Suche:pond

Electronic Works for Choreography, Soundtrack, and Art Installation 1976-1996

Marden Pond’s “Evaporations” (1976-96) is an archival project showcasing the composers experimental music approaches that utilize synthesizers, electronics, and computer. These rare or unreleased tracks and demos were initially purposed for art installation, dance and theater , music exploration, and ambient listening experiences. Marden was artistically right beside his contemporaries of the Land Artist Movement of the Southwest during the 70’s, as he created soundscapes inspired by the vast and bizarre features of Utah. Some of the other work presented on this record was to inspire physical movement by use of unorthodox arrangements and percussive rhythms, juxtaposed with fleeting synth phrases and environmental textures.

Besides the two tracks included from Marden’s hyper rare 1980 private press LP “Castle Valley Impressions”, this collection of music is being presented on vinyl for the first time.

Pond Life Records presents Humble B Flat’s third vinyl release – Blessings of the Sun, a spiritual jazz-infused deep house double LP.

His previous album, Source of the Nile - promoted through a more grassroots approach than this forthcoming release — saw great success, with purchases via Bandcamp by deep house legends like Osunlade and Kai Alce. It also received radio play on shows such as Macca’s acclaimed The Glove That Fits on NTS, among others.

The release has garnered heartwarming messages from the likes of Coflo, Tour-Maubourg, Delfonic, and Felipe Gordon, and was recently spotted in FloFilz’s Spotify recommendations.

Blessings of the Sun has already been lighting up dance floors at loft-inspired parties such as Giant Steps, Luar, and Beija Flor.

Blessings of the Sun is receiving a more focused promotional rollout. It has already been played on rising star Millie McKee’s NTS show. As with past releases, only a limited number of copies will be pressed. Artwork is by renowned artist Annie Fiddian Green, and more new music from Humble B Flat is on the horizon.

With a Pond Life stage takeover set for one of Resident Advisor’s top festival picks, Gottwood, pre-empting the release, we’re excited to see where this double LP from Humble B takes us.

Long overdue repress of 'Acid Guru Pond', the incredible collaboration between Bardo Pond, Japanese psych-experimentalists Acid Mother's Temple and cosmic kosmische legends Guru Guru. The fruits of an incredible collaboration, Acid Mothers Temple wrap their psych rock wizardry and cosmic space noise around Isobel Sollenberger's ethereal vocals and majestic flute playing, the collective brings out the best in one another, feasting on innovation and distortion while not losing the swirling lock groove. Classic rock riffs merge and morph into the surrounding world music influences to cook up an enchanting and meditative brew. The naming of each song after a colour only further reinforces the vibe heavy proceedings. Classic black vinyl

A double LP package from Bardo Pond, combining two of their super rare jam volumes on vinyl for the first time. A further edition in this celebrated series, ‘Volume 4’ and ‘Volume 5’ feature more freeform improvisational pieces from the hypnotic Philadelphia outfit.

Capturing the raw essence of the band, whose fearless exploration blurs the lines between structure, chaos, melody and noise. Bardo Pond's music traverses space rock, acid rock, post-rock, shoegaze, noise, Krautrock and psychedelia.

‘Volume 4’ hails from self-released sessions recorded in January 2002, its five tracks include the supremely tripped out heaviness of ‘K2’ and the balance-shifting ‘New Drunks (Revisited)’ with Isobel Sollenberger’s exquisite and, frankly, quite disturbing vocal. They’re shorter interrogations of sound by Bardo terms, almost succinct in their mesmerising riffage and off-kilter arrangements.

By contrast, ‘Volume 5’ consists of two lengthy mantras recorded between 2000 and 2004 and released as the tape spool spiralled out. ‘FUFO’ sounds like Cluster unravelling with Merzbow mixing, a post-industrial slew of hypnotic proportions, while ‘Monarch’ begins as a Current 93-like neo-folk mood piece before evolving into a wailing slice of drone-drenched Americana by way of a Velvets’ jam.

“We were pushing improvisations as far as we could. It was glorious having the studio. The more that our heads were spinning after a session, the better we knew that session would sound when we listened back. We were getting together two nights a week, usually three or four hours working on material and songs and the other half the time letting loose. Volumes 4 and 5 gather together some of these improvisations, and one early song that we felt like doing.” Adds Michael Gibbons of Bardo Pond.

purple vinyl (FAME516LP) is for Indie stores only. Brand new album from Philadelphia's much loved neo-space rock stoner drone outfit. A euphoric transcendental journey to a mountain top nirvana, a psychedelic tapestry that slowly unwinds as they travel onwards into the inner mind. A 40-minute opus delivered from a hail of reverb soulfully caressed by a ceremonial flute, that makes way for a shroud of eld'-era Neil Young fog. Bardo Pond is your rather ruffled tour guide to this far off place, this distant sense of wonderment at the crossroads with bewilderment. "One of underground rock's most extraordinary enigmas" The Quietus

Reissue of the Philadelphia group"s gritty psychedelic milestone, "Set And Setting" from 1999. The songs on Bardo Pond"s first two Matador releases - "Amanita" and "Lapsed" - were largely worked up at home and then recorded on the clock at a professional studio. On "Set and Setting," the band chose to work out of its home base, Lemur House, and the end result benefited from the open-ended DIY flexibility. "It was closer to the heart of what we do," says guitarist Michael Gibbons. "There was more improvisation, but also more culling of material. We had more time to find things that jumped out at us, go places we wouldn"t normally go, do investigative work. I think there was a shift. It"s just somehow a more true experience of Bardo Pond."

A new double LP compilation, Melt Away, cataloging late-"90s rarities and outtakes from a creative apex in the band"s career, and released together on vinyl for the first time. Of these, album highlight "The Trail", originally recorded for the 1997 compilation What"s Up Matador, dissolves six minutes into a moment. Blink once and you"ll miss it. Blink twice and the wallpaper might begin to move. Pre-order "Melt Away".

'a masterclass in hardcore dancefloor and bittersweet feeling...Alex Crossan is both acclaimed and not feted enough' **** The Observer

Available on his own Pond Recordings, Curve 1 is a love-letter to club spaces, and the music and people who fill them.

Mura Masa’s forth album is a full-circle moment. Departing from the pop-leaning narrative and who’s-who guestlist of his most recent records, Curve 1 heads back down the rabbit-hole of club music that’s alternately euphoric, introspective, nostalgic and future-facing. Full of tension and release, ambiguity and playfulness, the significance of Curve 1 is left up to the individual: whether enjoyed solo or in the sweat of a packed room, here is music as enigmatic and layered as its author.

Mura Masa himself introduces Curve 1 as 'a manifestation of an attitude I’ve been cultivating in my personal life; ignore everything. All the content, all of the attention economy, all of it. In doing that, the really meaningful and vital parts of what’s around you make themselves known and unignorable, demanding your energy. It’s my first offering as an independent artist through my own record label, and as such I wanted it to be as free and anti-narrative as possible. Impressionistic. Music as entertainment has in many cases, to me, become very advertorial and excessively sentimental in terms of creating narrative around albums and artists. I wanted to strip this away as much as possible to leave room for the music to create its own meaning in the lives of people who form connections with it. It's hard for me not to explain away the intricacies and ideas contained within these records after having theorised and tolled and executed them over the course of nearly three years, but I think it’s far more fitting of the album’s intent to say simply: listen to it in the dark.'

Curve 1 pulls Mura Masa into focus as one of this generation’s most influential figures. Aptly reflecting his rare standing at the heart of youth culture, Mura Masa recently co-wrote long standing collaborator PinkPantheress’ single ‘Turn It Up’, as well as creating a series of remixes for Troye Sivan’s ‘Honey’. From producing global hits like ‘Boy’s a liar Pt.2’ to seminal records like Shygirl’s Mercury-nominated Nymph, it’s a juncture that has also seen Mura Masa embark on a new chapter of his own. He has set up his label and a creative hub and arts space - The Pond - in Peckham as a base for emerging artists and likeminded creatives, which will launch officially next year. Across his three critically-acclaimed solo albums, Mura Masa has built an audience who will follow wherever his genre-defying work goes next; with 2 billion streams, headline festival sets around the world, and live shows ranging from Alexandra Palace to Warehouse Project.

Curve 1 marks a back-to-your-roots approach whilst also highlighting the trailblazing young star’s recurring theme: to capture ‘that’ curvature in pop culture, to make it Mura Masa’s own, and to push things forward.

'Curve 1 has a club focus, no f—ks attitude and production that’s mature, lush — simply put, it’s just cool.' billboard

'a scintillating love letter to club culture and sounds' Wonderland

'the Grammy-winning producer throws a total curveball. Ditching his usual dreamy pop, Mura goes full hardcore dance. From techno to vintage rave' **** The Mirror

'Get sweaty as Mura makes it messy' **** The Sunday Express

'a total curveball...intense but full of hooks' **** The Daily Star

'Mura Masa has always been ahead of the creative curve, but with his new album, the tenured producer is consciously forging a path inspired by his newfound independence.'

'a grab-bag of sounds from a brilliantly restless mind' Rolling Stone

2024 Reissue

Dark Entries celebrates its 15th anniversary by returning to where it all started, our initial darkest entry: Eleven Pond’s masterpiece Bas Relief, an ultra-obscure album from 1986 that would become a definitive dark pop holy grail. Eleven Pond was James Tabbi (vocals, acoustic guitar), Jeff Gallea (drum machine, synthesizer, vocals), Jack Schaeffer (guitar) and Dan Brumley (synthesizer, samples, vocoder, melodica). They met in Rochester, NY, while attending art school, brought together by their shared love of 4AD and Factory Records. Taking cues from acts like Joy Division, Fad Gadget, and For Against, Eleven Pond’s infectious basslines, churning guitar riffs, and atmospheric synths will charm all fans of moody music. But what really makes Bas Relief shine is the timeless songwriting on classics like “Tear and Cinnamon”, “Portugal”, and the anthemic “Watching Trees.”

With only 500 copies in it’s initial release, Bas Relief resurfaces with a fresh remaster that corrects a pitch shift from previous reissues. Each copy is housed in a screen printed jacket, like the 1986 edition, and includes a lyric sheet, two postcards and a bookmark. Bas Relief is a true lost relic of the cold 80’s and an essential piece Dark Entries history.

Black vinyl, DL card. Bardo Pond's extensive archive recordings series opens up once again with 'Volume 9', an incisive journey into their hypnotic sound. Recorded in the early 2000's it's a heady mix of acoustic ambience and menacing distortion. Infamous purveyors of longform stoner rock, Bardo Pond embrace their sludgestorms with graceful nods to Hawkwind, Earth and my bloody valentine. For anyone uninitiated with the band's tranquilizing sound, Volume 9 leans into their mesmeric practise with reckless abandon. Featuring two tracks recorded with ace percussionist Michael Zanghi (Kurt Vile/The War On Drugs) and the seminal two parter 'War Is Over', a lilting Floydian strum that's invaded - quite literally - by unreconstructed noise. The Zanghi collaboration is an Eastern-facing mantra with percussive flurries and distorted modal shifts - like listening on the other side of feedback. "Effortlessly combining psychedelic inspirations from Pink Floyd's original explorations to the more modern reachings into the beyond" AllMusic

Super producer Mura Masa releases his first 7" single on his own record label Pond Recordings, featuring the monumental soulful house track 'rise', the calling card to the artist's new dancefloor focused era as an independent artist. 'gimme', the vinyl's B Side, is a much more dark and underground electronic track that Mura Masa first debuted on his recent BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix. This short run of vinyl is the first physical release on Pond Recordings and will no doubt prove to be a very important milestone in the development of the label.

Philadelphia's foremost purveyors of psychedelic rock, Bardo Pond. Delving deep in to their subconscious to bring it to the conscious, the band again dazzle us with their gift for heavy riffs laced with soaring vocals and swathes of sound.

Ltd Black & White Splatter Vinyl, DL Karte. 500 Stück gepresst. Zum 10. Jahrestag der Wiederveröffentlichung von "Peace on Venus" von Bardo Pond, Philadelphias führenden Vertretern des psychedelischen Rocks, auf schwarz-weißem Splatter-Vinyl. Enthält 'Kali Yuga Blues', ein wahres Ungetüm von einem Song und ein leuchtendes Beispiel für die ekstatische Intensität der Band. Die Band taucht tief in ihr Unterbewusstsein ein, um es ins Bewusstsein zu bringen, und glänzt auf ihrem 2013er Werk mit ihrer Gabe für schwere Riffs, die mit hochfliegenden Vocals und Klangschwaden verwoben sind. Bardo Pond hat die äußerlichen Merkmale einer Rockband, aber die Flüsse, die in den oneirischen Fluss der Band münden, haben ihr Quellgebiet in den Gefilden des ekstatischen Jazz, des Free Noise und der Avantgarde. Bei der Aufnahme von "Peace On Venus" wurde das Prinzip der Quintessenz angewandt, ein Prinzip, das der Arzt Paracelsus im 16: "Nichts von wahrem Wert befindet sich im Körper einer Substanz, sondern in ihrer Tugend, und dies ist das Prinzip der Quintessenz, die, sagen wir, 20 Pfund einer gegebenen Substanz in eine einzige Unze reduziert, und diese Unze übertrifft die 20 Pfund bei weitem an Potenz. Je weniger es also von einem Körper gibt, desto größer ist seine Tugend im Verhältnis. "Obviously, Bardo Pond are the greatest band in the world" Vice.

"PETROL", das zweite Album der Schweizer Doom-Visionäre TAR POND, wurde einerseits von US-Doom-Klassikern wie SAINT VITUS inspiriert, greift aber andererseits auch auf die britischen Wurzeln zu, die von BLACK SABBATH verkörpert werden. In anderen Momenten blitzt bei TAR POND eine Verbindung zu zeitgenössischen Doom-Acts wie ELECTRIC WIZARD und ACID BATH auf. Parallel dazu verkörpern TAR POND aber auch die bekannte Eigensinnigkeit des Schweizer Metal, der sich durch Individualität und kreative Eigenständigkeit auszeichnet, so wie es herausragende Acts wie CELTIC FROST, CORONER und ZEAL & ARDOR musikalisch vorgelebt haben. Als Martin Ain, Bassist der Kultband CELTIC FROST und eines der Gründungsmitglieder von TAR POND, im Oktober 2017 plötzlich verstarb, stand auf einmal alles in Frage. Der legendäre Schweizer Musiker hatte vor diesem tragischen Tag das Debütalbum bereits aufgenommen - zusammen mit den anderen Gründungsmitgliedern, dem ehemaligen CORONER-Drummer und Lyriker Marky Edelmann sowie dem renommierten Scratchboard-Künstler und Sänger Thomas Ott. Nach einer langer Pause und intensiven Überlegungen entschieden sich TAR POND schließlich dafür, als Band weiterzumachen und das Debüt im Gedenken an Martin Ain unter dem Titel "Protocol of Constant Sadness" zu veröffentlichen. Aufgenommen wurde das Debüt unter der Leitung von Produzent und Gitarren-Legende Tommy Vetterli (CORONER) in den Jahren 2016/17. Beflügelt von der enthusiastischen Reaktionen auf "Protocol of Constant Sadness", haben sich TAR POND erneut mit Tommy Vetterli im New Sound Studio zusammengetan, um den Nachfolger "PETROL" einzuspielen. Aufgrund von Besetzungswechseln vor und während der Studioaufnahmen ist "PETROL" aus einer Zusammenarbeit von alten und neuen Bandmitgliedern zu verschiedenen Zeiten entstanden. Trotz dieser Umstände erscheint das zweite Album sowohl kohärent als auch auf das erklärte Ziel von TAR POND fokussiert - nämlich: Einen Soundtrack aus brachialer Kraft und ein elektrisches Protokoll einer fortwährenden Traurigkeit abzuliefern. Während die Schweizer ihr Debüt unter der Bezeichnung 'Doom'n'Gloom' einordneten, wurde ihr Sound auch schon als eine Kombination aus Doom und Post-Metal beschrieben. Mit "PETROL" lösen TAR POND ihr ursprüngliches Versprechen ein: Dieses Album ist ein wunderbarer Soundtrack voller bedrückender Dunkelheit und tiefer Trauer.

Kristin Hersh’s new album is a cinematic road trip; a series of personal vignettes from a fiercely independent auteur, sitting plush with layers of all-consuming strings and mellotron. It’s a watershed moment in a career overflowing with creative firsts and inspirational thinking; an elegant piece of personal reportage, a home movie caught in time. Previously, the juxtaposition of light and dark has been essential to the drama of Throwing Muses and 50FOOTWAVE, but this solo set is something of a departure; more inward looking, quieter but outspoken, underpinned by background noise for ambience and awkwardness. “Passion sounds less angry, more grateful, I think,” Kristin muses, “sweeter, sadder. And somehow, no less alive… over car engines and rain in New England and whistling ducks and wind chimes in New Orleans, it all sounds wistful to me.” ‘Clear Pond Road’ is a life-affirming statement, a further part of the jigsaw, a very personal memoir, from street signs to snapshots; a late blossoming and coming-of-age from a true icon of independence. The record is both intimate yet expansive, written largely within the confines of Hersh’s home, making the proceedings ever more personal. // “Few artists understand the intensity of living one’s art like Hersh” The Guardian // “A fearless rock innovator” New York Times

New progressive thrash/hardcore group Skin Failure are overjoyed to announce their out-of-this-world debut album Radillac, to be released 11th November via Small Pond. This is not your everyday album, then. A full-throttle, high-psychedelia record, Radillac is the sound of a band having as much fun as is inhumanly possible. Elements as disparate as Every Time I Die, Mastodon, and Slayer clash and combine to thrilling effect, with a bonus guest feature from UK comedy legend Ed Gamble on track four's 'Remy LeBeau's Big Pile of Bones'.

Hailing from Brighton, InTechnicolour are a riffy, groovy, rock band with a knack for creating a colourful song or two. Formed in 2015 through a want to play loud music through slightly broken amps, the basis of the band was created. Comprised of members from the likes of Delta Sleep, LUO and Broker the five-piece are a fully-formed band of technically gifted musicians, cutting loose and playing music that’s about as far removed from their day jobs as it’s possible to get – and they are doing it better than a good portion of their contemporaries. Landing somewhere between the slack desert-groove of Kyuss and Karma to Burn, the band combine deeply satisfying riffs with a dynamic vocal style, which calls to mind the sounds of Baroness, Gojira and Mastodon.

Waterloo Teeth is true demonstration of Sugar Horse's refusal to conform or sit still. A community-building, genre-hopping release, the EP sees Sugar Horse letting the good times roll. Recorded during the Christmas break at Small Pond studios, sleeping among the amps, the four-track record is the Bristol group's excuse to work with some of the coolest musicians on the planet.

“A weird and jagged record for weird and jagged times.” – The Quietus
"A sucker punch of sludge-punk"
"Bold, charismatic, and nuanced.” – Everything Is Noise
“An extraordinary act” – Noizze
“Expertly balance filth and ambience” – Metal Hammer 7/10
“SUGAR HORSE are definitely a band to look out for.” – Distorted Sound Mag
“they truly deserve to be massive.” – Echoes And Dust

Pronounced 'CLIT DRIP' for those confused or too shy to ask, CLT DRP have been turning heads since 2017. The genre-bending trio's non-apologetic and yet playful approach has seen them garner praise from TheLineOfBestFit, Gigwise, and plenty more. Their music gets you moving, invites you in with power, and makes you question your environment and yourself. In their time, CLT DRP have already supported Nova Twins, Warmduscher, among others, and performed at 2000trees and ArcTanGent festivals.

Der dritte Release der Black Label-Serie von Small Pond ist die 'Repressed Semantics' EP der unglaublichen UK-Rocker Tigercub aus Brighton, die 2015 in limitierter Auflage auf dem Indielabel Venn Records erschien. 'A cracking release for fans of Royal Blood, Blood Red Shoes & The Wytches.' - Resident Music

Rapidly marking themselves out as one of the most abrasive, innovative artists to watch in 2022, Brighton-based feminist electropunk trio CLT DRP are delighted to kick off their year with new single ‘TORX’, out now on Small Pond Records.

The single will be available to purchase on a new limited edition 10” vinyl from Small Pond which features new track ‘TORX’, previous single ‘Ownership’ plus a remix from New York’s FLOSSING (Brace Yourself Records), and their cover of Dolly Parton’s track ‘Why’d You Come In Here Lookin’ Like That’.

Commenting on the track, CLT DRP vocalist Annie Dorrett says: "TORX is a hard-hitting non-stop racket. It was a stream of consciousness that stemmed from a very tired & frustrating day where I couldn't get my oven fixed in my flat because I didn't have the right screwdriver and I was dealing with a sort of post-break-up rant about somebody that caused me a lot of grief. It’s one of my favourites to play live now."

Electronic artist Kristian Shelley - AKA Inwards - announces new EP ‘Feeling So Fun Reality’ for October 8th via Brighton based tastemaker label Small Pond. ‘Raindrops’ is the first single taken from it, and is out on July 29th.

The EP is a sister release to 2019’s ‘Feelings of Unreality’ EP - merely shifting where the spaces between the letters land to flip the meaning entirely on its head. Whereas the 2019 effort was laced with anxiety and cyclical internal conflict at the perspective destroying, fathomless possibilities of ideas and scenarios built in the mind, ‘Feeling So Fun Reality’ reflects an optimism grounded in the real world. In this, it takes on a similar human warmth to the best work of Aphex Twin, Clark or Boards of Canada.

‘Raindrops’ is an apt opening gambit in this sense, combining technology and the earthy tangibility of the natural world. Precise modular synths, inspired by the rain, are twisted into wordless conversations conveying a million and one different meanings to a
million and one different ears. This points to the reason Inwards favours instrumental music over lyrical - the capacity to run off emotion without fully understanding what it is you’re channeling per se, and the multitude of interpretations on the receivers end.

Brooklyn-based musician and producer Varsity Star makes his Small Pond Records debut with ‘More Than Anything’, a mini-album of deeply moving and emotive electronic music.

Varsity Star is an electronic musician and upright bassist who grew up in Boston and spent time playing with various bands as a multi-genre sideman. After deciding to go it alone and produce music on a synth and Ableton, he had a spell living in Berlin. Now back in Brooklyn, he has become a prolific artist who, in just a couple of years, has put out various singles, remixes and LPs. As a programmer by day, he has put together high spec live shows involving 3D printers, soldering together LEDs and writing his own programs that read Ableton and output light patterns, he is a truly creative mind.

There is a soft and warm late-night melodic glow to the beautiful opening ambiance of 'Christmas Lights' which then makes way for the prickly live drums of 'Mixtape.' Littered with off-grid hits and detuned synth sounds, it's a modern and electronic take on jazz that is deeply absorbing. 'Bedroom' is a gorgeous affair that floats on airy pads and scuffed up, organic drum sounds while the most innocent of melodies play out.

Since '66, when the British singer- songwriter emerged as the voice of his
generation with the seminal Family band, through every twist of his four-decade
solo career, Chappo's output has defied music industry protocol, challenged
genre, and held up a mirror to the times. "I've never stopped writing," he reflects,
"and with Life In The Pond, I felt the need to hear what I'd put down in music."
Released in 2021 on Ruf Records and Chappo Music, Life In The Pond draws a
line under a period in which the 79-year-old had been absent from the studio but
privately prolific. Twelve years since 2009's acclaimed rarities collection Hide Go
Seek, "A true lionheart still roars," raved The Mirror, Life In The Pond reconnects
the veteran with faces from his past – including ex-Family multi-instrumentalist
John 'Poli' Palmer as co-writer and producer while taking the pulse of modern life.
"Mostly it's anger at politicians that's kept me fired up," says Chapman of the
lyrics.
As for the music, Life In The Pond connects the dots between Chapman's
founding influences. "It's about nostalgia for the different musical styles that
influenced my life. American rock from the '50s to now. British R'n'B from the '60s,
like Georgie Fame, the Stones, Zoot Money. Folk, Blues, Motown, Stax, Blue Note
jazz, Classical, Americana, and Country. A whole mess of influences…" More than
four decades later, Life In The Pond ties all those threads together, finding
Chapman's voice in vintage form and his musical radar more receptive than ever,
on a tracklisting that roams from hypnotic seven-minute epic "Nightmare #5" to
"Rabbit Got The Gun's" dystopian soul-funk.
The world has turned a few times since '66, but Roger Chapman still has
something to say – and with Life In The Pond, his voice as an artist is more vital
than ever. "I'm very pleased and grateful that Poli gave me the opportunity," he
says, "because I think we came up with the goods on this album."

Forming off the back of contemporary jazz outfit Zeitgeist, Voronoi take the power and rhythmic complexity of heavier prog-metal and fuse it with the sophistication of classical music and jazz. A passion for science fiction thematically drives the band’s heaving and

chopping style, whereas artists such as Autechre, Car Bomb, Tigran Hamasyan and J.S. Bach help shape the rigid, experimental structure of The Last Three Seconds.

“Compositionally and stylistically we have moved into much heavier territory than our contemporary jazz foundations,” says Keyboardist Aleks Podraza. “It really shows. If you were to put this record against the first tunes we played together as Zeitgeist, it would be like introducing a much capable Thelonious Monk to a less hectic Dillinger Escape Plan.” 

As the first single off The Last Three Seconds, Gamma Signals serves as a toe in the water for the depth of things to come. The full-bodied riffwork captures the stop-start format of prog-metal heavyweights without being explicitly metal. Yet beyond this, glitchy, experimental electronics cut through the composition like a knife. The final product is something that captures the magic of the cosmos – a place where worlds orbit worlds, genres orbit genres. Each element remains different and unique, but still intrinsically tied to the other.

“Gamma Signals is about pulsars and how when Jocelyn Bell-Burnell first discovered them, the media thought they were aliens trying to contact us,” says Podraza. “Broadly, this song is about my love for and fascination with cosmology as a whole. That's a theme that runs through the veins of most of the album.” 

Those following Vorono’s career will need little convincing on the quality of The Last Three Seconds. Collectively, band members have performed and recorded with groups like The Cinematic Orchestra, KOYO, NJYO, Jenova Collective, The Often Herd, Mik Artistik’s Ego Trip, Wandering Monster and more. This in turn has garnered sizable attention at festivals such as Leeds and Reading Festival, Download Festival, Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club - not to mention Voronoi’s thrashing set at 2019’s ArcTanGent.

The cool and collected chaos of The Last Three Seconds serves as a snapshot of this live energy, as passion and fury hum at the end of every complex composition. From start to finish, the record is nothing less than executed perfectly, undoubtedly appealing to even the most seasoned of prog-lovers

Bitch Falcon; a name you won't forget and a band who won't let you forget them. This trio from the vibrant, much-hyped music scene of Dublin was formed by front-woman Lizzie Fitzpatrick with her friends in a small kitchen in the city in 2014. Since these freshman days, the lineup has galvanised around the rhythm section of Barry O'Sullivan on Bass and Nigel Kenny on Drums

The acclaimed dream-grunge three-piece have announced their debut LP, Staring At Clocks, to be released 6th November via Small Pond Records

Since the get-go Pond Life Records has strived to combine jazz and funk infused instrumentation and electronic programming. Humble B Flat, who has helped define Pond Life's sound has played true to this concept since his first release on PL001. Two years later, we are blessed with an four track EP that’s builds upon this blueprint - ‘Harnessed The Wind’

7" . Steady Income Band. Harmonics, Rhythms & Melodies: MG & GA.

Eleven Pond formed in 1986, released one epic postpunk/synth pop/darkwave LP titled 'Bas Relief' then records songs for a second LP titled 'Assemblage' and the experimental noise project 'Space Trio'. The band breaks up shortly after due to differences in taste, all the 16 track master tapes are shelved. 22 years later the song Watching Trees is rediscovered in Brooklyn NY and club DJ's in the minimal synth scene play Watching Trees. Dark Entries Records reissues 'Bas Relief', the original hand silkscreened vinyl LP becomes a $900 collectors item, invitations for the band to play shows appear on Facebook ... in 2010 Jeff Gallea reforms Eleven Pond and starts recording and performing. They release a cover of the Seasons Are Sitting on Chairs' from Arvid Tuba and a few great songs like Just Be Happy'. As we love the insane modernity of these two songs we decided to release them on Prego and asked Dmitry Distant to remix this happiness anthem. All songs are remastered for vinyl by Isolator, housed in a jacket designed by Anda Masq & Rodeo Basilic.

Flick Wilson's "School Days" album has long been one of our all-time favorite LP's through it's killer combination of super heavy Roots Radics rhythms, wild Scientist mixing, and the Flick's unique alternating falsetto style. Never widely available and only ever released in NYC, it's now deservedly reissued.

Courtesy Of Balance Recordings presents their 10th Release to date. A compilation of 9 pieces of timeless house music that will rock the underground parties and twisted after hours alike. Showcasing the talent of artist hailing from Chicago, Montreal, London and Geneva and France, this triple pack is bound to become yet another classic on the Balance Catalogue. Dont Snooze Baby!!!

Bastard Jazz is proud to present the next installment of our long running Tempo Dreams compilation series. As with previous volumes of the compilation, we've tapped an established artist that we're big fans of to shine a light on their personal favorite producers, and compile an album up of all unreleased music from emerging & underrated young talent. And with Volume 5, we're happy to welcome in the Los Angeles based but globetrotting selection of Free The Robots.

Rooted in Santa Ana, CA, Chris Alfaro aka Free the Robots has spent over a decade taking his craft to audiences around the globe. Known as one of the pioneering artists to come out of LA's infamous beat movement, the energy and technical skill behind his live performances have landed him among the greats, sharing stages with Dj Shadow, Prefuse 73, Flying Lotus, to Afrika Bambaataa. Crafting stories to tell with his ever-evolving solo project Free the Robots, he has always had the ability to jump in and out of other worlds inspiring a unique signature sound that hints at jazz, psych, electronic, and hip hop, while remaining un-genre-fiable.

Staying almost permanently on the road, Chris has come across an array of artists and scenes around the world. Different tours and temporary living situations have landed him in the middle of both the DIY underground and more mainstream clubs and stages. Some artists he's connected with have either kept it proudly local or breached international borders. Underrated, unknown, or already on the brink; these are just a few of the people that have crossed paths with Free The Robots. He's chosen these songs as a representation of some of the vibes that inspire his music: Jazz, Psychedelia, Dirtwave, Beats, and a little bit of Future Funk make up Volume 5 of his Tempo Dreams series.

As with all previous volumes, the compiler has produced a track exclusively for the album, which Chris delivers in the bass heavy, South East Asian vibes of "Nasi Goreng" (also available on a limited edition 7" with another unreleased FTR track). Other producers included on the album include Mophono, Never Ending Echo, Kuromoji, RSI-MSK, The Breathing Effect, Cazal Organism, Lefto, Chubby Boss, Caliph8, TITLE, Nois IV, The Heavy Twelves, Mu. and Markey Funk.

With this new work Maurizio Abate recovers the discourse started with Loneliness, Desire and Revenge (2016) but with a different narrative sensitivity. The symbolic air that you breathe suggests a personal and universal experience in which thoughts and perceptions remain as enveloped in an eternal cosmic wheel. It's a condition that flows sincerely into an emphatic introspection and identification between the stasis of an inner soul and the flowing vitality of stagnant aquatic landscapes. In this direction the music of Abate always condenses multiple ranges of different emotional spectra evoked by profound naturalistic references. The airy openings of the strings, the distant whispers of the harmonica, cascades of phrasings more calm or more torrential can lead into the magnificent climax of the Nostalgia. The string arrangement for violin and cello by Lucia Gasti introduces in a dimension of idyll, in elegiac passages of touching poetry almost of chamber music but at the same time wet by the pastoral and bucolic moods of autumn landscapes, they are paintings imbued with different flavors and colours that recall the light and the candor of the Venetian tonalisms or the moving paintings full of meaning of Tarkoski. In the darkest and saddest moments the open chords are like suspensions of unresolved questions and torments, but the cathartic finale with a free and minimalist piano prelude to possible future glares, almost to perceiving that even where there's stasis the sun can still shine the hope for the new on the clearing of the pond. Remains the feeling with that stylistic "freedom of expression" dear to the visionaries Fahey and Basho, but also a clear interpretation of the expressive possibility of the lead guitar, absolutely lyrical and contemporary for refinement of the crystalline sound, which places this work in parallel with the basic acoustic tests of others great like Jim O'Rourke, Jack Rose or James Blackshaw.