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Some Crate-digging Compilations Are Often The Result Of Someone Hand-picking Their Choice Favourites From Another Country's Musical History, Perhaps Unaware Or Uninvolved With Its Cultural Lineage In The Process. On Soundway's Latest Release - A Treasure Trove Of Synth Jams, Pop, Samba Boogie, Balearic And Electro From 1980 & '90s Brazil - The Tracks Are Picked By Millos Kaiser, One Half Of The Brazilian Duo Selvagem, Who Are At The Helm Of Throwing Some Of The Country's Best Dance Parties. It's A Rare Compilation That Offers Brazilian Music Actually Picked By A Brazilian.
Whilst Names Such As Ricardo Bomba, Villa Box, Fogo Baiano, Electric Boogies And Batista Junior May Not Be Household Names, They Tell An Untold, Yet Rich And Important Part Of Musical History In Brazil. The Release Also Covers A Decade That Has Been Intentionally Forgotten And Brushed Aside By Many In The Country.
Onda De Amor Is A Release That Is Loaded With Smooth Grooves, Bubbling Bass, Glistening Synthesisers, Funk Strutting Guitar Lines And Sheen Of Production That Undeniably Marks It Of Its Time. For Kaiser This Compilation Is About Reintroducing Music During A Period Of Reappraisal, Catching A New Wave And Hoping Contemporary Listeners Will Ride It With Him. the Idea Is To Do Justice To These Songs. Songs That Combine All The Right Ingredients That Should Have Put Them On
Radio Playlists When I Was Growing Up Or At Least In The Cases Of More Adventurous Djs'.
Millos Kaiser Is A Dj, Digger, Vinyl Junkie/dealer Born In Rio De
Janeiro And Living In São Paulo For The Past 8 Years. He Launched The Dance Party/club Night Selvagem With Partner Trepanado In 2010, Bringing Thousands Of Dancers One Sunday A Month To A Public Square In The Heart Of São Paulo.

Clear Vinyl

Early last decade, Brooklyn based .thejass. created two, out-of-body, hour length recordings as part of the Slabs of the Tabernacle mix series, with the now legendary, 'Murdered Out Techno' Volumes 1 and 2. Several years on .thejass. returns with their full-length debut LP entirely in keeping with their 'Murdered Out' sound. Putting the listener in an almost sleep paralysis state, without any sense of time or space, the only constant being a pulsing throb from within. This record is a mesmerising and at times terrifying experience which immerses you deeper with each listen. Transparent crystal vinyl, 200 copies.

As a confluence of ideas and methods, WILD ROCKET endeavour to interpret the subtle signals of the universe - the interplanetary vibrations - and present them as brash manifestations of sound. Scientists and Shaman alike have endeavoured to interpret the universal whispers, to elucidate meaning from the measurable and the sensible. It is known that to measure and interpret is to alter and colour those signals and this is what drives the development of WILD ROCKET's sound and interpretation.
FORMLESS ABYSS showcases the band's unflinching pummelling style, drifting from repetitive blows to unhinged swirls of din yet always remaining innately infectious and perhaps surprisingly danceable. The record is presented as a continuous piece in three parts.
The title track A FORMLESS ABYSS appears here for the first time in recorded form – a behemoth of a tune which builds around a drone, joined by dual drums and minimal bass locked into a repetitive groove. A groove that is slowly expanded via multiple guitars and synthesis. Vocals eventually join at just the right moment imploring the listener to “leave your criticisms down” and realise “we're all equal now” in the formless abyss or the place between worlds where our earthly preoccupation with human differences are meaningless. We're all in it together, whether we realise it or not.
The second track INTERPLANETARY VIBRATIONS may seem familiar to some in a simpler form. The expanded line up and extended development of the core theme brings a new interpretation and experience that is more than worthwhile. The track's vocals juxtapose the hybrid Germanic language of English with the ancient native Irish language of Gaeilge. Both used to promote meaning and interpretation of the interplanetary vibrations felt by all. The track features large dynamic shifts and changes of pace as the message that “it's time to leave” propagated by the Earth itself becomes more frantic and more desperate. The track culminates in a wash of smashed gongs and distorted guitars, leaving the listener to interpret the message for themselves. Should we leave, to protect ourselves or the Earth itself?
The final track FUTURE ECHOES is a doom/kraut juggernaut coming in at just under twenty minutes. Only one question is asked and none answered, are we doomed to repeat the mistakes of previous civilisations over and over, or can we find the cracks of light that echo through and show us a new way forward? We're left in a swirling formless abyss to consider who we are and where we're headed. Will we ever reach the cosmic truth? Or will we be continuously mocked by the cosmic trout?
WILD ROCKET have proven themselves on the live circuit, playing with such visionaries as Ufomammut, Slomatics, Earth, Boris, The Cosmic Dead and old school rock legends Girlschool. One of the heaviest bands to emerge from the melting pot of talent in the Irish music scene, WILD ROCKET's reputation precedes them wherever they travel and audiences and venues alike are left to piece themselves together in the discombobulation.

Rotterdam producer Mata Disk debuts on Nous'klaer with Surrounder. A 4-track EP with Mata Disk finding his influences early on as his parents exposed him to 90s electro. For the listener, Surrounder is a rhythmic bath that bounces forward at an antelope's pace. Accompanied by modular melodies which ebb and flow like water over a proverbial shallow riverbed of wires and cables. Surrounder lives up to its name and origins with all the excitability and all-encompassing experience of being young and shown a whole new world.

Bààn is a Belgian instrumental duo, formed in 2016 in Brussels by Pascal N. Paulus (keyboards) and Jean-Philippe De Gheest (drums).In their music they interweave ambient, psych, jazz and rock and they create an infectious atmosphere that immediately transports the listener to distant places

It works in clubs. it works at after hours. Also, small bars vibrate meaningful on it: the music of Kuniyuki Takahashi enthralls everywhere and is made for heedful listeners, that love the thrill of little musical nuances, shifting in a deeply composed ocean of sound.

In terms of composition, melodic sensitivity, and subtle progression the music of japanese producer, Sound designer and dj stands out. Ambient, Future-Jazz, Deep House, Leftfield Elec-tronics: since more then 25 years the man from Sapporo expresses his emotions with a wide stylistic range.

As Kuniyuki or under pseudonyms like Koss or Newwave project, he released a body of work consisting of numerous albums and EP’s, that display his deep musical consciousness pro-foundly. Now his home label Mule Musiq drops “Remix Works “, an eighth tune strong compila-tion featuring for the second time since 2013 Kuniyuki Takahashi’s very own virtuosity of re-mixing.

A double vinyl that carries the full pallet of his skills – from yacht rock leaning synth-pop and balearic dreams to sweet wave signals and soulful Pop House.

It all starts with Kuniyuki’s Remix of “Plateau”, a tune by japanese Nu-Jazz / Post‐Rock band mouse on the keys, released in 2013 on the short living japanese retalk label. An epic, almost ten-minute-long house voyage, full of discreet acid shades and enlightening Jazz chords, that play spirited tricks on each other’s manic musical preaching.

Mercurial London artist Nilüfer Yanya announces her hugely anticipated second
album, ‘PAINLESS’, for release via ATO Records.
 ‘PAINLESS’ is the follow-up to Nilüfer Yanya’s renowned 2019 debut album, ‘Miss
Universe’, which fully established her as a singular artist and a distinctive voice that
simply has to be heard.
 The critically acclaimed ‘Miss Universe’ - a widescreen concept record that took a
tongue in cheek swipe at the most self-involved corners of the health and wellness
industry - was followed last year by the three song EP ‘Feeling Lucky?’, which further
explored Yanya’s fascination with ‘90s alt-rock melodies and drew on themes of
resentment, her fear of flying, and the concept of luck. Pitchfork summed up ‘Feeling
Lucky?’ and her now peerless songwriting aptitude best: “Nilüfer Yanya’s melodies
have a pull so strong they almost necessitate their own law of physics.”
 Yanya also re-released her early EPs on vinyl for the first time this year, on the
record ‘Inside Out’. The release is a fundraiser for Artists in Transit, a collaborative
not for profit group she founded with her sister Molly that delivers art workshops to
displaced people and communities in times of hardship.
 As the daughter of two visual artists (her Irish-Barbadian mother is a textile designer
and her Turkish-born father’s work is exhibited at the British Museum), creativity was
always destined for Nilüfer Yanya’s future. Now she enters the next stage of her
creative journey - Yanya is running head first into the depths of emotional
vulnerability on her sophomore record, ‘PAINLESS’. The album was recorded
between a basement studio in Stoke Newington and Riverfish Music in Penzance
with ‘Miss Universe’ collaborator and producer Wilma Archer, DEEK Recordings
founder Bullion, Big Thief producer Andrew Sarlo and musician Jazzi Bobbi.
 Where ‘Miss Universe’ stretched musical boundaries to include a litany of styles from
smooth jazz melodies to radio ready pop, ‘PAINLESS’ takes a more direct sonic
approach. By narrowing down her previously broad palette to a handful of robust
ideas that revolve around melancholy harmonies and looped industrial beats to mimic
the insular focus of the lyrics, Yanya has smoothed out the idiosyncrasies of previous
releases without losing what is essential to her.
 ‘PAINLESS’ is a record that forces the listener to sit with the discomfort that
accompanies so many of life’s biggest challenges whether it be relationship
breakdowns, coping with loneliness, or the search for our inner self. “It's a record
about emotion,” Yanya explains. “I think it's more open about that in a way that ‘Miss
Universe’ wasn't because there's so many cloaks and sleeves with the concept I built
around it.” Summing up the ethos of the new album, she adds, “I’m not as scared to
admit my feelings.”
 Should stock of ATO0594BI1 sell out, a different standard vinyl format will be made
available (ATO0594LP).
 “A distinctive new voice in indie rock, a deeply expressive singer and sharply
inventive guitarist” - Uncut
 “On a musical and human level, then, the world needs more people like Nilüfer
Yanya” - MOJO
 “A true original” - The Guardian

Diablo Swing Orchestra is an Swedish eight-piece ensemble known for pairing elements of jazz, swing, classical, progressive rock with just about everything in between. Since the start in 2003 the band has released four studio albums pushing musical boundaries with humor, creativity and a healthy dose of positive aggression. Together they have dug deep into each genre explored on the 13 tracks on the album and worked hard to find the appealing characteristics within that genre and forged it into their own sound. This approach has resulted in a impressive list of guest musicians and some very interesting clashes between sounds which, at least on paper, shouldn’t work. But listeners with an open mind will be rewarded since there are a lot of goodies to be found on the album ranging from the tribal assault that is “War Painted Valentine” to the Zeppelin gospel infused “Snake Oil Baptism”. The band presents new interesting ways of looking upon rock and metal music while managing to stay quite accessible in spite of the fact they’re often described as avant-garde metal.

Diablo Swing Orchestra is an Swedish eight-piece ensemble known for pairing elements of jazz, swing, classical, progressive rock with just about everything in between. Since the start in 2003 the band has released four studio albums pushing musical boundaries with humor, creativity and a healthy dose of positive aggression. Together they have dug deep into each genre explored on the 13 tracks on the album and worked hard to find the appealing characteristics within that genre and forged it into their own sound. This approach has resulted in a impressive list of guest musicians and some very interesting clashes between sounds which, at least on paper, shouldn’t work. But listeners with an open mind will be rewarded since there are a lot of goodies to be found on the album ranging from the tribal assault that is “War Painted Valentine” to the Zeppelin gospel infused “Snake Oil Baptism”. The band presents new interesting ways of looking upon rock and metal music while managing to stay quite accessible in spite of the fact they’re often described as avant-garde metal.

Berserk Finnish raw black metal disease Hexerei bring us their venom-soaked debut full-length abomination "Ancient Evil Spirits", a deranged aural gateway to unseen depths of madness and total hell that will reshape the listener's idea of terror and toss them into the outermost circles of insanity. Comprising of four primordial stabs of blown out and feral homicidal rawness, "Ancient Evil Spirits" overboils from the witches cauldron with the quintessence of evil like an acid-drenched spell, invoking ancient evil forces, uncontrolled hysteria, and malevolent plague-ridden rituals to torment the listener with merciless violence and abandon. Reminiscent in its malevolence and primeval cruelty to ancient black metal cults like Darkthrone, Mayhem, Cultes Des Ghoules, and Katharsis, Hexerei however push these limits further and redefine the very concept of total aural filth by working the formula into a wider canvas, with lengthier compositions, an even more perverse emphasis on primitivism, and a more unpredictable and ambitious songwriting that has unearthed truly unsettling and terrifying new manifestations of the craft.

Having become one of Crosstown Rebels’ key artists in recent years, Barcelona-born Tibi Dabo returns to the label this February with his latest EP, the four track Isla. Since debuting on the label in 2019, Tibi Dabo (AKA Max Guardans) has cemented his place amongst the Crosstown family with standout EPs such as Disbelieve and The Distance We Share, the latter of which featuring two remixes from David Morales.

Tibi Dabo creates this scene perfectly as the title track opens proceedings, easing the listener in with delicate pads before waves of harmonious elements and finely placed percussions dance in and out of the track. Mothball then further emphasises the artist’s attention to detail as its lead melody and vocal-chops develop in tandem throughout. Brain The Cut follows, acting as a metaphorical signal of nightfall on Tibi Dabo’s conceptual island. Rounding off the release, Arp 8 delivers warming melodies atop of a subtle break beat in an exquisitely emotive manner.

Still in its infancy, yet mature in its intention, the Tibi Dabo project sees Max in his element; drawing on over a decade of playing and making music, perfectly demonstrated on Isla. Emerging from a new generation of multi-disciplined artists, Tibi Dabo’s refreshingly unique sound has also seen him remix for Crosstown Rebels head Damian Lazarus on two occasions. Determined and full of creative energy, Tibi Dabo thrives on producing music with no restrictions and, driven by his own need for exploration together with the support of influential industry figureheads, he has a locker full of fresh new music to unleash.

Sam KDC presents the first Auxiliary 12" EP of 2022, entitled Shedding Skin, a varied four-track odyssey that goes far and beyond the conventions of techno and 170 bass music. The EP opens up with the ominous underworld tones of Silver Serpent. Menacing snarls of metallic synthesis set against the backdrop of frenetic hi-hats and slow pulsing heavyweight bass make this a surefire way to inject something unique into any DJ set.

False Idols then takes things a step further with its relentless percussive torrent, set against a sea of uneasy undertones that wash in and out of proceedings. Prophecy Unfurling introduces breakbeats to devastating effect, as the journey continues underground. Dystopian pulses of synths interacting with the breaks play off each other in a distinct fashion that has become a trademark of Sam's after 2019's Omen Rising LP on Horo.

Finally, Sam brings it all to a head with the uptempo frenzy of Bloodstone. It's been a while since Sam has toyed with this tempo, but Bloodstone shows just why he's revered as one of the true innovators of 170. An almost playful bouncing ring-modulated bass tone sets the scene for Sam's now trademark ominous dark palette to paint a truly captivating picture for the listener. Shedding Skin shows an artist at the top of his craft truly doing his own thing.

First and foremost, deathcrash approached the task of putting together their debut album as music lovers. To all four members, a good album seemed to stamp out periods of their life, capturing a time, a feeling, a mood. This was their approach when trying to make whole two-years-worth of fragmented songwriting. Their songs may differ from each other in certain ways, but they manage to conjure similar feelings. ‘Return’ captures many of the difficult moments of the last couple years in the band members’ personal lives and yet, as a whole its complexity emerges as a beautiful and hopeful message. Amongst other things, writing the album was a cathartic process for the band, and so it can be for the listener too. The first parts of ‘Return’ came from quite a dark and jaded place. To get better can be a path marred by self-sabotage and a desire to hide. It can be easier to have no faith in something new, and rely on the comfort of an old feeling, even if it hurts. There is a reassurance in pain, a familiarity in its narrative. Return asks when things heal, where does the wound go? deathcrash recorded Return with their close friend and producer Ric James, who they’ve worked with since their early recordings. The album was recorded live, with an emphasis on dynamics, bringing together tense intimacy with atmospheric vastness. The members brought things to light they previously hadn’t, and shared words, riffs, ideas and thoughts for the first time. Each band member is able to see something that the others can’t, and write something unique. For deathcrash that is where the magic of making the album happens, when it clicks for everyone. As the album took form, a lot went on, and in many ways deathcrash got back in touch with a newer, more open feeling, sometimes happy, sometimes fearful. Something good returned that had previously been lost, and this is captured on the album. The album aims not to romanticise a dark place however, being equally about hope and renewal.

If Cannibale's members brought their breakfast back up when talking about 'Not Easy To Cook', their listeners would be surprised. There's a world of difference between the beginning of Cannibale's success story and this second album. The most surprising thing about 'Not Easy To Cook' is the sultriness that emerges. It's hard to sum it up other than by comparing these 10 songs with some pressure cooker in which bits of dancehall, London ska and Hawaiian dub would have cooked together. Here's the small miracle achieved by this LP recorded by the band in its remote French village: sounding French, but Polynesian French. A very psychedelic mixture of cumbia, African rhythms and garage music. Or, if you will, a kind of missing link between Fela Kuti, The Doors and The Seeds!

Ichiko Aoba’s albums have only been available as expensive Japanese imports, until now. In November, Ba Da Bing will release Windswept Adan on 2xLP in North America, Europe and the United Kingdom, with deluxe packaging.

After creating her label, hermine, last year to celebrate her tenth
anniversary in music, Aoba released the most complex and rewarding
work of her career, 2020’s Windswept Adan. While audiences in
the west are only just learning she exists, her accomplishments are
unquestionable; she contributed to the soundtrack for The Legend of
Zelda: Link’s Awakening, was cited by Owen Pallett as an inspiration
(“I’ve never been so blindsided by a musician as I was by Ichiko
Aoba”), and has collaborated with the likes of Haruomi Hosono,
Cornelius (who met her only two years after she first picked up a
guitar and was blown away), Ryuichi Sakamoto, and recently Mac
DeMarco.
Ichiko Aoba’s iconic voice and classical guitar playing are
immediately recognizable, timeless sounds. Windswept Adan,
envisioned as a soundtrack for a fictional film, builds its own world with
sweeping co-production and arrangements from Taro Umebayashi,
which “recall the Wes Anderson scores of Mark Mothersbaugh or
the cinematographic swells of American composer Jherek Bischoff”
(Bandcamp). It’s the story of a young girl sent to the island of Adan, a
place where there are no words.
While international listeners of Aoba may not understand the words
she sings, and despite the central importance of lyrics in her writing,
it’s a testament to the power Aoba wields that one can resonate so
deeply with her work. No matter the breadth of her sonic palette, and
on Adan her scope is as wide and encompassing as Joanna Newsom’s
on Have One On Me, Aoba manifests an intimacy that makes one feel
in the room with her.
Ichiko Aoba’s work gained greater exposure in the past year as the
need for comfort grew while the world sequestered in solitude. She
has a rare musical gift that is matched only by her ability to hone it
into meticulous craft. Her music embraces and elevates alone time to a
generous and tranquil place. In it, listeners are invited to feel a sense of
consolation and possibility. The magic she imparts yields articles like
“Ichiko Aoba and the emotion of space during the pandemic;” in other
words, her effect is singular.

Annie Booth is an Edinburgh-based artist with a gift for mood-painting
and storytelling - A seasoned modern folk singer, performer and
songwriter - with a fair for the nostalgic and the melancholy - she wields
a unique voice in Scotland, bridging genre and infuence with ease, her
restless live performance and songs never cease to capture the listener
with their haunting melodies and infectious arrangements
Recorded over several months at Chem19 Studios and Green Door Booth's debut
album An Unforgiving Light (Last Night From Glasgow/ Scottish Fiction) was
released in 2017 to critical acclaim. It was lauded as Roddy Hart's Record of Note
(BBC Radio Scotland), featured in Vic Galloway's Best Albums of 2017 (BBC
Radio Scotland) and was praised by Jim Gellatly (Amazing Radio). 2018 saw her
perform at the BBC's Quay Sessions and festivals such as XpoNorth, Celtic
Connections and the Kelburn Garden Party.
Adopting a more introspective and atmospheric approach, Booth's 2019 EP
Spectral (Last Night From Glasgow/ Scottish Fiction) displays her poignant
lyricism and haunting vocals at their most raw. The EP was championed by BBC
Radio Scotland, The Skinny and The List, with Booth appearing for a live session
on the BBC's Janice Forsyth Show. Booth was subsequently nominated for a
Scottish Alternative Music Award in the Best Acoustic category late 2019.
The singer-songwriter is also known for her enthusiasm for collaboration. From
2015 to 2020 she performed backing vocals and guitar with prolifc dark- folk
collective Mt. Doubt, touring across Scotland, England and Wales and recording
on numerous records. 2020 saw the release of Clean Living (Last Night From
Glasgow) under the moniker Slow Weather: a vintage-infused EP of alt-rock cowritten with producer extraordinaire Chris McCrory. The release garnered praise
and spins from Steve Lamacq (BBC Radio 6), BBC Radio Scotland and Amazing
Radio as well as features and airplay in the US. Over the years Booth has also
collaborated on tracks with artists such indietronica outft Out of the Swim and
indie pop quintet Wojtek the Bear.

Annie Booth is an Edinburgh-based artist with a gift for mood-painting
and storytelling - A seasoned modern folk singer, performer and
songwriter - with a fair for the nostalgic and the melancholy - she wields
a unique voice in Scotland, bridging genre and infuence with ease, her
restless live performance and songs never cease to capture the listener
with their haunting melodies and infectious arrangements
Recorded over several months at Chem19 Studios and Green Door Booth's debut
album An Unforgiving Light (Last Night From Glasgow/ Scottish Fiction) was
released in 2017 to critical acclaim. It was lauded as Roddy Hart's Record of Note
(BBC Radio Scotland), featured in Vic Galloway's Best Albums of 2017 (BBC
Radio Scotland) and was praised by Jim Gellatly (Amazing Radio). 2018 saw her
perform at the BBC's Quay Sessions and festivals such as XpoNorth, Celtic
Connections and the Kelburn Garden Party.
Adopting a more introspective and atmospheric approach, Booth's 2019 EP
Spectral (Last Night From Glasgow/ Scottish Fiction) displays her poignant
lyricism and haunting vocals at their most raw. The EP was championed by BBC
Radio Scotland, The Skinny and The List, with Booth appearing for a live session
on the BBC's Janice Forsyth Show. Booth was subsequently nominated for a
Scottish Alternative Music Award in the Best Acoustic category late 2019.
The singer-songwriter is also known for her enthusiasm for collaboration. From
2015 to 2020 she performed backing vocals and guitar with prolifc dark- folk
collective Mt. Doubt, touring across Scotland, England and Wales and recording
on numerous records. 2020 saw the release of Clean Living (Last Night From
Glasgow) under the moniker Slow Weather: a vintage-infused EP of alt-rock cowritten with producer extraordinaire Chris McCrory. The release garnered praise
and spins from Steve Lamacq (BBC Radio 6), BBC Radio Scotland and Amazing
Radio as well as features and airplay in the US. Over the years Booth has also
collaborated on tracks with artists such indietronica outft Out of the Swim and
indie pop quintet Wojtek the Bear.

The Decades Collected compilations are part of the new Collected compilation series, which is a collaboration between Universal Music and Music On Vinyl. The compilations bring together the biggest names of each decade, combined with forgotten hits and less discovered gems, giving the listener an experience of listening to their favorite tunes while uncovering new musical grounds at the same time.

Various Artists - Nineties Collected features R.E.M “Man On The Moon”, Freddie Mercury “Living On My Own”, Texas “Say What You Want”, Lenny Kravitz “Always On The Run”, Erykah Badu “Tyrone (Live)” and Blind Melon “No Rain” amongst others.

The pair continue to explore their love of Italian film soundtracks and library music with these two fresh offerings. The title track "Acqua" is a joyful upbeat song with a steady 6/8 groove accompanied by optimistic flutes, winding saxophones and a multitude of arpeggiated synthesizers.

The B side, "Tema Cinque", is more like an electro ballad with a hypnotic drum machine that provides the back drop to luscious sweeping pads and a moody soprano saxophone solo. These two tracks give listeners another taste of what's to come from Lorenzo
Morresi and Tenderlonious' forthcoming album, which is due for release on 22a later in 2022.

Liverpool duo Hannah Merrick and Craig Whittle, aka King Hannah have announced their debut LP I’m Not Sorry, I Was Just Being Me for February 25 via City Slang. The announcement is accompanied by the release of the new single “All Being Fine”. Originally inspired by Smog and noisy, lo-fi 90s bands, the track pulls the listener in immediately with its upbeat on the outside, sinister on the inside atmospherics, coming across like the aural equivalent of the opening of David Lynch’s classic film “Blue Velvet” - the bloody finger lying in the lush green grass. The video’s sun-drenched visual, directed by Whittle, is a perfect pairing, showcasing the band at their best: enigmatic, mysterious, but blackly humorous with it.

Liverpool duo Hannah Merrick and Craig Whittle, aka King Hannah have announced their debut LP I’m Not Sorry, I Was Just Being Me for February 25 via City Slang. The announcement is accompanied by the release of the new single “All Being Fine”. Originally inspired by Smog and noisy, lo-fi 90s bands, the track pulls the listener in immediately with its upbeat on the outside, sinister on the inside atmospherics, coming across like the aural equivalent of the opening of David Lynch’s classic film “Blue Velvet” - the bloody finger lying in the lush green grass. The video’s sun-drenched visual, directed by Whittle, is a perfect pairing, showcasing the band at their best: enigmatic, mysterious, but blackly humorous with it.

THE ELECTRONIC VISIONARIES RETURN WITH THEIR NEW STUDIO
ALBUM
.On their new album 'Raum', Tangerine Dream develop the concept of its
precursor EP (Probe 6—8) further
Composed & produced with full access to Edgar Froese's Cubase arrangements
(& Otari Tape Archive with recordings from 1977-2013), Thorsten Quaeschning,
Hoshiko Yamane & Paul Frick deliver late-night real time compositions combined
with classic studio productions, sequencer driven haunting soundscapes
alternate with anthemic warm synthesizers.
Composed in a time of social distancing & cancelled shows, the tracks cannot
exactly be recreated (or will at least need significant re-instrumentation for a live
performance). With the 17-minute 'In 256 Zeichen', they lay the fundament of this
record. 'Continuum', with its repetitive sequence & broken beat shows glimpses of
acid sounds & increasing choral atmospheres. 'You Are Always On Time' is built
on PPG wavetable sounds & eerie field recordings. The title track 'Raum' makes a
nod towards the early live studio performances like 'Zeit' & 'Phaedra' - the melody
accompanied by a chorus- like Roland Jupiter 8 part. An ambient rave Moog
Minitaur sequence highlights the final peak, till the violin slowly transports the
listener out. A heavy Moog bass marks the beginning & the end of this 15-minute
piece.
'Raum' is the band's second studio album after the passing of the founder Edgar
Froese in 2015. With deep respect for the sound of the previous five decades, this
record continues in the ever-evolving pathway of Tangerine Dream.
The band will be supporting the release of 'Raum' with live shows in 2022, starting
with an extensive headline tour of the UK in March. 'Raum' will be released as a 7
track CD presented in a digipak with a 12-page booklet

Liverpool duo Hannah Merrick and Craig Whittle, aka King Hannah have announced their debut LP I’m Not Sorry, I Was Just Being Me for February 25 via City Slang. The announcement is accompanied by the release of the new single “All Being Fine”. Originally inspired by Smog and noisy, lo-fi 90s bands, the track pulls the listener in immediately with its upbeat on the outside, sinister on the inside atmospherics, coming across like the aural equivalent of the opening of David Lynch’s classic film “Blue Velvet” - the bloody finger lying in the lush green grass. The video’s sun-drenched visual, directed by Whittle, is a perfect pairing, showcasing the band at their best: enigmatic, mysterious, but blackly humorous with it.

Liverpool duo Hannah Merrick and Craig Whittle, aka King Hannah have announced their debut LP I’m Not Sorry, I Was Just Being Me for February 25 via City Slang. The announcement is accompanied by the release of the new single “All Being Fine”. Originally inspired by Smog and noisy, lo-fi 90s bands, the track pulls the listener in immediately with its upbeat on the outside, sinister on the inside atmospherics, coming across like the aural equivalent of the opening of David Lynch’s classic film “Blue Velvet” - the bloody finger lying in the lush green grass. The video’s sun-drenched visual, directed by Whittle, is a perfect pairing, showcasing the band at their best: enigmatic, mysterious, but blackly humorous with it.

Together, sisters Noa, Naomi and Nataja form the band Velvet Volume. Things have moved quickly for the trio since their first concert in 2013. They have already released two albums, played at a myriad of festivals such as Northside, Tinderbox, Smukfest, Reeperbahn, Eurosonic, JA JA JA, Musik i Lejet, Rolling Stone weekender and Alive Festival. They have also performed at both The Crown Prince Couple's Awards, Gaffa Award and several times at P6 Beat Rocker. Velvet Volume has always been the guarantor of a fantastic live experience, where the audience gets to feel the sibling-energy, with all its synergy, love, and temperament - they are sisters with the same origin, but they are also three women, three individuals, and three personalities, unfolding the second they enter the stage. With new music on the way, they continue the study of their own musicality, which stands as an independent and unique sound in the Danish music landscape. What started as three girls playing rock music has now evolved into three young women who are so much more than that and who challenge the genre melodically and musically. Deep engagement to their different instruments – Bas, Guitar and Drums taking their playing to new heights and also now dareing to thing and work with more melody and listener friendly productions. Their third album “nest”will be released in Feb. 2022.

Highly recommended. About the album Blind Emperor Through wetland, winters, rubble and fallout come horizons new; civilisation shattered under a vengeful cataclysm, eventually led to dawn from the light of a blighted leader. Every action has a reaction, and those who wish to prosper must first be willing to offer something of intrinsic value. As one empire crumbles, another takes its place. The struggle for a fleeting utopia comes at a cost, and those who strive towards golden gates must trek along a solemn valley. The Allegorist Berlin-based artist, The Allegorist, has been meandering through stories with her purposeful and introspective take on electronic music. Each release explores themes that require joint participation from the listener as they look to flood your mind with images of fabled characters and places through her artistic soundscapes. Her carefully build worlds that straddle sci-fi and fantasy, feeding off of the light and dark dualism are the perfect blend of reflective contemplation and storytelling. As a holistic artist, Anna Jordan (The Allegorist) encapsulates a myriad of her talents within her work. Her previous albums, Hybrid Dimensions I. and Hybrid Dimensions II., established her aesthetic and detailed fictitious stories, along with the language ‘Mondoneoh’, a language to unite all nations. Her latest endeavour, and 4th album, The Blind Emperor, portrays the essence of a mythical land that tells of struggle that will lead to prosperity. The protagonist, Blind Emperor, leads the charge into a brighter tomorrow. Like chapters from a novel, each track allows the listener to be carried by the story. It is an epic, cinematic, choral, ambient techno album. The album combines her depictive, written and musical storytelling with a concept portrayed visually, orally and audibly to deliver another saga in her ever-evolving figments of fantasy. It comes as an entire artistic project, as The Allegorist created the album art, wrote the included story and composed a poem that all combine to tell the tale of Blind Emperor.

His last LP has barely touched record store shelves and Ivan ave is back with a EP for Mutual Intentions. Mid Season finds Ivan Ave in bloom as he evokes the sounds of
spring on his latest offering. The EP title also refers to a mid-album-recording process, which Ave currently finds himself in. Mid Season gives the listener insight into a
forthcoming full length album, entitled All Season Gear.
The prolific Norwegian rapper continues to charm with a seductive baritone that blows like a cool breeze through the production’s warm accompaniment. Dusty drum
machines under glacial keys and guitars offer a platform from which Ivan waxes lyrical about everything that touches him. He has crafted a unique voice in Hip Hop echelons, finding quirky analogies in the mundane. While in the past, he could find a parable for love in a bicycle lock or existential questions in an worn out sock, he turns his
attention increasingly to social realities.
He regularly takes aim at the ridiculous aspects of our contemporary society throughout Mid Season, with lyrics that poke fun as much they ask what the fuck?
“Spotify owner 'bout to buy a whole ball team… That mean I own a corner flag or some seats at least?,” he sings on «What a Day!!!». The record is peppered with these
types of anecdotal metaphors that come together like a social media story through a bionic AI. Ivan Ave is the product of this generation and it’s only right he should reflect
that. He does it in a unique way that requires the listener to untangle these preternatural allegories.
Playing with a dichotomy of words, he doesn’t labour on a thought before he’s lazily propelled onto the next at the turn of each bar. His laissez faire approach is only
emboldened by the slow moving percussion and keys that have come to define his sound. Picking up on early nineties influences from the likes of Native Tongues or Dilla,
the music on Mid Season continues to reassess and revolutionise these archetypes. It’s in the keyboard sounds of this latest EP, that Ivan Ave and producers have found
yet another new evolution in his sound.
Synthesisers that sound like they belong to a Maynard Ferguson record rather than a Hip Hop EP make the record come alive over a chugging and forceful rhythm section. It provides an airy and playful contrast to the more serious elements on the track, and much like Ivan Ave’s lyrical prowess offers an extra layer of depth that often
eludes Hip Hop’s most successful stars. The more you listen to Ivan Ave the more you get entrenched in his work and Mid Season continues to send the artist on an
exciting trajectory.

'Dwell Time' focuses on the moments in between. Expanding on Satie's Furniture Music, which explores the role of music as a backdrop, Dwell Time explores the moments in between active and passive listening. A sound that maintains a unique balance of properties can start as an active relationship that slowly dissolves into the background and accompanies a listener over its course. The Dwell Time signal remains completely analog, utilizing homemade tape samples and hardware synthesizers to encourage the listener to move between the different states of listening. Produced by Rafael Anton Irisarri and Mastered by Taylor Deupree.

"Salvator Dragatto’s debut 45 “N˚ 1” is an exciting addition to the growing collective of modern instrumentalists influenced by the greats in library and soundtrack music. Dragatto takes the listener through five mood heavy pieces textured with analog synths, melancholy guitars and lush string arrangements, giving an exciting glimpse into what lies ahead. The beauty of discovering something new is a timeless theme, one that Salvator conjurs with his latest single "Shook". Balancing Dragatto's signature melancholy guitars with tough drum tones, the feeling of being rattled to core is taken further with swooning horn lines and spacey synths he's become

The duo from North of England (Silverdale) is finally back with their 3rd studio album ‘A Safe Place To Be’. ‘A Safe Place To Be’ comes as the most personal and up-close album from the band.

It’s an album the two of them have been working on, on and off for 2 years, and they and it has been through so much in that time.
The creative aspect of this album (shown in the artwork, videos, and physical formats) is a huge part of this album. The detailed model village where everything was captured, is based on the band’s memories old and new. It’s set in the village (Silverdale) where they both grew up and each song holds a special place in that model village for the two of them. It itself is the band’s ‘Safe Place To Be’, their memories, their hometown, and the songs of this album all in one place. It’s a journey they’d like to take their fans and listeners onto and hopefully, they can find or return to their own ‘safe place to be’.

Donut chiefs The Mighty Mocambos return with triumphant funk workout "The Take Off" out on limited edition 45.

On the instrumental A-side, crunchy drums and percussion set off into a 7-minute breakbeat extravaganza where dramatic horns and psychedelic, fuzzed-out guitars build up to an epic finale.

On the flip, Nichola Richards chants soulfully before passing the baton to Brooklyn MC JSwiss, whose spoken word poetry takes the listener to another level, ready for take-off!

Another sure-shotwinner from the Mocambo camp, for all funk DJs and aficionados.

Hailing from Rio de Janeiro, Marcela Dias Sindaco is formerly a classical piano and cello player. With early musical influences drawing from experimental German groups like Popol Vuh, Tangerine Dream, and Cluster, her electro productions encapsulate more than one sound palette. In 2021, she released her first EP on DEEPTRAX, and here we have her second gift of huge, thoughtful, vocalized electro ready to be received by heady listeners across the world.

Each track brings together unique pieces that fit into her cohesive vision of electro. There are big bass drums, panned hi-hats, and crunchy bass lines. Stabby pads, punchy piano licks, tantalizing but direct Portuguese vocals, loopy Rhodes progressions, and a touch of acid...bonafide DJ rewind material right here!

Spread across 4-tracks, the producer offers fanciful instrumentation and production while conveying a narrative of preservation for mother nature.
The theme of Mother Land is inspired by one of Nohan’s main interests: nature. In response to ongoing climate change and global environmental degradation, he opted to craft a project that captured the planet's beauty - with a message of sustainability.

The EP is a faithful representation of Nohan the producer - packed with his love for the piano, ipnothic synths, and suspended ambient compositions. The project opens with the title track - kickstarting the subtle, yet palpable production rooted in tangible instrumentation. “The world’s on fire… It’s calling out for you and me” are the opening lines from the vocalist, reminding listeners that earth’s fate revolves around us.

“Heavenly Sing” presents a more upstart offering, with loose shakers and scintillating keys leading. This more tropical take provides optimism in sound, serving as prose for uplifting introspection in headphones as well as the ADID dancefloor. “The Sun in December” reflects its title - somber piano leads the way through a serene, melancholy soundscape. The EP also includes an ambient take on “Mother Land,” which strips its electronic backing in the intro to draw focus to the words and theme of the project.

Noahn makes a perfect fit with this emblematic imprint.

Stroboscopic Artefacts is proud to present the debut album of Malaysian born Bangkok based artist Wanton Witch.

Born in an isolated community of Borneo Island in 1993 Wanton Witch is a DJ and producer with a hyper-sensitive connection and approach to sound through performance. Coming of age in the relative isolation of island life, it wasn’t until relocating to Bangkok that she was able to access the different communities of musical genres that she would later travel between. With an early taste for trap and hip hop, she began working in the deconstructed club and techno scene where she found her musical voice, beginning her DJ career in 2018. Wanton is also a cofounder and original member of Queer underground creative collective ‘Non Non Non’ that has become a Bangkok nightlife staple.

Being an “outsider” musician and producer with no formal training, it was the fortuitous crossing of paths online that has sparked the creative collaboration between Wanton and label owner and creative director Lucy. Last year Stroboscopic Artefacts celebrated ten years established between experimental and dance floor spectres and this is the first record the label is releasing after one year break, marking the launch of a new chapter for the imprint. It is with releases like the eponymous debut album from Wanton Witch and the support given to emerging artists like her that the imprint continues to forge pathways within the industry.

Featuring 11 tracks, these recordings are the first body of work from the Bangkok producer, and include many different snapshots of electronic music genres from IDM and experimental to hardcore and rave, using caustic electronics to deconstruct traditional track conventions. This collection of cuts read more as a complete soundscape, like listening to a live set. The phrenetic jump from genre to genre, the mixing of diverse sound textures and landscapes reflect Wanton Witch’s own experience navigating a hostile world as a Queer trans woman in Malaysia. The intense energy with which each track is cut together reminds the listener of the nostalgia of mixtapes and a time in life when identity is being constructed.

Wanton Witch has created an album which feels like a reflection of the aggregation that already exists within musical internet sub-cultures and communities. A place where many diverse and contrasting sound palettes, textures, and structures can fit together to create a new different, Queer way of seeing the world.

Following up on Wanton’s LP, label head Lucy will also present an actual full length album named ‘Lucy Plays Wanton Witch’ featuring re-interpretations of the original material in a whole new body of work. This upcoming follow up release will not represent a mere remix edition, but a recreation from scratch and the rebirth of “one into another” so to say. Expect the quintessential Lucy treatment.

Eve Adams offers solace within life's shadows. Un-numbing senses with anthems of surrender and tender-hearted tales that tingle with Californian folk-noir, her album Metal Bird takes flight with the turbulence and romance of Hollywood’s golden age, and meditates on the mysteries of love, death, insecurity and loneliness.
Like a match struck in a cobwebbed attic, Adams voice is a fiery detective, unafraid to explore the unseen; the liminal spaces between mourning and rapture, between the coldness of a corpse and the heat of cremation. Imagery of flight and the denial of gravity floats slyly through the ten songs on Metal Bird by the California-born musician and hints at the experience of being caught in purgatory, like a passenger on a plane ride from Hell to Heaven.
Combining airy folk with haunting soundscapes the album takes listeners on an auditory voyage from sonorous lullabies, to dreamy ambience, skeletal jazz, 1930s torch songs and 1940s film noir. Metal Bird has a distinct, genuine tone, with orchestral arrangements, ambient hallucinations and high fidelity vocals that are unafraid to be heard loud and clear.
For those who are hopelessly enamoured with a by-gone time, there is solace in these songs and sounds.  Flickering back and forth between dread and hope, the unrelenting march towards a spiritual transformation and the realization that each of us are driven by our own dreams and as much as we want to hold it in our hands, often it is intangible. The sublime remains elusive, existing somewhere in the heart, and it sounds like Eve Adams knows this best.

Kobe JT showcases his sonic malleability on TINWHITE011: a tight 4-track EP which guides its listener assertively around the scene-defining avenues of UKG, from melodic garage house to dark two-step swings.

Blissful piano chords, vocal chops and skipping house rhythm imbue the opening track, "All I Do" with a soulful, uplifting groove. Equally as driven by melody, "Next DJ" makes room for more dynamic lower-ends as Kobe teams up with Northern force, The Phat Controlla, to deliver a club-ready speed garage banger.

The record's second half exposes the darker underbelly of Kobe's sound: hostile sub groans shade the stripped-back stepper "Lost In The Club" whilst the fragmented vocals on "Hope" lends the EP's full-bodied closer with an uneasy intensity.

Pink Marbled Vinyl

Lunatica Borghesia sees emerging Italian producer KOKO come into his powers in a 6-track EP which, at times seems suited to accompany a blissful reverie, and at others a rave in a rainforest. Either way, Lunatica Borghesia is about escaping.

The first two tracks capture deep house in its truest essence: at once meditative, melancholic and serene.The blissed-out piano chords and cymbal strokes "You can't buy luxury" lend the opening track a nocturnal jazz feel which is carried through to "Ego Borghese" where it is heightened by the melodic cries of a saxophone. Instrumentation maintains its primacy in "Listening to Some Impala in Coventry" as staccato flutes guide the subtle bongo-sounding percussion which gives the track its swing.

The next two tracks - "9,99EU" and "Pegasus" - are for the dance floor. Whilst the synth-driven melody and acid undertones of "9,99EU" sees the EP at its most retro, the final track "Tradizione Tradimento" is a brilliantly modern take on garage house which lets the listener settle back into the groove after being rowsed by "Pegasus" driving pulse.

• Two-time Grammy Award winner and Songwriters Hall of Fame honoree Jason Mraz today announced Lalalalovesongs, a collection of Mraz's iconic love songs, including RIAA Diamond certified "Im Yours," 6x RIAA Platinum "I Won't Give Up," RIAA Platinum "Have It All," and Grammy-winning duet, "Lucky" in addition to several more hits and an as-yet-unannounced, never-before-released fan favorite as a digital bonus track. Lalalalovesongs will be available on CD, vinyl, and digitally on February 11
• "I feel so LaLaLaLucky to share these songs again on this new album,” said Mraz in a press statement. "Love has been an almost constant theme in my writing, and this record really shines on that, further amplifying the message. Big love to my listeners, and to Atlantic and Rhino for the lovely release!"
• Lalalalovesongs kicks off with Mraz’s worldwide smash "I'm Yours," which ranks as the most-streamed track of the 2000s decade (2000-2009) by a solo artist on Spotify, with nearly 1.3 billion streams, and the second most-streamed track of the decade by any artist on Spotify. Additionally, the song recently surpassed 2.5 billion global streams across all audio and video platforms. "I'm Yours" was also the first song ever to top the Triple-A, Adult Top 40, Mainstream Top 40, and Adult Contemporary Charts, charting for 76 weeks and setting a record at the time for the longest chart run in Billboard history. To celebrate these milestones, the original video of the track has been upgraded to 4K along with the debut of a new video remembrance from Mraz where he discusses the story of the song, from its inception to its gradual development from fan-favorite into a Billboard Top 10 single, and its effects on his musical career.

Three locations. Three pianos. Three hours on each. I was told where and when the piano would be ready. I would go, play, and leave. Very little was said. All pieces were improvised. There were no demos, run throughs, re-dos, or edits. At times I was responding to the natural reverb of the spaces, as well as the effects and sound treatments that Mark was adding in tandem with the performances.

What you hear is what happened there and then, at the end of the challenging year that was 2020. Kevin Hearn is best known as a multi-instrumentalist from Barenaked Ladies, the multi-platinum selling band he's played with for almost two decades. One of the most respected Toronto musicians of the past 25 years, Hearn's solo albums take the listener on a journey of boundless creativity often
driven by adventure and experimentation. 'There and Then' is played at 45RPM, and is intended to be enjoyed on the warmth of vinyl, but will also be released digitally.

"It's fun for me to make music that doesn't have to fit a certain criteria, whether it be regarding the style or sound, or who is playing it. When I make my own records, I can follow my heart and curiosity." - Kevin Hearn

The followup to 2019's 'Calm and Cents', which was Juno-nominated for Best instrumental Album of the Year.

Retro-futurist cinematic synth-fest from Supersilent keyboardist and composer. Just as radio drama is said to provide the best pictures, so some music can make for a perfect film soundtrack without the need for a film to exist at all. ’The Haze of Sleeplessness’ is a case in point: as the album starts to play, the listener’s imagination kicks in and does the rest, supplying the necessary plot, character and setting until a full-scale narrative unspools behind one’s eyes. A suite of seven movements whose common musical material is continuously recycled into new shapes and sounds, while recurring leitmotifs create a connecting thread of continuity, ’The Haze of Sleeplessness’ operates on several levels simultaneously. Most obviously, perhaps, it’s an unapologetic synth-fest; a love poem to old-school electronica and analogue sound whose squelches, bleeps and blurts can’t help but recall the heroic era of Wendy Carlos, Vangelis and Tangerine Dream. It’s also a remarkably original and successful attempt at using by now antique instruments to form a true orchestral palette, building a symphony of sound through combining monophonic sources and their new digital variants into a densely populated audio landscape that is captured with astonishing sonic fidelity. The super-saturated surface of the music fairly crackles with raw electricity, as if the over-amped distortion was about to short-circuit itself, with a wobbly jack plug connection flickering dangerously before finally cutting out. That many of these sounds and their treatment can’t help but suggest the retro-futurist setting of a dystopian sci-fi thriller might make the cinematic analogy inevitable, but it doesn’t lessen the music’s power or cheapen its effect.