Black Earth That Made Me, which was a collection of songs that they mostly recorded before they met in person. The record confounded expectations by selling out immediately on pre-order, making it very rare and highly sought after, with copies going on Ebay for large sums. It was reissued by Rocket Girl in 2011 and still continues to sell in voluminous amounts.

They started playing live in 2009 and rapidly grew a reputation for their captivating performances, usually bringing their own lighting equipment and putting on a spectacular laser show. They have played for large crowds in their hometown of NYC and toured the UK in 2010 in support of their sold out split 7" with oOoOO, playing InTheCity and SWN festivals - which were their first shows outside of New York. They have since shared the stage with the likes of Cold Cave, araabMUZIK, Liturgy, Blank Dogs, Gatekeeper, Blondes, oOoOO, Clams Casino, and others.  
They started recording Gate Of Grief in 2010, with the hope of exploring new musical territory, however they took a while to find their path. Bryan and Kendra had some tough personal battles to fight, a sense that pervades the whole album. Thematically it delves in to some pretty dark places whilst exploring the concept of time and what it does to people, relationships and society. As Bryan explains; 'There is a lot of tragedy in this album but there is also hope at the end of it.'
By 2016 pressure was building to finish recording, however due to Kendra's ill health, they needed to bring in someone new to assist with vocals. Fortunately they found Adina Viarengo, who had played in various bands and gave them the impetus needed to complete the album. Shortly after meeting in Brooklyn, Bryan and Adina moved to Joshua Tree, California to finish recording the album, before settling in Massachusetts. Her vocal style fitted in seamlessly with what Kendra had been doing, and although she sang on half the songs, it's almost impossible to tell who is singing on which track, thus making her the perfect addition to the band.
Gate of Grief can be considered the second part of Black Earth That Made Me, or rather, they are the first two chapters in an overarching trilogy about evolution. As Bryan explains; 'First you are born but then you realize what you are and what is against you and it's a flood of emotion that you can only hope to hold on for and let it pass.'
The album title, Gate of Grief, refers to the real gate between Africa and Saudi Arabia that is believed to be the spot where the first humans migrated out of Africa and went on to populate the rest of the world. The album art ties in with this concept, with an image depicting a group of settlers in the USA in early 1900 during a parade. They were actually from a cult in the early 1900s in Bryan's hometown of Fort Myers, Florida.













M 13) Burn It Down

Twenty-eight Years Ago, Pissed-off Twelve-year-olds Around The Universe Discovered A New Planet, A Black Planet. Public Enemy's Aggressive, Benihana Beats And Incendiary Lyrics Instilled Fear Among Parents And Teachers Everywhere, Even In The Border Town Of Laredo, Texas, Home Of The Future Founders Of The Latin-funk-soul-breaks Super Group, Brownout. The Band's Sixth Full-length Album (out May 25th) Fear Of A Brown Planet Is A Musical Manifesto Inspired By Public Enemy's Music And Revolutionary Spirit.

Chuck D., The Bomb Squad, Flava Flav And The Rest Of The P.e. Posse Couldn't Possibly Have Expected That Their Golden-era Hip Hop Albums Would Sow The Seeds For Countless Public Enemy Sleeper Cells, One That Would Emerge Nearly Three Decades Later In Austin, Texas. Greg Gonzalez (bass) Remembers A Kid Back In Junior High Hipped Him To The Fact That Public Enemy's bring The Noise' Is Built On James Brown Samples, While A Teenaged Beto Martinez (guitar) Alternated Between Metal And Hip-hop In His Walk-man, And Adrian Quesada (guitar/keys) Remembers Falling In Love With Public Enemy's Sound At An Early Age. when I Got Into Hip Hop, I Was Looking For This Aggressive Outlet . . . And I Didn't Even Understand What They Were Pissed Off About, Because I Was Twelve And Lived In Laredo . . . But I Loved It And I Felt Angry Along With Them.'

Joseph Abajian (fat Beats' Owner) Must Have Sensed The Deep Hip-hop Well Lying Beneath The Versatile Band's Latin-funk Veneer. i Thought Their Sound Would Work Covering Public Enemy Songs,' Abajian Says, And, it Was Good To Know They Were P.e. Fans . . . We Came Up With A Track Listing And They Went To Work.' Despite The Band's Eagerness To Work On New Original Material (an Album Of Original Songs Is Slated For Next Year), They Couldn't Pass Up The Opportunity To Pay Homage To This Iconic And Influential Posse.

Translating Sample-based Music To A Live Band Turned Out To Be More Of A Challenge Than They Anticipated. Adrian Tried To Get Inside The Bomb Squad's (public Enemy's Producers/beat-making Team) Head In Order To Find The Inspiration To Reinterpret P.e.'s Songs: imagine The Bomb Squad Going Back In Time And Getting The J.b.s (james Brown's Funky Backing Band) In The Studio And Setting Up A Couple Analog Synths And Then Playing Those Songs.' While Some Songs Closely Follow The Original Musical Blueprint, Others Use The Source Breakbeats As Jumping-off Points Later Sweetened By Trombonist Mark speedy' Gonzales' Horn Arrangements, Synth Wizardry Courtesy Of Friend-of-the-band Peter Stopschinski, And Dj Trackstar's Turntable Scratches. But Don't Listen Expecting To Hear Paint-by-numbers Recreations Of Classic Public Enemy Jams. our Approach Is Never In The Tribute Sense,' Adrian Explains. we've Always Taken It And Made It Our Own, Whether It's The Brown Sabbath Thing Or This Public Enemy Thing.' Coming Off Numerous Tours As Brown Sabbath And Even A Stint Backing The Late Legend Prince, Brownout Is Arguably The Tightest And Funkiest Band On The Road Today And They're Psyched To Bring This Revolutionary Music To The People. For A Band Without An Overt Political Agenda, They Collectively Couldn't Resist The Opportunity To Play This Music Live, Especially Now. if There's Any Way That We Can Use The Already Political And Protest Nature (of P.e.'s Music), We Would Like To Try,' Beto Says. the Album's Title, Fear Of Brown Planet Is Definitely A Relevant Idea Today And We're Not Afraid To Put It Out There, Because We Want To Speak Out.' By Reinterpreting These Hip Hop Classics In Their Unique Style And Channeling The Spirit Of Public Enemy That First Echoed Around The World And Captured Their Imaginations All Those Years Ago, Brownout Is Doing Exactly That.

coming out of Philadelphia heem the music monsters were produced and handle by long time philly producer and writer Hubert willis. The group had small success circa 1976 with their psych funk 45 "wake up people"/piece of the rock" they recorded a few more tracks from those sessions and what lay on the reels for all these years is probably their best yet...Its just right for now. "Keep god on your side" is modern soul disco of the highest order, over 5 mins long it leads you onto the dancefloor and never lets go! Flip it over and you have one hell of a funk disco instrumental entitled " going down (incognito)". We have maintained the Blood Leaf label with a slightly new design

On The 50th Anniversary Of The Band's Inception At An Event In Harlem, Ny To Commemorate Malcolm X's Birthday On 19 May 1968, Influential Spoken Word Artists, Poets And Commentators The Last Poets Are Set To Make A Glorious And Relevant Return With Their First Album In Over 20 Years, 'understand What Black Is'.

Produced By Ben Lamdin (nostaglia 77) And Brighton Legend Prince Fatty, Whose Speciality Is Traditional Reggae And Dub Production's, 'understand What Black Is' Is A Ten-track Album Which Speaks Of A Revolutionary Struggle Defined By Both Race And Identity, That Has Never Sounded More Relevant. Released On Studio Rockers, There Will Also Be An Accompanying Single Featuring Remixes Of The Title Track "understand What Black Is" By Mala (south London Collective Digital Mystikz) And Uk Dance Music Innovators Dego And Kaidi.

Since The Initial Line-up Of Dahveed Nelson, Gylan Kain And Felipe Luciano Formed In East Harlem's Marcus Garvey Park, The Last Poets Have Produced Under Various Guises Over The Subsequent Years. However, It Was Their Seminal Output, Namely 1970's 'the Last Poets' Under Both Umar Bin Hassan And Abiodun Oyewole That Secured Their Legacy, Becoming One Of The Most Important Influences In Early Hip Hop.

Throughout The Last 20 Years, The Band Have Remained Largely On Hiatus. But Their Influence Could Still Be Felt With Their Tracks Being Sampled By The Notorious B.i.g, Nwa, A Tribe Called Quest, Dr.dre And Snoop Dogg. Umar Has Recorded Various Solo Albums And Featured On Common And Kanye West's Grammy Nominated 'the Corner'. Abiodun Appeared On The Red Hot Organization's Album, Stolen Moments Which Was Named "album Of The Year" By Time. He Also Conducts Weekly Open House Poetry Readings, Where He Constructively Critiques Upcoming Poets, Helping To Nurture Them. He Has Also Conducted Classes At Columbia University, Where He Teaches Creative Writing.

The Inauguration Of Donald Trump As Us President In 2016 Inspired Hassan And Oyewole To Resurrect The Group To Create A Brand New Record, Modern And Edgy, And Deeply Relevant And Reflective Of Our Times.

Tracks On 'understand What Black Is' Include 'how Many Bullets', Which Bridles With Defiance As Oyewole Works Through A Litany Of Injustices Suffered By Black People In The Us: " You've Tried

To Blow My Brains Out With Bigotry, Chopped Off My Wings, So I Couldn't Fly Free, And Dared Me To Be Me, Took My Drum, Broke My Hands, Yanked My Roots Right Up Out Of The Land, And Riddled My Soul With Jesus" 'what I Want To See' Describes A Utopia - A Refuge From Hurt And Those Who'd Make "our Vision Blurred, And Our Faith Obscure", Whilst The Title Track 'understand What Black Is' Aims To Transcend Ethnicity: "understand What Black Is....it's The Source From Which All Things Come...black Is A Hero, Not A Villain."

The Album Even Takes Reference From Prince's 2003 Album Of Instrumentals, 'news', Which Hassan Drew Comparisons From With His Own Childhood Experiences: "that Poem Took Me About A Year To Write....i Just Kept Writing And Writing But Not Getting Too Far And Then I Heard That Album And The Musicianship Was Amazing. I Was Left Wondering If It Was Jazz, Classical, Rock Or Maybe Something New But All Those Images That I Write About Came To Me From Listening To That Album. I Loved Prince In That Movie Purple Rain Because My Father Was A Talented Musician But He Was Into Brutalising Mama At Times And In The Movie There's A Jerome And My Name Is Jerome, So It Was Like He Was Telling My Life Story As Well."

The Album Acts As A Body Of Work Between Individual Members Each Speaking Of Their Own Personal Journeys, But Feeding Into The Much Larger Narrative Of Struggle And Oppression, Alongside A Fervent Hunger For Social Change. These Are Struggles And Tests Of Personal Resolve That Have Directly Shaped And Moulded The Bands' Unique Sound Over The Course Of An Impressive 50 Years, And Their Powerful And Influential Commentary Remains As Relevant As Ever.

Somewhere between electro soul and melodramatic pop. Music focused towards the youth set in some strange dream. Not sugarcoating anything.
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Aset was a collective founded by a group of individuals deeply involved in community improvement initiatives and the struggle for justice and equality. A project that would link motivated adults with talented young people in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.

The compilation takes songs from three released projects of Aset, and one semi-unreleased single. Latonya, a spunky 11 year old kid singing about divorce, love, and dancing. The poster child of Aset. Treo, a trio of high school gals in harmony singing about love and relationships. Whax, the high school boys who were a bit stranger, the silly side of Aset. All backed by The Aset Players.

Release comes housed in a newly designed jacket with inner sleeve containing info on the label/artists and an interview with the label director, Mba Mbulu.

originally released in 1990-with Liz Lamere - Never released on vinyl-

Born in Brooklyn, Alan Vega was reared on the rock 'n' roll sound of Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison, but originally struck out on a career as a visual artist and light sculptor, making pieces out of electronic debris. But on the occasion of seeing Iggy Pop fronting the Stooges at The Stooges at the New York State Pavilion in 1969 was an epiphany for Vega. It showed me you didn't have to do static artworks, you could create situations,' he said. That show was the first time in my life the audience and the stage merged into one." It was that eradication of barriers between the two that Vega took to heart.

Their first two albums, 1977's Suicide and their 1980 follow-up, remain two of the era's greatest touchstones, beacons for others seeking to transform their worlds with sound. And even during the group's hiatus through the 1980s, Vega continued to pursue his singular vision across an individualistic solo output. From his 1980 self-titled debut and rockabilly-infused albums like Saturn Strip, through bracing albums like Power On to Zero Hour and IT, Vega forged his own singular path.

For all the darkness and despair that encompasses this moment in our world - and despite his work being depicted as bleak and nihilistic - for Vega there was always a sense of hope and a place for dreams to become reality. People have always told me that my music is angry,' he said. To me, it was always just an energy. It was the way I perceived the world. The key Suicide song was 'Dream Baby Dream,' which was about the need to keep our dreams alive. I knew back then that something poisonous was encroaching on our lives, on all our freedoms.' He fought to his very last breath for that freedom.

originally released in 1993 - with Ric Ocasek & Liz Lamere-Never released on vinyl-

Born in Brooklyn, Alan Vega was reared on the rock 'n' roll sound of Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison, but originally struck out on a career as a visual artist and light sculptor, making pieces out of electronic debris. But on the occasion of seeing Iggy Pop fronting the Stooges at The Stooges at the New York State Pavilion in 1969 was an epiphany for Vega. It showed me you didn't have to do static artworks, you could create situations,' he said. That show was the first time in my life the audience and the stage merged into one." It was that eradication of barriers between the two that Vega took to heart.

Their first two albums, 1977's Suicide and their 1980 follow-up, remain two of the era's greatest touchstones, beacons for others seeking to transform their worlds with sound. And even during the group's hiatus through the 1980s, Vega continued to pursue his singular vision across an individualistic solo output. From his 1980 self-titled debut and rockabilly-infused albums like Saturn Strip, through bracing albums like Power On to Zero Hour and IT, Vega forged his own singular path.

For all the darkness and despair that encompasses this moment in our world - and despite his work being depicted as bleak and nihilistic - for Vega there was always a sense of hope and a place for dreams to become reality. People have always told me that my music is angry,' he said. To me, it was always just an energy. It was the way I perceived the world. The key Suicide song was 'Dream Baby Dream,' which was about the need to keep our dreams alive. I knew back then that something poisonous was encroaching on our lives, on all our freedoms.' He fought to his very last breath for that freedom.

Strut presents the brand new album from cosmic jazz travellers The Pyramids, led by saxophonist Idris Ackamoor, 'An Angel Fell'. I wanted to use folklore, fantasy and drama as a warning bell,' explains Ackamoor. The songs explore global themes that are important to me and to us all: the rise of catastrophic climate change and our lack of concern for our planet, loss of innocence and separation... but positive themes too, the healing power of music, collective action and the simple beauty of nature.' Produced by Malcolm Catto of The Heliocentrics, the album was recorded during an intense week at Quatermass studios in London and is one of the deepest, richest works yet from a band reaching their highest creative peak since the early '70s. Some of the many highlights include the poignant title track depicting a fallen angel in purgatory, outrage and grief on the powerful, hard hitting 'Soliloquy For Michael Brown' and the lilting, beautiful album closer, 'Sunset'.

The Pyramids originally came together in 1972 at Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio where teachers included renowned pianist, Cecil Taylor. After forming in Paris and embarking on a cultural odyssey' across Africa, the group recorded three independent albums, 'Lalibela' (1973), 'King Of Kings' (1974) and 'Birth / Speed / Merging' (1976) and became renowned for their striking live shows, mixing percussive, spiritual and space-age jazz with performance theatre and dance. After migrating to San Francisco, they disbanded in 1977. 35 years later, the band reunited in 2012 following growing demand for their music from vinyl collectors. German label Disko B released the freeform album 'Otherwordly' and in 2016, they released their first album for Strut, the acclaimed 'We Be All Africans'.

'An Angel Fell' is released on Strut on 11th May 2018 and features full hand-painted artwork by Lewis Heriz.

New concept album by leading cosmic jazz collective exploring global apocalypse, climate change and the healing power of music
Produced by Malcolm Catto of The Heliocentrics - Superb cover painting by Lewis Heriz
Full priority worldwide PR campaign and marketing
Release supported by major European tour dates in May and key Summer festivals

The Pendletons return with their latest EP, Funk Forever, a Jazz flavored boogie affair with soul inspired song-writing that evokes old school vibes while still staying fresh and current. Horn lines, Yamaha dx7 keys and snapping hip hop inspired drum programming topped by sweet singing with heartfelt themes, the group carves out a bold new sound on these 5 solid tracks. Featuring Elive, Potatohead People and Ishtar.

The Pendletons are a long-standing boogie-funk and modern soul project of E da Boss (of Myron and E on Stone's Throw) and Trailer Limon. The group emerged with their very first release in 2010, a 7" inch of "Coming Down/Waiting On You" on the Slept On record label, which set the tone for the group to emerge... it instantly became a cult classic receiving constant play at nights like Sweater Funk and Funkmosphere, and fetching for serious sums among collectors. Most recently, in 2016, they released the EP "Gotta Get Out". The title track caught the ear of renowned DJ Gilles Peterson, who liked it enough to release it on his Brownswood Bubbler compilation.

In 2018 the group is hitting the ground running with a brand new EP out this spring, and a full-length album to follow later later in the year on the renowned Bastard Jazz label. Now armed with a horn section, a vast array of accomplished jazz and funk contributors, and a knack for quality song-writing, the Pendleton's sound has shaped into something fresh and unique, setting it apart from the legions of imitators.

Khan presents: Jammin Unit - Remote Car Babe

Jammin' Unit is not only my brother but one of the most prolific producer of electronic music since the early days of techno. He is one half of legendary electronic super group Air Liquide and made his way into history books with tracks like 'If The Was No Gravity' and 'Revelation' lately featured on Nina Kraviz - Fabric 91 mix.

'Remore Car Babe' was originally released on clear 10' via Temple Records NYC in 1997 and is now remastered by the man himself for our 2018 ears. Re-issued on 12' black vinyl for more gain and better audio quality.

In his own words he describes the 4 track e.p. as: 'The sound was created for headphone listening during remote car racing. Enhancing the feel of speed and aggressiveness was the goal'.

To me it feels like a manga comic strip eched on vinyl. No headphone necessary to go on this speed racing trip of extacy and pounding bliss.
A re-issue I am especially proud of to hear on dance-floors around the globe.

'Don't eat before going to sleep but Do eat before going out!'

Yours sincerely,
Khan (Of Finland)

The album is the fourth LP from FM Belfast. Broadcasting from their home on a remote island you can sense that the tracks are personal. The album has 11 tracks, 11 intimate stories to dance to. It's like you've been invited to a Cabin Fever Dance Party in their living room. The lyrics are about bliss, euphoria, trying to be a human in this strange world, friendship, of loss and growing up.
ALL MY POWER The first song of the album deals with guilt. When you're surrounded with people who wake up early and do everything they are supposed to do but you can't get out of your own bed. This will make you feel guilty. The others don't need to rub it in since you already have bad feelings about yourself. There are two characters in the song. One is a blamer while the other one is being blamed. FOLLOW ME I'm not longer blind, you can follow me". The song is about a person who is no longer blind to the world around her. It's about taking responsibility for your choices. We are not just a group of individuals, we are citizens of this planet and we can't stand idly by when powerful people are destroying it in front of our own eyes. We have ways to connect and we can band together against the hatred and violence. The rich and the greedy are taking everything and ruining it for the rest of us. Being kind is not the same as being naive, it's a choice everyone can make.

ENJOY
Enjoy life while it last. Don't watch the world go by without having a good time. "Here's to feeling alive, everywhere, all of the time".

UP ALL NIGHT
Sometimes you just postpone everything you're supposed to be doing and run away from your problems. The night is the best time for procrastination, you can hide in the dark and nobody can see you waste your life.

AGENT
Like many songs on the album, this one is about holding your head above water in this strange world we live in. It's easy to get blindsided and lost but who's going to speak up for the weak if you don't do it.

YOU'RE SO PRETTY
The lyrics for You're so Pretty originally come from a short story written by Lóa. They are about getting old without maturing. The song is about being restless and broke. Sometimes you feel like there is nothing left to do but shout.

STREAMERS
Streamers is a quiet love-story about having found the person you want to sit next to for the rest of your life and watch crappy TV together. Lyrics are by Árni and Lóa.

LEAVE A MARK
Even if things are not great today, there is always tomorrow. Leave a Mark is a personal reminder to do something about the life you are given and not waste time. It doesn't have to be important, it could just be writing your name on a wall. I little bit of "I was here" for the people who come after you.

FEARLESS YOUTH
It's a nostalgic song about being a fearless adolescent and the friends you used to have. The lyrics are written by Örvar who's also a founding member of MúM.

STROBE
The Strobe is an atmospheric track. It's made for people who want to dance in a euphoric bliss. The lyrics are like a mantra: It's getting dark so turn on the strobe. Don't think, just get lost in the dance.

THE GAME
The Game tells you to resist the power of bad people and bad governments. There's a big game being played and you don't need to participate, you can resist. The power hungry people of this world will never be satisfied but you don't have to support them.