Search:offbeat

Atomçk are back! Expanded to a quartet, here is more of their uniquely eccentric and offbeat brand of grindcore for thee end-tymes. Another head crusher of cacophonous chaos, all furiously catchy riffs and inhumanly shrill, stuck-ape vocals with pinpoint drums that border on the chaotic. "Newly expanded to a quartet, Towering Failures is undoubtedly the band’s heaviest and most sonically flattening release to date, boasting a gigantic tone that sounds downright apocalyptic on slower numbers. For the most part though, this album races past at lightspeed, but manages to convey a host of different moods and textures in amongst its frantic delivery. Atomçk have been getting better and better with each subsequent album, but this is surely their most powerful and definitive record to date, and one of the most inventive and memorable grindcore records of the year thus far." - The Quietus "Like a budgie with a whistle" – Ninehertz

180g audiophile vinyl reissue of American blues guitarist Melvin Taylor's 1995 album 'Melvin Taylor & The Slack Band', which is appearing on vinyl for the first time with remastering by Cicely Baston at Alchemy/Air Mastering, London "The U.S. release of Melvin Taylor's two early-'80s LPs by Evidence a decade later was a shock introduction to a blues guitarist who seemingly blazed out of nowhere - outside of Rosa's Lounge in Chicago, that is. "Blazed" is the right word, too, because Taylor is a total maximalist who unleashes torrents of notes to fill up every space. But he's so convincing a player that the concept of "blues guitar hero" might get a good name again, even with fans dead- tired of excess who never thought they'd think things like, "Man, can Melvin Taylor play the ever-loving (add the expletive superlative of your choice) out of the guitar" again. Taylor's first real-time release, Melvin Taylor & the Slack Band, is a pretty straightforward affair - basic trio with minimal overdubs, serviceable vocals in an Albert King mode, and a mix of originals and very classic covers. The opening "Texas Flood" lets him rip on a slow blues, constantly changing up his playing with wah-wah blitzes as the real ace in his sonic hole. The originals "Depression Blues" and "Groovin' in New Orleans" add some funk flair, while "Talking to Anna Mae" is a straight- up Chicago boogie instrumental that Taylor shines on. But he's even more in his element on the unadorned slow blues "Tin Pan Alley" and King's "Don't Throw Your Love on Me So Strong." It's partly the speed but even more the phrasing - the unexpected stops and starts, the spiky and blazing runs and flurries, the unusual note selections he tosses in - that sets his playing apart. The other covers have their sporadic moments - "TBone Shuffle" is inconsequential, but Otis Rush's "All Your Love" and "Voodoo Chile" are worth listening to, even if the latter doesn't add anything to the famous Hendrix wah-wah workout. Taylor actually doesn't sound that radical here, like he was playing to establish blues circuit credentials by putting his stamp on familiar songs more than indulging offbeat personal touches like the mellow lounge jazz take on the Champs' "Tequila." But his playing can be truly electrifying and Melvin Taylor & the Slack Band is recommended for anyone, especially Stevie Ray Vaughan fans, looking for a distinctive new blues guitar voice." - Don Snowden, AllMusic Personnel: Melvin Taylor, guitar, vocals / Willie Smith, bass guitar / Steve Potts, drums Recorded and mixed on March 27-30, 1995 at Dockside Studios, Maurice, LA

Manuel Tur & Adrian Hoffmann return to their alter ego Class Compliance for the second time, having introduced it on last year's Future Sound of Jazz compilation on Compost. The "Plug & Play EP" features three quirky and slightly offbeat tracks that won't be everyone's cup of tea, but will find fans among those interested in unquantized synths and polymetric rhythm layers. Early support from Kornel Kovacz, Âme & Ingo Sänger.

Mick Jenkins, lyrical hip-hop mastermind and Chicago's Finest, returns with the album "The Patience." He chose to title it "The Patience" because it was that patience that he needed to get to the point in his career where he is now.

Waiting to get free from a label that didn't share his vision was very frustrating, especially since he had to consciously hold back his musical gems in order to release them in collaboration with a partner and team that believed in his art and supported him in his vision for his music.

During this time, Mick worked on his upcoming amazing body of work that has evolved into something very special. Mick at times compares himself to a star chef, brewing up lyrics, seasoning each line to perfection. The album is bursting with offbeat rhymes, sophisticated grooves and complex metaphors. On 'The Patience', the artist shows in an impressive way that he is one of the best in his genre.

Features on the album include JID, Freddie Gibbs, Benny The Butcher and Vic Mensa, who are no less eloquent as rappers and round out the record excellently. Also the production, peppered with live instruments and many jazz influences, makes the hip-hop hearts beat faster.

There's no denying Marcel Fengler's profound impact on the ever-changing techno landscape. A pioneer in his own right, Fengler's works have flooded dancefloors and set lists worldwide for decades, and that shows no sign of changing anytime soon. His latest work is an all-encompassing four-track EP titled "Unleashed", including a remix from sought-after Stuttgart duo SHDW & Obscure Shape.

Kicking off with the title track, "Unleashed" introduces the EP with high-octane rhythms, pulsating low frequency sonics and rave like harmonic layers. An unrelenting onslaught of fast paced thumping techno, built around long, sweeping notes, vocal injections and a piston-like bassline, this one was made for the height of the party. "Caution" is next to feature, presenting itself as a robust industrial number with harsh percussive drive and endless layers of cadence throughout the mix. Weighty yet groovy in a unique up-tempo way, its robotic vocal splashes make the perfect accomplice for its potent warehouse vibes.

"Cypher" pulls you into the second half of the EP with rattling rhythms and more gritty sweeping musicality. Exhibiting the depth in his production skills, Fengler loads up the mix with a kaleidoscope of percussive elements alongside thumping kicks, surging synths, and another haunting robotic vox before SHDW & Obscure Shape get their teeth into a signature remix. Taking it deeper and darker, the duo's emphasis on subtle progressions and increasing intensity throughout the mix with offbeat trickery and creative unpredictability make their remix of "Cypher" a certified peak-time bomb.

"It has been quite a journey with this EP, as I've been exceptionally discerning about the sound and the entire production process. My goal was to create a release tailored for the dance floor, with the right amount of energy for peak-time moments, while also ensuring a profound and well-structured sonic experience. After testing potential tracks in my DJ sets, I distilled what I believe captures the essence I want to share with the audience. Furthermore, I'm thrilled to have SHDW & Obscure Shape on board for a formidable remix. Their work carries echoes of the raw and forceful sonic textures from earlier times, which I hold in high regard. I'm genuinely delighted with how everything has come together, and I hope you enjoy it!" - Marcel Fengler
Order IMF012 now

Wer kennt sie nicht, die Berliner Ska-Matadoren? Denn für viele gelten BLECHREIZ immer noch als die beste Live-Band Berlins! Sind sie nicht "ein Gemisch wie Nitro & Glycerin, das jeden Saal zum Kochen bringt"? - diese geballte Power macht jedenfalls das neue Album deutlich, dass jetzt von Smith & Miller Records auf Vinyl veröffentlicht wird. Gleich nach erstem Reinhören in den Tonträger wird klar, hier ist ein Ska-Dauerfeuer-Dampfhammer aufgelegt, bei dem man Gefahr läuft, sich die DocMartens-Sohlen durchzutanzen. Die ersten sechs Titel sind ein furioser Ritt auf dem Offbeat, bei dem die enorme Energie der Band deutlich wird. Neben ganz neu aufgenommenen Krachern, wie beispielsweise ihrem Ska-Hit "Bumble Bee" oder der legendären Arbeiter-Hymne "Which Side Are You On?" sind auch viele markante Blechreiz-Songs der Bandgeschichte auf dem neuen Album versammelt. Bei den ersten drei Titeln wurden BLECHREIZ von der Brass-Section der befreundeten Ska-Band "Memoria Insuficiente Ska" aus Bogotá in Kolumbien unterstützt. Ansonsten sind noch einige weitere Gäste bei den Aufnahmen mit dabei. Den Abschluss des Albums bildet mit dem Live-Song "Gewalt regiert" ein deutliches Statement gegen Nazi-Glatzen.

Seit 18 Jahren führen sie Echtzeitgespräche, ohne sich dabei aufzuführen. 2-9 Berliner Ladies, die sich live durch Stile und Geschichten spielen und dabei schon an die 200 B a n d s f o r m i e r t e n . G e n r e : K o n z e p t - P e p . Jedes Konzert und damit jede Band sind textlich und namentlich unauflösbar mit allen Beteiligten, Spielort und Setup verknüpft, Wiederholungen waren nur in Ausnahmen erlaubt. Doch nun gibt es sie doch: Festplatte. Eine Compilation.

Auf Seite A sehnen sich Spassbremse mit Engelsstimme nach Freiheit, während die Abstände im dunkel treibenden Offbeat über den Kontrollstaat schmunzeln. Pimmelbett rappen und schwelgen episch in the „Infinite Nature of Dreams“. Und nachdem die supersymmetrischen Teilchen elegisch über Einsamkeit sinnieren, feiern Leh Kokott ihren Sommerhit 2015 „un Bouton“.

Four-to-the-floor sagen Fräuleinschein auf Seite B und denken dabei an „Kartoffelpüree“, worauf eine unbekannte Band in finnischer Tradition ihrer Stammkneipe hinterher weint. Die Kraft der Selbstbefriedigung wird im Blues zelebriert und balkanesk besingt Puncikák ein dringendes Bedürfnis in allen ihr zur Verfügung stehenden Registern. Die Flöhe und die Drunken Sinkers vollenden im Punk.

An den Vocals lernt man alle Musikerinnen kennen, begleitet von einer klassischen Bandbesetzung, eingestreuten Spielereien und diesem unwiderstehlichen Cello. Festplatte - ein Fest von Platte. Im Herzen der Punk, im Ohr ein Wurm.

Eine der dienstältesten, deutschen Oi-Punk Bands feiert ihr Jubiläum mit einem brandneuem Album… eigentlich haben sie es knapp verpasst: 41 Jahre HERBÄRDS, da darf man sich zurecht als "Alte Strassenköter" bezeichnen. 1982 gegründet, veröffentlichen die Stuttgarter mit "Eu se Bois" ihr Debutalbum, was zurecht bis heute als ungehobeltes, rotzfreches Kultalbum gilt. Das Nachfolgewerk "Wakos" bekam vom Label das Branding "German Oi Attacke" und nach einem schwerem Motorradunfall von Sänger "TEK" löste sich die Band auf, um kurz vor der Jahrtausendwende mit dem dritten Album "Wir sind zurück" reanimiert zu werden. 2017 dann ein neues Kapitel mit der Buchpräsentation und Ausstellung "Wie der Punk nach Stuttgart kam" und ein neues Lebenszeichen mit der Mini-LP "Oi! Oi! Oi!". Musikalisch "Back to the roots", begleitet von vielen Konzert- und Festivalauftritten, schrieben die Herbärds dann die neue offizielle Hymne des Eishockey-Teams "Stuttgart Rebels". "Alte Strassenköter" vereint alles, was diese Band ausmacht: Oi!-Punk der alten Schule, Texte direkt aus dem Bauch, der Szene und dem bewegten Leben…von Parole Spaß ohne Zeigefinger ("Rebels" / "Fußball Liebe") …mal fast als Selbsttherapie verpackte Hymnen wie ("Punk ist meine Therapie" / "Krüppel") …bis hin zu eindeutigem Klartext: ("Fass mich nicht an" / "Verraten und verkauft") . Und mit dem Offbeat versetztem Partyhit "Alte Männer tanzen nicht" beweisen sie genau das Gegenteil. Die HERBÄRDS sind sich selbst über die Jahrzehnte und ihren Fans gegenüber treu geblieben, ohne auf Trends oder den großen Markt zu schielen. Wenn Du eine der authentischsten, deutschen Oi!-Punk-Bands mit Rückgrat und klarer Kante hören willst und dabei auch noch jede Menge großartiger Szenehymnen, dann ist das ein klarer Anwärter für Deinen Plattenschrank.

2023 Repress

Since Jesper Munk's debut album in 2013 the German singer-songwriter has made a name for himself as multi-instrumentalist , "in the paths of Jack White and Dan Auerbach," as the Rolling Stone Magazine puts it, playing music that ranges from Blues and Soul to heartfelt Pop and indulging Jazz, all this with a very unique, post-Punk
edge. His new album Taped Heart Sounds offers an evolution of Munk's sound: warm, gentle and soft vibes that go deep. "If there is a way to give you a hug in form of an album, this is how I'd attempt to do so," says Munk.

Recorded in an offbeat band room in Berlin with The Cassette Heads, the album brings together classics reaching from Blues to Rock'n Roll. Twelve songs of legendary artists who have influenced and inspired Munk since his early days, including Tom Waits, JJ Cale, Etta James, Hank Williams, Willie Dixon, Jacques Brel, and Mocky.
The entire album was recorded with a Tascam Portastudio 8-Track Cassette Recorder which brought an original and authentic sound to each song: "The technical limitations immediately liberated all other aspects of the recording," Munk says. "It shows how much of making music is just listening and without a screen to catch your eye, you really have no choice but to do so." All Songs face realness and live from these volatile moments that reveal vulnerability and musical generosity. The outcome of this analogue experiment is a very personal album, both inspiring and consoling.
Taped Heart Sounds courageously opens with Donnie & Joe Emerson's Baby; a song so iconic that it actually cannot be enhanced. However, Munk's interpretation stands out and has a presence that gives the song a life of its own - made for walking. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, All the World Is Green, I'd Rather Go Blind, Head in the Clouds - what follows is a journey through Blues and Soul that is so vital and "now" that End of the Line may be the final track but certainly not the end of the story.
The album wouldn't be what it is without collaboration and partnership. Munk's special thanks go to his fans who helped to crowd-fund the recording. "On top of having had a real fun learning experience it all felt like a community project with real support from friends, the Cassette Heads, incredibly inspiring guests, and from Miles Deico, a wonderfully open and able engineer," so Munk about the making of the album.
Taped Heart Sounds is Jesper Munk's 4th album, following acclaimed debut album For in My Way it Lies (2013), CLAIM (2016), and Favourite Stranger (2018). Released via Billbrook Records, Hamburg-based Distributor Wordandsound's new label, the album is available for pre-order now - for purchase on vinyl and CD. The first single 'Baby' is going to be released on November 19, 2021.

DJ Python’s Worldwide Unlimited return with a trio of giddy-up garage screwballs by BFTT of the Mutualism cohort.

’THP’ hails BFTT’s transition from one party city, Leeds, to another, Manchester, in the post-lockdown euphoria when everyone was dusting off their dancing clogs. He hadn’t made club music during the pandemic, but got right back on it that summer, chiselling signature production details into a trio of restive swingers and buoyant steppers explicitly built for the party.

‘THP’ trains his energies into an itchy switch of Yorkshire garage-techno-donk aerated with feathered dub chords and percolated percussion. ‘Keeplies’ more loosely dances on the offbeat complete with unstable, grinding subs whisked into a dipping UKG lather like Pangaea meets early Aya, and ‘Seems’ picks up your trotters on a ruggedly warped speed garage tilt, all melting Moschino logos and acid-spiked fizz bound for peak times.

In the Red Records will proudly present the U.S. edition of Rantings from the Book of Swamp, the freewheeling eighth studio release by Australia’s magnificent and unpredictable Kim Salmon and the Surrealists, as a two-LP. The Surrealists were formed by the Scientists’ singer-songwriter-guitarist Kim Salmon in 1987, betwixt the last two tours by the original incarnation of that pathfinding Perth-bred band. The Surrealists had been dormant in recent years, as the bandleader focused his energy on recording and touring with a reunited lineup of the Scientists featuring guitarist Tony Thewlis, bassist Boris Sujdovic, and drummer Leanne Cowie, who had recorded the career-summarizing 1986 LP Weird Love. (In 2021, In the Red issued Negativity, a new album by that unit, to wide acclaim.) In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown settled around the globeSalmon reconvened with bassist/baritone guitarist Stu Thomas and drummer Phil Collings, who had appeared on the Surrealists’ 2010 release Grand Unifying Theory, the group’s most recent record. As with that work, the new material was created live on the studio floor, and emphasized improvisation in both its structure and content. “The premise for this recording,” Salmon explains, “was that at its commencement the band members would come prepared with no other material than whatever ideas they might be able to individually bring. The lyrical content was all derived from my notebooks (Book of Swamp) from sketches I’d been jotting down over the last couple of years. There was to be no consultation about musical forms until the event began. Once the event began, the band had carte blanche to do whatever necessary to salvage compelling performances over the two live events @ 7PM AEST 6/13/20 + 6/14/20 respectively…….i.e., we had to make it up from scratch!” Captured at Rolling Stock Recording Rooms in Collingwood, Victoria, Australia, by Myles Mumford, the music heard on Rantings from the Book of Swamp was originally presented as a pair of live streams directed by Andrew Watson at Semiconductor Media. The resultant album comprises 13 brain-bending tracks characterized by Salmon’s percolating lyrical imagination and the raw, unfettered interplay of the three seasoned musical collaborators. After the world began to emerge from the pandemic lockdown in 2022, the Surrealists hit Australian stages on the double-barreled “You Gotta Let Me Swamp My Rantings” tour, which featured two different lineups performing two albums in toto: the Rantings from the Book of Swamp trio, and the threesome of Salmon, Thomas, and drummer Greg Bainbridge, who played the material from You Gotta Let Me Do My Thing, the 1997 Surrealists album they cut together. Offbeat, off the street, off the map, and off the wall, Rantings from the Books of Swamp serves as a potent reminder that Kim Salmon and the Surrealists remain a puissant force in boundary-pushing rock music.

Trombone Shorty is back with his first album in 5 years and the eagerly awaited follow-up to his 2017 Blue Note debut Parking Lot Symphony, which the esteemed New Orleans music magazine OffBeat said continued his tradition of “stunningly good musicianship, crowd-pleasing good material, and just plain good fun.” The new album captures the explosive energy of his legendary live shows, and combines classic New Orleans sounds (funk, gospel, street rhythms, Mardi Gras Indian chants, and second lines) with modern lyrics, melody, and beats to create something fresh and unique. The album features special guests including vocalist Lauren Daigle & guitarist Gary Clark Jr.

Emerging Glasgow trio Brenda release their self-titled debut album with
Last Night From Glasgow
Brenda are Litty Hughes on guitar, Apsi Witana on drums and Flore de Hooge on
synths - with all three contributing to lyrics and vocals.They've created a name for
themselves by gigging across Glasgow - their energetic sets described as the
type that "end up seared onto your brain after a single viewing" with their
"impudent, inventive and extremely DIY punk- pop" (The Scotsman). Although
easily compared to the riot grrrls that came before them, it is clear that Brenda is
content with being something totally unconventional. The combination of dreamy
synths, witty lyrics and joint vocals is infectious. DIY ethos and unapologetic
energy, Brenda could be your new favourite band.
The album will be launched with a gig at Glasgow's Glad Cafe on 28th July.
The most exciting set of the evening came from Glasgow all-female trio
Brenda...their name daubed on a collapsing bedsheet behind them, like they were
signalling to the media from the roof of a prison riot." - The Scotsman
"Offbeat leftfield synth driven pop with a self deprecating wit and between song
banter that just has the audience eating out of the palm of their hands." - The
Ginger Quiff
"Great set - a certain DIY enthusiasm which is hard to put into words." - Is This
Music?

Crackazat & Heist present: “Senses”. A stunning mini album that sees the artist deliver a heartwarming perspective on contemporary electronic music
On “Senses”, we see the pure talent of Crackazat come to life like never before. We’ve all danced to “Alfa” or his most recent hit on Heist “Demucha” and have heard his venture into the more poppy side of things with his 2022 album ‘Evergreen’ on Freerange. “Senses” however, is on another level. Crackazat takes you on a sonic journey exploring his musical personality with live keys, vocals, bass and production all coming from his studio in Uppsala, Sweden. The
jazzy horns that are featured throughout are recorded by Adeev and Ezra Potash, better known as the Potash twins. The duo took a sidestep from their recordings with John Legend, Robert Glasper and even Diplo to dive into this project with Crackazat and help him deliver arguably his best work to date.
The 6-track album starts off with the low-slung groove of ‘I need to know’. The whole atmosphere is warm, dreamy and seems to be written to lift your spirits, no matter where you are in life. Plucked strings, arpeggios and long horn notes give this song its energy, which is subtly supported by lo-fi drums and sparse bass licks.
“Do you think about me”, keeps the energy tight with a lovely drum groove and a sparse bass section. From the first note of the track, you get the feeling like the energy could change any moment. Halfway through this is exactly what happens, when uplifting keys and a buzzing lead take control of the track. The string arrangement is subtle enough to never overshadow the other instrumentation, but simply adds a beautiful layer to a track that’s already filled with
emotion. It’s all smiles when the energy of this track is set loose!
If “Do you think about me” is Crackazat in pop mode, “Freddie’s Groove” is Crackazat in full-on jazz mode. The nod to Freddie Hubbard is clear, and Crackazat cleverly takes ideas from both the jazz legend and his legendary French sampler, Pepe Bradock for this track. The horns are deep and moody, the groove is jazz-house at its best and Crackazat’s soft vocals have the perfect amount of fragility to fit the groove. The changeover into a stabby synth section
halfway through the track is a subtle reminder from the skilled producer that – even with all these musical elements – he can direct you to the front of the dancefloor with the twist of a note.
“Phantom” sees Crackazat move into a shuffling Latin-dance vibe. Here, the song reaches its full potential through the horn section, so it’s only fitting that this is the feature track for the Potash Twins. The Latin rhythms are lush, the key progression is on point and the energy on this track just keeps on going with layers and layers of horns, powerful vocal chops, and subtle but effective percussion changeovers.
“Endless life” is a track that feels like it’s building up momentum with every repetition. Whether it’s the broken beat groove, the offbeat keys or the sparse horn hits, chord hits or leads, there’s a certain energy in this track that takes a hold of you and simply doesn’t let go.
The outro “When we last met” is built around vibey drunk keys and a downtempo hip-hop groove. There’s a hint of old school D’angelo in this track and you can clearly hear the artist feels at ease with the path he’s taking the listener on. It’s a perfect ending to a record that showcases the beautiful world that Crackazat has crafted through his compositions and one thing is for sure: This is an album we will all keep coming back to for a long time to come.
Yours Sincerely,
Maarten & Lars

“if one day Adele was free to make more experimental music, she would sound something like November Ultra, a Parisian singer-songwriter with a marvellously expressive voice that glides serenely over a mixture of offbeat ballads and darkly dramatic confessionals. Nova grew up in France with a Spanish mother and Portuguese father and has been singing since she was three. Add to that a love of Frank Ocean – whose legendary Nostalgia, Ultra mixtape inspired her name – a proficiency in professional songwriting for acts such as Jaden Smith, and Nova’s intensely vivacious personality, and you get her fascinating debut. They say that when you change, everything changes - is it the same with love? Do your ideal shift with time and age? November Ultra's "Corazón Caramelo" questions and explores the fluctuation of the heart through this cinematographic and poignant Spanish piano-ballad anchored in both traditional copla and soaring modular synth pop.

Images Of Goo is what Munich sound bricolageurs Leo Hopfinger aka LeRoy (head of Das Hobos, H, Spiritual Emojis and others) and Cico Beck aka Joasihno (active member of The Notwist, Aloa Input, Spirit Fest and others) call their first musical dialogue in album format.

It is equally a dialogue with the elements of their sonic repertoire of echo variations and sonic shadows from the percussive instrument box. In their sum, a Wunderkammer of a panaudic, which can be approached and departed in six tracks per side.

There we pass a fuzzy factory flow music of sound tiles and find ourselves in the next station in a game of pot banging and gong shower with firecrackers and other sound explosions. Tinpan tinkertoy and sparkler warehouse become an offbeat downbeat of sound loops, and already we imagine ourselves amid the hammering and pounding of a magic sound forge at the center of the earth, which may be the center of a distant galaxy.

On side two, we enter a dripstone cave boogaloo ("Let's start tripping") and it drips candle wax from a vocoder space-age melody, emoting and coagulating into a Morse-coding cumbia chant. Wax music this is - music that grows out of itself, even if by the means of tape and collage.

At the end there is a music snake, which, having become snake music itself, disappears in front of our ears with a swing. And maybe this is the beginning ...

Auf dem neuen Longplayer Crime Scene lenkt die bayuwarische Artrock-Institution ihre Aufmerksamkeit auf das Morbide, das Perverse, das Böse im Guten, die Abgründe des menschlichen Verhaltensspektrums in all seiner unvorhersehbaren Vielfalt, die dann manchmal auch so bizarr verstörend schlüssig daher kommt, wenn man denn ansetzt sie ergründen zu wollen.
In sechs dicht-atmosphärischen Tracks haben sich RPWL wieder einmal auf intensive Reisen durch die eigene Bandvita, als auch die jeweils eigenen Plattensammlungen begeben. Das Bemühen von Vergleichen ist immer so eine Sache, denn immerhin ist dies die 19te Veröffentlichung dieser international erfolgreichen Band. Die teils morbid-düsteren Themen werden mit old-school Fuzz konterkariert, das knapp 13-minütige "King of the World" mit seinem knurrenden Big Muff und seinen flächigen Vibes, oder "Life beyond Control", das mit seinem Offbeat-Einsatz sicher zu den härtesten Stücken in der RPWL Diskographie gehören dürfte, legen ihr Geständnis auf der Crime Scene ab. "Live in a Cage" bringt das das Kalkül des wie immer akribischen Sounddesigns dieses neuen RPWL-Albums auf den Punkt, nahtlos schließt sich "Red Rose" daran an. Pflaster auf Schusswunde als Prinzip. Aber der Wahn der normalisierten Gewalt wabert in so vielen Haushalten unter der vermeintlichen Harmonie, die die vier Musiker hier den Hörer glauben lassen. Wie fühlt es sich an, überhaupt kein Konzept von Freiheit zu haben, die Angst die bürgerliche Sicherheit zu verlassen aber größer ist? Allein im Lockdown-Jahr Jahr 2020 erfasste die Polizei über 119.000 Fälle von partnerschaftlicher Gewalt, 139 davon mit tödlichem Ausgang, die sich in über 80% der Fälle gegen den weiblichen Part in der Beziehung richteten.

Yogi Lang kommentiert aus künstlerischer Perspektive er sei schon immer von gesellschaftlichen und persönlichen Schattenseiten fasziniert gewesen. Kalle Wallner stellt die Gretchenfrage, wie man es denn mit dem Bösen an sich halte: "Wer macht uns zu dem wer wir sind? Ist es eine Frage der Genetik oder sind es doch die sozialen Umstände, unsere Kindheit, Schicksalsschläge, Druck oder Kränkungen?"

Das ‚Böse' bildet eines der Kernthemen auf Crime Scene, welches über das Band-eigene Label Gentle Art of Music erscheint. Als wertig aufgemachtes Digipak, drei unterschiedlichen Vinyl-Versionen (180Gr. Schwarz, 180Gr. Lim. Rot, 180Gr. Lim. Blau) und natürlich Digital.

eclipsed - Album des Monats:
"RPWL ist damit ein geradezu kriminell spannendes Werk gelungen. ....Auf "Crime Scene" spielen RPWL alle ihre Stärken aus. Tatorte gesichert. Fälle geklärt. Mission erfüllt. ... Wuchtige, cineastisch anmutende Arrangements, wunderschöne Melodiebögen, bewegende, leise, behutsame Momente und ein ausgesprochen spannendes Konzept hinterlassen einen starken Eindruck..."

SLAM (Highlight März/April)
Wieder einmal haben die bayrischen Artrocker RPWL ein Konzeptalbum am Start und wieder einmal kommt nach dem ersten Durchlauf der übliche Gedanke: Das ist absolut großartig, aber man hat keine Ahnung warum genau. Was haben die in Freising in ihrem Wasser, das ihnen erlaubt zu scheinbar egal welchem Thema eine Klangwelt zu bauen, die es so kein zweites Mal gibt? (...) Man kann gar nicht hoch genug einschätzen, wie wertvoll die Existenz so einer Band ist, es bleibt am Ende ein einfaches "Danke".

Auf dem neuen Longplayer Crime Scene lenkt die bayuwarische Artrock-Institution ihre Aufmerksamkeit auf das Morbide, das Perverse, das Böse im Guten, die Abgründe des menschlichen Verhaltensspektrums in all seiner unvorhersehbaren Vielfalt, die dann manchmal auch so bizarr verstörend schlüssig daher kommt, wenn man denn ansetzt sie ergründen zu wollen.
In sechs dicht-atmosphärischen Tracks haben sich RPWL wieder einmal auf intensive Reisen durch die eigene Bandvita, als auch die jeweils eigenen Plattensammlungen begeben. Das Bemühen von Vergleichen ist immer so eine Sache, denn immerhin ist dies die 19te Veröffentlichung dieser international erfolgreichen Band. Die teils morbid-düsteren Themen werden mit old-school Fuzz konterkariert, das knapp 13-minütige "King of the World" mit seinem knurrenden Big Muff und seinen flächigen Vibes, oder "Life beyond Control", das mit seinem Offbeat-Einsatz sicher zu den härtesten Stücken in der RPWL Diskographie gehören dürfte, legen ihr Geständnis auf der Crime Scene ab. "Live in a Cage" bringt das das Kalkül des wie immer akribischen Sounddesigns dieses neuen RPWL-Albums auf den Punkt, nahtlos schließt sich "Red Rose" daran an. Pflaster auf Schusswunde als Prinzip. Aber der Wahn der normalisierten Gewalt wabert in so vielen Haushalten unter der vermeintlichen Harmonie, die die vier Musiker hier den Hörer glauben lassen. Wie fühlt es sich an, überhaupt kein Konzept von Freiheit zu haben, die Angst die bürgerliche Sicherheit zu verlassen aber größer ist? Allein im Lockdown-Jahr Jahr 2020 erfasste die Polizei über 119.000 Fälle von partnerschaftlicher Gewalt, 139 davon mit tödlichem Ausgang, die sich in über 80% der Fälle gegen den weiblichen Part in der Beziehung richteten.

Yogi Lang kommentiert aus künstlerischer Perspektive er sei schon immer von gesellschaftlichen und persönlichen Schattenseiten fasziniert gewesen. Kalle Wallner stellt die Gretchenfrage, wie man es denn mit dem Bösen an sich halte: "Wer macht uns zu dem wer wir sind? Ist es eine Frage der Genetik oder sind es doch die sozialen Umstände, unsere Kindheit, Schicksalsschläge, Druck oder Kränkungen?"

Das ‚Böse' bildet eines der Kernthemen auf Crime Scene, welches über das Band-eigene Label Gentle Art of Music erscheint. Als wertig aufgemachtes Digipak, drei unterschiedlichen Vinyl-Versionen (180Gr. Schwarz, 180Gr. Lim. Rot, 180Gr. Lim. Blau) und natürlich Digital.

eclipsed - Album des Monats:
"RPWL ist damit ein geradezu kriminell spannendes Werk gelungen. ....Auf "Crime Scene" spielen RPWL alle ihre Stärken aus. Tatorte gesichert. Fälle geklärt. Mission erfüllt. ... Wuchtige, cineastisch anmutende Arrangements, wunderschöne Melodiebögen, bewegende, leise, behutsame Momente und ein ausgesprochen spannendes Konzept hinterlassen einen starken Eindruck..."

SLAM (Highlight März/April)
Wieder einmal haben die bayrischen Artrocker RPWL ein Konzeptalbum am Start und wieder einmal kommt nach dem ersten Durchlauf der übliche Gedanke: Das ist absolut großartig, aber man hat keine Ahnung warum genau. Was haben die in Freising in ihrem Wasser, das ihnen erlaubt zu scheinbar egal welchem Thema eine Klangwelt zu bauen, die es so kein zweites Mal gibt? (...) Man kann gar nicht hoch genug einschätzen, wie wertvoll die Existenz so einer Band ist, es bleibt am Ende ein einfaches "Danke".

Multi-RIAA Platinum and Gold certified singer/songwriter and producer Cavetown, also known as Robin Skinner, announces a highly anticipated new album ‘worm food’ today to be released November 4th / Limited Green Vinyl released March 3rd 2023

The first full length since 2020’s Sleepyhead, ‘worm food’ finds Cavetown unpacking the inner workings of his mind and delivers some of his most intricate lyricism to date. The announcement is a long time coming for fans of Cavetown, who have been patiently awaiting news of a new album for over two years. In that time, the popularity of Cavetown songs has continued to snowball, with an ardent community of fans proliferating around the world.

Since the age of 14, Robin (he/they) has created self-produced songs both intensely diaristic and touched with offbeat imagination. Now 23, the Cambridge, UK-based artist has emerged as one of the preeminent voices in the DIY bedroom pop scene, with more than 1 billion global streams to date, including nearly 7.6 million monthly listeners and 2.5 million streams a day on Spotify alone. With over 2 million YouTube subscribers and 1 million Instagram followers, he kicked off 2022 with the release of “Fall In Love With A Girl” with beabadoobee, which was featured in Billboard’s “The 25 Best Pride Songs of 2022 (So Far)” and followed it with “Grocery Store” in July, a reimagination of his collaboration “Trying Not To Cry” with Kina Beats that received praise from PAPER and V Magazine. Robin has also co-written and produced for artists such as mxmtoon, Chloe Moriondo, Addison Grace, and more.

Cavetown opened for Bleachers this summer at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, CA, following US Tour that wrapped up in May. With over 50,000 tickets sold, Robin sold out venues across the country including the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles and Terminal 5 in New York City. He will embark on an EU/UK tour this Fall with sold-out shows in Paris, Berlin, London, and more.

Roe Deers presents his fascinating debut full-length Salt Town Boy, a leftfield collection of wild sonic tales filled with dusky moods and punk attitude. The first LP to be released on Good Skills, the label Roe Deers runs with BDHBTS co-conspirator Titas Motuzas, the album brings together tracks produced in his Vilnius studio over the past six years. It also features a series of unique storytelling vocal contributions from an international list of friends and colleagues.

Roe Deers is a Lithuanian-based project led by Liudas Lazauskas. A regular at Vilnius institution Opium and a key member of the city's fertile scene, he's long been breaking the rules of genre in his explorations of the uncharted territories of murky electronic music, releasing on labels like Omnidisc, Turbo, Nein Records and Throne Of Blood.

The Salt Town of the album's title is Druskininkai, the Lithuanian spa resort where Roe Deers grew up and first began DJing at a venue run by his parents. The breadth of styles and moods he was exposed to from an early age can be heard across these 12 intriguing tracks, which blend elements of beat science, electroclash, post punk, italo, krautrock and EBM into a deliciously intoxicating brew.

The skewed motorik pulse of opener and lead single 'Trident', featuring apocalyptic intonations by French-Canadian lyricist C.A.R., sets an offbeat, ominous tone that prevails for the rest of the album. Vocal contributions from Israeli producer Niv Ast ('Late Night Tale'), Norwegian troublemaker Sex Judas ('Rodeo King') and Berlin-based singer Aquarius Heaven ('Walking Down The Streets') each bring out the moods - vampish, febrile, industrial - that permeate Roe Deers's textured, percussive productions. At the album's centre are two tracks that point to the past and possible future of the Roe Deers project: first, 'Theme' features French post punk band Order89 in a compelling disco-noir moment that recalls his earlier club EPs; then, regular collaborator Palmes Ziedas provides Lithuanian vocals for 'Tarp Raudonu Sviesu' ('Between Red Lights'), a frenzied howl of a track that fits an entire film score into its short three minutes.

The instrumental pieces on the album have their own stories to tell, from the dusty dive bar meditation of 'Flying Carpets' to the paranoid proto-techno pulse of 'Celebrity Theme' and the 11-minute cyclical epic 'Never - Ending -'. As the last moments of cinematic closer 'Fin' play out, we realise that our trip down the twisted paths of Roe Deers's beguiling sound world is coming to an end; but we also know that to go back in again all we have to do is press play.

Exclusive to INDIE STORES: Hiss and Shake Records to release ‘Logically Yours’ – a limited edition, 5 x LP boxset of 50 essential recordings from seminal post-punk icon Lora Logic including 2 classic Essential Logic albums, early single releases, EPs, B-sides, rarities, vinyl exclusives + first new Essential Logic studio album in 43 years! Includes the classic Rough Trade Records releases ‘Beat Rhythm News (Waddle Ya Play?) + ‘Pedigree Charm’ + 2 retrospective compilations of early single releases, EPs, B-sides, rarities + vinyl exclusives ‘Aerosol Burns & Other Misdemeanours’ + ‘No More Fiction’ + new studio album ‘Land of Kali’ (first in 43 years) + 20 page booklet with introduction from Celeste Bell + Lora Logic Q+A. Susan Whitby, aka Lora Logic was one of the most distinctive talents from the post-punk era known for her intoxicating, rough-around-the-edges, yet exhilarating sax playing and haywire vocal style. Her offbeat, occasionally arresting lyrics tackled alienation, sexism, poverty and urban isolation, and with a complete disregard for convention, she carved her own path not only in her short-lived music career but also personal life. She was still in her teens when she answered an ad in Melody Maker “Looking for young punks,” and in 1976, with her friend Marion Elliot (aka Poly Styrene), she formed the punk band X-Ray Spex and acquired the pseudonym, Lora Logic. The duo soon achieved notoriety with the irresistible feminist protest single, ‘Oh Bondage Up Yours’ (1977) – Logic arguably stealing the show with her thrilling punk sax. “X-Ray Spex was my first band, I happened to be accepted, It happened to work, I happened to get famous overnight. I’d been playing sax in a cupboard in my room; I thought I better do something.” However, just prior to recording 'Germ Free Adolescents' (1978), X-Ray Spex's debut album, she found herself unexpectedly ousted from the band. With abundant enthusiasm and encouragement from Geoff Travis, founding director of Rough Trade Records, she went on to form Essential Logic, creating some of the most liberating and exciting music of the early post-punk era, not only as Essential Logic, but also as a solo artist. Hiss and Shake Records are pleased to present a limited edition boxset of 50 essential recordings from the irresistibly engaging Lora Logic archive, allowing for a new generation to become aware of her incredible creative output. Across 5 LPs, ‘Logically Yours’ includes in their entirety, the classic Rough Trade Records releases ‘Beat Rhythm News (Waddle Ya Play?) (1979) – Essential Logic’s sole studio album, and Lora’s solo album, ‘Pedigree Charm’ (1982) – her last studio album before turning her back on the music business, sad and disillusioned and fighting drug addiction, which saw her turn to a Hare Krishna lifestyle, alongside Poly Styrene, embracing a fresh new chapter. This totally absorbing and definitive collection also includes two retrospective compilations; ‘Essential Logic – ‘Aerosol Burns & Other Misdemeanours’, which comprises early single releases, B-sides and oddities including the gloriously chaotic ‘Aerosol Burns’, the essential punk/disco ‘Music Is A Better Noise’, and ‘Fanfare In the Garden’, showcasing Lora at her most pop. In addition, ‘Essential Logic – ‘No More Fiction’; contains 10 vinyl exclusives, including ‘Do You Believe in Christmas?’, recorded with the Krishna Kids Choir in 1985, alongside tracks recorded circa 1997, with Martin Muscatt, Dave Farren (Bad Manners) and Gary Valentine (Blondie), forming the basis of what would have been Essential Logic’s third studio album, ‘No More Fiction’. Having recently returned to the studio refreshed and rejuvenated, ‘Logically Yours’ also includes ‘The Land of Kali’ (co-produced by Youth), the first new Essential Logic studio album in 43 years, and features the forthcoming new single ‘Prayer for Peace’, a re-imagining of the X-Ray Spex track from the tragically overlooked album, ‘Conscious Consumer’ (1995) on which Lora also played sax. “Poly Styrene and I were living in a Krishna community in Worcestershire in the early 80s. We came together for the first time musically after X-Ray Spex to record the original version of this song. In 2019, I decided to record my own take as a tribute to the special times we shared. I hope Poly likes this new version too.” Further tracks penned for release from the album include the dystopian, lockdown-inspired ‘Alien Boys’ and ‘Sky Rocket’, written with daughter Malini, about the fairground of life. Despite her short-lived career in the music business, Lora still managed to perform and appear on releases with many artists including US experimental rock band Red Crayola between 1978 and 1981, and also appeared on recordings by The Stranglers, The Raincoats, Kollaa Kestää, Dennis Bovell, Swell Maps and later, Boy George. Undoubtedly an iconic figure of the UK post-punk scene, Lora Logic’s boldness, adventurousness and sense of fun can be seen as an influence on numerous female artists today including Karen O from Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Peaches and St. Vincent among others. Tracklisting: Essential Logic ‘Beat Rhythm News (Waddle Ya Play?)’ (1979). A1 ‘Quality Crayon Wax OK’ A2 ‘The Order Form’ A3 ‘Shabby Abbott’ A4 ‘World Friction’ B1 ‘Wake Up’ B2 ‘Albert’ B3 ‘Alkaline Loaf in the Area’ B4 ‘Collecting Dust’ B5 ‘Pop Corn Boy (Waddle Ya Do?)’…… Lora Logic – ‘Pedigree Charm’ (1982). A1 ‘Brute Fury’ A2 ‘Horrible Party’ A3 ‘Stop Halt’ A4 ‘Wonderful Offer’ A5 ‘Martian Man’ B1 ‘Hiss and Shake’ B2 ‘Pedigree Charm’B3 ‘Rat Allé’ B4 ‘Crystal Gazing’…..Essential Logic – ‘Aerosol Burns & Other Misdemeanours’. A1 ‘Aerosol Burns’ (1978) – Debut single A2 ‘World Friction’ (1978) – ‘Aerosol Burns’ B-side A3 ‘Eugene’ (1981) – Single A4 ‘Tame the Neighbours’ (1981) – ‘Eugene’ B-side A5 ‘Music Is A Better Noise’ (1981) – Single A6 ‘Moontown’ (1981) – ‘Music Is A Better Noise’ B-side B1 ‘Fanfare In the Garden’ (1981) – Single B2 ‘Stereo’ (1982) – ‘Wonderful Offer’ single B-side B3 ‘Rather Than Repeat’ (1981) – ‘Wonderful Offer’ single B-side B4 ‘The Captain’ (1979) – ‘Fanfare In The Garden’ B-side B5 ‘Soul’ (1983) – Previously unreleased on vinyl B6 ‘Stay High’ – Previously unreleased on vinyl….. Essential Logic – ‘No More Fiction’. A1 ‘Essential Logic’ (1991) – Vinyl exclusive A2 ‘On The Internet’ (1998) – Vinyl exclusive A3 ‘Under The Great City’ (1997) – Vinyl exclusive A4 ‘No More Fiction’ (1998) – Vinyl exclusive A5 ‘Love Eternal’ (1997) – Vinyl exclusive B1 ‘Barbie Be Happy’ (1998) – Vinyl exclusive B2 ‘Not Me’ (1998) – Vinyl exclusive B3 ‘The Beautiful and the Damned’ (1997) – Vinyl exclusive B4 ‘Marika’ (1997) – Vinyl exclusive B5 ‘Do You Believe in Christmas?’ (1985) with the Krishna Kids Choir – Vinyl exclusive……Essential Logic – ‘Land of Kali’ (2022). A1 ‘Prayer For Peace’ A2 ‘Alien Boys’ A3 ‘Mother Earth’ A4 ‘Never Know’ A5 ‘Charming Every Cupid’ B1 ‘Sky Rocket’ B2 ‘Serious’ B3 ‘Fallible Soldiers’ B4 ‘Land of Kali’ B5 ‘Beyond’

Fronted by brothers Peter O'Doherty and Reg Mombassa, Dog Trumpet have been playing, writing and recording their
music since the early 90s. Reg and Pete were founding members of iconic Australian band Mental As Anything, who hit
the charts around the world with “Live It Up”. The band made a mark with their left field mix of music, art, video and
humour and leading eventually to ARIA awards and induction into the Hall of Fame in 2009.
• Recorded and produced by Peter at home in his 'South Road' studio, the brothers have created an inventive and original
body of work distinguished by an eccentric and offbeat harmonic warmth and melodic drive propelled by Reg's distinctive
slide guitar and Peter's elegant acoustic guitar and mandolin. Their poetic, yet at times absurdist lyrics are set against a
sonic backdrop that could loosely be described as a meld of rock and roll, psychedelic folk, country and semi-abstract
blues.
• “Shadowland” is the duo’s brand new album, recorded earlier this year, with the guys playing all the instruments
themselves. Amidst a group of songs with all sorts of subject matter (including the sheep of New Zealand, and Nina Simone)
is the very direct “F***ing Idiots”, about the human race and its continuing desire to wage wars.
• The inner sleeve features all the lyrics and wonderful paintings by both Reg and Peter.

Nation’s Sub label Kode presents a new project between Chicago’s visionary Traxx and Athens, Greece June Records label mates Tsampikos Fronas & Trenton Chase as External/Internal…a new wave electrabeat collaboration.

This 1st 12” showcases 2 tracks with different energy and emotions drawing musical influence from the early 80s pre-proto sounds of alternative and progressive chemistry and also offbeat rhythms that creates tension of feelings in character and musical arrangements with vocals sung on both productions from Trenton Chase.

A-Side:
Trespass concludes the storm of
emotion, reaching the end.
The need to find long gone harmony
and existence. Coming to peace with
the inner self while taking a self made
path into the kosmos without pushbacks and interruption. Pure melodic freedom

B-Side:
A Conviction of Fantasy is an eruption
of emotions and confusion while trying
to maintain sanity. Avoiding truth and confessing while keeping balance is impossible. Lost in the abyss where
reality and fantasy is hard to perceive.

Widely regarded as the poet laureate of the punk era (from his early career fronting the Stranglers to his transition as a solo artist), Hugh Cornwell has built a substantial and singular body of impressive solo albums. His tenth solo opus, Moments of Madness, continues his illustrious output by experimenting with musical genres as his enviable reputation as a wordsmith resounds across this album's songs.

Self-produced, and playing all of the instruments himself, Moments of Madness' ten incredible tracks finds Hugh flexing his musical muscles with a stripped down, offbeat, reverberating sixties vibe ringing from the seductive melodies and lyrically distinctive perceptions that are indelibly stamped with Hugh’s trademark imagination. Vocally and lyrically a career-best, Hugh has never sounded so good on his tenth solo album.

A high watermark and a modern-day masterpiece, Moments of Madness is being tipped as the most significant album of Hugh’s career.

Limited Arctic Moss coloured vinyl LP version. New solo LP from The Stranglers' Hugh Cornwell, Moments of Madness is an album of acute, pithy, and witty observations and social commentary across ten singular songs!

Widely regarded as the poet laureate of the punk era (from his early career fronting the Stranglers to his transition as a solo artist), Hugh Cornwell has built a substantial and singular body of impressive solo albums. His tenth solo opus, Moments of Madness, continues his illustrious output by experimenting with musical genres as his enviable reputation as a wordsmith resounds across this album's songs.

Self-produced, and playing all of the instruments himself, Moments of Madness' ten incredible tracks finds Hugh flexing his musical muscles with a stripped down, offbeat, reverberating sixties vibe ringing from the seductive melodies and lyrically distinctive perceptions that are indelibly stamped with Hugh’s trademark imagination. Vocally and lyrically a career-best, Hugh has never sounded so good on his tenth solo album.

A high watermark and a modern-day masterpiece, Moments of Madness is being tipped as the most significant album of Hugh’s career.

"After 11 pm, you stop hearing regular rock on the classic hits radio
station and start hearing more strange stuff, one-hit wonders from 1976,
or really minor singles from artists I thought I didn't like because I just
hadn't heard this one weird song before," says Bloomington, Indianabased singer-songwriter Damion - Rather than let those offbeat classics
fade into the twilight on his late-night drives, Damion returned home and
went straight to the Tascam cassette machine - Inspired by both the
sound and the bleary-eyed ambiguity, the result of that late-night
recording is the bronzy Special Interest, a record bathed in memory and
the antigravity of '70s AM radio
Once he had finished demoing songs at home, Damion brought the nine tracks
that would make up the album to his preferred studio, Russian Recording, and
worked with Ben Lumsdaine and Lewis Rogers to polish them up. Aesthetically,
Damion aimed to fit within the limits of the era that inspired the songs.
"Recording to cassette tape, you either have to play the part right or learn to love
the way it sounds wrong, so even in the studio we abided by those same
limitations," he says. Rather than limitations, the structures and styles of vintage
rock perfectly suit the album's lithe falsetto, eerily familiar melodies, and hazy
storytelling--the listener immersed in a soup of poetic fragments, Damion himself
always at a beguiling arm's length. On lead single and opener "Company Man",
resonant acoustic guitar and Super Ball bass provide a platform for Damion's
knowing ability to split the difference between confident swagger and laid-back
charm. The singer-songwriter pulls joy out of musical echos and lyrical wordplay,
in part coming from his love of classic songwriters and long history as a
performer. "I am mostly inspired by singer- songwriters like Carole King, Todd
Rundgren, etc.

For their Drag City debut, the enigmatic duo expand into eight-armed wonder; all the better to reach ever-deeper into their bag o' tricks. Slinky and sliding elegantly, the kids forge tunes with a harmony of ambiguity and nostalgia, effortless yet precise, and rounded with thick bottom - a dancing clash of cognition and dissonance! Since 2015, Kamikaze Palm Tree have been a relative mystery. Now, in times no less mysterious, Drag City welcomes them, celebrating the energy of their second LP, where KPT play their offbeat strain of 21st century rock. Making MINT CHIP, Dylan Hadley and Cole Berliner reach deeper into their bag of tricks than ever before, dialoguing with an absurd shared intent they haven't yet paused to question. The off-center pieces gathered together for Good Boy have given way to pulsing aquatic compositions on MINT CHIP. Cole's guitar tones, wire thin, bell-like, bluesily downtuned, slinky and sliding elegantly, arc purposeful around their peripherals. Dylan's kit work, effortless yet precise, grounded with heavy bottom, drives and interacts organically with all the emerging structure, nailing down finely detailed frames and canvases to backdrop her singing and the unremitting landing of melodies and songs. With the addition of Josh Puklavetz, things that didn't make sense before - like bass - are now on the beach, fully lotioned, essence to essence. Violin and clarinet (Laena Myers Ionita and Brad Caulkins, respectively) round out the tonal spectrum. All strung together in the foothills of Altadena's Wiggle World Studios with Hartling back in the engineer's seat and Tim Presley producing the proceedings!

For their Drag City debut, the enigmatic duo expand into eight-armed wonder; all the better to reach ever-deeper into their bag o' tricks. Slinky and sliding elegantly, the kids forge tunes with a harmony of ambiguity and nostalgia, effortless yet precise, and rounded with thick bottom - a dancing clash of cognition and dissonance! Since 2015, Kamikaze Palm Tree have been a relative mystery. Now, in times no less mysterious, Drag City welcomes them, celebrating the energy of their second LP, where KPT play their offbeat strain of 21st century rock. Making MINT CHIP, Dylan Hadley and Cole Berliner reach deeper into their bag of tricks than ever before, dialoguing with an absurd shared intent they haven't yet paused to question. The off-center pieces gathered together for Good Boy have given way to pulsing aquatic compositions on MINT CHIP. Cole's guitar tones, wire thin, bell-like, bluesily downtuned, slinky and sliding elegantly, arc purposeful around their peripherals. Dylan's kit work, effortless yet precise, grounded with heavy bottom, drives and interacts organically with all the emerging structure, nailing down finely detailed frames and canvases to backdrop her singing and the unremitting landing of melodies and songs. With the addition of Josh Puklavetz, things that didn't make sense before - like bass - are now on the beach, fully lotioned, essence to essence. Violin and clarinet (Laena Myers Ionita and Brad Caulkins, respectively) round out the tonal spectrum. All strung together in the foothills of Altadena's Wiggle World Studios with Hartling back in the engineer's seat and Tim Presley producing the proceedings!

A luminary of anthemic and melodic-driven techno, Enrico Sangiuliano’s path to the upper echelon of dance music has been a rapid, yet authentic one. Taking us on his newest exploration into the world of sound design and story-telling, the Emilia-native unveils the first chapter in a series of opuses under his time-limited NINETOZERO record label. The highly-anticipated countdown of releases begins today with number 9; the 4-track “Silence” EP - out now across all streaming platforms.

The extended-player opens with the reserved ‘inner mix’ of “Silence”; a cinematic masterpiece that challenges the format and flow of techno cuts and instead, radiates a measured and reflective spirit. Bright, twinkling synthwork ebbs and flows between its crisp percussion and distorted bassline, creating a push and pull effect that allows each element its moment in the spotlight. The second offering, “Future Dust”, is teased with the sound of a ticking clock that morphs effortlessly into a strong percussive line, commanded by the raw hollow sensibilities of its kick. The distinct ticking returns to welcome in the break, bringing with it a hypercharged melodic sequence and pitch-bending rave stabs. The components soon flurry together in preparation for the monumental drop, which is succeeded by an unrelenting peak-time worthy drive to the finish.

“New Expression Of Love” is the next to play; a quirky cut with plenty of intrigue and unpredictable twists and turns. Laced with offbeat synth hits that ooze a nostalgic timbre, the tune’s intro airs a subtle swing groove. As it reaches its all-important core, we’re cloaked in an intoxicating melody that serves as pure rapture for the ears, and will no doubt satiate the modern audience’s craving for euphoric sequences. Entering the break, Enrico flares his experimental capabilities, providing us with a moment of break-beat bliss that’s fuelled by acid goodness. A ‘vocal mix’ of “Silence” rounds out the EP with the distinct mantra, ‘we live in silence’, whilst its modular ‘beeps’ signal a countdown clock in reference to the project’s embedded concept of time.

Championing music on a deeper conceptual level, Enrico’s NINETOZERO output is a reflection of his tenacious appetite for evolution and refinement. Producing with a level of finesse well beyond his years, his artistic vibrancy has ensured quick elevation to the top, all the while maintaining a sound that is discernibly his own. Now standing as one of the circuit’s most cherished visionaries, and with an unrivalled back catalogue of Beatport No.1’s to his name, the contemporary sound designer’s first and forthcoming bodies of work under the NINETOZERO umbrella are further proof of his impending rise to dance music royalty.

Taking direction from both the cinematic song stylings of sardonic yet
unfettered troubadours like Randy Newman, Brian Wilson, and Harry
Nilsson and the "visual scoring" of indie pop song placement in 21stcentury films, Best Move's music suggests the sound of a decade of
winding, disparate avenues finally convening in a perfect center
The Sacramento-based trio is composed of Kris Anaya, Joseph Davancens, and
Fernando Olivia. Anaya, a talented songwriter with a penchant for wry, offbeat
guitar-based folk-pop songs, and Davancens, who holds higher education degrees
in avant- garde composition and jazz double bass, formed the electronic act
Doombird together in 2016, but in 2019 the pair gravitated back to what they
consider more natural inclinations: organic instruments, earnest songwriting, and
a more true-to-themselves direction. Adding Oliva, Best Move was born. Many of
Best Move's songs maintain an intentionally similar sonic feel. Guitars strum and
piano twinkles while a layer of manipulated or synthesized instruments spread a
hazy overtone on top of it all, and steady yet minimal drums keep things moving.
Lyrically, the standards prevail - love, loss, friendship, searching for purpose - but
the themes bubble under the surface of a sea of metaphor, leaving the listener to
decipher the message in their own way. Anaya calls the sound a "thank you to the
past," and while a warm, familiar tone echoes throughout the band's universe,
something unmistakably modern remains.

Joris Feiertag is a Dutch producer and drummer from the historic and culturally rich city of Utrecht. Having signed to Sonar Kollektiv in 2018, and released his debut long- playing record Time To Recover, and its subsequent remixes, two years later, he now brings us another side to his sound in the shape of the Dive mini LP. This new project sees the producer return to something like his musical roots, delving deeper into the use of synths and embracing more offbeat melodies.

After releasing two EPs from rising talent MOY, Batrachian’s journey through mystical synths, breakbeat and electro rhythms, and ear-worm melodies continues in the capable hands of Bristol-based Jack Wiles. On Wiles’ debut EP, ’Too Real Eyez’ is a slow-burning spiral of acidic frequencies and tough breaks with a killer vocal snippet, while ‘Bientam’ is a rolling junglist piece driven by chopped drums, meandering bass and an intricate bell melody: the perfect mix of rhythmic heft and IDM intrigue. ‘Slowrush’ matches offbeat electro drums with a bittersweet synth part, and finally, Wiles remixes MOY’s ‘Echolab’ (recently released on the EMOTEC label) into an early Warp-style acidic masterpiece.

Trombone Shorty is back with his first album in 5 years and the eagerly awaited follow-up to his 2017 Blue Note debut Parking Lot Symphony, which the esteemed New Orleans music magazine OffBeat said continued his tradition of “stunningly good musicianship, crowd-pleasing good material, and just plain good fun.” The new album captures the explosive energy of his legendary live shows, and combines classic New Orleans sounds (funk, gospel, street rhythms, Mardi Gras Indian chants, and second lines) with modern lyrics, melody, and beats to create something fresh and unique. The album features special guests including vocalist Lauren Daigle & guitarist Gary Clark Jr.

Chris Imler likes to play drums standing up. He‘s the dandy with the killer offbeat, or, as one major German newspaper once put it, the "Grand Seigneur of the Berlin Underground". He has been making his mark on countless Berlin musical affairs since long before the fall of the Wall, with The Golden Showers, Peaches, Oum Shatt, Driver &Driver, Die Türen, Jens Friebe, to name but a few. He has also been perfoming across Europe as a solo artist for the past decade.

In "Operation Schönheit" (German for "Operation Beauty"), he has recorded his most, well, beautiful album to date. But Benedikt Frey's warm production subverts its own beauty with a multitude of clanking and ingling synth sounds, making the work very much about the cosmetic surgery it performs on itself. It's all in the tradition of the more experimental and electronic side of post-punk in which Imler and his unique groove are rooted. It doesn't take insider knowledge of Berlin's post-punk underground to realise that that Imler groove consists of rhythm that sings, vocals that dance and a look that fits, as illustrated by "Disappoint Me", his latest video: https://youtu.be/YeVJ75ljjB8

Elsewhere - such as in "Movies" - the rhythm sings, less electronically reduced, into the acoustics of an old, high-ceilinged Berlin apartment; metal clatters, a zither trembles and Imler plays with the metronome. Sometimes he moves ahead of time, sometimes trails behind it. He always manages to be in his very own groove, which carries everything along. And this is precisely the essence of the Imler rhythm, which lends itself to being applied to the very rhythm of life: Stretch and compress your time and loop it according to your own groove! Optimise nothing but feel everything! And dance to it! Even when contemplating everyday information overload, as Imler's high-speed mumbling suggests in the hectic yet smooth opening track "Temperature".

But being the ultimate night owl he is, Imler manages to make even the odd bout of paranoia seem like a good thing: like some kind of krauty, groovy B-horror-soundtrack-inflected high-pressure environment, "Whip Me" is a cross between Conrad Schnitzler and Bauhaus. In the title track, whose lyrics were written together with Jens Friebe, he intones: "You want to be something greater / You break your leg / When it heals again / You break it again" and sounds like the most gleeful fatalist you can imagine. Because in his city, one can still lose oneself better than anywhere else - a night easily becomes a whole universe that can be traversed, marvelled at and played with, and one might find one's old self again only when hearing "church bells" and "small birds singing". At least that's how Imler illustrates it in "Emptiness full of stars", and it seems likely that those "stars" are the human companions of the Berlin night in question.

And so once again Imler becomes Berlin's most important cultural ambassador: that scene of the eternally, and somehow successfully, failing creatures of the night, once the envy of the international postmodern bohème, has, despite many claims to the contrary, not been completely "optimised away", and its attitude to life is perfectly summed up in Imler's groove. And, of course, his look. "Schau Hin" (German for "Look!"), he sings in the track of the same name, masterfully dubbed out with the help of Melbourne's Leo James.

Quite right! Look - and listen.

Yours, Johannes von Weizsäcker (The Chap)

'Memory Box' - the new album by Rodney Cromwell - fuses a European synthpop sensibility with a world of magical realism. It was inspired as much by the literature of Alice in Wonderland, Franz Kafka and Anna Kavan, as by its musical influences of artists such as Kraftwerk, Neu!, The Cure, Silver Apples, Oppenheimer Analysis and Polyrock. The sonic pallet of 'Memory Box' is rich, colourful, often surprising and utterly unique. Since the release of his debut 'Age of Anxiety' album in 2015, Rodney Cromwell has been featured by the likes of NME, Electronic Sound Magazine, Huffington Post, Paste, BBC6 Music and national RNE3 in Spain for whom he recorded a live session. 'Age of Anxiety' was included in a wealth of Best of Lists, not least that of Electronic Sound. He has appeared on compilations alongside Cavern of Anti-Matter, John Foxx, Devo, OMD, Katy Perry and many more. Rodney Cromwell is the project of Adam Cresswell. The first band he founded was SALOON, who were John Peel darlings, who recorded three Peel Sessions and the Festive 50 number 1 of 2002. They released three acclaimed albums on Track & Field (UK) and Darla Records (US) and played with a host of alternative acts including Stereolab, Electrelane, Quickspace, Laika, Of Montreal & Movietone. He followed Saloon with ARTHUR & MARTHA the acclaimed tweetronica duo that released the sole album 'Navigation' before vanishing. In addition to performing as Rodney Cromwell, he runs the Happy Robots record label. The Rodney Cromwell live set is a joyful mixed-media extravaganza, incorporating analogue synths, video visuals and live instrumentation, interjected by Rodney's 'offbeat wit'. His debut festival appearance at Indietracks in 2015 was described as 'like a spiritual experience". He has shared stages with acts including Pram, Marsheaux, Death & Vanilla, Rowetta and Steve Davis. His sole performance in 2020 was as part of Damo Suzuki's backing band. He will be promoting the album with a series of live-dates in 2022. Cromwell's recent singles 'Memory Box' and 'Get Me To Prague' received play on BBC 6 Music as well as national play in Spain, Finland and Japan. 'Memory Box' featured in the Official Festive 50 on Dandelion Radio. To coincide with the album we have early confirmed reviews with Electronic Sound Magazine and interviews with ElectricityClub, Pennyback Music and You haven't heard this music vodcast.

Fronted by brothers Peter O'Doherty and Reg Mombassa, Dog Trumpet have been playing, writing and recording their
music since the early 90s. Reg and Pete were founding members of iconic Australian band Mental As Anything, who hit
the charts around the world with “Live It Up”. The band made a mark with their left field mix of music, art, video and
humour and leading eventually to ARIA awards and induction into the Hall of Fame in 2009.

Recorded and produced by Peter at home in his 'South Road' studio, the brothers have created an inventive and original
body of work distinguished by an eccentric and offbeat harmonic warmth and melodic drive propelled by Reg's
distinctive slide guitar and Peter's elegant acoustic guitar and mandolin. Their poetic, yet at times absurdist lyrics are set
against a sonic backdrop that could loosely be described as a meld of rock and roll, psychedelic folk, country and semiabstract blues.

Released in 2007, “Antisocial Tendencies” was their fourth album, and features “Antisocial Tendencies”, “Shadows”,
“Two Blue Birds” and “Once Too Often”.

Fronted by brothers Peter O'Doherty and Reg Mombassa, Dog Trumpet have been playing, writing and recording their
music since the early 90s. Reg and Pete were founding members of iconic Australian band Mental As Anything, who hit
the charts around the world with “Live It Up”. The band made a mark with their left field mix of music, art, video and
humour and leading eventually to ARIA awards and induction into the Hall of Fame in 2009.

Recorded and produced by Peter at home in his 'South Road' studio, the brothers have created an inventive and original
body of work distinguished by an eccentric and offbeat harmonic warmth and melodic drive propelled by Reg's
distinctive slide guitar and Peter's elegant acoustic guitar and mandolin. Their poetic, yet at times absurdist lyrics are set
against a sonic backdrop that could loosely be described as a meld of rock and roll, psychedelic folk, country and semiabstract blues.

Released in 2010, “River Of Flowers” was their fifth album, and features “Buttons Undone”, “Mr Alcohol And Mrs
Marijuana”, “Great South Road” and “The Wilson Home For Crippled Children”.

Fronted by brothers Peter O'Doherty and Reg Mombassa, Dog Trumpet have been playing, writing and recording their music since the
early 90s. Reg and Pete were founding members of iconic Australian band Mental As Anything, who hit the charts around the world
with “Live It Up”. The band made a mark with their left field mix of music, art, video and humour and leading eventually to ARIA
awards and induction into the Hall of Fame in 2009.

Recorded and produced by Peter at home in his 'South Road' studio, the brothers have created an inventive and original body of work
distinguished by an eccentric and offbeat harmonic warmth and melodic drive propelled by Reg's distinctive slide guitar and Peter's
elegant acoustic guitar and mandolin. Their poetic, yet at times absurdist lyrics are set against a sonic backdrop that could loosely be
described as a meld of rock and roll, psychedelic folk, country and semi-abstract blues.

Released in 2013, double album “Medicated Spirits” was their sixth album, and features “Speed Of Light”, “Made In the World”,
“Bored Wife” and “Ray Davies And The Kinks”.

Fronted by brothers Peter O'Doherty and Reg Mombassa, Dog Trumpet have been playing, writing and recording their
music since the early 90s. Reg and Pete were founding members of iconic Australian band Mental As Anything, who hit
the charts around the world with “Live It Up”. The band made a mark with their left field mix of music, art, video and
humour and leading eventually to ARIA awards and induction into the Hall of Fame in 2009.

Recorded and produced by Peter at home in his 'South Road' studio, the brothers have created an inventive and original
body of work distinguished by an eccentric and offbeat harmonic warmth and melodic drive propelled by Reg's
distinctive slide guitar and Peter's elegant acoustic guitar and mandolin. Their poetic, yet at times absurdist lyrics are set
against a sonic backdrop that could loosely be described as a meld of rock and roll, psychedelic folk, country and semiabstract blues.

Released in 2020, “Great South Road” is their seventh album, and features “Wallpaper”, “Gravity”, “You’ve Heard It All
Before” and “Oversea And Elsewhere”.

The debut EP from lilo calls to mind the ethereality of Laura Marling, but that is only the first glimpse of the versatility of lilo’s sound, their new material is set to break new ground in the UK indie-folk landscape. They hold the promise of a more full-bodied, band-driven direction, weaving elements of slow-core and offbeat country-pop refractions. lilo weave intimacy into the fabric of their music; through collaboration they translate friendship into sound.