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So, It's Like That is the second studio album by Joe Bonamassa and originally released on August 13, 2002. Contrary to Bonamassa's 2000 debut album A New Day Yesterday, which featured a mix of original songs and cover versions, So, It's Like That is made up almost entirely of tracks written by Bonamassa and a range of collaborators.

With 27 #1 albums, yearly sold-out tours worldwide and custom nnual cruises, he's a hard act to beat. These albums are a testament to his credentials and a toast to his longtime fans who remember them originally and new fans who can experience them for the first time.

It's Joe Bonamassa at his finest, ready to rock

God knows enough has been written about Workshop. Surely you haven't read it, but this group has been around since 1985, and what they did was this: musically quite limited, they made the music they wanted to hear, but in an ingenious way. Some played the instruments skillfully and others not so much. Something came out of it! One says: that's just the way I like it. The other one boasts: yes, I understood everything how you play here, sometimes you hit it, or sometimes you play so that the parents cry with joy. In fact, seven records were recorded, which, with the exception of the second LP, are still more than worth listening to today. Are they in danger of being forgotten?

Yes and no. What is worth listening to here has often been banned. One must bring it out again. Make attentive. Against the forgetting. These impetuous songs - just let them get close to you again and listen to them in a new context and forget all the smart-ass talk that was said about them. That means to put the self with all its reality entanglements in the pillory. This is of course not only pleasant. Bravo!

Create-A-Dance: The eternal mantra for each and everyone making dance music. In this case it’s Johannes Albert delivering a fresh House EP on his very own Frank Music imprint. Yes, we are talking piano, phun-ky basslines, synth melodies and vocal statements on top. Another epic break? Included! Being known for constantly trying to find the perfect sweetspot in between House, Disco and Italo, Johannes delivers one of his most catchy EPs to date. As a bonus on the flip you shall find „Voices Traces Noises Spaces“ plus Johannes’ remix for Jean Crémant’s initial super heat „Hyperspace“. As Bryan used to say: „Don’t Stop, Don’t Stop The Dance“.

Here's the thing about ill peach: this band exists because they are too weird to not exist. The seed of ill peach was first planted in the recording studios of New York City where Pat Morrissey and Jess Corazza were working together as professional songwriters, collaborating with artists like Icona Pop, SZA, Weezer, Pharrell, Big Freedia, and others. Then came the day they were offered their own publishing deal. Cool, right? Well, about that: "Everyone kept saying, 'The stuff that you're writing is slightly too left-of-center-weirdo stuff," remembers Morrissey. "Why don't you start your own project?" Thus ill peach, a pop band with a punk streak and a taste for both the rotten and the sweet, with an approach to making music that goes something like: "Do you want to pick up a guitar and do you want to be on this water jug and we'll record it on the iPhone and create some weird drum pattern?" Following a series of well-received EPs on their own Pop Can Records (a record label and artist collective Morrissey and close collaborator Jesse Schuster run with friends), a digital single for Hardly Art's 15th anniversary series, and some colorful music videos that crystallized the band's visual aesthetic along with their sound, ill peach's "weirdo stuff" comes to fruition on first full-length THIS IS NOT AN EXIT: a collection of anthemic songs built out of bright pop and gritty experimental elements (Morrissey names the sculptural use of distortion on the final albums by Low as an inspiration), punctuated with hooky choruses ready to be screamed along to in the safety of your own bedroom or with a bunch of friends at one of ill peach's intense live shows. If ill peach first blossomed in New York, it took quarantine in Los Angeles for the project to ripen. The end of the world turned out to be what ill peach needed to get real with themselves. "It helped us creatively to zone in and removed us from the industry side of things to where we could just be like: this is our new identity, let's jump with both feet." THIS IS NOT AN EXIT's title is a reflection of something Corazza realized during a period of personal and familial crises "I kept walking into buildings and I'd try to exit somewhere and the sign would be like, 'This is not an exit,'" she says. "It just felt like a metaphor for a hopeful thing-don't give up yet." This combination of hope and anxiety is all over THIS IS NOT AN EXIT, reflected in a sonic palette (Alternative! Electronica! Indie! Radio pop! Coldplay!) as eclectic as it is unpretentious. Ultimately, THIS IS NOT AN EXIT is a record about healing, a process often spoken about in New Age-y terms but one that in reality can be really confusing and, yes, weird. But it is the beautiful strangeness of being alive that ill peach capture so well on THIS IS NOT AN EXIT.

Face Four is the comeback of Two Phase U in a full EP format, continuing the Face saga started in 2019.

This time the 4 track collection is a trip through different styles and moods, with music ranging from gentle, warm-uppers to main hour bangers. Dark dystopian statements alongside hopeful harmonies and invigorating vocal samples.

Full of golden-era stylistic sound references and the characteristic dynamic grooves of Two Phase U's rythmical approach.

Through evocative, emotionally resonant music, Goodbye, Hotel Arkada , the new LP from American harpist and composer Mary Lattimore , speaks not just for its beloved namesake _ a hotel in Croatia facing renovation _ but for a universal loss that is shared. Six sprawling pieces shaped by change; nothing will ever be the same, and here, the artist, evolving in synthesis, celebrates and mourns the tragedy and beauty of the ephem - eral, all that is lived and lost to time. Documented and edited in uncharacteristically measured sessions over the course of two years, the material remains rooted in improvisation while glistening as the most refined and robust in Lattimore's decade-long catalog. It finds her communing with friends, contemporaries, and longtime influences, in full stride yet slow - ing down to nurture songs in new ways. The cast includes Lol Tolhurst (The Cure), Meg Baird, Rachel Goswell (Slowdive), Roy Montgomery, Samara Lubelski, and Walt McClements . "When I think of these songs, I think about fading flowers in vases, melted candles, getting older, being on tour and having things change while you're away, not realizing how ephemeral experiences are until they don't happen anymore, fear for a planet we're losing because of greed, an ode to art and music that's really shaped your life that can transport you back in time, longing to maintain sensitivity and to not sink into hollow despondency." For the title and inspiration, Lattimore's mind returns to the island of Hvar in Croatia, where she first saw those silver ladders at the water's edge. "There's a big old hotel there called the Hotel Arkada, and you could tell it had been hosting holiday-goers for decades in a great way. I walked around the lobby and the empty ballrooms and it looked like a well-worn, well-loved place. My friend Stacey who lives there told me to `say goodbye to Hotel Arkada, it might not be here when you get back' and I heard soon after that it was actually going to be renovated in a very crisp, modern way." Lattimore became fixated on the ingredients that make a place special _ for Hotel Arkada, the patinaed chandeliers, the patterned bedspreads, the echoes of its intangible charm _ and how when those leave this world, as they inevitably always will, it feels import - ant to memorialize them, "to bottle it for a brief second.

Horros, the third album by Finnish sonic voyagers Virta, is issued in September 2023. With Horros, Virta build on and take into new terrain the questing, jazz-tinged electroacoustic adventures of their last album, December 2016’s Hurmos, and its predecessor, their November 2012 debut Tales From Deep Waters. Still recognisable as who they were, the Virta of 2023 now delves further than ever before into their inner world to craft their most affecting, most atmospheric and most cinematic music to date. Even so, Horros does not need to be accompanied by images – it envelops so much that signposts are unnecessary. The music itself is the guide through this sound world. The creators of this environment are Antti Hevosmaa (electronics, flugelhorn, trumpet, vocals), Erik Fräki (electronics, drums, percussion, vocals) and Heikki Selamo (bass, electronics, guitar, lap steel, vocals). Together as Virta – which translates from Finnish as electricity, energy or stream – the trio were acclaimed as a “cornerstone of Finnish experimental music” by Finnish daily by newspaper Savon Sanomat in 2016. Horros will ensure this status becomes the case internationally. Beyond Finland, Virta already have dedicated listeners in Canada, France, Germany, Poland, the United States and the UK. Reflecting on Horros, Antti says “We’ve always made music we want to listen to ourselves. We’ve asked what is the sound we want to listen to? We are digging deeper now, with new elements – more vocals. Lyrics too, which we haven’t done before.” Without sacrificing who they are, Virta now have a wider scope than ever. “A key idea with Virta is to make the music you hear in your head and share it with people,” adds Heikki. “Yes, to share what is in our heads,” agrees Erik. “But also, it becomes live music, that’s the point

In 2020, the previous band formation announced its breakup, leaving Nelson at a pivotal turning point musically, and more broadly, in life, to determine what came next.

Over the next couple of years, Ayala grappled with issues of loss, addiction, coping with pain, relationships gone awry, and relationships anew. He also experimented more sonically, spending countless hours in the studio jamming with friends and using (Covid) boredom as an incubator for creativity. The result of this time period is Lonely Citizen, Indian Askin's third album. Lonely Citizen finds Nelson exploring his own personal story in perhaps the band's most intimate work to date.

Musically, he nods to his Latin roots, with a focus on percussion and groove being a thread throughout the record. Simultaneously, the lyrics find Ayala taking a magnifying glass to his personal reflections on his hometown, Amsterdam.

He says on the album, "It's about feeling sick and tired, and maybe even ashamed, of the place I grew up in and what it's become. And especially what I've become while living my life here. I was born in this machine and I will forever be a part of it, yes. I just can't shake the feeling that I need to leave this noise behind."

Hydrants beware! Furfriend is back!

Dingo Tush & Das Uberdog have awakened from their well-deserved hibernation and are itching to tell you all about the sweet dreams they had. Dreams that they thought would be best told in a trilogy of earworms which would eventually feed on your brain.

When the news of their awakening broke out, Void+1 Laboratories, against better judgement, made it their mission to log the dreams from these mythical beasts. Regretfully, they did not anticipate that the celestial voice of Dingo Tush could infect the minds of all of their employees and cause a chain reaction that would in matter of days make a whole universe sing in unison for eternity. Although V+1 did learn a valuable lesson (not really), that universe had to be "abandoned" and the exit-point plugged (to answer the question that just popped up in your mind: yes).

After applying Das Uberdog's custom-built, quantum censorship filters (totally not sci-fi gibberish, foogle it) to the original recordings, they were modified into 3 interdimensional, techno megahits that are now safe to be presented to the public (As far as we know... But don't worry, plugs in all sizes are ready for just in case).

Every once in a while, a library record's absurd level of perfection will be enough to throw up your hands and pack it all in. "How will I ever find this record in the wild?!", you may despair. And, yes, up until now, Michel Gonet's Phasing News Volume 2 was such a work of this ridiculous standard. Not just hyper-rare, but hyper-brilliant. Its high points transcend the "library" genre. This is a record that has always been so so hot on secondary markets. And it's easy to hear why! It's a big big French library classic with mad crazy demand.

Opening with "Mondial Scoop (Number III)", it continues on from where the dramatic tracks of Phasing News Volume 1 left off. The group of "Phasing Percussions" get under your skin, sample material for days here. "Phasing Leitmotive A" and "Phasing Leitmotive B" hypnotise with their analogue synth loops. Yet it's "Phasing March", closing out the side, that is absolutely sensational. Timpani drums merge with open breaks making for an irresistible neck-snapping tour de force.

Side B starts with "Devil Dance A", an unbelievably infectious bass instrumental whilst "Devil Dance B" adds more percussion and bass flourishes and is all the more funky for it.

And now for the main event. "Flower Dance A". What can we even say? An instantly captivating, sparkling keys loop and glittering percussion neatly arranged atop a very strong bassline and drums, all lean and potent. The melody was lifted wholesale by The Soulsavers for "Rumblefish" back in 2002 and you can't really blame them. "Flower Dance B" removes the bassline for a lighter feel but that loop still burrows inside your brain. It's perfect.

"Happy Smith (Number II)" was used by Madlib for Erykah's "My People" (!!!) whilst the set closes out with a group of tense, phased workouts.

The audio for Phasing News Volume 2 has been remastered by Be With regular Simon Francis, ensuring this release sounds better than ever. Cicely Balston's expert skills have made sure nothing is lost in the cut whilst the original, iconic Tele Music house sleeve has been restored here at Be With HQ as the finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue.

Nous'klaer Audio presents Martinou - Chiral, the follow full-length up to his 2021 album Rift. This time nine tracks across two vinyls. An album flowing 'in a way' like Rift, but it's different: More outspoken, heavier sound design and it peaks on a blissful note. ''Open up the blinds and take me there. We'll break the surface tension. We'll dive in. I'm locked in your devotion. You give an inclination to our demise. It will be our exit. To bliss, we'll be its guardian. Once there was love. Clear as glassy water. No ripples, no waves. I followed while you led. Our arrival was warm. Hot, even. Stunning to a startling degree. Hands intwined, frolicking towards the blue. Hours passed, and white heat cede to an orange hue. We cooled down. Red. We rallied. Black. It began. Into the deep darkness we ran. White sand, it has a tendency to get everywhere. Salt water will only dehydrate you more. Shriveled and dry. Scratchy and coarse. More. And then we were lost. Fingers once locked grew distant. Morning, dear. Where have you gone? We looked. A glimpse from afar. Red. We rallied. Shall we share a bottle of wine? Black, lost again. Afternoon, friend. Where were you? Red. Alone. Black. We rallied. Shall we try somewhere new? Sand and salt. Evening, sir. Reservation for one? Reservations a plenty, I say. Evening, miss. Dining alone? Aren't we all? Dining, miss, not dying. Oh, yes, alone. Black. Sand and salt. I found you. No. No. Wait, do I know you? You feel like a dream. Don't touch me. Move along, sir. Who are you? Leave. Who are you? Where did you go? Keep moving. I am, I will. Time to move on. I'm moving! Leave. Don't touch me. Leave. Why are you? Exit. Purple. Orange. Yellow. White. Blue. Morning, dear. Shall we have breakfast? I think I'll sleep some more. But it's our last day. I know. See you downstairs when you're ready. OK. I open up the blinds. A bird breaks the surface tension. Locked in. To Devotion? No. Demise. An inclination. Reverie. Take me there. Where? Exit (To Bliss) '' Text by Gregory Markus

Wewantsounds Is Pursuing Its Ambitious Akiko Yano Reissue Program With The Release Of "japanese Girl", Her Landmark Debut Album From 1976. Backed By Little Feat With Lowell George And By The Cream Of Japanese Musicians (including Haruomi Hosono), Japanese Girl Is One Of The Most Important Japanese Albums Of The 70s, Mixing Pop, Rock, Japanese Folk Together With Little Feat's Superb Classic Sound. This Is The Very First Time The Album Is Released Internationally. The Deluxe Lp Edition Includes Remastered Sound, Tip-on Lp Sleeve, Download Card Plus The Original 4-page Insert With Lyrics And Full Line-up!
When Akiko Suzuki Left Her Home Town Of Aomori For Tokyo In The Early 70s Aged Just 15 To Become A Professional Musician, She Quickly Started Making Waves On The Local Music Scene Performing At The Jazz Club Rob Roy. In 1973 She Released A 7" With The Group Zariba And Caught The Attention Of A&r Man Koki Miura. She Then Recorded One Song, "oinaru Shiino-ki" With Haruomi Hosono On Bass And Drummer Tatsuo Hayashi (who Features On Many Hosono Albums And Also Hiroshi Sato's 1979 Album Orient) With A Full Album In Mind.

After A Marriage With Musician/producer Makoto Yano And The Birth Of Her Son (named Fuuta), Yano And Her Team Resumed The Recording Of The Album And Decided To Pitch Little Feat For A Collaboration As She Loved The Group. Against All Odds They Said Yes And Yano Left Tokyo For Los Angeles In March 1976 To Record A Full Side With Them. The Legend Has It They Found It So Difficult To Keep Up With Yano's Compositions They Returned Some Of Their Fee. The Session Was Nevertheless Stunning And Lowell George Even Compared Yano To Stevie Wonder. The Little Feat Blend Of New Orleans Groove Matched Yano's Melodies Perfectly, As Witnessed On "funamachi-uta Part 2." Originally A Traditional Song From The Nebuta Festival In Her Hometown Of Aomori (part I On Side 2 Gives A Good Idea Of What The Original Form Sounds Like), The Little Feat Version Is A Formidable Slow-funk Workout Not Dissimilar To Their Classic, "spanish Moon", Serving Yano's Beautiful Vocals And Sense Of Groove To Perfection. The Whole Side Is A Match Made In Heaven, Showcasing The Classic Little Feat Line Up At Their Funkiest With Yano's Unique Japanese Twist.

The Japanese Side On The Album Gives A Great Snapshot Of The Tokyo Music Scene Of The 70s With Many Musicians Gravitating Around Haruomi Hosono (and Present On His 1973 Classic Album 'hosono House' Including Sound Engineer Kinji Yoshino) And Also Several Musicians From Japanese Band, The Moonriders.

Recorded At The Legendary Onkyo Haus Studio In Tokyo, The Sessions Mix Singer-songwriter Sensitivity And Pop With Traditional Japanese Sounds And Instruments Like The Shinobue Transverse Flute, The Koto String Instrument Or The Tsuzumi Hand Drum As Played On "hekoriputaa" By The Legendary Percussionist Kisaku Katada Who Was Appointed Living National Treasure By The Japanese State In 1999; Together They Create A Beautiful East-meets-west Mix Masterfully Driven By Yano's Creativity And Unique Talent.

A Breathtaking Debut Album That Made Akiko Yano One Of The Most Important Artists To Emerge From The 70s, Japanese Girl Has Since Become A Milestone In Japanese Music With A Recent Documentary On Nhk Tv Telling The Whole Story Behind This Classic. Wewantsounds Is Now Proud To Present This Essential Album To The Rest Of The World.

The final U.S. show, a triumphant and blistering bookend to the storied career of one of the most influential bands in rock music, featuring a unique and expansive eighty-five minute set list that spans Sonic Youth’s nearly three decade catalog. Mixed from multitrack by longtime live engineer Aaron Mullan and mastered and cut by Carl Saff. On August 12, 2011 Sonic Youth played their final US show on an outdoor stage overlooking the East River at the Williamsburg Waterfront in Brooklyn. Fitting that their storied career would bookend with a panoramic view of New York City where it all began 30 years before, having left in their wake one of one of the most powerfully influential careers in rock music. Following incredible sets from Kurt Vile and Wild Flag, the band took the stage. As the sun went down over the city, Sonic Youth ripped through a 17 song set that spanned from deep cuts off their first studio album and highlighting many other albums all the way through to their last, like a band with everything to prove. Or as Brooklyn Vegan’s Andrew Sacher said at the time: “While most bands who are thirty years into their career are either fading away or living off of the nostalgia of their older material, Sonic Youth continue to sound and perform as fresh as ever.” Steve Shelley explains the uniquely career spanning set list of Live in Brooklyn 2011 and how it came to be, as well as the importance of outdoor NYC summer shows in Sonic Youth’s legacy: “This show was a culmination of a run of really special outdoor summertime shows in New York City for us, starting in ’92 with Summerstage in Central Park when we played with Sun Ra. For the Williamsburg Waterfront show I wrote out the set list to present to the band and it was a lot of material we hadn’t played in a while, a lot of deep cuts, so I wasn’t sure if everybody would feel like doing it. After worrying about which songs the band might say yes or no to, I threw those concerns out the window and I just made a list of songs that I thought would be a great set. We practiced the week of the show at our space in Hoboken and put the set together. First we’d try and make sure we had a guitar in the song’s tuning, then we’d try to remember the arrangement and try and put it together, sometimes re-learning bar by bar. In the end I think the whole song list made it through. Even as early as ’86 and ’87 we stopped playing ‘Death Valley 69’ and ‘Brave Men Run’ with any regularity. We’d just get excited about new material coming into the set and songs would get ‘retired’ and wouldn’t get played again for years. So on this particular night in Brooklyn a lot of those retired songs and deep cuts got dusted off and played for this show. It turned out to be a pretty special event with a really special song list.” The band would go on to fulfill a contracted festival run in South America a few months later but, by then, the group’s center was severed beyond repair and the festival appearances didn’t hold the same kind of weight. “The stage was facing the East River from the Williamsburg, Brooklyn waterfront, and I recall the sun going down in the west during our set. It was a pretty magical, if kinda weird day. Fitting, somehow, that our ‘last show’ should be in New York City, our home and where it all began…” Lee Ranaldo The Williamsburg Waterfront show would fondly become referred to as ‘The Last Show’ by fans and band alike, equally for its triumphant high energy performance, its unique and expansive set list and locale. Newly remixed and remastered, Live in Brooklyn 2011 is presented for the first time on 2xLP, 2Xcd, August 18, 2023.

Freak Frequency was a fitting title for the new material Greg Obis was planning for Stuck, the frenetic and twisted post-punk outfit he formed in 2018. Inspired by the doomy social economics of Mark Fisher’s Capitalist Realism, the bleak worldbuilding of horror games Demon’s Souls and Bloodborne, and the bombastic yet arty satire of Devo, Obis channelled his audio analogy into Freak Frequency, an album ringing out with explosive sounds and ideas.

Stuck formed after Obis’ previous projects, Yeesh and Clearance, called it quits in short proximity. Obis is on guitar and vocals, which span from booming theatrics to ecstatic yelps. The project’s rhythm section is completed by shoegaze guitarist-turned-chugging bassist David Algrim and tightly wound drummer Tim Green—also a graphic designer, and the artist responsible for Stuck’s distinctively unified visual aesthetic. Original co-guitarist Donny Walsh contributed freely inventive lines for the first few years of the project, including on Freak Frequency; Ezra Saulnier of Red Tunic, the newest member of the band, now brings calculated contrapuntal riffs to match Obis’ parts.

The building blocks of Stuck include the egg punk eccentricities of Uranium Club and The Coneheads filtered through noise rock power, à la Jesus Lizard or Slint; that melange is glittered with the precision microtones of Unwound and Women. “I want the feeling of immersion and chaos and tension, with a big guitar amp playing a big chord,” says Obis of his inspirations, citing friends and peers Cloud Nothings and Preoccupations. “But I want it delivered by having a lot of smaller points of light poking through.”

In fact, writing for Freak Frequency began while Content’s recording was still underway—beginning with “Scared,” which features acoustic layers under feedback squalls. “Time Out,” with motoric guitars in the sputtering lineage of Wire, was also composed in late 2019. Obis wrote it about the cycles of compulsion and shame woven into social media use, and the way negativity drives algorithmic engagement. It became an exciting exercise for the group in ramping up speed; “I thought I knew how far I could push Tim’s tempos,” Obis recalls. “But Tim kept insisting we do it 20 bpm faster than what I had. He is an absolute monster for playing that.”

Album opener “The Punisher,” a spiral staircase of disembodied guitars and rhythmic slams over a 2/4 beat, came in the aftermath of the January 6 insurrection. It felt immediately emblematic to Freak Frequency, and Obis describes it as his favorite Stuck track: one he wishes he could write again and again. “It hits all the boxes that Stuck can do: it’s goofy, but there’s a lot of intricate guitar interplay, and at the end, there’s a big payoff,” he explains. The last song written was “Do Not Reply,” a pre-album single that came to Obis after engineering for Melkbelly and channelling their earworm melodies. Algrim wouldn’t let it on the record unless Melkbelly’s front person Miranda Winters dueted on vocals; she was happy to oblige, and the gritty epic closes Freak Frequency.

With slippery snark, percussive heft, and funhouse mirrors of sludge, Freak Frequency delivers its needed screeds with gratifying nuance. If Stuck’s interpretation of this messed-up world goes down like a bitter pill, it’s only because its sugar coating is too delicious to keep from eating.

Be With present the first ever reissue of the ultra rare double pack DJ promo of Malcolm McLaren & Bootzilla Orchestra's "Call A Wave". Originally slipping out in 1989 to a select few, there were rumoured to be only ever 300 copies pressed. Indeed, the entire package never got a proper release and now goes for a small fortune.

Say what? Bootsy Collins, Jeff Beck and Malcolm McLaren, all in one band, composing over a Barry White sample? And that's just the original. But you can forget about that for now. Here we have the incredibly sought-after "DFC Dance Mix", mixed by Massimino Lippoli of Morenas / Sueño Latino fame for the legendary DFC Italy. It's a throbbing, vital, dramatic slice of dreamy ambient house. A deep, entrancing track that's both blissful and dancefloor dynamite. It features the iconic, disaffected female vocal chopped up over elegant piano snatches, Beck's ace guitar stylings over rolling, heavy drums and a killer, hypnotic bassline with sparkling harp coming and going. It's exotic, otherworldly and brimming with that very special late 80s/early 90s Mediterranean vibe. Yes, it's Balearic, it's House. Above all else, it's a pure uncut slice of halcyon summer days, pressed on wax.

But on side B we also have the mesmeric "Breakdown Mix", again mixed by DFC Italy. For some, *this* is the mix to have - and who are we to argue? This time, the vocals are treated so they're uttered backwards, contributing to the wonderfully disorienting magic of this particular mix.

And how could we forget the equally iconic "Orbital Mix"? Not by the actual group Orbital, but courtesy of S'Express's Mark Moore & William Orbit, no less. A brilliant, beautiful remix that's perhaps more musical. They make more obvious use of the sample from the original Barry White track ("I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby") that Malcolm was inspired by. Flip over to Side D to find the duo's uber-horizontal "Return To The Deep Ambient Mix", a floaty, beatless gem that'll leave you swooning.

To round out this quite astonishing package, the "New Age Mix", again coming from the DFC Italy camp, elegantly sends us off into the cosmos with minimal percussion and maximum vibes.

Every mix on this DJ double pack is truly killer. Simon Francis remastered the original audio for this release and Cicely Balston's precise cut for Alchemy at AIR Studios ensures this 2x12" well and truly pumps. The immaculate Record Industry pressing will ensure this incredibly sought-after masterpiece finds a home in many more DJ boxes this and every summer. For the artwork, we've recreated the original DJ promo, a plain white gatefold sleeve complete with the iconic burnt orange hype sticker. Hold tight. Roof down, tops off.

Western Massachusetts band Landowner play abrasively clean minimalist-punk. Singer Dan Shaw began Landowner in 2016, writing and recording Impressive Almanac with a practice amp and a laptop drum machine. Those available tools would inform the band’s unapologetic sound—clean, confrontational, and absurdly stark. With a stated goal to sound like “Antelope playing Discharge”, Landowner’s diamond hard structures, repetitious instrumentals and caricatured hardcore make space for lyrics that reflect on the global systems our lives are tangled in and the dark absurdities we take for granted.

Landowner’s fourth Born Yesterday full length Escape the Compound focuses on the powerful grips manipulators and reality-deniers have on their victims, examining the social, political and interpersonal damage of cult-like influence and control. “A lot of the lyrics focus on cult manipulators and narcissists: falling victim to their toxic dynamics, and the difficulty of escaping their grip” says Shaw. From climate change deniers and conspiracy theorists to deceptive narcissists and actual cult leaders, Landowner explores the ubiquity of modern unreality through evocative imagery and a keen sense of awareness. The band’s plain instrumentation sheds and subverts hardcore punk’s noisy veil in favor of a direct, unswerving examination of these themes.

Written and recorded following the release of 2020’s Consultant, Escape the Compound finds Landowner leaning into the studio through deeper experimentation with a wider palette of sounds. The group’s lineup of Josh Owsley (bass), Elliot Hughes (guitar), Jeff Gilmartin (guitar), Josh Daniel (drums) and Dan Shaw played often since coming together in 2017. But with pandemic restrictions in place, the making of Escape the Compound became a much more insular pursuit, one where the mixing and mastering process helped turn the band’s most varied batch of material into a cohesive, thematic collection of songs.

Album opener “Witch Museum” is a collage of dark Massachusetts historical imagery. The song evokes a kind of cult dynamic travelling like a shadow through time, where dark absurdities are taken for granted, toxic behaviours are excused, and normalcy begins to shift. The line “Gail's behaviour has changed” casts fictional “Gail” as the dark manipulator, whose whim we’re at the mercy of. She sheds her toxic behaviour and the crisis finally ends - “and peace returns to the Commonwealth”- an absurdity, given that cult leaders and narcissists rarely seem to change.

By considering the past, Landowner sheds light on the present. The band challenges egomaniacs reluctant to accept an uncomfortable reality with both cynicism and concern. The literal landowner described in “Heat Stroke” collapses in exhaustion, cooked by a suffocating bass line and sizzling hi-hats. “You'd rather die of heat stroke than to let anybody see you change your mind,” Shaw gasps, later pleading with the character in “Floodwatch” to “please reconsider” their brazen stubbornness as they plunge through the rising waters of a flooded road.

The character in “Swimmer of Note” refuses to admit their miscalculations, instead doubling down on an ever-growing and increasingly-unsteady tower of lies. The sneering “Damning Evidence” sets a scene all too familiar: a smoking gun scenario with zero consequences. Shaw’s exaggerated vocal refrains and sarcastic inflections mock false hope: “how will they be expected to keep their minds intact, at the shock of simply hearing such damning evidence?”

“Beyond the Darkened Library” creaks open a secret passageway into a dimly lit, endless labyrinth of conspiracy theories, in which the character becomes hopelessly lost. “Aftermath” sounds the alarms: “stare so long that you start getting used to it; one glance says you should never get used to it.” The pair of “Tactics” tracks express what Shaw calls “an interpersonal microcosm of the album’s themes.”

Perhaps the most ambitious arc on Escape the Compound loosely begins with the title track. The subject in “Escape the Compound” gradually recognizes their own victimhood and plans a calculated flight from the “captivating shepherd” – hop the fence, flee, and regain autonomy. As the narrator escapes their stifling and abusive cult microcosm, a much grander existential timeline begins to appear. “Thousands of Years in Fast Forward” narrates a psychedelic surrender to the shared human experience through space and time, an ego-death adjacent to our ancestry, our own existence, and the before and after. “At the site of the crater, molecular hands unclasp molecular hands as you lose conditioning,” Shaw sings on the title track, “Your grandmother's garden. Your grandmother's kitchen. Your grandmother's primordial ocean.” It’s a profound actualizing glimpse into a true, forgotten reality and a startling reconnection with the self.

Western Massachusetts band Landowner play abrasively clean minimalist-punk. Singer Dan Shaw began Landowner in 2016, writing and recording Impressive Almanac with a practice amp and a laptop drum machine. Those available tools would inform the band’s unapologetic sound—clean, confrontational, and absurdly stark. With a stated goal to sound like “Antelope playing Discharge”, Landowner’s diamond hard structures, repetitious instrumentals and caricatured hardcore make space for lyrics that reflect on the global systems our lives are tangled in and the dark absurdities we take for granted.

Landowner’s fourth Born Yesterday full length Escape the Compound focuses on the powerful grips manipulators and reality-deniers have on their victims, examining the social, political and interpersonal damage of cult-like influence and control. “A lot of the lyrics focus on cult manipulators and narcissists: falling victim to their toxic dynamics, and the difficulty of escaping their grip” says Shaw. From climate change deniers and conspiracy theorists to deceptive narcissists and actual cult leaders, Landowner explores the ubiquity of modern unreality through evocative imagery and a keen sense of awareness. The band’s plain instrumentation sheds and subverts hardcore punk’s noisy veil in favor of a direct, unswerving examination of these themes.

Written and recorded following the release of 2020’s Consultant, Escape the Compound finds Landowner leaning into the studio through deeper experimentation with a wider palette of sounds. The group’s lineup of Josh Owsley (bass), Elliot Hughes (guitar), Jeff Gilmartin (guitar), Josh Daniel (drums) and Dan Shaw played often since coming together in 2017. But with pandemic restrictions in place, the making of Escape the Compound became a much more insular pursuit, one where the mixing and mastering process helped turn the band’s most varied batch of material into a cohesive, thematic collection of songs.

Album opener “Witch Museum” is a collage of dark Massachusetts historical imagery. The song evokes a kind of cult dynamic traveling like a shadow through time, where dark absurdities are taken for granted, toxic behaviors are excused, and normalcy begins to shift. The line “Gail's behavior has changed” casts fictional “Gail” as the dark manipulator, whose whim we’re at the mercy of. She sheds her toxic behavior and the crisis finally ends - “and peace returns to the Commonwealth”- an absurdity, given that cult leaders and narcissists rarely seem to change.

By considering the past, Landowner sheds light on the present. The band challenges egomaniacs reluctant to accept an uncomfortable reality with both cynicism and concern. The literal landowner described in “Heat Stroke” collapses in exhaustion, cooked by a suffocating bass line and sizzling hi-hats. “You'd rather die of heat stroke than to let anybody see you change your mind,” Shaw gasps, later pleading with the character in “Floodwatch” to “please reconsider” their brazen stubbornness as they plunge through the rising waters of a flooded road.

The character in “Swimmer of Note” refuses to admit their miscalculations, instead doubling down on an ever-growing and increasingly-unsteady tower of lies. The sneering “Damning Evidence” sets a scene all too familiar: a smoking gun scenario with zero consequences. Shaw’s exaggerated vocal refrains and sarcastic inflections mock false hope: “how will they be expected to keep their minds intact, at the shock of simply hearing such damning evidence?”

“Beyond the Darkened Library” creaks open a secret passageway into a dimly lit, endless labyrinth of conspiracy theories, in which the character becomes hopelessly lost. “Aftermath” sounds the alarms: “stare so long that you start getting used to it; one glance says you should never get used to it.” The pair of “Tactics” tracks express what Shaw calls “an interpersonal microcosm of the album’s themes.”

Perhaps the most ambitious arc on Escape the Compound loosely begins with the title track. The subject in “Escape the Compound” gradually recognizes their own victimhood and plans a calculated flight from the “captivating shepherd” – hop the fence, flee, and regain autonomy. As the narrator escapes their stifling and abusive cult microcosm, a much grander existential timeline begins to appear. “Thousands of Years in Fast Forward” narrates a psychedelic surrender to the shared human experience through space and time, an ego-death adjacent to our ancestry, our own existence, and the before and after. “At the site of the crater, molecular hands unclasp molecular hands as you lose conditioning,” Shaw sings on the title track, “Your grandmother's garden. Your grandmother's kitchen. Your grandmother's primordial ocean.” It’s a profound actualizing glimpse into a true, forgotten reality and a startling reconnection with the self.

'Jump Into Love' is the new album from Half Japanese, true DIY noise-rock royalty, led by the ever-effervescent Jad Fair. It's a meeting of minds, a coming together from the world's favourite indie-alt-rock outsiders. Atypically out there and off-kilter, the album wears its heart on its sleeve through a cascade of new, dark and brooding songs from the band who would be king. Loved by Kurt Cobain, Daniel Johnston, Penn Jillette and outsiders everywhere, Half Japanese continue their quest for answers; creating a soundscape for a post-zombie land where bells chime and it's OK to say "Yes". It's another adventure; series 20 from an introspective parallel world where the super prolific Jad Fair cogitates on life, love, giants, the possessed and even bigger issues that simply swell the brain. Musing on the writing process, Jad explains "I feel a need to do music and do song writing. It's something I really miss when I'm not doing it. There's a certain amount of tranquillity that's obtained from the fact that you can be working on songs each day. I think you use that certain portion of your brain that is otherwise not used. I kind of kind of prefer using it than not using it." Half Japanese currently includes Jad with John Sluggett, Gilles-Vincent Rieder, Mick Hobbs and Jason Willett, a veritable who's who of DIY indie culture. 'Jump Into Love' was recorded at Tempo House, Baltimore, Russian Recording, Bloomington Indiana, Studio de la Trappe, Donneville France and la Casamurada, Tarragona Spain. The album was mixed by long time Half Japanese sparring partner Jason Willett at his home in Baltimore, Maryland. "Amid hard-riff jams, swinging ditties, lovelorn ballads and other catchy gems, Jad persistently breathes life into the Half Japanese" NPR "One of indie rock's most reliable sources of positivity" Pitchfork

Representing Seattle Funk. The Oscillators' debut album is deep, raw and energetic. Led by drummer oLLi kLoMp, the line up features members of the polyrhythmics, Rippin' Chicken, the Pulsations, Lucky Brown, the Trueloves, 45th Street Brass, The S.G.'s, and more...

REAL, DEEP FUNK WITH A PSYCHEDELIC NUDGE.

As of yet, as these words were written, the Oscillators is not a band. the Oscillators is an experimental recording collaboration that turned out swimmingly.

Our gauge was this: "Do we like it?" No agenda or goal. The main mode being simply; create what we like out of thin air. Yet the air was heavy therefore create what we like out of thick air. Magical, gravy-thick air. Molecules, olli'cules. Alchemically thick. Apparently, we needed to sample something out-of-the-ordinary… the process is called, "stackin- phat". Minimal gear, maximum vibe. In fact, this process and this gear would make most educated sound engineers cringe but the players know.

Pushing the tape…yes, tape! 4 track to be exact, pushing the tape to it's edge. First, stack two drum tracks. bounce them to one primal track. Sometimes one drummer, sometimes two; "a great drumbeat already contains melody." This is your first layer of phat. Generally, unless the muse says otherwise, you wanna bring in your bass player next, gently caress guidance and encouragement (maybe a beer or a hit a grass), then he or she can stack the next layer of phat. The next few layers are where things really take off. Maybe it's guitar then horns, maybe keys. Maybe just horns. Whatever the tune calls for. Whatever the muse "calls" for. Everyone stacking is simultaneously inspired, while hindered, by the previous layer; "constricted genius" works of magic from thin/thick air.

Most of the time the players weren't in the same room at the same time, and in some cases, haven't seen each other in years, but it sounds like a family and feels like a band. Create what we like.

The natural unfolding of this creation was affirming, in that the process of creation proved most relevant. An expression of faith and appreciation of the experiMENTAL process with no preparation for something else. Beyond fortunate for the allowance of time. "never underestimate the power of positive thought"

-Ned Blanski

Lewis Taylor's legendary magnum opus: The Lost Album. "Now you're talking. That's my favourite LT album. Unlike all of the others, there isn't anything about it that embarrasses me." Straight from the genius's mouth. What can we say about this? Well, it's the most requested record ever at Be With Towers. The Lost Album was the intended follow-up to his first album but Island rejected it for fear of "confusing" the marketplace and its conception of Lewis as a soul artist. Their loss. It's a breezy sunset masterpiece.

The genesis of this incredible record needs unpicking a bit. Lewis stopped promoting the first album after a year and went home to record a completely different record that was the most un-R&B album you could probably ever hear: "I pushed in such an extreme direction the other way with what eventually became The Lost Album. It was a knee-jerk reaction to a perceived ‘trapped in R&B’ feeling I was going through at the time. Some people around me were in favour of it and others weren’t. In the end I think I lost confidence in it and did Lewis II instead." We did at least get Lewis II, which is a remarkable album, and he kept Island happy...for a bit. Not long after, Lewis was dropped. And what was to become The Lost Album could've been...er...lost. Forever.

Thankfully, however, Lewis and longtime partner Sabina Smyth revisited those scrapped demo tracks in 2003. They decided to re-arrange, re-record and then self-release them. So it was that the brand new version of The Lost Album finally dropped in late 2004. It's sheer perfection, and we don't say that lightly. The Lost Album was a fully 50/50 collaboration between Lewis and Smyth. As well as production, Sabina did a lot more writing on it, from the melody to "Listen Here" to the chord sequence for "Let's Hope Nobody Finds Us." Thankfully, Sabina is credited this time around.

No, it's not straight up "soul music" in the vein of his previous work. Yet, in its perfectly formed suite of one dozen songs, The Lost Album is dripping in soul. It's so warm, so effervescent and so alive with possibilities. It features deep, fresh imprints on well-loved, accessible sounds. It's a proper 70s style double album. Just one listen and the musical influences on The Lost Album are fairly self-explanatory, as Lewis recently told us, but it's always nice to hear that, in case we were in any doubt, he was definitely channeling Love, Yes, Brian Wilson, CSN, Laura Nyro and, of course, Todd Rundgren. The influences don't end there: "I’m particularly fond of my bass playing on that album, there’s a lot of Chris Squire going on which is cool."

Deep orchestral opener "Lost" is a sublime, harp-laced, string drenched gem, a cinematic, melancholic Axelrod-esque mini-epic that simply beguiles. Written by Smyth, it evokes Donny Hathaway's celestial "I Love The Lord, He Heard My Cry" from Extensions Of A Man. The only problem is the brief 90 seconds running time. It segues into the classic Brian Wilson-meets-power-pop-rock splendour of "Listen Here" which, with its outstanding extended harp-licked beatless intro, sounds like the younger cousin to Boston's "More Than A Feeling". We then drift into the ringing guitars of classic 70s rock anthem "Hide Your Heart Away". It's Lewis's personal favourite, "especially the multi-tracked guitar solo – I was listening to Boston at the time, which was fun." A-ha!

A new version of the heart-stopping, shoulda-been-a-massive-pop-hit "Send Me An Angel" opens Side B before the arrival of, in Lewis's completely correct words, "the clear standout, "Leader of the Band"; the perfect distillation of everything that album was trying to achieve." Soaring, piano-led Rundgren-esque power pop that makes the hairs on the back of your next stand on end. Truly, otherworldly. This is pure pop for now (and then) people. The simple jangly brilliance meets experimental prog-rock of "Yeah" sounds like simultaneously like prime CSNY and late 90s Radiohead (if they'd had a slightly more accessible bent and could write better tunes).

Oh, you wish The Beach Boys had continued writing amazing songs beyond Holland? Well, allow us to point you in the direction of the downlifting stunner "Please Help Me If You Can" and the warm textures and brilliant atmospherics of goosebump-inducer "Let’s Hope Nobody Finds Us". Words can't really describe the sheer beauty of these songs. So we'll stop trying. Just listen. Listen, listen, listen. Closing out this remarkable side of music, the accidentally Balearic "New Morning" should be blasting out at every sunrise set in Ibiza, this summer and forevermore.

The final side opens with the vaguely Beatlesey "Say I Love You". It's just classic, soaring pop-rock songwriting and should strictly be canonical. It's that good. The sassy, Stonesy swagger of "See My Way" injects enough rock'n'roll attitude to compensate for the rest of record's peace-loving, AOR sun-dappled vibe whilst album closer, "One More Mystery", emerging out of the rubble of the previous track, comes on initially like a Baroque-Pop George Harrison before piling crunching drums and screeching guitar solos atop the dreamy harmonies til close.

When asked what it means to have these records available on vinyl for the first time, Lewis is in no doubt: "It’s great and it’s really nice to be able to offer fans a different listening experience. There’s a whole other dimension with vinyl that taps into that whole nostalgia thing, well for me anyway. Something about the physical aspect of pulling it out of the sleeve and putting it on, it does tend to make you feel like you’re more engaged."

Lewis was adamant that he wanted all new artwork for The Lost Album vinyl sleeve and his brief was just the sort of classic tropical-beach-at-sunset you’d want to see on the front of a record that sounds like this. On the finished sleeve, the beach at sunset is just where we start out, before heading up through the painterly clouds and heading out into the stars. And yes, the lettering is a definite subtle nod to all those in-between-period Beach Boys bootlegs we all love. Simon Francis's sensitive mastering combines with Cicely Balston's precise cut for Alchemy at AIR Studios so the album sounds appropriately outstanding. The immaculate Record Industry double LP pressing will ensure this previously lost masterpiece stays forever found.

The story of Lucia Rango, an Apulian singer who was active for a short period during the Sixties, rightfully belongs to that category and meets all requirements for becoming a legend. In 1967, when she was almost unknown, she recorded Lucia Rango Show, an entire album made of songs taken from the repertoire of her friend Piero Ciampi, who worked closely with her on their selection and arrangements. Being one of the most maudit and personal authors of national songwriting, Ciampi had always been a perfect outsider: blunt, shy, extremely talented, and unable to adapt to the rules of the music business. But above all, the Leghorn-born singer was a superb songwriter. The match between his songs and Rango's classical voice and ethereal beauty looked like a very promising one, but never brought any success.
Arranged and orchestrated by Maestro Elvio Monti, and embellished by the participation of Alessandro Alessandroni's I Cantori Moderni, the record is a perfect child of the Sixties, featuring beat tunes and “yè-yès”, Italian canzone, intense ballads, Brigitte Fontaine-like atmospheres and a rediscovered duet of Lucia with her friend Piero, Non chiedermi più, whose recording was known among insiders at the time but sadly appeared to be lost forever. Ciampi's voice lives again in a song that has remained unreleased for more than 50 years within this new expanded version of Lucia Rango Show, thanks to the long research of journalist Lucilla Chiodi (Musica Jazz). Needless to say, the album is an enormously valuable historical document for all fans of Ciampi's output and Italian music in general: along with classics such as Fino all'ultimo minuto, Quando il giorno tornerà and Hai lasciato a casa il tuo sorriso – all originally included in Ciampi's first LP released under the alias Piero Litaliano in 1963 – Lucia Rango's voice consigns to history as many as six songs conceived and written specifically for her recording debut by Ciampi along with Elvio Monti. To date, Rango's invaluable interpretations are the only versions ever recorded of Samba per un amore, Il tuo volto, Stasera resta qui, Primavera a Roma, Ti ho sognato and Sono stanca.

The Other Maria represents the character trait each of us has inside within ourselves. The silent part of us that we try to regulate, keep restrained from others and managed just beyond reach from the rest of the World. It represents the compartmentalized potential to do, say and respond with great chaotic harm, despite all unfortunate consequences. It is a full release feeling that we sometimes quietly envy as we witness with disgust and disapproval.

Widely considered a character flaw to many, yet, some would relish in the opportunity that could summon such an unpredictable internal animal. Every life has two parallel parts. The one for "them", the version of yourself that abides by all the acceptable and expected rules of engagement - often a side that is given credit on face value. The side that achieves progress through peaceful and less confrontational means. The one you use to survive.

And the other side, the one for you. An uncompromising, unthinkably ruthless version that knows no limit. That knows no fear. The side of yourself that tells you yes, when you know that "no" is the better answer.

The Other Maria isn't about comfort. It is about hard truth, but also recognizing raw emotions that stem from feeling undeniably free.

And what could one do with such a dark, yet wonderworking ability - when the absence of fear and consequence presides over the judicious process leading to an enviable fate - convinced that all actions are pure, justified, direct, but conniving. The feeling of relieved of all guilt and accountability?


But as diabolical as it can be and appear. Along with the negative static, there can be progress. As true imposes are exposed, so does the transparency of reality. A precious truth that's needed to fully understand the severity of the situation.
And with this, comes a valuable knowledge from a low level in which one once descended. Dreadfulness is softened to predictability.

- Jeff Mills, April, 2023

Warehouse find!

Teenage Fanclub have announced news of their tenth studio album, Endless Arcade, released 5th March. Even if we weren’t living through extraordinarily troubling times, there is nothing quite like a Teenage Fanclub album to assuage the mind, body and soul, and to reaffirm that all is not lost in this world.

Endless Arcade follows the band’s ninth album “Here”, released in 2016 to universal acclaim and notably their first Top 10 album since 1997; a mark of how much they’re treasured. The new record is quintessential TFC: melodies are equal parts heart-warming and heart-aching; guitars chime and distort; keyboard lines mesh and spiral; harmony-coated choruses burst out like sun on a stormy day.

In the 1990s, the band crafted a magnetically heavy yet harmony-rich sound on classic albums such as “Bandwagonesque” and “Grand Prix”. This century, albums such as “Shadows” and “Here” have documented a more relaxed, less ‘teenage’ Fanclub, reflecting the band’s stage in life and state of mind, which Endless Arcade slots perfectly alongside. The album walks a beautifully poised line between melancholic and uplifting, infused with simple truths. The importance of home, community and hope is entwined with more bittersweet, sometimes darker thoughts - insecurity, anxiety, loss.

Such is life. But the title track suggests, “Don’t be afraid of this endless arcade that is life.”

A preview from the album came in February 2019 with Raymond’s ‘Everything Is Falling Apart’, an online single released at the outset of a six-month tour and a highlight of Endless Arcade.

Everything is falling apart? Well, yes, but the song was written long before COVID-19 arrived. Neither was Raymond’s inspiration political or social, but more, “the entropy in the universe, the knowledge that everything eventually decays,” he explains. But Raymond says relax. Or rather, “Relax, find love, hold on to the hand of a friend”.

Fortunately, Endless Arcade was virtually finished by the time lockdown was announced, bar the odd tinker under the engine hood. It seems timely, given how everyone had to initially stay home under lockdown, that the album starts with Norman’s ‘Home’, though it was chosen in part because of its opening line: “Every morning, I open my eyes...” The album’s longest track (at seven minutes) typifies TFC’s relaxed groove, culminating in Raymond’s peach of a guitar solo.

Norman’s search for ‘home’ could be literal: after all, he’s been living in Canada for the last 10 years. But it’s also figurative. Like Norman’s other Endless Arcade songs – The Sun Won’t Shine On Me’, ‘Warm Embrace’, ‘I’m More Inclined’, ‘Back In The Day’ and ‘Living With You’ – his words on ‘Home’ are etched by loss and yearning. “Without going into too much detail, the last eighteen months have been challenging for me on an emotional level,” he admits. “But it’s been cathartic channelling some of these feelings and emotions into song.”

In contrast, Raymond’s songs – he’s also responsible for ‘Come With Me’, ‘In Our Dreams’, ‘The Future’ and ‘Silent Song’ – are philosophical and questing. As he sings in ‘The Future’: “It’s hard to walk into the future when your shoes are made of lead”, but he’s still going to try, “and see sights we’ve never seen.”

In the band’s own near future, they’re already planning another new album given they can’t yet tour the one they’re releasing now. Welcome back, Teenage Fanclub, unafraid of this endless arcade that is life.

Warehouse find!

Teenage Fanclub have announced news of their tenth studio album, Endless Arcade, released 5th March. Even if we weren’t living through extraordinarily troubling times, there is nothing quite like a Teenage Fanclub album to assuage the mind, body and soul, and to reaffirm that all is not lost in this world.

Endless Arcade follows the band’s ninth album “Here”, released in 2016 to universal acclaim and notably their first Top 10 album since 1997; a mark of how much they’re treasured. The new record is quintessential TFC: melodies are equal parts heart-warming and heart-aching; guitars chime and distort; keyboard lines mesh and spiral; harmony-coated choruses burst out like sun on a stormy day.

In the 1990s, the band crafted a magnetically heavy yet harmony-rich sound on classic albums such as “Bandwagonesque” and “Grand Prix”. This century, albums such as “Shadows” and “Here” have documented a more relaxed, less ‘teenage’ Fanclub, reflecting the band’s stage in life and state of mind, which Endless Arcade slots perfectly alongside. The album walks a beautifully poised line between melancholic and uplifting, infused with simple truths. The importance of home, community and hope is entwined with more bittersweet, sometimes darker thoughts - insecurity, anxiety, loss.

Such is life. But the title track suggests, “Don’t be afraid of this endless arcade that is life.”

A preview from the album came in February 2019 with Raymond’s ‘Everything Is Falling Apart’, an online single released at the outset of a six-month tour and a highlight of Endless Arcade.

Everything is falling apart? Well, yes, but the song was written long before COVID-19 arrived. Neither was Raymond’s inspiration political or social, but more, “the entropy in the universe, the knowledge that everything eventually decays,” he explains. But Raymond says relax. Or rather, “Relax, find love, hold on to the hand of a friend”.

Fortunately, Endless Arcade was virtually finished by the time lockdown was announced, bar the odd tinker under the engine hood. It seems timely, given how everyone had to initially stay home under lockdown, that the album starts with Norman’s ‘Home’, though it was chosen in part because of its opening line: “Every morning, I open my eyes...” The album’s longest track (at seven minutes) typifies TFC’s relaxed groove, culminating in Raymond’s peach of a guitar solo.

Norman’s search for ‘home’ could be literal: after all, he’s been living in Canada for the last 10 years. But it’s also figurative. Like Norman’s other Endless Arcade songs – The Sun Won’t Shine On Me’, ‘Warm Embrace’, ‘I’m More Inclined’, ‘Back In The Day’ and ‘Living With You’ – his words on ‘Home’ are etched by loss and yearning. “Without going into too much detail, the last eighteen months have been challenging for me on an emotional level,” he admits. “But it’s been cathartic channelling some of these feelings and emotions into song.”

In contrast, Raymond’s songs – he’s also responsible for ‘Come With Me’, ‘In Our Dreams’, ‘The Future’ and ‘Silent Song’ – are philosophical and questing. As he sings in ‘The Future’: “It’s hard to walk into the future when your shoes are made of lead”, but he’s still going to try, “and see sights we’ve never seen.”

In the band’s own near future, they’re already planning another new album given they can’t yet tour the one they’re releasing now. Welcome back, Teenage Fanclub, unafraid of this endless arcade that is life.

Der in Paris geborene Singer-Songwriter, Performer und Produzent norwegischer Abstammung, der gerade bei Because Music unter Vertrag genommen wurde, hat den größten Teil seines erwachsenen Lebens im Ausland verbracht. Diese ständige Bewegung war ausschlaggebend dafür, dass Aime die englische Sprache als diejenige wählte, in der er sich als Künstler am ehrlichsten ausdrücken kann.

Der schillernde Post-Pop des Singer-Songwriters, Performers und Produzenten hat nach der Veröffentlichung seines Debütalbums ”Say Yes, Say No” internationale Anerkennung gefunden. Nun präsentiert Aime Simone sein neues Album ”Oh Glory” inklusive der bereits veröffentlichten Songs ”Baby Don’t Quit”, ”Not What You Wanted” und ”Answer The Night”.

Er beschloss, seinen Musikstil ”Post-Pop” zu nennen, da er sich aus einer so reichen Palette von Stilen bedient, dass das Konzept eines einzigen Musikgenres verschwindet. Die Harmonien und die Refrain-Struktur seiner Songs stammen aus dem klassischen Pop, mit Untertönen von Soul und Gospel sowie Einflüssen von Clubmusik.

Auf den 11 Tracks von ”Oh Glory” verschließt Aime nie die Augen vor den dunklen Phasen seines Lebens. Wie Caravaggio und seine Gemälde, deren Schönheit dieses Album inspiriert hat, nutzt
Aime Simone diese Kontraste, um eine vom Licht durchdrungene Dunkelheit zu beschreiben.

»Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often characterized by a repetitive four on the floor beat.«

Well, that's what Wikipedia says about »techno« - but can Laura BCR's music simply be called »techno«? We say it's much more than that. The French DJ and On Board Music label founder who took her name from the much-loved and now closed, Berlin record store, Bass Cadet Records, started to produce her very own music in 2020. Music which could easily fit in her transportive, deep techno and dubby ambient DJ sets. Sets that have brought her to some of Europe’s finest venues.

After her releases on SoHaSo, Semantica, Paloma, RDV Music, Technologia Organica or Sublunar we're happy to present to you her latest work for Live At Robert Johnson: »Human Behavior«.

The four tracks all share a deepness which is typical for a lot of her productions so far. This is repetitive music, yes - but also very atmospheric music. Whether it's the helicopter sound in first track »Farewell« which Laura put on top of layers of whirring synths sounds or the swelling and decaying sounds of »Long Wait«. Sounds which swallow you deep into their core and make you forget about the here and now. Yes, Laura's music is hypnotizing - and it has a certain psychedelic quality attached to it as well. This aspect of her music can be heard quite good in »Post Dynamic« with its electronic blowing wind sounds galore. Or in »Human Behavior«, the title track of Laura BCR's LARJ debut. Yet Laura never forgets the importance (and the power) of the bass drum and its four on the floor beat.

A beat that is the heartbeat of techno. And a beat that defines Laura BCR as well.

Now all hail the bass drum and all hail Laura BCR!

In 2012, the two moved to an abandoned funeral home in rural southern Illinois where they founded Rose Raft, an artist residency and analog recording studio. This was done in part to alleviate the financial stress of being an artist in an expensive city, and it has allowed them to remain totally immersed in their craft, not unlike Dead Moon or Low.

“The biggest reason we were motivated to make our own studio is that it was the only conceivable way we could keep things going. We started as a band so trashy and raw and ‘low-fi’ is because that’s what we had access to.” says Jessee. The studio is all analog, and the pair has once again found how to find freedom in constraint, using the limitations of the process to think creatively and to inform their songwriting. Tracked entirely live, the new record celebrates the magic and physicality of analog recording, leaving in raw sounds and charming artifacts, like their dogs Junimo and Joja Cola barking at the tail of the keeper take of “Velvet Cash”.

Glow in the Dark Flowers finds Philip and Jessee reinventing their sound with maturity, grace, and poeticism, but without abandoning the fuzzed out sound and studio adventurousness of their earlier work. The album's intimate opener “Growing Cosmos” is propelled by an unquantized drum machine that stutters in and out of tempo, accompanied by enveloping hard-panned bass guitar. “Still Close To Me” recalls the duo’s effortless and hypnotic pop sensibility that made The Funs such a captivating live band in Chicago’s then thriving DIY scene. The albums closer “When The Leaves Have Fallen”, originally composed for a performance by the artist Lise Haller Baggesen, continually builds on its original theme until the drums drift out and gives way to cascading distorted guitars folding in on each other.

The band's new album represents a new level of their devoted partnership that continually produces raw and beautiful music. Glow in the Dark Flowers is a true representation of their passion and dedication to their drive for creation.

Of all the things that can and should and will be said of Sam Wilkes’ & Jacob Mann’s Perform the Compositions of Sam Wilkes & Jacob Mann, let’s begin at the beginning and acknowledge that it is an aptly named record indeed. An ideal collaborative effort (which is to say, greater than the sum of its parts), here we have two longtime friends, two luminaries of the New Weird Los Angeles — the experimental, genre-encompassing underground—who have, at last, devoted a full-length record to their signature musical admixture.

Since their meeting as USC music students (Wilkes studied bass, and Mann, jazz/piano), the two have, with a kind of ceaseless abandon, chased the music to the ends the earth — oftentimes quite literally; travel is a recurrent theme in Compositions’ track titles (Pre-board, Soft Landing, and Around the Horn), and the record’s second track, Jakarta, was sketched out in a hotel room in the city of the same name, where Wilkes and Mann were performing at a jazz festival in 2019. Having initially bonded over a mutual and abiding appreciation for the Soulquarians, the two have spent over a decade playing and traveling, together and separately, their styles coevolving all the while.

Across its thirteen tracks, Compositions captures the relaxed creative flow of two consummate musicians. Most of the record’s sessions (“four-to-five-day summits” in an apartment studio, occasioned by “blasts of inspiration”) began with casual improvisation, and, indeed, roughly half of the final material was composed in this manner: Wilkes and Mann squaring off, a Yamaha DX7 facing a Roland Juno 106, alternating leads, two co-pilots with no set course. And though the songs are polished to a shine, there are artifacts of the intimacy of these sessions. Yes It Is concludes with a snippet of just-intelligible studio chatter: “…A flat minor, then A major.” A figuring-it-out-as-we-go moment that briefly renders explicit the warmth, friendship, and creative freedom that is the album’s heart.

With ‘Wille’, their second album, the Vincent Meissner
Trio show that young, complex, crisp piano trio jazz
does not have to come from the USA, England or
Scandinavia, like many famous current
representatives.

Totally contemporary music with heart and brain,
whether in the form of original compositions or reconstructions of Whitney Houston, Louis Cole or The
Beatles.

What the Vincent Meissner Trio are able to do above
all is to convince with its fundamental honesty and
authenticity. Yes, the trio is being proactive in
determining how it wants to present its art, and also its
members as individuals. “It’s nice to have people
listening to us,” says Vincent Meissner, with the live
experiences of the last few months very much in mind.
He understands his pieces as a framework to be filled,
as a space to be walked through as a group together.
It is all about conveying impressions of the present
beyond words, about evoking emotional experiences
which go beyond the tangible moment in a way that is
completely natural. ‘Wille’ is an important step forward
for the Vincent Meissner Trio, and it will already make
listeners want more. This band are well on their way

Yung Bae had already proven his capabilities over the past two years, but his album Ba3 really shows off his mastery in making Grade-A funk.

The intro “Back to the Classics” starts off with a vinyl crackle and a groove that acts as a warm-up to the rest of the album. We then get kick-started into the thick funk of “I Want Cha Back” with a burst of horns and bass that’s going to get any party up and dancing.

The undeniably groovy beats continue throughout the album, the only break coming in with the fittingly titled “Mellow (Interlude)” which gives some respite before kicking off into the album’s finale. The album’s closer “Pillow Talk” provides the perfect laid-back jam to serve as the comedown from the high the entire album provides.

This album is a must-listen for anyone who appreciates good funk!

Alt-rap dissident Jam Baxter announces his newest solo venture, Fetch the Poison. Conceived during a state-wide alcohol ban in Mexico, the album is Baxter’s first to be composed in complete sobriety — though his hallucinatory style of storytelling and cast of monstrous characters make a welcome return. Lyrics on Fetch the Poison meld Baxter’s Latin American experience with visions of a grisly alternate dimension: sun, sea and glittering vistas are sullied by hollow-eyed addicts, shady bar tenders and duplicitous lovers. Amongst deft bars, the rapper includes a number of spoken word pieces that echo the prose in his now sold out book Off-Piste. The album also features Blah Records' Nah Eeto & Black Josh, as well as DJ Sammy B-Side and Jehst, alongside Brazil’s NOG, Black Alien and Xamã. Baxter reunites with frequent collaborator Chemo on production — now under the moniker Forest DLG — for much of the album, with appearances from Jack Danz, Dr Zygote, Wundrop (CMPMD) and Midlands' electronic stalwart Lenkemz. Despite its diverse credits, tracks are connected by icy, spaced-out electronics with beats twisted through tape distortion and anchored by chest- rattling bass. Baxter began writing the album in Mexico just before the pandemic began while holed up in the city of San Cristobal De Las Casas, Chiapas, as the world shut down. “All the streets were eerily empty and it was amazing. I had the city to myself,” he says. “Then suddenly there was a state- wide alcohol ban and I could no longer casually sip tequila as I went about my business. I didn’t really have a choice but to write” With no alcohol to fuel him, and San Cristobal largely silent, the rapper says he was surprised to find himself in a deeply creative — and prolific – state. “I took to it amazingly well, and I wrote this whole album in three months of clear-headed bliss in the same apartment. I would sit and write all day, and occasionally walk up a mountain when I got stuck ... or go and feed the stray dogs at the church on top of the hill. It was weirdly the most fun I’d had in years.” Fetch the Poison is Baxter’s seventh solo album.

I Tried Words began with words, mostly words. Moriah Bailey laid the lyrics out on several pages. The words were crafted over many months with feedback from Bailey’s sister and input from the growing melodies and body of music that began to take shape around those words. The contributing musicians, Sarah Reid (violin), Ryan Robinson (percussion), and Ricky Tutaan (guitar), recorded their own parts and sent them to Bailey. The result is lush, intricate arrangements that complement a solid base of harp and vocals. The album explores dualities: yes/no, future/past, darkness/light, giving/taking, masculinity / femininity, wants/needs. It is in part about Moriah Bailey’s struggle to learn healthy boundaries but also about the harmfulness, complexity, and entanglement of many social boundaries. With I Tried Words, Bailey relies less on experimental sounds, and instead, lyrically focuses on her struggles to understand and make sense of definitions and expectations of femininity. It explores these themes through an intimate narrative of losing oneself in a relationship and struggling to find a way out of the relationship. The album ends with a triumphant goodbye and joyous new beginning in “Not Staying”. She sings: “I contorted my body and stretched myself thin to form a bridge between now and when. So, as I'm gathering my strength to say goodbye, please quit saying I should've tried

Die Pioniere der elektronischen Popmusik sind zurück und feiern mit ihrem 14. Studioalbum “Point” ihr 40-jähriges Bestehen.

Mit der Debut-Single „Bostich“ eroberten Yello die afro- merikanischen Dance-Klubs von New York . Danach ging ihr Sound – eine Collage von Musik aus aller Welt – um die Welt. Alben wie „You Gotta Say Yes To Another Excess“ (1983), „Stella“ (1985), „Pocket Universe” (1997) und „Toy” (2016) waren Bestseller. Die Evergreens „The Race“, „Oh Yeah“ und „I Love You“ tauchen noch heute ständig im Kino auf. Laute und stille Stimmen wie Shirley Bassey, Billy Mackenzie, Stina Nordenstam und Fifi Rong haben im Yello-Studio gesungen.

Das am 28.08. erscheinende, von Boris Blank und Dieter Meier höchst persönlich produzierte Studioalbum “Point” besteht aus 12 Titeln, deren typische Yello-Klangbilder einen jeden Fan und Kenner sofort
aufhorchen lassen. Die Singles “Waba Duba”, “Out Of Sight” und “Spinning My Mind” sind darauf ebenfalls zu hören.

2023 PRESSING ON PINK VINYL

* Ray Keith is an artist who needs no introduction. It is not hyperbole to say he has been one of the pillars of the old skool, jungle and d’n’b scene since day one.

* This box set contains a selection of his most wanted dubplates, never previously available on vinyl, and features remixes of some of his most famous work.

* It is very limited in number with only 500 being pressed, so once it is gone, it is gone.

Thee Headcoats and CTMF go head-to-head! Two Billy Childish bands battle it out with versions of the same song! Thee Headcoats version is taken from their forthcoming new studio album "Irregularis: The Great Hiatus". The CTMF version is exclusive to this release. Q: Two versions of the same song by different bands. Has each band heard the other version? If so, did they pass judgement? A: No, neither group heard the other version. I had forgotten how the CTMF version went - even though it was only a few weeks past. As with all the LPs there's no rehearsal. I play the track - we do a run through and then press record. I don't remember how either version goes now. Q: There's a famous saying - "Talent borrows; genius steals". Are you a borrower? A stealer? Or something else entirely? A: As I've said before, I follow strict music industry guidelines and only plagiarise 50 percent of my material. Kurt Cobain put it better - he said people thought he was original because he didn't let on what he was ripping off. Though we know he got the riff to his most famous song from The Daggermen, a local group Wolf (our drummer) played in. Q: What was it like recording with Bruce and Johnny after such a long time? A: We met up in the studio in the morning, had a cuppa, a chat, plugged in and recorded the LP (in two days.) It was the first time we'd all been together in about 30 years, and it felt like yesterday - just laughing and joking about how rubbish we were and generally having fun. It was like no time had passed at all. Q: Love the sleeve picture for this 7"! A lot of people miss the humour in your work, does that frustrate you? A: I'm not frustrated but surprised that the British seem to have lost their sense of humour somewhat - they've been pretty po-faced since 1978, I think. I was brought up on Pete and Dud when I was a kid. Interestingly a lot of comedians seem to like what we do. Stewart Lee has always been a fan and he said there are others of his ilk. If something can't be mocked or laughed at, I'm not that interested in it.