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Just over a decade ago, Japanese indie-pop duo Tenniscoats recorded »Papa's Ear« (2012) and »Tan-Tan Therapy« (2007), two albums made with musical and production help from Swedish post-rock/folk trio Tape. Originally released on Häpna, they are beautiful documents of the exploratory music made by a close-knit collective of musicians, fully at ease with each other, playing songs written by Tenniscoats and arranging them in gentle and generous ways. Released during a particularly productive time for Tenniscoats – during the late ‘00s and early ‘10s, they would also collaborate with Jad Fair, The Pastels, Secai and Pastacas – they have, however, never been available on vinyl. In collaboration with Alien Transistor, Morr Music is now reissuing these albums both digitally and on double vinyl, with extra tracks.

This reissue mini-series starts with »Papa’s Ear«. The second album from this expanded line-up of Tenniscoats, you can hear the musicians are immediately comfortable in each other’s presence, and they’ve almost intuitively understood what they can offer to one another. Saya and Ueno of Tenniscoats bring their magical, gentle folk-pop sensibility, and their winning way with straightforward, yet lush melodies. Johan Berthling, along with fellow Tape member Tomas Hallonsten, plus guests Fredrik Ljungkvist, Lars Skoglund, Andreas Söderstrom and Andreas Werlin, all generous and creative presences in the Swedish jazz underground, shades in the songs with endlessly inventive arrangements, highlighting the warmth and curiosity at the core of the Tenniscoats’ aesthetic – sometimes taking the songs in unexpected directions, other times pillowing the melodies with the softest of brushstrokes and the kindest of tones.

»Papa’s Ear« includes some of Tenniscoats’ most memorable songs. »Papaya« is a lustrous dreamland of a song, with the Swedish musicians singing ‘pa-pa-ya’ as an enchanted tattoo, while Saya’s piano and melodica clank and huff out, further expanding the song’s horizon. It’s followed by the spindly and mysterious »Sappolondon«, where drums and double-bass shuffle and pulse under weeping accordion and bittersweet clarinet. Saya’s voice sighs into the frame while the musicians breathe lungfuls of sweet drones and flick glittering countermelodies across the song’s surface. It reminds a little of the wild kindness of Movietone, or the regal charm of Carla Bley’s compositions.

Elsewhere, you can hear Tape and their friends embracing the freedom offered by the songs of Tenniscoats: see, for example, the glistening electronics in »På floden«, like a keyboard conducting a music box on a distant planet; or the descending phrase for winds on »Sabaku«, dovetailing beautifully into a creek of moon-lit texturology. The double-LP ends with two extra tracks, drawn from the 2008 Tenniscoats/Tape split single, also released by Häpna., »Lutie Lutie« is a sweet delight, driven by a clacking drum machine, the Tenniscoats duo joined by Hallonsten on glockenspiel and synthesizer, and special guest, Japanese indie-pop legend Kazumi Nikaido, as choir. »Come Maddalena« rounds off the set, a brooding cover of an Ennio Morricone tune, the music by Tape, the vocals by Tenniscoats and Nikaido. Open-hearted and full of puckish spirit, »Papa’s Ear« is an album of great tenderness and warm friendship.

The Altons return with two awe-inspiring sides of soulful excellence. Bryan Ponce's delicate, plaintive vocal, this time accompanied by the sweet, rich timbre of Adriana Flores make for two earnest duets that exude palpable chemistry. On "Tangled Up" the pair sing of a love affair that has run its course but (against their better judgement) lingers in the form of late night entanglements and dream-induced longing - imprisoning the lovers on a carousel of heartache and despair. "Soon Enough" is a gorgeously sparse ballad rife with melancholic guitar, percolating percussion and a groove that will have you swaying side to side with the one you love.

New York-based duo Bottler, Pat Butler and Phil Shore, are the vanguard of their own distinctly eclectic sound. Raw, emotive, bold and highly creative, the duo has successfully carved out their own path with a series of EPs that represent the broad scope of their production prowess. Over the last five years Bottler have been working on their debut album, ‘Journey Work’, a milestone achievement that marks a pivotal moment in their music career. The LP is a distillation of the duo’s multifaceted upbringing, blending a variety of styles together bound together by an overarching attitude and approach that embraces creative freedom and self-acceptance.



Pat and Phil are childhood friends whose bond is akin to that of blood relatives. Their parents are best friends and they grew up side by side, developing their deep love for music together; sharing discoveries and inspirations, learning to play and perform, and nurturing their creativity together. Now formally ordained as Bottler, they channel their eclectic tastes into a sound that encapsulates the love and trust that forms the foundation of the friendship. The duo blends a myriad of styles to create songs that emanate warmth, joy, sorrow, pain and the full spectrum of human emotion.



The album title, like their music, is open to interpretation. The duo reveals themes related to chronicling life’s many ups and downs, the deep preparation that must be taken ahead of a spiritual ceremony or psychedelic experience, and, simply, the journey taken during the conception and creation of an album. A quote from Walt Whitman also partly inspired the title; “every leaf of grass is no less than the journey work of the stars”. However, the intention behind the title is to allow for ambiguity, giving the listener an opportunity to write their own narrative.



Across 11 cuts Bottler illustrate their distinct take on electronic music, weaving in elements of indie, pop, rock, house and techno with confidence and panache. ‘Journey Work’ starts at ‘Home’, a song that is fizzing with positive energy, Pat’s vocals welcoming the listener to the start of this meandering audio adventure.

‘Chrysalis’ opens with delicate piano keys that guide us into a bombastic bassline and energising drum beats. As it progresses, scintillating layers of synth and strings are added, creating a highly affecting, uplifting atmosphere.



‘Melatonin’ follows up next, merging heartfelt vocal delivery with a sombre instrumental, and a stirring guitar riff. A glorious demonstration of Bottler’s songwriting capabilities, which are also evident on ‘Vinyl’, an uptempo dance number with an unbelievably catchy chorus. Here we see the duo channel their experience of playing in multi-member bands, as the breaks and arrangement feel perfectly suited to a festival-sized crowd.



On ‘Tacoma’, Pat and Phil channel their appreciation of house and techno into a haunting cut that utilises reverse strings and extended vocal refrains to chilling effect. A heady club track for the twilight hours. ‘Meds’ incorporates muted singing, mystical pad work and a mesmerising riff to produce a captivating slice of uncomplicated dance music.



This is followed by ‘Hot Water’, which feels like a trip to a Californian beach, circa 1965. The vocals drift over a bouncing bassline with a complementary guitar riff. ‘Mako’ features Samurai Velvet singing about fireflies and afterlife in a wonderfully heartrending manner, Bottler’s instrumental keeping things simple, yet highly effective.



We head back underground with ‘Weed’, a dense, gloomy cut with inspired use of chopped up vocal clips, stuttered throughout, alongside a mean bassline. ‘You’re Old’ is the soundtrack to an explosion of festival euphoria, dancing shoulder to shoulder with your best friends, forgetting all your troubles and living in the moment. An anthemic song that transposes Bottler’s idiosyncratic style onto the pop blueprint. Finally, ‘Cicada Rhythm’ closes the LP with a pensive, yet joyful feeling. A chunky bassline is juxtaposed with Pat’s angelic vocals cascading over the top. A hint of tribalism comes through, as we approach the end of the Journey Work…



Five years in the making, fuelled by the desire to express their deep love for music of all varieties, Journey Work is symbolic of the long road it takes to accept oneself and be comfortable expressing one’s truth. Diverse, dynamic and daring with a rawness and honesty that is rare to find, the album marks a triumphant debut for Bottler and one that crystalises their unique identity.

Keith Farrugia a.k.a. Sound Synthesis delivering top quality electro tracks made up of dreamy melodies and a touch of acid. Produced with tons of analog devices and coming with that seal of quality he is known for. ''Ezzential Electro'' is the biggest project Electro Records has done so far. It consists of 36 vinyl records produced by artists they consider essential for the current underground electro movement. The first six parts of the series come in beautiful white silkscreen printed sleeves on recycled cardboard and include a real puzzle piece on the front cover, indicating which part of the series you have in your hands.

Repressed !

Rarely does an artist pay homage to the classics like Dimitri From Paris. The Grammy nominated producer, remixer, composer and DJ has made every one of his repertoire of reworks sound effortless; no mean feat when the original tracks are by the likes of Disco’s greatest musicians.

In 2018 he released his “lifetime achievement” on Glitterbox, with the strictly limited pressing of the ‘Dimitri From Paris presents Le Chic Remix’ boxset. Now the 12’s have their own separate outings, bringing greater focus onto the individual productions, as each vinyl features two of the incredible Dimitri remixes, along with their respective instrumentals on the B-Side.

On this record, Dimitri continues to get to the heart of why CHIC’s music remains so universally relevant, underlining the enduring cultural significance of dance music in its most unabashed form with his careful remixing of CHIC classics ‘My Forbidden Lover’ and
‘I Feel You Love Comin’ On’.

»Tides« marked a radical change in direction for Arovane. After Uwe Zahn had made a name for himself with cutting-edge IDM rhythms and slick ambient textures on a slew of releases, his sophomore album saw the prolific producer opt for a sample-based approach that resulted in a more organic sound and laid-back downbeat grooves. Having reissued Arovane’s seminal »Atol-Scrap« as a double LP in 2021, the Berlin-based Keplar label now makes »Tides« available on vinyl for the first time since its original release in 2000 through the legendary City Centre Offices. The new version has been remastered by Kassian Troyer at Dubplates & Mastering and comes with a brand new cover artwork. It shines a new light on a release for which Zahn quite literally ventured into previously unknown territory — »Tides« is an album that emits a timeless, quiet calm and nonetheless stays constantly in motion.

»The idea for the album came to me after a vacation in France«, says Zahn. Inspired by the landscape, especially the coastline and the sea, he made field recordings throughout his trip that were also used on the record, giving it its sensual feel. The foundation of the album however, the loose yet gripping grooves at the heart of every track, result from Zahn working extensively with samples. »I wanted to make use of drum sounds and small excerpts from old jazz vinyl records«, he explains. He maintained the unique sound signatures and rhythmic flutter of the source material while building intricate beats with them. Most of the material was culled from the record collection of Christian Kleine, whose spontaneous guitar improvisations over the first musical sketches were recorded and edited by Zahn and can be heard on four tracks. Also employing the occasional cembalo or spinet sound, he worked with a hardware sequencer and a delay to integrate the different, discrete elements into nine tracks that feel both dense and light at once.

What’s astonishing still 22 years later is how spacious »Tides« sounds. This is due to the fact that Zahn not only paid close attention to the sonic idiosyncrasies of his source material, but also to what happened in between those sounds. »Mark Hollis’s solo album was a huge inspiration at that time«, says Zahn. »What I find fascinating about it until this day is how silence and the subtle hiss of the mixing boards were being used on that record.« Silence was also an important stylistic element on »Tides« and adds greatly to the overall atmosphere of an album that with the appropriately named »Theme« immediately sets the mood with intricate spinet melodies: Zahn opens a door for his listeners and invites them to follow him to see a specific part of the world through his very own lens.

As a whole, the album mirrors Zahn’s trip that took him along the steep cliffs on a foggy day (»Seaside«), to an abandoned house in which he found old maps (»A Secret«), along the coastline during a long car ride (»Deauville«), to a sleepy village and the slowly moving sea (»Tides«) and finally back home to his native Germany where he started reflecting upon his experiences, ultimately deciding to translate them into music (»Epilogue«). »Whenever I listen to this album now, the images and memories it evokes are incredibly vivid and vibrant«, he says. It’s not hard to see — or rather hear — why. »Tides« may have been a deeply personal project, but it effortlessly evokes universal feelings by (re-)building an entire world in the course of only a few pieces of music.

From the mind of Caserta comes a brand-new imprint. God Hour picks up where Bridge Boots left off putting Caserta right back to work doing what he’s come to be best known for; turning old school joints, usually not meant for the dance floor, into modern day heaters.

'Playa' takes a '70s ballad about the one who got away and makes it a little less heart wrenching and a lot more danceable! The A side features the full vocal surrounded by the driving bass, drums and horns any good disco record should have. With lush Rhodes, strings and synths to warm things up and make you wonder where things went awry even while you’re 2 stepping the night away.

For those of you who cant come to grips with the fact that that special someone is gone or just plain hate lyrics then flip-er on over for a classic Caserta Dub.

Without the West German-born Väth, techno would look, sound and feel very different. Since falling in love with electronic music and DJing in 1981, his dedication to the art has never faltered. He plays every party as if it were his last. His broad smile has connected with millions of people around the world. His colourful and curious character has imbued techno with a personality it was often lacking. His selections remain hugely unpredictable, despite the fact that he has been playing around the world for more than 40 years. To remain not only relevant but innovative after so long is a testament to Sven's ability to connect through music on a deeper level.

Technically, of course, he is a DJ who can play for thirty hours and not miss a beat. His track selections seem almost divine, and his aura is certainly otherworldly. But more than that, he is a ringleader who is able to mix the artful side of techno with the playful side of partying. Most famously he has done this for more than 20 years at his iconic Cocoon parties in Ibiza. They single-handedly introduced techno to the White Isle and have been its beating heart ever since. Under his charge, strict style guidelines and exaggerated pigeonholing no longer apply. Instead, he has perfected the art of playing far and wide while always remaining true to his own musical identity.

In the studio, Sven has always been just as unique. He has worked under several aliases but always brought a fresh perspective. Whether securing chart hits as part of OFF in the eighties, serving up brutalist techno and trance-tinged sounds in the nineties or crafting major label albums in the 2000s, his music has remained utterly forward-looking. That legacy continues with Catharsis as Sven teams up with highly respected producer Gregor Tresher for his latest long-form offering. Tresher has long been part of the Cocoon family and is a revered artist in his own right, when the two got together in the studio it was clear they had an instant connection and there would only be one person fit to co-author this LP.

It is a record inspired by Sven's interest in the physical and spiritual processes that take place when we dance. "They are realms into which we immerse ourselves to experience our own mysticism and ecstasy," he muses. "Dancing is a conversation between body and soul and it spiritually connects us with each other." Because of the pandemic, that is of course a feeling that we all missed out on for so long. "No dancing, no paradise!" says Sven. "My imagination for this record was fueled by the many cultural experiences and encounters I have had in my life. They gave me the strength to find a way, the way to myself." And that way to himself is through music, through purifying dancing rituals and the exchange of spiritual energies that are generated in the club.

The thirteen-track album explores all facets of Sven's sound. It opens with the stomping drums but sleek synths of 'What I Used To Play' and unfolds through deep and dirty rhythms like 'The Worm', subtly euphoric highs on 'The Inner Voice' and the bubbly tribalism of the title track. There is the impassioned call-to-arms that is 'Feiern', peak-time melodic workout 'Mystic Voices' and soothing electronic lullabies like 'Being In Love'. The second half of the album takes in many more twists and turns such as the exotic strings and driving drums of 'Butoh', the paranoid techno minimalism of 'NYX' and expansive synthscapes of ambient gem 'The Cranes Of Gangtey Valley' before things play out though rugged beats and emotive chords on 'We Are', which is named after the idea that we are what we think. "With our thoughts, we make the world.? says Sven.

Then comes the moody reflection of 'Silvi's Dream', which was written in French for Sven's girlfriend. Last but not least we have the immersive dream that is 'Panta Rhei', which completes a trio of electronica tunes on the album. Ambient music has been an integral part on almost every album Sven has written because it can bring a certain emotional deepness, a quality that Sven always has been looking for.

'Catharsis' is an adventurous album that captures the good times, the sad times and, most importantly, the times of hope.

By the power of darkness and the might of black-hearted will no two Mayhem albums have been or will be the same. Over the course of Mayhem’s storied and groundbreaking 35-year career—from De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas (1994) through Esoteric Warfare (2014)—the Norwegians have continuously challenged the orthodoxy of the genre they helped create. Originally informed by greats Hellhammer, Venom, Bathory, and Sodom, the Norwegians eventually imbued their damnable attack with influences from all over the music extreme spectrum, indicated first on the harsh and angular Wolf’s Lair Abyss (1997) EP and foremost on the enterprisingly brutal and revolutionary Grand Declaration of War (2000). In 2019, Mayhem yet again reinvent on new album, Daemon. “Mayhem will always be Mayhem,” says guitarist/songwriter Teloch (aka Morten Bergeton Iversen) says. “If we put the genre game aside a bit, no one else sounds like Mayhem. Even when De Mysteriis came out, it was not at first considered to be a black metal album, if my memory serves me right. Tricky to label this band, metal would be the most fitting; it’s not pure black metal in my opinion. Not sure it has ever been actually, despite what the general opinion is. People can call it whatever they want. If it’s black metal to them, then fine. We don’t really care. But to me it’s important to keep some sort of black metal vibe at least

25TH DELUXE ANNIVERSARY EDITION OF AMERICAN BABYLON FEATURING LIVE TRACKS WITH BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN Grushecky and his band had been a club fixture in the Northeast for nearly 25 years when they released American Babylon in 1995. The Pittsburgh band had proven themselves to be the consummate bar band with occasional flirtations with national success. American Babylon found them teaming up with Bruce Springsteen, who handles production, plays on several tracks, and wrote two songs for the album. The title track is an uptempo rocker detailing the disintegration of societal mores. There are plenty of songs outlining love gone wrong and the struggles of common folk, all delivered in Grushecky’s warm, well-worn voice over a barroom mixture of blues-based traditional rock. However, delivered with such earnestness and spirit makes American Babylon a worthy contender and an enjoyable listen for fans of Mellencamp, Seger, and, especially, Springsteen. The 25th anniversary deluxe reissue edition will include LIVE tracks from the Houserockers’ legendary October Assault Tour recorded at an enthusiastic hometown show that same year. “American Babylon is an impassioned, sharply-etched portrait of working-stiff triumphs and travails.” -Rick Reger, Chicago Tribune “As the leader of the Pittsburgh-based Iron City Houserockers, Joe Grushecky hammered out four heartland rock albums in the late 70s and early 1980s. These won over more critics than fans, so he became a special education teacher to support his family. Still, he maintained a close relationship with Bruce Springsteen, and in 1995, they teamed up for American Babylon. The two remain tight and play together at least once a year, but this album remains their greatest joint accomplishment.” -Rolling Stone “At a time when rock had splintered into grunge, industrial, alternative, and more, Joe Grushecky planted a defiant flag in the soul of rock and roll with American Babylon--one of the very best and undeservedly overlooked albums of the 1990s, and one that sounds just as fresh, vibrant, and relevant 25 years later. Bruce Springsteen may have helped bring the album to life, but his contributions only elevate a collection of songs that in another time would have been radio classics on their own.” -Ken Rosen, E Street Shuffle

For WEMA, collaboration is a state of mind. The five-piece collective - consisting of Tanzanian multi-instrumentalist Msafiri Zawose, producer Photay and Penya members Magnus P.I, Lilli Elina and Jimmy le Messurier - is an artistic pursuit founded on community; a space in which to harness the transformative power of connection. Translated from Swahili, 'wema' means kindness and benevolence - virtues that lie at the core of the project, and are reflected in the group's world-embracing approach to music. "WEMA is a state of gratitude and belief, without sorrow or grief. It's about giving your entire heart," Msafiri declares. WEMA's beginnings, however, have a more cosmic origin. As the world ground to a halt in March 2020, Photay and Magnus were both feeling the strain of creative burnout. Both artists had been keen to collaborate for a while, but the stars never quite aligned - until an off-hand conversation about the pressures of losing yourself to a project sparked an unlikely moment of inspiration. The pair began exchanging their backlog of beats, home-spun demos and unfinished ideas. Before they knew it, their songs began to take real shape - and it was some of the most invigorating music they'd ever written.

The word that jumps to mind when hearing Deanna Petcoff's music for the first time is “yearning”. A whirlwind of emotions, her debut record To Hell With You, I Love You is a reckoning with the loss of a relationship, documenting the aggressive highs and deeply emotional lows that come from falling out of love.

Recorded in Toronto over the course of a year spent in-and-out of lockdowns, she was able to look more closely at the nuances and minutiae of relationships and examine the ways in which they can either grow or falter. She writes about her frustrating experiences as a24-year old woman finding her voice and identity while navigating a never changing world, exploring the ins and outs of love and heartbreak with a grace and quick wit that belies her year. Her rich, textured voice juxtaposes her soft imagery and her vulnerable and starkly honest lyrics welcome us into a world where even a fleeting moment of emotion can become its own monument.

Based in Toronto, ON, Petcoff shaped her own unique brand of beautiful and confessional indie rock through years of devotion to music, sharing stage with the likes of Molly Burch, Tokyo Police Club, The Nude Party and many more. She excels with heart-on-her-sleeve-emotive lyricism that showcases her strength as a songwriter and a vocalist, and on To Hell With You, I Love You, she wanted to present “the whirlwind of emotions you have when you’re grieving a relationship, which can feel like the death of a part of you or what you thought your life was going to look like.” It’s an album that ebbs and flows with a confidence and an assuredness as she tackles the highs and lows of falling in and out of love, and everything in between.

Working closely with two time Grammy winner Victor Rice (Easy Star All- Stars, Bixiga 70, Ticklah), JonQuan fashions brand new tunes that evoke the majesty of the golden age of reggae.

The digital version is 20 tracks with instrumentals and vocal versions while the vinyl version features all 10 of the vocal versions on black vinyl.

The singles released from this album have caught the ear of the tastemakers of the reggae world, including David Rodigan, who has spun multiple songs on his weekly BBC show

On their third album »Constant Connection«, West Australian-based Erasers create hypnotic compositions of synth, guitar and voice, evoking the vast expanse of their native landscape and the shrouded emotions behind the senses. Comprising of vocalist, synth player Rebecca Orchard and Rupert Thomas on guitar and synths, Erasers have developed their earthly kosmische music into an open language based on drone, variation in repetition and minimal song structures. Based in Perth, regarded one of the most isolated cities in the world, Orchard and Thomas’s music has brewed in the city’s vibrant DIY/Outsider community and evolved into a meditation on landscape, power, the shadow-world of human emotions and stream of consciousness. »Constant Connection«, with its waves of sound and chant-like vocals evokes a trance that suggests an infinity just beyond the senses.

At the heart of each Erasers composition is the interplay between the instrumentation, played with stoic restraint and recorded directly with minimal effects and the transcendental states induced in the listener. It’s a magic that is performed in plain sight and all the more powerful for it. The recognisable vibrato of Fender Rhodes keyboards and simple drum machine loops, the subtle strands of analog synth melodies that snake in and out of the ear, above all the towering encantations of Rebecca Orchard’s undeniably Australian-accented hymns; all of this is presented with minimal ostentation and yet it instantly engenders a dream state, hints at an infinity beyond the material.

Shades of John Cale’s 70s work with Nico, early 70s German synthesists Kluster and even fellow Australians Fabulous Diamonds can be seen as stylistic touchstones for Constant Connection. Where Nico hinted at the macabre and gothic, Rebecca Orchard’s similarly gliding vocal is more zoned in to a kind of oceanic openness, with words becoming chants and spells that suggested themselves to the singer during recording sessions. It’s this hidden hand of improvisatory, automatic writing that lends a sense of expanse to the music. On opener I Understand, while the lyrics might hint at discontent the emotional spectrum it opens up is far more rich and complex, as layered as the waves of droning chords that are the bedrock of each Erasers track. The title track talks of flow, continuum and balance, the protagonist in the song seemingly weightless, gently pulled through a walking reality that borders on dream. In Erasers’ world, it seems, the borders between reality and dream, consciousness and sub-consciousness are blurred and eroded.

On Constant Connection, Erasers’ music might be deeply evocative of landscape but it’s never clear which one. The vast, open terrain that surrounds Perth is dusty, burned by the sun into desert and Constant Connection feels like the product of the heat and relative isolation, the altered states these elements can create. But it’s these altered states of mind that appear to be the real landscape described by Erasers. It’s a landscape that’s hazy, in-and-out of focus, with emotional undertows pushing and pulling you into a weightlessness. On album closer Easy To See the band dispense with percussion all together, field recordings of the water at the edge of their native city ushering in two duetting synths. Orchard’s vocal undulates with the flow, viewing both the geographical and psychological landscape from the perspective of a consciousness not bound by bodies and from a timescale measured in millennia. The album ends as it begins, with field recordings of the real world that the music seeps out from, temporarily, before regressing back into the other realm it feels like it belongs to.

Between these two recorded hints of reality, Erasers manifest a deeply sensual dreamscape that constantly feels like it’s dissolving at its seams. A desert psychedelia emanating from a real world that might not be that real in the first place.

The Line Is A Curve is about letting go. The core of the record is that the pressures we face do not always have to be heavy burdens, but can be reframed; the more pressure a person is under, the greater the possibility for release.

The album plays like a chronicle of pressures - the mind-numbing pursuit of a comfortable life, the eternal striving for more, the pressures of the city, the country, the times. The pressures of maintaining relationships, of battling illness, addiction, poor mental health, the vacuous life of our online selves. As we move through these chronicles though, the mood brightens. The musicality becomes more expansive as the lyrical horizon broadens and we glimpse coastlines, high streets, scrap yards, train stations in the rain; the entire album begins to let go. We encounter the contributions of artists who I love and admire, guest vocalists and instrumentalists, and so we defeat the sense of isolation felt in the opening track with a sense of deeply connected community. More Pressure, the penultimate song, is the essence of the whole album and the epiphany that leads to Grace, which is a prayer, a surrendering; ‘Please move me, please move through me, please unscrew me, please loosen me up.’ But once we get to the end of Grace, and the album, we loop back to the start – to ‘Kiss off the day with a mute mouth. Pass the commute like I can die faster than you.’ Because no matter how much a person grapples with, realises, deeply understands, about life and their place in it, we still wake up in the morning back to square one. Life isn’t solved the minute you figure something out about it. It’s a daily operation to increase your resilience, cultivate a deeper acceptance, let go of what’s chasing you and lean in to the pressures. It’s cyclical, as I believe all things are. And instead of trying to fight the cycles, this album asks us to surrender to them. To let go.

These general themes, of acceptance, resilience, surrender are also about where I’m at in my personal life, in my journey towards a greater acceptance of myself as an artist and as a human being. Being more honest with the world and my community about who I am and letting go of some heavy heavy shame, which is a glorious thing.

This album has a beautiful heart, there is so much love running through it and I can’t wait for people to experience it.

Linda Fredriksson (they/them) shares their debut solo album "Juniper" on We Jazz Records, 29 Oct 2021. Linda (of Mopo and Superposition) has been working on the compositions heard on the album for several years, composing them mostly on guitar, keys and by singing. Only later have they been arranged for the band heard on the album, including Fredriksson on saxes and various instruments, Tuomo Prättälä (of ilmiliekki Quartet) on rhodes, moog and piano, Minna Koivisto on modular synth, moog and OP, Olavi Louhivuori (of Superposition) on drums, and Mikael Saastamoinen (of OK:KO and Superposition) on bass, plus featuring the Swedish artist Matti Bye on piano.

At heart, "Juniper" is a "singer-songwriter album", performed by an instrumental jazz band. The end result is unique, personal, and as Linda themself puts it "quiet and introspective". The first single from the album is "Neon Light and the sky was trans", "a song from the shining streets – the beginning of something new", featuring field recordings of rain falling down behind the window of Linda's Helsinki working space.

It's a fitting introduction to an album full on wonders and carefully crafted secrets ready to be discovered. "Juniper" is a world unto itself, and Fredriksson describes the process as one of isolation and of learning slowly to do new things. After the demo stage, the songs were taken to the full band, but what's on the record often stays true to the minimal nature of the early demos. Linda credits their co-producer Minna Koivisto as a key ally in the process of maintaining the demo sessions' fragile beauty on the actual finished record.

With regards to instrumentation, those who have heard Linda Fredriksson in Mopo and Superposition are likely to be surprised by their credit listing including not only alto and baritone saxophones, plus bass clarinet, but also guitar, Rhythmic8 synths, ambience recordings and drum programming. Linda describes the way of finding new sounds through their beloved old guitar as follows: "It's an old acoustic guitar that has been hit by a car and is literally full of holes, but that makes the sound just perfect for this album and you can hear the instrument on 'Pinetree song' and 'Lempilauluni' (Finnish for 'My Loved Song')."

In fact, Linda began their music-making with guitar and vocals, and the debut of the hole-filled vintage acoustic guitar makes perfect sense here, while also describing the album's immediate sound perhaps better than any other individual instrument used. The influence list for the album name checks the likes of Feist, Neil Young, Susanne Sundfør, Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Eric Dolphy and Fever Ray, yet the number one inspiration for Fredriksson prior to making the album was "Carrie and Lowell", the 2017 album by Sufjan Stevens. Different as the albums are in terms of instrumentation and general scope, it's fascinating to draw parallels between them by listening to the quietness and immediacy of the music. "Nana – Tepalle" also relates to the world of "Carrie and Lowell" in being a dedication to a lost family member, Linda's grandmother (she is featured in the digital single artwork).

Throughout the album, Linda plays their saxophones in a way that is serving music first and foremost. The musician's ego, so often at the forefront in jazz, takes a backseat, and the songs themselves remain. Linda thinks as a composer, utilising their instrument where and how necessary, not presenting "chops". "It's sometimes hard to play simple," they say, "but I tried to follow my instinct about what the songs need. The mood rules here, any solos or improvisations happen around that at all times."

"Juniper" can still be heard as a jazz album, but perhaps one reminding that the word doesn't need to mean any one thing in particular. At its best, jazz music is highly personal and "of the moment", both true on "Juniper". The album has been made in two different studios, three homes, two summer cottages and four working spaces. It was recorded with professional studio equipment but also with an iPhone and on a basic built-in laptop speaker. With that, "Juniper" stands as a remarkable musical diary of a creative musician and composer during the early 2020's.

Sitting back to back, with their silhouettes filtered through lamplight and street smoke, neo-soul duo The Altons have returned with two slow, gushing jams. Adjacent to the local jazz club's neon signage comes the blissful harmonies of Bryan Ponce and Adriana Flores on 'Tangled Up In You', a hurtful song that carries with it a tinge of psych rock. The B-side duet, 'Soon Enough', sparsely fuses traditional jazz instruments for a lovers' reunion song. For all the soft-hearted among us, don't miss this one.

Continuing the label's special 7"s releases that capture the nascent 80s post punk, dub, funk and pop - as examined on releases by The Jellies, Woo, Phantom Band, 4AM and more - here a discovery of unheard demos from Dislocation Dance's Midnight Shift album.
As part of the eighties Manchester scene, the band's pop and jazz sensibilities have continued to garner attention, offering a rightful place in the city's rich music history.

With the closure of Richard Boon's New Hormones label in 1982, they came to the attention of Geoff Travis' Rough Trade. Creating a home studio in the basement of an old rambling farmhouse in Withington, Ian Runacres (guitar, vocals), with lyricist Paul Emmerson (bass), set to work creating demos to garner a deal.

Inspired by the funk-disco of Dr Buzzards Original Savannah Band debut album, Here Comes Love was written using Roland TR-606 drum machine, guitars, bass and (cheap) keyboard, its magical and lo-fi charmed quality melts hearts.

On Mr Zak, the fun Runacres had is evident. Written as an "indie" song, but with Aztec Camera and Burt Bacharrach on his mind, with Andy Diagram (trumpet) and Kathryn Way (vocals), hides a structure matching the album version, but which in its rudimentary instrumentation and production is unique and outshines the later version, to encase a specific period and innocence, of time.

Limited to 1000 copies.
Pressed on Blue Vinyl.
Includes postcard and poster.
The Bluebells have dug deep into their archive to give us the earliest recordings of these tracks, which have never been released before and are exclusive to this 7”
‘Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool’ is longer and more vibrant containing an extra verse and guitar solo which are not on previous versions. This is the closest recording to the one that was originally intended to be released on Postcard in 1981. The sleeve, designed by Bobby Bluebell features 2 of the earliest photos of the band.
THE BLUEBELLS were formed by songwriter / guitarist Robert Hodgens aka Bobby Bluebell in 1980. When deciding to form a group to start performing his songs, Hodgens remembered two punk musicians from Bothwell (brothers Ken and David McCluskey) he had interviewed for his fanzine, 10 Commandments. David (drums/ backing vocals) and Ken (vocals / harmonica) joined Robert and The Bluebells started performing live in and around Glasgow.
The Bluebells were soon involved in the burgeoning scene coalescing around Postcard Records in Glasgow (Orange Juice, Josef K, Go Betweens, Aztec Camera, Jazzateers), and it wasn’t long before The Bluebells were sharing stages throughout the UK with some of the Postcard groups. A single (Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool) was scheduled for release on Postcard, however after appearing on the
front page on Melody Maker and in NME / Sounds etc, major record companies started making serious offers to sign the group. The Bluebells appeared on BBC music program The Old Grey Whistle Test, the first unsigned group to do so, and it wasn’t long after this television appearance that the group signed a major record contract with London Records.
The Bluebells were soon in the studio working on songs for their debut album, with Elvis Costello producing. They were invited to open on UK tours for Haircut 100 and Elvis Costello & The Attractions, and started releasing singles to critical acclaim (Forevermore, Cath, Sugar Bridge). However it was their fourth single I’m Falling (co-written by Robert and Ken) that finally resulted in commercial success, chart success, and appearances on Top of the Pops.
The Bluebells released their debut album, Sisters, in 1984 to further commercial chart success, which was continued when their next single, Young At Heart, gave the group their second big hit single. However, when Young At Heart was reissued
in 1993, it reached number 1 in the chart for a month, making The Bluebells regular fixtures on Top Of The Pops

Originally released in 1982, Anna's cosmic coldwave bomb "Systems Breaking Down" is one of the most mysterious singles of the period. Remarkably, it was released on a major label - RCA - yet very little is known about the shadowy Anna.

Despite being recorded nearly 35 years ago, it still sounds strikingly vital. Both sonically relevant and lyrically prescient, it's hard to imagine a more apposite track to soundtrack the dark days we're currently occupying. A masterful study in dread, describing the gentle collapse of all structures, it is set against a backdrop of eerie, synth-heavy electronics.

Produced by 80s disco-pop mavericks Geraint Hughes and Ken Leray, the A-Side contains the epic synth-pop original, all heart-wrenching atmosphere and haunting vocals.

The B-Side wins again, however. The more uptempo 'Dance Version' is a dubbed out dark-disco tour-de-force, with cut-up vocals drifting in and out of a bassline that throbs like Carpenter's best (think Assault on Precinct 13) and a palette of head-nod minimal wave.

Both sought-after mixes have been remastered for vinyl by Simon Francis and are housed in a replica jacket of the maxi original. Outstanding.

The new album ‘Til The Oceans Overflow’
connects with the 40th Anniversary of Fischer-Z’s
iconic ‘Red Skies Over Paradise’ album. It is set
once again in Berlin and contrasts the personal,
political and social changes between 1980 and
2020. The internet and social media have radically
affected people’s freedoms and manipulability and
characters mentioned in the 1980s songs are
brought forward 40 years in their lives to illustrate
some of these changes.

The basics of this new album were recorded by
founding member / frontman John Watts in the
famous Hansa Studios in Berlin but the pandemic
put just about everything on pause. His
international band contributed parts from home
across the internet to John in Brighton, who
included them in his production.

John Watts, the heart and soul of the ever-evolving
Fischer-Z - by definition a live performer - has
spent the last year and a half getting his teeth into
making this new themed band album. He is more
eager than ever to promote the new songs, along
with all his classic hits, with a gigantic list of
upcoming shows.

Fischer-Z are stronger than ever. Their last album,
‘Swimming In Thunderstorms’ (2019), put them
back on the map big time with many festivalappearances and sold out club shows:

This album doesn't blurt it out: There is no loud "Ta-Dah!", no exclamation mark. "The ghost that carried us away" flatters in a rather unobtrusive way. However, it has encircled you after the third song at the latest. Fragile hymns of nonchalant casualness, created by the 24-year-old Sindri Már Sigfússon. Guitars, piano, his almost bashful and yet so present voice. "Nature, mortality, love", these are the topics of his debut album. Even the one who listens only briefly, is able to make them out within the sounds. "Do you remember how the things look when you were young."

Reykjavik again. Iceland, the musical heartland. On top of that, there is a violinist with her voice in the clouds: Gudbjörg Hlin Gudmundsdóttir (violine, vocals, harmonica). There further are musicians Sindri shared his hometown and his passion: Orn (guitar, lapsteel) who forms together with Sindri and Gudbjörg the inner triangle of Seabear. Or Eiki, Orvar, Gudni and Dóri. One plays the flugelhorn, the slide-guitar or upright-bass. One belong to the live line-up of Sigur Rós (Eiki). Another is part of the sensational múm (Orvar). Some are stage members of Benni Hemm Hemm's Band - the other Icelandic artist on morr music. Sindri Már Sigfusson has invited them into his small studio, placed them in front of the only microphone, let them think about his musical thoughts. He likes the notion and the feeling of LoFi, Sindri says. Only for the recording of the drums three microphones were used. The result is reminiscent of the reduced stereo recordings of the 1960ies.

Libraries is the most direct promise that pop music is able to make. Tiny and gigantic, unobtrusive and exciting at the same time. A song like a blink into the most beautiful sunrise. A tumbling piano, swinging drums. Melodies, melancholy: "My little bird flew away from me". Or "hands remember", the singing being close to one's ear. "The voice of an old friend", a murmur, two violins. There is later "summer bird diamond", birds twitter to the accords of an old banjo, a glockenspiel. It is almost a radio play, chamber folk. And "seashell" at last, a pocket symphony, arranged around jumping drums. Sufjan Stevens would have done it in a very similar way.

FROM MUSIC COMES HARMONY
HARMONY BRINGS BALANCE
BALANCE RESTORES PEACE
Enter the heart of drums ..

With obvious intent Nui and Simon set out to create an album that encompasses all of their influences and experiences as musicians and journeymen in the world of African inspired rhythm and sound and have arrived at a work that is at once global, innovative and deeply funky !

It’s been an incredible journey that has taken them from the wilds of the northern hinterlands of New South Wales in Australia to the dreamy secret gardens of Marrakesh, from the onsite recordings of Afro-Cuban choirs of Havana, to the Gnawa street sounds of Moroccan medinas.

Nui and Simon have traversed the globe to create these recordings and have collected diverse and international group of artists to collaborate with in the making of Heart of Drums.

Artists such as Cazeaux Oslo, who is an African-American Mc and vocalist hailing from California.

Olugbade Okunade , Nigerian trumpeter and vocalist , was formerly a member of the Femi Kuti Positive Force band.

Members of Clave y Guaguanco, One of Cuba’s foremost folkloric groups, who have been around since the 60’s.

Lalita Yagnik, Portuguese Speaking Indian, vocalist and martial artist.

Radouan Naim, Traditional Moroccan vocalist and instrumentalist .

And

Close Counters, Australian Up and coming Electronic duo.

Digital Afrika is made up of two main protagonists:

Zhonu ‘Nui” Moon (Future Roots)
An African-Australian producer, percussionist and Dj that has performed and recorded all over the world.

With a strong focus on African music,He has worked with the likes of Femi Kuti , Mulatu Astake and Tony Allen.

And Simon Durrington (Si Fixion ) who is an Australian based producer, keys player and DJ. With extensive experience of working with Melanesian , Indian and world musicians.

Drawing on these influences, Si weaves these styles together seamlessly with his unique high quality electronic production.

This album ‘Heart of Drums’ is a synergy of lush analog electronica and fiery African percussion, vocals and instrumentation.

With occasional reinvented throwbacks to the Disco and Funk era as well as forward thinking Afro-futuristic Record bag essentials, Heart of Drums really brings the party!

These are constructed dance floor motivators for any environment.

The artwork for this record deserves special mention as the mask was handcrafted by the interesting and talented artist Ju Mu Monster. Based in Berlin, the studied fashion designer creates colourful, wildly dancing image-worlds, in which beings from diverse cultures are combined with shamanism and spiritual worlds. Her enchanting works of art include murals and canvases as well as magical masks.

All tracks produced and arranged by Zhonu (Nui) Moon & Simon Durrington

Soul Jazz Records are releasing PUNK 45: I’m A Mess, a new collection of punk and D-I-Y rare 45s from the UK, as a one-off pressing limited-edition double album with a bonus 45 exclusive
for Record Store Day 2022.

Soul Jazz Records’ long-lasting Punk 45 series are high-quality editions of early punk 45s. While previous editions have focussed on the early days of punk in Los Angeles, Cleveland, Akron, France, and proto-punk, this new edition focusses on mainly do-it-yourself, or self-released 45s, all made in the UK in the early days of punk.
While only a handful of Punk 45s were released in 1976, the following two years produced an avalanche of them. Aside from the few punk bands who signed to major labels, many of these singles were self-released private press 45s or independent label 45s. With limited distribution and access to the media, many of these sunk without trace and were lost in history. This album features many of these independent punk 45 gems, lost nuggets of gold from the sea of time!
The bands featured here come from all across the United Kingdom. Here you will find The Drive, Scotlands’ answer to the New York Dolls, Dansette Damage from Newcastle, Stormtrooper, from the Isle of Wight and many more - a snapshot of some of the finest private-press 45s ever made.

Other bands include Cybermen, The Exile, Neon as well as the early punk incarnations Johnny and The Self-Abusers (who later became Simple Minds) and The Killjoys (with vocals by Kevin Rowland who later formed Dexy’s Midnight Runners).

These are all one-off and super rare releases from bands that you have probably never heard of! – totally hidden gems from the wastelands of the early days of punk. Totally in keeping with the
spirit of the time, this is high-octane, righteously-independent - DIY or die!

The RSD special edition comes with an exclusive 45 of Stormtrooper ‘I’m A Mess’/’It’s Not Me’.

Favorite Recordings presents Dark Is The Color, the first LP by Alan Shearer reissued on vinyl for the first time. Despite being initially composed and produced for the French library label PSI, this rare
and obscure in-demand gem from 1985 sounds retrospectively like a proper album with great coherence and sophistication all along. Indeed, these 11 tracks will delight synthesizers addicts. Expect deeply emotive instrumental compositions, with ingenious analogue sequencing on stimulating chord progressions. The result is a highly retrofuturistic album, sometimes almost anticipating 90's videogames
scores. Just imagine Wally Badarou in a bunker with Talking Heads watching New York 1997 from John Carpenter.
Composed mostly step by step on a Sequential Pro-One synthesizer, Dark Is The Color is the product of the exciting state of mind from the 80's era with new sounds, new tools and new trends on the music spectrum. Influenced by bands like Talking Head or Japan, the sirens of the new wave scene strongly resonate here with Alan Shearer's familiarity and craftmanship with synthesizers.
Back in the days, Alan Shearer aka Frédéric Viger was working for his father’s music label, “Musique Pour L'image”, and their sublabel “PSI”. He started with Marathon Life under his real name before taking the Alan Shearer monitor. These records were produced for radio, TV and cinema industries but as well for companies’ internal communication. They represented a real investment from the label and these catalogues are usually full of amazing music from great artists such as Martial Solal, Vladimir Cosma, Joël Fajerman, Harlem Pop Trotters and even Manu Dibango.
About his musical illustration process, Alan Shearer tells: "Soundtracks are indeed my biggest influences and I'm a real fan of American composers as Jerry Goldsmith or Elmer Bernstein. I've always considered soundtracks as the new classical music or classical music of our century. There is a real state of mind producing music for illustration: you have to stick to the video. You should not tell what the image is saying but accompany what it is saying. You have to find a unique link, people always told me music should not be noticed for itself in a movie, that's what makes it good.”

The music of Isaac de Martin, aka IKE, blends jazz and electronic influences into warm, smooth, and often cinematic soundscapes. A certain eclecticism is not surprising considering that the Berlin-based composer, producer and guitarist was born in Italy into a musical family with British roots, studied classical guitar, graduated in jazz and went on to develop his personal style through creative experimentation, live touring and collaborative work with artists from a variety of disciplines and countries.

The Great Escape, his second album under the moniker IKE, is a collection of songs and instrumental pieces that have a common theme: the escape from – or possible antidotes to – our present techno-scientific society. It is an invitation to take courage, look into ourselves, and go back to our inner child, seen as the guardian of a world of freedom, imagination, spontaneity and natural rhythms.

The concept for the album first came to IKE in mid-2019, when he started collaborating with American singer-songwriter and actress Sera Kalo. Not only did Sera's soulful melodies, powerful vocals and heart-felt lyrics beautifully complement IKE's elegant nu jazz compositions, but the songs they penned together unlocked a specific creative vision. IKE went on to explore and capture it over the next year or so, getting on board great musicians from the US, UK, Scandinavia and, of course, Italy.

Recorded in various locations by IKE himself, the album was mixed by Nene Baratto at Big Snuff Studio, Berlin, and mastered by Fabrizio De Carolis at Reference Mastering Studio, Rome. The stunning artwork is by Italian graphic designer Franz Longhi, who, in line with the album's concept, created an analog feel by hand painting on Xeroxed photographs.

Ltd. Pink Vinyl initial pressing. Lucius returns with their highly-anticipated new album Second Nature. Produced by Dave Cobb and Brandi Carlile, the album features ten new songs, with writing contributions from BRIT Award and Mercury Prize nominated Jenn Decilveo, amongst others. The new album is a portrait of singer and songwriters Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe's shared reflection, chronicling each other's seismic life shifts_motherhood, divorce, unplanned career pauses. On Second Nature, Wolfe explains, "It is a record that begs you not to sit in the difficult moments, but to dance through them. It touches upon all these stages of grief_and some of that is breakthrough, by the way. Being able to have the full spectrum of the experience that we have had, or that I've had in my divorce, or that we had in lockdown, having our careers come to a halt, so to speak. I think you can really hear and feel the spectrum of emotion and hopefully find the joy in the darkness. It does exist. That's why we made Second Nature and why we wanted it to sound the way it did: our focus was on dancing our way through the darkness." Recorded primarily at Nashville's historic RCA Studio A, the 10-song album was written by Laessig and Wolfe and features their longtime band members Peter Lalish, Dan Molad alongside Solomon Dorsey with additional contributions from Drew Erickson, Rob Moose and Gabriel Cabezas with mixing by Rob Kinelski and Molad as well as Carlile and Sheryl Crow on backing vocals. Second Nature is Lucius' third full-length album and first since 2016's Good Grief. Widely acclaimed since their debut album, The New York Times declares, "Luscious, luminous, lilting lullabies," while NPR Music asserts, "gorgeous, joyful songs" and Pitchfork praises, "powerful voices and a keen sense of melody." In addition to their work in the band, Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe have recorded with Sheryl Crow, Harry Styles, The War on Drugs, Ozzy Osborne and John Legend and toured extensively alongside Roger Waters.

Lucius returns with their highly-anticipated new album Second Nature. Produced by Dave Cobb and Brandi Carlile, the album features ten new songs, with writing contributions from BRIT Award and Mercury Prize nominated Jenn Decilveo, amongst others. The new album is a portrait of singer and songwriters Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe's shared reflection, chronicling each other's seismic life shifts_motherhood, divorce, unplanned career pauses. On Second Nature, Wolfe explains, "It is a record that begs you not to sit in the difficult moments, but to dance through them. It touches upon all these stages of grief_and some of that is breakthrough, by the way. Being able to have the full spectrum of the experience that we have had, or that I've had in my divorce, or that we had in lockdown, having our careers come to a halt, so to speak. I think you can really hear and feel the spectrum of emotion and hopefully find the joy in the darkness. It does exist. That's why we made Second Nature and why we wanted it to sound the way it did: our focus was on dancing our way through the darkness." Recorded primarily at Nashville's historic RCA Studio A, the 10-song album was written by Laessig and Wolfe and features their longtime band members Peter Lalish, Dan Molad alongside Solomon Dorsey with additional contributions from Drew Erickson, Rob Moose and Gabriel Cabezas with mixing by Rob Kinelski and Molad as well as Carlile and Sheryl Crow on backing vocals. Second Nature is Lucius' third full-length album and first since 2016's Good Grief. Widely acclaimed since their debut album, The New York Times declares, "Luscious, luminous, lilting lullabies," while NPR Music asserts, "gorgeous, joyful songs" and Pitchfork praises, "powerful voices and a keen sense of melody." In addition to their work in the band, Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe have recorded with Sheryl Crow, Harry Styles, The War on Drugs, Ozzy Osborne and John Legend and toured extensively alongside Roger Waters.

Seabear return with a new album. After a hiatus of 12 years - the bands most 'recent' LP dates back to 2010 - the much loved Icelandic collective presents »In Another Life«, a mesmerizing collection of songs, oscillating between indie pop and classic singer-songwriter material.

Sometimes, a long break is all it takes. Seabear, the band featuring the talents of Guðbjörg Hlín Guðmundsdóttir, Halldór Ragnarsson, Kjartan Bragi Bjarnason, Örn Ingi Ágústsson, Sindri Már Sigfússon (aka Sin Fang) and Sóley Stefánsdóttir (aka Sóley), did exactly that. Producing an album takes up a lot of energy. You do promotion, you tour quite a bit and afterwards you... well, you just do different things. "We had all focussed on other projects", Kjartan Bragi explains. "Solo careers, playing with other projects, other forms of art, working 'normal' jobs to make a living etc. It's nice to finally come together again with old friends and make music." During the break, music has been an integral part of the members’ daily lives. Sóley started a remarkable solo career (she just released her fourth solo-album), as did Sindri, under the name of Sin Fang, while Guðbjörg worked with Sigur Rós. However, all this was made possible by the disarming folk music of their 2007 debut LP »The Ghost That Carried Us Away«.

"We stayed in touch all along", adds Sindri. "During dinners etc. one question came up again and again: What would Seabear sound like today? After accomplishing so much together, we were indeed thinking a lot about the past, how it all began. This is what sparked the reunion and is also reflected in the lyrics, resurrecting our youth, hopes and dreams."

Now, in 2022, the band is ready to set a mark in the musical landscape once again – with 11 new songs coming straight from the heart, aimed at all who value emotions, the warmth and intimacy of songwriting, big yet subtle soundscapes, capturing the smallest tones and feelings.

"We have all matured on our different paths apart. It's exciting to make something new", says Kjartan. "We are 6 friends coming together again 10 years later to make songs and have fun doing it. We are now in a more relaxed environment to compose the music."

The songs on »In Another Life« sound and come across like a musical diary of sorts. A diary found by accident, split across 11 records, without any further info and all details scratched out. There is just the music to speak for itself. Even if you are familiar with Seabear's previous music: the opener »Parade« will make you wonder who came up with this wonderful tune, full of assuring harmonies, delicate melodies and compositional surprises. Seabear once more are delivering the perfect soundtrack for all kinds of emotional states. With driving yet subtle drums, intimate, yet fleeting vocals and lyrics, an orchestral sense of production, emphasizing small details rather than counting on the big "studio bang". An approach which came naturally: "The album reflects our relaxed attitude when it comes to recording and exchanging ideas."

»In Another Life« indeed feels like the start of a new chapter. Full of hope. And hopefully, all Seabear fans won't have to wait as long anymore in the future.

Augustus Pablo's unique sound which was created around playing what could best be described asa child's musical toy, the melodica. It made him a very popular session player in the late 1970's and early 80's.It was not only his unique talent of playing the instrument but also his talents on a piano and the keyboard.
Pablo worked on a varied amount of sessions for all the top Jamaican producers but especially for King Tubby at hi studio in the heart of the Waterhouse district of Kingston Jamaica.
We have compiled a set of rhythms that have King Tubby and Phillip Smart at the controls and Augustus Pablo adding his musical flavour to the mix to make what we believe to be a great album...
Hope you enjoy the set....

In March 2020, Tahiti 80 had a plan to start recording their new album in the studio. That plan, of course, along with everything else in the world, got derailed. But the five-piece group was resilient and resourceful. They quickly shifted to a socially distanced plan B that included file swapping and virtual sessions, all refereed by producer Julien Vignon. The result, due for release in March 2022, is the buoyant Here With You, a collection of eleven upbeat songs that unfold like a prescription for a post-pandemic panacea.

“When lockdown in France happened, we said, 'We're not going to stay at home not doing anything,'” says singer-guitarist Xavier Boyer. “And our new plan became a hopeful thing, waking up every morning and seeing what the other guys had worked on. It wasn't always easy, but this new method allowed a freer approach where we could really go all the way with an idea without being influenced by each other’s suggestions. It must've been overwhelming for Julien, who ended up selecting all our arrangements. But he stayed positive all the way through.”

To help stay inspired and focused during their time in isolation, the band created a mood board, with the centerpiece a photo of an early '90s rave in the UK.

Boyer says, “Whenever you see pictures from this era, people seem very innocent. There are no cell phones and everybody is in to what they are experiencing. We kept that picture in mind as a kind of mantra that would help everyone feel connected to this idea of people celebrating, gathering and just having fun. We were missing the connection with people, and thought it would be great if we could create music that would inspire that kind of emotion.”

Indeed, the songs on Here With You are brimming the feeling of communion that we've all been missing over the past two years. It's there in the catchy opener Lost in the Sound, which walks the walk with Chic guitar flicks, urban nightfall sparkles and an inviting chorus (“Your heart grooves like a thousand 808s on the right time”). It's there in the Jackson 5-style syncopated bounce of “Vintage Creem,” the lush, dreamy “Breakfast in L.A.” and the panoramic sweep of “UFO.” And it's there in the first single “Hot,” which matches an irresistible groove with a neon-lit, percolating arrangement that evokes the disco clubs of 1979.

What's remarkable is that though Tahiti 80 displays a clear affection for sounds of the past, from bubble gum to '70s soul, they never trade in mere pastiche. Their take is more a slightly warped and playful carnival mirror mash-up of classic pop styles, given depth through Boyer's hang-gliding, coolly emotive vocals and lyrics that often rub against the euphoric grain of the music.

“I like to think of songs as a three-minute drama,” says Boyer. “This concept of drama definitely adds different levels to our music. There's the melody, the lyrics, then the production that can maybe emphasize or counterbalance the interaction between the yin and yang in a song.

“There's a difference between the very upbeat, sunshine-y soft rock and the lyrics, even on our past albums,” he continues. “Not dark, but a little more melancholy, and also looking for some kind of motivation, talking to yourself. Like with a lot of Motown songs, you get that feeling where you body’s dancing while your mind’s reflecting, reminiscing.”

That alluring blend of happy-sad has been a signature part of the Tahiti 80 sound from the time Boyer and bassist Pedro Resende formed the group in 1993, as students at the University of Rouen. Taking their name from a souvenir t-shirt given to Boyer's father in 1980, the duo recruited guitarist Mederic Gontier in 1994, and with the addition of drummer Sylvain Marchand a year later, the lineup was complete. The foursome released a self-produced and self-financed EP, 20 Minutes, in 1996, which resulted a record deal with French label Atmospheriques in 1998. Their full-length debut Puzzle, produced with Ivy's Andy Chase and mixed by Tore Johansson, went gold and featured the international hit “Heartbeat” that established the band throughout Europe and Asia.

In the years since, Tahiti 80 – with the additions of Raphaël Léger on drums and Hadrien Grange on keys - has released eight acclaimed albums. The band has fused what MOJO called a “glorious entente of old and new technology” (including singles like “Yellow Butterfly,” “1000 Times,” “Sound Museum,” “Crush!” and “Big Day,” which was featured on a FIFA video game soundtrack), while collaborating with such producers and arrangers as Richard Swift, Tony Lash and Richard Anthony Hewson, who famously arranged The Beatles' “Long and Winding Road.” Boyer has also put out two solo albums, the first under the anagram Axe Riverboy and the second under his name. In 2019, the band released Fear of an Acoustic Planet, a stripped-down reimagining of some of their best-loved tracks from the previous twenty years. It served not only as a look back but a reminder of their formidable songwriting skills.

Boyer is definitely a student of the timeless three-minute pop song format pioneered by '60s artists like The Beatles and The Beach Boys. He says, “I see it as kind of a frame for a painting. Most of the songs on this album, I wrote a verse, pre-chorus and chorus. There aren't many middle eights. I wanted it to be very concise. I feel like people have less attention. There's so much music. It's too easy to switch off or skip to another track, so I want to hook the listener. The three-minute song is kind of an easy code to crack, but at the same time you have to figure out a new way to tell the stories that we've heard before.”

And the stories on Here With You are very much about the longing for connection. Of the album title, Boyer says, “In the world right now, that can mean a lot of different things. Like missing our fans, missing going to concerts. In a way, it can be a statement of what happened last year, and a wish of 'I want to be here with you again.' It's our ninth album. We've had some had some very open, conceptual titles like Puzzle, Activity Center. Sometimes they were more specific like Fosbury orWallpaper for the Soul. Here with You, seems more personal, more engaging in terms of relationships. When I suggested that title, everyone in the band said, 'Yeah, that's it.'”

Until Tahiti 80 can resume a full tour schedule, Boyer says he hopes the new record will make that personal connection. “If I see from the point of view as a music fan, sometimes I see albums I like as companions throughout my life. So if we can be a part of people's existence, even if it's a song that reminds them of the time they were driving with the windows open and it was sunny. Or a sad song that resonates with them after a breakup. That's what we're all looking for when we're making music. You do this very personal thing and you want it to touch as many people as possible.”

Finders Keepers present this uber-rare soundtrack to a
film that never existed, performed by an imaginary pop
group. Incredible Polanski-inspired German hip-hop
psychsploitation beats from 1969.

This is the movie soundtrack to a film that never existed.
This is the movie soundtrack by the band that was never
requested. These were the sound library musicians who
had to invent their own clients and imaginary cast, crew
and plot to get their music heard, by a niche audience,
before floating deep into the depths of the rare record
reservoir gasping for breath.

To take a cinematic cue the record in question is the
Eurotrash pop equivalent of Jean Renoir’s
tragic/triumphant Boudu character who as a homeless,
confused and desolate down-and-out plunged to the
depths to be unwillingly rescued, resuscitated then after
gradually winning the hearts of an entire family becomes
respected and revered as royalty. Over twenty years after
the mad scientists, Dr. Horst and Ackermann, first
breathed life into this short-lived beast, brave and intrepid
vinyl explorers have sporadically returned to the doors of
Dracula’s Music Cabinet to resurrect the sonic spooks and
mutated melodies to share with nerds, mods, rockers, hiphoppers, psych nuts and Krautsiders alike. The lifeless
corpses of The Vampires Of Dartmoore that lay six feet
beneath the belly of the Eins Deutschmark bins has since
crept through the record collections of the aforementioned
social circles devouring continental currencies and
demanding random ransoms of €250 plus, not to mention
sweat, tears (of laughter) and a lot of blood.

Revamped, remastered, and re-presented! Available once
again since the initial Finders Keepers’ limited edition 2009
pressing.

Kadi Yombo, published in 1989, is the most successful album in the quest for a fusion between tradition and modernity in Bwiti harp music of the Tsogho people of Gabon. Combining beating rattles with a layer of synthesizers, Papé Nziengui blends in a contrapuntal dialogue characteristic of harp playing: male song in appeal and female choir in response, male voice of the musical arc and rhythms of female worship. But above all it’s Tsogho ritual music and modern studio orchestration. The result is an initiatory itinerary of 10 musical pieces which are all milestones likely to be simultaneously listened to, danced, meditated on, and soon acclaimed. In the years since, Nziengui has traveled he world from Lagos to Paris, from Tokyo to Cordoba, from Brussels to Mexico City to become a true icon, the emblem of Gabonese music.

Like Bob Dylan, "electrifying" folk and Bob Marley mixing rock with reggae, some purists have criticized Nziengui for having distorted the music of harp by imposing a cross with modern instruments. They even went so far as to claim that Nziengui was just an average harpist covering his shortcomings with stunts that were only good for impressing neophytes; like playing a harp placed upside down behind his back or playing two or three harps simultaneously. Sincere convictions or venomous defamations, in any case, Nziengui never gave in to such attacks, imposing himself on the contrary to pay homage to the elders (Yves Mouenga, Jean Honoré Miabé, Vickoss Ekondo) while instructing the maximum of young people. He is thus the promoter of many young talents, the most prominent of which is certainly his nephew Jean Pierre Mingongué. In a conservative society where the sacred is confused with secrecy, exposing the mysteries of Bwiti in broad daylight can be punished by exclusion or even execution.

Papé Nziengui has always claimed that he faces such risks because he never felt enslaved to a community that governs his life, that regulates his conduct, that has a right of censorship over his activities. Like Ravi Shankar, the famous sitarist, Papé Nziengui is a man of rupture but also of openness, a transmitter of culture. As proof, he has established himself in Libreville, Gabo’s capital, as the main harpist for sessions and concerts, accompanying the greatest national artists (Akendengué, Rompavè, Annie-Flore Batchiellilys, Les Champs sur la Lowé, etc.) as well as foreign artists (Papa Wemba, Manu Dibango, Kassav', Toups Bebey, etc.). In 1988, he was the first harpist to release an album in the form of a cassette produced by the French Cultural Center (Papé Nziengui, Chants et Musiques Tsogho). At the same time, he created his own group (Bovenga), combining traditional music instruments (musical bow, drums, various percussion instruments, etc.) in the framework of a true national orchestra, which gave the first concert and the first tours of a traditional music that was both modern and dynamic, thus "democratizing" the harp, to the dismay of certain purists.

On the other hand, in modern music, dominated by the logic of profit or even commercialism, artistic creation must often be adjusted for a specific audience based on reason rather than heart. But instead of allowing himself to be distorted, Papé Nziengui has always tried to produce music that is not a caricature, worthy in its expression as in its content, of the sacredness and transcendence of the music of the Origins. This is what makes Nziengui not only the musician, but the man someone whose age hasn’t altered any of his freshness or authenticity

Kadi Yombo, published in 1989, is the most successful album in the quest for a fusion between tradition and modernity in Bwiti harp music of the Tsogho people of Gabon. Combining beating rattles with a layer of synthesizers, Papé Nziengui blends in a contrapuntal dialogue characteristic of harp playing: male song in appeal and female choir in response, male voice of the musical arc and rhythms of female worship. But above all it’s Tsogho ritual music and modern studio orchestration. The result is an initiatory itinerary of 10 musical pieces which are all milestones likely to be simultaneously listened to, danced, meditated on, and soon acclaimed. In the years since, Nziengui has traveled he world from Lagos to Paris, from Tokyo to Cordoba, from Brussels to Mexico City to become a true icon, the emblem of Gabonese music.

Like Bob Dylan, "electrifying" folk and Bob Marley mixing rock with reggae, some purists have criticized Nziengui for having distorted the music of harp by imposing a cross with modern instruments. They even went so far as to claim that Nziengui was just an average harpist covering his shortcomings with stunts that were only good for impressing neophytes; like playing a harp placed upside down behind his back or playing two or three harps simultaneously. Sincere convictions or venomous defamations, in any case, Nziengui never gave in to such attacks, imposing himself on the contrary to pay homage to the elders (Yves Mouenga, Jean Honoré Miabé, Vickoss Ekondo) while instructing the maximum of young people. He is thus the promoter of many young talents, the most prominent of which is certainly his nephew Jean Pierre Mingongué. In a conservative society where the sacred is confused with secrecy, exposing the mysteries of Bwiti in broad daylight can be punished by exclusion or even execution.

Papé Nziengui has always claimed that he faces such risks because he never felt enslaved to a community that governs his life, that regulates his conduct, that has a right of censorship over his activities. Like Ravi Shankar, the famous sitarist, Papé Nziengui is a man of rupture but also of openness, a transmitter of culture. As proof, he has established himself in Libreville, Gabo’s capital, as the main harpist for sessions and concerts, accompanying the greatest national artists (Akendengué, Rompavè, Annie-Flore Batchiellilys, Les Champs sur la Lowé, etc.) as well as foreign artists (Papa Wemba, Manu Dibango, Kassav', Toups Bebey, etc.). In 1988, he was the first harpist to release an album in the form of a cassette produced by the French Cultural Center (Papé Nziengui, Chants et Musiques Tsogho). At the same time, he created his own group (Bovenga), combining traditional music instruments (musical bow, drums, various percussion instruments, etc.) in the framework of a true national orchestra, which gave the first concert and the first tours of a traditional music that was both modern and dynamic, thus "democratizing" the harp, to the dismay of certain purists.

On the other hand, in modern music, dominated by the logic of profit or even commercialism, artistic creation must often be adjusted for a specific audience based on reason rather than heart. But instead of allowing himself to be distorted, Papé Nziengui has always tried to produce music that is not a caricature, worthy in its expression as in its content, of the sacredness and transcendence of the music of the Origins. This is what makes Nziengui not only the musician, but the man someone whose age hasn’t altered any of his freshness or authenticity

Kadi Yombo, published in 1989, is the most successful album in the quest for a fusion between tradition and modernity in Bwiti harp music of the Tsogho people of Gabon. Combining beating rattles with a layer of synthesizers, Papé Nziengui blends in a contrapuntal dialogue characteristic of harp playing: male song in appeal and female choir in response, male voice of the musical arc and rhythms of female worship. But above all it’s Tsogho ritual music and modern studio orchestration. The result is an initiatory itinerary of 10 musical pieces which are all milestones likely to be simultaneously listened to, danced, meditated on, and soon acclaimed. In the years since, Nziengui has traveled he world from Lagos to Paris, from Tokyo to Cordoba, from Brussels to Mexico City to become a true icon, the emblem of Gabonese music.

Like Bob Dylan, "electrifying" folk and Bob Marley mixing rock with reggae, some purists have criticized Nziengui for having distorted the music of harp by imposing a cross with modern instruments. They even went so far as to claim that Nziengui was just an average harpist covering his shortcomings with stunts that were only good for impressing neophytes; like playing a harp placed upside down behind his back or playing two or three harps simultaneously. Sincere convictions or venomous defamations, in any case, Nziengui never gave in to such attacks, imposing himself on the contrary to pay homage to the elders (Yves Mouenga, Jean Honoré Miabé, Vickoss Ekondo) while instructing the maximum of young people. He is thus the promoter of many young talents, the most prominent of which is certainly his nephew Jean Pierre Mingongué. In a conservative society where the sacred is confused with secrecy, exposing the mysteries of Bwiti in broad daylight can be punished by exclusion or even execution.

Papé Nziengui has always claimed that he faces such risks because he never felt enslaved to a community that governs his life, that regulates his conduct, that has a right of censorship over his activities. Like Ravi Shankar, the famous sitarist, Papé Nziengui is a man of rupture but also of openness, a transmitter of culture. As proof, he has established himself in Libreville, Gabo’s capital, as the main harpist for sessions and concerts, accompanying the greatest national artists (Akendengué, Rompavè, Annie-Flore Batchiellilys, Les Champs sur la Lowé, etc.) as well as foreign artists (Papa Wemba, Manu Dibango, Kassav', Toups Bebey, etc.). In 1988, he was the first harpist to release an album in the form of a cassette produced by the French Cultural Center (Papé Nziengui, Chants et Musiques Tsogho). At the same time, he created his own group (Bovenga), combining traditional music instruments (musical bow, drums, various percussion instruments, etc.) in the framework of a true national orchestra, which gave the first concert and the first tours of a traditional music that was both modern and dynamic, thus "democratizing" the harp, to the dismay of certain purists.

On the other hand, in modern music, dominated by the logic of profit or even commercialism, artistic creation must often be adjusted for a specific audience based on reason rather than heart. But instead of allowing himself to be distorted, Papé Nziengui has always tried to produce music that is not a caricature, worthy in its expression as in its content, of the sacredness and transcendence of the music of the Origins. This is what makes Nziengui not only the musician, but the man someone whose age hasn’t altered any of his freshness or authenticity

Instinct has been one of the key protagonists in garage's ongoing renaissance. Not only have his tunes given a fresh take on the much loved old sound, but there have been plenty of them, too. Now he's back with yet another full length, and once again it's packed with heat. There are deep shufflers that nod to the original US garage sound, as well as darker, 2-step tinged get downs. More so than before, there seem to be plenty of reversed bass stabs and MC vocals, old school signifiers and jungle breaks that pay homage to the roots of the sound while never simply copying it. The heart aching vocal of 'Don't Know' is our fave and a likely candidate for one of this summer's standout tunes.

About time – Ebbot and I have finally been able to make an album that is largely an extension of all the time we have spent together and all the concerts we have done

You could say it's a kind of fusion of the two of us in music form. A key ingredient was that Reine Fiske (Dungen) wanted to be part of this musical adventure and record with us. His tone and spontaneous playing were absolutely crucial in making this album. Also at the heart of this album, and which made our recording sessions so edgy and good, were the beautiful poppy bass playing by Marcus Holmberg (Komeda), the dynamic and responsive drumming by Nicklas Korsell
and the funky piano playing by Daniel Kurba. And finally, working as both a musician and sound engineer, Ponus Torstensson, aka Tentakel, played a vital role in creating the psychedelic sound on the album

Back in May 2019, Vancouver trio Corner Boys released their sole album… and promptly split a few months later. In retrospect, they couldn’t have known that the album’s title (‘Waiting For 2020’) would soon seem grimly ironic - and we all know why, right? No reason to go over all that shit again. But while the past two years have at least seen drummer/songwriter Patrick McEachnie staying active across two essential records with hardcore heroes Chain Whip, lockdown saw him switching roles. Basically, he bought a guitar and made an excellent record all on his lonesome, and as followers of his other projects will have come to expect, it’s fucking excellent. ‘Glad To Be Forgotten’ is the debut album by Pack Rat - in some ways you can see some level of crossover with Corner Boys in its manic energy and dedication to hooks (cuts like ‘Next Time Hit Me’ and ‘My Own Reality’ are so damn catchy, you could be forgiven for thinking you’ve already been listening to ‘em on repeat for the past 20 years). Familiar reference points show up (the melodies of the Pointed Sticks; the garage-slanted rifferama of Rudi or The Undertones) while a tinny budget synth keeps things ticking along nicely, just to remind you that this is a homespun DIY project. But honestly, this has the feel of a fully fleshed-out project and leaves you desperate for another fix of its sweet’n’sour tang. For anyone who loves the collision point between ‘New Rose’, powerpop sunshine and sheer rock’n’roll exuberance, this is essential. For everyone else, this is surely the gateway to all of that good stuff. You want to hear the tunes that’ll star on future generations’ equivalents to the Killed By Death comps? That’ll set your pulse soaring and your pogo muscles into overdrive? That’ll remind you of why this punk rock business still feels worth dedicating your life to, even after all this time? Hey, Pack Rat’s got ‘em. Now do your part