quête:psy

From Jagjaguar: “Somewhere along the way, I got the idea
that Richard Youngs’s ‘Sapphie’ was all about a dead dog.
“I don’t know if someone insinuated this idea in front of me
or if I psychologically tethered the title to the tenderly
printed dog paw on its cover. Either way, I’ve gone over a
decade thinking this remarkable, windswept album of torch
songs was about a dearly departed pet.
“And yet, as we approached a reissue of this Jagjaguwar
classic and a new, reimagined version by artists Hypnotic
Brass Ensemble, Moses Sumney, Sharon Van Etten, and
Perfume Genius, Richard Youngs was straightforward and
unsentimental about its meanings. ‘The lyrics are not
about anything in particular,’ Youngs wrote.
“The paw prints on the cover are, in fact, that of a friend’s
dog (‘The first dog I ever loved,’ Richard said), but there is
no devastating loss at its center.
“And so, I want to tell Richard how this album has become
a centering album for a great many of us, a transcendent
and meditative piece of art.
“‘What does ‘the mindfulness drill’ have to do with it?’
Richard asks me dryly in a note.
“It’s about being relentlessly present, Richard. It’s how
when we listen to your album, we feel like a lonely traveler
in a foreign country. How everything has a newness to it
and there’s no one to share it with but the you inside of
you. And that fine, fine line is where ‘Sapphie’ lives,
Richard. Thank you for this, Richard.”
A reimagining of Richard Youngs’ ‘Sapphie’ with
instrumentals from Hypnotic Brass Ensemble and vocal
contributions from Moses Sumney, Perfume Genius and
Sharon Van Etten.
Available on Opaque Black & White Explosion vinyl.

Kojaque follows his critically acclaimed cult concept record, ‘Deli Daydreams’, with an
expansive, urgent debut album. In this landmark debut, Kojaque mines both his
emotional interior as an artist, and the external forces of a love triangle barrelling
towards chaos. ‘Town’s Dead’ is a mind-bending, explosive and expansive trip,
documenting a tumultuous love triangle that unfolds across New Year’s Eve in a
place where gentrification poses as much a threat as the violence of street dealers.
Sonically, the record smashes any previous expectations, stretching an aural palate
that leaps from rage to solace, from clattering musical combustions to tender
ruminations. The tremendous scope and scale of ‘Town’s Dead’ demonstrates an
artist utterly untethered to assumptions about what a particular voice or genre should
be, and instead explores radical musical territory. Dark corners of parks, bedrooms,
clubs, streets and psyches are excavated and pouring over the rubble is an artist
who refuses to conform, unafraid of the vulnerabilities that are exposed when the
voice rings true, because there’s just no point in being anything else.
Kojaque is part of a new wave of Irish artists flooding the world with blistering and
sophisticated literature, film and music - ideas and work that emerged from a social
revolution stonewalled by late-stage capitalism. Welcome to that state of mind, where
the path less travelled is the only one worth taking.
On the announcement of his debut album Kojaque has said: “‘Town’s Dead’ comes
from the potential that I see in Dublin and in the people I’m surrounded by day in and
day out. There’s nothing but talent and ambition among young people, I’m constantly
reminded of that through the art and music that I see being made but I think so often
the city grinds you down, it takes your hope and your ambition. I know that it can
change because so many of my friends express the exact same wants, desires and
frustrations with living in Ireland. If so many of us are on the same page then I know
that things can change, there just needs to be some sort of catalyst to kick start that
change and for me that’s always been art and music. Time and time again, amazing
art continues to be made in spite of the struggles and setbacks that are presented
when living here. The title track and the album is a fight against what can sometimes
feel inevitable, it’s a rejection of what people tell you is your destiny as a young
person in the city, Town’s NOT dead it’s just Dormant.”
CD housed in digisleeve containing 12-page lyric and photo booklet.
Black double vinyl housed in 5mm wide spine single sleeve with 12-page lyric and
photo booklet.
“Hints of Odd Future and its offspring... Kojaque is not your average rapper” - i-D
“Dublin’s hip-hop community are making waves right now... an intimate introduction
to the world this bold artist inhabits” - Clash
“Social realist rhymes set to silky hip-hop” - NME
“Likeable and funny” - Trench
“The Dublin MC forcing us to face real life; both the gory and the glory” - Wonderland
“Ireland’s freshest hip-hop hope, Kojaque, serves ‘soft hip hop’ with a side order of
poetry and performance art” - Notion

On their new studio album, The Murlocs share a
collection of songs reflecting on the people who
leave a profound imprint on our lives, the saviours
and hellraisers and assorted other mystifying
characters.
The Murlocs (whose line-up includes two members
of King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard) recorded at
Button Pushers Studio in Melbourne, Australia,
dreaming up a prismatic sound that pinballs from
sunshine-pop to blues-punk to wide-eyed
psychedelia.
What emerges from these 11 infectious tracks is
their most personal and boldly confident work yet.
LP pressed on ‘Blue Eyed Runner’ Edition white
with baby blue splatter vinyl.

Rose City Band is the solo project of Ripley Johnson (Wooden Shjips, Moon
Duo).
Stepping out from behind the psychedelic haze that envelops his other
output, Rose City Band’s lean yet richly textured arrangements lay bare the
beauty of his songcraft. On ‘Earth Trip’, Johnson reveals more of himself
than ever before, colouring the project’s country-rock twang with a
melancholic, wistful undertone. It charts a journey of personal growth and
introspection with surprising honesty, from pining for summers spent with
friends to meditations on space, stillness and the splendour of the natural
world.
It continues Rose City Band’s celebration of summer warmth and the great
outdoors, seen from a new vantage point and with newfound appreciation for
the freedom and joy that nature provides.
Through its daring honesty and masteful arrangements, ‘Earth Trip’ cements
Johnson’s place as a singular songwriter of inimitable skill. Its message of
mindfulness and our interconnectedness to the environment expands on a
long country and blues music tradition that draws a symbiotic relationship
between storyteller and the land, capturing the beauty of the natural world
while also emphasising our responsibility in preserving it for future
generations.
‘Earth Trip’ features an incredible line up of guests including drummer John
Jeffrey (Moon Duo), Sanae Yamada (Moon Duo) on piano, Ryan Jewell and
Barry Walker on pedal steel guitar.
Mixed by Cooper Crain (Bitchin’ Bajas, Cave) at Electrical Audio and
mastering by Amy Dragon at Telegraph Mastering.
Deluxe mini gatefold CD package.
Forest green coloured vinyl and black vinyl are available in deluxe LP
packaging, die-cut jacket with 4-colour printing on both the outside and inside
of the jacket. Also with fully artworked heavy-weight cardstock printed inner
sleeve and digital download card.
“Ripley Johnson has been responsible for some of the past decade’s most
mesmeric and beguiling albums.” - The Guardian
“Johnson’s Rose City Band incarnation may be his most dazzling and
uplifting so far... transforms the fuzz-drenched thrust of Johnson’s usual
music into a beatific choogle, a modest but potent means of escape from the
realities of 2020” - MOJO

Rose City Band is the solo project of Ripley Johnson (Wooden Shjips, Moon
Duo).
Stepping out from behind the psychedelic haze that envelops his other
output, Rose City Band’s lean yet richly textured arrangements lay bare the
beauty of his songcraft. On ‘Earth Trip’, Johnson reveals more of himself
than ever before, colouring the project’s country-rock twang with a
melancholic, wistful undertone. It charts a journey of personal growth and
introspection with surprising honesty, from pining for summers spent with
friends to meditations on space, stillness and the splendour of the natural
world.
It continues Rose City Band’s celebration of summer warmth and the great
outdoors, seen from a new vantage point and with newfound appreciation for
the freedom and joy that nature provides.
Through its daring honesty and masteful arrangements, ‘Earth Trip’ cements
Johnson’s place as a singular songwriter of inimitable skill. Its message of
mindfulness and our interconnectedness to the environment expands on a
long country and blues music tradition that draws a symbiotic relationship
between storyteller and the land, capturing the beauty of the natural world
while also emphasising our responsibility in preserving it for future
generations.
‘Earth Trip’ features an incredible line up of guests including drummer John
Jeffrey (Moon Duo), Sanae Yamada (Moon Duo) on piano, Ryan Jewell and
Barry Walker on pedal steel guitar.
Mixed by Cooper Crain (Bitchin’ Bajas, Cave) at Electrical Audio and
mastering by Amy Dragon at Telegraph Mastering.
Deluxe mini gatefold CD package.
Forest green coloured vinyl and black vinyl are available in deluxe LP
packaging, die-cut jacket with 4-colour printing on both the outside and inside
of the jacket. Also with fully artworked heavy-weight cardstock printed inner
sleeve and digital download card.
“Ripley Johnson has been responsible for some of the past decade’s most
mesmeric and beguiling albums.” - The Guardian
“Johnson’s Rose City Band incarnation may be his most dazzling and
uplifting so far... transforms the fuzz-drenched thrust of Johnson’s usual
music into a beatific choogle, a modest but potent means of escape from the
realities of 2020” - MOJO

Purple Vinyl

Even if you're well-acquainted with composer and multi-instrumentalist Colin Fisher's richly varied output, his gentle fifth solo album, Refections of the Invisible World may come as a surprise. Psychedelic lyricism has always been a fundamental aspect of his sonic signature, but his second collaboration with producer Jeremy Greenspan (Junior Boys, Jessy Lanza, Morgan Geist) finds the Toronto native luxuriating in expansive atmospherics for its full duration.
That's not to downplay the eclecticism he finds within this ethereal landscape. Each track tills its own discrete sonic acreage, and while every one emanates from a clear focal point, the spontaneous impulse that drives Fisher's more audibly improvisational music always remains close at hand. Some pieces unfold rippling aquatic vistas or delight in prismatic guitar arpeggiation, elsewhere his plaintive, blues- infected tenor saxophone wafts like some strange jazz apparition, or becomes a chorus of cosmic murmurs. The presence of electronics is undeniable, but equally irrefutable is the organic instrumental sources of these disparate hues. In fact he's discovered a rare balance: no matter how effects-saturated, every gesture on the record feels palpably sculpted by Fisher's hands and breath. As such, Refections of the Invisible World carries a sense of intimacy at the heart of its diffuse, dream-like sonics.
Fisher has a been a major presence in Canada's music community for more than twenty years—particularly in more experimental and improvisational circles. Nothing short of a guitar virtuoso, he also wields saxophone, drums, and various other instruments with similarly refined musicality, vivid textural imagination, and sometimes feral abandon. His one-man-band tape Garden of Unknowning for Manchester's Tombed Visions, showcase all of this as he spars with different iterations of himself. The Quietus' cassette critic Tristan Bath extolled it as "miraculous," adding that "it’s a visceral experience soaking up this record, and it’s all down to Fisher’s utterly innate sense of musicality." He subsequently cited it in his 2018 contributor's year-end chart for the Wire.
In 2014 his partnership with Nick Millevoi's trio Many Arms on Suspended Defnition (Tzadik) prompted Spin's Brad Cohan to remark "Many Arms have dug even deeper into math-metal wizardry, bolstering their already imposing lineup with gale-force blowing guest saxophonist Colin Fisher, thus blasting their outré sonic blitz into a fire-breathing free jazz otherworld." Fisher later engaged the band's bassist, Johnny DeBlase, to team up with him and Kid Millions (Oneida, Man Forever) as Monas. As an ongoing collaborator to introspective dance music auteur Caribou, Fisher frst appeared in offshoot project Caribou Vibration Ensemble, and subsequently on acclaimed albums Swim and Suddenly. He's also made two duo albums with celebrated Nova Scotian jaw harp innovator chik white for Dylan and Lisa Nyoukis' Chocolate Monk label. In addition to performing alongside the likes of Jaime Branch, Joe McPhee, William Parker, Laraaji, Gerry Hemmingway, and Fred Frith, he has contributed to recordings by the Constantines (Sub Pop), Bernice (Arts & Crafts), Rhys Chatham (Table of the Elements), Born Ruffans (Warp), Anthony Braxton and AIMToronto Orchestra (Spool), and many more.

Cult UK producer Iglew returns with his highly anticipated sophomore record after a six year hiatus, finding a perfect home on Facta and K-LONE’s label, Wisdom Teeth. Iglew first burst through during the instrumental grime boom of the mid-‘10s, debuting on Mr Mitch’s Gobstopper imprint with the now-verified classic ‘Urban Myth’ EP. A run of massive edits, remixes, radio rips, plus a feature on legendary label Boxed followed - andthen he went into hiding. Six years on, his follow-up EP expands and consolidates his sound into something truly unique and distinct. His central talents - glacial synth work, timeless melodies, pristine sound design - are all on show here in abundance, but twisted to fit new, refreshed patterns and structures.

‘Caffeine Dream’ is mutant UK techno that offsets distorted bass and glitching synths against warm chords and a noodling melody. ‘Gold’ is cool and stepping, sitting somewhere between early Night Slugs and the refracteddeep house of DJ Python. Title track ‘Light Armour’ is the EP’s understated climax - a lowlit and psychedelic take on modern pop, sounding something like a Charli XCX record A&R’d by the Freerotation crew. To close, ‘Microfunk Lament’ and ‘Hakwsworth Woods’ lean into microhouse and Reich-school minimalism, putting Iglew’s immense knack for melody and soul on full display.

Here is one of the most sought after Turkish records.

Really a rare single from Turkey.

Turkish psych folk-rock sound with killer electric saz/fuzz heavy funk single from 1975.

Remastered sound, arranged by Zafer Dilek.

‘Miracle’ is the new album from Manchester singer songwriter Francis Lung,
released on Memphis Industries.
“For me, ‘Miracle’ is about the struggle between my self-destructive side and my
problem-solving, constructive side,” says Francis. “I suppose through a lot of
these songs I’m dealing with these emotional problems, acknowledging the
negative aspects of my behaviour instead of burying them, and providing an
alternative point of view for myself.”
Despite its serious subject matter, ‘Miracle’ is far from austere in sound, marrying
the cinematic, dreamlike quality of Francis’s earlier music with the pared-back
charm of great singer-songwriters like Judee Sill, Jeff Tweedy and Elliott Smith.
The album opens with ‘Bad Hair Day’, a relentlessly catchy - and deceptively
upbeat - ode to hangovers and missed connections. “I’ve been calling on you all
night / But I never get through, I just get in the way” Francis laments; “I am a
cloud in the sun’s light / Whatever I do, whatever I say.”
Elsewhere, the title track finds him pondering the fickle nature of the music
industry: “I think of [‘Miracle’] as acknowledging and even encouraging the
feelings we’re not supposed to succumb to - giving up, giving in - just because it
can be comforting to hear it from someone else. ‘Why am I climbing these social
ladders and jumping through the hoops of this creative industry? Does this make
me happy?’”
These themes of longing and lacking, missing and being missed, reoccur
throughout ‘Miracle. “When I die / Will I be missed / Or am I missing the point?”
asks ‘Say So’; while ‘Lonesome No More’, inspired by the Kurt Vonnegut book of
the same name, begs the question: if loneliness was eradicated, would we miss
it?
By confronting these feelings, Francis is able to move forward, as triumphant
album closer ‘The Let Down’ proves. Its lyrics serve as a call to action, as
Francis wills himself (and the listener) to “Get up / Get something going / Do
something, do it / Do it now.”
‘Miracle’ was produced by Francis in collaboration with Brendan Williams (Dutch
Uncles, Matthew Halsall, Kiran Leonard) and Robin Koob (who co-arranged and
performed strings). The opportunity to take creative control was one Francis
relished. “I’m quite bad at delegating,” he admits, noting that he played every
instrument except strings on ‘Miracle’. The result is a cohesive, deeply personal
record, which is as vital as it is vulnerable. “I don’t want to be defined by my
anxiety, my depression or any history of substance abuse,” Francis says, “but I
do want to reach out to other people who have had similar experiences,
especially if it’s in a way that helps them feel a little better. To me, this music is
celebrating healing as much as it focuses on the darker sides of the human
psyche.”

Demon Records is proud to present the ultimate reissue of the Yardbirds’ 1966 album Yardbirds, (often known as ‘Roger
the Engineer’.) Recorded by the classic line up of Jeff Beck, Keith Relf, Jim McCarty, Chris Dreja and Paul Samwell-Smith,
the band began exploring new sonic territories, pushing their blues-rock sound into the realms of the avant-garde,
psychedelia and Indian music. Using original tapes, this super deluxe edition features new and definitive remastering by
Phil Kinrade at Alchemy Mastering at AIR, overseen by original album producer Paul Samwell-Smith.
"Remastering this album has been a joy. To hear the tracks sounding just as we heard them all those years ago while we were
recording them - energetic, edgy, and in your face - is an unexpected treat. In 1966, it was a rare and exciting opportunity to be
given a recording studio for 5 days and allowed to experiment. That excitement still shows." – Paul Samwell-Smith
“This is what rock ‘n’ roll beauty is - the true freedom of creative impulse.” – Thurston Moore
“The Yardbirds produced some of the most compelling musical art of the 20th century.” – Wayne Kramer

Push For Night is the New York City based duo of Oliver Chapoy and James Elliott. Trafficking in dark, liminal electronics, the duo's sound is an ever shifting morass of psychoacoustic textures and spectral utterances. Evoking eerie, unnatural, and hidden spaces, this is music that exists in the threshold – locked in a constant push and pull of thwarted expectations and sublime release, hovering in a trance state of the always in-between. These seven tracks reference dark ambient, post-industrial, electroacoustic, 90s IDM, even fourth world explorations, but the music never truly slides into any definable style. The uncertain and illusory rule this sonic soil. Recorded by PFN in NYC and CDMX, 2017-2020 using various synthesizers, drum machines, heavily processed field recordings and guitars.

De Brassers were one of the most notorious bands in the Belgian new wave/punk history. With their no nonsense attitude they scared the shit out of the local catholic community of Hamont. De Brassers were a local mixture of the Sex Pistols (in the lowest gear) and Joy Division (they always performed a cover version of Joy Division’s Shadowplay), combining a criticism of bureaucracy and politics with experiences of psychological and existential tensions. The doomed sound they produced tells a lot about the dark atmosphere of the late seventies and early eighties: the fear of atomic bombs, cold war pessimism, police violence against squatters, the first cases of AIDS, and the grim years of Reagan & Thatcher.

This compilation takes you back to that time. All tracks from their first 7″ "En Toen Was Er Niets Meer” & their self-titled 12″, plus rare & unreleased tracks taken from various live performances & the cassette “Levend”. If you’re in for a raw slice of Belgian history let de Brassers immerse you in a cold wave of punk.

The track is already on the ‘Filoxiny’ album so Skinshape extended the mix and backed it with a dub version for the flip. Skinshape is the project of British musician William Dorey. The sound has roots in many genres but in particular 1960s Funk, Soul, Reggae, Psychedelic Rock, Afrobeat and Folk. Aside from the Skinshape project Dorey was bassist for the band Palace from 2014-2017 and also runs a reggae label called Horus Records based in North London. About I Didn’t Know from Dorey himself: “This is the most 'pop' song I've possibly ever made, and possibly the most 'modern' sounding. It is about being in a difficult relationship and not knowing how to deal with it and making mistakes as a result. I wrote and recorded most of the song around the drum pattern, and created some (terrible sounding) digital orchestral parts temporarily whilst I created the body of the song. I recorded the strings and horns in the last part of the recording process before doing the final mixes. The horns were recorded separately with the help of my long-time friend (since school) and master arranger Jon Moody (of the group Franc Moody).”

Bosconi welcomes fellow producer Mattia Lapucci on board with his EP titled Levitated Sensor Detector (LSD) with a massive 4-track that includes a great variety of styles: from Electro to Deep House with a touch of progressive trance reminiscences, all fused in a decidedly original and unique style.
The record opens with "LSD Hallucinogen", surely a floor killer with a retro flavor and EBM inspiration characterized by mechanical grooves with an industrial appeal and a hypnotic voice capable of dragging you into this sonic 'mind bending' vortex.
The second cut of the A side is "Quantum Entaglement" which goes deeper into the territories of the renowned old school 90s Italian house with its recognizable deep basslines and its mysterious sound weaves in full afterhour style.
Side B opens instead with "Density Matrix", a song performed during the quarantine period that resonates in its suggestive hybrid vein between New Beat and Balearic carefree as a nostalgic call to freedom.
The closing piece of this release is finally entrusted to the fluid atmospheres of "Kinematic Postulates" where a relaxed and fascinating proto trance melody will keep you ready for a soft landing in the most psychedelic territories of dance music. One for the Eat Static fans for sure, we hope you dig it!

Debut release for the brand new mediterranean label ‘R&C Records’ based on just “benessere” (well-being).

It opens with ‘Eram’ a nice italo-balearic flavoured fusion between Carella’s sounds & sea winds, ruffled by drums of “Soul”.

On the flip-side ‘Key Mon’ is a splash of psycho roller drums on Peter’s magical voice. Shock !!

This album was recorded in 1977 and produced by Status Quo’s FRANCIS ROSSI. Shockingly, this album has never been released on vinyl until now. It originally came out on CD in 1992 and is now long out of print and even that goes for good coin.

Du Cann’s stellar career included freakbeat heroes THE ATTACK (“Magic In The Air”), psych/prog legends ANDROMEDA, and the group he’s best known for, ATOMIC ROOSTER. Du Cann wrote their their #4 hit single “Devil’s Answer”. A couple of years later he was in DAEMON, later renamed BULLET, then HARD STUFF. In 1974 he was even a temporary guitarist for a THIN LIZZY German tour.

In 1977, he was signed to the same management company as STATUS QUO, who paired him with Quo leader, Francis Rossi. The resulting album, “The World’s Not Big Enough” included Rossi on guitar, Andy Bown (The Herd, Judas Jump, Status Quo) on keyboards, Pete Kircher (Honeybus, Status Quo, Liverpool Express) on drums, and John McCoy (Ian Gillian, Tyla Gang, U.K. Subs) on bass. Basically, this is Du Cann backed by Status Quo at their Belt Buckle Boogie peak.

A few songs from this album appeared on killer late 70s Punxploitation singles “Throw Him Jail”, “Don’t Be A Dummy” (a UK Top 40 hit!), and “Where’s The Show”. This album has been described as “Quo mixed with the Sex Pistols”, and we can’t disagree with that assessment.

I tend to exist in the darker parts of the psyche, Jim Ward admits. “That’s where I’ve always been.” And yet what makes the musician so unique and downright compelling is how exactly at the moment when the world joins him in the darkness — take, for example, the ultra-challenging year that was 2020— it’s then Ward is able to claw his way back into the light. “All I was doing was basically meditating with a guitar,” Ward says of how every night during the pandemic,armed with a guitar as well as a bit of time and purpose, this prolific musician was able to churn out several riotous riffs that ultimately transformed into one of his most personal and profound albums to date. “I’ve always used music as an outlet for anxiety and frustration,” notes Ward, who has played in a slew of monumental bands, from the iconic post-hardcore band At The Drive-In to Sparta, aswell his alt-country project, Sleepercar. In fact, it’s this healing power of music, Ward offers, that led him to Daggers, the lauded musician’s new solo record set for release in 2021 via Dine Alone. “When my world has upheaval, it becomes about doing the work in front of me,” he adds. “And this record was pure joy: talking to my friends on the phone, swapping ideas with them, going into my head for a while, coming out with something.” So while Daggers is officially credited as a solo work, and Ward never entered the room with any of his collaborators due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he’s effusive in his praise for them: notably the twin team of Incubus bassist Ben Kenney and Thursday drummer Tucker Rule, both of whom took Ward’s guitar riffs and helped propel them into fully fleshed-out songs. For Fans of: Sparta, At The Drive-In, The Mars Volta, Thursday, Incubus, Frank Eiro, Bear vs Shark, Glassjaw, ...Trail of Dead, Deftones, Jimmy Eat World, Taking Back Sunday, Queens of the Stone Age, Thrice, The Smashing Pumpkins Key marketing highlights: - Jim Ward is the lead singer and guitarist of Sparta and co-founder of post-hardcore band At The Drive-In. - Ward has toured with the likes of My Chemical Romance, Deftones, mewithoutyou and many more - Ward has received acclaim from Pitchfork, Consequence of Sound, Brooklyn Vegan, Alternative Press, Guitar World, Billboard and more. - Ward has performed on the late night TV programs of Conan and David Letterman. - Ben Kinney From Incubus playing bass on record and Tucker Rule from Thursday playing drums on record

"Worn-denim instrumental psych country." - Raven Sings The Blues

Recorded to ¼” tape, Shakedown In Slabtown is a sunscorched ramble through widescreen

guitar instrumentalism, down-home gospel, Kosmische repetition and swampy country choogle

with the hiss left in. Bobby is joined by Guy Whittaker (Sharron Kraus, Jim Ghedi, Big Eyes) on

drums and percussion, Mark Armstrong on electric bass and keys plus a primitive drum machine

groove last heard on Suicide's debut or JJ Cale’s early records.

Owing as much to The Durutti Column as Ry Cooder, the album takes in stripped back

traditionals, fuzzed out folk funk, Hired Hand-style acoustic vignettes and wide eyed rural rock.

In the grand power-trio tradition, the album closes with a live rave up; an 11min+ elongated

deconstruction of Warren Zevon’s Join Me in LA, equal parts Dr John’s Gris Gris, E2E4 and

CCR vamp.

Bobby is from Sheffield in the UK and the touring bass player for the cosmic-country veterans "Gospel Beach".

High Pulp returns with a brand new instalment of covers, on Mutual Attraction Vol 2. A spiritual jazz journey, interpreting arrangements by Arthur Verocai, Cortex and Casiopea. The 8-piece fusion band pays homage to tracks and artists that have woven themselves into the DNA of their band.

The Mutual Attraction series is about paying homage and looking back to influences that have paved the way for informing the band’s sound. It was important to the band to find 3 different significant spaces to record each volume. MA Vol. 2 was recorded at a house that the group’s drummer, Bobby Granfelt holds many fond childhood memories. It is the house that his father grew up in, and a house that his grandfather built. A house that would eventually become Granfelt’s current residence and also is the band’s homebase for rehearsing and hanging out. It is a reflection of the past and the present, as are these interpretations of songs. Rich textures and cinematic grooves alongside trippy guitars, lush Rhodes keys, and soulful horns. Covering tunes that may have flown under the radar, but have impacted the group immensely.

High Pulp are an 8-piece band that emerged from the Royal Room, a legendary Seattle Jazz club where they held “Funk Church” jam sessions in 2017. Their signature sound is a Psychedelic fusion of Hip-Hop, Funk, Jazz, and Soul which come together with complex, well thought out arrangements and progressive style. After successful sessions and premieres with prestigious station KEXP, and being at the forefront of the Seattle music scene, they are now branching out and taking their sound worldwide.

Indie/Psyche/Jazz/Soul/Dub. Originally released in 2014 and available for the first time on CD. CD only bonus tracks 'Surf Rider' and 'Rainy Dub' Written, recorded, mixed and produced by Will Dorey, Skinshape's self-titled debut album showcases the talents of the then 23 year old. Recorded in bedrooms, lounges and 'The Arch' studio in North London the trademark 'Skinshape' sound was already starting to emerge. Everything from psychedelia and rock to indie and dub is explored. A stunning debut for a now much loved artist.

From the moment she began writing her new album, Japanese
Breakfast’s Michelle Zauner knew that she wanted to call it
‘Jubilee’. After all, a jubilee is a celebration of the passage of time
- a festival to usher in the hope of a new era in brilliant technicolor.
Zauner’s first two albums garnered acclaim for the way they
grappled with anguish; ‘Psychopomp’ was written as her mother
underwent cancer treatment, while ‘Soft Sounds From Another
Planet’ took the grief she held from her mother’s death and used it
as a conduit to explore the cosmos.
Now, at the start of a new decade, Japanese Breakfast is ready to
fight for happiness, an all-too-scarce resource in our seemingly
crumbling world.
‘Jubilee’ finds Michelle Zauner embracing ambition and, with it, her
boldest ideas and songs yet. Inspired by records like Bjork’s
‘Homogenic’, Zauner delivers bigness throughout - big ideas, big
textures, colours, sounds and feelings. At a time when virtually
everything feels extreme, ‘Jubilee’ sets its sights on maximal joy,
imagination and exhilaration. It is, in Michelle Zauner’s words, “a
record about fighting to feel. I wanted to re-experience the pure,
unadulterated joy of creation… The songs are about recalling the
optimism of youth and applying it to adulthood. They’re about
making difficult choices, fighting ignominious impulses and
honoring commitments, confronting the constant struggle we have
with ourselves to be better people.”
Throughout ‘Jubilee’, Zauner pours her own life into the universe
of each song to tell real stories and allowing those universes, in
turn, to fill in the details. Joy, change, evolution - these things take
real time and real effort. And Japanese Breakfast is here for it.
Available on clear with yellow swirl coloured vinyl.

Bottin teams up with Francisco (Jolly Music, L.U.C.A.) for a drugged-out, sexed up, slo-mo psych-rock aptly titled LOVE LIFE. Old acquaintance Rodion steps in on remix duties, working deranged synth magic in the extended dj version. On the flipside, Argentina's Fernando Pulichino (2020 Soundsystem, Silver City) joins in with his flamboyant bass and shimmering guitars on DELTA TIGRE, an afro-cosmic sound contraption. The IchiSan remix heads up to the sky, all the way to synth heaven. Overall a compelling, throbbing disco-not-disco EP for adventurous djs and dancers in-the-know, who want to hear something different and juicy.

The second album from Brighton based Balearic duo Andres y Xavi. This time with a little help from Rolo McGinty of Peel faves and Balearic Beat legends The Woodentops. This is a love letter to the forgotten side of Ibiza: dusty lanes, olive groves and clearings with sea views that go on for miles.

10 original compositions plus a cover of Talk Talk’s Renee.

The self released and distributed first album found favour with Balearic DJs across the world. Lead track ‘My alibi’ was picked out by the likes of Kenneth Bager, Danny Psychmagik and ‘Never seen Ibiza’ was a firm favourite of Phat Phil Cooper and Balearic Ultras.

Rolo adds guitar and vocals and a Woodentops vibe to two tracks on the album ‘What do you see in me?’ and ‘Walking in the sun’, his personal tribute to Jose Padilla.

First album received support from Kenneth Bager (Music for Dreams), Phat Phil Cooper (NuNorthernSoul), Chris Coco, Mike Salta, Leo Mas, Balearic Ultras, David Pickering (OneMillionSunsets) and many more!

And was described by Dr Rob (Ban Ban Ton Ton) as "Smokey Muscle Shoals organ plays, strings swoon, and Kosmische synths blink like distant stars... an overall “vibe” somewhere between Mo`Wax and the Sunday Best of Bent and Dan Mass... adorned by cascading Indie “neo-acoustic” guitar jangle. Like The Stone Roses by way of Horsebeach."

Growing Bin switches back into reissue mode with an off-kilter obscurity from Austrian eccentrics Molto Brutto. Equal parts amateur funk, indie jangle, art rock and idiot pop, "2" is a real weird bastard with a whole lot of charm. As the Bin continues to grow in all directions, there's plenty of space for new sounds to take root. Alongside patches of Ambient, Balearic, Kosmische and Jazz, Hamburg's audio allotment now stretches to accommodate the strange waves of Molto Brutto.

Basso dug their first LP a decade back in Stuttgart's Second Hand Records, embracing their abrasive style of sandpaper sonics and experimental urges. Interest piqued, he made the journey through their DIY catalogue, capturing excellent collaborations under the Ganslinger alias before bumping into the second of their two LPs. Originally released on their Golfdish imprint in 1988, "2" walks into the pub with an air of accessibility, but quickly unravels into glorious chaos - pissing in the corner and passing out on the bar. Pop structures are suggested then subverted.
Pints of Paisley slosh out of a broken Glass, tape loops spool onto shabby Material, and indie janglers are just a couple of stamps short of a Postcard.

Turning you tipsy, this loveable rogue starts to tell you his life story, but you're going to have to fill in some blanks. They miss 'Blackie', but who is he - a dog? What happened on the 'Deadly Vacation'? Is that song really about a 'Goldfish', or did they find out the name of America's horse? Words repeat until they lose all meaning, awkward poetry masks a lost laureate and a drunken Wurlitzer sends the room into a spin.

The pubs are shut, so get happy drunk with Molto Brutto.
Patrick Ryder

Coinciding with the release of the Curtis Vodka EP on Mutual Intentions, Kurtiss moves from the fringes of the dance floor to the centre of the DJ booth with this lively three-track tool for the same label. The mysterious artist pays tribute to House music's origins as he takes his style of Hi-Def House music into peak time.

Shimmering hi-hats, deep basslines and staccato keys explode on "Every Woman loves Acid" where a disembodied vocal and squelching 303 go line for line in a psychedelic call and response. The obvious Larry Heard tribute, hastens the step of the Chicago classic "Can You Feel It" to accommodate an impatient dance floor, while Sadé croons over a skipping bass line for a live remix of "Never Thought."

Kurtiss homes his efforts in on the groove for this outing in a fitting selection for the whitelabel format. Alongside the official EP, this ushers in a new era for Kurtiss' music, sealing his future in wax, and bringing his music to a bigger audience through the Mutual Intentions franchise.

Kurtiss is a sporadic figure on the House music scene with eccentric habits, whose music is a rarified sonic experience for those who seek it out. Finally, this package re-constitutes the artist's presence in a physical format that will indefinitely become a future apogee on his and the label's discography.

A lecture in 60's psych pop (almost power pop with flashes of hard rock) with consistently solid melodical, up-tempo, organ driven songs, soaring vocal harmonies, anthemic choruses. Psyched, poppy & fun. Not an album that you would listen to regularly, but more like an old friend to go back when you are in that 60s mood.

Cardinal Fuzz (Europe) and Feeding Tube Records (N.America) present to you - A vinyl issue of the killer CD comp that SS Records released way back in 2004 with a couple of added treats. Brace yourself for some steller hair singeing full throttle wipe outs across 4 slabs of heavy black vinyl. Comes with a folded A3 double sided insert.

Monoshock was one of THE best bands of the 90s and if they were from Seattle and not Illa Vista & Oakland, California you would already know that. During their six years they released a handful of 7"s, served as a backing band for Von Lmo, and created one of the classic psych albums of all time, Walk to the Fire. In the last few years they received praise from around the globe, raved up by Julian Cope as one of the great unknown bands of the 90s and cited as an influence by current heavy faves, Comets on Fire, as well as a whole slew of Japanese psych bands. Monoshock is fuzz-fuel, wah-wah damaged, riff-crazed punk rock which draws in Hawkwind, the Stooges, Simply Saucer, and other psych-punk gods. This double LP collects all their 7"s and comp tracks together with 7 previously unreleased tunes and two songs from their ultra-rare 1989 demo tape and 2 added digi bonus Live tracks from their reunion shows. Fans will be overjoyed. Virgins will become fans.
The band's stellar Walk to the Fire has been acknowledged as one of the classic psych albums of all time.

In his tenth year with Acid Jazz, the ever-prolific Matt Berry
has crafted a psych masterpiece. Once again proving that
his artistic progression and ambition knows no bounds.
Following the acclaim of last year’s Top 30 album
‘Phantom Birds’ (★★★★ The Times), Acid Jazz release
‘Blue Elephant’, Matt Berry’s sixth studio album with the
ground breaking label.
Recorded during the summer of 2020, ‘Blue Elephant’ is
testament to Matt’s exceptional musicianship, production
skills and songwriting prowess with every instrument
played by Matt - including guitars, bass, a variety of
keyboards and synthesizers (piano, Wurlitzer, mellotron,
Moog, Hammond, Vox and Farfisa organs) - with the
exception of drums (supplied by Craig Blundell), on
arguably his best album to date.
This music soundtracks an album that explores themes
surrounding today’s close scrutiny in all its bewildering,
objectifying and unnerving experiences. Very much a
conceptual and, therefore, continuous long-player, the
album’s infectious grooves come to the fore on standout
tracks ‘Summer Sun’, heavy-psych instrumental ‘Invisible’
and the three-part ‘Blues Inside Me’, which encompasses
a psych journey through a late ‘60s and early glam filter,
mixed with the propulsive ‘Like Stone’.
‘Blue Elephant’ is available on digipack CD, blue vinyl,
black vinyl and audio cassette.

With Bending the Golden Hour, the third album from Memphis, Tennessee’s Aquarian Blood, husband and wife team J.B. Horrell (Ex-Cult) and Laurel Horrell (formerly of the Nots) continue the gorgeously stripped-down and atmospheric direction set on their critically acclaimed previous effort A Love That Leads to War.

While Aquarian Blood has roots as a chaotic punk rock six-piece, the band shifted gears after two raucous cassette-only releases on ZAP Cassettes, a pair of seven-inches, and 2017’s Last Nite in Paradise, released on Goner Records. After drummer Bill Curry broke his arm, the Horrells redefined

Aquarian Blood, reemerging in early 2018 as the more intimate, mostly acoustic balladeers behind the staccato, fever dream sound of A Love That Leads to War. Like its immediate predecessor, Bending the Golden Hour was recorded at the Horrell's Midtown Memphis home. The band turned over 43 tracks to Goner co-owner Zac Ives, who handpicked 17 songs for the album.

The final result is shimmering and hopeful; as beautiful and sparse as a Rockwell Kent snowscape. Bending the Golden Hour begins ominously with “Channeling,” which sounds like an outtake from Paul Giovanni’s soundtrack to 1973’s pagan nightmare The Wicker Man. Then the band upshifts for “Time in the Rain,” a sweet duet set to a rigid snare beat. From there, Aquarian Blood zigs to country and zags to psychedelic folk, brooding on one song and soothing listeners with the next. And while the music, feel, and experience is different, Aquarian Blood naturally brings to mind some legendary musical partnerships: Richard and Linda Thompson, Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra, Johnny and June Carter Cash, Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris; not to mention similarly-bent-but-beautiful luminaries like Roy Harper, Pentangle circa 1967 -1973, and Jackson C. Frank.

There’s a big middle ground, like folk-psych, or weirder country music,” he says, reeling off names like Skip Spence and Syd Barrett as stepping stones between the genres of punk and folk.

Inspirations for Bending the Golden Hour come from myriad sources that document the milestones and minutiae in a family’s full life. Some lyrics name a time or a place; others reflect the fleeting moments that elapse unnoticed. “Come Home,” which is sung by J.B. and his daughter Ava, was written the day Ava got her driver’s license. “Ava took the car out by herself afterwards, and I wrote the song immediately—she sang her part when she got home that evening,” J.B. recalls. Whether or not the listener knows the backstory, the song rings sentimental, with subtle, supportive instrumentation that underscores guitar and vocals. The bewitching “Rope and Hair,” on the other hand, is less sketched out, with lyrics that are simply a recitation of the talismen found on a silver sabertooth charm that J.B. purchased for Laurel at a Latin strip mall in southeast Memphis. That’s all to be said. “Sometimes when you know too much about what the song is about, it takes away the magic,” says J.B. “Alabama Daughter,” says Laurel, is about a place where a childhood friend lived called Castleberry Holler. “It was really rural, just a lot of shacks without electricity—the kind of place you didn’t go to unless you were invited,” she says. “Probable Gods” is a hazy reflection on the struggle of such a strange year. “It’s been very cathartic to put all of this into words and not have it live

For fans of AMON DÜÜL, CAN, FAUST, NEUBAUTEN, BRIAN ENO, CLUSTER, CULT OF LUNA, NINE INCH NAILS, MASSIVE ATTACK OR - Norwegian for "dizzy, confusing" - is the third album from Italian avant-rock trio OSLO TAPES, and the album keeps what the word promises: a dizzying ride through a feverish dreamscape of imaginary Norwegian highlands painted in cubistic shapes. Hypnotic basslines, repetitive drum patterns, new wave synths and psychedelic guitar textures covering the full width of the stereo room, all seamlessly woven into a gloomy Kraut - tapestry which sounds refreshingly_ modern, while paying tribute to the aged genre. Marco Campitelli, born and raised in Lanciano on the Southern Adriatic coast of Italy, founded OSLO TAPES in the early 2010s after a trip to the Norwegian Capital left him deeply impressed. Under the influence of this infatuation, he composed and produced OSLO TAPES' first record "OT (un cuore in pasto a pesci con teste di cane)" within a week in 2013. Supervised and supported by friend Amaury Cambuzat (faUSt / Ulan Bator), Campitelli's first attempt to capture the mystical vibe of Norway was released on DeAmbula Records (Ulan Bator, The Marigold, 7C). In 2015 he was joined by Mauro Spada and Federico Sergente (Zippo) and together they recorded OSLO TAPES' sophomore album "Tango Kalashnikov", also released on DeAmbula Records. "OR" is a much more collaborative effort for OSLO TAPES than the first two records. Next to Campitelli, the album was co-produced by Amaury Cambuzat (Ulan Bator) and James Aparicio (house engineer for Mute Records and mixing and mastering engineer for Depeche Mode, Mogwai, Nick Cave). During production, Campitelli became friends with Emil Nikolaisen of Serena Maneesh w h o guided him "through the Norwegian imagination". As a result, the record's title is also courtesy of Nikolaisen. During this journey spanning over eight songs, OSLO TAPES, completed by Mauro Spada (bass) and Davide Di Virgilio (drums and percussions) construct a dense and ever so dark atmosphere that is captivating, brooding and imaginative. After a spiraling takeoff with "Space is the place", we find ourselves floating weightlessly above the nocturnal Norwegian highlands through "Zenith" and "Kosmik Feels", an airy circulation of jazzy drums, pulsating bass lines and shimmering guitar clouds. We saddle up, gallop across the sky on "Bodo Dakar" and drift back into the night on "Cosmonaut". The trifecta of "Norwegian Dream", "Exotic Dreams" and "Obession Is The Mother of All" conclude this agitated fever dream journey. There is a sense of solitude in OSLO TAPES' compositions which makes it easy to imagine them as interstellar jam sessions between cosmonauts, each in their own isolated space capsule. Every spin of "OR" brings new discoveries: sometimes it is a noise that we did not notice before, sometimes a slight change in the drum groove, sometimes just a piece of the lyrics, meandering through our mental space. "OR" is a vertiginious journey to be remembered - and repeated. "The focus of Oslo Tapes is to harmonize the noise" says Marco Campitelli.

- Available for the First Time on Vinyl - Deluxe Old Style Tip-On Gatefold Packaging with 180 Gram - "Yellow Raincoat with Blood Red Splatter" Colored Vinyl - Insert with Liner Notes and Original 1976 Recording Session photography // Waxwork Records is thrilled to present the debut release of ALICE, SWEET ALICE Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Stephen Lawrence. Alice, Sweet Alice is a 1976 American Slasher-Horror film directed by Alfred Sole and starring Brooke Shields in her film debut. Set in 1961 New Jersey, the film focuses on a troubled adolescent girl who becomes the suspect in the brutal murder of her younger sister at her first communion, as well as in a series of unsolved stabbings that follow. In the years since its release, Alice, Sweet Alice has gained a cult following and is considered a contemporary classic of the slasher sub-genre in critical circles. It has also been the focus of scholarship in the areas of horror film studies, particularly regarding its depictions of Roman Catholicism, child emotional neglect, and the disintegration of the American nuclear family. The film's chilling score was composed by Stephen Lawrence. Lawrence is an American composer that has scored more than 300 songs and musical cues for Sesame Street, resulting in three Emmy Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition. The music of Alice, Sweet Alice features heavy usage of dissonant strings, repetitive keys, church organ, and motifs that segue from eerily mischievous and playful to dread-inducing and utterly haunting. Available for the very first time in any format, the complete soundtrack to Alice, Sweet Alice comes available on 180 gram "Yellow Rain Coat with Blood Red Splatter", deluxe packaging with new artwork by Steven Reeves, old-style tip-on gatefold jackets, a heavyweight insert, exclusive composer liner notes, and original recording session photography.

Marcus Schmickler's music is designed for multi-channel sound projections and references German electronic music tradition, spectral music, experimentalism as well as 1990s club music. His artistic practice explores avant-garde trajectories in electronic music composition, formal systems, sonification and psychoacoustics. EMEGO 296 features two new major works from this audacious sound explorer.

Sky Dice / Mapping the Studio premiered at Donaueschinger Tage fur Neue Musik 10.20.2018 having being commissioned by SWR and realized at the Experimentalstudio (EXP) in Freiburg. This is a work for ARP 2500, Publison DHM89B, Publison Infernal Machine and Computer. Taking cues from Bruce Nauman's Mapping the Studio I (Fat Chance John Cage) (2001) the piece draws a fragmented acoustic map of the SWR facility itself; the studio serves as a source-model for the sonic display of historical signal flow graphs. Various acoustic and psychoacoustic effects come into play including the Larsen effect, as well as Style Transfer and Topological Sonification. The result is a daring and dizzying display of disorientating audio. Sound moves in most unusual ways, rising and falling simultaneously, appearing and disappearing like apparitions, nothing here behaves in expected ways. To paraphrase Albert Einstein's now famous quote regarding quantum mechanics, this is spooky audio at a distance.

Fortuna Ribbon is a selection of sonic material that emerged from a research based on how DPOAEs (Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emission) can be designed in the context of musical frameworks, augmenting the compositional pallets in regard to spatial hearing. In this manifestation, the materials are presented without context. The resulting emissions from the ear that are excited in varying ways from the 6 examples on display here. Playback in undisturbed acoustic environments is recommended at >82 dB/A.

Schmickler's ongoing investigation of sound matter conjures impossible audio that delight's in the extremity of form and resulting effects on the listener. Schmickler's audio invocations explore the capabilities of contemporary technology resulting in dizzying new worlds of sound.

Thanks to the Experimentalstudio crew, Detlef Heusinger, Björn Gottstein, Julian Rohrhuber and Peter Rehberg.

The award-winning storytellers at DONTNOD invite you on another twisting adventure with Twin Mirror.

In this psychological thriller, Sam Higgs is coming back to Basswood, his childhood town, to attend his best friend’s funeral. It quickly becomes obvious that this little West Virginian city holds numerous dark secrets. The former investigative journalist will employ his deductive skills to uncover the mysteries surrounding the city and its inhabitants. Confronted with his past, Sam will be torn between his quest for truth and his desire to reconnect with loved ones. Who can he really trust?

Twin Mirror™ is available on PlayStation®4 (PlayStation®Store), Xbox One™ (Microsoft®Store), PC (on Epic Games Store) and compatible with PlayStation®5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S.

David Wingo got his start composing music for films on David Gordon Green's debut 2000 feature GEORGE WASHINGTON and since that time he has worked with Green on a majority of his films, including collaborations with the band Explosions In The Sky on PRINCE AVALANCHE and MANGLEHORN. In 2010 he scored Jeff Nichols' TAKE SHELTER and has since scored all of Nichols' films, including MUD, MIDNIGHT SPECIAL, and the Academy Award-nominated LOVING. 2018 saw Wingo moving into television, providing the score for both Showtime's KIDDING and HBO's Emmy Award-winning BARRY, for which he received an Emmy Nomination in 2019 for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series.

delving is a new project by Nick DiSalvo, best known as the frontman
of the heavy rock band Elder. Hirschbrunnen, his debut album, draws
from a wide swath of influences and sounds ranging from psychedelic
and krautrock to early electronic and ambient music, all while showcasing
the evocative melodies and songwriting he’s become known for.“I’m an almost obsessive songwriter,
working on music every day and
amassing a huge collection of song
fragments and ideas that often don’t
get the attention I’d like because of
the time I spend with my main band.
‘Thanks’ to this pandemic, I’ve had
plenty of time to pick up some of the
songs I’ve written over the past years
and finally make an album that I’ve
been telling myself forever I’d do.
From my earliest moments as a
musician, I have been obsessed with
home recordings, begging my parents
for a Tascam 4-track cassette
recorder for Christmas when I was
12 and making my own albums. delving
is a continuation of this creative
spirit: experimenting all on my own,
forgetting bands, fans and expectations
and making whatever music I
want to.
Hirschbrunnen - ‘stag fountain’ - is
the colloquial name of a large fountain
that presides over a large green
area near where I live. For me, it’s
been strange to see my world, which
normally consists of a fair amount
of travel and external stimuli, reduced
to one city, one district, one
block for so long. Frustrating as that
is, you might start to find inspiration
and surprising beauty in your
everyday surroundings that you
otherwise would have ignored. Just
as all the music I make is influenced
by my experiences, Hirschbrunnen is
a product of this unique and strange
time in which we all have been forced
to delve more deeply into our own
thoughts.”

Kolonel Djafaar’s ‘Cold Heat’ packs a mighty punch, combining the irresistible charm of Ethio jazz and psych rock with the power of a big band brass section, that has made them a formidable live force across Belgium. As they come into their own cinematic sound, now is the time for them to be enjoyed more widely, thanks to masters of exotic groove, Batov Records.

Kolonel Djafaar’s debut release for Batov is an all-killer-no-filler EP. On "Bactrian Camel’’ the four-man brass section picks up a thundering groove, only for the organ-led rhythm section to answer with their own snaking retort. Joris Wendelen’s electric guitar riffing adds a further Middle Eastern flavour to the stew. Written by trombonist Willem De Mol, who delivered the song after two months alone in Russia, "Lamentation" continues the Ethio vibe with a little
Latin panache. The brass-led tone here is mysterious, the melody lingers. An almost surf-esque guitar solo transports the listener before the main groove on organ and brass recalibrates us to the solid rhythm.

Comparable to, but distinct from, The Budos Band and The Comet is Coming, the low-slung sounds of "Recording 68" in particular reveal Kolonel Djafaar coming into their own. The tempo drops, emphasizing the depth of the groove. The EP is appropriately closed in cinematic style on "The Heist". The pace picks up. Drums of death, in the mode of DJ Shadow or Unkle, hold up the distorted synths and that sharpest of horn sections. A song ready for the dirtiest of chase scenes. "Cold Heat" is suitably titled. Fast or slow, killer grooves that will take no prisoners. A taste of Kolonel Djafaar’s power on stage and the clearest picture yet of their direction in sound.

Liz Phair announces ‘Soberish’, her highly-anticipated new album and first collection of original
material in eleven years. Produced by Phair’s longtime collaborator Brad Wood - known for helming
Phair’s seminal albums ‘Exile In Guyville’, ‘Whip-Smart’ and ‘whitechocolatespaceegg’ - ‘Soberish’ is
released via Chrysalis Records.
Almost thirty years since her peerless debut album ‘Exile In Guyville’ was released (voted #56 in
Rolling Stone’s 2020 list of the 500 Greatest albums Of All Time), Phair returns with a new record that
will both intrigue and satisfy her long-standing fans and introduce her to a smart young audience
whose contemporary heroes have been reading from Phair’s playbook since they first picked up a
guitar.
Liz Phair has achieved the kind of status in her industry rarely bestowed on recording artists. Her
albums in the 1990s were central to the indie rock canon of the day. Her image was featured in
countless magazines, early Apple commercials and Gap ads. Her eponymous album for Capitol
Records in 2003 took Phair in a pop direction that ruffled some critics’ feathers but nonetheless went
gold, galvanizing a host of new fans, particularly among young women who fell in love with hits like
‘Why Can’t I’ and ‘Extraordinary’, tracks that were featured in several major films and TV shows,
including 13 Going On 30, Raising Helen and How To Deal. Liz has picked up two Grammy
nominations and a spot in Pitchfork’s Greatest Albums Of The 90s, with over five million record sales
to date (including three US gold albums). She sang ‘God Bless America’ at the opening game of the
Chicago White Sox World Series victory in her hometown in 2005.
‘Soberish’ is a portrait of Phair in the present tense, taking all of the facets of her melodic output over
the years and synthesizing them into a beautiful, perfect whole. She’s at the top of her game in the
recording studio, drawing upon years of experience in television composition to weave through the
songs daring and unexpected sound design. With Brad Wood’s exquisite engineering and masterful
production, the result is a wholly fresh yet satisfyingly familiar sound that challenges on the first listen
and seduces with each subsequent play through. The earworms are strong with this one.
Phair says, “I found my inspiration for ‘Soberish’ by delving into an early era of my music development,
my art school years spent listening to Art Rock and New Wave music non-stop on my Walkman. The
English Beat, The Specials, Madness, R.E.M.s Automatic for the People, Yazoo, The Psychedelic
Furs, Talking Heads, Velvet Underground, Laurie Anderson, and the Cars. The city came alive for me
as a young person, the bands in my headphones lending me the courage to explore.”
None of the arrangements on Soberish are traditional songwriting standards but the hooks are so
catchy, the imagery so compelling, that the listener is drawn effortlessly along with the music. There
are the off-kilter, unexpected guitar chords listeners will recognize as her signature style, a mainstay
from her earliest work; the instantly knowable choruses of her most pop-friendly songs of the early
2000s; the frank lyricism and storytelling that has opened doors for countless women picking up
guitars and attempting to speak about their experiences.
Phair shares insight into the meaning of her title: “‘Soberish’ can be about partying. It can be about
self-delusion. It can be a about chasing that first flush of love or, in fact, any state of mind that allows
you to escape reality for a while and exist on a happier plane. It’s not self-destructive or out of control;
it’s as simple as the cycle of dreaming and waking up. That’s why I chose to symbolize ‘Soberish’ with
a crossroads, with a street sign. It’s best described as a simple pivot of perspective. When you meet
your ‘ish’ self again after a period of sobriety, there’s a deep recognition and emotional relief that
floods you, reminding you that there is more to life, more to reality and to your own soul than you are
consciously aware of. But if you reach for too much of a good thing, or starve yourself with too little,
you’ll lose that critical balance.”

Rostam war einst Gründungsmitglied von Vampire Weekend und produzierte deren ersten drei Alben, wofür er unter anderem mit einem Grammy ausgezeichnet wurde. Auch nach seinem Ausstieg bei Vampire Weekend, deren ersten drei Alben Rostam Batmanglij maßgeblich prägte, wurde es nicht ruhiger um den amerikanischen Songwriter, Sänger und Produzenten. 2017 veröffentlichte Rostam sein vielbeachtetes Solodebüt "Half-Light". Wenig später produzierte und schrieb er mit und für die amerikanische Sängerin Clairo Musik für deren Debütalbum "Immunity". Aktuell ist Rostam wieder für einen Grammy nominiert, für seine Produktion des aktuellen Albums der Band Haim, "Women in Music Pt. III". Dazwischen fand Rostam in den letzten drei Jahren immer wieder Zeit neue Songs für "Changephobia" zu schreiben und aufzunehmen. Auf dem neuen Werk experimentiert der Musiker mit Sound-Landschaften, beeinflusst von 50er Jahre Bebop und 90er Jahre Neo-Psychedelia. Inhaltlich streift Rostam auf "Changephobia" unter anderem Themen wie die globale Erderwärmung ("These Kids We Knew"), Sex ("Unfold You") und das uramerikanische Phänomen des Road Trips ("4Runner"). Angesprochen auf den Albumtitel verrät Rostam: "Vor ein paar Jahren traf ich eine fremde Person auf einer Parkbank und wir kamen ins Gespräch. Ich öffnete mich und erzählte von einigen Änderungen in meinem Leben, die meinen Lebenslauf erheblich auf den Kopf stellten." Die Person ermutigte Rostam, dass Veränderungen gut sind und er an diesen festhalten solle. "Die Lieder auf 'Changephobia' sollen nicht die Angst vor Veränderungen feiern, sondern das genaue Gegenteil."

Rostam war einst Gründungsmitglied von Vampire Weekend und produzierte deren ersten drei Alben, wofür er unter anderem mit einem Grammy ausgezeichnet wurde. Auch nach seinem Ausstieg bei Vampire Weekend, deren ersten drei Alben Rostam Batmanglij maßgeblich prägte, wurde es nicht ruhiger um den amerikanischen Songwriter, Sänger und Produzenten. 2017 veröffentlichte Rostam sein vielbeachtetes Solodebüt "Half-Light". Wenig später produzierte und schrieb er mit und für die amerikanische Sängerin Clairo Musik für deren Debütalbum "Immunity". Aktuell ist Rostam wieder für einen Grammy nominiert, für seine Produktion des aktuellen Albums der Band Haim, "Women in Music Pt. III". Dazwischen fand Rostam in den letzten drei Jahren immer wieder Zeit neue Songs für "Changephobia" zu schreiben und aufzunehmen. Auf dem neuen Werk experimentiert der Musiker mit Sound-Landschaften, beeinflusst von 50er Jahre Bebop und 90er Jahre Neo-Psychedelia. Inhaltlich streift Rostam auf "Changephobia" unter anderem Themen wie die globale Erderwärmung ("These Kids We Knew"), Sex ("Unfold You") und das uramerikanische Phänomen des Road Trips ("4Runner"). Angesprochen auf den Albumtitel verrät Rostam: "Vor ein paar Jahren traf ich eine fremde Person auf einer Parkbank und wir kamen ins Gespräch. Ich öffnete mich und erzählte von einigen Änderungen in meinem Leben, die meinen Lebenslauf erheblich auf den Kopf stellten." Die Person ermutigte Rostam, dass Veränderungen gut sind und er an diesen festhalten solle. "Die Lieder auf 'Changephobia' sollen nicht die Angst vor Veränderungen feiern, sondern das genaue Gegenteil."

Leo Ceccanti should be a familiar name to all followers of the Claremont 56 label. Alongside sometime studio partner Gianluca Salvadori, he was responsible for two delightfully distinctive Almunia albums released on the label, 2011’s New Moon and 2013’s Pulsar. Both sets were filled with golden, sun-kissed sounds, psychedelic grooves and immersive, life-affirming soundscapes.

Now he’s decided to go it alone as Leo Almunia, delivering a debut album for Claremont 56 that’s every bit as alluring, wide-eyed and evocative as those he made with Salvadori. In keeping with his previous work, the album blends layered acoustic and electric guitars with toasty bass, dreamy synthesizers and grooves that variously touch on hypnotic house, chugging mid-tempo disco, sunset-ready Balearic beats and, on the glistening, life-affirming album highlight ‘Wishing Star’, loose-limbed jazz breaks.

What’s most significant about Ceccanti’s personal musical style is not the blend of stylistic influences he draws on – think psychedelic rock, progressive rock, jazz-rock, new age ambient and slow-motion disco – but rather the way he uses it to paint vivid aural images that genuinely linger long in the memory.

After opening with the duelling guitars and chunky dub disco grooves of ‘Sinking Fields’, Ceccanti sashays between magical moments of rush-inducing positivity, heart-tugging poignance and heady nostalgia.

Along the way, you’ll find numerous sonic highlights. On the intoxicating 21st century psychedelia of ‘Panerea’, jangling chords and eyes-closed psych-rock guitar solos ride a chugging, thickset electronic bassline, while ‘Il Cormorano’ is a metronomic, flash-fried workout rich in fuzz-tone guitar motifs, bluesy riffs and echoing instrumental touches.

He cannily joins the dots between Mid-West Americana and throbbing, psychedelic disco-chug on ‘Loveblind’, while ‘Minor Circle’ sits somewhere between Santana, the Pat Metheny Band and sunrise-ready Balearic blues. Arguably even better is the saucer-eyed brilliance of ‘Brillo De Luna’, where a dubbed-out electronic beat becomes enveloped in life-affirming acoustic guitar chords, exotic slide guitar motifs and string-bending solos. If John Lennon had ingested MDMA rather than LSD before writing ‘Across The Universe’, it would probably sound like this.

Then there’s the album’s crowning moment, closer ‘Can’t Hold a Lover’. A heart-aching, largely ambient instrumental that channels the loneliness and anguish felt by many of those separated from their nearest and dearest during the pandemic, it sees Ceccanti brilliantly wrap a variety of sun-bright guitar textures and solos around some of the loveliest synthesizer chords you’re every likely to hear. On an album packed with effervescent, mood-enhancing musical highs, it’s a rare moment of bittersweet bliss.