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Longtime enthusiasts of ambient music have much to celebrate as Rafael Anton Irisarri's cherished out-of-print cassette, "Midnight Colours," returns in a meticulously remastered edition and makes its inaugural debut on vinyl. The significance of this album's announcement is accentuated by its historical resonance, coinciding with the same day in 1952 when the world bore witness to the first-ever test of the hydrogen bomb.

"Midnight Colours" is far more than a mere album; it's an exploration of the enigmatic relationship between humanity and time. Conceived as a sonic interpretation of the Doomsday Clock, which symbolizes the world's existential vulnerabilities, Irisarri's work beckons listeners to contemplate the gravity of our existence and the delicate balance that envelops it.

"I wanted to capture the essence of humanity's relationship with time, both the anxiety and the serene beauty that coexists within the shadows of the night," explains Irisarri. "The vinyl format adds a tactile dimension to the experience, inviting listeners to physically engage with the music."

Known for his contributions to the ambient and electronic music genres, Irisarri often explores themes of introspection, nostalgia, and the interplay between sound and emotion.

Recorded in 2017, when the Clock was at 2½ minutes-to-midnight (and at the time, the second-closest to midnight since the Clock's inception in 1947), "Midnight Colours" permeates with the melancholy of memories resurfacing as one approaches the end of life: the regrets, the closure, the uncertainties, the anxieties.

Originally released as a limited tape on the beloved Atlanta-based label Geographic North, "Midnight Colours" swiftly garnered praise and acclaim within the ambient music sphere. Now, with this newly remastered edition on his own Black Knoll imprint, fans, both longstanding and newfound, can rediscover the album's captivating beauty in unprecedented clarity and depth.

"I've wanted to release 'Midnight Colours' on vinyl since it first came out, and I'm thrilled to finally be able to. The remastering process, brilliantly done by Stephan Mathieu, has breathed new life into the work, and I'm eager for listeners to experience it in this format."

The reissue of "Midnight Colours" features band-new artwork and design by the renowned Mexican visual artist Daniel Castrejón. A frequent collaborator and friend of Irisarri, Castrejón's imagery impeccably complements the album's mood and themes, extending a compelling invitation for listeners to explore its aural world visually.

This landmark release serves as a testament not only to Irisarri's enduring impact on the ambient music genre but also as a long-awaited gift to those who have patiently anticipated the album's vinyl debut.

Few recording artists have aligned the quantity and quality of their releases as well as New Zealand singer/guitarist Roy Montgomery has in 1995. Beginning with kranky's release of the soundtrack for an imaginary film That That Is...Is(Not) by Roy's duo Dissolve early in the year, a series of superb albums and singles have been issued by a variety of labels across the world. Each one of them is a must have. Most recently, the Drunken Fish label released a collection of pastoral drones entitled Scenes From The South Island, singles have appeared on the Roof Bolt and gyttja labels, and further singles are scheduled with Ajax, Siltbreeze and others.
Temple IV is the first solo recording by Roy Montgomery on kranky. The album was recorded by Roy on a 4 track tape deck and then thickened up with monophonic moog. The tracks on the album are thick with interwoven guitar lines and moog drone, inspired by the Guatemalan rain forests and the mysterious ruins of the temple and ruins Roy visited there.
Roy Montgomery spent the past year in New York, Chicago and London before returning to New Zealand. While in the UK he played live with Flying Saucer Attack and collaborated with spoken word performer Kirk Lake. A brief tour across the United States in September saw Roy performing before enraptured audiences in New York, Boston, Chicago, Detroit and Los Angeles.
The long overdue recognition of Roy Montgomery as a crucial figure in New Zealand's musical history as a member of The Pin Group, Shallows and Dadamah, is now augmented by his new recordings. Temple IV will serve to extend and deepen that appreciation.

With her third Gondwana album, "Constellation", Manchester"s Caoilfhionn Rose has come of age as an artist, digging deep to find experimental new ways of expressing her wonder at nature"s beauty, her love of music in all its diversity, and her belief in the restorative powers that both afford in the troubled post-COVID world. The ten tracks on "Constellation" feel rooted in a knowledge of folk, jazz and all the twentieth century"s classic tunesmiths, and yet they seem to create a magical, otherworldly space of her own imagining, blending Caoilfhionn"s core piano with synths, and pitting a live rhythm section and saxophone embellishments against ambient samples and future-facing production techniques.

With her third Gondwana album, "Constellation", Manchester"s Caoilfhionn Rose has come of age as an artist, digging deep to find experimental new ways of expressing her wonder at nature"s beauty, her love of music in all its diversity, and her belief in the restorative powers that both afford in the troubled post-COVID world. The ten tracks on "Constellation" feel rooted in a knowledge of folk, jazz and all the twentieth century"s classic tunesmiths, and yet they seem to create a magical, otherworldly space of her own imagining, blending Caoilfhionn"s core piano with synths, and pitting a live rhythm section and saxophone embellishments against ambient samples and future-facing production techniques.

180GM BLACK VINYL : 500 PRESSED WORLDWIDE.

Furthermore, Billy Mahonie now have their own label, Whistling Sam Projects, an almost sold-out London launch show at The Lexington on May 4th, and they are confirmed to play Portals Festival Saturday May 25th in East London. After nearly quarter of a century, Billy Mahonie are very much back.
Formed in the first wave of British post-rock alongside the likes of Mogwai in the late 90s, John Peel favourites Billy Mahonie are set to return with the first new music from their original line-up in some twenty-four years. Whilst their debut album ‘The Big Dig’, released in 1999 on Too Pure Records, is considered a classic of the post rock genre, Billy Mahonie always crafted their intricate music with memorable hooks and melodies and performed it with energy and gusto. Theirs was not an aimless, meandering sound, instead the songs and attitude were rooted in punk rock, and still are. Billy Mahonie put the rock into post-rock.
Set for release this coming May 24th via Whistling Sam Projects, ‘Field Of Heads’ sees the band returning with their classic original line-up of Gavin Baker (guitar), Howard Monk (drums), Hywell Dinsdale (bass and guitar) and Kevin Penney (bass and guitar). Whilst this line-up has been semi active for a few years, no new material came to fruition. After their last gig in 2017, however, the band decided it was time to get back into the studio, but with two members living abroad new challenges were faced, but ideas were shared, old ones were resurrected and finally in October of 2019, Billy Mahonie were back in the studio.
Recorded over two long weekends on either side of the Covid 19 lockdowns, the band tracked at The Church studios, owned by their former collaborator and front of house engineer Paul Epworth, with senior engineer Luke Pickering at the controls, allowing ‘Field Of Heads’ to quickly take shape.
New single ‘Kaiju’ gives the music world the first taste of ‘Field Of Heads’ and right from the off, it’s classic Billy Mahonie. Immediately bursting into life with the energy and melody that is so unique to their sound, Howard’s driving drums thrust the music ahead as the guitars and synths weave their way around them. Intricate and shifting, but never at the expense of a tune that sticks in your head.
“This one came from a chord progression myself and Gav first tried out jamming in 2010,” explains drummer Howard. “Needless to say, when Hywell and Kev got their hands on it, it became something no-one ever envisaged. Kev's great title is, of course, the Japanese name for the subgenre of monster-based science fiction. A frenetic riff opens the song and for a counter guitar part only two options remain, play in the minimal gaps or find an overarching theme. We chose both. Kaiju films influence the additional Synths, echoes of those early Japanese movie themes. Some people we have played this to in advance have suggested this track is one we should lead with, as it is kind of where we left off. We agree. It rocks pretty hard. And is a bit funky too. What’s not to like?!”
 
Furthermore, Billy Mahonie now have their own label, Whistling Sam Projects, set up for global distribution through SRD, an almost sold-out London launch show at The Lexington on May 4th, and they are confirmed to play Portals Festival Saturday May 25th in East London. After nearly quarter of a century, Billy Mahonie are very much back.

Placenta is the fourth collection of broadly imaginative and highly collaborative Carlos Niño & Friends music released on International Anthem since 2021. But perhaps more notably for the zeitgeist of today, it is the first new music to be released by Carlos Niño & Friends following the November 2023 release of André 3000’s New Blue Sun – an album which Carlos produced alongside André, while co-writing, performing, and co-mixing every song. The announcement of Placenta also comes while Carlos is in the middle of tours with André to support New Blue Sun, where Carlos wields an immense presence as music director, bandleader, and percussionist, and performs alongside many of the same musicians that are present on his recent & Friends albums, including this new one.

Placenta is announced on the 1st solar return of Moss Niño, of whom Carlos and his partner Annelise are Earth parents. Their experience of pregnancy, labor and delivery were all profoundly impactful for Carlos. Becoming a father again (a whole 25 years after the birth of Azul Niño, who has become a regular artistic collaborator for Carlos) he felt total Inspiration for this set of recordings, and hence it is perhaps the most conceptually-grounded Carlos Niño & Friends album we've yet to present–fully connected to the spirit of family, birth, and "how we get here."

In Niño’s words, Placenta is “dedicated to Mothers, Children, Babies, Aunties, Doulas, Midwives, Birthworkers...,” and a short list of track titles includes: "Love to all Doulas!," "Some Rest for the Midwives," "Real Vital Organs," and "Generous Pelvis." The centerpiece of the album, the sprawling "Placenta, Nourishment, New Home, The Galaxy," is an unbelievably vivid immersion in the sonic architecture of Niño's memory-scape...like being present in his energy field...or being present in a birthing room, or maybe even being born yourself. And it just might be the most powerful, unique piece of music Niño has ever created.

Featured artists on Placenta, in order of their entry on the album, include: Nate Mercereau, Jamire Williams, Sam Gendel, Jamael Dean, Dexter Story, Brandon Eugene Owens, Maia, André 3000, Jesse Peterson, Ariel Kalma, Surya Botofasina, Annelise, Haize Hawke, Aaron Shaw, Devin Daniels, Tiffany de Leon, Michael Bolger, Michael Alvidrez, Moss, Iasos, Photay, Deantoni Parks, Adam Rudolph, Andres Renteria, and Cavana Lee.

Continuing his rippin’ run of stellar EPs on the likes of Limousine Dream and Pleasure Club, Rudolf C rolls through with a new plate of precision engineered hardware for DATA DISK. The cryptic cabal laying down the 1’s and 0’s at DD have been tracking Rudi’s work via stealth satellite since his early production and A&R work at his own Salt Mines imprint. Smitten with his maximalist mutations, we’ve skulljacked four tracks of recursive, roiling Techno directly from Rudi’s brainstem and lovingly laid them wax. Mild acidity throughout has etched continuous looping grooves onto the medium, allowing the end user to retransmit this DATA through their choice of high-powered audio amplification system.

Late Night Load Out is the debut LP from Dublin five piece band Papa Romeo.

The release is a collection of work which catalogues their first two years of rehearsing and gigging together around Ireland, a process which has forged their sound. The tracks journey through sound palettes which variously touch on dreamy spaced out indie rock, moments of ambient contemporary jazz, and rougher post-punk influenced sounds.

The ‘Late Night Load Out’, became the term to describe loading gear out of venues late at night after a show, which is a moment to both dread and cherish, the (sometimes) hard work which follows elation.

Now primarily based in London, Papa Romeo’s music has connected with London based DJs and broadcasters. Their debut single ‘Yellow Magic Orchestra’ was supported by Flo on NTS, as well as Avalon Emerson, and appeared as the A1 on a vinyl compilation from All City Records Dublin. Singles from ‘Late Night Load Out’ have also gained early support on BBC 6 Music and from Ross Allen on NTS.

In the meantime the band have been busy on the Irish circuit with appearances at Cork Jazz Festival, Other Voices, All Together Now and Another Love Story, as well as repeat sold out shows at Dublin’s Sugar Club. They have built a reputation as a versatile band who can bring the energy to a packed room, and were named an Artist to Watch for 2024 by Hot Press Magazine.

‘Late Night Load Out’ will be released on digital and vinyl in May 2024.

Papa Romeo is Paddy Rogers, Mark Rogers, Dan Coyne, Rob de Boer and Chris Wong.

Radio Support:

Ross Allen - Soup to Nuts NTS

Colleen Cosmo Murphy - NTS

Lauren Laverne - BBC 6 Music

Esk - Rinse FM

District Magazine (Ireland)

Peter Curtin - RTE

New Music Fix on BBC 6Music

Bill Brewster

Limited black vinyl. Full colour sleeve with unseen pics of Ron Geesin in his studio doing maths stuff on the back.
Wow! So you’re telling me Ron Geesin made this kooky electro groovy score to a really progressive maths educational programme on Central TV in 1980 and it’s musically anarchic and amazing and it’s never been issued before? Until now. Wow again!!!! And there’s 30 tracks!!! Trunk Records we love you...
Basic Maths was the second educational TV Series for the Midlands-based ITV station for which I composed, played and recorded all music and noises. The first series, also for budding mathematicians in the 7-10 age group, was Leapfrog in 1978 produced by ATV (Associated Television): Basic Maths was for the newly-formed Central Television, the work spanning 1980-1981; both series were of twenty-eight parts.
The most worthy idea for both of these series was to project mathematics into life by means mainly of non-verbal sound and vision, with both animated and live action films, linked by two presenters, Fred Harris and Mary Waterhouse. In my role as Media Composer, I had had quite enough of voice overs, therefore music well under, so this fairly radical educational approach at the time encouraged my creative juices to run unhindered. Of course the sound had to do something with the picture and not just use it as a carrier for peacock display. It had to duet, play with and explain the visual content using novel and engaging techniques, so this involved the usual and sometimes intricate mathematical calculations which constantly exercised my already reasonable school maths.

Horace Andy a.k.a.Sleepy must process one of the sweetest and most distinctive voices in reggae music. 1951 in Kingston Jamaica. He cut his first track in 1966 for producer George ‘Phil’ Pratt, a tune called ‘Black Man’s Country’. But it was four years later his star really began to shine when he joined the stable of Clement ‘Coxsone’ Dodd’s Studio One. It was Coxsone Dodd who renamed him Andy after another of his leading artists Bob Andy, such was his belief in Horace’s writing talent and singing abilities. Still only twenty years of age Horace used his falsetto talent to the fore and cut some impressive tracks at 13 Brentford Road, Studio One’s headquarters. Such reggae standards as ’Skylarking’, ‘Just Say Who’, ‘Love of a Women’ and ‘Something on my Mind’ to name but a few. The early 1970’s saw Horace due to political reasons move on to work with producer Bunny Lee, a move that suited his talents and beliefs, Horace being an early advocate to the Rastafarian faith.The tracks which he cut with Bunny, which we concentrate on here gave his songs a rootsy feel. The rhythms often cut at Channel ONE and Randy’s Studio17 and finalised at King Tubby’s, provided a fine backbone for Horace to recut some of his earlier classics, along side his newer songs also to become reggae standards. Like ‘Money Money’, ‘Zion Gate’ the great ‘You are my Angel’ and a version of The Heptones ‘My Guiding Star’. The power of these recordings were such that the earlier tracks like ‘Skylarking’ became hits a second time around.Proving that the ‘you can’t keep a good tune down’ mantra was alive and kicking… …A golden time for Horace and Reggae music in general… Horace would go on to work with other producers like Everton Da Silva in 1977 creating the ‘In the Light’ album and the New York based Lloyd ‘Wackies’ Barnes in the 1980’s for his ‘Dancehall Style’ recordings. Most recently his work with Massive Attack has brought his majestic voice full circle and back into the arena once more. Those ‘Massive’ recordings and this dub collection here seem to fit side by side. Horace’s distinctive vocal riding over the rhythms adding a magic as only he can .....

RESPECT JAH FLOYD.

This 7” single features two outstanding cumbias published on MAG in the 60s that have never been available on a 45 release before.

Dance floor oriented tropical music at its best!

MAG has been, since its foundation in 1953, a pivotal label in Peruvian music, allowing the development of the careers of both tropical artists and musicians of other genres such as rock, pop and jazz. At the head was Don Manuel Antonio Guerrero, its founder, and the name of the record company is nothing more than an acronym formed from its own name. (M.A.G.).

This 7” single features two outstanding cumbias published on MAG in the 60s that have never been available on a 45 release before.

Carlos Pickling was a legendary MAG artist who led the orchestra that accompanied Benny del Solar, Lita Branda and Melcochita in the tropicalized version of Spanish rumba, when the beats of Iberian rumba were still exotic in South America, and he also played countless cumbias, mambos and guarachas. The distinctive sound of his Hammond organ can be heard on this recording, ‘Cumbia Morena’, as it became his signature sound.

Los Demonios de Corocochay were one of the first Andean cumbia bands in Peru and sported an unique sound spiced up with the textures of a playful organ, as can be heard on this superb ‘Cumbia en Dominante’.

Making his Dekmantel debut with a flourish of symphonic, transcendental techno, Sepehr takes us into a fictional metaphysical zone he calls the Genesis Domain. Over the past 10 years NYC-based Sepehr Alimagham’s versatile club music practice has taken in techno, D&B, electro, EBM and acid on a suite of scene-leading labels. This new EP builds on the pseudo-spirituality he explored on recent LP Fall From Grace with an exploration of an imagined space “where your reality can be reinvented at any given moment.”

On the A side, the title track sets the pace with a throbbing, sparkling-yet-spooky trip that allows a touch of trance into the mix, while ‘Delicate Senses’ explores snappier broken beat rhythms and edgy atmospherics with a distinctly moody outlook.

The mystical electro shades of ‘Twisted Solstice’ and ‘Planet Lonely’s melancholic 4/4 pastures strike a note between contemplative introspection and anthemic main stage energy. ‘Queen Of Demons’ is the consummate EP closer, leaning on brooding low end and snaking, intricate beats with a healthy dose of shimmering beauty up top.

Consistent with his versatile approach since day one, Sepehr proves any blend of tempos and rhythms can be folded into his vivid, evocative sound world — the results will always draw you in close until his vision becomes yours.

DJ Polo returns to Livity Sound with an EP that moves beyond the UK funky styles he established alongside Tribal Brothers on The Link Up EP in 2021. Through his productions and steady online radio presence, the Bristol-based producer has been flying the flag for lean, punchy rhythms with a low-end focus, but on If The Glove Fits Polo has branched out to explore different tempos and sounds taking influence from gqom, techno and Afrobeats.

Much like his approach to funky, this isn’t a set of genre exercises but more a celebration of the shared qualities which bind together dance music from different parts of the world. The result is four sharply-defined club workouts unique to DJ Polo that balance tension and release, flair and subtlety and a consistent physical weight true to Livity’s emphasis on soundsystem suitability.

Livity Sound is a label set up by Peverelist in 2011 as a vehicle for a raw and exploratory strain of UK techno, rooted in the heritage of UK dance music and sound system culture. It has since become one of the UK's foremost protagonists for cutting edge underground electronic music.

Repress!

One of the keys to Nervous’ longevity has been our willingness to take chances on new producers and new sounds. As long as a track contains the essence of House, we encourage producers to experiment with combining House with other musical genres. And if the results are creative and fruitful enough we are always ready, willing and able to create a new sub label and logo to go along with a fresh sound.

In the 90’s we felt a movement toward House being juiced with Jazz elements and we created the Nervous Chill Sub-label. Now all these years later we are once again seeing a new appreciation for the sounds, flow and energy of Jazz on the part of some of the world’s premier House Music Producers, and so we are embarking on a re-launch of the Nervous Chill imprint.

Onboard for the re-launch is the very talented and dynamic producer Felipe Gordon with the two tracks “Elisa” and “Resonant.” Both songs feature the legendary musician Paul Shapiro, who has played a key musical role in many of House Music’s most celebrated tunes including “The Whistle Song” for which he supplied the eponymous “whistle.” “Elisa” features an uplifting and bouncy rhythmic vibe that’s topped and energized with Paul’s jazzy flute, while “Resonant” has a deeper and slightly more aggressive tone that’s propelled with Paul hypnotic and free wheeling sax instrumentation.

"Return Of The Super Ape" was the final revelation from Lee Perry’s Black Ark Studio, a psychedelicized dub journey into uncharted sonic territories. The longplayer is now state-of-the-art remastered by Pete Norman (Finyl Tweek) and restored with original press artwork complete with inner disco sleeve!

The album from 1978 is the final chapter in the trilogy of albums in the period from 1976 - 1978 following "Scratch The Super Ape" (aka "Super Ape") and "Roast Fish & Cornbread". Produced, mixed and arranged by Lee Perry at the Black Ark Studio featuring on all tracks the skills of The Upsetters and additional vocals by The Full Experience on "Dyon-Anasaw" and "Tell Me Something Good". The frontsleeve artwork image was created by Lloyd Robinson (also known as the singer of the Studio One classic "Cuss Cuss").

Reggae expert Jeremy Collingwood says: "The Return Of The Super Ape that surfaced later in the year 1978 saw Perry way off the mainstream with a set that owed much to jazz with its loose structure and horn breaks. The title track took an early production from Perry, U-Roy's " OK Corral", and reshaped it into another futuristic outing - just like the original that had been a decade earlier. At the time few knew what to make of it and over the years its lack of proper re issue had meant it's remained a hidden Perry gem. It also marked the end of a hugely creative period at the Black Ark."

Tracklisting / side-split
Side One
A1 Dyon-Anasaw
A2 Return Of The Super Ape
A3 Tell Me Something Good
A4 Bird In Hand
A5 Crab Yars
Side Two
B1 Jah Jah Ah Natty Dread
B2 Psyche & Trim
B3 The Lion
B4 Huzza A Hana
B5 High Rankin Sammy

• Follow-up to the highly acclaimed dub album Super Ape, the album like its predecessor, was produced by Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry. This was the last album recorded by The Upsetters before Perry closed down his Black Ark Studio.
• The remastered album showcases the production skills of undisputed dub master with insanely layered textures and technical wizardry. With musical backing The Upsetters – Boris Gardiner, Mikey Richards, Sly Dunbar, Benbow Creary, Earl ‘Chinna’ Smith, Winston Wright, and Keith Sterling.
• Remastered by Pete Norman at Finyl Tweek
• Coloured Inner Bag

A side :
2 Hardcore/speedcore killerz.
Both tunes have a kind of light kick, hypnotizing you... and after the second drop on the first tune, and after the first drop on the second tune... comes the FAT KICK !! so take care when playing those on a sound system ^^ you better have studied them before playing ^^ ahahah... But quiet cool as a DJ tool !

B Side :
The flip opens with THE big Up of this plate : Lou Xa tune/collab with Duf TMLP... A massive Classic french early hardcore tune : A pure jewel of a kind for all the party People ! Once again Ping Pong can Medium a kick to drive you crazy !

Last track will drive you crazy... A shaker. With this one you're not gonna eat yoghourt !

Matching his signature melodic futurism with enduring club music structures, Pev brings the Pulse series to a natural conclusion with the Pulse Phase EP. On this third release he underlines the broader approach to tempos and styles he’s taken across this latest period of his output, soon to be coalesced into a new live set.

If there’s been a nostalgic streak detectable amongst the crisp modernism of the Pulse series, it comes through clearer than ever in the looped-up house jack and starry-eyed techno synth hooks of ‘Pulse IX’. ‘Pulse TEN’ pares back for a lean soundsystem workout driven by a strafing arp and fractured drums while ‘Pulse XI’ revisits 90s bleep techno with a deep, dubby intention. ‘Pulse XII’ completes the picture capturing the skeletal pressure of 2-step at its most slender and deadly.

There’s never a sense of over-familiarity — the exacting angles of the drums and alien hue of the synths maintain Pev’s distinctive sound first and foremost. But this series has also been an opportunity to hear some of his musical DNA more explicitly than before, cast in universal rave motifs propelled by the unrelenting pursuit of new forms for the dance.

Livity Sound is a label set up by Peverelist in 2011 as a vehicle for a raw and exploratory strain of UK techno, rooted in the heritage of UK dance music and sound system culture. It has since become one of the UK's foremost protagonists for cutting edge underground electronic music.

Warehouse Find - Test Pressing!

Kyodai have had a strong run of releases since their debut here on Freerange last year. Their Mi Rumba EP must have impressed a lot of people as they went on to
release a follow up EP for Mad Mats blossoming Local Talk label and also have an EP due on Pokerflat in the coming weeks. Kerri Chandler dug it enough to
include on his RA podcast and it was also picked up for the Cielo Compilation on Nervous.

2024 repress

Staying on the Mediterranean coast for their third release, Music From Memory this time shift their attention to the work of Mallorcan musician Joan Bibiloni. TIP!

Primarily a guitarist, Bibiloni was creating music at an early age, releasing his first single at the tender age of 15. In his twenties he formed Spanish progrock outfits Zebra and Euterpe where he would meet Pepe Milan, the two of them becoming the bluesy folk duo 'Milan & Bibiloni'. Bibiloni himself would later go on to play with a number of luminary musicians such as Larry Coryell, Daevid Allen and John Cage to name but a few.

In 1982 Bibiloni set up his own label Blau in order to highlight the muchoverlooked work of musicians not only on his home island of Mallorca but across the Balearic Islands. In doing so he created a platform not only for
local talent but also for his own music to breathe a new life, much influenced by the landscape and life that surrounds the islands.

Whilst Bibiloni's first solo releases on his Blau imprint have stronger echoes of contemporary Jazz fusion of the time, it is on the album known as 'Una Vida Llarga I Tranquila' where Bibiloni really began to experiment with new sounds
and technologies; fusing tape loops, drum computers and synthesizers.

Taking these more electronic infused works as a departure point for the compilation and drawing on material from across his following five albums, 'El Sur' sets out to highlight Joan Bibiloni's unique ambient fusion and sun-drenched Mediterranean beach boogie.

repressed !

10 Year anniversary edition, recut and remastered from the analogue tape masters from Bazza's Alchemy Mastering in London; focusing and enriching every finite detail. This EP features 2 new pieces of sonic meditation residing somewhere between space and time, somewhere in the cosmos.

With the title track, "Beyond Starlit Sky", vaporous atmospheres emerge from the distance, while ghostly apparitions and analog modulations rise to the surface of a truly hypnotizing rhythm, submerging the mind deep into an analog world. With the "Live" version a mixture of themes from "Fading Lights" and "Beyond Starlit Sky" find an engaging syncopation, resting somewhere in the ether. Those who loved Echospace's "The Coldest Season" on Modern Love will have plenty to adore here, timeless in all senses of the word.

2024 repress.

Nearly 10 years out of print, recut and remastered from the analogue tape masters from Alchemy's pristine mastering work; focusing and enriching every finite detail into pure analogue bliss! This remastered edition features epic reworks of cv313's now classic, "Seconds To Forever" released back in 2010.

The first track is a reshape by intrusion, dubbed out live in the mix from the original 8 channel analogue tapes as to summon the spirit of King Tubby. There's also two beautiful remixes from the brilliant Rod Modell (DeepChord). Those touched by his recent output will have a lot to love here. Gorgeous plumes of sound envelope the listener into near hypnosis, subdiving deeper than even the original work could. Sublime and beyond gravity, another exquisite excursion transmitting from the other side of the galaxy. Pressed onto 150 gram crystal virgin blue wax. Tip!

Warehouse Find!

Vienna-based producer Sam Irl popped up on our radar a couple of years ago following stellar releases on Jazz & Milk, but honestly we should have been paying far closer attention as this guy has been making the best crunchy, MPC-driven jazz-infused House music dating right back to 2006. EP's for S3A's Sampling As An Art and collaborative projects with Patrick Pulsinger and Dusty have won him fans including Gilles Peterson (leading to a release on Brownswood), Mr Scruff and Session Victim amongst many others. His live sets have also seen him perform at the hallowed grounds of Panorama Bar and Sonar Festival.

For his debut EP here on Freerange Sam has delivered four tracks which perfectly showcase his production skills and knowledge of what makes a dance floor tick, kicking off with title track Rain Technique. Quirky keys and a playful groove help build a warm and charming vibe, light and bouncy yet deep and driving enough to get your dance on to.

Trust follows with loping, lopsided percussion forming the basis of the groove, sparse Rhodes pads punctuating the beat and adding just the right musical element to the mix without cluttering the beats or compromising the sense of space.

Flipping over we have All That's Left which sees Sam utilising his trusted TR606 for some lovely snappy snares and sizzling hihats. Chiming arpeggios join the repeating chord riff creating another simple yet uplifting and playful mood which can't fail to get under your skin. Closing the EP we have a wonky, shuffling house track which once again shows Sam proving less is more, sampling his key elements into the MPC and jamming out the arrangement in a live and improvised way which brings a fresh, somewhat naive appeal to the production.

Chelsea Wolfe has always been a conduit for a powerful energy, and while she has demonstrated a capacity to channel that somber beauty into a variety of forms, her gift as a songwriter is never more apparent than when she strips her songs down to a few key components. As a result, her solemn majesty and ominous elegance are more potent than ever on Birth of Violence.

There is a core element to Chelsea Wolfe’s music—a kind of urgent spin on America’s desolation blues—that’s existed throughout the entirety of her career. At the center, there has always been Wolfe’s woeful longing and beguiling gravity, though the framework for compositions has continuously evolved based on whatever resources were available. Her austere beginnings were gradually bolstered by electronics and filled out with full-band arrangements. The music became increasingly dense and more centered around live performances. Her latest album, Birth of Violence, is a return to the reclusive nature of her earlier recordings

“I’ve been in a state of constant motion for the past eight years or so; touring, moving, playing new stages, exploring new places and meeting new people—an incredible time of learning and growing as a musician and performer,” Wolfe says of the era leading up to Birth of Violence. “But after awhile, I was beginning to lose a part of myself. I needed to take some time away from the road to get my head straight, to learn to take better care of myself, and to write and record as much as I can while I have ‘Mercury in my hands,’ as a wise friend put it.“ Birth of Violence is the result of this step out of the limelight. The songs stem from humble beginnings—little more than Wolfe’s voice and her Taylor acoustic guitar. Her longtime musical collaborator Ben Chisholm recorded the songs on a makeshift studio and helped fill them out with his modern production treatments and the occasional auxiliary flourish from ongoing contributors Jess Gowrie (drums) and Ezra Buchla (viola).

The album opens with “The Mother Road,” a harrowing ode to Route 66 that immediately addresses Wolfe’s metaphoric white line fever. It explains the nature of the record—the impact of countless miles and perpetual exhaustion—and the desire to find the road back home, back to one’s roots. Songs like “Deranged for Rock & Roll” and “Highway” offers parallel examinations on the trials and tribulations of her journeys while the ghostly “When Anger Turns to Honey” serves as a rebuttal to self-appointed judges.

While the record touches upon tradition, it also exists in the present, addressing modern tragedies such as school shootings in the minor-key lullaby “Little Grave” and the poisoning of the planet on the dark wind-swept ballad “Erde.” But the record is at its most poignant when Wolfe withdraws into her own world of enigmatic and elusive autobiography. Much like Alan Ginsberg’s hallucinatory long-form poem Howl, the tracks “Dirt Universe” and “Birth of Violence” weave together specific references from her past into an esoteric overview of the state of mankind. Though the lyrical minutiae remain secret, the overall power of the language and delivery is bound to haunt the listener with both its grace and tension.

“These songs came to me in a whirlwind and I knew I needed to record them soon, and also really needed a break from the road,” Wolfe says. “I’ve spent the past few years looking for the feeling of home; looking for places that felt like home. The result of that humble approach yields Wolfe’s most devastating work to date.

European Headline tour confirming now for 2020. UK/EU Publicity handled by Lauren Barley at Rarely Unable. Immense support from Press, including coverage with NPR, Pitchfork, FADER, Vice, Revolver, Decibel, Under The Radar.

Special Guests on the record include: Mark Cisneros, Joe Lally, Derrick Decker, Bob Berberich, Clint Walsh, Dave Grohl, Onam Emmett, John Goetchius, Jerry Busher, Amy Pickering, Ian MacKaye, Amanda MacKaye, Brian Baker, Randy Austin, Martha Hull, Michael Reidy, Nate Bergman, Bobby Madden.

Scream formed in 1979. Drummer Kent Stacks, bassist Skeeter Enoch Thompson and the brothers Pete and Franz Stahl attended school together in Bailey’s Crossroads, Virginia, when they began to discover the punk and new wave scene in DC and the provocative power of making music.

Like most of the punk bands in DC, they were influenced by the Bad Brains, but their rock and roll sensibilities set them apart. In 1982, they went into Inner Ear Studio with Ian MacKaye and Eddie Janney to record Dischord's first full length album, Still Screaming.

Scream followed this with a second full length album, This Side Up, in 1984. The band toured throughout the US and were one of the first US hardcore bands to tour Europe and the UK. In 1987, they released Banging the Drum, which was recorded at both Southern Studios in London and Inner Ear. In 1988, No More Censorship was released on reggae label RAS records. Scream returned to Dischord to release Fumble in 1993.

They made a few line-up changes along the way, including the addition of their friend Harley Davidson on second guitar, and, when Kent Stacks (RIP) left the band to start a family, they asked a young local drummer, Dave Grohl, to take over. After a number of years with "the Scream team," Dave went on to join Nirvana and form The Foo Fighters.

In 1996, at a Christmas reunion show, Kent Stacks returned as Scream’s drummer; the show was recorded and released as the CD “Live at the Black Cat.” Over the next few years, everyone branched out in different directions – Franz joined the Foos for a short period and Pete played with Goatsnake and earthlings? The band returned as a unit, with Clint Walsh on second guitar, in 2011 to record the Complete Control Sessions, which was released as an EP on Side One Dummy and was, until now, the band’s most recent release.

Scream’s newest album, DC Special, will be released in the fall of 2023 on Dischord Records. For this record, Scream invited their extensive music community to help create a unique project that weaves the history of music in Washington DC into the story of the band. Recorded by Don Zientara just weeks before his studio was evicted from its longtime location, the record is rich with both the sounds of Inner Ear and those of friends and musicians who influenced Scream and who shaped DC music over the past six decades. DC Special embodies the same sense of community and politics that inspired Scream from the start and is a truly special collection of new music that speaks to the present and also tells the story of DC music, Scream, and the influences that shaped them.


Bonus Download Tracks
Faces
Politics is Entertainment
Black and White
Lifeline Redux
Smile and Bleed
I Saw Ya (Wanna Be Like Captain)

Transcendental outernational funk and psychedelic jazz from mystery L.A.- based collective Sun Atlas

Little is known about Sun Atlas. The group members are hidden behind masks and costumes to keep their identities secret and to put the focus entirely on the music and oneness. A sense of community and universal spirit as an alternative to idolization and individualism is heavily reflected in their eclectic musical style.

The sound of Sun Atlas is mystical and cosmopolitan, combining afrobeat, cinematic soul, spiritual & ethio jazz with space sounds, hiphop-breaks and a garage funk vibe.

Their cryptic first 45 single "The Mystic Parade" b/w "Grand Theft" sold out immediately after release and has often been mistaken for either "lost" hiphop samples, 70s habibi funk or another project in disguise from the inner circles of the Mocambo, Big Crown or Daptonefamilies (which it is not).

Return To The Spirit picks up where Sun Atlas' first single leftoff, with everyone wondering where the journey might lead. With the door to a colourful universe opened, the full-length format gives time & space for further exploration.

The ltd.first vinyl edition comes in black vinyl in a deluxe handmade tip-on sleeve.

Done and dusted! That could have been the motto of the WPBH series back when it started as an offshoot for sample-based house experiments by the core We Play House Recordings crew.
However, according to Discogs WPBH is NOT a real label, so who are we to invent mottos for imaginary labels?

But as we digress the music hits us hard and straight up. Uit De Hoogte brings us rawness...and then some. A touch of Dance Mania, a hint of smoothness, a dose of drum machine magic and a whole lot of attitude. Five tracks to stir up your dancefloor, your body and your soul. On a label that does not exist... How underground can one get?!

Coming up on WPH & related further in the year will be new material by Red D on his Red Basics outlet, more WPH U.S. Series and possibly also some stuff they don’t yet know about themselves.

With this new project, their fourth full-length work, Tupperwear completely departs from the "stylish" electronics and trends to delve into a profound exploration of the fundamentals of music.
It involves a quest or even a game through the extrapolation of geometry into various musical parameters, encompassing classical aspects like pitch, timbre, rhythm, intensity, etc., as well as noise, textures, or the implicit mathematics in natural or irrational elements.
Pentagonono delves into cosmology and nature. It is a musical approach without prejudices to basic numerology that unveils the universe, the harmonic scale, the number e, and logarithmic spirals. The golden ratio (phi) and the omnipresent number pi are also explored. Geometric shapes, proportions, and divisions of vibrating elements are transmitted through the air, internalized by humans, and transformed into music.
Following in the footsteps of previous sound explorers from various spatial and temporal origins such as Gamelan music with its infinite polyrhythmic replication, Psychedelia, Serialism, Musique Concrète, Bach, or J Dilla, this album presents itself as a materialization of ideas and concerns that, while already present in the band's musical understanding, are now brought to the forefront as if it were a vital manifesto.

Incubus released their critically acclaimed studio album "Morning View" on October 23, 2001 and was celebrated by fans and the music industry alike. The album went double platinum and spent 60 weeks at number 2 on the Billboard 200.

Now the band is releasing the re-recording of the highly acclaimed double album entitled "Morning View XXIII".

"About 23 years ago, we rented a house by the sea to start an art experiment. The unfamiliar and expansive surroundings helped us find the FLOW state we had been longing for, and the songs that became known as 'Morning View' have since become an integral and important part of our lives," says Brandon Boyd.

"That album helped make our little art experiment called 'Incubus' a way of life, and here we are, some 23 years later, ushering in a new phase of its existence. 'Morning View XXIII' is a re-recording of the 2001 album and is the result of our desire to honor that legacy, but also to reinterpret it as musicians who have played these songs night after night with much love over the last 23 years. See you on the road soon!"

Hot stuff !! Experimental Hardcore in a Flashcore feeling,... Rolling rolling rolling... HAN !
Loud & speedbass, flashing sounds !

Space travel !

Temples of Jura is proud to present ‘The Great Beyond’, the ninth studio album from Ilija Rudman. The concept of the album is the afterlife with words from Nikola Tesla, Slavoj Zizek, Jim Morrison, JF Kennedy, Charles De Gaulle, WH Auden, Azar Nafisi and Eleanor Roosevelt woven together to tell the story of ‘The Great Beyond’ and what may lie ahead for us all. The voice itself was created by Ai (let’s call him ERIC) and is set beautifully to music that has a timeless cinematic quality. Ilija only uses pure Analogue equipment in the creation of his music, resulting in a rich tapestry of basses, drums, chords and lead sounds. He’s been a prolific producer for over 20 years now with a discography that runs deep with more than 100 Vinyl EP releases and 8 studio albums, but we feel he’s reached the pinnacle with this concept album. We’ll leave the final word to ERIC “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.”

Love Love host a collaborative release by two of the freshest contemporary Avon producers, Best Pest and Kursa. Kursa (also one half of S.Murk) has built a notable following in the UK as well as in the USA, playing out often at big stateside events with his own style of tight, maximalist bass music - think Tipper, Eprom, Noisia etc… Ben Pest is no stranger to Love Love with 2 previous solo releases under his belt, best known for his crunchy techno & electro and ripping hardware live-sets. Here they come together for a 5 track genre-hopping EP, each flexing their respective production sensibilities, splicing elements of dubstep, grime, hardcore & garage together, along with a healthy dose of multi-dimensional sound design, to make some of the noisiest modern dance music going.

Early support from: Clouds, Giant Swan, Rob Hall, A Made Up Sound, Om Unit, Nikki Nair, Luke Sanger, Deft, Warlock, Second Storey...

With 'Stone Flute', the free-improvising duo's third studio album proper, Galecstasy returns to the universe of synthesizers to deliver an aural odyssey, conjuring the ancient tones of a forgotten world.
The album was entirely conceived and recorded in, and around, the majestic landscapes of Joshua Tree National Park in the magnificent high desert of southern California. From atop the mountain, the two sonic surveyors were witness to a 360 degree view of the stars at night. From above, the giant rocks looked like immense wise faces looking up at the sky, or even huge bodies resting on the Earth and looking up at space. It was during this time that Galecstasy started a ritual that ended up being called the “Moon Cruise”. This would involve waiting for the full moon to rise and then driving into the national park after dark. They would turn off the headlights of the car and drive slowly through the alien landscape lit up by the moon. Boulder fields took on the shape of temples; faces carved into the rocks everywhere they looked; giant heads with smiles or haunting expressions; and the knowledge that people had been living, dancing, and making music here for thousands of years. It was during these enchanting escapades that 'Stone Flute' was conceived.
In the mountain-top recording studio, the band were utilizing every potential space to tap into the best vibrations the land had to offer. Where the mic was placed: Perhaps a giant boulder once stood, or an ancient tree. One could feel the different energies of every room. The fireplace in the living room was built of giant lava rocks for the music to swirl around. Sounds would spill and climb around the house.

"The living room was just a beautiful tangle of synthesizers and plants. It was an inspiring place to make great records. We channeled the music of the boulders buoyed by the energy shooting up from the fault lines. The good feelings emanated from the studio, it had become our own temple and the birthplace of 'Stone Flute'."

With 'Stone Flute', the free-improvising duo's third studio album proper, Galecstasy returns to the universe of synthesizers to deliver an aural odyssey, conjuring the ancient tones of a forgotten world.
The album was entirely conceived and recorded in, and around, the majestic landscapes of Joshua Tree National Park in the magnificent high desert of southern California. From atop the mountain, the two sonic surveyors were witness to a 360 degree view of the stars at night. From above, the giant rocks looked like immense wise faces looking up at the sky, or even huge bodies resting on the Earth and looking up at space. It was during this time that Galecstasy started a ritual that ended up being called the “Moon Cruise”. This would involve waiting for the full moon to rise and then driving into the national park after dark. They would turn off the headlights of the car and drive slowly through the alien landscape lit up by the moon. Boulder fields took on the shape of temples; faces carved into the rocks everywhere they looked; giant heads with smiles or haunting expressions; and the knowledge that people had been living, dancing, and making music here for thousands of years. It was during these enchanting escapades that 'Stone Flute' was conceived.
In the mountain-top recording studio, the band were utilizing every potential space to tap into the best vibrations the land had to offer. Where the mic was placed: Perhaps a giant boulder once stood, or an ancient tree. One could feel the different energies of every room. The fireplace in the living room was built of giant lava rocks for the music to swirl around. Sounds would spill and climb around the house.

"The living room was just a beautiful tangle of synthesizers and plants. It was an inspiring place to make great records. We channeled the music of the boulders buoyed by the energy shooting up from the fault lines. The good feelings emanated from the studio, it had become our own temple and the birthplace of 'Stone Flute'."

Warehouse Find!

"Du reitest über die Zwickauer Hügel nach Nordosten. Die Lederzügel schneiden sich in deine gefrorenen Hände, während sich heiss-saurer Sod nach oben brennt. Metaphysischer Katerschweiss sticht sich Pore für Pore durch deine Haut, durch ein verblasstes Sargtattoo auf dem Unterarm. Die müden Füße in den NVA-Stiefeln deines Vaters umklammern die Flanken eines dampfenden, grauen Appaloosa, oder ist es doch nur die frisierte Simson S51? Egal, denn eigentlich ist es deine ur-eigene Mind-Machine, in der du dem Ruf der Leere folgend durch die Ruinen der Selbsterkenntnis irrst. Nach Chemnitz - dem San Francisco des ganz kleinen Mannes. Erwarten wird dich dort allerdings nicht Bernd Spier's einfältige Flowertime, sondern Asbest, Eternit und vor allem die Risse, die sich durch ebendiesen ziehen. Genau da verdichten sich die Songs auf L'Appel du Vide's erstem Full-Length "Metro" jedem Leerstand trotzend zu einem 9 Stories hohen Monolithen aus Post-Punk, Death-Rock, Synth- und Darkwave, der einen - einmal erklommen - über jene Genregrenzen hinwegschauen lässt. Ein schwarz-schimmernder Jengaturm aus (East-)German Angst und kompromissloser Innenschau. So viel aufrichtiger wankend, als ein Campino im einstudierten Seitwärts-Taumeltanz der Mitte der Gesellschaft weismachen will, führt er dich weg von den tief hängenden Früchten des epigonalen (Post-)Punkswindles. Hin zu den aufgehenden Blüten echter Musikliebhaberei. Man hat sich festgebissen und ist drangeblieben, hat geschürft und sortiert, die Linernotes gelesen und vor allem eins: den vielen Platten zugehört. Die Schubladen aufgemacht und offen gelassen. Sänger René klagt sich ohne Allüren, zeigefingerfrei und immun gegen jedes Zeitgeistgeheische ins zunächst eigene Herz. Die Gitarre sägt, klirrt und kreischt vor Hunger und ist doch satt. Die Rhythm-Section knurrt und scheppert und bumst sich geradeaus in den Abyss, aus dem auch analoge Synths hier und da auftauchen um kurz Luft zu schnappen. Überhaupt kann man die Instrumente atmen hören, so ehrlich ist der Sound. Gitarrist Flatty hat die Band Anfang 2023 im Studio Gloom, Chemnitz aufgenommen. Doch da ist nicht nur Sachsen und die zu oft beschworenen, modrigen Wurzeln der Hängengebliebenen. Da ist Detroit, Frisco und Los Angeles. Manchester, New York und Portland. Und genau so wie Poison Idea's "Feel the Darkness" (um dann doch mal eine Reminiszenz zu bemühen) beginnt, endet "Metro" nach 37 Minuten Spielzeit - mit nacktem Piano. Dazwischen: eine Verwandtschaft in Wucht und Haltung, nur ohne Metal- und Gepose. Just Power and Void. Und in der Satteltasche ein altes Foto vom Meer, körnig, schwarz weiss und doch alle Farben widerspiegelnd.

Tyler Daley, eine Hälfte des Soul/Hip-Hop-Duos Children Of Zeus aus Manchester und Featurepartner von Ghetts, Goldie, Shy FX und Bugzy Malone, kombiniert auf seiner Solo-Debüt-EP "Son Of Zeus" einen frischen kompromisslosen Sound mit einer klaren Fokussierung auf seine Fähigkeiten. Geprägt von seiner Liebe zum Piratenradio und inspiriert von Roots-Reggae, Street-Soul, R&B, aber auch Hip-Hop und UK Rave, beschreibt Daley die 7 Tracks als "gefühlvollen Zeus-Sound, eine Mischung aus staubigem Low-Fi-Soul, Hip-Hop und R&B für anspruchsvolle Stumpfköpfe und Vibes-Seeker."

Composed by Jim O’Rourke and pieced together by Jim together with longtime collaborator and trumpeter Eivind Lønning at Jim and Eiko Ishibashi’s home in the Japanese mountains, this engrossing new album blows brass wails and tense fanfares across O'Rourke's manipulated Kyma tapestries for a deep, captivating trip into the aether.

Eivind Lønning has been sharing ideas with O'Rourke for several years: the duo collaborated on music for the Whitney's 'Calder: Hypermobility' exhibition, and Lønning played trumpet on O'Rourke's brilliant 2020 album 'Shutting Down Here'. For this new work, Lønning headed to O'Rourke and EIko Ishibashi's home studio in the Japanese mountains, where he teased unfamiliar, alien textures from his trumpet to open the labyrinthine three-part composition. O'Rourke took the material and subsequently funnelled it through his Kyma system, transforming it into a swirl of sound that hums alongside Lønning's original takes. The album was composed, mixed and mastered by O'Rourke, with everything's based on Lønning's virtuosic performance.

The album begins by cautiously introducing us to its sonic palette: wavering, bird-like horn wails that O'Rourke contorts around quiet synth oscillations and computerised swarms. Lønning's spittle-drenched blasts are given the spotlight, but O'Rourke's manipulations - often gentle and illusory, and sometimes utterly lacerating - lift the sounds into completely new territory. When Lønning begins to turn rhythmic cycles using the trumpet keys, popping with his mouth to compliment its leathery timbre, O'Rourke replies with dense, hallucinatory drones, juxtaposing unstable electronics with Lønning's breathy, sustained notes. All these sounds coalesce into a dizzy vortex, but O'Rourke is careful not to overwhelm the senses, dropping to near silence as the first act transitions into the second. O'Rourke pelts Lønning's vertiginous wails, steadily mutating them into Xenakis-like stabs until they sound like cybernetic strings and icy tones that extract the tension from Lønning's brassy harmonics.

The third act is more screwed, with O'Rourke allowing Lønning's improvisations wail into cathedral-strength reverb, accompanying the sound with glassy penetrations and throbbing subs. Here, Lønning sounds as if he's heralding the arrival of a celestial being, piercing the atmosphere with bright, sustained tones and muted, jazzy flourishes. O'Rourke hangs back, carefully spinning the notes into naturalistic fibres and orchestral drapery, before he allows the electronics to subside completely and the trumpet to echo into the imposing negative space.

'Most, but Potentially All' is a dumbfounding piece that shifts the dial on contemporary experimental music; dizzyingly complex but never showy, it's the kind of record you can spin repeatedly and hear something different each time. As an exploration of the trumpet, it's a unique expression, and as a progression of electro-acoustic compositional techniques, it draws a deep trench in the sand, setting a new standard.

Manchester’s multifarious sound organiser Andrew Hargreaves (Tape Loop Orchestra, The Boats, Beppu) channels key touchstones of Glenn Branca’s microtonal minimalism, the paranormal, and DIY amateur broadcasting with some of his most enigmatic, intuitive recordings to date.

‘Drones In The Air’ finds Hargreaves deep in a new phase of vibrational investigation where the sentimentality of prior eras gives way to more abstract conceptual processes. Utilising a bunch of oscillators and the Lyra-8, an “organismic analog synthesiser”, plus pedals, Hargreaves works within just intonation tuning systems - or more precisely “intuitive intonation” - to just-about harness a microtonal flux of clashing, beating frequencies, but the project is more about ceding a certain amount of freedom to the machines and allowing aural alchemy to occur, prompting a spectrum of harmonic colours and rich timbral overtones distinguished from previous tape loop-based works.

Comparative to “Glenn Branca’s micro-tonal workouts if he had worked with oscillators instead of guitars”, the result also variously evoke mysteries of The Conet Project, the oceanic feel of Éliane Radigue compositions, and early ambient works by Terre Thaemlitz in their sound sensitivity and scope. In ‘The Sun is Afraid’ he mesmerises with glistening microtones that develop a coarser traction, interrupted by shortwave radio comms and resolving into phantasmic noise gauze that speaks to his long-standing fascinations with entropic decay and the sounds between sounds. ‘Your Hands Are Shaking’ follows with a stealthier approach to coaxing a hallucinatory drone mass inflated by ether voices and thickening up into a sinister gloam redolent of NWW’s ’Soliloquy for Lilith’.

GER Jim Jarmusch und Carter Logan (Gründungsmitglieder von SQÜRL) kehren mit einer klanglichen Erkundung des filmischen Werks des dadaistischen Pioniers Man Ray zurück, einem fesselnden Projekt, das Musik und Film miteinander verschmilzt. In den vergangenen acht Jahren haben SQÜRL das Publikum mit ihrer Live-Vertonung von Man Rays Kurzfilmen in ausverkauften Konzerten an renommierten Orten wie dem Centre Pompidou in Paris, der Queen Elizabeth Hall in London und dem Art Institute of Chicago verzaubert. Der Höhepunkt ihrer Bemühungen fand im Frühjahr 2023 statt, zum 100. Jahrestag von Man Rays erstem Ausflug ins Filmemachen, als der neu restaurierte Film "Die Rückkehr zur Vernunft" bei den Filmfestspielen von Cannes seine Premiere feierte. Der von Womanray (Marieke Tricoire) und Cinenovo (Julie Viez) produzierte Film ist eine Anthologie mit vier Stummfilm-Kurzfilmen von Man Ray - Étoile de mer (1928), Emak bakia (1926), Le Retour á la Raison (1923) und Les Mysteres du Château de Dé. (1929) - jeweils gepaart mit einer Originalpartitur von SQÜRL. Jarmusch und Logan, zwei multidisziplinäre Künstler, die für ihre Experimentierfreudigkeit bekannt sind, wollten mit diesen Partituren einen ekstatischen Zustand schaffen, einen Raum zwischen Bewusstsein und Unterbewusstsein, Realität und Surrealem. Das daraus resultierende Album "Music for Man Ray", das aus einer Live-Aufnahme im Centre Pompidou in Paris im Februar 2023 hervorging, enthält verzerrte Gitarren, hypnotische Rückkopplungen, Loops und affektierte Synthesizer Logan: "Es ist eine Reise, auf die wir das Publikum mitnehmen wollen, indem wir Themen in diesen Filmen beleuchten. Sie sind eigenständig, aber es gibt auch wiederkehrende Anklänge im gesamten Programm." Jim Jarmusch fügt hinzu: "Wir sind sehr stolz darauf, die Begleitband von Man Ray zu sein." Nun erblicken sowohl der Film als auch die daraus resultierende Musik in Form von "Music for Man Ray" das Licht der Welt - beide stehen als Zeugnis für die kreative Synergie zwischen Man Rays bahnbrechendem Kino und der innovativen musikalischen Interpretation durch SQÜRL.

[ENG] Clear Vinyl. Jim Jarmusch and Carter Logan (founding members of SQÜRL) return with a sonic exploration of the cinematic works of Dadaist pioneer Man Ray, a captivating project that melds music and film. Over the past eight years, SQÜRL have been enchanting audiences with their live scores to Man Ray's short films across sold-out shows in prestigious venues like the Centre Pompidou in Paris, Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, and the Art Institute of Chicago. The culmination of their endeavor took place in the spring of 2023, on the 100th anniversary of Man Ray's inaugural foray into filmmaking, when the newly restored Return to Reason premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. Produced by Womanray (Marieke Tricoire) and Cinenovo (Julie Viez), Return to Reason unfolds as an anthology featuring four silent short films by Man Ray _ Étoile de mer (1928), Emak bakia (1926), Le Retour á la Raison (1923), and Les Mysteres du Château de Dé. (1929) _ each paired with an original score by SQÜRL. Jarmusch and Logan, two multi-disciplinary artists known for their experimental prowess, approached these scores as a way to create an ecstatic state, a space between consciousness and unconsciousness, reality, and the surreal. The resulting album, Music for Man Ray, born out of a live recording at the Centre Pompidou in Paris in February of 2023, features distorted guitars, hypnotic feedback, loops and affected synthesizers. In the words of Logan, "It's a journey we want to take the audience on, illuminating themes throughout these films. They are discrete, but there are also recurring echoes throughout the whole program." Jim Jarmusch adds, "We feel very proud to be Man Ray's backup band." Now both the film Return to Reason and the resulting music in the form of Music for Man Ray are seeing the light of day _ both stand as a testament to the creative synergy between Man Ray's groundbreaking cinema and the innovative musical interpretation by SQÜRL.

The 25th anniversary re-issue of the #1, multi-platinum album Ricky Martin - featuring the worldwide hit “Livin’ La Vida Loca”. The album debuted at #1 on the US Billboard 200 with first week sales of 661k copies. It made Ricky Martin the first male Latin artist in history to debut at Number One on the Billboard 200. The lead single “Livin’ La Vida Loca” topped the charts in more than 20 countries. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five consecutive weeks, becoming Ricky’s first #1 single on the chart. A x14 trk double Black LP Vinyl.

The 25th anniversary re-issue of the #1, multi-platinum album Ricky Martin - featuring the worldwide hit “Livin’ La Vida Loca”. The album debuted at #1 on the US Billboard 200 with first week sales of 661k copies. It made Ricky Martin the first male Latin artist in history to debut at Number One on the Billboard 200. The lead single “Livin’ La Vida Loca” topped the charts in more than 20 countries. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five consecutive weeks, becoming Ricky’s first #1 single on the chart. A x14 trk double Black LP Vinyl.