Pop & Rock News

Parallels is the fourth full album released under Jason Chung's distinctive moniker, Nosaj Thing. Masterfully dimensional, Parallels represents the acclaimed Los Angeles-based electronic producer/composer/performer's most diverse, vital work yet. As such, Chung sees Parallels represents a kind of redemptive rebirth. The album's compellingly elusive, uncategorizable sonics developed out of what he terms a personal & musical identity crisis.' According to Chung, working with a group of collaborators on Parallels that combined both longtime friends and new creative partners added new energy which pushed me not to limit
myself. Everything felt fresh and alive.'
Chung is known specifically for his innovative, unexpected musical pairings: Kid Cudi hit up on Nosaj Thing via his MySpace page in 2006, resulting in Chung producing Cudi's autobiographical classic The Man on the Moon.' Kendrick Lamar flowed over Nosaj's ethereal boom bap to create the YouTube gem Cloud 10', Chance the Rapper, meanwhile, freaked a Nosaj beat for his 2013 breakout masterpiece Paranoia' and appeared on Nosaj Thing's previous LP, 2015's Fated. Chung and Blonde Redhead vocalist Kazu Makino are also longtime creative partners on each other's work, her voice appears on Parallels as an otherworldly spirit animating the icily '80s-synthetic How We Do.'

Lapalux veroeffentlicht sein drittes Album auf Flying Lotus' Label Brainfeeder!

Lapalux veröffentlicht Ende Juni sein drittes Album, - Ruinism , auf Flying Lotus' Label Brainfeeder. Sein letztes Album, - Lustmore , war z.T. inspiriert vom Konzept der Hypnagogie, dem auch - Wachdenken genannten Bewusstseinszustand, der beim Einschlafen und/oder Erwachen auftreten kann. Auf - Ruinism setzt der britische Produzent nun seine Entdeckungsreise fort und erforscht diesmal den sogar ominöseren Schwebezustand zwischen Leben und Tod. In diesem Bereich, wo sich das Endliche und das Unendliche vermischen, ist Lapalux zu Hause - auf - Ruinism mehr als zuvor. Auf seinem neuen Album benutzt er zum ersten Mal in seiner Karriere ausschließlich Hardware und echte Instrumente, er hat Synthesizer und Drum-Versatzstücke aufgenommen und erneut gesampled, gepitcht, verbogen und miteinander verschmolzen, - until it was ruined , bevor er die völlig entstellten Samples aus dem mittlerweile entstandenen Trümmerhaufen barg und erneut versuchte, diese in etwas Kohärentes zu verwandeln, wie er selbst beschreibt. Mit Marielle Tepper als Kreativdirektorin auf - Ruinism , wird die LP als hervorragende und streng limitierte Deluxe-Doppelvinyl-Ausgabe erscheinen, die in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Pariser Atelier - Impremerie du Marais entstand.

Greetings fellow lovers of abstract truth.
How's living in a dystopian now working out for you
Here's hoping a new birdscare release can help take the edge off...
It's by Zu Dobson. And who's Zu Dobson
I honestly wish I could tell you.
She approached me at an A.L.F.O.S. gathering of the faithful and gave me a CD of her work with nothing on it but a PO address written on it. After corresponding by letter for a while we agreed that "Apple Knife" and "Wisdom Of Rumi" would be the first release (of hopefullly many). I only met Ms. Dobson fleetingly and she has no on-line presence so her identity is vague even to me. So next time you're on the dancefloor that young woman dancing next to you could well be ZU DOBSON.
Fondant regards... Andrew Weatherall

3 Teens Kill 4 was born in the summer of 1980 in the East Village of New York City. They took their name from a New York Post headline. The group consisted of Doug Bressler, Brian Butterick, Julie Hair, Jesse Hultberg, David Wojnarowicz. There was a conscious decision not to have a front person or lead singer. David made cassette tapes with voices and sounds that he held up close to a microphone, fast-forwarding and rewinding. Julie tried different rhythms on a Korg rhythm machine. Brian played a Casio drum machine and Jesse was on bass. Doug joined the group in time to make the debut album. He was a music lover who understood how to avoid covering over the band's non-musicality.

Their debut 7-song mini-album No Motive' was recorded in Fall 1982 and self-released in 1983. Utilizing rhythm boxes, tapes of news reports, odd percussion tools, snatches of song, they chanted political narrative ideas about the modern mess at the time. The album is an amalgam of urban life, a twisted, anti-rhetorical approach to social issues. Songs weave together to create an intelligent, jarring sound. Razor sharp guitar licks and hauntingly ominous bass lines create a tense, oblique abstraction of pain and chaos. For this reissue we've added 3 previously unreleased bonus tracks. Doug says, These songs are very deliberately an experiment in Postmodernism. Sound bytes were stolen from the airwaves and recorded onto bargain cassette tapes. We were stripping the structure of the popular song to the bone. A sort of sonic Duchamp. And throughout it all, runs a childlike sense of play: the judicious use of toys, the schoolyard chants. All of this was happening during the dark and soul-numbing Age of Reagan, with the AIDS crisis looming on the horizon.'

All songs have been remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. The jacket features a replica of the original front cover with a black and white photo by Seiji Kakizaki and updated back cover featuring a never before seen collage by David Wojnarowicz. Each copy includes a 12-page booklet with liner notes from each band member, photos, lyrics and press clippings. We've also printed a special 12'x24' fold out diptych painting by David Wojnarowicz whom this reissue is dedicated to.

We were representative of our time and place. East village, New York City, 1980s. All-night, after-hour busboy jobs in trendy nightclubs, early morning breakfast at Veselka's diner. Drugs and no-drugs. Gay and not-gay. New York.' - Jesse Hultberg

Repress - Originally released in August 2011.
Strong and diverse single from DjRum, following a killer remix of LV and Message To Bears with a mixture of hi-Tech Rollers, Juke and emo Garage with detailed compositional flourishes. 'Undercoat' sets the tone with low-lit pads and vocals giving way to sleek stepping rhythms, finely balanced for club or home play. The centrepiece 'Mountains' shows a keener Technoid vocabulary, with Part 1 exhibiting flash, fluid Techno steppers programming with warm, jazz touches hitting the mark between Scuba and Shifted

"This is the first project they have worked on together for 25 years. And it sounds timeless."

25 YEARS LATER.
BEATE BARTEL and GUDRUN GUT do share history. They were both part of "the first german Punk Band" MANIA D. - John Peel's "Queens of Noises". 1981 Beate continued with LIAISONS DANGEREUSES and Gudrun with MALARIA! - Then experimented in sound and visual arts and released three albums with Matador along with Manon P. Duursma. Now the mature ladies got together again - kind of. Both did 5 tracks for Myra Davies spoken word album "Sirens" (moabit21)- independently as solo artists and producers. Moabit Musik releases a very special vinyl edition: the Instrumentals for Sirens.

They both did new extended mixed which differ from the original recordings.

Beate and Gudrun have gone in different musical ways for 25 years but on this album this does not count. It seems time does not matter. Both sides stand on their own right but also belong together somehow.

GUDRUN GUT is known for her activities in the Berlin music scene since the 80s, with MALARIA! and recent solo work as well as collaborations with AGF (GREIE GUT FRAKTION) and Hans-Joachim Irmler (GUT UND IRMLER). Latest work: "Gudrun Gut: Vogelmixe - Heimatlieder aus Deutschland remixed".

BEATE BARTEL was a part of the experimental impulse that made its way into today's art world and museums. Growing up in West- Berlin, Beate Bartel's interest in sounds and noise made her a sound engineer and she became a founding member of bands like MANIA D., EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN, LIAISONS DANGEREUSES and MATADOR with Gut & Duursma.

MYRA DAVIES: Sirens
"Mischung', the German version of the visual art term "Mashup', describes this dynamic album of Word and Electronica. Myra Davies lyrics lean towards european culture through a lens of feminist authorship. But far from being an academic exercise, this is a Pandoras Box of biting Zeitgeist, past, present and future - propelled by beats, contrapuntal dynamics, broken rhymes, scraps from here and there, and fragments of great white deadmen. It is an acknowlegement, a connection and an affirmation of liberty to cut up any sacred cow. For Davies, clearly the personal is political and Art is even more so.

Davies & Gut have worked together since 1991 on several releases (DAVIES & GUT: MIASMA 1-3) and multi media performances. The last CD release was Myra Davies' CITIES & GIRLS, where BEATE BARTEL composed HANOI and was in parts performed together as part of "Paradiesisches Tor" at the Kulturbrauerei Berlin in 2011.

On SIRENS, Bartel and Gut have each contributed music for five tracks.

7"

Very Limited Trunk Website Only Release! (Until now)
Trunk Records caught everyone off guard way back in 2003 when they embarked on a series of reissues from the off-kilter musical world of Basil Kirchin, with his seriously scored orchestras, science fiction experiments, home-spun psychedelia and avant garde racket.

Now Trunk pulls out the trump card with an unknown Kirchin 1979 electronic floor-filler, in the shape of Silicon Chip. This nearly 40 year old tune contains all the analogue froth, cosmic thump and boogie down bass to get any party started.

Pressed on yellow wax, dead, dead limited, and brilliant. Backed with the stop/start helter-skelter arpeggio'd Silicon Sessions - works a treat when pitched down a little.

London 5-piece Hot Chip's debut album, celebrating it's 10th anniversary this year! There's a quite lovable oddball quality to this album, hints of Prince, the Beastie Boys, Beck.... a souled-up folk vision of chilled out pop music with a twist. 2005. A loungey, electropop sheen covers much of the music, but more than anything, Hot Chip displays an omnivorous approach to the entirety of alt, '60s pop and electronic music history. Their songs are infectious, silly and often weirdly beautiful. Wwith singer-songwriters Alexis Taylor and Joe Goddard at the core, Hot Chip's mixture of textured, smart, lo-fi groove with actual humor is incredibly rare, and great

DDD Records is a label and a store based in Paris.
Un Drame Musical Instantané is a collective of French composers led by Jean-Jacques Birgé. In 1984, they composed their own score to Dziga Vertov's groundbreaking 1929 film The Man With A Movie Camera.

This release features original 1984 copies of L'Homme A La Camera, as well as more recent material. In 2017, several producers were approached by DDD records to create new tracks or remixes using this rich and unusual recording as source material.

A1. Jorge Velez - Coquillage
The EP opens with Coquillage by US producer Jorge Velez. The word means sea shell in French, and this track is like putting one to your ear. Definitely on the more ambient side of things, Coquillage is full of eerie sounds, from the sea to marine wildlife and other unidentified sources which all create an unsettling atmosphere. Ever shifting and phasing, differently textured pads create a sense of wide open space and spiralling free fall through it.

A2. Un Drame Musical Instantané - L'Homme À La Caméra (Tuff Sherm remix)
Australian producer Tuff Sherm aka Dro Carey delivers a remix which plods along at 112 BPM with an infectious rhythm section thanks to terrific drum programming. Add a bunch of short samples, from metallic sounds to flute licks and many other instruments used in the original UDMI recording and the result is a stripped down remix that nonetheless remains full of surprises.

B1. Un Drame Musical Instantané - L'Homme À La Caméra (Eltron John remix)
Polish producer Eltron John's remix increases the BPM slightly. With the combination of flawless drum machine sequencing and a mellow bassline with a variety of UDMI samples, this is a tune where brass instruments, tubular instruments, lush pads, and other incidental sounds are used to great effect. There's an undoubtedly positive, uplifting vibe in this track which successfully uses UDMI's sounds in a house music context.

B2. Thurston Moore - 7-11
Closing the EP is this distinctive remix by Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth fame. You think you're in a for a purely musique concrète trip as the song begins with prepared piano, beeps and heavily treated noise. That's until an infectious drum loop evocative of music played in warehouses rather than concert halls appears. Said loop is cleverly treated and gets noisier and noisier as the track progresses. The contrast between the track's more experimental approach and the immediate pleasure procured by the drums makes it quite unforgettable.

The 2nd LP from Producer Steve Cobby and author Russ Litten, both natives of Kingston upon Hull following the critically acclaimed debut My People Come From The Sea.

The LP includes RIME, a four part musical narrative inspired by the Triple Trawler Tragedy of 1968 that saw 58 fishermen from Hull lose their lives in treacherous conditions in Arctic waters. The songs re-imagine a lost fishing industry in a modern setting, evoking ancient folk-lore, superstition and urban myths before repatriating the lost souls back to their home city. RIME was commissioned for John Grant's North Atlantic Flux Festival as part of the Hull  City of Culture celebrations of 2017.

Vinyl edition limited to 250 copies. RIYL: Clark, Colin Stetson, Pye Corner Audio, James Holden, Sarah Neufeld, Daniel Avery. 'We've All Been Swimming' marks something of a shift for Fieldhead. Previous releases have seen Elam take a detached view from the hillsides of West Yorkshire and Western Canada, but with his latest full length release the subject matter is closer and more immediate. Tensely wound synths lead throughout the album, shifting from the breathless momentum of the opening track through to pulses reminiscent of Colin Stetson on 'Ton'. The unique violin playing of Elaine Reynolds glides sparingly across the record, tempering the constantly shifting arpeggios and accentuating the human elements within the record's machine-like core. The haze found on previous releases still hangs, but now it's the haze of a crowded street or the last train home. 'We've All Been Swimming' is a concise and inspired attempt to reduce electronica down to the things that matter, with a narrative and sense of longing pervading the album reminiscent of Clark or Boards of Canada. It's the sort of work to be devoured in one sitting - that rarest of modern day beasts - where the tracks flow effortlessly into one another and finish leaving you wanting more. Paul Elam returns with a suite of immersive, pulsating, electronic reductions. Shifting arpeggios and minimal beats generate the forward motion, whilst the captivating violin playing of Elaine Reynolds helps to provide the narrative thrust.

Former half of the defunct Pitch & Hold duo under the banner of which he operated from 2006 to 2011, Simon Halsberghe steps up on Brussels' very own Vlek with his debut solo EP as Simon Hold.
First heard on Vlek's 2016 mix for Resident Advisor as they were appointed label of the month by the high­ranking platform last autumn, 'Maqam Bruxelloise' reflects the wide­angle beauty and compelling diversity of the Belgian capital and its throbbing heart, a city at the confluence of cultures and languages. Across a finely­layered interplay of synthetic modulations and intricate polyrhythms, Hold lays out a riveting kaleidoscope of pattern­welded textures and prismatic synth motifs played and arranged accordingly to a contemporary interpretation of the traditional Arabic maqam system of improvisation the track draws its title from. An ode to Brussels' all­embracing effervescence.
Translating as "soft drone" or "pleasant noise", the gritty 'Dhajij Doux' then welcomes you into a more disquieting, bipolar audio scenario that evokes the reality of living "in a sometimes difficult and hostile city". A curiously matching negative of the opener, in this that it taps into the same generous and plural matrix universe as main source of inspiration, but eventually opens on a more nuanced outcome, here Hold clearly shows a further abrasive facet of his work: harsh and vibrant, the track may be replete with a lead­heavy amalgam of sizzling bass and jagged drumwork thrown into the furnace, light and hope still manage threading their way through dark clouds and turbulence, slowly but surely turning this rough­hewn stone into a truly haunting gem.

Bill Laswell is one of the most prolifc, infuential and innovative musicians of the end of the last century: bass player, record producer, label owner, his carrier escapes every classifcation.
Starting from the enormous hit Rockit' by Herbie Hancock, Laswell boasts an outstanding artistic portfolio which includes, among the others, collaborations with Johnny Rotten, William Burroughs, Pharoah Sanders, Julian Schnabel, Sly Dunbar, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Yoko Ono.
Baselines' is the artist's debut solo album, a jazz-funk experimental release that came out in 1983 via Celluloid Records, the legendary label that Bill Laswell contributed to making glorious. Audiophile edition 45rpm pressed on virgin vinyl 180gr.

New wave mezcalero, Thomas Bullock, has linked London based new artist Dave.I.D. to his STD label while Thomas himself is reaching for the outer spheres on his quest to release his new book steeped in authentic mezcal culture in Mexico and its production.

Dave.I.D's Gore LP is a haunting combination of industrial and soul stylings.
Let that take you where it must, there's no other way to put it.

If you know Thomas from the Rub-n-Tug days of yore, and the subsequent vibes from Whatever We Want and STD, then you know the compass goes in all directions way beyond North, South, East, West.

Pye Corner Audio return to Death Waltz Originals, with 6 brand new and exclusive tracks featuring his trademark sci-fi electronica. 'Do You Hear Them' pulses with a dance floor verve you've not yet heard from PCA bouncing along a killer 4/4 beat with a super melodic bass riff on top, 'The Spiral' begins with a riff on the classic Axel F bass synth and it's super hyped drums and refrain could be placed in any classic 80s action movie you already love. The other tracks are more contemplative and will sound familiar to anyone that owns any of the PCA Black Mill Tapes series.

Pye Corner Audio return to Death Waltz Originals, with 6 brand new and exclusive tracks featuring his trademark sci-fi electronica. 'Do You Hear Them' pulses with a dance floor verve you've not yet heard from PCA bouncing along a killer 4/4 beat with a super melodic bass riff on top, 'The Spiral' begins with a riff on the classic Axel F bass synth and it's super hyped drums and refrain could be placed in any classic 80s action movie you already love. The other tracks are more contemplative and will sound familiar to anyone that owns any of the PCA Black Mill Tapes series.

Lullabies For Insomniacs is pleased to present Yasuo Sugibayashi and The Mask Of The Imperial Family, a compilation of music from Mimic Records 1980-1982.
.
Yasuo began his musical career playing guitar in a high school band, in 1980 after moving to Tokyo and immersing himself in various musical groups he founded Mimic Records. Inspired heavily by the art movements of the late 1970's, in particular the innovations of Brian Eno and David Cunningham he purchased a Roland System 100M. He was in search of a sound and the synthesizer had great potential. Simultaneously he had started experimenting with tape, playing with the tactility of the medium so he could understand how to best adapt it for his pieces.

Yasuo explored ancient ethnic music and wanted to combine his influences with daily experiences of city life. The short lived Mimic records was home to three of his solo releases, a self titled LP and two 7 inches, shortly after this period Yasuo went on to pursue other musical projects, in 1985 he was a founding member of the band Qujila which is still active today.

"Both profound and profoundly jaw dropping, the esoteric moves of this massively rare and insanely obscure 300 copy Japanese marvel have until now remained the sole preserve of a handful of heavyweight collectors. It's time to let the cat out of the bag on this one. The dankly cavernous and unsettling acid maneuvers of Dome circa their first three LP's (though absent vocals) are the nearest antecedent I can summon for the principal thrust of the sound here. So too, there's a ritualistic dimension to this stuff thats also a bit suggestive of something like Vasilisk or The Hybryds, though the arcane initiatory atmosphere here is far more penetrating than anything I've heard either of those two muster." - Mutant Sounds

Seahawks chart a course for the outer realms of consciousness where sea meets sky and sky meets space.

Two tracks new to vinyl from their esteemed 'Escape Hatch' album and three inspired remixes, 37 minutes of overlapping dream states and mantric resonance.

Setting sail with the wondrous 'Valparaiso', the siren like voice of Ed Macfarlane (Friendly Fires) calls the dancers to the beach, it's silken glide so smooth some have asked if it's Sade!

Nick Mackrory creates an alternative cosmos that is even more blissed, like a lost Lucio Battisti gem sparkling in the sun. (Nick was responsible for the lush 'Elle Dit' released on the Music For Dreams label not so long ago).

Picking up the pace disco viking Marius Circus enters the arena to create a woozy acid fever dream that throbs and pulses in a most heavenly way. Perfect for full moon beach jams and horizontal home hangs alike.

On the flip 'Starways' is without a doubt one of Seahawks finest creations, over 12 minutes of tropical kosmische odyssey that resolves into a glistening pool of crystal electronics, aquatic horns and celestial strings. A tonic for the mind and the body.

At the close of day Len Leise blesses us with a hazed subtropical jam where vapour tones float on an ancient ocean of bliss as organic beats massage the stress away.

An antidote to all that is dark and dismal in these fractured times.

Artwork is a specially commissioned airbrush work by Mervyn Beaver.

Brand new set of 3 x 7" on the Principe Discos Label out of Lisbon.

> Limited first pressing, individually hand-painted sleeves
> Debut showcase of this ground-breaking crew


Txiga means something like "come close" and that takes us right into the heart of the matter. Although especially apparent in the tarraxo style they are so connected to, the expression reveals unbounded enthusiasm for music, taken from the roots up, wherever the feeling projects it to. And so we felt this crew had to come across in a special way. Three seven inch records, one for each of the main producers (Wayne is kept as a reserve), represent three branches of the same tree.
The 4 tracks produced by K30 explore a more synthetic approach to the syncopated African sound of the streets, a sort
of avant-garde technoid expression of the batida identity. Sparse atmospheres, exotic percussion punches and something of a minimalist nature. "Melodias Do K30" bring in more drama but also a casual production method assumed as such - check the false ending. OK, DJ NinOo, with ondulating Oo's and that's exactly what it feels like when you get to the end of the spacey, romantic
"Ambientes Leves", an outstanding slow jam guaranteed to keep those rainy days happy. The extra heavy bassline pairs
up with circular synth waves for a sweet and sour atmosphere nothing else than unique. Then comes "Saudades Do Russel", a loving dedication in house tempo and sporting a complex, nostalgic keys workout. We chose two old cuts by Puto Anderson that might seem to limit the perspective regarding his production, but these actually push us back to the sort of raw ground zero where the whole batida substance has evolved from. Heavy, minimal, aggressive and happy in a way most os us can only try to grasp. The relentless, gritty groove on both tracks
comes from another era to fall flat on the centre of the dancefloor and keep things tight.

Ltd. to 300 copies, silk-screen printing on PVC sleeve.

LE CABANON presents its new Stand-alone series, beside its Couleurs EP series.

CLUSTER LIZARD are Dmytro Fedorenko (KOTRA) & Kateryna Zavoloka (ZAVOLOKA), Ukrainian musicians now based in Vienna and KVITNU label owners.

Edge of the Universe is a conceptual project that drives the listener into unique cinematic atmospheres, developing a sonic equilibrium between sensitivity and harshness, quietness and noisiness. A subtle alchemy which evolves progressively with loud layered rhythms, crystalline synths, crackling noises and unexpected breaks.

"Driven by cyberdelic rhythms across interstellar sonic scapes. Minimalist transmutation textures and pulsing dark matterfrequencies evolvewith superconsciousness bass vibrations. Sparkling high tech pads advance with tense raw analog buzz. Starburst trembling beats with psychedelic solar oscillations, that shine and burn mind into alchemical time drift."

Riccardo Sinigaglia, with Gabin Dabiré and Walter Maioli, made up one third of Futuro Antico - one of the most important collaborations to emerge from the 1970's and 80's Italian avant-garde. The project, whose name literally translates to ancient future, joined traditional sounds and instrumental from around world, with electronic music - the sonic past, present, and future as one. Recorded shortly after the collective's most prolific period and released in 1986, while more singular and more idiosyncratic, Sinigaglia's Riflessi caries these very concerns at its core. Built from field recording, collaged samples, synthesis, and instrumentation - shifting from hypnotic rhythm to radical and displacing structures, it establishes a remarkable link between ancient and non-western musics and efforts emerging from studios like Groupe de Recherches Musicales. A work of staggering rhythm, texture, beauty, Riflessi builds a world with almost no parallel - imbuing electronic music with touch, tactility, and humanity, while sacrificing none its challenges and intellectual heights. Rattling sonorous wonder, emerging for the first time on any format since its original pressing, before us is a historic moment - a lost piece of the puzzle of the wondrous Italian avant-garde.

"The Loa of Music" is the debut recording project of Milanese composer and musician Roberto Musci inspired by Voodoo Religion, Vever (the magical voodoo paintings) and Loas, the dark and magic spirits. The deep charm of non-Western music has led him to travel for many years across Africa, India and Asia, studying rhythms, scales, performance and interpretation of the most varied traditional and indigenous music, as well he make many field recordings and collected ethnic instruments that would then be combined with synthesizers and electronics in The Loa of Music.

Recorded in 1983, the project originally had 80 minutes of music but only half was released on original LP. SOAVE has pressed for the first time the Complete Recording Session from original tapes of this phenomenally ambitious masterpiece that entirely refuses the well trod path - distilling a remarkable range of sonic reference and reality. A work of field recording, musique concrète, electronics, synthesis, and instrumentation, pulling from countless musics from across the globe, the result is nothing short of brilliant and stunningly beautiful. A near perfect work - an egoless gesture, which rather than attempting to find consensus, offers every voice equity and cohabitation - harnessing the history music, with all of its cultural diversity, as a vision for a more ideal future. Geographies and their sounds intertwine, while Musci's interventions and instrumentation thread a path. Ambiences ripple, sounds and voices converse in a vision of unity that may only exist within sonic realms. Unquestionably seminal, and one of the most important works to emerge from Italy in the last 50 years. Never before issued on vinyl since it's original release, and surely not to be around for long, this is one not to miss.















[O} C3. Night Music II

Ltd. to 500 numbered copies, incl. printed inner sleeve

This Series of electro acoustic music and Musique Concrète has started in 2015 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Experimental Studio Bratislava, Exs. Series 1 introduced us to Ina Hudba/Other Music from the first generation of Slovak avant-garde composers recorded in the Exs, mostly with self-built electronic equipment behind the Iron Curtain. Series 2 provided a platform for Nova Generacia/New Generation of Slovak composers using Western equipment - now integrated in the 5 years plan' to purchase in the West...- and influenced by Karlheinz Stockhausen, György Ligeti, Pietro Grossi among others.

Series 3 called Nasi Hostia/Our Guests show casts the recordings at the Exs of foreign visiting composers like György Ligeti, Lothar Voigtländer, Liviu Dandara etc. The backbone to these unusual landmark recordings were the highly esteemed Annual International Seminars on New Music in Smolenice, Slovakia. The first Seminar held in 1968 was opened and attended by Karlheinz Stockhausen - playing his Hymnen' for the first time abroad - for the Slovak composers an ear opener and a learning process on how to make' this kind of music'... In the following years New Music personalities like Ligeti, Mauricio Kagel, Lutoslawski, Gorecki, Sofia Gubajdulina etc. attended the Smolenice Seminars. - Unfortunately the partial opening of the Iron Curtain and the general cultural upsurge of the 1960's were frozen by tanks in 1968. Neo-stalinistic normalization' of the early 1970s violently pushed this - and not only this - creative branch beyond the borders of permitted cultural activities.
We are especially proud to offer you on this issue a World Premier: Poème Symphonique for 100 Metronomes by György Ligeti, performed and recorded in Smolenice Seminars, 1969 - approved by the composer!

Of particular interest is a student of Stockhausen and Ligeti: Liviu Dandara, Romanian, with his outstanding electro acoustic composition Affectus Memoria' that shows his artistic development after his studies in Darmstadt. The famous East German composer Lothar Voigtländer is presented here with his never released Meditation Sur Le Temps', the almost forgotten Czech composer has here his comeback' with the extraordinary Speleofonie' - just to name a few East European composers to discover from the analogue past of the 70's.

Limited numbered edition of 500 LPs inclusive a CD with all the tracks in full original lengths.

'Stranger' is the debut solo album from Canadian artist Joanne Pollock. Released via Venetian Snares' Timesig imprint, with whom Pollock previously collaborated as Poemss, 'Stranger' is a stunning collection of electronic pop songs that range from the unsettlingly calm and beautiful through to ferocious explosions of caustic noise, all held together by Joanne's multi-octave ranging vocals.
What happens when we push up against that which contains us' asks Pollock. By distorting the mirror, we may become plastic. When the comfort of familiarity is stripped away, it can feel as though we become a stranger in our own bodies. Is it through embracing the Stranger that we discover ourselves Stranger explores the multiplicities of selfhood - what defines us, where the boundaries lie.'
On tracks like the album opener 'Carnival', 'Myself Apart' and 'Expect Me' Pollock's vocals weave in and out of the bruised and bruising bass lines, glacial synths and stop-start beats almost becoming one with the music, before suddenly overpowering the synthetic elements to take centre stage in bursts of joyful an intricate, detailed approach to music production with illusive almost dreamlike textures 'Stranger' sees Pollock further burnish her reputation as one of electronic music's most exciting and idiosyncratic new artists. Throughout the album's ten tracks she continually leads us down dark, surprising paths as she experiments with and twists song structures, resulting in an album that feels both eerily familiar and startlingly new and continues to reveal new secrets with every play.

Solo project of Vanishing Twin (Soundway) member.

The song Cucumuber Sword feat. vocals by Taishi Nagasaka (Fat White Family)

Man From Uranus has been making music inspired by the freakier edges of 60s and 70s library music and jazz for almost 2 decades, and like his predecessors - Sun Ra, Space Lady - he's never really fitted in, feeling more comfortable exploring cosmic realms than than with his feet firmly on his own planet. A prolific composer and home recordist, he has garnered a reputation for eccentric live shows, each presenting an entirely new repertoire. Alien Flowers, in a limited edition of 300, is one of few recordings capturing the spirit of an artist who is unwittingly on his way to attainting cult status.

Alien Flowers has been played on NTS, The Wire's Adventures in Sound and Music and The Independent Music Podcast. Support from The Sunday Experience, Tom Furse (The Horrors), Jonny Trunk, Doug Shipton (Finders Keepers), Emily Bick (The Wire) and Anthony Chalmers (Baba Yaga's Hut).

After making us wait almost two decades for new solo material before last year's "Saudade", Steve Cobby is back in the blink of an eye with his second LP in as many years, once again on his own Declasse imprint. I suspect self-releasing suits Mr Cobby, and "Everliving" sees him embrace the creative freedom it allows. The fourteen immersive and expansive cuts are spread lovingly across three LPs rather than cramped onto a double, allowing each track the time and space to grow and evolve at its own pace. The result is an LP which entirely envelops you within its own sonic world, beguiling your senses with hypnotic keys, lilting rhythms, gentle guitars and pan global sounds. More electronic than its predecessor, "Everliving" delves deeper, gradually easing you into a trance like state through repetition and an expert understanding of space. So far the release has been met with universal praise from the likes of Dave Harvey, Phil Mison, Richard Norris and Peter Kruder, and really, who are we to disagree Superb

Without knowing it, you've probably heard Kelly Lee Owens' work over the past few years: the 27-year-old London producer contributed vocals and writing to several tracks on fellow UK techno wizard Daniel Avery's debut LP, 2014's Drone Logic, and she's made waves with a pair of limited-release 12" singles showcasing her gifts for spectral, hallucinatory pop. On Oleic, her debut release on Smalltown Supersound, Owens flexes her considerable muscle as a dance producer with four luscious, deeply satisfying slices of big-room electronic music.
If previous single "Arthur" tugged at the threads of expansive house music, then Oleic finds Owens fully immersed in cavernous bass, circuitous melodical phrasing, and intricately textured synths. "C.B.M." wanders ominously through a thicket of rushed snares and distant synths, with Owens' vocal incantations occasionally emerging through the fog. Oleic's title track is ecstatic club fare, an endless loop doing swan dives around a patient, sturdy backbeat.

On the B-side, Owens' remix of Norwegian avant-musician Jenny Hval's "Kingsize" provides an experiment in the use of negative space, turning Hval's original into a propulsive, handclap-dotted journey with a few synth squiggles here and there that provide jarring bursts of color.

Oleic closes with a throwback to the days of Midwestern acid with the aptly named "Elliptic," all crisp drums and stuttering vocal samples with acid's signature squelches just close enough to touch the elements around them. It's a closer on an EP that showcases deep range and know-how when it comes to dance music's past and present, and Oleic only draws further intrigue as to what the future holds for Owens.

FIRELP232 is the 12' black vinyl LP, download card included. ESG's fusion of sweet soul and punk attitude with an intuitive understanding of dance music remains.' The Guardian This is still funk with an alien otherworldliness the likes of which George Clinton never envisioned, stripped to its barest essentials for maximum impact.' All Music ESG are as cool as ever.' The Guardian Pumping their way out of the South Bronx of New York in the early 80s, this rhythm and dance-punk outfit made unforgettable funk that was also unusually rooted in post-punk. This powerhouse of raw and cutting edge music ultimately made them ahead of their time. ESG enjoyed success sharing stages with PiL and Gang Of Four and have been heavily sampled as many musicians including TLC, Wu-Tang Clan, Beastie Boys and Liars. A band-approved reissue of 'Step Off' will be released the same day with artwork from award nominated illustrator Hannah Alice, who recently gained critical praise for her work on the Bert Jansch reissue of Avocet'.

Analog synthesizers, drum machines and oriental lutes'

Ko Shin Moon is the first contemporary artist signed and produced by Akuphone and reflects perfectly the new cosmopolitan sound that the label wanted to highlighting.

Blurring the lines between time and space, Ko Shin Moon mixes acoustic instruments from various regions of the world, analog devices, traditional music, electronic arrangements, sampling and field recordings.

As the soundtrack of a patchwork journey, the band's first LP conveys one along a succession of hybrid territories, imaginary sound landscapes, multicolored collages: Acid Dabke, Turkish-Greek Disco, Cosmic Raï, New Beat Molam, Tibetan Ambient, Synth Wave Hindi Filmi, Rickshaw Dance Music...

Comes with download card.

FUTURE SOUND HAS NO BORDERS!

Further unreleased jams from the great TLT. BIG TIP!
You can trail away with it. It is easy to enter, but hard to drop out. Tolouse Low Trax just needs an MPC, a small Synthesizer set up and some effects to create subliminal hypnotic music trips, driven by dark synthlines and drunken shuffled patterns. The primitiveness in my music is linked to something simple, and that don't have to be obligatory minimal. For me it is enough to dance rough around the core. Music you don't shape till the end contains of a moment of beauty. A veil of secrecy. I work very simply. I rather reduce my possibilities in ompass. Limitations offer lots of liberties.' He reveals about his work ethic. Even if his music sounds darker then any ever experienced night, he mostly produces it in the morning in his highly inspirational studio home. During the dark times of the day Tolouse Low Trax mostly performs live around the globe. Or hangs out in his second home: the Salon Des Amateurs club bar in Dusseldorf, which he once founded and where he held until today two weekly DJ residencies. The moments and atmospheres he inhales during these lightless moments are mirrored in his shadowy music, about which he also confesses: My art is more a cinematic, literally idea of a large to explore Megacity. This is one of the pictures I would link to my music.' On ' part one he now offers five sounding visions about that Megacity'. They listen to mysterious names like Hidden Flat' or Studies in Drama'. They are nervous. They have ephemeral pieces of dub, Industrial, wave or Italian library music. And at times strangealienated voice samples dance within his highly addictive arrangements. Words can't express their magic. But one thing is fore sure: his hypnotic dance-not-dance tracks do not only illuminate so-called freaks!

That we live in a world changed is beyond question. Since 2015's Zenith, Berlin-based songwriter Molly Nilsson has surrendered to the world, traveling from Mexico to Glasgow, observing the changing socio-political landscape and imagining a better world. For an artist who has so successfully created her own environment and gradually let others in, her 8th studio album Imaginations sees Nilsson directly engaging with her surroundings, engendering change and allowing love in. Imaginations dreams big, recasting storming, stadium-sized pop into the internal language of the solo auteur. Imaginations is not escapism, it's a kaleidoscope and an alternative view, an agent of change.Opener Tender Surrender encapsulates Imaginations, a tango on the ruins of the past, like many of Nilsson's best songs a collision between the political and personal. Though potentially a love song, there's a glowing anger in the lines I want your ruin, I want destruction, I won't be through until we mend this...' this is rapturous transformation, order and chaos. Molly has built an almost 10 year career on perfectly summing up how we feel and this is no different... Who else could write a song about privilege (Let's Talk About Privileges) and make a heart-rending chorus of It's never being afraid of the police, it's expecting every thank you, every please.' The artist's vision on this album is perhaps more forceful than the emotionally fragile moments of previous album Zenith, at times exemplified on songs like Memory Foam, a bright, driving pop song that belies themes of nostalgia and the past, reminding us that Molly alone can make us feel so welcome in loneliness. If there's overt anger in songs like Money Never Sleeps, an anthem for a post-capitalist utopia if ever there was one, there's also seams of optimism sewn into the album's genetic code. Any revolutionary will tell you that anger alone achieves nothing - Nilsson's mission on Imaginations is to offer some alternatives we can hold close. Not Today Satan is a song about accepting love as the agent of change, Don't be sad, but do get mad at all the small men who act so tall, in the end they always fall, there ain't no sin in giving in to love, that's just how we're winning the fight.' Love can be visceral, a weapon with which to fight the power.On Imaginations Molly is recasting her interior monologue as a prism through which to see the world, a means to live differently and to reject the status quo. We can Think Pink, change our destiny together. This is an optimism about the future when we need it the most. New boys, new girls.. give me your smile and I'll give you mine' Clearly, we are living through a transformation but with alchemists like Molly Nilsson, we're never alone in the process.

Rerelease of muslimlim 001 with new artwork in a limited edition of 800

It was first in what continues to be a series of limited-edition subscription-only releases from Staalplaat, Izlamaphobia starts with an aggressive blast, "Hudood Ordinance." With a rhythm track consisting of extremely tweaked and processed electronic beats and bleeps, with only the gentlest of Arabic string instruments deep in the mix to relate things to a more familiar Muslimgauze sound, the song sets the general mood for the rest of Izlamaphobia. This said, Bryn Jones' specific talent is such that even without that, this would still sound like him, his trademark care and obsessiveness in terms of percussion again evident. Two discs long and with a variety of romanticized (some might say stereotypical) songtitles like "The Eternal Illusionist of Oid Bachdad" and "Lahore Morphine Market," Izlamaphobia has two chief artistic themes, if anything. On the one hand, Jones' incorporation of hip-hop and funk beats has never been stronger, providing songs like "Gilded Madrasa" and "The Public Flogger of Lahore" with a wickedly fierce kick and drive. On the other, the strained, alien treatments on many of the songs would be well at home on innumerable Warp Records releases of the '90s, with squelching rhythms, undanceable dance tracks and, quite unsurprisingly, a desire to avoid expected techno clichés. With these two strains combined on many songs by Jones, the results are wonderfully slamming, strange tracks such as "Khadija and Fereshta." Not everything is quite so dramatically different from past Muslimgauze releases, with the incorporation of multilayered acoustic percussion cropping up more than once, such as on "Hijab Muzzle." Everything is just that little bit dirtier in sound, though, and all the more intriguing for it. Some tracks are mere snippets and others don't quite deliver on their promise, but all in all Izlamaphobia is yet another Muslimgauze success.

"Instead of the drones and mostly beatless atmospheres of many previous Muslimgauze recordings, Zuriff Moussa presents quite a danceable switch for Bryn Jones. Dedicated to a Palestinian martyr, the album sounds like a cleaner version of Techno Animal, with Eastern influences instead of dub."Turkquoize Label" and"Brazil Marijuana" are surprisingly infectious, with distorted breakbeats and the patented Muslimgauze phased-channel drone. There are 24 tracks spread across more than an hour, so there isn't a large amount of time for each track, though several are presented in suites, like"Anti Arab America." For messed-up beat fans who are able to find it, Zuriff Moussa is close to a crucial purchase."

John Bush, All Music Guide

TOMAGA channel various forms of multi-instrumentalism into music that moves by turns through industrial, jazz, psychedelia and minimalism, on it's way to somewhere wholly other. Devoted to musical exploration, this London based duo - Valentina Magaletti and Tom Relleen - obsessively deconstruct familiar tropes, looking for the tension that lies between improvisation and form.

Following the release of their second album 'The Shape Of The Dance' last September, TOMAGA will release a new four track EP 'Greetings from The Bitter End' which features two new songs and reworkings from good pals Shit & Shine and Cavern Of Anti-Matter. The impetus for the new EP came when the pair returned from recording the last album in Tuscany and acquired a marimba on arrival back in London, this unleashed a "tuned percussion journey" resulting in the mantra like 'Liberating Mania'.

The title track is a more ambient and atmospheric affair - a textured build up of percussive parts and features Rick Tomlinson on hornet. Always open to collaboration with outside bodies (as well as touring with the likes of Wire, Deerhoof and Silver Apples), the pair have previously been invited by Turner Contemporary Gallery to stage a performance using the artworks of Pedro Reyes (re-conditioned weapons confiscated by Mexican police from drug cartels and turned into instruments) as inspiration and also contributed a sound object to the Yoko Ono exhibition 'Lumiere De L'aube'.

Their next engagement comes from the invite of Thurston Moore who has recruited them for The Can Project, in which the duo will be performing as part of an ensemble fronted by the Sonic Youth singer and featuring previous Can members at the Barbican on April 8th. Curated by Irmin Schmidt, the event will be in honour of the late Can drummer Jaki Leibzeit, and will feature an orchestral reinterpretation of classic Can material alongside new work with the London Symphony Orchestra. 'I guess for most musicians, as far as arrangements, production and songwriting, it's impossible to ignore the importance and the influence of such a band. I don't think it reckless stating that their musical legacy will keep influencing generations to come. We are extremely honoured to be part of this project together with a string of incredible musicians.' Tomaga say of the event.

REPRESSED !
Tracy Island, surrounded by natures greatest and ever rising force of the Ocean, is a place emanating peace and joy. The label is a concept representing the isolation and appeal of Island life, contrasted with thought provoking and mesmerising melodies to draw us away from main land mentality, offering feelings of tranquility and wonder. In these controversial times the necessity to escape or break away grows as we feel increasingly submerged by the world's realities, now more than ever we should strive to protect both the environment and the purpose of this planet.
Tracy Island will follow a 10 episode framework taking inspiration from Thunderbirds, all of which aptly named after the original series. The first episode welcomes Mori Ra of Osaka, with four old edits from way back when on 'Trapped In The Sky'.
' Located in the South Pacific, the heavily camouflaged Island's ulterior function is to serve as the secret base of the International Rescue Organisation. Music For Hope. With love from Tracy Island. '

Staalplaat - archive series volume three (April 26, 2011)
CD
digipak w/clear tray
limited edition of 700

Shorter than many of Muslimgauze's 1990s albums -- 13 untitled songs over 45 minutes -- Azzazzin, originally released as part of the limited-edition subscription series, feels more like a collection of random experiments than a cohesive piece of work per se. If not something that would intrigue the casual listener, the hardcore fan will likely find something of interest on the various tracks here. Starting with an extremely minimal opening number -- it's no surprise Finnish experimental duo Pan Sonic are Muslimgauze fans, based on this track -- Azzazzin has a much more electronic feeling than most of Bryn Jones' other albums, eschewing the traditional elements used elsewhere for a rough, quietly aggressive and disturbing feel. Comparisons with Aphex Twin aren't too far off the mark here, but this is still clearly a Muslimgauze release than any sort of ripoff. The fourth track, with its unpredictable keyboard snarls over a low, quiet pulse, and the sixth and seventh songs, with distorted, high-pitched noise tones mixed with a soft series of bass notes and a slight spoken-word interjection from time to time, are some of the strong points from this intriguing release. Beats are used in an extremely limited way throughout Azzazzin, with rhythm, always a key component of Jones' work, more suggested at points by the nature of the keyboard lines than anything else. Closing with an equally minimal track, Azzazzin won't be everyone's cup of tea, but adventuresome listeners will find themselves rewarded.

Gondwana Records are delighted to announce the signing of composer, bassist and producer Phil France. A key collaborator alongside Jason Swinscoe in the Cinematic Orchestra, France was responsible for some of the most heartrendingly beautiful music created in recent times. Co-writing, arranging and producing on the Cinematic Orchestra albums including Everyday, Man With a Movie Camera, Ma Fleur and also the triple award winning soundtrack for The Crimson Wing nature documentary, France's skills have always extended beyond his bass-lines. France who signed a three album deal with Gondwana earlier this year, is currently working on new material for release in Autumn 2017, but first up is a worldwide re-release for his debut solo recording, The Swimmer, a beautiful beguiling "soundtrack" for a film that hasn't been made yet. Originally released in October 2013 it is deeply emotive and epic in scale and draws it influences from the great second wave of film composers including John Carpenter and Vangelis, as well as minimalist composers such as Steve Reich and Philip Glass. France's skill, in this album, as well as his work with The Cinematic Orchestra, is in soundtracking human emotion - The Swimmer is full of heartbreak and recovery, strength, honesty and frailty, it is meditative and hopeful. The Swimmer will be released on 27th Feb 2017. The Swimmer will be supported by three remixes: Joy Of Brass - Mr. Scruff Remix The Swimmer - Graham Massey Remix (808 State) Transition - Kristian Gjerstad Remix Full servicing to all key media with reviews in Mojo, Record Collector, BBC Music Magazine, Jazzwise and DJ Magazine expected. The album and mixes will be serviced to all key international DJs with support from Gilles Peterson and Lauren Laverne on 6 Music, Ross Allen, Patrick Forge, DJ Lefto and beyond.

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.