Pop & Rock News

Matt Berry’s second album for Acid Jazz was the
astounding ‘Kill The Wolf’. Building on and
expanding on the sound of his label debut, it mixed
baroque folk with psychedelia.
Containing the well-received single ‘Medicine’, the
ruralistic ‘Gather Up’, as featured in ‘What We Do
In The Shadows’, and the nine minute ‘Solstice’, as
championed by BBC Radio 6 Music.
This is the album’s first reissue on vinyl and comes
as a reproduction of the rare gatefold issue,
complete with insert, this time pressed on bottle
green vinyl.

To celebrate its tenth Anniversary, Matt Berry’s
debut album for Acid Jazz, ‘Witchazel’, returns to
the shops with this caramel vinyl edition.
Featuring the theme from his BAFTA Awardwinning TV show ‘Toast Of London’, ‘Take My
Hand’, it has been his biggest selling album and
has been out of print on vinyl for several years.
Acclaimed at the time of release, The Guardian
said “‘Witchazel’ is enchanting… genuinely
impressive,” while The Times labelled it “… psychfolk genius.” The album has since matured into an
acknowledged classic

An album of hypnotic fourth world krautrock inspired by ancient Mediterranean culture

The Mecánica Clásica project combines modified elements of early electronics, krautrock, ambient, minimalism & fourth world music, generating an interplanetary space where enterprising guitar tones, lush synth sequencing & off-kilter percussion coalesce.

Their output to date includes the album ‘Vientos Eléctricos’ (Abstrackce Records / Humo), as well as the cassette releases ‘Filtraciones de Luz’ (Abstrackce Records), ‘Colección Exigua Vol.1’ (Cintas Chromo) & ‘Colección Exigua Vol.2’ (Faith Disciplines)

‘Mar Interior’ the new album by Mecánica Clásica is a fusion of kosmische & fourth world music inspired by ancient Mediterranean culture. Loosely translated as ‘Inland Sea’, ‘Mar Interior’ is thematically centred on the history & legacy of the ancient civilisations that proliferated around the Mediterranean Sea.

Augmented by environmental recordings, Mecánica Clásica renew the extensive topographies opened up by early pioneers like Craig Leon, Jon Hassell, Brian Eno & Cluster, in an immense vision of Spanish space rock. On ‘Mar Interior’ their work expands upon these influences, moving into a shimmering, hypnotic sound world which finds common ground with the likes of O Yuki Conjugate, K. Leimer, Roberto Musci & X.Y.R.

Mastered by Colin Potter (Nurse With Wound)

The second of two ace new Polytechnic Youth LPs for late June; this one sees Liverpool based, Harry Sumnall’s Melodien debut on PY after releases on sister label Deep Distance amongst others. Eight kosmische flavoured synth pop nuggets, heavy on nods to the Sky label oeuvre of later Cluster, Wolfgang Reichmann, Harald Grosskopf, Deutsche Wertarbeit and co; yet with a freshness and boldness very much of today.

Each track is underpinned in the most part by driving, sequenced motorik rhythms hugely recommended to all fans of the above…

The LPs’ title “Enanriodromia” is the constancy of change and the emergence of the unconscious diametric in the course of time - everything that exists turns into its opposite (Carl Jung); and Harry himself describes the album as an idyllic backdrop to an imagined world where “Iasos’ Crystal Vista is repeated on loop across all TV channels, where Luboš Fišer composes Olympic gold medal anthems, where Marcel Schwob and Jane de La Vaudère works are free from your local book exchange, where Josef Svoboda designed your local shopping center, where Richard Pinhas plays at your village fete, and the most popular YouTube channels give advice on sequencer ratcheting and psychopharmacology!”

‘You’ is the debut album from Irish band Meltybrains?. It has been years in the making - an exploration of the journey of five young men, trying to get from one end of their 20s to the other. Much like the making of the album, this journey was trickier than any of them thought it would be.

This record is for you, from you and of you. It’s an absolute beginner’s guide to the microcosm, the macrocosm and everything in between. It’s also a bit of fun and a pretty good record, combining influences from footwork, drone and j-pop with krautrock, psychedelia and prog.

On ‘As Long As The Light’, Michael Rother (NEU!,
Harmonia) collaborates with the Italian musician
Vittoria Maccabruni.
 Vittoria Maccabruni creates predominantly dark
moods with her sound constructions, which then
create a reciprocal emotional play with Michael
Rother’s melodies and guitar harmonies.
 The result of this collaboration manifests itself
under the title ‘As Long As The Light’, an unspent
joy of playing in eight songs that also breaks new
ground with regard to Rother’s broad oeuvre,
which now spans half a century.
 Now available on vinyl.

Termination is an album inspired by the halting problem in computer theory, i.e. whether the program will finish running or continue to run forever. The halting problem is undecidable, meaning that no general algorithm exists that solves it. This is true also for human life, as it goes up and down and one can’t program it, because simply you cannot predict the future, and even if we could there are so many variables that can easily f*ck up any sort of forecast. Modern Stars is an Italian neo psych rock band which showcases a unique musical style characterized as instinctive, flickering, fuzzy, aerial, groovy, bizarre, distorted, harmonious, and dissonant. Influenced by bands like Spacemen 3, Primal Scream, Suicide, and lesser known musicians. Termination is Modern Stars' fourth studio album, following Silver Needles (2020), PsychIndustrial (2021) and Space Trips for the Masses (2022).

"Zero Set" ist das Zusammenspiel dreier Meister des Krautrock auf einem Album. Dieter Moebius (Cluster, Harmonia), Mani Neumeier (Guru Guru) und der führende Tontechniker Conny Plank (zu viele Projekte, um sie alle zu nennen) nahmen 1982 dieses düstere elektronische und "motorische" Werk auf. Dieses großartige Album ist ein Muss in jeder Krautrock-Plattensammlung. Zum 40. Jahrestag des Albums machen wir eine limitierte weiße Vinyl-Edition, handnummeriert, 500 Exemplare. eng "Zero Set" is three masterminds of Krautrock together on one album. Dieter Moebius (Cluster, Harmonia), Mani Neumeier (Guru Guru), and ledendary sound engineer Conny Plank (too many projects to name them) recorded this dark electronic and "motorik" piece in 1982. This great album is a must in every Krautrock record collection. For the 40th anniversary of the album we"re making a limited white vinyl edition, hand numbered, 500 copies.

Prior to the formation of Queens of the Stone Age, bassist/singer Nick Oliveri recorded some originals with ex-Kyuss bandmates Josh Homme (guitar) and Brant Bjork (drums), plus Karma to Burn's Rob (drums) and others. But once recording was completed, Oliveri decided to shelve the tapes; it wasn't until several years later (well after Queens of the Stone Age began to establish themselves) that the bassist decided to release the songs on a friend's indie label, Southern Lord Records. Going by the name Mondo Generator, 11 tracks were compiled for the 2000 release Cocaine Rodeo. The majority of the songs are much more raw and hardcore/punk-based than Oliveri's output with QOTSA, as evidenced by such tracks as "Shawnette," "Uncle Tommy," "Unless I Can Kill," and "I Want You to Die."

With Dead Planet Oliveri has taken a band once considered a side project and turned it into a full-fledged rock and roll powerhouse. As has been his trademark when he had written songs with Kyuss or QOTSA, this album just oozes with punk rock ethos. Combined with the stoner rock influences that he helped create, this album is a study in excess and self-indulgence. And that is exactly what makes it so damn good. - Ed Thompson

“Like Felt exploring the recesses of krautrock, Moon Attendant marry analogue electronics to a lovely burbling pop sound” Shindig Magazine Brighton’s indie psych collective Moon Attendant emerge to release their debut LP ‘One Last Summer’. A new band featuring old friends. Brothers from critically acclaimed psych-space rock group Black Hearted Brother. Blewett swaps bass duties for vocals and electric guitar and other brother Holton once again provides synths & production. Label boss and guest Neil Halstead also wires up his pedalboard and crashes some signature Slowdive sound-waves into this record. The line up is completed by Big Potato mainstay McCutcheon (Slowdive/ Mojave 3) on percussion & guitarist and songwriter Molyneux. Moon Attendant’s psychedelic grunge pop debut LP wields deranged analogue synths within a cozy jacket of fuzzy guitars and over saturated sonics. Imagine if Colin Blunstone & Klaus Schulze had released Pebbles-esque garage. Words & production walk a starry eyed tightrope between childish endeavour and mature lamentation. Songs about Death, Power, Drugs and Despair have never felt so pop! “There’s so much going on and it all works, they make it sound simple but it’s very hard to do” Janice Long, BBC

Mit ihrem neuen Album „3“ öffnen die belgischen Krautrocker MOTOR!K ein neues Kapitel ihrer musikalischen Bandgeschichte. Während die Schlüsselelemente ihrer vorherigen Alben „MOTOR!K“ und „2“ (hypnotisierende Basslines, hämmernde Drums und sich repetetiven Gitarrenlinien) auch im neuen Album wiederzukennen sind, unterscheidet sich dieses Album dennoch von seinen Vorgängern.

Von Tracks mit minimalen Techno-Grooves, ambientartiger Gitarren- und Elektronik-Tracks, "Vintage" MOTOR!K Songs bis hin zu Post-Rock Feelings und psychedelischen Gitarren & Synthesizern. Delay-Gitarrenspiel und spacige Elektronik bauen hier neue Horizonte auf und zollen damit den Klängen der späten 70er Jahre ihren Respekt.
Motor!k 3 - ein Album dass geradezu danach schreit, in einer schweißtreibenden Konzertumgebung live gehört zu werden.
Das Belgische Trio bestehend aus Gitarrist/Synthesist & Motor!k Songkomponist Joeri Dobbeleir, Dirk Ivens - Guitar / FX (The Klinik/ Dive) und Drummer Dries D'Hollander, hält den instrumentalen Krautrock Vibe aufrecht & lebendig, sowohl auf Platte als auch live auf der Bühne.

2024 bringt uns das 5. Album der belgischen Krautrocker MOTOR!K: “5”. Wie gewohnt, entwickelt sich die Band stetig weiter und erkundet neue musikalische Horizonte, behält jedoch immer ihren charakteristischen Sound bei: Hypnotisierende Bass Lines, donnernde Drums und eingängige, melodische Gitarrenklänge gepaart mit intensiven E-Gitarren Riffs. NEU! trifft auf WIRE. Gitarrist und Synthesist und Komponist Joeri Dobbeleir, Dirk Ivens katepultieren ihr Handwerk gemeinsam mit Gitarrist und Drummer Dries D'Hollander auf das nächste Level: Post-Punk und Techno Einflüsse runden die sechs neuen Lieder ab.

After years out of press, Motorpsycho's 2001 masterpiece is back in stock on vinyl! Originally released in 2001, Phanerothyme was a brave sidestep in the band's career. By embracing 60's psychedelic pop sensibilities and turning down their heavier, grungier tendencies, Motorpsycho displays another of their seemingly endless facets. After many years out of press, Stickman Records is proud to finally offer an updated version of this LP! Features include: • 180gr. black vinyl pressed from brand new lacquer cut • reconstructed from the original master files by Helge Sten • revamped cover art • heavy duty inside-out printed cover • printed inner sleeves and color insert

Psychosis Ritual is the sum of Mountain Tamer's first decade of exploration into the psychedelic arts. The album takes the band on a journey through the occult rhythms and tones of worlds forgotten. Each track is a new chapter of Mountain Tamer riffing their way into uncharted territory. For this ritual, you are the sacrifice...Mountain Tamer is Andru Hall (Guitar/Vocals), Casey Garcia (Drums), and David Teget (Bass). Psychosis Ritual was recorded and mixed by Salem's Bend guitarist Robert Parker, with mastering by Mike Tarsia at Sigma Sounds Studios. This recording is the most cohesive and lucid experience Mountain Tamer has yet to offer. The album artwork by photographer Dillon Vaughn and tattoo artist Derek Pratt only adds to the singular vision of Psychosis Ritual by providing beautifully lysergic visuals that are inseparable from the music itself

Das legendäre PILZ Label veröffentlichte 1972 das erste Album der Berliner Elektronikgruppe MYTHOS. Das jetzt vorliegende Album ist eine brandneue Produktion und die Neuveröffentlichung auf dem PILZ Label seit 45 Jahren. Mastermind Stephan Kaske präsentiert die typischen Klangkaskaden und Sequenzen der Berliner Schule.

1975 wurde das zweite Album der Berliner Elektronikgruppe MYTHOS veröffentlicht. Das jetzt vorliegende Album ist eine brandneue Produktion und die Neuveröffentlichung auf dem Label Kosmische Kuriere seit über 40 Jahren. Mastermind Stephan Kaske und seine Band präsentieren die typischen Klangkaskaden und Sequenzen der Berliner Schule.

Negativland’s mirror image sequel to last year’s True False, The World Will Decide turns the focus away from the very human inability to accurately define reality, and towards the technologies being built to do a better job at it. But if sorting true from false seemed like a full time job back when all one had to keep track of was one’s own mind, life alongside the machines built to connect everyone only seems to multiply the uncertainties. On The World Will Decide, those uncertainties are made almost deliriously danceable: a netweb of densely sampled voices melting speech back down into music and back again, into what everyone can agree are the real questions—did that firefly really land on your finger? Would you like to be arrested? Does this app connect you to people, or replace them? Is this post an example of inauthentic behavior? Do people have to die? Or, as one of the many sampled voices on this work assures the listener: we can really feel like we’re here.

Suzanne Doucet was born in Tuebingen, Germany where as a three year old, Doucet discovered her innate artistic gifts. Instinctively, she was always drawing, playing music, singing, and writing. By the age of 18, Suzanne was an established pop star in Germany with several #1 hits. She also made her mark as a composer, actress, TV moderator, director, engineer, and producer. At age 25. she took a sabbatical from the music business to go on a spiritual odyssey. In 1970 she released a triple album of field recordings and mind-expanding psychedelia under the name Zweistein. For the next ten years, she developed her own style of New Age music while exploring many areas of metaphysics and spiritual practices, including astrology, music therapy, tarot, yoga and the Kabbalah.

In 1979, Doucet launched a record label in West Germany named Isis, after the Egyptian goddess of feminine divinity. She formed the duo New Age with her musical partner Christian Bühner, and released the 1982 cassette album ‘Transformation’, which was inspired by a visit to Findhorn, Scottland. Suzanne and Christian recorded acoustic sounds such as waterdrops and vocals using sophisticated sound manipulation devices and muli-track recording techniques. The only electronic instruments used were the Jupiter 8 and the Roland TR-808 drum machine. All songs have been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios and each album is housed in jackets using the original cassette artwork.

ALBUM RELEASE
Transformation

LP + Download Card. Hard cardboard sleeve + OBI.
Insert with liner notes by Richard Allen & rare photos.

Sourced from the original master tapes.

Part-time farmer / musician Oliver Chaplin is the person behind one of the rarest private pressings from the UK.

His cult masterpiece “Standing Stone” was recorded in early 1974 at a remote farm in Wales, using a portable 4-track Teac reel-to-reel machine. Helped by his brother Chris at the controls (an experienced BBC engineer who had worked on Syd Barrett sessions), surrounded by animals and “smaller winged creatures”, Oliver sang and played acoustic and electric guitars filtered through tape echo, distortion and multi-tracking, creating a very unique sound, a kind of DIY mutant-psychedelic-blues (think Captain Beefheart) which sounded years ahead of its time. Despite the lo-fi nature of the recording, the sound quality is amazing and timeless.

Only 250 copies of the album were pressed and it even caught the attention of the Virgin label, who were interested in distribution but Oliver finally refused their offer. Musicians like JJ Cale expressed interest in Oliver’s music, inviting him to a jam session but in the end, Oliver decided he was not interested in the music business and left Wales to travel around Europe.

He remains a kind of a mysterious figure and we’re proud to offer a new, long-awaited reissue of “Standing Stone”, sanctioned by him.

RIYL: CAPTAIN BEEFHEART, SYD BARRETT, ROY HARPER, BRIAN ENO, ROBERT JOHNSON, MAGICAL POWER MAKO, FRESH MAGGOTS, COMUS, TONY CARO & JOHN…

"Few other musicians have been able to mix and blend folk, blues, psychedelia together as Oliver has managed to do"- Ricardo Martillos (Distorsioni)

"Like a rustic, ramshackle mix between Electric Ladyland and No Pussyfooting" - Giacomo Checcucci (Pincopanco)

"A truly remarkable record" - Galactic Ramble

You have in your hands the third release of Miguel A. Ruiz alias Orfeón Gagarin for Verlag System. This is the reissue, for the first time published on vinyl and digital disc, of his first album of homonymous title published in 1986. A record considered as a reference of electronic music underground Spanish, first release of record label Toracic Tapes , also reference of the independent Spanish record labels.

“The elaboration of the timbres and the envelopes, the treatment of the voices, the construction of the sequences ... all assembled with mastery in a timeless work. In short, its edition on vinyl is more than wise and deserved.”

Teo Martínez · Cloruro Sónico


“This Orfeón Gagarin’s debut of 1986 sounds to the XXI Century and collects the savoir-faire of Miguel. The signal of the DIY punk spirit is evident.

It is a clear designation of origin for that underground electronic eighties cassette from outdated Madrid; the one who had no place in the exquisite “movida madrileña” (madrilean new wave). It is evident that "In vitro process" could never access that Olympus of the gods. It is perceived in courts as "Last Instance" to that young man who is around the twenties, who hears crackling needles of the turntable in the groove of the German LPs of Sky, as it would happen to the founder of Mute Records or the ambient series of Eno in "Eucarystics”.

It is that crude, hard cover, full of thick points, that portrays the viewer's gaze beyond the shape of the dish. This image captures the essence and mystery of this album.

Do not be deceived, that look goes beyond the O.V.N.I. and from human finitude observes with stupor the immeasurableness of the cosmos, its infinite, its power.”

Antoni Aura · Tagomago Fest/Verlag System

“Toracic belonged to a second wave, along with other labels such as IEP or Proceso Uvegraf, among many others that appeared throughout the Iberian Peninsula (Spain-Portugal). The first cassette of O.G. it was undoubtedly the most original that I had heard inside that alternative and underground world: synthesizers with welltreated electronic home recordings and effects, in a unique mix of experimental, industrial music, ethnic sounds, glimpses of electronic pop, ambient..., very inside the home spirit and the "do it yourself" of that time.”

Andrés Noarbe · Rotor/Geometrik Records

Gegründet wurde Organisation 1968 von zwei Studenten der Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf: Ralf Hütter und Florian Schneider-Esleben, zusammen mit Basil Hammoudi, Butch Hauf und Alfred Mönicks. Am Anfang spielte die Gruppe improvisierte Lieder in Kunstgalerien und Universitäten. Das einzige Album 'Tone Float', wurde von Konrad "Conny" Plank produziert und erschien im August 1969 in UK auf RCA Victor. Die Platte war aber in Deutschland nur als Import zu erhalten, was zum überschaubaren Erfolg von Tone Float beitrug. 1970 entschied RCA, die Gruppe nicht mehr zu produzieren, und Ralf Hütter und Florian Schneider-Esleben verließen die Band um Kraftwerk zu gründen. Kurz danach löste sich Organisation auf, Basil Hammoudi, Butch Hauf und Fred Mönicks kehrten zur Universität zurück. In einem vom WDR veröffentlichen Video sieht man die Band, wie sie die Nummer 'Ruckzuck' spielt: dieser Song erschein später auf dem ersten Album von Kraftwerk (1), das im November 1970 erschien. Das von vielen Fans sehr gesuchte Original Album kostet im halbwegs guten Zustand um die 1000,00 EUR aufwärts. Inner Space veröffentlicht ein 180 Gr. Reissue mit Bonustrack ('Vor Dem Blauen Bock' aka Rückstoß Gondoliere). Letzterer ist bereits aus der Frühphase von Kraftwerk mit u.a. Klaus Dinger und Michael Rother (später Neu).

Ltd (300 ww) clear w/ blue & green splatter exclusive version. It seems that every time you turn around, there's another Oh Sees slab. Long ago we lost all capacity to be surprised that this sturdy unit keeps putting out records and that they're really good. You can now add the Metamorphosed 12" to your ever deeper shelf sagging row of John Dwyer & Co.'s seemingly no sleep release schedule. The five tracks were taken from the sessions that formed 2019's Face Stabber album, a 17 track/80+ minute jammified four-sider. Metamorphosed would have been the perfect third LP to fit in with the other two. The very existence of Metamorphosed asks any number of questions. Speculation is for pundits and amateurs. Let's go to John Dwyer and see if he'll kick loose some information. As to the Metamorphosed coming out so long after Face Stabber: This is just how the release landed. We are trying to stagger the releases a bit this year and we have a salvo coming down the pipe, so that's how the cookie crumbled. Metamorphosed would've been out sooner but with the virus restrictions, shipping of LPs has obviously slowed down and so has manufacturing, so here we are. It's worthwhile to note the Face Stabber sessions also resulted in The 12" Synth, a two track deal released in November of 2019. So, what was happening in the studio that rendered almost three hours of finished music? Just the usual run with ideas. Usually this takes place at the end of the planned recording. We have extra time and tape to lay down some deep cuts and long jams, etc., the fun part, really. It's a test to keep up with Dwyer and his extraordinarily able bandmates. It seems like there's always something on the way to the pressing plant. When and how did Metamorphosed come together? Basically, I found myself with a 12"'s worth of material in the new year and things were starting to grind to a halt, so it was the perfect time to sew it all up. People need some tunes right now and I think the artist's community is making a good run of it. So much great shit is seeing light right now. John and Matt Jones run the Castle Face label with full autonomy, so it would make sense that Metamorphosed, like The 12" Synth, would have been a CF release. Yet, it's on the very cool Rock Is Hell Records label, which has put out some great Dwyer related jams in the past. The OCS Live In San Francisco album was not only great musically but all the vinyl and sleeve variants made the collectors break out in a fan sweat they're probably still recovering from. Being able to do all this yourself, it's obviously cool to still work with Jochen and Rock Is Hell. Yes. I've worked with Jochen a few times over the past decade or more (so he is grandfathered in. :) It's pretty rare these days that I work outside my own label but his stuff is so well done and usually its own work of art. Last question. The fan cannot resist! At any time, were you thinking of making Face Stabber a 3LP set? Hell no. But now maybe I am. Metamorphosed isn't just some barrel scrape for those who can't get enough. All of the five tracks stand up to anything on Face Stabber. The record's 23+ minute I Got A Lot is one of the coolest songs the band has ever done. As it is with a full on Rock Is Hell roll out, there's a lot of details. Metamorphosed is no exception. This is what the release schedule looks like: In October, there will be a silkscreened cover limited to 300 copies with four sleeve variants. A larger press run will follow in January with four or five color variants. Whew! Something to look forward to! Henry Rollins

For fans of AMON DÜÜL, CAN, FAUST, NEUBAUTEN, BRIAN ENO, CLUSTER, CULT OF LUNA, NINE INCH NAILS, MASSIVE ATTACK OR - Norwegian for "dizzy, confusing" - is the third album from Italian avant-rock trio OSLO TAPES, and the album keeps what the word promises: a dizzying ride through a feverish dreamscape of imaginary Norwegian highlands painted in cubistic shapes. Hypnotic basslines, repetitive drum patterns, new wave synths and psychedelic guitar textures covering the full width of the stereo room, all seamlessly woven into a gloomy Kraut - tapestry which sounds refreshingly_ modern, while paying tribute to the aged genre. Marco Campitelli, born and raised in Lanciano on the Southern Adriatic coast of Italy, founded OSLO TAPES in the early 2010s after a trip to the Norwegian Capital left him deeply impressed. Under the influence of this infatuation, he composed and produced OSLO TAPES' first record "OT (un cuore in pasto a pesci con teste di cane)" within a week in 2013. Supervised and supported by friend Amaury Cambuzat (faUSt / Ulan Bator), Campitelli's first attempt to capture the mystical vibe of Norway was released on DeAmbula Records (Ulan Bator, The Marigold, 7C). In 2015 he was joined by Mauro Spada and Federico Sergente (Zippo) and together they recorded OSLO TAPES' sophomore album "Tango Kalashnikov", also released on DeAmbula Records. "OR" is a much more collaborative effort for OSLO TAPES than the first two records. Next to Campitelli, the album was co-produced by Amaury Cambuzat (Ulan Bator) and James Aparicio (house engineer for Mute Records and mixing and mastering engineer for Depeche Mode, Mogwai, Nick Cave). During production, Campitelli became friends with Emil Nikolaisen of Serena Maneesh w h o guided him "through the Norwegian imagination". As a result, the record's title is also courtesy of Nikolaisen. During this journey spanning over eight songs, OSLO TAPES, completed by Mauro Spada (bass) and Davide Di Virgilio (drums and percussions) construct a dense and ever so dark atmosphere that is captivating, brooding and imaginative. After a spiraling takeoff with "Space is the place", we find ourselves floating weightlessly above the nocturnal Norwegian highlands through "Zenith" and "Kosmik Feels", an airy circulation of jazzy drums, pulsating bass lines and shimmering guitar clouds. We saddle up, gallop across the sky on "Bodo Dakar" and drift back into the night on "Cosmonaut". The trifecta of "Norwegian Dream", "Exotic Dreams" and "Obession Is The Mother of All" conclude this agitated fever dream journey. There is a sense of solitude in OSLO TAPES' compositions which makes it easy to imagine them as interstellar jam sessions between cosmonauts, each in their own isolated space capsule. Every spin of "OR" brings new discoveries: sometimes it is a noise that we did not notice before, sometimes a slight change in the drum groove, sometimes just a piece of the lyrics, meandering through our mental space. "OR" is a vertiginious journey to be remembered - and repeated. "The focus of Oslo Tapes is to harmonize the noise" says Marco Campitelli.

Those voices become even more prominent on Otto's upcoming full-length album, which leans more into his songwriting capabilities. While sprawling, psychedelic tracks like the seven-minute composition 'Microplastics in my Bloodstream' and the taut, elastic opener 'Sprained My Ankle in Gristedes Juice Aisle' continue to showcase Otto's flair for strange electornic textures, he also provides what feels like a parallel universe pop song with the dreamy 'Guess My Crush'. Starting life as a song he wrote on the guitar, 'Guess My Crush' is "just 4 sine waves slightly detuned," explains Otto, "which I find really fascinating. It's one of the most low-level simple sounds one could synthesize - but it gave me this incredibly peaceful feeling and I knew that I had finally found a song or sound that I could use to channel a lot of very specific feelings into." Otto's music may sound playful, but it also reveals his preoccupation with the idea of material (especially electronic) waste, and so a vague sense of decay and dread clings to the fringes of his songs. Imagine the face of a cartoon character staring at you from beneath the translucent sheen of a trash bag – that's the funny-yet-grim space that Otto's music occupies. "I find it funny and also very troubling that 15-20 years after all of this kids' media, there are still bits and pieces of these obsolete franchises drifting around in the form of cheap plastic shit, now in landfills and contributing to lakes of toxic leachate," he reflects. "It's something I feel pretty stressed out about." That very real anxiety gives Otto's songs a sinister edge: those corporate sprites can often sound like they're taunting you, and soothing tones can shift to something more sombre in barely a beat. That discomfort is part of the joy of Otto's strange, bristling music. His songs never make clear exactly how you're meant to feel – what would be the fun in that?

Second album of french incendiary fake big band Parasite Jazz. A krautrock, jazz-non-jazz, experimental album recorded along four seasons by three musicians (Alex Larsen, Tamara Goukassova & Théo Delaunay) from the french fringes ; members of Succhiamo, Diagonale des Yeux, Simple Music Experience, Violent Quand on Aime ... featuring Radio Hito, Kyle Knapp (Deliluh) & Hochiwah.



—

After its first release in 2023, the tiny big band Parasite Jazz brings its public iterations to fruition with “♫”, a testament to an alternate reality, matured voyaging across France over the span of four seasons.



It sees the music flee through exuberant forests and steep troglodytes ; a parallel genre movie with a soundtrack of diluvian rhythms, mocking chants, jazz noir and voodoo accidents. In this shifting, autonomous world, the elastic orchestra—whose members Radio Hito, Valentin Noiret, Kyle Knapp, and Hochiwah keep on appearing and disappearing—plays for nocturnal secrets and feverish cavalcades.

After 18 months of writing and playing live with a shifting cast of supporting members, Peel Dream Magazine is back with Agitprop Alterna, their new album which pushes the group’s dreamy, motorik-heavy sound to a deeply melodic and beautifully discordant place.

Released on Tough Love Records on Friday 3rd April 2020, their second LP pays homage to the fuzzy, mod-ish twee of acts like My Bloody Valentine and early Stereolab, but it's also indebted to stateside bands like Yo La Tengo and Rocketship that were cut from a similar cloth. It's part Chickfactor, part Space Age Bachelor Pad; a shambolic, drone-heavy brand of minimalism, filtered through a cross-section of classic indie pop.

Peel Dream Magazine is the musical vehicle for NYC's Joe Stevens, who launched the band in 2018 with the critically acclaimed album Modern Meta Physic. The debut was a mysterious, liminal tribute to the hazy end of ‘90s dream-pop – a masterful mix of first-class songwriting precision and train-window sonic impressionism. Stevens played all the parts on Modern Meta Physic himself, blending live and sampled sounds into uniquely identifiable and abstractly psychedelic soundscapes. The album struck a perfect balance between DIY bedroom pop auteurism and studio wizardry, and duly found its place on numerous “Best of 2018” lists. Where the creation of Modern Meta Physic was a solitary pursuit, Agitprop Alterna found Stevens channelling the collaborative spirit of the band’s ever-rotating live incarnation in the studio. He worked with close friend Kelly Winrich to develop new sounds for the project, creating musical snippets that Winrich would mix into the cohering whole. Live band members like vocalist Jo-Anne Hyun (later replaced by Isabella Mingione) and drummer Brian Alvarez would stop by and work their magic on the recordings, laying down parts with trademark exactitude. The resulting music revels in its realness: heavier, more dynamic, and truly the work of a band.

Each tune’s unique character fits carefully into a broader thematic whole examining personal freedom from manipulation and misinformation. First single “Pill” examines what Stevens calls the "inundation of performances of normalcy and fulfillment that fuel our desire to consume – self-medication for the pain of doubt, want and need.” “Emotional Devotion Creator” frames advertising (and the cynical, manufactured emotional response it elicits) with a critical eye, while “It’s My Body” is an “anthem against people who want to exert power over you and make you feel small…a reminder that you don’t owe anyone anything
Agitprop Alterna is ultimately defined by the tension of difference: between itself and its predecessor; Stevens’ and Hyun’s intertwined male-female vocals; the music’s languid dreaminess and concrete sonic immediacy. Deeply rooted in the Brechtian ideas of art as a tool to spur action, Agitprop Alterna deepens the connection between the existential and the interpretive first explored on Modern Meta Physic, giving the listener space to find their own meaning in shimmering guitars, fuzzed-out synths, and buzzing organ drones. It is a rejection of manipulation in all its forms and a buzzsaw against complacency – soft-focus pop whose clear-cut message is that you get to decide the message. It’s a rare trick to agitate without being obvious: perhaps that makes Agitprop Alterna the most Peel Dream Magazine-like statement yet.

2 kraut tinged side long epics, one with a tip of the hat to Cluster | Roedelius & Moebius, the other way more lo-fi, kinda dirtier more Throbbing Gristle, Sheffield electronic scene etc....

Plastic Crimewave Syndicate returns with one collective foot in overdriven space-biker scuzz rock, but the other bigfoot kicking upward into new galaxies of synth punk, no-prog, and freek funk. Yes, dare we say it, the new PCWS LP, Tales From the Golden Skull, GROOVES--but from the perspective of the Japan n' Kraut/Eurorock undergrounds, coated in some nasty Windy City grime. Aided by the Chicago Cosmonaut Couriers Crew, ala famed renaissance man Mac Blackout (synths/horns/electronics), Przemyslaw Krys Drazek (trumpet) of longtime zone-jammers Drazek Fuscaldo/Mako Sica, Will MacLean on Moog keytar (!-- of local Silver vocoder-ed Apples lovin' treasures Protovulcan), plus the oldest-school synthlord Bil Vermette, who's been modulating since the 70s. We'll call Tales From the Golden Skull a near-concept lp (aren't they always?) that looks back at fallen friends and collaborators, and then into the unwritten golden future (as PCW himself hit the golden 50). The sonic journey dips into dark textural valleys, and chugging riffs rising to thee fiery heavens, as the thundering-but-subtle rhythm section of Jose "Beast but Best" Bernal and Rob "Dead Feathers" Rodak know when to crash and when to burn (one). Sir PCW lays down his trademark big muff-blastage and echo-cries, to channel the despair and feral bark of the mighty Vega/Hammill/Iggy/Dickie P/Haino/Mojo-Risin/Mizutani, but also knows when to shut up for some layered instrumental Embryo/Harvester/Fausty trance rock and dabbed/dubbed out "not-quite-shoegazin" calmness in the eye of the Ur-storm. This might be the most expansive, detailed yet furious PCWS LP yet, recorded at Rec Room studios with Eric Block, who has done all from a band with Sonic Youth's Steve Shelley to recorded Rhys Chatham 100+-peeps guitar orchestras. So strap the headphones on and absorb the tales of this spaced ritual-rock opus. Artwork - Steve Krakow

Recorded in 1969 at Marquee Studios but never released at the time, this is prime cut late 60s UK psychedelia by Please, the band led by the great Peter Dunton and connected to BULLDOG BREED and T2. Dreamy atmosphere with cool organ, mellotron, fuzzy guitars, melancholic vocals and well-crafted songs.

First released by the Acme label back in 1999 and out of print for many years, here’s a new vinyl edition.

*Taken from the original masters.

RIYL: Doors, Soft Machine, Pink Floyd, Tomorrow, Move…

*Hard cardboard sleeve, liner notes

"In some parallel universe, Peter Dunton is held in the same high esteem as Keith West’s Tomorrow or early Soft Machine."
– Jack Hopkin (MOOF Magazine)

“…a surprise stunner of organ-driven, hyper-melodic psych-pop that would feel right at home on Jagjaguwar or Sacred Bones today…”
– Nate Rogers (Aquarium Drunkard)


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Psychedelic Latin-funk holy grail from Nicaragua, 1974!!
Poder del Alma (“Soul Power”) was a supergroup formed by some of the best musicians from the Nica scene. This all-star band of nine members was assembled to play at the famous free concert of Santana in Managua in benefit for the 1972 earthquake. After that successful gig supporting the Latin-Rock superstar, what was to be a one-night stand became the seed of the most loved Nicaraguan act from the 70s. All the members had already played an important role in the history of the Nica music / hippie scene in the 1960s. Among them, we can find Roman Cerpas (previously on Bwana), Rene “Chapo Dominguez (Los Rockets), Edgar “El Gato” Aguilar…

A few months after the Managua concert with Santana, Poder del Alma traveled to Guatemala to record their first long play for Dideca (Discos De Centroamerica, S.A.) in just one week of recording sessions. Despite the low budget and precarious recording equipment, the band managed to obtain a powerful psychedelic / afro / funk-rock sound full of electric guitar, heavy drums, hot, percussion, horns, Spanish male/female vocals…featuring titles like “El Valle del Ayatimbo”, “Ia-Taa Yo”, “Zumbale”…

BMG is releasing Popol Vuh’s vinyl deluxe box set “Vol. 2 – Acoustic & Ambient Spheres” on November 26th. This edition includes the albums "Seligpreisung", "Coeur de Verre", "Agape-Agape" and "Cobra Verde", four important acoustic and ambient works by the band from the 1970s and 1980s. "Cobra Verde" and "Coeur de Verre" are the original soundtracks to the Werner Herzog cult films.
All albums have been remastered and will be released as audiophile 180g pressings with adapted original artwork, including a bonus track for each album.
The box set comes with an insert with extensive liner notes and photos, complete with three picture prints, a collector's film still poster from "Coeur de Verre" and the original movie poster from "Cobra Verde" (both in A3 format).
Each album will also be available as a CD with an extensive booklet. Following the highly acclaimed release of Popol Vuh's The Essential Album Collection - Vol. 1 in 2019, Vol. 2 - Acoustic & Ambient Spheres marks a magnificent continuation of this series of works.

678 records are proud to present an historical concert recording of the legendary ethnic kraut-jazz formation Pork Pie. It is difficult to define the music of Pork Pie. It ranges from rhythmic Jazz-rock and meditative Indian sounds to Brazilian songs, and from acoustic improvisations to electric “space” sounds. Paris, December 1973: Pork Pie was founded by piano player Jasper van 't Hof (then 27 years old) and guitarist Philip Catherine (then 31 years old). They had met up with Charlie Mariano, who was 51 years old then, and whom they knew from his playing with Charles Mingus in the fifties and sixties. He had left America, lived in India for some years and founded his new home in Europe. Jasper and Philip were nervous to ask him if he would like to start a band with them but he immediately accepted the invitation. After some concerts in Holland, Germany and France the group recorded their debut album Transitory in May 1974 in the studio of the legendary engineer Conny Plank for MPS-BASF. It became an immediate success and Pork Pie were subsequently booked for many European jazz festivals. Their legendary concert on the first of November 1974 in the Berliner Philharmonie during the Berliner Jazztage was a milestone in the bands existence. The concert hall was packed to the rafters with 2500 over enthusiastic people who were totally overwhelmed by the amazing live sound of Pork Pie in which each of the five individual musicians took his own part, but never once lost the unique togetherness.

In the past 44 years Jasper van 't Hof always retained fond memories about this special concert. Fortunately, in his personal archive (which was for a while stored under a tarpaulin in his garden!) a master tape was discovered & had survived intact. P-Dog & Zembie (a.k.a. Sander Huibers & Frank Jochemsen) dug it up, played it on a tape machine, were totally blown away by the music and initiated this limited vinyl only release. It comes in a hand silkscreened cover designed by Piet Schreuders.

line up

Last year’s Pools having taken up a sizable chunk of Castle Face’s cold dark hearts, the label was delighted to hear that LA post-industrial trio Prettiest Eyes have a new gang of crowd-stirrers. None too early, either; once one’s become accustomed to their clanging synthetic orbit, it’s hard to find other tunes that truly scratch the same itch. Volume 3 bursts at the seams with chrome-dipped timbres and surprise sharp edges, alien klaxon-calls and wailing dissonance offsetting the ziplock’d grease of their insistent drum and bass grooves. Prettiest Eyes are one of the most exciting live bands going on right now, and Volume 3 catches them in fine fettle.

Psychic Markers will release their self-titled, third full length album via Bella Union. A near death experience being sucked into an active sandstorm during a US road trip is enough to make you think about life. Being immersed in a swirling vortex of sand, dust, tumbleweed and detritus whilst trying to keep control of a speeding car might have only been a brief flash moment in Steven Dove’s life but it was enough for the Psychic Markers man to question life. “These things impact you,” he says. “I got thinking about human nature, our proneness to mistakes, imperfection and the implications of reactionary decision making.” The opening track ‘Where Is the Prize?’ is a perfect opener that encapsulates Dove’s introspective yet existential lyricism, as well as the band’s expanded sonic terrain. It’s written from the perspective of an old person who sees friends die off until only they remain. “We strive for old age but what’s even there if you make it?” asks Dove. Musically, it opens with gently lapping waves of electronics that sets the tone for a more electronically-leaning record. A total electronic overhaul this is not, however. Instead, their third album sits in a sweet spot between evolutionary and revolutionary step; retaining the core essence and personality of the band but also moving into new territory. It embellishes and emboldens the band’s pre-existing palate, one that still nods to 1970s Germany on the careering ‘Clouds’ (a song that, antithetical to the opener, looks at life from the perspective of a child) and one that still exhibits their seamless knack for immersive melody via the gorgeous Yo La Tengo-like closer ‘Baby It’s Time.’ Amidst the engulfing soundscapes of ‘Juno Dreams’ is a sample of an old Texan psychic that cannot foresee a future for its subject, whilst the serene-to-nightmare psychedelic noise trip that is ‘Sacred Geometry’ is a direct exploration of the moment Dove was caught in the sandstorm. “The track is that nanosecond you have to make an important decision – the second part of it being the knock-on effect of making the wrong one.” Playing with structure and form, and the overlapping role between lyrics and music, is rooted in the album. “I was tired of writing within the constraints of a verse/chorus structure and wanted to be expressive in alternative ways,” says Dove. “It’s like walking the same route to get from a to b – eventually it becomes mundane and for this record I wanted to try walking a different way.” Dufficy also found himself going down a rabbit hole of old gear for the album, exploring four tracks, micro cassettes and drum machines. “I wanted to see how it would impact our writing and recording process,” he says. “By taking away the endless options you have in the digital world.” The result is one that adds to the already deeply textural world of the band – an approach that has previously reared its head via doo-wop-esque harmony vocals, thoughtfully layered immersive guitars or enveloping atmospheres – as well as adding a further sense of diving into the unknown. The dodgy motors of the four-track led to drums and keys being all over the place on the
track ‘Enveloping Cycles’, creating its own woozy, distinct rhythm of gently fizzing beats. That is before the machine gave up completely. “The four-track died right at the end of making the album, so its quirks will only ever exist on this album,” Dufficy says. “I like that, it’s kind of romantic to me.”

RIYL: Portishead, Thom Yorke, BEAK>, SUUNS, TR/ST, Radiohead. Solo project of Robert Toher who was the creator of ERAAS. Covered by Quietus,Pitchfork, NME, Stereogum, Earmilk, The 405, Clash, BBC Radio, Clash and more.... Public Memory is a mixture of damaged and dubbed-out percussion, unfurling synths and sparse sampling - all strung together by producer Robert Toher's spectral tenor. The project's sophomore LP, Demolition follows 2017's Veil of Counsel EP and 2016's Wuthering Drum LP with cinematic fortitude. While Public Memory's prominent krautrock and trip-hop rhythms are represented here, Demolition explores a greater range of tempos and an expanse of alien emotions with layers of electronic drums, live drums, Korg synths and samples from nature. Themes of rebirth and reflection imbue the album's atmosphere, rich in tape delay, spring reverb, and textures that conjure a sci fi and supernatural narrative. Opener "The Line" sets the album in motion with a driving energy and introspective unease, as if estranged from the world it was created in. A meditation on impending collapse, "Red Rainbow" begins with an arpeggiated melody that hints at a sense of dread. Like the darkness of night descends, the track unfolds with haunting atmospherics and howling synths, finishing with an unexpected climax that ominously builds until at last it falls apart, quickly, softly, without incident. The slowtempoed "Aegis" reflects on the banal reality of love lost, with shuffling rhythms, lingering inflections and a growling synth at its core. Toher's adept use of space and tension articulates the world of Demolition as eerie, emotive, and above all, narcotic. Each track is an existential procession. "Turning out the lights on your illusion," Toher sings to close the album, accepting that change is an inescapable condition of being.

This would be the first proper Quintron & Miss Pussycat full-length since 2011’s Sucre Du Sauvage, and the duo’s third for Memphis Tennessee’s weirdo-rock label Goner Records. Produced by Greg Cartwright (The Oblivians / Reigning Sound) and recorded on 2-inch tape at Gainesville Florida’s PULP ARTS studio, Goblin Alert picks up where Sucre Du Sauvage left off: snotty, semi-political, trashanthems
like, “Teenagers Don’t Know Shit”, “Stroller Pollution”, and “Buc-ee’s Got A Problem”. Also, for the first time ever, Quintron and Pussycat have ditched the drum machine in favor of New Orleans jazz-basher, Sam Yoger (Babes, AJ Davilla) on drum kit, and slinky Florida man, Danny Clifton (Room 13, Jane Jane Pollock) on hollow-body guitar. The resulting vibe is some kinda tweaked-out Miami disco dipped into a Mississippi mudslide, especially the tracks featuring Biloxi talk-box master, Benny Divine (aka Benni). And for the mystery lovers, there is 3/4 power-ballad entitled, “Where’s Karen”, featuring backing vocals by Heather Lee (Room 13, Jane Jane Pollock), about a troubled girl who vanished on Mardi Gras day.