Pop & Rock News

An ethereal, unresolved presence fading into the stereo field, Hilja breathes into life with a haunted synth line and self-sampling vocal hook that instantly creates an enchanted space. Hilja is the debut album by Glasgow-based musician Maria Rossi aka Cucina Povera. Named after a style of southern Italian traditional cooking associated with precarity and making-do, a philosophy of simplicity and stoicism that applies perfectly to the spare but beautiful music Rossi experiments with. Hilja's marriage of minimal synth, field recordings and the hymnal dexterity of Rossi's vocal performances creates a new language, sometimes literally, to be spoken in some mythological Fourth World we've yet to create.
Originally from Finland, Rossi brings an acute sense of space, surroundings, and practicality to her working practice, with each composition often relying on a limited sound palette to create deeply affecting messages which transcend language. Cucina Povera's power is to communicate purely, often down to the solo-choir nature of Rossi's multi-layered voice, an achingly beautiful instrument which has seems to have an innate spirituality in its grain. The tension between the means and the end is at the heart of Cucina Povera, the invocation of a kind of secular spirituality at times using nothing but Rossi's voice. Indeed there's almost a Dogme-like purity to the arrangements: Elektra is a soothing song based around the lapping waves of Rossi's wordless backing vocals and a simple field recording of stones knocked together. Kehoitus is completely a cappella, a haunted fairytale told in glossolalia, evoking a quasi-religious experience with very little.
For music often minimal and simple there's a boldness that belies Hilja's status as a debut. Rossi allows each word, each sound and rhythm to exist in its own space, finding its own relationship with its surroundings. Mesikämmenen Veisu is perhaps the most ecclesiastical sounding composition here, burbling water trickles below a virtuoso vocal, with incredible arrangements in several registers undulating above. A meditation to relieve hunger and restriction, it's a perfect summing up of Hilja, a music ambient but completely earthed, finding enchantment in what you have to hand, the realism of magic, the magic of realism.
First Press limited to 300 with hand-screened sleeves.

'I knew I was ready for a change.' Says Emma Tricca of the direction on her latest album, St Peter. Even when she was making 2014's Relic, the seeds were already being sewn for where she would and what would crop up next. 'I seem to start thinking about the next record half way through recording whatever I'm recording; it's a never-ending process. I constantly think about lines, poems, melodies. I carry a notepad with me at all times.'

As someone who has spent the years since her last record travelling between London, Rome and New York, it works to Tricca's advantage that she's able to respond whenever inspiration strikes. Songs for this album were penned in Soho cafes, Pigneto apartments and Bushwick lofts. 'I guess I seem to follow the inspiration when it comes, ' she says. 'Often the songs are sparked by everyday life images.' If this conjures up the image of the life of a travelling poet soaking up life and all its offerings, then that's not too far off the mark as poetry is a significant inspiration for Tricca . '1950s beat poetry, the Celtic Twilight movement and the Hermeticism movement are amongst my biggest influences.' she says.

If the album is formed together by countless everyday images and experiences from an artist who is creatively alert at all times, then it was carried over the finish line by an equally vast and eclectic number of musicians. Sonic Youth's Steve Shelley is on drums, Pete Calub on bass, The Dream Syndicate's Jason Victor on guitar (amongst other instruments) and various guest performances come from the likes of Howe Gelb, Paper Dollhouse's Astrud Steehouder and folk icon Judy Collins. Collins, who loved Tricca's 2009 record Minor White (released on Jane Weaver's record label Bird) and got in touch, was an especially big deal for Tricca. 'I literally learned to play fingerpicking watching old footage of Judy playing that I had taped when I first started getting into that kind of guitar sound. I had burnt a hole in that tape I was rewinding and fast forwarding it so much.'

The bulk of the album was recorded in Hoboken, New Jersey. 'It was magical really, a dream studio,' Tricca recalls. 'A big live room with the best gear ever and amazing musicians to work with. We had fun, there never was a tense moment and it felt we were just working together at service of the songs - no ego involved.' Whilst Tricca went into the recording knowing what she wanted the album to sound like - 'The Velvet Underground meets Fairport Convention' she told Steve Shelley over Vietnamese food one night - the end result is something much richer and far expansive than perhaps even Tricca herself could have hoped for.

The album is one so loaded with texture that is almost feels tangible, a rare record that feels precise and pristine in its executions but never sterile or lifeless. Electric guitars fizz away like a controlled electricity, Tricca's guitar playing flows gracefully at the core with her vocals existing in the perfect state between slight rasp and caramel-smoothness. Shelley's drumming and percussion gives a steady heartbeat to the record which is further brought to life by a variety of deft instrumentation, including piano, bass, cello, violin, glockenspiel and of course the variety of guest backing vocalists.

Whilst St Peter's deep-seated roots can perhaps be traced to traditional folk music, its finished existence feels far from such a thing - its ever-flowing essence skipping through genres, tones, paces and rhythms with a gliding grace. Perhaps even a touch of the spirit of Hoboken's own Yo La Tengo has seeped into the finish record in its quiet yet stirring beauty.

Fresh from touring in the UK and Europe with acts including Robyn Hitchcock and Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets, London-based singer-songwriter Emma Tricca releases a new edition of her stunning 2018 album St Peter, accompanied by a limited edition postcard.

Praised on first release as a 'wonderfully romantic piece of folk-pop' (The Times), possessing 'a startling and sublime new sound' (The Quietus, 5 stars), St Peter features guest appearances from folk legend Judy Collins alongside indie icons Howe Gelb, Jason Victor and Steve Shelley.

The album is one so loaded with texture that is almost feels tangible, a rare record that feels precise and pristine in its executions but never sterile or lifeless. Electric guitars fizz away like a controlled electricity, Tricca’s guitar playing flows gracefully at the core with her vocals existing in the perfect state between slight rasp and caramel-smoothness. Shelley’s drumming and percussion gives a steady heartbeat to the record which is further brought to life by a variety of deft instrumentation, including piano, bass, cello, violin, glockenspiel and of course the variety of guest backing vocalists.

Whilst St Peter’s deep-seated roots can perhaps be traced to traditional folk music, its finished existence feels far from such a thing - its ever-flowing essence skipping through genres, tones, paces and rhythms with a gliding grace. Perhaps even a touch of the spirit of Hoboken’s own Yo La Tengo has seeped into the finish record in its quiet yet stirring beauty.

The late 70s found Turkey in an economic slump, and there was a huge rise in political violence. Baris, who so often put out collections of singles, rose to the occasion by spending 6 months holed up with his longtime backing band the Kurtalan Ekspres. The result was this studio album of Anatolian bummer psychedelia, often unfairly overlooked because it came out in the rather un-cosmic year of 1979, but also considered his best work by many. Yep, there are still electrified versions of Turkish folk songs, and the spaceshot ARPs & Korgs of 2023' are here too, but don't expect a happy swing around the ceiling of a planetarium.

The real star of the album is the keyboard player, whose name translates to 'Sword Agent'. Yeni Bir Gun' is viciously funky & brilliantly arranged, with tidbits stolen out of the latest disco hits, & lean, mean synthesizers that emerge from the beats like carbonated bubbles. Melancholy maqams & catastrophic Korgs collide when the Turkish psych master glides unflinchingly into the grim late 70s!!

First time ever reissue, this release comes in gorgeous gatefold cover as the original, has a repro of the original poster as well, and brings an extra insert with extensive linernotes.

Limited to 100 hand-stamped / stuffed / numbered copies in picture sleeve.

The B-side features two cuts from his debut album, Maximal Electronics, on Moontown Records. 50 cassettes disappeared in the blink of an eye and this is the first time any of it has been pressed to vinyl.

The A-side (featuring the vocals of P. P. Rebel.) is, well, inexplicable...but with a gun to our heads we'd say it feels a little like Heavy Metal colliding with a shroomed-out Radiophonic Workshop on the bleary downward dip of a trip that wasn't BAD but wasn't exactly GOOD either. Par for the course in TIS' stomping ground of Geelong, really.

The Gunesh Ensemble was founded in 1970 in Ashkhabad, Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic, then part of the Soviet Union. They started out as a vocal group with supporting musicians from Turkmenistan State Radio and TV. Later several young musicians came to play with them and the band's music became much more modern. The group began to play jazz-rock tightly intertwined with traditional Oriental music. With that new musical style the band participated in some popular festivals around the Soviet Union. They received various awards and became very popular. Gunesh has always been in the process of developing and was one of the first and best local jazz-groups to organically combine the principles of jazz and melodic improvisation. The remarkably beautiful arrangements and polyrhythmic compositions were always further developed thematically. This process was highly praised at the Moscow competition With A Song On Life in 1977 where the ensemble became a prize-winner. The Organizing Committee of the Festival Spring Rhythms in Tbilisi (1980) called out members Rishad Shafi as best drummer and Stanislav Morozov as best saxophonist. This, their very fine first LP was originally released in 1980 on the Soviet state label Melodyja and contains traditional Central Asian music in jazz-rock arrangements plus a Vietnamese singer. The line-up has changed many times. Around 65 musicians have been a member of the group at some point in time.

The second of March's trio of killer Polytechnic Youth 45s is a mighty extended piece of slow building Berlin school-esque electronica extended over 2 sides of a 33rpm disk, recorded by Adam Leonard; initially from a batch of 18 tracks recorded at varying times over the last six years.

'Entkommen' is his first release for the label here, and both artist and label rather liked the idea of one extended track across two sides of a 45, whereby the listener must flip the disc at a half way point to continue the piece. It struck us as increasingly unusual and works a treat here...

Adam has amassed a number of acclaimed releases in varying styles, and across a number of esteemed labels over the years. Last year's full band release (Invaderband) being shortlisted for a Northern Ireland music prize 2017 and was 6Music recommended. Not to mention previous releases in collaboration with The Owl Service and P.G Six.

His electronic home recordings are all well worth investigating and Polytechnic Youth proudly releases the first fruits of those sessions right here. A numbered, limited edition vinyl only 7' hand numbered to 250 copies.

- 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL
- 4 PAGE BOOKLET WITH LINER NOTES
- 3 LP SET INCLUDES CLASSIC SONGS AFTER MIDNIGHT',
CRAZY MAMA', COCAINE' AND MANY MORE
- HIGH QUALITY PVC PROTECTIVE SLEEVE
- INCLUDES INSERT WITH AVAILABLE COLLECTED TITLES

J.J. Cale († July 26, 2013) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. His influence as a musical artist has been widely acknowledged by many rock musicians and is considered to be one of the originators of The Tulsa Sound, an amalgamation of blues, rockabilly, country and jazz.

Classic songs, written and performed by J.J. Cale, like After Midnight', Cocaine', Call Me The Breeze' and many more were re-recorded by other acts and artists who enjoyed success with them. His collaboration with Eric Clapton on The Road To Escondido' won the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album in 2006.

A cosmic, phased-out percussion adventure by Shimshon Miel, a lone-wolf hippie from Tel-Aviv who experimented with hallucinogenic psych-folk, and self-released his only album in 1977. Fortuna Records reissues two of the album's killer cuts for the very first time, alongside a late-night club edit by Kalbata. Expect extra trippy percussion soundscapes layered on top of a thumping bass guitar in wild 70's style stereo action. Kalbata's remix is a straight up voodoo ritual, adding much needed 808 subs to the jacked-up original.

180g are delighted to release "Souvenir", an album by one of the most promising and talented music makers from today's Japanese underground scene: VIDEOTAPEMUSIC.

Videotapemusic is a young music and video producer from Tokyo who uses old Japanese and Asian VHS tapes collected in dusty recycle shops and closed rental video stores as raw material for his sampling work and video production, creating a singular and highly unique musical world that has created waves on the Japanese scene since 2009. Starting out strong with three self-released albums, followed by two albums on Japanese label Kakubarhythm and a collaboration 12" on EM Records, "Souvenir" is now the first Videotapemusic album released outside of Japan, available as a limited 180g heavyweight vinyl LP edition, and in digital format. The LP comes with a download card.

The eight tracks in "Souvenir" also feature the cream of the crop from the current Japanese scene: Beipana on steel guitar, MC.sirafu on steel pan, saxophonists Satomi Endo, Satoru Takeshima and Kaoru Masuda, trumpetistsTaichiro Kawasaki and Makoto Takahashi, DJ Eskimo, guitarist Yuichi Ushioda, percussionist and hand sonic player Hajime Matsushita, keyboardist Yu Arauchi, Videotapemusic on pianica and vocalists Sansuke Yamada, Toshihiko Ikeda and Ryu Tsuruoka. Dive into a world of musical delight and discover today's best music from Japan!

All Songs Produced by VIDEOTAPEMUSIC.

Recording & Mix : VIDEOTAPEMUSIC, Naoya Tokunou.

Mastering : Naoya Tokunou.

About 180g:

180g is a music agency providing vinyl pressing, distribution and licensing services specialised in the Japanese market. Its strong knowledge of the Japanese music scene and industry allows 180g to bring top quality solutions to the various international labels it is working with, for their development in Japan, and to Japanese labels for their development outside of the country. In addition, 180g runs its own record label.

Ethereal and exquisite songwriting from one of the forces behind the legendary band Love! Across fourteen tracks, former Love guitarist, singer, and songwriter Bryan MacLean is undeniably mesmerizing, his soaring falsetto and euphoric guitar weaving through performances that showcase his distinctive talent. Long out of print, and a must-have for fans of the legendary L.A. band, Sundazed proudly presents this essential collection on white vinyl, featuring extensive liners from David Fricke and the late MacLean himself.

Ifyoubelievein is, in a sense, the Love record that never was: solo demos and home recordings of fourteen original MacLean songs, all written in the earliest and most vital years of Love and all but three virtually unheard in any form since MacLean wrote them over 30 years ago. It took a lot of time for the music on ifyoubelievein to end up where it always belonged-on record, as Bryan MacLean originally wrote and envisioned it. And it has been worth the wait. Listen and be forever changed.' - David Fricke

Sorcerer Records is proud to announce the first ever vinyl edition of this long-out-ofprint classic from 1995, originally released on CD by the Dog Meat label. Tendrils sees Joel (Hoss, GOD, Melonman, Dark Horses, etc.) and Charlie (New Christs, Beasts Of Bourbon, Tex, Don & Charlie) engaging in a series of intimate, loose and downbeat folky duets.
With sonic similarities to the likes of Richard Thompson (there's a mind-melting cover of his Night Comes In' track here, too) and John Martyn, as well as more contemporary troubadours such as Ben Chasny (Six Organs Of Admittance) and Steve Gunn, Tendrils often feels like it's on the verge of musical collapse, but pulls itself together with delicate and intricate guitar work, gentle vocals and occasional percussion lending it a steady pulse.
The duo released one more CD, this one under the Tendrils moniker, in 1998 on the Half A Cow label, before parting ways. We think this is a very special release which deserves a new appreciation and a 21st-century audience. Both Joel and Charlie are still very active in music (Joel's other band, Hoss, will be releasing their first album in 20 years on Sorcerer in 2018), but with Tendrils you get to hear the magic they made together circa 1995.
This edition comes newly remastered by Mikey Young with fresh artwork design from Luke Fraser and is limited to 500 copies worldwide.

The brilliant second album from the legendary Cymande.
180 gram vinyl, mastered from original tapes, replica original artwork, official Mr Bongo reissue.
Licensed from John Schroeder Enterprises.

'Pat Thomas Introduces Marijata' is a seminal Ghanian album that fuses highlife, reggae, folk, funk and soul, from legendary vocalist Pat Thomas. Originally released in 1976 on Gapophone Records.
'Marijata' was a group made up of three members - Kof 'Electric' Addison on drums, Bob Fischlan on organ and Nat Osmanu on guitar, hailing from Ghana. Pat Thomas career began in 1969 with the 'Broadway Dance Band', leaving a year later to join the 'Uhuru Dance Band'. He then played with Ebo Taylor's 'Blue Monks' and fnally formed the 'Sweet Beans' in 1973 where he really made his name. The group released 'False Lover' in 1974, split and then reformed as Marijata, releasing 'Marijata' (also available on Mr Bongo) and this album, 'Pat Thomas Introduces Marijata'.

Thomas career spans more than 50 years and he stll tours regularly across the world.

Replica original artwork, ofcial Mr Bongo reissue. Licensed from Gapophone Records courtesy of George Prah.

Haley Heynderickx's highly anticipated debut album premiered in full on NPR Music who interviewed Heynderickx on the record and her process. Speaking to the time between her debut EP and the album Heynderickx says she "wanted it to feel intimate. It feels like a conversation to me, getting to play a show. And now making a show for an invisible person, I have no idea how people can intake and receive music without the external stimuli (of a live performance). It felt like a different craft, so it took me a long time." Stereogum's Tom Breihan praised Heynderickx and I Need To Sart A Garden saying "Heynderickx is the sort of virtuoso who puts her gifts toward making richer, more intricate, more deeply felt music" and Brooklyn Vegan said "Haley has gotten a lot of Angel Olsen comparisons, and they definitely have a similar sound, but Haley is a force of her own." The CBC premiered the album in Canada and praised Heynderickx saying "the best songwriting and singing of the year can be found on I Need to Start a Garden" while in the same breath comparing her to Angel Olsen, Feist and Joni Mitchell.

"Haley Heynderickx's songs alternately shimmer with playfulness and shudder with earnestness, one moment, they take a magnifying glass to bemusing, mundane details, and the next, they pose startling existential queries." - Pitchfork

"Every once in a while, amid the swirling chaos of the music world, a song comes along that stops time" - Gold Flake Paint

"Untitled God Song" is an "extraordinary catalogue of personal metaphors for the divine" - The New York Times

I Need To Start A Garden is one of the most intriguing and immersive debuts of this year" - Stereogum

"Understated grace and humour mixed with an abundance of spirit" - Paste Magazine
8/10 review in Uncut

El Paso's Holy Wave will release their new album, Adult Fear, on March 30 via The Reverberation Appreciation Society. The band have always differentiated themselves from the psych pack with their keyboard-forward sound that rarely falls into standard trippy tropes, and the album's title track is a good example of that, with a grooving bassline and nice harmonies in the chorus.
Fourth album from the Austin-via-El Paso psychedelic outfit that has supported Hope Sandoval, GOAT and Psychic Ills. They're opening for Slowdive in Dallas on Apr 27. The video for "Adult Fear" received press from Brooklyn Vegan "the band have always differentiated themselves from the psych pack". Previous album Freaks Of Nurture (2016) received praise from Flavorwire "one of the short year's best psych records", Austin Chronicle, The Line of Best Fit, Post-Trash, ThrdCoast.

The new album from the singer of The Legendary Shack Shakers, J.D. Wilkes - Featuring members of Squirrel Nut Zippers and Drive-By Truckers - Early 2018 tour dates across the south - Early praise from American Songwriter, Magnet, No Depression and many more - Out 2/26 on Big Legal Mess Records

Mary Chapin Carpenter's anticipated new album, Sometimes Just The Sky, is a celebration of her acclaimed 30-year recording career. The landmark record features new versions of some of Carpenter's most beloved songs as well as one newly written song, which became the title track. Produced by Ethan Johns (Ryan Adams, Paul McCartney, Ray LaMontagne), the 13-track album was recorded entirely live at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios outside Bath, England. Over the course of her celebrated career, Carpenter has sold over 14 million records.
The 13-track album features new versions of some of Carpenter's most beloved songs, as well as one newly written song, which became the title track. Album produced by Ethan Johns (Ryan Adams, Paul McCartney, Ray LaMontagne). National publicity tour led by Sacks & Co.. Billboard premiered, "Heroes and Heroines," on January 24. Americana radio campaign led by Thirty Tigers will celebrate Carpenter's acclaimed recording career. In celebration of the release, Carpenter will embark on a North American tour later in the year. Career accolades - sold over 14 million records, won five Grammy Awards (with 15 nominations), two CMA awards, two Academy of Country Music awards and is one of only fifteen female members of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Top rare Kiwi/British Folk classic album of all time

First time vinyl reissue after 44 years of its original release

Features an original artwork with insert including unseen photos and liner notes

by Chris himself

180gram heavy weight vinyl on black & marble blue color

Chris Thompson started out his career in Hamilton, New Zealand in 1965, then turned professional in 1968.

In the early seventies he moved to England, where he played the guitar with Californian folk singer Julie Felix.

While in England, Chris also played with British Folk-Blues legends Wizz Jones and Davey Graham and made his debut album in 1973.

Originally issued on the Village Thing label, it has been claimed as one of the best acid folk albums of the 1970s.

Recorded in numerous locations, it features guest appearances from Clem Alford and Keshav Sathe (of Magic Carpet fame), and casts a hypnotic spell.

The album is presented in its original version with alternate takes, rare photos and detailed notes from the man himself.

Recommend for fans of Bert Jansch, John Renbourn & Jackson C. Frank.

Top rare Kiwi/British Folk classic album of all time

First time vinyl reissue after 44 years of its original release

Features an original artwork with insert including unseen photos and liner notes

by Chris himself

180gram heavy weight vinyl on black & marble blue color

Chris Thompson started out his career in Hamilton, New Zealand in 1965, then turned professional in 1968.

In the early seventies he moved to England, where he played the guitar with Californian folk singer Julie Felix.

While in England, Chris also played with British Folk-Blues legends Wizz Jones and Davey Graham and made his debut album in 1973.

Originally issued on the Village Thing label, it has been claimed as one of the best acid folk albums of the 1970s.

Recorded in numerous locations, it features guest appearances from Clem Alford and Keshav Sathe (of Magic Carpet fame), and casts a hypnotic spell.

The album is presented in its original version with alternate takes, rare photos and detailed notes from the man himself.

Recommend for fans of Bert Jansch, John Renbourn & Jackson C. Frank.

GALACTIC SOUNDS is the new album by Swedish artist Retep Folo - aka Peter Olof Fransson. Peter has been involved in the Gothenburg underground music scene since the late 1990s, firstly in experimental electronic duo Exhadley, then the more theatrical project Ester Elster, and is currently in 60's psychedelia inspired 'The Owl Report'. The former two notching up releases on Swedish underground label Psychic Malmo¨ and British label Reverb Worship. As his Soundcloud account testifies his solo out put is prodigious, much of it unreleased gems, in 2016 he self released the lathe cut 'Music for Cats'.

It was around the age of six on family trips to his Uncles house in the suburbs of Gothenburg that Peter first started to be intrigued by stars, galaxies and 'other worlds'. In the evenings he and his cousins would play around with a short wave radio, searching the intervals in between stations for odd noises and voices, then pointing torch lights to the heavens, hoping that that they might receive signals from 'alien' life forms.

GALACTIC SOUNDS steps off from this period of joyful childhood star gazing. Conceived from its inception as "head phone music" - meant to encourage the listener to close their eyes and travel to a far off place. It was recorded with a limited pallet of instruments from his collection, a vintage Farfisa Professional Organ, an old 1966 East German Klira Bass Guitar, a 70's Japanese Glockenspiel and an Elgam Carousel - a rare analogue preset type rhythm box. Inspired in part by 1970s library music and Czech Cartoon sound tracks Peter has created a magical tapestry of space age sound, that glides the listener from track to track, on an intergalactic journey through the starry skies.

The album is accompanied by two videos made by Peter that hint at the cut up collage and mixed media style of his paintings, which he creates with re-appropriated vintage magazines and acrylic paint. To see more of his art and to listen to some of his other music check out his website.

Condor Gruppe is back with a new record, Interplanetary Travels. The title hinting at Sun Ra is no coincidence. Pushing their musical boundaries even further, Condor Gruppe recorded 8 new songs that give you the creepy feel of a horror scene, the heroism of the best film scores and the hypnotizing grooves of jungle tribes. Diverse, yet exciting and challenging enough to give you a mesmerizing trip through the band's own dusty record shelves.

Wer sind eigentlich diese vier jungen Männer, die vor acht Jahren wie eine Erleuchtung aus der schönsten
oberbayerischen Landschaft erschienen Aus Oberammergau kommend, brachten sie ihre Musik, die
irgendwo zwischen Alpenlandschaften und kritisch-weltläufiger Querköpfigkeit pendelt, in die Städte. So hatte
man das noch nicht gehört - mit dem Instrumentarium einer halben Blaskapelle, ergänzt durch Orgel, Zither,
Schlagzeug und einen Sprachsog aus Dialekt und Hochdeutsch. Mit unverstellten Blicken in die
ungesehensten Alltagswinkel haben sie es geschafft, ihren ganz eigenen Kosmos in die Welt hinauszutragen.
Nun haben Kofelgschroa mit "Baaz" eine neue Umlaufbahn erreicht. "Baaz", das titelgebende Herzstück der
neuen Platte, entführt mit psychedelisch angehauchten Elektrosounds in einen längst vergessen geglaubten
Krautrocksommer - fast neun Minuten pulsiert, treibt, wabert und flirrt es. Dann "Pauline" - ein instrumentaler
Bilderbogen, zu dem sich im Kopf eine seltsame, fast schwerelose Weite einstellt, sehnsuchtsvoll und auch
wehmütig. In "Ballon" steigen wir mit Kofelgschroa hoch in den Himmel und schauen mit ihnen auf all das
Kleine und scheinbar Banale: "Jeden Tag wird's Abend und bis jetzt ist es immer wieder Morgen geworden.
Die Jahre gehen in Schleife, bin i hinten fertig, fang i an von vorn, ohne Ende ohne Anfang, konstant schnell
oder langsam." Auch wenn wir uns mit Kofelgschroa immer mal wieder umschauen, das Klanguniversum der
Vier bleibt doch im Jetzt und macht den Blick weit für das, was grade im Moment durch die Welt tobt. Auch,
aber eben nicht längst nur in Oberammergau

Crying Bamboos is a translation of the pidgin description of the sound of sacred flutes: "Mambu i cry, i cry, i cry".

Sacred flutes are blown to make the cries of spirits by adult men in the Madang region of Papua New Guinea. Pairs of long bamboo male and female flutes are played for ceremonies in the coastal villages near the Ramu River. There are seven male initiation flute cries from Bosmun, four flute cries from Bak: Borai with occasional single garamut percussion and two flute cries from Kaean, one with vocals and hand drums. The flute players were of the last generation to have learned this skill during a complete cycle of male initiation. These previouslyunreleased recordings were made in 1979.

Recorded by Ragnar Johnson

Notes by Ragnar Johnson and Jessica Mayer

Photographs by Ragnar Johnson

Tape to digital transfer and mastering by Dave Hunt at

Dave Hunt Audio, London

Cut by Rashad Becker at Dubplates and Mastering, Berlin

'Seedlings All' is Josienne Clarke & Ben Walker's first album to be made up of all original songs and is songwriter Clarke's most autobiographical work to date. As she explains: For the first time I'm out there alone with a bunch of songs that expose my insecurities, fears of failure and inflated pride. They deal with my own specific thoughts and feelings about the reality of pursuing this kind of career, the cost to personal relationships, circumstance and lifestyle, and asking the question - 'Is this still worth it' They're about trying to find an inner balance in an environment that doesn't provide any balance or certainty. Where one day everything is brilliant and the next day it could all be over. Where one night ends in a standing ovation and the next starts by playing to an empty room.'

Josienne and Ben have been nominated several times at the BBC Folk Awards and they were personally invited to support Richard Thompson on tour around the UK last autumn.

Vinyl format includes a digital download code.

The Shadows is the new album from Leeds-based six-piece Tomorrow We Sail. Building on their debut release For Those Who Caught the Sun in Flight (Gizeh, 2014) over the course of three years, this new work combines perfectly the soaring atmospherics, gorgeously intertwined vocal harmonies and dramatic shifts in tone and dynamics that have come to characterise Tomorrow We Sail's sound. Yet, there is a new sense of urgency here. Very much an album of its time, The Shadows draws upon the same sense of connection to both past and present that defined its precursor but features storytelling that's even more defiant and deeply personal.
Like its predecessor, the record features seven songs but from the chiming guitars of opening track Side By Side it is clear that the stately pace of For Those Who Caught the Sun in Flight has made way for a far more dynamic and driving energy; perhaps best captured in the righteous anger of The Ghost of John Maynard Keynes. Tomorrow We Sail still invoke a keen sense of measured grace in their songwriting - from the sweeping, elegiac title track, through to the sparse, restrained, yet haunting beauty of Winifred and To Sleep. Urgent, yet assured, The Shadows demands your attention.

LP Maxime Daoud, a much sought after musician accompanying Forever Pavot and his brother Adrien Soleiman, has released under the alias Ojard a first album of soft and delicate instrumental vignettes. If '' Euphonie '' calls for cinematographic comparisons (Vladimir Cosma, Basil Kirchin), the minimalism of the arrangements, the simplicity of the melodies conjure up to Erik Satie's '' furniture music '' and Brian Eno's 'thinking music.

Seven songs by Rully Shabara and Wukir Suryadi, rootsily mystical and vividly al fresco, spiralling from peripheral sites beside rubbish dumps and rice fields, into a busy market at the heart of Yogyakarta, from dawn till dusk.

Pedal steel virtuoso Little' Roy Wiggins presents a collection of Hawaiian-themed instrumentals, showcasing his tone, touch and approach in the guise of a tour through the islands, circa 1964! Includes dreamy, drifting meditations and hot, driving cuts perfectly suited for serving alongside your next Tahitian Mahana! Cut at Starday Studios in 1964, Little' Roy Wiggins pays tribute to the Hawaiian music that first inspired hillbilly steel players with an album that mixed updated covers of classic island tunes and original compositions — all highlighting his unique mastery of the steel guitar. Mastered from the original analog mono reels and pressed on white vinyl, Modern Harmonic brings this essential Hawaiian steel from Music City to your record collection!

The sound of Nashville nightlife, circa 1962! Steel guitar pioneer Pete Drake slides and glides through a glimpse of what Music City instro sounds were like mid-century—the kinds you might hear at any neon-draped honky tonk—including everything from sexy-swing to country-cool on a dozen original tunes, ranging from the playful swing of For Pete's Sake' to the honky tonk shuffle of Loves I've Known' to the hip jazz menace of The Spook,' and on through the hillbilly cosmic in the album closer, Galaxie,' in which Drake trades licks with steel guitar legend, Little' Roy Wiggins. Mastered from the original analog mono reels and pressed on red vinyl, Modern Harmonic brings this essential U.S. steel from Nashville to your record collection!

Obscure Dutch private pressing from 1977. Laid-back instrumental psychedelic / progressive sounds with jazz-funk-groove and abstract / experimental / Latin-indigenous touches. Stoned homemade atmosphere with treated / distorted electric & acoustic guitars, flute, electric piano, primitive drum machines / homemade electronics...Much in the vein of the experimental-underground scene of France & Germany during the early 70s but actually recorded and released in Holland.

Wild Havana was the project of guitar player Johan Smith, helped by his brother Cor on flute. Influenced by artists like Zappa and Herbie Hancock, Johan recorded the Wild Havana' album at his home studio on a 4-track, using effect devices developed by himself, like a modified proto-drum machine taken from a Hammond organ. He also used effects like phase shifter, chorus, etc and experimented with putting wool on the guitar strings and electric effects on the mandolin. The result sounded like nothing else at the time.

Buried for many years, we're excited to bring to life this unique album.

RIYL: HERBIE HANCOCK, RICHARD PINHAS, CHRISTIAN BOULE, OREXIS...

*Insert with liner notes by band member Johan Smit.

...a beautiful, strange psych-prog LP with abstract compositions ,experimental edges and some funk hints' - Mutant Sounds

Louis Johnstone adopts the Henry Caravan persona for this tape of 8 guitar/vocal improv pieces for Death Is Not The End.

IMPROV PIECES
IN SOMEONE ELSE'S HOUSE ON SOMEONE ELSE'S TWO GUITARS.

MADE NOW DURING WINTER.

AS WITH THE SPIRIT OF IMPROV. I HAVEN'T LISTENED BACK TO THESE PIECES. THEY ARE JUST GOING UP AS THEY CAME OUT.

I HOPE YOU FIND SOMETHING TO SIT WITH AS THE NEW WESTERN YEAR BEGINS TO GROW AROUND YOU.

I WANT NOTHING BUT YOU ALL HERE NOW