Pop & Rock News

Captain Free has a unique charm about it, powering along like a lost motorik gem.'
ELECTRONIC NORTH

'Captain Free' is London-based, Greek-born artist Katerina Koutouzi's third album, released on her own label Near The Exit Music. It takes you on a journey from Dalston's neon market stalls, reflected in kerbside puddles, to clear Greek island waters, squidgy beats and airy synths, complemented by a gentle voice full of promise, blow over the listener like a familiar summer breeze.

She brings together traditional acoustic instruments like the daouli Greek drum, ancient instruments like the conch-shell, other acoustic instruments including the piano and the accordion and electronica-style programmed beats using pebbles, shells and bells.

Katerina often sings in different languages, too. She blends styles and song structures using simple archetypal melodies and ambient soundscapes, using her own field recordings of natural sounds and minimal instrumental explorations.

Previous support for Fos has come from Boiler Room, BBC6 Music, Cyclic Defrost ("There's a lot going on here, and Koutouzi juggles each bristling element with finesse"), Sic Magazine ( Modern meets traditional on this slice of Greek folktronica') and Norman records ( it's brilliant').

With 'Piscolabis', Golden Bug delivers a new UFO sound oscillating between electronica, robotic vibrations and psychedelic dub. Piscolabis embraces all the styles important to Antoine Harispuru and emerges as an astonishing opening onto new worlds. And he invited an impressive number of guests to his 4th studio album:

The French from The Liminañas or Tim Glass, the Japanese Vega Voga, the Australians from Funboys, Spanish singer Pajaro Sunrise, it is because this project was born out of the turmoil caused by opposition.

'Colibri' is a psychedelic labyrinth, a sentimental and hypnotic ascent that radiates on the dancefloor. 'Variation Sur 3 Bancs' featuring The Liminañas, immerses us in the world of acid western and psychedelic pop and makes you want to hitchhike on the road. On 'Tokoyo No Kuni', Golden Bug invites Japanese singer Vega Voga to create a musical epic worthy of an imaginary soundtrack by Toshiya Fujita. With its slow rhythm and spellbinding melodies, 'La Boite Noire' explores Berlin electronica immersed in chloroform. 'La Goutte D’Eau' takes off, dark and throbbing. The fluid rhythm is left behind by hypnotic patterns that push the listener into their sofa, which will not come out until the very end of the interlude.

'Fata Morgana' excites with its dirty rhythm, hypnotic arpeggiator and cosmic sound effects. 'Nid de Guêpes' interstellar flute wraps around slowed dub effects, like a 7" in speed 12", and evokes emotion by repeating its heady loop, an obsessive and mutant vision of music. 'Bring The Light' with the support of Spanish singer Pajaro Sunrise is an ideal springboard to touch the stars and explores the clear face of Golden Bug by merging choppy oriental guitars, solar vocals and dub rhythm. Without interruption, 'Kotodama' continues the journey on an unknown planet, on which Vega Voga comes to pose her suave voice on dark electronic arrangements, transforming itself into indescribable and harmoniously eccentric binary code. To end this journey, 'Le Chant Des Sirènes', carried by the voice of Frenchman Tim Glass, plays along the lines of scintillating and nebulous pop.

Vocal textures with robotic vibrations, complex and indescribable psychedelic music are Ariane's thread of this new sensory and universal album. Music to listen to, see and feel.

* Coming together over three years since his critically acclaimed last album, Hyetal completes his transformation from off-kilter dance music producer to futurist pop visionary on Youth & Power. 'Previously my approach to writing music was very rooted in escapism,' says David Corney aka Hyetal. 'I began experiencing a sense of detachment in my life which led me to question how healthy this approach was. I wanted music to help me feel connected again.' Wrenching his music free from the 'confines of computer grids' and pushing melody to the forefront, Youth & Power's texturally rich, psychedelic palette is littered with live played synths, electric guitars, drum machines, processed noise and 'some under-loved 70s home keyboards' recorded at Hyetal's South London home studio.
* 'I'd describe it as experimental pop music,' says Hyetal. 'the sound is in part a return to music I was listening to as a kid, more song- and instrument-based.' Youth & Power is Hyetal's debut as a vocalist, also scrapping samples in favour of live instrumentation and hook-laden songwriting laced with myriad influences. 'I took some time out to teach myself how to sing using an app on my phone. At first I found my vocals worked best for me when there was some distance from the natural sound of my voice so everything was abstracted through a few different processes.' he explains, 'As I became more comfortable singing I decided I wanted to contrast this approach and use some natural sounding vocals that embraced the imperfections'. The album strikes a balance between robotic Kraftwerkian simplicity and soulful organic pop, contrasting the various pitch-shifting and abstracting vocal effects with sharply concise lyrics. Semblances of Hyetal's origins in Bristol's early dubstep movement are still present too, deep inside the album's meticulous rhythm beds. Elsewhere chiming retro keyboard notes and drum machine beats at times recall the likes of Yellow Magic Orchestra contrasting against waves of guitars and noise which bring to mind the influence of Bauhaus and other post punk experimentalists.
* Written as a form of catharsis for Hyetal in his search to return his music from detachment, Youth & Power seeps a sense of hope. 'I found from a distance the most immediate workings of humanity can appear extremely brutal', says Hyetal, 'but when looking through this lens you miss the beauty that happens in the moment.'

Six Correlations was originally composed for a commissioned performance in Berlin and recorded in early 2018 over three days. The project explores the intersections between traditional music from various cultures, with a particular focus on Gaelic folk music native to the remote island regions of Scotland, where half of Ginzburg's family originates from.

It incorporates influences of Iranian traditional music, Indian classical and generative composition techniques. Six correlations considers the relationship between the organic and the digital world as a meditation on whether modernity implicitly
represents a long slow goodbye to nature: a long slow goodbye to everything that is not integrated into the networked world. The response to the disappearance of both nature and non-digital culture is presented here as an aspiration to imagine and communicate an harmonious relationship between the organic and the technological.

Produced using a hand drum, piano, voice, shruti box and Roland SH-101, six correlations brings together many of the influences from the Subtext artists Ginzburg has worked with over the last years, such as Turkish artist and percussionist Cevdet Erek and Swedish composer Ellen Arkbro - as well as connecting with his instrumental explorations with Paul Purgas as Emptyset, and recent releases on Arc Light Editions such as 'Salm' - an LP of Gaelic Psalm singing from the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
James Ginzburg is one half of Emptyset and founder of Subtext Recordings, as well as co-curator of the Arc Light Editions imprint with Jennifer Allan.

NEON EROS is the distributed follow up to the amazing Library Vol.1 Espaces Urbains compilation courtesy of ERR REC, an independent label dedicated to electronic and experimental music based out of Paris.

Heavily inspired by early 80's electronic music, fans of Herbie Hancock, electro funk and library music will likely find something pleasing here to fulfil their dystopian disco in Escape from New York-like fantasies.

The Pattern Forms is a collaborative project between Ed Macfarlane and Edd Gibson of Friendly Fires and Jon Brooks of The Advisory Circle.

Peel Away the Ivy is the
culmination of a fruitful collaboration that followed on from a debut single for
Ghost Box's Other Voices series in 2015.
On the surface this is a romantic pop album, but its roots lie in both bands' shared love of soundtracks and electronic library music of the 70s and 80s.

The artists bring their own distinct sensibilities to the project but find a common ground that conjures up something entirely new to both. A balance of powerful pop hooks and sonic experimentation that masterfully evoke the melancholy of lost summers and lonely outsider reveries.
Heartrending ballads are lifted away on soaring electronics with beautiful pastoral and kosmiche instrumentals forming perfect atmospheric interludes.


Brooks and Macfarlane both have proven track records as outstanding producers and the sound here is, unsurprisingly, breath-taking.

Innra proceeds the internationally acclaimed Í Annan Heim record which spent 100 weeks in the Icelandic chart's Top 30 while international it garnered high praise from media such as NME, Clash, The Line of Best Fit, CMU Daily and the US' KEXP Radio.

The three year gap between the two albums gave Rökkurró the space to meticulously expand their luscious palee into the beautiful, dreamy soundscapes that is Innra. New members Helga on piano and Skúli on bass have been added to the line-up and time spent by the bands members between Tokyo, London and Reykjavík inspired Rökkurró to record their first part-English speaking record.

The first taster from Innra came in the form of English-speaking album track Killing Time, which premiered on The Line of Best Fit and featured on The Guardian's blog late 2013, with the later describing the song as 'warm, wonderfully textured number that finds stuttering rhythms judder underneath swelling instrumentals while the vocal's unshakable sense of longing will lingers well after the song has finished.' The description is befitting for the album as a whole. The album's second single, The Backbone yielded an US premiere on Under The Radar and a prominent feature on Q Magazine in UK.

There's a new electronic element to Rökkurró, but one of soft synths mixed with gently textured, layered percussion. The result is a warm enveloping backdrop to singer Stefánsdóttir's soft and at times subtly sultry vocals.

Produced by Helgi Hrafn Jónsson, Innra is available from 27th October 2014 on CD, Vinyl and Digital formats.

‘Gentle Persuaders’ is the Love Love debut from London based neo-noise-jazz outfit Sly & The Family Drone. In the form of a four track long player, Sly vomit forth a smooth serving of curious and clattering noise not devoid of fun.

With the ingredients of shattering baritone saxophone, splurges of analogue noise, rolling drum derangements and snarling feedback it is immediately clear that these formidable noise-mongers have honed their methods of ear-attack adeptly. Textural spaces are peppered with bouts of densely packed controlled-chaos creating a tension that builds almost imperceptibly until the crushing pay-off that comes with the final track.

The politest of bludgeonings, ‘Gentle Persuaders’ has a real sense of cohesion and style, at times subtle and at others shudderingly direct.

With their unusual and interactive live shows, the group cut their teeth stunning the audiences of punk and noise scenes across the UK and Europe. Now, Sly & The Family Drone present their most complete recording to date; a rush of sheer ataxia ushering in a new age of noise.

Sophomore album from South London avant-groove collective Snorkel
Stop Machine
Dead Skin
Edgar's Hoover
Wet Tongue
Driller
Dark Star
Loophole
Jellyfish

Burning Witches Records are once again honoured to be working with Director Brian O’Malley (The Lodgers) to bring you the fantastic and atmospheric score to 2015’s cult horror Let Us Prey by composer Steve Lynch.

Rookie cop Rachel (Pollyanna McIntosh) is about to begin her first night-shift in a neglected police station in a Scottish backwater town--the kind of place where the tide has gone out and stranded a motley bunch of the aimless, the forgotten, the bitter-and-twisted who all think that they really deserve to be somewhere else. They all think they're there by accident and that, with a little luck, life will get better. Wrong on both counts. Six (Liam Cunningham) is about to arrive--and all hell will break loose

“The Minimoog pulsating bass throughout the score is a nod to 80’s horror, but I wanted to modernise it too, so all the synth textures are on a Dave Smith Prophet 12, which is a modern classic. Rachel’s Theme was a chance to bring in a more emotive organic tone using cellos, bowed bass guitar and voices. I think the combination of all these elements gave the score its own particular sound.”
-Steve Lynch

Having previously explored the world of 60's and 70's library music with their Nuggets, Connectors and Digs compilations, Lo Recordings now brings to your ears the wonders of 80's library music.

Long derided by those in search of fat beats and funky grooves, the 80's reveal themselves to be a time of unparalleled musical exploration and invention.

As with all library music, an enormous amount of sifting was needed and the man for the job was no less than Ed Macfarlane of renowned pop band Friendly Fires.

A Decade of Distortion includes 22 of INFL's favourite artists.

Just a small selection of the vast pool of talent this thriving DIY operation has supported and collaborated with throughout their journey as a respected promoter, record label and music publisher.

The compilation is available on heavyweight 12' 180gm vinyl, with music split between the two records (heavy rock - black) and (pop, electronic & acoustic - red).

A Decade Of Distortion features an array of outstanding artists including Heck, Kagoule, Bru-C and Francobollo, with a tracklisting curated to celebrate the diverse music programmed throughout the history of INFL.

Repress on white vinyl.

The album features the single ‘Lamani’ a hypnotically psychedelic hip-swiveler of a track.

It also features their latest single ‘Dimitro’ which is their superb re-work of a traditional Bulgarian wedding song using 808 drum machine & bass to work it into a slow-mo dance track whilst retaining the raw vocals and ritualistic feeling. Tolga found the original record whilst digging in a world music record store in Istanbul and immediately fell in love with the vocals. Other highlights on the record include sunset, chill fave ‘Khepre’, the dancefloor chugger ‘Shu’ & the superbly catchy trumpet banger ‘Sahara’ Pink Floyd vibes on the hippie synth based ‘Hold Your Breath’.

This special edition double vinyl release includes 5 tracks that are not on the digital album each with their own unique style and includes collaborations with Ibiza legend DJ Pippi on Sem Voce and the jazz journey of Lumiere, produced in Denmark with label mates The Swan & The Lake & Langkilde.

Altogether a wonderful new album by islandman who has taken another musical leap forward from his critically acclaimed debut album ‘Rest in Space’. An album which has just been re-issued on Limited Edition yellow vinyl!

Band members:

Tolga Böyük - songwriter, producer, vocalist, guitarist, synth
Eralp Güven – Percussion
Erdem Başer - guitar

Laura Mvula’s new album ‘Pink Noise’ is set for release on July 2nd. ‘Pink Noise’ explores a side of Laura previously uncharted. As triumphant as ever, the album is a battle cry and stark reminder of the sheer talent of the critically acclaimed artist. This is Laura in a new found light - still reflecting her distinctive signature sound but showing the progression of an artist who has come into her own.

Contrasting confessional lyricism with compelling and infectious synth pop, ‘Pink Noise’ feels completely and uniquely Laura. Her artistic prowess knows no limits - take the neo-soul meets art pop of ‘Remedy’ for example, or the darker, pulsating ‘Conditional’ that injects bombastic funk into indietronica. She feels rejuvenated too, especially on electro pop stunners ‘Magical’ and ‘Before The Dawn’. This is Laura Mvula at her most ambitious to date, leaving no stone left unturned in this cosmic new realm.

As one of the most exciting musical talents to come out of the UK, Laura has previously won an Ivor Novello Award for Best Album, has been nominated for the Mercury Prize (not once but twice), BBC Sound Poll, the BRITs Critics Choice Award, two BRIT Awards in 2014 (British Female Solo Artist and British Breakthrough Act) and won an incredible two MOBO’s in 2013 (Best Female and Best R&B/Soul).

Having caught the attention of her musical hero Prince while performing for the first of two times on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury, Laura has gone on to travel the world, selling out shows and captivating crowds at every destination. Crowned “Queen of the Prom” and given a five star review from the Evening Standard for her Proms 2014 Late Night performance at the Royal Albert Hall, Laura’s critically acclaimed career has led her to work with real-life inspirations Nile Rodgers and touring with David Byrne.

New World Science's Osmos (Movements) is a sincere foray into forth-world fantasy, where disparate synthesizer styles are tied together by harmonized saxophone musings. Comprised of four recordings/jams between Francis Latreille (Priori-mastermind behind the project), Adam Feingold (Ex-Terrestrial), and Emmanuel Thibau, and featuring appearances by Phoebe Guillemot (Ramzi) and Richard Wenger (R Weng), these multi-stream compositions float in the uncertain spaces between electronic and acoustic, improvisation and production, old and new. Beautiful, subtle, and entrancing compositions suited to suborbital meditations.

New World Science's Osmos (Movements) is a sincere foray into forth-world fantasy, where disparate synthesizer styles are tied together by harmonized saxophone musings. Comprised of four recordings/jams between Francis Latreille (Priori-mastermind behind the project), Adam Feingold (Ex-Terrestrial), and Emmanuel Thibau, and featuring appearances by Phoebe Guillemot (Ramzi) and Richard Wenger (R Weng), these multi-stream compositions float in the uncertain spaces between electronic and acoustic, improvisation and production, old and new. Beautiful, subtle, and entrancing compositions suited to suborbital meditations.

Thomas Leer and Robert Rental’s ‘The Bridge’ is re-issued on vinyl for the first time since its original release in 1979, and on CD for the first time since 1992. With Robert unfortunately passing away in 2000, this record, Leer and Rental’s one and only album together, stands alone in capturing the duo’s pioneering capabilities.

 ‘The Bridge’ was originally released on Throbbing Gristle’s Industrial Records label in 1979 and is considered to be an early electronic avant-garde synth-pop masterpiece, seeing the likes of John Foxx, Propaganda, Art of Noise and ABC citing the pair as key influences.

 The release of this album aligns with the longawaited London debut of the exhibition ‘From The Port To The Bridge’ which will be held at The Horse Hospital in central London from 21st January until 10th February 2022. The exhibition, which was previously shown in Greenock in 2018, shares the story behind Thomas Leer and Robert Rental and the making of the album.

White vinyl LP includes sleeve notes and high definition audio download code.

Rsd 22 Brings You A Ltd 7” Pressing Of Single ‘You Ain’t Got It Bad’ By Teenage Waitress. An Electronic, Melancholy Hum Along Number. You Ain’t Got It Bad ‘ is a danceable, upbeat track with trippy psych production and a strong positive message. It features. both a vocal cameo from Blue Canary’s Harry Burgees and as close to a happy ending as you’ll probably get from Daniel. The Record is backed with an exciting Pale Sabres (of Colorama Records) remix of ‘I’m Leaving Berlin’ also from the Love & Chemicals album. Teenage Waitress is the solo project from Daniel Ash. The debut album, ‘Love & Chemicals’ is a fresh hybrid of infectious 60’s inspired pop melodies, blippy synths and fuzzy guitars all set to short lyrical vignettes. Some are funny, some are mysterious but all have a story to tell.

First time on vinyl for this album. Proto Jazz-Punk multi-genre splatter album, released on CD in 1993, My Wife Doesn’t Understand Me is available on vinyl for the first time as a double LP, playing at 45rpm for superior sound quality. The accompanying download includes radio edits of live favourite 6-8-1 (The Burn-Up) and Blue Funk, plus Ructions (60s Stereo Mix) and Qualm-Free Zone. A statement of intent from the off, this is an album first and foremost. No singles, a piece of work to be listened to as a whole - from short shards of humorous observation (Cover Versions), politics (Margaret Thatcher We Still Hate You), straight-as-a-die covers (A Taste Of Honey and Jean-Pierre) to the closing Musique Concrete of the title track, prisoners were never taken. Terry Edwards and The Scapegoats look forward to the vinyl edition of My Wife Doesn’t Understand Me to bemuse, baffle and delight once again as it did on it’s release when Acid House was on it’s way out and Britpop was on it’s way in.

THE BEST OF SURF MUSIC IN AN EXCLUSIVE 3 VINYL COLLECTION ! BETWEEN CLASSICS AND RARITIES, BE CARRIED AWAY BY THE WAVE OF SURF ROCK !

Local Suicide kündigen ihr lang erwartetes Debütalbum "Eros Anikate" an, das am 13. Mai 2022 auf ihrem eigenen Label Iptamenos Discos erscheinen wird. Der Titel bedeutet übersetzt "unbesiegbare Liebe" und ist inspiriert von Sophokles’ Stück "Antigone”.

Das Album bleibt dem Technodisco-Sound des Berliner Duos treu, für den sich die beiden einen Namen gemacht haben, und zeigt ihren unverkennbaren Stil, der 80er Retro-Feeling mit einem modernen, düsteren Twist kombiniert. In gewohnter Local Suicide-Manier zeigt das Debütalbum des Duos augenzwinkernde Texte über mystische Abenteuer, Lieb...

With vinyl variants selling out almost immediately, Prosthetic Records is proud to RE-ISSUE a stellar new vinyl pressing Double LP Gatefold of ANIMALS AS LEADERS top selling, self titled debut release.

The Chicago-based, multicultural duo of vocalist Via Rosa and producer Na’el Shehade are pleased to share their inaugural effort, Gallows, on vinyl for the first time.

In early jam sessions the chemistry was clear; Rosa’s soulful delivery interlocked with Shehade’s chic Chicago house-infused production style. A lovesick sound emerged with their debut EP, Gallows in November of 2016. In celebration of its five year anniversary, Gallows will be physically released for the first time exclusively on violet vinyl.

The eight track effort has succeeded in breathing life into the resurgence of ’80s iconic synth, resulting in a sound that blends R&B with dance music that’s sprinkled with funk and bursting with emotion. Named after “Gallows Humor,” the album reflects on the pain of heartbreak, while also giving a nod to the comedy of that same experience. Self-described as “happy-sad music,” DRAMA presents a collection of songs on Gallows that bring you up when you are feeling down.

Bernie Marsden was a founder member of Whitesnake, and wrote the global smash, “Here I Go Again”. Since leaving Whitesnake almost 40 years ago, Bernie has forged an impressive career. He has written and recorded with numerous music legends, composed music for film & TV, become a best selling author, amassed a priceless collection of guitars and of course continued to release outstanding albums as a solo artist. Most recently, the critically acclaimed #1 Blues album, KINGS. “CHESS” was the second album of Bernie Marsden’s “Inspirations Series”, representing his interpretation of tracks and artists which were instrumental in shaping his musical taste and guitar style. Featuring 10 songs that were originally issued by the legendary Chicago label, CHESS, this is another labour of love for Bernie. Releases by giants such as Howling Wolf, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and Elmore James, have all been given a new lease of life in these remarkably fresh recordings. Once again, two Bernie Marsden penned instrumentals inspired by Chess artists appear as bonus tracks on the album. Radio support from Radio Caroline, Planet Rock and blues specialist DJs regionally and online globally. Adverts booked in Blues Matters & Blues in Britain to promote the LP release. Features appeared / appearing in Blues Matters, Classic Rock, Fireworks, Rock Hard (Germany), Sweden Rock, Rock N Reel magazines, with great reviews given by most of the premier UK Rock, Blues and Guitar publications around the release of “CHESS”. Radio support at Planet Rock, The Max, Radio Caroline and the IBBA

Many will know Bernie Marsden for being a founder member of Whitesnake, one of the biggest rock bands of all time, and writing the iconic global smash, “Here I Go Again”.Since leaving Whitesnake almost 40 years ago, Bernie has forged an impressive solo career. He is acclaimed as one of the premier British blues guitarists. He has written and recorded with some of the biggest names in the industry, composed music for film & TV, forged a successful career as an author, and amassed a priceless collection of guitars. Most recently, Bernie partnered with Joe Bonamassa to write half of his hit album, Royal Tea. Rewind to Summer 2018… Bernie was invited to join Billy Gibbons on stage, when he said “Bernie, wouldn’t it be great if we could all record the songs we grew up with as we learned to play the guitar?” Rather than suffer the usual fate of great ideas that are left to litter the dressing room floor, Bernie immediately set about making a list, and the “Inspirations” Series was born. KINGS” is the first album of Bernie Marsden’s “Inspirations”. Featuring 10 songs that were originally recorded by Albert, B.B. & Freddie King, and recorded in a studio in Oxfordshire with a band that just locked into a groove, “KINGS” is chock full of blues and soul. Two Bernie Marsden penned instrumentals inspired by The Kings appear as the final two tracks on the album. Features appeared / appearing in Blues Matters, Classic Rock, Fireworks, Rock Hard (Germany), Sweden Rock, Rock N Reel magazines, with great reviews given by most of the premier UK Rock, Blues and Guitar publications around the release of “KINGS”. Radio support at Planet Rock, The Max, Radio Caroline and was IBBA’s #4 most played album in 2021.