Cerca:je

"Wien - die Stadt mit dem wahrscheinlich schönsten Namen. Allein der Klang ist schon Musik." (Andreas Dorau) Grund genug, der österreichischen Hauptstadt ein ganzes Album zu widmen. Die Idee dafür entstand, als Dorau gemeinsam mit zwei Freunden an einem Stadtplan Lübecks arbeitete und dessen brachliegende Geschichten abseits der üblichen Attraktionen erforschte. In Dorau entflammte die Faszination für das Porträtieren einer Stadt aus der Sicht des unvoreingenommenen Touristen, des Besuchers und Außenstehenden. Musikalisch spannt das Album einen weiten Bogen und bietet sowohl wunderschöne Pop-Momente ("Der Regen in Wien"), knarzigen Kawaii-Minimalismus zusammen mit der Kölnerin Stefanie Schrank ("Lass uns spazieren gehen") aber auch Stücke, die sich in ihrem Charakter jeder Einordnung entziehen ("Alles ist gleich"). "Wien" ist somit nicht das erwartbare Album, das der Titel zunächst vermuten lässt. Vielmehr bietet die Platte Einblicke in Andreas Doraus" persönlichen Zugang zur Stadt, die zuweilen auch ein schwierig-schmieriges Verhältnis offenbaren. Und während Popmusik aus und über Österreich im Grunde schon bei Mozart und Schönberg begann, ist Pop aus Deutschland über Österreich vermutlich eher eine Neuerung. Wenn es dann auch noch ein norddeutscher Musiker ist, der ein monothematisches Album über die österreichische Hauptstadt macht, drängt sich fast zwangsläufig die Frage auf: Ist das schon Austro-Pop?

Poet, novelist, musician and academic, Anthony Joseph teams up with legendary UK producer Dave Okumu for forthcoming album, ‘Rowing Up River To Get Our Names Back’

Dave Okumu, known perhaps best as frontman for The Invisible, though digging deeper into his production credits, huge names emerge such as; Grace Jones, Amy Winehouse, Jesse Ware, Rosie Lowe and Eska. On this album, the magic and alchemy of Dave’s production style showcase subtle sonics and deep layering resulting in a contemporary sound to carry Anthony’s afrofuturistic metrical meanings.

Anthony and Dave first came across each other when working with Shabaka Hutchings during Covid broadcasts, and then after Anthony performed some poems on Dave’s 2023 album ‘I Came From Love’, the seeds of collaboration were sown.

With a little more psychedelia, a little more experimentation, Dave’s eclectic vision focuses on the actual sounds on these pieces. Anthony stated that “The best producers guide you, not push you” now add to that the fact that both these humans were born on the same day, a concoction of laid back attitudes in people with strong purpose, some real magic can happen, naturally.

Early writing sessions for this record took place in 2022, around Mount Blanc in France. Anthony was away touring with long-time collaborator, Jason Yarde. Ideas were a little thin and they found themselves somewhat repeating previous work resulting in Anthony rethinking things a little, and so entered Dave Okumu.

LP opener ‘Satellite’ is a fine example of how this new partnership pans out. New musicians have been enlisted; Dan See (Drums), Aviram Barath (Synths), Nick Ramm on Fender Rhodes and Byron Wallen (Trumpet). Add to that the mighty vocal power house of Eska and we have a whole new dimension of soul and depth, to carry Anthony’s statements. “You build a wall, we go under, you build it higher, we go higher, like a satellite” .

On the album's second single, ‘Tony’ - there’s a nod to all drummers and creators of African rhythms, from the point of view of Afrobeat legend Tony Allen. Highlighting this is drummer’s drummer Richard Spaven as Dave’s choice of skin beater. He successfully reminds us that Tony was someone who understood the real power of rhythm and how it is used to unite people.

As well as the new musicians on this LP, Dave Okumu played all the guitars and used the studio as his tool. On ‘A Juba for Janet’ - a poem to Joseph’s mother, and a track so bass heavy that it feels as though it could sit in a deep dubstep set in Plastic People days, - Anthony’s voice reaches straight down your ear canals next to dark drums, huge synths and delayed saxophone stabs from Colin Webster. Slightly more introspective verses on ‘An Afrofuturist Poem’ see Dave’s beats show off the real future sound of this record, kalimba, moog bass and guitars all played by the man himself.

Mellower and deeper moments are also present, Anthony’s cryptic yet informative storytelling is at its absolute best on ‘Churches Of Sound (The Benetiz-Rojo)’ - Caribbean and Windrush history reeled off alongside a linear musical timeline of Black music in the diaspora.

A reminder that this body of work is first of 2 volumes, ‘Rowing Up River To Get Our Names Back’ is not a follow up to Anthony’s previous album, but more a development of his 2006 novel, ‘The African Origins of UFOs’ a book where experimental elements of afro-futurism, metafiction, science fiction, surrealism, mythology are rewritten in Anthony’s innovative language. Look out for Volume 2 also coming in 2025.

Anthony Joseph releases, ‘Rowing Up River To Get Our Names Back’ (Vol. 1) via Heavenly Sweetness 7th February 2025 and he will play live at Ronnie Scotts in London on 14th March 2025, with Dave Okumu as a special guest.

CREDITS:

Vocals - Anthony Joseph

Additional vocals, vocal arrangements - Eska Mtungwazi

Producer - Guitars, Bass, Moog, Synthesisers, Programming, Percussion - Dave Okumu

Drums - Dan See

Drums on ‘Tony’ - Richard Spaven

Synthesiser - Aviram Barath

Fender Rhodes, Synthesisers, Nick Ramm

Trumpet - Byron Wallen

Saxophones - Colin Webster

Trombones - James Wade Sired

Like a passenger riding shotgun on a road trip, The Villagers Companion offers its own unique perspective and story to tell. Featuring tracks recorded alongside last year’s acclaimed villagers, TVC captures the miles between the start and destination—the faded gas station pit stops, the plastic saint statue stuck to the dashboard for safe travels or luck. It embodies the essence of the journey without the burden of driving—the experience of the ride itself.

The album takes us through the heart of Califone’s magic: reverb-drenched piano chords, electronic whirs, and layers of experimental noise. Guided by Tim Rutili’s abstract, fragmented lyrics—both strange and familiar—delivered through his warm, well-worn vocals, it creates an experience as evocative as it is haunting. Often passing through what seem to be the spaces between radio frequencies, the stations never meant to be heard. Crackles of static, feedback loops, and fleeting signals bloom into meditative moments, with each sound given space to breathe, unravel, and shimmer in slow decay. The result resonates deeply, transforming what might be noise into something profound, hypnotic, and totally immersive.

As with villagers, Rutili and company continue to explore what it means to get lost while surrounded by modern technology. Like a ghost in a machine or a whispered prayer stuck in a telephone line, Califone adds soul—be it damned or saved. And they do so with the kind of transformative magic granted perhaps only to artists a quarter of a century into their craft. The kind that turns a photograph into a tableau, or any darkened space with a microphone into a makeshift confessional. A song into a hymn, and a hymn into a soundtrack to a life.

Exit Wounds by The Haunted is a must-have reissue for fans of powerful, unrelenting metal. Originally released in 2014, this iconic album showcases The Haunted’s signature blend of thrash, death metal, and hardcore influences, with razor-sharp riffs and intense energy that set it apart in the genre. Known for their fierce, high-energy sound, The Haunted was formed in Sweden by members who went on to become legends in the metal scene, including guitarist Jensen, drummer Adrian Erlandsson, and vocalist Marco Aro. "Exit Wounds" delivers a potent mix of aggression and skill, with tracks that echo themes of struggle, endurance, and rebellion. This reissue celebrates the artistry and technical prowess that define The Haunted, offering fans and collectors the chance to experience "Exit Wounds" in a new, high-quality vinyl pressing.

Like a passenger riding shotgun on a road trip, The Villagers Companion offers its own unique perspective and story to tell. Featuring tracks recorded alongside last year’s acclaimed villagers, TVC captures the miles between the start and destination—the faded gas station pit stops, the plastic saint statue stuck to the dashboard for safe travels or luck. It embodies the essence of the journey without the burden of driving—the experience of the ride itself.

The album takes us through the heart of Califone’s magic: reverb-drenched piano chords, electronic whirs, and layers of experimental noise. Guided by Tim Rutili’s abstract, fragmented lyrics—both strange and familiar—delivered through his warm, well-worn vocals, it creates an experience as evocative as it is haunting. Often passing through what seem to be the spaces between radio frequencies, the stations never meant to be heard. Crackles of static, feedback loops, and fleeting signals bloom into meditative moments, with each sound given space to breathe, unravel, and shimmer in slow decay. The result resonates deeply, transforming what might be noise into something profound, hypnotic, and totally immersive.

As with villagers, Rutili and company continue to explore what it means to get lost while surrounded by modern technology. Like a ghost in a machine or a whispered prayer stuck in a telephone line, Califone adds soul—be it damned or saved. And they do so with the kind of transformative magic granted perhaps only to artists a quarter of a century into their craft. The kind that turns a photograph into a tableau, or any darkened space with a microphone into a makeshift confessional. A song into a hymn, and a hymn into a soundtrack to a life.

In the late 1980s, as techno and house made its way around Europe, mutating as it hopped from city to city, one young DJ from Curacao made a mistake that would inspire a brand new sound. While he was performing at Den Haag's Club Voltage, DJ Moortje accidentally dropped a dancehall track at 45RPM rather than 33, and let it play out. Thirsty for a hi-NRG sound, the crowd loved the squeaky vocals and rapid beat, and bubbling (or bubbling house) was born.For the next couple of decades, bubbling was a crucial part of Holland's Afro-diasporic club landscape. And as a new generation of wide-eyed young DJs and producers began to take the reins, it evolved accordingly. In the late-2000s, Den Haag-based teenage prodigy Guillermo Schuurman followed in the footsteps of his uncle DJ Chippie (one of the genre's co-founders) and cousins DJ Daycard, DJ Master-D, Stiko Jnr and DJ Justme, and began performing and writing beats. Using Fruityloops, he fused familiar bubbling rhythms with rap and R&B samples, trance synths and electro house wobbles, and his tracks quickly became a regular fixture on the Dutch circuit."Bubbling Inside" is a collection of Schuurman's most essential cuts from the era (2007-2009), with a couple of newer productions added for context. Crafted solely for the dance, most of these tracks were never properly released and have been painstakingly hunted down and collected by the Nyege Nyege Tapes together with Sascha Roth from Pantropical in Rotterdam and De Schuurman himself. Hearing them together highlights just how forward thinking the young producer was, steering a Dutch institution into the future.2008's 'First One' is a proto-Berghain belter, with booming bass-heavy kicks underpinning the kind of cheeky melodies that remain the calling card of the genre. 'Pier Je Bil!!' ratchets up the tempo, twisting bubbling's syncopated dancehall kicks into a rapid-fire club clatter and decorating them with steel-pan melodies. Elsewhere, 2019's 'Domina' shows how Schuurman's production style has developed as he mutates trap percussion, dubstep bass and eerie synth textures, while retaining the DNA of bubbling. "Bubbling Inside" is a testament to the evolution of the bubbling genre, as witnessed by one of its most visionary producers.

In the late 1980s, as techno and house made its way around Europe, mutating as it hopped from city to city, one young DJ from Curacao made a mistake that would inspire a brand new sound. While he was performing at Den Haag's Club Voltage, DJ Moortje accidentally dropped a dancehall track at 45RPM rather than 33, and let it play out. Thirsty for a hi-NRG sound, the crowd loved the squeaky vocals and rapid beat, and bubbling (or bubbling house) was born.For the next couple of decades, bubbling was a crucial part of Holland's Afro-diasporic club landscape. And as a new generation of wide-eyed young DJs and producers began to take the reins, it evolved accordingly. In the late-2000s, Den Haag-based teenage prodigy Guillermo Schuurman followed in the footsteps of his uncle DJ Chippie (one of the genre's co-founders) and cousins DJ Daycard, DJ Master-D, Stiko Jnr and DJ Justme, and began performing and writing beats. Using Fruityloops, he fused familiar bubbling rhythms with rap and R&B samples, trance synths and electro house wobbles, and his tracks quickly became a regular fixture on the Dutch circuit."Bubbling Inside" is a collection of Schuurman's most essential cuts from the era (2007-2009), with a couple of newer productions added for context. Crafted solely for the dance, most of these tracks were never properly released and have been painstakingly hunted down and collected by the Nyege Nyege Tapes together with Sascha Roth from Pantropical in Rotterdam and De Schuurman himself. Hearing them together highlights just how forward thinking the young producer was, steering a Dutch institution into the future.2008's 'First One' is a proto-Berghain belter, with booming bass-heavy kicks underpinning the kind of cheeky melodies that remain the calling card of the genre. 'Pier Je Bil!!' ratchets up the tempo, twisting bubbling's syncopated dancehall kicks into a rapid-fire club clatter and decorating them with steel-pan melodies. Elsewhere, 2019's 'Domina' shows how Schuurman's production style has developed as he mutates trap percussion, dubstep bass and eerie synth textures, while retaining the DNA of bubbling. "Bubbling Inside" is a testament to the evolution of the bubbling genre, as witnessed by one of its most visionary producers.

Jesse Hackett returns with another unclassifiable co-mingling of genres, this time made in collaboration with Durban-based gqom trio Phelimuncasi. The group met up in Nyege Nyege's Kampala studio last year, spending three days engineering a sequence of tracks that turned the acts' respective sounds inside out, stretching urgent vocals over mutating backdrops of time stretched electronic drums, saturated noise and unstable synths.We last heard from Hackett on last year's chilling 'Shadow Swamps', a chilly, surrealist blast of disembodied folk and vintage electronics that added a cinematic twist to industrial music. Phelimuncasi meanwhile followed their acclaimed debut with the enormous 'Ama Gogela', asserting their dominance with tight, dancefloor-fwd, hook-led jams produced by some of the scene's most important beatmakers. In collaboration, both Metal Preyers and Phelimuncasi materialized a few worlds outside their comfort zones, with the Durban trio's words frothing from Hackett's marshy productions like echoes from another universe.Opening track 'Gidigidi ka Makhelwane' erupts in a fizz of beatbox percussion that loops noisily alongside Makan Nana, Khera and Malathon's stirring vocals, delivered in their local isiZulu tongue. Hackett's process is relatively restrained, offering Phelimuncasi the space to work their rousing magic unimpeded and adding punctuation where necessary. But when he takes more of a destructive role, it's just as impressive: on 'Gqom slowgen Chant', he corrupts his rhythm into a ritualistic pulse, letting the trio's words melt into metallic clicks and nauseous atmospheres.Elsewhere on 'Mgiligi wableka', Phelimuncasi's words create a rousing rhythm against a low-n-slow gqom thud from Hackett, and on 'Coffin Roller' he brings to mind '80s video nasty soundtracks, toying with analog synth sequences against Makan Nana, Khera and Malathon's distant chants. 'Like A Corpse' might be the album's most hollowed-out banger, turning the beat into a chopped 'n screwed drag that scrapes clamorously against Phelimuncasi's gurgling raps. Needless to say, there's nothing else like this.Jesse Hackett returns with another unclassifiable co-mingling of genres, this time made in collaboration with Durban-based gqom trio Phelimuncasi. The group met up in Nyege Nyege's Kampala studio last year, spending three days engineering a sequence of tracks that turned the acts' respective sounds inside out, stretching urgent vocals over mutating backdrops of time stretched electronic drums, saturated noise and unstable synths.We last heard from Hackett on last year's chilling 'Shadow Swamps', a chilly, surrealist blast of disembodied folk and vintage electronics that added a cinematic twist to industrial music. Phelimuncasi meanwhile followed their acclaimed debut with the enormous 'Ama Gogela', asserting their dominance with tight, dancefloor-fwd, hook-led jams produced by some of the scene's most important beatmakers. In collaboration, both Metal Preyers and Phelimuncasi materialized a few worlds outside their comfort zones, with the Durban trio's words frothing from Hackett's marshy productions like echoes from another universe.Opening track 'Gidigidi ka Makhelwane' erupts in a fizz of beatbox percussion that loops noisily alongside Makan Nana, Khera and Malathon's stirring vocals, delivered in their local isiZulu tongue. Hackett's process is relatively restrained, offering Phelimuncasi the space to work their rousing magic unimpeded and adding punctuation where necessary. But when he takes more of a destructive role, it's just as impressive: on 'Gqom slowgen Chant', he corrupts his rhythm into a ritualistic pulse, letting the trio's words melt into metallic clicks and nauseous atmospheres.Elsewhere on 'Mgiligi wableka', Phelimuncasi's words create a rousing rhythm against a low-n-slow gqom thud from Hackett, and on 'Coffin Roller' he brings to mind '80s video nasty soundtracks, toying with analog synth sequences against Makan Nana, Khera and Malathon's distant chants. 'Like A Corpse' might be the album's most hollowed-out banger, turning the beat into a chopped 'n screwed drag that scrapes clamorously against Phelimuncasi's gurgling raps. Needless to say, there's nothing else like this.

Desire is an electronic music band from Montreal and Portland, Oregon. Their debut album, II, was originally released in June 2009 on the Italians Do It Better label. The band is made up of vocalist Megan Louise, producer Johnny Jewel (also a member of the IDIB bands Chromatics and Glass Candy) and Nat Walker (also a member of Chromatics) on synthesizer and drums.

Emmanuel Mario returns to Karaoke Kalk with his third album under his Astrobal moniker for the Berlin-based imprint. »L’uomo e la natura« (»Man and Nature«) sees the prolific drummer and producer, who has worked with artists such as Laetitia Sadier and label mate Pink Shabab, take a different musical route than before. The French electronic music composer pays homage to the spirit of library music while also making concessions to different strains of pop and even classical music. With only two of the ten songs putting words to the music, »L’uomo e la natura« is a masterful exercise in the evocation of atmospheres: expressing much while saying very little outright—show, don’t tell.

The album was born out of a desire to push the envelope. »I wanted to make music that was both pop and ambitious in its chord progressions as well as surprising in its construction,« explains the Paris-based artist. Taking inspiration from library music artists such as Alessandro Alessandroni or Bruno Nicolai as well as the more cosmic strains of electronic instrumental music, he strove »to create a soundtrack that would immediately bring to mind outer space.« The first of the three singles released ahead of the full album, »L’abeille pourpre,« captures this spirit with funky rhythms and an overjoyed interplay of different melodies, all tied together by wordless yet terminally catchy vocals.

The second single, »Miami 2064,« traverses through many different moods in its six-minute run-time: Starting off as neo-noir synth-wave piece, it then proceeds to pay its dues to the masters of the cosmic music tradition such as Tangerine Dream or, of course, Jean-Michel Jarre before slowly descending back to Earth with guitars and dreamy synthetic vocals, playfully punctuated by a plethora of wistful melodies. It is the perfect encapsulation of the open-ended approach Mario follows throughout the entire album, taking full creative licence in regards to songwriting and arrangements. »I wanted to surprise myself,« he shrugs. He succeeded.

»L’uomo e la natura« rewards multiple listens not only emotionally, but also intellectually. »I also wanted to talk about politics and ecology, because it’s impossible not to,« Mario notes. Some of the track titles express this more openly than others and the two title tracks sung by Mario and Nina Savary use French and Italian lyrics, respectively. However, as a whole the album leaves things open to interpretation. Does »The End of Capitalism« sound elegiac or triumphant? And what do you actually make of this musical vision of the Floridian metropolis, whose mere existence is threatened by climate change already today, four decades from now? Mario doesn’t necessarily answer these questions—he doesn’t tell, he shows.

As Jess Sylvester finished his Hardly Art debut as Marinero in the fall of 2020, he realized it was time for a change. Sylvester grew up in Marin County, on the doorstep of San Francisco. It was a nurturing community for a high-school punk with a pompadour and, later, for a sober songwriter with a proclivity for moody psychedelia. But he wanted to be challenged and inspired by a new setting and scenario around strangers who prompted him to approach his music in unexpected ways. So in September 2020, as the world continued to reel in lockdown, Sylvester headed several hours south to Los Angeles, a city that, despite the relative proximity, the film buff knew largely from classic and cult films situated there. When he arrived, he kept digging into that cinematic past-Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye, with John Williams' classic theme, or classic 90s movies about East LA, many featuring Edward James Olmos. They shaped his understanding of his new town just as it began to open. This is one pillar of the multivalent and endlessly lush La La La, Marinero's new album about sobriety, identity, and fantasy that is playfully named both for the city that helped shape it and the sophisticated pop it contains. Sylvester wrote about characters outside of himself, whether considering the heroine reckoning with her own version of keeping clean or the screenwriters whose work was deemed communist simply as a political convenience. He linked those songs with motivational anthems about self-acceptance and playful numbers about flirting through food, shaping a 12-song set rich with humor, empathy, and encouragement. Sure, La La La is a continuation of the slippery genre play Sylvester started with 2021's Hella Love, 2019's Trópico de Cáncer, or even before that. But it also feels like a fresh beginning for Marinero, as Sylvester realizes how boundless this project can be. He began to think about the music of his childhood, how his mother is from San Francisco with Mexican roots, and how he'd heard so much salsa growing up as an impetuous teenager. So he wrote "Taquero," a red-hot salsa tune that uses tacos and their trappings as a source of endless metaphors for come-ons. And then there was the Ray Barreto or Santana-inspired "Pocha Pachanga," with organ gliding and percussion pulsing beneath his yearning vocals, warped as if by desert winds. In Los Angeles, he found a wealth of players who spoke this music like language itself (including Chicano Batman's Eduardo Arenas), all ready to play with and push these familiar forms. Sylvester has also been sober for 21 years, since a cross-country sojourn to attend college in Boston ended in a chemical haze. Today, he sees friends facing the same decisions he made two decades ago, and he brings bits of that experience to bear in songs that feel like self-help anthems. Recorded with a musical hero (and labelmate) of his, Chris Cohen, "Sea Changes" feels like sunshine breaking through dark clouds, as Sylvester acknowledges the newfound confidence and clarity in a friend who has stepped away from destructive habits. In the past, Sylvester has been intractably linked to his identity as a Mexican-American, born to parents from Mexico and Irish- American descent who settled in San Francisco. That can be limiting, of course, tying him to notions of sound and style that aren't always correct. On La La La, he simultaneously steps into and out of those preconceptions, singing tracks above salsa in joyous Spanish or pondering the dynamics of the Hollywood Ten and blacklists above mysterious lap steel and teasing trumpet. His identity, then, should now be clear: He is a Californian, making music shaped by the diversity of encounters and experiences that are a central part of that state's fabric. Never before has he presented himself so fully and unabashedly on tape as with La La La, an album Sylvester built with new inspirations to deliver new charms.

Get ready to sail with the vibrant ocean vibes of the new Uluru! Rescuing 2 iconic reggae remixes from Portuguese producer Dedy Dread, Uluru017 is a sure shot, ready to give a groovy kick to the dancefloors worldwide.

This compilation is more than a selection of songs from Willy Nfor’s solo career in Nigeria—it’s the story of a man’s determination to live his dreams. Known as Willy Ngeh Nfor, he was a founding member of the Mighty Flames. One morning, Willy and his bandmates packed their instruments, grabbed a few clothes, and headed from Cameroon to Nigeria. Crossing the border on foot, they made their way to Onitsha.

“We left Cameroon with no contacts in Nigeria—it was an adventure. We’d heard about the FESTAC Arts Festival and felt we had to be part of it. Our first band in Nigeria was Pentagon Funk Band, sponsored by the 5th Brigade in Port Harcourt. Later, we moved to Onitsha and signed with Right Time Stores, recording Sweet Love (RTLPS 011) as The Mighty Flames. The sessions were at Decca Studios in Lagos, with a 16-track analog system. It was intense—no room for mistakes. We rehearsed endlessly before recording each take.” (Vincent Ekedi, Drummer, Mighty Flames)

Willy’s journey was shaped by his resilience and talent. Losing his mother early and facing family struggles, music became his escape. Inspired by funk and jazz-rock greats like Bootsy Collins, Jaco Pastorius, and Stanley Clarke, he honed his skills on bass and composition, playing with local bands alongside musicians like Vincent Ekedi. Together, they refined their grooves, dreaming of brighter futures.

After his time in Nigeria, Willy moved to Paris, becoming a session bassist for legends such as Manu Dibango, Mory Kanté, Tony Allen, Akendengue, Ray Lema, Jean-Luc Ponty, and Kanté Manfila. Touring extensively, he lived the “Star Life” (Star Life, Cornerstone Records, Feel So Fine, 1981), playing funk grooves with giants in grand venues, fulfilling his dream of the spotlight.

Analog Africa is back with a dedicated project celebrating Gnonnas Pedro, the king of Modern Agbadja, and they press it up on a marvellous double album that includes an eight-page booklet with a ton of extra info. Although four tracks of his have previously appeared on the 2009 Legends of Benin compilation, this bumper pack features 16 of Pedro's best works, all of which captivated Africa at the time. His vibrant blend of Agbadja, Cuban fon, jerk, highlife and more unique styles, all of which come with vocals sung in Fon, Mina, Yoruba, French, English and Spanish, add up to one hell of a rich sound. This is a great testament to the artist's extraordinary legacy.

Jazz & Milk-Labelhead und Freestyle-DJ-Koryphäe Dusty aus München meldet sich mit seiner neuen EP "As Above So Below" zurück, die gefühlvoll, warm und grenzüberschreitend Deep-House-Grooves mit Elementen aus Jazz, Dub und westafrikanischen Rhythmen kombiniert, die einen Sound erzeugen, der ebenso introspektiv wie dancefloortauglich ist. Die EP ist eine berauschende Mischung der rohen Stimmkraft und den perkussiven Rhythmen des ghanaischen Künstlers King Owusu (Jembaa Groove), der die Bühne mit Legenden wie Ebo Taylor und Pat Thomas teilte, und erscheint zum 20-jährigen Labeljubiläum in 2025. Support kommt von Peter Kruder, Severino, Don Letts, Opolopo und dem jüngst verstorbenen DJ Harvey. Dusty legt weiterhin weltweit - Johannesburg bis Istanbul, Manila bis London - auf, veranstaltet die Jazz & Milk-Labelabende in München und Köln und eine Radiosendung auf dublab.de moderiert.

"Full support of EP!" - DJ Harvey, Klymax Bali, International Feel, Pikes

"Very nice! Thank you!" - Peter Kruder, Kruder & Dorfmeister

"Great EP! Love it!" - Ruff Stuff, Shall Not Fade

"SEXY... DEEEEEP." - Severino, Horse Meat Disco

"Warm and deep - very nice!" - Opolopo

"Good to go on Culture Clash Radio!" - Don Letts, BBC Radio 6 Music

Drink Ring Jesus, the second album from Nashville based singer-songwriter Simmons was originally released in 2006 during a period of vast political and social change in America. Post 9/11 the age-old battle between good and evil, God versus Satan if you want to get personal, once again eased into view agitating hearts and minds. Like all songwriters with just their art to carve themselves a foothold in a world becoming less identifiable, Simmons produced an album that is both intimate and deeply inquisitive yet, like all the great folk records, its universal themes of hope, redemption, pain and despair will resonate with all who hear it.

Nearly twenty years on from its initial release Drink Ring Jesus feels as relevant now as it did then. From the opening lines of the title track Simmons is clearly caught in a time of intense personal reflection. It’s not an unusual pathway to tread for songwriters and artists alike, indeed many have fell by its wayside over the years, yet here our narrator is both looking for a way through and calling on something deeper than just instinct for guidance. We are right on the frontline, characters battling on the very precipice of sanctuary or sacrifice on the likes Time To Pay and Devil’s Work Is Never Done, before literally scavenging a ticket to Hope Station on the evocative Next Stop Redemption. There isn’t a moment where you feel Simmons is taking the easy way out or shying from titanic confrontation. Anything but. It’s in the no-mans land where these songs impact the most, at the very alchemy where despair turns to optimism or defeat.

Los Angeles-based experimental jazz collective High Pulp will release
their new album Days in the Desert in peak sweltering summer heat on
July 28
The titular desert is both literal and metaphorical: it's the Mojave Desert that the
band powers through on their many DIY tours around the country, and the band's
founder / drummer Bobby Granfelt perceives the desert as "a spiritual quest" as
well. Amid the trials of our present moment, you must look within, relying solely
on your own instincts to keep moving forward. "You're in the desert and it's a long,
lonesome process and a lot of times you have to check yourself to ask 'Is this
right? Is this good? Is it too out?'" he says.
High Pulp's Days in the Desert makes this vision come true, finding the West
Coast band fully emerging into their own sound. Rooted in the jazz tradition while
also smitten by indie- rock and electronic music, High Pulp was willing to grab
from all these sounds at once to pursue something truly their own. Their third fulllength album (following 2022's promising Anti- debut Pursuit of Ends), Days in the
Desert reveals the band realizing their strengths, deepening their own bonds, and
pushing all these skills into a thrilling new sonic vista all but unimaginable just a
few years before

Mit "Nobody Loves You More" veröffentlicht Kim Deal am 22.11.24 auf 4AD ihr erstes Soloalbum. Die elf Songs umfassende Sammlung ist das erste Album der in Dayton, Ohio lebenden Künstlerin unter ihrem eigenen Namen. "Nobody Loves You More" ist Kim Deals Debütalbum, obwohl es nicht das erste Mal ist, dass sie einen Alleingang unternimmt - 2013 veröffentlichte sie im Eigenverlag eine fünfteilige Reihe von zehn Songs, die limitiert als 7" erschienen. Im Einklang mit Deals akribischer Herangehensweise an ihre Kunst, wurde das Album über mehrere Jahre hinweg verfeinert. Die ältesten Songs, "Are You Mine?" und "Wish I Was", wurden 2011 geschrieben und aufgenommen, kurz nachdem Deal von der "Lost Cities Tour" der Pixies zurückkam und nach Los Angeles umzog (frühe Versionen dieser Songs waren in der besagten Vinyl-Serie enthalten). Die letzten Aufnahmen für "Nobody Loves You More" fanden im November 2022 mit dem legendären Tontechniker und engen Freund Steve Albini statt, der den letzten Track "A Good Time Pushed" in seinem Electrical Audio Studio in Chicago einspielte. Auf dem Weg dorthin hat sie eine Vielzahl von Mitstreitern aus der Vergangenheit und Gegenwart hinzugezogen, von den Breeders (Mando Lopez, Zwillingsschwester Kelley Deal, Jim Macpherson, Britt Walford) oder auch Raymond McGinley (Teenage Fanclub), Jack Lawrence (Raconteurs) sowie Fay Milton und Ayse Hassan von den Savages. "Nobody Loves You More" wurde von Marta Salogni gemischt und von Heba Kadry gemastert. Zu jedem Song gibt es eine persönliche Geschichte. Sie handeln von den Winterferien mit ihren Eltern auf den Florida Keys ("Summerland"), einem Hochzeitsband-Cover von "Margaritaville" ("Coast") oder auch der Demenz ihrer Mutter ("Are You Mine?"). Die Platte zelebriert Deals unvergleichliche Kunstfertigkeit, die nicht nur auf die Höhepunkte ihrer Karriere mit gefeierten Bands der Alternative-Landschaft (Pixies, The Amps, The Breeders) verweist, sondern auch auf ihr unverrückbares kulturelles Gewicht, das über Generationen hinweg Musiker und Musikerinnen wie Kurt Cobain und Olivia Rodrigo beeinflusst hat.

LINEAR LABS: Sao Paulo läutet eine neue goldene Ära musikalischer Genialität ein, die durch den Maestro Adrian Younge definiert wird. Eine außergewöhnliche psychedelische und gefühlvolle Erfahrung bietet "Adrian Younge presents Linear Labs: Sao Paulo", eine Zusammenstellung von neuen Songs, die die musikalische Brillanz von Adrian Younge mit Künstlern aus der ganzen Welt präsentiert. Im Wesentlichen enthält das Album jeweils einen unveröffentlichten Song aus einer Reihe von bevorstehenden Alben, die Younge für Linear Labs produziert hat, darunter "Something About April Ill", der dritte Teil von Younge's Meisterwerk-Trilogie, und ein neues Blaxploitation-Abenteuer von Hip-Hop-Legende Snoop Dogg, mit dem Titel "Don't Cry For the Devil".

Das Debütalbum des 2020 gegründeten Leedser Kollektivs um Kernmitglieder George Mitchell, Matt Peel, Josh Lewis und Imi Marston.

Mit Einflüssen, die von Mount Kimbie und My Bloody Valentine bis hin zu Björk und Burial reichen, steht 'U R HERE' für ein neues Gefühl des kreativen Ausdrucks inmitten einer Welt, die manchmal zu zerfallen scheint.

Die Songs auf 'U R HERE' sind eine fließende, mitreißende und einzigartig introspektive Interpretation von Clubmusik, die die psychologischen Auswirkungen des modernen Zeitalters in Töne fast und die Vitalität und Freiheit nutzt, die mit Neuanfängen einhergeht. 'U R HERE', genau jetzt, und nur das zählt.

In den vergangenen 12 Monaten haben sich HONESTY mit der Veröffentlichung ihrer ersten EP 'WHERE R U', dem experimentellen Mixtape 'BOX' und einer Reihe von Singles aus ihrem Debütalbum ein substantielles Publikum erspielt.

Die Gruppe erntete Lob von wichtigen Indie-Magazinen wie The Needle Drop, eine Erwähnung von Alexis Petridis von The Guardian und weitere Kritiken von Mixmag, Rolling Stone, Crack, NME und Brooklyn Vegan. Im Radio wurde die Band von BBC 6 Music und Apple Music 1 gespielt und erhielt viel Unterstützung von BBC Introducing. HONESTY hat kürzlich eine Live-Session für BBC Introducing aufgenommen und gefilmt, die Anfang Januar auf BBC Introducing Leeds und Sheffield ausgestrahlt wird.

HONESTYs hypnotisierende Live-A/V-Show ist einer der wichtigsten Faktoren für den bisherigen Erfolg der Band. Ihr vielschichtiges visuelles Erscheinungsbild und ihr ausgeklügeltes Live-Setup bringen die Textur und die Kraft der Aufnahmen voll zur Geltung, was Mixmag und Clash dazu veranlasste, die Band in ihren Beiträgen zu den besten Sets beim Eurosonic 2024 hervorzuheben.

Das Debütalbum des 2020 gegründeten Leedser Kollektivs um Kernmitglieder George Mitchell, Matt Peel, Josh Lewis und Imi Marston.

Mit Einflüssen, die von Mount Kimbie und My Bloody Valentine bis hin zu Björk und Burial reichen, steht 'U R HERE' für ein neues Gefühl des kreativen Ausdrucks inmitten einer Welt, die manchmal zu zerfallen scheint.

Die Songs auf 'U R HERE' sind eine fließende, mitreißende und einzigartig introspektive Interpretation von Clubmusik, die die psychologischen Auswirkungen des modernen Zeitalters in Töne fast und die Vitalität und Freiheit nutzt, die mit Neuanfängen einhergeht. 'U R HERE', genau jetzt, und nur das zählt.

In den vergangenen 12 Monaten haben sich HONESTY mit der Veröffentlichung ihrer ersten EP 'WHERE R U', dem experimentellen Mixtape 'BOX' und einer Reihe von Singles aus ihrem Debütalbum ein substantielles Publikum erspielt.

Die Gruppe erntete Lob von wichtigen Indie-Magazinen wie The Needle Drop, eine Erwähnung von Alexis Petridis von The Guardian und weitere Kritiken von Mixmag, Rolling Stone, Crack, NME und Brooklyn Vegan. Im Radio wurde die Band von BBC 6 Music und Apple Music 1 gespielt und erhielt viel Unterstützung von BBC Introducing. HONESTY hat kürzlich eine Live-Session für BBC Introducing aufgenommen und gefilmt, die Anfang Januar auf BBC Introducing Leeds und Sheffield ausgestrahlt wird.

HONESTYs hypnotisierende Live-A/V-Show ist einer der wichtigsten Faktoren für den bisherigen Erfolg der Band. Ihr vielschichtiges visuelles Erscheinungsbild und ihr ausgeklügeltes Live-Setup bringen die Textur und die Kraft der Aufnahmen voll zur Geltung, was Mixmag und Clash dazu veranlasste, die Band in ihren Beiträgen zu den besten Sets beim Eurosonic 2024 hervorzuheben.

Inmitten der melancholischen Ruinen und der Erhabenheit der Natur verwebt ihr neuestes Album Amidst the Ruins majestätisch die Vergangenheit mit der Gegenwart. Von den eindringlichen Echos in Glen of Sorrow, das vom Verrat des Massakers von Glencoe erzählt, bis hin zu den geflüsterten Geheimnissen des Waldes in The Sylvan Embrace mit Jo Quail ist jedes Stück ein Portal zum reichen Erbe Schottlands. Dieses Album ist eine Hommage an die zeitlosen Landschaften und die Geister der Vorfahren und fängt die Seele einer Nation in jeder Note ein.

Inmitten der melancholischen Ruinen und der Erhabenheit der Natur verwebt ihr neuestes Album Amidst the Ruins majestätisch die Vergangenheit mit der Gegenwart. Von den eindringlichen Echos in Glen of Sorrow, das vom Verrat des Massakers von Glencoe erzählt, bis hin zu den geflüsterten Geheimnissen des Waldes in The Sylvan Embrace mit Jo Quail ist jedes Stück ein Portal zum reichen Erbe Schottlands. Dieses Album ist eine Hommage an die zeitlosen Landschaften und die Geister der Vorfahren und fängt die Seele einer Nation in jeder Note ein.

The Montreal rapper's new opus is at once deeply introspective and a wide-eyed embrace of the world. Produced by longtime collaborators Adrian X and Kevin Figs, this sonically adventurous follow-up to her two-part debut Godspeed: Baptism (Prelude), released in 2020, and Godspeed: Elevated (2021) finds her stretching her wings lyrically, vocally and musically.

Naya Ali's journey to We Did The Damn Thing took hard work, sacrifice, faith, and sweat, as represented on the album cover : “Our sweat has trickled down from our braids for generations”. The song The Heist completely embodies the cutthroat energy and hard work that fuels Naya’s music. Yet, We Did The Damn Thing shows there’s more to her artistry. From the dark, ominous More Life, Less Names, a defiant anthem about protecting your peace, to the country-inspired renegade spirit of Turning Tables, and the Afrobeats-infused warmth of Life, where she stepped out of her comfort zone by singing instead of rapping, it is clear that Naya Ali has decided to embrace her versatility as an artist. Beyond the classic, 808-heavy beats, We Did The Damn Thing is a gospel-infused album grounded in live instruments, especially the electric guitar. Naya also took on a larger role in production, leading the choirs and working on vocal production for the songs Life, Jericho and Freedom Creepin.

Kilmara klingen frischer, kraftvoller und härter als je zuvor, dank einer exzellenten und sorgfältigen Produktion. Auf der Suche nach dem besten und zeitgemäßesten Sound haben sie die Aufnahmen zu ihrem 2. Album "Journey To The Sun" in die Hände von Carles Salse in seinem Sureau Studio gelegt und mit dem preisgekrönten Produzenten Seeb Levermann (Orden Ogan, Rhapsody Of Fire, Riot V) zusammengearbeitet. Das Konzept von "Journey To The Sun" spielt in den Arcade-Hallen der späten 80er Jahre, wo die erste Liebe, unzerbrechliche Freundschaften, Rivalitäten, Niederlagen
und Siegesfeiern stattfanden. KILMARA treten die Nachfolge der neuen Power Metal-Helden an und bringen den Sänger der legendären und schmerzlich vermissten schwedischen Band Lost Horizon, Daniel Heiman, zurück.

Im Rahmen der limitierten Emscherkurve 77-Vinyl Collectors Reissue-Serie, jetzt erstmals überhaupt auf LP erhältlich: "Zweite Wahl" beinhaltet gesuchte Songs von teils längst vergriffenen Releases wie bspw. "Religion" vom beschlagnahmten "Tribute to Slime"-Sampler, die Dritte Wahl Cover-Version "Zeit bleib stehen" und unveröffentlichte Demo-Versionen und Outtakes, die oftmals punkig-rauher eingespielt wurden ("Dreck und Lügen"), einen ganz anderen Charme wie die "finished Version" haben ("Vergangenheit") oder nie erschienen sind wie "Sterne". Die gewohnt sich nicht in den Vordergrund drängenden Gentlemen aus dem Ruhrpott nennen das ganz bescheiden "Demos und anderer Kram". Wir nennen das eine der besten Zusammenstellungen von inoffiziellen Aufnahmen und alles andere als "Auschussware", die oftmals lieblos von Bands unters Volk geschmissen werden, 13 Songs aus der "Dat soll Punkrock sein?!" und "Buch des Lebens"-Ära, inkl einer fetten Live-Aufnahme von "Genug zu tun" in Paderborn mitgeschnitten! Vinyl kommt wie alle Teile der Serie limitiert auf je 77 Stück in verschiedenen Farben.

Im Rahmen der limitierten Emscherkurve 77-Vinyl Collectors Reissue-Serie, jetzt erstmals überhaupt auf LP erhältlich: "Zweite Wahl" beinhaltet gesuchte Songs von teils längst vergriffenen Releases wie bspw. "Religion" vom beschlagnahmten "Tribute to Slime"-Sampler, die Dritte Wahl Cover-Version "Zeit bleib stehen" und unveröffentlichte Demo-Versionen und Outtakes, die oftmals punkig-rauher eingespielt wurden ("Dreck und Lügen"), einen ganz anderen Charme wie die "finished Version" haben ("Vergangenheit") oder nie erschienen sind wie "Sterne". Die gewohnt sich nicht in den Vordergrund drängenden Gentlemen aus dem Ruhrpott nennen das ganz bescheiden "Demos und anderer Kram". Wir nennen das eine der besten Zusammenstellungen von inoffiziellen Aufnahmen und alles andere als "Auschussware", die oftmals lieblos von Bands unters Volk geschmissen werden, 13 Songs aus der "Dat soll Punkrock sein?!" und "Buch des Lebens"-Ära, inkl einer fetten Live-Aufnahme von "Genug zu tun" in Paderborn mitgeschnitten! Vinyl kommt wie alle Teile der Serie limitiert auf je 77 Stück in verschiedenen Farben.

Im Rahmen der limitierten Emscherkurve 77-Vinyl Collectors Reissue-Serie, jetzt erstmals überhaupt auf LP erhältlich: "Zweite Wahl" beinhaltet gesuchte Songs von teils längst vergriffenen Releases wie bspw. "Religion" vom beschlagnahmten "Tribute to Slime"-Sampler, die Dritte Wahl Cover-Version "Zeit bleib stehen" und unveröffentlichte Demo-Versionen und Outtakes, die oftmals punkig-rauher eingespielt wurden ("Dreck und Lügen"), einen ganz anderen Charme wie die "finished Version" haben ("Vergangenheit") oder nie erschienen sind wie "Sterne". Die gewohnt sich nicht in den Vordergrund drängenden Gentlemen aus dem Ruhrpott nennen das ganz bescheiden "Demos und anderer Kram". Wir nennen das eine der besten Zusammenstellungen von inoffiziellen Aufnahmen und alles andere als "Auschussware", die oftmals lieblos von Bands unters Volk geschmissen werden, 13 Songs aus der "Dat soll Punkrock sein?!" und "Buch des Lebens"-Ära, inkl einer fetten Live-Aufnahme von "Genug zu tun" in Paderborn mitgeschnitten! Vinyl kommt wie alle Teile der Serie limitiert auf je 77 Stück in verschiedenen Farben.

Debut studio album by the Irish singer and rapper. Biig Piig is London-based songwriter Jess Smyth, who, since 2017, has made smouldering hip-hop and neo-soul jams with homespun production. Biig Piig is a genuinely unique modern era pop star. Having come of age through musical experimentation, self-exploration and collaboration she started 2023 with the release of her critically acclaimed debut mixtape ‘Bubblegum’ and continues with the release of her upcoming debut studio album, 11:11. Radiating creative might throughout her releases, Biig Piig has seamlessly woven through various genres and languages to deliver stories and songs that speak effortlessly of youth culture. Her unpredictable and excellent discography encompasses tracks with NiNE8, Meronomy, Emotional Oranges, Lava La Rue and her musical versatility, from nonchalant rap to melancholic lament and melody, has garnered attention from Billie Eilish, Bella Hadid, Lil Nas X and the late Virgil Abloh to name a few. Biig Piig has built a nascent global audience for her instantly identifiable sound via world- wide tour dates and promo across platforms such as Triple J, Studio Brussels, 3FM, DLF, Radio 4, KCRW and more. She splits her time between the US and UK having established a support network of creatives and inventive energy that keeps things feeling fresh and fluid. A standard Black, x11 trk LP Vinyl & CD. The Retail exclusive format is a Transparent/Clear LP Vinyl. Extensive promo & marketing activity.

Hulten würdigt das Erbe von Bert Jansch, John Martyn und Nick Drake und erfindet es auf innovative und faszinierende Weise neu. Auf "Eyes of the Living Night" verbindet er die rohen Emotionen seiner früheren Werke mit einem weitläufigeren, jenseitigen Sound und hat ein schimmerndes Album geschaffen, das den Hörer auf eine Reise durch die Jahrzehnte von Rock, Synth-Pop, Blues und Folk mitnimmt, die sich am besten als ‘Ambient DreamGrunge‘ beschreiben lässt.

The Durutti Column, Linda Perhacs, Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Judee Sill. Hello and welcome to Decide Which Way The Eyes Are Looking, the new record by Lina Tullgren. It is a deeply gorgeous intervention, a carefully ornamented dilemma, the most inviting crisis. Made with a host of Los Angeles musicians, Decide exposes Tullgren's daring and trust. Each song is a ring of curious sound: the skip of harp strings, the flutter of woodwinds, the ratchet of percussion, the euphonium's sigh. And at the center of each wreath, Tullgren sings, finding this space between Judee Sill and Sam Jayne. It's a tone that signals weariness, but a weariness hand-in-hand with tenacity. There's a clarity, a kind of immovability. Lina Tullgren's first record came in 2016, a homemade, under-the-skin set of laments. Subsequent LPs and constant touring cemented Tullgren's reputation as a composer of "wide-eyed wonder paired with a resonant despair." 2019's Free Cell showed Tullgren lingering in the margins of their songs, finding places both aloof and spare. Floodgates opened; Tullgren spent the subsequent years exploring deep listening, improvised music, and extended technique. They developed a patience and faith in cooperation that ranged at the far edge of song. Collaborations with Mayo Thompson and Claire Rousay furthered this development. This was not a break with the past for Tullgren, rather it was an opportunity to see how far a song could go. And from that distance, deep in a landscape of drone and tension, Tullgren returned to the bright vulnerability of a lyric and a hook. Weaving together the affective and the radical, Tullgren took the quiet isolation of a shoreline cabin to write the songs that would become Decide Which Way The Eyes Are Looking. For Tullgren, Decide is a culmination of all the work they've done throughout their life: the melodic, the dense, the confessional, the unknowable. It's also a tribute to collaboration. Describing the sessions as having "a lot of space and a lot of ease,"" Tullgren invited musicians from a vast field of songmaking to play on the recording: Leng Bian, Zach Burba, Luke Csehak, Corey Fogel, Jenny Hirons, Tara Milch, Tim Ramsey, Michael Sachs, Jude Tedaldi, Marta Tiesenga and Ben Varian. Jonny Kosmo's backhouse was offered as a cozy, easygoing space for the players to create their parts together, and the record was completed by Tullgren and Luke Csehak together at their Los Angeles home. In Tullgren's words: "I feel really strongly that this album is a portrait of the community I found in Los Angeles." Decide Which Way The Eyes Are Looking is a quiet masterpiece: a generous, memorable journey. It is the result of five years of labor, the product of abandoning the pop song entirely and starting over. Whatever wanderings or doubt fueled it, Decide is also entirely at ease: a record on which Tullgren sings "and I know/what to do now" and "I know exactly what to do" in subsequent songs, clear in the revelations this path has given the

Rare Seventies Big City Street Soul

In 1971, film producer David Gil and his business partners Robert S Sinn and Paul Frankenberg launched a film company called GSF. Over the next few years, it would be involved in a small number of productions. But, in 1971 the movie business was kind of old-hat, music was where it was at, and so GSF Records, a well-funded label, headed by Larry Newton was formed. Today Newton is largely remembered for his attempts to prevent Louis Armstrong from recording 'What A Wonderful World' but that didn’t stop him from growing ABC from a second division company to an industry leader. As he approached his 52nd birthday he was unveiled as GSF Records’ president a full-service music company, involved in records and publishing across all genres. Through a joint venture with drummer Bernard Purdie the label targeted the R&B charts and soul & funk dominated GSF's release schedule.

Black music ruled and this was reinforced by the hiring of Lloyd Price as head of A&R (veteran R&B star), and producers George Kerr (All-Platinum), Mickey Stevenson (Motown) and Jerry 'Swamp Dogg’ Williams. No wonder then, unintentional as it was, that GSF left behind such an extraordinary legacy of rare soul treasures.

NEW YORK’S BEST KEPT SOUL SECRET Features legendary Northern Soul classics courtesy of Anderson Brothers, Skull Snaps and Connie Laverne Produced by hit makers George Kerr and Motown veteran Mickey Stevenson Starring the Whatnauts and Eddie “Hey There Lonely Girl” Holman