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Keni Burke's seminal Changes yielded the eternal club classic "Risin' To The Top". You need this record for this iconic steppers anthem alone. However, it's crucial to acknowledge that the whole of Changes, first released in 1982 on RCA but now a tricky one to find, is something truly special. It's a masterpiece of sophisticated 80s groove, containing first class funky soul that sounds as fresh as ever. This is multi-tempo soul music conceived in heaven.

Ace bass player, songwriter, arranger and producer, Keni Burke was discovered by Curtis Mayfield and a childhood member of the Five Stairsteps. Emanating from that magical 81-83 era and pristinely recorded at Philadelphia's legendary Sigma Sound Studios, his third solo album Changes really perfected Keni's groove. It incorporated tight, snappy rhythm arrangements which, despite the era, featured *real drums* courtesy of Steve Ferrone (from Average White Band) to compliment Keni's meaty bass lines. With Dean "Sir" Gant on synths and keyboards and Ed Walsh handling the Vocoder-OBX and Prophet 5, wonderful lines from Earth, Wind & Fire's legendary horn section and hooky rhythm and lead guitar riffs courtesy of Ed "Tree" Walsh, Keni was truly spoiled for excellence. With Doc Gibbs on percussion and Vince Montana on vibes elevating the sensational writing and arrangements, Keni couldn't really go wrong.

“Risin’ To The Top” is undoubtedly the defining crown and lasting legacy of this album. Wth its instantly captivating bassline, slowly creepin' groove and uplifting lyrics, it was a favourite among both the 80s soul steppers and hip-hop crowd and remains canonical to this day. Written by Burke, Allan Felder, and former Chic member Norma Jean Wright, it incredibly failed to garner much American radio play or really trouble the soul charts. Whilst it was an instant classic in the U.K., in the States it took the hip-hop generation and later R&B and hip-hop samples of the tune to finally make it popular, many years later. Of note, Big Daddy Kane sampled it for "Smooth Operator", LL Cool J for "Around The Way Girl", Pete Rock & CL Smooth for "Take You There" and O.C. with "Born 2 Live".

But the highlights are not restricted to this one behemoth. For example, the track which precedes "Risin'" on Side B is another steppers favourite. "One Minute More" is a perfect mid-tempo ballad and the epitome of deep modern soul. A truly timeless work of genius. We, for one, struggle to think of a better song segue than the moment you're still reeling from the intense beauty of "One Minute More" and "Risin'" elegantly stirs into action. Frisson in excelsis. The propulsive, bass-heavy opener "Shakin" is an indisputable cracker and its followed by the timeless mid-tempo class of "Hang Tight". Just gorgeous. Next up, "Can't Get Enough" is another emotional, horn heavy chugger. The side closes with the sparse, tender, floating sl-o-o-w jam "Who Do You Love"; a truly divine ballad. The B-side beings with the title-track, "Changes", a squelchy, melodic boogie banger with fantastic keys, incredible vocals, ace shuffling percussion and spacey synths. It's followed by the ultimate one-two in "One Minute More" and "Risin'" before this sensational set closes with the glorious easy glide "All Night".

An absolutely essential record for fans of deeply soulful modern-funk, Changes was mastered for vinyl by Simon Francis and cut by Cicely Balston for Alchemy at AIR Studios. The artwork was restored at Be With HQ over many painstaking months so, hopefully, this fresh new edition ensures this long-lusted after album is no longer so awkward to find.

Who did Aretha Franklin not want to miss out on when she recorded
her most inspiring albums in the early Seventies? Who gave Steely
Dan the beat? Who did Isaac Hayes, Donny Hathaway, BB King,
‘Sweet’ Lou Donaldson and Joe Cocker give the chair behind the
drums? No drummer has seen the inside of a studio as often as
Bernard ‘Pretty’ Purdie.
 Not for nothing do colleagues attribute the ‘funkiest soul beat on the
scene’ to the drummer, and consequently, Purdie has never relied on
the genre of jazz alone, but rather curiously looked beyond the
borders. Sessions with The Rolling Stones, James Brown, Jimi
Hendrix or Tom Jones are no problem for him, whose precise and
sensitive playing is synonymous with drive and groove. This is
probably one of the reasons why his rhythms are still sampled by
many DJs today.
 Released on CD back in 1996 and 1997 (and now out of print), the
two ‘Soul to Jazz’ recordings have a cult factor today and sound as
fresh as they did back then. Now both albums are released together
for the first time as a 3LP set.
 These recordings are peppered with lots of prominent star guests
from jazz and soul, from Eddie Harris, Michael Brecker and Nils
Landgren to Hank Crawford, Stanley Turrentine and Cornell Dupree.
 Purdie’s ‘Soul to Jazz’ project takes two different approaches: The
first part focuses on the renowned WDR Big Band led by Gil
Goldstein. Soul classics such as Stevie Wonder’s ‘Superstition’,
‘When a Man Loves a Woman’, Eddie Harris’s ‘Freedom Jazz Dance’
and Lee Morgan’s famous groove tune, ‘Sidewinder’, are interpreted
in large scale sound. One discovery of these recordings amidst all the
renowned guest soloists is the New York-born singer, Martin Moss.
 The great success of this first album, released under ‘Soul to Jazz’,
led to ‘Soul to Jazz II’, a more intimate record, but one that picks up
where the first recording left off, by exploring similar themes. Again,
Purdie has called together a notable band of kindred spirits, including
saxophonists Hank Crawford (BB King, Ike and Tina Turner, Ray
Charles), Stanley Turrentine (Jimmy Smith, Shirley Scott) and Vincent
Herring, as well as guitarist Cornell Dupree (King Curtis) to pianists
Benny Green and Junior Mance.
 Bernard Purdie’s ‘Soul to Jazz’ is a timeless classic and a blueprint of
the soul jazz genre in all its facets. Above all, it is a portrait of one of
the most influential and best drummers in the world, who made jazz
groove with his inimitable funky soul beat

ME LOST ME led by Newcastle-based artist Jayne Dent announces a new album RPG via Upset The Rhythm on 7th July, and is touring across the UK including support dates with Pigs x7. RPG (recorded in Blank Studios with Sam Grant of Pigs x7) is ME LOST ME’s fourth outing as a collective, having transitioned from an ambitious solo project in 2017, Jayne now regularly collaborating with acclaimed North-East jazz musicians Faye MacCalman and John Pope.
ME LOST ME delights in experimenting with songwriting and storytelling, creating a beguiling mix of soaring vocals and atmospheric electronics that playfully weave together disparate genres, drawing influence from folk, art pop, noise, ambient and improvised music. Hauntological in part, RPG is concerned with tales and with time - are we running out of it? Does insomnia cause a time loop? Do the pressures of masculinity prevent progress? Jayne Dent asks these questions and more on RPG, her homage to worldbuilding and the story as an artform, calling back to those oral traditions around a campfire, as well as modern day video games - bringing folk music into the present day as she does so.
ME LOST ME presents sound reaching in opposite directions, straddling time towards the archaic and timeless traditions of folktales, and towards the possible and potential futures of pastoral Britain and the world at large. Part speculation, part reminiscence, what results on the new album RPG is music that sounds ultimately displaced and yet omnipresent, adjacent to a hapless Vonnegut hero whose life is scattered throughout time and history, but full of wonder and curiosity rather than fear.
On track “The Oldest Trees Hold The Earth”, we see time stretched out between the branches of impossibly old beings in the woods. This track was co-written in Aarhus, Denmark with fellow Newcastle folk musician (with Danish heritage) Ditte Elly. The pair wordlessly passed a sheet of paper between each other to write the lyrics, inspired by Højbjerg and Mosegård, the woods they were sitting in. “How long should I wait/Before the moss grows?/On my skin, on my outstretched arms,” the lyrics are sung in a round, the close harmonies delicate and detailed.

A central thesis of this album is the joy of creation, something which is paid homage to in the album’s final track, “Science And Art” (Not because we need it to last/just because we needed to make it - so we invented the words/this language). It is also reflected in the definition that Jayne gives for “folk” itself. She comments, “To me, folk is quite an expansive idea. I think of it as creative work that's often made ad-hoc, with things that are at hand and more often than not it's born of a DIY ethos. It is songs and stories of the people, as in the traditional sense, but also creative coding, game design etc. Whatever outlet someone has for their creative expression could be described as folk. It's the things we make because humans need to make things, and the stories we tell about ourselves and the world around us.”
Crucially, on latest album RPG, Dent expands her songwriting and looks towards the unreal locations of worldbuilding in video games for inspiration. She comments, “I think the main similarity is the importance of a song's setting/environment to inform its narrative and textures, I'm often most inspired when out walking in the natural landscape, in cities and travelling to places I've never been before - the environment I'm in really impacts the work I make. While writing this album, however, I found myself inspired by imaginary landscapes, those in video games, paintings, etc. I was writing stories into these unreal locations instead. Even the songs inspired by real places, like The Oldest Trees Hold the Earth, have a very surreal quality to them in the songs, like they're being warped and turned into something not of this world. I think that's the main difference for me in terms of the thematic content and inspiration behind this album - I've been getting more and more interested in balancing surreal and fantastical environmental elements with ordinary and everyday settings.”
RPG upends the concept of the eternal return - we may be in the midst of inevitable repetition, but we tell stories whilst awaiting the passage of time.
"Being familiar with, and a fan of Jayne's earlier work, it was great to get the opportunity to work with her on the production of her new record. I had in mind a sense of what the record might be, but what came of the sessions, led by the vision Jayne had for the record, totally exceeded my expectations. As far as albums go, it has a breadth of writing and a sonic depth that made it a truly brilliant record. Having Jayne join us on a leg of the Pigs x7 tour in April is going to be ace. The creative nature, the sincerity and bold strokes of ME LOST ME put it in that space outside of any genre pigeonholes, and between our two sets I imagine the audience is going to have a proper sonic bath..."
Sam Grant, Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, 2023
“The music of Me Lost Me is beguiling, idiosyncratic and cinematic - or should that be video-game-omatic? This suite of songscapes often hits the sweet spot between ancient and modern with its masterful blend of stark folk, neon electronic burbling and unusual arrangements. Jayne's singing is refreshingly straightforward and nuanced - it's exquisite! - and perfectly punctures the nebulae of synths and brass which billow around the old wooden frames of the songs. Whilst listening I had images in my mind of what Northumberland might look like through the eyes of Simon Stalenhag - foggy moors, a robot looking across the sea to Lindisfarne, twinkling lights on metal towers.... that sort of thing. It's a really great album.”
Richard Dawson, 2023

Die Apart Demos wurden zwischen 1980 und 1984 in verschiedenen Kellern und professionellen Studios in Chicago aufgenommen und dokumentieren 12 intime und reduzierte Skizzen, Demos und unveröffentlichte Tracks von Andre Gibson und der Universal Togetherness Band, als sie sich auf ihre Solokarrieren zubewegten. Von tief empfundenen Huldigungen an die Liebenden, die von einem seidigen Fender Rhodes verziert werden, bis hin zu Disco-Party-Startern über spirituelle Dankbarkeit - Andre Gibson lässt uns in sein Herz blicken und bringt am Ende alles zusammen. Die Universal Togetherness Band aus Chicago, verband in ihrem eklektischen Sound Funk-, Soul-, Disco-, Jazz-, Rock- und New-Wave-Einflüsse mit intelligenten und fantasievollen Texten. 1978 gegründet und geleitet von Andre Gibson, mit seinem Bruder Arnold Gibson (Schlagzeug, Bass), dem ehemaligen Colorvision-Mitglied Fred Misher (Bass, Hintergrundgesang) und Freds Bruder Leslie Misher (Leadgitarre), während Andre die Keyboards, das Vibraphon und den Leadgesang übernahm. Obwohl die Gruppe mehrere Jahre lang in den Clubs von Chicago auftrat und gelegentlich größere Auftritte absolvierte (vor allem als Vorgruppe von Peter Gabriel), hatte sie Mühe, ein größeres Publikum für ihre anspruchsvolle R&B-Melange zu finden. Zwischen 1979 und 1982 nahm die Band Dutzende von Sessions auf, die Gibsons weitreichende Vision als Komponist und Bandleader dokumentierten. Während Gibsons Zeit am Columbia College kamen Paul Hanover (Mundharmonika und Klavier) und Louis Sanford (Schlagzeug) zu den ursprünglichen vier Multiinstrumentalisten hinzu. Nachdem sich die ursprüngliche Besetzung der Universal Togetherness Band schließlich Mitte der 1980er auflöste, nahm Andre Gibson weiterhin mit einer Besetzung mit Frank Alexander (Schlagzeug), Allen Burroughs (Gitarre), Art Love (Bass) und Michael Young (Saxophon) auf. 2015 veröffentlichte Numero Group eine erste Zusammenstellung mit unveröffentlichten Aufnahmen mit dem schlichten Titel Universal Togetherness Band.

Die Apart Demos wurden zwischen 1980 und 1984 in verschiedenen Kellern und professionellen Studios in Chicago aufgenommen und dokumentieren 12 intime und reduzierte Skizzen, Demos und unveröffentlichte Tracks von Andre Gibson und der Universal Togetherness Band, als sie sich auf ihre Solokarrieren zubewegten. Von tief empfundenen Huldigungen an die Liebenden, die von einem seidigen Fender Rhodes verziert werden, bis hin zu Disco-Party-Startern über spirituelle Dankbarkeit - Andre Gibson lässt uns in sein Herz blicken und bringt am Ende alles zusammen. Die Universal Togetherness Band aus Chicago, verband in ihrem eklektischen Sound Funk-, Soul-, Disco-, Jazz-, Rock- und New-Wave-Einflüsse mit intelligenten und fantasievollen Texten. 1978 gegründet und geleitet von Andre Gibson, mit seinem Bruder Arnold Gibson (Schlagzeug, Bass), dem ehemaligen Colorvision-Mitglied Fred Misher (Bass, Hintergrundgesang) und Freds Bruder Leslie Misher (Leadgitarre), während Andre die Keyboards, das Vibraphon und den Leadgesang übernahm. Obwohl die Gruppe mehrere Jahre lang in den Clubs von Chicago auftrat und gelegentlich größere Auftritte absolvierte (vor allem als Vorgruppe von Peter Gabriel), hatte sie Mühe, ein größeres Publikum für ihre anspruchsvolle R&B-Melange zu finden. Zwischen 1979 und 1982 nahm die Band Dutzende von Sessions auf, die Gibsons weitreichende Vision als Komponist und Bandleader dokumentierten. Während Gibsons Zeit am Columbia College kamen Paul Hanover (Mundharmonika und Klavier) und Louis Sanford (Schlagzeug) zu den ursprünglichen vier Multiinstrumentalisten hinzu. Nachdem sich die ursprüngliche Besetzung der Universal Togetherness Band schließlich Mitte der 1980er auflöste, nahm Andre Gibson weiterhin mit einer Besetzung mit Frank Alexander (Schlagzeug), Allen Burroughs (Gitarre), Art Love (Bass) und Michael Young (Saxophon) auf. 2015 veröffentlichte Numero Group eine erste Zusammenstellung mit unveröffentlichten Aufnahmen mit dem schlichten Titel Universal Togetherness Band.

Valentine Lover Red Vinyl. Die Apart Demos wurden zwischen 1980 und 1984 in verschiedenen Kellern und professionellen Studios in Chicago aufgenommen und dokumentieren 12 intime und reduzierte Skizzen, Demos und unveröffentlichte Tracks von Andre Gibson und der Universal Togetherness Band, als sie sich auf ihre Solokarrieren zubewegten. Von tief empfundenen Huldigungen an die Liebenden, die von einem seidigen Fender Rhodes verziert werden, bis hin zu Disco-Party-Startern über spirituelle Dankbarkeit - Andre Gibson lässt uns in sein Herz blicken und bringt am Ende alles zusammen. Die Universal Togetherness Band aus Chicago, verband in ihrem eklektischen Sound Funk-, Soul-, Disco-, Jazz-, Rock- und New-Wave-Einflüsse mit intelligenten und fantasievollen Texten. 1978 gegründet und geleitet von Andre Gibson, mit seinem Bruder Arnold Gibson (Schlagzeug, Bass), dem ehemaligen Colorvision-Mitglied Fred Misher (Bass, Hintergrundgesang) und Freds Bruder Leslie Misher (Leadgitarre), während Andre die Keyboards, das Vibraphon und den Leadgesang übernahm. Obwohl die Gruppe mehrere Jahre lang in den Clubs von Chicago auftrat und gelegentlich größere Auftritte absolvierte (vor allem als Vorgruppe von Peter Gabriel), hatte sie Mühe, ein größeres Publikum für ihre anspruchsvolle R&B-Melange zu finden. Zwischen 1979 und 1982 nahm die Band Dutzende von Sessions auf, die Gibsons weitreichende Vision als Komponist und Bandleader dokumentierten. Während Gibsons Zeit am Columbia College kamen Paul Hanover (Mundharmonika und Klavier) und Louis Sanford (Schlagzeug) zu den ursprünglichen vier Multiinstrumentalisten hinzu. Nachdem sich die ursprüngliche Besetzung der Universal Togetherness Band schließlich Mitte der 1980er auflöste, nahm Andre Gibson weiterhin mit einer Besetzung mit Frank Alexander (Schlagzeug), Allen Burroughs (Gitarre), Art Love (Bass) und Michael Young (Saxophon) auf. 2015 veröffentlichte Numero Group eine erste Zusammenstellung mit unveröffentlichten Aufnahmen mit dem schlichten Titel Universal Togetherness Band.

»Don’t Ever Let Me Know« is Sheffield’s first solo release since 2018’s »Repair Me Now« (Glistening Examples) and is a work in a similar mode to that album in that it comprises two lengthy pieces of multiple movements and moods. For this new work, and as a kind of ode to his late father, Sheffield has employed samples entirely taken from (or inspired by) the city in which both men were born. In this way, the sounds have been utilized as a kind of shorthand for the specific subjects at hand. The two audio assembla ges, meanwhile, mirror the ways in which loss and memory are processed – with both melancholy and wonder in equal measure: at once beautiful and confounding.

Colin Andrew Sheffield (b. 1976, El Paso TX) is a composer whose work is focused on the recontextualization of samples derived from various commercially available recordings – generally those taken from his own expansive collection of records, tapes, and compact discs. Conceptually his output is akin to plunderphonics-style sound collage, though aesthetically it is seemingly closer to soundscapes of ambient drone. Since his earliest recordings from the 1990s, his work has developed into a kind of hybrid of the aforementioned approaches.

Quiet landscapes and deep perspectives.

British composer Albert Alan Owen’s first widely available new work in many decades. Chorales is a meandering yet wonderful piano solo album recorded during the summer of 2020.

The album, through a series of beautifully simple piano pieces, features 20 ethereal compositions that are simply allowed to hang there in the air. Deeply emotional and spiritual, Albert Alan Owen’s Chorales ushers minimalism into the intimacy of aprofoundly elevating listening experience. Captivating.

Repress coming!

A year on from 'Good Evening', the critically acclaimed collaborative album with Verb T & his
stellar contribution to Ocean Wisdom's UK TOP 40 'Wizville' album, producer Pitch 92 is
ready to show off his new works to the world, as he enters a new stage in his career and begins
to spread his wings as a solo artist. Known for his soulful sound, inspired by the likes of
Madlib, Pete Rock & J Dilla, Pitch 92 has carved out his own unique style and pulled out all the
stops for his debut release on High Focus Records.
Entitled 'Lost In Space', this new EP is a perfectly balanced mix of vocal and instrumental
tracks showcasing the raw talent of the Manchester based producer. Pitch 92 has assembled a
healthy roster of artists to work alongside, ranging from UK Hip Hop royalty to up & coming US
artists as well as accomplished musicians.
Spanning from UK Hip Hop favourites such as Jehst & Verb T, to new faces such as K S R ,
Sparkz and Doctor Outer as well as hooking up with Sony Music's Ashely Henry, one of the
UK's most accomplished jazz pianists as heard on 'One Handed' - Pitch 92, armed with his
trusty MPC, expertly provides the perfect backdrop to accommodate each of his guests, as well
as putting forward instrumentals that stand out as masterpieces in their own right, Pitch 92
applies finesse and the ability of a veteran producer, despite only being 26 years old - One
listen of lead single 'Lost In Space' featuring Jehst and Confucius MC is all you need to
confirm that we are indeed listening to a master at work.
In short, 'Lost In Space' is a production masterclass and serves as the perfect introduction to
the Pitch 92 sound, of which you will be hearing more and more, guaranteed.

Svitlana Nianio has been active in the Ukrainian and Polish underground music scenes since the early '90's both as a solo artist and a prominent member of the now disbanded avant-rock outfit Cukor Bila Smert (Sugar White Death). Her music draws on aspects of modern composition and traditional Slavic music, with songs and experiments from that early period culiminating in the 1999 album Kytytsi (Koka Records, Poland). Prior to that in 1995, Nianio recorded Lisova Kolekciya (Forest Collection) live in a simple home studio setting with Olexander Yurchenko and Konstantin Nazarenko.

Less indebted to folk tradition than Kytytsi, Lisova Kolekciya was performed using Casio keyboards, electronics, and voice, positioning itself more inline with Terry Riley's Shri Camel in its otherworldly reinterpretation of the ancient through modern means. Retaining aspects of traditionl music in its use of spare instrumentation and haunting vocal melodies, this largely unknown album pushes at the edges of what folk music might be, resulting in music previously described as being "deeply rooted in primeval myths, creating a world of magic realism, in which the temporal dimension and the other world constantly move and permeate."

Issued here officially for the first time after an extremely limited private cassette edition handed out to friends in 1996 - where the recording was twinned with the album Znayesh Yak Rozkazhi (Know How Tell Me) - Lisova Kolekciya comes packaged in a full colour offset printed sleeve featuring artwork by Svitlana Nianio and is limited to 300 copies. 100 copies are housed in a special edition sleeve handmade by Faraway Press and are only available to order direct from the label.

'Chaos For The Fly', das Solo-Debütalbum des Fontaines D.C. Sängers, erscheint am 30. Juni via Partisan Records.

Das gesamte Album, jeden einzelnen Teil, von den Chord Progressions bis hin zu den String Arrangements, so Chatten, konnte er mit einem Mal hören. Bei einem windgepeitschten Nachtspaziergang entlang des Stoney Beach, dreißig Meilen nördlich von Dublin. Er arbeitete die Songs mit der Gitarre aus und nahm erste Demos auf, ganz alleine. 'Chaos For The Fly' handelt von Isolation und Verletzlichkeit. Vom Verlust des Glaubens an die Menschheit. Und an sich selbst. Die Songs haben meist einen dunklen Unterton und strahlen doch eine berauschende Stärke aus. Chatten verarbeitet auf dem Album schmerzliche Emotionen, Geschichten aus seinem Leben und verpackt sie auf eindrucksvolle Art und Weise in seine bisher wohl poetischsten Texte.

Koproduziert hat wie auch schon die Alben seiner Band der langjährige Fontaines D.C. Produzent Dan Carey.

MEANTIME das neue Album des kanadischen Songwriters Grant Davidson aka Slow Leaves, handelt vom Warten auf etwas Bedeutsames im Leben und davon, wie all die alltäglichen Dinge, die während des Wartens passieren, das eigentlich Bedeutsame ausmachen. Wenn man blinzelt, verpasst man es; wenn man zu viel nachdenkt, verpasst man es. Wenn man Glück hat, gibt es in der Zwischenzeit die Liebe und den Tod und nicht viel weniger. Das Album ist durchzogen von einer eleganten Erdigkeit, Meantime ist eine Sammlung von Folksongs, die mit paisleyfarbenen 1960er- und 70er-Jahre-Tönen verziert sind. Während die Musik eine Retro-Sensibilität aufweist, wird diese durch eine Unmittelbarkeit in den Texten ausgeglichen, die ihn fest in der heutigen Zeit verankert. Slow Leaves ist ein in sich geschlossenes Soloprojekt, bei dem Davidson jeden Aspekt der Musik und ihrer Präsentation kuratiert, einschließlich der Rolle des Multiinstrumentalisten, Produzenten, Coverdesigners, Fotografen und Videofilmers. Er betrachtet die Gesamtheit dieser verschiedenen Aspekte als wesentliche Teile eines größeren Projekts der Selbsterkenntnis durch künstlerische Methoden. Sein Folk- und Psych-Rock-Stil erinnert an ältere Songwriter wie Mickey Newbury, Nick Drake, Roky Erickson, Gene Clark und Neil Young. Aber sie leben auch in der Welt der modernen Klassiker wie Andy Shauf, Bonny "Prince" Billy, Bedouine, Big Thief und Bill Callahan. Seine seidige Stimme wurde schon mit Roy Orbison oder Bryan Ferry verglichen.

Cory Hanson"s third solo LP follows upon 2020"s luminescent Pale Horse Rider, upping the heat to molten levels, six strings at a time. In search of further adventures, Cory draws with vampiric glee from the madness coursing through the world outside; a spiraling shitshow that"s reawakened a compulsion in him - an old ambition, even! - to crush brutality and elegance together into a fresh set of rocks to hail down upon us. Western Cum is a high-stepping, hard-dancing, first love/heartbreak, tonight"s-the-night, future nostalgia kind of good time - the sound of guitars through the speakers of luxury cars. Like the dream you had once, alone, asleep in an amplifier, blasting Guns N" Roses through every last orifice in your body. And it"s coming through! Western Cum"s map to the treasure is less about pastiche, though; more toward executing the songs by executioner"s axe, rolling their decapitated rhythm heads and soaring melodies, the panoply of Cory"s melodic impulses with guitars, guitars, guitars. Harmony leads are just the tip of the iceberg, but be quick - the guitars like to melt everything in their path! The eight songs of Western Cum are driven by the stalwart bass of brother Casey Hanson and the drums of Evan Backer with a few passing acoustics from Cory and the intermittent spirit-moans of Tyler Nuffer"s steel guitar. The quartet sound - two guitars, bass and drums - acts as beat-making principle/phrasing device, as well as template for Cory"s layers of six-string and vocal textures. From the rooftop of their musical safe house - the band in their makeshift hut and Cory ensconced in an outhouse - they let loose with a blast both face-melting and mind-blowing: a social service that gives constipation a good name.

BABY BLUE VINYL

"Workin' all day, trying to forget about the old me." Like most of us, Martin Frawley is busy trying to work himself out. He lives alongside the long shadow of his late dad, musician and songwriter Maurice Frawley, a cultural icon of the Australian underground and collaborator of Paul Kelly, Tex Perkins and Mick Thomas. Most of Martin's 20s were spent writing and playing songs in locally beloved Melbourne band Twerps - a collection of pals who were on the forefront of the city's jangle pop renaissance. A few albums, US tours and band rotations under its belt, Twerps split up in 2018 and Martin turned his compass towards a solo project. His first album, Undone at 31 (2019), was a bit of a reckoning; a wild ride through the wreckage of both a band and longterm romantic break up. His new album The Wannabe is a personal, cheeky and, at times, self-depreiciating collection of songs unpacking the reality of finding his way as an adult without his dad around, and ultimately falling back in love with life, music and someone new. Martin and his band - friends Dan Luscombe (The Drones), Steph Hughes (Boomgates, Dick Diver), Nik Imfeld (Tyrannaman) and Dan Kelly - had heaps of fun recording The Wannabe in Melbourne. The title track is a particularly spicy take on an entertainment industry that seems to give more shits about marketing than music. The album is a bit of an emotional tour, from anger and derision, through to comedy, through to deep and honest love. It's positive with a lot of sadness. Not unlike Martin himself. As well as the guitar, Martin had some fun playing the piano on this record. The technical term is `multiinstrumentalist' but Martin's more of a musical explorer of sorts. No one is exactly sure how these things work - if Martin was born into music or if it was born into him, but it doesn't really matter. Music is what he loves. It's what he does. It's not about the industry or about success - not anymore. It's about the freedom of creating songs on his own terms, and trying to let go of the feeling he has something to prove: to his dad, to his critics, and to himself. And while he's not sure he'll ever fully shake that feeling, he's at least relaxing and having a bit of fun doing it. Like his dad, Martin has a reputation as a `musician's musician'. He hosts a pretty sporadic podcast Dive For Your Memory, where he has fast and loose chats with musicians while doing a deep dive into their musical inspirations and canon. He and his fiancé Lauren also make wine under the label El'More Wines, named after the farm and small town where his dad grew up. It's all come a bit full circle, really.

A tale of two Indians recorded in Cologne, Stockholm & Berlin.
Anurag Choudhary & Pawas Gupta are Non Solo.
Friends from more than two decades, these gentlemen decided to bring together their knowledge of music at Anurag's apartment in Stockholm back in 2008. Anurag’s life journey took him to Stockholm,
Sweden and Pawas’ culminated in Berlin, Germany; both cities a cultural and a musical powerhouse in their own right. Anurag, a professionally trained Flautist (bamboo Flute or “Bansuri”) in the traditional Hindustani Classical Music and Pawas, someone who has been exploring the realms of electronic music since 1997 as a DJ and releasing records under different monikers since 2007 decided to bring in their forces on a gloomy Stockholm afternoon.

You may ask, why Non Solo? Well, for obvious reasons!
In traditional Indian classical music you are trained as a soloist, mastering a single instrument and each instrumentalist has a deep understanding of the common syntax and rules of engagement that produce some brilliant duets. Both Anurag and Pawas have been pursuing their solo music careers and mastering their craft. However, ‘Non solo’ brought these two (soloists) together to collaborate on something that has not been done before in this way so two soloists coming together and forming NON SOLO.
It all started over a “Fika” which translates to “ a concept, a state of mind, an attitude and an important part of Swedish culture. Many Swedes consider that it is almost essential to make time for fika every day.
It means making time for friends and colleagues to share a cup of coffee (or tea) and a little something to eat” in Anurag’s favourite Cafe, not to forget his exquisite palette for Coffee. After a short brainstorming on how to create something new and fresh without it being too cliched and with the help of impeccably roasted coffee beans that were freshly brewed, the men decided to jam it out to see where this goes.

The first attempt resulted in the second track on the record “Svar” which means “note or tone” which was a one take track. Motivated and excited, they both decided to continue working on this project.
A few months later Anurag visited Pawas' previous Studio in Cologne to record, where Sarang, Tandav and Bhoop were born. Even though the creation had happened, they felt it wasn't the right time to put
it out there just yet. However, time flew by and after almost 14 years of waiting, the men came back to what they had created and decided it was now the time to release it.
The title track “Sarang” is inspired by raga Brindavani Sarang, where Anurag infuses the romantic and mystical flavour of this raga with his flute and Pawas brings his deep repertoire of electronic grooves and
atmospheric sounds to create an intelligent track that touches the listeners.
Svara is inspired by raga Hansadhwani (translated ‘svan song’ or ‘sound of swan’) is an endearing melange of Indian classical and house music.
Tandav is a high energy track based on a variation of Sarang raga. With Pawas’ in-depth knowledge of both Indian classical percussion and electronic music….. This track combines multiple rhythmic layers
manifesting in one exhilarating track that is filled with polyrhythmic cadence and interludes.
Bhoop is melancholy and nostalgia infused into one melodious offering inspired by raga Boopali laid over a bed of organic drums and bass.

The Feel:
Svara is falling in love, the feeling you get when you are walking after that first wonderful date, smile on your face and so much anticipation and joy in the heart for all that excitement that is about to come.
Sarang is being in love, when you start to experience all those emotions you didn’t know even existed inside your heart. It is a complete journey.
Bhoop has a tinge of melancholy, longing and missing each other , while Taandav is coming back together after a long time away from each other. Re-discovering each other and re-experiencing all those
emotions at an even deeper level and celebrating the togetherness, be it in friendship or relationship.
Non solo is first in its kind to bring the melodious/musical depth inspired by the raga traditions to the exhilarating rhythmic world of deep house and electronica.
Available now in your favourite digital store and on limited edition Vinyl with an exquisite typographic artwork by Shantanu Suman in collaboration with Masala Movement's Manoj Kurian!

Australian vocalist Jo Lawry has forged an impressive solo career with a global fan base, while earning deep respect as a "musician"s singer" within and beyond jazz circles. She"s also spent nearly a decade performing and recording with Sting and has worked with Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel. The two albums she released as a singer/songwriter/producer, Taking Picture (2015) and The Bathtub and the Sea (2017) garnered critical acclaim. Now, more than 10 years since her last solo jazz album, Lawry presents "Acrobats", unequivocally returning to the genre alongside globally in-demand bassist Linda May Han Oh and versatile drummer Allison Miller.

Silver marble vinyl, limited to 300 copies. Handnumbered, 180g. Australian vocalist Jo Lawry has forged an impressive solo career with a global fan base, while earning deep respect as a "musician"s singer" within and beyond jazz circles. She"s also spent nearly a decade performing and recording with Sting and has worked with Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel. The two albums she released as a singer/songwriter/producer, Taking Picture (2015) and The Bathtub and the Sea (2017) garnered critical acclaim. Now, more than 10 years since her last solo jazz album, Lawry presents "Acrobats", unequivocally returning to the genre alongside globally in-demand bassist Linda May Han Oh and versatile drummer Allison Miller.

*The product of a move from South Carolina to Berkeley, CA and the subsequent extended separation from loved ones, Toro Y Moi's third full-length, Anything in Return, puts Chaz Bundick right in the middle of the producer/songwriter dichotomy that his first two albums established.

*There's a pervasive sense of peace with his tendency to dabble in both sides of the modern music-making spectrum, and he sounds comfortable engaging in intuitive pop production and putting forth the impression of unmediated id.

*The producer's hand is prominent- not least in the sampled "yeah"s and "uh"s that give the album a hip-hop-indebted confidence- and many of the songs feature the 4/4 beats and deftly employed effects usually associated with house music. Tracks like "High Living" and "Day One" show a considerably Californian influence, their languid funk redolent of a West Coast temperament, and elsewhere- not least on lead single, "So Many Details"- the record plays with darker atmospheres than we're used to hearing from Toro Y Moi. Sounding quite assured in what some may call this songwriter's return to producer-hood, Anything in Return is Bundick uninhibited by issues of genre, an album that feels like the artist's essence.

*Born and raised in Columbia, South Carolina, Chaz Bundick has been toying with various musical projects since early adolescence. Having spent his formative years playing in punk and indie rock acts, his protean Toro Y Moi project has been his vessel for further musical exploration since 2001. During his time spent studying graphic design at the University of South Carolina, Chaz became increasingly focused on his solo work, incorporating electronics and allowing a wider range of influences- French house, Brian Wilson's pop, 80s R&B, and Stones Throw hip-hop- to show up in his music. By the time he graduated in spring 2009, Chaz had refined his sound to something all his own. Music journals across the board touted his hazy recordings as the sound of the summer, and he released his debut album, Causers of This in early 2010.

*Since then, Bundick has proven himself to be not just a prolific musician, but a diverse one as well, letting each successive release broaden the scope of the Toro Y Moi oeuvre. The funky psych-pop of 2011's Underneath the Pine evinced an artist who could create similar atmospheres even without the aid of source material and drum machines. His Freaking Out EP, a handful of singles and remixes, and a retrospective box-set plot points all along the producer/songwriter spectrum in which he's worked since his debut, and Anything In Return is another exciting offering that shows he's still not ready to settle into any one genre.

Please take the five stars not as a statement that this is the best record of 2013, but as a delighted endorsement of a genre classic. With his fifth record (3 with Harpoons, and 2 solo) Ezra Furman has made an album of classicist rock'n'roll that never feels like an exercise, but a living, breathing piece of self-expression. The foundations are obvious, but the simple touches that adorn them are what elevates Day of the Dog. Been So Strange, for example, is the Velvet Underground's chugging R&B reincarnated, but with the delicious addition of a horn section. It leaves you wondering why Lou Reed never thought to do the same, so well does it work. Slacker/Adria is nervy, jittery powerpop until two minutes in, when the bottom drops out of the song and it turns into a doomy riff over which Furman appears to be telling us his nightmares: "I see white crosses burning across a dark landscape." He's seen his critics coming, too: the liner notes contain an index so you can check off the references. Clever, funny, sharp and tuneful – a great rock'n'roll record.” Michael Hann (The Guardian).

Der langjährige Fates Warning Frontmann Ray Alder kehrt mit seinem zweiten Soloalbum auf InsideOutMusic zurück. Das Album umfasst 9 melodische, aber dennoch modern-schwere neue Songs, die mit Unterstützung der Gitarristen Mike Abdow (Fates Warning Tourmitglied) und Tony Hernando (Lords Of Black) sowie Schlagzeuger Craig Anderson (Ignite, Crescent Shield) entstanden sind. "II" wurde von Simone Mularoni (Rhapsody, Michael Romeo, DGM) abgemischt und ist als limitierte Digipak-CD mit Bonustrack und als LP auf 180gr. Vinyl erhältlich!

Nach seinem erfolgreichen Album „Heartbreak Weather“ aus dem Jahr 2020, veröffentlicht Niall Horan sein langersehntes drittes Studioalbum „The Show“. Auf seinen Erfolg mit der Band One Direction folgt 2016 der Start seiner Solokarriere. Mit seinen Singles „This Town“ und „Slow Hands“ hatte der irische SingerSongwriter von Anfang an die Fans auf seiner Seite. „The Show“ ist ein Werk, das aus Nialls langjähriger Mission geboren wurde, seinen leidenschaftlichen Fans Trost und Verbindung zu spenden. Es vereint die unverhüllten Emotionen seiner früheren Werke mit einem kraftvollen neuen Element der Selbstreflexion.

Das Album ist erhältlich als CD und auf Vinyl

Nach seinem erfolgreichen Album „Heartbreak Weather“ aus dem Jahr 2020, veröffentlicht Niall Horan sein langersehntes drittes Studioalbum „The Show“. Auf seinen Erfolg mit der Band One Direction folgt 2016 der Start seiner Solokarriere. Mit seinen Singles „This Town“ und „Slow Hands“ hatte der irische SingerSongwriter von Anfang an die Fans auf seiner Seite. „The Show“ ist ein Werk, das aus Nialls langjähriger Mission geboren wurde, seinen leidenschaftlichen Fans Trost und Verbindung zu spenden. Es vereint die unverhüllten Emotionen seiner früheren Werke mit einem kraftvollen neuen Element der Selbstreflexion.

Das Album ist erhältlich als CD und auf Vinyl

Repress!

It can take a while for an artist to find their musical voice. For Alex Andrikopoulos, it’s been a journey that’s taken the best part of two decades. Now he’s set to mark a major milestone in his transition from record store owner, label co-founder and DJ to producer with the release of his long-promised first solo album for Leng, Waving. The Greek artist first joined the Leng Records roster in the autumn of 2020 and has since gone in to release the acclaimed ‘Punta Allen’ EP for the imprint. Before that, he spent the first decade of the century running the popular Radical Sounds record shop in Athens, before refocusing on running Quantized Music with fellow DJ/producer Tolis Q and developing his DJ career, where his unique blends of disco, house and techno tracks earned him bookings at some of Europe’s most storied clubs.

Waving, which appears on the back of a handful of fine EPs for a variety of labels, is his boldest and strongest statement yet as a musician and producer. Created with a little help from guest musicians and collaborators including keyboardist Artis Boriss, bassist Brotha Gilla, percussionists Ilario Arnel and Harold Perez, pianist Luciano Ledesma and guitarist Alex Searle, the album brilliantly blurs the boundary between 21st century disco, afternoon-ready downtempo grooves, and the kind of dancefloor-minded Balearic fare that’s devilishly difficult to pigeonhole.

Fittingly, the set begins with previous single ‘Punta Allen’, an eight-minute chunk of organic dancefloor goodness which slowly unfurls before rising towards and gorgeous and joyous conclusion, and ends with the squelchy, slo-mo cosmic funk of ‘Patrol Di Caribe’, where trippy synthesizer lines, layered percussion and more tuneful style pan style lead ins catch the ear.

In between, highlights are plentiful, from the driving, piano solo-laden dub disco brilliance of ‘Down My Soul’ and the languid, sun-kissed, beach-ready downtempo grooves of ‘The Jamail Pass’, to the rubbery, pitched-down electrofunk of ‘Window Spells’ (featuring a fine lead vocal from Max Giovara, the flash-friend, dubwise Balearic funk of ‘Waving’, and the throbbing brilliance of ‘La Di Da Di’, whose crunchy Clavinet lines, fluid electric piano solos, snappy drums and pulsating, arpeggio-style bass encapsulate all that is good about the album.

The digital edition of the album also comes bundled with eight more tracks not featured on the double-vinyl LP. Featuring the same blend of expansive musicality, organic drums and dancefloor nous, this octet effectively extends the album via a string of similarly playable, club-ready and sofa-friendly tracks. Standouts include the non-stop, nu-disco-meets-house excellence of ‘Large Stacks’, Hammond-laced head-nodder ‘Take The High Road’, horizontal Balearic funk shuffler ‘Prezend’ and hazy, vocal-sporting dub disco roller ‘Angels of Rhythm’, which previously appeared on the flipside of Lex’s ‘Punta Allen’ 12”.

Warehouse find!

Teenage Fanclub have announced news of their tenth studio album, Endless Arcade, released 5th March. Even if we weren’t living through extraordinarily troubling times, there is nothing quite like a Teenage Fanclub album to assuage the mind, body and soul, and to reaffirm that all is not lost in this world.

Endless Arcade follows the band’s ninth album “Here”, released in 2016 to universal acclaim and notably their first Top 10 album since 1997; a mark of how much they’re treasured. The new record is quintessential TFC: melodies are equal parts heart-warming and heart-aching; guitars chime and distort; keyboard lines mesh and spiral; harmony-coated choruses burst out like sun on a stormy day.

In the 1990s, the band crafted a magnetically heavy yet harmony-rich sound on classic albums such as “Bandwagonesque” and “Grand Prix”. This century, albums such as “Shadows” and “Here” have documented a more relaxed, less ‘teenage’ Fanclub, reflecting the band’s stage in life and state of mind, which Endless Arcade slots perfectly alongside. The album walks a beautifully poised line between melancholic and uplifting, infused with simple truths. The importance of home, community and hope is entwined with more bittersweet, sometimes darker thoughts - insecurity, anxiety, loss.

Such is life. But the title track suggests, “Don’t be afraid of this endless arcade that is life.”

A preview from the album came in February 2019 with Raymond’s ‘Everything Is Falling Apart’, an online single released at the outset of a six-month tour and a highlight of Endless Arcade.

Everything is falling apart? Well, yes, but the song was written long before COVID-19 arrived. Neither was Raymond’s inspiration political or social, but more, “the entropy in the universe, the knowledge that everything eventually decays,” he explains. But Raymond says relax. Or rather, “Relax, find love, hold on to the hand of a friend”.

Fortunately, Endless Arcade was virtually finished by the time lockdown was announced, bar the odd tinker under the engine hood. It seems timely, given how everyone had to initially stay home under lockdown, that the album starts with Norman’s ‘Home’, though it was chosen in part because of its opening line: “Every morning, I open my eyes...” The album’s longest track (at seven minutes) typifies TFC’s relaxed groove, culminating in Raymond’s peach of a guitar solo.

Norman’s search for ‘home’ could be literal: after all, he’s been living in Canada for the last 10 years. But it’s also figurative. Like Norman’s other Endless Arcade songs – The Sun Won’t Shine On Me’, ‘Warm Embrace’, ‘I’m More Inclined’, ‘Back In The Day’ and ‘Living With You’ – his words on ‘Home’ are etched by loss and yearning. “Without going into too much detail, the last eighteen months have been challenging for me on an emotional level,” he admits. “But it’s been cathartic channelling some of these feelings and emotions into song.”

In contrast, Raymond’s songs – he’s also responsible for ‘Come With Me’, ‘In Our Dreams’, ‘The Future’ and ‘Silent Song’ – are philosophical and questing. As he sings in ‘The Future’: “It’s hard to walk into the future when your shoes are made of lead”, but he’s still going to try, “and see sights we’ve never seen.”

In the band’s own near future, they’re already planning another new album given they can’t yet tour the one they’re releasing now. Welcome back, Teenage Fanclub, unafraid of this endless arcade that is life.

Warehouse find!

Teenage Fanclub have announced news of their tenth studio album, Endless Arcade, released 5th March. Even if we weren’t living through extraordinarily troubling times, there is nothing quite like a Teenage Fanclub album to assuage the mind, body and soul, and to reaffirm that all is not lost in this world.

Endless Arcade follows the band’s ninth album “Here”, released in 2016 to universal acclaim and notably their first Top 10 album since 1997; a mark of how much they’re treasured. The new record is quintessential TFC: melodies are equal parts heart-warming and heart-aching; guitars chime and distort; keyboard lines mesh and spiral; harmony-coated choruses burst out like sun on a stormy day.

In the 1990s, the band crafted a magnetically heavy yet harmony-rich sound on classic albums such as “Bandwagonesque” and “Grand Prix”. This century, albums such as “Shadows” and “Here” have documented a more relaxed, less ‘teenage’ Fanclub, reflecting the band’s stage in life and state of mind, which Endless Arcade slots perfectly alongside. The album walks a beautifully poised line between melancholic and uplifting, infused with simple truths. The importance of home, community and hope is entwined with more bittersweet, sometimes darker thoughts - insecurity, anxiety, loss.

Such is life. But the title track suggests, “Don’t be afraid of this endless arcade that is life.”

A preview from the album came in February 2019 with Raymond’s ‘Everything Is Falling Apart’, an online single released at the outset of a six-month tour and a highlight of Endless Arcade.

Everything is falling apart? Well, yes, but the song was written long before COVID-19 arrived. Neither was Raymond’s inspiration political or social, but more, “the entropy in the universe, the knowledge that everything eventually decays,” he explains. But Raymond says relax. Or rather, “Relax, find love, hold on to the hand of a friend”.

Fortunately, Endless Arcade was virtually finished by the time lockdown was announced, bar the odd tinker under the engine hood. It seems timely, given how everyone had to initially stay home under lockdown, that the album starts with Norman’s ‘Home’, though it was chosen in part because of its opening line: “Every morning, I open my eyes...” The album’s longest track (at seven minutes) typifies TFC’s relaxed groove, culminating in Raymond’s peach of a guitar solo.

Norman’s search for ‘home’ could be literal: after all, he’s been living in Canada for the last 10 years. But it’s also figurative. Like Norman’s other Endless Arcade songs – The Sun Won’t Shine On Me’, ‘Warm Embrace’, ‘I’m More Inclined’, ‘Back In The Day’ and ‘Living With You’ – his words on ‘Home’ are etched by loss and yearning. “Without going into too much detail, the last eighteen months have been challenging for me on an emotional level,” he admits. “But it’s been cathartic channelling some of these feelings and emotions into song.”

In contrast, Raymond’s songs – he’s also responsible for ‘Come With Me’, ‘In Our Dreams’, ‘The Future’ and ‘Silent Song’ – are philosophical and questing. As he sings in ‘The Future’: “It’s hard to walk into the future when your shoes are made of lead”, but he’s still going to try, “and see sights we’ve never seen.”

In the band’s own near future, they’re already planning another new album given they can’t yet tour the one they’re releasing now. Welcome back, Teenage Fanclub, unafraid of this endless arcade that is life.

Powder Blue Vinyl. In den letzten fünfzehn Jahren haben Beach Fossils ihren Status als eine der definitivsten und beständigsten Bands des New Yorker Undergrounds der 2010er Jahre stetig ausgebaut und neue Hörer erreicht, während sich ihr Sound vom DIY-Soloprojekt von Dustin Payseur zu einer einflussreichen vierköpfigen Dream-Pop-Band entwickelt hat, die selbst produziert, selbst gemanagt und selbst veröffentlicht wird. Bunny steht für Stärke durch Verletzlichkeit. "Bunny" setzt die atemberaubende Entwicklung des Beach Fossils-Sounds fort, indem es Elemente aus der jangligen Melancholie der "What a Pleasure" EP (2011), den düsteren, Post-Punk-inspirierten Tracks von "Clash the Truth" (2013) und den üppigen Arrangements von "Somersault" (2017) aufgreift und ihren "Dream-Pop-Instinkt mit jeder weiteren Veröffentlichung schärft" (INTERVIEW). Inspiriert vom Psych-Pop der frühen Verve- und Spiritualized-Alben sowie von Einflüssen wie The Cure, Wire, den Byrds und Velvet Underground wurde "Bunny" von Payseur selbst produziert und aufgenommen, wobei Lars Stalfors (St. Vincent, Soccer Mommy, Lil Peep) als Mixer fungierte. Payseur merkt an, dass bei der Entstehung dieses Albums mehr Wert auf eine stärkere Ausrichtung auf Popstrukturen gelegt wurde. "Als ich die erste Platte schrieb, gab es keine Refrains, sondern nur instrumentale Gitarrenparts zwischen den Strophen. Dies ist die erste Platte, bei der ich bewusst darüber nachgedacht habe, einen Refrain zu schreiben." Unterstützt wird er dabei von den Bandmitgliedern Tommy Davidson (Gitarre), Jack Doyle Smith (Bass) und Anton Hochheim (Schlagzeug). "Bunny" ist das bisher lebendigste und persönlichste Werk der Band. Die Songs handeln von Depressionen, Liebe, Abenteuern, Verlusten, Fehlern, New York City, Freundschaften, die kommen und gehen - eine Melange aus körnigen Stücken im Prozess der Selbstfindung. Payseurs collageartige Texte kommunizieren durch Ton und Stimmung ebenso wie durch Erzählungen; New Yorker Dichter wie Frank O'Hara, Ted Berrigan und Anne Waldman sind Einflüsse, ebenso wie das Tao Te Ching.

Powder Blue Vinyl. In den letzten fünfzehn Jahren haben Beach Fossils ihren Status als eine der definitivsten und beständigsten Bands des New Yorker Undergrounds der 2010er Jahre stetig ausgebaut und neue Hörer erreicht, während sich ihr Sound vom DIY-Soloprojekt von Dustin Payseur zu einer einflussreichen vierköpfigen Dream-Pop-Band entwickelt hat, die selbst produziert, selbst gemanagt und selbst veröffentlicht wird. Bunny steht für Stärke durch Verletzlichkeit. "Bunny" setzt die atemberaubende Entwicklung des Beach Fossils-Sounds fort, indem es Elemente aus der jangligen Melancholie der "What a Pleasure" EP (2011), den düsteren, Post-Punk-inspirierten Tracks von "Clash the Truth" (2013) und den üppigen Arrangements von "Somersault" (2017) aufgreift und ihren "Dream-Pop-Instinkt mit jeder weiteren Veröffentlichung schärft" (INTERVIEW). Inspiriert vom Psych-Pop der frühen Verve- und Spiritualized-Alben sowie von Einflüssen wie The Cure, Wire, den Byrds und Velvet Underground wurde "Bunny" von Payseur selbst produziert und aufgenommen, wobei Lars Stalfors (St. Vincent, Soccer Mommy, Lil Peep) als Mixer fungierte. Payseur merkt an, dass bei der Entstehung dieses Albums mehr Wert auf eine stärkere Ausrichtung auf Popstrukturen gelegt wurde. "Als ich die erste Platte schrieb, gab es keine Refrains, sondern nur instrumentale Gitarrenparts zwischen den Strophen. Dies ist die erste Platte, bei der ich bewusst darüber nachgedacht habe, einen Refrain zu schreiben." Unterstützt wird er dabei von den Bandmitgliedern Tommy Davidson (Gitarre), Jack Doyle Smith (Bass) und Anton Hochheim (Schlagzeug). "Bunny" ist das bisher lebendigste und persönlichste Werk der Band. Die Songs handeln von Depressionen, Liebe, Abenteuern, Verlusten, Fehlern, New York City, Freundschaften, die kommen und gehen - eine Melange aus körnigen Stücken im Prozess der Selbstfindung. Payseurs collageartige Texte kommunizieren durch Ton und Stimmung ebenso wie durch Erzählungen; New Yorker Dichter wie Frank O'Hara, Ted Berrigan und Anne Waldman sind Einflüsse, ebenso wie das Tao Te Ching.

Limited to 1000 copies on Sea Blue vinyl! There's freedom to be found in consistency. Until recently, Juan Wauters may not have agreed with this statement. As a touring musician and multinational citizen, transience had always come naturally to him. Circumstance, however, recently prompted him to reconsider the benefits of staying in one place. His most introspective work to date, Wauters' sixth solo album Wandering Rebel finds the artist taking stock of how he's changed, how the world sees him, and what he wants out of life. Written mostly during an extended break from touring, the songs on Wandering Rebel are candid reflections on subjects like career ("Wandering Rebel"), romantic commitment ("Amor Amor"), mental health ("Nube Negra") and the personal toll of touring ("Let Loose"). On "Modus Operandi," he voices his frustration with New York's fairweather residents, who fled the city at the onset of the COVID-19 lockdown. Vocal contributions from fellow New Yorker Greta Kline (Frankie Cosmos) add to the chorus of playful disapproval. On the singalong-worthy "Millionaire," he turns his eye to the west coast: "It's hard to get around Los Angeles / If you don't have a car / I'm staying in a privileged part of town / It's suspicious for me to be walking." The clarity with which Wauters approaches these subjects lyrically is reflected in the music as well. His trademark eclecticism is still present (fans of Real Life Situations' spirited hip-hop should look to track 6, "Bolero"), but it's more refined this time, anchored in his signature Latin-influenced indie folk. Wandering Rebel is peppered with delicate additions that add depth throughout: rain sounds and hand drums on "Nube Negra," a strings section on "Modus Operandi," a gentle vibraphone on "Amor, Amor." Some of these are classic Wauters touches, but others are owed to outside influences, like production from Brooklyn-based Carlos Hernandez (Ava Luna, Carlos Truly) and Brazilian indie artist Sessa, as well as vocal contributions from Kline, Luz Elena Mendoza (Y La Bamba), Zoe Gotusso, and Super Willy K. Throughout Wandering Rebel, Wauters attempts to reconcile the stability he's come to enjoy with the nomadic restlessness that's characterized his life thus far. In the end, though, it's the interplay of both of these elements that makes the album so strong.

Svart Records proudly presents Sonny Rollins with the Heikki Sarmanto trio, in an extremely rare live performance at Finland Festival in the summer of 1972. Available for the first time, fifty years after it was initially recorded, this incredible show features Sarmanto on the Fender Rhodes electric piano, his brother Pekka Sarmanto on bass and Esko Rosnell on drums. Legend of American Jazz, “Saxophone Colossus” Sonny Rollins hand picked Heikki Sarmanto and his Finnish trio for this night of improvisation and mutual respect that culminated in years of collaboration after. The music conjured throughout this live extravaganza is everything a Jazz aficionado could have hoped for, with extensive improvisations and incredible soloing by the musicians. Two standards and one original by Rollins, which last between sixteen and twenty-four minutes, illustrate both the quartet’s vibe and supreme virtuosity. Taking place at the magnificent Finlandia Hall, an architectural marvel, which was completed only a few months earlier, and recorded by the YLE (The Finnish Broadcasting Company), this legendary concert has been expertly mastered by Pauli Saastamoinen at the infamous Finnvox Studios in 2022 to perfectly highlight the magic that was in the air all those years ago. Rollins seems to be especially in high spirits throughout the show and his powerful and expressive playing, full of humor, is simply marvelous. He even manages to quote some hints of Jean Sibelius’ “Finlandia” tone poem as a tribute to the venue. Through our tireless efforts at Svart Records to preserve our musical culture, you can now be re-introduced to an important piece in the jigsaw of Finnish Jazz history, immortalised on double vinyl gatefold and CD and both limited to only 1000 copies.

Miles in the Sky reflects the intriguing curiosities and rainbow possibilities suggested by the album cover. Miles Davis' fifth and final album with his classic second quintet is kaleidoscopic in sound, forward-looking in structure, and contextually grounded in approach. As the legendary leader's first venture into what would become fusion, it's historical for containing the premier appearances of electric piano, bass, and guitar on a Davis effort.

The album's wide-open soundscapes soar. As do the fluid contributions of Davis' mates. Tony Williams' percussion, central to every composition here, transpires before your eyes. Herbie Hancock's piano hovers and fades with sublime purity. And George Benson, who sits on "Paraphernalia," blows the equivalent of smoke rings with his bluesy guitar, which here takes on brilliant tonality and definition. The acoustic material that occupies the second half of the record is equally transparent and full-bodied.

Granted enhanced production and a greater field of audible information, Miles in the Sky can finally be perceived as belonging to the same upper echelon as Davis' ubiquitously acclaimed Nefertiti and Filles de Kilimanjaro – the albums that precede and follow, respectively, this watershed title. Commonly branded a "transitional" work, Miles in the Sky showcases Davis already at ease with electric instruments and eager to venture into uncharted territories. Doubling as organized jams and bridges between jazz and rock, both the rhythmically challenging "Stuff" and frisky "Paraphernalia" glancing toward the future while keeping solid footing in the past.

Similarly, so do "Country Son" and "Black Comedy." In his original review for jazz authority Down-Beat, Larry Kart observes: "Davis takes material from his earlier days and darkens its emotional tone. His opening phrase on 'Country Son' recalls a fragment from his 'Summertime' solo on the Porgy and Bess album, but here it is delivered with a vehemence that rejects the poignancy of the earlier performance. Even on 'Black Comedy,' his most straight-ahead solo here, the orderly pattern of the past is displaced and fragmented."


Flavoured with humuor, bossa nova, country, and even ballroom phrases, the compositions on Miles in the Sky explode with creativity, purpose, and color.

Unlike the majority of previous Davis albums, E.S.P. consisted entirely of new compositions written by members of the group. Despite the profusion of new material, only one tune ("Agitation") is known to have appeared in the group's live performances. "Little One" might be best known for being revisited on Hancock's landmark album, Maiden Voyage, recorded a few weeks later. This version is somewhat more embryonic; Carter's bass is halting, and Davis and Shorter state the theme with winding, interlocking contrapuntal lines that evoke Davis and Coltrane's version of "Round Midnight". Hancock's solo on Carter's composition, "Eighty-One", also presages his work on that LP - particularly its title track.

The title track is reminiscent of Jackie McLean's "Little Melonae", which Davis had recorded with John Coltrane in 1956. "Iris", by contrast, is another Coltrane-like ballad, not too dissimilar to "Infant Eyes" on Shorter's Speak No Evil album. Shortly thereafter, Shorter's compositions would begin to dominate the Quintet's recordings, though here he contributes only two of the seven songs.

This was the first time Wayne Shorter recorded with Miles, and the band - in this configuration - had been together for less than a year. As you will hear, the connection between the musicians is uncanny, as if they had been playing together for decades. Especially notice Wayne Shorter's brilliant interplay with Miles on the closing track "Mood," the haunting ballad written by bassist Ron Carter. At over forty-eight minutes, E.S.P. is one of the longest jazz albums of its period.

How does one properly introduce an epochal record? Perhaps by unequivocally stating that it is the best-selling jazz album in history. Or by affirming that, every year, it sells tens of thousands of copies more than five decades after its original release. There's also the matter of its status as the most-referenced, and arguably, most important, jazz recording of all-time. And the Dream Team line-up of Miles Davis, Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb. Yes, Kind of Blue is utterly inimitable.

In its three-decade-plus history, Mobile Fidelity has never been prouder to have the honour of handling efforts as important as Davis' key recordings. It's why the our engineers took every available measure to transport listeners to the March and April 1959 sessions that parlayed modal jazz into mainstream language. The blueprint for melodic improvisation and vamping, Kind of Blue simplifies tonal organization and chordal progression into an eminently beautiful, introspective tapestry stitched with swinging poetry, mellifluous soloing, compositional lyricism, transcendental harmonies, and group interplay of the highest calibre.

While no one has ever completely identified the magic behind the record's allure – the otherworldly nature is part of its inherent charm – much of the success lies with the band members. Davis intentionally hand-picked these musicians to comprise this particular cast, with everyone from former foil Evans to blues maestro Kelly to percussive genius Cobb interacting and reacting with peerless skill.

An audiophile favourite from the day it was issued, Kind of Blue takes on nirvanic sonic proportions via Mobile Fidelity's reissue. The expressive warmth, imaging clarity, frequency extension, and window-on-the-world breadth afforded by this new edition places music lovers right in the studio with the sextet. Close your eyes and, no matter how many times you may have heard it before, your experience will parallel that of the players that recorded these gems. Everyone shares in the excitement of not knowing what will happen and, as the music begins to lie out in front of you, you'll feel as if you've been whisked away to a jazz holy land. Quintessential.

After his first appearance on Specimen Records as a part of the, SPECTRO-017 with his track “React”, Arsonist Recorder now comes with a first solo-EP on the label, Arsonist Recorder now comes with a first solo-EP on the label, in which the producer reaches back into some deeper, almost trippy states of mind, accompanied by some ultimately addictive electro grooves.

The first track, “Vaxxer”, which also titles the EP, puts up a warehouse-worthy beat, handing out bass-punches as it moves along. A rude hi-hat pattern shuffles the groove, and once the rhythm has you hooked, some lush eerie synth patterns start to emerge transporting the listener to the rooftop of a skyscraper in a dystopian city.

Next up is “Oxidant”, which was written with a close friend in mind who was going through some difficult times. The strong determination of the pulsating bass, overlayed by a very emotional melodic element leads you from the contrast to unity, refecting, pushing forward.

“Multiverse” comes in with a thunderous boom, reminiscent of a huge spaceship landing, which could be a metaphor for events that land on top of our heads, which we have no control over and have to deal with. The track introduces an infectious 808-groove, building up, and some chilling synths warp their way straight into your mind to de-program all the viruses in there and set you free from any mind-control.

Finally, finishing off is “Shiffty”. It lands straight away with a heart-pounding beat, with bass-bots bouncing, adding an ultra-funky bassline that will keep your feet moving. Waves of synthy-bliss wash over as this groove connects all your individual elements together.

Mit "Where The Light Goes" erscheint am 26. Mai 2023 das erste neue Album seit über einem Jahrzehnt.

Die mehrfach mit Platin ausgezeichneten US-Pop-Rocker Matchbox Twenty meldeten sich zuletzt mit ihrer neuen Single "Wild Dogs (Running In A Slow Dream)" zurück und veröffentlichen damit ihre erste neue Musik seit über einem Jahrzehnt.
Der Song erscheint zeitgleich mit der Ankündigung des kommenden fünften Studioalbums "Where The Light Goes" , das am 26. Mai 2023 über Atlantic Records erscheinen wird.

Produziert von Gregg Wattenberg mit Paul Doucette und Kyle Cook, bietet die kommende Platte authentische, relevante und glaubwürdige Songs voller Energie.

2023 klingt die Band auf ihrem kommenden Album "Where The Light Goes" erfrischt wie eh und je und profitiert dabei auch von den jeweiligen Solo-Reisen der Musiker. Rob Thomas hat sich als einer der
angesehensten Künstler der letzten Jahre erwiesen. Er veröffentlichte fünf Soloalben und erhielt drei GRAMMY Awards, 11 BMI Awards, den allerersten Songwriters Hall of Fame Hal David Starlight Award, zwei Billboard "Songwriter of the Year"-Auszeichnungen und eine Top-5-Platzierung in den Billboard Top 20 Hot 100 Songwriters (2000-2011).

LIMITIERTE VINLY-EDITION DES GLEICHNAMIGEN ALBUMS ZUM ERSTEN MAL AUF VINYL.

"Kunst ist Krieg". Und vor allem Musik ist Krieg - der NACHTMAHR unserer westlichen Zivilisation. Wie eine bassdröhnende Lawine rollen die elektro-industrial-inspirierten Sperrfeuerbeats des neuen Soloprojekts von Thomas Rainer (L'AME IMMORTELLE) mit dem beängstigenden Namen auf die schwarzen Tanztempel zu, begleitet von elementaren Textfetzen, die keine Deckung zulassen: "Feuer frei!"

NACHTMAHR erscheint als "Deus ex machina", entfesselt im sadomasochistischsten Sinne "Ein Spiel" oder gibt sich schlicht elementar: "BoomBoomBoom" lässt den Titel Programm werden - "Ich habe nur ein einziges Interesse. Ob ihr lebt oder krepiert ist mir egal. Ich will Euch tanzen seh'n!" Peitschende Beatstrukturen, Elektro-Industrial im Stile von COMBICHRIST, SUICIDE COMMANDO oder FEINDFLUG und provokative Samples schlagen einen ebenso apokalyptisch-kriegerischen wie unwiderstehlichen Ton an. "Feuer frei!"

- Schwarzes, 180 Gramm schweres 12" Vinyl
- Extra audiophiler Tonträger von hoher Qualität - deutsche Pressung!
- Stabile Kastentasche
- Bedruckte Innenhülle
- Bedruckte Vinyletiketten
- Handnummeriert
- Limitiert auf 500 Exemplare

Zum 20jährigen Firmen Jubiläum legt die Hamburger Indie Institution Grand Hotel van Cleef 20 Klassiker Alben aus ihrem Katalog als limitierte Marbled Vinyle neu auf. Alle 3 Monate erscheinen je 5 legendäre Alben. Mit dabei u.a. Kettcar, Thees Uhlmann, Tomte, Fortuna Ehrenfeld, Escapado und Fjort.

180 Gram Vinyl Following the success of the 2021 reissue of Ambient Warrior’s cult classic Dub Journey's (1995), Isle of Jura is pleased to present their unreleased second album, II. Born from the same oceanside fusion of instrumental dub, reggae, bossa nova and tango music that made Dub Journey's so distinctive and memorable, II is an equally sublime collection of eleven unheard tracks from the brilliant minds of Ronnie Lion and Andrea Terrano.

Evoking the delights of white sands, palm trees and sunsets, all set against clear waters and endless blue skies, Dub Journey’s and II document the golden moment when Ambient Warrior came together during the mid-90s to create some of the most Balearic Dub ever made. “Music is the greatest traveler, isn’t it?” says Ronnie. “It gets to places the actual artists can’t even get to really.”

The son of an orphaned Jamaican jazz trumpet player and professional boxer who enlisted in the military after stowing away on a boat to London, Ronnie grew up between Germany, Singapore and the UK before becoming a working musician in his mid-teens. A bass player by trade, he honed his skills playing in a series of soul, jazz-funk, blues, rock and reggae bands that performed throughout the UK.

By the time Ambient Warrior released Dub Journey’s, Ronnie and his business partner Ras Joseph were running the Lion Inc. recording studio and record label in Brixton, London. Having set up distribution arrangements with Roots Records (UK) and Semaphore (DEU/NL), they recorded and released a series of singles, compilations and solo albums from a who’s who of roots reggae artists, including Twinkle Brothers, Delroy Washington, Michael Prophet, Alton Ellis, Little Roy, and Ronnie’s own band The Amharic. “Lion was a regular port of call for visiting Jamaican artists,” reflects Ronnie. “When you were in London, it was on the route.”

An accomplished guitarist, producer and recording engineer from Trieste, Italy, Andrea grew up listening to Russian folk, Klezmer and the Italian harmony tradition in a Sicilian-Ukrainian family. After completing compulsory Italian military service, he moved to London to continue studying music. One night, he turned up at Lion Inc. and approached them about running audio engineering classes from the studio.

In Andrea, Ronnie found a collaborator who shared his desire to create borderless music that reflected the diversity of their backgrounds. “I wanted to do something that had no boundaries,” Ronnie explains. “If you’re working on a roots album, it has to sound a certain way, but with Ambient, especially in the nineties, it was just a license to let off. You could do whatever you wanted to do.” “It was a melting pot of influences like London itself,” adds Andrea.

Although they wrote most of II at the same time as they were recording Dub Journey’s, it took them several years to finish off the album. “Things never got done quickly,” Ronnie remembers. By the time it was complete, Roots Records had gone out of business, leaving Lion Inc. without UK distribution. Not long after, their Brixton studio flooded, bringing the label to a close.

These days, Andrea continues to work as a session guitarist, recording engineer and producer in London. Over the last two decades, he has collaborated regularly with Basement Jaxx and released several solo albums. Ronnie, on the other hand, lives on a boat equipped with an onboard studio, where he has recorded a series of oceanic dub albums off the British coast. Twenty-eight years after the release of Dub Journey’s, he recently started working on demos for a third Ambient Warrior album he hopes to record with Andrea in the not-so-distant future.

Artwork By Bradley Pinkerton.

Alison Goldfrapp has set a towering bar for British synth-pop in the 21st century and she’s only just getting started. The magnetic London-born singer, songwriter and producer’s seven albums with Goldfrapp were fuelled by an unfailing modernity and a sixth sense for sounds that were more timeless than any trend. With the release of her debut solo album The Love Invention—an electrifying dance-pop suite—her multi-faceted musicianship reaches a new peak.

The Love Invention marks Alison’s reawakening as a dancefloor priestess, in an intoxicating showcase of the disco and house influences that have always been at the heart of her musical DNA. “So Hard So Hot” bottles the ephemeral joy of a dancefloor with its anthemic house beat, disco handclaps, and an exquisitely alluring vocal from Alison. The sense of uninhibited liberation courses through album highlights like “In Electric Blue,” a yearning synth-pop confection with a chorus as blissful as love’s first butterflies. On “Never Stop,” she is flooded with the rush of an all-encompassing love over a buoyant, rubberised beat; the sublime synth-pop of “Fever” is an ode to the intoxicating majesty of the dancefloor, with a chorus that explodes as if setting off a glitter cannon.

Fresh off the release of his own ‘Repertoire’ EP and label showcases in Berlin and Brooklyn, label boss Beartrax now prepares the twelfth Melodize vinyl, this time handing a debut to Manuel Ortúzar aka Aural Trace, who delivers the neon-drenched ’Midnight Thoughts’ EP.

As one half of Random Atlas, the young producer can be found exploring the boundaries of New Wave and Post Punk. Flying solo as Aural Trace however, the Chilean embarks on more synthesized Italo dreams.


The EP kicks off with ‘Soft Lips.’ A non-stop, full-speed drive through the radiant passages of outer space loaded with fast synth arpeggios, epic strings and aggressive linn beats, the track is underpinned by a mean bass line and a glossy layer of refinement that will keep those lips super supple.

“Midnight Thoughts” is characterised by lush retro pads, raw 707 drums, and longing gentle melodies that form to create a romantic midnight Italo delirium, whilst “Resolution” is a romantic ode to an unforgettable time where introspective dx feelings meet tense, detuned synth pads, agitated large gated drums, and a huge, rounded bass.

Completing the package with a wonderfully compelling rework of ’Soft Lips’ is Melodize favorite Chinaski, who ramps up the tempo whilst staying true to the blazing vibe of the original.

Celebrating 30 years of Tori Amos’ debut solo album ‘Little Earthquakes.’ Amos became the voice of a generation of young girls when she delivered her first solo record in 1992. Each of the tracks on Little Earthquakes painted an evocative picture, and the album delivered 5 singles: “Crucify,” “Silent All These Years,” “Winter,” “China,” “Me and A Gun.”
The album has already received the deluxe treatment in 2006, and this 2-LP is the first time the tracks have been remastered for this format, lovingly remastered by Jon Astley at Abbey Road Studios. In 2022, to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the record, Z2 announced a graphic novel of the album. Amos will be bringing her tour ‘Ocean to Ocean’ to the UK in March/April 2023.