Buscar:portrait

Cello player and electronic artist Martina Bertoni returns with her 2nd album for Karl: Hypnagogia delivers six new, masterfully crafted tracks between experimental ambient, drone and modern composition.

Cellist and composer Martina Bertoni started playing the cello at a very young age. Classically trained, her career further developed around experimental and film music, for which her cello has been featured in numerous records, works and soundtracks for films and series. After two EPs and her debut full length All The Ghosts Are Gone (2020), Bertoni joined the Karl roster where she released Music For Empty Flats in January 2021 to critical acclaim (a.o. one of the Top Ten drone albums of 2021).

On her new album Hypnagogia she continues to explore the sonic possibilities of her cello which she uses as primary source for composition and sound processing through reverbs, feedbacks and sub-bass frequencies, thus crafting sonic sculptures, rich of atmospheres and frictions, fed by ambient as much as drone and modern composition.

In the words of Martina Bertoni:
"The six tracks that constitute Hypnagogia have been written during 2021 and partially inspired by the reading of Stanislaw Lem's book Solaris. The title refers to a transitional state of consciousness from wakefulness to sleep, during which one might experience sensorial hallucinations and lucid dreaming, and can tap into the pristine structures of the subconscious. Hypnagogia portraits an imaginary cosmic journey of the Self that crash ends into a blinding sun."

Mit ihrem Debütalbum, 'Portraits', aus dem Jahr 2015 und dem ebenso hochgelobten 'Kingdom In Colours' aus dem Jahr 2018 haben Maribou State die Weltbühne betreten und gefühlvolle Downtempo-Electronica für eine neue Generation neu definiert. Ihre Musik wurde von Medien wie Kulturnews, Beat, TV Spielfilm & TV Today, Piranha & Start und wurde beim Münchner Radiosender, egoFM, sogar das Album des Jahres! International gab es zudem Support von u.a. NME, Complex, GQ, Clash und Crack Magazine, Mixmag kürte Maribou State zu einem ihrer 'Künstler des Jahres' und BBC 6Music huldigte 'Kingdom In Colours`' als „Album des Tages“, während Annie Mac, Gilles Peterson, Pete Tong und viele andere die Band unterstützten, sowie US-Radioplay von KCRW & KEXP - wo sie auch eine spezielle Live-Session spielten. Außerdem gab es Welttourneen, Auftritte an majestätischen Orten wie der Sydney Opera sowie Auszeichnungen als Künstler des Jahres und mit „Feel Good“ auch eine äußerst erfolgreiche Single mit Khruangbin. Bei 'Hallucinating Love' hat sich das Warten jedenfalls definitiv gelohnt: es ist ehrgeizig, vollgepackt mit erhabenen Hymnen und gespickt mit rastloser Energie, schwebenden Streichern und umwerfendem Gastgesang von Holly Walker, mit der sie schon seit vielen Jahren zusammenarbeiten, und neuen Freund:innen, wie der MOBO-nominierten Künstlerin Andreya Triana. Es unterstreicht Maribou States sich entwickelnde Balance zwischen Intimität und Komplexität, sowie ihr Talent, epische Musik für Sonnenuntergänge zu machen. Die engere Zusammenarbeit mit anderen half auch dabei, musikalisches Gold zu schürfen, und zwar bei verschiedenen Aufnahmesitzungen in idyllischen Gegenden im ganzen Land. Liam und Chris luden Kollaborateur:innen wie den unglaublich talentierten Produzenten Jack Sibley und den Bassisten Jonjo Williams ein und schufen so überall, wo sie hinkamen, kleine provisorische Gemeinschaften. Das verlieh ihrer Musik eine neue Energie.

Mit ihrem Debütalbum, 'Portraits', aus dem Jahr 2015 und dem ebenso hochgelobten 'Kingdom In Colours' aus dem Jahr 2018 haben Maribou State die Weltbühne betreten und gefühlvolle Downtempo-Electronica für eine neue Generation neu definiert. Ihre Musik wurde von Medien wie Kulturnews, Beat, TV Spielfilm & TV Today, Piranha & Start und wurde beim Münchner Radiosender, egoFM, sogar das Album des Jahres! International gab es zudem Support von u.a. NME, Complex, GQ, Clash und Crack Magazine, Mixmag kürte Maribou State zu einem ihrer 'Künstler des Jahres' und BBC 6Music huldigte 'Kingdom In Colours`' als „Album des Tages“, während Annie Mac, Gilles Peterson, Pete Tong und viele andere die Band unterstützten, sowie US-Radioplay von KCRW & KEXP - wo sie auch eine spezielle Live-Session spielten. Außerdem gab es Welttourneen, Auftritte an majestätischen Orten wie der Sydney Opera sowie Auszeichnungen als Künstler des Jahres und mit „Feel Good“ auch eine äußerst erfolgreiche Single mit Khruangbin. Bei 'Hallucinating Love' hat sich das Warten jedenfalls definitiv gelohnt: es ist ehrgeizig, vollgepackt mit erhabenen Hymnen und gespickt mit rastloser Energie, schwebenden Streichern und umwerfendem Gastgesang von Holly Walker, mit der sie schon seit vielen Jahren zusammenarbeiten, und neuen Freund:innen, wie der MOBO-nominierten Künstlerin Andreya Triana. Es unterstreicht Maribou States sich entwickelnde Balance zwischen Intimität und Komplexität, sowie ihr Talent, epische Musik für Sonnenuntergänge zu machen. Die engere Zusammenarbeit mit anderen half auch dabei, musikalisches Gold zu schürfen, und zwar bei verschiedenen Aufnahmesitzungen in idyllischen Gegenden im ganzen Land. Liam und Chris luden Kollaborateur:innen wie den unglaublich talentierten Produzenten Jack Sibley und den Bassisten Jonjo Williams ein und schufen so überall, wo sie hinkamen, kleine provisorische Gemeinschaften. Das verlieh ihrer Musik eine neue Energie.

Und meine Güte, ist "Tyran’s Oath" gut gespielt. Und vor allem: Extrem gut gesungen! Nicolas Peter erinnert an eine Mischung aus Per Lengstedt (Portrait) und Olof Wikstrand (Enforcer). Dem Album wurde damals eine rechtmäßige Krönung zum NewcomerAlbum des Monats verwehrt. Die Wiederveröffentlichung 2025 wird diesen Umstand verändern und Tyran’s Oath wird sich in vielen Jahres-Hitlisten wieder finden. Solange es Bands wie Tyran gibt, die sich so erfolgreich und detailverliebt mit dem Erbe von Saxon, Accept und Judas Priest beschäftigen, muss niemand befürchten, dass der klassische Metal ausstirbt.

Tempat Angker (haunted place) is a Halloween mixtape compiled by music researcher and artist Luigi Monteanni, aka Neurotica Exotica.

To celebrate a second year of fieldwork research in West Java and to bring together the longing for All Hallows’ Eve partying with the archipelago’s richness in local and historical horror folklore tropes, figures, characters and stories, Artetetra’s co-founder cuts up 120 minutes of soundtracks, sound effects and dialogues from the glorious and extensive Indonesian horror movies tradition counting more than 700 titles.

Hear it from speculative horror and sci-fi filmmaker Riar Rizaldi (whole essay in the tape’s leaflet):

“The popularity of cinematic media during the New Order era led to the unprecedented development of more rapid and large-scale production methods. ⁤⁤Genre films, particularly horror and fantasy, emerged as some of the most prolific outputs, with hundreds being produced annually. ⁤⁤The filmmaking process was accelerated, and post-production ᅳ especially sound design ᅳ was completed as swiftly as possible. ⁤⁤Notably, veteran composer and musician Gatot Sudarto, who had worked extensively on drama films in the 1970s, became a regular contributor to studios producing horror and fantasy films in the following decade ᅳ although composer Embie C. Noer was also active during this period, his focus was more on action “sword and sandals” films. ⁤⁤Gatot’s influence in the music departments of these films was significant, helping to create an authentic soundscape. ⁤He adapted many of the compositional techniques used in European horror films (mostly the usage of harpsichord) at the time, blending them with the bass synths characteristic of American horror, while incorporating local and regional instruments to tailor the sound to Indonesian audiences.”

By sampling excerpts from 43 movies spanning the ages from the early seventies to the two thousand and tens, mostly trying to portrait the sound influence of the vintage horror era made popular by the “queen of horror”, actress Suzzanna, Tempat Angker throws you into decades of experimentation in conjuring the sound of Indonesian terror. Unearthly screams, bombastic fights, bamboo music, eighties synthy extravaganza, ominous sound effects, sexy dangdut, evilish pitched vocals, gamelan, eerie laughters from beyond and even calls to prayer fill the air in the spooky month!

Released on the Impulse label in 1969, Albert Ayler's album Music Is the Healing Force of the Universe was entirely written by Ayler's partner, Mary Maria Parks. Along with The Last Album, which contains outtakes from the same session, this was Ayler's last studio album (he would die in November of 1970). According to AllMusic reviewer Al Campbell, this "is a powerful and often ignored recording from the Albert Ayler catalog.

It is a prophetic statement dealing with guilt, confusion, sorrow, and hopes of redemption. While not easy listening, it provides an important portrait of a man facing a life and death inner struggle beyond the boundaries of jazz."

Born and raised in Argentina, Morita Vargas is an experimental artist and producer based in Buenos Aires. She manipulates her voice through reverbs, delays and whispers, singing in a self-invented 'language'. The sound of Morita’s voice is a portal into her thriving, dreamlike world brimming, shimmering and beating with unrefined natural sensations which stimulate something primordial yet strangely contemporary.

As far back as 2014 she began work on her first productions - early sketches which later became the basis for ‘8’. It all started off as voice memos on her phone (recorded while roaming the streets and riding the trains of Greater Buenos Aires). Later on, Morita introduced various instruments into her vision: kalimba, harmonica, keyboard, flute, tambourine, chajchas, and cajón. Composed and performed from that period until its original release in 2018, ’8’ features 10 original voice-led compositions that in scope recall evocative portraits of synthesized landscapes and rainforests, attuned to a vibrant modern pulse and enchanting vocals. Morita Vargas “8” has achieved a kind of polyphonic soundscape which evokes unfamiliar realities through voyages within and between the realms of ambient and experimental music.

In numerology the number 8 symbolizes the transition between heaven and earth, the illumination of our infinite capacity for various metamorphoses. Tackling ideas of transformation, mutation, cyclical processes, death, creation, melancholy, and joy, the album you are holding is a monumental and deeply personal statement. You are invited to walk barefoot down the mystical path and indulge in the process of spiritual expulsion and renewal that is ‘8’. The path lies along the route of infinite meanings, somewhere on the border between dream and reality.

Super sweet sleepover core from the turn of the millennium. When not at the mall or elementary school, Jessica, Ayden, Janet, and Mary created a suburban Spice World all their own, singing, dancing, and making videos in anticipation of a global pop takeover. Summer 2000 expands their home-burned Y2K CD-R Stardust, encapsulating girl group R&B, trip hop, Eurofunk, and pool party heartbreak into a revealing portrait of millennial girlhood. Party til 2, sleep til 1, come on baby let's have some fun.

Wilurarrakutu is the brilliant debut from Papunya-based artist Keanu Nelson, an intimate exercise in musical storytelling and reflection. The album's eight tracks, sung in both Papunya Luritja and English, are verses of prose and poetry pulled directly from Nelson's notebooks and set to minimalist, DIY electronic arrangements.The evocative musical backdrops_featuring Casio keyboards, drum machines, and subtle synth flourishes_were created in collaborative sessions between Nelson and Sydney producer Yuta Matsumura. The two met by chance on Matsumura's visit to Papunya last year. Their impromptu jam sessions form the foundation for Wilurarrakutu's low-key sonic palette, influenced in parts by Papunya's strong local gospel music scene as well as the reggae beats often passed around the remote community via USB sticks and mobile phone transfers.Over these soundscapes, Nelson sings of family, friends, heritage, and culture, with a tone that balances joy and melancholy. They're themes and emotions that also echo through his work as a painter at the Papunya Tjupi Arts Centre. In this way, Wilurarrakutu becomes an extension of his art practice - a graceful audio portrait of a place that evokes the resonance of home.

Dark Entries has raided the bathhouse to bring us Deep Entries: Gay Electronic Excursions 1979-1985, 10 tracks of obscure queer synth bliss. One of Dark Entries' most important missions has been illuminating neglected facets of gay musical history, with crucial archival works by legends like Patrick Cowley, Sylvester, and Man Parrish. On Deep Entries, the label spans 6 years of gay electronics - from sultry to angsty to camp, these songs are overflowing with snappy 808 snares and sinewy analog synth leads. The '80s were a difficult period for many in the gay community as they grappled with the horrors of the HIV/AIDS crisis. The 10 tracks on Deep Entries, varied in genre and vibe, are united in their portraiture of 1980s gay life, and the hope for love or fleeting romance. Previously unreleased cruising soundtracks come courtesy of Patrick Cowley’s “Love Me Hot” featuring vocalist Paul Parker and Boytronic’s “Tonight (Alternate Mix)” set on Hamburg’s famous “Mile of Sin.” Brisbane-based Megamen deliver the proto-electroclash number “Designed for Living,” which prefigures Madonna’s Marlene Dietrich rap in “Vogue.” Trans vocalist Paula "Ula" Villagrá declares, “Everyone is gay!” on Muzak’s “Happy Song,” a skittering tecnopop anthem. Dereck Higgins' “This Was Something” rings like a lost Joy Division cut draped in bizarre effects, and Polar Praxis’ “(I Want) To Be Different” is a seething ode to alterity. Nightmoves’ “Nightdrive,” is best known as the brooding instrumental B-side to their epochal “Transdance.” Transistor Jet’s “Master Of The Universe (BW's f-w)”, Maxx Mann’s “Just Like a Razor” and Bachelor’s Anonymous’ “A Stranger’s Bed” are mood music for the pleasures of BDSM and one-night stands. The record comes housed in a retro bathhouse fantasy sleeve designed by Gwenaël Rattke and includes a double-sided poster with photographs and lyrics. Deep Entries arrives on December 1st in honor of World AIDS day, and proceeds will go to the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.

Following a handful of singles and EPs, and a series of live performances that have only served to heighten the group's intensity and strengthen its sound, Bada-Bada - the trio of sought after instrumentalists/producers Lilian Mille, Tiss Rodriguez and Leo Fumagalli - finally unveil Portraits, their debut album. As a flagship of a new exciting French scene, melting the jazz idiom with the most innovative instrumental music, Bada-Bada stands out for its rare ability to transcend genres and to use the studio as an instrument in its own right.

“With this band, it’s all about searching for a sound”, says drummer Tiss Rodriguez. “It’s a quest for a sound as much as a quest for meaning," adds Leo Fumagalli (saxophone). A quest that requires unrushed studio experiments, of course, but one that never forgets to draw on the unmatched energy of the live performance and the chemistry at work between an audience that understands a band’s language and intentions and give it time to unfold them, and musicians at the top of their game.

Bada-Bada's sound is informed by its members’ backgrounds – all of whom have put their academic training to good use by confronting it with experience; by the way they relate to the time they’re living as much as the History of music; and by their ability to encapsulate a body of forward-thinking instrumental music (electronica, symphonic music, trance-based music and 21st century jazz).

Releasing now for well over a decade - Neue Grafik: known to friends as Fred, has successfully transplanted from Parisian rookie to one- man London Institution. Beginning as a solo producer and DJ,Fred spread his wings upon relocating to South London - at first with his Neue Grafik Ensemble and later with his now iconic twice-weekly Orii Jam - the latter of which has given agency to an entire new generation of musicians; spawning an aesthetic, nurturing a unique sound and becoming a launchpad for countless artists.

Dalston Tape Volume 1 is Fred’s attempt to fall back in love with beatmaking - taking it back to the roots of
where the project began. I say “attempt” because he’s simply learnt too much and made too many friends
along the way to make a mere DIY beat tape. Since his early MPC-led productions on Parisian label, Beat
X Changers, Fred has learnt to play the keys to a concert hall standard, he has become proficient in double bass and built up a dense network of collaborators who he has composed, recorded, engineered and produced for both at home in SE London and in the iconic Total Refreshment Centre Studios in Dalston.

This experience adds unavoidable dimensions to his toolbox - resulting in something more akin to a miniature-magnum-opus than a simple beat-tape.

Yes, we hear the influences of Pete Rock, Mad Lib, J Dilla and Al Dobson Jr but we also hear the musicality of D’Aneglo, James Blake and live contributions from an ever growing army of young graduates of the Orii School.

‘Leon’ is the highly anticipated fourth album from Grammy Award-winning recording artist, songwriter, and producer Leon Bridges. With 13 tracks featuring Leon’s signature storytelling and a unique blend of organic genre alchemy, ‘Leon’ is his most poignant, powerful, and personal work to date. He takes fans on a trip through the heart of Ft. Worth he knows best, the things he holds dear, and the people and places that shaped him. Featuring production by Ian Fitchuk (Beyonce, Noah Kahan), Daniel Tashian (Kacey Musgraves), and Tyler Johnson (Harry Styles, Miley Cyrus), Leon describes the album as “somewhat of a self-portrait… I’m excited to share these stories about my home, about nostalgia, about my upbringing, about where I’m from, with all of you. I hope this music brings you back to your roots and your journey.”



Quote from Leon:
“‘Leon’ has been a long-time coming. I started writing pieces of it as far back as ‘Gold-Diggers Sound.’ They didn’t fit what I was trying to do with that album and I tried moving on. But I couldn’t shake them because they’re part of me. And, if I’m honest, also because I think this is some of my most excellent work yet.In many ways, Leon has been in the works since my childhood. This record is about simpler days. It’s about time spent in my beloved Fort Worth and the experiences that made me the man I am today. It’s soulful music in the truest sense - it’s imbued with my soul.I’m excited to share these stories about my home, about nostalgia, about my upbringing, about where I’m from, with all of you. I hope this music brings you back to your roots and your journey.”

Direct follow up to OKC noise rock band’s 2022’s breakthrough album God’s Country. Mixed by Benjamin Green (Uniform, Portrayal of Guilt, Drab Majesty). Mastered by Matt Coloton (The Rolling Stones, Blur, Nick Cave, Sunn O)). Full US tour in 2024, EU early 2025, with more dates to come. Like the towering mounds of toxic waste from which it gets its namesake, the music of Oklahoma City noise rock quartet Chat Pile is a suffocating, grotesque embodiment of the existential anguish that has defined the 21st Century. It figures that a band with this abrasive, unrelenting, and outlandish of a sound has stuck as strong of a chord as it has. Dread has replaced the American dream, and Chat Pile’s music is a poignant reminder of that shift—a portrait of an American rock band molded by a society defined by its cold and cruel power systems. Though very much on-brand with Chat Pile’s signature flavor of cacophonous, sludgy noise rock, the band’s shift to a global thematic focus on Cool World not only compliments the broader experimentations it employs with their songwriting but also how they dissect the album’s core theme of violence. Melded into the band’s twisted foundational sound are traces of other eclectic genre stylings, with examples of gazy, goth-tinged dirges to abrasive yet anthemic alt/indie-esque hooks and off-kilter metal grooves only scratching the surface of what can be heard in the album’s ten tracks. Besides stylistically stretching the boundaries of the Chat Pile sound, Cool World is also the band’s first record to have someone else handle mixing duties, with Ben Greenberg (Uniform) capturing and further amplifying the quartet’s unmistakably outsider and folk-art edge. While Chat Pile’s debut album was plenty disturbing with its B-movie-inspired interpretation of a “real American horror story”, what the band depicts on Cool World is unsettling not just from its visceral noise rock onslaught, but from depicting how all sorts of atrocities are pretty much standard parts of modern existence. In film terms, think something like a Criterion arthouse film by way of schlocky grindhouse splatterfest: undeniably gratuitous and thrilling in the moment but leaving a looming dread in the back of one’s mind for how close the horrors depicted mirror reality.

The only album to soundtrack both late-'70s Minneapolis lounges and a Travis Scott x Dior fashion show. Recorded in a host of living rooms with only a Fender Rhodes piano, a Donca Matic Mini Pops drum machine, and Senrick's wide-eyed, 20-year-old voice, the 1977 LP disappeared into the wild and joined the Wendigo in Minnesota lore. A provocative mix of marina soul, easy listening, and loner folk, Dreamin' is a sanguine sliver of the American private mind garden. Harsh winters coupled with a relative lack of interest amongst siblings allowed Chuck Senrick years of unfettered access to the family piano in their Farmington, Minnesota, home. Learning both by ear and by instruction, Senrick began gigging professionally at age 15, joining John Zimmer and the CR4 for a weekly rundown of Allman Brothers, Blind Faith, and Cream covers at the Sea Girt Inn in Lake Orchard. Tapping into James Taylor's pop-chart achievements in songwriting and enunciation, Senrick composed the bulk of the songs featured on Dreamin' before graduating from Farmington High School. At 20, Senrick migrated 30 miles north to the Twin Cities to pursue music full-time. Using borrowed equipment and borrowed living rooms, a string of informal recording sessions generated the quarter-inch tape for Dreamin'. "I didn't know how to do it," Senrick says about producing an album. "I just knew it could be done." Constructed with vocals, Fender Rhodes, and an assortment of rhythm presets on his Donca Matic Mini Pops drum machine, a mere 200 copies of the private-press masterpiece were stamped and sleeved and sold hand-to-hand at performances. Chuck's wife Lesli illustrated the album cover_a pen-to-paper portrait of her husband against the backdrop of the Minneapolis Skyline, she and their newborn son situated on a nearby knoll. Any plans for a re-press were quashed when producer Bruce W. Hansen lost the reels during a messy divorce. "I was a kid with big ideas and not much hope to do anything but play," Senrick said of the Dreamin' era. "It still amazes me that people are interested in it."

"Having already cemented her legacy with a breadth of wondrous outings, Northern Irish artist Sister Ghost has now announced her plans for her long-awaited debut album ‘Beyond The Water’, showcased by its riveting lead-track “Dark Matter”. ‘Beyond The Water’ is an amalgam of sorts, a portrait of Sister Ghost’s 20s as a queer woman from a tiny village in rural Ireland, and her experiences both near and far beyond the waters of home. "

After the split of Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, Lydia Lunch reinvented her solo career with the cinematic jazz gem "Smoke In The Shadows.

This 2004 track blends downtempo beats with Afro-Cuban rhythms, featuring contributions from notable artists, creating a seductive film noir atmosphere.

‘Leon’ is the highly anticipated fourth album from Grammy Award-winning recording artist, songwriter, and producer Leon Bridges. With 13 tracks featuring Leon’s signature storytelling and a unique blend of organic genre alchemy, ‘Leon’ is his most poignant, powerful, and personal work to date. He takes fans on a trip through the heart of Ft. Worth he knows best, the things he holds dear, and the people and places that shaped him. Featuring production by Ian Fitchuk (Beyonce, Noah Kahan), Daniel Tashian (Kacey Musgraves), and Tyler Johnson (Harry Styles, Miley Cyrus), Leon describes the album as “somewhat of a self-portrait… I’m excited to share these stories about my home, about nostalgia, about my upbringing, about where I’m from, with all of you. I hope this music brings you back to your roots and your journey.”



Quote from Leon:
“‘Leon’ has been a long-time coming. I started writing pieces of it as far back as ‘Gold-Diggers Sound.’ They didn’t fit what I was trying to do with that album and I tried moving on. But I couldn’t shake them because they’re part of me. And, if I’m honest, also because I think this is some of my most excellent work yet.In many ways, Leon has been in the works since my childhood. This record is about simpler days. It’s about time spent in my beloved Fort Worth and the experiences that made me the man I am today. It’s soulful music in the truest sense - it’s imbued with my soul.I’m excited to share these stories about my home, about nostalgia, about my upbringing, about where I’m from, with all of you. I hope this music brings you back to your roots and your journey.”

This 1986 album by The Primates remain as the only recording ever released by these four 60s r&b and garage fans. Originally published on Greg Shaw's very own Voxx (Bomp! sublabel focused on revival garage/psychedelia) and produced by Shaw himself, this valuable musical document that portraits the essence of the L.A. 80s garage scene, has been out of print for more than 20 years! So we thought it would be a perfect record to reissue as part of our Bomp! reissue series. The Primates were formed in 1984 and cut their teeth at L.A. spots such as the Cavern Club, as part of a growing scene of devoted Nuggets/Pebbles fans, fascinated with 1960s garage punk classics. The core of the band were Brett Miller and Ted Edlefsen, sporting Vox guitars, and Erik Bluhm as front man, with different drummers, mostly Brian Corrigan but then also Eric from Threw the Looking Glass and Gene from The Miracle Workers. The opener 'I Ain't Like You', 'Bad Luck' or the fun cover of Neil Sedaka's 'I Go Ape' reflect the wild, party-driven mood of the entire album, making you wonder how crazy their shows were in the golden era of the L.A. 80s garage scene. Combining originals and versions (check their great take on Q65's 'I Got Nightmares'), "We Are The Primates" remains as a wild, raw, party album that every fan of garage music should own. Munster is thrilled to reissue this essential '80s garage gem as part of a series of releases celebrating Bomp! 50th anniversary. Our issue includes a booklet with liner notes and rare photos and ephemera.

2024 Repress

A Colourful Storm's reissue project of Blueboy's Sarah Records albums culminates with Unisex, arguably the finest moment of the trio of Keith Girdler, Paul Stewart and Gemma Townley and a bona fide indie-pop classic. The first vinyl issue since 1994, the album has gained an immense cult following in all corners of the world and stands as an almost forgotten pinnacle of pop songwriting. "I just want to kiss you in new places, to savour the joy of living, liking you..."

Time It Was Always Time, the debut duo release from Berke Can Özcan & Jonah Parzen-Johnson on We Jazz Records, is a refreshing and full-throated expression of joy and curiosity. In a year when 76 countries hold national elections and we find ourselves in an existential battle against apathy and cynicism, this effortlessly authentic album offers an innocent reminder that the antidote to stagnation is curiosity and the fuel for change is the joy of building something transformative together.

2024 Repress

Errol and Alex Rita’s Touching Bass are proud to present Soon Come; a landmark compilation celebrating the talents of their now intercontinental musical community and an introduction to the wide-spanning sound and feeling of their growing label. 22 original tracks spread across double 12” vinyl and split between 'day' and 'night' moods, creating exciting connections between music for both the home and the eclectic sounds of their much-loved dancefloor.

Over the past six years, Touching Bass have steadily established themselves as one of London’s most important musical incubators. More than just a club night, concert series, NTS Radio mainstay and a label, Touching Bass has become something of a movement: a community meeting grounds for music lovers and some of the most exciting contemporary music-makers both in the capital and beyond.

The tracklist is a reflection of that, curated by TB’s Errol, Alex Rita and Sammseed over the course of two years. Among the list of contributors are Chicago/New York’s keiyaA, Stones Throw’s DJ Harrison, Ben Hauke, Ego Ella May, recent WARP signee Nala Sinephro, Melo-Zed, Hiatus Kaiyote’s Clever Austin and many more (see below for tracklist). Artwork for the project comes from Alex Rita, combining moments caught at Touching Bass’ own gatherings over the years.

Since launching properly in 2019, Touching Bass has quickly established itself as one of the UK’s most exciting new labels. The young imprint has championed critically respected and refreshingly innovative works with little genre restriction, receiving recognition from both musical and cultural bil. From the electrifying grooves of Danish trio, Athletic Progression, to the modern classical of South London’s CKTRL (featuring Duval Timothy).

Along the way, Errol and Alex have also been tapped up for collaborations/ commissions with some of the world’s most forward-thinking creatives and institutions; from the world-renowned White Cube gallery for Frieze Week 2021 and fashion designers Nicholas Daley and Azura Lovisa to film music supervision for Ronan McKenzie and Joy Yamasungie’s WATA and multi-award winning director, Jenn Nkiru’s (Beyonce, Kamasi Washington, Neneh Cherry) Black To Techno, the experimental documentary which premiered at Frieze Los Angeles and was nominated for ‘Best Short’ at the IDA Awards.

For newcomers, Soon Come acts as a vital introduction to the label’s wide-spanning DNA. For those already acquainted, it’s a glimpse at its exciting future.

The very first ‘Best Of’ collection, curated by Gardot herself, spans 14 years of her career includes 24 tracks that showcase the breadth of her musical abilities. Featuring selections from her six studio albums, remixes, live recordings, and previously unreleased tracks, highlights on the album include her multilingual performances, emotive renditions of classics like Elton John’s “Love Song,” and live recordings that convey the raw honesty of her concerts. Each track offers a glimpse into the diverse emotional landscapes Gardot can traverse, making The Essential Melody Gardot a rich and compelling portrait of an artist whose music speaks for itself.

The very first ‘Best Of’ collection, curated by Gardot herself, spans 14 years of her career includes 24 tracks that showcase the breadth of her musical abilities. Featuring selections from her six studio albums, remixes, live recordings, and previously unreleased tracks, highlights on the album include her multilingual performances, emotive renditions of classics like Elton John’s “Love Song,” and live recordings that convey the raw honesty of her concerts. Each track offers a glimpse into the diverse emotional landscapes Gardot can traverse, making The Essential Melody Gardot a rich and compelling portrait of an artist whose music speaks for itself.

50 frequency and amplitude modulated sine waves describing a landscape / Trigram for Earth. Trigram for Earth, by Flora Yin Wong, is inspired by traditional eight-sided Pakua mirrors and the trigrams inscribed on each of their edges. The function of the mirrors is to show the nature of reality as being composed of mutually opposing forces and modulate them. Here, energies seem to be manipulated to guide and direct our listening, lost in a maze of sound, diffracted to the point of merging with the artist's own listening, through her memories, her obsessions, the fragments she carries within her. Flora Yin Wong invites us to embark on a multi-faceted investigation of sound, a journey through the meanders of liberated sonic forces, an auscultation of her own listening and a portal, at last, ajar to a fragmented and forever mysterious inner world.In his work '50 frequency and amplitude modulated sine waves describing a landscape,' Sébastien Roux applies his approach to algorithmic composition to the observation of the natural world, bringing the sound of the sea and the song of birds into the electronic domain, transmuting them into each other through a slow process of gradual modulation. Exploring the abstract space of pure sounds between two naturalistic tableaux, Sébastien Roux offers us a fascinating meditation on the world of synthesis, revealing, with an economy of means and great formal elegance, the magic of sonic simulacrum (deepl propose simulacra, mais là je suis pas assez calé_) and the strange beauty of the artificial, in a gesture that is ultimately as poetic as it is musical.

Featured here on this 3LP Silver vinyl gatefold set are some of the vital and most important music ever committed to vinyl. It covers the first seven recording years of Elvis Aaron Presley, years which saw him progress from teenage Memphis truck driver earning $35 a week to a multi-millionaire performer with the music and movie worlds squarely at his size 11 feet. Enjoy this portrait of the King at his imperious best – young, slick and ready to rock.

"On August 26, 1965, we find John Coltrane and his quartet recording at RCA Victor Studios on 24th Street in Manhattan. In the tunes tracked for Sun Ship, we hear Coltrane revisiting ground he had covered in the past with heightened sensitivity and a deepened interest in timbre. Sun Ship is a portrait of Coltrane’s most important band during his most important year, and while it’s sometimes overlooked in Coltrane’s discography — probably because it was released posthumously — it’s a crucial document for understanding what this band had accomplished, and it also offers a glimpse of why Coltrane moved beyond it. He needed to be in places where he was less sure of himself."

‘Leon’ is the highly anticipated fourth album from Grammy Award-winning recording artist, songwriter, and producer Leon Bridges. With 13 tracks featuring Leon’s signature storytelling and a unique blend of organic genre alchemy, ‘Leon’ is his most poignant, powerful, and personal work to date. He takes fans on a trip through the heart of Ft. Worth he knows best, the things he holds dear, and the people and places that shaped him. Featuring production by Ian Fitchuk (Beyonce, Noah Kahan), Daniel Tashian (Kacey Musgraves), and Tyler Johnson (Harry Styles, Miley Cyrus), Leon describes the album as “somewhat of a self-portrait… I’m excited to share these stories about my home, about nostalgia, about my upbringing, about where I’m from, with all of you. I hope this music brings you back to your roots and your journey.”



Quote from Leon:
“‘Leon’ has been a long-time coming. I started writing pieces of it as far back as ‘Gold-Diggers Sound.’ They didn’t fit what I was trying to do with that album and I tried moving on. But I couldn’t shake them because they’re part of me. And, if I’m honest, also because I think this is some of my most excellent work yet.In many ways, Leon has been in the works since my childhood. This record is about simpler days. It’s about time spent in my beloved Fort Worth and the experiences that made me the man I am today. It’s soulful music in the truest sense - it’s imbued with my soul.I’m excited to share these stories about my home, about nostalgia, about my upbringing, about where I’m from, with all of you. I hope this music brings you back to your roots and your journey.”

In 2013, a New Zealand teenager named Daniel Johann Lines quietly uploaded his debut album, melanchole, to Bandcamp under the moniker salvia palth. The LP was a homespun collection full of vulnerable, self-recorded songs about the overwhelming messiness that comes from growing up and figuring out who you are. Despite modest intentions, the record resonated profoundly with millions on platforms like Tumblr and Youtube, maintaining momentum through the TikTok and streaming era. menchole remains a wildly influential lo-fi release, a moving portrait of youth in turmoil. Over a decade later, Lines returns to the project with a new full-length titled “last chance to see”. Out February 16 via Danger Collective Records, the now 27-year-old musician offers his most fully formed and ambitious effort yet. last chance to see is not only a complete artistic reinvention but one that gracefully closes the chapter on a formative period of the songwriter’s life. His decision to revisit the salvia palth moniker is intentional and integral to the album.

Als sich RAM 1999 in Göteborg gründeten, führten sie bald die neue skandinavische Metal-Szenean (zusammen mit Bands wie Portrait und In Solitude). Oscar Carlquist (Gesang), Daniel Johannson (Gitarren), Harry Granroth (Gitarren), Leif Larsson (Bass) und Morgan Petterson (Schlagzeug) wurden oft mit einer jüngeren, kraftvolleren Version von Judas Priest verglichen und debütierten 2003 mit ihrem Sechs-Track-Mini-Album "Sudden Impact", das ursprünglich auf CD über Black Path Metal veröffentlicht wurde. High Roller Records ist stolz darauf, eine Vinyl-Wiederveröffentlichung von "Sudden Impact" anzukündigen, die den Titeltrack, "Judgement And Punishment", "Machine Invaders", "Blessed To Be Cursed", "Infuriator" und "Black Path" enthält. Obwohl es nicht so raffiniert ist wie spätere Alben wie "Forced Entry" (2005), "Lightbringer" (2008), "Death" (2012) oder ihr neuestes Werk "The Throne Within", das 2019 über Metal Blade Records veröffentlicht wurde, sorgte "Sudden Impact" definitiv für Aufsehen, als es 2003 erschien, zu einer Zeit, als der traditionelle Heavy Metal noch von der alten Garde des Genres dominiert wurde. Die unbändige Energie und der jugendliche Überschwang der Darbietung machten RAM fast sofort zu einer Kraft, mit der man rechnen musste, und zeigten, worum es im Heavy Metal schon immer ging: Stolz, Leidenschaft und Kraft.

RAM wurden in der Vergangenheit oft als "prototypischer schwedischer Metal" bezeichnet, und Sänger Oscar Carlquist widerspricht dem nicht: "Ich würde sagen, dass es bis zu einem gewissen Grad einen einzigartigen skandinavischen Metal-Stil gibt, und schwedische Musiker sind oft sehr talentiert. Sie hatten auch, zumindest in den Achtzigern, einige neoklassische Einflüsse (wahrscheinlich von Yngwie Malmsteen). Schwedische Sängerinnen und Sänger haben auch oft sehr klare Stimmen. Ich kann den schwedischen Sound erkennen, wenn ich den Gesang höre. "Sudden Impact" ist schon seit einiger Zeit nicht mehr erhältlich (2013 gab es eine limitierte Vinyl-Wiederveröffentlichung zum zehnjährigen Jubiläum), so dass die aktuelle Wiederveröffentlichung einer breiteren Öffentlichkeit eine neue Chance bietet, die Wurzeln einer der wichtigsten traditionellen Heavy-Metal-Bands der letzten 20 Jahre zu studieren.

Als sich RAM 1999 in Göteborg gründeten, führten sie bald die neue skandinavische Metal-Szenean (zusammen mit Bands wie Portrait und In Solitude). Oscar Carlquist (Gesang), Daniel Johannson (Gitarren), Harry Granroth (Gitarren), Leif Larsson (Bass) und Morgan Petterson (Schlagzeug) wurden oft mit einer jüngeren, kraftvolleren Version von Judas Priest verglichen und debütierten 2003 mit ihrem Sechs-Track-Mini-Album "Sudden Impact", das ursprünglich auf CD über Black Path Metal veröffentlicht wurde. High Roller Records ist stolz darauf, eine Vinyl-Wiederveröffentlichung von "Sudden Impact" anzukündigen, die den Titeltrack, "Judgement And Punishment", "Machine Invaders", "Blessed To Be Cursed", "Infuriator" und "Black Path" enthält. Obwohl es nicht so raffiniert ist wie spätere Alben wie "Forced Entry" (2005), "Lightbringer" (2008), "Death" (2012) oder ihr neuestes Werk "The Throne Within", das 2019 über Metal Blade Records veröffentlicht wurde, sorgte "Sudden Impact" definitiv für Aufsehen, als es 2003 erschien, zu einer Zeit, als der traditionelle Heavy Metal noch von der alten Garde des Genres dominiert wurde. Die unbändige Energie und der jugendliche Überschwang der Darbietung machten RAM fast sofort zu einer Kraft, mit der man rechnen musste, und zeigten, worum es im Heavy Metal schon immer ging: Stolz, Leidenschaft und Kraft.

RAM wurden in der Vergangenheit oft als "prototypischer schwedischer Metal" bezeichnet, und Sänger Oscar Carlquist widerspricht dem nicht: "Ich würde sagen, dass es bis zu einem gewissen Grad einen einzigartigen skandinavischen Metal-Stil gibt, und schwedische Musiker sind oft sehr talentiert. Sie hatten auch, zumindest in den Achtzigern, einige neoklassische Einflüsse (wahrscheinlich von Yngwie Malmsteen). Schwedische Sängerinnen und Sänger haben auch oft sehr klare Stimmen. Ich kann den schwedischen Sound erkennen, wenn ich den Gesang höre. "Sudden Impact" ist schon seit einiger Zeit nicht mehr erhältlich (2013 gab es eine limitierte Vinyl-Wiederveröffentlichung zum zehnjährigen Jubiläum), so dass die aktuelle Wiederveröffentlichung einer breiteren Öffentlichkeit eine neue Chance bietet, die Wurzeln einer der wichtigsten traditionellen Heavy-Metal-Bands der letzten 20 Jahre zu studieren.

Much Afraid is the second studio album by American Christian rock band Jars of Clay and was released in 1997. Following the charting success of the band's debut album, Much Afraid earned the band a Grammy Award for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album. It debuted at #8 on the Billboard 200 and was certified Platinum. The album features the multi-instrumentalist Greg Wells, who went on to produce OneRepublic, Katy Perry, Pink, and Rufus Wainwright, playing drums and bass guitar on almost every song; he also co-wrote ""Tea And Sympathy"" and the single ""Crazy Times"". The tracks ""Fade to Grey"" and ""Frail"" were both from the group's 1994 demo recording Frail. All other tracks from that demo appeared on the debut album Jars Of Clay in 1995. Much Afraid is available as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on crystal clear vinyl.

UNSURPASSED SPACIOUSNESS, IMAGING, AND TRANSPARENCY: MASTERED FROM THE ORIGINAL TAPES, MUSIC EMERGES WITH NEW DETAILS AND TONES
1/2" / 30 IPS analogue master - Plangent Processed - to DXD to analogue console to lathe

Love Over Gold is all about contrast, tension, and crafty composition. Dire Straits' fourth album finds the band continuing to evolve by welcoming increasingly bold arrangements and exploring moody variations. Parts edgy and sharp, and part seductive and relaxed, the five lengthy songs on Love Over Gold sprawl out like a long, winding road cutting through a pastoral landscape. The addition of a new rhythm guitarist, Hal Lindes, encourages deeper atmospheric interplay while the presence of engineer Neil Dorfsman – his first appearance in what would be a long string of collaborations with Mark Knopfler – ensures stunning sonic properties that now come to life like never before.

Mastered from the original master tapes and pressed at RTI, Mobile Fidelity's 180g 45RPM 2LP version of Love Over Gold teems with superb balances, front-to-back soundstages, and crystalline purity. The dead-quiet surfaces and extra-wide grooves bring forward previously obscured details, extra information, and mastering-studio-quality transients. The distinctive textures of a host of instruments – marimbas, acoustic and electric guitars, vibes, synthesizers – further enhance the ambitiousness of the 1982 album.

On this audiophile pressing, everything Knopfler does seemingly turn to gold. Gearheads will hear the unique characteristics afforded by his use of a Mesa Boogie Mark II guitar amplifier (soon again employed on Brothers in Arms) and carefully chosen selection of Schecter Stratocasters, 1937 National steel guitar, and Ovation six- and twelve-string models. Reference-level separation and lifelike imaging place Knopfler and company in your room, while tube-like warmth, spaciousness, and airiness causes the music to breathe anew. This LP will be in your rotation for months.

It doesn't take long to realize Love Over Gold is like no other Dire Straits album – and a staunch proclamation of independence from a band that continued to take longer creative strides with each successive project. Fearlessly extending over metaphoric hills, valleys, and plains for nearly 14-and-a-half minutes, the opening "Telegraph Road" is a guitar hero's dream and exhilarating showcase for Lindes' give-and-take capabilities. In tandem with keyboardist Alan Clark, Lindes provides the ideal foil for not only Knopfler but the long-time rhythm section of bassist John Illsley and drummer Pick Withers.

Taking its time to arrive at destinations, the quintet paints evocative musical and lyrical portraits steeped in patience, drama, and, often times, sadness. Desolate emotions colour the sweeping "Telegraph Road" and barren "Private Investigations," which finds Knopfler in the role of a tired private eye contemplating the emptiness and scars of his profession. Vocally, the Dire Straits leader remains in top form throughout, his whiskey-coated rasp conveying romantic ache, ongoing frustration, and what Rolling Stone beautifully deemed "wracking schizophrenia between the heart and the heartless, the loving and the pain."

Called Dire Straits' prog-rock statement, Love Over Gold is a classic that defies labelling and avoids ageing.

“I want it to feel like you’re right there in the room with us.” And in 10 songs and 40 minutes, Wunderhorse capture the raw power and energy that has set them apart as one of the most formidable live acts of recent years. With rugged hooks, unfiltered noise, and fierce melodic sensitivity, Midas rips up the script of traditional second albums and establishes the band as an endlessly addictive and rousing generational talent.
In late 2022, the release of their debut album Cub saw singles ‘Purple’ and ‘Leader of the Pack’ dominate radio airwaves. Landmark performances filling Glastonbury’s Woodsies Tent (FKA John Peel Stage) and selling out London’s Kentish Town Forum months in advance followed tours with Pixies and Fontaines D.C. and stadium appearances with Sam Fender, signalling the band’s arrival as one of the most prominent and exciting new guitar acts in the UK.
With Grammy Award-winning producer Craig Silvey (The Rolling Stones, The National, Florence + The Machine) on board for their sophomore record, the band looked to do something different. Their goal – in the very same studio that Nirvana put In Utero to tape and PJ Harvey recorded the Mercury Prize-nominated Rid of Me – was to push themselves outside of their comfort zones.
“There’s absolutely no faking on this record,” ends Slater, “it's not supposed to be perfect; it’s supposed to be a snapshot, even if it is a bit of an ugly portrait. That's how it was then, and that's how you're gonna see it.” And it sounds like you’re right there in the room with them.

"WINDSWEPT is yet another creative vehicle for the esteemed Roman Saenko, known worldwide for his pioneering work in Drudkh, Precambrian and Hate Forest among others. While most of his musical creations stem from black metal, thankfully, WINDSWEPT is consistent in this regard and unapologetically restrictive, retaining Saenko's characteristically hypnotic riffing coasting atop a wintry atmosphere.

Now, after a couple albums with Season of Mist, WINDSWEPT join forces with PRIMITIVE REACTION, who released the debut album of his PRECAMBRIAN project in 2020, with the brand-new mini-album "Der eine, wahre König". Uniquely, this four-song / 28-minute recording features two equally esteemed vocalists - Winterherr of Paysage D' Hiver, and Meilenwald of Ruins of Beverast - with both men splitting duties evenly.

Indeed, with such a structure, "Der eine, wahre König" is a portrait of evenness: unwavering, unflinching, immovable, engrossing. Movement manifests in subtlety, as is Saenko's stock in trade; further and deeper listens reveal a wealth of nuance even if it's not always apparent. All four tracks comprising the record feature all-German lyrics, evoking a different-yet-related sense of austerity from the mainman's proudly Ukrainian ruminations, and both vocalists rise to the challenge of pushing their respective throats to the limit whilst remaining rooted to WINDSWEPT's core consistency. That "Der eine, wahre König" attacks from the very first second and successively expands, concluding with the near-11-minute "Jedes Todes Lohn", and retains its a stute balance of urgency and epicness speaks to Saenko's never-faltering mastery.

The onus of proof regarding deepness is a rather peculiar one. Even if one presses all the right buttons, quotes the correct sources and applies the textbook techniques, often something seems to be amiss. The elusive producer Mute never had that problem. Blessed with a a sound of his own, that seems to stem from within and can be called deep house without the genre’s strait-laced demeanor, his aesthetic includes a distinct feel for boogie and disco tropes. Case in point: Lost. Placed as a B2 it is the secret start of Direct Cuts II and more
prominent on this new edition of a classic Running Back record. Molded into an extended disco version by Gerd Janson with unused parts of the original recording session, it something like a curveball deep house disco song, according to the motto: you and me, we can be like a whole universe! Hard to resist and even harder not to like if you have the slightest interest in Prelude records, Diana Ross songs or Tee Scott mix techniques. Basics, Vibes and Driver’s License push further into the world and musical mindset of Mute.
Originally released in 2006 as the the fourth outing of the label and the second (and his last one to date) of the elusive artist, it is still as remarkable as on its first release. Carefully rescued from the original DAT tapes, all re-edited by Gerd Janson and remastered by Lopazz, it’s available again in a clear and present portraiture of its original intent. Early adopters like Danny Krivit and the Idjut Boys can’t be wrong.