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Welcome to our porch

Through our many years of playing together on many stages across the globe, we have been able to share our Carolina roots with lots of people. But our tradition really doesn’t live on the stage; it lives on a back porch of Mebane, in a living room in Morganton and in countless other places wherever a musician might find themselves. We wanted to revisit the sounds, places, and textures at the beginning of our musical journey together and to share that experience with y’all. The rain, the cicadas, and thunder become part of the band, grounding us and the music firmly in the long narrative of the place we call home

Rhiannon Giddens reunites with her former Carolina Chocolate Drops bandmate Justin Robinson on What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow, an album of North Carolina fiddle and banjo music. Produced by Giddens and Joseph "joebass" DeJarnette, the album features Giddens on banjo and Robinson on fiddle, with the duo playing eighteen of their favourite North Carolina tunes: a mix of instrumentals and tunes with words.

Many were learned from their late mentor, the legendary North Carolina Piedmont musician Joe Thompson; one is from another musical hero, the late Etta Baker, from whom they also learned by listening to recordings of her playing. Giddens and Robinson recorded the album outdoors and on location at Thompson’s and Baker’s North Carolina homes, as well as the former plantation Mill Prong House. They were accompanied by the sounds of nature, including two different broods of cicadas, which had not emerged simultaneously since 1803, creating a true once-in-a-lifetime soundscape. The duo, along with four other string musicians including the multi-instrumentalist Dirk Powell, will embark on the Rhiannon Giddens & The Old-Time Revue North America tour in April.

“With the assaults on reality going on in the world today, we wanted to offer another kind of record, like walking back onto a gravel or dirt road while a stampede goes the other way,” Giddens says. “With the cicada choir, this record could’ve only happened at a certain time in the last 120 years. We doubled down on place, time, realness, and old-fashioned front porch music. It’s a reminder that another way exists, with music made for your community’s enjoyment and for dancing–not solely for commercial purposes.

“What is the role of music in our society?” she wonders. “How do we de-couple it from unfettered capitalism, where music is a product and musicians are incidental? How do we use the tools and system that we have been bequeathed in a way that reminds us of other ways of being?” Robinson adds, "Recording this album felt like being back in the saddle. Just this time Joe is not here, and his fiddle is under my chin. The album is about home, the cicadas, the storms, the music, and the people who make it feel like home."

Thompson was one of the last musicians of his era and his community to carry on the southern Black string band tradition. He played a crucial role in the lives of Giddens and Robinson, who, along with their Carolina Chocolate Drops bandmate Dom Flemons, spent their formative years learning from Thompson in traditional apprentice/mentor relationships. His influence has guided all of their artistic journeys as well as their mission to keep the legacy of the Black string band tradition alive.

In further tribute to Giddens’ North Carolina roots, What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow will arrive just a week before Biscuits & Banjos, the inaugural edition of her first festival, which highlights the deep roots and enduring legacy of Black music, art, and culture while fostering community and storytelling. The sold-out festival will feature a much-anticipated Carolina Chocolate Drops reunion, their first performance together in more than a decade.

Rindert Lammers' debut album is a heartfelt exploration of gratitude, blending personal narratives with cinematic imagery in a serene and soulful ambient jazz style. Inspired by Japanese cinema and the raw authenticity of YouTube confessions, the album captures a mood of introspection and appreciation. Central to the album is the track "Thank You, Kirin Kiki," which draws from a powerful scene in the film Shopliers. Lammers explains "It's one of my favorites. The Japanese actress Kirin Kiki plays the grandmother of a ‘chosen family’, all of whom have fled or lost their own families in some way. In this scene, one of her last scenes before her (real) death, Kirin Kiki (the grandmother) looks at her family and says, 'Thank You!' twice towards the children and the sea. Kirin Kiki improvised these words on the spot, and it's such a poignant moment in the film, but also indicative of her impending death. I found the gratitude so moving it fit perfectly with the gratitude I found in the voice clip from "Thank You Hiroshi Yoshimura. "The fourth song, "Thank You Hiroshi Yoshimura," opens with a voice clip that acts almost as the protagonist of a film, reflecting on a turbulent time of sleeping in parks and on the streets. This voiceover was inspired by a comment on a Hiroshi Yoshimura video on YouTube that began, “This album reminds me of...” Lammers noticed the deeply personal responses le on these videos, so he recorded various similar YouTube comments from people around the world, initially intending to set them to music. Though much of this idea evolved, this particular voice clip remained a central influence, ultimately inspiring a cinematic journey within the album. "Summer in Shibuya" sets the scene as a trailer, "Opening Credits" introduces the narrative, and "Closing Credits" gently brings it to a close. While there’s a Japanese and Tokyo theme running through the tracks, Lammers doesn’t view the album as a tribute to Japan or Tokyo specifically—he’s never visited and admits to knowing only fragments of the culture. Yet he's drawn to Japanese environmental music and is an avid Murakami reader, seeing Japan as a powerful, visual inspiration in his mind’s eye. In a way, the album is also his “thank you” to the beautiful art that Japan has shared with the world.

South Londons’ indomitable Medlar delivers an ambitious new album

The long-time underground favourite has collaborated with the likes of Dele Sosimi, Rebekah Reid, Deevoenay, Finn Peters, Sam Virdie, Afla Sackey and Arnau Obiols on an album that finds him taking his production to new levels.
From roots playing illegal raves in the South West to building up a cultured catalogue that bounces between house and garage, Medlar has long been part of the underground conversation. He has dropped a previous album and many innovative remixes and edits for the likes of Billy Cobham and Shirley Lites, worked in the studio and on stage with Afro legend Dele Sosimi and most recently released an album under his own name that collected myriad different sonic sketches from the past 15 years.

Islands is an altogether different proposition that comes after establishing himself as a mix engineer and producer of other people's music. In that time, Medlar has honed his skills, learnt new tricks and grown more able to express himself in sound. The result is an album that explores a more electronic palette inspired by '80s fusion sounds whilst maintaining a loose, organic flow through his use of live instrumentation. “The idea for the LP was for a collection of music which could sit alone as club tracks, but would work equally well as part of a whole. The name Islands came from this, as there's some connecting ideas but the tracks sit independently in their own little sonic worlds. I took a lot of inspiration from early 80’s electronic music produced during early years of MIDI technology… proto house, jazz fusion, electronic disco and experimental ambient. I wanted to juxtapose some of these methods with more contemporary production and make something that's ultimately quite fun!” says Medlar of the record which could easily soundtrack a summer road trip.

Across 11 tracks, he blends old-school techniques like a fusion of live instruments, FM synthesis and MIDI triggered vocal samples with more contemporary touches such as punchy, club-friendly drums and dub inspired, speaker-wobbling low end. The result is less reliant on samples than his previous works and makes for a perfect blend of retro authenticity and future freshness.

Variophon is Philophon's newly established sub-label. As the name suggests, Variophon is designed to release variations, or more commonly expressed, remixes of songs taken from the Philophon catalog. The beginning on Variophon makes the all around the world beloved Jimi Tenor by remixing himself.

Jimi has chosen one title each from his two albums released on Philohon. From his first, "Order of Nothingness", it is the gently dancing "Myteria" and from his recently released "Aulos" the driving "Vocalize My Luv" (featuring Florence Adooni and Lizzy Amaliyenga). He electrified both pieces in his own very personal, subtle way in order to achieve what he does best: make people happily dancing!


b B1: Vocalize My Luv (Electric Remix) feat. Florence Adooni & Lizzy Amaliyenga

The British jazz/hip hop fusion collective Us3 founded in 1992 in London and its notable members included producers Mel Simpson and Geoff Wilkinson. The group scored a major hit in 1994 with “Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)”, a track that displayed the group’s fondness for sampling classic recordings from the Blue Note label (in this case, Herbie Hancock’s “Cantaloupe Island’). The track was included on their debut album Hand On The Torch.

The album was a result of their connections with Blue Note owner Capitol Records, which gave Simpson and Wilkinson free rein to sample anything from the Blue Note catalog. Together with several musicians and rappers Kobie Powell and Rahsaan Kelly, they sampled a series of Blue Note classics, from Art Blakey and Thelonious Monk, to Horace Sylver and the previously mentioned Herbie Hancock. With the release of Hand On The Torch, Us3 had forged one of the most elaborate union between styles and became one of the best-selling jazz albums on the Blue Note label.

Songs of Silence is a beautiful turn-based strategy game of fantasy warfare. Leading one of the game's distinct factions, it is the player's task to conquer randomized maps through military might, subterfuge or arcane means. Intriguing hero stories grounded in a rich fantasy world create emotional bonds and give meaning to the player's actions. Roguelike meta-game progression, based on heroes' personal stories and unlocking new features and content via playing, ensuring long-time motivation and keeping the game excitingly fresh. The atmospheric soundtrack of the game is composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto, the famous artist behind all-time favourites such as Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy 12 and Valkyria Chronicles. Sakimoto describes his way into creating the soundtrack for Songs of Silence: "Regarding Songs of Silence, the stage design and the world-building are incredibly detailed and meticulously crafted. The settings are thoroughly developed and each region has its own unique culture. Given this highly refined world, I believe that my role was primarily to support and enhance the atmosphere with sound. At the same time, I wanted to ensure that the music conveys the uniqueness of this world. When people see it, I want them to feel its strong presence while also recognizing that it is a world unlike anything they have seen before. Expressing this uniqueness and reinforcing the impression it leaves is, in my view, the role of music and sound." But Sakimoto's music isn't just pushing the gamer's experience, it aims to add a little extra in a way that only his profession is able to: "It's a bit difficult to describe the specific 'feeling' I was aiming for, but I intend to create sounds and music that people have rarely heard before. Since the world itself is already well-defined, my approach was to add an extra layer - something that cannot be conveyed through visuals or text alone - through music."

Crystal clear vinyl. 'PO$T AMERICAN' is the second full-length album by Dead Pioneers. Written in February and recorded in July, it preempts the 2024 American election but wraps up the fears and frustrations as eloquently and, crucially, humorously as the band's 2023 self-titled debut. "Currently, we are amidst the gross existence of capitalism, colonialism, white supremacy and the many oppressive forces that have come to inform everything around us" says vocalist and songwriter Gregg Deal. "The title PO$T AMERICAN informs a collective disenfranchisement and disillusionment to the so-called American dream, while moving forward with hope of a desired designation of unity outside those that would use us for their own capitalistic power grab." The aural palate is broadly the same, but it feels expanded, stronger somehow: drawing on the confrontational writing of Rage Against The Machine, the unapologetic voice of Chuck D and Public Enemy, the storytelling of Johnny Cash, the evolution of IDLES, and punk stalwarts including Black Flag, Rollins Band and Dead Kennedys. Overall the resulting feeling across the new album is one of cautious optimism: "Although we didn't expect the political relevance to become more relevant, we have no illusions to the American dream, or to where we seem to be going. But we have hope that we can get to a better place for people to have what they need." It is an album that speaks to and for this precise time and place; that perhaps could not exist at any other time. It is an album for now.

Crystal clear vinyl. 'PO$T AMERICAN' is the second full-length album by Dead Pioneers. Written in February and recorded in July, it preempts the 2024 American election but wraps up the fears and frustrations as eloquently and, crucially, humorously as the band's 2023 self-titled debut. "Currently, we are amidst the gross existence of capitalism, colonialism, white supremacy and the many oppressive forces that have come to inform everything around us" says vocalist and songwriter Gregg Deal. "The title PO$T AMERICAN informs a collective disenfranchisement and disillusionment to the so-called American dream, while moving forward with hope of a desired designation of unity outside those that would use us for their own capitalistic power grab." The aural palate is broadly the same, but it feels expanded, stronger somehow: drawing on the confrontational writing of Rage Against The Machine, the unapologetic voice of Chuck D and Public Enemy, the storytelling of Johnny Cash, the evolution of IDLES, and punk stalwarts including Black Flag, Rollins Band and Dead Kennedys. Overall the resulting feeling across the new album is one of cautious optimism: "Although we didn't expect the political relevance to become more relevant, we have no illusions to the American dream, or to where we seem to be going. But we have hope that we can get to a better place for people to have what they need." It is an album that speaks to and for this precise time and place; that perhaps could not exist at any other time. It is an album for now.

Posthumous record releases are always charged with emotion but when the release comes from a 17 year-old artist that was just getting started it is heartbreaking Anxious is a mesmerizing selection of songs that explore the highs, lows and uncertainty of teenage life through the eyes of Nell and is the follow-up to Where The Viaduct Looms, her debut collaboration with The Flaming Lips that explored the works of Nick Cave.

Guided by the talented Jack and Lily Wolter of Penelope Isles, who helped shape Nell's songs, some of which had been in the works since she was twelve years old, the result is an album brimming with emotion, playful melodies and a depth that hints at what Nell's future may have held. Nell's record includes three songs which were written in partnership with Canadian folk band Shred Kelly with whom she spent winter evenings writing in her hometown of Fernie, British Columbia, huddled round the fre in 2022. Jack and Lily Wolter subsequently completed these songs and the rest of the works in Brighton in 2023.

Nell's frst and only studio recording session at Bella Union's studio in Brighton at the tender age of 15 was an intense mix of long days with Jack and Lily expertly teasing out what was really going on in Smith's mind with the help of Doritos, Fizzy sweets, Coca Cola and inspiration gained by sneaking her into venues to see local bands play.

A lot of Nell's creative drive was rooted in raw teenage emotions; apprehension; love; travel; gratefulness; ambition; and grief. These moods are visited throughout the tracks on the album with an instrumental approach that brings joy into even the darkest of songs.

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.

Transparent yellow vinyl, limited to 300 copies. GSA exclusive Indie variant. 'PO$T AMERICAN' is the second full-length album by Dead Pioneers. Written in February and recorded in July, it preempts the 2024 American election but wraps up the fears and frustrations as eloquently and, crucially, humorously as the band's 2023 self-titled debut. "Currently, we are amidst the gross existence of capitalism, colonialism, white supremacy and the many oppressive forces that have come to inform everything around us" says vocalist and songwriter Gregg Deal. "The title PO$T AMERICAN informs a collective disenfranchisement and disillusionment to the so-called American dream, while moving forward with hope of a desired designation of unity outside those that would use us for their own capitalistic power grab." The aural palate is broadly the same, but it feels expanded, stronger somehow: drawing on the confrontational writing of Rage Against The Machine, the unapologetic voice of Chuck D and Public Enemy, the storytelling of Johnny Cash, the evolution of IDLES, and punk stalwarts including Black Flag, Rollins Band and Dead Kennedys. Overall the resulting feeling across the new album is one of cautious optimism: "Although we didn't expect the political relevance to become more relevant, we have no illusions to the American dream, or to where we seem to be going. But we have hope that we can get to a better place for people to have what they need." It is an album that speaks to and for this precise time and place; that perhaps could not exist at any other time. It is an album for now.

Repress!

Echospace Detroit is the label launched by Rod Modell (Deepchord) and Soultek's Steven Hitchell, two leading lights of the minimal dub techno scene. And as with anything Deepchord, the entire release has an air of mystery to it. Previously, as a near-mythical vinyl pressing with minimal packaging and restricted pressings, everything about Vantage Isle was geared toward the underground, or 'those who know.' However, there's nothing but love of craft driving these grooves, and now a lot more people will finally be able to hear this absolutely brilliant collection of spacial dub wonder on CD. Vantage Isle Sessions consists of a whopping 13 takes of the title track, reworked by Modell and Hitchell in various guises (cv313, Deepchord, Echospace, Spacecho), as well as a guest spot (and first ever remix) from Gerard Hanson (Convextion). Across their 13 versions, Modell and Hitchell manage to take the Deepchord template (analog synths, deep bass, gently throbbing beats, bursts of static and noise, and deep, deep chords) into a surprising variety of directions, akin to looking at the same giant glacier from a helicopter from every angle possible: some are beatless and undulating, some are pulsing and dynamic, some are looking up from under the ice and some are towering overhead. The aforementioned Convextion version is revelatory. It's built on cascading and echoing pieces of the original that are layered like shifting sands, for a distinctly dark and shimmering journey to the bottom of the frozen ocean and back. It's remarkable enough to get all these takes on one basic template to sound somewhat different, given that the source material is really just a skeletal array of sound sheets. Vantage Isle Sessions is for anyone looking for the logical successors to the Basic Channel throne, or just looking for something mellow for those steamy late summer nights. A stone-cold classic of the genre. Don't miss it." -Todd Hutlock, Stylus Magazine/Beatz by the Pound

"Steeped in mystery, Detroit musicians Rod Modell and Mike Schommer (aka Deepchord) are legendary for their hard to find twelve-inch dub techno releases. Their sound is heavily influenced by Berlin dub techno producers like Maurizio, Basic Channel, Chain Reaction, Rhythm & Sound, Blue Train and Pole. While the German sound often has a futuristic metallic edge, Deepchord are known more for the rust and grease, which is part and parcel of those metal parts. Static, analog sounds, deep bass thumps and, of course, deep chords blend in a timeless minimal manner. However, the real gems on this disc are the drifty ambient cuts devoid of beats. This is an excellent album that is on par with the classics from a decade ago!" -Exclaim


"In terms of ambient dub, if Basic Channel is the Father (the source, remote and inaccessible and very powerful) and Pole is the Son (dazzling but ultimately stranded halfway between man and the divine), than Rod Modell’s Deepchord and his Echospace label he run with Steve Hitchell is definitely the Holy Spirit." -Popmatters


"Deepchord’s dub-techno stealthily peels away melody, leaving a bare chassis of beats to ghost-ride down Woodward Avenue. Vantage Isle Sessions, which collects remixes of a 2002 Detroit Electronic Music Festival performance, finds the duo swerving through empty, neon-smeared streets, and recalls Berlin’s Chain Reaction label, minus the anemic minimalism." -XLR8R

"The album scales a magnificent peak in “Spacecho Dub II - Extended Mix” when smeary chords ricochet over a massively deep, bass-heavy pulse, and Hanson's light-speed missile of vaporous propulsion (“Convextion Remix”) is beautiful too.
Long may they run." -Textura

‘Vantage Isle’ is a tremendous achievement that will most likely be held up as a high water mark of the genre for years to come." -Resident Advisor

"My favorite mix is by Convextion (his first remix for another artist). Reedy, distant synth tones sound like a science fiction soundtrack overheard rooms away. An undercurrent of echoes, many difficult to describe, drift in a sonic syrup." -Gridface

"Modell’s music always seems to be in this suspended animation, adrift and afloat in a majestic emptiness." -Dusted Mag

CREDITS:
Written & Produced by Deepchord. Redesigned and Reshaped by Convextion (Gerard Hanson) cv313 (Stephen Hitchell) echospace / spacecho (Rod Modell + Stephen Hitchell)
Additional Mastering, Mixing and Engineering by Ron Murphy @ NSC Mastering, Detroit, USA. Side E/F Remastering and Lacquer cutting by Dietrich @ Complete, NYC, USA. (2018)

Guilherme Granado makes his first solo appearance on the Keroxen label under the guise of his Goat Unity project, the result of a plethora of collaborations with musician friends and foes.

A São Paulo native, Guilherme has been quietly building a reputation for being the go-to guy for loop based beats and groovy basslines. He has played and recorded with Mauricio Takara in Hurtmold (4 albums) and he’s also part of São Paulo Underground (also with Takara and Rob Mazurek). He also performs, produces, and records under the name Bodes & Elefantes and has toured extensively through South America, US and Europe with São Paulo Underground, Prefuse 73 et al. With Ghost Parades Guilherme goes deep into his beat based deviations whilst somehow managing to connect the dots between the Wu-Tang Clan and the Sun Ra Arkestra, adding an healthy dose of tropicalismo for good measure.

Guilherme’s Ghost Parades does an impeccable job at showcasing the multi instrumentalist composition skills filled with dubby rhythms, addictive bass lines along with celestial and hazy chants. Its a smooth journey to take here, avoiding all the obvious pit holes of the genre and keeping the listener guessing where we’re going at every turn. A spacious, open ended listening experience where loops effortlessly intertwine with live jam instrumentation.

Organic, natural beats for atypical people.

'In de verte, dit uitzicht’ is Abel Ghekiere's second album. It is a celebration of beauty and sudden bursts of euphoria and melancholy, hidden in the distinctive soft and fragile sound of Ghekiere's music. Much more personal than on his debut record, he calls out to the world.

Working with voice samples and field recordings, voice and improvisation take centre stage. Sounds from outside are subtly interwoven with instruments, while conversations and memories act as a thread running through the compositions. The music flows into the room, bringing with it remembered places and voices.

The music was recorded very nomadically, in different places, with different people. Most of the parts were written and played by Abel Ghekiere himself but with guest contributions from Vitja Pauwels, Nicolas Rombauts, Leo Adamov, & Jan de Vroede, among others, the record breaks open into a soft sound palette.

Hardcore time whatever... Bryan Fury loves Break and Hardcore, Dancefloor and Skillz... Exploring views to distort ways... Surprise you with a dark or cheezy dimension.

He did and will never let you down with his pityless drops...

A rare album from one of the soundmaster killing around !
And many collabs with people who can say : "waou.... too !"

Enjoy and play LOUD !

a1. Do One Feat. Donots
b1. All Night Crew

Frank Turner kündigt mit "Undefeated" das zehnte Album seiner Solo-Karriere an. Der britische Punkrock-Singer/Songwriter hat immer noch viel zusagen, und tut dies auch.
Zu seiner ersten Single erzählt er: "Do One" ist der letzte Song, den ich für das neue Album geschrieben habe, und der erste Song auf dem Album,sowie die erste Single. Es ist also eine Zusammenfassung dessen, was ich mit diesem Album sagen will, ein Album über das Überleben und den Trotz,aber auch ein Album mit einem Sinn für Spaß und Selbstironie. Nach 19 Jahren Solokarriere stehe ich immer noch auf und bringe einige meinerbesten Arbeiten heraus. Das fühlt sich gut an."
Für deutsche Fans gibt es ein spezielles Feature: Die Single "Do One" erscheint als Version mit den Donots.

Z Records returns with a Hustle-tastic 12" to light up both your life and DJ sets. It's the boss himself Dave Lee who kicks off with his extended rework of a bonafide Brit Funk classic in the shape of Hi Tension's 'British Hustle'. Featuring David Josephs's signature vocals over the chugging Caribbean rhythm track, its a song that's never received an extended club mix from the tapes since its first release in 1978. His second cut is a Re-Wriggle of a Funky Worm volume pumping classic that becomes a fat-bottomed house jam with stomping brass, ear-worm vocal hooks and Latin inspired keys. "On the flip' (as they say) is Foreal People's 'Tango Hustle' - a driving clav heavy, jazz funk workout complete with chanting dance instructions over various solos. Add in an Acapella and some 'Hustle Beats' and you have a very muscular package.

The Plastik People label kicks off its new year with a trio of top garage jams from Romeo Louisa. 'Challenges' is a perfect feel-good sound with silky smooth chords and nice dusty drums and hi-hats all topped off with a classic vocal packed with emotion. The irresistibly catchy vibes continue with 'Lost Bottle' which is another timeless US house sound of the sort the Dope Jams crew became so well associated with. Last but not least is 'Keep Me Deep', another perfect blend of US garage and house with horns, deep kicks and lush chords.

A deeper dive into the production archives of Alex "Landy" Hill (Timex Social Club) reveals an unreleased 90s bay area demo project with vocalist Jordana and songwriter John Pruitt. Nine tracks total, written and recorded in Alex's makeshift apartment recording studio. Tape restoration by PPU.

'Wherever You Are' is a new solo piano album, played and composed by John Foxx. Most of the recordings were made at home and in the early hours of morning in the weeks following his rare live performance at Kings Place, London in October 2023, as part of the BBC Radio 3 'Night Tracks' event. 'Around dawn is the best time to play piano,' says Foxx. 'Self-critical mechanisms mostly dormant, so I'm free to invent and enjoy for a while. The piano faces a window overlooking a valley surrounded by hills, where the sun comes up. There's often an early mist in the valley - and quite often, it rains. Some notes and sounds resonate with remembered experiences and you get glimpses of times and people. It's valuable. Quiet. Free association, myriad moments orbiting - and off you go.' He adds: 'Lately I'm realising how we get formed by other people. Everyone we know or knew, who affects the way we think and the way we see things - even in a small way, has a voice, and all those voices remain in a sort of lifelong conversation. I hear them all the time. It's not at all frantic, it's more oceanic - calm and pleasant and it eventually makes us the way we are. Luckily, I seem to have met - and meet - mostly good, generous, bright people and I'm still learning a great deal from all of them. They give you the touchstones, the maps, the weather. It's how we find our way. So - simply, thanks. Wherever you are.'

Donato Basile AKA DJ Plant Texture always wants his music to tell a story, and with his debut EP on Tresor Records, entitled Life, he’s now trying to tell the biggest story there is. According to the artist, “Life is about the fear of growing up”; both the anxiety itself and acknowledging and moving past it.
This narrative seems to have struck a chord with those who have heard the track, “People want to reflect themselves in the music; something personal. Lots of people have been in touch after hearing it; I guess they feel something melancholic in it. Personally, I imagine the track is like the life of a person; going from being born through childhood and youth and onwards, so perhaps they hear this?”
Having used an MPC since the early 2000s, Basile feels an intuitive connection to the hardware he uses, and so the creative process is very spontaneous: “I know where everything is so the music is made immediately. I make everything in the first ten minutes; after that if it’s not right then I just abandon it and start something else.” This immediacy, and familiarity with his equipment is apparent on the A-side, where Basile’s previous life as a drummer comes to the fore and tracks like Cycles and Ripetivo display his native understanding of groove but also how to stir things up - the three A-side tracks find classic techno rhythms seemingly falling apart only to snap back into place even stronger. The B-side finds Donato exploring more of his melodic side with WTT and the aforementioned title track showing Plant Texture’s love of breakbeat and classic techno.
The three digital bonus tracks continue this exploration of melody and syncopated beats - The EXP Days echos the wistful feeling of Life, as Basile meditates on the times spent at EXP, his record shop in Bari, which functioned as a meeting place for electronic producers in the area.

PITCHFORK “This ‘Director’s Cut’ is the way it was always intended to be heard” - Patterson Hood In 2004 the Drive-By Truckers released what would become the best selling album in their illustrious catalog. The Dirty South is a concept album that examines the state of the South, and unveils the hypocrisy, irony, and tragedy that continues to exist. The album features live show staples like, “Tornadoes”, “Where The Devil Don’t Stay” and “Puttin’ People On The Moon” as well as rarities like “Goode’s Field Road” and “Daddy’s Cup.” The Complete Dirty South is a band-led rework of the original album. Principal member, Patterson Hood, took the reins and reimagined this record as it was originally intended. The complete version features resequenced audio, three additional tracks, four remixes along with updated vocals. The packaging comes with a perfect bound book featuring liner notes from Patterson Hood, track by track descriptions from Mike Cooley and Jason Isbell as well as never before seen photos along with updated artwork from the late Wes Freed.

Scientist's name will be found on many dub releases in peoples record collections.His connection to King Tubby's studio is inseparable and many say when the dub end of Reggae music had fallen on quieter times it was Scientist with his often stripped back style and at other times, wild off the wall remixes that breathed life back into the dub cannon.

Scientist (born Overton Brownie,1960, Jamaica) was in many ways King Tubby's apprentice. Having helped his own father out repairing televisions and such like, he would help Tubby on winding transformer coils, that the amps of the day all needed. His interest in recording grew as he watched the many sessions taking place at Tubby's Dromilly Avenue Studio, learning the ropes as the musicians came and went. His first break happened when King Jammy (then Prince Jammy) was too tired to work on a session booked for producer Errol 'Don' Mais. Scientist engineered the session to every one’s bewilderment and great satisfaction.

His first hit would be a mix of Barrington Levy's 'Collie Weed' and his reputation built on the many versions he cut at Tubby's where he would become the engineer of choice. His pared down mixing style suited the new Dancehall reggae sound that came at the tail end of the 1970's and rolled into the 1980's. Such was his stature that albums were now sold with his name on their jacket, 'Scientist Vs Prince Jammy, 'Scientist meets The Space Invaders' to name but two.

His time at King Tubby's was followed as chief engineer working for the Hookim Brothers at the mighty Channel 1 Studio's and on many of top producer Henry 'Junjo' Lawes tracks, that were hit after hit at the time.

We have compiled some tuff tracks from the late 70's / early 80's just before everything went digital. Some great dub versions to some killer tracks that rocked the dancehalls around this golden time.The mighty Tristan Palmer whose killer cuts 'BadBoys','Stop Spreading Rumours','Eveready' and 'The Greatest Lover’ alongside Michael Palmer's debut release 'Mr Landlord' and Robert Trench's 'Mr Babylon'. The songs stand back-to-back with Tony Tuff's timeless 'Never Trouble Trouble' and the biblical Rod Taylor's 'The Lord is My Light'. Sammy Dread's 'Wah Dah Wah' and the always respectful Dennis Brown's 'Time and Place' all benefited a touch of magic from The Scientist and his laboratory of effects.

Hope you enjoy the set.....

After a five-year hiatus, JKS makes a triumphant return to the iconic French label Molekul with a highly anticipated solo EP. Leading the release is the standout track, The Cult, a testament to JKSs evolution while staying true to the essence of his sound.

Built for the club, The Cult channels an undeniable sense of power through its driving rhythms and immersive energy. The tracks tribal undertones create an
almost ritualistic atmosphere, pulling dancers into its pulsating core. With expertly layered textures and a commanding structure, The Cult keeps the momentum
unrelenting from start to finish.

True to his roots, The Cult brings a distinct old-school vibe, laced with a plurality of influences that have defined his sound since the beginning. Its a journey through raw rhythm and immersive layers, a bridge between past and present, aimed squarely at making people move.

Black Vinyl

“Sometimes They Come Back” is not just the title of a horror movie based on a macabre tale by Stephen King, it is also a summary of what happened to UK death etal veterans BENEDICTION, yet you might ke to add a “better than ever before”. While never officially disbanded, 2020’s Scriptures, the group’s eighth studio album achieved what is usually not an easy feat. It connected well with classics like Transcend the Rubicon (1993) and its immediate and memorable songwriting, the heavy-as-a-brick Grind Bastard (1998), and also saw legendary vocalist Dave Ingram return with his merciless roar and knack for morbid, twisted lyrics. After two albums with Dave Hunt on vocals, Scriptures was BENEDICTION’s first record in over a decade impressing with aggressive up-tempo attacks like ‘Iterations of I’ and ‘Rabid Carnality’ or the neck-breaking mid-tempo barrage of ‘Stormcrow’, songs that became live staples alongside ‘evergreens’ such as ‘I Bow to None’, ‘Magnificat’, ‘Subconscious Terror’ or ‘Vision in the Shroud’ in no time. With Scriptures, BENEDICTION even almost cracked Germany’s top ten by entering at a phenomenal #11 of the Official German Charts showing that the death metal veterans founded 1989 in Birmingham, England, offered an extremely well received sonic catharsis when due to the pandemic, people were locked down and pissed off.
When the shroud of Covid-19 lifted, the quintet finally could start to promote the album onstage with numerous festival gigs including Summer Breeze (DE), Copenhell (DK), Mystic Festival (PL), UK Deathfest, Alcatraz (BE), Party.San (DE), Obscene Extreme (CZ), Eindhoven Metal Meeting (NL) and Rock Hard (DE) to name but a few, played triumphant shows in South and Middle America as well as in their home country and all over Europe.
Kicking in the door without further warning, fast paced opener ‘A Carrion Harvest’ that mounts in a vicious Slayer-style break, starts with Ingram growling ‘Brace for impact, go!’ giving an unmistakable hint at what to expect during the following 47 minutes and 11 songs. With tremolo riffs and hammering grooves in spades, tracks like ‘Engines of War’, ‘Genesis Chamber’, ‘Crawling over Corpses’, ‘In the Dread of the Night’, and ‘Psychosister’ show a remarkable consistency and Scott Atkins, who produced the record at Grindstone Studio once again, ensures with a crisp and massive sound that the aforementioned impact leaves no bone unshattered. Garnered with artwork by Wolven Claws Artist, Ravage Of Empires continues BENEDICTION’s flawless discography on Premier League level and promises to become one of 2025’s undisputable old school death metal highlights!
With their brilliant new record in tow, founding members and guitarists Darren Brookes and Peter Rew, longtime vocalist Dave Ingram, drummer Giovanni Durst, and Nik Sampson (bass) will travel far and wide once more. Already confirmed are the Tales of the Triple Death Tour with Jungle Rot and Master kicking off on album release date as well as confirmed appearances at Wacken Open Air and Maryland Deathfest. More to be announced soon!

Petrol Green Vinyl

“Sometimes They Come Back” is not just the title of a horror movie based on a macabre tale by Stephen King, it is also a summary of what happened to UK death etal veterans BENEDICTION, yet you might ke to add a “better than ever before”. While never officially disbanded, 2020’s Scriptures, the group’s eighth studio album achieved what is usually not an easy feat. It connected well with classics like Transcend the Rubicon (1993) and its immediate and memorable songwriting, the heavy-as-a-brick Grind Bastard (1998), and also saw legendary vocalist Dave Ingram return with his merciless roar and knack for morbid, twisted lyrics. After two albums with Dave Hunt on vocals, Scriptures was BENEDICTION’s first record in over a decade impressing with aggressive up-tempo attacks like ‘Iterations of I’ and ‘Rabid Carnality’ or the neck-breaking mid-tempo barrage of ‘Stormcrow’, songs that became live staples alongside ‘evergreens’ such as ‘I Bow to None’, ‘Magnificat’, ‘Subconscious Terror’ or ‘Vision in the Shroud’ in no time. With Scriptures, BENEDICTION even almost cracked Germany’s top ten by entering at a phenomenal #11 of the Official German Charts showing that the death metal veterans founded 1989 in Birmingham, England, offered an extremely well received sonic catharsis when due to the pandemic, people were locked down and pissed off.
When the shroud of Covid-19 lifted, the quintet finally could start to promote the album onstage with numerous festival gigs including Summer Breeze (DE), Copenhell (DK), Mystic Festival (PL), UK Deathfest, Alcatraz (BE), Party.San (DE), Obscene Extreme (CZ), Eindhoven Metal Meeting (NL) and Rock Hard (DE) to name but a few, played triumphant shows in South and Middle America as well as in their home country and all over Europe.
Kicking in the door without further warning, fast paced opener ‘A Carrion Harvest’ that mounts in a vicious Slayer-style break, starts with Ingram growling ‘Brace for impact, go!’ giving an unmistakable hint at what to expect during the following 47 minutes and 11 songs. With tremolo riffs and hammering grooves in spades, tracks like ‘Engines of War’, ‘Genesis Chamber’, ‘Crawling over Corpses’, ‘In the Dread of the Night’, and ‘Psychosister’ show a remarkable consistency and Scott Atkins, who produced the record at Grindstone Studio once again, ensures with a crisp and massive sound that the aforementioned impact leaves no bone unshattered. Garnered with artwork by Wolven Claws Artist, Ravage Of Empires continues BENEDICTION’s flawless discography on Premier League level and promises to become one of 2025’s undisputable old school death metal highlights!
With their brilliant new record in tow, founding members and guitarists Darren Brookes and Peter Rew, longtime vocalist Dave Ingram, drummer Giovanni Durst, and Nik Sampson (bass) will travel far and wide once more. Already confirmed are the Tales of the Triple Death Tour with Jungle Rot and Master kicking off on album release date as well as confirmed appearances at Wacken Open Air and Maryland Deathfest. More to be announced soon!

It’s always fun to let our audience peer through the party peephole with some hot behind-the-scenes info. For months, Black Light Smoke’s Control EP has supplied several of label head Tiga’s secret DJ weapons. In fact, he’s been sneaking out constantly after 9pm to play it out anywhere they’ll have him. And it’s little wonder to those who wonder why, as the Chicago-born producer’s top-flight mix of EBM, electro and Benadryl-soaked vocals has all the right people dancing.

Leadoff track "New York Is Dead” eulogizes the famous Big Apple Dance Party Scene in a way that will confuse the many who have embraced the city’s thriving “Groove With the Avengers” day rave series in Times Square. But the nihilism-liking doesn’t stop there, with the Friday-Til-I-Die attitude of “Black Hole at the Disco,” the pleather-dreaded post-cyberpunk of “Last Song Before Sunrise”, and the oxygen-deprived acid of “Break Your Back” culminating in the 11:45am-peak-time industrial trance of closer “Mind Control.”

Because we want this to be available to as many inhabitants of the blasted apocalyptic landscape we have pencilled in for 2034 or so, we have decided to make this release available both digitally and on vinyl. So whether you’ve managed to jack in illegally to a Spotify Wind Farm or you’re relegated to the hand-cranked misery of a Victrola while living in a barn or something, we’ve got you covered!

Invitation to the Dance is the second album by nu metal band 40 Below Summer. The album was released on October 16, 2001. The album combines the downtuned riffs of nu metal/alternative metal with elements of New Jersey hardcore, hip hop, jazz and hard rock. Invitation to the Dance was made with the help of with well-known rock and metal producer GGGarth (Rage Against the Machine, Mudvayne) Allmusic wrote about the album "Invitation to the Dance at first glance may seem to be just another hard rock album, but along with further observation it is apparent that 40 Below Summer is striving to spice up what modern hard rock became in the 21st century." Invitation to the Dance is now available for the first time ever on vinyl, it's a numbered limited edition of 750 copies on translucent green coloured vinyl and includes an insert.

Laura Nyro's album “Walk the Dog & Light the Light” was released on August 17, 1993, marking her return to studio recordings after a nine-year hiatus since “Mother’s Spiritual” in 1984. This album is notable as it was the last collection of original material she released during her lifetime. The album features a mix of original compositions and covers, showcasing Nyro's distinctive blend of pop, soul, and jazz influences. Notably, the track "Broken Rainbow" was previously featured in the Academy Award-winning documentary of the same name, which addressed the relocation of the Navajo people. Musicians contributing to the album include Bernard Purdie on drums, Freddie Washington on bass guitar, and guitarists Elliott Randall, Michael Landau, and Ira Siegel. The album was co-produced by Nyro and Gary Katz, known for his work with Steely Dan. The sound is smooth and soulful, with Nyro's rich and smokier vocals singing her lyrics concerning topics such as feminism, animal rights and Native American rights.

With Umwelt, room, An’archives releases the first vinyl LP by Japanese singer, songwriter and guitarist, Kotonashiso. An elegant collection of seven slow-moving, free-ranging song forms, Umwelt, room is reflective, pensive, and yet has a great, expansive sense of movement, each song’s parameters feeling almost infinitely flexible.

Born in Tokyo in 1984, Kotonashiso began playing music in 2000. After taking a long break from making music between the years 2005 to 2016, he returned with renewed focus, and over the past eight years, he’s toured Japan and Europe, performing in venues, street performances and open mic events. Currently, Kotonashiso plays either solo, on in three separate duos, with Sou Mori, 泥, and Hideya Kyooka, respectively. He’s not released much music, as yet – a single, “in the cavern”, with Sou Mori, in 2021, and a soundtrack to Hiroki Nakajima’s solo exhibition, Ray, the following year.

All of this gives Umwelt, Room the feeling of a major statement, a debut shot across the void. The seven songs collected here were recorded in 2024, with a guiding principle, for Kotonashiso, being his desire to “imagine the time when people started recording blues and folk songs on analog records,” creating a ghost-like presence in the listener’s room. When talking about the songs on Umwelt, Room, Kotonashiso focuses on a number of concepts, such as prayer, tragedy, ‘the cycle of life’, and the disappearance of the gulf between fantasy and reality.

They’re songs with deep, rich resonance, performed without guile. You might be able to hear, at times, the fragility of fellow Japanese singer-songwriter Hisato Higuchi, or the bluesy touch of Loren Connors in the guitar. However, Kotonashiso’s aesthetic remit is wide, identifying with artists like Bill Callahan, Scout Niblett, Inukaze, and Tomoko Shimazaki, and sharing sympathies with “the psychedelic rock, avant-garde and ambient communities.” Ultimately, though, the pellucid, dream-like songs of Kotonashiso, somewhere between folk, pop and blues, sit, disarmed and lovely, within their own universe.

The term Miao is a very ancient Chinese misleading pseudo-ethnic categorisation, what we call the Hmong in western languages, a term recognised by colonial French Indochina. Miao became a generic term which does not reveal the diversity of 38 subgroups or 9 million people, mostly in Southern China Guizhou Province.

China having moved towards the market economy, a large number of minority regions have marketed a commodity available only to them: their ethnicity itself. Ethnic tourism has developed in a big way in China since the 1990s for Chinese and foreign tourists, and is often promoted as the way to create income in those areas for development. I usually stay away from ethnotouristic shows and try to get music which is not a commodity! I was based in Dali, Yunnan, China between 2006 and 2013.

Kneading dough is tricky – you should know how it’s supposed to feel. If you try too hard you could make it worse. It’s a beautiful practice – creation with a gentle touch, to work at something so it can be left alone. “If it’s too drawn out it’s awful. It’s easy to give too much.” Dance in the mirror. Contemplate your veiny hands. Who do they remind you of?

You begin by mixing flour and water. “What happens when your people die? Why’d they move the rock to the other side of Ulster Park?” Eliza Niemi asks two seemingly unrelated questions in a rising melody with guitar accompaniment, like fingers playing spider up to the nape of your neck. Gentle pressure. Strands of gluten form to bind the mix. A new question lingers in the binding. When she admits “but I don’t know how to tell if I’m feeling it or not,” that question surfaces through the text. It is reiterated throughout the album. When I’m working with dough I think the same thing to myself.

On Progress Bakery, her second album as a solo artist, Eliza knows to leave some questions alone – to let juxtaposition and tension be the proof. It doesn’t have to be hard. The feelings and revelations they provoke rise in the heat. The smell is sweet. Crispy on the outside and soft all the way through. She playfully slip-slides through words and sounds and images, delighting in surprise, skimming ideas like stones cast across clear water, touching down briefly with uncommon grace.

The question provoked between those opening lines resurfaces in the strands between songs – “Do U FM” is fully formed and beautifully layered, while “Novelist Sad Face” is a short, acapella rendering of gentle curiosity. What is holding these ideas together? Some songs demand more, seem to carry a whole load – eventually the skipping stone will halt to sink and resume its idle duty – while others drift in and out of focus, the way thoughts and dreams become interwoven before the mind is sunk into true sleep.

Music and words don’t always have to interact. Where she decides to keep them apart gives a new contour to where and how she puts them together. The kind of thing you’re supposed to take for granted with songs and their singers comes alive in Eliza’s hands – the little miracle of mixing, kneading, stretching, and stopping.

So often on Progress Bakery, Eliza teases out truth and meaning by asking questions. “Do I wanna be crying?” “Do you want me good or do you want me bad?” “Do I need an eye test?” “I’m writing songs in my head while you’re going over stuff with me — is that cruel??” In “Pocky” Eliza ends with a question that feels to me like the actual biography, succinct and revealing:

I don’t wanna be made to see
I just wanna ask “what’s that?”

Grace that ought to be rare, but in its care and precision is offered humbly, with great generosity, and without announcing itself. Eliza’s simple, miraculous music is given further form and shape by a group of collaborators – invaluable guest musicians Jeremy Ray, Evan Cartwright, Steven McPhail, Kenny Boothby, Ed Squires, Carolina Chauffe, Dorothea Paas, Louie Short, and Avalon Tassonyi. Together with Louie Short, who recorded, mixed, and produced the album along with Jeremy Ray and Lukas Cheung, Eliza has cultivated a richness in sound and texture that prods and provokes the ticklish ear. Barely audible guitar tinkering, a brief lo-fi field recording of trumpets, the harmonic clicking of a looped synthesizer, a flourish of reeds, a child’s conversation, each uncanny sound perfectly placed, rippling out under a soft breeze.

Lay in bed alone at night and ask aloud to the stillness,

“What were you doing at the Albuquerque Airport?
What were you doing there??”

And hear your question answered by a dream of swelling, undulating cellos. Try to grasp at the melody and structure. It’s not an answer (if there could be one), but it moves deeper, closer to the weird layer of fleeting moments and disconnected images, barely perceptible at its core. Wait for the dream reel to click into place.

Eliza took me for a ride in Nicole (her beloved Dodge Grand Caravan) and told me she’d been thinking of the album as an embodiment of transition – and I think every transition, known or unknown, carries the weight of new meaning, skittering off the surface tension of life as you know it, creating ripples, sometimes bouncing off and sometimes breaking through. There is a trick you can use to tell if a dough is glutinous enough. You’re supposed to stretch it out as thin as you can without breaking it and hold it up to the light. If you can see through, even if it renders the world murky and uncertain, you should leave it alone. I love this trick. It’s one that Eliza seems to know intuitively: work gently and ask questions and don’t always expect answers, and when you can, take a glimpse at something new, and then leave.

Kneading dough is tricky – you should know how it’s supposed to feel. If you try too hard you could make it worse. It’s a beautiful practice – creation with a gentle touch, to work at something so it can be left alone. “If it’s too drawn out it’s awful. It’s easy to give too much.” Dance in the mirror. Contemplate your veiny hands. Who do they remind you of?

You begin by mixing flour and water. “What happens when your people die? Why’d they move the rock to the other side of Ulster Park?” Eliza Niemi asks two seemingly unrelated questions in a rising melody with guitar accompaniment, like fingers playing spider up to the nape of your neck. Gentle pressure. Strands of gluten form to bind the mix. A new question lingers in the binding. When she admits “but I don’t know how to tell if I’m feeling it or not,” that question surfaces through the text. It is reiterated throughout the album. When I’m working with dough I think the same thing to myself.

On Progress Bakery, her second album as a solo artist, Eliza knows to leave some questions alone – to let juxtaposition and tension be the proof. It doesn’t have to be hard. The feelings and revelations they provoke rise in the heat. The smell is sweet. Crispy on the outside and soft all the way through. She playfully slip-slides through words and sounds and images, delighting in surprise, skimming ideas like stones cast across clear water, touching down briefly with uncommon grace.

The question provoked between those opening lines resurfaces in the strands between songs – “Do U FM” is fully formed and beautifully layered, while “Novelist Sad Face” is a short, acapella rendering of gentle curiosity. What is holding these ideas together? Some songs demand more, seem to carry a whole load – eventually the skipping stone will halt to sink and resume its idle duty – while others drift in and out of focus, the way thoughts and dreams become interwoven before the mind is sunk into true sleep.

Music and words don’t always have to interact. Where she decides to keep them apart gives a new contour to where and how she puts them together. The kind of thing you’re supposed to take for granted with songs and their singers comes alive in Eliza’s hands – the little miracle of mixing, kneading, stretching, and stopping.

So often on Progress Bakery, Eliza teases out truth and meaning by asking questions. “Do I wanna be crying?” “Do you want me good or do you want me bad?” “Do I need an eye test?” “I’m writing songs in my head while you’re going over stuff with me — is that cruel??” In “Pocky” Eliza ends with a question that feels to me like the actual biography, succinct and revealing:

I don’t wanna be made to see
I just wanna ask “what’s that?”

Grace that ought to be rare, but in its care and precision is offered humbly, with great generosity, and without announcing itself. Eliza’s simple, miraculous music is given further form and shape by a group of collaborators – invaluable guest musicians Jeremy Ray, Evan Cartwright, Steven McPhail, Kenny Boothby, Ed Squires, Carolina Chauffe, Dorothea Paas, Louie Short, and Avalon Tassonyi. Together with Louie Short, who recorded, mixed, and produced the album along with Jeremy Ray and Lukas Cheung, Eliza has cultivated a richness in sound and texture that prods and provokes the ticklish ear. Barely audible guitar tinkering, a brief lo-fi field recording of trumpets, the harmonic clicking of a looped synthesizer, a flourish of reeds, a child’s conversation, each uncanny sound perfectly placed, rippling out under a soft breeze.

Lay in bed alone at night and ask aloud to the stillness,

“What were you doing at the Albuquerque Airport?
What were you doing there??”

And hear your question answered by a dream of swelling, undulating cellos. Try to grasp at the melody and structure. It’s not an answer (if there could be one), but it moves deeper, closer to the weird layer of fleeting moments and disconnected images, barely perceptible at its core. Wait for the dream reel to click into place.

Eliza took me for a ride in Nicole (her beloved Dodge Grand Caravan) and told me she’d been thinking of the album as an embodiment of transition – and I think every transition, known or unknown, carries the weight of new meaning, skittering off the surface tension of life as you know it, creating ripples, sometimes bouncing off and sometimes breaking through. There is a trick you can use to tell if a dough is glutinous enough. You’re supposed to stretch it out as thin as you can without breaking it and hold it up to the light. If you can see through, even if it renders the world murky and uncertain, you should leave it alone. I love this trick. It’s one that Eliza seems to know intuitively: work gently and ask questions and don’t always expect answers, and when you can, take a glimpse at something new, and then leave.