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Traditional village music transformed into fiery and frenetic underground Hip Hop. Emerging from the digital cultural renaissance of the early 2000s, where DIY studios sprung up throughout West Africa, "Patriote" is a shining example of localized global music. Hypnotic and driving rhythms built from sampled percussion and chopped-up instruments combine with syncopated staccato "ragga" inspired flow into infectious hammering tracks that sound like nothing before. Mamaki Boys was formed in 2002 by Aziz Tony, Bachou Issouf, and Salif André, when a local Hip Hop movement was exploding in the capital of Niger. "Patriote" was recorded to address a trend in the scene they perceived as too derivative. Produced at Studio BAT, one of the first studios in Niamey, Mamaki Boys sought to merge modern Hip Hop with traditional music. They invited elder musicians into the studio to play Nigerien instruments like duma and kalango, which were sampled and looped over their compositions. "We wanted to put tradition in the rap, ancestral dances, the things that our grandparents did in the village," Aziz explains. "Our mission was to re-value the culture, put it into Hip Hop, and to show all the colors of our country." Self-describing their music as "tradi-moderne", a Nigerien movement of folk revitalization, their cultural manifesto presents through every aspect of their work. Each track relies heavily on traditional instruments, and each rhythm is based on a dance from Niger. Their mission extends to the urgency of their lyrics: Takai challenges the population to preserve their culture, Kagani Kagani is a demand to take back mineral, oil, and uranium rights from their colonizers, while Komando uses war cries to inspire artists to keep speaking out. A strong entry in 21st-century global music, Mamaki Boys "Patriote" takes back the tools of globalization, repurposing them in the fight for cultural identity. Originally self-released in 2009 on limited edition CDR in Niger.

After completing their acclaimed folk-rock trilogy in 1979, Jethro Tull returned a year later with A, an album that introduced a different sound and a new line-up. Originally intended as a solo record by the band’s founder Ian Anderson, the album’s single-letter title refers to the studio tapes, which were marked “A” for Anderson. When the album was finished, the group’s label Chrysalis insisted that it be credited to Jethro Tull, even though only two members from the band’s previous incarnation were featured: Anderson and guitarist Martin Barre. Despite that, the album and subsequent tour were well-received by fans around the world.

Back in April, Rhino released ‘A’ (A La Mode) (The 40th Anniversary Edition), a new 3CD/3DVD set to mark the album’s anniversary. Featuring on this album anniversary set, we will release the 1LP breakout of the original album ‘A’, newly mixed by Steven Wilson.

Produced by Anderson and Robin Black, A was recorded in London during the summer of 1980 at Maison Rouge Mobile and Maison Rouge Studios. Along with Anderson and Barre, the band also featured Dave Pegg (bass, mandolin) and Mark Craney (drums), along with guest performer Eddie Jobson – a Roxy Music alumnus – on keyboard, synthesizer and electric violin.

Hailing from Rotterdam, DJ Crisps returns to Time Is Now with another hot and heavy four tracker, teasing experimental genre play on the newest addition to his fast-growing discography. This exciting collection of modern garage reinventions is not to be missed.

No Dirty Money EP showcases DJ Crisps' clever production style, a mix of drama and fun; "Don't Need No Dirty Money" kicks the record off with staccato minimalist percs that have a metallic edge, effervescent vocal samples contrasting the momentous sub bass. "Dynamic Reflections" creates an icier soundscape, juxtaposed arpeggios echoing each other across a calm, deep bassline and cavernous pads - gentle, but still alive and kicking.

Lazy sax and ghostly pads open the expansive B side; "Release the Pain" then flips the energy with a Niche style bassline and cheeky garage synths. The jazz samples remain to create a real fusion sound. To end, "Sweet Melodies" pairs dirty garage with funk n soul, chopped up vocals and a classic James Brown sample making this high energy track even more vibrant - a joyous end to the EP

Rock ‘n’ roll is often hard to define, or even to find, in these
fractured musical times. But to paraphrase an old saying,
you know it when you hear it. And you always hear it with
The Wallflowers. For the past 30 years, the Jakob Dylanled act has stood as one of rock’s most dynamic and
purposeful bands - a unit dedicated to and continually
honing a sound that meshes timeless songwriting and
storytelling with a hard-hitting and decidedly modern
musical attack.
That signature style has been present through the
decades, baked into the grooves of smash hits like 1996’s
‘Bringing Down the Horse’ as well as more recent and
exploratory fare like 2012’s ‘Glad All Over’.
But while it’s been nine long years since we’ve heard from
the group with whom he first made his mark, The
Wallflowers are silent no more. And Dylan always knew
they’d return. “The Wallflowers is much of my life’s work,”
he says simply. That life’s work continues with ‘Exit
Wounds’, the brand-new Wallflowers studio offering. The
collection marks the first new Wallflowers material since
‘Glad All Over’.
‘Exit Wounds’ is an ode to people - individual and
collective - that have, to put it mildly, been through some
stuff. “I think everybody - no matter what side of the aisle
you’re on - wherever we’re going to next, we’re all taking a
lot of exit wounds with us,” Dylan says. “Nobody is the
same as they were four years ago. That, to me, is what
‘Exit Wounds’ signifies. And it’s not meant to be negative at
all. It just means that wherever you’re headed, even if it’s
to a better place, you leave people and things behind, and
you think about those people and those things and you
carry them with you. Those are your exit wounds. And right
now, we’re all swimming in them.”

Oliver Wood is a mainstay of modern-day American roots music. The frontman of the Wood Brothers since 2004, he's spent the 21st century blurring the boundaries between folk, gospel, country-soul, and Americana, earning an international audience and a Grammy Award-nomination along the way. Always Smilin', his debut as a solo artist, continues that tradition while also shining new light on Oliver's sharp songwriting, savvy guitar chops, and a voice that evokes the swagger of a Saturday evening picking party one moment and the solemnity of a Sunday morning gospel service the next. Always Smilin' is an album of bridges, mixing a wide range of collaborations with a uniquely personal touch. Guests include bandmates from Oliver's musical past and present, from mentor and co-writer Chris Long (who performed alongside Oliver in King Johnson, the roots-rock band that dominated Atlanta's music scene around the turn of the millennium) to percussionist Jano Rix (Oliver's partner in The Wood Brothers). Blues heroine Susan Tedeschi, Hiss Golden Messenger's Phil Cook, Medeski Martin & Wood's John Medeski, Tedeschi Trucks Band's Tyler Greenwell, Nashville staple Phil Madeira, and singer/songwriter Carsie Blanton also make appearances, with Rebecca Wood — Oliver's wife — handling the album's handmade linocut cover art. For Oliver, the goal was simple: to collaborate freely with a mix of old friends and new partners, embracing a new level of independence.

Frost* was formed in 2004 by keyboard player and singer Jem Godfrey, Released in 2006 the band’s debut album “Milliontown” was an instant success and is regarded by many as a classic in the modern prog rock genre featuring John Mitchell on guitar, John Jowitt on bass and Andy Edwards on drums. This 2021 reissue features the remastered audio included on 2020’s “13 Winters” collection, and will be the first time the album has ever been released on vinyl. Available as a Limited CD Digipak & Gatefold 180g 2LP + CD + LP-booklet.

After completing their acclaimed folk-rock trilogy in 1979, Jethro Tull returned a year later with A, an album that introduced a different sound and a new line-up. Originally intended as a solo record by the band’s founder Ian Anderson, the album’s single-letter title refers to the studio tapes, which were marked “A” for Anderson. When the album was finished, the group’s label Chrysalis insisted that it be credited to Jethro Tull, even though only two members from the band’s previous incarnation were featured: Anderson and guitarist Martin Barre. Despite that, the album and subsequent tour were well-received by fans around the world.

Back in April, Rhino released ‘A’ (A La Mode) (The 40th Anniversary Edition), a new 3CD/3DVD set to mark the album’s anniversary. Featuring on this album anniversary set, we will release the 1LP breakout of the original album ‘A’, newly mixed by Steven Wilson.

Produced by Anderson and Robin Black, A was recorded in London during the summer of 1980 at Maison Rouge Mobile and Maison Rouge Studios. Along with Anderson and Barre, the band also featured Dave Pegg (bass, mandolin) and Mark Craney (drums), along with guest performer Eddie Jobson – a Roxy Music alumnus – on keyboard, synthesizer and electric violin.

"Bones of a Dying World” is an hour long journey full of melody, melancholy, and cinematic post-metal. Hailing from Akron, Ohio, If These Trees Could Talk takes advantage of deep, layered sound full of reverberation and crisp guitar passages weaving in and out of the intense rhythm underneath. Overall, the album has a steady moderate pace with the majority of the songs maintaining catchy, melodic, clean guitar passages. The album also introduces a welcomed amount of distorted and heavy riffs built on top of the clean compositions, something only attainable with their trio of guitars. The group seems to stick to utilizing delay effects with long feedback trails; however, the band delivers a higher understanding of complexity by letting the effects organically enhance the amazing compositions." - The Sludge Lord

Akron, Ohio's If These Trees Could Talk blend metal with sprawling post-rock to create their own brand of contemplative and kinetic instrumental rock. "Red Forest is a lush, epic tongue bath of an album, the aural equivalent of a long mediation session in which new levels of consciousness are attained. We love it — and we’re confident you will, too. " - Metal Sucks

Boogie Munster & PUSH BEATS CREWS RAJ MAHAL & DJ MOPPY had a chance encounter at their local plumbing shop with FRANK REYNOLDS of the pre- Motown era soul group THE SENSATIONAL REYNOLDS SINGERS. The result is a modern & moody twist on 2 classics,"AIN’T NO STOPPIN’ US NOW” & “SEARCHIN".

Die Liga der gewöhnlichen Gentlemen ... sind sie Troglodyten, welche mit heiligem Ernst über Hemden, Speiseeis und Ferien singen? Sind sie vollkommen aus der Zeit gefallen, mit ihrem aus zerkratzen alten Madness-, 60s-Pop-, A&M-, Northern-Soul-Platten destillierten DIY-Sound? Oder gerade deshalb modern? Schaffen sie nicht gerade aufgrund ihrer Sturheit stets etwas Eigenes, etwas Neues, ja etwas Modernes? Ja, Ja und nochmals Ja! möchte man nach Hören der "Gschichterln aus dem Park Café" ausrufen. Die Liga der gewöhnlichen Gentlemen ist die größte kleine Popband der Welt! Zumindest aber die größte kleine Popband West-Hamburgs.

Fantas is the epic opening track on Caterina Barbieri’s acclaimed 2019 release Ecstatic Computation. The original Fantas laid out a magical path of patterns leading the listener on a journey into the sound itself. Fantas Variations maps out eight new potentials sprung from this initial path as constructed by a diverse mix of artists lending to a wide spectrum of new works extrapolated from the original work. For this project Barbieri invited friends and long time collaborators from a variety of musical backgrounds to create a more sustainable and inclusive landscape in terms of stylistic, geographical, gender and generational balance. The results are a diverse array of approaches and instrumentation which blur the boundaries between the acoustic and electronic.

Fantas Variations embraces a platform for mutual exchange and support between like-minded artists, where active and collective re-imagination is prioritised over the traditional model of remixes, which is often strategic, functional and more passive.

Longtime friend and collaborator Kali Malone rearranged Fantas to a slowed-down, austere and eerie version for two Organs. Evelyn Saylor created a piece for a vocal ensemble consisting of her, Lyra Pramuk, Stine Janvin and Annie Garlid, joining forces to express the choral, psychedelic and vitalistic nature of the piece. Barbieri’s former guitar professor at the Conservatory in Bologna, Walter Zanetti, composes Fantas for electric guitar, by translating every single gesture of the original electronic piece into a personal, nuanced and detailed interpretation. Bendik Giske’s reinterpretation for Saxophone and Voice captures the atmospheric essence of Fantas and its psychic meteorology. Longtime collaborator and along with Barbieri the other half of the outfit Punctum, Carlo Maria, resynthesizes Fantas for TR808 and MC202, bringing a more club-oriented dimension of the piece to life whilst unveiling the sonic continuum between rhythm and pitch through a sensitive timbral approach. Jay Mitta’s Singeli reinterpretation of Fantas transpires with pitched-up percussion and turbo-fast polyrhythmic patterns unleashing the frenetic, shifting, transformative matter within the piece to a higher plain of euphoric dance. Baseck’s variation is a rave fantasia, where the prismatic trance of the original is channeled into fierce, uncompromising hardcore, whilst Kara-Lis Coverdale’s take is a phantasmagoria for piano that gently, yet inexorably, captures the relentlessness chimerical qualities of the original, unveiling its spectral backbone.

Evelyn Saylor (feat. Lyra Pramuk, Annie Garlid & Stine Janvin) - Fantas Variation for Voices (7’38’’)
Composed by Evelyn Saylor. Performed by Evelyn Saylor, Lyra Pramuk, Stine Janvin and Annie Garlid. Recording, mix and additional production by Bridget Ferrill at Real Surreal Studio, Berlin 2021.

Bendik Giske - Fantas for Saxophone and Voice (7'31'')
Adapted and performed by Bendik Giske. Recorded, mixed, and produced by Bendik Giske in Funkhaus, Berlin 2020.

Kali Malone - Fantas for two Organs (10'21'')
Arranged for The Utopa Baroque Organ, The Sauer Organ and tuned sine waves. Recorded by Benny Nilsen at Orgelpark, Amsterdam 2020.

Walter Zanetti - Fantas for Electric Guitar (7'27'')
Recorded by Walter Zanetti, Bologna 2020.

Jay Mitta - Singeli Fantas (12'03'')
Recorded by Jay Mitta in Sisso Studios, Dar Es Salaam 2020.

Baseck - Fantas Hardcore (4'44'')
Mixed by Anthony Baldino, Los Angeles 2020.

Carlo Maria - Fantas resynthesized for 808 and 202 (4'29'')
Recorded by Carlo Maria, Milano 2020.

Kara-Lis Coverdale - Fantas Morbida (3'04'')
Performed, recorded and mixed at The Shop in Valens, Ontario by Kara-Lis Coverdale, January 2021. Engineering assistance from Robert Coverdale and Adam Feingold.

xpressed by synthetic voices, they present a futuristic take on modern electronic music.
Lush sounds of classic analog synths, modular drum machines, and digital sources merge into unheard soundscapes within their voltage driven root system. Six tracks combining various paths of the electronic landform into a musical journey framed by Kris Wellings’
uncanny chants. Garden Scene is a trip from the aesthetics of Detroit electro to complexity of IDM to harmonic outbursts from the abyss of contemporary pop culture.

This, one of the greatest radio shows ever made onto a record as it combines a Radio interview with Roky Erickson in full gloom while he is presenting the demos of tracks that may ended up on the great great The Evil One LP Earlier versions of mine mine mind, two headed dog, and click your fingers applauding the play previously released on vinyl by France's Sponge Records in 1976.. The bonuses (interviews, demos, rarities) are dandy, but the album is treasure enough. Its retro-metal chops have more kaboom than the irony-diluted pap of current poseurs, and its bent lyrics mop the floor with wannabe-kooks like Jad Fair. Some savvy touches- such as Roky's progressive pre-PC designation that the swamp monsters are 'alligator-persons'- hint that Roky was more lucid than he let on.

Back in print ! Inascoltable is the first album from Bolognese group Skiantos, the band that added a completely different flavor to the italian underground with their delirious performances and over the top lyrics. Released through Oderso Rubini's Harpo's Bazaar label (later Italian Records) in 1977 on cassette format, the album was recorded in one night in November 1977 in a session that was almost improvised. It was later printed on LP in 1979. This reissue from the original master does full justice to the insanely creative playing of the band fronted by Freak Antoni, who were true forerunners of demented rock and virtuous artists capable of colorfully interpreting all the non-standard rock movements from the British and American underground. This record wouldn't be out of place in the Zappa discography, although the whole turned out a little bit more punk...

Before their debut album "Stürmer", originally out in 1982 and reissued by a-Musik, there were two 7" by Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle. Both the eponymous 4-track EP (1980) by Justin Hoffmann, Thomas Meinecke, Michaela Melián and Thomas Meinecke and the 7-track EP "Teilnehmende Beobachtung" from 1981 were released on Alfred Hilsberg's legendary Zickzack Platten.

With "Moderne Welt" and the literally endless "Deutschland, Deutschland", the rare "Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle" single contains two of the most brilliant tracks ever recorded in the Federal Republic of Germany. "Teilnehmende Beobachtung" was produced by Wirtschaftswunder's Tom Dokoupil and established F.S.K.'s status as one of the most singular (and back in those days controversial) phenomena in the history of (west-)german postpunk/pop/underground history.

The LP reissue of these two 7"s comes with printed innversleeve and a 8 pp. booklet with extensive linernotes (in german) by Tim Klütz.

Analog Africa Presents Edo Funk Explosion Vol. 1, available on
2xLP/Gatefold LP with 20-page booklet / CD with 36-page booklet. It was
in Benin City, in the heart of Nigeria, that a new hybrid of intoxicating
highlife music known as Edo Funk was born.
It first emerged in the late 1970s when a group of musicians began to experiment with different ways of integrating elements from their native Edo culture
and fusing them with new sound effects coming from West Africa s night-clubs.
Unlike the rather polished 1980 s Nigerian disco productions coming out of the
international metropolis of Lagos Edo Funk was raw and reduced to its bare
minimum.
Someone was needed to channel this energy into a distinctive sound and Sir
Victor Uwaifo appeared like a mad professor with his Joromi studio. Uwaifo
took the skeletal structure of Edo music and relentless began fusing them with
synthesizers, electric guitars and 80 s effect racks which resulted in some of the
most outstanding Edo recordings ever made. An explosive spiced up brew with
an odd psychedelic note known as Edo Funk.
That’s the sound you’ll be discovering in the first volume of the Edo Funk Explosion series which focusses on the genre’s greatest originators; Osayomore
Joseph, Akaba Man, and Sir Victor Uwaifo: Osayomore Joseph was one of the
first musicians to bring the sound of the flute into the horn-dominated world
of highlife, and his skills as a performer made him a fixture on the Lagos scene.
When he returned to settle in Benin City in the mid 1970s - at the invitation of
the royal family - he devoted himself to the modernisation and electrification
of Edo music, using funk and Afro-beat as the building blocks for songs that
weren’t afraid to call out government corruption or confront the dark legacy of
Nigeria’s colonial past.
Akaba Man was the philosopher king of Edo funk. Less overtly political than Osayomore Joseph and less psychedelic than Victor Uwaifo, he found the perfect
medium for his message in the trance-like grooves of Edo funk. With pulsating
rhythms awash in cosmic synth-fields and lyrics that express a deep personal
vision, he found great success at the dawn of the 1980s as one of Benin City’s
most persuasive ambassadors of funky highlife.
Victor Uwaifo was already a star in Nigeria when he built the legendary Joromi
studios in his hometown of Benin City in 1978. Using his unique guitar style as
the mediating force between West-African highlife and the traditional rhythms
and melodies of Edo music, he had scored several hits in the early seventies,
but once he had his own sixteen-track facility he was able to pursue his obsession with the synesthetic possibilities of pure sound, adding squelchy synths,
swirling organs and studio effects to hypnotic basslines and raw grooves. Between his own records and his production for other musicians, he quickly established himself as the godfather of Edo funk.
What unites these diverse musicians is their ability to strip funk down to its
primal essence and use it as the foundation for their own excursions inward to
the heart of Edo culture and outward to the furthest limits of sonic alchemy.
The twelve tracks on Edo Funk Explosion Volume 1 pulse with raw inspiration,
mixing highlife horns, driving rhythms, day-glo keyboards and tripped-out guitars into a funk experience unlike any other.

In view of the immense Black Lives Matter mobilisation in reaction to the murder of George Floyd and the comparatively meagre societal reaction to the attack in Hanau, the question arises: How come our society does not show the same empathy and solidarity towards its own fellow citizens with Kurdish, Turkish, Bulgarian, Bosnian, Afghan migrant backgrounds or members of the Roma and Sinti?

How limited is our postcolonial discourse if we are unable to address the racist exploitation of those who repair our cars, deliver our parcels or harvest our asparagus?

It’s all a sham. Shake it off like a biometric photograph. Shake off that false consciousness. The Black Diaspora is a transatlantic lie invented by music curators and journalists. Embrace this nuanced return to structures and superstructures, to articulations and historical constellations as analytical tools.

Allow me to dampen your expectations. This is not the sound of decolonisation. This is no compilation of BLM protest songs. This is no celebration of Black emancipatory struggles. You will not be able to play this at your hip post-pandemic house party. This will not go down well with your woke friends. This is music for the square in the room. For that reluctant BAME/Person of Color repelled by your fetishisation of the African-American experience.

This is music for gated communities. This is Fehler Kuti singing of class relations, not of identities and positionalities. This is Fehler Kuti resisting.

Listen to these songs of infrastructure and appraisal of the welfare state. Join me in mourning the broken promises of prosperity for all. Send that “Ausländer“ of your mind to heaven. Colonialism fucked you up. Platform Capitalism is keeping you in chains. Are we to unionise all human and non-human workers at Amazon? Will modernity always have that "forever nigger“? What about those dispossessed field hands harvesting your asparagus?

All is lost. The system is rigged. Because all histories, gestures and identities have been absorbed into this late capitalist apparatus we call diversity. It can integrate anything and anyone. It made me. It is the price of the ticket. And it is unable to challenge its own premise of an atomised society. As if you and I had so little in common.

They will try and help you. They will build a museum for your history and a scholarship program for your future. I warn you. Don‘t let them give you a name. Resist appellation. Don’t get that German passport. Don‘t eat asparagus.

Fehler Kuti, Spring 2021

All songs by Julian Warner. Produced by Markus Acher and Tobias Siegert.

Markus Acher – drums, percussion, backing vocals Micha Acher – sousaphone, trumpet Cico Beck – synthesizer Jenny Bohn – backing vocals Pacifico Boy – vocals Katja Kobolt – spoken word Theresa Loibl – bass clarinet, backing vocals Sascha Schwegeler – steeldrum, kalimba, percussion, backing vocals Tobias Siegert – bass, synthesizers, percussion, backing vocals Julian Warner – piano, memotron, vocals

recorded and mixed by Tobias Siegert at Minga Records, july – december 2020 mastered by Moritz Illner at Duophonic

Cover art and photography by Andreas Neumeister. Layout by Sascha Schwegeler.

Fehler Kuti “Professional People” is part of the same multiverse as “The History of the Federal Republic of Germany as told by Fehler Kuti und die Polizei”. A production by Julian Warner. In cooperation with Münchner Kammerspiele. Funded by the Department of Arts and Culture of the City of Munich. Released by Alien Transistor.

• With more than 60 MILLION STREAMS across his catalogue listened to by fans all around the world, ‘…TO BE CONTINUED’
is the best ‘greatest hits’ album that you’ve never heard!
• This 12-track Limited Edition Vinyl LP collection, with a brand new floorfiller, features his most popular tracks and fans’
favourites, and this is his first Physical release album to celebrate, LE FLEX has signed 500 prints for this Limited Edition.
• Although LE FLEX clearly states that “I just make Pop music”, his 6 EPs and 6 Studio albums are nothing short of serious and
brilliantly creative blends of nudisco, poolside vibes and slow-jams but retaining the essence of his familiar ‘80s
synthpop/dance-based infusions. The accompanying videos are purely tongue-in-cheek, with more than a smattering of
self-deprecation, as you will see on his dedicated YouTube channel.
• Judging by the comments from long-established fans and music lovers from South America to Australia, via the UK, through
Europe and the Far East, discovering LE FLEX for the first time, they are quick to state that his vocal inflections share more
than a passing resemblance to George Michael, an icon about whom LE FLEX modestly says, “I’m not fit to shine his shoes”.
• LE FLEX is a renowned Producer with his popularity rising, having worked with Jaki Graham, Lemar and Ben Macklin and
was commissioned to produce new Donna Summer remixes in 2020.
• Released on heavyweight 180g Clear Vinyl, if you fancy summery escapism, there aren’t many better ways than doing so
than with LE FLEX

Snapped Ankles return to the forest, but it's not as they left it. Trees planted in neat rows. A well-ordered monoculture with access roads and heavy machinery. The smell of greenwashed money in the air. There's no sign of the ancient woodland they emerged from on debut album, Come Play The Trees. And it's far cry from the gentrified East London they found themselves hawking on Stunning Luxury. All is not well in the face of progress. Welcome to the Forest Of Your Problems. Even among the famously close-knit woodwose community there are factions forming. Meet The Business Imp, The Cornucopian, The Nemophile and The Protester. Each with their own motivations and belief systems. Their own sense of injustice: contradictions, anxieties and guilt. There are woodwose who have risen to the top in the boom and bust world of real estate and hedge funds. Grab what you can before the next crash. Others find euphoria in the absolute conviction that wealth and technology will see us through this. There are those with their recycling in order, who are well-versed in the prospect of imminent ecological and economic collapse, burying themselves in vegan cookery and extensive international holiday itineraries. And there's an increasing number angry at the state of the world, ready to take to the streets and the trees in an attempt to force real change. Forest Of Your Problems runs the gamut of modern woodwose emotions. In this neat human approximation of the forest, it's an increasingly knotted affair. Despite all of this, Snapped Ankles haven't lost their innate ability to make you want to move your feet - their Teutonic forest rhythms are still shot through with post-punk lightning. Whether they're exploring those opportunities which might arise when a Nigerian prince emails out of the blue on 'The Evidence', or referencing the crooked woodwose attempting to go straight on 'Rhythm Is Our Business', this is music to lose your inhibitions to. The moments of pure elation on 'Shifting Basslines Of The Cornucopians' are worth the admission price alone - "It's a great time to be alive!" ...apparently. Snapped Ankles outsider status has always allowed them to hold a mirror up to society. Now the boundaries are not so clear. In the four years since Come Play The Trees was released, their cult has flourished. Previous album Stunning Luxury saw the band invited to play the BBC 6 Music Festival and a KEXP session on the back of a sold-out UK tour which culminated with two nights at Village Underground in London. As those who have witnessed the shamanic ritual of their live shows will attest, they are a truly unique, communal experience. Forest Of Your Problems will see the woodwose bring their ancient forest rhythms and high-wire, multi-media live act to ever bigger stages - including Camden's iconic Roundhouse in October.

Clear Vinyl

DDS catch enduringly absorbing sonic alchemist Jim O’Rourke at his knottiest and most ingenious in a wormholing suite of amorphous rhythm and psychedelic electronics - a massive RIYL Autechre, Roland Kayn, Bernard Parmegiani, NYZ, Keith Fullerton Whitman.
Playing up to and into DDS’ freeform aesthetics, O’Rourke renders 40 minutes shearing hyaline synth tones and ruptured rhythm generated at his Steamroom facilities in Tokyo, a modular outzone trawling that harks back to his iconic Mego releases and some of the more recent Steamroom experiments. It’s an ideal addition to the ever expanding DDS cosmos, following Demdike’s recent ‘Drum Machine’ expo with a slice of purist and screwed modular magick that transcends early
electronics and modern styles in pursuit of musical sensations that defy stylistic brackets.
‘Too Compliment’ was assembled using a bespoke Hordijk modular system, a rare West Coast-style setup hand made by Dutch engineer Rob Hordijk. O’Rourke focuses on the frequency shifter here, using it to coax out fluxing tone thickets, haphazard frequencies and elongated drone corridors.
It’s transportive stuff, harking back to the early days of private press academic synth music but also sitting on edge alongside Autechre’s recent long-form work, as well as O’Rourke’s classic “I’m Happy, And I’m Singing, And A 1, 2, 3, 4” In O’Rourke’s hands, the mass of electronics takes on throbbing, organic dimensions, congealing
grey matter and purplish veins of fluid in viscous transitions that glisten and spark with invention as they form new tissue. What comes out is as unearthly as the earliest electronic music, but also
blessed with a psychedelc spirit in a way that’s long kept O’Rourke right out on his own, teetering between paradigms yet never settling into any single style. If you’ve always been keen on finding a way into that sprawling soundworld, ‘Too Compliment’ is a perfect entry point into a highly rewarding creative macrocosm.

Born Bad continue their mind-expanding and totally essential series of library music ‘Space Oddities’ compilations with this set focusing on French musician and composer Sauveur Mallia.
In the ever-expanding universe of 70s and 80s French library music, Mallia holds a special place; his career, multifaceted work and the uniqueness of his talent have made him an exemplary figure in the unsung world of library musicians.
In those years a few of them, often for economical reasons, would set off on a
space conquest, taking along just a few synthesisers.
Their ambition well surpassed the modesty of their means; it was in turn the
condition to their experimentations with sound which were to create a new
sonic space: that of a nation tumbling into modernity. From French soil to the
farthest reaches of the cosmos, there were just a few steps to take. It’s with the
label Tele Music, boarding the spaceship Arpadys, along with the Voyage crew,
that Sauveur Mallia took the big leap.

“French blues-rock singer Veronique Gayot is a one-of-a-kind and bundle of
energy rarely found.
Her distinctive voice is recognizable among thousands. She has the expressiveness of a wildcat. She is strong and uncompromising, yet vulnerable. She sings
as if a single life is not enough. Her deep, smoky voice easily joins the great
voices of the Blues.
Animal contains 10 original compositions inspired by traditional blues. Mixed
with modern urban sounds, the album offers a wide range of different moods.”

Fresh off of winning the Listener's Choice award at the 2020 Soundcity MVP Awards Festival, Fireboy DML follows up his debut album with "Apollo." Fireboy DML enlists help from fellow labelmate, Olamide, as well as D Smoke and Wande Coal.

Omar Khorshid (9-Oct-1945 – 29-May-1981) is an Egyptian musician, composer, accompanist, and actor.

Born in Cairo, Omar Khorshid was a well-known guitarist who accompanied many Arabic singers, including Farid Al Atrach, Oum Koulsoum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab, and Abdel Halim Hafez.

From 1973 to 1977, Khorshid moved to Lebanon and began recording albums under his own name, working with sound engineer Nabil Moumtaz at Polysound Studios in Beirut.

Khorshid's musicality in orchestra performances, original songs, and film scores was considered revolutionary at the time in the Middle East. His extensive theoretical knowledge, fusion of Western sounds with Eastern sounds, and incorporation of different, more modern instruments (e.g. the electric guitar, electric keyboard, and synthesizer) in Arabic music was previously unheard of.

Khorshid's unique style sparked inspiration from many aspiring musicians not only in the Middle East, but in Europe and the Americas as well. His mixing of "modern" instruments with older Arabic tunes spawned a new, more modern sound of Arabic music that many use for belly-dancing today.

Die Veröffentlichung ist als Schwesterstück zu der EP-Veröffentlichung "Asleep Versions"konzipiert, die 2014 veröffentlicht wurde und sie besteht aus Jon Hopkins Interpretationen von Thom Yorkes "Dawn Chorus", James Yorkstons "Heron", Roger Eno and Brian Enos "Wintergreen" und Luke Abbots "Modern Driveway“ die er am Klavier begleitet.

LTD Ocean Blue 12inch+MP3 EP

Die Veröffentlichung ist als Schwesterstück zu der EP-Veröffentlichung "Asleep Versions"konzipiert, die 2014 veröffentlicht wurde und sie besteht aus Jon Hopkins Interpretationen von Thom Yorkes "Dawn Chorus", James Yorkstons "Heron", Roger Eno and Brian Enos "Wintergreen" und Luke Abbots "Modern Driveway“ die er am Klavier begleitet.

'The inventive record producer and vocalist Lee 'Scratch' Perry was involved in every musical shift of note in his native Jamaica, from the rhythm and blues that pre-dated the arrival of ska in the early 1960s through the slower and more spacious rocksteady style that appeared middecade and, of course, the frenetic sound of reggae, which he helped to birth as an independent producer during the late 1960s. Operating as 'The Upsetter' from his base in a downtown Kingston record shop, Perry found his greatest success with instrumental music during this phase, the organ and saxophone re-castings of standard vocal issues proving exceptionally popular overseas.

'Scratch The Upsetter Again surfaced early in 1970 as a largely instrumental set, but with dreamy reverb a hefty feature and keyboards veering away from standard organ motifs. Dave Barker, who was soon to hit the pop charts as part of Dave & Ansel Collins, tackles The Shirelles' 'Will You Still Love Me' in soul reggae mode, only for Perry to shift things towards the emerging dub spectrum with 'Take One.'

'As Perry inched ever closer to the dub experimentation he would turn into an art form at his own Black Ark studio later in the decade, Scratch The Upsetter Again shows him moving away from the standard approaches of his competitors in his quest to test the very limits of recorded sound. And reggae was all the richer for it.'
—David Katz (excerpt from the liner notes)

Re-mastering by: Cicely Baston at Alchemy/Air Mastering, Lyndhurst Hall, London

A two-LP set on Theresa, Rejoice features Pharoah Sanders in excellent form in 1981. Sanders sounds much more mellow than he had a decade earlier, often improvising in a style similar to late-'50s John Coltrane, particularly on "When Lights Are Low," "Moments Notice," and "Central Park West." The personnel changes on many of the selections and includes such top players as pianists Joe Bonner and John Hicks, bassist Art Davis, drummers Elvin Jones and Billy Higgins, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, trombonist Steve Turre, trumpeter Danny Moore, a harpist, and (on "Origin" and "Central Park West") five vocalists. The music always holds one's interest, making this one of Sanders' better later recordings. Scott Yanow/AMG

COLTRANE'S classic "Moments Notice" is a complete gas! Sanders like Coltrane, pulls and holds attention with his entrances. Bobby Hutcherson's and Hicks solo's are heated and models of vivid imagination. The three put forth some of the very best solo...'s in the entire album.

Then there's the arresting new talent introduced here -GEORGE V JOHNSON JR., whose marvelous lyrics and vocal work are truly auspicious! He sings with James Moody on occassion and is happily remindful of the insistent giftness of the late EDDIE JEFFERSON. Johnson's three stanzers close with "Relax dig the sounds of Coltrane's Music. Coltrane fills your heart with love and harmony. Trane played with magic. Listen to the melodies and you will see momently. When you here the message of his song!". There's no doubt in my mind that henceforth George V Johnson should and will be sought for his own gift to the music. He sang the song for Sanders at the Village Vanguard, and Sanders "felt that George ought to be heard".Thank you, Pharoah Sanders for Sharing.... by Herb Wong

In October last year Pete Josef's second album ëI Rise With The Birdsû came out. Now Sonar Kollektiv has decided to release four remixes of three different songs off the fantastic album. First of all there is the Jazzanova remix of ëGiantsû, which almost completely gets rid of the vocals, but all the more absorbs the zeitgeist - a remix probably working perfectly for a group of battling breakdancers. The program continues with a remix by Pete Josef himself. The Englishman strips down ëThis Sunû to its basic structure, then simply building a modern Salsa track out of it. Which brings us to the remix by Friend Within. The Liverpool producer and Pete Josef have been friends for many years, dating back to a 2013 collaboration (ëThe Workû) that made it onto Disclosure's Mixmag mix CD. ëMainframeû sounds super fresh after Friend Within's rework and seems like the party banger we've been looking forward to for months! But what Feiertag finally takes the liberty of doing with his remix of ëGiantsû is beyond imagination. Far away from the original Feiertag's interpretation moves in dark downtempo realms - dubby and spheric at the same time. In short: Each of the four remixes is a small masterpiece on its own.

It’s with a heart brimming with pride that Bordello A Parigi welcome Italoconnection back to the family with their latest album: Midnight Confessions Vol.1. The team of Fred Ventura, a legend of Italo Disco, and Paolo Gozzetti, a stalwart of Italian electronics, arrive with eight tracks that shimmer with sun-kissed synths and love-filled lyrics. A strew of like-minded musicians have been called upon to bring their own unique ideas and styles to this album. Sweden’s Tobias Bernstrup offers his vocals in the environmentally minded “Rainbow Warrior,” while the unique and unmistakable voice of French pop icon Etienne Daho sings in the charged “Virus X”. Modern day electro-disco maestros feature with Carino Cat collaborating in the warming rays of “The Year of the Sun.” Newcomers to the scene are also represented, Francesca Diprima’s voice accompanying Fred Ventura’s in the lovelorn lament of “Since You Went Away”. And at the heart of the album are Ventura and Gozzetti; a record that explores classic themes while introducing a wider commentary, a collection of bold brilliance and synthesizer subtilty.

Repress! This is the first full length release from The Sure Fire Soul Ensemble. The Sure Fire Soul Ensemble - If you are a fan of the organ, gritty Funk, and beautiful original soundtracks, these guys are for you. The SFSE is a heavy, original, instrumental soul band based out of San Diego, CA that released their debut self titled album on Colemine Records in June of 2015, and the band will be releasing their sophomore album in the fall of 2016 on the same label. The Sure Fire Soul Ensemble has recently shared the stage with Lee Fields and the Expressions, Big Sam's Funky Nation, Kung Fu, Polyrhythmics, New Mastersounds, Monophonics, Kamasi Washington, and many others. They draw influence from the masters of the style from the past and modern day, including: The Meters, Isaac Hayes, El Michels Affair, Mulatu Astatke, Budos Band, The Nite Liters, Menahan Street Band, Fela Kuti, and The Poets of Rhythm.

Fatoumata Diawara ist eine malische Singer/Songwriterin und Schauspielerin. Ihr Debüt "Fatou" (2011) und darauffolgende Aktivitäten machten die Künstlerin zu einer der wichtigsten Vertreterinnen moderner afrikanischer Musik. Sie sang auf Alben von Dee Dee Bridgewater ("Red Earth"), Oumou Sangaré ("Seya") und Herbie Hancock ("The Imagine Project"). Darüber hinaus kollaborierte sie mit Bobby Womack, Mulatu Astatke, Cheikh Lô, dem Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou, Blick Bassy sowie Rocket Juice & the Moon. Diawara spielte bereits Glastonbury und andere große Festivals, trat in der Carnegie Hall auf und begab sich an Bord von Damon Albarns Africa Express, wo sie sich als Höhepunkt eine Bühne mit Paul McCartney teilte. Parallel setzte sie ihre Karriere als Schauspielerin fort, unter anderem in den Filmen "Timbuktu" (2014) und "Mali Blues" (2015). Ihr Album "Fenfo" (deutsch: "Etwas zu sagen") wurde in Mali, Burkina Faso, Paris und Barcelona aufgenommen und von Diawara selbst sowie dem französischen Superstar Matthieu Chedid alias -M- produziert. "Fenfo" geriet zu einem im besten Sinne grenzenlosen Album. Die elf Songs verbinden alte afrikanischen Saiteninstrumente wie die Kora und Ngoni mit elektrischen Gitarren sowie traditionelle Perkussion mit Kit-Drums. Diawara, die meist auf Bambara singt, wird unter anderem von -M- (Gitarre, Keyboards) dem brillanten Cellisten Vincent Ségal und dem Kora-Spieler Sidiki Diabaté begleitet.

The legendary soundman and record producer, Lloyd Coxsone, began his career in the 1960’s soon after arriving from Jamaica. He was one of the first soundmen to play at West End clubs where a generation of British pop stars like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones first heard music from Jamaica. Sir Coxsone sound then dominated the seventies, when Bob Marley & Dennis Brown were among his greatest allies, as heard on unforgettable dub-plates from that era.



He formed the Tribesman Label and issued King of the Dub Rock before recording the likes of Fredlocks, Willy Stepper & Jimmy Lindsay. King of the Dub Rock 1 & 2 are recognized as reggae classics. They not only feature Lloydie’s own productions but also riddims by Jamaican producer Gussie Clarke and heavyweight dubs by mix master Scientist. On King of the Dub Rock 3, Lloydie teams up with Jahsolid Rock Music, who’s albums with Brinsley Forde, Apple Gabriel and Earl 16 were regularly heard on Sir Coxsone playlists. This album features exclusive dub mixes and vocal tracks from these artists plus brand new tunes by Mutabaruka, Chezidek, Micah Shemaiah, Var & Ras Teo.



King of the Dub Rock 3 is an essential companion for all Coxsone fans wanting to complete the trilogy. It delivers such a high standard of musical quality that it promises to be a modern day classic!

I attended a trade fair in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In this show, we met producers, label and festival managers. It is a privileged moment when it is possible to learn about new trends, new musical forms, emerging groups. The timing of the meal is undoubtedly the most important. We take the time to introduce ourselves and discover each other. When my turn arrived, I took out my little map to locate the town of Sète on the map of France. There, an American promoter exclaimed "Yeah! You live in this beautiful city. Where there is this incredible music. ” I admit that at the time I didn’t quite understand what he meant but flattered by his remark I told him yes. Later, I realized that he was talking about gypsy music that made the whole world dream.



When my friend shared this anecdote to me, it resonated deeply with me. Indeed, for us, people of the south of France, this was nothing exceptional. Indeed, every day you could meet in the street a gypsy musician performing a rumba, another declaiming a fandango or another who liked to paraphrase the maestro Django. It is part of our daily environment, but it is indeed a peculiarity of this region. The territory of the Mediterranean arc, from Arles to Perpignan, is indeed the cradle of gypsy music in France. In addition, we must underline the major influence of the Gypsy artists of Catalonia in the development of these different artistic forms. Through weddings and family reunions, the repertoires have shifted to be reinterpreted according to the identities specific to each and the territories of residence.



With this new collection, we wanted to show, to hear all the musical richness of Gypsy and Manouche artists populating the territory. From appropriation to recreation, they never stop bringing this music to life, re-enchanting it and offering it a resolutely modern reading, open to the world. In this first opus, devoted to the guitar, we will take the routes of latin music, flamenco or jazz alongside renowned artists and young talents. With "The sound of guitars", it is a first door open to the gypsy music of the Mediterranean Arc, that we will discover gradually through the "Mediteranean Gypsies roads" collection.

From their genesis as members of the Venus club in-house band in the early 70s, Hailu Mergia and the Walias Band were at the forefront of the musical revolution during an era where modern instruments and foreign styles superseded the traditional fare to become the staple sound of Ethiopia. No one would argue that the Walias were the trailblazing powerhouse of modern Ethiopian music. They were the first band to form independently without affiliation to a theatre house, a club or a hotel; unprecedented and risky as they had to raise all funding for expenses by themselves including buying equipment. They were the first to release full instrumental albums, considered to be commercially unviable at the time. They opened their own recording studio, with band members Melake Gebre and Mahmoud Aman doubling as technical buffs during sessions. They were also the first independent band to tour abroad. In short, they were the pioneers every band tried to emulate; some more successfully than others.
Odds are, any Ethiopian over the age of 35 who had access to TV or radio by the early 90s, will instantly recognize the sound of Walias. What is not a given is, how many would actually identify the band itself. Barely a day went by without hearing the Walias either in the background on radio or as an accompaniment to various programs on TV.

This Tezeta album, the band’s second recording, released in 1975, is one of those that have been impossible to find for nearly three decades. Sourced by Awesome Tapes From Africa and expertly remastered by Jessica Thompson, its unique and funky renditions of standards and popular songs of the day are so quintessentially Walias, flavorful and evocative. Hailu's melodic organ, unashamedly front and center in every track, makes even the complex pieces accessible.
Profoundly engaging; it's an immersive trip down memory lane for those of us getting reacquainted with it, while also an enthralling and gratifying experience for fresh ears.

Virtually unknown recording outside Ethiopia.
Documents Mergia & Walias legendary early period.
Follow-up to reissue of hugely popular seminal Ethiopian instrumentals LP Tche Belew (ATFA012)

Cassette-only, released in 1975 on the band’s in-house label to fund their record store.
Beautifully-rendered instrumentals of classic Ethiopian standards.

The 3rd volume of Eiger Drums Propaganda’s magnificent epic journey, a musical saga that continues to keep us travelling in the early ages of Neo-Trance, Tribal-Kraut, dream frequencies and modern Dance music. For The Orb, Magma/Gong ‘s aficionados. Double album for double pleasure.

Phobophobes new album Modern Medicine follows the band’s critically acclaimed debut album Miniature World, released 2018 via Ra Ra Rok Records, which received the accolade of being 6Music’s ‘Album of the Day’ following heavy support from Lauren Laverne, Steve Lamacq and Iggy Pop. Press coverage was a who’s who of tastemakers clambering to define their undefinable sound ….”dark and dreamy” (DIY), “gothic” (Clash), “unique warped pop” (Best Fit); and live the band were invited to tour with Killing Joke including a date at London’s Roundhouse, and a headline slot at the Rise Stage at Green Man Festival.

All songs on Modern Medicine were written and arranged by Phobophobes** except ‘Hallow Body Boy’ which was written and arranged by Phobophobes and Jessica Winter. The album was produced by Phobophobes and recorded at El mirador Studios, Andalusia, Spain during the summer of 2018, mixed by Dave Emery at ‘Assault and Battery,’ and mastered by Nick Watson at Fluid Mastering.

**Phobophobes current line-up consists of original members Jamie Bardolph Taylor (guitar, vocals), Jack Hussey (guitar) and Chris Olivares Chandler (keyboard, vocals), alongside new members Daisy Smith (bass) & Lisa Martin (drums). Due to recent line-up changes the latter two musicians do not feature on Modern Medicine, instead credits include Nathan Ridley (drums/backing vocals) and Elliott Nash (lap steel/baritone guitar/keyboards/percussion), with additional appearances from Christo Mccracken (guitar/effects), Gamaliel Traynor (cello/violin) and Jessica Winter (keyboards on ‘Holly Body Boy’).

Over the past decade, Egyptian-born, Barcelona-based DJ and techno producer Raxon, known to friends and family as Ahmed Raxon, has popped out a steady stream of twelve-inch singles, precision-tooled, for labels like Cocoon, Drumcode, Diynamic, Truesoul, and Ellum Audio. An alumni of Kompakt’s Speicher series – check the insistent, vibrating pulses of “The Ancient” and “Dark Light” on 2019’s Speicher 107 – with Sound Of Mind, Raxon has produced a long-awaited debut album that’s ready and aching both for the dancefloor and the boudoir, traversing the heat of the club and the warmth of the home.

“The idea of an album has always floated around in my head for the past few years,” Raxon confirms, “but it was never the right moment in my mind.” Instead, he’s been insistently pursuing his vision of deep, elegant techno, taking him from early DJ gigs in Dubai, including the legendary audio tonic night, then relocating to Europe on the recommendation of Herman Cattaneo, all the while allowing his experiences to inform and transmute his producer’s thumbprint. He’s an architect by training (though he gave architecture up for electronic music), which might explain why Raxon productions are so sturdy and well-designed; but remember also that architecture is a field filled with brave experimentation, something Raxon definitely draws on throughout Sound Of Mind.

Like many albums from the past twelve months, Raxon’s debut developed partly thanks to the unique social situation the planet has found itself caught within. “In the beginning of 2020 I started working on a few tracks with the album in mind,” he recalls, “with no idea of what’s to come in the next few months. As catastrophic as the situation was/is, I found myself in the studio; in a way the lockdown gave me that creative freedom in the studio, to try to tell my story through sound.” And indeed, there is something in the way of ‘life writing’ about Sound Of Mind, particularly in the way Raxon’s productions pay subtle homage, perhaps, to his formative listening experiences in the late nineties.

It’s no retro trip, but there’s plenty of variety here, and a few moments that’ll tickle the collective memory – see the prowling pulsations of the opening “Majestic”, the alien breakbeat action of “Vice” and “Journey Mode”, where the interstellar tones feel like Foul Play or Steve Gurley, the leaking gas and woozy keys that make “Droid Solo” so subtly destabilising, or the strobelight drones that sputter and flare throughout “El Multiverse”, where dappled organ tones fight it out with interdimensional transmissions, all sucked into the vortex of a late-night techno mantra. Beautifully sculpted, Sound Of Mind feels consummate, an elegant set that pulls Raxon’s vision into its sharpest focus. Alive with possibilities, it’s a fever dream of creativity.

In den letzten zehn Jahren hat der in Ägypten geborene und in Barcelona lebende DJ und Techno-Produzent Raxon, der Freunden und Familie auch als Ahmed Raxon bekannt ist, eine ganze Reihe von 12inch-Singles auf Labels wie Cocoon, Drumcode, Diynamic, Truesoul und Ellum Audio veröffentlicht. Wir kennen Raxon außerdem durch seinen Beitrag zur Kompakt Extra/Speicher-Reihe – man höre sich nur mal "The Ancient" und "Dark Light" auf dem 2019 erschienenen Speicher 107 an. Nun hat Raxon mit “Sound Of Mind“ sein lang erwartetes Debütalbum produziert, das sowohl für den Dancefloor als auch für die eigenen vier Wände geeignet ist und dabei sowohl die Hitze des Clubs als auch die Wärme des eigenen Zuhauses durchmisst.

"Die Idee eines Albums schwebte in den letzten Jahren immer in meinem Kopf herum", bestätigt Raxon, "aber es gab nie den richtige Moment." Stattdessen verfolgte er leidenschaftlich seine Vision von tiefem, elegantem Techno, die ihn von frühen DJ-Gigs in Dubai, einschließlich der legendären Audio-Tonic-Nacht, dann auf Empfehlung von Hernan Cattaneo nach Europa führte. Im Laufe dieser Zeit sammelte er unzählige Erfahrungen, die es ihm erlaubten, seinen Stil als Produzent mehr und mehr zu transformieren. Raxon ist gelernter Architekt (obwohl er die Architektur für die elektronische Musik aufgegeben hat), was vielleicht erklärt, warum seine Produktionen so robust und gut durchdacht sind; aber man sollte auch nicht vergessen, dass Architektur bestenfalls immer ein Feld mutiger Experimente ist, etwas, worauf Raxon in “Sound Of Mind“ definitiv zurückgreift.

Wie viele andere Alben der letzten zwölf Monate auch wurde Raxon’s Debüt von der einzigartigen gesellschaftlichen Situation, in der sich der Planet momentan befindet, beeinflusst. "Anfang 2020 habe ich angefangen, an ein paar Tracks für das Album zu arbeiten", erinnert er sich, "ohne zu wissen, was in den nächsten Monaten auf uns zukommen würde. So katastrophal die Situation auch war/ist, ich fand mich im Studio wieder; in gewisser Weise gab mir der Lockdown auch eine kreative Freiheit im Studio, um zu versuchen, eine Geschichte durch meinen Sound zu erzählen." Und in der Tat gibt es auf “Sound Of Mind“ so etwas wie eine "Lebensgeschichte", besonders in der Art und Weise, wie Raxon’s Produktionen eine subtile Hommage an seine prägenden musikalischen Erfahrungen in den späten Neunzigern darstellen.

Es ist fürwahr kein Retro-Trip, aber es gibt hier viel Abwechslung und ein paar Momente, die das kollektive Gedächtnis kitzeln werden - zum Beispiel der sich langsam heran pirschende Pulsschlag im Eröffnungstrack "Majestic", oder die außerirdischen Breakbeats von "Vice" und "Journey Mode", in denen sich die interstellaren Sounds ein wenig wie Foul Play oder Steve Gurley anfühlen. Dann das ausströmende Gas und die wummernden Tasten, die "Droid Solo" subtil destabilisieren, oder die Strobo-Drones, die in "El Multiverse" herum sprudeln und flackern, wo einzelne Töne einer Orgel mit interdimensionalen Transmittern um die Wette strahlen und schließlich in den Strudel eines nächtlichen Techno-Mantras gesogen werden. “Sound Of Mind“ fühlt sich formvollendet an, wie ein elegantes Set, das Raxon’s Vision verstärkt in den Fokus rückt. Ein Fiebertraum voller Kreativität und Möglichkeiten.

Ltd White Vinyl Gatefold edition + 32 Page Booklet + Download Code

The LP contains original compositions by Ryuichi Sakamoto, Pascal Comelade, Laurie Spiegel, Lyra Pramuk, Chassol, Nicolas Godin and Pierre Rousseau, Pedro Vian and Pierre Bastien, Visible Cloaks, Kelman Duran, Raul Refree, Lucrecia Dalt, Lafawndah.

+ a booklet with writings by contemporary thinkers like Shumon Basar, François J. Bonnet, and pictures by, Araki, Juergen Teller, Elizaveta Porodina, Dani Pujalte, P Jack Davison, Zhong Lin, Alessandra Sanguinetti, Adrià Cañameras, Javier Tles among others. Lacquer cut by Josh Bonati & Mastered by Rashad Becker

'PRSNT' is a unique global artistic project combining the input of artists across the worlds of music, video and written word which acts as a statement on how we, as consumers, engage with music in the 21st century. Vital electronic musicians including Ryuichi Sakamoto, Lafawndah, Lyra Pramuk, Lucrecia Dalt and Visible Cloaks have each contributed tracks, which are approximately 32 seconds long.

The concept was devised by Created By Us and the Barcelona-based label Modern Obscure Music. They read a study which identified that the overwhelming volume of instantly accessible information online is shortening attention spans and altering how audiences engage with music digitally. Their curiosity about the state of online consumption developed further on discovering that around a third of all listeners using digital platforms skip to the next track, within the first 30 seconds of playing.

Each musician was given a fascinating challenge to create engaging compositions with real artistic merit, inside the confines of this shortened span. Akin to Brian Eno's famous Windows 95 start-up music, the time constraints are crucial, and the compositions are deceptively complex and more substantial than expectations of their nano nature would suggest.

'PRSNT' acts as a critique of flighty feed culture, but is simultaneously constructive, providing something which is either proposed solution, or "if you can't beat 'em join 'em" resignation. Every artist has interpreted the brief differently, resulting in an intriguing blueprint for the potential future of digital music. Could abbreviated micro compositions satisfy, inspire and nourish like their longer counterparts? They certainly take up much less of listeners' busy lives, which are often spent tackling ever-increasing workloads.