Pop & Rock News

John Bender recorded voraciously between 1978 and 1980 at his home in Cincinnati, Ohio. Not even song titles could slow down his creative pace, as he named all the tracks after their position on the original tapes. "36A2," for example, was cassette #36 side A, piece #2. To close the DIY aesthetic circle, Bender made sleeves by hand with no two covers alike and pressed the LPs in hyper-limited editions on his own Record Sluts imprint.

I Don't Remember Now / I Don't Want To Talk About It, Bender's first album from 1980, is the holy grail of minimal lo-fi electronics. Layers of fractured melodies, distorted synthesizers, hollowed-out rhythms and claustrophobic vocals unfold over the 40 minutes of this lost masterpiece. "It's A Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl," one of Faust's greatest songs, is perfectly deconstructed by a distinct punk-meets-experimentalist sensibility.

While I Don't Remember Now is impossibly rare and the man behind the music remains shrouded in self-imposed mystery, the real surprise is that it has taken 35+ years for listeners to discover Bender's warm, art-damaged immediacy.

This first-time standalone reissue is recommended for fans of Pere Ubu, Brian Eno and Robert Ashley. Limited to 1,000 numbered copies. Red vinyl with hand-stamped jackets, each one unique. Liner notes by John Bender.

12' DANCE is a 30 Track compilation series dedicated to showcasing the finest rare original 12' remixes and extended versions of crowd-pleasing, floor-filling classics. From the Disco, Soul, Rare Groove and Funk mixes of the 70's, to the Groove, Hip Hop/Electro & Techno/House of the 80's and the Acid Jazz, Indie, R&B, Rap & Club/House of the 90's, 12' DANCE will deliver a lovingly curated selection of both the commercial big hitters and the underground cult club classics! Many of these mixes have not yet appeared on CD... until now.

12' Dance 80s Pop showcases an essential selection of both the finest & the best-selling 12' singles of the decade, featuring mixes by New Romantic icons such as Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Talk Talk and Soft Cell, New Wave/Alternative classics by The Smiths, Echo & The Bunnymen & New Order, plus definitive Pop Anthems by Simple Minds, Tears For Fears, A-Ha and Pet Shop Boys.

90s brings together the biggest songs of the decade featuring more than ten number ones and over thirty top ten smashes. The sixty tracks on offer highlight the variety that the 90s provided from the boy band swagger of East 17 to the sultry R&B of Adina Howard to the brit pop of Supergrass and the anthemic electro of Dario G. British icons such as All Saints, Duran Duran and The Human League share the stage with American giants The Notorious B.I.G., Cher, The Rembrandts and many more.























































[ZZA] CD3-13. JX - There's Nothing I Won't Do
[ZZB] CD3-14. K-Klass - Rhythm Is A Mystery
[ZZC] CD3-15. Perfecto Allstarz - Reach Up (Papa's Got A Brand New Pig Bag)
[ZZD] CD3-16. The All Seeing I - Beat Goes On
[ZZE] CD3-17. White Town - Your Woman
[ZZF] CD3-18. Dannii Minogue - All I Wanna Do
[ZZG] CD3-19. Louise - Arms Around The World
[ZZH] CD3-20. Cartoons - Witch Doctor

Three years have swiftly passed since Drab Majesty entered the dreary pop realm of translucent surrealism and public fascination. With each passing moment, the creator Deb Demure depicts increasing complexities within the soubrette known to some as Drab Majesty.

Since its inception, the Drab Majesty venture has yielded a self-released edition entitled Unarian Dances, a collaborative vinyl release with legendary Eleven Pond, celebratory EP Unknown to the I and debut full length album Careless.

Dais Records has gathered the Drab Majesty discography up until present day into a compilation compact disc styled as Completely Careless (2012-2015), comprised of 18 compositions and housed in a sleeved jewel case with foil printed slip and booklet.

01. The Foyer
02. Entrance and Exits
03. Foreign Eye
04. Everything Is Sentimental
05. The Heiress
06. Hallow
07. Unknown to the I
08. Careless
09. Waiting Game
10. The Foyer (Cold Showers remix)
11. Ultra Violet
12. Saturn Inc.
13. Pragmagick
14. In a Hotel (Somewhere)
15. Y.K.E.D.A.
16. Wrecking Ball
17. Pole Position
18. Silhouette

Es ist für ihn, als ob Weihnachten, Geburtstag und das 3000Grad Festival auf einen Tag fallen: Der Moment, wenn Mollono.Bass eines jener digitalen Päckchen öffnet, unter denen auf dem Bildschirm die magischen Worte - Remix Files leuchten. Bekommen tut er diese Päckchen regelmäßig von guten Freunden, von Menschen mit denen er eine tiefe Leidenschaft für treibenden Groove und einprägsame Melodien teilt. Sie stammen aus ganz verschiedenen Ecken der Musiklandschaft. Manchmal sind es Produzenten mit elektronischem Hintergrund, manchmal sind es Singer und Songwriter, manchmal ist es eine Band. Und genau deshalb liebt Mollono.Bass das Remixen so sehr: Es wird einfach nie langweilig und liefert immer wieder neue Inspiration. Entsprechend abwechslungsreich fallen seine hochgradig tanzbaren Interpretationen aus - und entsprechend abwechslungsreich ist auch diese Remix Kollektion.

It feels as if it's Xmas, his birthday and 3000Grad Festival on the very same day: The moment when Mollono.Bass opens one of those digital packages with the magic words Remix Files' glowing on the screen below them. He frequently receives those packages from good friends, from people with whom he shares a deep passion for driving grooves and catchy melodies. They come from a great variety of musical backgrounds. Some are specialized in samples and synthesizers, some are singers and songwriters, and some are the members of a band. That's exactly the reason why Mollono.Bass loves remixing so much: It just never gets boring and is always a wonderful source of inspiration. And that again is the reason why his highly danceable interpretations are extremely varied - just as this remix collection itself.

Sans Soleil illuminates the lonesome and gloomy spots in modern day city life. This musical project channels the emotions, the impressions and the sounds of the places, where the sunlight rarely touches the surface and the music expresses almost wordlessly all the despair, struggles and broken hearts that urban youths encounter.

And while being a German based production, Sans Soleil catches a European spirit, with contributions by an enormous team of musicians coming from all over Europe, from Turkey to Spain, from Hungary to Berlin.

01. "Welcome To My World" sets your path through this deep, dark and gloomy musical voyage right from the first note. Atmospheric moog synthesizer sounds and a squawking, lamenting clarinet by Matthias Oßwald are broken by straight oldschool sampler drums.

02. "Dawn Of Mankind" drops into the rhythm with a rolling bass line and jazzy flute. This tune is a co-operation with Berlin DJ and producer Geraet of the incredible turntablism crew Cutcannibalz and features multi instrumentalist Marc Figge on various sections.

03. "Mentalonliest" A smooth chill-out-song featuring a jazzy brass section and a beautiful and warm Fender Rhodes solo by Matthias Becker a.k.a. Flamingo Star.

04. "Deep In The Dark" Deep hits from a 1865 Blüthner grand piano and distorted scratching on the piano-strings shaping a morbid atmosphere - thrilled by swing rides and cymbals on the jazz tip.

05. "Where Have You Been" A slick 3/4-timing transforming into a straight 4/4-timing part, turning back again to that 3/4-timing and ending in a wicked 5/4-time breakdown in the end is giving you a jazz verses 808-drum-machine-electro feeling covered in a cinematic soundscape.

06. "No Looking Back" sounds like Jay Dilla twisting Morcheeba into the dark side. Barcelona based singer Lady Emz floats over a catchy melody and a shuffling break lifts it up before it falls into the touching string-line driving to the end.

07. "Hellnova" A deep bass line, heavy guitars and a saxophone line explode in your ear. Move your feet to this driving drum 'n' bass or the flames coming out of the speaker will consume you.

08. "Seaside Suicide" This jazzed out tune keeps you grooving from the first note until the last. Highlighted by the funky soprano solo in the bridge part this is definitely a head nodders song!

09. "Solo" A quiet, breezy tune starring Paco Mendoza - a very fine vocalist from Berlin who produced his last album with DJ Vadim (BBE Rec. / Ninja Tune Rec.) - "Solo" is a meditative song with celtic influenced strings and a touch of melancholy.

10. "Deadness Of My Town" Breathing loneliness and sadness, a jazzed out clarinet and the blue vibe of the Balkan sax carry you through the song, like a walk through persistent rain in a city, where everything seems dead and rotten.

11. "The Day After" Once again Lady Emz lends her amazing voice to a laid-back jazzy tune. Carried by a smooth saxophone section and the thumb piano, her words warm you like the first rays of light after a dark and cold night.

12. "Sans Soleil" is the title track that gives the whole project its name. A lost piano combine with the amazing violin by Hungarian violin player Laszlo Toth and drastic horns gives this one its hypnotic drive.

13. "And I Love Her" takes you right to the stars and slowly pulls you back to earth. Just close your eyes and let the incredible strings and piano melody work its magic.

Sans Soleil - Hellnova is available as limited 2LP including download code (250units) and CD.

After the future LP
Comes with gatefold sleeve, lyrics, bonus tracks and strictly limited.

This first compilation from Copenhagen label Pattern Abuse is an eclectic collection of some of Denmark's finest artists from all around the musical spectrum. Quirky electronica, retro techno, future garage, post punk and more: At first glance the nine tracks on this relase seem an odd blend. But played together, a common thread of dark and dusty sound appears, showcasing Pattern Abuse as a label that is sure to deliver unexpected and high quality sounds.

Located in London's West End, Pye Records boasted a super stable of female talent. Released hot on the heels of our recent "Love Hit Me! Decca Beat Girls" collection, "Scratch My Back! Pye Beat Girls" comprises two-dozen peachy selections from Pye and sister label Piccadilly's 1960s output.
The compilation is titled after the opening track by Jan Panter, a Mark Wirtz-produced must-have for those who prefer their girl-pop records beefed up with a dose of fuzz guitar. Tony Hatch, the most successful of Pye's in-house producers, is represented by cherry-picked titles by the Breakaways, Petula Clark, cult favourite Sandra Barry, the Baker Twins and Julie Grant. 'Heart' has to be the rocking-est track Petula ever recorded, so much so that it was covered in the USA by garage band the Remains.

Other highlights include the Satin Bells' English language cover of French yé-yé girl France Gall's 'Da-Di-Da-Da', Billie Davis' self-penned rocker 'Ev'ry Day' and 'Come On Baby' by Kim D, one of the most soulful of British girl singers of the era.

Get the picture

Compiled and annotated by Mick Patrick.

Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals have reunited for Call It What It Is, their first record together in nine years, due out April 8th, 2016 on Stax Records / Caroline International. The beloved, soulful rock band premiered the album's lead single, Pink Balloon last night on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and the song is streaming today via Billboard. Harper and The Innocent Criminals have also shared the cover art and track list for Call It What It Is. Read more and listen to Pink Balloon at Billboard.com: LINK

Call It What It Is is an incisive, bold, poetic statement that could only come from these long-time musical partners, one of popular music's most essential, cohesive and dynamic ensembles.

The standout title track showcases Harper's unmatched ability to blend the personal and political. Invoking the names of Trayvon Martin, Ezell Ford, and Michael Brown over an agitated blues riff, Harper cuts to the quick: There's good cops / bad cops / white cops / black cops / call it what it is / Murder'. The genre-spanning collection contains many highlights including the sun-kissed groove of Shine and the album's swaggering lead track When Sex Was Dirty.

It had been seven years since Ben Harper last played a show with the Innocent Criminals, so when the time came to reunite for a live tour in 2015, the band—percussionist Leon Mobley, bassist Juan Nelson, drummer Oliver Charles, keyboardist Jason Yates, and guitarist Michael Ward—quickly discovered that Harper had more in mind than simply revisiting the group's prodigious song catalogue. In fact, Harper had been quietly amassing material for a new record and the first recording sessions were scheduled to begin even before the rehearsals for their triumphant four-night sold-out reunion run at the Fillmore in San Francisco last March.

Tracing their roots back to 1993, Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals were at the heart of most of Harper's projects until the band went on hiatus in 2008. The band toured internationally and released a string of groundbreaking albums, including Fight for Your Mind, The Will to Live, Burn to Shine and the GRAMMY-nominated Lifeline in 2007. The Innocent Criminals also backed Harper and The Blind Boys of Alabama on the double-GRAMMY-winning There Will Be a Light in 2005.

I thought we would be more energized and revitalized by thinking outside the box and starting with new material in the studio before we dug into the old stuff,' said Harper of the reunion album. "It was meant to be a signpost that we're here to forge new ground musically and personally.'

Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals embark on an extensive US tour in April, European tour dates to be announced shortly.

Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals have reunited for Call It What It Is, their first record together in nine years, due out April 8th, 2016 on Stax Records / Caroline International. The beloved, soulful rock band premiered the album's lead single, Pink Balloon last night on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and the song is streaming today via Billboard. Harper and The Innocent Criminals have also shared the cover art and track list for Call It What It Is. Read more and listen to Pink Balloon at Billboard

Call It What It Is is an incisive, bold, poetic statement that could only come from these long-time musical partners, one of popular music's most essential, cohesive and dynamic ensembles.

The standout title track showcases Harper's unmatched ability to blend the personal and political. Invoking the names of Trayvon Martin, Ezell Ford, and Michael Brown over an agitated blues riff, Harper cuts to the quick: There's good cops / bad cops / white cops / black cops / call it what it is / Murder'. The genre-spanning collection contains many highlights including the sun-kissed groove of Shine and the album's swaggering lead track When Sex Was Dirty.

It had been seven years since Ben Harper last played a show with the Innocent Criminals, so when the time came to reunite for a live tour in 2015, the band—percussionist Leon Mobley, bassist Juan Nelson, drummer Oliver Charles, keyboardist Jason Yates, and guitarist Michael Ward—quickly discovered that Harper had more in mind than simply revisiting the group's prodigious song catalogue. In fact, Harper had been quietly amassing material for a new record and the first recording sessions were scheduled to begin even before the rehearsals for their triumphant four-night sold-out reunion run at the Fillmore in San Francisco last March.

Tracing their roots back to 1993, Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals were at the heart of most of Harper's projects until the band went on hiatus in 2008. The band toured internationally and released a string of groundbreaking albums, including Fight for Your Mind, The Will to Live, Burn to Shine and the GRAMMY-nominated Lifeline in 2007. The Innocent Criminals also backed Harper and The Blind Boys of Alabama on the double-GRAMMY-winning There Will Be a Light in 2005.

I thought we would be more energized and revitalized by thinking outside the box and starting with new material in the studio before we dug into the old stuff,' said Harper of the reunion album. "It was meant to be a signpost that we're here to forge new ground musically and personally.'

Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals embark on an extensive US tour in April, European tour dates to be announced shortly.

Fever Dream, the new solo album from Ben Watt is released worldwide on April 8 2016 on Watt's own imprint Unmade Road through Caroline International.

It was in 2014 - after sixteen years and nine albums as songwriter-performer-producer with Tracey Thorn in best-selling duo Everything But The Girl, a further ten at the helm of his award-winning electronic label Buzzin' Fly, and a radio residency on BBC 6Music - that Watt returned to his roots as a solo singer and songwriter with Hendra, his second album. Arriving thirty-one years after his UK Independent Chart No. 1 debut, it met with wide acclaim at home and abroad for its eloquent lyrics and stripped-back aesthetic, it featured prominently in end-of-year round-ups and pipped Anna Calvi and Blood Orange to win Best 'Difficult' Second Album at the AIM Independent Music Awards 2014.

Fever Dream - self-produced at London's famous RAK Studio 2, and mastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering in Maine - takes Hendra's sonic template of open-tuned folk-jazz, distorted string-bent rock, and soulful rumination, and adds a fresh grainy intensity. It renews key partnerships with Hendra's vaunted guitarist-sideman Bernard Butler and engineer Bruno Ellingham, and sprinkles guest vocal cameos from Boston's dream-folk singer-songwriter Marissa Nadler and Hiss Golden Messenger's M.C. Taylor.

'At the album's heart I just wanted to deepen existing relationships,' Watt says. 'Two years of playing live with Bernard has created a strong bond, the music we make feels spontaneous, ardent, unsentimental. We just went in and did most of it live.

Small room, small band. A harder edge. Instruments spilling into each other.' The pair are joined by drummer/percussionist and longtime ally Martin Ditcham (Talk Talk's Spirit of Eden) and new double bassist Rex Horan (Laura Marling's Once I Was an Eagle / Neil Cowley Trio), who in Watt's words 'brilliantly blurs the boundaries between folk, jazz and rock'.

'I chose the guests to suit,' he goes on. 'Marissa's sound is gothic and gauzy but tender and revealing. I pictured her with me on the key closing track (New Year of Grace) - which is a kind of answer to the album's opener (Gradually). She was in London for twenty-four hours recently. I just doorstepped her on Twitter, and she said yes.'

Watt's non-fiction writing and lyrics have been integral to his recent acclaim. His second memoir Romany and Tom - a portrait of his parents' marriage - was longlisted for the prestigious Samuel Johnson Prize in 2014. (His first, 1996's Patient was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year). Novelist Jonathan Coe recently commented Watt is 'beyond doubt one of the great British singer-songwriters', while The Guardian's senior rock critic Alexis Petridis called the writing on Hendra 'pretty much perfect'.

Of the new songs, Watt says: 'I got back from tour with a few notes for a new book, but life got in the way. Close friends were falling apart, my own relationships were being tested. I found I wanted to capture smaller snapshots about how love shifts over time, what endures, how we cope. And they became songs. Some came out darker and more troubled, others softer and more hopeful. And that then became the album structure. First half heavier, second half lighter. A sense of transformation, rather than just a collection of songs. I hadn't done that before.'

It was in 1981 that Watt first appeared in London as a precocious nineteen year-old singer-songwriter-guitarist. His breakthrough 1982 EP Summer into Winter featured alt-folk icon Robert Wyatt and drew comparisons with Tim Buckley. His early solo work may be overshadowed by his subsequent successes with Tracey Thorn, but his 1983 debut solo album North Marine Drive reached No 1 on the UK Independent Albums Chart.

'The music I heard in my teens - jazz, folk, art-rock - still cuts the deepest with me,' he says. 'I recently spent over ten years exploring instrumental electronic music and clubland (he was nominated for Outstanding Contribution to Dance Music at DJ Magazine Awards 2009, and was a resident DJ on BBC 6Music's 6Mix from 2010-2014) but have come back to language and that band-in-a-room spontaneity. The raw human voice, unaffected words, pushing simple instruments to their limits - that is now what fascinates me again.'

Fever Dream, the new solo album from Ben Watt is released worldwide on April 8 2016 on Watt's own imprint Unmade Road through Caroline International.

It was in 2014 - after sixteen years and nine albums as songwriter-performer-producer with Tracey Thorn in best-selling duo Everything But The Girl, a further ten at the helm of his award-winning electronic label Buzzin' Fly, and a radio residency on BBC 6Music - that Watt returned to his roots as a solo singer and songwriter with Hendra, his second album. Arriving thirty-one years after his UK Independent Chart No. 1 debut, it met with wide acclaim at home and abroad for its eloquent lyrics and stripped-back aesthetic, it featured prominently in end-of-year round-ups and pipped Anna Calvi and Blood Orange to win Best 'Difficult' Second Album at the AIM Independent Music Awards 2014.

Fever Dream - self-produced at London's famous RAK Studio 2, and mastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering in Maine - takes Hendra's sonic template of open-tuned folk-jazz, distorted string-bent rock, and soulful rumination, and adds a fresh grainy intensity. It renews key partnerships with Hendra's vaunted guitarist-sideman Bernard Butler and engineer Bruno Ellingham, and sprinkles guest vocal cameos from Boston's dream-folk singer-songwriter Marissa Nadler and Hiss Golden Messenger's M.C. Taylor.

'At the album's heart I just wanted to deepen existing relationships,' Watt says. 'Two years of playing live with Bernard has created a strong bond, the music we make feels spontaneous, ardent, unsentimental. We just went in and did most of it live. Small room, small band. A harder edge. Instruments spilling into each other.' The pair are joined by drummer/percussionist and longtime ally Martin Ditcham (Talk Talk's Spirit of Eden) and new double bassist Rex Horan (Laura Marling's Once I Was an Eagle / Neil Cowley Trio), who in Watt's words 'brilliantly blurs the boundaries between folk, jazz and rock'.

'I chose the guests to suit,' he goes on. 'Marissa's sound is gothic and gauzy but tender and revealing. I pictured her with me on the key closing track (New Year of Grace) - which is a kind of answer to the album's opener (Gradually). She was in London for twenty-four hours recently. I just doorstepped her on Twitter, and she said yes.'

Watt's non-fiction writing and lyrics have been integral to his recent acclaim. His second memoir Romany and Tom - a portrait of his parents' marriage - was longlisted for the prestigious Samuel Johnson Prize in 2014. (His first, 1996's Patient was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year). Novelist Jonathan Coe recently commented Watt is 'beyond doubt one of the great British singer-songwriters', while The Guardian's senior rock critic Alexis Petridis called the writing on Hendra 'pretty much perfect'.

Of the new songs, Watt says: 'I got back from tour with a few notes for a new book, but life got in the way. Close friends were falling apart, my own relationships were being tested. I found I wanted to capture smaller snapshots about how love shifts over time, what endures, how we cope. And they became songs. Some came out darker and more troubled, others softer and more hopeful. And that then became the album structure. First half heavier, second half lighter. A sense of transformation, rather than just a collection of songs. I hadn't done that before.'

It was in 1981 that Watt first appeared in London as a precocious nineteen year-old singer-songwriter-guitarist. His breakthrough 1982 EP Summer into Winter featured alt-folk icon Robert Wyatt and drew comparisons with Tim Buckley. His early solo work may be overshadowed by his subsequent successes with Tracey Thorn, but his 1983 debut solo album North Marine Drive reached No 1 on the UK Independent Albums Chart.

'The music I heard in my teens - jazz, folk, art-rock - still cuts the deepest with me,' he says. 'I recently spent over ten years exploring instrumental electronic music and clubland (he was nominated for Outstanding Contribution to Dance Music at DJ Magazine Awards 2009, and was a resident DJ on BBC 6Music's 6Mix from 2010-2014) but have come back to language and that band-in-a-room spontaneity. The raw human voice, unaffected words, pushing simple instruments to their limits - that is now what fascinates me again.'

"You Can Feel It" is the first single from "West End Coast", the album by Young Gun Silver Fox. Riding along Ventura Highway into Laurel Canyon, Andy Platts and Shawn Lee paint a melodic soundscape with an irresistible groove inspired by the timeless California pop music of the late Seventies.

"You Can Feel It" is also available as a limited edition 7inch vinyl single, backed by the ultra cool California blue-eyed disco soul of "In My Pocket". "West End Coast" will be released on Legère Recordings as LP, CD and digital download.

12'' in black and gold printed sleeve RSD 2016 Release

Auroras Debutalbum - All My Demons Greeting Me As A Friend' setzt den Weg der bisher bekannten Songs fort, geht aber einen entscheidenden Schritt weiter: AURORA hat eine eigene Klangsprache gefunden. Eine, mit der sie das Popjahr 2016 maßgeblich mitprägen wird und die sich aus zweierlei Bestandteilen speist: Einmal ist da diese Stimme, die immer ein wenig erstaunt klingt. Sie ist ungewöhnlich wandlungsfähig und zeigt ihre volle Kraft nicht erst an den lauten Stellen, sondern funktioniert auch dann, wenn AURORA sich zurücknimmt. Bemerkenswert ist aber auch die musikalische Inszenierung. Nach wie vor speist das Klavier weite Teile ihres musikalischen Konzepts und trägt so manche Hookline. Heute ist es jedoch eingebettet in smart arrangierten, vielschichtigen Pop an der Schnittstelle zwischen Elektro und Indie, der mal Lykke Li, mal Kate Bush, mal Lorde ins Gedächtnis ruft - um im nächsten Moment eindrücklich zu beweisen, dass sie solche Vergleiche wirklich nicht nötig hat, denn AURORA ist selbst längst in der Champions League des kontemporären Pops angekommen.

On August 13th, 1994 Nine Inch Nails took part in Woodstock '94 at Winston Farm in Saugerties, NY as the final date of the Self Destruct Tour. Their performance is considered one of the best in the band's history, despite the band's opinion that it was one of their worst. They took the stage covered head-to-toe in mud. This single performance is widely accepted as the one that made the band famous.

Box set, 4LPs, poster, download card. 4LP box set with new masters of the albums 'New Picnic Time' (1979), 'The Art Of Walking' (1980) and 'Song Of The Bailing Man' (1982) plus a disk of extras, 'Architectural Salvage', 'Co-Ed jail' poster and download postcard. Pere Ubu reinvented rock music from the ground up. Equally at ease with Sun Ra and The Monkees, Glen Campbell and The MC5, Can and The Raspberries, they are the white Funkadelic. 2015's box set release, 'Elitism For The People 1975-1978' is a veritable primer for exploring the possibilities of popular music. It documents the band creating their own private musical apocalypse and then forging on to start the world anew' (Uncut, Jim Wirth). The second in the series of box sets, 'Architecture Of Language 1979-1982,' gathers together the scariest album ever recorded,' 'New Picnic Time,' with its companion releases, 'The Art Of Walking' and 'Song Of The Bailing Man.' These are records of unique beauty - a beauty marked by truth and thus also tragic and sometimes painful' (Sounds, Chris Cutler). Ian Penman, writing in 1980 in the New Musical Express, said It is obvious that (the history of) Pere Ubu should not be thought of in terms of a linear development - reducing its entire operation and presence to an exclusive concern for working and succeeding in rock and roll. Unfortunately, most criticism - of Pere Ubu, of many other folks - assumes that words have one meaning, that desires point in a single direction, that ideas are logical, it ignores the fact that the world of language, noise and desire is one of lack, insecurity, interruption, struggle, blundering, disguises, ploys, embarrassed grins.' Mastered by Brian Pyle, the original quarter-inch stereo mix tapes were digitally transferred by Paul Hamann at Suma at a 192khz / 24 bit resolution. From these the vinyl LPs were cut by Pete Norman with a Neumann VMS80 lathe. The Coed Jail Tour marks the release of the box with a set list drawn exclusively from the recordings of 1975-1982. Tom Herman, guitarist from 1975 to 1979 and from 1997 to 2002, rejoins the band for the tour. The line-up is David Thomas, Tom Herman, Robert Wheeler, Michele Temple and Steve Mehlman. Wheeler and Temple have been in Pere Ubu since 1994, Mehlman since 1995.

Langerwartetes Debütalbum der Nu-Disco/Electro-Pop-Lieblinge Satin Jackets um den deutschstämmigen Produzenten Tim Bernhardt. Mit zahlreichen Co-Produzenten und Vokalisten werden mit "Panorama Pacifico" 12 exzellente Pop-Dance-Tracks vorgelegt, die sich teilweise bereits millionenfach bei den Streaming-Portalen Spotify und Soundcloud bewiesen haben.

"Leaves Of Grass" is a collaborative EP between Tarwater, alva noto and Iggy Pop. Each of the seven featured tracks scores a poem by American wordsmith Walt Whitman. Iggy Pop contributes spoken word recordings, while Tarwater and alva noto create the music.

The EP lends its title from Whitman's main work 'Leaves Of Grass'. It channels forces from exceptional artists: Carsten Nicolai, aka alva noto, is a renowned artist and electronic producer. He is well-known for his diverse electronic work released through Mille Plateaux or his own label Raster-Noton. His first recordings had a huge impact on what was called 'Clicks & Cuts' in the late 90s. At the same time, Ronald Lippok and Bernd Jestram began their pioneering work: As Tarwater they pushed the last existing boundaries between electronic music, new wave and indie culture with their idiosyncratic music, which was hard to describe without using the prefix 'post-'.

As you may have heard, the career of Iggy Pop started back in the 1960s. In 1967 he formed The Stooges and was later deemed 'Godfather Of Punk'. For this EP he lends his distinctive voice to seven poems by Walt Whitman, while Tarwater and alva noto create a vibrant and ever-pulsating score, sometimes calm, sometimes plodding and monolithic.

Iggy Pop on Walt Whitman:
"You know, I think he had something like Elvis. Like Elvis ahead of his time, one of the first manic American populists. You know you're looking at pictures of him, and he was obviously someone who was very much involved with his own physical appearance. His poetry is always about motion and rushing ahead, and crazy love and blood pushing through the body. He would have been the perfect gangster rapper. Whitman says, even the most beautiful face is not as beautiful as the body. And to say that in the middle of the 19th century is outrageous. It's a slap in the face. Look at the popular, well-educated poets of the time, those sensitive noblemen. But Whitman writes: "Fuck ass."

the 30th anniversary 'Dancing Therapy' by International Music System, often abbreviated as I.M.S. In 1983 Maurizio Cavalieri and Giorgio Stefani, the same musicians who brought you 'Spacer Woman' by Charlie, created International Music System in Vicenza, Italy. Under this moniker, the two would release a pair of albums of stylized and syncopated electronic dance songs showcasing the still-evolving advancement of computer and keyboard-generated music. 'Dancing Therapy' was released as a 12' single in 1984 on the Cavalieri's own Mr Disc Records. It utilized the Roland TR-808, Yamaha DX7 and Linn Drum as the main percussion. Giorgio would hit the two sides of a metal triangle with a drum stick, creating the high pitched tone break throughout the song. Guest vocalist Rebecca McLain, an American ballet dancer, sings about getting lost in music as a means to escape from your troubles. The single anticipated the beats and sounds of Freestyle music as well as influencing the early House scene due to radio airplay on Chicago's WBMX. On the B-side is 'Love Games', an electro dance song with breakbeats in the vein of Afrika Bambaataa that features Giorgio on vocals. The vinyl comes housed in a glossy jacket with original artwork featuring an iconic photo with each band member in side profile view. Each copy includes a post card insert with lyrics and liner notes.

New York two-piece band BEAU announce their hotly anticipated debut album 'That Thing Reality', out via Kitsuné/Sony Red on March 11th 2016. The album, which channels an angst and poetic vibrancy not seen since the likes of Patti Smith and Joni Mitchell, comes straight from the heart of two girls who have grown up surrounded by the arts and music of a city that has spawned some of the greats.
BEAU consists of multi-faceted duo Heather Boo and Emma Rose who at 21-years of age have created a debut record that shows growth, songwriting prowess and a depth rarely seen from artists of their age. 'That Thing Reality' has been created with the help of producer Al O'Connell (aka 'alalal' - Bruno Mars, Mark Ronson, Rufus Wainwright) and embellishes the sound established with the band's highly praised debut self-titled EP put out earlier this year via Parisian independent label Kitsuné.
So far BEAU have played extensively on both sides of the Atlantic including performing for a packed room at The Social in London, Patti Smith at her launch of 'Cowboy Mouth' at The Chelsea Hotel, Cannes Film Festival and this November at Les InRocks Festival in France.
Creatively the band are a self-made entity, the aesthetic of which runs parallel with their personal experience growing up as quintessential New Yorkers, likened to Sofia Coppola's film style of exploring the naivety of youth culture. BEAU have released five videos which capture this essence, 'One Wing' co-directed with Nautico, 'C'mon Please', 'Soar Across The Sea' and Animal Kingdom.
Currently on the cover of the 10th Anniversary issue of Wonderland shot by their friend and previous collaborator photographer Ryan McGinley, other press support has hailed from The Guardian, music bible NME, cult French title Purple Fashion Magazine, both Noisey and i-D, Interview Magazine and The New York Times.
Beau's album artwork is shot by photographer Ryan McGinley.

New York two-piece band BEAU announce their hotly anticipated debut album 'That Thing Reality', out via Kitsuné/Sony Red on March 11th 2016. The album, which channels an angst and poetic vibrancy not seen since the likes of Patti Smith and Joni Mitchell, comes straight from the heart of two girls who have grown up surrounded by the arts and music of a city that has spawned some of the greats.
BEAU consists of multi-faceted duo Heather Boo and Emma Rose who at 21-years of age have created a debut record that shows growth, songwriting prowess and a depth rarely seen from artists of their age. 'That Thing Reality' has been created with the help of producer Al O'Connell (aka 'alalal' - Bruno Mars, Mark Ronson, Rufus Wainwright) and embellishes the sound established with the band's highly praised debut self-titled EP put out earlier this year via Parisian independent label Kitsuné.
So far BEAU have played extensively on both sides of the Atlantic including performing for a packed room at The Social in London, Patti Smith at her launch of 'Cowboy Mouth' at The Chelsea Hotel, Cannes Film Festival and this November at Les InRocks Festival in France.
Creatively the band are a self-made entity, the aesthetic of which runs parallel with their personal experience growing up as quintessential New Yorkers, likened to Sofia Coppola's film style of exploring the naivety of youth culture. BEAU have released five videos which capture this essence, 'One Wing' co-directed with Nautico, 'C'mon Please', 'Soar Across The Sea' and Animal Kingdom.
Currently on the cover of the 10th Anniversary issue of Wonderland shot by their friend and previous collaborator photographer Ryan McGinley, other press support has hailed from The Guardian, music bible NME, cult French title Purple Fashion Magazine, both Noisey and i-D, Interview Magazine and The New York Times.
Beau's album artwork is shot by photographer Ryan McGinley.

Limited 250 Copies vinyl
Techno Pop from the Woods of Sweden. Dark, dreamy and danceable. Electronic sounds of drum machines, mellotron, synthesizers, floating and barren landscapes together with the characteristic vocal harmonies of producer duo LOKATT. Techno tracks influenced by sisters Nina & Johanna Piroths background in the Indie Pop Scene. In May LOKATT released their first single The Hill, which got great feedback from all around the world. The 27th of November LOKATT will be releasing their debut EP, Karg (digital and on limited vinyl). The EP will be released on techno producer Harald Björks label Kranglan Broadcast together with LOKATTs label Oma Gusti Records. Distributed by Wordandsound, Artwork by Stina Göthlander.

There isn't much around about Metropolitan Soul Museum...,..yet, dropping on the eponymous label's first release. The 2 sided vinyl only release features 'Ruff Trk 4' - a stomping and rolling club destroyer: a ruff (as the title suggests) disco inspired 4/4 beat, driven by a powerful and hypnotic bassline. On the B side Hivern Discs man 'Round' drops his own version of the original, mixing his outstanding talent for melodies with a Nu Disco analogue groove. After being featured on John Talabot's 2013 DJ Kicks, the producer is going from strength to strength and has delivered a killer re-interpretation of the original track.

Hot new release from Sunkissed Recordings celebrating Italian synth pop hero Mike Francis aka Francesco Puccioni. Back in the 80s, Francis' elegant electronic style and smooth rich vocals provided a perfect backdrop to nights dancing on the sand and in clubs throughout the Mediterranean and his popularity continues today amongst the Balearic cognoscenti. This EP features the fantastic in-demand Club Mix of 'Features of Love', a funky pop-soul opus washed with lush synths, lazy guitars and dreamy vocals plus the sought-after long 12' cut of 'Survivor', a gorgeous slice of blue-eyed soul with a strong dancefloor sensibility. Flip over for big Cosmic play, the magnificent 12' version of 'Body Thrill', a bass-heavy chunky instrumental with an Art Of Noise feel followed by Francis's beautiful laid-back cover of the Bill Withers' classic 'Lovely Day' and lastly the heavenly hypnotic 'On and On', a little-known gem from the B-side from a rare 12'. A great package!

Movement and gesture is natural. The flâneur has an iPhone, and their heart is embroidered into a microfiber sleeve in gold. Lust for Youth are a three-piece from Copenhagen made up of Hannes Nor­rvide, Malthe Fischer & Loke Rahbek. 2014's acclaimed album, International, took the melancholic insomnia of their former releases out into the street and away from the domestic frustrations of a life in headphones. Suddenly, surrounded by bodies, and with a staccato heart, Balearic infatuations and capricious nights in crowded clubs set the mood for Norrvide's pining sighs. International marked Lust For Youth's new-found decadence with fully resolved charm and enhanced self-deprecation. This was swiftly channeled into their recent hit, Better Looking Brother.' Compassion's first single was streamed over 50k times in its first month, capping off a highly successful 2015 of worldwide tours and critical social media updates. Compassion restates beauty for a time of crisis and clickbait. Judgement, design, form, and opinion: to what end will we refine our world if we can't also make an anthem of our lives This is the tender conspiracy: I'm on twitter, I have an anthem. Do we have an anthem We have lust. Let's meet IRL.

Lust for Youth are affectionately vicious, and vulnerably sharp. They are the anticipation of the comedown as you come up on the best you've ever been of­fered from a bathroom stall. This is the spectrum: a low you know, and a dizzy new height.

Hearts blind lights and finance desire. Is it the fate of the cunning to look good, or is it just cunning to look this good Compassion is dexterity: we all look this good. An impulse is an appetite, and you're entitled to everything. Multitask collapse and revolution because you're a beautiful mess.

Movement and gesture is natural. The flâneur has an iPhone, and their heart is embroidered into a microfiber sleeve in gold. Lust for Youth are a three-piece from Copenhagen made up of Hannes Nor­rvide, Malthe Fischer & Loke Rahbek. 2014's acclaimed album, International, took the melancholic insomnia of their former releases out into the street and away from the domestic frustrations of a life in headphones. Suddenly, surrounded by bodies, and with a staccato heart, Balearic infatuations and capricious nights in crowded clubs set the mood for Norrvide's pining sighs. International marked Lust For Youth's new-found decadence with fully resolved charm and enhanced self-deprecation. This was swiftly channeled into their recent hit, Better Looking Brother.' Compassion's first single was streamed over 50k times in its first month, capping off a highly successful 2015 of worldwide tours and critical social media updates.
Compassion restates beauty for a time of crisis and clickbait. Judgement, design, form, and opinion: to what end will we refine our world if we can't also make an anthem of our lives This is the tender conspiracy: I'm on twitter, I have an anthem. Do we have an anthem We have lust. Let's meet IRL.

Lust for Youth are affectionately vicious, and vulnerably sharp. They are the anticipation of the comedown as you come up on the best you've ever been of­fered from a bathroom stall. This is the spectrum: a low you know, and a dizzy new height.

Hearts blind lights and finance desire. Is it the fate of the cunning to look good, or is it just cunning to look this good Compassion is dexterity: we all look this good. An impulse is an appetite, and you're entitled to everything. Multitask collapse and revolution because you're a beautiful mess.

Movement and gesture is natural. The flâneur has an iPhone, and their heart is embroidered into a microfiber sleeve in gold. Lust for Youth are a three-piece from Copenhagen made up of Hannes Nor­rvide, Malthe Fischer & Loke Rahbek. 2014's acclaimed album, International, took the melancholic insomnia of their former releases out into the street and away from the domestic frustrations of a life in headphones. Suddenly, surrounded by bodies, and with a staccato heart, Balearic infatuations and capricious nights in crowded clubs set the mood for Norrvide's pining sighs. International marked Lust For Youth's new-found decadence with fully resolved charm and enhanced self-deprecation. This was swiftly channeled into their recent hit, Better Looking Brother.' Compassion's first single was streamed over 50k times in its first month, capping off a highly successful 2015 of worldwide tours and critical social media updates.
Compassion restates beauty for a time of crisis and clickbait. Judgement, design, form, and opinion: to what end will we refine our world if we can't also make an anthem of our lives This is the tender conspiracy: I'm on twitter, I have an anthem. Do we have an anthem We have lust. Let's meet IRL.

Lust for Youth are affectionately vicious, and vulnerably sharp. They are the anticipation of the comedown as you come up on the best you've ever been of­fered from a bathroom stall. This is the spectrum: a low you know, and a dizzy new height.

Hearts blind lights and finance desire. Is it the fate of the cunning to look good, or is it just cunning to look this good Compassion is dexterity: we all look this good. An impulse is an appetite, and you're entitled to everything. Multitask collapse and revolution because you're a beautiful mess.

First Deep Distance release of the year sees the mighty debut full length from Rhododendron.



Last year saw their debut 10' sell out in 48 hours on the label and was -and remains- a favourite and staple of the more kraut themed sets of Andrew Weatherall's DJ stints. The band also headlined Phonica Records Record Store Day celebrations the year before. So to unleash the full length is timed immaculately and it does not disappoint...



Made on the South Coast entirely from wire, magnetic tape, glass and electricity, Rhododendron make English electronic, psychedelic, industrial motorik music for a cosmic jokers party with Terry Riley, Dieter Moebius and Suicide in the room and all on the wrong drugs.



Assembled by Oliver Cherer (Dollboy, Silver Servants) and Darren Morris (David Holmes, Steve Mason) in St Leonards' North Street Studios 1 and 2 (The Assistant, Wrestler, Dollboy) Rhododendron give you instrumental autobahn anthems ('New Europe', 'Car Crash - Lights Off'), electro-psych wig-out ('Church of T'), paranoid technopunk rant ('Brute Blaster', featuring Eyes In The Heat's Zizi Kanaan), Silver Apples style disto-disco ('Little Rocks') and misfit radiophonic nerd-pop ('A Foreign Language'; described recently as being 'like Sleaford Mods if they'd gone to art school'!)



Turning mindless awkward riffs into mesmerising transcendental trips and genre-hopping work-outs like the updated 'Paris Rendezvous' which features Wooden Spoon's Owen Hills on harmonica sounding like Lee Brilleux jamming with Can.



Analogue synthesizers, tape machines, tape echoes, fuzz tone guitars, test oscillators and broken machines from car boot sales.



A great album in a ltd pressing of 300 only available early to mid March. y

'Champion Music for the Heartbroken.' That's how Bryndon Cook, who records as Starchild, describes Crucial, his first EP for Ghostly. It's easy to hear what he means: over the course of the record's 30 minutes, Starchild creates songs that draw equally on electro and R&B, with silky sheets of synth cascading over rubbery bass lines. And at the center of every one of them is an undeniable twinge of sadness. Which makes sense - Crucial is an album born of risk. Starchild was the first member of his family to leave their home for New York and, though he was technically pursuing a BFA in acting, eventually his interest in music took over. 'I really tried to go on a limb and find an expression of my own self, not what I was supposed to be according to anything else,' he explains. 'I was leaving for New York with a head full of Prince bootlegs and Sade records, basically. I took what I knew, applied it to things I learned at acting school, and started writing songs.'
He gradually made connections that would inspire him in his work. His college roommate was Ghostly artist Lord RAJA, and the two formed a fast, close friendship. A longtime fan of Lightspeed Champion, he received encouragement from Dev Hynes, with whom he'd eventually collaborate. 'Dev never overthinks things in his approach to music,' he says. 'It's great to see someone who, time and time again, can remind you of your ability to: let go.' He received similar encouragement from Patrick Wimberly of Chairlift. 'He might have been the first person, outside of my family, to extend an unconditional love and interest in my future,' he says. 'The most beneficial things have come from getting to spend hours in the studio watching him work with other artists. He hears absolutely everything and is a true wizard in there—a modern day Todd Rundgren, hand to God.' It was Wimberly who introduced Starchild to Solange, who would soon recruit him for her touring band. 'It's been nothing short of life changing,' he says. 'I joined her band during my third year at SUNY Purchase. Coming to New York was already a culture shock, but then having the opportunity to travel the world and play festivals like Glastonbury, Bonnaroo and Pitchfork was huge. I got to meet folks that I never fathomed I would. We played Essence Music Festival in New Orleans—in the black community especially, this is like Glastonbury, for example. I got to meet all of New Edition and Bobby Brown. Brandy. The list of blessings go on, and all because of Solange. She taught me that if you stay true to yourself, you can take all the time in the world to do one special thing, the right way.'
Crucial is Starchild's 'special thing,' an album that synthesizes his experience and influences into something original and distinct. Growing up in Prince George's County, Maryland, Starchild was in the center of decades of music history. 'Growing up in the D.C./Maryland/Virginia area, you can harness a great depth of music—Go-Go, Soul, Hip Hop, R&B, Jazz and especially, Gospel. My roots,' he says. 'It's the birthplace of everyone from Duke Ellington and Marvin Gaye to Mya, Dru Hill and D'Angelo.' Starchild's name came from his time in 'the DMV'—'I grew up across the street from the NASA Headquarters on Copernicus Drive in Greenbelt,' he explains. 'That's one of the reasons I adopted the Starchild moniker. The other is George Clinton. Many other people changed my life before him, but he was the one who made me think differently.' Moving to Atlanta with his family just before 9/11, he was introduced to a whole new world of music. 'I was in elementary and Middle School when Usher dropped Confessions, Ciara and Soulja Boy debuted, and Speakerboxx/The Love Below came out. So my school days were full of all that, and then I would come home and teach myself guitar while watching hours of VH1 Classic.'
Though Crucial gets its name from Starchild's teenage slang ('Anything that was amazing was either 'vicious' or 'crucial back then.'') the songs focus on Starchild's transition out of those nostalgic days. 'I could compare them to diary entries from the end of my teenage years, where I'm trying to reconcile heartbreak and rejection with escapism. Entering this new world experience and flying into a foreign land.' he says. Starchild is quick to cite Prince as an influence ('I look at him as a whole genre. Within the genre of Prince, there is so much to discover.'), and there are similarities in the way they work. Like Prince, Starchild played and recorded every note of Crucial on his own, on his laptop or Lord RAJA's (or whoever else's he could find), combining a maximalist work ethic to a minimalist aesthetic.
Soft, twinkling opening track 'All My Lovers' provides the album's backbone. 'I have, admittedly, a very obsessive nature, mixed with a lot of genuine, passionate care,' Starchild says. 'This song reflects that fact in as heartfelt a way as I possibly could during my college years.' Though the final product is a quietly-pleading R&B slow-burner, it began taking shape while Starchild was recording rap verses for his EP Night Music. I started writing the song during my second year at SUNY Purchase, and I thought, 'Beyonce could sing this,' he says. A year later, I'm playing it at the piano for her sister.' The laid-back '70s-style funk ballad New Romantic' was also written while Starchild was at SUNY, just before his life took that dramatic turn. I skipped school one day so I could go into the city and record vocals with Patrick,' he explains. He called me and let me know that his plans had changed and he had to help Solange in studio, and asked me to tag along. I met her, auditioned that same week, and went on tour with her that summer.'Not all of the songs on the record have such dramatic provenance. Slammin' Mannequin,' a booming, Ready For The World-like number, came while watching my all time favorite cartoon, Hey Arnold,' Starchild says. Chester (Ghostly affiliate Lord RAJA) and I then co-produced the song over iMessage.' Its' big, blocky bassline and lithe vocal melody showcase Starchild at his freest and loosest.Overall, Crucial is, as its name implies, an essential document of the emotional landscape of Starchild's heart. I always appreciated music that lent a helping hand and said, 'Hey, are you with me Because I am with you,'' Starchild explains. I hope I can do that for someone, somewhere. If I'm lucky.'

The long awaited debut release by Irish producer Toby Kaar has finally arrived.

Spread over four tracks, Gumbrielle EP is tensely arranged euphoric beat music, bastardised, alienised and revitalised for a future dancefloor.

The EP was made on a 9 year old computer, which has started to pack in. A lot of the samples were things I found in libraries, pretty basic stuff that was flipped essentially', explains Toby. I started making music when my brother downloaded a cracked copy of Fruity Loops 4. I started making loops and patterns, with no musical theory. It was more the shapes I was interested in. That's still the case. The interest in actual music came after that - making the stuff got me into other people's work.'

Despite the absence of any release until now, Toby has earned a reputation for his exhilarating live performances, which translates well on the energetic Gumbrielle EP.

After the release of his wondrous 5 track EP, 'Moonshine', Swedish producer, songwriter and avant-garde extraordinaire Jay-Jay Johanson returns with his 10th studio album 'Opium', out June _ on Kwaidan Records. With masterful musicianship and soulful, melancholic vocals, Johanson takes us down a dreamlike road, telling 10 stories through 10 songs, inviting us into his dark and all-encompassing world.
01. Drowsy / Too Young To Say Night
02. Moonshine
03. Be Yourself
04. I Love Him So
05. NDE
06. I Don't Know Much About Loving
07. Scarecrow
08. I Can Count On You
09. Alone Too Long
10. Harakiri
11. Celebrate The Wonders