quête:nils

"The dazzling symphonic album he always threatened to produce" UNCUT 5/5
"A soulful symphonic masterpiece" ROLLING STONE

Originally released in Japan only on CD in 2002, Plush's Fed lives up to the cult-like adulation it has garnered ever since. A stunning symphony of Bacharach-inspired pop, Toussaint-swing andMelody Nelson-era-Gainsbourg, it's an album bound together by Liam Hayes' maverick genius, an uncompromising Brian Wilson-esque quest for sonic perfection. Positively indulgent in every way, this sumptuous record has long deserved to be treated to a deluxe vinyl edition. Lovingly overseen by Hayes and recent collaborator Pat Sansone (Wilco/The Autumn Defense), it will finally be available on the format it should've always been, this Record Store Day 2018. Remastered and presented as a double LP - cut specially at 45rpm - it comes housed in a beautiful gatefold jacket with expanded artwork throughout.

Its expansive, singular vision infamously took years to realise, involving Earth Wind & Fire's horn arranger (the legendary Tom Tom MMLXXXIV) amongst other elite personnel. Recorded with five different engineers (including Steve Albini and John McEntire), Hayes meticulously extracted every ounce of pop from each note. A long list of renowned studio ringers (including soul drummer Morris Jennings) and Chicago regulars (McEntire, Rizzo, Parker) among many others provide playing of demonstrably professional precision. As such, Hayes' complex, meandering melodies are rendered far more coherent and satisfying than they otherwise might have appeared, bringing his epic, anguished pop to a rarely seen level of perfection and depth. This unstinting dedication to the overarching vision was rewarded handsomely - artistically, at least.

However, as might have been expected, his deluxe approach resulted in a bill too steep for any American or European label to ultimately support. It has since seemed unlikely that it would see the light of day on either side of the Atlantic. Yet we were determined not to allow Hayes' lifetime achievement to go unnoticed or let music fans across the world miss out on one of the finest albums of this century.

A wide-eyed opus of stunning intensity, Fed oozes Hayes' impeccable influences without ever becoming overwhelmed by them. Incredibly, it touches upon Blaxploitation soul, Boz Scaggs-soft-rock, hints of jazz and blues, timeless baroque and skewed pop. In one long minute, the stabbing, soulful "So Blind" moves through five different melodic segments, horns shift easily from haunting backdrop to explosive forefront, smoothly giving way to strings as Hayes' voice casts its bewitching spell. The ambitious soul of "Having It All" has been described as the diffident cousin of Marvin Gaye's "Save The Children" whilst the breezy "Greyhound Bus Station" is pure 70s AM Gold, evoking the easy warmth of Jimmy Webb's beloved Land's End period. The sublime resignation of "No Education", a beautifully slow number that begins, "Never read a book in my life/ But I feel just fine" is post-rock ballad heaven. Arriving towards the end, the title track arrives as a majestic suite, moving from a horn-and-guitar-led instrumental via shifting melodies to Hayes' compelling vocal bursts.

An album of such brilliance, Fed can comfortably sit alongside such staggering statement pieces as David Bowie's Young Americans, Randy Newman's 12 Songs or Harry Nilsson's Nilsson Schmilsson. Indeed, for all the sprawling elements that went in - lengthy guitar builds, exploding horn sections, solemn strings, female backup chorus - it is a deeply personal and original record. Employing a distinct "more is more" aesthetic, he demonstrates remarkable restraint in producing an album of such intimacy. "My creation has drowned me," he memorably sings on languid opener "Whose Blues", yet he navigates the shifting styles and ideas with enviable ease.

A unique talent with a remarkable voice, the German singer, composer
and lyricist Alma Naidu is an artist such as one rarely fnds, Jazzthing
magazine praised her "delicate, wonderfully clear voice with absolutely perfect intonation".

Renowned drummer and producer Wolfgang Haffner recognised her talent immediately; he discovered Alma for himself in 2019 and featured the Munich native on his album 'Kind of Tango'. "When I heard Alma for the first time at a jam session in early 2019, I was immediately inspired by her musicality and her way of performing on stage," says Haffner. " Alma is a very special talent with a strong
musical voice of her own."

With Alma now comes the promising debut on the Leopard Records label.
Recorded in Bonn during the pandemic (November 2020, March and April 2021) and produced by Haffner with guests Dominic Miller, Nils Landgren, Simon Oslender and others, this debut work of the 25-year old Naidu could just as well bear the title: A Star Is Born.

The nicest tracks of the King played by the Jazz scene. From "Fever" to "Love me tender", a selection of the best covers.

Der Gender US-Komponist und Performer Holland Andrews arrangiert Musik für Stimme, Klarinette und Elektronik, die häufig Themen rund um Verletzlichkeit und Heilung behandelt.

Als Sänger stammen Andrews' Einflüsse aus einem weiten und dynamischen Spektrum, das zeitgenössische Oper, Theater und Jazz umfasst, während sie dabei ihren ganz eigenen, einzigartigen Stil kultiviert.
Andrews' »Wordless«-EP wurde erstmals im Februar 2021 veröffentlicht und später im selben Jahr von Nils Frahms Label Leiter neu aufgelegt. Die Vier-Track-EP bietet eine tiefgründige Katharsis durch eine Reihe von Elektronik-, Gesangs- und Klarinetten-getriebenen Kompositionen. »Forgettings« ist die zweite in einer Serie von vier digitalen EPs, die von Leiter in Auftrag gegeben wurden.

Es ist ein instinktiver Nachfolger von »Wordless«, der viele der Charakteristika seines Vorgängers teilt und dabei bewundernswert schwer zu definieren ist. »Forgettings« schöpft sowohl aus elektronischen als auch aus organischen Quellen - wie Andrews bemerkenswert anpassungsfähiger Stimme und der Ausbildung an der Klarinette - und beginnt mit dem glückseligen, ekstatischen »Transform Forever«, das Schichten von Harmonien um kristalline Synthesizer-Muster legt. Zusätzlich zur digitalen Veröffentlichung von Holland Andrews' »Forgettings«-EP bietet Leiter eine spezielle Vinyl-Edition an, die alle Tracks von »Forgettings« und der zuvor veröffentlichten »Wordless«-EP enthält.

Double black vinyl LP format of the 1994 OST from one of the all time classic films. Features 32 songs including Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, The Four Tops, Bob Dylan, The Beach Boys, The Mamas & Papas, Simon & Garfunkel, The Byrds, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Supremes, Willie Nelson, Joan Baez and more. Marketing activity.

Contemporary pianist and composer James Heather announces his
second album, ‘Invisible Forces’, via Ahead of Our Time, Ninja Tune
founders Coldcut’s first record label.
 An album influenced by the sensibility of electronic, ambient, orchestral
and post-rock music but channelled through solo piano and Heather’s
classical and jazz grounding.
 With regards to his “superb” (Crack Magazine) and “masterful”
(Electronic Sound, Dummy) debut, ‘Stories From Far Away On Piano’,
the songs are grander, deeper and broader in emotional range and are
developed through a series of improvisation techniques. Heather
describes it as ‘pulse music’, with each track performed in a single take
and with their roots in this live improvisation, often honed on the road
where he moves between tender to more propulsive, trance-inducing
dynamics.
 For fans of Jean-Michel Blais, Sarah Davachi, John Carroll Kirby, Otto A.
Totland, Ólafur Arnalds, Nils Frahm, The Cinematic Orchestra.
 CD in slipcase with printed inner.
 140g violet vinyl with holofoil detail sleeve.
 “The sound Heather makes is captivating.” - Electronic Sound
 “Masterful contemporary piano.” - Dummy
 “A remarkable piece of music that yields more secrets the more it’s
played” - Clash
 Featured in Coldcut’s ambient compilation ‘@0’ alongside Suzanne
Ciani, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Helena Hauff, Skee
Mask, Julianna Barwick, Steve Roach, Laraaji and Mira Calix.
 Notable supporters of Heather’s music include James Lavelle (UNKLE),
Nils Frahm, Cillian Murphy, Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder (via the live
session he did for them in 2021), The Cinematic Orchestra, The Bug,
Leandro Taub, Actress, Bicep, Martyn and Tim Noakes (Dazed).
 James has collaborated with the likes of Dawn Richard, Coldcut,
Mumdance and Roger Robinson (King Midas Sound).

White Vinyl

The Duo met on a rainy day in Tilburg (NL) while working for a dance project — they came down from very different roads. Fhunyue, a stage director–performer–musician chameleon, works alone or collaborate with Annalena Fröhlich (Robinrobin, Just Another Woman In Space), Thom Luz, Unplush, Peeping Tom, Dorit Chrysler, Ko Murobushi, Damien Jalet, The Scottish Dance Theatre, Bern Ballett, for a most colourful variety of venues in Europe. She is a member of the music association Bongo Joe (Switzerland). Sven, an established musician living between Hamburg and Nairobi, who released several records on Honest Jons and Bureau B and collaborated with several artists like Shabaka Hutchings, Ogoya Nengo, Marc Ribot, John McEntire, Sofia Jernberg, Nils Frahm, Hauschka, F.S. Blumm and Stefan Schneider.

Their encounter quickly revealed that both their musical sensitivity and their instruments (Marimbas, Drums, Percussions, Electronics, Theremin, Buchla Synthesizer, Piano) matched stunningly, and that they had to play together. After a short while of rocky life adventures and theatre projects in which they collaborated, their off rehearsal sessions would become a lively necessity. The wish to give birth to a project entirely their own, grew so strong that they locked themselves in Sven’s studio at Jaffestrasse in Hamburg, and started working on the debut of their duet. They are happy to present and share with you their labour of love, in hope that it will be good to your heart.

The Duo met on a rainy day in Tilburg (NL) while working for a dance project — they came down from very different roads. Fhunyue, a stage director–performer–musician chameleon, works alone or collaborate with Annalena Fröhlich (Robinrobin, Just Another Woman In Space), Thom Luz, Unplush, Peeping Tom, Dorit Chrysler, Ko Murobushi, Damien Jalet, The Scottish Dance Theatre, Bern Ballett, for a most colourful variety of venues in Europe. She is a member of the music association Bongo Joe (Switzerland). Sven, an established musician living between Hamburg and Nairobi, who released several records on Honest Jons and Bureau B and collaborated with several artists like Shabaka Hutchings, Ogoya Nengo, Marc Ribot, John McEntire, Sofia Jernberg, Nils Frahm, Hauschka, F.S. Blumm and Stefan Schneider.

Their encounter quickly revealed that both their musical sensitivity and their instruments (Marimbas, Drums, Percussions, Electronics, Theremin, Buchla Synthesizer, Piano) matched stunningly, and that they had to play together. After a short while of rocky life adventures and theatre projects in which they collaborated, their off rehearsal sessions would become a lively necessity. The wish to give birth to a project entirely their own, grew so strong that they locked themselves in Sven’s studio at Jaffestrasse in Hamburg, and started working on the debut of their duet. They are happy to present and share with you their labour of love, in hope that it will be good to your heart.

The Melvins’ first ever acoustic collection, featuring 36 songs including classics like ‘Night Goat’, ‘Honey Bucket’ and ‘Billy Fish’, as well as covers of Brainiac, The Rolling Stones and Alice Cooper tracks.

 This newly recorded acoustic collection features a career-spanning collection of songs, from 1987’s ‘Gluey Porch Treatments’ to 2017’s ‘A Walk With Love & Death’ - the entire gamut of the legendary band’s catalogue is represented.

 “I knew I wanted to do something ridiculously big,” explains Buzz Osborne of the band’s first ever acoustic offering. “36 songs reimagined by us acoustically is certainly ridiculous but it works. The magic of the songs is still there regardless of it being acoustic. Since we weren’t touring we had the time to do something of this size. I’m very excited about this record. Dale and Steven did a fantastic job on this. I think it’s a very special record. I can’t
think of anyone else who’s done something like this.”
 The band previewed the impressive offering with the release of ‘Night Goat’.
Dale Crover noted: “I think people will be surprised that we can do an
acoustic version of a song like ‘Night Goat’ without losing any of the
heaviness. We also worked hard on the vocal arrangements. People are
going to freak out!”
 ‘Five Legged Dog’ also features acoustic versions of several rarities from the
influential band’s overflowing discography, including a cover of Redd Kross’
‘Charlie’ (from the limited edition ‘Escape From LA’ single), ‘Outside
Chance,’ a Turtles cover from the ‘Slithering Slaughter’ single and new
interpretations of The Rolling Stones ‘Sway’, Brainiac’s ‘Flypaper’ and Fred
Neil’s ‘Everybody’s Talking’ (popularised by Harry Nilsson). Butthole Surfer
Jeff Pinkus lends his vocals (and banjo) to ‘Don’t Forget to Breathe’ and
‘Everybody’s Talking’.

Truls Morck has a background as a guitarist in Graveyard and Slowgoldas well as guitarist, singer and songwriter in Den Stora Vilan

In 2015 he released his first solo album and shortly thereafter he returned to Graveyard, this time as bass player. After a few years of waiting, it's finally time for his second solo LP; "What A Time To Be Alive". The sound is inspired by the soft rock of the 70's and you can hear echoes of Harry Nilsson and George
Harrison mixed with dreamy digital keyboards and a modern, relaxed, psychedelic
production."We have tried to create a soft and easy- to- listen- to sound that
somehow still feels interesting and well-made. My lyrics are probably quite selfabsorbed and introspective. The naive and honest I can read between the lines in
rock history's simpler poetry, inspires me", Truls says.

The band describe themselves as a spaced out, instrumental loungerock outfit, with added vibes of folk music, jazzy surf, psychedelia, free improvised chill-out, jangly post-rock and travelling bass. Not much for us to add here, apart from possibly a pinch of krautrock. "Tellus" is the quartet's fourth album, and their debut on Rune Grammofon. Being something of an allstar team from the fertile psychedelic spacedrone scene in Haugesund on the westcoast of Norway, the members also pay their dues in bands like Electric Eye, Lumen Drones (ECM), Undergrünnen and The Low Frequency in Stereo, whose album "Futuro" we released back in 2009. On "Tellus" they are joined by Sigbjorn Apeland, a much esteemed musician largely operating in a landscape of folk music, church music and improvisation. He is a member of Nils Okland band (ECM and Hubro) and has collaborated with him for 30 years, also appearing on his two albums for Rune Grammofon; Straum (2000) and Bris (2004). Also appearing on "Tellus" is Ståle Liavik Solberg, a central force on Oslo's thriving improvised music scene. He has performed worldwide with numerous Norwegian and international musicians and curates the excellent Blow Out! festival. With "Tellus" ATS heads into the Hardangervidda (the big plains connecting the eastern and western parts of southern Norway) terrain of wide open spaces, spare vegetation and unruly weather conditions, especially during the winter. The album was recorded in a small studio in Haugesund during two days of heavy rain showers and stormy winds rumbling outside the windows. Per Steinar Lie - Lap-steel and electric guitar Oystein Braut - Guitar, organ and Mellotron Julius Lind - Double bass Orjan Haaland<

We finally made it: BEWITH100LP! And what better way for a re-issue label to celebrate such a landmark catalogue number than to give it to a record of new music. We couldn’t resist when the artist is Official Be With Family Member Kenny Dickenson and when the music is his lovely, lovely score to French-Vietnamese artist Mai Hua's 2020 documentary film “Les Rivières”. If you enjoy the more minimal, intimate piano of the likes of Nils Frahm or John Carroll Kirby’s solo work, you’re certain to fall for this beautiful album.

Taking six years to make, Mai’s film explores what happened when she brought her dying grandmother to France, pulling together four generations of women from the same family. Kenny’s score accompanies all the pretty things, sad things, dirty, beautiful, happy, broken and reborn moments of these women’s experiences.

The whole score is built around delicate, sparkling piano motifs. At times they’re joined by cello and complemented with ambient chords and other flourishes. It’s a very particular palette that Kenny and Mai established early on, as Kenny explains: “We had agreed on a particular sonic aesthetic early on in the process - to use specific and relatively minimal instrumentation, reflecting the intimacy of the picture. So piano and cello were quite prominent in instructing a sense of space and immediacy. Until I had to get the junkyard percussion out… ”

When it comes to describing the end results, Kenny’s happy to wear his influences on his sleeve:

“When the director and I sat down for the creative meetings early in the process, we watched ‘Wolf Children’, a Japanese animation film by Mamoru Hosoda. The amazing soundtrack by Masakatsu Takagi was a launching point for me and thereafter I leaned into more modern classical composers - Reich, Sakamoto, Glass as well as Jon Hassell’s Fourth World output. Richard Reed Parry’s ‘Music for Heart and Breath’ was a good early touchstone for me and Mark Hollis’ sparse, considered and deliberate approach was a constant presence. Also labels like Ghostly, ASIP and the ubiquitous Erased Tapes should probably get a nod here too…”

We’d even suggest there’s the occasional Yann Tiersen moment in there too.

Out of sheer necessity the collaboration between Kenny and Mai continued beyond this initial creative direction. With Kenny speaking neither French nor Vietnamese, Mai acted as translator, a process that naturally lead to discussing the film beyond just what was being said in the footage. Mai herself explains just how successful this relationship felt to her: “Music plays a very important role in all my work, particularly in Les Rivières. I cried every time Kenny sent me a new composition. I felt understood in a way that words cannot describe. It was absolutely magical and I am so happy if this music can make your soul vibrate too.”

Kenny composed much of the music in London, at the same time that Mai was shooting and editing. As the film took shape and the music also evolved, another challenge presented itself when Kenny relocated to Los Angeles part way through, resulting in Arnulf Lindners beautiful cello taking on new shapes- multi sampled, played and manipulated by Kenny into new compositions.

What Kenny has put together for the film score release is definitely a “soundtrack LP”, with the music arranged to work as a proper album in its own right that should be listened to from start to finish. Indeed the album also includes a new piece “Pour Marthe” that Kenny composed in memory of Mai’s grandmother who died after the film was finished.

Kenny’s personal highlight is also ours: “When I listen back to the album as a whole now, I never want part II of the Trilogy (Belles Larmes) to end. I have fond memories of recording it and I love how the dynamic of the piece gradually evolves from falling on the ‘1 and the 3’ to the ‘1 and the 2’. It’s so short and sweet, I keep wanting it to last for longer. But it’s kind of perfect as it is.”

Pretty much our sentiment for the album as a whole.

Running a record label means we often get asked advice about pressing a record. In this case the music was too good not to offer to release it ourselves. To Kenny, having the Les Rivières score on vinyl also feels like the final part of the project.

“It’s a beautiful thing to have it on vinyl. It’s quite an intimate soundtrack so there’s something really perfect about being able to listen to it on that format. When I was a kid, my Uncle Pat who used to work at Woolworths would visit and bring random records from their record department over to us. I can remember listening to “Theme From Exodus” by Ernest Gold. I had no idea what it was about but the imagery it conjured up when listening to that record was just mind blowing to me at that age. Soundtracks can have their own life on vinyl I think, and removed from their original context is this unique format for reinvention. So I’m excited that people who haven’t (and have for that matter) seen the film can have that experience.”

This might not be a re-issue, but the Les Rivières film score album has still been given the full Be With treatment. The vinyl has been mastered by Simon Francis (under Kenny’s ever-watchful eye/ear, of course), cut by Pete Norman and pressed at Record Industry. The sleeve follows the film’s poster and other promotional material, including Lucile Gomez’s almost magical illustration.

We’re under no illusions that many people reading this will have seen “Les Rivières”, but that doesn’t really matter when it comes to listening to the score. Just on its own, Kenny’s music still captures the robustness and the delicacy of lives lived.

All music composed and arranged
by Jacob Karlzon
String arrangements on "Promises
Kept?, "Steps & Stages?, "To the
Moon and Back?
by Nils-Petter Ankarblom
Produced by Jacob Karlzon & Lars
Nilsson

The Travels represents a signpost in the continuing journey that is the songs of Berlin-based artist
Molly Nilsson.

Starting out by hand-dubbing CDrs and forging a singular path in the global pop underground, Nilsson’s art has grown to the extent where hers is a precise songwriting devoid of unnecessary flourish. Her songs are perfect silhouettes of feelings everyone shares but that few can articulate with such heart-rending, icy pathos. Out of print for 4 years and in collectors market hell, NIght School has pressed 500 of this Molly classic on Transparent GREEN vinyl for RSD21

For Fans Of : LVL UP, Crying, Paear, Sheer Mag, Krill. When his primary music project, LVL UP, stopped working together in 2018, prolific multi-instrumentalist and illustrator Nick Corbo began working on a new body of music and visual art as Spirit Was. On his debut studio album Heaven’s Just a Cloud, haunting, beautiful scenes of the natural world feel just as represented in the warm, classic, wooden floors of country rock as they do in the dark, droning, shadows of doom and black metal. With new creative liberties, Corbo is allowed an opportunity to keep exploring the heavy, distorted instrumentation and experimental techniques that have shaped his music to date. His ability to focus on small details and weave them into vast networks has been evident in all of the music and visual art in his catalogue. In its density, Heaven’s Just A Cloud is threaded with memorable lyrics and recapitulating musical themes that guide the listener. Spirit Was feels at home among the technical, melodic songwriting of Harry Nilsson’s studio recordings, or the dusty, psychedelic oblivion of Earth and Wolves in the Throne Room. A departure from his previously collaborative recordings, the album features Corbo on drums, bass, guitar, and keyboards, weaving sweet, intentional melodies and vocal harmonies over a slamming, distorted rhythm section.

clear w/ black smoke vinyl

It would be easy to say that Molly Nilsson needs no introduction, but These Things Take Time is an introduction. Originally self-released in 2008 on a limited CDR run with hand-folded sleeve, Nilsson's debut album has slowly taken over the hearts of many. In 2014 this modern classic of autonomous, DIY pop and punk-as-you-like attitude is presented on vinyl for the first time in a beautiful edition featuring unreleased bonus tracks across two discs, an exclusive screen printed A2 poster and new sleeve notes from the artist.

Molly Nilsson's first recordings under her own name have grown in stature to occupy a prominent positioning in the global pop underground despite initially only being available on CDr. Though Nilsson's songwriting prowess and commandeering of other genres has grown since 2008, her unique voice is seen in raw form on These Things Take Time. Many of the themes she would develop later were inked first here: the romance of loneliness on The Lonely,' Whisky Sour,' Hey Moon!', the folly and intoxication of youth seen in Joyride,' Poisoned Candy' and dogged self-reliance as on The Diamond Song' or Wounds Itch When They Heal.' Also included here are unreleased recordings from the same period that were left off the original release, a further window into a turbulent, exciting time for an artist just discovering her power to touch and communicate with the listener.

The Unholy Return Of The Black Metal Gods: Dark, Merciless, Straight & Deadly Reunion album of the German Black Metal Gods Extreme Black Metal for fans of Marduk, Dark Funeral, Cradle Of Filth 8th studio album, the first one after 16 years Produced by Nils Lesser (Cypecore a.o.) Cover version of "Death Metal" by Possessed First single "Letters From The Devil" also available on 7inch Vinyl, limited to 666 copies ADS IN MUSIC MAGS: Rock Hard (D), Metal Hammer (D), Rock Hard (F), Sweden Rock (S), Scream (NO), Rock Hard (IT), Power (ES), Mystic Art (PL), Metal hammer (PL, Spark (CZ), Loud (PT), Aardschok (NL), Rock Tribune (B) CONFIRMED PRESS: Full servicing to national, regional, metal and lifestyle press outlets via …... publicity department "1. SINGLE - 19.11. Release first single & video „Letters From The Devil“ + Kick Off Album Pre Order " 2. SINGLE - 25.10.202107.01. Release second single & lyric video „Belial Is My Name“ 3. SINGLE - 04.02. Release third single & lyric video & focus track „Darkness In Flames“ FOCUS TRACK: Belial Is My Name

NOW Music is delighted to introduce our new sub-brand ‘NOW Presents…’. This new series starts with ‘NOW Presents… The 1970s’, the first-ever NOW vinyl boxset featuring 5 LPs uniquely designed to reflect the era.

The boxset is a musical time capsule of the decade that saw so many different genres find chart success. Across its 74 tracks over 10 sides of vinyl, the massive hits sit alongside enduring classics from each year. The set not only includes 5 beautifully designed front covers on the individual albums (that slot into a rigid slip case), but also features track by track annotations with chart positions and facts about the artists and songs.

Each year, 1970-1979 is presented as 1 side of each LP… Kicking off with the iconic ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ by Simon & Garfunkel from the biggest selling album of the year, and of the decade. 1970 also includes Motown classics from Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, and the debut hit ‘I Want You Back’ from the Jackson 5.

1971 includes the seminal ‘What’s Going On’ from Marvin Gaye, alongside Elton John’s breakthrough – the timeless ‘Your Song’, Rod Stewart’s breakthrough ‘Maggie May’, and The Who’s defining rock anthem ‘Baba O’Riley’.

The charts in 1972 began to reflect the popularity of ‘Glam Rock’ – and ‘Virginia Plain’ by Roxy Music, and ‘Metal Guru’ by T. Rex are included, as is the David Bowie-produced ‘Perfect Day’ from Lou Reed.

‘Killing Me Softly With His Song’ – one of the most beautiful songs, and vocals ever from Roberta Flack opens 1973’s side – and is joined by, amongst others, Billy Joel’s signature song ‘Piano Man’ and Bob Dylan’s ‘Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door’.

1974 celebrates Queen having their first Top 5 single with ‘Killer Queen’, and title tracks from two of the decades’ biggest selling albums: Paul McCartney & Wings with ‘Band On The Run’, and ‘Tubular Bells’ from Mike Oldfield.

John Lennon released ‘Imagine’ in 1971 – but it became a UK hit in 1975, and so, starts this side… and finds space for some of the year’s perfect pop from Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, David Essex, 10cc, and the biggest hit ‘Bye Bye Baby’ from Bay City Rollers, at the peak of their popularity.

ABBA enjoyed 7 UK Number 1’s in the 1970s, and their biggest was the enduringly popular ‘Dancing Queen’ which leads into 1976. Electric Light Orchestra had a huge hit with ‘Livin’ Thing’, as did Thin Lizzy with ‘The Boys Are Back In Town’ – plus Joan Armatrading emerged with ‘Love And Affection’.

1977 saw Fleetwood Mac release their mega-selling album ‘Rumours’, and from it ‘Don’t Stop’ is here, as is Donna Summer’s ‘I Feel Love’ – one of the most influential dance tracks of all time – and one of 1977’s favourite TV stars, David Soul, enjoyed a #1 single with ‘Don’t Give Up On Us’.

With ‘Wuthering Heights’, Kate Bush not only had 4 weeks at number 1 in 1978, but became the first female artist to achieve this with a self-written song. The Jam, The Boomtown Rats and Siouxsie And The Banshees all found consistent success as Punk & New Wave established new chart stars.

1979 concludes the set and opens with the iconic ‘London Calling’ from The Clash, and includes two of the biggest bands of the era, The Police and Blondie. A couple of years later the first video played on MTV would be ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ from The Buggles – and it’s fitting that this is the final track on the collection, a #1 in late 1979 – it signposted the synth-pop wave that would define the early 80s…. (but that’s a different box set).

With Companion, Otto A Totland completes his album trilogy of personal, sparse piano compositions, following in the footsteps of 2014's Pinô and 2017's The Lost.

As a self-taught pianist, Otto further determines himself as a timeless composer who follows nothing but his own gut and heart. The outcome is something so pure it’s hard to not be affected. The development of his pieces over the years has grown into something so himself that it's almost immediately recognisable. With Companion he has matured in his own craft, and the various pieces here feel confident and absolutely beautiful in a way that sees the end of the trilogy as a warm, empathic document for the times.

As with the previous two albums, Companion was again recorded at Nils Frahm's Berlin studio for optimal warmth and space, Pinô and The Lost at his previous Durton Studio while Companion at the historic Studio 3 at Funkhaus. All three records are released by Sonic Pieces in hand-crafted limited edition covers as a statement showing that craftmanship and humanity still exists in this world constantly moving towards the exact opposite.

This quote by Norwegian philosopher Guttorm Fløistad seems an appropriate connection to both Otto's music and the way we are all heading : “The only thing for certain is that everything changes. The rate of change increases. If you want to hang on you better speed up. That is the message of today … In order to master changes, we have to recover slowness, reflection and togetherness. There we will find real renewal.” With this in mind, Companion is exactly what it's title sets out to be. A friend that can follow and comfort in both good or bad times.

Trio of Nils Økland, Sigbjørn Apeland and Øyvind Skarbø - apart from the unusual instrumentation of violin or Hardanger fiddle, harmonium and drums, is the empathy displayed by the group as a whole; the hyper-sensitivity with which each individual member appears to respond to the contributions of the others in the pursuit of a collective goal, however obscure or unknowable that goal might be. Such extreme alertness to subtle changes of mood and nuance, and to the evolving sound-world of each, totally improvised, performance is rare in music of any type. 1982 have made it their signature. And because 1982 have so singularly created their own identity and sound, they can do anything they like. Normal conventions of style and genre, format and duration cease to matter: it is all 1982 music, anchored in the strong personalities of the three players and their respect for the primacy of the group as an entity in itself. Thus they can record as a trio - as on the group’s first two albums, ‘1982’ (from 2009) and ‘Pintura’ (their Hubro debut, from 2011) - or with guests, as in the acclaimed '1982 + BJ Cole' (from 2012), and the collaboration with composer Stian Omenås and a quintet of wind players for ‘1982: A/B’ (from 2014). There was also the unique ‘message in a bottle’ intervention of ‘The Bottlemail Project’, begun in 2011, whereby 15 copies of a new recording were ‘distributed’ via USB sticks enclosed in bottles and released into the open sea from Bergen and various worldwide locations. The new album, ‘1982: Chromola’, as well as marking the group's tenth anniversary, represents a return to the essential identity of the trio playing alone, without guests. Recorded at Sandviken church in Bergen on the day following an evening concert, the album uses material from both occasions, engineered once again by Davide Bertolini, who worked on the band’s four previous recordings. As an album it is remarkable for many things, but perhaps most notably for the role of Sigbjorn Apeland, who plays pipe organ on all but one of the seven tracks rather than harmonium, which features only in the closing, seventh, piece.

Nearing 100,000 UK sales for their breakthrough album ‘The Race
For Space’, indie phenomenon Public Service Broadcasting return
with their fourth album, ‘Bright Magic’, the follow up to 2017’s ‘Every
Valley’, which entered the chart at Number 4 on release.  Inspired by the Rory McLean book ‘Berlin: Imagine A City’ and named
after a collection of short stories by Alfred Döblin, the record
celebrates one of the greatest cultural capitals of the world, Berlin.  Written and recorded entirely at Hansa Studios in Berlin, the album is
split into three parts - Building A City / Building A Myth / Bright Magic
– and Side B of the album is a homage to Side B of David Bowie’s
‘Low’. Side A of the record includes the singles ‘People, Let’s Dance’
and ‘Blue Heaven’.  The album features guest appearances from Berlin legend Blixa
Bargeld (The Bad Seeds, Einsturzende Neubauten), Andreya
Casablanca of Berlin band Gurr and Berlin Based artist EERA.  Hansa is world renowned as the studio responsible for classic albums
including ‘Low’ and ‘Heroes’ by David Bowie, ‘The Idiot‘ and ‘Lust For
Life’ by Iggy Pop and Depeche Mode’s third, fourth and fifth albums
‘Construction Time Again’, ‘Some Great Reward’ and ‘Black
Celebration’.  The artwork is designed by Berlin artist Torsten Posselt, who has a
long relationship with the Erased Tapes label, designing art for the
likes of Nils Frahm, Olafur Arnalds and Rival Consoles, among
others.

Portuguese experimental trio 10 000 Russos are gearing up for the release of their fifth album ‘Superinertia’, which is due out September 10th on Fuzz Club Records. Following on from 2019’s ‘Kompromat’ LP and tour dates around the UK, Europe and Mexico in support, the Porto-based band describe ‘Superinertia’ as a record addressing the “state of inertia that humans live in the West nowadays. It isn’t a record about the past or future. It’s about now.” For all that ‘Superinertia’ might take aim at a world without motion, however, the same cannot be said of 10 000 Russos themselves.

On the one hand, since their 2013 debut LP and the three that have followed on Fuzz Club since (2015’s self-titled, 2017’s ‘Distress Distress’ and ‘Kompromat’), 10 000 Russos’ music has always been about as kinetic as it gets: a truly unrelenting and motorik sonic force. On the other hand, ‘Superinertia’ also sees the band itself move into whole new musical territories – aided especially by the recent addition of synth player Nils Meisel to the line-up (who replaces former bassist André Couto.)

“The synths really opened up the sound of the band and gave more routes for the music to journey down. The most important thing on this album was to not repeat ourselves. A new arc in our sound is coming to life”, drummer and vocalist João Pimenta explains. On said arc, the Russos sound is expanded to include moments that invoke Ry Cooder’s ‘Paris, Texas’ soundtrack (‘Mexicali/Calexico’), dancey outbursts that transport you to the 90s Summer of Love (‘Super Inertia’), the closest thing Russos have ever done to a pop song (‘A House Full of Garbage’) and even a touch of banjo (albeit one that sounds like a country band on amphetamines playing over a feedback-blasted Stooges beat.)

“10 000 Russos are bizarre and excellent in equal measure.” - The Quietus

“Songs drip with heavy echo, relentless beats and bass and a sense of charging into the ultimate infinite.” - Bandcamp Daily

“Something unholy has indeed been summoned out of the ground, and it is a power trio from the Iberian Peninsula.” - Clash Magazine

Portuguese experimental trio 10 000 Russos are gearing up for the release of their fifth album ‘Superinertia’, which is due out September 10th on Fuzz Club Records. Following on from 2019’s ‘Kompromat’ LP and tour dates around the UK, Europe and Mexico in support, the Porto-based band describe ‘Superinertia’ as a record addressing the “state of inertia that humans live in the West nowadays. It isn’t a record about the past or future. It’s about now.” For all that ‘Superinertia’ might take aim at a world without motion, however, the same cannot be said of 10 000 Russos themselves.

On the one hand, since their 2013 debut LP and the three that have followed on Fuzz Club since (2015’s self-titled, 2017’s ‘Distress Distress’ and ‘Kompromat’), 10 000 Russos’ music has always been about as kinetic as it gets: a truly unrelenting and motorik sonic force. On the other hand, ‘Superinertia’ also sees the band itself move into whole new musical territories – aided especially by the recent addition of synth player Nils Meisel to the line-up (who replaces former bassist André Couto.)

“The synths really opened up the sound of the band and gave more routes for the music to journey down. The most important thing on this album was to not repeat ourselves. A new arc in our sound is coming to life”, drummer and vocalist João Pimenta explains. On said arc, the Russos sound is expanded to include moments that invoke Ry Cooder’s ‘Paris, Texas’ soundtrack (‘Mexicali/Calexico’), dancey outbursts that transport you to the 90s Summer of Love (‘Super Inertia’), the closest thing Russos have ever done to a pop song (‘A House Full of Garbage’) and even a touch of banjo (albeit one that sounds like a country band on amphetamines playing over a feedback-blasted Stooges beat.)

“10 000 Russos are bizarre and excellent in equal measure.” - The Quietus

“Songs drip with heavy echo, relentless beats and bass and a sense of charging into the ultimate infinite.” - Bandcamp Daily

“Something unholy has indeed been summoned out of the ground, and it is a power trio from the Iberian Peninsula.” - Clash Magazine

Swedish Producer Petter Eldh announces his new album “Projekt Drums vol. 1” which embraces his love of heavy beats, psychedelic sounds and musical collaboration. This first volume is made of six diverse tracks from some of the most exciting drummers working on the scene today: Savannah Harris, Eric Harland, Nate Wood, James Maddren, Gard Nilssen and Richard Spaven. The music is hard-hitting and mesmerising, it’s full of complexity and sonority but at the heart are the drums: the beat and groove alongside a kaleidoscope of sounds and effects. The arrangements include a total of sixteen instrumental collaborators comprising Harpists, French horn and marimba players and a plethora of keyboards and unique synths. It’s original and highly engaging. No single listen will do it justice!

Ric Robertson is an American original, pulling influences from the greats
that came before, but wholly responsible for building his own
creative universe.
His new full-length record ‘Carolina Child’ is nothing short of an opus, taking
his wealth of musical proclivities from the mountain music of his home state of
North Carolina, all the way to the jazz and funk of his current homebase in New
Orleans and fueling it into a gonzo vision of Americana that is equally innovative as it is simply beautiful to hear.
As a songwriter, Robertson takes his inspiration from the fragility of our inner
lives and the small moments packed with meaning that surround us. This is
John Prine by way of New Orleans, Harry Nilsson in a Nudie suit, a stoned Dr.
John lost in Nashville, Bill Monroe on mushrooms listening to Bessie Smith. It’s
a riot of juxtapositions and a chaos of imagination anchored by Robertson’s
soft, flowing voice, and his uncanny knack for chronicling our lost lives.
‘Carolina Child’ was produced by Dan Molad of Lucius, and features Jess Wolfeand Holly Laessig from Lucius plus a whole host of Robertson’s friends and
picking partners including Dori Freeman, Oliver Wood (The Wood Brothers),
and Logan Ledger.
Listening to the album’s ten tracks, it’s clear that Robertson one of the best
kept secrets of Americana is poised for a breakout moment with ‘Carolina
Child’. Step into his boundlessly creative multi-verse and you’ll find nothing
short of American songbook excellence.

Exclusively on vinyl, The 60s Album brings together some of the biggest and most iconic names of the decade.



A value packed 37 tracks kick off with one of the greatest of all time ‘Good Vibrations’ from The Beach Boys, and continues with solid gold smash hits including ‘House Of The Rising Sun’, ‘The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore’, ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’’, the timeless ‘In Dreams’ from Roy Orbison, ‘Blue Velvet’ from Bobby Vinton, and the epic ‘River Deep Mountain High’ by Ike & Tina Turner.

Side B begins with a 6-track salute to the soul female stars and groups of the era - The Supremes, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, The Ronettes, The Crystals, The Shangri-Las and Lesley Gore are all here, alongside some easy listening from Andy Williams and Julie London, and the cool pop jazz of Astrid Gilberto and The Dave Brubeck Quartet.



The second LP begins with 6 of the most iconic U.S. tracks ever: Simon & Gafunkel’s ‘Mrs Robinson’, and Harry Nilsson’s ‘Everybody’s Talkin’ lead into the peerless ‘Witchita Lineman’ from Glen Campbell, the immaculate ‘California Dreamin’ from The Mamas & The Papas, Scott McKenzie’s ’San Francisco’, and Linda Ronstadt’s defining vocal as part of The Stone Poney’s on ‘Different Drum’. The side is rounded off with 3 of the most atmospheric pieces of music from the 60s… ’A Whiter Shade Of Pale’, ’Nights In White Satin’, and Fleetwood Mac’s stunning ‘Albatross’.

The final side offers up Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick, Ben E. King and Dusty Springfield as some of the best voices and most soulful performances ever, before some of the greatest pop from Petula Clark, Love Affair and ‘I Got You Babe’ from Sonny & Cher and then it’s left to two of the biggest names in music history to close the album - Bob Dylan, and the incredible ‘In The Ghetto’ from Elvis Presley.



37 of the greatest tracks and artists from an era-defining decade… The 60s Album.

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.

Giancarlo Erra Returns With Spellbinding New Lp ‘Departure Tapes’ On
Kscope. Gatefold Oxblood Coloured Vinyl Edition.
UK based Italian composer, multi-instrumentalist and visual artist Giancarlo
Erra started his career in 2005 with one man studio project Nosound. In 2008
Erra signed with Kscope and released a string of albums under the Nosound
banner before recording the first album under his own name ‘Ends I-VII’ in
2019.
He now returns with a new album ‘Departure Tapes’, reflecting what has been
a difficult year with the loss of his father to cancer.
In Giancarlo’s own words “The end result is the most experimental (and darkest at times) material I ever wrote, without compromise or set plan. It contains
all the elements of my music in a very unconscious free flow way. It’s the first
album I wrote without knowing I was writing it, intrinsically linked to one of the
hardest and yet more healing parts of my life.”
‘Departure Tapes’ is an album of contemplative recordings, written while travelling between the UK and Italy. Most of these tracks have been recorded live
by Erra, so for the most part they are totally unique and hold a sincerity which
cannot be replicated.
Max Richter, Olafur Arnalds, Nils Frahm and the more electronic / ambient
recordings of Brian Eno may offer a reference point by which to enter Erra’s
world, but the depth within these recordings is truly original.
‘Departure Tapes’ is available in a gatefold sleeve on oxblood coloured vinyl and
The DVD-A/V includes high resolution stereo & 5.1 mix: DVD-V: stereo 24/48
LPCM lossless mixes, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, DTS 96/24 5.1 Surround DVDA: 5.1 Surround 24/48 LPCM lossless mixes

The second solo album on Jazzland (and fourth in total) by Tortusa, a NorwegianAmerican electronic musician and producer from Stavanger, Norway. The album has
taken three years to create, and features
contributions from some of Norway’s finest musicians, including three of his idols:
Arve Henriksen, Eivind Aarset and Erland Dahlen.
‘Bre’ is composed of ambient experimental music heavily inspired by nature, and takes
the listener on an emotional journey. Tortusa paints with sounds, and the music inspires
inner visualisation of the story he tells through his weaving and blending of abstract sonic
material.
The sampling of acoustic instruments forms the foundation of the album. Tortusa takes
essentially familiar instrumental sounds, and warps, mangles, distorts and modulates
them, defamiliarising them, repositioning them both in the context of themselves and
other sounds, creating a new sonic vocabulary that is neither exclusively organic nor synthetic, but is an aesthetically balanced combination of both.
This process is the source of the album’s originality and distinction from more conventional approaches to sampling and synthesis. Tortusa composes his music with an array
of hardware and software samplers, that are then fed into various effects or effects chains
for further manipulations. His draws inspiration from producers like Biosphere, Flying Lotus, Teebs, and Nils Frahm. Field recordings are an important part of the production and
lend additional dimensions to the music and extend the textures and moods.

The idea for the album came in summer 2020. At first I only played around on my piano for myself. More and more ideas came up and I started to take recordings. After producing electronic music for more than 20 years and publishing it under different names, the corona pandemic slowed life down. No more gigs, clubs closed, festivals
canceled. For me the chance to try new things and find a new way to make music.

Without the club context, I was free in my mind. Making music right out of myself was a liberating feeling. I could do what had been dormant in me for a long time. There were attempts now and then, but in the end I couldn't get rid of the feeling of always
doing techno. Nice too, but not everything for me.
Many inspirations of my music come from artists such as Nils Frahm, Ólafur Arnalds, Yann Tiersen, Martin Kohlstedt, Poppy Ackroyd and many others, as well as nature, forest and city noises. And often from the instruments themselves.

I switched my setup in the studio from the electronic to a minimalist instrument setup, just piano, double bass and a Moog synthesizer. I also like the background noise that comes from an instrument, like the hammers and dampers on the piano, the fingerboard and bow noises of the double bass. So I tried a lot of recording
techniques and microphones until I found the sound I was looking for.

After a few recordings, a number of pieces came together that went well together. I decided to finish it as an album. Some of them are one-takes with the associated imperfections, others are recorded and arranged layer by layer in the studio. I also used field recordings. A warm summer rain was the starting point for "Rain".
The album will be released in May 2021 as a limited vinyl edition and digitally on my newly founded label "Feldeffekt".

Backed by members of the David Nance Group, Rosali (Long Hots, Wandering Shade, Monocot) wades through the emotional mire with infectious, earworm melodies led by her luminous voice. With their rich, raw instrumentation, these rock ballads sound like the resilience discovered in facing one’s darkest moments, the assurance of the calm and clarity that comes after the storm. As she sings on the second track, “Bones,” “Through the darkness of the field / I walk through without yielding / To the rest of the feelings / I’m carrying.” With her confident song craft, Rosali illustrates the ability to push through, moving toward something greater without being destroyed by the weight of trauma.

Engineered by James Shroeder and featuring Kevin Donahue (Simon Joyner), James Shroeder (Simon Joyner, DNG, Connor Oberst), David Nance, Noah Sterba, Colin Duckworth, and Daniel Knapp, the album was recorded in ten days and the raw immediacy of the music is palpable across these ten tracks. Added adornment was contributed by Philadelphia's Robbie Bennett (War on Drugs) on organ and keys, and Matt Barrick (The Walkmen, Jonathan Fire Eater, Muzz) makes a percussion cameo on “Whisper,”which was tracked at Philly’s Silent Partner Studio, where No Medium was mixed by Quentin Stoltzfus (Mazarin, Light Heat). The open creative collaboration elevated the songs, resulting in the exciting, vibrant sound of the album.

Rosali wrote the bulk of these songs in January of 2019 while on a self-imposed two week residency in the hills of South Carolina. Alone in an old farmhouse, she experienced supernatural events and faced her own demons in the deepest darkness. Perhaps as a result, there is a boldness that permeates the album, a daring vulnerability in both the lyrical themes and their musical accompaniment. Rosali says, “I approach guitar playing the same intuitive way I sing, which is profoundly spiritual for me. Where words fail, the guitar becomes the conduit for raw feelings, providing a direct connection to them. I’m constantly working on being fearless in my work, which means showing the rough side, the mistakes along with the triumphs.”

While writing No Medium, Rosali was inspired by harmonographs—swinging pendulums that create beautiful illustrations of the mathematics of music—considering how the mind, too, creates images through song. She imagined herself as the swinging pendulum—“a body suspended from a fixed point” (Encyclopedia Britannica), governed by the forces surrounding her. She thought about the pendulum’s relationship to time, movement, and even its use in divination practices. The album’s title, lifted from Charlotte Brontë’s, Jane Eyre, resonated with this vision: “I know no medium: I never in my life have known any medium in my dealings with positive, hard characters, antagonistic to my own, between absolute submission and determined revolt. I have always faithfully observed the one, up to the very moment of bursting, sometimes with volcanic vehemence, into the other.” With the multiple meanings of “medium”—as middle ground, a term for psychics, and as the material of artistic expression—No Medium felt like the appropriate name, describing how the self is shaped by the patterns of life .

The influences for the sound of No Medium reflect this pairing of assured vulnerability, in the stylistic coherence of Bob Dylan’s Desire, the tender delivery in Iain Matthews’ Journey From Gospel Oak, the strut and swagger of Bowie’s Hunky Dory, the ambition and beauty of Gene Clark’s No Other, and the playful catharsis of Harry Nilsson’s Nilsson Schmilsson. The Richard and Linda Thompson-esque album opener “Mouth,” places Rosali within both a physical and emotional space. “East of the river I was travelling on / watch me lie, undone / rest me in a forest, overgrown / until I am free of all that I’ve known,” she sings. There is movement, both within a cityscape, and in her outlook on love. Speaking of her thought process when writing the song, she says, “I imagine confidently walking away from the past, toward a new approach to love and intimacy to achieve a closer relationship with myself.”

In “Pour Over Ice,” Rosali explores her relationship with alcohol and her former reliance upon it as a social lubricant to quell her social anxiety, an energizer to keep moving, a means to cope and self-medicate, and most addictively, to lure out her wild side as a free flowing, good time girl. While drinking helped her through some shitty times, it eventually got the upper hand and became an insatiable hole within. She says, “The ‘you’ in the song is really me, talking to that component of myself struggling with drinking and self-sabotage, caught up in the cycle, and all the bad choices I made.” She sings, “Maybe I didn’t care enough / or can’t remember / chasing small pleasures / making fire from embers.” Rosali wanted her lead guitar on this track to simultaneously sound like a slow motion car crash propelling her through the day, and the sound of a gnawing hunger for something more.

Rosali’s alliance with the Omaha musicians that orbit David Nance Group (including Nance himself) came about while on a Long Hots / DNG tour in the summer of 2019. Great friendships formed and one night after playing in Detroit, Dave suggested they be her backing band. The pairing was effortless and natural, and in November of the same year, they were recording No Medium in a basement in Omaha.

Otto A Totland's modern compositional elements are most widely recognized as half of the Norwegian duo Deaf Center, where his melancholic, intricate piano work provides haunting relief to the beds of noise and deep strings from Erik K Skodvin. Pinô is the first full-length release by Totland, though his solo work has been released once, as the 5-minute A-side of Sonic Pieces 7inch Harmony From the Past. Otto's previously brief vignettes are now expanded into a fully personal realization of his own style.
Initial track Open fills itself with heavy, knowing pauses that quickly become overwhelmed with the desire to understand what's to come. Each silence leads into quick flutters of keys, preparing the listener for a vast terrain of giddy beauty, bleak depths, and true contentedness. Pinô quickly recalls deep winter; in front of a fireplace for days on end, you lose how far along you've ventured into the 18 tracks without any idea how far is left to go. The experience feels inevitable, with no other option but to curl up somewhere cozy and appreciate the sense of timelessness that Totland has created. His album is a haunting modern compositional treasure, expressed through instrumentals completely unique to Totland and captured masterfully by Nils Frahm at Durton Studios.
With Pinô, Otto A Totland appears out of the Norwegian landscape, sharing an achievement that will provide a relief during the brooding winter darkness. Though a highly personal endeavor, the recognizable continuation of Totland's compositions will attract fans of Deaf Center, and the cinematic and classical components of his solo work will hold sway for those familiar with Harold Budd or Dustin O'Halloran.

The Pinô 2nd edition LP comes in a reversed cardboard jacket, printed in- and outside with full tone colours and holds printed innersleeves with the original artwork.

Straight Outta Caledonia is the first commercially available “Greatest Hits” of the outsider songwriter Jackie Leven, an artist
who has largely remained in obscurity in his native Scotland despite being one of the greatest wordsmiths – and singers – it ever
produced. A well-travelled musician who began making psychedelic, progressive music in the late 60s before emerging as an
epic storyteller full of pathos, humour and humanity in the 90s, Leven lived and wrote like many of the fragile, gregarious
characters of his songs; large, full of life and empathy. Leven passed away in 2011 after recording 30+ albums under different
guises or with his briefly successful New Wave band Doll by Doll. Straight Outta Caledonia is a compilation collated by Night
School Records on its Archival label School Daze that seeks to introduce Leven’s music to new generations.
In an age of isolation, alienation and loss of visceral experience, Jackie Leven’s music can be massive and welcoming. It feels
connected to some universal humanity and vibrates with vitality. His songs are often full of tragedy and comedy simultaneously,
cutting straight to the heart, often plugging directly into the nervous system of the listener. His lyrics are rich, dense with imagery
that can veer from apocalyptic to the comically banal in a sentence, with a songwriting panache that can be heavy handed to
almost bursting point before skewering the song with a clownish, warm punchline. His productions ranged from Bob Dylan’s
Rolling Thunder Revue style rock band orchestrations with strings and organ as on the epic Ancient Misty Morning or they could
be pared down to the purest form of folk song as on Poortoun: Leven on stage alone with an acoustic guitar, albeit played with a
mastery of the instrument that he often only hinted at. Musically his sound can bend traditional structures or stay completely
confined within them yet still forever push towards an ecstatic release, as on the cinematic Snow In Central Park.
The most exciting, jaw-droppingly effective tool at Leven’s disposal was his voice. A multi-octave instrument that, though
damaged during a savage assault in Fife, he used with flair; he had both a brazen disregard for the rules and a deep humility, all
of which is evidenced with every phrasing. A baritone that could flit up through the register – always touched by his gentle
Kirkcaldy accent – it’s the prime delivery method for his songs. Leven’s voice enabled him to inhabit the characters in his songs to
an uncanny degree, a skill that in turn enables the listener to empathise with them and, subsequently, the singer. It’s most evident
in stand out song The Sexual Loneliness Of Jesus Christ, a breathtaking re-telling of the life of its protagonist, not as a pure,
sinless messiah but as a sexually frustrated, solitary man condemned to an existential loneliness no one else will ever feel. In
many ways the track is the archetypal Jackie Leven song. Produced by Pere Ubu’s David Thomas, what strikes the ear first –
after the samples of unemployed workers in Glasgow following the closing of the Clyde shipyards – is the audacious, rhythmic
tremolo effect Leven employs through the verses before the production opens up to allow Leven’s vocal to lift into a soar, a
freeing glide powered both by the force of the singer’s chutzpah and the inherent, doomed destiny of the protagonist. With any
other singer such subject matter could come across as gauche or worse, pretentiously sonorous, but Jackie Leven’s genius was
such that he could be this cinematic and brazen while touching something elemental and true in the beholder. It’s a skill evident in
every song on Straight Outta Caledonia, the trademark of a songwriter who revelled and excelled in intensity with a lightness of
touch.
In his lifetime, Jackie Leven toured, wrote and recorded at a ferocious rate. He recorded under aliases to avoid record contract
restrictions, played house shows in Europe after or instead of official concerts, events which were often spoken word story telling
masterclasses as well as performances of his often bewilderingly dense songbook. His music has traditionally been catalogued
as “folk” music and has been largely banished to a small, dedicated group of international fans and apostles both private and well
known, like author Ian Rankin or Glenn Matlock. Since his passing in 2011 however, there has been a growing recognition
amongst a newer generation, with artists like James Yorkston or Molly Nilsson publicly stating the influence of the unsung
troubadour on their own craft. Jackie Leven’s fairytales for hard men are often forensic deconstructions of masculinity, sad and
ecstatic, light and shadow, always endlessly rich, a resource as bountiful as Leven himself’s human spirit undoubtedly was.

The Slovakian-Norwegian orchestra Angrusori releases its debut-album “Live at Tou” on Hudson Records in May 2021.
This album combines, and at times fuses two distinctive spheres of musical culture: on the one hand, an ancient migratory song tradition, and on the other, contemporary, experimental improvisation. Since 2016, a group of musicians from the Norway based Kitchen Orchestra and the Slovak Roma community have collaborated on the project Phuterdo re (open ear), now renamed as the band Angrusori (ring).
New connections have been developed between contemporary improvised
music from Norway and traditional Slovak Roma music, beautifully re-composed and hybridized by Nils Henrik Asheim and Iva Bittov - helped along by
contributing musicians and hours of collaborative work.
For a number of years, researcher Jana Beli ov has worked with the Roma
population in Slovakia, collecting and documenting songs rarely heard outside
the Slovakian countryside. This album offers a collection of these songs in a
remoulded and repackaged format, inviting both old and new listeners of Roma
music, and appealing to diverse audiences within and outside the Slovakian
vernacular.
These are songs from an otherwise secluded society, songs usually shared in
people’s homes and kitchens. They are songs telling stories of a different European reality, encompassing experiences of social segregation, abject poverty
and ill health, or love, jealousy and loss - stories of specific and universal human
tragedies, which nevertheless bear within them enduring qualities of resilience
and togetherness.
It is music that seeks to give renewed hope for our shared and interdependent
humanity, through its ability to cross borders.

Re-press of the 2018 LP on green vinyl
In many ways Insecure Men - the band led by the fiercely talented songwriter and musician Saul Adamczewski and his schoolmate and stabilising influence, Ben Romans-Hopcraft - are the polar opposite of the Fat White Family. Whereas sleaze-mired, country-influenced, drug-crazed garage punks the Fat Whites are a “celebration of everything that is wrong in life”, Insecure Men, who blend together exotica, easy listening, lounge and timeless pop music, are, by comparison at least, the last word in wholesomeness. The band originally formed in 2015 in the cramped confines of The Queens Head pub, Stockwell, in the Fat White Family’s notorious South London ‘practice space’. Saul recorded all of the songs he wrote at The Queens Head onto tape at Sean Lennon’s studio in upstate New York. This tape, recorded on his own in a corridor onto an ancient Tascam while in a foul mood with his mates, essentially became Insecure Men’s self-titled debut album as more layers were dubbed over the top until nothing of the original demos remained. Saul lists some of the influences on their sound, mentioning the exotica of Arthur Lyman, the early electronic pop of Perrey and Kingsley, the supreme smoothness of The Carpenters, the songwriting chops of Harry Nilsson and the hypnagogic uncanniness conjured up by David Lynch, describing what they do as “pretty music with a dark underbelly to it”.

“A good piece of rocking jazz, miles away from an academic approach but with a good shot of euphoric guitar and down-to-earth energy instead.
Here the band “”Tini Thomsen MaxSax”” brings its own nuanced,
powerfully stylistic sophistication.
”Just moving up a gear,” says Tini Thomsen. One woman and one saxophone - a match made in heaven! In the hands of Katharina ”Tini” Thomsen, the baritone saxophone - a rather massive, heavy instrument, after all - attains a sonic beauty definitely worth listening to.
The spectrum ranges from robust, resounding rhythms to versatile melody parts and fast-paced, earthy solos and - occasionally! - on to excursions into the more tender and balladesque. Considering that the instrument is a rarity among male musicians, the combination, Thomsen & ”Bari” holds membership - both nationally and internationally - to a small and exclusive group of such ”duos”.
It is even more fortunate that, in Nigel Hitchcock on alto saxophone, she has found the perfect counterpart not only musically, but privately as well.”

“Jazzrausch Bigband is making jazz sexy again” -
Bayerischer Rundfunk
The ensemble’s ingenious mix of techno and big
band jazz has proved to be just as accessible to
people listening to the band from the comfort of
their seats in a concert hall as it has to those
sweating it out on the dancefloor.
Since 2015 Jazzrausch Bigband have been in
residence at Harry Klein in Munich, a club
renowned for its house and techno acts as well as
for its stunning live visuals; this cooperation
between a techno club and a big band is a truly
unique one.
DownBeat magazine singled out not just the
band’s “high-voltage performances” and “party
atmosphere” but also the amount of
experimentation going on.
LP pressed on 180g vinyl.

“Hey Moon” remains one of Swedish singer Molly Nilsson’s most popular songs. Originally released on her debut album These Things Take Time, the song since took on new life being covered by other artists and Molly famously never plays it live. In act of reclamation, Molly Nilsson is releasing Hey Moon as a 7” single with all profits donated to Black Lives Matter worldwide. It comes backed with a rare early song, Silver.