quête:j nat

In the madrigal-strewn world of neo folk-psychedelia, the queen of drones holds court…In this late teen decade, as green men are burnt, resources dwindle and naturalists plunder for authentic Englishness, the hunt for the grail-like Silver Globe continues. Back in 2014, the story was first whispered; A mythical jaunt set to a motorik rhythm, played out in an overgrown forest of ideas: Jane Weaver’s ‘The Silver Globe’ was a conceptual delicacy – “a synth-ridden post-apocalyptic prog-pop opus based on tightly embroidered, non-linear recurring themes inspired by esoteric stories, cosmic imagery and re-filtered past experiences”. Since those heady beginnings, our heroine has time travelled to darker times and been celebrated for her glorious ‘Modern Kosmology’ (top album of 2017, here, there, everywhere).
“A full-scale leap into the cosmic void of contemporary space rock” The Quietus

“As a child of the 1970’s I can thank my friends’ brothers for their space rock record collections and concept album sleeves that I would spend hours looking at, then my first love for Kate Bush followed by a heavy dose of disco and synth pop. I guess ‘The Silver Globe’ is just a subconscious inspired imprint of those things that have never left me, married with an accidental viewing of a vintage Polish sci-fi film that was so bizarre I couldn’t stop thinking about it and so it became my muse...” Jane Weaver. Set the controls…

Die 10 Tracks des brandneuen Albums gehören zu den melodischsten, optimistischsten und eingängigsten der langen Bandgeschichte. Die positive Mischung aus hymnischen Beats und emotionaler Tiefe führt den vertrauten Sound von VNV Nation zu neuen Höhen und bietet ein perfektes Antidot in ungewissen Zeiten.

Lisa Wilhelms neues Album SO CLOSE erscheint am 9. Mai 2025 bei BERTHOLD records und bringt eine spannende Weiterentwicklung ihrer Musik. In Zusammenarbeit mit Lukas Wögler (Saxophon), Moritz Langmaier (Klavier), Franz Blumenthal (Bass) und Lisa Wilhelm (Komposition und Schlagzeug) kombiniert sie lyrischen Jazz mit verträumten Pop-Klängen. Das Album erweitert das ursprüngliche Jazz-Quartett um Gesangseinlagen von Mareike Riegert, Nate Dailey und Nico-Alexander Wilhelm sowie ein Streichquartett. Wilhelms Kompositionen sind tief von persönlichen Erlebnissen und literarischen Entdeckungen inspiriert. Die Reise von SO CLOSE führt die Hörer durch intime Erinnerungen und emotionale Momente, die in Klänge übersetzt werden. Lieder wie "Change the Game", geschrieben für ihren Bruder, sprechen von den Herausforderungen von Druck und Erfolg, während "Four Voices" die inneren Kämpfe junger Frauen thematisiert. Mit SO CLOSE setzt Wilhelm mehr auf arrangierte Kompositionen, während sie ihre jazzigen Wurzeln und improvisierten Elemente beibehält. Die Klanglandschaften des Albums, inspiriert von unerwarteten Begegnungen und Geschichten, bieten eine tiefgründige emotionale Reise, die Pop, Folk und Jazz vereint. SO CLOSE stellt Lisa Wilhelm als Komponistin und Schlagzeugerin auf ein neues kreatives Niveau und verspricht ein berührendes und vielschichtiges Hörerlebnis.

'Trá Pháidín are an Irish nine piece collective from Conamara, Galway, a wild coastal region of West Ireland where Gaeilge remains the first language. The group are currently lighting up Ireland's underground with their joyful noise, a unique and unpredictable blend of traditional Irish folk, post-rock, jazz, and Dadaist absurdity. The glorious album An 424 takes us on a psychogeographical journey along the 424 bus route which follows this remote stretch of coastline, introducing us to the landscapes and the characters who depend on the buses. Expect wild improvisational flights filled with brass, woodwinds, harp and fiddles alongside relentless grooves.

Here's what the band themselves have to say about the album:

Psychogeography is a funny aul term......the effect geography and landscape of a certain area has on the psychology, identity and nature of the local people...........I suppose

Notoriously, Conamara is famous place for psychogeoraphy due to the work of the great Tom Robinson. He walked every coastline in every area contemplating the geography, culture, history, Gaelic language, English language and folklore of the area while he was drawing it's best map with great depth and detail.

Right, so I've given context, a few buzzwords and some interesting names, now it's time for the absurd stuff....

"Bóthar Chois Fharraige" (the R336 and whatever anglicized name they call it) is well known by everyone in the South Conamara Gaeltacht (Gaeltacht is an area where Irish/Gaeilge is the dominant language, there aren't many because we were colonized by the British and our government doesn't care about its own language). The people of Conamara travel this road almost every day by car, by bike, on Peadar Óg's buses or of course, through the medium of the 424 (the bus service provided by Bus Éireann, Ireland's public-private bus company). From Bearna to Carna (maybe sometimes a detour in Casla going as far back as an Cheathrú Rua and/or Leitir Mealláin)

Every passenger is well versed of gorgeous views of the landscape that is on offer on this journey. Included are Cuan na Gaillimhe/Galway Bay, An Bhoirinn/the Burren, na hOileáin Árann/the Arann Islands,Aillte an Mhothair/the Cliffs of Moher, Portach Mhaigh Cuilinn/the bogs of Maigh Cuilinn, Bóthar Loch an Iolra/Eagle lake road, Cuan Casla/Casla Harbour, Cuan an Fhir Mhóir/Greatman's Bay, Cnoc Mordáin/Mordáin hill, Sléibhte Mhám Toirc/the Maamturk Mountains and Na Beanna Beola/the twelve pins. Passengers would also be well used the unique character of the bus. Depending on the day, you will get a unique perspective of the "complicated identity" of the Gaels as the bus travels from the Gaeltacht into anglophone Ireland, or maybe going the other way.

This is a topic you could write a PhD about (and maybe someone already has). But, if you are someone who grew up or lives in this region, you have a particular understanding at this stage of how complicated Gaelic psyche is and the kind of spectrum of identity along bóthar Choise Fharraige. With the landscape in mind, this bus journey is a great meditation of the various topics of life.

‘Bhfuil tionchar ag an mbus ar nádúr na ndaoine?
Nó an bhfuil tionchar ag na daoine ar nádúr an bhus?'

'Does the bus effect the nature of the people?
Or do the people affect the nature of the bus?'

Le gach dea-ghuí,
TP.

(translated from Gaeilge by Peadar-Tom Mercier)'

Lac Noir - La Serpente is part of Emmanuel Raquin-Lorenzi's Lac Noir, a composite work inspired by a serpentine female creature or 'snake-woman' that he saw in Transylvania in 1976, with a total of 33 pieces using various media, 24 by himself and 9 by other artists. All the materials used in Lac Noir were gathered on the land of the snake-woman between 1990 and 1992. The first coordinated broadcast ran from June to October 2019, like a theatrical display of media. Parmegiani has been cited as a major influence by younger experimentalists like Aphex Twin, Autechre and Sonic Youth. Works of his were performed at the All Tomorrow's Parties festivals

Growing up is painful, brutal, and sometimes beautiful _ something Brooklyn-based indie-rock band Bedridden knows all too well. The band's name is even a nod to that ineffable period between childhood and the jagged edges of the real world. "When I was 21, I kind of lost my home," says frontman/guitarist Jack Riley. "I was couch-surfing. I was having a hard time.The next iteration in the band's maturation, then, is their debut, LP Moths Strapped To Eachother's Backs, 10 fuzzed-out (and sometimes gnarly) ruminations on dating, drugs, and survival out April 11 on Julia's War. The title came from a mysterious missive Riley received on astrology app Co-Star. "Last year I was way too reliant on other people _ my partner at the time, my friends," he says. "I was strapped to them in a weird way _ and flying in circles. This album is about that time."The current incarnation of Bedridden encompasses a patchwork of styles, influences, and friends Riley accumulated over the years. A Chicago native who first started making music at age five on a thrift-store guitar emblazoned with Kurt Cobain's name, Riley moved to New Orleans for college where he dabbled in punk before falling in love with shoegaze. There, he launched the first version of Bedridden. Sebastian Duzian (bass) _ a jazz musician and Pasadena native _ linked up with Riley in NOLA along with his bandmate, drummer Nick Pedroza. Pedroza, from Claremont, grew up on rock, metal, and jazz, honing his style after joining the band. Wesley Wolffe _ a guitarist fed on a steady diet of New Wave and `90s alt _ rounded out the crew just a few months back. Bedridden's previous lineup released their first EP, Amateur Heartthrob, in 2023 _ a noise-washed blend of shoegaze, DIY, and indie that Riley says is a "coming-of-age EP _ these formative stories about not having a bed, dating, being kind of a jackass. I was making fun of myself a lot." That release caught the attention of Douglas Dulgarian from Philly Label Julia's War (and TAGABOW), who signed them for Moths."Some of these songs have been around for years," says Riley, adding that they were recorded last February at Studio G Brooklyn; the album was produced by Aron Kobayashi Ritch (Momma). "As opposed to Amateur Heartthrob, we attempted to blend more clean guitars into a driving sound to capture more clarity _ one that also sounds live_ and raw," Riley says. That rawness thrums through the record, which kicks off with the thrashed "Gummy," about an incident when Riley had to gently fend off a co-worker's unwanted advances while both drunk and high on an MDMA gummy. And then there's mournful rager "Etch," which sees Riley daydreaming about beating up a meddler in his personal life _ in the minor key.The annihilating "Chainsaw" revs in next, a lightning-fast Lemonheads-inspired track that recalls Riley moving in with new roommates who were unnaturally obsessed with purchasing a lamp. "For some reason that pissed me off," he laughs; that rage is evident in the album cover, which shows said power tool demolishing a lampshade. Heavy-shredding "Heaven's Leg" showcases the band's affinity for `90s mainstays like Smashing Pumpkins while telling the tale of a gig at a local church. "The lyrics are about a pastor I had met that had lost his leg," Riley says. "The church had signs about not cussing and I had a feeling that neither of us had anything to talk about without potentially offending the other."The band's not afraid to get confrontational, though, on the anger-fueled, drum-heavy "Philadelphia, Get Me Through," which deals with a dead-end relationship and the mistaken assumption that getting drunk in the titular city would be a balm against the pain. And the nasty, brutist, and short hardcore-adjacent "MainStage"? "It's about being disrespected at a show on New Year's and how I lashed out," Riley says. "I then began to take it out on other people, which was a quality that I despise."Things get contemplative and mournful from here on out _ the emo-edged "Snare" is about bringing flowers to a hospital room where you're not welcome, while the Smiths-inspired "Uno" wrestles with self-loathing. "I guess the big finale of that song was my response to dealing with this recurring experience of feeling like I wasn't good enough by getting really into whippets," Riley says. Nu-metal bop "Bonehead," then, recalls an embarrassing dinner that turned into an argument _ the name applies both to that incident and the delicious simplicity of the guitar parts.After all that turmoil and pain, the band caps everything off with their eyes to the future on the jangle-pop "Ring Size." "All my friends are getting married _ do I follow in their footsteps? Or is it all a waste of time?" Riley says of the song. "At the end, through it all, I guess that's what I've been trying to figure out _ how to grow up, how to move on. I'm trying to navigate things as an adult and I'm not very good at it. But this is just the first record. This is just the beginning."And, hey, at least now he has a bed.

Underground hip-hop icon and Miami rapper Pouya kicks off 2025 with his seventh studio album, Suicidal Thoughts in the Back of the Cadillac, Pt. 3 - serving as an unofficial spiritual successor to his 2024 album, THEY COULD NEVER MAKE ME HATE YOU. After a successful run as direct support to $uicideboy$’ Grey Day 2024 Arena Tour, it’s clear that Pouya has cemented himself among the top artists from the alternative / cloud-rap scene from the mid 2010s. With a rabid fan base primarily built from the ground up, and without the flashy mainstream features or press looks, Pouya has established himself as a staying power in a lane that typically sees artists rise and fall in accordance with today's modern attention span. Continuing to super-serve his fans, Pouya will be embarking on a nationwide tour in North America in 2025.

Nach Kollaborationen mit den DIRTY PROJECTORS in der Vergangenheit oder zuletzt als DECISIVE PINK für ihr gefeiertes Gemeinschaftsalbum mit KATE NV im letzten Jahr, stehen die Zeichen für DERADOORIAN jetzt wieder auf solo. Es ist bemerkenswert, dass "Ready For Heaven" von einer einzigen Person gemacht wurde. Das wiederholte Überarbeiten der Songs bis zu ihrer Fertigstellung ist ein mühsamer Prozess, der eine Energie und einen Raum geschaffen hat, in dem DERADOORIAN voll eintauchen konnte. "I love the production more than the songwriting. ... In fact, I don't even feel like a songwriter at times, I feel like someone who is just inspired by so much music. And I want to try it all out! Like Lizzy MercierDescloux, Mingus, or ESG and Silver Apples, or making weird krautrock and industrial music. I love dub, and Sly and Robbie. I love the productions of those records and the collective energies released by their creators in the studio. It's just a weird thing to do it by yourself!" "Ready For Heaven" handelt von der Gegenwart und beschäftigt sich mit der schrecklichen Natur der Welt um uns herum. DERADOORIAN dazu: "This album is partly about watching humanity erode. It's about mental struggle, and it's avowedly anti-capitalist. I mean; would we have all these identity labels we have to live by, if we didn't live in a capitalist world?" "Ready For Heaven" ist DERADOORIANs kühne und offenherzige Antwort auf die Welt, in der wir uns befinden, und die Musikerin nutzt jedes Quäntchen ihrer Reserven an Witz und Wissen, um eine Quelle des Trostes und der Erleichterung für den Hörer zu schaffen. Verpackt wird dies in wissbegierige Popsongs, die mit einer Leichtigkeit und einem scharfen Fokus gesegnet sind, und den Zuhörer in ihren Bann ziehen.

Nach Kollaborationen mit den DIRTY PROJECTORS in der Vergangenheit oder zuletzt als DECISIVE PINK für ihr gefeiertes Gemeinschaftsalbum mit KATE NV im letzten Jahr, stehen die Zeichen für DERADOORIAN jetzt wieder auf solo. Es ist bemerkenswert, dass "Ready For Heaven" von einer einzigen Person gemacht wurde. Das wiederholte Überarbeiten der Songs bis zu ihrer Fertigstellung ist ein mühsamer Prozess, der eine Energie und einen Raum geschaffen hat, in dem DERADOORIAN voll eintauchen konnte. "I love the production more than the songwriting. ... In fact, I don't even feel like a songwriter at times, I feel like someone who is just inspired by so much music. And I want to try it all out! Like Lizzy MercierDescloux, Mingus, or ESG and Silver Apples, or making weird krautrock and industrial music. I love dub, and Sly and Robbie. I love the productions of those records and the collective energies released by their creators in the studio. It's just a weird thing to do it by yourself!" "Ready For Heaven" handelt von der Gegenwart und beschäftigt sich mit der schrecklichen Natur der Welt um uns herum. DERADOORIAN dazu: "This album is partly about watching humanity erode. It's about mental struggle, and it's avowedly anti-capitalist. I mean; would we have all these identity labels we have to live by, if we didn't live in a capitalist world?" "Ready For Heaven" ist DERADOORIANs kühne und offenherzige Antwort auf die Welt, in der wir uns befinden, und die Musikerin nutzt jedes Quäntchen ihrer Reserven an Witz und Wissen, um eine Quelle des Trostes und der Erleichterung für den Hörer zu schaffen. Verpackt wird dies in wissbegierige Popsongs, die mit einer Leichtigkeit und einem scharfen Fokus gesegnet sind, und den Zuhörer in ihren Bann ziehen.

Emerging from the Minneapolis underground and heading straight towards the sky, IE arrive on Quindi with a full-length album of sparkling, sophisticated wonder. Touching on kosmische grandeur, Riley-esque cyclical patterns, lounge pop and dubbed out psychedelia, the five-piece allow their songs to unfurl with a natural, hypnotic elegance which can take many different forms.
There's a loose, live quality to the recordings IE's members commit to record, which reflects their steady presence gigging in Minneapolis and the surrounding area. Since putting out their first release in 2016, they've glided from drone and synth-led jam band ambience (2018's Pome) to strung out, stoner-tinted slowcore (on 2023's outstanding Junk Body). For Reverse Earth they strike a smoky note that wraps itself around your skull across extended run times that evolve with a meditative poise.
From the deceptively driving 4/4 thrum of the opening title track through 'Divination Bag's snaking tryptamine mantras on to 'Simplify's slow and smouldering indie-soul, IE's sound is bathed in a sumptuous warm glow that rounds out the lows and the mids, creating a nocturnal shroud in which their nebulous song structures can feel deliciously endless.
Meredith Gill's drums provide rolling and tumbling undercurrents for the slowly shifting phases of the instrumental players, as Michael Gallope and Travis Workman trade keyboard parts and Workman and Sam Molstad chop and pick at their six-strings. Atop the thrum of her bass, Mariel Oliviera's vocal adapts to the scenery, from a distant, dreamlike siren song on 'Reverse Earth' to a spoken word meditation on 'Babel'.
There's space in each track for every instrument to cut through and have its moment, from a spiralling key vamp to a chicken-scratch guitar flex. The gently twisting, head-feeding groove exercises of the first four tracks give way to a slow and powerful march on 'Dark Rome', closing the record on a noirish anti-ballad fit to peal out in the closing slot at Twin Peaks' Roadhouse (circa season three).
As much as the tracks teem with composition, musicianship, and production to savor, a sound like IE's has a soporific quality that soaks in unconsciously. It's an evocative portal where the band feel as if they could just play on each piece ad infinitum - where the time itself seems to dislodge from its moorings.

Five Five is the second studio album from the Miami-born underground rap pioneer, Pouya. Marking a slight transition into a more mature sound, Five Five showcases Pouya’s evolution as an artist while maintaining the raw authenticity that has endeared him to his fans. With tracks like "Suicidal Thoughts in the Back of the Cadillac Pt. 2" and "Handshakes," Pouya delves into themes of struggle, resilience, and personal growth, offering listeners a glimpse into his journey. In what became truly a solo effort, Five Five is limited to one feature in Night Lovell, with production primarily handled by Mikey The Magician (Track 4 produced by Chevali). The album draws from elements of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, yet remains uniquely rooted in Pouya’s own style. Over the years, Pouya has developed a long lasting core fanbase, first bubbling up in Miami alongside artists such as Denzel Curry, and then becoming a nationally celebrated artist. Back in print for the first time since originally released in 2018. Pressed on Wire Wheel Picture Disc Vinyl and cut at 45 RPM.

Originally released on Ben Chasny's own Pavilion imprint in 2011.

"I was invited by the Incubate Festival and the city of Tilburg to participate in an artist residency where I would explore the region’s unique chapels built for the Virgin Mary. After writing the music for about six months by drawing on memories of the encounters with the chapels and using techniques inspired by Gaston Bachelard’s Poetics Of Reverie, I flew back to Tilburg to perform the music at the Incubate Festival. We recorded the evening and I released the result on my Pavilion label. Each cover was hand painted white on white in the old Pavilion style. I created a stencil and used graphite powder to make the design that is inspired by the sun imagery in Athanasius Kircher diagrams."

Roadside chapels express the identity of the inhabitants of North Brabant, a Dutch province, bordering on Belgium. Roman Catholicism has been the dominant religion in this southern part of the Netherlands since the eighth century. For about a century and a half this religion was strongly suppressed. Only when the French revolutionaries preached freedom of belief around 1800 could the people of North Brabant exercise their faith again. This was the start of a very strong emancipatory development from which a special form of the Roman Catholic faith arose that fully determined everyday life of the people here. This faith was the determining factor in life and the measure of all things. After the second Vatican Council (1962-1965) the reins of the catholic faith in Brabant were loosened as well. This was the start of a revolutionary process of secularisation. Within a decade hardly anything was left of the almighty influence of the Roman Catholic Church and this situation has lasted up to the present day.

In spite of the almightiness of the official, Vatican ruled, Roman Catholic faith, North Brabant has always and perhaps notoriously fostered an undercurrent of popular belief as well. This is a kind of belief in which elements of the official faith and age-old pre-Christian traditions are combined. Worshipping relics, holding pilgrimages and processions, the use of water from holy wells, popular art, recitations and songs, festivals, rituals, folk traditions, superstition and the like are all examples of popular devotion. These matters have strongly influenced and formed the identity of the present-day population of North Brabant. It is part of their immaterial heritage.

An obvious and still very much visible form of popular devotion are the roadside chapels. In Brabant some 400 can be found, most of which have been devoted to Mary. Chapels are small buildings in which Mary or other saints are worshipped. They can be found within villages or towns or in natural surroundings. Always at the finest spots! The beauty of the environment adds a primary religious or mystical feeling to the visitor. Local people attach great value to their chapels. In spite of the overall secularisation in society they are still at the centre of cultural and social life. Where people in North Brabant can hardly be found in the churches nowadays, this doesn’t mean at all they are no longer religious. On the contrary, religious feelings are perhaps stronger than ever, but now people have to find their own expression of them. That’s why they fall back on the age-old popular belief in which chapels play an important role. We can even witness new forms of popular belief with chapels as their focal point. An example of this is the scattering of ashes of people who have been cremated. Chapels clearly also play a role in the lives of young people. On an average five new chapels are added every year.

I have studied the popular culture and belief and the identity of the inhabitants of North Brabant for over thirty years. I have published over forty books on these subjects. In 2010 I was approached by the organisation of the Incubate Festival in the North Brabant town of Tilburg. Their request was for me to lead the American composer and guitarist Ben Chasny around a number of chapels in the province devoted to Mary. He had been invited to North Brabant to write some new compositions. Ben Chasny then chose to be inspired by these chapels and that’s how we met. I was especially curious how an American would react to something as specific and small as a roadside chapel in North Brabant, since we tend to think here of (people in) America in terms of ‘big-bigger-biggest’. Would an inhabitant of this enormous country with this prevailing culture be able to grasp and respect the identity of some 2.5 million people in North Brabant with their chapels? The answer to this question lies hidden in the compositions he made and that can be listened to on this album. Yes, Ben Chasny has been able to convert the phenomenon of a simple chapel devoted to Mary into music. The physical and the spiritual have found each other. What a beautiful world…just listen! - Paul Spapens

Panos Alexiadis is a sound artist based in Athens, Greece, active in the field of contemporary electro-acoustic music. He founded and co-curated the tape label Thalamos, a home for exploratory sounds, where some of his own works also found their place. Marking a return after a period of (sonic) reflection, Cestrum Nocturnum is an album of remembrance and renewal. Through a lattice of self-sampled piano, fragmented voices, field recordings, and transient digital traces, Alexiadis composes a space of warmth—an electronic tapestry woven from the ephemeral. Across six pieces, sound unfolds like memory: layered, textured, dissolving at the edges yet leaving an imprint. A meditation on the cyclical nature of being and the often unnoticed beauty that quietly persists, even in the darkest hours. Cestrum Nocturnum is both a shelter and a signal.

--

The night has a thousand eyes,
And the day but one;
Yet the light of the bright world dies
With the dying sun.

The mind has a thousand eyes,
And the heart but one:
Yet the light of a whole life dies
When love is done.

Francis William Bourdillon, 1899

--

All music composed, recorded & mixed by Panos Alexiadis
Spoken word on 'But One' & ‘Follower' by Fotini Stamatelopoulou
'The Night Has a Thousand Eyes' poem by Francis William Bourdillon
Mastered by Christophe Albertijn

En pakt med naturen is Tusmorke's first ever live album, recorded live at Oslo's biggest independent record store Big Dipper, as part of their 25th anniversary celebration last October. "We knew we had to do something special with Tusmorke. Benediktator and Krizla have since the early 2000s been building their record collections and releasing their own music simultaneously. We like to think the records we sold them in our store somewhat influenced their musical output, at least we know that the albums they released had a huge impact on us!" (Andreas Leine Jakobsen, Gerenal Manager, Big Dipper Musikk & Hi-Fi "Is this Folk Horror? Silly question, perhaps, but we need you to mutter certain phrases while listening: Bucoloc, acoustic, ancient, uncanny; acid, pagan, peasant, occult; wildness, wilderness, wildestness, Wicker Man. Ever since the start of Tusmorke, we've wanted to make an acoustic album. In Skien, Telemark in the 90s, we wanted to record in an ancient loghouse with an open hearth (årestue) in the local folk museum Brekkeparken. Years passed and line-ups changed. Then, when we supported Ved Buens Ende at Blå in the Autumn of 2021, we were joined by Åsa and Dauinghorn. They played some of the arrangements that we finally managed to record here, after several attempts to find a suitable time and place to make it happen. Again, time had passed and line-ups had changed, but the spirit of Folk Horror remained. We ask you to close your eyes and picture yourself in a windowless low dwelling, open to the sky through a hole in the roof. Acrid smoke curls upward and occasional sparks fly from the smoldering fire. Music wafts through the gloom in this serene scene of timeless primitivism. There is no electricity. There are no synthesizers. I won't even mention digital things, because they don't exist. There is only Folk Horror and you are in League with Nature." (Benediktator)

"Return of the Giant Slits" is the second studio album by the English punk band The Slits, released in October 1981 by CBS Records. This album marked a departure from their earlier punk sound, embracing a more experimental approach influenced by afro-pop, dub, and world music. The album was produced by Dennis Bovell, Dick O'Dell and The Slits. Upon its release, "Return of the Giant Slits" received mixed reviews, with some listeners finding its experimental nature challenging. However, over time, it has been re-evaluated and appreciated for its innovative fusion of genres. -Pitchfork described it as "a slippery, glorious mess that will infuriate anyone expecting the Slits to revisit their debut." this MOV release comes as a Limited edition of 750 copies on red & black marbled vinyl.

A forgotten tale, long buried beneath the snows of time, is about to be retold. “Midvintersagor” (‘Midwinter Sagas’) is the first music ever composed by Örnatorpet, a landmark in both personal and artistic discovery. Originally self-released in a small cassette run, this unaltered reissue allows listeners to experience the album exactly as it was conceived – pure, unrefined, and brimming with the wonder of creation.

At its core, “Midvintersagor” is a soundtrack to an unwritten legend. Each track weaves a narrative steeped in medieval fantasy, channelling the essence of forgotten folklore and the grandeur of winter’s stillness. Inspired by the interludes and atmospheric passages of 90s black metal, Örnatorpet sought to craft an instrumental world as evocative as the landscapes of his native Sweden.

Since its inception in 2018, Örnatorpet has become one of the foremost torchbearers of dungeon synth. With no formal musical training, he followed only instinct and inspiration, carving out a path that has since led him to the forefront of the genre. “Midvintersagor” is where that journey began – an unpolished gem gleaming with the spirit of discovery, now unearthed for a new audience to behold.

Comes on Black & White Marbled Vinyl, complete with a printed inner sleeve featuring insightful liner notes. CHARLY RECORDS present the first ever reissue of the sought-after cult New York, gospel street opera, Free The Black Man’s Chains. The most intriguing, and certainly the most ambitious project on the city’s GSF label (see more stunning titles on GSF exclusively from Charly). The project had its roots in a trio of singles released by the mysterious Broad Street Gang in 1971. The first, on the Cougar label called “Fair Skin Man” and its two follow-ups “L-o-v-e Love” and the title track from the album “Free The Black Man's Chains”. Celebrated musicians on the sessions were Mitchell Rowe, Bobby Eli, Len Pakula, Daryl Hall, Ron Baker, Norman Harris, The Raelettes and strings arranged by Richie Rome. A project like Free The Black Man's Chains should have been perfect for the multi-media nature of GSF. The album could have led to a film in the way that it had for Jesus Christ Superstar, but instead like so many of the label's releases, the album failed to make its mark due to a lack of promotion. GSF would barely reach its second birthday before it – and its parent company – shut down. A Black Opera…

Composed of 10 new tracks and clocking in at 42 minutes, Pink Elephant is produced by Win Butler, Régine Chassagne and Daniel Lanois.

When experienced in its entirety, Pink Elephant invites the listener on a sonic odyssey – a quest for life – that exists within the perception of the individual, a meditation on both darkness and light, the beauty within. The layers of this condensed epic unfold to reveal new dimensions with each successive listen.

Parisian mambo " is the second album by " Cecilya & the Candy Kings ". The entire LP is an homage to the city of Paris, that has made musically grown up the catalan singer since she settled down in the capital of love. The 11 songs of the album take you to a musical journey back to the 1950"s by the hand of a woman with a powerful and luminous voice committed to the causes of her time. Cecilya"s lyrics, intimate and universal at the same time, not only speak about love and celebrationas the old rhythm"n"blues did. She speaks about dreams (broken or not), internal struggles, healing,emigration, her native Mediterranean sea, the chance to be a freewoman, the superficiality of the world we live in and the nostalgia for better times.The music, signed Rodolphe Dumont, has been carefully created and produced to sublimate Cecilya"s personal universe. The retro sound ambiances and catchy melodies truly take us back to the times of Elvis and Marilyn Monroe. "Parisian mambo" captures the essence of the cream of rhythm"n"blues from the golden era: a mix of blues,rock"n"roll, boogie-woogie, mambo and far more.The musicians on the album are:Cecilya Mestres on vocals, Rodolphe Dumont on electric guitar, Sax, Gordon on tenor and baritone saxophones, Olivier Cantrelle on piano, Abdell B. Bop on double bass and Denis Agenet on drums.

The latest release in a new series from alt. folk trailblazers The Owl Service, 'Black Chapel Music part 3' sees the Essex-based collective once again drag traditional folk music into pastures new. On these two recordings The Owl Service venture into a kind of eighties goth/dream pop sound, heavy on airy synths, vintage drum machines, and modulated guitar tones.

The A side is a new take on a traditional folk ballad collected in their native Essex, while the AA side fuses original lyrics by late, great Brit-folk legend Peter Bellamy, set to music by the late and equally great German performance artist Klaus Nomi.

Guest vocalist Liz Overs (East Sussex-based folk singer formerly of Chalk Horse Music & Pocket Size) has just released her debut solo album 'Nightjar', recorded with guitarist Neill MacColl, which has received glowing reviews in Mojo, The Guardian and Americana UK among others, plus radio support from Mark Radcliffe (BBC Radio 2 Folk Show).

Standard weight black vinyl 7” in die-cut sleeve with postcard insert. 300 copies for the World.

Soul-Skasteady & Rocksteady Soulreggae von zwei neuen Bands: ARTE BELLA & THE FELLAS und TIGHTEN UP! Acht Instrumente, drei Sprachen, eine Liebe zur Musik: das sind ARTE BELLA & THE FELLAS Inspiriert durch ein musikalisches Spektrum von The Skatalites über Etta James bis hin zu Manu Chao ist die Berliner Band angetreten, um mit ihrer besonderen Soulful Ska Fusion eure Herzen zu erfreuen, eure Seelen zu trösten und natürlich eure Beine zum Tanzen zu bewegen. Respect the roots - enjoy the fruits! Wherever you are - let's do the Ska! - Mit dem Jahreswechsel 2021/22 erblickt die Band Tighten Up das Licht der Welt. Die sieben befreundete Musiker:innen aus Dresden und Berlin kennen sich schon seit vielen Jahren, gemeinsam waren und sind sie in den Bands Mola (Soul & Funk) und Yellow Cap (Ska & Rocksteady) aktiv. Der enthusiastische Yellow Cap Sänger überzeugte die sechs anderen Musiker:innen von seiner Vision einer ,Early Reggae & Rocksteady" Band, die sich vorerst ausschließlich mit jamaikanischen und britischen Cover-Songs aus den 60er und 70er Jahren beschäftigt. Und es wird Zeit, dass Tighten Up mit ihrer extrem tanzbaren und energetischen Musik überzeugen darf und mit ihr eine längst vergessene Zeit wieder erwachen lässt. 300 Stück weltwweit, klassisch schwarzes 180gr Vinyl, handnummeriert.

Composed of 10 new tracks and clocking in at 42 minutes, Pink Elephant is produced by Win Butler, Régine Chassagne and Daniel Lanois.

When experienced in its entirety, Pink Elephant invites the listener on a sonic odyssey – a quest for life – that exists within the perception of the individual, a meditation on both darkness and light, the beauty within. The layers of this condensed epic unfold to reveal new dimensions with each successive listen.

Composed of 10 new tracks and clocking in at 42 minutes, Pink Elephant is produced by Win Butler, Régine Chassagne and Daniel Lanois.

When experienced in its entirety, Pink Elephant invites the listener on a sonic odyssey – a quest for life – that exists within the perception of the individual, a meditation on both darkness and light, the beauty within. The layers of this condensed epic unfold to reveal new dimensions with each successive listen.

Composed of 10 new tracks and clocking in at 42 minutes, Pink Elephant is produced by Win Butler, Régine Chassagne and Daniel Lanois.

When experienced in its entirety, Pink Elephant invites the listener on a sonic odyssey – a quest for life – that exists within the perception of the individual, a meditation on both darkness and light, the beauty within. The layers of this condensed epic unfold to reveal new dimensions with each successive listen.

Composed of 10 new tracks and clocking in at 42 minutes, Pink Elephant is produced by Win Butler, Régine Chassagne and Daniel Lanois.

When experienced in its entirety, Pink Elephant invites the listener on a sonic odyssey – a quest for life – that exists within the perception of the individual, a meditation on both darkness and light, the beauty within. The layers of this condensed epic unfold to reveal new dimensions with each successive listen.

Das vierte Album der US-Amerikanischen Post-Hardcore-Supergroup aus Gitarrist Mark Engles (Dredg), Drummer Chris Robyn (Far) und Sänger & Gitarrist Ben Flanagan (The Trophy Fire).

Anfang 2024 zogen sich Black Map nach Südkalifornien zurück, um 'Hex' mit Saosin-Gitarrist Beau Burchell als Produzent aufzunehmen. Die Band verfolgte eine klare, kollektive Vision, die sich von der weitläufigen, ätherischen Natur von 'Melodoria' zu einem dringlicheren und direkteren Sound entwickelte.

Sänger/Bassist Ben Flanagan beschreibt 'Hex' als ein Werk mit einem starken „let's f*cking go“-Geist, während Gitarrist Mark Engles die Balance zwischen atmosphärischen Elementen und treibender Intensität hervorhebt. Das Album fängt den unverkennbaren Stil der Band ein, mit Marks markanter Gitarrenarbeit, die stets präsent ist, und einem erneuten Fokus auf Unmittelbarkeit und roher Energie.

Für Ben steht 'Hex' für die tiefgreifende Wirkung von Musik, die Trost und Verbindung bietet. Schlagzeuger Chris Robyn fügt hinzu, dass das Album einen unaufhaltsamen Schwung hat, der mit Kraft und Absicht nach vorne drängt. Verwurzelt in Themen wie persönlicher Kampf, Authentizität und Widerstandsfähigkeit, ist 'Hex' die bisher kraftvollste und eindringlichste Veröffentlichung von Black Map.

Remember: you could be dreaming. Sinking or flying, sound-catching or singing. Witnessing a distant storm in silence, how it exposes purple clouds in unpredictable flashes. Hearing a submarine eruption and finding natal comfort in the warm, fragrant smoke that only wants to sheathe all your edges. The circus has left, only placards remain. And the snow. Look how the flakes sway to your feet without effort - any distance is misleading, illusory. There’s only dream and memory – the two wings of a bird that flaps with an ocean wave, blinks with an eye of a lighthouse. Fragile, you could be dreaming not alone, holding hands with the core of things. The molten core, like touching ice. You could be dreaming. Dreaming in perfect memories of shapes imperfect. Dreaming of the earth raining from the sky, of the wind inside the sea, of the lighthouse & the ship kissing, of exotic fishes in the bay of your ear. Everything is real. If you play. If you dare to ignore the margins. Echoes go on forever. They play with themselves in a stream of mirrors. Echoes of a forgotten language, of a language unwritten - a soothing, indifferent creole that reconciles feeling with understanding. Bathe in the fountain at the source of resonance. Bathe in the clouds on the eyes of intimate strangers passing. Disappear. Disappear and be seen, like the moonlit mist behind your eyes. And sway between hope and wisdom.

All songs written, performed and produced by Sasha Vinogradova and Alina Anufrienko
Recorded in Garnet village, Dmitrovsky region, Russian Federation (February 2020)

LA's Elbow Grease label takes a sharp left turn from dance floor-finessing singles to their first full-length
release via the elusive yet illustrious band KAMM, who return in extra fine form for their third and
presumably final album offering, following the sudden tragic death of core member Alland Byallo last
year. Surviving bandmates Marc Barrite aka Dave Aju, Kenneth Scott, and Marc Smith chose the
inspirational higher ground, finishing off what they had begun with Byallo prior to his passing, resulting in
this sublime musical love letter of an LP.
In keeping with the band’s broad influence canon, we are treated to a blend of sonic flavors from
across the genre spectrum with Barrite and Byallo’s jazz upbringings ringing true at the center, then
branching out through golden era hip-hop feels, phased-out psych funk, warm smokey soul, and of
course generous helpings of intricate electronic layers and innovative treatments, as all band members
have become notorious for in their respective solo bodies of work.
While highly personal by nature, including otherworldly cover art based on Byallo's last paintings, the
musical content contained on the album is also widely universal - from opener “Crystalline Dreams”
serpentine tones turned slo-mo funk bomb, to the triptych Bossa boom-bap of “No Deal”, the timely
political calls of uptempo jazz burner “Your Honor”, the intimate upright-led tribute tales of “Angels
Flight”, to the sleek electro rhythm changes of mid-set breather “How Long?”, a deeply felt take on our
mobile-reliant fate in “S.I.M.”, the expansively expressive depth of “Coordinates”, then closing it out with
the title track featuring a grand finale chorus of Byallo’s best friends and fam from around the world
joining in the “Let The Light In” chant, with as much uplifting intention as possible to capture on record.
A loving collective embrace and very welcome reminder to help lighten these darker days

2026 Repress

Mutual Rytm welcome back Swiss DJ/producer Chlär for a bustling, high-octane return as he unveils his latest six-track EP, 'Intrinsic Drive'.

Swiss artist and mastering engineer Chlär's last outing on Mutual Rytm, his 'Optimized Grooves' EP, was a standout success that made an impact far and wide across the techno realm. It was another big step for the fast-rising producer, who is also a dexterous DJ that plays across three and even four decks in the club. A craftsman of sounds, his take on techno is full throttle and has come on labels like Iceland's NIX and Stranger's Self Reflektion imprint. Always looking to improve his sounds, he hits a perfect sweet spot with a fresh and visionary approach across six fresh productions with his 'Intrinsic Drive' EP, again showcasing exemplary creative progression in his ever-impressing production skills.

Up first is 'Dopamine Rush', a quickened techno pumper with synths peeling off the straight-ahead drums and locking you into a state of hypnosis. The title track 'Intrinsic Drive' is a tightly woven mix of drums, hits and bass that never lets up, while the supple rhythm is overlaid with alien sound designs to up the intensity. 'For Marco' takes a heavier path with darkened and more weighty kick drums under eerie synth loops. There is a real swing in the drums of 'Steady Pace' as the crisp hits and vocal fragments all up the ante, before 'Greedy Man' delivers a tough panel beater with skewed synths and an industrial undertone. Digital bonus 'May I Dance?' rounds things out with raw textures and unhinged loops that take you to the heart of a strobe-lit dance floor, shaping up another
mighty fine statement of intent from the ever more vital Swiss native.

The Body & Dis Fig are a natural pair. Each has pioneered instantly recognizable worlds of sound all their own that defy any traditional categorizations or boundaries. The Body, Lee Buford and Chip King, continually challenge any conventional conception of metal, collaborating with myriad artists and from the folk-leanings of their work with BIG|BRAVE to their groundbreaking work with the Assembly of Light Choir to the intensity of their collaborations with OAA or Thou. Dis Fig, aka Felicia Chen, pushes electronic music into dark extremes, from warped DJ sets to, avant production. From being a member of Tianzhuo Chen"s performance-art series TRANCE, to being the vocalist with The Bug. The Body and Dis Fig find kinship in reimagining what it means to make "heavy music". Their debut Orchards of a Futile Heaven is the perfect synthesis of two forces, twisting melodicism and intoxicating rhythms, layering a dense miasma of distortion with intense beats, and a soaring voice clawing its way towards absolution. Orchards of a Futile Heaven affirms The Body & Dis Fig"s distinct and unified tastes as skilled sound sculptors who have an exceptional ability to make deeply affecting music, bracing as it is touching, harrowing as it is awe-inspiring. Together, the three have harnessed their expansive artistry to make music that is profoundly emotional, and staggering in its beauty.

A Chaos Of Flowers is an album that builds on their ferocious 2023 album nature morte. BIG|BRAVE"s music has been described as massive minimalism. Their fusillades of textural distortion and feedback emphasize their music"s frayed edges as much as its all-encompassing weight. The potency of the trio"s work is their singular artistry combining elements of traditional folk techniques and a modern deconstruction of guitar music. Gain, feedback, and amplitude are essential. For A Chaos Of Flowers guitarist/vocalist Robin Wattie drew heavily on the poems of artists whom Wattie found kinship in, their words resonant with experiences of those often sidelined by cultural norms. "I discovered that most poems from folk traditions or in the public domain seem to be by men - to which I could not quite relate. In my search, I rediscovered some of my favorite works and poets," says Wattie. Guitarist Mathieu Ball and drummer Tasy Hudson help Wattie shape poetry into pieces as dense and impenetrable as they are vulnerable. BIG|BRAVE achieve their colossal sound through minimalist approaches, a deft understanding of dynamics and an inventive employment of percussion and distortion. The trio reconceptualize what it is to be heavy or minimal, challenging perceptions with their illumination of painfully overlooked perspectives. Guest guitarist Marisa Anderson lends earthen, blues-inflected atmospheres to the album, where guitarist Tashi Dorji and saxophonist Patrick Shiroishi amplify the squall. Working closely with frequent collaborator and producer/engineer Seth Manchester, the internal tumult of Wattie"s voice rings out in warbles, haunting echoes, and unearthly harmonies across bold immense walls of distortion. BIG|BRAVE have collaborated with metal monsters The Body on a previous Thrill Jockey release, Leaving None But Small Birds, and have toured internationally with bands like SUMAC, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, SUNN O))), and Lingua Ignota. As they continue to ascend in their journey as pioneers in the contemporary metal scene, it"s safe to say that BIG|BRAVE are here to stay.

Lost Desert is back on All Day I Dream with his stunning new Saudade EP. The four-track EP features an appearance from Arsenal as well as a remix of ‘When Sun Rises’ by Volen Sentir. Saudade is rich and sweeping, encompassing the deep, atmospheric essence of Lost Desert’s organic house signature. Ambient melodies and breezy textures unfold over the EP’s serene 30 minutes as Lost Desert transcends the boundaries of melodic and progressive house. From the EP’s titular opener to ‘Dunes Of Alula’, Saudade finds a beautiful balance between the natural world and the underground dancefloor.

Cie embarks on a new sonic expedition with "Adventures II," the successor to the original journey, continuing the musical quest with great intensity and energy.
As the music begins, “Reichenstein” rises on the horizon like a majestic mountain peak, growing ever more imposing as you draw closer. Upon arrival, the towering presence of the castle welcomes you with its raw power. The beat pulses like a force of nature, its multi-layered rhythms and vibrant sounds pulling every dance enthusiast into its depths, much like an adventurer scaling the heights of the mountain itself.
The journey continues through the mystic halls of the castle, leading to "Der Turm".
Here, hypnotic synths scale the tower's heights, while deep pulsating basses push against every wall.
From there, the mountain “Stenzelberg” comes into view, casting its groovy shadows ahead as the next stop on the adventure. Upon reaching the summit, you are immediately drawn into the mountain’s spell by the power of its percussive sounds.
But the journey doesn't end there - deep within the winding gorges, Mar io awaits, leading you through hidden corners and secret paths of the mountain with his powerful remix, finally releasing the soul of the mountain. Four electrifying tracks - perfect companions for any club adventure - are ready to carry you on your own journey. Vinyl only.

Mit einem Dutzend wilder und gefeierter Alben seit Daemon Qui Fecit Terram (1996) praesentiert Hate mit dem dreizehnten Album Bellum Regiis ein noch kuehneres und aggressiveres Klangbild als je zuvor. Die neun Songs von Bellum Regiis zeigen, wie Saenger und Gitarrist ATF Sinner, Gitarrist Domin, Schlagzeuger Nar-Sil und Bassist Tiermes einen modernen Sound mit unheimlicher Atmosphaere und Tiefe formen. Produziert wurde das Album von David Castillo (Candlemass, Carcass, Dark Tranquility, Katatonia) in den Grondahl Studios in Stockholm. Textlich ist Bellum Regiis ein persoenlicheres, mehr auf die Menschheit fokussiertes Album als Rugia. Die Songs, so Gruendungsmitglied Sinner, sind eine aktuelle klangliche und visuelle Auseinandersetzung mit dem "Kampf um Macht und allem, was damit einhergeht."Hate, gegruendet 1990 in Warschau, wird als "Inbegriff von Konstanz" gefeiert und als "glatte und praezise Death-Metal-Maschine" gelobt. Seit dem 2017er Album Tremendum hat sich die Band thematisch auf die Natur und ihre Mysterien konzentriert. Wie Sinner erklaert: "Egal ob die Natur in uns, um uns herum oder aus der Ferne betrachtet - die daraus gewonnenen Perspektiven und ihre Verbindung zu verschiedenen uebergeordneten Themen haben jedes Album gepraegt." So behandelte etwa Auric Gates of Veles (2019) den Tod - insbesondere die slawische Sichtweise darauf. Sechs Jahre spaeter widmet sich Bellum Regiis der Menschheit selbst und der Frage, warum wir als Wesen so tief durch Konzepte wie Macht, Reichtum, Ruhm und Glauben motiviert sind. Das zentrale Thema ist der Kampf um Macht und alles, was damit verbunden ist.Daher auch der Albumtitel Bellum Regiis, was uebersetzt "Krieg der Koenige" oder "Koeniglicher Krieg" bedeutet. Sinner stellt sich die grossen Fragen rund um Macht - macht uns deren Erreichung abartig oder sind wir es von Natur aus? Der Titelsong bildet das Leitmotiv des Albums. "Als Song besitzt Bellum Regiis sowohl eine tiefe Melancholie als auch eine gewisse Erhabenheit", sagt Sinner. "Der Gesang von Eliza Sacharczuk (eine bekannte Saengerin und Gesangslehrerin, die ein ganzheitliches Kunstzentrum in Bialystok leitet) verleiht dem Lied ein starkes Zeitgefuehl. Ob das nun Nostalgie, Rueckblick, Reue oder Vorbereitung auf die Zukunft ist, liegt im Auge des Betrachters. Diese Kriege, diese Kaempfe gibt es seit Anbeginn unserer Existenz", erklaert der Frontmann. "Ob sie sinnlos sind oder nicht, sie sind Narben auf unserer eigenen Natur."Verkaufsargumente/Treiber (Karriere-Highlights/Fakten/Marketing-Infos):- HATE ist seit mehr als 25 Jahren eine feste Groesse im slawischen Black/Death Metal- Bellum Regiis wurde von David Castillo (Candlemass, Carcass, Dark Tranquility, Katatonia) in den Grondahl Studios in Stockholm produziert- HATE haben mehrfach durch Europa, Nordamerika, Asien und Australien getourt und auf zahlreichen Metal-Festivals weltweit gespielt- Nordamerika-Tour im Fruehjahr 2025 bestaetigt - als direkter Support von Belphegor; weitere US-Tour fuer 2026 geplant- Europatour mit Venom Inc. fuer 2025 bestaetigt; zusaetzliche Europatour in Planung fuer 2026- Tour durch Lateinamerika fuer Oktober 2025 bestaetigt- Hochwertiges Musikvideo zur ersten Single "Iphigenia" verfuegbar- Erhaeltlich auf allen digitalen Plattformen

Magic Water Records proudly returns with its second release featuring Dutch artist Nathan Homan. His “Lost Stop” EP delivers four club-ready (techno-)house tracks in his signature style, limited to 300 copies. Vinyl only.

Forms is the debut release from Naturalisten. Behind this name is Rado, one of the founders of the Unknown Species collective. They’ve put together some great underground parties in London through the years, giving space to new talents and sounds, and blissfully ignoring trends and fads.
Rado’s colourful and imaginative take on deep techno shines through all the six tracks here. Fans of the sounds we often hear on the likes of Delsin, Nous’Klaer Audio, Spazio Disponibile, Bitta, Animalia, are likely to find plenty to love here. Starting with the subtlety of “Release The Tension”; passing through the swampy “Against The Tide”, the bleepy minimal drum’n’bass of “Woodpecker”, the acid deepness of “Aves Acid”; and landing on the early-morning atmospheres of “Canopy Dreams”, which we find very much reminiscent of some exquisite James Holden moments from a time long gone.

The final touch to an already beautiful body of work is added by Forest Drive West with his remix of the opening track “Release The Tension”. His reinterpretation slowly creeps in and wraps you up in a wave of low frequencies, before blossoming into an epic outro.

Early support for this release came from Sunju Hargun, Sybil, Aaron J, Benedikt Frey, among others.

Oi Va Voi verbinden Dance-Grooves, Singer/Songwriter-Sensibilitäten und kosmopolitische Rhythmen aus Osteuropa und Nahost. Trotz (oder gerade wegen) der zerrissenen Zeiten strahlt ihr neues Album "The Water's Edge" Optimismus aus und weckt Erinnerungen an ihr bahnbrechendes Debüt "Laughter Through Tears" (BBC World Music Award, NYT Top 10 Alben 2003). Oi Va Voi sind bekannt für prominente Kollaborationen wie mit KT Tunstall, Bridgette Amofah (Rudimental) oder der Violinistin Anna Phoebe. "The Water's Edge" wurde zum Teil von Mike Spencer (Rudimental, Tom Walker, Ellie Goulding) produziert und erscheint auf dem eigenen Label Parallel Skies. Es ignoriert Kategorisierungen zugunsten dauerhafter musikalischer und sozialer Werte und ist ein Ausdruck der Notwendigkeit, Spaltungen hinter sich zu lassen und eine gemeinsame Menschlichkeit zu finden.

Oi Va Voi fuse dance grooves, singer-songwriter sensitivity and a rock’n’roll sensibility with the group’s Jewish cultural heritage and a cosmopolitan rhythmic inspiration drawn from Eastern Europe, the Middle East and beyond. Despite the fractured times we are living in, a theme of optimism through pain is there throughout Oi Va Voi’s new album ‘The Waters Edge’.

We’re reminded of the title of the breakthrough first album, Laughter Through Tears. The Bacon & Quarmby-produced debut won a BBC World Music Award, was listed as a New York Times Top Ten Album Of The Year, and launched the career of a young KT Tunstall. The tradition of world-class musicianship continued with Bridgette Amofah (Rudimental) as the featured vocalist on Travelling the Face of The Globe, and noted violinist Anna Phoebe, who recorded and performed with the band for over a decade.

Every member evolves the Oi Va Voi sound; but through each change, the core themes and vision have remained constant. 2018’s album, Memory Drop, introduced the unique voice of Zohara Niddam, and it’s Zohara who returns here on The Water’s Edge, featuring on ‘Shine A Light’, ‘Lay Your Head’ and ‘Wave’. Also featuring across the new album is composer, violinist and singer Sarah Anderson, who co-wrote seven tracks on the album, with her emotionally poignant lyrics, evocative layered vocals and uplifting violin parts. Guitarist John Matts and Trumpeter David Orchant also return, with Orchant bringing deep colour and expression to the stirring waltz ‘Oceans’.

The album opener ‘Sad Dance’ was written after the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria in early 2023 impacting many of the band’s friends, fans and colleagues. Finding themselves in the studio the day after the tragedy, the band searched for ways to respond. Sarah’’s mournful, pulsating violins create an ever evolving soundscape on top of which her own vocal, and Steve’s earthy clarinet express sorrow and hope. Says Sarah - “It’s about human connection - a metaphorical hand held through trauma, and the preservation of ‘old worlds’ through relics, reminding us of where we came from”.

‘Shine a Light’ was also a chance to welcome back producer Mike Spencer (Rudimental, Tom Walker, Ellie Goulding), who produced their second album. Here his Pop experience can be felt in the hooky dance loop, which you can hear becoming one of Oi Va Voi’s trademark live encores. Along with the melodic pop sheen of ‘Lay Your Head’, this song shows the band in an uplifting mood, pointing at the years of high-energy tours which have become their signature. These tracks, and the poignant ‘Josephine’, offer a release - a more escapist mood and a sign of the hope underneath everything.

Oi Va Voi have never been easy to categorise, and they’ve made a point of ignoring genre in favour of more enduring musical and social values. The Water’s Edge is the first album to be released on the band’s own Parallel Skies label, which will sign artists from a diversity of cultures, nations and musics in the coming years. The album title refers to an old custom from the Jewish New Year of going down to the waterside - casting off the baggage of the past, and letting it wash away on the tide. As the first release on this label it’s an expression of the need to put divisions behind us, and find a shared humanity.