quête:sam lee

A real Black Ark flavoured recording, even though recorded in London at Ariwa by Mad Professor.

Supernatural finds our hero in a very good mood on a very spooky recording. “I escaped from the mud hut” Classic!!!

Coupled with Psychopath, a recording from the same session, with the same intensity as Supernatural Taken from “Lost Tapes from the 80’s”

Outernational Sounds very proudly Presents The Mallory-Hall Band "Song of Soweto" & "The Last Special".
Limited, fully licensed digital and vinyl reissues of two crucial South African sessions led by Charles Mallory and Al Hall, Jnr., featuring Kirk Lightsey, Marshall Royal, Rudolph Johnson, Billy Brooks and more! Essential companion pieces to Kirk Lightsey’s legendary ‘Habiba’.
Featuring tracks:
Song Of Soweto: Side A – ‘Song of Soweto’, ‘Hamba Samba’; Side B – ‘Cape Town Blues’, ‘Moroka Rock’, ‘The African Night’
The Last Special: Side A - ‘The Last Special’, ‘Princess of Joh’Burg’; Side B - ‘Amafu (Clouds)’, ‘Blue Mabone’
Never released outside South Africa, and out of print since 1974, Outernational Sounds presents two long-lost Johannesburg sessions from the Mallory-Hall Band – an all-star review of West Coast jazz stars who toured apartheid South Africa in the mid-1970s.
Sanifu Al Hall, Jnr. is a musician’s musician. During a storied career stretching across six decades, Hall has recorded with the greats of the music including Freddie Hubbard, Doug Carn, and Johnny Hammond, and leads his own Cosmos Dwellerz Arkestra. But until recent years, the only records on which he had appeared as leader were a brace of rich, funky LPs, Song Of Soweto and The Last Special, issued only in South Africa under the moniker of The Mallory-Hall Band (named for Hall and his co-leader, guitarist Charles Mallory – musical director for Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Mallory was conductor for Dusty Springfield touring bands, and had worked with John Lee Hooker, Stevie Wonder, and many others). Neither LP had any wider release, and both have remained out of print since 1974. How did a young stalwart of the Los Angeles jazz scene end up in a recording studio in apartheid South Africa?
Al Hall, Jnr. and Charles Mallory had arrived in South Africa as part of the touring band for the singer Lovelace Watkins. Sometimes billed as ‘the Black Sinatra’, the Detroit-born Watkins sang standards and ballroom classics on the Las Vegas circuit. He never made it big in the US, but in his 1970s heyday he was a huge star in southern Africa, and 1974 he hired a jazz big band to accompany him on a tour of South Africa – Hall and Mallory were part of the line-up, alongside Mastersounds bassist Monk Montgomery, pianist Kirk Lightsey, tenorist Rudolph Johnson, drummer Billy Brooks, and Marshall Royal, musical director of the Count Basie band. The tour was a huge success, and during downtime from performing, members of the group managed to independently record no fewer than three albums. Lightsey and Johnson’s stunning Habiba was the first (reissued as Outernational Sounds OTR.013), and it was followed by two crucial sessions led by Hall and Mallory – Song of Soweto and The Last Special, issued on the local IRC imprint.
Visiting apartheid South Africa in 1974 was a controversial choice for any artist. Numerous artistic and cultural bodies around the world had already announced that their members would boycott the country in solidarity with the struggle against apartheid, and working in South Africa was severely frowned on by anti-apartheid activists everywhere. For a Black band, touring the country to play to mostly white audiences could have been seen by many both inside and outside South Africa as a questionable decision. ‘It was a batch of mixed reactions when I choose to visit South Africa whilst apartheid policies were in place,’ Hall recalls. ‘To me the choice was a simple one – “I wanna see for myself!” I also wanted to be a part of breaking down racial barriers, having been down some of the same roads in my own country.’
The albums were recorded by a twelve-piece band at Johannesburg’s Video Sounds Studios in December 1974, and feature the legendary pianist Kirk Lightsey, Black Jazz recording artist Rudolph Johnson, and the rest of the touring band. Both records are superbly arranged slabs of peak 1970s funky big band soul jazz, with tasteful Latin inflections and more than a nod to South Africa’s upful township jazz sound. They are the sonic traces left by a seasoned African American band who were touring South Africa in the depths of the apartheid era, and who immediately moved beyond the segregated hotels and ballrooms to build links with local South African players and audiences.
Never previously available outside South Africa, Outernational Sounds’ new editions of Song of Soweto and The Last Special (alongside our edition of Kirk Lightsey’s Habiba) represents the first time these albums have been in print for nearly fifty years. Fully licensed from Gallo Records and pressed at Pallas in Germany from Gallo’s original masters, they feature new sleeve notes from Francis Gooding (The Wire) based on interviews with Al Hall, Jnr., and a reminiscence from pianist Kirk Lightsey.

Warm presents a brand new compilation called 'Home'; a soundtrack for when we pause, take a breath, and use our senses to explore the magic of the world on our doorsteps. Morning to evening, dawn to dusk, our lives continue moving but sometimes the need to step back and reset is essential to create a balance in our lives. As we open our eyes and ears to our surroundings, our senses become stimulated by small details. Whether it be the sound of the sea lapping on the sand, the wind blowing through the canopy of trees or a robin heralding a new day; nothing is the same but all are unique.

'Home' has been pieced together over the last year by Warm’s Ali Tillett. With the majority of Warm - booking agents for Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy, Gerd Janson, Horse Meat Disco, Hot Chip DJs, Lou Hayter, Luke Una - on pause, Ali took the chance to immerse himself in bringing together his passion for music, nature and art.

The 14 tracks, the majority exclusive and specially made for the compilation, includes contributions by Âme, Bobby Lee & Mia Doi Todd, Coyote, Crack’d Man (aka Crooked Man who produced Roisin Murphy's last album), Fug (with their first material for over ten years), Kirk Degiorgio presents As One, Turtle, and Ewan Pearson's World of Apples project (with their first material for nearly 20 years!). The tracks align with specific habitats in the local Dorset area, where Ali is situated, such as Harbour/Estuary, Heathland/Moorland, Woodland/Forest, and Beach/Cliffs.

To immerse the listener even further into the soundscape, critically acclaimed sound and field recording artist Gary Moore, of Springwatch/Autumnwatch fame, has been involved to help bring nature even further to the ears. Intertwined between the music are field recordings specific to area and habitat; whether it be the sound of a ship's horn in Poole harbour, avocets on the scrape, the tawny owl in the woodland or Puffins on the ledges of cliffs.

Gareth Fuller, a fabulous artist who previously lived in Dorset, has kindly allowed one of his artworks to become the centrepiece for the compilation. Titled 'Purbeck', it's a truly wonderful piece of art that encapsulates everything about the area and enables an added dimension to the immersive experience for the listener.

Home to Cuca Records and hundreds of Nashville-fantasizing pluckers and singers, Wisconsin’s Driftless region was a hotbed of country music in the 1960s. Influenced by old-timey ethnic songs, Bakersfield outlaws, countrypolitan rainbows, and the lonesome twang of every rural route roadhouse, these 17 Driftless Dreamers washed up at Jim Kirchstein’s Sauk City record plant with little more than $100 and a longing. Collected here are the fruits of Cuca’s documentary approach to record making, capturing the voices and stories of a culture and glacier in abatement.

The Wombats kick off the most exciting phase of their constantly evolving success story today with the announcement of their fifth studio album Fix Yourself, Not The World, due for release on 7th January 2022 via AWAL. Alongside this, the indie heroes have revealed plans for a five date headline UK arena tour in April 2022, playing massive nights in Leeds, Glasgow, Cardiff and Liverpool, as well as their biggest ever headline show at The O2, London on 15th April. Tickets will go on sale from 9am BST on 20th August.

The announcement comes accompanied by a brand new single ‘If You Ever Leave, I’m Coming With You’, which is BBC Radio 1’s Future Sounds Hottest Record In The World.

Recording remotely over the past year from their respective homes, the band have been working hard to produce some of the most captivating, inventive and forward-thinking music of their career to date. With frontman Matthew “Murph” Murphy in Los Angeles, bassist Tord Øverland Knudsen in Oslo and drummer Dan Haggis in London, they discussed each day’s plan via Zoom, then recorded separately, sending individual files to producers Jacknife Lee (U2, The Killers), Gabe Simon (Dua Lipa, Lana Del Rey), Paul Meaney (Twenty One Pilots, Nothing But Thieves), Mark Crew (Bastille, Rag‘n’Bone Man) and Mike Crossey (The 1975, The War on Drugs, Yungblud) to mix into the finished tracks. “It was pure madness, to be honest,” explains Murph.

“We’re so excited for people to hear this new album! We’ve explored new genres and pushed ourselves further than ever musically. It will always stand out for us in our memories from our other albums as we recorded it across three cities during lockdown, and we weren’t all in the same room at the same time!” says Dan Haggis.

The Wombats kick off the most exciting phase of their constantly evolving success story today with the announcement of their fifth studio album Fix Yourself, Not The World, due for release on 7th January 2022 via AWAL. Alongside this, the indie heroes have revealed plans for a five date headline UK arena tour in April 2022, playing massive nights in Leeds, Glasgow, Cardiff and Liverpool, as well as their biggest ever headline show at The O2, London on 15th April. Tickets will go on sale from 9am BST on 20th August.

The announcement comes accompanied by a brand new single ‘If You Ever Leave, I’m Coming With You’, which is BBC Radio 1’s Future Sounds Hottest Record In The World.

Recording remotely over the past year from their respective homes, the band have been working hard to produce some of the most captivating, inventive and forward-thinking music of their career to date. With frontman Matthew “Murph” Murphy in Los Angeles, bassist Tord Øverland Knudsen in Oslo and drummer Dan Haggis in London, they discussed each day’s plan via Zoom, then recorded separately, sending individual files to producers Jacknife Lee (U2, The Killers), Gabe Simon (Dua Lipa, Lana Del Rey), Paul Meaney (Twenty One Pilots, Nothing But Thieves), Mark Crew (Bastille, Rag‘n’Bone Man) and Mike Crossey (The 1975, The War on Drugs, Yungblud) to mix into the finished tracks. “It was pure madness, to be honest,” explains Murph.

“We’re so excited for people to hear this new album! We’ve explored new genres and pushed ourselves further than ever musically. It will always stand out for us in our memories from our other albums as we recorded it across three cities during lockdown, and we weren’t all in the same room at the same time!” says Dan Haggis.

Manufactured using FSC certified cardboard.'Transparency' is Sam McTrusty
spilling his guts on everything from marriage, male friendship and the absurdity of
social media to parenthood, medication and his mum. Written in strained
circumstances and recorded remotely with Sam's mate and mentor Jacknife Lee,
the album arrived more by accident than design when the world went into
lockdown last spring.

Manufactured using FSC certified cardboard.'Transparency' is Sam McTrusty
spilling his guts on everything from marriage, male friendship and the absurdity of
social media to parenthood, medication and his mum. Written in strained
circumstances and recorded remotely with Sam's mate and mentor Jacknife Lee,
the album arrived more by accident than design when the world went into
lockdown last spring.

This the debut is being repressed for the first time in a few years. Red Fang is the formation of long time friends and collaborators Bryan Giles (Last of the Juanitas, Party Time), Aaron Beam (Dark Forces, Lachrymator), David Sullivan (Party Time, facedowninshit, Shiny Beast) and John Sherman (Party Time, Bad Wizard, Trumans Water, All Night). Unleashed on New Year's Eve of 2006 in Portland, Oregon, Red Fang stormed out of the gates, introducing a sweaty, seething basement to a new kind of unforgettable fist-pumping, beer-chugging rock music. Since that night, the band has continued with the same intensity, energy, and intimacy to quickly become a touring juggernaut, playing shows all over the US with bands like The Melvins, Big Business, and The Sword, to name just a few. Residing somewhere between Black Flag and Black Sabbath, Red Fang recall a time when rock was more urgent and horrifying. Synthesizing a variety of heavy music influences into their own distinct musical identity, the band easily shifts from barn-burning punk to mid-tempo, hyper-distorted bass destruction all while maintaining a cohesive sound. Red Fang create gigantic rock songs that are easy to listen to (not easy listening, mind you) and qualify the simultaneous usage of both the thinking and the banging head, which are usually mutually exclusive. Their instrumentation is fluid and effortless, and the vocals are delivered melodically and forcefully, with enough rasp and effect saturation to fit nicely within the music. Paired with elemental imagery, the lyrics are immense and satisfying without any pretense.

Freestyle Records in association with Rare Sounds USA present a stellar repress of Speedometer's 2003 debut LP This Is Speedometer.

Originally released on Clive Johnson's Blow It Hard (started after the demise of the well-loved weekly Soho club night of the same name, and home to the New Mastersounds first releases alongside choice cuts from JTQ and others) This Is Speedometer showcased the sounds of one of the UK's premier acts in the deep funk scene of the early noughties for the first time on the long player format.

Starting out back in 1999, Speedometer started out as an instrumental quartet gigging in small clubs in the Southeast of England, paying homage to classic funk tunes by artists such as The Meters and The JB's. The band soon expanded and began writing original material, adding the highly regarded horn section and vocalists in 2001, which enabled them to deliver the powerhouse deep funk sound on display here. In addition to their own albums, singles and live shows, Speedometer have backed many US funk & soul legends including Sir Joe Quarterman, Eddie Bo, Marva Whitney, Sharon Jones & Lee Fields and more.

Now coming up on 20 years since it's original release, you can now marvel at Speedometer's classic, original soul-funk sound thanks to a sparkling new cut. Dig in!




d 04: Just Keep On (Doin the Do) feat. The Speedettes

Brownswood Recordings are proud to presentan extension of the ever-evolving world ofSTR4TA, the brainchild of long time friends

and collaborators Gilles Peterson and JeanPaul “Bluey” Maunick. ‘The Invicta Mixtape’is a limited edition cassette format mixed

by Gilles Peterson & Sam Bhok (WorldwideFM/Stay Put). Available on pre-order from November 1st, released on December 3rd 2021

‘The Invicta Mixtape’ features an array of illustrious producers and polymaths unleashing their unique interpretations ofSTR4TA’s standout tracks. With a percussives tripped-back rework of ‘Dance Desire’ by Steve Conry & Takashi Nakazato; a funk-laced ‘Rhythm In Your Mind’ by Ashley Beadle plus Glasgow’s Nuovi Fratelli add a cosmic disco flare in the mix. Dave Lee’s rework of ‘After The Rain’. ‘Vision 9’ is reconceived by Melé’s rhythmic inventiveness & Delfonic’s virtuoso. Also iconic reworks by techno pioneer Dave Aju, the spellbinding Demus Dub& DJ veteran Greg Wilson.

The mixtape honours the importance of Radio Invicta, London’s very first soul station, which was running from the late-60s to ther mid-80s. The B-side contains the complete STR4TA album.

52 Beats is project initially started on Bandcamp with Snips uploading 1 beat per week over the course of a year with an accompanying behind the scenes video. This is the final release of the entire project as a limited run cassette. Musically Snips stays true to his Hip Hop roots chopping samples and keeping the sound rooted in traditonal Boom Bap which birthed his style

Das Brüsseler Duo CCCVVV (Clara Vellin & soFa elsewhere) releast mit 'Curriculum Vitae' eine Sammlung intimer Avant-Pop-Oddities mit Anklängen an 60er Chansons und ausgeflippt-verspielter Akkorde. Zu den Höhepunkten gehört die verträumte Version von Nancy & Lees 'Some Velvet Morning' und die säurehaltige Slow-Mo-Hypnose 'Ritmo Denso'. Clara Vellin ist eine klassische Harfenspielerin, aktiv in diversen eklektischen Musikprojekten. soFa ist bekannt für seine eklektische 'elsewhere' Compilationserie, Produktionen wie Mameen 3, Nyati Mayi und der Zusammenarbeit mit der türkischen Schlagzeuglegende Okay Temiz & Houschyar auf Music From Memory/Second Circle.

Operating on a plane between avant-garde indie, bubbling electronica and cosmic psychedelia, London group Voka Gentle have an addictive, amorphous sound. A three limbed beast made up of twins Ellie and Imogen Mason, and William J. Stokes, each is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer with an imperious understanding of three dimensional sound.

The newest single ‘Necrofauna / The Garden of Eden’ - features Wayne Coyne from The Flaming Lips.
The hallucinatory mix of squelching synth bass and rhythmic samples, three-tiered harmonies playing off against William’s sprechgesang, and a cutting, full-bodied drum beat is reflected in the oneiric themes.

“This song is a dream sequence about the narrator entering the Garden of Eden, the emblem of an idealised pastoral relationship with the natural world, and realising they can’t stand it and want t o consume and bring destruction to it (I see a deer pass me by and I break its neck / Rip off its hind leg and take a bite through fur, sinew and bone).”

‘Necrofauna / The Garden of Eden’ - recorded with neo - metal battalion Pigsx7 guitarist and producer Sam Grant - is the first release in earnest since 2019’s acclaimed debut album ‘Start Clanging Cymbals’, released via Nude Records. Having come through the dues - paying gestation period that leads up to a debut record, there’s a sense of liberation around this new phase for Voka Gentle - a subtle confidence in their craft. It’s well earned too - with high praise from the likes of UNCUT, MOJO and The Line of Best Fit at press. Support comes too from BBC 6 Music - including presenting an edition of Stuart Maconie’s Freak Zone - and Radio 1. Tracks from that album also featured on FIFA 19 and The Sims 2020, aiding in recognition.

A live set at the prestigious Pitchfork Avant Garde festival, as well as a clutch of tastemaker festivals in the UK (Dot to Dot , Live At Leeds, The Great Escape, Kendall Calling, Bluedot, Neighbourhood), alongside the serendipit ous shows with The Flaming Lips and













[l] d2 [When We Go, We’re Taking You All With Us!]

Home to Cuca Records and hundreds of Nashville-fantasizing pluckers and singers, Wisconsin’s Driftless region was a hotbed of country music in the 1960s. Influenced by old-timey ethnic songs, Bakersfield outlaws, countrypolitan rainbows, and the lonesome twang of every rural route roadhouse, these 17 Driftless Dreamers washed up at Jim Kirchstein’s Sauk City record plant with little more than $100 and a longing. Collected here are the fruits of Cuca’s documentary approach to record making, capturing the voices and stories of a culture and glacier in abatement.

Stix Records, a sub-label of Favorite Recordings, proudly presents Push Push, the new album by acclaimed producer
Taggy Matcher aka Bruno "Patchworks" Hovart (Voilaaa, Mr President, The Dynamics, Uptown Funk Empire,
Metropolitan Jazz Affair, Da Break, …). After the success of his previous LP Singasong, Taggy Matcher returns with 8
tracks exploring his wide range of Reggae & Dub influences, each time magnified by a fine crew of vocal guests as LMK,
Birdy Nixon, Alexandra Charry, Hawa, John Milk & Elodie Rama. With a great sense of authenticity, they all bring their own
touch to Taggy Matcher's compositions and covers. Always faithful to its inspirations, brilliantly produced, Push Push is
your new invitation to follow the Lion to Zion.
The album starts with "Push Push", a title already released last year as a vinyl single 7", in collaboration with rising
singer LMK, who you may know from her successful previous reworks on Taggy's last album ("No Love Allowed", "My
Man"). Sharing the same love for the early 80's Digital Rub A Rub productions, lyrics are about street harassment of
women… with a pinch of humor!
On "Little Things", Taggy invites old mate Birdy Nixon for a cover of an early rocksteady classic by Hemsley Morris.
With the vintage bounce we love combined with modern sounds and productions, the song is all about tenderness and
simplicity.
"Volvere Mañana", the song has this very cumbia hip move with the participation of gifted singer Alexandra Charry
from Cali in Colombia, where they both composed the song. Then, Taggy invited Boris Pokora to play the "gaita" local flute
to give the song its proper Colombian Caribbean coast flavor.
The album continues with "Two Dimes" featuring longtime collaborator Hawa (from Mr President to Mr Day and other
numerous projects). This shaky disco reggae rockers is all about getting ready for the party… but with two dimes only!
"Q Fashion" is a song full of wittiness and self-mockery wrote during the first Covid-19 lockdown. Parisian Soul singer
John Milk was stuck in Paris while Bruno was in Lyon. On this minimalistic digital reggae tune, they give the ingredients to
perfect your next quarantine outfit.
Discoish reggae tune "Get Enough" featuring Birdy Nixon has a simple and successful recipe: just mix a big dose of
Lovers with the same amount of Rockers and you've got this 100% soulful song.
On "Suit and Tie", Taggy and John Milk go Pop with this version of Justin Timberlake, that fits perfectly with John's
tender and mellow style.
Finally, Elodie Rama with Taggy Matcher pay tribute to Erykah Badu and her legacy to the Soul music scene at the end
of the nineties. The mood is jazzy, mellow and warm, with a tiny Lee Scratch Perry early 70's vaporous vibes.

Mad Not Mad is the sixth studio album by Madness. Originally released in September 1985, it marked a departure from the band’s original line-up, with keyboard player Mike Barson taking a break from the group after an astonishingly successful run of five hit albums in as many years.

Style-wise Mad Not Mad presented a more polished side of Madness and contains some of their most sophisticated and political song-writing. The first single, ‘Yesterday’s Men’ finds the band in a smooth, reflective mood, dealing with the dispossessed characters in and around Camden Town, and ’Sweetest Girl’ is a cover of the iconic Scritti Politti track, while ‘Uncle Sam’ is a classic Madness romp relayed through the narrative of a soldier’s experiences during World War II.

Within a few weeks of its initial release, NME listed ‘Mad Not Mad’ at number 55 on their list of the “100 Best Albums Of All Time” and it remains in its 2015 list of the “50 Best Albums Released in 1985”.

This LP reissue is pressed on 180g black vinyl and features brand new liner notes by Chrissy Boy, Chas Smash, Woody and Lee Thompson.

Biffy Clyro will release the surprise new project ‘The Myth of the Happily Ever After’ on October 22nd. The record is a homegrown project that represents a reaction to their #1 album ‘A Celebration of Endings’ and a rapid emotional response to the turmoil of the past year. It is the ying to the yang of ‘A Celebration’, the other-side-of-a-coin, a before-and-after comparison: their early optimism of 2020 having been brought back to earth with a resounding thud. It’s the product of a strange and cruel time in our lives, but one that ultimately reinvigorated Biffy Clyro.

“This is a reaction to ‘A Celebration of Endings’,” says vocalist / guitarist Simon Neil. “This album is a real journey, a collision of every thought and emotion we’ve had over the past eighteen months. There was a real fortitude in ‘A Celebration’ but in this record we’re embracing the vulnerabilities of being a band and being a human in this twisted era of our lives. Even the title is the polar opposite. It’s asking, do we create these narratives in our own minds to give us some security when none of us know what’s waiting for us at the end of the day?”

Grounded by lockdown, Biffy Clyro recorded ‘The Myth’ in a completely different way to how they approached ‘A Celebrations’. Rather than spending months in Los Angeles, they traded one West Coast for another by recording for just six weeks in their rehearsal room (converted DIY style into a fully functional studio by rhythm section brothers James and Ben Johnston) in a farmhouse closer to their homes.

The trio went in with the intention of completing some unfinished songs from ‘A Celebration’, but instead ‘The Myth’ took over as it started to take shape late in 2020, with everything written and recorded within a ten-mile radius. Traditionally, 90% of Biffy songs have been written in Scotland before the band head to London or Los Angeles for recording, but this represented the first time they’ve ever recorded in their homeland. As Simon jokes, “It’s our first full-on tartan album!”

‘The Myth’ blends experimental flourishes with flashes of old school Biffy. ‘Existed’ is the moment that shaped the record an elegant expression of self-doubt that redefines the sonics of the band’s catalogue of vulnerable slowburners, while ‘DumDum’ is an even bigger departure, having been constructed primarily around soft synths sampled from Simon’s voice. And ‘Slurpy Slurpy Sleep Sleep’ is just as audacious a closer as ‘Cop Syrup’ from ‘A Celebration’. It also represents one of a selection of “easter eggs” or “turns of phrase” that subtly complement and contrast the two records.

At the other extreme, devoted fans will connect with the feral anger of ‘A Hunger In Your Haunt’, the arena-scaled drama of ‘Errors In The History of God’ and the sheer catchiness of ‘Witch’s Cup’.

‘The Myth’ has been launched alongside the new track ‘Unknown Male 01’. In six adventurous minutes, the band explore every facet they’re renowned for, taking in the unguarded emotion of its introduction, a skewed off-kilter breakdown, and a jagged, spiralling riff that builds towards a cataclysmic crescendo. The song reflects on friends who have taken their own lives.

“When you lose people that you love deeply and have been a big part of your life, it can make you question every single thing about your own life,” he says. “Like a lot of creative people, I struggle with dark thoughts. If you’re that way inclined you realise you’re staring at darkness, but you don't want to succumb. Those moments don’t stop. As the song says, ‘The devil never leaves.’ There’s never a day where you wake up thinking, ‘I feel great, it won’t cross me ever again.’”

A recurring concept of the album is the power of personal convictions, which have taken on an almost religious fervour via the echo chambers of social media and news platforms. But that idea has the nuance to rise above contrasting sides of an argument, arguing that greater unity and open-mindedness is the only way forward. Elsewhere, it spans everything from gaslighting to the ultimate devotion of cults and the beautiful failure of a Japanese racehorse.

‘The Myth of the Happily Ever After’ is now available to pre-order here, with ‘Unknown Male 01’ provided as an instant download. It will be released on CD and digital formats, as well as a limited edition red vinyl which is packaged with a must-have bonus CD for fans: full audio of the acclaimed livestream show that Biffy Clyro performed at Glasgow Barrowland in August 2020 to commemorate the release of ‘A Celebration of Endings’.

After headlining Reading and Leeds in August, Biffy Clyro will also play further large-scale outdoor gigs this summer at Cardiff Bay and Glasgow Green. Plans for 2022 are also taking shape, with April’s long sold-out ‘Fingers Crossed’ intimate tour and a huge Saturday night headline set at Download. Please see the band’s official website for a full list of shows and ticket information.

DeLaChaud is the home and record label of krewcial.

A young veteran in the game, krewcial released solo albums on PlayItAgainSam and UK’s BBE in the early 2000’s. With longtime friend Lefto, he sampled jazz’s greats for a beatdriven album on the legendary Blue Note label. He's also released records on Nervous, Lumberjacks In Hell, We Play House, Mysterious Works, Midnight Riot and GAMM.

krewcial's DJ-sets reflect his broad musical tastes: centered around disco and house and adding touches of latin, funk, boogie, hiphop classics and afrobeat anthems into the mix. As long as it’s soulful and keeps the dancefloor in motion, there’s a chance he’ll play it. He has shared decks with disco legend John Morales, Marcel Vogel, Mr Mendel, Lefto, DJ Suspect, Mr. Leenknecht and opened for Hiatus Kaiyote, Sergio Mendez, Angie Stone, Cassandra Wilson, Common, Jill Scott, and many many more.

Here’s a definitive compilation of their first period career, Glaxo Babies was one of the most exciting british post-punk band of the era. Raised in Bristol – altogether with such local influential acts like Maximum Joy, The Transmitters and obviously The Pop Group – Glaxo Babies formed in late 1977. The band signed to local label Heartbeat Records (marketed by Cherry Red), with their first release being the This Is Your Life EP in February 1979; in the same year they released the single “Christine Keeler” . This led to them recording their first session for BBC radio’s John Peel the following April, and the track “It’s Irrational”, from this session, opened the seminal 1979 Bristol Compilation album “Avon Calling”. Their aggro mix of in your face lyrics and groovy bassline led to a unique formula, with both their feet in the post-punk scene and the uprising black jazz crossover. The so-called white funk was the plat du jour, even if the band soon achieved a straight and original personality. Fully remastered and licensed, ltd to 500 copies.

Asleep At The Wheel is celebrating their 50th Anniversary with the release of Half A Hundred Years. The nineteen tracks feature original band members, current band members and guest artists. The special guest artists are Lyle Lovett, George Strait, Lee Ann Womack, Willie Nelson, and Emmylou Harris.
Tracks 1 - 11 are new songs featuring the original band members. Tracks 12 -16 are old songs featuring the current band members and Asleep At The Wheel alumni. Tracks 17 - 19 are songs from the vaults that have never been released and track 14 features the current and the two previous female band members.

The popular #Ibiza compilation series returns on July 2nd with its fifth installment, #Ibiza 2021. The album brings together tracks and remixes from some of the world’s biggest names in dance music, including Claptone, Chicane, Sammy Porter, David Morales, Secondcity and Mark Knight. The collection also presents the hottest breakout tracks set to grace the island this year, including Gettoblaster’s recent Beatport number 1 ‘H O U S E’, and Jodie Harsh’s current UK radio hit ‘My House’. Radio promo: Jodie Harsh - My House: Playlisted on BBC Radio 1 (B-List) / No.1 in UK Upfront Club Chart. Other promo: Claptone - Zero: One of the biggest DJ names in Ibiza with his Masquerade parties at Pacha, Claptone moves up to No.41 in this year’s Top 100 DJ’s global rank. Zero is the first single from his upcoming third album.

Two worlds collide to offer a brand new project. The lo-fi rock from Emilie Zoé and Nicolas Pittet blends perfectly with the sounds of the machines and samples of the leader of The Young Gods, Franz Treichler. The sound triangulates and takes the shape of an /A\. Zoé is an artist who converts the ghosts of everyday life into electric fulgurations on the extreme fringes of pop and rock; Pittet is her drummer, but above all he’s an all-round musician, as comfortable backing Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s primal dub as he is

fiddling with electronics (e.g. his project Kera); and of course, Treichler is the well-known leader of The Young Gods, and band that’s been setting the bar since 1986 when it comes to transforming rock by infiltrating its genome into machines.

This diversity of backgrounds, tastes and experiences might at first sight have appeared as a reason to stay apart from each other, but instead it’s proved to be a vector of mutual attraction. What /A\ offers contains no foreign matter: Treichler, Pittet and Zoé’s aesthetics are intertwined through subterranean links that strike by their clarity, like the pieces of a puzzle that is both unexpected and surprising.

It’s through this profound entanglement that the pieces, one after the other, succeed in materialising hitherto unseen faces. They create something new: Hotel Stellar delivers an otherworldly blues, a slow snake that oscillates between the abyss and redemption; We Travel the Light, with its guitars measured in megatons, invents the notion of a steamroller possessed by insane joy; Count to Ten is a wash of restrained melancholy infused with almost Birkin-like touches, which, as the minutes go by, bristles with scratches and sandy echoes, like synthetic dub; The Leaves is yet another strange beast which could be considered as the evolution of a trip hop theme that would have been left to mature for a few decades in the noblest of drums. “It’s red, it’s hot” says Zoé when asked to analyse the record. “You can feel like there’re waves coming at you, but you never really know when.”

Desmond Dekker is a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer-songwriter and musician. He was originally a welder by profession, and it was his colleagues that encouraged him to pursue a career in music when they heard him singing in the workplace. He eventually signed a record deal with Beverley’s, and grew into one of Jamaica’s biggest stars. He is also credited with launching the career of fellow former welder Bob Marley.

In the 1993, he released the collaborative album King of Kings with English ska band The Specials through the famous reggae label Trojan Records. Released under the name Desmond Dekker and The Specials, King of Kings consists of songs by Dekker’s musical heroes including Byron Lee, Theophilus Beckford, Jimmy Cliff, and his friend and fellow Kong label artist, Derrick Morgan.

Bored At My Grandma's House is the moniker of 19-year old Leeds-based Amber Strawbridge, starting out as an exercise in passing time when she was quite literally bored at her Grandma's place. First single & EP opener 'Showers' is about time alone & listening to your mind - “Do you ever think of showers as like a new beginning?“ is a poignant opening line, about that therapeutic space for you to really think and let your thoughts surface. In Amber's own words "showers are a kind of therapy in my opinion, they give you time to reflect and think without influence from anything external."

Born in Whitehaven, Cumbria to musical family, and raised on the likes of Bowie & Pink Floyd there was always plenty of opportunity to mess around on the various instruments lying around the house. Attempts at proper music lessons went awry as Amber shunned the rules & rigidity, and so instead she gradually taught herself piano, guitar & drums. After time travelling in Cambodia, teaching English & helping with projects in various villages, Amber stayed with her Grandma & began to use the aeons of spare time to make tunes on Garageband & upload them to soundcloud. As a wave of BBC Introducing support rolled in, coupled with a move to Leeds to study music, the bedroom set-up evolved & a full EP began to take shape.

Playing all the instruments & self-recording most of the EP at home, Amber took the tracks to Alex Greaves (Working Men's Club, Bdrmm) at the Nave studio for live drums & some final mixing flourishes, leaving an EP full of lo-fi charm but with a studio feel.  Inspired by Slowdive, Wolf Alice & Alvvays, Sometimes I Forget You're Human Too showcases Amber's singular vision of indie-pop, on an EP that deals with topics like humanity, nostalgia & the current refugee crisis.

Speaking on the EP title Amber says "Sometimes I forget you’re human too is the realisation that everyone is the same. In the sense that we are all human, everyone has issues and problems to face, everyone makes mistakes and has success. I used to compare myself to others a lot and think ‘wow they have their life together’ or ‘how are they so happy all of the time’ but that’s not the case it’s just what you can see on the outside ...so it’s kind of an EP of self assurance and reminding myself that it’s ok to not have it together all the time because no one does as we’re all just human after all"

The EP is just the start for Bored At My Grandmas House "I’ve already got a few tracks which I’m thinking could be potentially for an album, I’d definitely like to do a bigger project next and have the sound I’d like in mind. I’ve recently just got a band together so hopefully when live shows are resurrected I’ll have a few of those!" 2021 is looking to be anything but boring for Amber Strawbridge.

There has always been a Reggae inuence in the music of El Michels Affair. From their cover of "Hung Up On My Baby" done in a Reggae style, to the general sound and approach that permeates Leon's production style. While recording Bailey's 2020 Ekundayo album, they did some straight forward reggae tunes inspired by different eras alongside some modern R&B tracks that would t more comfortably next to Frank Ocean than Jacob Miller. It is this same notion that old and new can live so comfortably together that birthed the idea of Ekundayo Inversions. Traditional dub came out of reggae in the late 60s and early 70s when pioneers like King Tubby and Lee Perry started taking the multi track recordings of songs and running them back through the board adding effects and additional instrumentation. These recordings are called "dubs" or "versions" and are typically instrumentals with ourishes of vocals from the original tracks. El Michels decided to use the blueprints left behind and make something using the inuences of today. He wound up straying so far from the traditional format that it didn't seem right to use the word `Dub', hence Ekundayo Inversions. All the songs are tied together by WhatsApp messages between Leon and Liam that perfectly narrate the story of this record and their working relationship. One of the highlights on Ekundayo Inversions is a guest appearance from the legendary Lee "Scratch" Perry on the "Ugly Truth" version. L$P switches between singing and talking, proclaiming his powers one minute and playing with the track's title the next. On "Awkward take. 2" Leon takes one of the most experimental songs from Ekundayo and actually straightens it out. A track that once seemed to be oating in space has now been anchored by the addition of drums and bass. "Faded", a version of "Paper Tiger", is given the full EMA treatment with the addition of emotive horns over an uncomfortably sparse rhythm track peppered with Liam's voice drenched in delay and echo. "Champions" features a verse from Black Thought of The Roots and halfway through, El Michels sends the rhythm section 50 years back. At the end of the day, Ekundayo Inversions is a testament to how strong the original songs are. Whether they're in a R&B style, reggae style, stripped down to their bare bones, or loaded with production, the songs will move you.

• “Choctaw Ridge” explores a new country sound, one that emerged at the end of the 60s in the wake of Bobbie Gentry’s ‘Ode To Billie Joe’, a shock number one hit in 1967. When singers like Gentry, Jimmy Webb, Michael Nesmith and Lee Hazlewood moved from the south to Los Angeles to make it in the music business, they were not part of the Nashville in-crowd and they forged a new direction.

• ‘Ode To Billie Joe’ was the tip of the iceberg, and its success helped a bunch of singers and storytellers to emerge over the next three or four years. Some of the tracks on this collection bear that song’s stamp more clearly than others: Sammi Smith’s moody ‘Saunders’ Ferry Lane’ had a similar mystery lyric, and Henson Cargill’s ‘Four Shades Of Love’ is a portmanteau, with one (or possibly two) of the theoretically romantic situations ending in death.

• Suddenly, character sketches of southerners became a lot more rounded – women didn’t have to stay home, or take abuse at the office, and darkness wasn’t only found at the bottom of a bottle. Storytelling is the link between all of the songs on this collection. We have cautionary tales about what could happen to someone who heads for the bright lights and doesn’t make it, ending up in the grasping hands of ‘Mr Walker’ (Billie Joe Spears), or on the ‘Back Side Of Dallas’ (Jeannie C Reilly), or on a mortuary slab in the case of the songwriter with the ‘Fabulous Body And Smile’ (Robert Charles Griggs). And there are stories about wanting to go home – Nat Stuckey’s ‘What Am I Doing In LA?’ and Charlie Rich’s ‘Feel Like Going Home’ – and others from Ed Bruce and Lee Hazlewood, who know that their home isn’t home anymore.

• The tracklist and fulsome sleeve notes have been put together by Bob Stanley (Saint Etienne) and Martin Green (Smashing, The Sound Gallery), who have been collecting these records for decades.

• The voices are resonant and relatable, and the productions take in the best of what pop had to offer in the late 60s and early 70s. Before the factionalism between smooth pop-conscious Nashville and the hedonistic ‘outlaws’ made it look inward again, this was a golden era for an atmospheric, inclusive and progressive country music. It began on the third of June, another sleepy, dusty Delta day.

In 1979 as a 15-year-old Eddie Piller was perfectly placed to be at the epicentre of the Mod revival. An inquisitive passion
for music, a family connection to Mod royalty The Small Faces, and an attitude that saw him travelling his home city, then
the country and then the world to take in the sounds that were emerging. In the years since, Piller has been a legendary
figure within the music industry setting up and continuing to own the ground-breaking Acid Jazz label, signing multiplatinum artists such as Jamiroquai and The Brand New Heavies collaborating on compilations with Martin Freeman and as
an award winning broadcaster even setting up his own Totally Wired Radio station. In The Mod Revival he looks back at the
movement that set him on his way.
• Mod is a sixties youth movement original built on sharp clothes, American soul music and nights on the town, that has never
really died. The originals added young British groups to their likes and then moved on, but their influence echoed on
through the 1970s in Northern Soul clubs, and in the sixties influenced bands of the pub rock era. When punk arrived, it was
supposed to sweep away the past, but instead the Sex Pistols were covering the Small Faces. The Clash brought in Mod DJ
Guy Stevens to produce London’s Calling, The Buzzcocks sounded closer to the Hollies than The Ramones and in The Jam’s
Paul Weller there was a musical and sartorial nod to the past of The Who, The Beatles and pop art arrows.
• Weller had spent the 1970s becoming obsessed by mod and saw punk as having a similar youthful energy to the era he had
missed by being born a decade too late. For others Weller’s style proved an inspiration, and as the Jam broke through in late
1978, they saw a wave of bands follow in their wake, and they themselves influenced others to form their own groups. But
there were other things. In bleak late 70s Britain the glorious optimism of the 1960s looked bright and shiny, and as it was
only a decade or so in the past, it was easy to pick up original records, clothes and books for pennies, and as you bought
these you met other like-minded souls who did the same. For those a little too young for punk, it was a community of gigs,
scooters, clothes, bands and records, and for many it developed on through.
• Eddie never stopped being a mod and has a unique perspective having now lived through four decades of being intimately
involved in the music that has emerged from the mod scene. In this part two double vinyl edition (Part 1 and its CD
equivalent reached #14 in the UK compilations charts) Ed guides us through some of his favourite music from the scene. He
guides us through a plethora of bands whose influences include The Who, The Kinks and the Jam, to sixties soul and R&B,
those with an eye on psychedelia. The records have a vitality and a certain stylish swagger to them, that marks them out as
mod. In the deluxe booklet, Piller has written a 5000 word note describing what it meant to him and has granted access to
his own scrapbooksfrom his many years of gig-going from which pages and memorabilia are reproduced.
• Eddie Piller’s Mod Revival is a personal appraisal from the founder of The Modcast, on what the mod explosion of the late
70s and 80s means to him…

Clear Vinyl

Eugene Synegal's early career as a teenager was the guitarist of Sam & The Soul Machine before moving to Los Angeles to join the group Sage and later in the 1970s recording on Lee Dorsey's Night People and The Neville Brothers records.

These previously unreleased recordings were birthed in the early 1970s, sometime during Eugene's trips back and forth between Los Angeles and New Orleans. A couple years after these recordings were immortalized onto 1/4" reel-to-reel tape an unusual crime scene involving Eugene and his girlfriend reads as if it was a chapter taken directly out of a pulp fiction novel. An Australian socialite named Patrica Galea, remained unsolved for 30 years. The robbers took $400, two diamond rings, a $1,400 cigarette lighter and two mink coats. They failed to collect Galea's $6,402 which was hidden in her freezer. This money was sent from Australia and was being used to fund Eugene's album as well as starting a new music publishing company in Hollywood. This was the life of Eugene. Playboy extraordinaire, jet-setter and guitar chops that would turn the head of Hendrix!! Around 2006 the owner of the West Hollywood apartment expressed a desire to learn more about its history and met with detectives who were unable to locate the file since it was buried in the cold cases section. The files were found, the case was reopened, solved and two men were arrested in 2007.

These recently unearthed 1970s recordings by Eugene are a reflection of his pure soul as well as a blend of psychedelia and funk that the band Sage was experimenting with in Los Angeles during that time period.

From a historical sense, these two recordings are significant because it bridges the historical and influential New Orleans music scene during the early 70's with the psychedelic rock and folk scene that was emerging just walking distance from the West Hollywood apartment that Eugene was living in with Galea during that time.

Eugene's unique guitar style paired with a deep-rooted gospel sensibility is a window into the artistry and songwriting capability of this incredibly talented man.

Where have you gone, Charles Tolliver? There was such promise in the concept of Music Inc., and in Strata East, but evidently the music world's attention was elsewhere and this tremendous live set was probably heard by only a few hundred sets of ears. On the back of the record sleeve, Tolliver undersigned his mission statement: "Music Inc. was created out of the desire to assemble men able to see the necessity for survival of a heritage and an Art in the hopes that the sacrifices and high level of communication between them will eventually reach every soul." And he isn't kidding. You won't find a much higher level of communication than he, Cecil McBee, Stanley Cowell, and Jimmy Hopps engaged in on May 1, 1970 at Slugs' in New York City. This was much more than an attempt to merely 'preserve acoustic jazz' as in the stilted Marsalis vein. This was an attempt to preserve a measure of authenticity while maintaining the notion of forward-thinking, present-tense improvised music. They deserved a greater response than the lukewarm, sparse applause they received that night, and continue to deserve a far more cognizant audience for their efforts.



Tolliver ('Drought"), McBee ("Felicite"), and Cowell ("Orientale") each contribute a track to the set; though very much distinct, each is equally strong. "Drought" is the kind of dark-hued, well-honed burner which Tolliver routinely produced in his fertile years. "Felicite" is a more contemplative affair, a deeply felt and empathically performed piece; the unit here is in particularly sublime form, merging considerable skill with a staggering depth of emotion. "Orientale" falls somewhere in between the pace of the two, with Cowell's Eastern scales establishing an austere, industrious tone throughout its seventeen-and-a-half-minute length.



Through its duration, the music on Live at Slugs' is often riveting and incessantly compelling. Hopps is a lesser-known entity to me, but the other three players featured here are some of the all-time underrated presences in the jazz pantheon, and they play nothing short of masterfully. Always a presence on his recordings, Tolliver demonstrates tremendous range, flair, and command as a trumpeter and leader. Had he not come along at a time when pure jazz was falling out of favour, I have to believe his name (along with Woody Shaw's) would be every bit as prolific as Freddie Hubbard's or Lee Morgan's; the same holds for the always brilliant and expressive McBee on bass.



I feel saddened that Music Inc. fell so far short of "eventually reaching every soul" - yet fortunate that it eventually reached mine.

Repress! This is the first full length release from The Sure Fire Soul Ensemble. The Sure Fire Soul Ensemble - If you are a fan of the organ, gritty Funk, and beautiful original soundtracks, these guys are for you. The SFSE is a heavy, original, instrumental soul band based out of San Diego, CA that released their debut self titled album on Colemine Records in June of 2015, and the band will be releasing their sophomore album in the fall of 2016 on the same label. The Sure Fire Soul Ensemble has recently shared the stage with Lee Fields and the Expressions, Big Sam's Funky Nation, Kung Fu, Polyrhythmics, New Mastersounds, Monophonics, Kamasi Washington, and many others. They draw influence from the masters of the style from the past and modern day, including: The Meters, Isaac Hayes, El Michels Affair, Mulatu Astatke, Budos Band, The Nite Liters, Menahan Street Band, Fela Kuti, and The Poets of Rhythm.

Los Angeles independent label Minky Records is issuing
two crucial, hitherto unheard slices of music recorded in the
’80s by the late L.A. punk rock legend Jeffrey Lee Pierce
and his band The Gun Club.
On June 12, the company will release an exclusive single
version of the Pierce original “Bad Indian” and a cover
of Jody Reynolds’ “Fire of Love.” This Minky 45 will be
accompanied by an even more impressive vault discovery:
Soulsuckers On Parade, a full-length 1984 Pierce solo
recording drawn from an abortive session for the cowpunk
compilation album Don’t Shoot, first released by Zippo
Records in the U.K. The vocalist is supported by an allstar
unit comprising guitarist Dave Alvin, drummer Bill
Bateman, and the late pianist Gene Taylor, then of the hot
L.A. roots combo The Blasters, and bassist Jack Waterson
of Green On Red; Chris D. (Chris Desjardins, who also
produced the date) and The Gun Club’s Kid Congo Powers
guest on background vocals.
Featuring covers of songs originated by Willie Nelson,
Big Joe Turner, and Creedence Clearwater Revival, a wacky,
profane blues Pierce improvisation called “New Way of
Walkin’’, and a rampaging, demented seventeen-minute
original, “Walkin’ Down the Street (Doin’ My Thing)”,
the album will be issued as a limited edition Kelly-green
vinyl LP on Record Store Day (June 12), and an unlimited
expanded CD package (with studio chatter and improvised
vocals and jams) on the same day.

Music in Exile announce their forthcoming remix EP, featuring reworkings of Music Yared by Melbourne cult hero, Mikey Young (Total Control, Eddy Current Suppression Ring, The Green Child). SINDAYO - MIKEY YOUNG REMIXES features remixes of an original track from Music Yared’s self titled debut EP, released last year through Music in Exile. In addition to today’s announcement, we’re delighted to also share the first single, Sindayo (Mikey Young’s Masinko Remix - Radio Edit), out March 26 via Music in Exile.

Mikey Young’s legacy is well known throughout the Australian music scene, most notably as part of garage punk band Eddy Current Suppression Ring, and synth-driven outfit, Total Control. However, the talents of Young extend well beyond the performance setting to the world of engineering and mastering with his name appearing in the liner notes of an incredible number of releases, becoming something of a trademark of quality. In this release, Young showcases his skill and nuance, creating a remix where tradition and sonic exploration co-exist.

Anbessa Gebrehiwot and Haftu Reda are masterful players of krar and masinko, traditional string instruments from Eritrea and Ethiopia. Now based in Melbourne, Australia, the pair collaborate with multi-instrumentalist Dale Gorfinkel to create an innovative ensemble sound that celebrates their East African culture. The band's seemingly endless repertoire ranges from modern takes on folk songs to new, original compositions with Anbessa’s strong vocal presence a perfect match to Haftu’s sweet lyrical modesty.

Music Yared’s compositions are inspired by traditional Etheopian and Eritrean folk songs and they sing about love, distance, separation and culture. Their songs also feature virtuosic mastery of traditional instruments - the krar, (a 5 string lyre style instrument), and the masinko (a single string violin-like instrument that is played using a bow.) Although inspired by tradition, Music Yared’s compositions embrace the notion that music is always developing and changing with the times. Taking influence from traditional folk songs, Music Yared finds newness and originality through their personal approach to their lyrics, their treatment of rhythm, and the creation of new beats. This change and openness to new sounds is also apparent in their instrumentation, as they pair their traditional instruments with drums, as well as samples of bass lines and percussion.

Given their openness to new musical approaches and experimentation, it only seems fitting for the songs of Music Yared to be remixed, allowing further exploration of their inherent musical attitudes towards change and development. The first single from the EP, Sindayo (Mikey Young’s Masinko Remix - Radio Edit) traverses new sonic territory, pairing the traditional character of Music Yared with contrasting ideas from different sonic landscapes. Beginning with a musical acknowledgement to the original song, Young’s remix then changes direction into a new sonic world; synth pads and melodies swell and intertwine, samples interject, whilst grooving electronic beats underpin a new approach to texture and song structure.

Recorded by Dale Gorfinkel in Thornbury. Mixed and mastered by John Lee at Phaedra Studios.
Remixed & additional production by Mikey Young in Rye.

Never underestimate the power of a woman with her back to the wall. In March 2020, as Covid blew across the planet, the shutters came down on live venues and recording studios, and the music scene fell suddenly silent, Ghalia Volt faced the same dilemma as every other artist.
What now? The answer was One Woman Band. Having joined with the cream of the US roots scene for two acclaimed albums, 2017’s Let The Demons Out and 2019’s Mississppi Blend, Volt’s rebirth as a solo performer wasn’t a decision made lightly. But if an apprenticeship busking in her native Brussels taught Volt anything, it’s that she already had everything she needed to make magic.
“In March, I started playing on a real drum set,” she recalls.
“Playing a kick, snare and hi-hat plus a tambourine with my two feet, while playing slide/guitar and singing at the same time.” After road-testing the new format at shows across Mississippi, Volt realised that one was the magic number.
In August, she committed to the project, embarking on a month-long Amtrak train trip that became an intensive writing session, the shifting landscapes beyond the window inspiring her pen to scratch as never before. Tracked live in November at Memphis’s legendary Royal Sound Studios, One
Woman Band is Volt’s most lyrically honest and groove-driven material to date.
You can feel the turn of those train wheels in the addictive stomp of songs like
Reap What You Sow, while the rattle-and-shiver slide guitar of Espiritu Papago
evokes the scream of a locomotive whistle.
“Imagine John Lee Hooker on mushrooms, lost in the desert of Arizona, on a hot
summer day,” says Volt. “That’s the vibe of that song.” The Covid-19 pandemic
is an unprecedented chapter of human history, with no clear end in sight.
But Ghalia Volt has given us the soundtrack to better times ahead, and the
songs we’ll still be singing when we meet on the other side. This might be a
One Woman Band - but you’re always welcome to ride shotgun.

Astral Black welcome Eahwee (pronounced errr-wee)to the fold for his 'Solitude' EP. Through his production work with MC's such as Mutant Academy's Koncept Jack$on & High Focus' Coop, a handful of releases on Dallas-based label Sunday Dinner and a flurry of bandcamp beat tapes - the London-based producer has quietly made a name for himself on the international beat scene. With the release of 'Solitude', Eahwee joins the ranks of Astral Black alumni & his production peers Budgie, Shy One & JD. Reid amongst the labels forward-thinking-producer blessed catalogue.

Across the 12-tracks here on 'Solitude', Eahwee contorts a gold-mine of 70's soul samples into a psychedelic reflection on isolation & the human experience, presented in the form a life affirming 17-minute long mixtape. From the exultantly ethereal sounds of 'Duuduu' & 'Windough' to the heart string pulling 'Naybahuud' & 'Rarecandy', Solitude is a testament to how Eahwee has developed his craft into an effortless touch. Though largely instrumental, peppered along the way are a handful of vocal performances in the form of guest appearances from Blah Records commander-in-chief, Lee Scott, the mafioso memoirs of extra terrestrial MC Melanin 9 and neo-soul sage, Ninjah Aragniz – who closes off proceedings with the infinitely loop-able summer anthem 'yah yah'.

The 7" vinyl edition is limited to 100 copies and includes tracks 'LOOOL', 'Shame' & "yah yah' featuring Lee Scott, M9 & Ninjah Aragniz respectively, alongside their instrumentals. Whilst the cassette edition, limited to 30 copies, features all 12 tracks in full on the A-side, with all 12 instrumentals on the B-side.

The Artwork, a comment on working with the best & worse of human nature, comes courtesy of Eahwee himself with yypography & additional design by Morgan Hislop.

*Repress*

Robert Rental is an artist as influential as he is overlooked. An anchor of the early British DIY and post-punk scene, his name is most frequently uttered alongside illustrious collaborators such as Thomas Leer and Daniel Miller. Dark Entries and Optimo ally to illuminate some of Rental’s early solo works with an expanded reissue of his debut 7” Paralysis /A.C.C.. Both labels have previously excavated Rental’s catalog; we reissued the collaborative LP with Glenn Wallis in 2017, and Optimo released a collection of demos in 2018.

The double A-side Paralysis /A.C.C. 7” was self-released on Regular Records in 1978, around the same time as Leer’s Private Plane/International 7”. The record is a perfect document of the DIY ethos. It was recorded with the assistance of Leer in the council flat that Robert lived in, using an assortment of budget electronics: a Roland drum machine, a Stylophone, an Electroharmonix DrQ, and a TEAC A3440 4-track recorder. The record’s sleeves were surreptitiously photocopied after hours at the offices of Virgin Records by Robert's partner Hilary Farrow, and the labels were hand-stamped The initial print run was a scant 650 copies. With its prominent notes of Krautrock, prog, dub, and ambient, Paralysis /A.C.C. points to a then-emergent musical form. “Paralysis” makes its four and a half minute runtime feel like an eon, an endless morass of processed vocals and mournful melodies underpinned by the static whirrings of synthesizers. “A.C.C.” is an angular pop song that is at once both fractured and droning, like a skipping record that sounds incrementally more warped with each iteration. The original 7” material is joined here by three previously unreleased tracks. Instrumentals “G.B.D.” and “Ugly Talk” evidence Rental’s outre-prog and melodic electronic sides, respectively. Sitting between the instrumentals is “Untitled”, a sparse gem that layers Rental’s gently processed vox with guitar and drum machine, beautiful in its simplicity.

The Paralysis EP has been remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy studios. The record comes in a sleeve with the original xeroxed 7” artwork. Also included is a four page booklet with lyrics, photos, and archival press material.

Dynamite Cuts are proud to have the opportunity of presenting this amazing Dj dance floor diamond, by the legendary funk n soul band S.O.U.L. “Burning Spear” is an upbeat Drum and Bass groove with a super funky flute and all time classic sample. Sampled by hip greats like Pete rock & C.L Smooth & Organized Konfusion to name a few, a pure rare-groove club anthem, I remember those nights, funky-ing down to this awesome rhythm.
Dynamite Cuts’ issue of this monster, is a double-sider of the ultimate versions of “Burning Spear”. The A side cut is taken from the superb “What it is?” LP. On the B-side is the rare and more collectable version; slightly different, more percussive recording which was released on 7” in 1971 on the Musicor record label, but sadly on the hissing, breakable styrene, and not on the lovely VINYL. You’d be lucky to find a copy that doesn’t hiss, pop and crackle. But with thanks to; Mr Simon Watson, who had a mint stock copy almost un-played; and to the A-Lister Dynamite Cuts’ mastering magicians - Andy Pearce (de-noises) and Stuart Hawkes (remastering to get that full-on funk effect). Now what are the chances of that!!!
The name S.O.U.L means Sounds Of Unity and Love, consists of four men from Cleveland, Ohio USA, the band was formed around 1970.
Lee Lovett, a Libra - Lead singer, Bass and Baritone;
Gus Hawkins, a Scorpio - Vocals, Saxophone, Flute
Paul Stubblefield, an Aquarius - Vocals, Drums
Walter Winston, a Pisces - Guitar.

Deap Lips is Wayne & Steven from THE FLAMING LIPS with Julie & Lindsey from DEAP VALLY. This special collaboration came together after a friendship formed between the bands.- - The seeds of Deap Lips were first planted years ago, when Troy and Edwards each fell in love with the music of the Flaming Lips. The Lips' 1999 classic The Soft Bulletin is one of Edwards' top ten of all time. "You can listen to their entire catalogue and the experience is so intact, full of experiments, philosophy, hooks, and the sublime," says Edwards. "There are very few artists who can offer the same experience on a decades-spanning deep dive."

Flash forward to 2016 as Deap Vally were touring with Wolfmother and Coyne turned up at a show in Raleigh (Edwards was on maternity leave at the time). Wayne, in town scouting the best edible giant gummy props, came for the show and Troy and Coyne were introduced after the set.

After that chance meeting Coyne started following Deap Vally on Instagram and would tag them in random posts of the Lips in the studio, much to their delight and amusement. Deap Vally wondered:
is Wayne hinting at a collaboration? They had this theme on the brain as Edwards and Troy had recently embarked on a series of yet to be released collaborations with the likes of KT Tunstall, Peaches, Jamie Hince (The Kills), Soko, Jenny Lee (Warpaint), Jennie Vee (EODM), Zach Dawes (Queens of the Stone Age, Mini Mansions), and Ayse Hassan (Savages).

On October 12, 1929, Kathryn Culp and Sammie Lee Brown had the idea to name their first-born baby Napoleon. With such a vital beginning, little Nappy was already predestined to hit the mark, so from a very young age he stood out for his vocal qualities, well cultivated in gospel, which he practiced assiduously in The First Mount Zion Baptist Church run by his father.

To Mr. Brown's chagrin, after his first forays into religious music participating in vocal gospel groups such as The Golden Crowns, Golden Bell Quintet and The Heavenly Lights, with whom he recorded his first single for Savoy in 1954, the young Napoleon decided to try his hand at secular music, convinced by Herman Lubinsky, the big boss man of the New Jersey label.

In this way, between 1954 and 1962, Napoleon recorded a total of 28 singles at Savoy, clearly marking the transition from Rhythm & Blues to Rock’n’Roll, and also his subsequent jump to Soul, being the natural link between the late 40s southerners like Wynonie Harris or Big Joe Turner and artists like Jackie Wilson or James Brown, who cemented the black sounds of the 60s.

This LP includes a compilation of some of his best songs at Savoy, high class rock'n'roll, with a lot of dancefloor favourites like DON'T BE ANGRY, compiled in its two versions, or JUST A LITTLE LOVIN ', but also his more Bluesy sides, with songs like the fabulous DOWN IN THE ALLEY, which would be recorded years later by that certain singer born in Tupelo, Mississippi, that many times declared how much he dug Nappy Brown’s Rhythm & Blues.

In the same bluesy way Nappy wrote the iconic THE RIGHT TIME, one of the first stones of the Soul cathedral, originally recorded by Nappy on 1957, and revised one year before by Ray Charles. Ray’s version, renamed Night Time Is The Right Time, would be included as the main theme of the award-winning film IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT. We´ve also included Nappy’s own answer to this song, recorded in 1961 and titled as ANY TIME IS THE RIGHT TIME.

Finally can´t avoid to name some of the backing musicians you´ll hear in these tracks, Sam ‘The Man’ Taylor, Mickey Baker, Panama Francis… have a look on notes bellow, oh boy! the A-Team of the mid-century New York Rhythm & Blues!

Nappy disappeared from the music scene in 1962, remaining anonymous until 1969, when he would return to Rhythm & Blues on Elephant Records with an LP whose title could not be more eloquent: THANK YOU FOR NOTHING.

Since then, Nappy was very active until his death in 2008, alternating his love for gospel and Rhythm & Blues, touring the United States and Europe and releasing no less than a dozen LPs.