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Three locations. Three pianos. Three hours on each. I was told where and when the piano would be ready. I would go, play, and leave. Very little was said. All pieces were improvised. There were no demos, run throughs, re-dos, or edits. At times I was responding to the natural reverb of the spaces, as well as the effects and sound treatments that Mark was adding in tandem with the performances.

What you hear is what happened there and then, at the end of the challenging year that was 2020. Kevin Hearn is best known as a multi-instrumentalist from Barenaked Ladies, the multi-platinum selling band he's played with for almost two decades. One of the most respected Toronto musicians of the past 25 years, Hearn's solo albums take the listener on a journey of boundless creativity often
driven by adventure and experimentation. 'There and Then' is played at 45RPM, and is intended to be enjoyed on the warmth of vinyl, but will also be released digitally.

"It's fun for me to make music that doesn't have to fit a certain criteria, whether it be regarding the style or sound, or who is playing it. When I make my own records, I can follow my heart and curiosity." - Kevin Hearn

The followup to 2019's 'Calm and Cents', which was Juno-nominated for Best instrumental Album of the Year.

Multi-instrumentalist UMUT ÇAĞLAR (KONSTRUKT, KARKHANA), former BABA ZULA-drummer FAHRETTIN AYKUT and the Finnish saxophone player / shakuhachi specialist JONE TAKAMAKI join forces in a stunning improvised live set that blends Free Jazz with East-Asian ZEN-sounds.

The idea for "Myth Of The Drum. Urban Transformation" dates from an art exhibition in Istanbul 2017 where FAHRETTIN AYKUT exhibited an installation called "Urvban Transformation" that combined painting and music, dealing with the relation of humankind and earth which is symbolized through a tree put upside-down.. AYKUT, former drummer in the Turkish group BABA ZULA and these days a well-known architect in Turkey, asked his longtime friend UMUT CAGLAR, multi-instrumentalist in KONSTRUKT and KARKHANA, to join for an actual performance … CAGLAR on his side was in touch with JONE TAKAMAKI who has been a central figure of the Finnish Free Jazz / Avantgarde scene since the 1970s. His album "Universal Mind" (1982) is a sought-after collector's item of European Spiritual Jazz, he was a member of the group ROOMMUSHKLAHN (with RAOUL BJÖRKENHEIM a.o.) and in 1991 he joined the ECM signed Finnish jazz/rock/improv collective KRAKATAU, founded and run by RAOUL BJÖRKENHEIM, and last but not least TAKAMAKI received the first ever Pekka Pöyry Award. Besides being deeply rooted in jazz, he is also a specialist in Japanese shakuhachi and hocchiku flute playing which makes this adhoc-trio so extraordinary: repetitive drumming, shamanistic throat sounds and plenty of string and reed instruments, a constant ebb and flow of sounds and energy … neither pure jazz nor world music but a blend of both, forming a fascinating third! Meditative in its continuously pulsating rhythm, cathartic in the moments of sonic outbursts …

A few months after the Istanbul art fair performance, the trio (augmented to a quartet by ALAN WILKINSON) played 2 showsatLondon's Cafe OTO and gossip has it saying that THURSTON MOORE who attended the show confessed afterwards that he was very touched emotionally.

Credits:

All Music by Fahrettin Aykut/Umut Çağlar/Jone Takamäki.

A Konstrukt Joint.

Jone Takamäki: tenor saxophone, ney, shakuhachi, clarinet.

Umut Çağlar: guimbri, kalimba, gralla, zurna, mey, flutes.

Fahrettin Aykut: electronic percussion; drums, cymbals.

Recorded live at BantMag. Havuz/Bina in Istanbul (October 3rd, 2017) through a Tascam portable recorder.

Produced by Umut Çağlar.

Mastered & cut by Anne Traegert at D&M, Berlin

Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop is the fifth studio album by one of the most influential lead guitarists in rock, Jeff Beck. Together with keyboard player Tony Hymas and drummer Terry Bozzio he recorded this album. They won the award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance at the 1990 Grammys for this release. The instrumental fusion tunes are diverse and on no other album Jeff tried out mixing so much musical styles. His excellent guitar play and the memorable melodies marks this release as one of his finest albums. 'Behind the Veil' is a subtle song, leaning on a reggae groove and Beck's lower register statements. The more sensitive tune 'Where Were You' makes Beck almost sing the melody on his guitar. The album is wonderful produced and a strong addition to his impressive catalogue.

“One of the standout releases of the year” - The Times

“Lady Blackbird finds her calling with an extraordinary collection of songs and performances that burn deep into you” - The Guardian, 5*

The debut album Black Acid Soul from Lady Blackbird is one of the standouts for 2021. It's instant and within a minute you are hooked. Think Nina Simone, Hot Buttered Soul-era Isaac Hayes, Billie Holiday and Chaka Khan with critics drawing comparisons to Adele, Amy and Celeste, Lady Blackbird’s distinct and beguiling talent is not one to be missed. Gilles Peterson called her "the Grace Jones of Jazz".

With a voice that has stopped critics in their tracks, Lady Blackbird is a revelatory new talent with music that transcends the jazz scene through which the LA-based artist is rooted. Minimal yet rich, classic yet timely, the album connects backwards to Miles Davis (his pianist, Deron Johnson, plays Steinway Baby Grand, Mellotron and Casio Synth throughout) and forwards to Pete Tong (he made the Bruise mix of ‘Collage’ his Number Two Essential Selection tune of 2020).

It's 11 tracks have a sound, feeling and attitude that speak of Lady Blackbird's deep experiences in music, stretching all the way back to infancy. Standout tracks include the sad, elegantly simple tune, ‘Nobody’s Sweetheart’, plus two killer cuts written by Lady Blackbird and Seefried, ‘Fix It’ and ‘Five Feet Tall’. The former is an elegant piano ballad that sounds like a Great American Songbook standard sung by a woman on the side of the angels. Her ability to nail the song in the studio in minimal takes was clearly something to behold. The album also includes Wanted Dead or Alive, a rare groove classic recorded by funk/gospel collective Voices of East Harlem in 1973 and co-produced by Curtis Mayfield, an inspired reinvention on the aching 'It’ll Never Happen Again', written by Tim Hardin and a stunning take on Nina Simone's Blackbird.

 Celebrating The Chameleons’ 40th Anniversary, this
iconic concert is released on vinyl for the very first
time.
 The Camden Palace was a special performance
recorded on the 11th of September 1984 for a satellite
TV broadcast and features Middleton’s finest on top of
their game, playing tracks taken from ‘Script of the
Bridge’ and ‘What Does Anything Mean? Basically’.
 This album also includes four bonus tracks from the
Arsenal concert, which was recorded for an
independent Catalonian local TV channel in 1985.
 The cover art has been exclusively designed by
Chameleons guitarist Reg Smithies, who designed all
the official Chameleons studio releases.
 The Chameleons are an acknowledged influence on
future generations of indie and alternative rock bands,
including Stone Roses, The Charlatans, Smashing
Pumpkins, The Flaming Lips, The Killers, The Horrors,
The National and Interpol. Oasis main songwriter Noel
Gallagher claims The Chameleons were an early
influence on his song writing and stated in a recent
interview: “I’d forgotten how much ‘Strange Times’
meant to me. It came out in ‘86. I was 19!! I’ve been
listening to it every day since and I have to say it’s
blown my mind… again! It must have influenced my
early years as a song writer because I can hear ME in
it everywhere!!”
 Double LP pressed on ‘Chameleon’ (orange / blue)
coloured vinyl. Also includes a copy of the album on
CD, previously unseen photos and poster.

In my parents' living room stands an elaborately hand-forged copper kettle - my grandfather's masterpiece, hammered out of a single piece of copper. Growing up in a family of craftsmen, I have been familiar since early childhood with the attitude of perfecting a thing for its own sake.

The deepening concentration and slow maturing of execution, the craft shares with spiritual rituals, with arts, sports and the sciences. I am touched by the sight of almost ideal expressions of human activity, be it a forged piece, a perfectly build sentence or an athletic performance. I dedicate my album SKILLS to this fascination.

A branched succession of changing skills has brought mankind to the present day. The skills that were originally life-supporting grew into handy crafts and art. This development through the times reflects the enormous changes in ethics, aesthetics and morals. People describe this process in many shades, from culturally pessimistic dystopias to posthumanist utopias.

The music of SKILLS lives in this field - between hymn and melancholy.

They have been active since 2005 and their new record, Where Myth Becomes
Memory, is their sixth full- length album. It is the follow up to their critically
acclaimed 2018 album, Time Will Die And Love Will Bury It. The group is known
for their sonic and energetic live performances, as well as their stark and
consistent artistic aesthetic.
Vocalist Eva Spence is one of the most dynamic and varied vocalists in the
progressive metal scene, her gorgeous cleans and guttural screams are truly
unique.
Their new record, Where Myth Becomes Memory, is a grand display of
immaculate musicianship, intricate songwriting, and raw emotion. There is a
consistent theme throughout the record which is accompanied by a hauntingly
beautiful grand piano. The attention to detail in the recording is astonishing, as
you can hear the individual cadence of each key being pressed in. The album
feels like a living, breathing work of art.
Throughout Where Myth Becomes Memory, you find Rolo Tomassi moving
through elements of mathcore, post- metal, prog, classical, ambient and
experimental.
The band can be broadly described as progressive metal, and specifically defined
as experimental mathcore.

They have been active since 2005 and their new record, Where Myth Becomes
Memory, is their sixth full- length album. It is the follow up to their critically
acclaimed 2018 album, Time Will Die And Love Will Bury It. The group is known
for their sonic and energetic live performances, as well as their stark and
consistent artistic aesthetic.
Vocalist Eva Spence is one of the most dynamic and varied vocalists in the
progressive metal scene, her gorgeous cleans and guttural screams are truly
unique.
Their new record, Where Myth Becomes Memory, is a grand display of
immaculate musicianship, intricate songwriting, and raw emotion. There is a
consistent theme throughout the record which is accompanied by a hauntingly
beautiful grand piano. The attention to detail in the recording is astonishing, as
you can hear the individual cadence of each key being pressed in. The album
feels like a living, breathing work of art.
Throughout Where Myth Becomes Memory, you find Rolo Tomassi moving
through elements of mathcore, post- metal, prog, classical, ambient and
experimental.
The band can be broadly described as progressive metal, and specifically defined
as experimental mathcore.

The eagerly awaited second release from Roland Johnson, backed with the equally brilliant “Can’t Get Enough” on our Yellow series brings the fabulous Yours and Mine from the first album – Imagine this – to vinyl. Elmore magazine said; “Yours and Mine” and “Promised Land” bring to mind the loving duets of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, sounding perfect for film.

and when reviewing the flip; The horns and saxes are crisp and energetic. Johnson co-wrote 9 of the 10 songs including the inviting up-tempo opener “Can’t Get Enough” with its O’Jays influence.

Source:

Roland’s first album, “Imagine This” was released by Blue Lotus Recording studio in 2016. This album was a deliberate move into mainly self-written songs and marked the desire by Roland to break out to wider audiences, gaining even more success than that shown by his live performances appreciated by all on the St Louis and Beale street Blues and Soul Scene.

Often compared to Otis Redding and Sam Cooke, which you can hear the influence, but Roland Johnson is a singer destined to come out of the shadows.

ROLAND-JOHNSON-MD-RECORDS-1.jpg

The success and increased interest in Roland’s first album bright about more interviews with the Missouri press and News, with interviews and award nominations celebrating his highly successful blend of heartfelt Southern Soul with a classic vintage delivery in a new way. In the UK Brian Goucher of Vibe UK picked up on the album and reviewed it excellently.



I dot think we need to add much more than that in all honesty, Roland is the real deal, hit the play buttons and decide for yourself.



Mark n Des

Known to keep a low profile and cause pandemonium with each reemergence, rhyme writer extraordinaire Your Old Droog recently debuted the appropriately-titled single "The Return Of Sasquatch", a collaboration with legendary producer Madlib. A brash, kinetic masterpiece, the track marks a historic encounter between two of the biggest names in independent hip-hop. Not included on any of Droog’s albums, “The Return Of Sasquatch” is now available on vinyl for the first time. This 7" pressing also includes an exclusive live rehearsal performance of the "The Unknown Comic" on the B-Side, produced by Edan.

Norwegian duo Lost Girls, artist and writer Jenny Hval and multi-instrumentalist Håvard Volden, release their first album after collaborating for more than ten years. Volden has been playing regularly in Hval's live band for more than a decade, and their duo project goes back to an acoustic collaborative album from 2012, using the moniker Nude on Sand. Instead of resurrecting the previous band, Hval and Volden opted for a fresh start for their 2018 EP Feeling, taking nomenclatural inspiration from the 2006 graphic novel by writer Alan Moore and comics artist Melinda Gebbie.

For their first LP, Hval and Volden booked an actual studio (Øra studios, Trondheim, Norway), which they had never done before. Recording sessions took place in March 2020, even if they felt like the material wasn’t really ready for recording. This left a lot to improvisation, and so Menneskekollektivet was created in-between set structures and the energy of collective exploration.

Perhaps this is what makes Menneskekollektivet unique: The quality of trying something, to see if the structures fit. In a way this is a more physical version of what Hval has been exploring lyrically over the past decade in her solo work. The title is Norwegian and translates to human collective, which adds to the feeling of a recording made as part of a strange, improvised performance project.

The music flickers; between club beats and improvised guitar textures; between spoken word and melodic vocal textures; between abstract and harmonic synth lines. Throughout the piece, Volden’s guitar and Hval’s voice come across as equals, wandering, wondering, meandering. Sharing the space.

Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, will celebrate the 20th anniversary of international superstar Shakira's first English language album with the release of Laundry Service
(Washed and Dried) (an expanded digital edition featuring four bonus tracks new to DSPs) on Friday, November 12 and a special, yellow opaque 12” vinyl edition to follow on 17th December in the US and
the UK/EU on 7th January 2022.

The tracklist for the vinyl mirrors the original tracklist from 2001, however the newly expanded 20th anniversary digital edition of Shakira's Laundry Service (Washed and Dried) premieres the previouslyunreleased remix of "Whenever, Wherever" from Shakira's electrifying halftime performance at Super Bowl LIV (February 2, 2020), the previously unreleased "Whenever, Wherever (Pepsi Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show Remix),“. Laundry Service (Washed and Dried) also offers three more bonus tracks newly available on DSPs: "Whenever, Wherever" (Sahara remix), "Underneath Your Clothes" (acoustic version) and "Objection (Tango)" (Afro-punk version).

Laundry Service generated six singles including the worldwide #1 smash "Whenever, Wherever" and the subsequent hits "Underneath Your Clothes," "Objection (Tango)," "Te Dejo Madrid," and "Que Me Quedes Tú" and "The One." Laundry Service topped the charts around the world in countries including Australia,
Austria, Belgium, Canada and Switzerland, while entering the Top 5 in other countries such as Argentina, France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom. Stateside, Laundry Service peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 chart. Laundry Service has sold 18 million copies around the world, making it one of the top-selling
albums of the 21st century.

St. Paul and the Broken Bones announce their new album ‘The Alien
Coast’, released on ATO Records. Produced by Matt Ross-Spang and
featuring eleven new, original songs, ‘The Alien Coast’ is the first St.
Paul and the Broken Bones album tracked in the band’s hometown of
Birmingham, AL. The arrangement allowed the octet to spend more time
and tap a broader creative community than ever before, resulting in their
most ambitious work to date.
 Led by singer and lyricist Paul Janeway - a former bank teller and
preacher-in-training who learned to sing in his church choir - the octet
explore thrilling new territory on ‘The Alien Coast’, a fever dream
convergence of soul and psychedelia, stoner metal and funk, animated
by the very “fire and brimstone” which Janeway invokes in the album’s
opening line. Unlimited studio-time allowed individual members of the
band to experiment with synths and samples on ‘The Alien Coast’, and
even collaborate with Birmingham beatmaker and hip-hop artist Randall
Turner.
 Janeway cites a similarly disparate range of influences that wove their
way into the writing for ‘The Alien Coast’, from Greek mythology and
dystopian sci-fi, to works of art like Bartolomé Bermejo’s Saint Michael
Triumphs over the Devil and 17th Century Italian sculpture, to colonialperiod history books. “The title actually came from reading about the
history of the Gulf of Mexico, which is home for us,” he recalls. “When
the settlers - or invaders, really - first came to the Gulf Coast they
couldn’t figure out what it was, and started referring to it as the Alien
Coast. That term really stuck with me, partly because it feels almost
apocalyptic.”
 St. Paul and the Broken Bones have reached incredible heights since
breaking out with their first album in 2014. Their previous three albums
each debuted in the Billboard 200, their legendary NPR Tiny Desk has
over 7 million views, they’ve opened for the Rolling Stones, shared the
stage with Elton John, and appeared on several television shows
including Jimmy Kimmel Live, Austin City Limits and more. They were
also the first-ever musical performance on Stephen Colbert’s Late Show.
St. Paul and the Broken Bones announce their new album ‘The Alien
Coast’, released on ATO Records. Produced by Matt Ross-Spang and
featuring eleven new, original songs, ‘The Alien Coast’ is the first St.
Paul and the Broken Bones album tracked in the band’s hometown of
Birmingham, AL. The arrangement allowed the octet to spend more time
and tap a broader creative community than ever before, resulting in their
most ambitious work to date.
 Led by singer and lyricist Paul Janeway - a former bank teller and
preacher-in-training who learned to sing in his church choir - the octet
explore thrilling new territory on ‘The Alien Coast’, a fever dream
convergence of soul and psychedelia, stoner metal and funk, animated
by the very “fire and brimstone” which Janeway invokes in the album’s
opening line. Unlimited studio-time allowed individual members of the
band to experiment with synths and samples on ‘The Alien Coast’, and
even collaborate with Birmingham beatmaker and hip-hop artist Randall
Turner.
 Janeway cites a similarly disparate range of influences that wove their
way into the writing for ‘The Alien Coast’, from Greek mythology and
dystopian sci-fi, to works of art like Bartolomé Bermejo’s Saint Michael
Triumphs over the Devil and 17th Century Italian sculpture, to colonialperiod history books. “The title actually came from reading about the
history of the Gulf of Mexico, which is home for us,” he recalls. “When
the settlers - or invaders, really - first came to the Gulf Coast they
couldn’t figure out what it was, and started referring to it as the Alien
Coast. That term really stuck with me, partly because it feels almost
apocalyptic.”
 St. Paul and the Broken Bones have reached incredible heights since
breaking out with their first album in 2014. Their previous three albums
each debuted in the Billboard 200, their legendary NPR Tiny Desk has
over 7 million views, they’ve opened for the Rolling Stones, shared the
stage with Elton John, and appeared on several television shows
including Jimmy Kimmel Live, Austin City Limits and more. They were
also the first-ever musical performance on Stephen Colbert’s Late Show.

Recorded in 2000 with essentially the same team as “Shades of Bey” and “River Man” and a similar variety of tunes and textures. It includes covers of two Milton Nascimento classics (“Bridges” and “Saidas e Bandeiras”), a cover of “Fragile” (by Sting) and standards such as “I’ll Remember April”, “Just Friends” (with strings), “Invitation" and “Little Girl Blue”, as well as the sultry original “Tuesdays In Chinatown”. This is Andy Bey in fine form, and includes performances by Ron Carter, Geri Allen, Mino Cinelu and Steve Turre. First time on vinyl.

Noah Gundersen returns with his much anticipated new album, 'A Pillar of Salt' ahead of a US headline tour. The project is a return to form for Gundersen, coupling heartfelt lyrics with his signature understated vocal performance. With over 100 Million career streams and 100k album sales, this album is sure to take Noah's career to the next level. Featuring singles "Sleepless in Seattle" and "Atlantis," a stunning duet with Phoebe Bridgers, fans old and new will be celebrating this triumphant piece of art. CLEAR VINYL LP

It’s been ten years since Sadie Dupuis recorded the first Speedy Ortiz songs, a solo experiment that quickly became her full-time band. Since then, Speedy has produced an expansive and critically revered discography, toured worldwide, and inspired next generations of bands with inventive songwriting and advocacy to better the music industry. But in 2011, the younger Dupuis was struggling through concurrent traumas: heartbreak from first love, leaving her hometown of New York for Massachusetts, and the grief of losing several young friends. Speedy’s first songs glowed within the contrast of noisiness and intimacy, raw sonic elements that came with closely processing vulnerabilities and Dupuis’ insistence on performing and recording each instrument alone. As the new project fielded show offers from favorite show spaces like Death By Audio and Shea Stadium, these early tracks became the springboard for the playfully melodic and cleverly distorted style for which Speedy Ortiz as a full band is celebrated. Now, ten years later, Speedy’s first self-released collections will be widely available for the first time and reissued as a double LP The Death of Speedy Ortiz & Cop Kicker…Forever, alongside previously unreleased tracks, reflective liner notes penned by Dupuis, and unearthed photos and journal scans from that era.

The tracks on The Death of Speedy Ortiz & Cop Kicker…Forever were written after student-created prompts while Dupuis was teaching a songwriting class at the same summer camp where she’d first learned guitar. "Hexxy Sadie” was written in an hour, like the rest of the songs, and on Dupuis’ twenty-third birthday; using explosive riffs and distorted harmonies, she explores her uncertain yearning as a twinless twin. "Frankenweenie" came from the prompt “dog,” and over brooding piano, spry tambourine, and eruptive snare, Dupuis sings from the perspective of a dead childhood pet about forgiveness. “Cutco,” which navigates tricky chord changes with deft guitar passages and ironic deadpan, grins at the bitterness of friendships gone awry. These early songs highlighted Dupuis’ remarkable talent at dissecting specific emotions and moments, analyzing the many ways the pieces fit together, and scrutinizing the places where they don’t.

During the recording process, Dupuis was inspired by the impulsive DIY methods of artists like Elliott Smith and Sparklehorse; a mixing note from September 2011 read, “It's important for the 'concept' of this 'album' that I don't redo anything.” The Death of Speedy Ortiz & Cop Kicker…Forever still holds onto the magic immediacy of lo-fi recordings, but this reissue is helped by the technical know-how gained through Dupuis’ solo production work as Sad13 (Lizzo, Backxwash). Remixing in 2021, Dupuis cleaned up edits on her triple-tracked drums, made space for instrumental flourishes performed on eclectic instruments like cello, banjo and timpani, and rewired digital sounds to warm up the layers of intersecting guitars. Co-mixer Justin Pizzoferrato (Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh), who worked with Speedy on Sports EP, Major Arcana, and Real Hair, further clarified the mix with analog compressors, and mastering engineer Emily Lazar (Liz Phair, HAIM) added a glossy sheen to the stratified bombast.

As Dupuis’ cult-beloved early material finally re-enters the world in a substantive way, The Death of Speedy Ortiz & Cop Kicker…Forever is a seamless fit to the Speedy Ortiz discography that succeeded it, and evidence that Speedy’s biting lyrics, intricate compositions, and daring performances have been inherent to the project since its outset.

After the recent reissue of their first eponymous album, Favorite Recordings proudly presents Vegas, the second LP from Venezuelan band Esperanto. Rare and sought-after for many collectors, it was recorded in between Las Vegas and Caracas and originally released in 1981. Following bandleader Jorge Aguilar in his musical trip to the infamous American city bathing into flashing lights and vivid colors, we're invited to an excursion in Disco, Boogie and Jazz-Funk territories. Finally reissued, fully remastered, Vegas will be available as Gatefold Tip-On Vinyl LP.

With great care and attention to details, Esperanto managed to create a very convincing sequel to their Jazz-Funk debuts. Vegas keeps indeed a perfect balance between various influences. Through energic disco beats with intense funky solos, catchy AOR-influenced songs, where Jorge delivers convincing vocal performance, or sunny jazz-funk slow jams, the album still reveals something quite authentic. And this feeling echoes surely the one that could have been felt by Jorge Aguilar while discovering USA on a trip - where it all started for the music he loves. Like sometimes a foreigner's enriching view on some local specialty, he surely brought with the band all his authenticity and young but vibrant experience while convincing at the same time major labels for distribution.

With certain notoriety coming with the release of their first album, Jorge Aguilar and his drummer Pablo Matarazzo planned to go to Los Angeles for a few gigs. But once there, they realized their contact had to leave for Tina Turner's tour in Europe. Before that, he invited them to come along to Las Vegas and eventually meet musicians there. Luckily, the plan worked perfectly: Jorge came back to Los Angeles with a lot of contacts then moved to Boston and NYC before finally coming back to Caracas. He told: "I was so impressed with this trip that I told myself that one day I would return to Los Angeles and Las Vegas. The first tracks I did them in Los Angeles with Kenny More, James Gadson and other session musicians from that city. Later, I took the tracks to Caracas where the musicians of the band recorded overdubs. After that, I returned to Los Angeles to master with Bernie Grundman who was still working in his small studio at A & M records studios in Hollywood. As can be seen in the title of some of the songs like "Hollywood", "Vegas", "Kenny's Place", were only the translation of my experiences at the time."

Gonzalo Benitez and Luis Alberto Valencia were kingpins of the musica nacional movement in Ecuador. Check them out on the cover, on a rooftop in Quito’s Old Town, surveying their dominion. In 1970, when Valencia collapsed onstage during a performance of the yaravi Desesperacion — ‘My heart is already in ashes’ — and died four days later, aged 52, his coffin was carried through those city streets on the shoulders of his fans.

They began singing as a duo in their mid-teens. During twenty-eight years together they recorded more than six hundred songs, for Discos Ecuador, Nacional, Granja, Ortiz, Rondador, Onix, Fuente, Real, Tropical, Fadisa, RCA Victor — and of course CAIFE.

Their exquisitely romantic harmonising is a sublime blend of collected forbearance and abject self-annihilation, underpinned and elaborated by the heart-piercing, improvisatory guitar-playing of Bolivar Ortiz. Effectively the third member of the group. ‘El Pollo’ sets the tone and intensity for everything that follows: listen to his soloing at the start of our opener, Lamparilla.

Musically a pasillo — a cross between a Viennese waltz and the indigenous yaravi rhythm — Lamparilla draws its verses from a poem by Luz Martinez from Riobamba, written in 1918 when she was 15, under the influence of Baudelaire and Mallarme. Another pasillo here, Sombras is one of the best-loved songs in the musica nacional canon, setting lines about undercover sex and loss by the Mexican poet Maria Pren, which were considered pornographic on publication in 1911.

And Benitez & Valencia looked back still further, to the indigenous roots of Ecuadorian music, as the key to its future. Carnaval de Guaranda is their take on a song dating back to the era of the Mitimaes, a broad group of Bolivian tribes conquered by the Incas and displaced to Ecuador. ‘Impossible love of mine / I love you for being impossible / Who loves what is impossible / Is the truest lover.’

Lovingly presented in a gatefold sleeve with spot-gloss, and printed inners, with stunning photos and expert notes. Excellent sound, drawn from original tapes, by way of Abbey Road, D&M and Pallas.

I'll Look for You in Others is the bittersweet fruit of a painful time in the Portland, Oregon, electronic musician's life. Patricia wrote and recorded the album in 2020, in the aftermath of losing her mother-in-law to cancer and then, months later, losing a close friend. Created using her habitual materials-synthesizer and voice-in unfamiliar ways, the album served as a means of processing her feelings of heartbreak. Feeling disconnected from everything around her, including her usual approach to music, Patricia found new inspiration in spectral processors-digital FFT algorithms that pull apart and reconfigure audio. As she reshaped her synthesizers and voice into stark, silvery new forms, she realized that the process functioned as a metaphor for grief itself: a representation of the transformation that happens when our loved ones are no longer with us as a physical presence, but are still alive within us in a beautiful new way. I'll Look for You in Others is not just a document of loss; it is a testament to the way the loss of loved ones changes our lives, and the way the presence of those we've lost changes shape after they are gone. I'll Look for You in Others marks Wolf's official debut album, following a long, extensive practice of live performance, sound-design projects, contributions to benefit compilations, and reworks of the music of her friends and peers.

‘In Free Fall’ is composer and electronic musician Maya
Shendfeld’s debut album. Guests include James Ginzburg
(Emptyset), Kelly Odonighue and The Bethenian youth
Choir.
 Berlin composer Maya Shenfeld’s music is as powerfully
evocative as it is strikingly intimate. Through a mastery of
sound sculpting and visionary approach to composition,
Shenfeld has established herself as one of the most vital
voices in Berlin’s New Music scene. Her work exists in
liminal spaces, collapsing the boundaries between
electronic synthesis and organic sound as it draws equally
from classical tradition and underground experimentalism.
 Shenfeld is also in demand for her technical knowledge,
working with electronic music innovators Ableton in music
education and research.
 Shenfeld is a rising star in the active Berlin music scene.
Her numerous commissions range from largescale
orchestral to site-specific sound installations, performing in
venues such as the KW Berlin, in collaboration with Berlinbased artist Richard Frater, leading a performance of
Julius Eastman’s ‘Gay Guerrila’ by an ensemble of sixteen
women playing bass and guitar for the opening event of
the Disappearing Berlin festival or writing for the Bethanien
youth choir, who performed at Baerwald bad, an
abandoned 1902 swimming pool in the heart of Berlin.
 Deluxe LP package artwork is designed by fashion
designer, and Maya’s sister, Gal Shenfeld. LP includes
digital download card.
 Mastered by Rashad Becker (Matmos, Laurie Spiegel,
Black To Comm, Clipping., Alvin Lucier, Félicia Atkinson).

The album ‘Romeo’ explores Sega Bodega’s relationship
with his fictional girlfriend, Luci (after Lucifer: bringer of
light), who is a being made entirely from light.
 Featuring some of Sega’s best production work to date,
with a few real sonic curveballs. His vocal performance
is brought more to the forefront than ever before.
 The album shows Sega really coming into himself as a
multifaceted artist and independent great after a couple
of years of building a solid core fanbase and producing
for some impressive names in the alternative space
(from Shygirl to Caroline Polachek, for instance).
 ‘Romeo’ features guest appearances by acts including
Arca and Charlotte Gainsbourg.
 Previous press support for Sega comes from Dazed,
L’officiel (cover), Fader, Office Mag, NME, DIY, i-D plus,
at radio, Annie Mac (Radio 1), Matt Wilkinson (Apple
Music 1) and Nemone (6 Music) have previously
championed Sega’s work.
 Born in Ireland, raised in Glasgow and now based in
London, producer, performer and labelhead Sega
Bodega - aka Salvador Navarrete - has built a reputation
as being one of the UK’s most innovative and precocious
creative minds.
 Inspired as much by his close network of peers as his
love of cinematic soundscapes, Sega has made impacts
spanning across music, fashion and film, soundtracking
some of the most important cultural moments in recent
years, as well as building a catalogue of prolific and
critically acclaimed solo releases that traverse genre,
style and composition.

Lu's Jukebox is a six-volume series of mostly full-band performances recorded live at Ray Kennedy's Room & Board Studio in Nashville, TN. Each volume features a themed set of songs by other artists curated by the multi-Grammy award winner, Lucinda Williams. The series aired as ticketed shows through Mandolin in late 2020 with a portion of ticket sales benefitting independent music venues struggling to get by through the pandemic. Like thousands of artists, Williams cut her teeth and developed her craft by playing in small, medium and large clubs throughout the country, and the world. These venues are vital to the development of artists and their music. Williams has never forgotten her roots, and often performs special shows in some of her favorite halls. This year, the Lu's Jukebox series will be made widely available on vinyl and CD. Volume 2, Southern Soul: From Memphis to Muscle Shoals, features covers of Al Green, Percy Sledge, Bobbie Gentry, Ann Peebles, Tony Joe White & more. It is scheduled for a July 9th, 2021 release.

The career defining 5th album from South African Slam juggernauts VULVODYNIA. Featuring a slew of guest performances and production from Christian Donaldson. Looking in a medical textbook will tell you the following: Vulvodynia is a chronic, severe vaginal pain with no identifiable cause. While the severe part is dead on, what a medical textbook won’t tell you is that Vulvodynia is also the pioneer in what is rapidly becoming South Africa’s most eviscerating export: Technical Slamming Brutal Deathcore. With lobotomizing, lurid riffs, skin-shredding blast beats and slams gruesome and filthy enough to induce septic shock, Vulvodynia are a lethal plague, spreading throughout the flesh of today’s heavy music scene—infecting one set of ears at a time, and leaving no survivors. Vulvodynia have toured Europe, USA, Australia, New Zealand, and played numerous festivals worldwide.

The career defining 5th album from South African Slam juggernauts VULVODYNIA. Featuring a slew of guest performances and production from Christian Donaldson. Looking in a medical textbook will tell you the following: Vulvodynia is a chronic, severe vaginal pain with no identifiable cause. While the severe part is dead on, what a medical textbook won’t tell you is that Vulvodynia is also the pioneer in what is rapidly becoming South Africa’s most eviscerating export: Technical Slamming Brutal Deathcore. With lobotomizing, lurid riffs, skin-shredding blast beats and slams gruesome and filthy enough to induce septic shock, Vulvodynia are a lethal plague, spreading throughout the flesh of today’s heavy music scene—infecting one set of ears at a time, and leaving no survivors. Vulvodynia have toured Europe, USA, Australia, New Zealand, and played numerous festivals worldwide.

The career defining 5th album from South African Slam juggernauts VULVODYNIA. Featuring a slew of guest performances and production from Christian Donaldson. Looking in a medical textbook will tell you the following: Vulvodynia is a chronic, severe vaginal pain with no identifiable cause. While the severe part is dead on, what a medical textbook won’t tell you is that Vulvodynia is also the pioneer in what is rapidly becoming South Africa’s most eviscerating export: Technical Slamming Brutal Deathcore. With lobotomizing, lurid riffs, skin-shredding blast beats and slams gruesome and filthy enough to induce septic shock, Vulvodynia are a lethal plague, spreading throughout the flesh of today’s heavy music scene—infecting one set of ears at a time, and leaving no survivors. Vulvodynia have toured Europe, USA, Australia, New Zealand, and played numerous festivals worldwide.

25TH ANNIVERSARY OF GAVIN HARRISON'S DEBUT ALBUM REISSUED
Gavin Harrison has established himself as one of the most revered
drummers in the progressive rock scene in recent years
As a member of Pineapple Thief, Porcupine Tree & King Crimson at one time or
another, as well as guesting on numerous acclaimed recordings, he has secured a
reputation as one of the most thrilling drummers around.
In 1997 Gavin released 'Sanity & Gravity', an impressively ego- free debut solo
release featuring performances from a stellar line-up including Mick Karn, Richard
Barbieri, Jakko Jakszyk (21st Century Schizoid Band) & Dave Stewart (Egg,
National Health). Avoiding making a typical 'solo' drum album as a means of
demonstrating his prodigious technique, Gavin created an expressive & emotional
album that is strong on both groove & melody.
In his own words, "faced with the prospect of making a 'solo' drum album I
decided I would take a more experimental approach to playing my instrument,
rather than make a record of fast fashy solos & flls to try & show off my
technique. I felt there was a way to express emotion from the drums played with
the attitude of "blowing" on a saxophone or "twiddling" around on a piano."
The original album has gone on to gain legendary status in the 25 years following
its original conception with the CD fetching high sums on the resale market.
Kscope is now thrilled to present the album reissued & remastered with an
exclusive bonus track & new original artwork for the anniversary. Essential
listening!
'SANITY & GRAVITY' WILL BE ISSUED VIA KSCOPE

Many of you will be aware of the band Homegrown Syndrome (we released the single a few years ago). They were also known locally as Homegrown Funk & the band Memphis that put out one extremely rare two sider. A party Side 'Shake and Rock' flipped with a top of the rung ballad 'Inside My Love', it has everything collectors want, Rarity & Quality so sells for 500+ all day long, below Robert Garcia gives us the history....

"Memphis" were members of the Memphis based group "Home Grown Funk." Home Grown Funk was also known as "Homegrown Syndrome," a controversial name bestowed to them. Before heading to LA they gigged all over Memphis. Some of the members were from an earlier 70s group called "Brothers Unlimited" and had earlier ties during the 60s with the "Memphis Invaders" (a peaceful civil rights activist group).

With aspirations of pushing Homegrown further, a few members including Jerry Jones made the move out west. It was LA 1977 when they were introduced to Ike Tuner through a mutual friend "Ricky G". It was a casual meetup. Then one night Ike had his son Ike Jr. go check them out while performing at the Soul Train hangout spot "Maverick Flats". Ike Jr. praised their performance to Ike and he had them come out to his Inglewood studio. The group walked into the studio with a funky track already playing and that's when Jerry Jones improvised this opportunity and started singing. Ike then turned and said… "Who is that singing?" Jerry said, "Thats me." Then Ike replied " YOU BIG MUTHAF***A! You could be my new Tina." From that point the group cut bunch of tracks with Ike over the years up until they're feature on his 1980 album "The Edge."

In 1981 Perry Kibble (Keyboardist for Taste Of Honey) was at "Concerts In The Park" and heard Home Grown Funk performing. He linked up with the group and got them a deal with Arista. During this time they recorded their hit track " Confrontation." Perry suggested that the group change their name because he didn't want another group with the work "Funk" in it and hence "Homegrown Syndrome." They also use the Arista studio to cut an unreleased acetate with tracks "Got the love" and "Party Vibes" soon to be reissued on ATON.

Around the same time they were introduced to a fella named Roger Green. Green asked the group to come over to his home studio to cut the track "Inside My Love." Upon naming the record Roger Green suggested to go by "Memphis" since they were all from there. This record was eventually pressed in 1982 as small run becoming extremely hard to find.

Words by: Robert Garcia

Many of you will be aware of the band Homegrown Syndrome (we released the single a few years ago). They were also known locally as Homegrown Funk & the band Memphis that put out one extremely rare two sider. A party Side 'Shake and Rock' flipped with a top of the rung ballad 'Inside My Love', it has everything collectors want, Rarity & Quality so sells for 500+ all day long, below Robert Garcia gives us the history....

"Memphis" were members of the Memphis based group "Home Grown Funk." Home Grown Funk was also known as "Homegrown Syndrome," a controversial name bestowed to them. Before heading to LA they gigged all over Memphis. Some of the members were from an earlier 70s group called "Brothers Unlimited" and had earlier ties during the 60s with the "Memphis Invaders" (a peaceful civil rights activist group).

With aspirations of pushing Homegrown further, a few members including Jerry Jones made the move out west. It was LA 1977 when they were introduced to Ike Tuner through a mutual friend "Ricky G". It was a casual meetup. Then one night Ike had his son Ike Jr. go check them out while performing at the Soul Train hangout spot "Maverick Flats". Ike Jr. praised their performance to Ike and he had them come out to his Inglewood studio. The group walked into the studio with a funky track already playing and that's when Jerry Jones improvised this opportunity and started singing. Ike then turned and said… "Who is that singing?" Jerry said, "Thats me." Then Ike replied " YOU BIG MUTHAF***A! You could be my new Tina." From that point the group cut bunch of tracks with Ike over the years up until they're feature on his 1980 album "The Edge."

In 1981 Perry Kibble (Keyboardist for Taste Of Honey) was at "Concerts In The Park" and heard Home Grown Funk performing. He linked up with the group and got them a deal with Arista. During this time they recorded their hit track " Confrontation." Perry suggested that the group change their name because he didn't want another group with the work "Funk" in it and hence "Homegrown Syndrome." They also use the Arista studio to cut an unreleased acetate with tracks "Got the love" and "Party Vibes" soon to be reissued on ATON.

Around the same time they were introduced to a fella named Roger Green. Green asked the group to come over to his home studio to cut the track "Inside My Love." Upon naming the record Roger Green suggested to go by "Memphis" since they were all from there. This record was eventually pressed in 1982 as small run becoming extremely hard to find.

Words by: Robert Garcia

The project ( nula.cc ) is the brainchild of intermedia artist Lloyd Dunn, a founding member of the Tape-beatles, and editor and publisher of the zines „PhotoStatic“ and „Retrofuturism“. It comprises hours of sound works, hundreds of photographs, travelogue essays, and similar digital artifacts, which often reflect the artist’s frequent travels and aesthetic thinking.

BELLS: In this unmanipulated recording, a performance of the bells of the Transfiguration Cathedral Spaso-Efimeyev Monastery in Suzdal takes place. Suzdal is one of the towns on the best-known tourist route in Russia, called the „Golden Ring“.

CICADAS: An annual brood of cicadas creates a dense sonic atmosphere from their treetop feeding zone, here recorded on a hot July afternoon in a forest near Lake Lisi, on a plateau overlooking the Saburtalo district of Tbilisi, Georgia.

The Senior Service returns with a brand new 10” for 2022. A year or so ago, The Senior Service decided that it wanted to add a little more to its well-honed instrumental sound. On one slightly drunken night out, they approached local songwriter and chanteuse Rachel Lowrie and asked if she’d like to perform guest vocals on some specially written new material. By this time, Rachel had supplied impressive ‘pipework’ on quite a few Medway records so the band was confident that she’d be able to deliver – the band was right.
Following a lengthy hiatus in activity due to lockdown restrictions, The Senior Service was finally able to get together to record the new songs, so they piled into Ranscombe Studios to crack on. It soon became apparent that they’d lost none of the chemistry that had made them such a powerful musical collective and the instrumental backing tracks were laid down with relative ease. It was when Rachel arrived and sprinkled vocal sugar over the tracks that they really began to shine! Intuitively, she understood the approach needed and delivered a made-to-measure performance for each song. this collection includes four original tracks penned by the band plus two rollicking covers of lesser-known instrumentals; John Schroeder’s take on ‘Lovin’ You Girl’ – a slinky slice of lounge grooviness, given a slightly chunkier sound, informed by the band’s musical aesthetic, and ‘Mysterious Land’ – The Chris Lamb Orchestra’s little heard filmic masterpiece; a track seemingly tailor-made for the band to get its musical chops around. So, we invite you to spend ‘A Little More Time with The Senior Service’.

'The second pressing of Mountain Caller's debut album 'Chronicle I: The Truthseeker' is limited to 500 copies, cream vinyl housed in a single sleeve with printed inner, plus a full download.' Mountain Caller are ready to engage hyper-drive and launch their debut album into the riff time continuum. Mountain Caller are El, Claire and Max and hail from London. They describe themselves as a heavy progressive instrumental three-piece, who are driven to tell stories with music and want listeners to conjure up cinematic scenes in their minds. And that they do … in spades. If one needs a sonic ballpark, think the infectious jamming of Elder and the dynamic cinema-scapes of Mogwai, underpinned by the mantric riffs of Sleep. A rich amalgam of Progressive Rock, Post Metal and Doom. Nevertheless, Mountain Caller do succeed in weaving their own unique spell. The band are already buzzing, pricking up the ears of those in the know, and now after two years honing their chops with a clutch of immersive live performances under their belts (including a slot at Desertfest) Mountain Caller are ready to bring you their debut album. Chronicle I: The Truthseeker. Recorded in January of 2020 at No Studio in Manchester by producer Joe Clayton of Pijn, and mastered by Magnus Lindberg of ‘Cult Of Luna’. For the band, it’s a labour of love; the fruit of three years of jamming, crafting, and conceptualising; a collaborative piece, where each instrument takes centre stage, within a heady mix of chasmic riffs and panoramic, reflective soundscapes. Chronicle I: The Truthseeker is a feminist allegory created in tandem with the music. As the band describe it … In The Truthseeker, we join The Protagonist at the edge of the Twilight Desert, compelled by an indefinable but urgent need to set forth on an Odyssean journey to rediscover her memory and her voice. Over the course of 42 minutes, we travel from barren wastelands to mysterious cities, encountering trials of both body and spirit. It is indeed a 6 track instrumental journey. Full of winding roads, brooding valleys and strange encounters, all vividly evoked by a canny grasp of dynamics, melody and heavy, but hooky riffs, executed with peerless playing. 'Journey Through The Twilight Desert' opens the album in soundtrack mode, and develops in weight and riff (as if Goblin have taken up the baton) and closes in a full wide screen Mogwai trip .... and that's just the opening track. Elsewhere Mountain Caller pushes to noisier, heavier groovier places. Whether it’s the chiming guitars on the Krautrock/post-rock groove of 'I remember Everything' or 'Trial by Combat' and its doom meets Deftones vibe. To album closer 'Dreamspirals' with its melodic hooks and huge earworm riffs, it’s an album that more than stands up to listening on repeat as there plenty to discover.

Together, René Audiard and Ali Cakir are Düve: The symbiosis of René Audiard's electronic programming virtuosity and Ali’s expressive oud playing. Their first EP on Mesma, “Part 1”, compiles four diverse productions compatible with late night dances as well as escapist mind-wandering. Combining elements of dance music with improvisational oud performance and poetry, Part 1 oscillates between house, experimental music and free jazz. As a return to beat-based electronic music, Düve’s Part 1 reconnects Mesma to its love for moody microscopic house.

The opening track, “Baglama”, introduces Ali’s acoustic presence with an atonal improvisation, soon turning into a rough and upbeat rhythmic jam under’s Soren electronic direction.
“Djinn Tonic” is an intricately layered progression of loops generating an unsettling atmosphere, both futuristic and nostalgic.
Following the introductions, the full breadth of Düve’s project is developed in Avvad: A dark, textured and moody journey into an ever-changing world of echoed and looped oud phrases over a familiar house beat, connecting the whole to smokey underground dance floors.
Finally, “Santr”, the EP’s longest piece, is a hypnotic promenade led by Ali’s voice and oud and accompanied by Soren’s chopped up drums and bouncy bass — an expressive and performative track, evoking dance music only in a volatile manner.

A LOST RECORDING OF UNTAMED APPALACHIAN MUSIC.
160 gram black vinyl LP in gold & black color reverse-board jacket. Co-release with Jalopy Records.
In 1972, the renowned and singular folk musician Roscoe Holcomb left his home in rural Daisy, Kentucky and embarked on a west coast tour with Mike Seeger in 1972, which included a performance at The Old Church in Portland, Oregon - a beautiful Carpenter Gothic church built in 1882. Decades later, two particular reels were discovered deep within a pile of 1/4” tape in a shadowy corner of the KBOO Community Radio archives in Portland. Incredibly, those tapes contained the sole surviving evidence of a strikingly intimate and raw performance by Roscoe Holcomb, whose cascading and haunting banjo, guitar and voice echoed and saturated the room and hushed audience.
In contrast to Roscoe’s rarely documented (and at times restrained) live performances at folk festivals and television programs, Roscoe seems to have felt more familiar and spiritually moved in the old church that night. Heard here are standout versions of Appalachian folk-blues classics such as Single Girl, John Henry, East Virginia Blues, Swanno Mountain and more. Once cited as Bob Dylan’s favorite singer, Roscoe Holcomb appears at the peak of his powers here, showcasing his immense vocal talents on an extended acapella version of “The Village Churchyard”. The recording itself is warm and mysterious, sounding like the room itself is alive with the spirit, while the rumbles of trucks and hints of city sounds peek through the walls from the outside streets.

$ (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 1971 movie of the same name. The soundtrack was composed and produced by Jazz legend Quincy Jones and includes performances from Roberta Flack, Little Richard and Doug Kershaw. This version will be the first repressing since 2002, and will be pressed the color of money on mint green vinyl.

For two decades now, Greensky Bluegrass has been building an empire, brick by brick. Their eighth studio release, Stress Dreams was produced by Dominic Davis (Jack White) and Grammy winning engineer/producer Glenn Brown amidst the 2020 pandemic. It follows their 2019 release, All for Money, which landed on the Top 100 at the Billboard Albums Chart, Top 20 at Independent Albums and Current Country Albums, Top 10 at Americana/Folk Albums Top 5 at Heatseekers, and #1 at Bluegrass Albums. Greensky is widely known for their dazzling live performances and relentless touring schedule. As with traditional bluegrass, the band writes about their own contemporary day-to-day happenings, emotions, and experiences in the modern world. Their die-hard fans pack out venues across the country. They travel in droves and sell out multiple-night show runs at iconic venues like Red Rocks and The Ryman.

Since 2006, The Dodos (singer and guitarist Meric Long and drummer Logan Kroeber) have been careening, almost recklessly, towards some perfect ideal of how The Dodos should sound. First formed with the intention of creating a record that felt and sounded how the inside of a guitar might, the band have spent the intervening years sprinting towards that platonic goal. After widespread critical acclaim for their sophomore effort Visiter in 2008, the band toured incessantly for the next 10 years, playing countless venues all over the world including several performances on The Late Show with David Letterman and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

As the 21st century was born, so Kreator underwent what was nothing less than a seismic creative rebirth. By this time, the iconic German band had released nine studio albums in the 1980s and '90s, which had established them as one of the most important metal names of these decades.In the first period, they had helped to shape and pioneer the thrash scene through such releases as 'Pleasure To Kill' (1986), 'Terrible Certainty' ('87) and 'Extreme Aggression' ('89). During the following decade, the band had opened up exciting horizons of experimentation on albums like 'Coma Of Souls' (1990), 'Renewal' ('92) and 'Endorama' ('99).
Now, though, it was time to move into a fresh era, as vocalist/guitarist Mille Petrozza explains.
“During the 1990s, we were definitely experimenting with what the band were doing. But (drummer) Ventor and I decided that for this album – our first of the new millennium – we wanted to go back to the sort of sound that we had at the start of Kreator. In other words, to get back to the reason why we began the band in the first place.”

There was also new guitarist introduced, as Sami Yli-Sirniö (who had made his reputation with Finnish band Waltari) took over from Tommy Vetterli. The latter (also known as Tommy T. Baron) had joined in 1996 and played on the 'Oucast' (1997) and 'Endorama' albums.

The producer for this album was Andy Sneap, who was now making a name for himself as one of the pre-eminent masters of this art in the modern metal world.“I had known and liked Andy since the days he had been the guitarist in Sabbat, as they were signed to Noise Records as Kreator were on that label. He was our first choice to work on this new project. I liked what he'd done for Testament on their album 'The Gathering' (released in 1999). He had given them a sound they'd never had before, and that really was what we were after. It was natural and organic, and also very modern. I remember phoning him at his Backstage Studios in England (Ripley in Derbyshire). And Warrel Dane, the vocalist in Nevermore, answered. Andy was producing their new album at the time ('Dead Heart In A Dead World', 2000). And when I heard this, again I was very impressed. So, I was delighted when he agreed to produce the new Kreator album.”

The album title came from something Petrozza had read. “In a book I came across a comment that John F. Kennedy said (in 1962). This was: "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable”. I thought 'Violent Revolution' would make a good title for an album. So, I kept it in my mind for this record. I think 'Violent Revolution' is a title that makes a real impact.”

One interesting aspect of the track listing was that the 52 second instrumental 'The Patriarch' actually came after the opening song 'Reconquering The Throne'. Fans might have been expected that it would have opened the album. But for Petrozza, there was a logical reason for this not to happen. “We really wanted to lead off with a thrashing track, to show everyone what we were now doing musically. After 'Endorama', it was important that everyone should recognise this was a new era for Kreator.”

'Violent Revolution' is without question an excellent album. While in some ways it does hark back to the glories of the band's earlier days, nonetheless it does not sound at all nostalgic. The performances and production values are very much part of the contemporary era, and the strength of the compositions themselves are of the highest values. Rising to the challenge offered by a new generation of ambitious metal bands, Kreator proved they were far from being a spent force. Unlike so many of their peers, here was a band who still had so much creativity to offer, and were also clearly excited themselves by what they were doing. And when you hear the band themselves enjoying the entire process, then you know this is a bona fide revitalisation.

In 2022, the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's Concert could once again take place in front of an audience. However, 2G-plus rules and an FFP2 mask requirement applied throughout the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde building in Vienna. Standing room was not offered this year and the number of seats in the Golden Hall was limited to 1,000.

Daniel Barenboim performed with the Vienna Philharmonic as a young pianist as early as 1965, and he has also conducted them since 1989. He already took the podium at the tradition-steeped New Year's Concert in 2009 and 2014. Barenboim's engagements as head of the Berlin State Opera Unter den Linden and the Staatskapelle Berlin, as founder and director of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, and as a pianist show him to be a true musical citizen of the world. As such, he is also an exceptionally good fit for Vienna's world-class orchestra and the message of the New Year's Concert: hope, friendship and peace for the whole world.

At the start of the new year, the Vienna Philharmonic once again presented a cheerful, upbeat and contemplative program of symphonic waltzes, polkas and marches by the Strauss dynasty and its contemporaries. The 2022 program showed a clear reference to the fantastic and fairytale-like. In addition to the phoenix, a siren and an indeterminate number of brownies and nymphs, there was also Johann Strauss' waltz "One Thousand and One Nights".

Six pieces had their premiere at a New Year's concert in 2022. The "Phoenix March", the Polka mazur "The Siren" and the Polka française "Nymph Polka" were performed by Josef Strauss. Eduard Strauss was represented with the quick polka "Kleine Chronik", Carl Michael Ziehrer with the waltz "Nachtschwärmer" and Joseph Hellmesberger with the character piece "Heinzelmännchen" among the repertoire novelties.

There is the 50th anniversary of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention to celebrate in 2022, which Austria also joined 30 years ago. In the intermission film of the concert, the twelve Austrian World Heritage sites showed themselves from their best side. Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, on the World Heritage List since 1996, was also the setting for the ballet interlude with ten dancers from the Vienna State Ballet to the waltz "One Thousand and One Nights." The second performance was created at the Spanish Riding School, which has been designated as a UNESCO Intangible World Heritage Site since 2015. Eight magnificent Lipizzaner stallions and their riders demonstrated the high school of classical horsemanship to Josef Strauss's "Nymph Polka".

The phoenix, a very special bird from ancient Greek mythology, burns at the end of its life cycle, only to rise again from its ashes. The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra paid tribute to it twice. The concert began with the "Phoenix March", followed by the waltz "Phoenix Swing". Such a concert opening - with a march and a waltz - should be a sign. It is to be hoped that a rebirth and renewal in the new year can really take place.

repressed !

Strong contender for dance record of the year- Red Rack'em's incredibly wonderful and fantastically wonky, Disco Banger, was rereleased on Classic this year.
After a few months of slowly embedding itself in people subconscious, it returns with new mixes.
First up in the marvellously talented KiNK - Strahil is no stranger to Classic, having made a stamp on the label many years ago with his remix 3rd Face. He's gone from strength to strength with his productions which have been accompanied by his glorious live performances. Kink goes in, heads down with some proper techno Wonk. This is indeed a beast.
On the flip Luke Solomon joins forces with Bristol's very own Eats Everything and Lord Leopard, creating a Bristol 'Circle of Three.' The Luke Eats Leopard edit adds a slight bit of conformity to the drums and the arrangement, without taking out too much of the Wonk but taking it ever so slightly into 'house ' territory.
Overall this is a monstrously Wonky package - and just in time for Xmas too.