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SANG FROID was born in Nantes during the winter of 2019. The band comprises two members of REGARDE LES HOMMES TOMBER and one member of THE VEIL. Passionate about genres like New Wave, Cold Wave and Goth Rock, the trio wished to sound like a tribute to these 70s and 80s scenes. The result is a 4 song EP to be released on the 7th of October through Black God Records. Walking alone at night, heavy hearted, in an oversized city with bleak architecture, is the kind of impression left when listening to SANG FROID's songs. Inspired by bands like Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, Sisters Of Mercy or Depeche Mode the music is drifting in a cold and grey universe, at times sundered by a raging will to live. Mastered by Xort at Drudenhaus Studio. Tracklisting 1. Heavy Sleep Heavy Heart 2. Psalms Of The Great Void 3. Oversee And Kill 4. Death Came To Me

London 4 piece Crows’ second album, ‘Beware Believers’ conjures a dark and visceral post-punk that’s been hardened by years of notoriously rowdy live shows, Crows have amassed a legion of die-hard fans since they formed back in 2015 and cultivated a singular, much-adored presence in the British alternative music scene. Equal parts ferocious and hedonistic, the incoming ‘Beware Believers’ LP arrived off the back of their critically acclaimed 2019 debut ‘Silver Tongues’, international touring and festival appearances, and shared stages with the likes of IDLES, Wolf Alice, Girl Band, Metz, Slaves and Protomartyr. Following the release of their long-awaited debut album on the IDLES-run Balley Records back in 2019, Crows immediately set to work on its follow-up and by January 2020 they were already back in the studio tracking what would become the ‘Beware Believers’ LP and then Covid hit. “Once we knew Covid was here to stay, we took the first break we’ve taken since we released our first single ‘Pray’ in 2015. Being locked down for three months unable to finish the last bits of the record was very frustrating but it did mean we could come back to the album with fresh ears and make sure it sounded like it should: a true representation of Crows.” Loud, cathartic and abrasive a quintessential Crows record it certainly is. “Beware Believers has felt like a marathon, a real endurance test that’s been a long, winding road filled with highs and lows and plenty of twists and turns”, frontman James Cox says: “The majority of the themes on the album came from what was going on in the world around Summer 2019 when we started writing the album. Covid wasn't in our lives and the biggest impact was Brexit and the madness our government were putting us through. I was reading a lot of J.G. Ballard and Kurt Vonnegut, mad dystopian novels, whilst all this craziness was going on around us and it was a weird headspace to get into.” Tracklist: 1) Closer Still 2) Garden of England 3) Only Time 4) Slowly Separate 5) Moderation 6) Healing 7) Room 156 8) Meanwhile 9) Wild Eyed And Loathsome 10) The Servant 11) Sad Lad

Today, internationally acclaimed interdisciplinary artist Hyd, nee Hayden Dunham, announces her first solo musical project, along with the announcement of her self-titled EP that arrives November 5th via PC Music. More disclosure than debut, Hyd’s four-track offering lets us feel the heat that’s been building underneath, calling us back down to earth. Written on an island formed from underground volcanic eruptions 15 million years ago, the EP is produced by A. G. Cook, Caroline Polachek & umru. The EP follows Hyd’s robust career as a sculptor and conceptual artist. Deeply enmeshed in the art world and music communities, she has dedicated her practice to reinventing systems - systems of communicating, systems of sexuality, systems of interacting with our environments. Her large-scale sculptural practice, where she creates fluid, transformative art installations, has been exhibited in museums and galleries across America, Asia and Europe. Past works include GEL, a vapor that travelled through the air vents of Andrea Rosen Gallery in NYC, and 7 Sisters, a seven-act performance at MoMA PS1 that incorporated dance, music, poetry, video and scents, with additional exhibitions and performances at Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, etc. Apart from appearances on A. G. Cook's recent Apple LP, "No Shadow" marks the first time we've seen Hayden step out musically since Hey QT, the enigmatic and controversial project she created in collaboration with A. G. Cook and SOPHIE. The EP cover and singles’ artworks were photographed by renowned artist, Torbjørn Rødland, whose images are saturated with symbolism, lyricism and eroticism. The graphic design identity is by Bureau Borsche, celebrated for their work with clients including Balenciaga, Supreme and The Face, among others. Creative direction by Hyd and Jordan Richman.

Rose For Bohdan return with their 5th full length album in full rock mode (w/ David Gorilla and Kerri Kerang on drums). Beyond high energy anthems filled with blistering electronics, thunderous bass/drum combo, and instantly catchy boy/girl vocal hooks. Inspired by living in Los Angeles, from the ADHD pace to the still unresolved undertones of racial tension to the youth that lights this town up with hope. No Rose For Bohdan album has ever been released on vinyl, so we're here to fix that problem, beginning with the high water mark for the band. Noise poppunk that takes wild twists and turns, bathed in ridiculous energy. This is fun insanity. TRACKLIST: 1. Friends Forever 2. Peter and the Rabbit and the Wolf 3. Thunderstorm Summerschool 4. The Fashion Show 5. I'm 6. The Amazing Bird the Shit in a Bag 7. The Fear 8. Covered In Monkeys

Now available in green marble vinyl. 'Gettin' by on Gettin' Down" is the
follow up to Sam Morrow's career-defining third record 'Concrete and
Mud', a staple of Americana radio on both sides of the Atlantic, with
outlets like Rolling Stone and NPR singing the album's praises
'Gettin' By on Gettin' Down' is a modern album that revisits and reshapes the
primordial sounds of hip- shaking rock & roll. These nine songs are rooted in
grease, grit, and groove, from the swampy soul of "Round 'N Round" to the funky
syncopation of "Rosarita" to the hook-laden rock of "Money Ain't a Thing". There's
hardly an acoustic guitar in sight; instead, amplifiers and guitar pedals rule the
roost, with everything driven forward by percussive rhythms that as much to R&B
as country music. Written and recorded in the wake of 'Concrete & Mud's'
acclaimed tour, 'Gettin' By on Gettin' Down' doubles down on the electrified fire
and fury of Sam Morrow's live shows, with a road-ready band joining him on every
song. Co- Produced with Grammy nominated producer Eric Corne. Musicians
include alumni from bands like Lucinda Williams, Dwight Yoakam, Merle Haggard,
Jacob Dylan and John Mayer. The album was recorded at The Doors' Robby
Krieger's studio.

Now available in green marble vinyl. 'Gettin' by on Gettin' Down" is the
follow up to Sam Morrow's career-defining third record 'Concrete and
Mud', a staple of Americana radio on both sides of the Atlantic, with
outlets like Rolling Stone and NPR singing the album's praises
'Gettin' By on Gettin' Down' is a modern album that revisits and reshapes the
primordial sounds of hip- shaking rock & roll. These nine songs are rooted in
grease, grit, and groove, from the swampy soul of "Round 'N Round" to the funky
syncopation of "Rosarita" to the hook-laden rock of "Money Ain't a Thing". There's
hardly an acoustic guitar in sight; instead, amplifiers and guitar pedals rule the
roost, with everything driven forward by percussive rhythms that as much to R&B
as country music. Written and recorded in the wake of 'Concrete & Mud's'
acclaimed tour, 'Gettin' By on Gettin' Down' doubles down on the electrified fire
and fury of Sam Morrow's live shows, with a road-ready band joining him on every
song. Co- Produced with Grammy nominated producer Eric Corne. Musicians
include alumni from bands like Lucinda Williams, Dwight Yoakam, Merle Haggard,
Jacob Dylan and John Mayer. The album was recorded at The Doors' Robby
Krieger's studio.

The renowned trio of Keiji Haino, Jim O’Rourke and Oren Ambarchi return to Black Truffle with their 11th release, “Caught in the dilemma of being made to choose” This makes the modesty which should never been closed off itself Continue to ask itself: “Ready or not?” Demonstrating once again their commitment to continual experimentation in instrumentation and approach, the record begins with a long-distance collaboration made in response to a commission from New York’s Issue Project Room in 2021 during widespread lockdowns and travel limitations. A unique piece in the trio’s extensive body of work, this side-long epic finds Haino performing on metal percussion, O’Rourke on electronics and Ambarchi on gongs and bells. Initially dominated by rapid patterns on resonant, high-pitched tuned percussion, the piece sets Haino’s dynamic and dramatic performance against a calm backdrop of cycling electronics, thrumming gong strikes and hanging bell tones. The performance develops a heightened, intensely concentrated atmosphere reminiscent of Haino’s classic Tenshi No Ginjinka or his Nijiumu project; when Haino moves to clashing hand cymbals in its second half, the piece’s ritualistic energy suggests aspects of the music of Tibetan Buddhism.

The remainder of the double LP documents the trio live at Tokyo’s SuperDeluxe (the location of all but their very first recording) in a wide-ranging set recorded in December 2017. The concert opens, in another first for the trio, with Haino on drums, O’Rourke on Hammond organ and Ambarchi on his signature Leslie cabinet guitar tones. Haino’s explosively untutored approach to the drumkit will be familiar to some listeners from the radical duo iteration of Fushitsusha heard on Origin’s Hesitation. Setting flurries of rapid activity against moments of silence, his drumming here at times suggests Milford Graves in its tumbling toms and thudding kick-drum propulsion. Accompanied by O’Rourke’s organ and Ambarchi’s guitar, which in their shared use of long tones and shifting modulation speeds almost blend into a single voice, the opening sections of this performance are some of the most magical music the trio has committed to tape thus far.

After an interlude of spoken vocals in both Japanese and English, Haino makes a dramatic entrance on guitar. Against O’Rourke and Ambarchi’s increasingly intense electronic backdrop, Haino unleashes a stunning passage of slowly moving chromatic melodies and sudden shrieking explosions bathed in distortion and reverb. By the time we reach the third side, the guitar/bass/drums power trio is established and lurches into a passage of massive, lumbering rock that threatens to fall apart at every beat, O’Rourke’s strummed chordal work on six string bass creating a harmonic density equivalent to a second guitar. An abrupt edit throws the listener in media res into a frantic locked groove grounded by fuzzed out bass patterns and caveman drums. As Haino moves through a variety of approaches, from massive edifices of stuttering fuzz to ominous swarms of feedback, the trio eventually stumble into a kind of Harmolodic military tattoo, Haino’s guitar weaving and slashing across the rhythm section’s irregular accents. Moving through an epic opening duet for O’Rourke on Hammond and Haino’s wailing guitar, the fourth side eventually ramps up into a frenetic finale of mad bass riffing, crackling snare hits and guitar squall.“Caught in the dilemma of being made to choose” This makes the modesty which should never been closed off itself Continue to ask itself: “Ready or not?” is a testament to the continuing power and invention of this trio, who continue to seek out new terrain after over a decade working together. 2LP set presented in a lavish gatefold sleeve on heavy stock along with inner sleeves containing live pics by Tsuyoshi Kamaike. Photography by Jim O’Rourke, design by Lasse Marhaug and translation by Alan Cummings.

Die Extended Version der Doppel-LP 'A Modern Jazz Symposium Of Music & Poetry' des Ausnahme Jazzers Charles Mingus mit exklusiven Bonustracks.

Die Extended Version der Doppel-LP 'A Modern Jazz Symposium Of Music And Poetry' besitzt nicht nur eine wundervolle Komposition, sondern wird auch durch All Star Auftritten von Künstlern wie Jimmy Knepper, Shafi Hadi, Bill Hardman und Clarenece Shaw, Dannie Richmond, Horace Parlan und Bob Hammer und der Erzählung von Mel Stewart. Darüber hinaus überzeugt diese Extended Version mit exkulsiven Audiomaterial und Outtakes.

Mastered from the original analogue tape transfers by
Kevin Gray.
Expanded double LP edition featuring four rare bonus
tracks.
Printed and pressed at Pallas on 180 gram vinyl and
housed in a deluxe gatefold reverse-board jacket.
Features rare photographs and words from original pianist
Bob Hammer.
Officially licensed from Bethlehem / BMG and blessed by
the Charles Mingus estate.
1957 was a mammoth year for Mingus. He was on fire,
recording several seminal titles including ‘The Clown’,
‘Mingus Three’, ‘Tijuana Moods’, ‘East Coasting’ and ‘A
Modern Jazz Symposium Of Music And Poetry’.
Now, with the support of the Charles Mingus Estate, New
Land are proud to present, for the first time, the most
expansive LP edition of ‘A Modern Jazz Symposium Of
Music And Poetry’ to date. A wonderful set featuring an allstar band alternating throughout of Jimmy Knepper
(trombone), Shafi Hadi (tenor and alto sax), Bill Hardman
and Clarence Shaw (trumpet), Dannie Richmond (drums),
Horace Parlan and Bob Hammer (piano), with narration by
the fabulous Mel Stewart.
This is the ultimate edition, including all available outtakes
and material related to the session, the recordings have
been remastered from the original tape transfers and
lacquers cut by Kevin Gray, housed in a gatefold sleeve on
reverse-board finish and printed by Pallas.
A stunning album which is sometimes overlooked from the
vast Mingus catalogue, however it emanates from one of
his most creative periods and today stands out as a
sublime conceptual recording.

• Celebrating 40 years since the game-changing “For Dancers Only” LP, KENT 001, “For Dancers Forty” revisits the Los Angeles labels that have given us so much.

• Like KENT 001, the collection represents the broad church of the Biharis’ recordings and features soul stompers, rhythm & blues busters, girly grooves and heavenly harmony.

• Most tracks are new to Kent LPs and there’s a brand new 1966 soul recording from 50s Modern R&B artists Aaron Collins & the Teen Queens. Long-time Kent favourites Jackie Day, Z.Z. Hill and Johnny Copeland are included with some of their underplayed tracks – for Copeland it’s the first vinyl outing for his dancer ‘I Was Born To Love You’. As ever on our rare soul scene, it’s the lesser-known artists who we revel in and there are stunning tracks from the Simms Twins, the Marvellos, the Intentions and the in-demand (due to the Kent 45 being deleted) ‘I Got Love’ by the Other Brothers.

• Tommy Youngblood’s LP track ‘Tobacco Road North’ has been a sleeper, eventually being picked up by hip hop samplers for its atmospheric musical qualities – and we at last give its proper accreditation after decades of misinformation. Little Joe Hinton’s ‘Tired Of Walkin’’ is now looked on as an R&B dance classic, despite its poor sales on release.

• The Sweethearts adorn our cover with a recently discovered colour photo from the archives of Modern’s head engineer Bill Lazerus. Apart from their bouncy ‘This Couldn’t Be Me’, they provided backing for many of the stable’s 60s recordings.


• You Have “Only”, “Also” and “Forever” – make space for “Forty”

OBISIOUS sind mit ihrem Debütalbum "Iconic" führend in der modernen Evolution des progressiven und technischen Metals. Die Band, bestehend aus Linus Klausenitzer (Bass), Rafael Trujillo (Gitarre), Sebastian Lanser (Schlagzeug) und Sänger Javi Perera (Gesang), hat ihre Wurzeln in Obscura, Alkaloid, Eternity's End und Juggernaut. Obsidious sind jedoch eine ganz andere Kreatur. Iconic ist technisch, aber nicht aufdringlich. Das Album atmet Intensität, baut sie aber mit sanftem Geschick weiter aus. Bei Obsidious gibt es immer eine Hook. Iconic baut auf einem prestigeträchtigen Fundament auf, aber seine Vision ist nicht auf seine Grundsätze beschränkt.
RIYLs: OBSCURA, ALKALOID, OPHIDIAN I, ORIGIN

OBISIOUS sind mit ihrem Debütalbum "Iconic" führend in der modernen Evolution des progressiven und technischen Metals. Die Band, bestehend aus Linus Klausenitzer (Bass), Rafael Trujillo (Gitarre), Sebastian Lanser (Schlagzeug) und Sänger Javi Perera (Gesang), hat ihre Wurzeln in Obscura, Alkaloid, Eternity's End und Juggernaut. Obsidious sind jedoch eine ganz andere Kreatur. Iconic ist technisch, aber nicht aufdringlich. Das Album atmet Intensität, baut sie aber mit sanftem Geschick weiter aus. Bei Obsidious gibt es immer eine Hook. Iconic baut auf einem prestigeträchtigen Fundament auf, aber seine Vision ist nicht auf seine Grundsätze beschränkt.
RIYLs: OBSCURA, ALKALOID, OPHIDIAN I, ORIGIN

Party-starter Chrissy joins the Shall Not Fade family with a 4-track serotonin hit which draws on influences from his San Franciscan heritage, as well as those closer to home in the UK.

'You Don't Have To Worry' encompasses this fusion, with anthemic piano chords and uplifting vocals that enliven a swung breaks instrumental. 'Assure Us There's A Heaven' and 'If I Could' also come with plenty of swing, borrowing tropes from UK Funky to show house at its most danceable, whilst 'All These Dreams' is a modern take on old school vocal house.

Auf dem dritten Album von Ghost Funk Orchestra klingt jeder Song wie der Soundtrack zu einer Szene aus einem imaginären Film. Die Musik könnte einem romantischen Drama, einem Action-Thriller oder einer modernen Variante eines klassischen Film Noir entstammen. Der sparsame, kaskadenartige Gesang unterstreicht die üppige instrumentale Orchestrierung, komponiert, gespielt, arrangiert und produziert von Multi-Instrumentalist Seth Applebaum. Er nutzt die klanglichen Mittel der Exotica aus der Mitte des vergangenen Jahrhunderts und die der prägnanten Pop-Orchester, die die Hitparaden der 60er und frühen 70er Jahre dominierten. Er vermischt Eindrücke aus dieser vergangenen Ära mit dem Ausdruck seiner aktuellen Erfahrungen als junger Filmemacher im 21. Jahrhundert, wobei er Einflüsse wie Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings und Antibalas aufgreift. A New Kind of Love referenziert die Vergangenheit, ohne zu versuchen, sie nachzubilden. Das 10-köpfige Ghost Funk Orchestra erweckt sein Material zum Leben und läutet mit diesem anspruchsvollen Werk die neue Ära der Band ein.

Vargmal Records is an independent record label and multidisciplinary platform founded by Gent Gjonbalaj. Operating from Prishtina, Kosovo, the imprint publishes hypnotic compositions of various forms, exploring the realms of electronic music and beyond. The label's debut release marks the birth of an initiative started several years ago, reflecting on a process of growth, research and refinement.

Conceived as a foundation record, the 'Classics' EP demonstrates Vargmal's concept and overall spirit. The Italian pioneer Leo Anibaldi inaugurates the label featuring two cuts on the A-side, originally produced in the early 1990s--'Muta 5' and an as yet unheard version of 'Endurance 4'--replete with Anibaldi's signature sound programming and high-octane output. On the flip, the torch is passed to another Italian master, Donato Dozzy, who takes them to another level with his peculiar and precise remix treatment. Where Anibaldi paves the way for a possible future, Dozzy applies a modern touch to the same fundamental approach--a balancing act that shows a spectrum within the conceptual framework from two different points in the continuum, transcending any individual style or place in time.

Selected by their ability to extract the full potentiality of the sound, the tracks on this release reflect a minimalist approach that is inherently resourceful and discerning, whilst maximizing effect and impact. The efficiency of the sound can be heard in the stripped-back elements, practical arrangement and execution of the creative idea. 'Muta 5' opens the EP, a throbbing mass of pressure cooker action, continuously building tension with rippling percussion lines and syncopated beats. Ahead of its time in 1993, 'Muta 5' has a raw, driving energy and commanding authority. Dozzy reworks it into a tighter, linear forma--whilst retaining the angst of the original, he applies new synth motifs and notches the speed down for extra poise. 'Endurance 4' (Version II) is a tribal workout with hallmarks of the classic Italian deep techno sound. With arching drones, chugging rhythms and dramatic narratives, 'Endurance 4' presents an idiosyncratic style and emotive character which later became the model for this sound. Dozzy's hypnotic faculty shines through on the remix, a polished re-run that elaborates on the ominous melodic theme, and lifts the sound majestically to a gliding altitude--marking the end of this record and the beginning of Vargmal's journey.

crystal clear vinyl / limited

Vargmal Records is an independent record label and multidisciplinary platform founded by Gent Gjonbalaj. Operating from Prishtina, Kosovo, the imprint publishes hypnotic compositions of various forms, exploring the realms of electronic music and beyond. The label's debut release marks the birth of an initiative started several years ago, reflecting on a process of growth, research and refinement.

Conceived as a foundation record, the 'Classics' EP demonstrates Vargmal's concept and overall spirit. The Italian pioneer Leo Anibaldi inaugurates the label featuring two cuts on the A-side, originally produced in the early 1990s--'Muta 5' and an as yet unheard version of 'Endurance 4'--replete with Anibaldi's signature sound programming and high-octane output. On the flip, the torch is passed to another Italian master, Donato Dozzy, who takes them to another level with his peculiar and precise remix treatment. Where Anibaldi paves the way for a possible future, Dozzy applies a modern touch to the same fundamental approach--a balancing act that shows a spectrum within the conceptual framework from two different points in the continuum, transcending any individual style or place in time.

Selected by their ability to extract the full potentiality of the sound, the tracks on this release reflect a minimalist approach that is inherently resourceful and discerning, whilst maximizing effect and impact. The efficiency of the sound can be heard in the stripped-back elements, practical arrangement and execution of the creative idea. 'Muta 5' opens the EP, a throbbing mass of pressure cooker action, continuously building tension with rippling percussion lines and syncopated beats. Ahead of its time in 1993, 'Muta 5' has a raw, driving energy and commanding authority. Dozzy reworks it into a tighter, linear forma--whilst retaining the angst of the original, he applies new synth motifs and notches the speed down for extra poise. 'Endurance 4' (Version II) is a tribal workout with hallmarks of the classic Italian deep techno sound. With arching drones, chugging rhythms and dramatic narratives, 'Endurance 4' presents an idiosyncratic style and emotive character which later became the model for this sound. Dozzy's hypnotic faculty shines through on the remix, a polished re-run that elaborates on the ominous melodic theme, and lifts the sound majestically to a gliding altitude--marking the end of this record and the beginning of Vargmal's journey.

• Finding a new Eddie Hill recording from 1969 was quite a thrill and on hearing the beautiful mid-tempo groove, we included it on both our “Westbound Northern Soul” and “Masterpieces Of Modern Soul Vol 3” CDs in 2010. Since then, demand for ‘I Am So Thankful’ has risen and we can now issue it as a single. It was originally scheduled to be Westbound 151 in the USA but that spot was claimed by Emanuel Lasky’s ‘Never My Love’. Eddie now has a Kent release to go with his Detroit waxings on Thelma, Ge-Ge and M-S.

• ‘Long Live The King’ was an LP track from the Detroit Emeralds’ acclaimed debut album “Do Me Right”. It didn’t get a US 45 release but did sneak out on a Various Artists UK DJ-promo EP in 1973 for then-current Phonogram releases. This is the first time this superb and popular dance track it has been commercially available as a single.

Das zweite Album der Kölner Band „Is There More Past Or More Future“ erklingt im Vakuum zwischen Retro und Zukunft, zwischen lebendigem 70er psychedelic und modernem Pop-Songwriting. Man verliert sich, um diese ganz eigene, melancholische Euphorie zu feiern. Der typische ACUA- Sound bedeutet spacige Gitarren, energetische Drums, torkelnde Synthesizer und singende Bass-Lines.

Lamentations is the debut EP by foundational cold light member Birthmark.

Part late night confessional part post rave revelations part call to arms, Birthmark dissects the nuance of of modern life & the grey area in his inimitable style, never afraid to delve into topics that many brush under the carpet.

Sonically taking as many cues from from 90's british techno, dub, j-pop & david lynch soundtracks as the grimey raps he grew up on, he conjures a pallate that fully embraces the duality of living in a place where you never quite seem to fit in.

Honestly i cannot say enough good things about this record, the initial demo's were whaat pushed me to start Cold Light, it feels like it has always been a part of my life.

“… Its not up to others to decide what kind of human being you are, you have to find the confidence to show people - this is who I am”

Moiré's rain-streaked and masterful Circuits album dropped this past September. RA's Andrew Ryce stated the eight-track album cast the shadowy producer into "a rarefied air occupied by the only the finest and most influential of ambient techno artists."

Now, in short order, the label returns with a remix EP charting out multiple hubs of oblique dance floor innovation. If there's a sonic motif on the A-side, it's vastly reactive interpretations of the "factory floor" element that inspired techno's pioneers. Matthew Herbert, a pioneering force in his own right, mixes steam engine percussion with the dreamy atmospherics of "Circuit 15" and comes up with eight minutes of cerebral machine funk. Tolouse Low Trax, meanwhile, continues his masterclass in modern motorik on his remix of "Circuit 7," integrating a chiming piano into a fascinating, perfectly-timed 110 BPM rhythm.

The B-side, meanwhile, doubles down on the oneiric nature of the original material. Workshop head and Avenue 66 alumnus Lowtec builds allows "Circuit 04"'s synths to billow into Gas-like immersive layering, sheets of melody are anchored by a restrained beat for an ambient techno track that doesn't tip the scales too far in one direction or the other. Rather, it achieves a perfect balance. Hamburg/Dial mainstay Lawrence closes things out with his version of "Circuit 18," which also concludes the original album. While the original has a wistful, Deckard's dream quality, Lawrence's version is deeply-rooted in the late-night German style; a low-slung bassline will keep dancers deeply rooted while those wistful chords sweep in like the violet before dawn.

The Music Lovers collection brings you a cool selection of Calypso hits for our greatest plaisure!

In the summer of 2000, school friends Mark Lawton, Jon Pearce and Jamie Lenman won a battle-of-the-bands competition and used the prize money to record the five tracks that would become their first professional release, entitled Pilot. Then called Angel, before the EP was released on local label Badmusic they changed their name to Reuben and were over the moon when the record received notices in Kerrang and even a spin from Steve Lamacq on Radio One. “We were just a school band, but we definitely had grand plans,” says Lenman, now a successful solo artist in his own right. “We changed our name because we knew we’d have to do it at some point, and we didn’t want the EP to get forgotten.” Despite selling out several modest runs on CD, Pilot was never issued on vinyl, and so to celebrate the 21st anniversary of its release, the five original tracks have been re-mastered and pressed onto wax. But more than this – after a chance discovery of five extra tracks on a DAT tape in a loft, Pilot has been bumped up to album status with the inclusion of a second side. “I always thought we’d only recorded those five tracks before Mark left – I’d completely forgotten about the recordings from the end of the same year,” says Lenman. “They were just demos of new material, they were never meant to be packaged together with the tracks from Pilot – in fact, you can already hear how the sound was starting to change in just six months. But they do make a nice set, and I guess if that original line up of the band had made a full album before Racecar, this is maybe what it might have sounded like.” The album inlay itself boasts a hoard of unseen photos from both recording sessions, unearthed after two decades, as well as the original EP inlay and the unused cover art credited to Angel instead of Reuben – hence Pilot Angel.

Formed in 2005 in Sundsvall, Sweden, Technical Metal Masters SOREPTION are known for their razor-sharp technical riffs, schizophrenic time signatures topped with catchy chugging grooves and intense vocals. From this they have created their signature sound, not yet replicated by any other modern band, with a strong following to back. The band’s debut full-length Deterioration Of Minds brought major attention to the band as a formidable force in the genre. Deterioration Of Minds was released by Ninetone Records in 2010 and was rereleased by Unique Leader Records in 2014, and their follow-up punishing album “Engineering the Void” was released February 2014 also on Unique Leader Records to critical acclaim. 2015 saw SOREPTION take their technical prowess to the masses, with tours supporting extreme metal machine Cryptopsy, tech-death masters Origin, and the legendary death metal giant Cannibal Corpse. Following the on-road success, the industry and fans sat up and took notice, resulting in the band signing with Sumerian Records in 2018 releasing their next full-length “Monument of the End in the late summer of that same year. The album highlighted the growth of the outfit and continued razor-sharp precision that SOREPTION has become known for. Prior to the release of “Monument of the End” the band earned a spot on the 2018 edition of The Summer Slaughter Tour and followed it up with a support slot for Revocation on “The Outer Ones Global Invasion Part II” European Tour, solidifying them again as a live force to be reckoned with. When the world was shuttered from a worldwide pandemic, SOREPTION saw this as an opportunity to shift gears, refocus their tech machine and set out to create an album that is the natural continuation of ‘Monument of the End’, both musically and concept-wise. 2022 sees the return of SOREPTION to Unique Leader Records with the highly anticipated new album “Jord”, mixed and mastered by Buster Odeholm and featuring artwork by Caelan Stokkerman who handled artistic duties on their previous releases.

Pkew Pkew Pkew is looking on the bright side. As a band that lives and dies by touring, it’s been a while since they could say fuck it, we’re taking a year off to make something. That decision wasn’t entirely theirs, but 2020 handed them an opportuni-ty. Open Bar doesn’t navigate any of the tired pandemic tropes. Instead, Pkew is celebrating the things that make their lives awesome, even if those things suck sometimes. The band was forced to take a step back and use a slower approach. Mike Warne (guitars/vocals), Ryan McKinley (guitars/vocals), Emmett O’Reilly (bass/vocals) and David Laino (drums) bounced song ideas off Craig Finn of The Hold Steady, and went into the studio with Jon Drew, who produced their first album. “Since we didn’t have a hard deadline to finish, we felt a lot more freedom to take our time and mess around in the studio. Jon is the kind of producer that is down to try anything, so we had lots of fun playing with trumpets, old moog synths, glockenspiels,” says Warne. In a weird year, the familiar Pkew themes—navigating life’s small daily troubles with a sardonic grin and your friends by your side—are comforting, nostalgic. The result is tight, rowdy modern punk with the heart and soul of classic rock. It’s cracking a beer in the park, plugging in the AUX cord on a summer road trip, cramming into a sweaty bar with your friends and a million strangers.

From their new millennium rise to MTV superstardom through pop-punk’s modern resurgence that has introduced their iconic, multi-platinum sound to new audiences around the world, SIMPLE PLAN have been an indelible part of pop culture for more than two decades because they’ve never lost sight of what got them there in the first place: their fans.It’s this same sense of mutual respect that’s fully on display on “The Antidote,” the first single from their sixth studio album, HARDER THAN IT LOOKS., their first new music since 2016’s Taking One For The Team, and the most authentically Simple Plan album since 2004’s Still Not Getting Any. Free agents for the first time in their storied career, the band kept their circle tight during the recording process, enlisting longtime songwriting partners like We The Kings’ Travis Clark and producers Brian Howes and Jason Van Poederooyen (who worked on the band’s 2011’s album Get Your Heart On!) and Zakk Cervini (blink-182, Good Charlotte). From the skyscraping choruses of “Congratulations” and “Ruin My Life” (ft. Sum 41’s Deryck Whibley) to the unflinching poignancy of the album-closing “Two,” which instantly ranks alongside “Perfect” and “Untitled (How Could This Happen To Me?)” as one of the band’s best closers ever, HARDER THAN IT LOOKS certainly respects Simple Plan’s storied career – and the same spirit that helped the band sell 10 million albums worldwide – without being overtly reverent. The album-opening “Wake Me Up (When This Nightmare’s Over)” is a cathartic rush of familiarity and freshness – not to mention a bit lyrically prescient, as the COVID-19 pandemic hit shortly after the band wrapped the album. (“We certainly didn’t set out to write a pandemic album,” Bouvier says with a laugh. “It’s funny how some of the songs might seem like that, though.”) There are even spiritual successors to early material, like the glass-half-full skate-punk-leaning “Best Day Of My Life,” quite a 180 for a band who put a song called “The Worst Day Ever” on their genre-defining, Platinum-selling 2002 debut No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls. But you won’t find an ounce of fat on the 10-song album, no obvious plays to recapture the radio waves they claimed in the early aughts with smash hits like “I’d Do Anything,” “I’m Just A Kid” and “Addicted.”

For Fans Of Temples, Allah-Las, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Khruangbin, David Axelrod. Each song on Ghost Funk Orchestra's 3rd album, A New Kind of Love, due to be released on Colemine Records … 2022, resonates like the soundtrack to a scene from an imaginary movie. The music could score a romantic drama, an action thriller, or a modern twist on a classic film noir. The spare, cascading vocals accentuate the lush instrumental orchestrations composed, performed, arranged and produced by multi-instrumentalist Seth Applebaum, whose latest brainchild was conceived and conceptualized during The Great Pause of 2020, a time of tension, bewilderment and isolation. Evoking the grooviness of an era which preceded his arrival on earth, Applebaum draws upon sonic devices of mid-century exotica and the succinct but dense arranging style of the leaders of the pop orchestras which dominated the hit parades of the 60s and early 70s. He blends impressions of this bygone era with an expression of his actual experiences as a young filmmaker coming of age in the 21st century, citing influences such as Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings and Antibalas. A New Kind of Love encompasses a reverence for the past without attempting to recreate it. In the tradition of the "production forward" discographies of such record makers as David Axelrod and the Mizell Brothers, it's easy to visualize Applebaum as a "mad doctor" figure, hunkered down in a studio channeling this musical representation of his inner world into the 12 compositions which make up A New Kind of Love. His writing stretches his psyche to explore a terrain in which to capture emotional notes of love going well, love gone sour, manifesting love songs based in ghostly affairs. While the studio is obviously a wondrous happy place of experimentation and creativity for Applebaum, he's a band guy too (having actually fronted punk outfit The Mad Doctors). Applebaum has the wherewithal to bring his dreamy material to the 10 piece all star Ghost Funk Orchestra, leading them to breathe life into this sophisticated body of work which heralds the celebration of a new era for the group. Ghost Funk Orchestra will be touring in concert this summer and fall to celebrate the release of A New Kind of Love, an album which is sure to stand the test of time. Also Available From Ghost Funk Orch: Night Walker/Death Waltz LP/CD, Opaque Red LP, An Ode To Escapism LP/CD, A Song For Paul LP / CD 1. Introduction 2. Your Man's No Good 3. Scatter 4. Prism 5. Quiet Places 6. A New Kind Of Love (pt. 1) 7. Why? 8. Blockhead 9. A Song For Pearl 10. Bluebell 11. Rooted 12. A New Kind Of Love (pt. 2)

28th October 2022 sees the release of Pop-Up Dynamo! from PG Roxette, the new era of Roxette. Per Gessle continues the adventure he and Marie Fredriksson began, over 35 years ago. Together with members from the classic Roxette band and a sound echoing somewhere between "Look Sharp!" and "Joyride"; Gessle returns to the musical peak of his life with a new album.
Per Gessle gathered the classic Roxette band – Jonas Isacsson, Clarence Öfwerman, Magnus Börjeson, Christoffer Lundquist, Helena Josefsson and Dea Norberg with the aim to make a classic Roxette record. On the new album, Gessle says “When I started to write, my ambition was to try to create a sibling to “Look Sharp!" and "Joyride" – and that's actually exactly how it sounds. I've wanted to create a modern production, but with the typical Roxette trademarks”.
Per is joined by two other singers: Helena Josefsson and Dea Norberg. Both have been in the inner circle of Roxette for years.

28th October 2022 sees the release of Pop-Up Dynamo! from PG Roxette, the new era of Roxette. Per Gessle continues the adventure he and Marie Fredriksson began, over 35 years ago. Together with members from the classic Roxette band and a sound echoing somewhere between "Look Sharp!" and "Joyride"; Gessle returns to the musical peak of his life with a new album. This 1LP 140g gatefold white vinyl is accompanied by an 8-page booklet and exclusive photos.
Per Gessle gathered the classic Roxette band – Jonas Isacsson, Clarence Öfwerman, Magnus Börjeson, Christoffer Lundquist, Helena Josefsson and Dea Norberg with the aim to make a classic Roxette record. On the new album, Gessle says “When I started to write, my ambition was to try to create a sibling to “Look Sharp!" and "Joyride" – and that's actually exactly how it sounds. I've wanted to create a modern production, but with the typical Roxette trademarks”.
Per is joined by two other singers: Helena Josefsson and Dea Norberg. Both have been in the inner circle of Roxette for years.

Clear Vinyl

Downwards’ deep bonds with NYC catalyse the debut LP by Jim Siegel’s Vivid Oblivion, a reveberating post-industrial salvo produced by adopted Brooklynite Karl O’Connor (Regis), and co-mixed by Anthony Child (Surgeon) and Simon Shreeve, who also mastered it. It’s a super deep, highly atmospheric beast somewhere between Valentina Magaletti’s most expressive percussion work, Bark Psychosis, and classic, moody 4AD, which is coincidentally referenced via the artwork, made by Chris Bigg - legendary graphic designer and longtime assistant to Vaughan Oliver.

Invoking the density, vertiginous scale, and dark grimy nooks of NYC, ‘The Graphic Cabinet’ was realised by Jim Siegel - hardcore legend and occasional/regular drummer with everyone from Raspberry Bulbs to Damo Suzuki and Boredoms, made in close collaboration with Karl O’Connor aka Regis during 2021.

Stemming from intently deep listening sessions immersed in LPs by Viennese aktionist Hermann Nitsch and the myriad eras of Killing Joke, while also absorbing the atmospheres of classic Tarkovsky flicks, the album began life as gonzo field recordings of Siegel smashing the f*ck out of his drum kit, zither, scrap metal and gongs in an array of abandoned warehouse spaces. The recordings formed the basis of Karl’s compound productions, which add depth charge bass and sonorous metallic atmospheres to the mix, along with birdsong and gibbon hoots, plus guitar textures by Nick Forté (Raspberry Bulbs, Rorschach) for a dread-lusting jag deep in the belly of the Big Apple.

With a palpable tang of rust and blood in the air and grime under the fingernails, the seven tracks evoke a resoundingly brutalist portrait of space and place. Siegel’s nervy percussive discipline is framed in alternating barometric and light settings from cut to cut, variously snaking from the poltergeist clang and haunted resonance of ‘Converging and Dissolving’ to slamming motorik thrum in ‘Oblivion’ via imaginative descent into cyberpunk simulacra of the city as jungle-at-night in ‘Remnant Corridor’, replete with animalistic atmospheres that recall Organum.

While the raw attack and devilish swerve of the rhythms are utterly fundamental to the record, Karl’s atmospheric content and the animist mixing magick of Anthony Child and Simon Shreeve most potently give flesh to its bones. Patently evident on the stepping pulse and searching zither that keens into detuned orchestration on ‘Immediate Possession’, the zoned-out klang of ‘Stand Aside’ or in the flooded warehouse chaos of ‘Test For Traps’. The attention to spatial, textural and proprioceptive detail is tightened throughout, peaking with ‘Bargemaster’, a dense slab of tension that sounds like Jon Mueller’s Silo recordings fed through The Caretaker’s fogged machinery.

It’s one of the most impressive records on Downwards for a long while, bound to gnaw and spark the nerves of experimental rock and post-industrial’s greats, anything from The New Blockaders to Faust, Flying Saucer Attack and into iconic Blackest Ever Black releases in the modern era.

Lee Fields is arguably the greatest soul singer alive today. In an age when the shelf life of an artist largely depends on posturing and trends, he has proven to be an unassailable force of nature. His prolific, decade-spanning career continues to reign supreme on the modern soul scene.

In early 2022, Lee reunited with Daptone Records and producer Gabriel Roth to record Sentimental Fool, a deep, blues-tinged, whollyconceived soul album. From his first line to his final plaintive lyric, the beauty, power, and raw humanity of Lee' s voice is on full display here; the culmination of an astounding career that has seemed to defy gravity, rising to only greater and greater heights.

NNAMDÏ has never been able to stay in one place. The Chicago
multi-instrumentalist and songwriter set a blistering pace in 2020
with his critically acclaimed genre-fusing LP, ‘Brat’, a punk EP,
‘Black Plight’, and ‘Krazy Karl’, a full-length tribute to Looney
Tunes composer Carl Stalling. Add in his role as co-owner of label
Sooper Records, as well as recent tours with Wilco, SleaterKinney and black midi, and it’s an overwhelming schedule.
 However, his latest album, ‘Please Have A Seat’, is the result of a
much needed pause. “I realized I never take time to just sit and
take in where I’m at,” says NNAMDÏ. “It’s just nice to not be on
‘Go, Go, Go!’ mode, and re-evaluate where I wanted to go
musically.” This period of reflection allowed him to take stock of his
life and his relationships. “I wanted to be present,” he says. “Each
song came from a moment of clarity.” ‘Please Have A Seat’ serves
as an invitation to listen. It’s a request to sit down, be present, and
take in a moment. With this quiet introspection, NNAMDÏ found
inspiration in silence and nuance.
 While making the record, he decided to stretch the limits of his pop
songwriting: every track had to be hummable. Though he’s written
earworms throughout his career from playing in bands in
Chicago’s DIY community or releasing goofy raps as Nnamdi’s
Sooper Dooper Secret Side Project, here, his shapeshifting hooks
are undeniable. Each of the album’s fourteen songs, which
NNAMDÏ wrote, produced, and performed entirely himself, are
relentlessly re-playable, careening into unexpected and
disorienting places. With NNAMDÏ’s singular vision, ‘Please Have
A Seat’ is yet another leap from Chicago’s hardest working
musician. By taking a minute to sit down and catch his breath, he
re-emerged with the most ambitious, accessible, and nuanced
work of his career.
 Coloured vinyl LP format pressed on Walnut Brown vinyl.

Low Company presents Yuta Matsumura’s Red Ribbon, a sequence of introspective, lavishly melodic dream-songs and amphibian atmospheres recorded in scattered periods over 2018-21. Having played in bands like Low Life, M.O.B. and Orion, and the duo Jay & Yuta (with Jay Cruikshank), Red Ribbon is Matsumura’s first solo outing, and represents a conscious effort to move away from guitar-based songwriting. He composed its nine tracks mostly on piano - layering vocals, bass, keyboards, flute (courtesy of Maeve Parker), violin/cello (Laurence Quinn) and clacking drumbox rhythms into dynamic, dubwise avant-pop structures which are supple and spacious but fizzing with detail and vivid inner life. The laconic 4/4 pulse, heat-warped synth-tones and haunting vaporous melodica of opener ‘Box Garden’ set the tone: its surreal psychedelic patternings barely concealing a deep sting of longing and regret. The cryptic lyrics suggest chance encounters, hidden logic, missed opportunities, fatalism, serendipity. A city submerged: everyone else paused mid-movement, while you’re allowed to swim free and fish-like through the streets, over the rooftops...‘Tangled Orchid’ is a tense night-drive through dry desert heat and into the unknown, running away from your old life, chased down by dust-devils of half-baked schemes and abandoned plans, while ‘Myth Machine’ drops the tempo and something mind-altering, guiding us on a tripped-out dub-disco scuba among alien flora and fauna, a world of impossible shapes and sensations. At which point, the mood of the album decisively shifts, firstly with ‘Sake No Otoh’, sung in Japanese by Haruka Sato: an instant-classic, breathtakingly intimate lover's lament that sounds like it got lost on its way to heaven and is now doomed to orbit the earth forever. The songs that follow continue in this more confessional, imploring mode. As if the travelling's done, the baggage has been cast off, and we’ve arrived at our destination, where the real process of rebirth and repair can begin. The music’s textures become less overtly dubby and electronic, with more of an organic, earthy, chamber-pop/avant-folk feel, at once sad and hopeful-sounding. Three songs in particular bear the influence of Eno’s 70s work (and its mutant bedsit offspring Lifetones, Flaming Tunes, etc): ‘‘E. Potential’, where baroquely chorused vocals - half-agonised, half-beatific - teeter on top of simple oscillating piano loops, and the stately, dawntreading ballads ‘Tabula Rasa’ and ‘No Sleep For Birds’. The bulk of the album was made prior to lockdowns and all of that; its themes of reset, self-examination, the need to f**k it all off and take spiritual stock, are timeless. Though they perhaps have a more bittersweet resonance now the world has returned pretty much to how it was, only worse. Track list: 1. Box Garden 2. Tangled Orchid 3. Myth Machine 4. Red Ribbon 5. Soko No Ato 6. Tabula Rasa 7. E. Potential 8. No Sleep For Birds 9. Zookeeper's Trial

The follow up to the summertime anthem "DAYDREAMING" here's another uptempo modern funk/new school boogie dancefloor banger. Instrumental mix on the B-side so doubles recommended for the deejays. Early support from DAM-FUNK and DAVE LEE. Another winner from Chi-town's STAR CREATURE label.

The phrase ‘Holy Grail’ is much overused when it comes to record collecting, so we tend to use it sparingly. When we do though, you know it’s serious!

Well, here is a genuine holy grail which lives up to its title. Originally released on the tiny Wizard label in Australia in 1976, Marcia Hine’s effervescent 'You Gotta Let Go' achieved a few local plays in Sydney at the time before disappearing for almost three decades before it was re-discovered by Modern Soul cratediggers in the early '00s.

Since then, the record has exploded in popularity across a number of scenes and the price for an original 45 has now reached a staggering £700 and that’s if you can even locate a copy! The song was available on Marcia’s ‘Marcia Shines’ album which helped its spread in popularity, but most collectors really needed the 7”. Well, wait no longer.

Selector Series is proud to finally re-release the original 7'' version of 'You Gotta Let Go' with the original ‘B’ side 'Don’t Let The Grass Grow'.

This release will appeal to buyers all across the board – Soul, Modern Soul, Northern Soul, Disco and Rare Disco audiences so expect heavy demand the minute this hits the shelves. This is a multi-crossover record which will be played everywhere upon release and will be equally as popular internationally. Don’t say we didn’t warn ya.

Reissue of the breakthrough sophomore album by the rising Belarussian post-punk/synthpop band // The second LP by Belarussian trio Molchat Doma, Etazhi, meaning "Floors", was first released in 2018 on Berlin-based Detriti Records. It became a viral hit, garnering over one million views on YouTube and becoming a legitimate phenomenon on Bandcamp. The band may fly under the radar in their native Belarus, but they've reached huge audiences across Europe and beyond. Six separate vinyl pressings of the album have sold out in quick succession, and Sacred Bones Records is now thrilled to bring the record back in print for good. Molchat Doma (translated as "Houses Are Silent"), founded in 2017 in Minsk, Belarus, stands at the intersection of post-punk, new-wave and synth-pop. Dark yet danceable, and with a heavy dose of goth ethos, their music is reminiscent of the masters that predate them, but make no mistake: Molchat Doma creates a sound and meaning that is immediately recognizable as all their own. The band is comprised of Egor Shkutko, who sings the Russian lyrics in his deep monotone, Roman Komogortsev on guitar, synths, and drum machine, and Pavel Kozlov on bass and synths. RiYL: Depeche Mode, New Order, Drab Majesty, Black Marble

Es zirkulieren wenige LPs, die über die gesamte Albumlänge die Schönheit und Wärme des „Balearic Sound“ widerspiegeln. Man kann das auch dem Genre “Cosmic“ zuordnen. Arno E. Mathieu aus Südfrankreich schafft auf “Contemplation” das einzigartige flimmernde Licht des „Mediterranen“ einzufangen, und in einem modernen Sound die Stimmungen der Natur des Mittemeerraumes rüber zu bringen. Die Songtitel und das Cover Image ergänzen das abgerundete Stimmungsbild.

Es kommt nicht von Ungefähr, dass DJ Harvey großer Fan von Arno E Mathieu ist und viele seiner Tunes spielt. Wer auch in diesen Kosmos passt, ist Joe Claussell, der neben Franck Roger, I:Cube, Beanfield, Julien Jabre, Mark E, Simoncino, Woolfy, DJ Deep, Gigi Testa, Next Evidence, Max Essa jeder für sich einen tollen Remix abliefert. Fast jeder Track des Albums wurde geremixt.

RAW SPACE" is rooted in chaos and chance, sensuality and intensity - it's an album that's able to sound alarmingly freeform and tightly controlled simultaneously. Already established as a genre-disrupting DJ, and even dubbed "demon of the Nile" by Ugandan politicians after an exuberant performance at Nyege Nyege festival in September 2019, Kampala-based sonic hypnotist Authentically Plastic brings a digger's literacy, an activist's intent, and an artist's playfulness to their jagged debut album. As both a DJ and a producer, Authentically Plastic is drawn to the idea of chance as a creative tool - to push against the idea of the all-knowing genius, and approach artistry instead as a facilitator, unraveling parallel mismatched rhythmic events. Their musical process is to start with chaos, then attempt to mold those fleshy structures into polyrhythmic mutations, pulling influence from East Africa's innovative musical landscape and augmenting it with an exploratory sense of surrealism. On opening track 'Aesthetic Terrorism', rough-hewn industrial rhythms chug mechanically against course, dissonant synth blasts and acidic arpeggios. There's a faint sparkle of Detroit's chrome-plated Afro-futurism, but bathed in neon light, reflecting Africa's contemporary electronic revolution. Authentically Plastic's productions have a sense of thematic coherence, but their myriad influences are torched into cinders, leaving inverse impressions and ghost rhythms: the tuned overdriven clatter of 'Anti-Fun' echoes Ugandan kadodi modes, yet simultaneously mirrors the rugged out-zone grit of Container or Speaker Music; standout centerpiece 'Buul Okyelo' meanwhile is as rhythmically cross-eyed as Slikback or Nazar, but juxtaposes kinetic dancefloor thumps with chaotic microtonal ritual cycles. Writing "RAW SPACE", Authentically Plastic found themselves fascinated by sonic flatness. They realized that in Western art, there's an obsession with depth of field that carries into music, robbing it of intensity. The album is an example of the power that can be reclaimed when you let go of depth, letting sounds rub together carnally and spawn something fresh and unexpected.

* Dazed and Amazed Duo Color Vinyl * Fully printed inner sleeves * Liner notes by Larry Mizell Jr. // The album is named for the combs used to maintain an Afro hairstyle, and that's significant. The group's Ishmael "Butterfly" Butler said it summed up what they wanted to do with it: "It means the utilization of the natural, a natural style," he has said. Like with 1993's debut _Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space)_, 'utilizing the natural' meant creating hip hop that blended jazz with the formidable rap skills of the aforementioned Butterfly, Craig 'Doodlebug' Irving and Mary Ann 'Ladybug Mecca' Vieira. Unlike that debut, it meant broadening to include guests such as Gang Starr's Guru, Jeru the Damaja, and Jazzy Joyce. Following the gold-selling commercial success of their debut, they here set out to prove their artistic prowess. This is intelligent, alternative hip hop that sounded like party music. Its lyrics are dense with wit, social commentary and politics - and its original inner sleeve was modeled on the newspaper of the Black Panther movement.