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Africamore: The Afro-Funk Side of Italy (1973-1978)

Continuing Four Flies' dedication to delving into lesser-explored periods of Italian music, Africamore takes us on a captivating journey into the intersection of Afro-funk and the Italian soundscape during the six years between 1973 and 1978 - a time when disco was looming on the horizon and the nightclub market was rapidly expanding.

Before reaching Italian shores, the infectious sound originating from African and Afro-Caribbean roots traversed both the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, landing on New York dancefloors, where DJ Dave Mancuso discovered "Soul Makossa" by Manu Dibango. In 1973, from Mancuso's Loft parties, the song's hypnotic groove spread to the rest of the globe, including in Italy, where it sparked a wave of imitations and variations.


Tribal influences thus found their way into Italian soul-funk and early-disco productions released between 1973 and 1978 – from psychedelic-tinged tunes like Jean Paul & Angelique's "Africa Sound" to the Afrobeat-inspired club banger "Kumbayero" by composer/producer Albert Verrecchia (aka Weyman Corporation); and from groundbreaking Afro-cosmic songs like Chrisma's "Amore", co-written by Vangelis and featuring the rhythms of Ghanaian-British Afro-rock band Osibisa, to mind-blowing floor-fillers like Beryl Cunningham's "Why O", a re-write of Nat King Cole's "Calypso Blues" arranged by Paolo Ormi, with percussion breaks that sound pretty much like what would later become known as techno.


Combining feel-good vibes with driving rhythms, world-style percussion, and even synths, all these productions pushed the boundaries of dance music at a time when disco had not yet taken over. In doing so, they sowed many of the seeds of the later Italian cosmic scene and its unique mixture of African elements, disco-funk and electronic music.

This was a brief but nuanced period in Italian music history, one that deserves to be rediscovered, with love.

Africamore is due out on March 22nd and will be available as a gatefold 2LP and digipak CD. Both formats come with stunning artwork by Kathrin Remest and liner notes by Pierpaolo De Sanctis and Elena Miraglia.

Of the countless accolades and analyses that surround Blue, no point is more significant than the fact that the 1971 Joni Mitchell album continues to become more popular, revered, referenced, and relevant with each passing day. Such vitality is not only extremely singular; it is the ultimate measure of great art and, in the context of Blue, indisputable proof of the record's accessibility, integrity, and timelessness. If the most brilliant and everlasting music seeks to find truths shared by all of humanity, Blue can be said to be universal doctrine.

Sourced from the original analogue master tapes, pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl, and strictly limited to 12,000 numbered copies, Mobile Fidelity's UltraDisc One-Step 180g 45RPM 2LP box set presents the landmark album with reference-grade detail, tonality, and directness. Marking the first time the beloved LP has received audiophile-quality treatment, it's one of six iconic 1970s Mitchell records Mobile Fidelity is reissuing on definitive-sounding vinyl and SACD sets.

Everything about Blue sounds more intimate, involving, and inescapable on this transparent pressing, which benefits from a virtually non-existent noise floor and superior groove definition. Mitchell's voice, positioned front and center, and primarily accompanied by minimalist acoustic guitar, piano, and dulcimer playing, comes across clearly and prominently. Suspended notes and radiant chords double as question marks, commas, and phrases. The in-the-room presence and spatial dimensionality make absolute the full-range spectrum of introspective emotions — hurt and distress, self-awareness and joy, difficulty and uncertainty, warmth and desire — Mitchell navigates, queries, and contemplates throughout the record. The defencelessness the singer once spoke about is laid bare here like never before.

The packaging of the Blue UD1S set complements its distinguished status. Housed in a deluxe box, both LPs come in special foil-stamped jackets with faithful-to-the-original graphics that illuminate the splendor of the recording. This UD1S reissue exists as a curatorial artifact for listeners who prize sound quality and production, and who desire to engage themselves in everything involved with the album, including the unforgettable cover photograph of a ruminative Mitchell shot by Tim Considine.

Deemed the third Greatest Album of All Time by Rolling Stone; universally celebrated by critics, fans, artists, and educators; and defined by a spell of disarmingly vulnerable songs that are at once confessional, intense, spare, honest, painful, hopeful, and exquisite, Blue charts love, spiritualism, independence, and loss like no record before or since. Widely considered the album that established the singer-songwriter template, the largely autobiographical LP changed everything shortly after its original release in June 1971. Amazingly, it continues to do so more than five decades later.

An incalculable influence on generations of artists, it stands as the through-line from Carole King, Elton John, James Taylor, Joan Armatrading, and Leonard Cohen to Patti Smith, Carly Simon, Emmylou Harris, and Rosanne Cash to 21st century contemporaries like Brandi Carlile, Taylor Swift, Sharon Van Etten, and Courtney Barnett. Teetering between agony and optimism, it is — to borrow a phrase from Mitchell's eternal "A Case of You" — a bottomless "box of paints."

The beauty of the stripped-down arrangements, intoxicating melodies, and Mitchell's wisdom on Blue didn't go unnoticed. Critical acclaim, coupled with the depth of the material and Mitchell's reputation, propelled the album into the Top 20 in the U.S. and Top 10 in the U.K. Yet while so much pop music diminishes with age, Blue has defied norms and headed in the opposite direction. Its 50th anniversary year witnessed an outpouring of tributes, reflections, and testimonials that helped frame the record's escalating importance and symbolism — apt in an age in which women have become the prominent trailblazers in rock, R&B, and hip-hop.

Perhaps most succinctly, in a 2021 article celebrating the LP, the Los Angeles Times declared: "In 1971, nothing sounded like Joni Mitchell's Blue. 50 years later, it's still a miracle." Nothing, indeed. Yet "miracle" suggests Blue partially owes to a divine agent or inexplicable circumstance. And though Mitchell's bracing conviction and forthright sincerity can appear otherworldly, her musical approach and lyrical storytelling is nothing if not personal and human. What we hear is pure truth — no matter how aching, complicated, or stark.

Much has been written about the circumstances that inspired the songs on Blue: Mitchell's romances; her time overseas; her disdain for celebrity; her lingering sense of loss at having given up her daughter for adoption; her treatment by the very same industry that her music made uncomfortable; her prolonged search for resolution. These situations and experiences pushed Mitchell to question everything — especially big-picture concepts that have always obsessed mankind: fulfilment, autonomy, love, honesty, being.

"I wanna make you feel free," Mitchell sings on the record-opening "All I Want." Mission accomplished. Blue is liberation — and the start of a freedom that continues to impact music, culture, and identity today.

More About Mobile Fidelity UltraDisc One-Step and Why It Is Superior
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's UltraDisc One-Step (UD1S) technique bypasses generational losses inherent to the traditional three-step plating process by removing two steps: the production of father and mother plates, which are created to yield numerous stampers from each lacquer that is cut. For UD1S plating, stampers (also called "converts") are made directly from the lacquers. Since each lacquer yields only one stamper, multiple lacquers need to be cut. Mobile Fidelity's UD1S process produces a final LP with the lowest-possible noise floor. The removal of two steps of the plating process also reveals musical details and dynamics that would otherwise be lost due to the standard multi-step process. With UD1S, every aspect of vinyl production is optimized to produce the best-sounding vinyl album available today.

Over atmospheric instrumentation expanded by cinematic structure and pacing, Pearlty presents Knifeplay somewhere between dream-pop influenced shoegaze and lofty slowcore, never fully committing to one or the other in its insistence on creating an immersive, organic world. Originally released in 2019, Knifeplay’s vivid debut Pearlty documents songwriter Tj Strohmer’s expressions of early adulthood in what he describes as “the journey from innocence to experience.” Written during a time of immense inspiration, Strohmer was able to peel himself away from detached nihilism, uncovering the physicality and therapeutic powers of songwriting. Newly emboldened by this discovery and the talented community surrounding him, Strohmer channeled this revelation into his work, taking Knifeplay from a bedroom experiment that merely wrote songs to a more substantial project with a purpose. Pearlty’s various climactic passages, like those heard on the impressionist album opener “Tears”, envelop listeners in textured walls of distorted guitar and noisy breakdowns, a distinct hallmark of shoegaze – but Knifeplay’s compositions go far beyond such conventions. Also featured are downtempo compositions – such as the tribute track “Angel” – that call on a range of influences, from grunge to lofi pop, all the way back to slowcore. Layers of Strohmer’s falsetto lilt adorn the songs with another dimension of sentimentality, while rounding out the sonic vastness of the group’s emotionally enrapturing style, lending impressive depth to the band’s debut full-length.

"Pearlty" by Knifeplay includes the following tracks: "Feel U", "Mirage", "Held My Hand", "Lemonhead" and more.

Suffolk-based singer songwriter James Varda’s fourth and final album before his death from a long battle with cancer in 2015, Chance And Time, set for a vinyl only reissue on Unspun Heroes is an astonishing aural document of a creative, forward -thinking musician coming to terms with a life slowly evaporating away. There is hubris, melancholy and an undeniable weight of sadness in these ten songs but, miraculously, there is also a stoic realisation and acceptance from Varda that is both heart-wrenching and deeply affecting. On Chance And Time Varda reconnects the human spirit to the land, a heavy, fearful heart to an optimistic soul, and in a beautiful poetic flourish gives a real tangible sense of loving and hope to his family and friends offering genuine reassurance and even, at times, a green light for celebration.

Carrying a certain air of mystique, that same sense of a ‘other worldliness’ if you will of say a Karen Dalton or a Jeff Buckley, Varda’s delivery and tone carries huge emotional weight here and an unique ability to add an honest perspective and warmth to the starkest of realities. The hard hitting impact of the opening tracks is blunt and sharply defined. There is pain, hardship, and fear wrapped in these tales - ‘The Doctor Spoke, Two Hearts Broke” - made all the more hitting as this is a real life journey in the here and now being catalogued. As we move towards the second half of the record there is something even deeper and truly incredible at play. Varda’s whole demeanor is one of understanding and acceptance - hear the celebratory shamanic vibe of the extraordinary ‘Pass It On’ and the poignantly reflective, chokingly sad finale ‘We Won’t Dream’ - bringing to an end a record that will leave a mark on everyone who hears it. Real art is both timeless and omnipresent, these songs from James Varda will hang in the air forever and be there for those who look to find understanding, joy and a sense of hope. Chance And Time is both an extraordinary record and poignant study of life and living, of death and what comes after.

James Varda released four albums between 1988 and his death in 2015. A fledgling career beginning on the singer-songwriting folk scene where his arrival was met with both curiosity and critical acclaim as was his debut, the John Leckie produced Hunger. Any momentum was lost however as it would be ten years before the next, In The Valley was met with a ruffle of applause. Cancer took hold of the troubadour and for a number of years Varda lived life and wrote songs until The River And The Stars appeared like a phoenix from the flames as he began to wrestle with the realities of his situation. It’s a record that beautifully lays the ground for this his masterpiece that was to follow.

Unspun Heroes, a new label set up by Simon White, has the sole purpose of finding and reissuing albums that he considers both undervalued and seemingly ignored.  All releases will be on vinyl only complete with Obi strip and extensive liner notes. Each will be individually numbered and limited.

Grand Canyon

the trip of a lifetime.

You're locked in beauty, the memories of the limestone, the secrets of the mountains.

When you approach them, you have the distinct impression that you're facing castles, monasteries, cities;

but they suddenly disappear, like fantastical dreams, illusions, or mirages.

You become a traveller in the land of dreams and Fata Morgana.

It's a place, where only Silence speaks.

And it was this Silence that inspired me to compose
"Melancholy".

Zbigniew Preisner

Miles Davis' A Tribute to Jack Johnson is the best jazz-rock record ever made. Equally inspired by the leader's desire to assemble the "greatest rock and roll band you have ever heard,” his adoration of Johnson, and Black Power politics, Davis created a hard-hitting set that surges with excitement, intensity, majesty, and power. Bridging the electric fusion he'd pursued on earlier efforts with a funkier, dirtier rhythmic approach, Davis zeroes in on concepts of spontaneity, freedom, and identity seldom achieved in the studio — and just as infrequently accepted by the mainstream.

Sourced from the original analog master tapes, pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl, and housed in a Stoughton jacket, Mobile Fidelity's 180g LP reissue brings it all to fore with startling realism. Benefitting from SuperVinyl’s nearly inaudible noise floor, superb groove definition, and clean, ultra-quiet surfaces, this 180g LP showcases everything — from the bold tonality of the headliner's white-hot trumpet solos to the decay of crashing cymbals, carry of wiry guitar notes, and echoes of the studio — in reference fashion.

Bristling with exuberance, Davis' high-register passages explode with authority and commanding presence. Around him, a barrage of urgent backbeats, knifing riffs, and supple bass lines emerge amidst black backgrounds. One of the most prominent differences long-time fans will notice is how much more aggressive, immediate, and vibrant the music sounds, with those aspects central to the composer's original desires.

Utilizing wah-wah and distortion, the go-to instrumentalist of the performances— guitarist John McLaughlin — attacks with a nasty edge, slashing style, and vicious streak that allows A Tribute to Jack Johnson< cross the until-then-impenetrable divide between rock and jazz. Davis puts both feet in the former camp and erases any gap. The stories of the record’s creation are nearly as legendary as the sounds within: Two sessions, multiple jams, different sets of musicians (several uncredited), and near-miraculous production perfectionism that made it all appear cohesive.

The least-well-known masterpiece of Davis' career, the 1971 record — seamlessly assembled and spliced together by producer Teo Macero — was a victim of limited record-label promotion. Audiences also didn’t immediately know what to make of its original cover art — faithfully replicated here. In addition, the powers that be at Columbia Records were directing the public’s attention to Miles at Fillmore, a completely different kind of album guided by two keyboardists. A Tribute to Jack Johnson practically lives in a different universe, one from the future. To many listeners who did manage to hear it — among them critic/musician Robert Quine, Stooges leader Iggy Pop, and renowned critic Robert Christgau — it surpassed everything that came before.

Indeed, Davis treated it as a personal manifesto: An opportunity to salute the Black championship boxer admired for his threatening image to the establishment and impeccable taste in clothes, cars, women and music. Davis explains in the liner notes his affinity for Johnson — a stance mirrored by the defiant music, which hits with a prize fighter's force and reflects the graceful elegance with which a pugilist navigates the ring — and closes the album with a Johnson quote read by Brock Peters.

Inspired not only by Johnson but by Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone, Davis changed his approach and his band. He surrounds himself with a cadre of musicians in their 20s and, in the case of bassist Michael Henderson, a 19-year-old fresh from touring with Stevie Wonder. Henderson gives Davis what he requested: boogie-based grooves that don’t lose shape or direction. Soprano saxophonist Steve Grossman, drummer Billy Cobham, and organist Herbie Hancock adhere to a similar aesthetic that prizes brazenness, innovation, and energy.

In that vein, during a portion of “Yesternow,” Davis segues into a separate performance (which became known in its entirety as “Willie Nelson”) played by guitarists McLaughlin and Sonny Sharrock, bass clarinetist Bernie Maupin, keyboardist Chick Corea, bassist Dave Holland, and drummer Jack DeJohnette. Dig it!

Talking with jazz scholar Bill Milkowski — who himself noted how McLaughlin’s unrestrained style, decibel-forward volumes, and rapid-fire power chords engendered himself to the rock crowd at the same time that his harmonics and syncopation still definitely made him a jazz player — guitarist Henry Kaiser summed up part of the appeal of A Tribute to Jack Johnson as well as anyone, saying: “It’s a jazz record that way way more open than other jazz records at the time, but still not free jazz. McLaughlin’s rhythm guitar playing on ‘Right Off’ — the use of different chords in a rock shuffle than what anybody had used before — was revolutionary.”

And to think that’s just one aspect of a record that contains multitudes. “Never let them forget it.” Indeed.

Over atmospheric instrumentation expanded by cinematic structure and pacing, Pearlty presents Knifeplay somewhere between dream-pop influenced shoegaze and lofty slowcore, never fully committing to one or the other in its insistence on creating an immersive, organic world. Originally released in 2019, Knifeplay’s vivid debut Pearlty documents songwriter Tj Strohmer’s expressions of early adulthood in what he describes as “the journey from innocence to experience.” Written during a time of immense inspiration, Strohmer was able to peel himself away from detached nihilism, uncovering the physicality and therapeutic powers of songwriting. Newly emboldened by this discovery and the talented community surrounding him, Strohmer channeled this revelation into his work, taking Knifeplay from a bedroom experiment that merely wrote songs to a more substantial project with a purpose. Pearlty’s various climactic passages, like those heard on the impressionist album opener “Tears”, envelop listeners in textured walls of distorted guitar and noisy breakdowns, a distinct hallmark of shoegaze – but Knifeplay’s compositions go far beyond such conventions. Also featured are downtempo compositions – such as the tribute track “Angel” – that call on a range of influences, from grunge to lofi pop, all the way back to slowcore. Layers of Strohmer’s falsetto lilt adorn the songs with another dimension of sentimentality, while rounding out the sonic vastness of the group’s emotionally enrapturing style, lending impressive depth to the band’s debut full-length.

The vinyl is pressed in pink.

Ltd. Pink Coloured 180g Vinyl ( )

2LP. In celebration of the album's 20th anniversary, it is now available on vinyl for the first time!Including the classics 'Scared Of Yourself', 'Goodbye', and 'Believe In Me'.

Osteoleuco is the unit of KEISUKE SAITO (MC/Producer) and Shimon Hoshino, whose sound mixes lo-fi hip hop with indie soul and dream pop.This 2nd album features popular Japanese artists RYO-Z (rapper, RIP SLYME) & Emi Okamoto (singer) and more.

Die preisgekrönte Progressive-Rock-Band BIG BIG TRAIN veröffentlicht ihr 15. Studioalbum über InsideOut Music und damit das erste vollständige Album mit dem neuen Frontmann Alberto Bravin (ex-PFM). Die mit Spannung erwartete Veröffentlichung von "The Likes Of Us" folgt auf die äußerst erfolgreiche Europatournee von BIG BIG TRAIN, auf der sie 17 Konzerte in neun Ländern gaben und die mit zwei triumphalen Auftritten in der Londoner Cadogan Hall endete. Das Album ist ein atemberaubendes Werk, das alle Elemente enthält, die die Band so besonders machen, darunter fesselnde und einprägsame Arrangements und erstklassige Musik. Abgesehen von den Definitionen sind BIG BIG TRAIN ein großer Fisch im Teich ihrer Wahl. Mit ihrem Album "Common Ground" gelang der Gruppe 2021 die Rückkehr des Prog-Rock in die UK Top-40-Charts. "Big Big Train sind in erster Linie eine Rockband, aber wir sind auch eine Prog-Band", erklärt Bassist und Mitbegründer Gregory Spawton. "Wir sind uns der Traditionen, denen wir folgen, sehr bewusst; wir haben sie nie verleugnet und werden es auch nie tun. Die Tatsache, dass wir klassisch klingenden Prog zurück in die Charts bringen, ist absolut fantastisch." Auf der jüngsten Tournee der Gruppe wurden zwei Stücke aus "The Likes Of Us" - "Oblivion" und "Love Is The Light" - vorgestellt und vom Publikum begeistert aufgenommen. Während einer Flutwelle der Wiedergeburt und des Feierns wurde Bravin als Teil der Familie akzeptiert. In der Tat hat die sich ständig weiterentwickelnde Chemie der Band zu fantastischen Ergebnissen geführt. "Wir haben eine großartige Mischung von Leuten, die hier sein wollen und die Extrameile gehen, um etwas ganz Besonderes zu machen", sagt Schlagzeuger Nick D'Virgilio. "Es gibt eine große Welt an talentierten Musikern da draußen, und glücklicherweise wollen einige von ihnen mit uns abhängen."

The cinematic opening track Inthenever starts off as a film >> somewhere on a desolate coast, where everything has already ceased. This is going to be an album with a story and depth, a fearless tour of the barren shores of our days // or is it possibly just a mirage conclusion of their razor-sharp sound brutalism? Tittingur's third album, Epiphany, is here, pounding with waves they had not done before.

It seems as though this dyad has disposed of all the genre confines that had locked them in, and have grasped the sound of new subject matters, for which the moniker of experimental techno is finally too narrow. With utter urgency and candid to their emblematic, thunderous sound, Dominik's and Matus's deafening mallets collide in beats which are now, more than ever, drenched in a mass of palpable gloom and anguish. As though we could touch the rising levels of the oceans, and smell the melting of the glaciers themselves.

In one way or another, the music of Tittingur has always been about nature, its fierce essence, and its stark contrast with the post-era that we have found ourselves living in. However, whereas before, it was the sound of old, weather-stained concrete, and the pounding of abandoned, overgrown buildings, now it is, unavoidably, their most direct and honest return to nature landscapes, and to human, age-old traditions, referenced in the Slovak folk motives, recordings and found sounds.

On Epiphany, Tittingur's sound becomes yet more abstract, in a sound world that is ambiguous but also unified, and works on its own. The duality of nature and technology, of inland human folklore and the trenches of deepest oceans, invite us to come closer and observe the volatile obliteration taking place. Can we even attempt to re-assess our position with nature, or is this whole experiment doomed to fail?

Unsurprisingly, in the echoes, all the ingredients of the classic Tittingur sound are still present, distilled into new forms >> the ever-present over-saturation, the exaggerated, maximalist approach and megalomania >> the sound of impending climate change, doom, and near-apocalyptic visions, the scent of borovička mixed with the wild North Sea, the agony of contemporary urban life, and the adventure of wilderness: ferocious synths, monumental beats, aggressive basslines and crumbling noise-scapes built of a found-sound, music concréte-like, collagist approach.

At moments, it seems the means have changed. Just until you realise that the sentences of this story are spoken in a new language. If you dive deep enough, and listen to the essence that the music of Tittingur articulates, it's surprisingly easy to understand >> although the notions and emotions are difficult to put into words. The profound narrative of Epiphany is that of an endless inner struggle of society, anxiety, crises, and ambiguously easy // difficult solutions in the post-modern global chaos. It is the calm before a storm. It is the storm. Is it the calm. It is all of it, in itself. credits

REKORDER is "a kind of retrospective of myself", says M.RUX about his second, long-awaited solo album. For over 10 years, Marten Rux aka M.RUX appears as a DJ, producer, editor, remixer and multi-instrumentalist all over the world and has developed an idiosyncratic sound that opens up subtle fields of tension: M.RUX mixes a sound between experimental sound design and hooklines that stay in your ears forever. Between wild percussion and contemplative harmonies, between ecstasy and meditative calm. In his DJ and live sets, M.RUX usually steps up to the controls with a smile, discreetly bobbing his head, while the audience goes wild. He circumnavigates clichés with trustworthy certainty and develops his very own guiding threads in his selection beyond BPM or genre straitjackets. One constant is his warm, often stoically slow kick drum, which holds all that playfulness together. REKORDER is a manifestation of this typical M.RUX sound. Similar to his concept album "Vermonische Melodien" from 2020 (on the Pingipung label), the artist's curiosity is directed towards the musical visions of the past. When new music technology projected great visions of the future and when new sounds had not yet solidi ed into clichés. REKORDER refers to the recording device, spelled in a German way, because most of the recordings were made in Germany (and in England as well). Phonography is a miracle that has only been around for 150 years: Technology gifts upon us prosthetics for remembering sound. Every recording is a process, and every playback a new performative act. Recordari (Latin) is a beautiful word. It literally means to take something to heart (cor) once again (re-). This doesn't just refer to remembering, but also to a ponderous, loving, sometimes doubtful contemplation. It is a perfect headline for M.RUX’ approach to processing sound. REKORDER draws deeply from its own archive, which has ourished quite splendidly during the pandemic. Multi-instrumentalist M.RUX mixes his own recordings of banjo, guitar, auto-harp, synths, percussion and jews harp with fragments from sessions with friends that have accumulated since 2020. They unfold in the process of re-listening in the mix and transform into a solid musical tapestry. A typical gesture for this album? M.RUX bows deeply to the history of pop music - especially the blues and its melancholy, coolness and shuf ing groove. The harmonic framework of the album is based on blues scales throughout. Instead of conveying blue emotions via lyrics or the tone of the voice, as the original genre does, the synthesizer takes on this role on REKORDER. With his sound design, M.RUX achieves an ecstatic sorrow in his melodies, this gurgling portamento that is reminiscent of R&B (or even the ingenious title melody of the series "Bojack Horseman”). If voices are heard on REKORDER, then as hypnotic fragments that guide us through the groove as conjunctions: "Because...", says the voice in the track of the same name. That's enough. There are no lyrics, no literal weariness, no love-songs or storytelling, REKORDER processes all of this into timbres and groove as vessels for the album’s individual, contemplative melancholy. Never forgetting, with a gentle smile, to swing a leg.

LIMITED RED COLOURED VINYL!
REKORDER is "a kind of retrospective of myself", says M.RUX about his second, long-awaited solo album. For over 10 years, Marten Rux aka M.RUX appears as a DJ, producer, editor, remixer and multi-instrumentalist all over the world and has developed an idiosyncratic sound that opens up subtle fields of tension: M.RUX mixes a sound between experimental sound design and hooklines that stay in your ears forever. Between wild percussion and contemplative harmonies, between ecstasy and meditative calm. In his DJ and live sets, M.RUX usually steps up to the controls with a smile, discreetly bobbing his head, while the audience goes wild. He circumnavigates clichés with trustworthy certainty and develops his very own guiding threads in his selection beyond BPM or genre straitjackets. One constant is his warm, often stoically slow kick drum, which holds all that playfulness together. REKORDER is a manifestation of this typical M.RUX sound. Similar to his concept album "Vermonische Melodien" from 2020 (on the Pingipung label), the artist's curiosity is directed towards the musical visions of the past. When new music technology projected great visions of the future and when new sounds had not yet solidi ed into clichés. REKORDER refers to the recording device, spelled in a German way, because most of the recordings were made in Germany (and in England as well). Phonography is a miracle that has only been around for 150 years: Technology gifts upon us prosthetics for remembering sound. Every recording is a process, and every playback a new performative act. Recordari (Latin) is a beautiful word. It literally means to take something to heart (cor) once again (re-). This doesn't just refer to remembering, but also to a ponderous, loving, sometimes doubtful contemplation. It is a perfect headline for M.RUX’ approach to processing sound. REKORDER draws deeply from its own archive, which has ourished quite splendidly during the pandemic. Multi-instrumentalist M.RUX mixes his own recordings of banjo, guitar, auto-harp, synths, percussion and jews harp with fragments from sessions with friends that have accumulated since 2020. They unfold in the process of re-listening in the mix and transform into a solid musical tapestry. A typical gesture for this album? M.RUX bows deeply to the history of pop music - especially the blues and its melancholy, coolness and shuf ing groove. The harmonic framework of the album is based on blues scales throughout. Instead of conveying blue emotions via lyrics or the tone of the voice, as the original genre does, the synthesizer takes on this role on REKORDER. With his sound design, M.RUX achieves an ecstatic sorrow in his melodies, this gurgling portamento that is reminiscent of R&B (or even the ingenious title melody of the series "Bojack Horseman”). If voices are heard on REKORDER, then as hypnotic fragments that guide us through the groove as conjunctions: "Because...", says the voice in the track of the same name. That's enough. There are no lyrics, no literal weariness, no love-songs or storytelling, REKORDER processes all of this into timbres and groove as vessels for the album’s individual, contemplative melancholy. Never forgetting, with a gentle smile, to swing a leg.

Colouring, das Pseudonym des Sängers und Musikers Jack Kenworthy, kündigt das neue Album 'Love To You, Mate' an, das am 23. Februar über Bella Union veröffentlicht wird.

Das Leben des Songwriters und Produzenten aus Nottingham wurde 2021, wenige Monate vor der Veröffentlichung seines Debütalbums 'Wake', auf den Kopf gestellt, als bei seinem Schwager Krebs diagnostiziert wurde. Was folgte, war ein intimes Jahr des Zusammenseins mit der Familie, in dessen Folge Kenworthy das Projekt eigentlich schon komplett beenden wollte, von Freund und Produzent Gianluca Buccellati (Arlo Parks, Lana Del Rey) dann aber doch zum Weitermachen überredet wurde.

Colouring ist jetzt schon seit einiger Zeit ein Soloprojekt, das neben den Post-Britpop-Größen der 00er-Jahre von The Blue Nile beeinflusst ist, aber auch elektronische und rhythmische Einflüsse von Radiohead und James Blake aufnimmt. So auch die neuen elf Songs, die auch schlurfende Breakbeats, Arpeggio-Gitarrenmelodien und düstere Pianoparts enthalten. “I've always been on the side of making up scenarios rather than being really honest about my life within my music”, fügt Jack hinzu. “This is the first time I've been able to do that. I've been less scared of it because it's not my story. It’s a shared one.”

Klanglich überfrachtet Kenworthy das Album jedoch nicht mit Traurigkeit. Gerade die letzten beiden Songs, 'For Life' und 'Big Boots', sind fröhlichere Stücke, die das Leben und den Zusammenhalt der Freundschaft feiern. “Love To You, Mate is a love letter to my wife, family and Greg for what they all did; a photograph of that time”, erzählt der Songwriter. “I really feel we've made this music together.”

- Ltd. Col. LP: (Clear Vinyl)

Ltd. Edition Silver Vinyl
Direkt nachdem "The Reality Of Miracles" im Jahr 2020 in den Regalen stand, machten sich LIONHEART an die Aufnahmen für das nächste Album. Dabei beschloss man schon früh, dass es diesmal ein Konzeptalbum werden soll. Im Mittelpunkt des Albums steht der Zweite Weltkrieg, aber die Band wollte unbedingt ein Anti-Kriegs-Album machen, während sie gleichzeitig derer gedenken wollte, die für unsere Freiheit gekämpft haben.

Für Maria Raquel gibt es keine Angst, wenn es darum geht, ihrer Leidenschaft zu folgen. Ob sie nun von Kolumbien nach New York zieht, um ihrem Traum zu folgen, oder ob sie mit den Größen der lateinamerikanischen Musik auf der Bühne steht, Maria kennt keine Bedenken. Auf ihrem Debütalbum 'Mucha Mujer' taucht Maria kopfüber in die klassischen Klänge von Boleros und Cumbias ein und bringt ihre rauchige Altstimme inmitten eines 16-köpfigen Live-Orchesters aus Perkussion, Streichern, Bläsern, Bass und Gitarre zur Geltung. Das Album besteht ausschließlich aus Eigenkompositionen und wurde auf analogem Band aufgenommen. Es erinnert an klassische Aufnahmen von Künstlern wie Omara Portuondo, Celia Cruz und La Lupe, doch Maria Raquel haucht diesen klassischen Genres neues Leben ein - die eindringliche Sehnsucht der Boleros kontrastiert mit der pulsierenden Beharrlichkeit der Cumbia. Mit einigen der besten Latin-Musiker New Yorks wie Reuben Rodriguez (Tito Puente), Marcos Lopez (Marc Anthony) und Ivan Renta (Eddie Palmieri), arrangiert und produziert von Mike Eckroth (Orquesta Akokán) und Jacob Plasse (Los Hacheros), stellt Mucha Mujer der Welt ein fesselndes neues Talent vor.

Re-issue as double vinyl in slip sleeve! Frank Bornemann has transformed the story of the French national heroine Jeanne d’Arc to an impressive musical journey into the 15th century. Next to spoken word passages the music primarily captivates with its atmospheric
arrangements that open up a new chapter in the Eloy cosmos. The press puts the work under the same category as Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” and the Who’s “Tommy”, confirming the powerful intensity of the songs and praising the audiophile quality.

Psychedelic Anxiety, as a mood, goes something like this: overwhelming, existential, vertigoic, arising when we stare into the void. This metaphysical unease also serves as the title for Brooklyn-based musician Frances Chang’s second album, and as a feeling it’s present throughout, charged by all things occultish. Recorded by Chang and engineer Andrea Schiavelli, featuring a cast of revered NYC DIY players, including Schiavelli (Eyes of Love) and Liza Winter (Birthing Hips), Psychedelic Anxiety relishes in the refining of aesthetic, in the electricity of improvisation, in balancing bleakness with humor. It embodies an idiosyncratic genre Chang calls slacker prog — offbeat, but brimming with spiritual and emotional resonance. The record infuses artifacts of the mundane with otherworldliness— even the love songs live more in the realm of fantasy (or horror) than the romantic. The psychic twin and mirror image of Chang’s 2022 debut full-length Support Your Local Nihilist, Psychedelic Anxiety by comparison is less urgent, leaving space for more nuance and storytelling. Together, these albums represent a new cycle of creativity for Chang, a reset to zero. “Eye Land,” captures Chang on a tour around the Irish and English countryside, in a moment of major life change. “Lying around your spare room,” she sings, “Sky is cloudy here in June.” Around her, guitar sputters and stops. Vocals branch off like vines on the side of an old house. It is a profoundly lovely song, a freaky miniature in the way that a Broadcast song is a freaky miniature. “Darkside” opens up with a particularly memorable narrative moment. “Last night I saw Parasite,” sings Chang, describing how she saw it alone, how regular life that week was acute, weird, intense. How she found comfort in resignation. After all: Psychedelic Anxiety is a serene, bizarre record full of alien sounds and big introspection.

Heute kündigt die mitreißende Pfeiferin Molly Lewis ihr Debütalbum „On The Lips“ an, das am 16. Februar über Jagjaguwar erscheint. Im vergangenen Jahr hat Molly an der Seite von Mark Ronson und Andrew Wyatt eine der emotionalsten Szenen des Hollywood-Hits „Barbie“ vertont, Modehäusern wie Chanel, Gucci und Hermes ihr einzigartiges Talent geliehen und Weyes Blood auf Tour unterstützt. Auf ihrem kommenden Debütalbum lädt sie ein ins Café Molly, eine Lounge-Bar, wie es sie nicht mehr gibt. Das Licht ist gedämpft, die Martinis sind eiskalt, die Bänke sind aus Samt, und die Bühne ist bereit für das elektrisierende Talent der Pfeiferin Molly Lewis. Nach dem exotischen Stil der „The Forgotten Edge“ EP und der an Tropicalia angelehnten „Mirage“ EP wollte sie den Sound des Café Molly für ihr Debütalbum „On The Lips“ einfangen, eine verträumte Hommage an klassische Stimmungsmusik, die neblige Visionen von Hollywood-Jazzclubs, italienischen Kinosoundtracks und anhaltenden Umarmungen zwischen Liebenden heraufbeschwört. Ziehen Sie sich also einen Stuhl heran, bestellen Sie Ihren Lieblingsdrink und machen Sie sich bereit, sich zu verlieben. „On The Lips“ wurde mit dem Produzenten Thomas Brenneck (Menahan Street Band, Charles Bradley, Amy Winehouse) in den Diamond West Studios in Pasadena aufgenommen. Während der Sessions wurde Molly auf den 10 Tracks des Albums von einer Reihe gefeierter Musiker unterstützt, darunter Nick Hakim, der für den Latin Grammy nominierte brasilianische Gitarrist Rogê, Leland Whitty und Chester Hansen von Badbadnotgood, die Chicano-Soul-Gruppe Thee Sacred Souls auf dem melancholischen "Crushed Velvet", der experimentelle Jazz-Pianist Marco Benevento und Leon Michels von El Michels Affair. Das Album enthält zwei Coverversionen: Dave Berrys Pop-Standard "The Crying Game" aus den 1960er Jahren und Jeanettes "Porque Te Vas" von 1974. Gleichzeitig mit der heutigen Ankündigung wird die Single "Lounge Lizard" mit Musikvideo veröffentlicht, inspiriert von Julie Londons Erscheinung im Film The Girl Can't Help It von 1956.

Heute kündigt die mitreißende Pfeiferin Molly Lewis ihr Debütalbum „On The Lips“ an, das am 16. Februar über Jagjaguwar erscheint. Im vergangenen Jahr hat Molly an der Seite von Mark Ronson und Andrew Wyatt eine der emotionalsten Szenen des Hollywood-Hits „Barbie“ vertont, Modehäusern wie Chanel, Gucci und Hermes ihr einzigartiges Talent geliehen und Weyes Blood auf Tour unterstützt. Auf ihrem kommenden Debütalbum lädt sie ein ins Café Molly, eine Lounge-Bar, wie es sie nicht mehr gibt. Das Licht ist gedämpft, die Martinis sind eiskalt, die Bänke sind aus Samt, und die Bühne ist bereit für das elektrisierende Talent der Pfeiferin Molly Lewis. Nach dem exotischen Stil der „The Forgotten Edge“ EP und der an Tropicalia angelehnten „Mirage“ EP wollte sie den Sound des Café Molly für ihr Debütalbum „On The Lips“ einfangen, eine verträumte Hommage an klassische Stimmungsmusik, die neblige Visionen von Hollywood-Jazzclubs, italienischen Kinosoundtracks und anhaltenden Umarmungen zwischen Liebenden heraufbeschwört. Ziehen Sie sich also einen Stuhl heran, bestellen Sie Ihren Lieblingsdrink und machen Sie sich bereit, sich zu verlieben. „On The Lips“ wurde mit dem Produzenten Thomas Brenneck (Menahan Street Band, Charles Bradley, Amy Winehouse) in den Diamond West Studios in Pasadena aufgenommen. Während der Sessions wurde Molly auf den 10 Tracks des Albums von einer Reihe gefeierter Musiker unterstützt, darunter Nick Hakim, der für den Latin Grammy nominierte brasilianische Gitarrist Rogê, Leland Whitty und Chester Hansen von Badbadnotgood, die Chicano-Soul-Gruppe Thee Sacred Souls auf dem melancholischen "Crushed Velvet", der experimentelle Jazz-Pianist Marco Benevento und Leon Michels von El Michels Affair. Das Album enthält zwei Coverversionen: Dave Berrys Pop-Standard "The Crying Game" aus den 1960er Jahren und Jeanettes "Porque Te Vas" von 1974. Gleichzeitig mit der heutigen Ankündigung wird die Single "Lounge Lizard" mit Musikvideo veröffentlicht, inspiriert von Julie Londons Erscheinung im Film The Girl Can't Help It von 1956.

For their first album, Seth Troxler and Phil Moffa joined forces and became multidimensional creative dissidents Lost Souls Of Saturn. This time, even further into the vortex, they’ve metamorphosed into sci-fi AR comic characters John and Frank who’ve explored the galaxy and returned with this perception-melting new LP.

Although ‘Reality’ still possesses the wigged-out conceptual brilliance which garnered installations and performances at Saatchi Gallery (London), Fondation Beyeler (Basel), The Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC), and Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, plus live sets at Field Day, Glastonbury and Kappa Futur, as its title might suggest, there’s vividness amidst the mind-bending. Where its predecessor was a murky exploration of weird and dark cerebral passageways, this album – though still fathoms deep – has a dazzling clarity of sound, as if listeners are beginning to crack the arcane codes, and reach for enlightenment.

A prime example of these newfound beams of light guiding participants through the maze is their recent single; the chugging cosmic techno synth pop of ‘Mirage’, featuring the voice of Adam Ohr. Also guesting on the album is Lvv Gvn, whose honeyed Billie-Holiday-meets-Rickie-Lee-Jones tones adorn the tranquil pixelated broken beat of ‘Click’, Greg Paulus’s trumpet sessions on ‘Zorg Arrival’ and ‘Scram City’, and Protomartyr’s vocalist Joe Casey and guitarist Greg Ahee, who grace the liminal drifting celestial plane of ‘Lilac Chasers’. Sitarist Rishab Sharma, the last disciple of guru Ravi Shankar, also shreds on ‘Scram City’.

Elsewhere, across the LP’s immensely inventive instrumental passages techno, dub, house, jazz, psych and ambient are vapourised into an expansive yet pleasingly concise series of morphing dream states. Fans of Air Liquide, Ravi Shankar, Ray Manzarek, Carl Craig, Pole, The Orb and ‘Son Of A Lung’ era FSOL should find much to like.

“I like to work with a variety of instruments and set ups,” says Mark Van Hoen, sometimes known as Locust or Autocreation but here working under his own name on the excellent Plan For A Miracle, his first physical release of solo music since 2018’s Invisible Threads. ”Sometimes it’s literally in my studio, with all the hardware electronics available. Sometimes the laptop, using software instruments. Some of the tracks on this record were recorded in the desert (Joshua Tree) using a 4-track tape machine and small modular synthesiser set up. Each track was recorded in different location using different instruments, which accounts for the distinction between each piece. It’s also about my own reaction to my environment, and what’s going on in my life at the time.”

The Croydon-born Van Hoen started musical life in the early 1990s, signing for R&S records in 1993 but developing his own, myriad and distinctive style across a range of releases on Touch, Editions Mego and other labels, using a battery of instruments, including analogue synthesizers and taking a number of different approaches to recording, rather than ploughing a single sonic furrow. He has worked on a number of collaborations, including with Nick Holton and Neil Halstead of Slowdive, under the moniker of Black Hearted Brother - their Stars Are Our Home was released in 2013. “I have known Neil Halstead since 1992,” says Van Hoen. “He shared a house with me for a couple of years, and the music I was making and listening to along with clubs I was attending had an influence particularly on Pygmalion, the final Slowdive album on Creation.”

Each track on Plan For A Miracle does indeed sound like a world unto itself, a mini-environment, a weather condition, an ecosystem created for the moment. It’s a collection of tracks recorded over the past few years, released on Bandcamp - despite his apparent absence, Van Hoen works constantly. Opener “Climates”, in its exquisite limpidity, feels like a homage to Brian Eno, one of his most formative influences in his teen years, commencing with Music For Films, which he bought in 1979. “This Is For Them”, feels like a ghostlike throwback to early drum & bass or electronica, reminiscent of his own, earliest outings. “There have been a number of requests from labels to make some more music like my very early releases on R&S,” says Van Hoen. “This is part of ‘letting go’ and realising that there’s nothing less creative about going back to those styles again.”

“Pencil Of Spheres” is something else again, a magnificent, imaginary glass structure, shimmering, refracting, without visible means of suspension, a thing of impossible beauty. “Electric Lights” evokes an abandoned fairground, its lights still pulsating, its music lingering. “The Underpass”, meanwhile, insofar as it reminds of anything at all, is faintly reminiscent of Cluster or Neu’s! West German ambience, the urban mundane rendered magical, the sodium lights, the whitewashed walls. The reverberant, faintly oriental chimes of “Insight” transport us yet again, burgeoning and intensifying.

The landscapes, the skyscapes rendered on Plan For A Miracle feel unpopulated as a rule - but when he does introduce vocal elements, Van Hoen has a history of doing so to spectacular effect - think of “Real Love” from 1998’s Playing With Time, the seductive intonation of its title recurring throughout like a series of massive holograms, echoing, stuttering, breaking up, surging. Here, there are just the faintest of vocals, barely distinct, disquieting. “There’s been a bit of a game changer in recent times,” explains Van Hoen. “AI software that enables you to extract vocals and instrument parts from virtually any recording. That means sampling individual parts from existing sources is no longer limited to the original mix exposing certain parts soloed. The vocal parts I use are from multiple sources and often pitch shifted altered rhythmically and melodically.“ There’s further vocal chatter on “I Really Do”, proceeding at a faster pace as if giving chase, or being pursued - distant, enigmatic. “The Music”, meanwhile, its beat tolling, lost in its own fog of static, features a curious intonation, like the ghost of a lost Walker Brother.

Sadly, the album’s title is in reference to a personal tragedy on Van Hoen’s part - the loss of his wife. Titles such as “I Won’t Give Up”, which faintly reminds of another Eno masterpiece, Another Green World, in its nautical hurly-bury, or the pastoral strains of “Mrs Who”, heavily clouded with sadness, seem to allude to this. “In fact the record was recorded entirely before she passed away,” says Van Hoen, “most of it before she even became very ill. The title was given to the album when it started to look like she wasn’t going to make it beyond a few months. It was something Osho said - “plan for a miracle” - so it was a statement of hope. Unfortunately it was not to be.” Although the album is non-thematic, non-specific in its atmospheres, sound paintings, elegant structures it most certainly stands as a magnificent monument to Osho’s memory.

-David Stubbs.

He's back - again! Years after the end of the Heisei era, the big G came back to film in 1999 with the first of a new era: GODZILLA 2000: MILLENNIUM. Directed by Takao Okawara (GODZILLA VS. DESTOROYAH), a new look Godzilla is still harassing Tokyo, with the Godzilla Prediction Network out there trying to figure out where he'll show up next. To make matters worse, the government's Crisis Control Intelligence care more about firing missiles, but everything changes when they discover a mysterious meteor has a UFO inside. All of this results in Orga, a kaiju made from Godzilla's DNA, and of course it's up to the Big G to kick its ass back to space. Scoring GODZILLA 2000 was Takayuki Hattori, who had previously composed 1994's GODZILLA VS. SPACEGODZILLA. Hattori's music is very much about mood; the composer brings a sense of lyricism to proceedings, but of course, he also knows how to get us excited for Godzilla's appearances. Hattori does that with a spectacular new theme for the Big G that perfectly captures the creature's grandeur and immense power. There's also a fantastic piece for the UFO that has a wonderfully primevil beat, and of course, Akira Ifukube's classic theme for Godzilla returns in a big way. A perfect start to the Millennium era! (Charlie Brigden)



Artwork by Matt Ryan Tobin

2X 140gram Eco-Vinyl

Ultravillage is a collective and burgeoning community of new age music devotees, private press fanatics and underground ambient, minimal and progressive electronic aficionados. T

Mark Griffey, the man behind Ultravillage, has recently made the venture into releasing albums, with the intention of reissuing forgotten personal masterpieces of 1980s and 90s private press synth culture on new label Mid-Air Museum. MM’s first vinyl record release is a collaboration with Scottish reissue label chOOn!!.

Together, they present Accidental Music 1987-1991 by Charles Esposito, a career retrospective of the experimental composer from Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. The cinematic and the sacred swirl around on Accidental Music, which gives new life to intriguing self-released tapes that Esposito put out in the 1980s and 90s. Heard by few on its original release, the music featured on this compilation ranges from Palace of Lights percussive sonics to an almost minimal techno palette, a meeting of pop and twisted electronics with the hypnotic immediacy of ancient ritual.

Accidental Music 1987-1991 develops a series of resonant harmonic spaces, by adding layers of instruments and played objects. Rather than work as acoustic maps of specific locations, these pieces eddy and gather into positive physical presences. But Esposito’s real strength lies in creating depth of field. The foreground might be dominated by glassy chimes or resonant prayer bowl-like timbres, but beyond it a series of sonic veils seems to recede towards murky imperceptibility. There’s also a kind of surreal decorum at play, passages that sound like an immaculately laid dinner table being shaken by an earth tremor while the tinkling complaints of the silver, glass and muffling linen are scrupulously recorded.

Available for the first time on vinyl, Accidental Music 1987-1991 by Charles Esposito is an exploration into
many inner worlds and dreamscapes, an analogue mirage of avant-garde gems. Produced in cooperation with the artist for Mid-Air Museum and chOOn!!.

Mastered for vinyl and digital and featuring liner notes from Mark Griffey.

Mirage is a cosmic collaboration between the Silver Apples and Makoto Kawabata of Japan's Acid Mothers Temple. Packaged in a deluxe jacket printed with metallic silver ink. This album is dedicated to the memory of Simeone Coxe who died September 8, 2020 while this project was being assembled. Dragonfly's First Flight, taking up the full side A, features Simeon Coxe and Kawabata Makoto jamming over familiar Silver Apples hypnotic rhythms. Fans of both groups will delight in the interplay between Simeon's keyboard and Makoto's drone guitar feedback soloing. Side B ranges from free-form freakouts to ambient poetry readings by Simeon with Japanese translation spoken by Makoto. Future Reminiscence, which closes side B, sounds like a long-lost Silver Apples

With her captivating voice and richly detailed songwriting, Sarah Jarosz has emerged as one of the most compelling musicians of her generation. A four-time Grammy Award-winner and ten-time nominee at the age of 30, the Texas native started singing as a young girl and became an accomplished multi-instrumentalist by her early teens. After releasing her full-length debut Song Up in Her Headat 18-years-old, she went on to deliver such critically lauded albums as Follow Me Down, Build Me Up From Bones, and Undercurrent, in addition to joining forces with Sara Watkins and Aoife O’Donovan to form the acclaimed folk trio I’m With Her. Her fifth studio album, World On The Ground, produced by John Leventhal, went on to win the Grammy award for Best Americana Album. In 2021 Jarosz released the Grammy-nominated Blue Heron Suite, a much-anticipated song cycle which she composed after being the recipient of the FreshGrass Composition Commission.

The seventh album from Sarah Jarosz finds the highly decorated songwriter at the apex of change. A Texas native, she’s spent most of her adult life living in New York City, but shortly before writing the album Jarosz left her adopted home to join her soon-to-be husband in Nashville, TN. The geographic shake-up led to a sonic one as well for Polaroid Lovers. For the first time in her career she opened herself up to collaborators, leading to writing sessions with Daniel Tashian, Ruston Kelly and Natalie Hemby. The creative reorganization of her writing process evolved to include a much richer and more electric sound in the studio and being in Nashville meant access to a world of hot shot players. She tapped guitarist Rob McNelley (Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood), Tom Bukovac (Tom Petty, Vince Gill) on guitar and organ, her husband- bassist Jeff Picker (Nickel Creek), and drummer Fred Eltringham (Sheryl Crow, Lucinda Williams) for the album recording. Tashian took the helm as producer and the whole album was laid down at the legendary Sound Emporium.

As it goes with all change, Jarosz’s major life events had her feeling contemplative. While sitting on the precipice of adulthood, Polaroid Lovers finds her reflecting on past loves, childhood dreams, the places she lived in and all the versions of herself that she’s been. Although the listener experiences the sonic shift forward, the album’s subject matter is a photo album of the past. Jarosz has never sounded more assured. Polaroid Lovers is filled with the kind of confidence that comes from hard won life experiences and the conviction of someone who truly knows herself.

- Newly Expanded Deluxe Double LP Edition! - Includes the original 1972 album, plus all of Larry Mark's acoustic demos and tracks from his unreleased 1970 LHI LP for the first time on vinyl - Previously unreleased session outtake of "Cold Hard Times" plus demos of obscure Hazlewood compositions "Drums," "The - Start," "Susie," "Miracle on 19th Street," and "Peppermint Morning" - 30 total tracks - Remastered by GRAMMYr-nominated mastering engineer John Baldwin - Liner notes by GRAMMYr-nominated reissue producer Hunter Lea including interviews with Larry Marks, Joe Cannon, Torbjörn Axelman & Suzi Jane Hokom - Lee Hazlewood comic strip, the story of 13 told through original artwork by Jess Rotter - Double LP housed in a gatefold jacket // DESCRIPTION "Pimps_ whores_ pushers_ dopers_ gangsters_ and bottom of the human chain shit-heels. Now you're probably thinking I'm writing about major record companies and their unscrupulous executives_ and lawyers. You could be right_ but this time_ YOU'RE WRONG! I'm describing the characters in my album `13' _Some I knew_ some I invented _ some are true_ some are false_ some I liked_ some I didn't. But they all had a story to tell and I told it_none of `em seem to care_ and I don't either_ have fun_" - Lee Hazlewood "He (Lee) took my voice off the album and put his voice on the album. Now don't forget these were in my keys, it was my charts, it was my everything. Lee Hazlewood was not even remotely going to be considered as an artist for this album and that's the way he wanted it." - Larry Marks The album 13 was never supposed to be a Lee Hazlewood album. It is perhaps the strangest record in one of the most varied discographies in music. The Bombastic brass heavy funk, deep blues and soul paired with Hazlewood's subterranean baritone would be best enjoyed with a tall Chivas in an off-strip seedy Vegas lounge. By 1972 Lee Hazlewood had settled in his new homeland of Sweden. His days were spent carousing, making movies with Torbjörn Axelman and releasing albums. To keep up his prolific recorded output, Lee began to mine the recently defunct LHI Records archives for material. One such gem, was an unreleased album by Larry Marks (LHI producer, artist and the voice of the first Scooby-Doo theme). Larry's concept was to take Hazlewood's strongest compositions and arrange them in a soul vibe. An album was completed, but with no distribution in America and no funding, Lee had no vehicle to release Larry's record. The tapes were taken to Sweden, Larry's voice was wiped and Hazlewood's was dubbed_ 13 was born.

Shed Seven will return with their first album in more than six years. For "A Matter of Time", Shed Seven"s core members - vocalist Rick Witter, guitarist Paul Banks and bassist Tom Gladwin - reconnected with the classic albums that first inspired them to form a band. The resulting record sparkles with the liberated exuberance and full-throttle rock "n" roll attitude of a group who are making music for the sheer joy of expressing themselves and performing together. While the album broadens the Shed Seven sonic palette a touch, it"s full of the towering, arms-in-the-air anthems and yearning melancholia that fans have come to love them for. The trio enlisted a new line-up for the album, calling upon drummer Rob "Maxi" Maxfield (Audioweb) and keyboardist Tim Willis (Ian Brown). The album was produced by the Grammy Award-winning Youth (The Verve, Pink Floyd) at El Mirador Studios in Andalucia, Spain, before being completed by leading mixer Cenzo Townshend (Florence + The Machine, Inhaler). "A Matter of Time" flows from adrenalised punky power-pop right through to epic slow-burners, complete with some special guests: Happy Mondays" legend Rowetta contributing fervent gospel vocals to "In Ecstasy", Laura McClure of Reverend & The Makers on the folky-pop of "Tripping With You" and Peter Doherty, who duets with Witter on the dramatic closer "Throwaways". Shed Seven emerged as one of the big hitters during the heyday of Britpop, their catalogue of classic singles leading to seven Top 20 hits including "Going For Gold", "Chasing Rainbows", "Disco Down" and "On Standby" as well as four Top 10 albums. Their popularity has continued since reforming in 2007, with 2017"s "Instant Pleasures" album debuting at #8 - their highest-charting record in eighteen years. 2024 will mark 30 years since Shed Seven"s debut, Change Giver, and A Matter Of Time demonstrates that the band are at the very top of their game and the journey is far from nearing its end.

The Church’s Starfish is a dreamy, atmospheric masterpiece, guitar-driven alt-rock before alt-rock was a term. It includes the timeless smash hit “Under the Milky Way,” and “Reptile,” both First Wave staples.

Intervention's 2X 180-Gram LP, Artist-Approved Expanded Edition is 18-tracks total, including 8 amazing bonus tracks that were not on the original LP. These bonus tracks kick off with wonderful acoustic versions of “Under the Milky Way” and “Antenna.” The other tracks are so strong that it’s very apparent that Starfish could have been a potent double LP.

Starfish is 100% Analogue Mastered with the original repertoire cut directly from THE Original Master Tapes by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound. Intervention's cut expands the original 10-song repertoire to three vinyl sides opening up the already massive soundstage and presenting this amazing recording with FULL bass extension and dynamic power. All of the 8 bonus tracks are 100% Analog Mastered from separate tape reels assembled by Ryan K. Smith.

The 180-gram LPs are ultra-quiet, pressed at boutique press, RTI in Camarillo, CA. Intervention replaces its stampers every 500 copies so every pressing is is a hot stamper.

Starfish’s album art was lovingly restored by Intervention's Art Director Tom Vadakan, and the original inner sleeve here is printed as the interior of a gorgeous gatefold jacket. The jacket is an “Old Style” gatefold made by wizards at Stoughton printing in LA. It's printed on heavy stock and film-laminated for superior colour depth, beauty and durability. The centre labels are printed by Dorado.



Mastering Notes
Starfish is 100% Analog Mastered from THE Original Master Tapes by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound. Intervention's cut expands the original 10-song repertoire to three vinyl sides for maximum bass and dynamics. Even the bonus tracks were mastered 100% Analogue from tapes assembled by Ryan K. Smith.

Emmy-winning comedian, actor, writer, and producer Sarah Silverman returns with her first comedy special since 2013’s acclaimed Sarah Silverman: We Are Miracles. Recorded at The Wilbur Theater in Boston, Sarah Silverman: Someone You Love features the New England native showcasing her fearless chutzpah. Originally premiered on MAX on May, the special is now being made available on audio streaming services with a vinyl and CD release to follow.

Nothing in Narciso's (known) background indicated these 10 minutes of tension and release, a soundtrack to some nameless anticipation. Soundtrack, also, to a dance piece on video by choreographer Catarina Miranda produced in 2021.

It is certainly nothing one would expect to hear in one of his regular DJ sets. A long, moody intro appears to chart a difficult journey under heavy clouds, until the drums manifest themselves first as a sort of warning, or preparation, maybe a signal, maybe just warming up for the steady kick drum that follows, a clean 4/4 beat complemented by broken off-rhythms and sparse percussion that seem to run parallel in observation of the main event.

Clouds definitely open up towards the end. Crystalline drops brighten the sonic mood. Quite a unique experiment in Narciso's body of work, undertaken during a period when the DJ and producer, feeling unmotivated, decided to relax from detailed planning and instead allowed himself to flow along with the sounds, expanding possibilities and actually breaking free from previous notions of composition.

Abriendo Puertas is an album by Gloria Estefan, released in 2023. Abriendo Puertas includes a.o. the following tracks: “Abriendo Puertas (opening Doors)”, “Mas Alla (beyond)”, “Lejos De Ti (far From You)”, “Felicidad (happiness)” and more. The album is a Coloured Vinyl, High Quality, Insert pop LP.

Javier Jiménez Rolo surprises with Saint Malo, a project that explores the intersections of neoclassicism, folk, ambient and electronic textures.

That Saint-Malo is a town in Brittany is the least of it. Even the fact that it exists is unimportant. Javier has never been there. Similarly, his album takes us to remote or not so remote places without moving from where we are. Javier composed these twelve songs between 2019 and 2021 from his room: "One of the problems with recording at home rather than in a studio is that when you move, your recording space changes too. In the case of this album, I was involved in three moves during its whole process. Trying to see the positive side of this situation, I realised that, as well as a collection of songs, it was a testimonial to the different places where I had lived during those years and their respective views: 'Promenade' is an imagined walk from an interior flat; 'Picture In A Frame' is a sunny afternoon in a park in Ciudad Lineal, Madrid, and 'Bells Of Nowhere' is a stroll through the neighbourhood that was once my grandparents' and is now mine."

It's an eminently evocative album but also powerfully narrative, which moves through different emotional states. Along the way, references as heterogeneous as Javier's own tastes come up. From the inevitable Arvo Pärt, Max Richter and Steve Reich to the more unsuspected Thom Yorke, Burial, Caribou, Vulfpeck or even Dua Lipa. Stéphane Grappelli, Andrew Bird, Nils Frahm, Olafur Arnalds or Rene Aubry are other names Javier mentions when he talks about something similar to influences.

The journey, during which the songs miraculously fit with magical precision to the landscapes we are travelling through, begins with the promising 'Beware Of The Dogs' and 'Maltravieso'. It is followed by the obsessive arpeggios of 'Le Havre' that give way to the luminous 'Fields Of Gold', the emotion of 'Cais do Sodré' and the passionate 'Le pont roulant', reminiscent of a restrained Alexandre Desplat. Along the way, dogs will bark, rain will fall on the 'Promenade' and the sun will come out with the perfectly playful 'Dolce Far Niente' ("a mix between elevator music and a song announcing the arrival of summer" according to Javier) in which echoes of Isao Tomita and Raymond Scott resound.

The result of this captivating, unexpected and suggestive mixture is Saint Malo, Javier Jiménez's first album and the empirical demonstration that he does not have, despite his classical training, any red lines. "I've always flirted with jazz, with swing... Then I moved on to messing around with loops, to doing more ambient and experimental things. I also had my folkie phase with the klezmer group Barrunto Bellota Band..."

In Saint Malo the melodies grow, become small, return and intertwine with loops and improbable aromas, to form an album that describes a journey through emotions. From melancholy to joy and the surprise of first discoveries.

Javier Jiménez Rolo surprises with Saint Malo, a project that explores the intersections of neoclassicism, folk, ambient and electronic textures.

That Saint-Malo is a town in Brittany is the least of it. Even the fact that it exists is unimportant. Javier has never been there. Similarly, his album takes us to remote or not so remote places without moving from where we are. Javier composed these twelve songs between 2019 and 2021 from his room: "One of the problems with recording at home rather than in a studio is that when you move, your recording space changes too. In the case of this album, I was involved in three moves during its whole process. Trying to see the positive side of this situation, I realised that, as well as a collection of songs, it was a testimonial to the different places where I had lived during those years and their respective views: 'Promenade' is an imagined walk from an interior flat; 'Picture In A Frame' is a sunny afternoon in a park in Ciudad Lineal, Madrid, and 'Bells Of Nowhere' is a stroll through the neighbourhood that was once my grandparents' and is now mine."

It's an eminently evocative album but also powerfully narrative, which moves through different emotional states. Along the way, references as heterogeneous as Javier's own tastes come up. From the inevitable Arvo Pärt, Max Richter and Steve Reich to the more unsuspected Thom Yorke, Burial, Caribou, Vulfpeck or even Dua Lipa. Stéphane Grappelli, Andrew Bird, Nils Frahm, Olafur Arnalds or Rene Aubry are other names Javier mentions when he talks about something similar to influences.

The journey, during which the songs miraculously fit with magical precision to the landscapes we are travelling through, begins with the promising 'Beware Of The Dogs' and 'Maltravieso'. It is followed by the obsessive arpeggios of 'Le Havre' that give way to the luminous 'Fields Of Gold', the emotion of 'Cais do Sodré' and the passionate 'Le pont roulant', reminiscent of a restrained Alexandre Desplat. Along the way, dogs will bark, rain will fall on the 'Promenade' and the sun will come out with the perfectly playful 'Dolce Far Niente' ("a mix between elevator music and a song announcing the arrival of summer" according to Javier) in which echoes of Isao Tomita and Raymond Scott resound.

The result of this captivating, unexpected and suggestive mixture is Saint Malo, Javier Jiménez's first album and the empirical demonstration that he does not have, despite his classical training, any red lines. "I've always flirted with jazz, with swing... Then I moved on to messing around with loops, to doing more ambient and experimental things. I also had my folkie phase with the klezmer group Barrunto Bellota Band..."

In Saint Malo the melodies grow, become small, return and intertwine with loops and improbable aromas, to form an album that describes a journey through emotions. From melancholy to joy and the surprise of first discoveries.

There’s a big clue to the pacific wisdom of The Orchestra in the Sky in the artist name – Hochzeitskapelle + Japanese Friends. For this is, indeed, music based in, and resonating with, friendship, camaraderie, collaboration, and creative exchange. Across two albums – one documenting recordings from Tokyo, the other an expansive double album of sessions from Kobe – Hochzeitskapelle gather around them some of the finest voices in Japanese independent and underground pop music, like Tenniscoats, Eddie Marcon, Yuko Ikema, and Kama Aina, and explore an open field of music, full of creative encounters.

You may already know Hochzeitskapelle as the German instrumental quintet formed by members of The Notwist, Alien Ensemble, and friends from the jazz scene. Across three albums, one a collaboration with Kama Aina (2018’s Wayfaring Suite), they’ve developed a way of playing together that’s intimate and playful, rich and human; it’s a music that’s deliberately rough around the edges, and that nestles cosily into the everyday. Their relationship with Japanese indie has developed over the years, doubtless encouraged by Saya´s „Minna Miteru“, compilations series of Japanese indie pop for Morr Music. A peripatetic gang, Hochzeitskapelle also recently backed Japanese singer-songwriter Makoto Kawamoto on her new album, Hikari.

In many ways, The Orchestra in the Sky feels like the culmination of a set of ongoing cross-cultural exchanges: the Minna Miteru compilations; tours of Japan by Hochzeitskapelle and The Notwist; and indeed, Markus Acher’s Spirit Fest group with Saya and Ueno of Tenniscoats. The latter are present throughout much of The Orchestra in the Sky, and Saya’s voice is particularly winning on songs like “Tsuki no oto”, where the two outfits are joined by brass ensemble Zayaendo. There are several lovely turns from singer-songwriter Yuko Ikema, and Eddie Marcon appear twice; their songs are still beautiful, spectral acid folk, but with Hochzeitskapelle filling the details with lush, sad brass and strings.

But it’s also the potentially lesser-known names that shine through The Orchestra in the Sky, like the frail folk of Gratin Carnival; the delightful, gentle pop songs by sekifu and Zayaendo member, Kanako Numata; a trio of beautiful, stumble-drunk melodies played in swaying consort with popo. That group, along with the presence of Zayaendo, Fuigo, and Mitamurakandadan?, make strong connections with the Japanese underground’s love of brass bands, partly informed by the tradition of chindon’ya, marching bands that walk the streets of Japanese cities. They also all appeared on the recent Alien Parade Japan compilation of such groups, assembled by Acher and Saya.

All things converge, then, on The Orchestra in the Sky, a smart, spirited collection of heavenly pop songs, intimate folk melodies, lungfuls of joyous brass, deep weeping strings, and swooning sighs. The last words go to Acher himself: “Many things we did in the last years come together here and it feels like something special was captured.” We hope you like what you hear.

Miracle Mirror is an album by Golden Earrings, released in 2023. Miracle Mirror includes a.o. the following tracks: “The Truth About Arthur”, “Crystal Heaven”, “Magnificent Magistral”, “Must I Cry?” and more. The album is a Coloured Vinyl, Gatefold Sleeve, High Quality rock LP.

NOW Music is proud to present the second in our ongoing series of vinyl compilations, NOW That’s What I Call 80s Dancefloor. Each edition features an essential collection of tracks representing key genres from the incredible diversity that were all part of 1980’s Dance music.

This volume, featuring 29 tracks across 2-LPs, pressed on 1 Purple and 1 Pink vinyl, presents the best in DISCO and ELECTRO.

Following the height of its’ popularity in the late 1970s, Disco in the early 1980s retained the irresistible melodies and beat but became primarily synth driven. The era saw some of the genres’ biggest hits including this collections’ opener ‘Flashdance…What A Feeling’ from Irene Cara – this theme from the film ‘Flashdance’ was not only a massive selling single, but the song also won multiple awards including an Academy Award. Lipps Inc. produced a timeless hit with ‘Funkytown’, and Shalamar with ‘A Night To Remember’, Odyssey with ‘Use It Up And Wear It Out’ and Indeep’s ‘Last Night A DJ Saved My Life’ were all huge commercial Disco hits.

Disco royalty Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of Chic feature here in their roles as producers and writers with Diana Ross’s massive hit ‘Upside Down’, ‘Why’ from Carly Simon, and the peerless ‘Spacer’ from Sheila & B. Devotion and in 1984 remixed Sister Sledge’s ‘Lost In Music’ which became a massive hit again and is included here in its full 12” version.



Amii Stewart’s classic version of ‘Knock On Wood’ was remixed and a hit again, Donna Summer enjoyed huge success with ‘She Works Hard For The Money’, and other established Disco superstars celebrated returns to the charts with an 80’s Disco sound including, and featured on this collection, KC & The Sunshine Band, Patrick Cowley feat. Sylvester and Evelyn “Champagne” King.



The prevalence of the synth in the 1980s gave rise to new and exciting sounds and to tracks that were created with fusions of genres. On this collection we are celebrating ‘ELECTRO’ – a sub-genre of Electronic Dance music that combined elements of Disco, Funk and Hip-Hop and featuring a heavy synth backing, and the commercial Electro-Pop hits it produced. In 1984, Chaka Khan who had achieved huge success with the Disco classic ‘I’m Every Woman’, had a worldwide smash with a cover of Prince’s ‘I Feel For You’ which combined Disco, Funk, R&B, Synth-Pop and Hip-Hop – to stunning effect. Also a hit in 1984, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis produced a classic fusion of Disco, R&B, Funk and Synth-Pop for the S.O.S Band with ‘Just Be Good To Me’ and also included here are hugely influential Electro-Pop gems from Freeez, Rockers Revenge feat. Donnie Calvin, Malcolm McLaren, Break Machine, and Rock Steady Crew.



In the latter half of the 80s, Disco and Electro-Pop continued to evolve and fill dance-floors. Taking influences from both genres, Expose and Company B enjoyed ‘freestyle’ hits and DJ, remixer and producer Jellybean had a string of hits including ‘Just A Mirage’, and Whitney Houston became a global superstar. One of her signature tracks ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)’ serves as a stellar example of how Dance music had evolved through the decade and remained as vital and uplifting as ever.

We celebrated a decade of releasing music in 2020 with our Time Capsule boxset compilation. “Time Capsule Extensions” sees the longer versions of six tunes from that anniversary release aggregated for this special companion album.

No Eye Has An Equal sees the Siena composer delving into his extensive archive of electro acoustic compositions, and presenting four radical reconceptualisations of his own material.

Since I started collecting records I have been slightly obsessed with underwater music. I could analyse this in many ways but the most obvious starting point for me was the weekly dose of Sunday afternoon TV onboard the Calypso with Jacques Cousteau throughout the 1970s.
My collection of underwater LPs and singles is now extensive - in the hundreds I reckon. But in amongst it all is only one underwater soundtrack from the UK. And this is it. It took me an age to track down Jezz, but I did. And now you don’t have to take an age to track down an original super rare copy of the 1981 pressing.
These days when there are so may represses, rediscoveries and reissues, I thought we’d make this stand out a little more, so I decided to take us all back to my childhood 1970’s when I used to get a little “Action Transfer” set on very special occasions, and stick the little transfers of scuba divers, fish and mini subs all over a small paper underwater landscape. Sadly we couldn’t get classic rub down Letraset style transfers but I think Kev (DJ Food) has done a miraculous job in creating a modern version.
So sit back (mess about with the stickers) and wonder at the beautiful, submersive electronic sounds created by Jezz all those years ago. Dive in, the water is lovely.
Jonny Trunk 2023
THE SLEEVE
To put together such a unique sleeve Jonny Trunk teamed up with Kevin Foakes / DJ Food who used AI programming to generate this underwater wonderland, the sleeve images and the record labels. The sticker sheet was generated using influences from vintage 1970s “Action Transfer” imagery and period graphic styles. The result is a magical clash of then and now tech and a totally unique sleeve for an incredible soundtrack.
THE MUSIC
As underwater albums go, this is the very peak. Made using the best cutting edge synth tech of the day (see tech list below - most used by Vangelis at the time too!!!), the result is a sublime wash of underwater ambience, emotions and more. IT GETS NO BETTER.
THE COMPOSER
Jezz Woodroffe (aged 29 when this LP was originally made), having played keyboards from the age of five and reaching musical distinction at the age of ten, has played in many bands.
Jezz left ‘Black Sabbath’ in his pursuit to find alternative ways to stretch his ability and because of his obsession with perfection released his first solo album “Opposite Directions” and single “Peace In Our Space” (Graduate Records). The resulted in the offer to score for the film ‘Wonders Of The Underwater World”. Faced with a difficult task, Jezz set up his complex of equipment at the foot of the screen (as in the silent movies) and played to the action. It soon became obvious that his talents and sympathy for the underwater environment were enhancing the filming beautifully.
Having been totally involved in this project from its original conception I could only sit back in awe and admiration during the three months it took Jezz to complete the soundtrack, which, when viewed with the film is a very moving experience. The music, listened to in its own right - as an album - is for me as much an amazing trip as the two years around the world it took to make the film!
THE STUDIO EQUIPMENT USED ON THE LP
Yamaha Polyphonic Synthesisers CS80 & CS60 ~ Yamaha Symphonic Ensemble SK20 ~ Yamaha Monophonic Synthesisers CS30, CS150 & CS20M ~ Yamaha Electric Grand CP708 ~ Roland Monophonic Synthesisers SH1, PRO-MARS ~ Roland Digital Sequencer CSQ600 ~ Roland Vocoder VP330 ~ Roland Organ / String Synth. RS09 ~ Mini Moog & Moog Prodigy Monophonic Synthesisers ~ Godwin String Concert 649 ~ H/H Electric Piano P73