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Active since 2013, Paisley Fields is a singer, songwriter, and bandleader
splitting time between Brooklyn, New York and Nashville, Tennessee.A
touring member of the newly reformed Lavender Country, Paisley also
played keyboard on their album "Blackberry Rose"
On his new album, "Limp Wrist", he draws inspiration from queer icon Andy
Warhol and the myriad drag artists with whom he's collaborated. His years of
experience in Manhattan piano bars did not diminish his love for country music,
and he released two albums that pay homage to the music of his youth.
"Limp Wrist" is an exploration of where rural queerness intersects religion.
Paisley's family were devout Catholics, and he served as the official church
pianist in his parish throughout his teens, playing every Sunday.
The songs on the album are deeply personal, and often touch on what it was like
to grow up closeted and queer in rural Iowa in the early 2000s. "Black Hawk
County Line" tells the story of Paisley being outed by a former friend his senior
year in high school, "Dial Up Lover" is about logging on to gay AOL chat rooms to
find other queers in the area, and "Plastic Rosary" recounts the experience of
being told he'll never get into heaven while praying the rosary.
The most personal and biographical moment comes during "Iowa", which
recounts the tragic murder of Matthew Shepard, and the visceral fear he had to
wrestle with since he was already aware of how different he was.
The album ends on an uplifting note, sharing a message of friendship and hope
with "Tomorrow Finds a Way".
The stories are his, but the feelings they convey - love, loneliness, lust, fear - are
still universal.
Pressed on Red color vinyl.

When James Pepper met Riccardo Paffetti (Black Loops) a bromance was quick to bloom. After touring the Berlin-based Italian across Australia, the two soon realised they not only loved each others company but records too.

Following Black Loops maiden trip down under, the dudes stayed in touch and led to Pep crashing on Riccardo’s sofa bed for a week in Berlin. The duo went to work in the studio, brewing up some gems that were released on classy imprints Neovinyl Recordings and Haŵs.

It was on Paffetti’s most recent trip to Oz (well before the world shutdown) that brought about their most anticipated tracks to date. Bunkering down in a Marrickville studio, the cross-continent pairing got up close and personal with some neat hardware. Experimenting with an array of compressors, a TR8 and the Elektron Analog Four MKII ‘Three Drops’ EP was born.

The EP is a lively affair. A rampant message to club folk far and wide. Founded on lo-fi percussion, a crunchy kick and echoed key sections ‘Three Drops’ throws a flurry of punches. Varied combinations of electro, acid and techno rolling together just right. Here we have a welcome jab of adrenaline. You can almost visualise the duo grinning from ear-to-ear, as they bring in each piece of machinery.

'Three Drops’ made its live debut at Pepper’s recent Boiler Room in Sydney and has since taken the interwebs by storm. Hundred’s of ID requests later and the time is right to share this gem as the clubs open back up across the globe.

The B side and new single has arrived in ‘Arp Love’. A frantically beautiful dose of techno. Soaring risers make way for pulsating chords and shimmering TR8 patterns, as we’re led deep into a clubby rabbit hole. In signature Black Loops style, a spoken word sample on the disappointment of love breaks the piece in two.

For a burgeoning Sydney producer like Pep it must be truly amazing to co-write alongside Riccardo - an artist who’s clocked tens of millions of streams worldwide, claimed Deep House Artist of The Year (2017) via Traxsouce plus released weaponry on revered labels such as Shall Not Fade, Toy Tonics, Gruuv and Good Ratio.

We’re grateful James Pepper and Black Loops got together. These two on tracks makes sense.

Mit einer Nonchalance, die fast unheimlich selbstverständlich daherkommt, bringt jeder Song auf A Modern Act die menschliche Natur auf den Punkt. Oder eher gesagt die Naturen, Plural, da jeder Song einer bestimmten "modernen" Person, Situation oder Beziehung gewidmet ist. Ultra-spezifisch und zugleich universell, das ist die Schönheit dieses Flickenteppichs aus unverhohlenen Beobachtungen.
Die ehrlichen und schnörkellosen Klavierballaden des ersten und letzten Songs legen sich wie eine zurückhaltende Klammer um die schrilleren Geschichten, die dazwischen erzählt werden. Das heitere und dunkle Long Blonde Hair weckt offensichtlich Erinnerungen an Stars mit wasserstoffblonden Haaren, die wir alle kennen und liebevoll verachten. Indoor Miners lässt uns genüsslich langsam in unseren eigenen Abstieg taumeln. Die verführerische Kombination aus Indie-Folk und Bombast, verpackt in sich wiederholenden Arrangements, lässt Hollywood Diamonds genau nach dem klingen, was es ist: Die scharfe Kritik eines Außenseiters an einer ausbeuterischen Industrie. Typisch für Collberg überlässt er es der eigenen Fantasie, die Leerstellen zu füllen, aber das Gerüst steht.
A Modern Act ist eine Sammlung autobiografischer Vignetten und Kurzgeschichten, die verspielt in persönlichen Befangenheiten schwelgen. In einem Anflug von kreativen Bewusstsein hat Collberg seine eigene kleine Gesellschaft erschaffen. Nicht immer schmeichelhaft widmet er sich dem, was glitzert, und dem, was düster ist. Anders als bei seinen früheren Werken standen diesmal alle Texte, bevor er die Musik komponierte. A Modern Act entstand im Januar 2021 und wurde in den folgenden Monaten zusammen mit Miccel Mohr (History of Sugar, Soho Rezanejad) in Kopenhagen, Dänemark aufgenommen und produziert, wobei Daily Tolliver (Molly Burch) an der Gitarre für den Titelsong "A Modern Act" mitwirkte.

Over the course of his six-decade-long career, Dr. John embodied a near-mythic multitude of musical identities: global ambassador of New Orleans funk and jazz and R&B, visionary bluesman, rock and roll innovator, one-time top 10 hitmaker, self-anointed and massively revered high priest of psychedelic voodoo. On Things Happen That Way, the six-time Grammy-winning Rock & Roll Hall of Famer otherwise known as Malcolm John “Mac” Rebennack Jr. reveals yet another dimension of his cosmically vast musicality: a lifelong affinity for classic country & western, whose songs he first encountered via the 78 rpm records frequently spun at his father’s electronics shop. Things Happen That Way arrives as the latest and final studio album from an artist who remained wholly unpredictable, alchemizing the charmed simplicity of traditional country into a wildly enchanting body of work.



Things Happen That Way marks the fulfillment of a longtime goal of the legendary singer/songwriter/pianist, who first began plotting a country inspired album decades ago. In bringing his album’s songs to life, Dr. John drew on a lineup of musicians befitting of a universally beloved luminary who worked with the likes of Van Morrison, the Rolling Stones, B.B. King, Etta James, and artists as diverse as Aretha Franklin, Ringo Starr, and Eric Clapton. Along with an elite cadre of New Orleans session players, the album’s personnel include icons Willie Nelson and Aaron Neville, as well as label mate singer/songwriter Katie Pruitt and country-rock powerhouse Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real. True to an artist whose music “transcended race and cultural divides”—as Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach proclaimed in presenting Dr. John his lifetime achievement award at the Americana Music Association Honors and Awards in 2013—Things Happen That Way reflects both a rich sense of history and a boundless passion for defying expectation.

Following the compass of an entrancing debut, Flore Laurentienne's Volume II presents another palette of rich orchestral sound, where changing forces of water inspire metaphorical markers that navigate passages of life and loss. Mathieu David Gagnon resumes his voyage into environment and emotion with Volume II, drawing inspiration from the rivers and rugged wilderness of the composer's native Quebec. In his return as Flore Laurentienne - the namesake of an inventory documenting St. Lawrence Valley flora - Gagnon assembles vivid melodic motifs and delicate modulation with a vast string ensemble to emulate the tides of human experience. Listeners of Volume I will recognise Gagnon's signature approach towards reworking and reframing an emblematic melody or concept across a series of works in Volume II, a process he likens to that of a painter creating multiple sketches of the same view. Continued from the first album, the enigmatic "Fleuve" series is conjured to evoke the multiple personalities of the great St. Lawrence River, and the "Navigation" works ("III" and "IV") wade through dappled progressions and expansive streams of string, the latter of which harbors the gentle meanderings of improvised clarinet. In the world of Flore Laurentienne, complexity emerges from simplicity as the composer roams familiar environments in constant flux. Gagnon extracts beauty through repetition and constraint, utilizing the writing style of counterpoint for which one of his greatest musical inspirations, Johann Sebastian Bach, is renowned. The lilting waves of "Canon" possess the eponymous formation of melodic 'leader and follower' motif, and magnify the softness of the album's eighteen string musicians into a force of full euphoric resonance. In Volume II, Gagnon continues his expansion of classical composition archetypes to meet a new realm of sonic romanticism. Thematic conventions of wandering the pastoral sublime become altered into glimmering refractions, relaying the emotional and kinetic power of natural energies. Volume II forms an estuary where streams of auditory microcosm reach a horizon of dynamic contrast, and reflect the parallel tenors of nature and humankind.

The second installment of gems and nuggets straight from the infamous jukebox at Malcolm and Vivienne's King's Road SEX boutique.

Compiled again by Marco Pirroni (Adam and The Ants, Siouxsie and the Banshees) another collection of carefully curated tracks that were played on rotation at 430 kings road Chelsea, throughout 1974-1976.

Years in the making, this follow up to Marco’s 2004 “SEX: Too Fast To Live Too Young To Die” continues to complete the jukebox playlist with tracks contributed from those friends who frequented the shop - Jordan Mooney (RIP), Paul Cook, Steve Jones and Sam Bully amongst others – remembering those all-important songs that soundtracked the shop and left lasting impressions on them over 47 years ago.

Another wild ride and a kaleidoscope of jukebox bangers from The Animals to Max Bigraves, Nico to Burundi Black, these tracks undoubtedly played a heavy influence on SEX’s customer’s young ears many who would go on and change the musical world forever - Sex Pistols, The Clash, Chrissie Hynde, Siouxsie Sioux to name just a few.

Artwork supplied by Personality Crisis with unpublished photographs from Jane England, a student at the time but already understood the cultural significance and beauty of both the shop and Jordan Mooney who the compilation is dedicated to.

The second installment of gems and nuggets straight from the infamous jukebox at Malcolm and Vivienne's King's Road SEX boutique.

Compiled again by Marco Pirroni (Adam and The Ants, Siouxsie and the Banshees) another collection of carefully curated tracks that were played on rotation at 430 kings road Chelsea, throughout 1974-1976.

Years in the making, this follow up to Marco’s 2004 “SEX: Too Fast To Live Too Young To Die” continues to complete the jukebox playlist with tracks contributed from those friends who frequented the shop - Jordan Mooney (RIP), Paul Cook, Steve Jones and Sam Bully amongst others – remembering those all-important songs that soundtracked the shop and left lasting impressions on them over 47 years ago.

Another wild ride and a kaleidoscope of jukebox bangers from The Animals to Max Bigraves, Nico to Burundi Black, these tracks undoubtedly played a heavy influence on SEX’s customer’s young ears many who would go on and change the musical world forever - Sex Pistols, The Clash, Chrissie Hynde, Siouxsie Sioux to name just a few.

Artwork supplied by Personality Crisis with unpublished photographs from Jane England, a student at the time but already understood the cultural significance and beauty of both the shop and Jordan Mooney who the compilation is dedicated to.

"They push everything right to the brink and then pull back at precisely the right moment" - Pitchfork

"'Growing Up Pains (Unni's Song) gives a tantalising glimpse of where their future could lie. Matching lucid pop elements to daring innovation, ALASKALASKA allow the song to become a portal to their own potential." - Clash

"It’s impossible to walk away without the repeated promise 'I won’t let you down' in 'Growing Up Pains' stuck in your head – and it’s a mantra we should all be following as we as a species continue to fight for our future." - Beats Per Minute

ALASKALASKA announce their superb new album, Still Life, arriving October 14th on Marathon Artists (Lava La Rue, Courtney Barnett, Pond).

'Still Life' finds writers and producers Lucinda Duarte-Holman and Fraser Rieley embrace a more free-form electronica, giving a taste of what's to come with this fantastic new record produced by Jas Shaw (of Simian Mobile Disco)–full of digital sounds, drum machine and synth melodies cunningly sat beside rich, organic, acoustic instrumentation, it's a looping tug of war between existential dread and everyday simple pleasures.

Listen to / watch the video for 'Still Life' (shot by Jacek Zmarz) here: https://youtu.be/TL7s6QJ3ANc

Four seasons of dawn chorus, panoramically framed by fruit trees and more analog synths than can comfortably fit in a cow shed-come-recording studio...the scene is set for the recording of ALASKALASKA’s second album Still Life. Ordinarily located in South East London, writers and producers Fraser Rieley and Lucinda Duarte-Holman were eager to get out of the city. Taking advantage of this rustic countryside scene, they were able to capture something uniquely their own.

Following their debut album in 2019, they resurface into a new era embracing all the things that first put the band on the map, attracting the likes of Tame Impala, Hot Chip, Porches and Nilüfer Yanya for tour support slots. For Rieley and Duarte-Holman, writing began in 2019, pre-lockdown-era, although the subsequent alone together/together alone time added a new spin on ALASKALASKA's process of experimentation and fine-tuning. The band now push their foundational ideas further and explore the freedom of playing with new sounds. Duarte-Holman explains, “...with everything going on at the time, the restrictions led us to try working in a new way. The limitations were different, but meant we were able to adventure into a more electronic soundscape that we're really looking forward to expressing live."

The ‘Still Life’ LP has been pressed on recycled black vinyl to reduce the carbon intensity of the finished product.

It has been twenty years since the first Back To Mine release but still the series is going strong. These personal after-hours soundtracks have never sounded more relevant than now, and next up is GRAMMYr Award-nominated, San Francisco-based artist Tycho. It finds him going deeper than one of his famous Burning Man sets as he heads into otherworldly, cinematic headphone territory with tunes from Lancaster, Little Dragon, Octo Octa, Ulrich Schnauss and many more across four fantastic sides of vinyl.

Italian duo Agents Of Time have been incredibly busy over the past few years, from releasing a string of classic singles – including their recent single for Afterlife, “The Mirage”, which earned more than five million views on Instagram – to remixing The Weeknd’s “Take My Breath”, which appeared on his recent Dawn FM (Alternative World). But the biggest news is here now – their second album, Universo, is ready. Elevating their trademark melodic techno with an exquisite pop-ness, Universo has found its ideal home with Kompakt, following their Music Made Paradise 2020 debut EP for the label. It’s a meeting of minds that makes perfect sense.

Andrea Di Ceglie and Luigi Tutolo, the two members of Agents Of Time, used their time during the pandemic to work on Universo, an album loosely conceptualised around their ‘personal universo’, a manifestation of the world Di Ceglie and Tutolo built both within and around their studio. This accounts for the sparkle and brightness of Universo – it’s full of personality, vim and vigour, the duo experimenting with their music, exploring its furthest corners. If you come to Universo expecting just another album of melodic techno, get ready to be pleasantly surprised – there’s a whole lot more going on here, and it’s all equally compelling.

After a typically poetic opening gesture – the swirling, synaesthetic, self-titled intro track – expectations are immediately blindsided with the two-step pop of “Fallin’”, sung with gentle clarity by guest Audrey Janssens, a dream of a song that harks back to the glory days of early ‘00s UK garage. “Interstellar Cowboy” is a confident, lithe, disco-fied strut; the gentle minor-key piano of “Liquid Fantasy” spirals into a gorgeously melancholy techno-pop epic, Vicky Who?’s voice rich with yearning. Janssens also reappears on the electro-swirl of “Poison”; “Dream Vision” revisits their single “The Mirage”, soft with sweeping strings, loaded with drama; “Part Of Life” sashays into view with a schaffel-stomp.

This rich variety throws the more dancefloor-focused tracks, like “Ciao”, into even starker relief – they’re more decisive, streamlined, yet rich with detail, chugging, Moroder-esque bass meeting strobe-lit synths that fire melodies out into the firmament. Universo feels texturally dense, but it still breathes, its sounds so tactile you want to reach out and grab them, its tunes so seductive you can’t get them out of your head. Universo is a fiercely beautiful album, brave in its spirit, a perfectly poised meeting-point of pop melody and stylish, lush techno: Agents Of Time in excelsis.

Das italienische Duo Agents Of Time war in den letzten Jahren unglaublich fleißig, von der Veröffentlichung einer Reihe klassischer Singles - darunter ihre jüngster Beitrag für Afterlife, "The Mirage", der mehr als fünf Millionen Aufrufe auf Instagram erhielt - bis hin zum Remix von The Weeknds "Take My Breath", der auf dessen aktuellen Album “Dawn FM (Alternative World)” erschien. Aber die bahnbrechendeste Neuigkeit ist erst jetzt endlich da - ihr zweites Album "Universo" ist fertig! “Universo" verbindet ihr Markenzeichen, melodischen Techno, mit einer besonderen Pop-Haltung und findet nach der EP "Music Made Paradise 2020" sein ideales Zuhause bei Kompakt. Eine Seelenverwandtschaft, die absolut Sinn macht.

Andrea Di Ceglie und Luigi Tutolo, die beiden Mitglieder von Agents Of Time, nutzten die Zeit während der Pandemie, um an "Universo" zu arbeiten, einem Album, das lose um ihr "persönliches Universum" herum konzipiert ist, eine Manifestation der Welt, die Di Ceglie und Tutolo in und um ihr Studio herum aufgebaut haben. Das macht den besonderen Glanz und die strahlende Helligkeit von "Universo" aus - es strotzt nur so von Persönlichkeit, Elan und Kraft, das Duo experimentiert mit Musik und erkundet auch noch deren entfernteste Ecken. Wer bei "Universo" nur ein weiteres Album mit melodischem Techno erwartet, wird angenehm überrascht sein - hier ist viel mehr los, und alles ist gleichermaßen spannend.

Nach einer poetischen Eröffnungsgeste - dem wirbelnden, synästhetischen, selbstbetitelten Intro-Track - werden mit dem 2-Step-Pop von “Fallin” alle Erwartungen sofort über den Haufen geworfen. Mit sanfter Klarheit von Gastsängerin Audrey Janssens gesungen, ist “Fallin” ein Traum von einem Song, der an die großen Zeiten von UK-Garage in den frühen 00er Jahre erinnert. "Interstellar Cowboy" ist ein selbstbewusstes, geschmeidig über den Laufsteg stolzierender Disco-Track; das sanfte Moll-Klavier von "Liquid Fantasy" entwickelt sich zu einem wunderbar melancholischen Techno-Pop-Epos, mit Vicky Who?’s Stimme voller Sehnsucht . Danach taucht auch Janssens Gesang auf dem Elektro-Wirbel von "Poison" wieder auf; "Dream Vision" greift die Single "The Mirage" auf, sanft und mit schwungvollen Streichern, voller Dramatik; "Part Of Life" dagegen ist ein echter Schaffel-Stomp.

All der Abwechslungsreichtum lässt eher tanzflächenorientierte Tracks wie "Ciao" noch deutlicher hervortreten - sie wirken noch entschlossener, stromlinienförmiger und dennoch reich an Details, pluckernde, Moroder-eske Bässe treffen auf stroboskopisch blitzende Synths, von denen aus die Melodien ins Firmament schießen. “Universo” fühlt sich textlich dicht an, aber es atmet trotzdem, seine Klänge sind so greifbar, dass man sie anfassen möchte, seine Melodien so verführerisch, dass man sie nicht mehr aus dem Kopf bekommt. “Universo” ist ein wunderschönes, mutiges Album, ein perfekter Treffpunkt von Pop-Melodien und stilvollem Techno: Agents Of Time in excelsis.

On 14 October 2022, wildly creative free-form songwriter Rachael Dadd is to release her brand new studio album 'Kaleidoscope' via Memphis Industries and follows 2019's 'Flux', which was released to much acclaim and which she was touring when the pandemic struck. Like so many people disconnected from their communities and struggling through the lockdowns, Rachael Dadd turned inwards, seeking escape through music and connection through song writing, and her hope is that when people listen to 'Kaleidoscope' "they will feel held and find space to breathe, grieve and celebrate." "This album is a lot more honest and personal than 'Flux'" she shares, "but I feel the songs are universal as they are largely rooted in truth and love. If I had to pick a favourite album it would be this one because of the magical rekindling of human connection when me and my band got back in a room together again. All that magic went into these songs." Co-produced "intuitively, boldly, and playfully" by Rachael and Rob Pemberton (The Staves, Emily Barker, Maja Lena), 'Kaleidoscope' includes musical collaborators such as Maja Lena (Low Chimes), long-time collaborator Emma Gatrill (Willy Mason), Alex Heane (bass), Charlotte West (synths), Alex Garden (strings) and 'Flux' producer Marcus Hamblett (Villagers, James Holden, The Staves), giving the record "just the right colour combination, just the right pattern of shapes, plenty of space where needed and finally landing in a sound world that feels fresh and open and true" reflects Rachael.

On 14 October 2022, wildly creative free-form songwriter Rachael Dadd is to release her brand new studio album 'Kaleidoscope' via Memphis Industries and follows 2019's 'Flux', which was released to much acclaim and which she was touring when the pandemic struck. Like so many people disconnected from their communities and struggling through the lockdowns, Rachael Dadd turned inwards, seeking escape through music and connection through song writing, and her hope is that when people listen to 'Kaleidoscope' "they will feel held and find space to breathe, grieve and celebrate." "This album is a lot more honest and personal than 'Flux'" she shares, "but I feel the songs are universal as they are largely rooted in truth and love. If I had to pick a favourite album it would be this one because of the magical rekindling of human connection when me and my band got back in a room together again. All that magic went into these songs." Co-produced "intuitively, boldly, and playfully" by Rachael and Rob Pemberton (The Staves, Emily Barker, Maja Lena), 'Kaleidoscope' includes musical collaborators such as Maja Lena (Low Chimes), long-time collaborator Emma Gatrill (Willy Mason), Alex Heane (bass), Charlotte West (synths), Alex Garden (strings) and 'Flux' producer Marcus Hamblett (Villagers, James Holden, The Staves), giving the record "just the right colour combination, just the right pattern of shapes, plenty of space where needed and finally landing in a sound world that feels fresh and open and true" reflects Rachael.

South-east Turkey born DJ, sound artist and producer Banu uses music as a political tool. For her, the strong message carried through sound is a vehicle to express emotions as well as a means of fighting against oppression. Using participation, social design, ecology, feminist and queer theory to create multimedia installations with sound as a main element, Banu‘s practice is closer to contemporary art and activist spaces than the club realm.

Banu‘s debut album TransSoundScapes is an exercise in female solidarity between her as a migrant woman and her sisters from the trans community, where an artist from one marginalised group is showing support towards her trans sisters, using her platform to help them amplify their voices and building a bridge towards a mutual understanding of femininity.

Conceptually, TransSoundScapes comes in continuation of Banu‘s previous research-based work, using music as a positive tool for change while working with various marginalised communities. The album originated from the very real experience of being confronted with verbal harassment in Berlin on a daily basis, particularly aimed at her transfeminine friends and companions. As a queer woman of Turkish and Kurdish origin, Banu did not only observe the verbal aggression directed at her friends, but also understood most of the insults shouted in languages such as Arabic. Seeing how she got signifi cantly more verbal violence directed at them when in company of trans people made a lasting impression on her, so she wanted to try and use her relative privilege to amplify transfeminine voices through her music.

Coming from a very conservative family, making music has been her lifelong dream. It was the moment she had the opportunity to work with the iconic Arp 2600 synthesiser (a younger sibling to Eliane Radigue‘s infamous 2500 machine) that all her disparate interests came into place to create an empowering soundscape with the aid of analogue drum machines. TransSoundScapes has a very full, porous sound, where every element that comes into play sounds soft yet clear. Across the 7 tracks, Banu conjures pounding subterraneous bassy techno („Surgery“), slithering tentacular EBM („First Time“) and pulsating cavernous soundscapes („Harem“), where oversized dancefl oor elements are woven with poetic spoken word passages, resulting in sensusous yet political anthems. Banu artfully merges loosely related genres such as techno, electro, dub and sound poems into a sound that is at once deeply personal and extremely compelling.

All of the tracks are collaborative efforts, Banu seeing the process as an exchange of care and shared experiences, while integrating research into her writing process. The lyrics in „Transition (part 1+2)‘‘ are an adaptation of Sara Ahmed’s “Living a Feminist Life”, while „Surgery“ was born out of series of interviews with trans people, channeling the metallic sounds of a surgery room to refer to society‘s perception of transness as a medical condition. Tracks like „First Time feat. Patricia“, „Harem feat. Prince Emrah“ or „We feat. Aérea Negrot“ document her encounters with various trans women, centering their life experiences while also developing a deep dialogue through the process of making music together.

The darkest and perhaps the most emblematic track is ‚‘Bianka (In Memory Of)‘‘, dedicated to the late Bianka Shigurova, a 22-year old Georgian actress found dead in her apartment. It was her Tbilisi photographer friend George Nebriedze who told her Bianka‘s tragic story, whose death is suspected to be an assasination due to transphobia. Banu chose one of Nebriedze‘s analogue photos of Bianka as the album‘s cover art.

Upstairs, a band from Frankfurt, Germany was active from 1977 to 1983. Though considering themselves mainly a rock group, the band incorporated elements of funk, jazz rock and disco into their music. On their rare and privately released debut album "It's Hard To Get In The Showbiz" from 1980 they created something that could be called Germany's definite answer to AOR, yet still with an edgy and unique krautrock flavor.

The album starts with "Wontcha Try," a track where core songwriter, guitarist and lead singer Helmer Sauer is telling the story about being dismissed from his job: "They tried to tell me in a fucking gentle way, that the time had come to kick me…". Sauer serves more personal, hard-edged lyrics on the album as well. On "Happy Hooker," for example, he tells the story of a working girl in the red light milieu: "The job is as hard that you really can never imagine, she serves for the money, degradin' herself in a way - if you'd know how she's feelin' you wouldn't laugh at all". An empathetic view on the subject of prostitution rarely heard at that time.

But aside from the profound lyrics and songwriting, the album has a lot to offer on the groovy side of things. With catchy bass lines, rhythm guitar, Fender Rhodes, Moog synthesizer, Clavinet and swift crisp drumming "It's Hard To Get In The Showbiz" is one of the best examples of late 70s flavored funky rock from Germany. Additional to the aforementioned "Wontcha Try" another DJ delight should be "Make Your Steps On Better Lines" which showcases a superb synth line and disco funk flavors. We also get the slick mellow latinesque AOR grooves of "Get On A Plane" as well as the now-classic "You're Just Yourself", which marks the most soulful track of the LP. As followers of our label are already well aware, "You're Just Yourself" was featured on the compilation, "Boogie On The Mainline - A Collection Of Rare Disco, Funk And Boogie From Germany 1980-1987" from 2018.

The band mainly performed locally and never really had ambitions to release their music on a bigger label. Too bad that Upstairs only released this one album. Of course, the highly sought-after original pressing is almost impossible to find nowadays. Therefore, we are proud to finally make this record available again after 40 years for a reasonable, regular LP price. Only 300 copies of the carefully re-mastered repress have been produced, and included is a printed lyrics insert identical to the original.

Wildly creative free-form songwriter Rachael Dadd is set to release
her brand new studio album, ‘Kaleidoscope’, via Memphis Industries.
The album follows 2019’s ‘Flux’, which was released to much
acclaim, and was the album she was touring when the pandemic
struck. Like so many people disconnected from their communities and
struggling through the lockdowns, Rachael Dadd turned inwards,
seeking escape through music and connection through songwriting,
and her hope is that when people listen to ‘Kaleidoscope’, “they will
feel held and find space to breathe, grieve and celebrate.”
“This album is a lot more honest and personal than ‘Flux’” she shares,
“but I feel the songs are universal as they are largely rooted in truth
and love. If I had to pick a favourite album it would be this one
because of the magical rekindling of human connection when me and
my band got back in a room together again. All that magic went into
these songs.”
Co-produced “intuitively, boldly, and playfully” by Rachael and Rob
Pemberton (The Staves, Emily Barker, Maja Lena), ‘Kaleidoscope’
includes musical collaborators such as Maja Lena (Low Chimes),
longtime collaborator Emma Gatrill (Willy Mason), Alex Heane (bass),
Charlotte West (synths), Alex Garden (strings) and ‘Flux’ producer
Marcus Hamblett (Villagers, James Holden, The Staves), giving the
record “just the right colour combination, just the right pattern of
shapes, plenty of space where needed and finally landing in a sound
world that feels fresh and open and true,” reflects Rachael.
Japanese aesthetics absorbed from her time spent living there are
subconsciously woven into Rachael’s songs. “I first stepped foot in
Tokyo in 2008, sparked by the adventure of such a rich and different
culture and later on I lived on a small island and experienced an
appealing and balanced way of life: the aesthetics, the art and the
traditions,” she recalls. “There was a lot of caring for each other, a lot
of gentleness, and a lot of simple living in harmony with nature. Japan
left its cultural mark on me and is now part of my inner world and I’m
sure this comes out with the words and music I write.”
“But overall,” Rachael explains, “this is an album of homecoming and
reconnecting to my own truth, to my community here, to the earthy
land that I love and to the sky that I know.”

“I wanna wake up brand new” Enumclaw lead-singer / guitarist Aramis Johnson sings to begin Save the Baby, their massive-sounding debut full-length, out via Luminelle Recordings. The album is a swing for greatness; a collection of life-affirming and deeply personal songs about the importance of chasing after your dreams. Enumclaw is Aramis, guitarist Nathan Cornell, drummer Ladaniel Gipson, bassist (and Aramis’ younger brother) Eli Edwards. Working alongside producer Gabe Wax (Soccer Mommy, Crumb, Fleet Foxes), Enumclaw's Save the Baby delivers an album where on each track the band plays with dynamics while taking their songwriting to the stratosphere. Save the Baby is an album about stepping into your purpose, about the determination it takes to not give up on yourself in the midst of heartbreak and setbacks. It’s not a stretch to imagine a younger version of the band getting a glimpse of the future and freaking out by knowing their destiny of making it as a rock star has landed on their doorstep. For fans of all things J Mascis / Dinosaur Jr, Built to Spill and all things 90's Pacific Northwest.

Zur Feier des 10-jährigen Jubiläums seines selbstbetitelten Debütalbums, wird am 14. Oktober das Album „Jake Bugg (10th Deluxe Anniversary Edition)“ veröffentlicht. Das ursprünglich am 15. Oktober 2012 veröffentlichte Album landete auf Platz eins der UK-Albumcharts, verkaufte sich über 800.000 mal und löste eine riesigen medialen Hype um den jungen Singer Songwriter aus den Arbeitervierteln Nottinghams aus. Die 10th Anniversary Edition wurde in den Abbey Road Studios vollständig neu remastered und enthält 2 seltene und 14 bisher unveröffentlichte Tracks aus Jakes frühen
Aufnahmesessions seines persönlichen Archivs. Die CD-Edition enthält das neu remasterte Album, 16 unveröffentlichte Bonustracks, darunter eine Rick Rubin-Version von Broken, und den kompletten Auftritt seines Konzerts in der Royal Albert Hall von 2014 mit den Special Guests Michael Kiwanuka & Johnny Marr. Das Album erscheint als 2LP und 2CD+DVD und enthält bisher unveröffentlichte Bilder von Jakes Fotoshooting mit Kevin Westenberg.

Erlend Apneseth is one of Norway's foremost Hardanger fiddle players and folk musicians. After being widely recognized with the award-winning and critically acclaimed Erlend Apneseth Trio, he now returns with an acoustic soloalbum. This is the first time since his debut album "Blikkspor" (2013) that he has put the soloistic performance in focus, and this time the unique acoustics in Emmanuel Vigeland's Mausoleum sets the scene for his improvisations and compositions. "The Hardanger fiddle is traditionally a soloistic instrument. For me, one of the most fascinating things about the instrument is its ability to fill a whole room with sound all by itself. Even though I've been working in an electro-acoustic universe the last years, I've never left the acoustic approach to the Hardanger fiddle, and I now felt the time had come to do something all alone again." Even though Apneseth is rooted in traditional music, he has immersed himself in improvisation and alternative sonic-and pizzicato-technics on the Hardanger fiddle, which makes him stand out with his very own musical expression. After incessantly exploring his instrument for many years, this album can be seen as a personal catalogue of the Hardanger fiddle's sonic possibilities. Erlend Apneseth has released eight albums, received numerous awards, among them "Grappas Debutantpris" and "Gammleng-prisen", and no less than five nominations for the Norwegian Grammy's. In 2019 he received the Norwegian Grammy's award in the Open Cathegory for his album "Salika, Molika", with Erlend Apneseth Trio and Frode Haltli. The album also received the NOPA-award and was nominated for the Nordic Music Prize. Apneseth has written commissioned works for Kongsberg Jazzfestival, Fordefestivalen and Ultima, and toured extensively in Europe the past years. Since 2021 he has collaborated with the composer Orjan Matre on new works for Hardanger Fiddle and The Norwegian Chamber Orchestra.

Steve Earle has been creating intimate and personal music for well over
four decades now
His songwriting has wound itself along a path from Texas to Tennessee and his
education came in the form of learning from the best. 2009's Grammy-nominated
record, TOWNES was a tribute to his dear friend and mentor, Townes Van Zandt.
Ten years later Earle released, GUY. An album concentrated on paying homage to
the late Guy Clark and the indelible friendship that they had formed in stories told
through song. 2022 welcomes the release of JERRY JEFF. A 10-song collection of
songs written by the gypsy songman, Jerry Jeff Walker. Featuring hits like, "Mr
Bojangles" and "Gettin' By", Earle & The Dukes honor the late Texan by amplifying
the concept and sound of each song with a full-band recording.

Juno-winning saxophonist Chet Doxas is a guiding voice in the world of
creative improvised music
Doxas, co- leader of Riverside with trumpeter Dave Douglas and a respected
collaborator of Carla Bley and Paul Bley, joins Whirlwind for 'You Can't Take It With
You', his ninth album as a leader and first at the head of a trio. He's joined by two
stand-out collaborators - Ethan Iverson (piano) and Thomas Morgan (bass) - for a
meticulously constructed album with playful positivity at its heart.Both the
inspiration and the encouragement to put this album together can be traced back
to Carla Bley. Jimmy Giuffre's trio was a big influence on Doxas - "the way he
shapes and articulates is one of a kind - and the group regularly featured Bley's
music. An early-morning airport transfer saw Doxas discussing future plans with
Bley and Steve Swallow, who advised Doxas to write "one song a month",
distraction-free for a year.
The ten tracks on the album represent a year spent writing and closely editing his
compositions. That process gradually revealed his trio, selected for their personal
sensibilities as much as their outstanding technical capabilities. "Ethan and
Thomas's tones are very inspiring. I wanted to let myself be guided by their sound
palettes, and focus on phrasing in a way that's a little more multidimensional.."

OVERVIEW: Lande Hekt’s natural state of being is in the writing of a song. Having crafted politically aware, heart-on-sleeve, punchy yet tender, punk-flecked songs with her band Muncie Girls, Lande turned her hand to an even more personal songwriting approach as she embarked on writing a solo record - 2021’s ‘Going to Hell’. The debut full-length documented her experience coming out as gay. It set out her stall as a solo artist with supreme storytelling abilities and a knack for understatedly luminous melodies. Lande’s music sits beautifully alongside such essential artists as The Wedding Present, The Sundays, The Replacements, Sleeper and Sharon Van Etten

Criminal Heart is not just another album from another Singer-Songwriter
According to Beth Nielsen-Chapman, "This is what killer songwriting sounds like"
Legendary guitarist Robben Ford describes it as "Absolutely beautiful."And Chris
Difford reckons it's the work of a "Fantastic and special singer-songwriter."This is
a 'coming of age' album from Hollie Rogers, who remains, by choice, completely
independent. Known already for the candid, confessional nature of her songs and
for live performances that make audiences laugh and cry, Hollie refers to the
album, which has been 5 years in the making, as her "baby." She says, "I'm not
having a human one. I'm proud to have nurtured this one instead; it's got a great
personality and there's absolutely no poop."
The album is the most impressive showcase to date of Hollie's songwriting
prowess, with each song framing insight into a cohesive story; one that reveals
itself more and more with each and every line of lyric. Love, lust and selfdiscovery are some of the key themes tightly bound together throughout, as an
added maturity reveals itself in the record's strong melodies, satisfying harmonic
structures, and hooky choruses. (Try listening to 'Sinner' or 'Love' without them
becoming earworms.)
Criminal Heart was produced at Masterlink Studios, Surrey - with a cast list of A
Grade players in the shape of Masterlink's House Band. Their CV's run like a
'who's who of music' - think Elton John to Herbie Hancock - and, much to Hollie's
particular delight… The Spice Girls. She admits, "Much as I may profess my
influences to be exclusively the likes of Joan Armatrading and Joni Mitchell, I
can't deny there's probably a smidge of Spicefluence hidden in there somewhere.
Girl Power!"
But spice aside; this is no 90s pop record. Indeed, US guitar legend Robben Ford
and UK chart- topper Jamie Lawson make guest appearances, as does a track
produced by 4- time Grammy- Nominated James McMillan. All serving to add
some particularly tasteful icing to a not- inconsiderable cake. (Or more likely, a
pasty - since Hollie is from Penzance, Cornwall. It's no coincidence that her name
rhymes with a famous Pirate Ship.)

In the five years since, Larsen has moved across the country, studied philosophy
at a small liberal arts college, dropped out, and then moved across the country
again. Their life was also put on pause after the sudden death of their first love.
“This loss left so many people with so many unanswered questions, myself
included. I haven’t always arrived at answers to these questions, but songwriting
has provided me with a way to at least ask.” The first voice we hear on Good Grief
does not belong to Larsen, but to their first love. “Ready?” she asks. As if to
answer her, the album begins with an audio recording from 2013 of Larsen and
their high school friends singing Sufjan Stevens’ song "The Predatory Wasp Of
The Palisades Is Out To Get Us!" around a campfire. “When the record starts and
my ex says “ready?” there’s a part of me that feels like - in some way - she’s
asking grown-up-me if I’m “ready” to share my songs about grief now.” Good Grief
captures a coming-of-age story - of an artist and of a human being - as they try to
navigate the terrain of their existence and that of those around them. It’s an
experience of their loss but also honours the person that was lost to them. The
record closes with a reprise of the “Wasps” audio recording, marrying the past
and present as the old voice memo slowly fades into a newer one. Present-day
Larsen sings, “I can tell you I love her each day”: a testament to the fact that their
grief is-- finally--good.Packaging: LP Opaque "Yellowjacket" LP, with cover mount
marketing sticker

Heady with hooks and unforgettable melodies, gliding on deeply danceable grooves, always with Air Waves’ innate compassion, concision and uncanny pop sense shining throughout. A masterpiece that’s beautifully simple, instantly accessible and entirely addictive. Featuring Cass Mccombs, Skyler Skjelset (Fleet Foxes, Beach House), Luke Temple, Brian Betancourt (Hospitality, Sam Evian), Rina Mushonga, Frankie Cosmos, Lispector, David Christian, Ethan Sass, and Ben Florencio. ‘The Dance’ has waited three years to see the light of day and it comes to us now, blinking, smiling in the widening light of 2022 feeling more needed and necessary but also more joyous than ever before. It’s both a snapshot of these songs as they were recorded but crucially, in the intervening time those songs have had additional arrangements crafted by Nicole, created remotely and virtually, with a few like-minded collaborators. The result is simultaneously Air Waves freshest, most spontaneous yet finessed album yet. Nicole Schneit released their first independent album in 2009 under the Air Waves moniker, a name inspired by a Guided By Voices song - subsequent albums like 2010’s ‘Dungeon Dots’ (which featured a guest vocal from fellow Brooklynite Sharon Van Etten), 2015’s ‘Parting Glances’ and 2017’s stunning ‘Warrior’ crystallised Schneit’s vision of loose-but-focused, convivial but startling pop. ‘The Dance’ continues that trajectory but finds Schneit opening up their music to a more fluid sense of space and movement, while keeping their lyrical eye between the personal and the political, from the specific to the universal with a haiku-like directness and suggestion. You won’t find a better soundtrack for the solidarity, strength, romance and movement we all need right now than ‘The Dance’ - Air Waves’ best album yet // “There is a rawness, both musical and emotional, proving that the simplest ways to communicate feelings are sometimes the most effective” Pitchfork // “More varied and ambitious than ever” Stereogum // Track List A1 The Roof (feat. Luke Temple & Rina Mushonga) A2 The Dance A3 Star Earring (feat. Lispector) A4 Alien (feat. Cass McCombs) B1 Black Metal Demon (feat. Frankie Cosmos & Merce Lemon) B2 Treehouse B3 Wait B4 The Light B5 Peer Peer

The 'Privacy Angels' dwell in a liminal zone, a folk magical world sprawling within some remote nodes of the digital universe. An a-chronic plane of contradictions in which the spiritual and the machinic exist in a contrast that, instead of leading to mutual annihilation or subjugation, produces weird forms of life and uncanny forms of beauty. Like flowers sprouting from glitching fluxes of data transmissions, in the corrupted memory of a heavenly landscape. It is the vision of Italian (though London-based) musician and multidisciplinary artist Nicola Tirabasso, channeled through his usual musical avatar VISIO, a dimension he came in contact with while retreating in his native Sibillini Mountains in Marche, central Italy. A type of forced hermitage dictated by the global pandemic and whose idyllic premises were constantly unbalanced and contaminated by the constant presence of the digital world. But again, it is by means of this contrast that art is born. While channeling the magic, the fables and even the superstitions the locals have imbued the region with, Tirabasso developed them into audial spirits of electronic abstraction. A juxtaposition of mystic retreat and information-age alienation that, for some brief, ineffable and baffling moments, seemed to make him able to hear the angels. The album itself is a collection of digitally broken folk songs and logarithmic chants of praise. Acoustic instruments are broken down, replicated and re-materialization, while computer-generated ghosts and synthetic tones are allowed to exist and resonate in ancient spaces. Most of the actual recordings have been in fact made at desecrated XVI church in a town near Montappone, not far from the birth place of XX century painter Osvaldo Licini, whose influence echoes all throughout the region. Licini’s idiosyncratic mix of primitivism, futurism and orphic realism similarly echoes all throughout the record, with VISIO even paying tribute to his painting ‘Angelo Ribelle’ in titling one of the tracks. Collaborations made in person and through file-swaps have traversed the album’s conception and enrich its palette by presenting different versions of reality. Haunter co-founder Daniele Guerrini (Heith) co-produced every track with Tirabasso and gave a fundamental contribution to the album’s final form. Elsewhere, City and Kenichi Iwasa evoke their own privacy angels and let them dance with VISIO’s. Be it, in the depths of the earth or in the dissolution of a digital cloud, it is just as possible to (un)know the divine. Genre: Electronic / Experimental Listen: Track list: 1. Moonchild 2. Extasi Exile 3. Youth Grows Forever 4. Untitled X 5. Blessed Mystery 6. Years Of Silence 7. angelo ribelle

Pressed on blue clear coloured vinyl. Limited edition of 2000 copies worlswide. Originally released in 1968 as an LA studio concept album, this instrumental album is a remarkable fusion of the psychedelic sounds of sitar and mellotron with angular guitar riffs and hard drum breaks. Featuring a lineup of Ry Cooder, Jim Gordon (Joe Cocker, Derek and the Dominos, George Harrison, Traffic, Frank Zappa, Alice Cooper and many more), Mike Deasy (Eddie Cochran, Phil Spector, Everly Brothers, Elvis Presley, The Monkees, The Beach Boys and many more), and The Wrecking Crew (Los Angeles' top studio session musicians). The band recorded only this one album and most of the personnel went on to greater achievements. The quintessence of psychedelic rock in its full-blooming 1968ness. Features original cover artwork by Rick Griffin (Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Neil Young). Tracks : Leyshem, Zendan, Ceyladd Beyta, Becal, Ddom, Toadda Bb, Dyl, Ralin, Tygstl, Pendyl, Jacayl, Menyatt Dyl Com.

“I’ve been coming a thousand years / you could call me the endless fuck,” goes the memorable opening line of Rubblebucket’s Earth Worship, a dance-forward, joyously layered collection of songs which work to dissolve the imaginary lines between the natural world and its inhabitants. Kalmia Traver and Alex Toth, the group’s front persons and co-writers, first began a friendship as jazz students at the University of Vermont. Soon after, they formed a prolific band that has delved into pop, funk, dance and psychedelia over five records, with performances spanning Bonnaroo to their self-curated Dream Picnic Festival, and collaborations with kindred genre-blenders including Arcade Fire and Questlove. But Traver and Toth initially bonded over another shared passion: the two were part of UVM’s Sustainable Community Development program. Though Toth communes with nature as part of his morning routine, and Traver is adept at foraging in the band’s adopted home of New York, songwriting explicitly about environmentalism in Rubblebucket has felt immaterial—besides, the band has shared its beliefs over the years by inviting anti-fracking, reproductive justice, and other organizations to table at their shows. But Traver was interested in writing love songs for and from the natural world, and both were inspired by their parents’ work in ecology and community facilitation, from which they saw a throughline to music’s communal healing. Traver suggested “earth worship” as a lyrical prompt for their sixth record, and with this concept at its core, the duo began writing Earth Worship: a Rubblebucket album with renewed shimmer, showcasing the group’s intricately sparkling beats, hushed yet hooky vocals and infectious melodic complexity.

“I’ve been coming a thousand years / you could call me the endless fuck,” goes the memorable opening line of Rubblebucket’s Earth Worship, a dance-forward, joyously layered collection of songs which work to dissolve the imaginary lines between the natural world and its inhabitants. Kalmia Traver and Alex Toth, the group’s front persons and co-writers, first began a friendship as jazz students at the University of Vermont. Soon after, they formed a prolific band that has delved into pop, funk, dance and psychedelia over five records, with performances spanning Bonnaroo to their self-curated Dream Picnic Festival, and collaborations with kindred genre-blenders including Arcade Fire and Questlove. But Traver and Toth initially bonded over another shared passion: the two were part of UVM’s Sustainable Community Development program. Though Toth communes with nature as part of his morning routine, and Traver is adept at foraging in the band’s adopted home of New York, songwriting explicitly about environmentalism in Rubblebucket has felt immaterial—besides, the band has shared its beliefs over the years by inviting anti-fracking, reproductive justice, and other organizations to table at their shows. But Traver was interested in writing love songs for and from the natural world, and both were inspired by their parents’ work in ecology and community facilitation, from which they saw a throughline to music’s communal healing. Traver suggested “earth worship” as a lyrical prompt for their sixth record, and with this concept at its core, the duo began writing Earth Worship: a Rubblebucket album with renewed shimmer, showcasing the group’s intricately sparkling beats, hushed yet hooky vocals and infectious melodic complexity.

“I’ve been coming a thousand years / you could call me the endless fuck,” goes the memorable opening line of Rubblebucket’s Earth Worship, a dance-forward, joyously layered collection of songs which work to dissolve the imaginary lines between the natural world and its inhabitants. Kalmia Traver and Alex Toth, the group’s front persons and co-writers, first began a friendship as jazz students at the University of Vermont. Soon after, they formed a prolific band that has delved into pop, funk, dance and psychedelia over five records, with performances spanning Bonnaroo to their self-curated Dream Picnic Festival, and collaborations with kindred genre-blenders including Arcade Fire and Questlove. But Traver and Toth initially bonded over another shared passion: the two were part of UVM’s Sustainable Community Development program. Though Toth communes with nature as part of his morning routine, and Traver is adept at foraging in the band’s adopted home of New York, songwriting explicitly about environmentalism in Rubblebucket has felt immaterial—besides, the band has shared its beliefs over the years by inviting anti-fracking, reproductive justice, and other organizations to table at their shows. But Traver was interested in writing love songs for and from the natural world, and both were inspired by their parents’ work in ecology and community facilitation, from which they saw a throughline to music’s communal healing. Traver suggested “earth worship” as a lyrical prompt for their sixth record, and with this concept at its core, the duo began writing Earth Worship: a Rubblebucket album with renewed shimmer, showcasing the group’s intricately sparkling beats, hushed yet hooky vocals and infectious melodic complexity.

Hailing from Cincinnati, Ohio, Lincoln's music is equal parts pretentious and angsty. One day Sam Means (previously of The Format) tweeted a link to one of Lincoln’s Youtube covers, catching the attention of I Surrender Records. In a moment of sheer enthusiasm, the label couldn’t resist reaching out and signing him. Lincoln released his debut EP A Constant State of Ohio on I Surrender Records in early 2017. The single Saint Bernard is a TikTok smash having been used in over 100k user generated videos. The song went on to stream over 200,000,000 times between YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music.

New album from the grindcore/death/punk band from Denver, Colorado

Folk Songs Of Black British Experience

PLEASE NOTE - LP RELEASE DATE IS 10th MARCH 2023
The Sorrow Songs: Folk Songs of Black British Experience is the
upcoming album by Cornwall-based folk singer, songwriter and multiinstrumentalist Angeline Morrison, her first record for the historic Topic
Records label
Produced by Eliza Carthy and featuring some of her beautiful, soaring
string arrangements, The Sorrow Songs was recorded in Cornwall at
Cube Studio and is a work of what she calls 're-storying'
"The traditional songs of the UK are rich with storytelling, and you can find songs
with examples of almost any kind of situation or person you can think of. But
whilst people of the African diaspora have been present in these islands since at
least Roman Times, their histories are little known - and they don't tend to appear
in the folk songs of these islands." Angeline Morrison began to wonder if she
could discover more about the lives of these ordinary and extraordinary Black
ancestors and create an album of songs in the sonic style of UK folk and
traditional music, in the hope that this silent space could then begin to be filled
with stories. With the help of Arts Council National Lottery funding, Angeline
began what became a year of research into this neglected area of Black British
history. The Sorrow Songs: Folk Songs of Black British Experience is the result.
Released to commemorate Black History Month in October, this powerful record
is intended to honour these Black ancestors who lived in these islands and to act
as a gift to the folk community.
The musicians on the album are: Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne (anglo concertina,
melodeon, vocals), Clarke Camilleri (guitar, banjo, vocals), Hamilton Gross (violin,
vocals), Rosie Crow (piano, vocals), Alex Neilson (drums, vocals), Eliza Carthy
(violin, fiddlesticks, vocals), Martin Carthy (guitar) and Angeline Morrison (vocals,
autoharp, double bass).
In July 2022, Angeline Morrison became the fourth recipient of the prestigious
Christian Raphael Prize, which generously supports the development of emerging
talent in the folk genre.

Mando Diao is back on full effect having played all the major rock-festivals across Europe in summer 2022 including Southside and Novarock. Just before the summer-season they rolled out the first in a series of volumes with sizzling hot and high octane ROCK fresh of the studio. Vol 1 produced the radio-success "Frustration" that managed to climb all the way to No 2 at rock-radio in Germany. Now we are happy to announce Vol 2 to drop 23rd of September having parts of the band in Hamburg for an exclusive and personal 20 YEARS OF MANDO DIAO panel during Reeperbahn Festival. The lead-track "Primal Call" is a hippie-like sounding one that draws inspiration from Led Zeppelin and King Crimson, a much punkier version. No logic whatsoever in the changes throughout the track but hey, that's how the band likes it. Full of surprises. As if the producer was a total lunatic out of control. "Fire in the hall" is a short, intense song written by Björn and Jens. Once again, a blend of primitive rock'n'roll feel and electronics. For example, the drums are based on samples of Patso's drumming. The lyrics are simple and almost trivial, with a "La Vida Loca" vibe: start a great fire, for yourself and others. Most things can be solved with a cleansing dance - both in reality and in lyrics. "If you write the lyrics together with someone, it's easier to avoid becoming pretentious and over-analytical," they summarize. Finally, "Charlie", about their current producer (Charlie Storm). One of the greatest there is having worked with so many big releases (Roxette, In Flames, Hurl etc). At least partly. They were excited about him and felt that he deserved a song. Or maybe they didn't have anything else to write about. Everyone had different inputs, but it ended up being a pure rock'n'roll song. And a real banger.

Driving electro tracks by Detroit Grand Pubahs and UR member Bileebob. Comes with a solid acid infused Derek Plaslaiko remix. "Bileebob was living in the lofts at 1217 Griswold when I first met him, this is one of the seminal places that the post Music Institute Detroit scene grew out of. People who lived there performed or threw parties in their lofts for rent money, other people living at 1217 included Buzz Goree, the founders of Paxahau, De3n System. Bileebob's an amazing and unique part of the Detroit scene, having created music and art for years, performing locally and internationally as a member of the Detroit Grand Pubahs and UR, releasing on Underground Resistance, and had a regular zine for so many years. When he sent us the promo for "Star Cross" from his personal Bandcamp page, we loved it, and for the second No Way Back stream both BMG & Derek ended up playing it. We just loved the song, so we asked him if we could give it the full release, and we had Derek Plaslaiko remix it. We've included an unreleased amazing tough electro mix of "Network", a song currently on his Bandcamp page. Digitally we've included another more raw mix of "Network" and an after the after party 1217 kind of comedown jam "Club Kid Up All Night"."

Art has the power to mirror and capture its creators surroundings and environment. Art can also reflect something much more personal by offering us a glimpse of the artist’s mind. Hands Rest, the 2nd studio album by German composer and musician Aparde, does both. While reflecting the essence of Berlin’s club scene, in which Aparde undoubtedly is immersed in, the album also takes us to the depths of the musician himself, far from clubs and live sets, to a world that is both intimate and profound. “I think that I always process circumstances uncon- sciously in my music and that my way of thinking is full of internal conflicts,” he says. It is this duality, of an artist who is both entertaining Berlin’s nightlife through electronic sounds and delving deep into his own emotions through avant-garde pop, that epitomises Aparde’s work.


Hands Rest, which was created over the span of one year, has a cathartic feel to it, “the process was very diffused in terms of time, because over the past year my life circumstances have been very complicated and often frustrating, and I had to motivate myself again and again.” While he crafted the tracks, Aparde was in fact processing his own thoughts and feelings after the end of a long relationship, and listeners navigate through varying soundscapes that seem to accompany Aparde’s own internal commotions as he himself navigated a turbulent year. “It the break up was accompanied by numbness and repression. This was followed by a period of inactivity and the thought of ending my activity as a musician,” he tells.

'Following on from her critically acclaimed debut “SAWAYAMA”, Rina Sawayama’s highly anticipated new record “Hold The Girl” sees Rina once again juxtapose intimate storytelling with arena-sized songs, creating another ambitious and original album to excite fans and critics alike.

Written and recorded over the last year and a half, Rina once again teamed up with longterm collaborators Clarence Clarity and Lauren Aquilina as well as enlisting help from the likes of the legendary Paul Epworth (Adele, Florence & the Machine), Stuart Price (Dua Lipa, The Killers, Madonna) and Marcus Andersson (Demi Lovato, Ashnikko) for their magic touch.

The product of Rina and these collective minds coming together is an album which melds influences from across the pop spectrum and is a bold and honest statement of Rina’s personal evolution; coming to terms with her own past and the jubilation of turning to the future.

Quality over quantity. That’s what characterises Shamek Farrah and Norman Person’s recorded output. They may have a small discography between them but it’s a stable of recordings that centrally locate them in the development of the black jazz of America. BBE Music is delighted to present a new edition of a rare, relatively unknown, and unheard gem. Recorded between 1988 and 1991 across a series of concerts, ‘Live’ was released in 1991 and was only available for sale at their gigs. Issued on audio cassette on Farrah’s private Heritage Industries label, ‘Live’ is a raw, uncompromising selection of deep, conscious jazz featuring three original compositions and two covers: ‘Aisha’, written by Person, was inspired by Person’s daughter and is a majestic joyous groove that extends out into a percussive jam; ‘Negative Forces’ is a fiercely paced hard bopper worthy of the Jazz Messengers. Written by Person, he tells how “it had to be like a torpedo, man. It had to come out strong and fight against those negative forces”. The one Farrah/Person co-write on the album is ‘Timeless Beings’, a short freeform improvisation that creates a distinct moment of space and light in an otherwise intensely focussed, yet highly accessible album. The two covers on the album reflect the instruments of the co-leaders: sax and trumpet. ‘Footprints’, the classic written by the Newark Flash himself, Wayne Shorter, and first heard on ‘Miles Smiles’ in 1967 is delivered deftly by Farrah and co. Here, the band pays a respectful yet adventurous rendition, with some superbly colourful piano from Sonelius Smith. The second cover is a tribute to the great trumpeter Clifford Brown, who died in a car accident in 1956, aged just 25. ‘I Remember Clifford’ written by Benny Golson, is handled with suitably delicate reverence. “I still listen to Clifford Brown today,” says Person. “He’s still my teacher.” On ‘Live’, saxophonist Farrah and trumpeter Person - friends for decades - capture an energy and vibration that is infused with the spirit of their youth – whether drawing on the hard bop of the late 50s and early 60s or the Afrocentric spiritual jazz of the early 70s, of which Farrah is intimately linked via his albums on Strata East, ‘Live’ is a document of two masters at work. ‘Live’ has flown under the radar to many a fan of prime black conscious and spiritual jazz but now BBE brings back this astonishing set by two giant talents accompanied by a group of musicians who shine with brilliance and verve. Available for the first time on CD, digital, and double vinyl set cut at 45rpm by the Grammy-nominated The Carvery mastering studio, ‘Live’ also comes with an extended interview with Shamek Farrah and Norman Person by Tony Higgins.

Rot-marmoriertes Doppelvinyl (140g) in Gatefold Sleeve inklusive Downloadcode. Photography by Nicole Ngai. Design by Jade Ping.

TSHA kehrt mit ihrem lang erwarteten Debütalbum, „Capricorn Sun“, zu Ninja Tune zurück. Das Album wurde in den letzten zwei Jahren aufgenommen und löst das Versprechen ihrer vorherigen EPs und Singles mit zwölf Tracks ein, die perfekt die gefühlvolle Mischung aus Underground-Elektronik und intelligenter Pop-Sensibilität verkörpern und die sie zu einer der meistdiskutierten neuen Künstler*innen der letzten Jahre gemacht hat. TSHA zierte die Titelseiten von renommierten Magazinen, war auf zahlreichen Plakatwänden zu sehen, wurde in die wichtigsten Playlists und Programmen mehrerer Streaming-Dienste aufgenommen und stand auf zahllosen Jahresend- und Talent-Listen, neben dem Lob der Musikpresse und des Radios - und 2022 wird ihr Jahr.

Das Album folgt auf ihre jüngste Compilation für die renommierte „fabric presents“-Reihe und einem immensen Tourneeplan, auf dem sie über 100 Shows in den Jahren 2021/22 spielt, unter anderem als Support-Act bei Disclosure bei deren zwei Shows im Alexandra Palace, oder für Bob Moses, wo sie vor 40.000 Fans an der amerikanischen Westküste gespielt hat. Sie spielte auch eine Reihe nordamerikanischer Shows mit Flume - einschließlich eines Gigs im imposanten Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado -, absolvierte eine Festivaltournee mit einem Auftritt beim diesjährigen Glastonbury und hat eine laufende Residency im DC-10 auf Ibiza für Circoloco, um nur einige zu nennen.

„Capricorn Sun“ ist sowohl ein Statement, wo sie als Künstlerin und Produzentin gerade steht, als auch eine Reflexion über die Zeit, die sie mit dem Schreiben und Aufnehmen des Albums verbracht hat, und die Auswirkungen globaler Ereignisse, familiärer Umwälzungen und persönlicher Kämpfe während dieser Zeit. Dieser Wechsel zwischen den Stimmungen und Emotionen wird deutlich, wenn man sich durch die zwölf Tracks des Albums bewegt.

“I think it’s a mistake to equate ‘perfection’ with flawlessness. To be human is to be perfectly flawed,” Johanna Warren observes while describing the joys of analog recording. Her new LP Lessons for Mutants was tracked live with a band to two inch tape—a revelatory new way of working for Warren. “Tape forces you to commit to a performance, eccentricities and all. The little glitches and anomalies that we’re tempted to ‘correct’ are often what make a thing magical.”

Lessons for Mutants is the prolific songwriter’s sixth solo LP and her second for Wax Nine/Carpark Records. The album’s running theme of metamorphosis (the title of the closing track, “Involvulus,” is Latin for “caterpillar”) reflects major changes in Warren’s personal life: after a decade of relentless touring, as the world was closing its borders, the American multi-instrumentalist unexpectedly found herself quarantining in rural Wales, where she’s now permanently homesteading.

Though tracking for the new album began in New York in 2018 in tandem with the sessions for 2020’s Chaotic Good, the majority of Lessons for Mutants was recorded in the UK surrounded by sheep, cows and a forager’s paradise of wild edible plants—a far cry from the urban jungle of LA that Warren had most recently called home. The body of work that emerged from this dramatic about-face is Warren’s most dynamic to date, shapeshifting seamlessly from searing punk screams to sparkly psych-folk soundscapes, from the bootleg ambivalence of Dylan’s Basement Tapes to cosmic stoner grooves reminiscent of Black Sabbath’s acoustic moments.

“Sometimes I can relate to myself/ I disassociate more than I’d like to, but what can you do?” Warren croons in “Tooth for a Tooth,” a wistful piano ballad that conjures the grainy romance of some smoke-filled 1940s jazz club. This kind of to-the-bone lyrical honesty has always been one of Warren’s strong suits, but these latest reflections are especially unflinching. Being forced to stop touring brought no shortage of self-examination for Warren, who quickly came to view her history on the road as an addiction from which she’s been detoxing. This sentiment dances through opening track “I’d Be Orange,” a drum-driven indie rock number replete with Beatles-esque male backing vocals: “Thirst for power, hunger for fame/ Always was a junkie for pain,” Warren confesses. This exploration of masochistic ambition and artistic martyrdom overflows into grunge anthem “Piscean Lover”: “It’s alright, we’re not ok/ We burn out not to fade away.”

“There’s this unspoken rule in modern music—modern life, really—that everything needs to be Auto-Tuned and ‘on the grid,’” Warren concludes. “This record is an act of resistance against that. There’s beauty and power in our aberrations, if we can embrace them.”

CAUSTIC CASANOVA, die psychedelischen Heavy-Riffonauten aus Washington, DC nutzen auf ihrem fünften, das Gehirn schmelzenden Album die starke Kernkraft ihres hyperkinetischen Zentrums, um diverse Soundpartikel in die musikalische Wechselwirkung einzubinden und in einer kaleidoskopischen Heavy-Rock-Extravaganz explodieren zu lassen. Im Jahr 2005 als Trio gegründet, schlagen Schlagzeugerin und Sängerin Stefanie Zaekner, Bassist und Sänger Francis Beringer sowie Gitarrist Andrew Yonki, mit CAUSTIC CASANOVA immer wieder neue Wege ein, um ihre ebenso packende wie unvorhersehbare Musik spannend zu verfeinern. In ihren Klangräumen verbindet sich sardonischer Noise-Rock und proggiger Sludge im Stile von BARONESS, RED FANG und TORCHE mit der gewaltigen Wucht der MELVINS, der Experimentierfreude von BORIS und flottem Gitarren-Heldentum sowie einem Hauch von verdunkeltem Post-Punk. Mit der Aufnahme eines zweiten Gitarristen in der Person von Jake Kimberley im Jahr 2019 machte sich das nunmehrige Quartett auf eine Abenteuerreise mit dem erklärten Ziel, das waghalsigste und rockigste CAUSTIC CASANOVA Album aller Zeiten zu erschaffen. Dabei nutzen die Amerikaner geschickt alle erweiterten Möglichkeiten, die sich aus ihrer Verstärkung mit einer zweiten Gitarre ergeben. Gleichzeitig unterstreichen die Vier auf "Glass Enclosed Nerve Center" auch all ihre bisherigen Stärken: Beringers straffer, melodischer Bass pumpt heftig die beiden heiß-bruzzelnden Gitarren auf, die den gesanglichen Dreiklang flankieren. Zaenkers flexibles Schlagzeugspiel treibt die fünf mäandrierenden Songs des Albums einfallsreich an und fühlt sich sowohl im swingenden Bill-Ward-Stomp als auch in der Hibbeligkeit des Math-Rock wohl. Langjährige Reisende in CAUSTIC CASANOVAs Fahrwasser dürfen "Glass Enclosed Nerve Center" als eine Art von berauschender Rückkehr empfinden, zu der auch das ehrgeizig ausufernde, 22-Minuten-Epos 'Bull Moose against the Sky' erheblich beiträgt, welches die gesamte B-Seite des Albums in Beschlag nimmt. Doch auch wer den massiven Sound dieser galoppierenden Psychedelic-Sludge-Büffel noch nicht kennt, bekommt hier herausragendes Songhandwerk und eine reiche lyrische Erzählkultur geschenkt, die jede Sekunde und unzählige Wiederholungen wert sind. Drei, zwei, eins... nun geht es rund!