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Red Vinyl

Celebrate the technical expertise of the world's finest LP pressing plant — Quality Record Pressings — with the finest LP sampler ever assembled!

The Wonderful Sounds Of Quality Record Pressings includes music hand-picked by Acoustic Sounds CEO Chad Kassem and classical music tracks chosen by the team at Reference Recordings.

Every song meets the criteria of excellent performance, perfect recording and flawless mastering. What better way to celebrate such a monumental anniversary for one of the absolute leading brands in analog high fidelity than with this to-die-for LP sampler? Contains most genres of music — blues, jazz, classical, R&B and female vocal. From now on, you'll only need to carry one demo record around with you.

Vinyl expert Michael Fremer, of Analogue Planet and Stereophile, gives you a track-by-track tour of the history and production of the songs on this special album.

What separates our world-renowned Quality Record Pressings LPs from other manufacturers? Since Acoustic Sounds CEO Chad Kassem launched QRP in 2011, the focus has been on producing consistently virtually silent vinyl playing surfaces, as well as reproducing details that were hallmarks of vintage labels — the "deep groove" label of Blue Note LPs, for example.

The craft of pressing fine vinyl is perfected in such details. Such as plating lacquers within 24 hours of their arrival at the plant. Cut grooves are prone to change with temperature fluxuations, high humidity and time. The sooner that lacquers are plated, the better the fidelity of the final pressing. Other keys include using a proprietary silver spray formulation, made fresh daily. And incorporating computer microprocessors on our presses to precisely control press functions with absolute precision. And an imbedded temperature sensor in the dye cycles the press with just as much control. The result — more consistency in each LP, high fidelity and reduced distortion. The ultimate sonic advantage.

What a privilege to start a new record label with an album of such quality. As we're sure most of you will know, Tom was the front man of the legendary US psychedelic/folk band PEARLS BEFORE SWINE. Recording for the ESP label in the 60s, then moving to Reprise, PBS left us a legacy of strange, beautiful music. In the early 70s Tom went solo, recording more albums for Reprise and Blue Thumb. As a schoolkid he came third in a talent show in which fellow schoolboy, Bobby Zimmerman (yes, that Bobby Zimmerman), came fifth! He played gigs with Pink Floyd, Crazy Horse, Patti Smith and many more before calling time in 1976, and becoming a Civil Rights lawyer. Renewed interest in Tom and PBS in the late 90s led to him making some staggeringly good live appearances. Then in 1999 he released his first album for over 25 years. The prophetically titled 'A Journal Of The Plague Year'. Featuring appearances from Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang (of Galaxie 500 fame) and Masakai Batoh of Japanese band Ghost, came out on the British label Woronzow to great acclaim. This is the first ever reissue of 'Plague Year' and it comes with the original artwork and lyric insert, as a limited vinyl edition of 400 and a CD version of just 200. Tragically, Tom died in 2018 aged 70. It was a joy to count him as a friend. Blue Matter would like to thank Lynn Madison-Rapp & Ade Shaw for their help with making this reissue a reality.

At last, ‘In the Shadow of the Bomb’, the pummelling new single from Rat Cage is back in print after a limited lathe run on Lughole Records last year. The A side is a Burning Spirits style ripper, inspired by a trip Hiroshima and witnessing the devastating long lasting effects that nuclear war has on a city and country. ‘In the Shadow’ sonically nods to classic Japanese hardcore, but still maintains the typical Rat Cage blend of Scandi/UK punk. On the flip side, ‘Scared Of The Truth’, is a political mid pace stomper that rumbles with power in a State Violence, State Control fashion, while somehow also sounding like Out Cold at their most rocking. A glimpse through the cracks as to what’s coming next from Rat Cage in 2023.

10" Limited stamped white label – 250 copies,

* Originally surfacing on a white label 12” in the mid-90s, these cuts have been out of circulation for 25 years.
* West of England-based Rhythm-ites recorded their debut album `Intergration’ (Bluurg Records) at Southern Studios. London in 1989, and were regular fixtures on the festival circuit. Although a live band, these tunes were designed for sound system play. With two cuts of `Dub of Independence’ backed with `Paranormal Dubwise’ which borrows the hook from a popular 90’s sci-fi TV show.
* Limited to 300 copies.

Prolific Japanese producer T5UMUT5UMU has built up a reputation in the last few years for his ability not just to recreate club styles but to flip them into almost unrecognizable dancefloor hybrids. "Asyl" follows a blistering run of Bandcamp releases where T5UMUT5UMU has melted together gqom and techno, deconstructed grime and welded dubstep to traditional music from Japan and India. Here, he's operating completely off the grid, pulling raw materials from across the globe and hammering them into confounding shapes and patterns. On its surface, 'Fireball' sounds like a liquid metal approximation of South African gqom, but move in closer and you can make out dubstep bass squelches, trap hats, and industrial techno jet propulsion filling in the gaps with rubberized mortar. 'Desert' is the EP's most lightheaded cut, a psychedelic percussive spiral that curves micro-tuned mbira clangs around bee sting bass, aerated noise blasts and sub-aqueous kicks. It's a hard track to place, but fits in somewhere between Donato Dozzy, Menzi and 33EMYBW, all shifting rhythms and precision-edited sound design. 'Sea of Trees' retains this momentum, pushing the tempo and interspersing woodblock vibrations with syncopated bass drums and goosebump-inducing synths, while closer 'Bottomless Valley' shifts back into a gqom framework, shuffling the expected pulse with a powerful dembow swing, half step subs and Indian-inspired rattles. "Asyl" is a varied but shockingly coherent statement from an enigmatic producer who refuses to confine himself to a single path, and at a time when "cross-genre" is the norm rather than the exception, it's refreshing to witness a producer who's unafraid to truly make stylistic left-turns, rather than simply mash together top-level aesthetics.

High Roller Records, COMMEMORATIVE EDITION, 40 YEARS OF UNLIMITED THRASH 1982–2022, picture vinyl, ltd 500, individually numbered, 425gsm heavy cardboard cover, insert, printed inner sleeve, poster, A5 photo, mastered for vinyl by Patrick W. Engel at Temple of Disharmony, original 1984 sound

High Roller Records, COMMEMORATIVE EDITION, 40 YEARS OF UNLIMITED THRASH 1982–2022, picture vinyl, ltd 500, individually numbered, 425gsm heavy cardboard cover, insert, printed inner sleeve, 2 x (!!!) poster, mastered for vinyl by Patrick W. Engel at Temple of Disharmony, original 1984 sound

Picture Vinyl

Was?! 25 Jahre sind es schon?
Vor kurzem erst aus dem langjährigen Winterschlaf erwacht, mussten die SKINFLICKS feststellen, dass es nun doch schon ganze 25 Jahre her sind, dass die Band 1997 in Luxemburg gegründet wurde! Ein unserer Meinung nach willkommenes Datum zum ausgiebigen Feiern und Anlass genug, die wohl besten SKINFLICKS Gassenhauer auf eine explosive Schallplatte zu bannen!
Damit man sich bei der Gelegenheit überzeugen kann, dass die Band auch nach einem Vierteljahrhundert nichts an Relevanz und Frische verloren hat, glänzt die Compilation mit etlichen neueingespielten und exklusiven (!) Versionen alter Klassiker, so z.B. das ehrwürdige "Lionhearts" oder "Stick yer disco up yer arse!", ursprünglich aus dem Gründungsjahr bzw. 2000. Auch der Oi-Meilenstein "What I am", ein Song, der durch die Jahrzehnte hindurch so oft gecovert wurde, dass der Track wohl bekannter ist als die Band selbst, wurde neu aufgenommen und bezeugt, dass die Band nichts an Aggressivität oder offensivem Stolz eingebüßt hat. In neuem lyrischem Gewand präsentiert sich der Song "Smash the referee" - ursprünglich "Smash the Love Parade".
Wer bereits die nun extrem rare 2017er "Anthology" zum 20-Jährigen verpasst hat, weiß, dass man hier sofort zugreifen sollte! Sichert euch also besser gleich dieses Kleinod an Oi-Historie, mit unantastbaren Klassikern wie "Skinhead", "Kings without a crown", "Terrace terror" und vielem, vielem mehr.
Die Jahre haben den Songs nichts anhaben können; nein, diese sind nicht nur in Würde gealtert, sondern sind immer noch brandaktuell in ihrer Haltung. Auch die Band ist offensichtlich nicht eingerostet und so haben die vier Luxemburger Jungs bereits wieder begonnen, die ganze Welt mit Konzertreisen zu beglücken.
Also, worauf wartet ihr?

High Roller Records, lyric sheet, ltd 460, deluxe plastic bag, 6 tracks

High Roller Records, lyric sheet, ltd 460, deluxe plastic bag, 4 tracks

Reissued double vinyl album of first part of THIS IMMORTAL COIL's Coil homage in gatefold sleeve with new artwork! "Brilliantly versatile tribute album to British-based avant garde and experimental group, Coil." More than a tribute to cult dark ambient band COIL, This Immortal Coil is a project of re-interpretations by Ici d'Ailleurs' artists and more: Yael Naim, Bonnie Prince Billy, Matt Elliott, Yann Tiersen, DAUU, Christine Ott, Chapelier Fou, Sylvain Chauveau, Deadverse. Mixed by OKTOPUS of DÄLEK. Peter Christopherson himself immediately put it up for sale on the Coil website at the time, cherrishing the work as "The Most extra-ordinary, beautiful and moving re-interpretations of Coil I have ever heard." "On November 13th 2004, John Balance passed away, He was, along with Peter Christopherson, the founding member of the group Coil. His brutal death marked the end of over twenty years of activism and musical genius. I have then decided to work on a project that would pay tribute to them. I didn't want another compilation that would pile up pieces, without any link. My wish was to transpose this unique musical mood to another one, more classical and more accessible to everyone. The whole idea was to pay tribute to the music for what was beyond it, just the way COIL underlined it: « Coil is more than music »I got my inspiration from the project This Mortal Coil, started in the eighties by the English label 4AD. Its label manager had then grouped some of its own artists together in order to play some standards of rock and pop music. Most of those who participated in this work hardly knew COIL. My purpose wasn't to go towards those artists who had a conscious connection with the music of the group, let alone musicians who claimed to be the heirs to this seminal work.

Repress!

Uno Melodic was the brainchild of the legendary Roy Ayers. At the height of his career in the early 80s, Roy established Uno Melodic to explore working as a writer, musician, producer and record label owner with complete control over his creative ideas. Roy brought artists and musicians to the label invaluable to him at Polydor and in whom he saw potential to make more great records. Between 1980 and 1983 Uno Melodic released records that went onto become definitive of their time, classics that became much sought after. The label and its signature releases are part of the Roy Ayers legacy, the best of which Expansion have assembled here on remastered double LP.
Sylvia Striplin, Eighties Ladies and Ethel Beatty represent the soul, disco, two step and boogie sides of Uno Melodic, Bobbi Humphrey, Justo Almario and Roy himself the masters of jazz fusion at the label. The album concludes with the spoken words of Rick Holmes on one of the label's biggest ever release on the label.

Deniz Cuylan set out to explore his own distinctive sound on his 2021 solo debut album 'No Such Thing As Free Will.' The album signaled the Turkish musician's first bold step into the spotlight following a winding 15-year path in the music industry playing in multiple bands with home bases dotted all over the globe - Stockholm, NYC, Istanbul - and tackling a wide array of styles both on the stage and in the studio. Now settled into his current home in Los Angeles, Deniz lends his instrumental talents to create scores for independent films and recurring Netflix original series, yet these projects inevitably fulfill the sonic backdrop for another artist's vision. Looking inward on his own for the first time, 'No Such Thing As Free Will' laid the groundwork for his own personal soundtrack, one that fused his love of classical guitar, introspective jazz, and ambient expressionism with his whimsical compositional ear. Over a magical 6-track journey, 'No Such Thing As Free Will' painted a lush cinematic narrative with Deniz's guitar as its guide, delivering an album that "seems to invent new languages for the guitar" (The Guardian) and receiving glowing comparisons to legends like Steve Reich, The Durutti Colum's Vini Reilly, Glenn Branca, and Bert Jansch. With such a singular foundation exposed on a debut album, many artists would stay true to their inventive winning formula and find out if lightning could strike twice. Deniz is not one of those artists. An explorer at heart, Deniz unveils a beautifully alluring and lightly adjusted language on his mesmerizing second album 'Rings Of Juniper.' The record continues to spotlight Deniz's exquisite guitar work and hypnotic compositional skills, yet it boasts a punchier, refined, and more immediate tone right from the start. Accented by a desire to once again uncover a new shade of his sonic palette with the support of a talented cast of friends and artistic collaborators, 'Rings Of Juniper' lays bare a rich, dynamic, and evocative sound that Deniz lovingly refers to as Mediterranean Minimalism.

2nd installment in RZA's brandnew 2022 Bobby Digital Trilogy on Electric Blue vinyl! Rza returns with the second of his three record Bobby Digital Trilogy, coming on the heels of his critically acclaimed first installment "Saturday Afternoon Kung Fu Theatre Rza vs Bobby Digital, Produced by DJ Scratch! The album is also the soundtrack and addition to the new Bobby Digital comic of the same name. "Dating back to the 1990's RZA has been using Bobby Digital as a pseudonym for various solo projects. These are not strictly outside of the Wu-Tang Clan diaspora as various members make cameos or co-produce, but they've allowed Diggs to explore musical and lyrical ideas that fight better with his alter ego. Bobby Digital can be considered a comic book superhero, fighting evil in both the physical realm and the virtual world of cyberspace, achieving a "meta" reality long before Facebook thought to trademark the term." - rap revies 2022 2022 release. The founding member of the multimedia supergroup, The Wu-Tang Clan, introduced the world to his alter-ego in his 1998 album Bobby Digital in Stereo. With lush digital orchestral sounds and inventive beats, he was putting the love of comic books on full display through it's concept and execution. Now, exactly 23 years since it's original release, RZA announces a partnership with Z2 Comics to give the character a story in the medium which inspired his creation! Bobby Digital: Pit Full of Snake pairs RZA with White Noise Studios member Ryan O'Sullivan, whose last collaboration with Poppy was widely celebrated by fans and critics alike, with Sound & Fury artist Vasilis Lolos rounding out the team to bring the world of Bobby Digital to life.

Dopeness Galore / Records We Release
"A newfound father's attempt to pass wisdom on to his children."

- Spring 2019 -

"As my girlfriend’s pregnancy was steadily treading along, I settled into my home studio in the attic of our new house. In our previous apartment I had a tiny room which could hardly fit my recording gear, let alone my drums which were still sitting at my parents’ house eating dust. Now that we’d moved into a bigger place, I had confiscated a part of the top floor to build my studio. This time I had just enough space to fit my drum set together with other percussion instruments, Fender Rhodes and synths. This sparked a whole new world of creative opportunities.

At the same time I also started to think about what kind of wisdom I would want to pass on to my children. I started writing down my thoughts. Little anecdotes, ponderings and things to think about as a human being.

These two events took place in parallel and once I actually started jotting down my first compositional ideas I saw the concept right there in front of me bright as day.

This LP has been written and recorded as inspiration to think about things and to keep re-thinking again and again to strengthen the knowledge of self.

Fruit Distro Collective is heavily inspired by Jazz composition, Hiphop drum sounds and the percussive elements of Afrobeat and Afro latin styles. "

The crown jewel of Finnish Death Metal, reissued in a band-approved new 30th anniversary edition. Features a new vinyl master from the original source by Noise for Fiction, plus a booklet with a lengthy feature by Hippo Taatila and some visual memorabilia. As an added vinyl bonus there's a large poster by the original cover artist Rob Smits creating a new vision of the album cover for the new millennium. Together with bands like Demilich, Abhorrence, Disgrace, Xysma and Sentenced, Demigod from the wastelands of Loimaa, southern Finland, put Finland on the map in the global death metal scene in the late 80's and early 90's. Having risen to underground fame with their demo Unholy Domain, Slumber of Sullen Eyes was a hugely expected debut album. When it was finally released in 1992 after a complicated creation process at Tico-Tico Studios in northern Finland, it was received with open arms and drooling excitement by the then very active underground death metal scene. That scene was, however, short lived,and by 1994 pretty much every band had switched from death metal to something else entirely. What was left after the bands had left the building was a number of classic albums that constitute the legacy of Finnish Death Metal. Among them, Slumber of Sullen Eyes is one of the most original and ferocious. There was nobody like Demigod.

The crown jewel of Finnish Death Metal, reissued in a band-approved new 30th anniversary edition. Features a new vinyl master from the original source by Noise for Fiction, plus a booklet with a lengthy feature by Hippo Taatila and some visual memorabilia. As an added vinyl bonus there's a large poster by the original cover artist Rob Smits creating a new vision of the album cover for the new millennium. Together with bands like Demilich, Abhorrence, Disgrace, Xysma and Sentenced, Demigod from the wastelands of Loimaa, southern Finland, put Finland on the map in the global death metal scene in the late 80's and early 90's. Having risen to underground fame with their demo Unholy Domain, Slumber of Sullen Eyes was a hugely expected debut album. When it was finally released in 1992 after a complicated creation process at Tico-Tico Studios in northern Finland, it was received with open arms and drooling excitement by the then very active underground death metal scene. That scene was, however, short lived,and by 1994 pretty much every band had switched from death metal to something else entirely. What was left after the bands had left the building was a number of classic albums that constitute the legacy of Finnish Death Metal. Among them, Slumber of Sullen Eyes is one of the most original and ferocious. There was nobody like Demigod.

Between 1955 and 1961 Sinatra recorded a string of hit albums for Capitol Records, collaborating with conductor and arranger Nelson Riddle and covering songs that were just superb. Though he’d produce numerous great records later on, it’s Sinatra’s Capitol years that people most associate with him, and which are generally conceded to contain his best work. This collection of wonderful recordings features; I've Got You Under My Skin, Just One Of Those Things, I Get A Kick Out Of You and Night And Day - all classics penned by Cole Porter.

Come Fly With Me, (Love Is) The Tender Trap and Love And Marriage - written by Van Heusen & Cahn. Nice Work If You Can Get It - by George & Ira Gershwin.

Plus, Nice 'n' Easy, Young At Heart, You Make Me Feel So Young, Witchcraft, Three Coins in the Fountain and The Lady Is A Tramp.

The fight continues in Wood Oak City. After the events of Streets of Rage 4, our heroes wanted to prepare themselves for future threats. Axel, Blaze and their mates will start a very special deranged training with the help of Dr. Zan, who built an AI program from the remnants of Mister X’s brain that simulates every kind of danger they could be facing.

The "Mr. X Nightmare" soundtrack was composed by acclaimed video game musician Tee Lopes. The vinyl soundtrack includes a 12inch record with 12 riveting tracks, a download code for digital tracks, and an insert with artwork and liner notes by Lopes.

Merry Christmas! This Christmasclassic from the iconic Ray Charles has been unavailable for over a decade. Issued on vinyl for the first time since it"s original release in 1985! Ray Charles one and only Christmas album is a must have for all fans of classic holiday music. Charles performs a variety of holiday favorites and originals, including "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," and the ballad "That Spirit of Christmas," featured in National Lampoon"s Christmas Vacation. An album that will elevate your soul year after year!"

Mit dreißig Jahren aktiven, schändlichen Dienstes unter ihren Gürteln sind NECROPHOBIC unbestrittene Legenden des Death- und Black-Metal-Undergrounds. Die 1989 von Schlagzeuger Joakim Sterner gegründete Band aus Stockholm vertrat von Anfang an eine einzigartige und furchtlose Vision und bestätigte ihr Können 1993 mit dem mittlerweile legendären Debütalbum The Nocturnal Silence. Indem sie den selbstbewussten Dilettantismus und die primitiven Klänge, die viele ihrer Kollegen schätzten, hinter sich ließen, schufen NECROPHOBIC eine kühne und lebendige eigene Identität und zauberten eine dicht melodische, aber unendlich verruchte Version von makabrem Extrem-Metal hervor, die seitdem von unzähligen weniger bekannten Bands nachgeahmt wurde. Mit 'Womb of Lilithu' veröffentlichen NECROPHOBIC ihr siebtes Album, das ursprünglich 2013 veröffentlicht wurde, neu. Die schwedischen Black-Death-Metal-Legenden legen dieses Album als letzte von insgesamt neun Wiederveröffentlichungen neu auf. Neben der ursprünglichen Albumversion aus dem Jahr 2013 enthält diese Wiederveröffentlichung zwei Live-Tracks als Bonus auf der D-Seite, die bisher noch nie veröffentlicht wurden. NECROPHOBIC zeigen sich auf 'Womb of Lilithu' von verschiedenen musikalischen Seiten und führen den Hörer durch ein tiefschwarzes Beschwörungsritual, begleitet von einer ausgewogenen Mischung aus Rohheit & Transparenz auch in Bezug auf die Produktion. 'Womb of Lilithu' ist wieder einmal ein wunderbares Werk schwarzer Death-Metal-Klangkunst aus Schweden. Wie schon die früheren Wiederveröffentlichungen 'Hrimthursum', 'Death To All' und 'Satanic Blasphemies' in diesem Jahr, wurde auch 'Womb Of Lilithu' von Dan Swanö im Unisound Studio remastered. Das Album wird erhältlich sein als Ltd. CD Jewelcase im Slipcase, Gatefold 180g Doppel-LP in schwarz mit 2-seitigem Einleger und einem doppelseitigen Poster im A2-Format sowie als Digitales Album.

Die mysteriöse Atmospheric Death-Doom-Band JADE entfesselt mit 'The Pacification Of Death' unergründliche Tiefen in klangvoller Verderbtheit sowie atmosphärischer Dunkelheit. Mit unheimlicher Finsternis und überwältigendem Riffing haben Jade ein erstklassiges Genre-Debüt aufgenommen.
Aufgenommen, gemischt und gemastert von Javi Félez in den Moontower Studios, Barcelona (Graveyard, Teitanblood, Foscor, etc.) sowie erstaunliches handgemaltes Artwork des Zeichners Adam Burke (Loss, Occultation, Vektor, Evoken, etc.).

Powermetal:
"...Das Cover weist schonmal in eine gute Richtung, da es auch recht viel Ambiente mit sich bringt. Als ich dann in "Pacification Of Death" eintauchen konnte, wurde trotzdem die Frage nach dem Genre nicht endgültig geklärt. Einerseits fühlt man sich in einigen Momenten an Death Metal erinnert (jedoch nicht der alten Schule aus den USA), viel öfter klingt das jedoch noch Black Metal, aber lässt sich auch hier nicht komplett einordnen. Doch wozu das ganze Geschwafel um das Genre, wenn wir es hier mit einem wirklich hochklassigen Album zu tun haben. Das Trio hat ein Brett eingespielt, das sich nicht so ganz einordnen lässt und das ist auch gut so, denn dadurch wird es spannend. Sechs Kompositionen finden sich auf dem Album und diese sind auch in sich recht abwechslungsreich..."

Sydney Sprague makes music for the end of the world. With everything seemingly imploding in on itself, there’s one thing we can all try to be authentic and it’s the one word that best describes Sydney’s songwriting. Sydney carries the same fire, creativity, and wit of her 90’s pop idols, combined with her familiar-yet-surprising hooks and hard hitting, topical lyrics.

Nach triumphalen Auftritten der außergewöhnlichen Metal-Newcommer Brothers Of Metal beim Sweden Rock Festival und bei den deutschen Rockharz & Rock Am Stück Festivals folgte im Januar 2020 der Release des heiß-ersehnten zweiten Albums „Emblas Saga“.
Mit diesem Album setzten die Schweden ihren Siegeszug mit Charteinstiegen in mehreren Ländern und ausverkauften Shows auf der dazugehörigen Co-Headlining Tour fort. Top 10 der Albumcharts in Deutschland, Platz 4 in Schweden (physische Verkäufe), Top 20 und dabei drei Wochen in den Schweizer Albumcharts, sind nur einige Highlights die belegen, dass Brothers Of Metal die Band der Stunde sind.

Die seit langen Jahren als Partner zusammenarbeitenden, mit dem GRAMMY® Award ausgezeichnete, Bassist David Ellefson und der gefeierte Metal-Sänger Jeff Scott Soto haben sich für ein neues Projekt zusammen getan: Ellefson/ Soto- Vacation In The Underworld. Ganz in der Tradition großartiger Duos wie: David Coverdale & Jimmy Page, Tony Iommi & Glenn Hughes, Tommy Shaw & Jack Blades, Michael Sweet & George Lynch, um nur einige Beispiele zu nennen. Das Album enthält elf Tracks und drei Bonusaufnahmen, die zeigen, warum Ellefson-Soto von vielen in der Metal-Welt als Legenden angesehen wird. Von der feurigen Gitarrenführung des Album-Openers "Vacation In The Underworld" bis zur Prog-Metal-Wut des Closers "Rise To Win" haben Ellefson/Soto ein Debüt geschaffen, das Metal-Fans aus der ganzen Welt fesseln wird. Songs wie "Sharpen The Sword", "The Revolution" und "Live To Die Another Day" kombinieren verschiedene Stile und zeigen die verschiedenen Einflüsse, die Ellefson/Soto in ihren vier Jahrzehnten in der Musik gesammelt haben. Jade Etro von der italienischen Power-Metal-Band Frozen Crown hat einen Gastauftritt bei "The Day Before Tomorrow". Steve Conley und Ken Mary von Flotsam & Jetsam performen auf dem Titeltrack "Vacation In The Underworld". Vacation In The Underworld entzündet eine mitreissende aus Thrash-Feuerkraft, Rock-Swagger und hymnischem Arena Donner.

Pianist, drummer, composer and producer Hamish Balfour presents jazz funk, soul and electronic music, bridging the gap from classic Blue Note to Warp via Sonar Kollektiv on Running Colours, his electrifying debut album for London's Shapes of Rhythm Records.

Praised by Jazzwise for hissolo flourishes and sidestepping harmonies, Hamish Balfour should be a recognisable face to jazz addicts. The go-to keys player has performed and recorded alongside American jazz drumming legend Harvey Mason, Tenderlonious, The Temptations, Odyssey, Faze Action, Yolanda Charles' Project PH, Bassically, Nim Quartet and Yam Who. Popping up not only in the credits of many sought-after albums, but also Channel 4, ITV and BBCprogrammes for his compositions on various shows.

Over the course of eleven tracks, Balfour folds in and explores his influences, with a wide yet highly cohesive and strong palette of sounds, whilst interacting with high caliber guest vocalists such as spoken word artist and broken beat icon, Lyric L(Seiji,Nathan Haines), London Elektricity and Hospital Records' star vocalist Elsa Esmeralda, award-winning and chart-storming singer-songwriter Belle Humble (Freestylers, Paloma Faith) and soul and house mainstay Andre Espeut (Afriquoi,Simbad,Faze Action).

Responsible for all piano, synths, percussion and production on the album, Balfour's musicality shines through, a reminder of how overdue this debut album as leader is. However, in addition to the incredible vocalists, he's joined by some of the UK's finest jazz musicians: James Copus (trumpet), Pete Matin (bass), Laurie Lowe and Saleem Raman (drums) and Rob Updegraff (guitar).

Elsa Esmeralda implores us 'not to be afraid' on lead single and title track Running Colours. A perfect invitation to get stuck into this many layered album. Balfour compliments Esmeralda's soothing vocals with delicate piano intro before Lowe's bruk-easque drums and lead an irresistible groove bedded in warm synths and guitar licks.

Yes or No showcases Loose Lips legend Lyric L contemplating the uncertainty of love over a swinging mid-tempo jazz funk boogie groove propelled by tight drums and Hammond chords, closing with a flying trumpet solo from Copus, weaving around Balfour's nimble keys.

Wealth, featuring singer/songwriter Belle Humble, displays incredible depth and restraint. Humble delivers the enticing vocal with ease, as it slides over the intricate webs of jazz fusion and electronics.

Mogul is arguably Running Colours' curveball. An eastern-inspired whirlwind of all manner of synths and twisting drums which constantly morph throughout. Guitars and trumpets take turns to solo on a track that feels like a series of questions that we never quite get answers to.

Balfour's ability to merge free wheeling jazz and fusion with timeless electronic production and soulful compositions is also apparent on instrumental pieces such as Reflector 28. Here, we find the musicians upbeat, uplifting, progressive and playful, showcasing the keys whilst the bass underpins the groove.

South Of The Sun is Running Colours' laid-back moment with Roy Ayers-type vibrations as bass and drums sit in the pocket (at least to begin with), whilst a Rhodes weaves its magic. Like many of the album's tracks we take a few twists and turns before returning to our main feel-good motif.

Hamish's long awaited debut is sure to exceed the expectations of those who know him already, whilst introducing a whole new audience to his wealth of talent and originality.

Just a single album and a bunch of singles, rising star Linda Di Franco debuted in 1985 and left the scene all of a sudden in 1986. Her first album was a combined effort produced by Don Was (Blue Note’s Renaissance Music Man and previously leader of post disco combo Was Not Was), a gentle selection of soul-pop ballads and lushy synth arrangements. With leading single ‘My Boss’ the album shows an ethereal continuum with an excellent rendition of Burt Bacharach ‘The Look Of Love’. Recorded in London, Detroit and New York the Rise Of The Heart is definitely a keystone in the rising club culture revolution verging on the more existentialist pop aesthetic. RIYL: Sade, Lizzy Mercier Descloux, Carmel, Antena.