Cerca:off pop

The Dandy Warhols - 'Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia' jetzt als Reissue auf Vinyl!

Das Kultalbum der Dandy Warhols vereint Psychedelic-Rock, Alternative-Pop und entspannten Indie-Vibe. Mit Hits wie 'Bohemian Like You', dem hypnotischen 'Godless' und der treibenden Energie von 'Get Off' ist es ein Soundtrack voller Attitüde und lässigem Charme. Jetzt als 2LP auf transparent-blauem Vinyl, bringt diese Neuauflage frischen Glanz in einen modernen Klassiker. Ein Must-have für Fans von 90s-Alternative und darüber hinaus!

- Ltd. Col. 2LP: (Transparent Blue Vinyl)

Die Musik von Prima Queen ist offen, mitreissend, charismatisch und eine Welt für sich. Wenn man sich ihr grossartiges Debütalbum "The Prize" auf Submarine Cat anhört, möchte man in all seinen überschwänglichen, einfühlsamen Melodien eintauchen und in der Wärme der beneidenswerten Verbindung zwischen den beiden Musikerinnen baden, die den Kern der Platte bildet. Die 12 Songs von Louise Macphail und Kristin McFadden greifen auf das schillernde Pop-Gefühl von HAIM und Jenny Lewis zurück und sind von der Offenheit des Geistes geprägt. Sie sind von der Euphorie inspiriert, die Prima Queen im vergangenen Jahr auf der Bühne erlebte, als sie mit Olivia Dean, Dream Wife und Swim Deep tourten. Die beiden Frauen etablieren sich als scharfsinnige, erfrischend offene Songwriterinnen, die übergrosse Gefühle mit Anmut und Witz zum Ausdruck bringen.

Einst waren Rialto unverletzlich ("Untouchable"), sind aber bereits Ende der 90er erst morgens nach fünf heimgekommen ("Monday Morning 5.19"), nun kündigen die britischen Kult-Britpopper ihr erstes neues Album seit 24 Jahren an: "Neon & Ghost Signs" wird im April 2025 über Fierce Panda Records veröffentlicht. Es ist eine Reunion, die nicht so sehr von der Sehnsucht nach der Vergangenheit angetrieben wird, sondern vielmehr von der Dringlichkeit, das Beste aus dem Jetzt zu genießen. Vor sechs Jahren wurde Sänger und Songschreiber Louis Eliot während eines Spanienurlaubs für eine Notoperation ins Krankenhaus gebracht und ist dabei kurz dem Tode nah gewesen. Seine vollständige Genesung war eine Epiphanie. "Man könnte meinen, wenn man dem Tod sehr nahe ist, sollte man anfangen, sich um sich selbst zu kümmern", sagt er. ,Aber ich bin einfach mit Vollgas meiner Jugend hinterhergejagt. Ich dachte mir nur: Egal, vielleicht bin ich nächste Woche nicht mehr da, ich stürze mich einfach rein." Ein Teil von Eliots Wiedergeburt bestand darin, dass er eine langjährige Beziehung hinter sich ließ, um erneut in die Londoner Club-Szene einzutauchen. Ein bedeutender Teil davon waren die Romantik und die Verwundbarkeit, die er dort fand. Ein anderer Teil davon war die Erkenntnis, dass die Songs, die in dieser Zeit entstanden - Lieder über Liebe und Verlust, Hedonismus und Reue, die in wehmütigen Geisterstunden spielen - ein Ruf aus der (eigenen) Vergangenheit waren. Neon and Ghost Signs eröffnet in gewollt simpler und eingängiger Dancefloor-Ästhetik mit der ersten Single "No One Leaves This Discoteque Alive". Eliot, mit einem lasziven Brel-Knurren, vergießt Tränen in der Discotheque, ist "der Hund der Londoner Stadt", wo "die Laken mit Gold befleckt sind", der darauf aus ist, "seinen Kopf zu verlieren" und Liebe als perfekten Sturm zu erleben. Es ist der Auftakt zu einem "Durch die Nacht mit...", den das gesamte Album mit der von Rialto bekannten Widescreen-Pop Leidenschaft verfolgt. Rialto waren in Südostasien Superstars mit Doppel-Platin und in Großbritannien immer ein hochgelobter Kult, aber zweifellos eine Band, die ihrer ästhetischen Zeit voraus war. Nach dem zweiten Album Night on Earth im Jahr 2001 löste sich die Band auf und Eliot arbeitete regelmäßig mit Grace Jones und Danny Goffey von Supergrass zusammen; als Songwriter schrieb er u. a. das mit dem Ivor Novello ausgezeichnete "Leave Right Now" für Will Young; er veröffentlichte 2004 ein Soloalbum und 2010 eine sehr ländlich klingende Platte als Louis Eliot And The Embers und veranstaltet das Port Eliot Festival in Cornwall mit 8.000 Besuchern. Als col. LP, CD oder MC!

Die beliebte New Yorker Rockband Sunflower Bean meldet sich neu belebt mit ihrem vierten Album zurück. In Eigenregie produziert, von Caesar Edmunds (The Killers, Wet Leg) gemischt und von Sarah Tudzin (Illuminati Hotties, Boygenius) engineert, liess sich die Band von Alternative Rock, verträumter Psychedelia und Arena-Ehrgeiz inspirieren, um mit "Mortal Primetime" das härteste und verletzlichste Album ihrer Karriere zu liefern. Die Songs sind ungeschminkt und offen, Dissonanz und Unsicherheit werden akzeptiert. Sunflower Beans breite Palette von Einflüssen würden die meisten Bands nicht wagen, in einem Satz zusammenzufassen, und diese Kühnheit hat sie undefinierbar gemacht. Der Power-Pop-Opener "Champagne Taste" kanalisiert Iggy Pops "The Idiot"-Phase, "Look What You've Done To Me" beschwört den beunruhigenden Wahnsinn und die Launenhaftigkeit von Kate Bush, und die hochfliegenden Powercords auf "Nothing Romantic" erinnern an Arena-taugliche 70/80er Hits von Heart, Pat Benatar und Joan Jett. "Manchmal denke ich, diese Platte ist wie eine Mischung aus Belle And Sebastian und Alice In Chains", sagt Frontfrau Julia Cumming.

Die Modern Folk-Künstlerin Jensen McRae hat das Veröffentlichungsdatum ihres mit Spannung erwarteten zweiten Albums „I Don't Know How But They Found Me!“ bekannt gegeben, das am 25. April über Dead Oceans erscheinen wird. Zusammen mit der Ankündigung hat sie auch ihre neueste Single und das Video „Praying For Your Downfall“ veröffentlicht, ein Meisterwerk der Offenheit, das Witz und Charme verbindet, während McRae darüber nachdenkt, wie sie den Drang nach Rache an jemandem, der ihr das Herz gebrochen hat, loslassen kann.



Jensen McRae - Praying For Your Downfall (Official Video)



Vor dem Hintergrund von Herzschmerz, Selbstfindung und der Komplexität der Liebe ist „I Don't Know How But They Found Me!“ eine mutige Entwicklung für die junge Künstlerin. Das elf Titel umfassende Album, das in North Carolina mit Brad Cook (Waxahatchee, Bon Iver) aufgenommen wurde und an dem Nathan Stocker (Hippo Campus), Matthew McCaughan (Bon Iver) und ihr Bruder Holden McRae mitgewirkt haben, ist eine lebendige Sammlung von Songs, die von messerscharfen Texten und zeitlosen Pop-Melodien getragen werden. McRaes Stimme ist so vielseitig wie ihr Songwriting - mal flüsternd und strukturiert, dann wieder klar und hell. Es ist eine Stimme, die sowohl den Herzschmerz des Verlassenwerdens als auch die Stärke des Verlassens verkörpert.



Von Anfang an haben sich die Fans in Jensen McRae verliebt, für ihre scharfsinnigen, aufrüttelnden und klarsichtigen Songs. Ihr Songwriting ist verletzlich, ja, aber es ist auch stark, weil es sich nicht zurückhält. „I Don't Know How But They Found Me!“ zeigt McRaes Entwicklung von einer vielversprechenden jungen Künstlerin zu einer echten Songwriterin und Star. „Die tiefgreifendsten Entscheidungen meines Lebens“, sagt McRae, “haben sich oft wie Dinge angefühlt, die ich getan habe, bevor ich dazu bereit war, und in die ich hineinwachsen musste.“ „I Don't Know How But They Found Me!“ handelt davon, was folgt, wenn man dem widerstanden hat, von dem man dachte, dass es einen vernichten würde. Es geht darum, seine Grenzen kennenzulernen und zu erfahren, wozu man fähig ist. „Ich verband mich mit dem Gedanken, dass ich leicht unter dem Gewicht dessen, was mir widerfahren ist, hätte zusammenbrechen können, aber ich tat es nicht. Ich wusste es nicht einmal“, sagt sie, ‚aber ich war die ganze Zeit kugelsicher“. Jensen McRae ist in L.A. geboren und aufgewachsen und hat fast ihr ganzes Leben lang Musik studiert und gemacht. In der High School nahm sie am Grammy Camp teil und schloss ihr Studium an der USC Thornton School of Music mit einem Abschluss in Popular Music ab. McRaes Debütalbum „Are You Happy Now?“ schrieb sie größtenteils im Alter von 21 Jahren und war der erste Schritt zum Aufbau einer treuen Fangemeinde. „Are You Happy Now?“ navigiert die Identität von ihren tiefsten Grundlagen - dem Leben als junge, gemischtrassige schwarze und jüdische Frau - bis hin zu ihren persönlichsten Überlegungen - vertraue ich dir, vertraue ich mir selbst. McRaes Vertrauen in sich selbst hat sich mehrfach bestätigt, zuletzt und vielleicht am bekanntesten in Form des Songs „Massachusetts“. McRae postete eine Solo-Strophe und einen Refrain, kaum mehr als ein Stück eines Demos, und es fing Feuer im Internet. Covers, Duette und eine Lawine neuer Fans folgten, und McRae krönte den Moment mit einer fertigen Version und einer sommerlangen Tournee als Support von Noah Kahan. „I Don't Know How But They Found Me!“ nimmt McRaes mittlerweile beachtliche Fähigkeiten auf und macht sie massentauglich. „Savannah“ ist ein Song für alle, die schon lange dabei sind. Der pulsierende, an Country angelehnte Song erinnert sofort an das Beste von Phoebe Bridgers, wobei McRae in einem akrobatischen Flüsterton über einer federleichten akustischen Gitarre singt. Wenn „Savannah“ sein Crescendo erreicht, wird klar, dass McRae eine Künstlerin mit einer ganz eigenen Kraft ist, wenn sich Klavier und Gitarre überlagern und McRae eine Reihe bissiger Anklagen mit Schärfe und Überzeugung vorträgt: "You swore you'd raise our kids to end up just like you / well you're a false prophet / and that's a goddamn promise." Währenddessen ist „Let Me Be Wrong“ eine echte Hymne, eine beschwingte Ode an die Ablehnung von Perfektionismus. Wiederum auf einem einfachen Gesang und einer Akustikgitarre aufbauend, steigert sich „Let Me Be Wrong“ Schritt für Schritt in seinem Trotz; die Gitarren schichten sich, das Schlagzeug nimmt das Tempo auf, und McRae macht Platz für die Fehler aller. Wenn McRae knurrt „fuck those girls got everything“, ist das ein Schlag voller Kraft und Verletzlichkeit, der darum bettelt, unisono so laut wie möglich gebrüllt zu werden. Der ungewöhnliche Titel ihres zweiten Albums? Er stammt aus einer Zeile in McRaes Lieblingsfilm „Zurück in die Zukunft“. Ein Hauptdarsteller überlebt einen Kugelhagel, und dieses Bild hat McRae sehr beeindruckt. „Ich habe mich mit dem Gedanken angefreundet, dass ich leicht unter dem Gewicht dessen, was mir passiert ist, hätte zusammenbrechen können, aber das habe ich nicht. Ich wusste es nicht einmal“, sagt McRae, “aber ich war die ganze Zeit über kugelsicher.“

“Heart of Night,” a split EP co-released by Gar Hole Records (Fayetteville, AR) and Mashed Potato Records, offers two prime examples of modern alternative Americana music’s exciting trajectory: the Ozark-induced warbles and clever country stylings of Nick Shoulders, and the swampy pop songs and dreamy harmonies of The Lostines. This collaboration is an homage to the places and people we call home. It’s the ideal accompaniment to steamy slow dancing deep in a pitch black, heavy and humid Arkansas night, or for swinging someone around in a vibrant, neon lit New Orleans dive. It’s also the soundtrack for ruminating on the heart’s capacity for simultaneous strength and fragility, the connections between different modalities, homes, and loves.

For Heart of Night’s cover, intricate, hand-drawn artwork and lettering from tastemaker illustrator Taylor W. Rushing mirrors the duality of the flora and fauna of two terrains — the cypress swamps and the Ozark Mountains — from which this four-song collection springs.

Einst waren Rialto unverletzlich ("Untouchable"), sind aber bereits Ende der 90er erst morgens nach fünf heimgekommen ("Monday Morning 5.19"), nun kündigen die britischen Kult-Britpopper ihr erstes neues Album seit 24 Jahren an: "Neon & Ghost Signs" wird im April 2025 über Fierce Panda Records veröffentlicht. Es ist eine Reunion, die nicht so sehr von der Sehnsucht nach der Vergangenheit angetrieben wird, sondern vielmehr von der Dringlichkeit, das Beste aus dem Jetzt zu genießen. Vor sechs Jahren wurde Sänger und Songschreiber Louis Eliot während eines Spanienurlaubs für eine Notoperation ins Krankenhaus gebracht und ist dabei kurz dem Tode nah gewesen. Seine vollständige Genesung war eine Epiphanie. "Man könnte meinen, wenn man dem Tod sehr nahe ist, sollte man anfangen, sich um sich selbst zu kümmern", sagt er. ,Aber ich bin einfach mit Vollgas meiner Jugend hinterhergejagt. Ich dachte mir nur: Egal, vielleicht bin ich nächste Woche nicht mehr da, ich stürze mich einfach rein." Ein Teil von Eliots Wiedergeburt bestand darin, dass er eine langjährige Beziehung hinter sich ließ, um erneut in die Londoner Club-Szene einzutauchen. Ein bedeutender Teil davon waren die Romantik und die Verwundbarkeit, die er dort fand. Ein anderer Teil davon war die Erkenntnis, dass die Songs, die in dieser Zeit entstanden - Lieder über Liebe und Verlust, Hedonismus und Reue, die in wehmütigen Geisterstunden spielen - ein Ruf aus der (eigenen) Vergangenheit waren. Neon and Ghost Signs eröffnet in gewollt simpler und eingängiger Dancefloor-Ästhetik mit der ersten Single "No One Leaves This Discoteque Alive". Eliot, mit einem lasziven Brel-Knurren, vergießt Tränen in der Discotheque, ist "der Hund der Londoner Stadt", wo "die Laken mit Gold befleckt sind", der darauf aus ist, "seinen Kopf zu verlieren" und Liebe als perfekten Sturm zu erleben. Es ist der Auftakt zu einem "Durch die Nacht mit...", den das gesamte Album mit der von Rialto bekannten Widescreen-Pop Leidenschaft verfolgt. Rialto waren in Südostasien Superstars mit Doppel-Platin und in Großbritannien immer ein hochgelobter Kult, aber zweifellos eine Band, die ihrer ästhetischen Zeit voraus war. Nach dem zweiten Album Night on Earth im Jahr 2001 löste sich die Band auf und Eliot arbeitete regelmäßig mit Grace Jones und Danny Goffey von Supergrass zusammen; als Songwriter schrieb er u. a. das mit dem Ivor Novello ausgezeichnete "Leave Right Now" für Will Young; er veröffentlichte 2004 ein Soloalbum und 2010 eine sehr ländlich klingende Platte als Louis Eliot And The Embers und veranstaltet das Port Eliot Festival in Cornwall mit 8.000 Besuchern. Als col. LP, CD oder MC!

Virginia Beach's Turnover has never been a band afraid of telling the truth. The emotional honesty poured out over a number of anthemic releases has been a proven formula of success for the band, but on their sophomore LP Peripheral Vision, the band treads into deeper water. Working again with Magnolia producer Will Yip (Title Fight, Circa Survive), Turnover's latest record shows a band maturing to create their best effort: an ethereal, reverb-drenched soundscape blending elements of hazy dream pop and the delicate emo rock of yesteryear. Songs like "Hello Euphoria" and "Like Slow Disappearing" highlight the new calmer, more subdued approach to songwriting, matched by Austin Getz's somber, confessional lyrics that echo throughout songs as if his words were haunting every measure. Peripheral Vision solidifies the idea that Turnover is a band with its finger on the pulse of its generation: growing and learning with every release, but never failing to provide a relatable, cathartic experience for anyone listening.

Einst waren Rialto unverletzlich ("Untouchable"), sind aber bereits Ende der 90er erst morgens nach fünf heimgekommen ("Monday Morning 5.19"), nun kündigen die britischen Kult-Britpopper ihr erstes neues Album seit 24 Jahren an: "Neon & Ghost Signs" wird im April 2025 über Fierce Panda Records veröffentlicht. Es ist eine Reunion, die nicht so sehr von der Sehnsucht nach der Vergangenheit angetrieben wird, sondern vielmehr von der Dringlichkeit, das Beste aus dem Jetzt zu genießen. Vor sechs Jahren wurde Sänger und Songschreiber Louis Eliot während eines Spanienurlaubs für eine Notoperation ins Krankenhaus gebracht und ist dabei kurz dem Tode nah gewesen. Seine vollständige Genesung war eine Epiphanie. "Man könnte meinen, wenn man dem Tod sehr nahe ist, sollte man anfangen, sich um sich selbst zu kümmern", sagt er. ,Aber ich bin einfach mit Vollgas meiner Jugend hinterhergejagt. Ich dachte mir nur: Egal, vielleicht bin ich nächste Woche nicht mehr da, ich stürze mich einfach rein." Ein Teil von Eliots Wiedergeburt bestand darin, dass er eine langjährige Beziehung hinter sich ließ, um erneut in die Londoner Club-Szene einzutauchen. Ein bedeutender Teil davon waren die Romantik und die Verwundbarkeit, die er dort fand. Ein anderer Teil davon war die Erkenntnis, dass die Songs, die in dieser Zeit entstanden - Lieder über Liebe und Verlust, Hedonismus und Reue, die in wehmütigen Geisterstunden spielen - ein Ruf aus der (eigenen) Vergangenheit waren. Neon and Ghost Signs eröffnet in gewollt simpeler und eingängiger Dancefloor-Ästhetik mit der ersten Single "No One Leaves This Discoteque Alive". Eliot, mit einem lasziven Brel-Knurren, vergießt Tränen in der Discotheque, ist "der Hund der Londoner Stadt", wo "die Laken mit Gold befleckt sind", der darauf aus ist, "seinen Kopf zu verlieren" und Liebe als perfekten Sturm zu erleben. Es ist der Auftakt zu einem "Durch die Nacht mit...", den das gesamte Album mit der von Rialto bekannten Widescreen-Pop Leidenschaft verfolgt. Rialto waren in Südostasien Superstars mit Doppel-Platin und in Großbritannien immer ein hochgelobter Kult, aber zweifellos eine Band, die ihrer ästhetischen Zeit voraus war. Nach dem zweiten Album Night on Earth im Jahr 2001 löste sich die Band auf und Eliot arbeitete regelmäßig mit Grace Jones und Danny Goffey von Supergrass zusammen; als Songwriter schrieb er u. a. das mit dem Ivor Novello ausgezeichnete "Leave Right Now" für Will Young; er veröffentlichte 2004 ein Soloalbum und 2010 eine sehr ländlich klingende Platte als Louis Eliot And The Embers und veranstaltet das Port Eliot Festival in Cornwall mit 8.000 Besuchern. Als col. LP, CD oder MC!

Hailed by Pitchfork for his “ambient, intimate…songs that blossom gently with intricate musical details and enigmatic lyrics,” Conner Youngblood gained early acclaim with a series of self-released singles and EPs before breaking out internationally with his 2018 full-length debut, Cheyenne, which fused electronic and analog elements into a lush mix of bedroom pop and chamber folk. Youngblood toured the record heavily until 2020, when the pandemic forced him off the road and, hungry for fresh inspiration, he began enrolling in Russian, Danish, Spanish, and Japanese language lessons. He didn’t realize it at the time, but those classes weren’t just expanding his vocabulary, they were laying the groundwork for his most ambitious, experimental album yet: Cascades, Cascading, Cascadingly.
 
Written and recorded at home in Nashville, the collection is a dreamy series of meditations steeped in desire and yearning, loneliness and loss, exhilaration and escape. The lyrics blur the lines between fact and fiction, toying with magical realism and outright abstraction in various languages, and the arrangements are surreal and cinematic to match, hinting at everything from Cocteau Twins to Atoms For Peace. In addition to producing and engineering, Youngblood played every instrument on the album himself, and the result is a pure, unfiltered journey deep into the subconscious of a relentlessly curious artist, one with a boundless imagination and an insatiable appetite for sonic exploration. 

Die Musik von Prima Queen ist offen, mitreissend, charismatisch und eine Welt für sich. Wenn man sich ihr grossartiges Debütalbum "The Prize" auf Submarine Cat anhört, möchte man in all seinen überschwänglichen, einfühlsamen Melodien eintauchen und in der Wärme der beneidenswerten Verbindung zwischen den beiden Musikerinnen baden, die den Kern der Platte bildet. Die 12 Songs von Louise Macphail und Kristin McFadden greifen auf das schillernde Pop-Gefühl von HAIM und Jenny Lewis zurück und sind von der Offenheit des Geistes geprägt. Sie sind von der Euphorie inspiriert, die Prima Queen im vergangenen Jahr auf der Bühne erlebte, als sie mit Olivia Dean, Dream Wife und Swim Deep tourten. Die beiden Frauen etablieren sich als scharfsinnige, erfrischend offene Songwriterinnen, die übergrosse Gefühle mit Anmut und Witz zum Ausdruck bringen.

This 45 comprises two killer pop dancers with plenty of psych fuzz guitars, punchy horns and funky beats: the in-demand Christie Laume's mod anthem 'Rouge-Rouge' and Marta Kubisova's 'Tak Dej Se K Nám A Projdem Sv?t' a glorious LP-only song that has never available on a 45 before. Sister-in-law of Edith Piaf (who introduced her to the music business), Christie Laume became a ye-ye style singer in '60s France. Her mod anthem 'Rouge, Rouge' (1967) is a great song that never fails in making the dance floor shake, taken from a very rare and in-demand E.P. On the flipside we can find Marta Kubisová, one of the most popular singers in the Czech Republic in the '60s. Her 'Tak Dej Se K Nám A Projdem Sv?t' is a glorious LP-only song from 1969 that has never available on a 45 before. Expect heavy basslines, punchy horns and fuzzy guitars. Both songs are officially reissued here on a 45 for the first time.

1990's Recurring, the fourth and final studio album by Spacemen 3, is often considered the introduction of two brilliant solo projects (Spectrum and Spiritualized) rather than the work of a functioning band. While Spacemen 3's departing statement surely reveals a deep divide within the S3 camp – each side of the LP was written by Sonic Boom and Jason Pierce separately and, unlike previous releases, the two do not play on each other's songs – Recurring maintains a cohesive, dreamy feel with its chief sonic officers backed by fellow travelers Will Carruthers, Mark Refoy and Jon Mattock.

Opening saga "Big City (Everybody I Know Can Be Found Here)" marries ambient haze with narcotized indie rock, while "I Love You" manages to arrange a beautiful flute alongside a defiantly throbbing bass track. "Hypnotized," a reimagined fuzz-pop hymn, would become the group's first entry in the UK Singles Charts. Recurring lays bare the essence of Spacemen 3's persistent sound, rooted in both aural expansion and phenomenal songwriting.

Includes download card and new insert with liner notes by Marc Masters.

2025 Blue Vinyl Repress

WRWTFWW Records is very honored to announce the official reissue of Grauzone's essential 1981 maxi single with timeless classic "Eisbär", proto-techno beast "FILM 2", and romantic synth ballad "Ich Lieb Sie", just in time for the 40th anniversary of the Swiss band's formation. The three-track vinyl is sourced from the original reels, cut at 45rpm, and comes with its iconic artwork on a 350gsm sleeve.

Ich möchte ein Eisbär sein...Written by Martin Eicher after a nightmare in which he saw talking polar bears on the walls, and with music by the Grauzone crew consisting of Martin and his brother Stephan Eicher, Marco Repetto, Christian "GT" Trüssel, and Claudine Chirac (on saxophone), "Eisbär" is the most recognizable title from the band, a sublime mix of ingredients reflecting the transitional era it comes from - the raw energy of punk music still palpable, combined with the audacity of early electronics, the warm groove of a disco gem, beautifully fragile lyrics, and one of the best basslines ever. It became a mega hit, totally unplanned, but how could you resist such a track

"FILM 2" is the ultimate b-side monster, a menacing all-instrumental pre-techno masterpiece, slowly building to a magnetizing frenzy. An instant underground favorite, it was famously heard played at both speeds depending on the scenes and DJs you were frequenting, 45rpm as it was first intended, and 33rpm for the cosmic experience (search Daniele Baldelli's Cosmic C75 1982 mixtape online for a great example of this).

The maxi single ends with "Ich Lieb Sie", a synth-pop meets doo-wop ballad, a true love song oozing with innocence. Simple, stylish, and just right.

At the crossroads of post-punk, new wave, pop, and electronic experimentation, the Eisbär maxi offers three songs that are technically different but hold the same spirit, the perfect embodiment of Grauzone's music - wild, unpredictable, and youthful, yet sophisticated, catchy, and ingenious. The magic recipe for the good stuff.

Stephan Eicher went on to be, arguably, the most successful Swiss musician ever, with an international career extending from pop chanson to experimental escapades and collaborations with Moondog, artists Sophie Calle and John Armleder, and author Martin Suter among many other luminaries. Marco Repetto flourished as a techno and ambient producer, releasing multiple projects including releases on Aphex Twin's Rephlex label.

Grauzone and WRWTFWW will continue to collaborate on the band's 40th anniversary reissue campaign, with numerous projects planned for the year, including a vast selection of music, visuals, and literature never available before.

4XLP. Hardcover slipcase box. Liner notes from Soichi Terada, Colour: translucent red, clear, blue, and yellow vinyl

It has been 25 years since the release of Saru Get You (サルゲッチュ), known stateside and in the UK as Ape Escape. Ape Escape marked a significant milestone for the PlayStation, as it was the first game to require use of the PlayStation's DualShock (analog) controller. In Ape Escape, the use of the analogue sticks goes beyond camera rotation and acts as an extension of Kakeru's (Spike's) own character, controlling his many gadgets like the stun club, time net, and sky flyer. It's a unique form of control that, really, didn't become popularized until the release of the Nintendo Wii. It feels like a distinctly Japanese design, the sort of off-the-wall design that is either embraced or rejected on a global scale. In Ape Escape's case, the mechanic caught on.

Ape Escape is fast, frantic, and—at times—downright frustrating. Pipo monkeys dash, taunt, and swim away from your advances. They ride water monsters, fly UFOs, and even shoot uzis! Whether it's Kakeru, his friends, or the monkeys themselves, the characters are always running across the levels. This mad dash is enhanced by the game's soundtrack, composed by legendary composer Soichi Terada. As he recalls, the director of the production said, "Spike and his friends always have the image of running." In response, Terada happily produced fast songs with an average speed of over 170bpm. The resulting gameplay and audio is a match made in heaven.

Ape Escape is the first game soundtrack Mr. Terada ever created. The producers of the game heard one of his singles, "Sumo Jungle," and thought his frenetic drum-and-bass (Jungle) would be perfect for the game. The marriage of Ape Escape's charming overworld and Soichi's upbeat compositions is nothing short
of sublime. Especially now, it is difficult to separate the mischievous Pipos and fast-paced action from Soichi Terada's silky smooth synthesizer and heart-pounding bass. Earlier this year (2024), Soichi Terada's Ape Escape work was celebrated by the six-track EP Apes in the Net, which includes music from Ape Escape 1 and 3 (Terada did not compose the series' second installment). The label, Rush Hour Music, has prestigiously championed almost all of Soichi Terada's music, especially his (specifically non-VGM) house, jungle, and drum and bass releases (Sounds from the Far East, Asakusa Light, and more).
Before Apes in the Net, Terada's Ape Escape music was only available on CD, released in Japan around 2010. This release featured reconstructed tracks created by Mr. Terada himself, identical to the music arrangements featured in the game. The biggest difference, of course, was that they were of higher fidelity than was originally available on the PS1 disk format. Completing all of the aforementioned releases is this box set, released by Far East Recording in partnership with Cartridge Thunder and officially licensed by Sony Computer Entertainment. This box set release includes four LPs, housed individually by a hardcover slipcase. This box set includes every song from Ape Escape 1, except those available on Apes in the Net. This box set release also includes one bonus song, previously unreleased anywhere else (including the game itself!).

The music on this box set was meticulously mastered by Justin Perkins of Mystery Room Mastering. Using Mr. Terada's premastered source files, the music was completely and specifically mastered for vinyl. Rounding out the audio is absolutely stunning artwork created by Gobo3D. CT worked with Gobo to recreate some of Ape Escape's most iconic characters, referencing the original Japanese guidebook and other promotional materials. The result is visually delicious 300dpi artwork that takes you straight back to 1999. As uber-fans of the original PlayStation game, Cartridge Thunder and Far East Recording are proud to celebrate Soichi Terada's music and pay our respects to such a legendary PlayStation franchise—on the original hardware's 30th anniversary no less! It's with a happy heart, then, that Far East Recording and CT present to you Soichi Terada's Ape Escape Originape Soundtracks in a Box.

Please note: due to licensing exclusivity, this release does not include tracks previously released on Apes in the Net

On their second record as The Convenience, Like Cartoon Vampires, New Orleans multi-instrumentalists Nick Corson and Duncan Troast embrace a hypnotic physicality and collage-y, spur-of-the-moment approach to composition. The result is an avant-rock soundworld, peppered with spidery, atonal guitar work, pointy rhythms, and strident feedback, which may strike as a total reinvention following the sugary funk-pop of their 2021 debut album Accelerator. With their second LP, following their inspiration meant creating with their hands much more than buttons or switches. Sessions were characterized by gnarly, improvisational jams as they tinkered with everything from cassette loops, found sounds, and 808s. Tracks like "Target Offer" and "Fake the Feeling" quake with ear-splitting guitar feedback, while "Pray'r" and "Rats" eschew their groove worship in favor of haunting minimalism. Song after song, Accelerator's pop influences are traded in for more eccentric frontiers, with the clear common denominators of their first two records being the duo's spellbinding, funky instincts and a mastery of texture. Lyrically, Like Cartoon Vampires collects dispatches from a dying empire-characters are devoured by alienation and vanity, though society doesn't bat an eye. But make no mistake, these songs are not merely disaffected ennui-music-making and collaboration are intensely emotional practices for The Convenience, and they reflect a shrieking lust for life.

On their second record as The Convenience, Like Cartoon Vampires, New Orleans multi-instrumentalists Nick Corson and Duncan Troast embrace a hypnotic physicality and collage-y, spur-of-the-moment approach to composition. The result is an avant-rock soundworld, peppered with spidery, atonal guitar work, pointy rhythms, and strident feedback, which may strike as a total reinvention following the sugary funk-pop of their 2021 debut album Accelerator. With their second LP, following their inspiration meant creating with their hands much more than buttons or switches. Sessions were characterized by gnarly, improvisational jams as they tinkered with everything from cassette loops, found sounds, and 808s. Tracks like "Target Offer" and "Fake the Feeling" quake with ear-splitting guitar feedback, while "Pray'r" and "Rats" eschew their groove worship in favor of haunting minimalism. Song after song, Accelerator's pop influences are traded in for more eccentric frontiers, with the clear common denominators of their first two records being the duo's spellbinding, funky instincts and a mastery of texture. Lyrically, Like Cartoon Vampires collects dispatches from a dying empire-characters are devoured by alienation and vanity, though society doesn't bat an eye. But make no mistake, these songs are not merely disaffected ennui-music-making and collaboration are intensely emotional practices for The Convenience, and they reflect a shrieking lust for life.

On their second record as The Convenience, Like Cartoon Vampires, New Orleans multi-instrumentalists Nick Corson and Duncan Troast embrace a hypnotic physicality and collage-y, spur-of-the-moment approach to composition. The result is an avant-rock soundworld, peppered with spidery, atonal guitar work, pointy rhythms, and strident feedback, which may strike as a total reinvention following the sugary funk-pop of their 2021 debut album Accelerator. With their second LP, following their inspiration meant creating with their hands much more than buttons or switches. Sessions were characterized by gnarly, improvisational jams as they tinkered with everything from cassette loops, found sounds, and 808s. Tracks like "Target Offer" and "Fake the Feeling" quake with ear-splitting guitar feedback, while "Pray'r" and "Rats" eschew their groove worship in favor of haunting minimalism. Song after song, Accelerator's pop influences are traded in for more eccentric frontiers, with the clear common denominators of their first two records being the duo's spellbinding, funky instincts and a mastery of texture. Lyrically, Like Cartoon Vampires collects dispatches from a dying empire-characters are devoured by alienation and vanity, though society doesn't bat an eye. But make no mistake, these songs are not merely disaffected ennui-music-making and collaboration are intensely emotional practices for The Convenience, and they reflect a shrieking lust for life.

Carrying on their longstanding dedication to the seminal output of Merzbow, Urashima returns with what is unquestionably their most ambitious release to date: “Collection 001-010”, a deluxe, 10 LP vinyl box set limited to 299 copies, gathering together the entirety of the project’s first ten releases, originally released in 1981. Encountering the band in its early incarnation of the duo of Masami Akita and Kiyoshi Mizutani, raw, exposed and bristling with energy, foreshadowing numerous trajectories they would follow over the coming years, these astounding full lengths - the majority of which have never been released on vinyl - come housed in a beautifully produced, deluxe wooden box, with each LP in its own individual sleeve reproducing the original artwork, and a LP-sized 32-page book containing reproductions of artworls and collages by Masami Akita, an interview conducted by Jim O'Rourke, and liner notes penned by Lasse Marhaug, Thurston Moore, and Akita himself, amounting to what is unquestionably one of the most historically significant releases we’re likely to encounter in 2025.

Deluxe Edition of 299 copies, remastered from the original analog tapes by Masami Akita, each LP comes in its individual sleeve reproducing the original artwork, also includes a LP-sized 32-page book. ** Since its founding during the late 2000s, the Italian imprint, Urashima, has become a definitive voice in the landscape of noise. Bringing forth beautiful limited edition releases, they’ve sculpted a singular vision of one of the most vibrant and revolutionary bodies of experimental sound to have graced the globe. Among the many projects that they have supported over the decades, there has been an undeniable dedication to the output of the seminal Japanese noise outfit, Merzbow, making a significant amount of the project’s out of print back catalog available across a range of formats. Now they return with what is arguably their most stunning and ambitious release dedicated to the project to date: “Collection 001-010”, gathering the entirety of Merzbow’s first ten releases, largely privately released by the band on cassette across 1981, in a deluxe, 10 LP vinyl box set. Representing what is effectively ground zero in Japanese noise and collectively amounting to some of the most sought after releases ever produced within that movement, Urashima’s truly beautiful collection comes fully remastered by Masami Akita himself from the original tapes, presenting all but a small number in their first ever vinyl pressings, with each LP housed in its own individual sleeve reproducing the original artwork, alongside a LP-sized 32-page book containing reproductions of artworks and collages by Masami Akita, an interview conducted by Jim O'Rourke, and liner notes penned by Lasse Marhaug, Thurston Moore and Akita himself. Towering with energy and groundbreaking creative vision, within the realms of noise and experimental music, releases don’t get more monumental or historically important than this!

Merzbow came roaring onto the Tokyo scene in 1979, and remains, to this day, one of the most prolific and aggressively forward-thinking projects in experimental music. Eventually becoming the solo vehicle for the efforts of Masami Akita, in its earliest incarnation the project was the duo of Akita and Kiyoshi Mizutani, taking their name from German artist Kurt Schwitters' pre-war architectural assemblage, The Cathedral of Erotic Misery or Merzbau, and quickly set out to challenge entrenched notions of what music could be. Embracing technology and the machine, even in its earliest iterations, Merzbow pushed toward new territories of the extreme, arriving at a space of pure, unadulterated sonic onslaught that has continued, for over 40 years, to set the pace for the entire genre of noise, and has remained one of the movement’s most important, definitive voices, continuously laying the groundwork for countless artists who have followed in its wake.

When dealing with historical gestures, there’s an invertible aura surrounding original line-ups and early statements, and rightfully so. It is often within a band’s debut that we catch the purest glimpse of the raw energy and creative ferment that made them what they are. This is certainly the case when regarding the coveted early releases of Merzbow, capturing the emergence of the project in its form as the duo of Masami Akita and Kiyoshi Mizutani as they helped set the blue print from the then emerging movement of Japanese noise. Over the course of its nearly five decades of activity, Merzbow has always been noted for how prolific and ambitious the project is. This was no less the case in the very beginning. While they were active for roughly two years prior, in 1981 alone they issued ten self-released cassettes numerically titled “Collection 001-010”, albums which have both individually and collectively become holy grails in the realms of noise, with only two - “Collection 007” and “Collection 009” - ever receiving vinyl reissues prior to now.

As Lasse Marhaug deftly articulates in the newly commissioned liner notes for “Collection 001-010”, despite having been recorded in different location across a span of time, the sum total of Merzbow’s first ten releases might be best regarded as a single release to be listened to in the same, durational sitting, with the material standing well apart from what most came to expect from Merzbow, while foreshadowing numerous trajectories the project would take over the coming years. Not only do these recordings feature a vast array of instrumentation - tapes, acoustic and electric guitar, violin, drums, voice, recorder, organ, found sounds, clarinet, homemade and prepared instruments, a vast arsenal of effects and electronics, and piano, to only begin to scratch the surface - the majority of which would disappear from the project’s active sources of sound generation over the subsequent years, but there is a slow pacing and raw sense of openness and exposure that reveals strong connections to the avant-garde improvisations of groups like AMM, Musica Elettronica Viva, and Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, the psychedelia of groups like Taj Mahal Travellers and Flower Traveling band (both of whom Akita mentions having seen in youth within his interview with Jim O’Rourke), and rock in general - albeit in fully abstracted forms - unspooling as brittle, pointillistic, textural, raw and abrasive forms, that occasionally flirts with unexpected tonal sensibilities. As Marhaug describes it in his excellent liner notes: «Sonically, “Collection” sounds more sparse and stripped. It’s dry sounding, up-front, no reverb, and there’s less heavy low-end grime and thin on the signature frequency sweeps. Viewed in a 1981 context, musically, it’s more akin to what the LAFMS (Los Angeles Free Music Society) pool of artists were doing at that time than what was happening in industrial music... There’s a strong playfulness throughout, like the sound objects are being explored for the first time, without neither restraint nor hurry. Events are allowed to be fully examined before the music moves on, or simply cuts off. To a large degree, the music on “Collection” feels acoustic in nature, although a Electro-Harmonix ring-modulator features prominently throughout.»

Easily described as a rarely encountered revelation into the original and earlier documented studio sound of Merzbow, “Collection 001-010” collectively amounts to an engrossing sonic journey in its own right, while also allowing for important, often overlooked connections drawn from numerous other creative wellsprings, notably free jazz, underground rock, the output of European and Japanese avant-garde music, as well as Dada, Fluxus, and Mail Art, much of which, beyond the illumination made possible by the sounds, Jim O’Rourke’s fantastic interview with Akita, published in the booklet, further explores, offering great insights into the origins of Merzbow and the thinking behind the project, as well as aspects of the earliest days of Japanese noise.

“Egypt’s “official” popular music throughout much of the 20th Century was a complex form of art song steeped in tradition, well-loved by the middle and upper classes, and even accommodating to certain non-Arabic influences. It was highly structured by professional musicians working an established industry centered in the capitol, Cairo. However, far from the bustling cosmopolitan center of Cairo, north and northwest, in towns like Tanta and Alexandria and extending across the Saharan Desert to the Libyan border, dozens of fully marginalized artists were developing a raw, hybrid shaabi/al-musiqa al-shabiya style of music, supported by smaller upstart, independent labels, including the short-lived but deeply resonant Bourini Records. Launched in the late 1960s in Benghazi, Libya, Astuanat al-Bourini اسطوانات البوريني (Bourini Records) published some 40 to 50 titles from 1968 to 1975. Bourini released 7-inch 45 RPM singles by 15 artists, all but one of them Egyptian, igniting brief careers for Alexandrian singer Sheikh Amin Abdel Qader and the blind Bedouin legend Abu Bakr Abdel Aziz (aka Abu Abab). The tracks compiled here comprise a full range of styles covered by the label, while highlighting some of its most gobsmacking moments, from Basis Rahouma’s beastly transformation into a growling and barking man-lion by the end of “Yana Alla Nafsa Masouda,” to Reem Kamal’s hopeful-if-bitter handclapping party pivot “Baed Al Yas Yjini,” which descends into an almost Velvet Underground outro-groove of nihilistic dissonance. All the tracks on this compilation were laid down in stark divergence from the mainstream Egyptian popular music topography of heightened emotions buoyed by lush arrangements. The contrast is most evident in Mahmoud al-Sandidi’s “Ana Mish Hafwatak,” wherein his voice weaves heavily but deftly through a constant accordion drone, and Abu Abab’s “Al Bint al Libya,” a sparse, slow-burning lament with minimal percussion, violin, and Abab’s nephew Hamed Abdel Muna'im Mursi on lyre. Whereas the Egyptian mainstream was aspirational, attempting to reflect Egyptian culture at its most refined, the performances captured by Bourini were manifestations of everyday life lived by the mostly otherwise ignored masses. More than half century old, this music has lost none of its urgency, presence, or relevance. We hear these artists as if they’d just joined us in our living room, and not on a stage decades ago surrounded by tens of thousands of long-forgotten acolytes.

Imagine having a song go viral for 17 years - without even knowing it. That's exactly what happened to the German 1980s band FEX. And this isn't just any song - it's The Most Mysterious Song on the Internet, a track that puzzled music detectives for decades before finally being identified in November 2024. Now, it has been officially released - twice.

The Story in Brief:
Sometime around 1984, a song was broadcasted on NDR Radio. The name of the song was Subways Of Your Mind - only found out 40 years later in November 2024. Back then, a listener recorded the NDR show on cassette, a common practice at the time. Decades later, the tape resurfaced, but while most songs from the recording were identified, one remained an enigma. On March 18, 2007, the track was uploaded to the internet in an attempt to uncover its origins. Due to its now-iconic opening lyric, it was tentatively titled Like The Wind. Over time, the mystery deepened, and the song was given a nickname: The Most Mysterious Song - or simply TMMS.

Starting in 2019, a dedicated Reddit group, TheMysteriousSong, now boasting over 63,000 members, took up the search. They meticulously documented every lead, hoping to solve the riddle of the song's origins. Then, in 2024, the breakthrough: Reddit user marjin1412 reached out to musician Michael Hädrich after discovering a reference to his band FEX in an old newspaper article. Hädrich, FEX's keyboardist, provided a recording from an old demo cassette which included an alternative version of the song. On November 4, 2024, the mystery was officially solved: FEX was the band, Subways Of Your Mind was the title.

What Happened Next:
Since then, FEX has released two singles - both featuring Subways Of Your Mind - through the Berlin-based independent label The Outer Edge. First, the demo cassette version was pressed onto vinyl, as the original NDR radio recording remained lost (see EDGE-028). The Remastered Demo Mix single instantly topped Bandcamp's global charts, holding the #1 spot for several days. By then, it was clear: this was more than just an internet curiosity. A real fanbase had formed. Enthusiastic comments on the sales page ranged from "best post-punk song to ever exist" to "FEX themselves (are) perhaps the most underrated musicians of all time."

But the story didn't end there. A higher-quality version of the NDR radio recording was rediscovered in late december, remastered, and now sent for a second vinyl pressing: the TMMS Version. This new vinyl 7" is backed with Talking Hands another great and unissued song that was found on the demo cassette.

Fame Comes with a Price
Suddenly, time isn't standing still for FEX. The band had to come to terms with the fact that they had become Lostwave super stars. A FEX fan club quickly formed on Reddit, fan-hosted FEX parties are popping up, and the internet is demanding more - an album, merchandise, live performances. But how does a band prepare for a comeback after a 40-year hiatus?

For now, FEX is carefully considering their next steps. Their demo cassette contains six songs - and a few other recordings have resurfaced which probably could be restored and compiled. But foremost, a brand new re-recording of Subways Of Your Mind is in progress.

One thing is certain: The Most Mysterious Song will continue its unstoppable journey around the world. Don't miss this (second) chance to own a piece of music history!

Limited edition of 500 copies.

Hard Top assembles the previously unreleased 1975 recordings of legendary South African saxophonist Kippie Moketsi (also spelled Moeketsi). The 2LP vinyl edition is presented in a gatefold sleeve featuring artwork by Mafa Ngwenya and comes from As-Shams Archive on the heels of the Tete Mbambisa's previously unreleased African Day album in 2024.

By 1975, at the age of 50, saxophonist Kippie Moketsi had already earned his stripes as a South African jazz figurehead. His tenure with the Jazz Epistles and the cast of the "South African Jazz Opera" King Kong in the late-1950s had not only marked his own rise to fame but also seen him help catalyse the ambitions of a younger generation of iconic artists who would go on to become the defining figures of modern South African jazz. While he didn't enjoy the same international attention as his protégés Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela and Abdullah Ibrahim, his humble and challenging career on the local jazz scene until his death in 1983 saw him forge an enduring legacy.

Owing to the efforts of record producer Rashid Vally, Kippie Moketsi's journey through the 1970s is beautifully documented, most notably on the albums Dollar Brand + 3 (1973), Tshona! (1975) and Blue Stompin' (1977), in which he shares the spotlight with Abdullah Ibrahim, Pat Matshikiza and Hal Singer respectively. As a featured performer on Soul of the City's Diagonal Street (1975) and Dennis Maple's Our Boys are Doing It (1977), Moketsi is seen embracing the popular orientations of South African jazz in 1970s but, having come up in the 1940s and 1950s, he never forgot his roots as a dedicated admirer and scholar of traditional American jazz.

While Moketsi did write some memorable compositions, it was in the role of interpreter that he shone most brightly. With its title derived from a good-natured nickname that nodded to Moketsi's elder status by way of his receding hairline, Hard Top is a covers album that looks back in time to the era of rhythm and blues while also indulging 1970s pop and funk with a decidedly South African vibe. Officially joining Kippie Moketsi's catalogue 50 years after it was recorded, Hard Top provides an opportunity to celebrate the multiple dimensions of a South African jazz legend and reflect on the unwavering support of his fan, producer and friend Rashid Vally, who passed away in December 2024.

How does one approach the morning after a party for the end of the world? This is a question which Mamuthones had to ask themselves, in the wake of their last album for Rocket, 2018's Fear On The Corner. Nonetheless, from the aftermath of this uncertain period has risen the still more flourishing realm of From Word To Flesh - a colourful and multi-faceted creation very much befitting the outsider spirit of Rocket's new Black Hole imprint. “I believe that with this album a circle has been closed” reflects Mamuthones mainman Alessio Gastaldello. “We returned to the atmosphere of the first Mamuthones albums with the skills acquired throughout the journey, with new sounds and with new creative processes. I would say that what remains constant – and at the core of our music – is the obsessive rhythms and the search for a sonic rituality: this is for certain our trademark”. This is clear right from the curtain raiser 'Burn From Inside', which beams the emotive approach of the band through the shamanic prism of Coil's Ape Of Naples. From there, hypnotic repetition marries to abstract abrasion and mournful laments with equal finesse, as redolent of the spiritual zest of Popol Vuh and Ash Ra Tempel as the gnostic folk of Six Organs Of Admittance. Elsewhere, 'A Symmetry Of Faith' summons a union of post-punk and psychically charged folk aligned with the recent work of Bristol's Beak. The Sardinian ritual of the Mamuthones – in which sinister masked figures weighed down with cattle bells conduct a ceremonial procession to ward off evil forces - has gone on for some two thousand years, and it may be that these ghoulish avatars are engaged in a celebration of the endless cycles of death and rebirth, fortifying spirits for a new epoch. Amidst the chaos and tumult of the 2020s, the band of this name has undergone just such a change themselves, and ‘From Word To Flesh’ is the fruit of their struggle. As Alessio says “With this album I think the Mamuthones have never been so unmediated, so naked: all masks gone”

Originally released on CD only – those were the days – “Triola im Fünftonraum“ counts as one of the most iconic albums of the early Kompakt era. Experience this timeless masterpiece of lush electronica lovingly restored and remastered for the first time on vinyl – 21 years after its inception.

We found this review from back in the days that perfectly sums up what “Triola im Fünftonraum” is all about:

The press material for “Triola im Fünftonraum” made allusions to home listening, when the album is mostly about movement… in a car …preferably a fast one … on a muggy spring day.

This might catch followers of producer Jörg Burger off guard. Up until this point, the producer’s Triola tracks – limited to three consecutive appearances on Kompakt’s yearly Pop Ambient series and a spot on “Leichtes Hören Teil 1” – were free-floating ambient washouts (albeit wondrous free-floating ambient washouts) with no pulse. The album, on the other hand, is beat-driven. Though still resolutely ambient – more an update of Burger’s lushest Bionaut tracks, only fully engaging instead of mildly diverting.

The soft, synthetic hand drums and tranquil vapors of “Leuchtturm” from Pop Ambient 2003, remain untouched and begin the album. Two other tracks that might sound familiar receive dynamic overhauls, now supported with quick dance rhythms and additional layers of synth gauze; the whispy flute trills and lightly flickering keys of “AG Penthouse”, for instance, are melted into a churning rhythm and some singing keyboard vamps that resemble a relaxed take on Tangerine Dream’s suspenseful soundtrack work for “Thief” (minus the crazy guitars).

What really makes the whole thing glow is the manner in which the tracks are attached, flowing in and out of another, rising and cresting and receding, with supreme poise – even if its title provides no indication, the album is as much a travelogue as Carl Craig’s “Landcruising”, Morgan Geist’s “Driving Memoirs” and Model 500’s “Deep Space”.

These are some of Burger’s most inventive productions, a remarkable feat since he’s been doing this so long. Catch yourself in the right frame of mind and you’ll wonder if everything he has released has been one extended ramp-up to this. In this age, it’s also refreshing to have a purely ambient techno album with absolutely no connection to “Boards of Canada”.

In other words, it’s a landmark for both its label and its genre.

Andy Kellman

Copyright 2025 TiVo Corporation
Ursprünglich nur auf CD veröffentlicht – das waren noch Zeiten – zählt „Triola im Fünftonraum“ zu den ikonischsten Alben der frühen Kompakt-Ära. Dieses zeitlose Meisterwerk schwelgerischer Electronica erscheint nun 21 Jahre nach seiner Entstehung erstmals liebevoll restauriert und remastered auf Vinyl.

Wir haben diese zeitgenössische Rezension gefunden, die perfekt zusammenfasst, worum es bei „Triola im Fünftonraum“ geht:

Das Pressematerial für „Triola im Fünftonraum“ spielt auf das Zuhören zu Hause an, obwohl es in dem Album hauptsächlich um Bewegung geht … in einem Auto … vorzugsweise einem schnellen … an einem schwülen Frühlingstag.

Das könnte die Fans des Produzenten Jörg Burger überraschen. Bis zu diesem Zeitpunkt waren die Triola-Tracks des Produzenten – beschränkt auf drei aufeinanderfolgende Auftritte in der jährlichen Pop-Ambient-Reihe von Kompakt und einen Platz auf „Leichtes Hören Teil 1“ – frei schwebende Ambient-Auswaschungen (wenn auch wundersame frei schwebende Ambient-Auswaschungen) ohne Puls. Das Album hingegen ist beatgetrieben, obwohl es immer noch entschieden Ambient ist – eher eine Aktualisierung von Burgers üppigsten Bionaut-Tracks, nur dass es voll und ganz fesselt, statt nur leicht abzulenken.

Die sanften, synthetischen Handtrommeln und die ruhigen Dämpfe von „Leuchtturm“ aus Pop Ambient 2003 bleiben unangetastet und bilden den Auftakt des Albums. Zwei weitere Stücke, die einem bekannt vorkommen könnten, erhalten eine dynamische Überarbeitung, die nun von schnellen Tanzrhythmen und zusätzlichen Schichten von Synthesizer-Gaze unterstützt wird; die flüsternden Flötentöne und leicht flackernden Tasten von „AG Penthouse“ zum Beispiel verschmelzen zu einem aufgewühlten Rhythmus und einigen singenden Keyboard-Vamps, die an eine entspannte Version des spannenden Soundtracks von Tangerine Dream erinnern, der für „Thief“ (ohne die verrückten Gitarren) verwendet wird.

Was das Ganze wirklich zum Leuchten bringt, ist die Art und Weise, wie die Tracks miteinander verbunden sind, wie sie ineinander fließen, ansteigen und ihren Höhepunkt erreichen und wieder abklingen, und das mit höchster Gelassenheit – auch wenn der Titel nichts darauf hindeutet, ist das Album ebenso ein Reisebericht wie Carl Craigs „Landcruising“, Morgan Geists „Driving Memoirs“ und Model 500s „Deep Space“.

Dies sind einige von Burgers einfallsreichsten Produktionen, eine bemerkenswerte Leistung, wenn man bedenkt, wie lange er schon dabei ist. Wenn man sich in die richtige Stimmung versetzt, fragt man sich, ob alles, was er bisher veröffentlicht hat, eine einzige Vorbereitung auf dieses Album war. In der heutigen Zeit ist es auch erfrischend, ein reines Ambient-Techno-Album zu hören, das absolut nichts mit „Boards of Canada“ zu tun hat.

Mit anderen Worten: Es ist ein Meilenstein für das Label und das Genre.

Andy Kellman

Copyright 2025 TiVo Corporation

Cult musician Paddy Hanna announces his forthcoming album Oylegate with the release of his new song ‘Oylegate Station’, out Wednesday, 29th January via Strange Brew Records.

In celebration of Oylegate, which arrives on Friday, 11th April, Hanna plays Whelans on Thursday, 17th April. Tickets are €21.95 + fees and can be purchased here.

After his fourth album, Imagine I’m Hoping, arrived to critical acclaim but not the mainstream success needed for him to continue on as a musician, Hanna found himself at a personal and artistic low point. However, thanks to support from the Arts Council and the encouragement of his family, ‘Oylegate Station’ sees Hanna returning as the intrepid captain of his own ship; he may not know the destination, but he’ll see us along the journey with his graceful pop sensibilities.

Speaking about the new track, Hanna’s cryptic explanation could be confused for a missive from a lonely cosmonaut: “Low rent fuel, caffeine of all shapes, the midpoint of hope and despair, engine still running at Oylegate Station.”
Elation and exhaustion. Love and terror. The weight of responsibility and the strange, disorienting beauty of watching life unfold before your eyes. OLYEGATE, the latest album from Paddy Hanna, is a journey through the euphoric highs and crushing lows of parenthood, delivered with his signature blend of melancholic wit and lush, off-kilter charm.

Determined to sidestep the usual sentimental trappings of writing about having a child, Hanna found an unlikely creative companion in grim Soviet-era cinema. As he wrote, films like Solaris flickered in the background—bleak, meditative landscapes that mirrored the depths of sleep deprivation and the existential wonder of bringing a new life into the world. This contrast of warmth and detachment, of intimate revelation and surreal detour, courses through the album’s DNA.

Despite its moments of cold introspection, OLYEGATE is sonically rich and enveloping—an effect captured in a single request to producer Daniel Fox: "sweet, sweet caramel." Hanna wanted the music to feel like satin lining the listener’s ears, wrapping them in warmth even when the themes tilt towards darkness.

True to form, OLYEGATE marks yet another creative leap for an artist who refuses to be boxed in. "One advantage of being an ‘artist’s artist’ is that you never have to worry about being creatively different between albums. There's real freedom in doing whatever you want and not being judged for it. And even if you are judged, who gives a shit?"

That spirit of fearless exploration—of finding joy in the unknown, the absurd, and the deeply personal—defines OLYEGATE. An odyssey of tenderness and turbulence, it’s the sound of an artist embracing life’s messiest, most beautiful contradictions.

An exclusive 7" re-release of this psychedelic funk ballad from Tulsa's "Outback" Band. As featured on Now-Again's 'More Loving On The Flipside' compilation, "Strangers (In Our Homeland)" epitomises the expression of social & political change during an era of psychedlia infused music. In partnership with the two surviving members of Outback, both Symphonical & Now-Again are proud to showcase the voice of independent artists.

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The origin of "Outback" dates back to the late 50s, a five-piece blues outfit named "Little Lo and the Rest of Us" included music educator & bass guitarist Edward "Cha-Cha" Cherry, saxophonists Eugene "Buggy" Roach & James "Flab" Farley whom, alongside drummer Roscoe J. Dabney III "Roach", Ronnie Wilson on trumpet, guitarists Roy "Rochester" Walker & Michael Collins, would form The Magnificent Seven, the house band for Tulsa's 'Rose Room'.


Alumni of Booker T. Washington High School, The Magnificent Seven influenced & set the standard for the Tulsa sound, as demonstrated through their only single, recorded in 1966, the two part 'Pluck-A-Pluck'. 'The Sevenettes', the groups' female vocal trio, included the rotation of Lena Luckey Wilson, Gwendolyn French, Rose Brewer Lewis, Jeanetta Williams & Maxayn. The Magnificent Seven, led by "Cha-Cha", toured nationally throughout the 60s with their infectious, raw R&B sound, and were the platform for many of Tulsa's talent including Ronnie & Charlie Wilson who would later create the GAP Band.


Roscoe J. Dabney III, the first Black Panther to establish the Tulsa chapter in 1969 known as the NCCF (National Committee to Combat Fascism), proposed the name change to "Outback" in the early 70s. Their sound & formation was changing from R&B to Psychedelic, from the grit to the phase, epitomised by their unique line-up of having two bassists playing simultaneously, both Reggie Cherry & "Chilly" Willie Lewis, the musical foundation to their only recorded single, "Strangers (In Our Homeland)" & "Reggie's Thang".


Song writer & band affiliate, Maurice Pope, produced the lyrics to "Strangers (In Our Homeland)" and handed over the musical attributes to Willie Lewis & Outback to convey his message, as sung by Lena Luckey Wilson. Dabney recalls the song is based on religious scriptures, whilst highlighting the parallel of Black slavery in the U.S.


"Reggie's Thang", written by Dabney's cousin, bassist Reggie Cherry, provides a psychedelic instrumental, a sound which Lena recalls is what set apart Outback from other Tulsa groups. As well as playing clubs, the seated shows provided an environment for the group to showcase their musicianship to those who wanted to be immersed & listen.


Their single, released on Empathy, was recorded in 1972, and are the only known recordings by Outback. Recorded live onto 8-track at a studio located at on East Pine St in the heart of Tulsa's Black community, an independent & unknown studio located on a strip mall.


The Outback members who recorded are:


Lena Luckey Wilson - Vocals

Roscoe J. Dabney III "Roach" - Drums

"Chilly" Willie Lewis - Bass

Reggie Cherry - Bass

Edward "Cha-Cha" Cherry - Keys

Joyce Daws - Trumpet

Roy Walker "Rochester" - Guitar

Robert Luckey "Uncle Bobby"- Percussion

Fredy Berry "Freddy" - Tenor Sax


Band leader & group manager: Edward "Cha-Cha" Cherry

Booking Agent: Ernie Fields Sr.

In 1973 whilst performing in Ft. Worth, TX, Buck Ram approached Willie Lewis backstage and invited him to join The Platters, Lewis accepted. Supposedly, a recording deal was offered to Outback in exchange, which never happened.


The group continued in various formations after Lewis left, however as an integral member, the feeling never equalled their original form and soon after dissolved.


Leon Russell approached Lena Lucky Wilson in 1974 to go on tour with the GAP Band as their backing singer, upon returning Tulsa Lena moved to Los Angeles to pursue her musical career with Leon & Mary Russell amongst various others.


Dabney continued music and became a TV producer & director in 1976.


The only surviving members of Outback today are Lena Luckey Wilson & Roscoe J. Dabney III.

2LP in printed inner sleeves + 12 page booklet with detailed info, secrets and unpublished pictures written by Walter Verdin himself. This collection dives deep into Verdin's prolific and experimental music from 1980 to the beginning of this millennium, capturing an era of a DIY punk spirit, improvisation, creative freedom and swimming against the tide.



We are thrilled to announce the upcoming release of 'Pingpong', a 2LP compilation showcasing previously unreleased works by Walter Verdin, the founding member behind Pas De Deux, the Belgian band which delivered 80's cult classics 'Rendez-Vous' & 'Cardiocleptomanie'. This collection dives deep into Verdin's prolific and experimental music from 1980 to the beginning of this millennium, capturing an era of a DIY punk spirit, improvisation, creative freedom and swimming against the tide.

This album is not just a compilation-it's a sonic journey into Verdin's unique approach to music-making, which he nurtured in the AV studio at KU Leuven's Audiovisual Department (AVD). Having begun his civil service there in 1980, Verdin was exposed to a rich array of audio and video tools that would shape his work for years to come. From the outset, Verdin's process was defined by an openness to experimentation, where he would explore sound and music organically rather than following pre-existing concepts.

The songs on Pingpong reflect his fascination with creating spontaneous, layered compositions. These recordings were made using limited tools, such as his duophonic Yamaha CS-40M synthesizer, borrowed drum machines, and tape loops, and were further enriched by techniques such as reverb and vintage sound manipulation. The results are raw, tactile, and full of personality-often more vibrant and personal than the polished, commercial recordings that would follow in professional studios.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Verdin developed his craft, regularly drawing from his diverse interests in film history, soundtracks, video art, and avant-garde music. His innovative use of tape recorders, improvisational techniques, and later, MIDI and digital tools, makes for a fascinating and varied listening experience. This compilation includes everything from proto-techno and abstract new wave to avant-pop songs, sample-driven experiments, and the oddball TV-inspired tunes that have long been a staple of his work.

This selection is a true reflection of Verdin's "keen amateur" approach: a method focused on discovery, happy accidents, and unexpected results. These compositions aren't about achieving technical perfection, but about capturing moments of sonic exploration and transformation. The 21 recordings have been meticulously curated, with some tracks freshly arranged while others remain true to their original, unedited forms.

'Pingpong' finally brings these forgotten gems into the light. The album includes not only unreleased music but also fragments from Verdin's video art and multimedia projects, offering a rare glimpse into his creative evolution over two decades. Stretching up the boundaries between medium and message, aligning his own musical univers.

Take a deep breath and dive into the works of an artist whose explorations pushed his boundaries of sound and technology.

A Belgian sonic cut up, ping ponging in between many worlds.

Audio alchemist Damian Lazarus continues to redefine the boundaries of electronic music with his fifth studio album, ‘Magickal’.

Renowned for his unparalleled ability to craft transformative sonic journeys, Damian Lazarus is a master of rhythm, melody, and vibration—a true pioneer among his generation’s visionary artists. Damian’s broad depth of experience encompasses a variety of disciplines: tastemaker, selector, label owner, A&R and a Grammy-nominated artist in his own right - each informed by his unique ear for sound. He is chief wizard of the hugely influential and culture-defining Crosstown Rebels label, a globally renowned DJ with a penchant for exotic outdoor locations and a highly regarded recording artist with four albums and a plethora of solo cuts, collaborations and remixes in his sprawling discography.

With his fifth album, ‘Magickal’, Damian steps into his next evolutionary phase, combining his newly found sobriety with a more mature outlook while still pushing boundaries and creating unforgettable moments. At the root of it all is the magical power of togetherness and human connection that only music can facilitate. Driven by this core ethos, Damian continues on his mission to share his heartfelt music, taking the dance floor into unexplored realms of experience, facilitating moments of transcendence, bliss and pure, unadulterated magic.

Damian Lazarus, the avant-garde architect of spiritually nourishing sounds, is joined by a stellar lineup of collaborators on his latest excursion. It’s imaginative and mystical, rhythmically captivating and daring in its own way, as is typical of Damian’s approach. Taking consideration of his past, the album references his previous work to create a tapestry of compositions that tap into the energy of key moments from his discography. Drawing on his existing catalogue creates cohesive through lines and thematically serves as a continuation of previous stories. November’s single, ‘Sunrise Generation’, for instance, works as a companion to ‘Vermillion’, which was recorded by Damian with his band The Ancient Moons and vocalist Moses Sumney back in 2015. ‘Sunrise Generation’, featuring the beautiful vocals of Fink, was Damian’s first major release since his Grammy-nominated 2021 collaboration ‘Don’t Be Afraid’ with Diplo and Jungle, and continues to take inspiration from global gatherings at solstice and those moments of collective awe at sunrise.

Indeed, the album’s themes of mental elevation and psychedelic sonic journeys are evident throughout. Damian channels this energy through tracks like the soulful ‘So Low’, featuring the incredible Zoe Kypri, and the luminous ‘Searchin’, with Jem Cooke, whose collaboration with Damian dates back to ‘Flourish’ (2020) and lead single ‘Into The Sun’. Uplifting is the operative word here, as Damian aims straight for our hearts and inner selves, stripping away the layers to take us on a trip inwards, and out into the ether all at once. There’s a clear nod to Damian’s appreciation of amapiano when he teams up with Ghanaian interdisciplinary healer Jojo Abot on ‘Warrior Dance’. Old friend and inspirer Mathew Jonson brings his virtuoso touch to ‘Are You Dreaming?’, while TEED and A-Trak form an awesome alliance for ‘Falling Down’ with its heartrending vocals. ‘Alive’ features the Bloom Twins, and also additional production from acclaimed producer Mark Ralph, who incidentally worked on Damian’s debut album ‘Smoke The Monster Out’ in 2009 and forms another throughline to the past. ‘Alive’ blends pop sensibilities and song structure with Damian’s inimitable sound - and could become one of Damian’s biggest moments to date. ‘La Hija De Juan Simon’ delves into the Latin energy synonymous with vibrancy and self-expression as Damian teams up with acclaimed Spanish flamenco-influenced duo Mëstiza. On a solo tip, he rolls out with the eight-minute-plus soulful funk flex ‘Why Don’t U’.

In a suitably aligned instance of serendipity, the arrival of ‘Magickal’ comes at a pivotal period in Damian’s life, just as it has been with previous album concepts. Albums made and released during big shifts in his life speak to the correlation between growth, personal evolution, creativity, catharsis and sharing that process musically. The last album ‘Flourish’, for instance, was recorded and released in the space of a few months during the first summer of the global pandemic. As a result, there’s a kind of vulnerability in the music, a subtle story that’s being told with emotional touchpoints that will be relevant to anyone listening. The universal human experience and spectrum of emotions are things almost everyone can relate to. With the enhanced clarity of his sobriety, Damian’s compositions embody the uplifting nature of simply being alive, connected and unified in our love for music and one another.

Day Zero, Damian’s iconic annual festival, is intrinsically linked to ‘Magickal’. It’s the setting for his imagination when producing the music, it’s the launchpad for each year’s kaleidoscopic adventures around the world, and this year’s edition will be the backdrop to the release of ‘Magickal’. As the pinnacle of Damian’s annual experiences, Day Zero marks a vital milestone for his artistry, an extension of his inner realm, carefully curated and created for his global family of lovers and dancers to revel in the awe-inspiring beauty of Mother Nature. Central to the ethos of Day Zero is its sustainability practices and deep consideration for the locality within which it is held. Connections with local elders embolden its depth, cultivating a strongly aligned purpose with the ritual, customs and energy of the land and its people.

‘Magickal’ will be released in the same week as Day Zero, tying the two projects together in a neat dovetail. 12 years since it started, Day Zero continues to play a significant role in the music Damian makes, curates and plays. For him, it’s the epitome of his vision: a stunning natural setting, the very best party people from around the world, an unparalleled lineup of friends and family, high production values, eco-centric policies and music from another dimension. With these interdimensional transmissions, Damian channels his inner alchemist, which, in turn, permeates into the vibrational framework of ‘Magickal’.

Never one to adhere to convention, Damian has opted for a disruptive album release. ‘Magickal’ is to be kept under wraps and then announced and released on Crosstown Rebels on 8th January 2025, bypassing the modern trend of prolonged single drops and ‘tombstone’ album releases. ‘Magickal’ is the embodiment of Damian and his intentional, against-the-grain approach and reinforces the album as a complete artistic statement, offering listeners the full cohesive experience from the very beginning. This is a return to the album as the pinnacle moment and not the afterthought. Singles, edits and remixes will follow the ‘Magickal album’ release, and, of course, there will be a world tour to promote the album (including Glastonbury and Coachella) and a chance to present the album in exciting, innovative and unique ways.

Forever dreaming, a sincere student of magic, new and old, social sorcerer, lover of nature and master of musical wizardry, Damian Lazarus is a potent force. With ‘Magickal’, he reaffirms his place as one of electronic music’s most influential figures, taking listeners on a profound journey into sound, spirit, and connection.

A dancehall anthem is being released on an official 7-inch vinyl for the very first time. It has been 15 years since Serani's 'No Games' was originally released. The song quickly became a part of pop culture, thanks in part to artists like Sean Paul, who helped pave the way for dancehall’s crossover success. To date, it has garnered over 166 million streams on Spotify, along with 50 million views on the video on YouTube and remains a popular sing-along track at parties. This special 7-inch vinyl will be produced in ruby red to commemorate the anniversary year.

Following up their critically-acclaimed 2024 LP Avoude (5 stars and 'Top of the World' on Songlines, Bandcamp top pick, Le Monde, BBC Radio, Pop Matters and more), Sol Power Sound is proud to present a blistering EP of remixes from the thrilling psychedelic West African outfit, Dogo du Togo & the Alagaa Beat Band.

Combining iconic traditional Togolese rhythms and melodies, Dogo du Togo’s sound is anchored in the country’s often overlooked, but extraordinary rich cultural history, reflecting the local Vodun religion and traditions that permeate everyday life in Togo.

For the remixes, Sol Power Sound enlisted a cast of renowned producers to rework the scorching originals into deeper club-friendly burners.

Captain Planet leads off the A side with a modern and percussive African house groove that will get any room with a pulse up and jumping

Sol Power All-Stars ask the question 'what if Prince joined Dogo du Togo in 1983?' and answer with a blistering dance funk track laced with synths, arpeggios, and Moog.

Rounding out the A-side is Detroit legend John Beltran, who transports Dogo and crew to Bahia for an Afro-Brazilian balearic heat rock. Perfect for your next sunset soiree.

Blair French, another Detroit icon, leads off the B-side with a deep and organic house groove that works equally well day, night, or early morning.

Sol Power All-Stars reappear again on side b with their mid tempo groovy Afrobeats flip of Von Na Agbeto, the one track that was not featured on Dogo’s LP.

Finally, DC mystery man Glenn Echo gets loose and trippy on the boards with a psychedelic digi dub (in 12/8!) that rattles your chest and puts your being directly into the echo chamber.

*180g virgin leaded vinyl in a deluxe textured heavy gatefold cover, with paste-on artwork and special anti-static innersleeve.* Note: The pressing is absolute on point!!!!

Vincent Gallo and Harper Simon with a beautifully recorded suite of songs and instrumentals.

" More than two decades since he blew minds with a suite of brilliant releases on Warp, Vincent Gallo returns to the world of music at long last in Butterfly, his duo with Harper Simon, with the project’s full-length debut, “The Music of Butterfly”. A gesture of gentle, DIY / bedroom left-field pop, falling within the rough territory for which Gallo became renowned during the late '90s and early 2000s, while interweaving fascinating flirtations with minimalism and experimentalism, it’s a truly captivating piece of work that’s hard to get off the turntable after the first needle drop.

In the arts, the lines between genius and madness, as well as fact and fiction, often blur. Such, it seems, has always been the life of the artist, filmmaker, actor, musician, and composer Vincent Gallo. A cult figure and a member of various creative undergrounds for the better part of half a century, Gallo has courted controversy, ruffled feathers, and made some of the most singular statements to flirt at the outer edges of popular culture that can be called to mind. Arguably most well known for his work in film, during the late '90s and early 2000s - notably with his soundtrack for “Buffalo 66” and a suite of releases on Warp - Gallo became something of a sensation in the world of independent music for a visionary, incredibly unique and sensitive approach to sonority. For a time, the world was abuzz, waiting on bated breath for more, and yet time passed. Bar a few fragments, appearing here and there, almost nothing has been heard from Gallo, within the world of music, for more than 20 years. That is, until now, with the release of “The Music of Butterfly”, the debut full-length of Butterfly, his duo with Harper Simon: beautifully produced and issued by Family Friend Records - Gallo’s own label, founded in 1981 - in a deluxe edition that simply left us speechless: 180g vinyl in textured heavy gatefold cover with paste-on artwork and thick anti-static innersleeve. More or less picking up from where we last encountered him, spinning captivating melodies and gentle song-craft within the quieter temperaments of DIY, left-field pop, once again, and at long last, Vincent Gallo, encountered in an incredibly successful collaboration with Harper Simon as Butterfly, reminds us that he’s as much a force within the realm of music as he is within film. Not to be missed. This one isn’t going to sit around for long.

Vincent Gallo’s biography reads like the stuff of blaring beauty: a figure of moderate fame in his own right, who has remained at the centre of cultural ferment as the decades have rolled by. Born in 1961, in Buffalo, New York, as the story goes he ran away to New York City at the age of 16 and fell into the brewing counterculture of the Downtown scene, William Burroughs and John Giorno, in addition to the cream of his own peers, and began making paintings, music, and experimenting with film. In addition to being a member of the now legendary band Gray, with the artist, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and the filmmaker, Michael Holman, Gallo appeared in the cult 1981 film “Downtown 81”, before slowly beginning a career as an actor and catching the eye of Claire Denis, who brought his talents into the broader cultural gaze. Catapulted into the public by his own subsequent career as a filmmaker with “Buffalo '66” (1998) and “The Brown Bunny” (2003), both of which were marked by controversy and praise, Gallo further captivated the public with a partially brilliant, if not relatively brief, flurry of activity in the realms of music.

While Gallo had already been making music for roughly two decades at the time of his release of the “Brown Bunny” soundtrack, and the four release issued by Warp in rapid succession between 2001 and 2002 - “When”, “Honey Bunny”, “So Sad”, and “Recordings of Music for Film” - the almost fanatical fandom reached a fever pitch at the moment, allowing him, for some, to be regarded as much, if not more, as a musical artist than an actor and filmmaker. Anyway you cut it, in a few short years, he proved himself to be a polymath of rare talent. Somewhere along the way, while both were working as members of Yoko Ono's Plastic One Band, Gallo met the New York based, highly regarded singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer, Harper Simon, who also happens to be the son of Paul Simon. The pair fell into an incredibly fruitful duo collaboration, which came to be called Butterfly, and “The Music of Butterfly” being their debut full-length release.

Written, performed, and recorded by Vincent Gallo and Harper Simon in New York City between the winter of 2018 and the spring of 2019, the ten tracks comprising “The Music of Butterfly” are cumulatively a gesture of gentle, DIY / bedroom left-field pop, falling within the rough territory for which Gallo became renowned during the late '90s and early 2000s, making one feel like barely a moment had passed since we’d encountered his graceful hand at song-craft. Stripped back and raw, while retaining a sense of warmth and intimacy, across the length of “The Music of Butterfly” the duo of Gallo and Simon weave something completely captivating at the juncture of minimalism, experimentalism, and pop: meandering moments of texture and tone, slowly forming toward flirtations of melody that flower into song and back again. Somehow playful and light, while also remarkably emotive and personal, it’s almost as though each of these tracks crystallised out the air, unlabored and exactly as they should be without a note or beat more.

An engrossing immersion into both Gallo and Simon’s remarkably accomplished minds, having followed the path toward one another after radically different experiences and careers, “The Music of Butterfly” is one of those records that’ll be hard to get off the turntable after that first needle drop, and rarely leave the listening pile for some time to come. Issued by Family Friend Records in a beautiful deluxe edition that is unmatched even among the most stunning recent productions we can call to mind - 180g vinyl in textured heavy gatefold cover with paste-on artwork and thick anti-static innersleeve - it’s lovely to have Gallo back in the musical mix after so many years. "

Neck-snapping soul masterpiece from Freddie Scott, famously sampled by Biz Markie for his melancholic pop-rap hit "Just A Friend" and a surefire piano-driven basement party anthem in its own right.

The work of the legendary producers Gamble & Huff, the track was also sampled by Ghostface Killah for the wonderful "Save Me Dear" with Jay Dilla also utilising the crunching drums to lace many memorable productions for A Tribe Called Quest and Slum Village.

A peerless piece of deep soul and hip-hop history, here's your chance to own the first ever officially licensed reissue on 45.

On the flip, "Powerful Love" is uptempo guitar-soul with finger-popping swing. Featuring delicate horns and gorgeous backing vocals, it's an unfairly slept-on gem but, given the weight of the A-Side, this is perfectly understandable.

This special 7" single comes housed in a heavy duty custom printed full-colour company sleeve and is limited to just 500 copies.

Wie Hip-Hop nach Hamburg kam
Die Compilation ist als Zeitreise zu den Anfängen der Hamburger Hip-Hop-Kultur konzipiert und umfasst über 100 weitgehend unveröffentlichte Songs und Skits. Begleitet wird das Triple-Vinyl von einem 96-seitigen Booklet, das von den frühen Jahren von Hip-Hop, Rap und DJing in Hamburg erzählt. Präsentiert wird das Werk von den Herausgebern des Buchs und den Kuratoren der Museumsausstellung EINE STADT WIRD BUNT.

Kennt eigentlich noch jemand Easy Business? Was wie ein Ratgeber Video auf YouTube klingt, ist der Name einer der ersten Hamburger Rap-Gruppen. Die vierköpfige Formation aus Steilshoop gründete sich schon in den späten 1980er Jahren und begann bald erste englischsprachige Texte zu schreiben. 1989 nahmen sie gemeinsam mit Mario von Hacht den Song „Money“ in einem Jenfelder Jugendzentrum auf.
Als House-Produzent verfügte Von Hacht über ein vergleichsweise schon recht ansehnliches Produktions-Equipment. Selbst die legendäre Roland TR-808, analoger Drumcomputer und Allzweckwaffe von Hip-Hop-Produzenten, war bereits 1989 Teil seines Maschinenparks. Nur hatte er sie eben nicht für Rap genutzt – bis Easy Business anklopften. Und so öffnete ein Musik-Nerd und Technik-Freak dem Hip-Hop eine Tür in Hamburg. Von Hachts Offenheit für den neuen Musikstil sollte sich auszahlen: 1995 produzierte er mit „Nordisch by Nature“ den ersten Chartstürmer von Fettes Brot.

Es sind Geschichten wie diese aus der Gründerzeit des Rap in Hamburg, um die sich die 3-Vinyl-Compilation EINE STADT WIRD BUNT dreht. Unter den über 100 Songs und Skits aus den frühen Jahren des Rap in Hamburg finden sich neben dem Song „Money“ von Easy Business auch ein Mitschnitt eines Auftritts der Gruppe in der Fabrik im Mai 1991.
Von frühen Aufnahmen von MC Africa True, der später unter dem Namen Nana einige Hits landen würde, bis zu den Britcore-Veteranen von Readykill, von 2 Ruff, deren Mitglied Simple Simon zu den ersten Hip-Hop-Produzenten der Stadt gehörte, bis zu den Reim Banditen, die als eine der ersten hiesigen Bands mit einem Majorlabel-Vertrag als Hamburger Antwort auf die Fantastischen Vier positioniert werden sollten, vereint das Triple-Vinyl eine einzigartige Sammlung musikhistorischer Zeitdokumente. In Kombination mit dem begleitenden Booklet vermitteln sie ein authentisches – und überaus unterhaltsames – Bild von den Anfängen des Rap in Hamburg.

Nach dem preisgekrönten, 2021 erschienenen Buch „EINE STADT WIRD BUNT. Hamburg Graffiti History 1980-1999“ und der gleichnamigen Ausstellung, die bis Anfang Januar 2024, als eine der erfolgreichsten aller Zeiten, im Museum für Hamburgische Geschichte gezeigt wurde, folgt mit der Compilation nun also eine weitere Dokumentation Hamburger Subkultur Geschichte der 1980er und 1990er Jahre. Im Fokus diesmal: die Pioniere des Rap in der Hansestadt.
Zum Team hinter dem Triple-Vinyl gehören neben den vier Herausgebern von EINE STADT WIRD BUNT. Oliver Nebel, Frank Petering, Mirko Reisser und Andreas Timm drei ausgewiesene Kenner der deutschen Hip-Hop-Szene. Oliver Herbst, einst DJ der Hip-Hop-Band City Nord, betreibt heute ein Musiklabel, auf dem die Platte erscheint, und konnte im Zuge der Recherche an viele alte Kontakte anknüpfen. Ebenfalls mit an Bord: der langjährige Chefredakteur des Hip-Hop-Magazins Backspin Dennis Kraus und der Musikjournalist und Moderator Falk Schacht.
Über einen Zeitraum von über zwei Jahren hinweg hat sich das Team auf Recherche begeben. Sie nahmen Kontakt zu Bands, Rapper*innen, DJs und Produzenten auf, die in den 1980er und 1990er Jahren in und um Hamburg aktiv waren. Sie sichteten und archivierten unzählige Stunden von Radio-Shows, Tapes, Demo-DATs und Live-Mitschnitten und führten Interviews mit Hip-Hop-Pionieren aus der Hansestadt. „Unser Ziel war es, ein kaum beleuchtetes Kapitel Hamburger Subkulturgeschichte zu erzählen“, sagt Mirko Reisser.
Begleitet werden die Platten deshalb von einem rund 80-seitigen, reich bebilderten Booklet im Vinyl-Format, das in aufwändig recherchierten Texten nachzeichnet, wie der neue Musikstil ab Mitte der 1980er Jahre in Hamburg langsam heimisch wurde. Zu den zentralen Themen dieser Erzählung gehört die Abwesenheit von technischem Equipment – und der Umgang der jungen Szene mit diesem Mangel.
Ein Vierspur Kassettenrekorder musste für die ersten Aufnahmen im Kinderzimmer reichen. Und wer DJ werden wollte, übte Scratchen mit dem Plattenspieler der Eltern. Anders als heute, wo man mit einem Smartphone in der Hand theoretisch ein Millionenpublikum erreichen kann, stellte die Aufnahmetechnik damals eine große Hürde dar. Wer jedoch über die technischen Voraussetzungen verfügte, Songs aufzunehmen, wurde schnell zur Anlaufstelle für die junge Rap-Szene.
Parallel zu dieser Ära der Technik-Autodidakten, öffneten die Rapper*innen der frühen 1990er Jahre ebenfalls ein Fenster in eine neue Welt: Indem sie anfingen, auf Deutsch zu rappen, grenzten sie sich bewusst von den amerikanischen Vorbildern ab und schufen ein ganz neues Selbstbewusstsein der jungen Subkultur. Und ganz nebenbei auch ein ganz neues Bewusstsein für die Möglichkeiten der deutschen Sprache. „Hier wurde etwas gänzlich Neues erschaffen“, sagt Oliver Herbst.

Viele Künstler, die auf der Compilation vertreten sind, dürften heute nur noch echten Hip-Hop-Nerds bekannt sein. Doch es finden sich auch bekannte Namen auf der Tracklist. Jan Eißfeldt etwa, der heute solo als Jan Delay oder als Teil der Beginner Konzerthallen füllt. Oder Fettes Brot, die von einem Hip-Hop-Trio aus dem Hamburger Umland zu einer der erfolgreichsten deutschen Popbands der Gegenwart heranwuchsen. Oder Deichkind, die zu einem massentauglichen Universal Kunstprojekt avanciert sind.

Wie schon das gleichnamige Buch und die Museumsausstellung, so blickt auch die Compilation EINE STADT WIRD BUNT. hinter die Kulissen einer jungen Subkultur – und erzählt parallel spannende Kapitel Musik-, Technik- und Stadtgeschichte aus der Hip-Hop-Hochburg an der Elbe.

INTERPRETEN
Fettes Brot, Absolute Beginner, Deichkind, Das Bo, Ferris MC, Mr. Schnabel, Sleepwalker, Kastrierte Philosophen, Mellow Mark, David Fascher, Easy Business, Reim Banditen, Readykill, TobiTob, I.L.L. Will, City Nord, MK Cram (Poets of Peeze), Dialektik, 2 Ruff, Nina, Flashmaster Ray, Dennis Deutschland, 2BIAS, MC Africa True alias Nana, Vers Chaoten, Die Erstausgabe, THC (Ter Hartchor), R.A.F. (Reimende Antifaschisten), Direkt Aktion, Fogmoor, Syren, Mental Disorda (Crime Code Barets), Dennis the Menace, Selma, 08/15, Hamburg Royal, Skunk Funk, B-Low, Gizmo, AJ, SMG, Phantom Black, Leon Le Pro alias EL’OMC, Paolo 77, Monti, Hanseknaller, Schlechta Umgang u.v.a.

ZITATE VON
André Luth, Jan Eißfeldt, Mathias Arfmann, Ale Dumbsky, David Fascher, Fatih Akin, Carsten Bohn, Schiffmeister (Björn Beton), Pasha Kamber (DJ MPK), Boris Ekambi, Sleepwalker, Mr. Schnabel, Nana Abrokwa, Simon Vegas u.a.

PRODUCER
Mario von Hacht (Super Mario), Sleepwalker, B-Base, Bubblez, TobiTob, X-Ray, Simple Simon

Hiromi’s band Sonicwonder formed in early 2023, leading up to the release of the group’s first album together.  She selected each musician in the group strategically, choosing artists with a specific sound in mind who could paint the picture of her compositions. Hiromi’s Sonicwonder has been playing and touring together since then. With their second album as a group, OUT THERE, the band reaches a new level of chemistry and musical cohesion.

Every so often an album of such deceptive genius, of such aesthetic clarity, comes across our desk and transfixes us. Thought Leadership's III Of Pentacles is one such work of art. It's an instant classic and glides into the pantheon of timeless guitar-soul totems. Originally out on cassette only, we present the first ever vinyl issue. It's a hideously limited pressing of 300 for the world, so don't sleep on this.

Thought Leadership has already garnered big support from such tastemakers as Ruf Dug, Jason Boardman, Nathan Gregory Wilkins, J Walk, Evan Woodward, Justin Robertson and Heavenly's Jeff Barrett. The first time we heard III Of Pentacles, we nearly wept at the thought that something so beautiful, so bursting with real hope, could even exist in this brutal world. To quote the Quietus, "imagine if Stockport was situated somewhere along the Pacific Coast Highway rather than the M60, and you’ll have some idea of the coordinates to the post-industrial, sunburnt dream space opened up here."

So, who is Thought Leadership? What do we know about them? They reside in Stockport and are obsessed with ethereal guitar records. That’s about it. That and these X ideas shared with you, the listener.

Captured on a multitrack recorder in a terraced house in Stockport, this is as DIY as it gets. Glaringly obvious is a love for classic Factory and early 4AD. Perhaps it is the proximity to the River Mersey where the ideas arrived, and there being but three miles between where this and the Durutti Column’s classic “LC” was recorded, as the two operate across a familiar aural plain. Be it geographic or otherwise, limited by a true economy of means, namely guitar, pedals and drum machine, the fruit borne from these humble tools has been indelibly shaped by the perma-gloom that hangs low over the Manchester and Stockport environs.

Ushered in on 808 kicks, “I” opens the record as a beautiful Sketch for Stockport; a chiming maj7 chord dripping in chorus and delay sets us on our way. The Vini Reilly comparisons are unavoidable. “II” is all John McGeoch, with its trippy goth-psyche arpeggiated pattern cascading across the stereo image. Do those drums swing? But goths don’t swing?! They do here. We’re treated to a bit of crunch on the lead guitar part and some really lush reverb. We even step forth into shoegaze territory, albeit briefly, for the middle eight. “III”, a firm Be With favourite, continues the dreamy psyche leanings of the previous track, with an even bigger melody this time. We’re hearing The Teardrop Explodes on quaaludes here. A proto-dream pop cut soaked in melancholy. But watch out! The coda finds Johnny Marr has gotten into the ‘ludes and gatecrashed the final bars with some incredibly ignorant B minor pentatonic noodling.

“IV” ditches the drum machine for the first in a suite of three beatless electric guitar duets. The first of these semi-improvised rubato ideas is a striking departure from the earlier playful pieces, coming over emo and moody. Greyscale sulking for Stratocaster. Sign us up. “V” contains some really lyrical phrasing; a gorgeous conversation between two guitars. Real Stopfordian Primitive; meditative, crude, rain-soaked. We cycle through the same feels, then end on an alluring chord that breaks the pattern. Sometimes thoughts are like this. “VI” creeps in all plaintive, then a huge reverberating descending guitar line comes tumbling in like something off those classic Dif Juz 12”s. There’s some Maurice Deebank in there too, for sure, and the coda nods to early Meat Puppets.

“VII” rounds out the A Side, and succinctly presents a summary of all ideas explored thus far on our journey. The drum machine is back, this time with some wispy delay, before both guitars enter together playing interlocking lines. As we start, we end, with the delayed 808 guiding us out.

Opening Side B, “VIII” sees us embark on the other side of our journey as we slow down and space out. The drum machine is here, but the guitars are different now. Think Sensations Fix or Göttsching at his most peeled out. Drones, ambient drifts of broken chords and distorted lead lines all swirl round the mix. Side B is one for headphones for sure. “IX” is almost too exquisite for words. A New Age Mixolydian voyage through the cosmos. If you’re unmoved by the end you’ve probably got no pulse. We were left blunted ineffable by this one, such is the smudged elegance radiating from this idea. All hail the Thought Leader.

“X” is a full circle moment, and a fitting end. If you’ve not already elsewhere across the platter, you will be getting heavy Robin Guthrie vibes from this piece. Like the rest of Side B, this improvised jam sticks within a framework of related chords but the celestial energies channelled might invite us to wander “outside”, especially when the Tubescreamer is engaged.

RIYL Durutti Coulmn, Cocteau Twins, Dif Juz, Sensations Fix, Spike and adjacent guitar musicks – but, ultimately, this is just its own thing; such is the strength of ideas presented. "It’s good music to chill out to." (??)

Be With is honoured to present the first ever vinyl release of III Of Pentacles, carefully remastered by Be With's engineer Simon Francisco to ensure it sounds better than ever after its initial tape release. Cicely Balston's expert skills have made sure nothing is lost in the cut whilst the records have been pressed to the highest possible standard at Record Industry, in Holland. The original tape cover artwork, so crucial to Thought Leadership's striking visual aesthetic, has been rejigged for vinyl issue here at Be With. Its stark presentation befits the music contained within. They inform us that they shuffled their tarot deck to ask what the album should be called and the card you see on the cover popped out. The III Of Pentacles tarot card represents teamwork, shared vision and the ability to achieve goals through collaboration. We like to think Thought Leadership and Be With have nailed this one.

Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers are a powerhouse, celebrated for their raw emotion and incisive social observations. Their talent has earned them nominations for Best Independent Punk Album or EP at the AIR Awards, Emerging Songwriter of the Year and Song of the Year at the APRA Awards, along with nods from the J Awards and Rolling Stone Awards. Recognised as Spotify's RADAR Artist, their rising global influence is undeniable.

Following their award winning 2022 EP, Pretty Good For A Girl Band, their debut album I Love You charted at number 6 on the ARIA Albums Chart, marking a significant milestone. The accompanying tour saw them sell out iconic venues like 170 Russell in Melbourne, the Metro Theatre in Sydney, and The Triffid in Brisbane. They capped off the year supporting the Foo Fighters at AAMI Park in Melbourne and launched into 2024 by supporting The Vaccines across the EU/UK. They will support Pearl Jam on select dates in the United States mid-2025.

I Love You showcases the bands growth, with each member contributing to songwriting. It stands as a definitive statement of their sound—joy, rage, and euphoria, delivered with precision and heart. Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers continue to make waves, solidifying their place in the music industry.

Over the last ten years, Brazil’s Millos Kaiser has cultivated a reputation as a top-ranking selector passionate about bringing his home country’s underappreciated music to the world. After starting as a punk and indie musician in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, he turned his hand to DJing in the late 2000s and relocated to Sāo Paulo. There, he spent the 2010s rocking city squares, warehouse parties and street parties with DJ Trepanado in the Selvagem duo before cofounding the celebrated Selva Discos label in 2017.

Since 2019, Millos’s focus has shifted to his solo DJ career and ventures as an edit maker, reissue compilation curator, audiophile bar co-owner, and now producer. Planet Trip Records has been very good friends with Millos for a long time and is very pleased to present his first original release, the Te Quero Perto (I Want You Close) EP, available in vinyl and digital formats.

Assembled like a DJ-friendly 12” for late 20th-century nightclub specialists, Te Quero Perto kicks off with Millos’ original ‘club mix’ and an accompanying ‘instrumental’ version (digital.only). Driven by an uptempo machine beat straight out of the mid-'80s, rave pianos, 303 acid bass, and an explosive Brazilian pop vocal sung by Juju Bonjour, it’s an absolute belter of a tune and a masterclass in in-period styling.

Elsewhere on the EP, Millos’s European friends Lipelis & Orion Agassi turn in an equally belting Latin Freestyle remix in vocal, dub and instrumental mixes (instrumental is digital only). Rounding things out, fellow Rio de Janeiro producer Paco Cabana throws the tune into a cocktail shaker before pouring a sunkissed, percussion-heavy reimagining for us to sip on. Front to back, it’s an all-killer, no-filler debut from a generational talent.

‘The Return of Pachyman’ is a supernatural force
from a brave new world that’s a little bit San Juan,
a little LA, and a whole lot of Channel One in
Kingston, Jamaica. Designed to be a resurrection
of sound systems from the past through which we
can celebrate a post-Trump future, the record
shows that blasting off into reggae’s deep space
has never gone out of style.
Pachy García (aka Pachyman) is perhaps best
known as the drummer / vocalist for the LA-based
band Prettiest Eyes, a unique pop-noise project
that reflects his other formative interest, synth
punk. He thinks of ‘The Return of Pachyman’ the
same way King Tubby might - an ‘X-ray’ of reggae
music, breaking it down to its bare bones.
Originally a guitarist, he moved to Los Angeles in
the early 2010s and developed his passion for
dub. From there, he started recording bass, drums
and piano and collecting recording equipment in
his basement studio, which he calls 333 House.
With ‘The Return of Pachyman’, García wants to
show how the Caribbean flow is transnational, a
vibe that resounds from Jamaica to San Juan to
Southern California. “With this project, I was
looking to make positive music and radiate good
energy; something to kinda disconnect from the
negative things that were happening at the
moment,” Garcia explains. “I am trying to make this
project a service for humanity in the sense that I
just wanted to shine a positive light.”

Googling “paradise house”, the first results to pop up are an endless list of European b&b’s with whitewashed lime façades, all of them promising “…an unmatched travel experience a few steps from the sea”. Next, a little further down, are the institutional websites of a few select semi-luxury retirement homes (no photos shown, but lots of stock images of smiling nurses with reassuring looks). To find the “paradise house” we’re after, we have to scroll even further down. Much further down.

It feels like yesterday, and at the same time it seems like a million years ago. The Eighties had just ended, and it was still unclear what to expect from the Nineties. Mobile phones that were not the size of a briefcase and did not cost as much as a car? A frightening economic crisis? The guitar-rock revival?! Certainly, the best place to observe that moment of transition was the dancefloor. Truly epochal transformations were happening there. From America, within a short distance one from the other, two revolutionary new musical styles had arrived: the first one sounded a bit like an “on a budget” version of the best Seventies disco-music – Philly sound made with a set of piano-bar keyboards! – the other was even more sparse, futuristic and extraterrestrial. It was a music with a quite distinct “physical” component, which at the same time, to be fully grasped, seemed to call for the knotty theories of certain French post-modern philosophers: Gilles Deleuze, Félix Guattari, Paul Virilio... Both those genres – we would learn shortly after – were born in the black communities of Chicago and Detroit, although listening to those vinyl 12” (often wrapped in generic white covers, and with little indication in the label) you could not easily guess whether behind them there was a black boy from somewhere in the Usa, or a girl from Berlin, or a pale kid from a Cornish coastal town.

Quickly, similar sounds began to show up from all corners of Europe. A thousand variations of the same intuition: leaner, less lean, happier, slightly less intoxicated, more broken, slower, faster, much faster... Boom! From the dancefloors – the London ones at least, whose chronicles we eagerly read every month in the pages of The Face and i-D – came tales of a new generation of clubbers who had completely stopped “dressing up” to go dancing; of hot tempered hooligans bursting into tears and hugging everyone under the strobe lights as the notes of Strings of Life rose up through the fumes of dry ice (certain “smiling” pills were also involved, sure). At this point, however, we must move on to Switzerland.

In Switzerland, in the quiet and diligent town of Lugano, between the 1980s and 1990s there was a club called “Morandi”. Its hot night was on Wednesdays, when the audience also came from Milan, Como, Varese and Zurich. Legend goes that, one night, none less than Prince and Sheila E were spotted hiding among the sofas, on a day-off of the Italian dates of the Nude Tour… The Wednesday resident and superstar was an Italian dj with an exotic name: Don Carlos. The soundtrack he devised was a mixture of Chicago, Detroit, the most progressive R&B and certain forgotten classics of old disco music: practically, what the Paradise Garage in New York might have sounded like had it not closed in 1987. In between, Don Carlos also managed to squeeze in some tracks he had worked on in his studio on Lago Maggiore. One in particular: a track that was rather slow compared to the BPM in fashion at the time, but which was a perfect bridge between house and R&B. The title was Alone: Don Carlos would explain years later that it had to be intended both in the English meaning of “by itself” and like the Italian word meaning “halo”. That wasn’t the only double entendre about the song, anyway. Its own very deep nature was, indeed, double. On the one hand, Alone was built around an angelic keyboard pattern and a romantic piano riff that took you straight to heaven; on the other, it showcased enough electronic squelches (plus a sax part that sounded like it had been dissolved by acid rain) to pigeonhole the tune into the “junk modernity” section, aka the hallmark of all the most innovative sounds of the time: music that sounded like it was hand-crafted from the scraps of glittering overground pop.

No one knows who was the first to call it “paradise house”, nor when it happened. Alternative definitions on the same topic one happened to hear included “ambient house”, “dream house”, “Mediterranean progressive”… but of course none were as good (and alluring) as “paradise house”. What is certain is that such inclination for sounds that were in equal measure angelic and neurotic, romantic and unaffective, quickly became the trademark of the second generation of Italian house. Music that seemed shyly equidistant from all the rhythmic and electronic revolutions that had happened up to that moment (“Music perfectly adept at going nowhere slowly” as noted by English journalist Craig McLean in a legendary field report for Blah Blah Blah magazine). Music that to a inattentive ear might have sounded as anonymous as a snapshot of a random group of passers-by at 10AM in the centre of any major city, but perfectly described the (slow) awakening in the real world after the universal love binge of the so-called Second Summer of Love.

For a brief but unforgettable season, in Italy “paradise house” was the official soundtrack of interminable weekends spent inside the car, darting from one club to another, cutting the peninsula from North to centre, from East to West coast in pursuit of the latest after-hours disco, trading kilometres per hour with beats per minute: practically, a new New Year’s Eve every Friday and Saturday night. This too was no small transformation, as well as a shock for an adult Italy that was encountering for the first time – thanks to its sons and daughters – the wild side of industrial modernity. The clubbers of the so-called “fuoriorario” scene were the balls gone mad in the pinball machine most feared by newspapers, magazines and TV pundits. What they did each and every weekend, apart from going crazy to the sound of the current white labels, was linking distant geographical points and non-places (thank you Marc Augé!) – old dance halls, farmhouses and business centres – transformed for one night into house music heaven. As Marco D’Eramo wrote in his 1995 essay on Chicago, Il maiale e il grattacielo: “Four-wheeled capitalism distorts our age-old image of the city, it allows the suburbs to be connected to each other, whereas before they were connected only by the centre (…) It makes possible a metropolitan area without a metropolis, without a city centre, without downtown. The periphery is no longer a periphery of any centre, but is self-centred”.

“Paradise house” perfectly understood all of this and turned it into a sort of cyber-blues that didn’t even need words, and unexpectedly brought back a drop of melancholic (post?)-humanity within a world that by then – as we would wholly realise in the decades to come – was fully inhuman and heartless. A world where we were all alone, and surrounded by a sinister yellowish halo, like a neon at the end of its life cycle. But, for one night at least, happy."

Because Sound Matters' meticulous One-Step process creates the definitive sounding audiophile version of k.d. lang Ingénue. This all-analog release comes from the original first-generation master tapes for the first time. Vinyl guru and editor Michael Fremer says, "This k.d. One-Step is insane – It's otherworldly great!"

This One-Step version is strictly limited to 3,000 copies. The album is housed inside a top-quality, foil-stamped, uniquely designed numbered slipcase. The enclosed gatefold jacket will feature an "old style" tip-on jacket with the original artwork.

Special care has been taken to faithfully preserve the original sound with exceptional clarity and depth, capturing the recording's nuances and subtleties at every step to create the best sounding record possible.

The One-Step process is highly regarded among audiophiles and collectors for its unparalleled sound fidelity and represents the pinnacle of vinyl manufacturing craftsmanship.

Ingénue was originally released March 17, 1992 and is k.d. lang's second solo album.

Upon release, the album charted at #18 in the US, #13 in Canada, #3 in the UK and Australia and #1 in New Zealand. Nominated for six Grammy® Awards with the breakout single "Constant Craving" winning a Grammy® Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. "Miss Chatelaine" and "The Mind of Love" were follow-up singles.

k.d. received universal critical acclaim for the album from publications like Mojo, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Uncut and dozens more! Today, Ingénue is a true classic album and considered one of the great audiophile recordings of the modern era. This One-Step version certainly proves that!

Notes for This Release:

Ingénue was originally recorded and mixed on analogue tape and produced by Greg Penny, Ben Mink and k.d. lang. The original analogue master tapes were directly used as the audio source for this One-Step pressing! This is the first time the analogue tapes have been used as a vinyl source for this brilliant recording. The results are stunning.

Because Sound Matters used the Neotech VR900-D2 180g High-Performance vinyl compound, which is the same as what is known as Super Vinyl – the best in the world.

Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering cut the lacquers with meticulous care! He also did the original mastering of the CD release in 1992.

Dorin Sauerbier at Record Technology, Inc (R.T.I.) has been plating records for decades and is considered the best in the world – he also has done more One-Step processing than anybody. This is a vital step in the process to ultimately delivering the absolute best sounding version of Ingénue ever.

Record Technology, Inc did the pressing – using the exact pressing machine used for so many other One-Step releases. The QC team is constantly monitoring each copy as it comes off the press.

Because Sound Matters' slipcases and gatefold "old style" tip on original art jackets were printed by world-renowned Stoughton Printing Company.

This new all-analogue edition will draw you into the music as never before—at least it did me. The sonic picture is rich, well-textured, harmonically saturated, spatially deep and all the rest of the audiophile buzzwords that no doubt the producers (who include lang) intended to give listeners but until now couldn't fully deliver. The musical flow will have you swooning in your seat. Before the opener 'Save Me' concludes you may already feel overwhelmed and in need of lifting the stylus to catch your emotional breath...What a treat!
-Michael Fremer, Tracking Angle, Music 11/10, Sound 11/10