Pop & Rock News

incl. 8 vinyl-only bonus tracks on side D, gatefold sleeve, incl. mp3

Are you for real Does anyone out there really think that artists could be involved in a project that bestows total freedom in 2017 Isn't today's reality that society and what is left of creativity are being forced to bow to the pressures of neoliberalism and are being undermined by politicians with their largely awful agendas Hasn't creativity been reduced to wages and money versus time and art

However, it's too easy to just peek out of our caverns at a world overshadowed by dark clouds and leave it at that. Because at the same time, don't we still believe that, against all odds, anything is still possible if you're surrounded by an exemplary group of like-minded people

Gudrun Gut, the artistic powerhouse behind labels Monika Enterprises and Moabit Musik is a musician with an extraordinary legacy - be it as a member of Berlin's legendary act Malaria, OceanClub, her acclaimed solo projects or recently a collaboration with Faust's Hans Joachim Irmler. Gudrun Gut has a proven track record of successfully connecting with like-minded artists on unusual paths of creativity. She´s an outstanding example of someone who refuses to compromise their artistic vision.

And now she is ready to present one of her most ambitious projects ever: Monika Werkstatt - a loose collective of female artists set up to enable each of them to achieve new goals through collaboration. Monika Werkstatt will ensure that their artistic output gains visibility in an art context still too dominated by men.

Monika Werkstatt has its origins in collective workshops and in shared interactions. By sharing their own challenges and achievements later on with an audience, this opened a gateway to a further feedback and creative dialogue. Every moment, every gesture, every communication has been about empowerment, both individually and as a group.

History has a weakness for coincidences, and the release of Monika Werkstatt' happily falls on the 20th anniversary of Monika Enterprises. A fantastic landmark and a means of celebrating such a tremendously talented collective that Gudrun Gut has orchestrated.

So what is this release really about Gudrun's fellow Monika members - AGF, Beate Bartel, Lucrecia Dalt, Danielle De Picciotto, Islaja, Barbara Morgenstern, Sonae, Pilocka Krach - travelled from Berlin and assembled in the creative oasis of Uckermark. The goal was to create and record without any of the usual pressures and distractions that you'd anticipate in a group context. To keep the focus, Mo Loscheider cooked, Manon Pepita assisted with the day to day and Lupe was filming.

Uckermark became a kind of utopia for them. Between recording and jamming, their days were filled with music, eating, short walks in the fields and forests resounding with inspiring talks and discussions. Without any restraint or rules, they opened up new forms of interaction and creative dialogue which found themselves falling into a process without any clear beginnings or ends. The result Hours and hours of new from this uplifting gathering.

Once the recordings were completed, representatives of the group were delegated roles for a finished production - some sequenced and mixed the recordings into their own tracks, while others built their own from the material recorded. The results succeed in showcasing the community as a group, as well as portraying singular pieces of art derived from a collective process.

Berlin-based Barbara Morgenstern opens up the album with Grow' - a hypnotic jam that recalls the beauty of Kate Bush and lyrically captures the Monika Werkstatt' atmosphere perfectly. And the light will fall onto us / And the wind will blow for us / And we will grow with us / And the landscape will form us / And the night will wait for us / And the rain will sing with us / And we will grow for us / And we will grow with us

From a melange of ambience, improvisation and song we are treated to a double album that features 25 shining stars. Keeping to their motto of total freedom, the range of styles and sounds are very diverse. Some of the contributors prefer to reflect room and space such as like Nathalie Beridze (who was invited as a producer) with Doodle and Hit Bottom or Feuerland by Beate Bartel, others walk on industrial ground like Lucrecia Dalt with - Blindholes .
Beate Bartels other contribution M.B.T.' is prime for the club whereas AGF continues to prove herself as one of electronic music's coolest musicians with Ninjaness'. Gudrun Gut takes listeners on a magnificent journey into dub with Repetition', whereas Danielle De Picciotto delivers mighty sound collages with Ikarus' and Desert Fruit' - taking a powerful lyrical approach that almost feels that you are listening to the gospel of nature.
And then there is Between Two Worlds' by Sonae - its hard to believe that its only 4 minutes long as the story one hears appears to be so much longer and bigger. The piece recalls Blow Up' by Michelangelo Antonioni - an amplified excursion that multiplies the sounds of a meadow. Listeners can pick up on all the noises and scratches that emit from under her feet. A natural drone symphony.
Changing pace for the second half of Monika Werkstatt', Pilocka Krach asks a crucial question with Who's Afraid Of Justin Bieber', right before Islaja starts making mystical gestures with Sappho's Gifts'.

Try as you might, you'll not be able to second guess a moment of - Monika Werkstatt . By giving everyone, both group and individual, freedom of creativity these musicians have really charted new territory. I would be lying if I said I wasn't jealous to have not been on Sternhagen Gut while the magic happened.

There is so much more that could be said about the feelings, ideas and stimulations within this inspiring collection but its time for you to take a listen for yourself. These are only my thoughts and they count no more than your own. Working together, we get a bigger understanding of this picture called life. And remember, we all have the right to live according to our dream of total freedom. Life is too short to be told what we should or should not do when it comes to art. Or indeed, anything else.

So, meet the creative collective, and feel the empowerment that goes by the name of Monika Werkstatt!

Armed with impressive analogue hardware synths, drumming machines and noise boxes, the Dutch electro artist ludoWic is poking and prodding around in the dirt of electronic music. The gritty, noisy and dark electro music emerging from the cracks in the dirt is a sound that only few others can match. ludoWic (real name: Thijs Lodewijk) released his debut album, "A Blinding Light Moment" in late 2015 on Wic Recordings. "A Blinding Light Moment" describes the exact moment that visual elements and music fit each other so perfectly, you get blinded for a split second. A year later, the analogue virtuoso released "Dream Content", an EP about the eerie phenomenon that we call dreams. ludoWic frequently releases live jam's and music videos on his popular Youtube channel, showcasing his extraordinary analogue equipment and talent. He rapidly started gaining a tight-knit following in his home country The Netherlands as well as the rest of the world. In addition to his own music, ludoWic writes and produces for and with others. One of his latest collaborations is with Akiisoft/Adult Swim Games, for which he provided the soundtrack to the indie game Katana Zero. Three times there were guests in the chapel to write and record a track with ludoWic. The first guest was Kevin Stunnenberg from The Cinema Escape and frontman of the famous Dutch rock band Birth Of Joy. The second guest was Tom Broshuis, guitarist from the band Mister and Mississippi. The last guest was the artist/singer Wende. She sells out venues at this time with her new show #Mens.

Armed with impressive analogue hardware synths, drumming machines and noise boxes, the Dutch electro artist ludoWic is poking and prodding around in the dirt of electronic music. The gritty, noisy and dark electro music emerging from the cracks in the dirt is a sound that only few others can match. ludoWic (real name: Thijs Lodewijk) released his debut album, "A Blinding Light Moment" in late 2015 on Wic Recordings. "A Blinding Light Moment" describes the exact moment that visual elements and music fit each other so perfectly, you get blinded for a split second. A year later, the analogue virtuoso released "Dream Content", an EP about the eerie phenomenon that we call dreams. ludoWic frequently releases live jam's and music videos on his popular Youtube channel, showcasing his extraordinary analogue equipment and talent. He rapidly started gaining a tight-knit following in his home country The Netherlands as well as the rest of the world. In addition to his own music, ludoWic writes and produces for and with others. One of his latest collaborations is with Akiisoft/Adult Swim Games, for which he provided the soundtrack to the indie game Katana Zero. Three times there were guests in the chapel to write and record a track with ludoWic. The first guest was Kevin Stunnenberg from The Cinema Escape and frontman of the famous Dutch rock band Birth Of Joy. The second guest was Tom Broshuis, guitarist from the band Mister and Mississippi. The last guest was the artist/singer Wende. She sells out venues at this time with her new show #Mens.

Armed with impressive analogue hardware synths, drumming machines and noise boxes, the Dutch electro artist ludoWic is poking and prodding around in the dirt of electronic music. The gritty, noisy and dark electro music emerging from the cracks in the dirt is a sound that only few others can match. ludoWic (real name: Thijs Lodewijk) released his debut album, "A Blinding Light Moment" in late 2015 on Wic Recordings. "A Blinding Light Moment" describes the exact moment that visual elements and music fit each other so perfectly, you get blinded for a split second. A year later, the analogue virtuoso released "Dream Content", an EP about the eerie phenomenon that we call dreams. ludoWic frequently releases live jam's and music videos on his popular Youtube channel, showcasing his extraordinary analogue equipment and talent. He rapidly started gaining a tight-knit following in his home country The Netherlands as well as the rest of the world. In addition to his own music, ludoWic writes and produces for and with others. One of his latest collaborations is with Akiisoft/Adult Swim Games, for which he provided the soundtrack to the indie game Katana Zero. Three times there were guests in the chapel to write and record a track with ludoWic. The first guest was Kevin Stunnenberg from The Cinema Escape and frontman of the famous Dutch rock band Birth Of Joy. The second guest was Tom Broshuis, guitarist from the band Mister and Mississippi. The last guest was the artist/singer Wende. She sells out venues at this time with her new show #Mens.

Beautiful Full Cover Art, Limited to 300 - LN005 is the first physical Release on Lumière Noire - The new label by Chloé!

Chloé has resolved to make 2017 the year that Lumière Noire becomes a fully-fledged record label, and this fifth release is the first to come out on the newly created entity. Chloé on her new label: 'The idea is to take the time to work on a 12 the way we would on a full album, to be a vector between the artists so that they can collaborate together and remix each other's work, to come up with a visual identity. The club events will be like our club house, where our artists come together to share the Lumière Noire world with our audience

Limited 7 London Grammar have unveiled another new single from their long-awaited new album, 'Truth Is A Beautiful Thing'

The DNA of Purple Rain can be felt throughout pop culture at large. It is a timeless body of work with an immortal resonance exemplified by smashes such as 'Let's Go Crazy,' 'When Doves Cry,' 'Darling Nikki,' the title track 'Purple Rain' and more. Minted Diamond by the RIAA for sales exceeding 13 million, the record stands out as the sixth best-selling soundtrack album in history, moving more than 22 million copies. Hailed by Vanity Fair as 'the best soundtrack of all time,' Time Magazine placed it as the 15th greatest album ever. The album won two 1985 GRAMMY Awards® in the categories of 'Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal' and 'Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special.' Posthumously, it was honored as 'Favorite Soundtrack' at the 2016 American Music Awards. It was also recently nominated for a 2017 Billboard Music Award in the category of 'Top Soundtrack/Cast Album.'

Floor fillers reminiscent of early Prodigy-style breakbeat, accompanied by a neurotic acid gem and an ambient version of the title track. The R raves on! With 'What's Going On', Electronic Emergencies turns back the clock to 1993. By then, Dutch brothers The R had made a name for themselves with releases like 'Rave the Planet' on legendary proto techno label ESP, and the four previously unreleased tracks on 'What's Going On' were also created during the heyday of Dutch pre-trance techno house.

Many influential characters graced the stage of Max's Kansas City within the creative zeitgeist of New York City during the late 1970's, but one local native named Annie Bandez thrust herself into the downtown scene with her punk ensemble Annie and the Asexuals, establishing her nom de plume Annie Anxiety (later known as Little Annie') and colliding head-on with the social norms of contemporary punk culture entangling the city at that time.

After a couple years of disintegrated pursuits in New York, Annie relocated to England, finding herself at the doorstep of the famed anarchro-commune Dial House headed by activist Penny Rimbaud. It was here that Annie Anxiety established herself as a singular artist and voice with her debut 1981 single Barbed Wire Halo' on seminal Crass Records and forging a creative alliance with Crass members Penny Rimbaud and Eve Libertine. As the landscape of punk in the United Kingdom was shifting towards a more diverse, multicultural focal point, artists such as Annie Anxiety found themselves exploring musical signatures in styles such as dub reggae and rocksteady.

In the summer of 1983, Annie began work at Southern Studios on what would be her first full length endeavor which encompassed all of her creative assets at that time. Employing the expertise of legendary dub producer Adrian Sherwood to realize this vision, Annie pulled together members of Crass, Flux of Pink Indians, Family Fodder, African Head Charge, London Underground and Art Interface to record her groundbreaking dub industrial masterpiece. Upon its initial release by the unofficial Crass off-shoot label Corpus Christi in 1984, Soul Possession started the avalanche of activity that would include dozens of releases and collaborations with Nurse With Wound, Coil, Current 93, Swans and Marc Almond.

For its 6th release on Ed Banger records BUSY P asked his longtime friend from Los Angeles MAYER HAWTHORNE to write a love song. While the world is going crazy, the only answer is love. The song was recorded between Threesome Studio in Paris and Mayer's own in L.A. To complete this EP, we've asked UK's finest producers. The mysterious KDA who's topping UK's charts, delivers an infectious remix with mental drums and funky twist. Hot Chip's main man JOE GODDARD has been one of my favorite producer ever. It was about time to have him on board! RECKONWRONG dropped the hottest EP of 2015 on Young Turks sublabel Whities. His remix is pure magic. Exotic beats with techno flavours. Last but not least, we went experimental on this one! This is the first FLOW MACHINES remix. The goal of Flow Machines is to research and develop Artificial Intelligence systems able to generate music autonomously or in collaboration with human artists.

SmartBar resident Chrissy teams up w/Chicago-based vocalist Hawley in throwback to an earlier Smart Bar era w/12" mixes previewing their forthcoming full length. Full 80s representation. Classic electro-pop.

Two years after the release of Monkshood LP, Joalz returns with new recordings.

'Hello darkness my friend' it is a four song E.P featuring actress & singer Mary Tsoni, known for her play at the Oscar nominated film 'Dogtooth'. The band here interferes the psychedelic side of its rock influence from the early Krautrock days of Amon Duul. The Can, Faust & Aphrodite's Child.

A balanced conflict between basses, guitars, electronic analoq synthesis & Mary Tsoni's theatrical performance, leads to a darker but more extrovert sound.
The E.P starts with 'Oh darlin' Margaret', low frequencies scapes, meets guitars drones, while the delusional Mary's performance accompanied by thereminist May Roosevelt.
Keeping the same ingredients in Jay Hawkins ' Alligator wine ' lyrics cover, Mary Tsoni dares to compete her voodoo hero with a creepy and yet stunning interpretation.
Haunted by the words of Daphne Richardson writing ' Outspoken you are ' it's a talk-style song. A monster bass & a tight drum set enticingly wanders through Dimitris Zografos guitars.
'Text 1018' with a repeated bass, the crawling whispers & a raw guitar melody chained with the ms20 synth, pleasantly shrinks your room.


JOALZ new e.p comes with 2 hd video clips. 'Oh darling Margaret' & 'Outspoken you are' filmed in Athens & New York, by directors Dimitris Tsatsoulis & Spyros Dahlias.



FEEDBACK

early support
Anika (Stones Throw): Really cool, really nice E.P , love the vocals
Plisken festival: Once more a fantastic work.
Toni Kater: What they do Its really dark & really interest
Andrew Weatherall: played at his white lines radio show.

The Omnibus Band was founded by Jarda Zajpt and Petr Dikan in 1979 in Czechoslovakia. Having met at the Electronic High School, electronics was their field of expertise. Over time, Petr Dikan constructed several sound devices such as the Šílený Fridrich (Å F, Crazy Frederick) Keyboard and the VSD (vÅ¡ude samý dráty/wires everywhere) Generator which he operated during the recordings and also at concerts. At that time, heavily influenced by Brian Eno and Robert Fripp from the King Crimson band, Jarda Zajpt played the guitars, using all kinds of effects, pre-recorded tapes, and one or more interconnected tape recorders. The first record, âIsraels,â was produced between 1980 and 1982. In 1985, Jarda Zajpt swapped a guitar for a keyboard and a new member arrived â Pavel Zvolenský - who programmed and played the automatic percussions. Martin Bauer, playing the bass guitar, completed the trio. They have produced a second album, ''Rhythmus,'' in this assembly. Remastered from unreleased tape recordings.

The Invisible have made their best album yet, in a career already garlanded with critical praise.
Latest single 'Life's Dancers' comes replete with a remix by man of the moment and close collaborator Floating Points.
Backed with the brooding synth-pop of brand new B-side 'First Time', also co-written by Floating Points, this is the sound of one of the UK's best bands at the pinnacle of their form.
180g heavyweight black 12' vinyl in 3mm spined sleeve.

Follow The Light is the second installment of an ongoing Molly Nilsson reissue campaign and is the first time the album has been available on vinyl.

The closest we'll ever get to heaven, with a stolen six pack from 7/11, and though the city sleeps I better she never dreams, she never dreams like you and me.'
The beginning moments of Molly Nilsson's second album Follow The Light now seem like the start of a personal mythology that was to reach further than she could have imagined. Few contemporary artists have so seeped into the underground pop psyche than the Stockholm-born songwriter. After releasing her debut These Things Take Time on hand-made CDrs, Nilsson's follow up was a leap in scope and ambition. Of course, the personal takes on a tumultuous life in Berlin and the journeys to and from it inform the songs as before, but there's a growing maturity in the songwriting in evidence. From the diary pages of These Things Take Time to a growing stature as a songwriter in touch with the universal, Follow The Light contains many of Nilsson's now firm fan-favourites.
The Closest We'll Ever Get To Heaven is classic Molly Nilsson. Over plaintive piano chords and little else, Nilsson narrates a story of doomed friends lost, the onset of an East German winter reminding the singer of a time lost, nostalgia frosting the windows to the past. Meanwhile In Berlin, perhaps a passing nod to Leonard Cohen in the melodic refrain, opens up the sonic palette, with synth strings fitting Nilsson's delivery perfectly. Never O'Clock is a pure pop moment, with a lilting funk and percussion adding a carpe diem immediacy to the album's flow. Last Forever, which remains a staple to live encores now, seven years later, is fist-pumping melancholy that only Molly Nilsson knows how to do. It's over before it begins and begs eternal repeat. Truth, a synth pop song that sees Nilsson exploring the upper and lower registers of her voice, feels like a lost chart hit from the mid 80s. I Hope You Sleep At Night, a vitriolic lover's admonishment gives way to one of Nilsson's most popular songs: I'm Still Wearing His Jacket. It's a sentiment that needs no real explanation: the mementos of a completed love affair remain in our wardrobes waiting to hurt us all over again. Hello Loneliness could also be an updated Leonard Cohen song, a peon to melancholy which reminds us that Nilsson has a knack for distilling the complex into sharp epithets. We end on one of Nilsson's greatest songs. A Song They Won't Be Playing On The Radio is so finely loaded with emotion that it's the singer's reserved delivery that makes it so powerful.

BAMBOO, the ongoing project from Nick Carlisle (of Peepholes, Don't Argue) and Rachel Horwood (of Trash Kit, Halo Halo) announce their second studio album, The Dragon Flies Away, due 26th May on Upset The Rhythm on LP, CD and digitally. Far from being a side-project, Bamboo is very much a fully realised pursuit, with the band working on multiple records simultaneously from their Brighton and London base camps.

Initially released last winter on a limited run of 50 cassettes with an accompanying zine designed by Horwood, The Dragon Flies Away tells a story loosely associated with the Hannya demon mask of Noh theatre plays such as Dojoji, and reflects the range of emotion the Hannya mask is capable of displaying: obsession, jealousy, sorrow and rage. 'The Dragon Flies Away' presents its story in two acts and is now presented newly re-mastered with a gatefold sleeve and lyric / artwork sheet. Horwood's evocative paintings are given centre stage with the packaging, allowing the album's story to grow beyond sound, making the journey all the more immersive.
 
Vivid and deeply poignant, Bamboo's music locks into a magnetic attraction between Horwood's flawlessly resonant folk cadence and Carlisle's pristine synth production. 'Hannya' opens the album in reflective mood with Rachel's mournful vocal and echoing banjo that gets swept up by flourishes of percussion and synth-flute vistas. 'Always Running' follows, living up to its name with its propulsive beat and plucked rhythm, building to a chase for Rachel's dramatic vocal turn. 'Like A Sparrow' is a beautifully realised track sounding as vulnerable and vociferous as a Kate Bush song. 'He's got a path, it's straight and narrow, there's no flying off like a sparrow' sing Carlisle and Horwood resolutely in unison. 'Wake Up Your Heart' delights in pools of pitch-shifted melody and primal vision. Whilst the final two tracks on the album embrace Carlisle's cascading synth lines as pure as ice flows, augmented gong passages and fragile yet impassioned vocalisations. Overall the album feels film-like with its ability to hold the listeners hand and lead them through another world never faltering. It's ambitious and heavy on concept without ever becoming overwrought, preserving its delicate personal tone and lush, spacious sound throughout.

During the writing and subsequent release of their debut album, Prince Pansori Priestess, on Upset The Rhythm in December 2015 (5 stars - Record Collector magazine), The Dragon Flies Away was recorded between Spring 2015 and Summer 2016. Bamboo intend to perform this album live in full, and to explore the theatrical potential suggested by the music.

BAMBOO, the ongoing project from Nick Carlisle (of Peepholes, Don't Argue) and Rachel Horwood (of Trash Kit, Halo Halo) announce their second studio album, The Dragon Flies Away, due 26th May on Upset The Rhythm on LP, CD and digitally. Far from being a side-project, Bamboo is very much a fully realised pursuit, with the band working on multiple records simultaneously from their Brighton and London base camps.

Initially released last winter on a limited run of 50 cassettes with an accompanying zine designed by Horwood, The Dragon Flies Away tells a story loosely associated with the Hannya demon mask of Noh theatre plays such as Dojoji, and reflects the range of emotion the Hannya mask is capable of displaying: obsession, jealousy, sorrow and rage. 'The Dragon Flies Away' presents its story in two acts and is now presented newly re-mastered with a gatefold sleeve and lyric / artwork sheet. Horwood's evocative paintings are given centre stage with the packaging, allowing the album's story to grow beyond sound, making the journey all the more immersive.
 
Vivid and deeply poignant, Bamboo's music locks into a magnetic attraction between Horwood's flawlessly resonant folk cadence and Carlisle's pristine synth production. 'Hannya' opens the album in reflective mood with Rachel's mournful vocal and echoing banjo that gets swept up by flourishes of percussion and synth-flute vistas. 'Always Running' follows, living up to its name with its propulsive beat and plucked rhythm, building to a chase for Rachel's dramatic vocal turn. 'Like A Sparrow' is a beautifully realised track sounding as vulnerable and vociferous as a Kate Bush song. 'He's got a path, it's straight and narrow, there's no flying off like a sparrow' sing Carlisle and Horwood resolutely in unison. 'Wake Up Your Heart' delights in pools of pitch-shifted melody and primal vision. Whilst the final two tracks on the album embrace Carlisle's cascading synth lines as pure as ice flows, augmented gong passages and fragile yet impassioned vocalisations. Overall the album feels film-like with its ability to hold the listeners hand and lead them through another world never faltering. It's ambitious and heavy on concept without ever becoming overwrought, preserving its delicate personal tone and lush, spacious sound throughout.

During the writing and subsequent release of their debut album, Prince Pansori Priestess, on Upset The Rhythm in December 2015 (5 stars - Record Collector magazine), The Dragon Flies Away was recorded between Spring 2015 and Summer 2016. Bamboo intend to perform this album live in full, and to explore the theatrical potential suggested by the music.

Ruins, monuments, and ancient sites of worship are multi-sensory experiences - at once residues of the sacred, the parchment on which the passage of time has been inscribed and templates for imaginative reconstruction, spaces in which to invest and immerse, to trade your bearings for an inexhaustible state of transition.

Over the course of three albums, Steve Von Till has, under the guise of Harvestman, provided the sonic analogue, casting his net for what might have been and yet still be. Both a personal meditation and a tuning fork for the most ancient and enduring of resonances, his latest album, Music For Megaliths, further expands his journeys along the sonic ley lines that run between folk, drone, psychedelia, the 'kosmische' outposts of krautrock and noise: not as an act of eclecticism, but of divination, giving voice to an underlying continuity that binds them all.

Recorded over a period of several years in the dawn hours of creation, Music For Megaliths is an aggregation of moments and recordings that have allowed themselves to spell out a greater whole. Utilizing repetition, manipulation and modulation, it's a hallowed frequency dial that ranges across the pulse-regulated drone of The Forest Is Our Temple, revving up like a generator powered by arcane currents, the blissful gaze of Ring Of Sentinels, Sundown's ominous waves of interference and White Horse's rite of dissolution and regeneration, nomadic and devout. Music For Megaliths is a crossing over, whose multiple routes are testament to a singular and sensuously dilated vision.

Artwork hand painted by Thomas Hooper

Ruins, monuments, and ancient sites of worship are multi-sensory experiences - at once residues of the sacred, the parchment on which the passage of time has been inscribed and templates for imaginative reconstruction, spaces in which to invest and immerse, to trade your bearings for an inexhaustible state of transition.

Over the course of three albums, Steve Von Till has, under the guise of Harvestman, provided the sonic analogue, casting his net for what might have been and yet still be. Both a personal meditation and a tuning fork for the most ancient and enduring of resonances, his latest album, Music For Megaliths, further expands his journeys along the sonic ley lines that run between folk, drone, psychedelia, the 'kosmische' outposts of krautrock and noise: not as an act of eclecticism, but of divination, giving voice to an underlying continuity that binds them all.

Recorded over a period of several years in the dawn hours of creation, Music For Megaliths is an aggregation of moments and recordings that have allowed themselves to spell out a greater whole. Utilizing repetition, manipulation and modulation, it's a hallowed frequency dial that ranges across the pulse-regulated drone of The Forest Is Our Temple, revving up like a generator powered by arcane currents, the blissful gaze of Ring Of Sentinels, Sundown's ominous waves of interference and White Horse's rite of dissolution and regeneration, nomadic and devout. Music For Megaliths is a crossing over, whose multiple routes are testament to a singular and sensuously dilated vision.

Artwork hand painted by Thomas Hooper

After two celebrated releases on London based imprint XVI Records, Brighton's Yumi And The Weather triumphantly returns with two brilliant cuts of forward thinking cosmic pop, released on her brand new label MIOHMI Records.
'Distant Days' sees Yumi channelling her hazy coastal sound into shimmering layers of expansive production and undeniable grooves. DUB FX drenched chords reverberate their way through a technicolour spectrum, perfectly complimented by her harmonious tones - summoning memories of close relationships lost in the falling sands of time.
Driven relentlessly forward by its punchy synth pattern 'In The Night' provides a soaring and uplifting anthem: taking the listener on a journey of nocturnal escapism. Drifting through a private melancholic world of shifting sounds, spine tingling arpeggios slice through the thick, ominous atmosphere as her anthemic vocals elevate your consciousness to the next astral plane. Berlin based Ambassadeurs step up on remix duty, working it into an epic, weaving, ethereal rollercoaster.
Available on hand designed / numbered 7' vinyl.

DJ Support From:

Tensnake, Pearson Sound, Guy Andrews, B.Traits, The Revenge, My Nu Leng , Maceo Plex , Dubfire ,

Dieses Jahr kommt mit "T2: Trainspotting" der Nachfolger des Kultfilms von Danny Boyle, nach einem Roman von Irvine Welsh, in die Kinos. War 1996 Underworlds "Born Slippy" der Herzschlag des Film, ist es 2017 die Musik von den Young Fathers, die mit drei Songs auf dem offiziellen Soundtrack und insgesamt sechs Tracks im Film vertreten sind. Anfang April erscheint nun eine one-sided 7" mit der aktuellen Single "Only God Knows feat. Leith Congregational Choir" auf Big Dada / Ninja Tune.

Limited to 500 Vinyl Only Copies, 2LP Gatefold+ CD included (not available separately)

There aren't many artists that can lay claim to having put out records on labels as divergent as Rough Trade and John Talabot's Hivern Discs. Perhaps this is because few artists express such genuine diversity in their musical tastes and creative explorations as David Kitt. Since the turn of the decade as New Jackson he has mined a seam of driving, ghostly house to run parallel with his solo strand of ambient folk electronica. His debut release in 2011 The Night Mail on Pogo channeled early record collection heroes Aphex Twin and Orbital through to Drexciya and Projekt PM but had one foot firmly in the 21st century beaming in like some futuristic cyberballad. On the flip side Hussle Free had that mix of house and boogie sensibilities with dark and dusty synths and vocoder that would become a signature. This was followed by acclaimed releases on Hivern, Permanent Vacation, Major Problems, Apartment and most recently Cin Cin. His debut album set for release on All City in May was recorded in Kitt's bedroom studio overlooking Dublin bay, its nocturnal hues very much a product of the nightshift often working on headphones with the rest of his housemates fast asleep. It takes full advantage of the scope of the LP format, ebbing and flowing between deep house club ready gems and more restrained and meditative beatless moments for the morning after. The recording process yielded many eureka moments with Kitt finally nailing sounds that had hitherto proved elusive.

Rome was, of course, the pulsing heart of Italian library music - it is the place where tv and movies are made, so editors and musicians tend to gather there. But we must not forget what was happening in the library music world, at the same time, in Milan - where there was a very active music industry, but leaning more on the pop and jazz side. The Roman style was more connected to the classic and orchestral tradition, but the musicians from Milan adopted a more urban and international approach, in the vein of contemporary pop with some US jazz-funk instrumental deviations. It's not a coincidence that among the most active artists in the library world we find people who - in the Seventies and Eighties - played in many records by Mina, Fabrizio De André, Gaber, Branduardi and Fausto Papetti. The quartet featuring pianist Oscar Rocchi, bassist Gigi Cappellotto, drummer Andy Surdi and guitarist Ernesto Verardi is behind many great library music albums from the golden age, most of which released via the labels owned by Edizioni Minstrel. 'Crazy Colours' (originally marketed in 1979 via BAM label, credited to the New Sound Quartet), is quite a big effort for a library music album, since it features a whole orchestra to back the quartet and soloist Hugo Heredia (always present on sax and flute in the albums by the four musicians). In these eight tracks, orchestral disco music is the main focus: in the vein of late Seventies, the biggest influences are to be found in Quincy Jones and Barry White.

Just in time for the Australian Summer, Sydney's indie-electronic-popettes, Convaire bring the first and title tune from their highly anticipated debut EP, The New You

Isolated in an upstate, NY bedroom studio exists TSTI, a solo project by artist S. Smith described as 'dark, hazy synthetic pop.'
Constructing musical landscapes that combine pounding drum machines with elevated melodies, TSTI stirs the echoes of his 80's
influences into a pot of contradicting emotions to establish a diverse yet familiar and powerful sound.

The genesis of TSTI began in a 2003 but did not show its face until the summer 2011 with the self-released, 4 song demo 'Black
Envelope EP.' The first 10 months of 2012 TSTI spent writing, recording and mixing his full-length release 'evaluations' which consist
of 9 tracks assessing those that surround him.

With 'evaluations' now unleashed, Smith is deep in the writing stages of the next instalment.
Limited edition - 300 copies - exploding black / grey vinyl with 12'' double-sided insert

Phoenix will release their fifth album, Bankrupt!, on April 22nd in the UK/Europe and April 23rd in the U.S. on Loyaute/Glassnote Records. Bankrupt! is the incredible follow up to 2009's critically lauded Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, which won the band the Grammy for Best Alternative Album, and has since been certified Gold. The track listing and album cover for Bankrupt! can be seen HERE.

Phoenix will return to the road this spring as well, with West Coast dates culminating in a Saturday night headlining slot at this year's Coachella. Tour dates are below. A pre-sale for these shows will take place via the band's Facebook page tomorrow, Tuesday February 5th, at 1 pm EST / 10 am PST. They will go on sale to the public on Friday, February 8th, at 1 pm EST / 10 am PST.
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Formed in late 2014, Berlin-based Irish/Australian duo Evvol released their debut album 'Eternalism' via !K7 Records in the summer of 2015. Following European live runs with Peaches and YACHT and worn out by the immediacy of preset-sound achieved through popular computer music programs, the pair holed up in their Kreuzberg studio to write their wonderfully atmospheric and deeply personal 'Physical L.U.V' EP. Released last year to critical acclaim, it's title track has now been given the deluxe remix treatment it deserves, with new cuts from two Dutch artists at the top of their game. Panorama Bar's first lady and Ostgut Records mainstay Steffi kicks things off with a unique, downbeat interpretation of the original, showcasing the beautifully melodic and captivating style that has cemented her status in the realms of contemporary electronic music. Next up her fellow Klakson Records honcho ramps things up with his own audacious take on the track. Dexter's first brush with the electronic music world was on the dancefloor as part of a breakdance crew. Back then he learnt the power of rhythm and how to move a floor, going on to release on Clone, Rush House and Ostgut himself, producing everything from pioneering electro to deeper house and raw techno.

Jesse Munroe Johnson (Gulls/Boomarm Nation) & A Walker Spring (Bitch'n/Heat Unit) meld the former's atmospheric electronics, and percussive dub sensibilites, w/the latter's moody vocalizations, for some dreamy pop meditations.

If you want to know the secret to happiness, look no further than transcendental psychedelic pop outfit Glass Vaults. The New Zealand via Berlin band led by Richard Larsen, Rowan Pierce and Carpark Record's signee Bevan Smith, create a unique concoction of joyously uplifting pleasure in their sonic laboratory and The New Happy is the result - an exploration of the euphoric sensations associated with Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR).

Glass Vaults' sophomore LP was recorded and mixed to seduce. ASMR, otherwise known as a 'brain orgasm,' is an aurally triggered euphoric experience characterised by a tingling in the scalp which travels down the neck and spine and The New Happy was specifically mixed to elicit an ASMR effect. 'We focused on retaining short high frequency transients and worked on modulating and panning certain sounds to induce goose bumps and shivers when listened through headphones,' Smith explains of the record's atmospheric ambiance. 'It looks not to emulate a sexual high, but a deeper, euphoric wave, that washes over the body in feelings of comfort and security... a new kind of happy.'

'We have always considered Glass Vaults to be an extension of our larger artistic interests and process,' Richard reveals. 'One thing which has never changed is our goal of creating music that fully immerses those who experience it. We're creating worlds and stories to fully transcend the audience.'

Whether it's capturing the feelings brought about by recollections of the pair's pre-teen days chatting with friends on MSN and downloading music from Napster ('Savant') sitting on Manhattan rooftops ('Brooklyn') or watching the sun rise after a long cold winter ('The New Happy'), each song is a shot of serotonin to the synapses. Speaking of the title-track Larsen says; 'I was interested in creating the feeling of the classic New Zealand summer. When I listen to this song I imagine a Fruju iceblock advert shown there in the 90s. Young beautiful people jumping off a boat, eating ice blocks and singing 'Ooh Aah!'

Not stopping at physical pleasure, The New Happy's absorbing soundscapes delve deeper into the unconscious by exploring nostalgia and dreams; 'Rewind' was inspired by a dream of hitting rewind on life whilst 'Mind Reader' refers to the way dreams linger, well into waking hours.

The New Happy sees the band peeling away at a once hazy veneer to reveal vibrant and colourful majestic pop moments crafted with precision and clarity. 'The New Happy is a sonic departure for us... where once we would have relied on large crystalline reverbs, this record takes cues from intimate spaces, percussive rhythm and groove to elicit a different kind of transcendence.' Glass Vaults' unique brand of dreamy psychedelic pop has wowed capacity crowds everywhere from drained swimming pools and humid forests, to New Zealand, Australia, and the U.S.A.

If you want to know the secret to happiness, look no further than transcendental psychedelic pop outfit Glass Vaults. The New Zealand via Berlin band led by Richard Larsen, Rowan Pierce and Carpark Record's signee Bevan Smith, create a unique concoction of joyously uplifting pleasure in their sonic laboratory and The New Happy is the result - an exploration of the euphoric sensations associated with Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR).

Glass Vaults' sophomore LP was recorded and mixed to seduce. ASMR, otherwise known as a 'brain orgasm,' is an aurally triggered euphoric experience characterised by a tingling in the scalp which travels down the neck and spine and The New Happy was specifically mixed to elicit an ASMR effect. 'We focused on retaining short high frequency transients and worked on modulating and panning certain sounds to induce goose bumps and shivers when listened through headphones,' Smith explains of the record's atmospheric ambiance. 'It looks not to emulate a sexual high, but a deeper, euphoric wave, that washes over the body in feelings of comfort and security... a new kind of happy.'

'We have always considered Glass Vaults to be an extension of our larger artistic interests and process,' Richard reveals. 'One thing which has never changed is our goal of creating music that fully immerses those who experience it. We're creating worlds and stories to fully transcend the audience.'

Whether it's capturing the feelings brought about by recollections of the pair's pre-teen days chatting with friends on MSN and downloading music from Napster ('Savant') sitting on Manhattan rooftops ('Brooklyn') or watching the sun rise after a long cold winter ('The New Happy'), each song is a shot of serotonin to the synapses. Speaking of the title-track Larsen says; 'I was interested in creating the feeling of the classic New Zealand summer. When I listen to this song I imagine a Fruju iceblock advert shown there in the 90s. Young beautiful people jumping off a boat, eating ice blocks and singing 'Ooh Aah!'

Not stopping at physical pleasure, The New Happy's absorbing soundscapes delve deeper into the unconscious by exploring nostalgia and dreams; 'Rewind' was inspired by a dream of hitting rewind on life whilst 'Mind Reader' refers to the way dreams linger, well into waking hours.

The New Happy sees the band peeling away at a once hazy veneer to reveal vibrant and colourful majestic pop moments crafted with precision and clarity. 'The New Happy is a sonic departure for us... where once we would have relied on large crystalline reverbs, this record takes cues from intimate spaces, percussive rhythm and groove to elicit a different kind of transcendence.' Glass Vaults' unique brand of dreamy psychedelic pop has wowed capacity crowds everywhere from drained swimming pools and humid forests, to New Zealand, Australia, and the U.S.A.

'Truth Is A Beautiful Thing' the follow up album to London Grammar's critically acclaimed, platinum selling debut 'If You Wait'.

Includes the singles 'Rooting For You', 'Big Picture' and title track 'Truth Is A Beautiful Thing'.

Paco Sala return with a fifth full length album. The Silent Season is the net result of a full tibiofemoral dislocation, a lot of surgery, a lot of really heavy drugs, a seemingly open-ended period of housebound isolation & a subsequent hazy regression to roots and influences. The Silent Season is a fever-dream, embodying the period of physical stasis & marking a shift from the outsider pop structures of previous releases. Here instead the duo employ delirious, morphing synth structures intertwined with semi-lucid samples and haunting vocals.

epeche Mode have released their much anticipated new single Where's The Revolution' today. A powerful and timely track, the song vibrates with a drum laden, menacing energy, anchored in frontman Dave Gahan's vocals demanding, Where's The Revolution / Come on people you're letting me down.'

*Recent Harvey Favorite Alert!* Peaking Lights are back at it. While the clouds of pessimism hover, rays of sunshine cut and break thru with two new tracks for healing and conquering the shadows that loom. Little Flower featuring Chloë Sevigny for Regime Des Fleurs and curated by fashion sound guru Michel Gaubert. Over the summer of 2016, Peaking Lights was approached by DJ Harvey's camp for the instrumental version for sweaty times so for some of you this tune may ring familiar, however, this is the first time it's been available.... TIP! *Limited initial copies*
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The vocal version features Chloë Sevigny with a beautiful melancholic yet powerful chant to Saint Therese an alchemical figure who's words What matters in life is not great deeds but great love' ring true thru time. Peaking Lights production is a playfully psychedelic mid tempo love jam with a lot of groove.

On the flip is Conga Blue with the instrumental to follow. An upbeat weirdo disco cut laying it down at 120bpm with some dreamy vocals with a catchy line through dark and doom can flowers bloom' as the solid rhythm section holds it together while melodies float by and the clav and synths ride the groove. Originally this cut was released digitally in March 2016 one year later it's on wax.

Peaking Lights are also preparing to release their much-anticipated fifth record - a double album (title TBA) in April 2017 on their label Two Flowers Records.

Conceived in 2013 to re-release their album, 936, Two Flowers Records is now completely independent, run by Indra Dunis of Peaking Lights. The label follows an art as life ethic where the artist takes control of their work thru DIY mechanisms. Based in Los Angeles, CA.