Cerca:self self

500 copies on limited purple vinyl

By The Sea come from the lineage of firework pop, bursts of colour and squeeze-your-hand intense love aligned with grey skies & work things.
Recall the first time you heard The Chills’ ‘Pink Frost’ or Television Personalities’ How I Learned To Live The Bomb’?
That’s the encounter.

Liam Power formed By The Sea in 2011, the band’s debut single Waltz Away coming out on The Great Pop Supplement label that year. In November 2012 the band released their self-titled album through Dell’Orso and GPS. The NME noted how there was “a beautifully bruised element to this Wirral act’s debut from the subdued, morbid production to Liam Power’s heroically battle-weary vocals”.

They have also often been tagged for their kitchen-sink dramas though they’re more akin to something like ‘Wish You Were Here’, both funny and dark without being maudlin. There’s an end of pier melancholy to By The Sea records though, something more than a scribble of sentiment on a souvenir postcard.

For their second LP ‘Endless Days, Crystal Skies the band turned over production duties to their friend Bill Ryder-Jones (formerly of The Coral) and released that bounty of melodic pop in 2014. It’s a partnership they have retained for the new third album ‘Heaven Knows Magnolia’ released on limited purple vinyl, CD and digital formats on October 21st. The song

Sababa 5 finally deliver their long-promised, and self-titled album of original instrumentals, built around the band"s distinct mix of Middle Eastern psych, funk and disco groove. Across these eight songs, the group blends the Afro disco, reggae, jazz, funk and a plethora of Middle Eastern traditions, whilst traveling time and space, drawing a musical, cultural and geographical line from Somalia to Iran, via Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt and Turkey, from the late 70s & early 80s to today. Thus Sababa 5 create a unique psychedelic groove that builds on the approach that the likes of the Daptones have taken to working independently, writing, producing and recording original music, with their own modern take on 70s soul and funk.

Deron Miller gives his life to the riff. Unrestrained by industry expectations and genre limitations, the boundlessly prolific guitarist and voice behind multiple beloved projects is best known as the founder, frontman, and songwriter in CKY. His authentic and effortlessly hooky heavy rock obsession returns with 96 BITTER BEINGS. Reinvigorated and ready to rumble all over again, Miller roars back with the same reverence for riffage that made underground hits out of CKY anthems like “Flesh Into Gear,” “Escape from Hellview,” and “Disengage the Simulator” from 1998 till 2011.

The familiar warmth, feel, groove, and unapologetic honesty which drove the song “96 Quite Bitter Beings” to 54 million streams (on Spotify alone) permeates the pair of albums unleashed by 96BB.

A successful crowdfunding campaign saw Miller, guitarist Kenneth Hunter, bassist Shaun Luera and Shaun’s brother, drummer Tim, conjure up 2018’s Camp Pain in limited release. North American and European touring followed, wrapping up shortly before the COVID-19 shutdowns.

“After CKY and a short break, I decided to continue, without changing the sound,” Miller explains. “Because that’s what I do. It’s what I love to do and what people say I do well. All of the guys who got in the band with me are great musicians. And each of them is hungry. They have priorities and ambitions about being in a rock band, no matter the grim state of pop music out there. If we can bring rock and metal back to the mainstream, in some way, that’s the dream.”

In 2022, 96 BITTER BEINGS unleash the long-awaited Synergy Restored, 11 songs of relentless power and vibe. Four-on-the-floor, fuzzy and visceral, proper rock n’ roll made by an actual band, rather than a bunch of overprocessed samples and otherwise stale shenanigans. Songs like “Vaudeville’s Revenge,” “90 Car Pile-Up,” and “Wish Me Dead” offer vivid reminders of the truth-telling prowess of guitars, bass, and drums. Miller is on fire, weaponizing the same knack for memorable musical epiphanies behind projects like Foreign Objects, World Under Blood, and CKY.
Miller co-founded Foreign Objects and later Camp Kill Yourself (a name born of his love of VHS slasher classics) in West Chester, Pennsylvania, in the ‘90s. Written by Miller, 1999’s Volume 1 appealed to metalheads, skaters, stoners, and punks. The album led to a stint on Warped Tour and a deal with Island Def Jam Music Group, which issued Infiltrate•Destroy•Rebuild• in 2002. Axl Rose chose CKY to support the ill-fated Chinese Democracy tour, and they also played with Metallica.
An Answer Can Be Found followed in 2005, producing the Billboard Mainstream Rock Top 40 single “Familiar Realm.” Extensive touring with Avenged Sevenfold and the like-minded Clutch followed. Carver City, in 2009, would prove to be Miller’s last album with the group he created and led. Across the four albums, Miller indulged his love of everything from ‘80s thrash metal to doom, as CKY blended high-octane ruckus with occasional bursts of Moog synths and cinematic storytelling.
Miller never stopped creating, with a handful of full albums written and released, a foray into horror movies, and parenting three children with his wife, scream queen actress Felissa Rose. Like Galactic Prey, the most recent Foreign Objects album, the 96BB records were recorded and produced by Miller and Hunter at Manifest Productions. Camp Pain was explicitly made for diehard fans who supported the creation of both albums through 96BB’s Indiegogo campaign. Synergy Restored was always intended for wider release, which it sees now via Nuclear Blast.
“I want my work taken seriously. I thank God every day that I was never overexposed, or even exposed enough commercially, to where I’m resigned to a specific moment,” Miller says. “I would rather have my self-respect, the respect of the audience, and a dedicated cult following.”

“Every time I go out, I see Nirvana, Metallica, and Misfits t-shirts. These kids may not know the music, but at least they are displaying a visual interest,” he adds. “Corporations spend millions of dollars promoting certain styles of music, but history proves that true rock will always sneak in.”

Aggressive Blackened Death Metal with hooks and technical finesse that invokes the Ancient Gods! Aurora Borealis has been around for years (going back to as far as 1994! and it has mostly self-released their albums. Underground fanatics might remember the band reaching out to promote its music on forums back in the day and tracking its progress, each album was a large improvement over the earlier ones. And through time Aurora Borealis had great drummers ranked in its line-ups: Tony Laureano, Derek Roddy and Tim Yeung, which indicates the quality and level we talk about here. Aurora Borealis plays Black/Death Metal, remaining gritty not unlike Angelcorpse, but being more dynamic comparatively. It has got unique themes and the album artworks represent that. As the band name suggests, they are indicative of the Aurora Borealis phenomenon although the band has progressed to involve sci-fi imagery not far removed from Nocturnus, where artworks are concerned. Musically, the band remains true to its original Black/Death sound but it’s doing it with far more potential and competency than the others. The band’s definitely got a solid US death metal sense, it is not flirting too much with the European style of melody-infused death metal as it may appear. One will be surprised to find it so hard-hitting and gravelly and yet be rife with some of the most driven and enthusiastic activity. It is not solely focused on being technical (which in a way it is) but it is varied and it is catchy. Floridian Death Metal bands have much in common with the way Aurora Borealis structures its songs and there is the ever-present Morbid Angel influence, infected with some early Malevolent Creation rabidity. This is what makes death metal so good, few could contest with that. It’s got Death Metal in its genes, but Aurora Borealis takes the vitriol from Black Metal especially in the vocal department and gives the music an edge that is hard to miss. Here there is that special spice, that sizzling quality that comes from the rasps, adding a certain Thrashiness to it as well. The hooks make this album special, because writing good songs can be safely left in the hands of founding member Ron Vento.

Following the release of acoustic EP Letters To Our Former Selves – Acoustic late last year, Youth Fountain is excited to be back at it with new single “Peace Offering" “This track was written in the perspective of knowing you could never truly love or be loved by anyone before being comfortable with who you are as a person,” shares Tyler Zanon “No matter what positive aspects can come out of a relationship - if the foundation isn’t there of having that bare minimum of self love, things inevitably tend to tarnish.” As Youth Fountain prepares to move forward, the future perfectly mirrors the past. What began as a solo project by guitarist/vocalist Tyler Zanon in 2013 under the name Bedroom Talk eventually blossomed into a full-blown band by 2017, with the Vancouver-based Youth Fountain (then a duo) proudly announcing their presence with the debut single “ Grinding Teeth ” and a pair of Pure Noise Records releases that expertly toed the line between pop-punk fervor and more reflective emo moments. Alternative Press hailed the band’s 2019 debut full-length, Letters To Our Former Selves , as one of the year’s very best, dubbing it the “ perfect blend of emo-tinged punk to soundtrack reflecting on every single life decision you’ve ever made ,” while North American tours with the likes of Free Throw, Can’tSwim, and Chris Farren cemented Youth Fountain’s sweat-soaked sound as something best experienced live – all while dodging a few stray elbows and overzealous crowd-surfers. Now once again, Zanon finds himself as a solo artist following the departure of co-vocalist Cody Muraro in mid-2020 – but this time, he’s exactly where he wants to be. Youth Fountain’s new release, Letters To Our Former Selves – Acoustic EP, re-introduces Zanon’s project to the world, reimagining fan favorite aterial from the 2019 LP of the same name.

The Dangerous Summer signed their first record deal as high school seniors and quickly established themselves among the alt-rock world’s elite. Passionate delivery, confessional authenticity, and deeply resonant musical storytelling define their sound. The band writes hooks that serve as soundtracks for important life moments for a diverse group of listeners spread across the globe. The audience is more family than a fanbase. The community feeling is apparent at every gig, from Slam Dunk to Riot Fest, from touring with State Champs to headlining shows. Reach for the Sun is the record that “shot them into the pop-punk pantheon” (Kerrang!). Powered by unshakeable, enduring alt-rock anthems, the Ellicott City, Maryland band’s debut album made them heroes of the Warped Tour world, all while they carved their own unique path. 2011’s War Paint was a sophomore-slump-smashing follow-up. Grantland likened the “tall and wide” riffs of 2013’s Golden Record to The Hold Steady and U2. (“Catholic Girls” even earned The Danger Summer praise from the famously discerning Pitchfork.) Alternative Press saluted The Dangerous Summer as a group that stayed true to their sound, praising the songs on their 2018 self-titled comeback album as equal parts charismatic and addictive. 2019’s Mother Nature conjured an emotional storm, with an uplifting bent. Underoath’s Aaron Gillespie appeared on the 2020 EP, All That Is Left Of The Blue Sky. Produced by Will Beasley (Turnstile, Asking Alexandria), 2022’s Coming Home ushers in a new era for TDS. The Dangerous Summer never sacrificed their unique, diverse sonic identity, one that appeals to fans of everything from Kings Of Leon and Coldplay to Jimmy Eat World and Bright Eyes. Coming Home is a triumphant summary of what The Dangerous Summer is all about, past, present, and future.

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Levon Vincent returns with his fourth full-length studio album Silent Cities a striking departure from his previous records. This, his first release experimenting with the cassette format, Silent Cities is a kind of mixtape through more private moods and personal pitches (literally given Levon’s non-standard tunings).

While Levon has always pro
duced dance floor jams with the intention of raising people’s heart rates, Silent Cities began with 72 bpm: his average resting heart rate, and the concept of tuning the music he was making to his own body rather than increasing anything. This brought the tempos down to 72 bpm or even half of that, at 36bpm. Programming the record during the empty cityscape of Berlin lockdowns, this is the first time Levon’s created an album for the home stereo or for headphone listening whilst navigating through a city. A mixtape specialist in his youth; he was always wanted to play with the cassette format. The results are sure to delight any listener, with the ever-present ambient, krautrock, shoegaze, hip-hop and electro influences coming to the foreground on this work.

“I was expanding further along the lines of a surprise favourite from my previous LP, a song called She Likes To Wave To Passing Boats which was not a 4 on-the-floor piece to play in clubs but a more impressionistic piece of music that I wrote to expound some emotions one day” says Levon. “It was a song written using just intonation. I really love how warm the pure 4ths sound, so when working on the new LP Silent Cities I decided to use my own tunings”.

Historically, the use of just intonation has meant that such instruments could sound "in tune" in one key but at the expense of more dissonance in the other keys. None of the songs on Silent Cities use standard Western equal temperament, Levon created his own scale designs coupled with the ancient ratios found in just intonation.

Born in Houston in 1975, Levon’s life changed dramatically when his parents moved their family to New York in 1981, uprooted from what he knew, the shock, the change from Houston to New York at 6 years old, is referred to constantly in Levon’s Musical output over the years. Levon's family moved houses in and around NYC from 1981 -2010, never more than a mile or two from the WTC. He lived on the Lower East Side during his teenage years and early 20s. This time period and this locale are also a big theme recurrent in his music as he tries to convey how the "downtown" lifestyle and culture-melding affected him so much at a tender age. He cut his teeth working in record shops around lower Manhattan, and while working at the Halcyon Record shop in Brooklyn he (alongside DJ Jus-Ed) was instrumental in creating the wave that came to be known as the "NYC House Renaissance" circa 2010. During the Y2K years he studied 20th C post-minimalism at Purchase college of New York under James McElwaine (who tangentially produced Man Parrish’s Self-Titled proto-hip-hop debt LP). Levon was fortunate to study theory with avant-garde composer Dary John Mizelle and orchestration under conductor Joel Thome. He undertook masterclasses with Philip Glass and also served as intern for John Kilgore, engineer for Steve Reich, where he was present for notable mix sessions such as “Violin Phase.”

Post-minimalism clearly remains an influence not to mention the early sampler stars of 80s freestyle and synth pop. Mixing such far-reaching influences is something Levon executes tremendously well. The first track Everlasting Joy moves at a head nodding 96 BPM tempo, reflecting formative influences like Paul Hardcastle’s Rainforest or Art Of Noise’s Moments in Love. “Those types of songs were a big eye opener for me as a youth, because it was where I realised songs in popular culture didn’t have to be kept to just 3 minutes, and they didn’t require vocals either. So, Everlasting Joy is a song with that intention, one that might be radio-friendly, despite the long arrangement and without vocals. You could say it was inspired by 107.5 in NY because that was a station I listened to a lot in the 1980’s.”

The majority of demos on Silent Cities were recorded before Covid-19 hit the world - when Levon had found a studio space outside of home in his adopted city of Berlin. It was a career first - working on music outside the bedroom. This riding the train or bicycling ‘going to work’ in Berlin opened up a new mood in his music, using the time back and forth to be inspired - commuting as an NYC transplant who still feels as a tourist in Berlin, with a pair of headphones, looking out the window on the train, or stopping on bridges and parking his bike to enjoy Berlin's skyline and horizon. Then, the pandemic struck and “work” came to a halt. Levon had recorded so much material during that year in the studio out of house it seemed like an inflection point for him to lighten the burden of the possessions he was carrying.

“People close to me have watched me give away synths and hardware regularly and I have given away my record collection every few years for my whole life. As a struggling artist in my 20s who had worked in record stores that whole time, I learned that moving constantly with 12k records just wasn't the way to live. So, in light of the pandemic, I set up a shop online, and sold all my music equipment. I also created a separate shop for all my sneakers and clothes. Easy come, Easy go. This provided me with a slow drip type of income that carried me quite well through the pandemic and it allowed me to focus on my own art and music. Getting rid of all my possessions felt like a weight being lifted from my shoulders and I was able to stay the course and remain committed to the music. I needed a further 2 years to mix and arrange the LP. If it weren’t for the pandemic, I would not been able to make this type of LP, so in light of everything, I was able to turn a depressing time in to something lasting and musically very positive.”

You can hear how his approach to a cassette release retains the "Medium is the Message." ethos. Silent Cities is a spooling, warm piece about life memories and embodiment.

Next on Extra Soul Perception, we're very proud to welcome a new artist to the label, Paddy Fred, with three tracks of antipodean psych soul for his 'Spells' 7".

Paddy Fred is a musician based on the south coast of Wellington, New Zealand, where he grew up. He's played guitar since he was a teen, and went on to study music performance, and toured with a number of bands throughout his twenties. When these bands dissolved in 2011, he began beat making and music production of his own, losing himself in the freedom of making music on his terms.

Inspired after hanging with Flying Lotus & the Brainfeeder crew and clubbing at Low End Theory in Los Angeles, Paddy created his first release, 'Laminate', which dropped in 2013; the same year Paddy entered fatherhood.

After emerging from the "survival zone" of the first five years of parenting, Paddy emerged a little lost, separated from the momentum of his musical career. There then followed a period of self-reflection. As he ran up and over the same coastal path repeatedly, he slowly but surely rekindled his passion for music making, and the work began again…

Paddy came to the attention of the Extra Soul Perception crew courtesy of fellow New Zealander, Mara TK (who provided the label's highly acclaimed 2021 album 'Bad Meditation'). When the guys heard the demos, they signed him on sight.

The lead track 'Spells' consists of big sludgy drums, a growling synth bass, ethereal guitars and spacey vocals, mixing the washed-out slow-mo beat construction of Toro Y Moi with the heady psychedelic soul of Tame Impala and Mildlife. On the flipside 'Found You' is a more tranquil affair, with languorous drums befitting DJ's Khruangbin rhythm section, whilst closer 'Kids' (digital only) offers a robust yet airy finish with an uptempo instrumental akin to the sound palette of late 00s Four Tet.

'Spells' is the first taste of Paddy's new material. Inspired by lost love, babies feet, social fatigue and universes held within rock-pools, this is Paddy Fred at his most true to self, and just a small sample of what's to come.

Following the reissue of the self-titled debut by Tülay German & François Rabbath in 2021, we're presenting the 2nd and final part of our Tülay German reissues: "Homage to Nazım Hikmet" (1982). Once again in a duo setting with François Rabbath, Tülay German pays tribute to one of Turkey's greatest poets of the 20th century: Nazım
Hikmet (1902-1963).

Recorded in the early 80s this two-album workcycle refers heavily on turkish poets and the tradition of aşıks (singer-poets and wandering bards) and consists of unique and modern interpretations of turkish folk songs unmatched to this day.

Back in the 60s Tülay German (*1935 in Istanbul, Turkey) shook the turkish music landscape with several 7" records. Most notably her first 7" record Burçak Tarlası (1964) is now considered
the cornerstone of what was to become the Anadolu Rock/ Pop movement and underlines her rebellious nature and sense of justice. But due to increasing repression Tülay German and her
lifelong partner and intellectual impetus Erdem Buri decided to leave Turkey a few years later.

In France Tülay German signs a major contract with Philips resulting in many 7" releases sung in french under her french moniker Toulaϊ. In the long run Tülay German doesn't feel quite comfortable with this major deal. And thus, despite the success and recognition she had gained, she decides to quit the contract with Philips!

Later on she signs to independent world-music label Arion to pursue her actual artistic goals more in line with her origin and temperament. Back to her mother tongue, Tülay German records above mentioned albums for Arion under full artistic freedom, the only full-lenghths in
her 20+ years career. Alongside with double-bass virtuoso and turkophil François Rabbath (*1931 in Aleppo, Syria) the albums consist of aşık traditionals and intonated poems mainly by
Nazım Hikmet. Her passionate voice and the restrained arrangements of François Rabbath turn these centuries old melodies and poems into glowing manifestos for love and justice. The fruitful collaboration of these artists-in-exile adds significantly to the rich heritage of turkish folk music.

Nazım Hikmet (1902-1963) is considered as one of Turkey's greatest poets of the 20th century, though during his lifetime his works were banned in Turkey for decades and he spent most of his life in prison or in exile. He is up to this day a huge reference for turkish writers,
musicians and intellectuals.

Tülay German ended her musical career in 1987. In 2021 Tülay German was awarded with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts, Turkey.

ASA 808's new album Boy, crush is a very personal inner journey as well as a call to fight and free ourselves from toxic masculinity. In eight tracks that subtly merge electronica, ambient, breakbeat and house, the Berlin-based artist process their own quest for gender identity. Out on vinyl and digital via the TOYS Berlin imprint, the album proposes new, softer and more diverse forms of gender fluidity.

ASA 808 invites listeners to expand their views of the gender spectrum. The title Boy, crush plays with the term "boy crush" and is meant as an encouragement for all men to "collectively crush manhood" with all its toxic traits and consequences:

"Toxic masculinity has kept our grandmothers and mothers small and brought deviant boys into line. It took me a long time to unlearn so much sexism and queerphobia and find my inner queer child again to let it grow, bloom and shine. I dream of a world in which men emasculate themselves. In which masculinity (if we feel it's still needed) will embrace softness, weakness, vulnerability, solidarity, consideration, mindfulness, self-reflectiveness and nonviolence", explains the non-binary producer and DJ who discovered their gender-nonconforming side already at an early age.

If you ever wondered what ambient music of the 21st century could sound like, then you should explore the musical spheres of "ifsonever". This colorful debut-album draws a blueprint of an urban ambient club record of a parallel universe. A collage of beautifully improvised pieces, strictly recorded in "one takes". A gripping fusion that brings together the warm analog textures of classic vintage synthesizers and electronic urban ambiences.

Trying to appreciate the recent times of silence and deceleration, Daniel Helmer aka ifsonever has quickly developed a tonal language as a solo artist. With a non-compromising approach he would visit his studio, a cozy garden shed, to record one new track a day in strictly analog fashion as "one takes". His aim for this project was to capture the innocence and instinctive creative energy of the present moment. These 9 timeless pieces invite the listener to explore hypnotic and meditative atmospheres such as on the opener "transpose" or on "jonesy dreams of birds", as well as gloomy and almost mystical sounding tracks such as "total global" or "an unexpected error has occurred". ifsonever is a wonderful amalgamation of organic, laid-back sounds and electronic, club oriented elements.

Recorded at a time when social contact was forbidden and culture was at a standstill, many professional musicians felt challenged not to feel useless when performances and sessions in public were cancelled, while the need for expression, participation and communication persisted. What happens when you've read all your books, when you're tired of looking at screens, and when you're digitally saturated? Then the unbearable lightness of being will begin. Daniel Helmer decided to let his creativity flow into a picture depicting that moment in time. He gave himself the opportunity to reflect this period through the creation of music. Not always an easy thing to do when the only social interactions would be cats passing by or the sound of children playing nearby. However that can be exactly the perfect tranquil surrounding to ground oneself in the here and now and draw inspiration from the inside. This self titled album reflects a peaceful journey from start to finish.

Two old friends have been invited to contribute overdubs in hindsight. MillianX is a film composer and noise artist, a colleague from the viennese filmacademy. Both worked together on the film score for the science fiction movie "Rubikon" while the album was in its final stages. So a collaboration was an obvious choice. The creamy arpeggiated synthline created for "jonesy dreams of birds"' was extended by Millianx with some field recordings and a big cloudy synthwave that dips into a vast sea of noise.

Guido Spannocchi is a london based jazz musician. Both knew each other for several years but never had the chance to work together. When Daniel Helmer wrote "an unknown error has occured" he imagined a saxophone layer to accompany the existing synthline. But when the two musicians finally got together to record in the legendary jazz club "Porgy & Bess", Guido just let his creativity flow and jammed freely to the track with a totally unique jazz vibe.

Between film, music & sound Daniel Helmer is continuously searching for a spot to call his own. Expanding boundaries, pursuing the unheard and breaking genre definitions are byproducts of his curiosity and his drive to avoid repetition. Daniel Helmer resides in Vienna where he studied at the local film academy. He became one of the founding members of the techno-punk band "Gudrun von Laxenburg" with album releases on the legendary Skint label, collaborated with Sam Irl on "International Major Label" as the production duo "Mantra Mantra" and released an album as "Yogtze" on Gerd Janson's imprint "Running Back Incantations", together with Feater. At the moment he is focusing on his work as a film composer and is currently working on two feature films in Austria.

"ifsonever" offers a timeless ambience to help you slow down, reflect and enjoy the beauty of nothingness. It might help us to learn and accept a state of being unutilized without feeling futile and benefit from this rare silence.

The cover artwork is a collaboration between Jazz & Milk graphic designer Tim Schmitt and photographer Frank Hulsbömer. A scan of the artist's head, hand and foot was 3D printed, photographed and transformed into an otherworldly scenery that visualizes the musical atmosphere.

Presto from San Diego has consistently stayed true to his soul and jazz-inflected formula of ethereal beats over the years. Presto's first record, the self-pressed EP "Breakin' Concrete", came in 2000 and featured the underground cut "Relax Your Mind," which DJ Mark Farina grabbed for his mix CD "Mushroom Jazz 3" (2001). More interest in the record resulted in the launch of his record label, Concrete Grooves and subsequent releases for Bastard Jazz, Miclife Japan and Names You Can Trust.

Presto resurfaced recently from the beat lab with a new unreleased 10-track instrumental album - "Basement Beats". This album was recorded in 2020 while living in New York. He wanted to give listeners a view into his daily commute in pre-pandemic NYC from the early 5am walks to Union Square to his daily E Train commute to Times Square. Two tracks from this album are presented here for Mukatsuku Records in a limited edition pressing of 400 only copies . "Official" stands out as a gritty drum loop which provides a bed for a melodic sample that sings as a soulful synth melody is played on the chorus by his daughter. "Floating" provides a smooth backdrop with programmed drums as Presto plays the wah-infused Rhodes piano along with Avatar on the bass guitar, giving a nod to their previous live fusion group Wayward Saints. The new release brings a dose of the old school as it travels into the future while comfortable in the present….

Collapso Calypso is the long-awaited third album from dreampop artist Chorusgirl. Initially planned for release in 2020, but the pandemic and a nervous breakdown brought everything to a screeching halt. It took Silvi Wersing - aka Chorusgirl - the rest of 2020 and 2021 to rebuild her life and reconsider everything, including her music and the band. She decided to relocate from London to her small hometown in Germany, to become a carer for her increasingly ill father and to take Chorusgirl back to its roots as a solo project, just like in 2014. She revisited old demos and wrote a few more songs, and steadily worked to complete the album as an anchor at a time of turmoil. With the album charting her progress back to health, she decided to call it Collapso Calypso, a riff on taking her despair for a dance. The album includes a multitude of references from music and film and features Silvi's trademark self-reflective lyrics on the themes of coming through a crisis, grief, resilience, and ultimately letting go, or the inability thereof, all set to the sounds of 60s girl groups and her favourite bands from the 80s. The release follows on from 2018 album Shimmer and Spin (Reckless Yes) and the self-titled 2015 debut (Fortuna Pop). “Chorusgirl pertain to a certain kind of cold, detached dreaminess you’d associate with a label like 4AD in its prime: their overall sound being seemingly informed by Lush’s successful hybrid of classic pop, fiery punk and shimmering soundscapes. … Yet, rather than reliving a sound there’s a sense here that Chorusgirl are more intent on reinventing it. Look no further than their debut self-titled LP for conviction.” (8/10) Line of Best Fit “Chorusgirl’s sound is distinctly London (although, more the London of the 80s than of now) but it’s also the sound of escaping London. (…) It’s the feeling of sleeping with the bedroom window open for the first time in months and waking up with a fresh wafting across your face.” Noisey “Chorusgirl explore universal themes with the catchiest of tunes, thundering rhythms, a wry sense of self and fascinating multi-meaning lyrics.” (8/10) Louder Than War “There’s no slack on the album – from the starting gate to the finish line, Chorusgirl bristle with static and nerves.” … Chorusgirl are simple, until they’re not. You might recognise the distant spirits, the razor chords, the surfy snarls. But where other bands coast on borrowed sound, Wersing bends it to her own life, creating a space that resonates with insight and empathy. Ever felt separate from the human race? Be comforted, for here is your kind.” (7/10) Drowned In Sound This is a record with teeth… one of the most impressive first albums of a year rich in strong debuts.” (5/5) NARC Magazine “Sparkling with bright rhythms and jangling pop…with hints of something shadier, bittersweet and more potent.” London In Stereo “Lovingly smudged guitars” (7/10) Loud & Quiet

Pressing Info: 180g 12” pink vinyl, standard sleeve, limited to 500 copies, download card included. 'Defensive Designs', the self-released 2019 cassette tape from French outfit Unschooling, is now being reissued on vinyl for the first time by London-based label and promoters Bad Vibrations. With its blend of energetic post-punk and lo-fi math-rock, the nine-song collection saw Unschooling make an instant splash in their home country's indie scene and draw comparisons to contemporaries like Omni, Women and Preoccupations. Soon becoming positioned at the forefront of the new school of post-punk revivalists, Unschooling followed the release of ‘Defensive Designs’ with their ‘Random Acts of Total Control’ EP (also being reissued by Bad Vibrations) and latest single ‘Shopping On The Left Bank’, plus heavy touring around the UK and Europe and festival appearances at Great Escape, Green Man, Wide Awake, Le Printemps De Bourges, Levitation France, Dot to Dot and more. Tracklist: 1) Wet Sidewalks 2) Pride Blues 3) Rational Freak 4) Strong Frog 5) Irony Strings 6) Hold Me 7) Nouvel Order Patriarchal 8) Long Away Jade 9) (The Second) Punk Broke

Combining elements of indie-pop, punk, emo and just a little bit of 2009 vintage math-rock for good measure, adults are four pals trying to find their way in a disintegrating world. for everything, always reflects on how we look after ourselves, one another and people in our community; it’s a riotous collision reminiscent of Johnny Foreigner, The Beths or Trust Fund, bursting with crunching guitars, speedy drums and yelping dual vocals. The first single all we’ve got // all we need is a song about individual torments: “having a breakdown on the Megabus to Bristol", and about collective support: “mutual aid, building strong networks of community resistance to the hostile environment, to food insecurity, to the homophobia and transphobia by the state and about trying to look after one another”. the secret song to end side one deals with loss, guilt, rejection and anxiety, exploring the travails of a messy breakup and the masculine urge to bury everything deep down despite the fact that that only hurts people more. tfl has a lot to answer for is a “reflection of drinking way too much in yr mid 20s, staying up too late, burning yrself out and how it impacts on yr relationships and mental health”. Recorded and produced by Rich Mandell (Happy Accidents, ME REX) over a couple of weekends in the summer of 2021, for everything, always is the constantly naive, but optimistic, outlook: always striving for a better future in the face of modern society’s bullshit. lts are a noisy pop band desperately clinging on to the ghosts of 2009. Their songs are a silly, joyful, and occasionally sad, look back at the tail end of their 20s, a way to grapple with breakups, parties, alcohol and loneliness, and looking hopefully into the future. They’ve released singles with Art Is Hard and For The Sakes Of Tapes, and self released an EP (The Weekend Was Always Almost Over), which was subsequently released on vinyl by Caballito records. adults are based in south London. Faster, messier and sillier than they have any right to be, adults are hopeful and joyous, fighting through the existential angst of youth to try and find their place in a world on the brink, as grown ups, as adults. Like the octopus on the artwork says: “we're all we've got, we're all we need”. // “a cacophony of clattering drums and belt-it-out choruses Los Campesinos! or Martha would be proud of evidence that adults seem to have stumbled into something rather marvellous” For The Rabbits // “There’s an ample buoyancy from the vocal work, and the guitars are crunchy, though I like how they’re a bit tempered here; think of Martha having to play at your local library…hooks, but just a little more subdued. There’s just something about this that radiates joy” Austin Town Hall // Tracklist: A1) I Had A Little Snooze & Now I Will Probably Never Arrive At Yr House A2) Janine (JG Forever) A3) All We’ve Got // All We Need A4) Tfl Has A Lot To Answer For A5) 2 Sqs A6) The Secret Song To End Side One B1) Things We Achieve B2) The Nod B3) The Pitch And Yaw Of The 6.12 To Brighton (Plain Wrong) B4) Between Buildings B5) Killing & Dying & Something More Positive B6) The High Watermark (Thoughts Of U) B7) Wasn’t Like That

How many hardcore, let alone metal, bands exceed all previous efforts on their third LP? Some might argue that ‘Feel The Darkness’ was Poison Idea’s prime. You could present ‘Master Of Puppets’ and ‘Reign In Blood’, if you’re so inclined. Let’s face it, these are a dying breed of exceptions to the rule. And yet, like an icepick in the eye socket of logic, here stands Foreseen with ‘Untamed Force’. In the landmine ridden field that is crossover, where bands can all too easily get it so wrong, Foreseen not only survive the death sentence of their sophomore record “Grave Danger” (2017), but head out on a blunt force killing spree. ‘Untamed Force’ indeed. Rarely has a record title been more fitting. Vocalist Mirko Nummelin sounds more pissed off than ever, 12 years on. Drummer Mårten Gustafsson’s arms and feet generate enough power to make Finland energy self-sufficient. And finally, pushing the band over the edge, separating Foreseen from us feeble bastards, we have new member Ville Valavuo joining Jaakko Hietakangas to form what is arguably the scene’s deadliest six string tag-team. Foreseen’s power is untamed but at the same time borne from hard work, a love for the craft and their musical community, and absolutely no excuses. Dig in, endure, stomp out, shoot to kill. Foreseen are for headbangers who haven’t been brainwashed by click tracks and digital recordings. Foreseen are for punks who can deal with a synth intro and harmonised solos. In 2022, ‘Untamed Force’ is the guiding principle that can inspire, but not be replicated, by the Kings of Hardcore Thrash.

1. Soldier's Grave 2. Birthright 3. Tolerance of Abuse 4. Suffocating Routine 5. Oppression Fetish 6. Cold Comfort 7. Serve Your Purpose 8. Desensitized 9. Untamed Force

For Fans Of Garage Punk, Power Pop, Cheap Trick, Dollyrots, Suzi Moon, Pretenders, Blondie, The Muffs, 5.6.7.8’s. One part pop, one part poison, all “poolside glitter punk,” Hayley and the Crushers offer up a tsunami of bad girl power. Anointed “the naked embodiment of power pop punk” by New Wave icon Josie Cotton (who signed the band to her Kitten Robot Records in 2021), Modern Adult Kicks is their most ambitious and self-possessed album to date. Produced by legendary LA punk producer and ex-Screamer Paul Roessler (TSOL, Josie Cotton, Richie Ramone), the album conjures up the electricity of first-car freedom, the woes of suburban isolation and the lurid pleasures of Y2K chat rooms all wrapped in the warm glow of a late-night infomercial. While the content is no doubt “adult,” there’s no shortage of kicks to be had. The California-to-Detroit transplants have injected even the most bummer of subjects (addiction, heartbreak) with a potent venom of caffeine and heart. Sure, BUST Magazine once likened the band to a bag of Sour Patch Kids, but this new album reveals fresh depths of flavor. Crafted in a post-Covid world, Modern Adult Kicks is exactly what it advertises to be: a more put-together, wiser “big sister” to the band’s sunny 2020 release, Vintage Millennial. Like finally being old enough to party with the babysitter, Kicks is a shining example of how growing up can actually rule. In the Crushers’ world, growing jaded isn’t an option and there’s never a good reason to stop dancing. Tracks 1 Taboo 2 Cul de Sac 3 She Drives 4 Broken Window 5 I Fall 6 Click and 7 Act Now 8 Lost Cause 9 California 10 Sober 11 No Substitutes 12 Overexposed

When Cypress Hill came with their debut self-titled album 30 years ago, they made an immediate spark that captivated the Hip Hop audience, critics, and then the world. Led by B-Real with his nasal, singsong delivery, and Sen Dog to play the perfect hypeman, Cypress’ debut fueled tales of revenge, revolution, recreational drug use, gangbanging, and cultural pride. Like Public Enemy before them, the production was also a key factor in what made this debut so groundbreaking. DJ Muggs was able to craft a blueprint that would change Hip Hop production with his innovative stoned-out beats. Cuts like "How I Could Just Kill a Man", "Pigs", "Stoned is the Way of the Walk" and "Hand on the Pump" made Cypress Hill an instant classic. Since its release, the album has won acclaim as one of Rolling Stone's Essential Recordings of the 90s and Top 100 Best Rap Albums by The Source Magazine.

Since first forming in 2014, New York trio THICK have triumphed at
turning the harshest truths into wildly exhilarating punk songs
On their second album Happy Now, vocalist/guitarist Nikki Sisti, vocalist/bassist
Kate Black, and vocalist/ drummer Shari Page deliver their most complex and
confessional work yet, exploring everything from self-sabotage and insecurity to
victim-blaming and destructive relationships. Raw, irreverent, and brutally honest,
Happy Now ultimately offers both joyful catharsis and much-needed instruction
for living well in turbulent times.The follow-up to 5 Years Behind (a 2020 release
praised by Under the Rader as a "dazzling debut album…laced with anger, humor,
killer guitar riffs, and soaring punk melodies"), Happy Now finds THICK working
again with producer Joel Hamilton (Iggy Pop, Juiceboxxx) and recording at Studio
G Brooklyn. In a profound evolution of their previous work, the 11- track album
encompasses sharper arrangements and stickier hooks and a more explosive
energy — an effect often achieved through the sheer force of their three voices
singing in unstoppable unison.

Watford born indie rock goddess Connie Constance announces
her new album, ‘Miss Power’, a bold collection of songs imbued
with high voltage drums, snarling guitar riffs, and anthemic feminist
rage.
 On ‘Miss Power’, Connie takes us on a joyride through dramatic,
passionate and empowering scenes with hooks aplenty and lyrics
that excitedly unpick heartbreak, Connie’s strained relationship
with her father and her struggles with mental health.
 Connie’s titular and much acclaimed first single from her new
album, ‘Miss Power’ earned itself a spot on the BBC Radio 1 C list,
as well as being named Hottest Record by Radio 1’s Clara Amfo,
with plays from Jack Saunders, Ricky, Melvin and Charlie and Vick
and Jordan.
 The album announcement comes alongside the release of a new
single, ‘Till the World’s Awake’, a life affirming indie dance track
that twinkles with bright, layered guitars atop driving basslines and
powerful drums. Connie Constance’s dynamic yet delicate vocals
swell to a thrilling, cathartic chorus: “When we are young and
when we get older / I want to feel like loving, feel like loving you.”
Connie’s venture into the world as her authentic self is palpable.
 “A strikingly effective combination of disparate strains of British
pop: the quasi spoken verses bristle with the barked beauty of
Paul Weller; the cathartic chorus reaches Florence worthy heights”
- The Guardian
 “Brand new music from the brilliant Connie Constance. She’s real
fun, I rinsed ‘Kids Like Us’ on this show, and I love this one. Just
instantly catchy and empowering. empowering.” - Clara Amfo
 “She is one of the most exciting artists around at the moment. I
saw her live and just knew she was going to be special” - Arielle
Free
 “This indie pop banger ‘Miss Power’ is an instant confidence
booster” - The Fader

LP is on baby blue vinyl in a jacket w/ spot gloss + printed inner sleeve + LP3 album download. On October 21, 2022, Merge Records will release Pigments, the debut collaboration between New Orleans electro-revival dynamo Dawn Richard and multi-instrumentalist, producer, and composer Spencer Zahn. Pigments is a project about the power of self-expression through living art, through motion. It’s also a love letter to New Orleans, Louisiana. Not strictly classical, jazz or ambient electronica but rather a body of “movements,” Pigments is an expressive soundscape that is an immersive passage through the city as seen through the eyes of a young Black girl with dreams to paint her future with the pigments given to her. Richard explains: “Spencer wanted to create one long piece of music that would ebb and flow around my lyrics and emotions, which tell a story of growing to love my own skin. I wanted my voice to be moss surrounding the roots of Spencer’s compositions, never forcing the moment to fill every space but rather reveling in the openness of thought and breath.” Zahn agrees, saying, “I wanted to work with all these different textures, tones, and colors to have a new sound to frame Dawn’s voice and lyrics. To hear a lone clarinet as the breath fades and a cello continues its melody to cue Dawn’s vocal entrance is unlike any other record she has made. These are things that excite me as a composer but more as a listener. I hope that other listeners feel the same.” Coming on the heels of Dawn Richard’s critically acclaimed Merge debut Second Line, Pigments will introduce listeners to a different facet of Richard’s outrageous talent and bring Zahn’s thoughtful creativity to a new audience

Double Black vinyl LP. The first album from Twain released via Keeled Scales In 3 years and Twain’s first-ever double album. Major Guest in Big Thief’s Massive Double LP “Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You”. Matthew Davidson is a prolific contributor to beloved projects including Big Thief, whose latest album Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You features Davidson’s distinct contributions on six songs, as well as a current member of Buck Meek’s band. Davidson is also a former member of The Low Anthem, Spirit Family Reunion, and Deslondes and has toured with the likes of Langhorne Slim, Courtney Marie Andrews and more. He made his label debut as Twain with Rare Feeling in 2017. Twain's music resonates a transcendental weight, his performances reliably noted as raw and intensely emotional. The long-awaited album from Twain released via Keeled Scales is his first-ever double LP titled Noon. Twain’s first album in three years, Noon looks to explore the balancing exercise between soul-fantasy and self-scrutiny. The songs on Noon try to sit in the liminal state between the spirit’s ambition for itself and the often harsh truth of the present. The hope is to erode the barrier between those two states. ‘Twain’ is Mat Davidson’s approach to reconcile those two states, and to forget that they could ever exist in opposition.

Today, internationally acclaimed interdisciplinary artist Hyd, nee Hayden Dunham, announces her first solo musical project, along with the announcement of her self-titled EP that arrives November 5th via PC Music. More disclosure than debut, Hyd’s four-track offering lets us feel the heat that’s been building underneath, calling us back down to earth. Written on an island formed from underground volcanic eruptions 15 million years ago, the EP is produced by A. G. Cook, Caroline Polachek & umru. The EP follows Hyd’s robust career as a sculptor and conceptual artist. Deeply enmeshed in the art world and music communities, she has dedicated her practice to reinventing systems - systems of communicating, systems of sexuality, systems of interacting with our environments. Her large-scale sculptural practice, where she creates fluid, transformative art installations, has been exhibited in museums and galleries across America, Asia and Europe. Past works include GEL, a vapor that travelled through the air vents of Andrea Rosen Gallery in NYC, and 7 Sisters, a seven-act performance at MoMA PS1 that incorporated dance, music, poetry, video and scents, with additional exhibitions and performances at Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, etc. Apart from appearances on A. G. Cook's recent Apple LP, "No Shadow" marks the first time we've seen Hayden step out musically since Hey QT, the enigmatic and controversial project she created in collaboration with A. G. Cook and SOPHIE. The EP cover and singles’ artworks were photographed by renowned artist, Torbjørn Rødland, whose images are saturated with symbolism, lyricism and eroticism. The graphic design identity is by Bureau Borsche, celebrated for their work with clients including Balenciaga, Supreme and The Face, among others. Creative direction by Hyd and Jordan Richman.

LP colour is Transparent Blue. Stu Spasm (Lubricated Goat) + Russell Simins (Jon Spencer Blues Explosion) + Kate Bjelland (Babes In Toyland). One off garage-sleaze rock masterpiece. Remastered. Crunt began in 1993 as a kind of indie rock supergroup and had their 1994 debut album touted by Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder. Crunt's members included guitarist/vocalist Stuart Gray (aka Stu Spasm) and bassist/vocalist Kat Bjelland. Gray was well-known in Australia by the start of Crunt for his past involvement in the bands Salamander Jim and the horn/guitar punk rock of Lubricated Goat, which included drummer Martin Bland who went on to play in the Monkeywrench. As for Bjelland, she was the frontwoman/guitarist for the Minnesota-based Babes in Toyland. Crunt was rounded out by drummer Russell Simins, who was the full-time sticksman for New York City's Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Each of Crunt's members were temporarily residing in Seattle when Gray conjured up the idea of starting a new group. After writing almost a dozen songs, the trio entered Seattle's Ranch studio in February of 1993 with Simins and Gray acting as the producers, and their friend John Dunleavy -- known for his work with the Supersuckers -- filling the role of engineer. A year passed before the group's self-titled album was released on February 15, 1994, on Austin, TX label Trance Syndicate, owned by Butthole Surfers' drummer King Coffey. The record was the imprint's first release from a non-Texas group. The debut of the full-length album coincided with the "Swine"/"Sexy" single on Australia's Insipid label, which was known for releasing singles by other bands such as the Cows, Urge Overkill, and the Jesus Lizard. Prior to the releases, there had been talk that the band was not going to just be a side project, but a full-time band in the same tradition as Babes in Toyland and the Blues Explosion. The trio had even planned a full-scale tour. By January of 1995, however, Crunt came to an end.

Debut album from Cardiff indie-pop collective Live, Do Nothing (ex-members of Rosehip Teahouse/Deadlines). Hiraeth & Loathing explores feeling disconnected from your childhood self. The record questions if there is value in re-discovering this inner child, or if we’re better off eschewing the trappings of nostalgia and living for our current reality instead. Since their debut Ep, 2018’s “Oh Dear”, a collection of scrappy indie-punk songs from the original four-piece line-up, the band has doubled in size (and is still growing!). Countless numbers of new instruments have been added to the mix, including: vibraphone, toy piano, violin, flute and saxophone. Recorded by Thomas V. Westgård at Sail Loft Studios, mixed by Bob Cooper at Chairworks Studios and mastered by Leon West at After Life Studios. Track listing: The Hardest Band In Cardiff Presents...; The Real Animals Of...; Mouse Death; All Wax No Honey; Novelty is the Best Policy; A Legendary Run; Hopelash; Delusions Of Ganja; Oso Jugoso; Too Late In The Day; Chromatic Delight

Since 2014, Wand have made five albums (and an EP) in the studio and a living playing on the road. Business/pleasure: the two sides of their (multiverticed, decagon) coin, flipping in the strobe light of ongoing self actualization. And yet, by doing both at the same time-making a record of them playing live-they"ve now made their best one yet. How do you get Spiders In the Rain? Start by going all the way back to January 2020. Do you remember? Wand do. They"d been touring Laughing Matter for ten months. They"d done the coast, spanned the country, crossed the water twice, came back home and kept on going...driving, flying, occasionally floating (or maybe just thinking they were?), always on to the next town. They did all kinds of shows-clubs, ballrooms, festival gigs with no roof overhead-the songs expanding and contracting according to the dimensions of each day. Seventy-nine shows, and everything that was involved-the miles that ran beneath them, the different places and people everywhere, the music as it reathed, making everyone change every night-alchemized the band, and they drove deeper into their far horizon than they"d ever previously gone. The essential truth of the live vibe-that it"s always better when everybody"s here-was clear, so they booked a few shows more in Cali, from L.A. up to Marin. They brought along light and projections from The Mad Alchemist Liquid Light Show and Mike Kreibel and Zac Hernandez too, to tape everything-to get the big-deck energy out of performances in S.F. and L.A., but also to draw it out of the margins in Sacramento, Novato and Big Sur. It all happened, too. Everyone brought their experience. Packaged sumptuously with artwork from Sam Klickner, Spiders In the Rain is an arc of natural beauty and man-made abstraction inside and out, on an epic scale. Wand are orchestra and machine on Spiders In the Rain, one with the audience, able to get inside any dimension of their sound, whether its songs from their second album or their last one.

The purest reflection of DRS as a musician to date, his self-titled 'Del-Rok-Ski' album sees one of the most heavyweight lyricists in the game delve deep into the intricacies of himself to deliver an honest, inward, and characteristically beautiful work of art. His fifth album in the space of three transformative years, the Manchester-based artist has found a home for his latest album on Shogun Audio, traversing an eclectic and beguiling selection of sonic soundscapes across twelve of the purest tracks that you'll hear this year.

Whilst incorporating the powerful messaging and undeniable lyrical expertise that DRS has demonstrated for over a decade, 'Del-Rok-Ski' offers something that none of the previous albums has been able to. Marking two years sober, this latest offering investigates previously unexplored territories for DRS. "I feel like music has never been me", says the vocalist, who truly feels that this album, which evolves from moods of darkness and loss to those of lightness and hope, is an unadulterated reflection of himself to its core.

Teaming up with a selection of hugely talented collaborators, including the likes of Calibre, LSB, Dub Phizix, Duskee, Disrupta, Monrroe, and many more, 'Del-Rok-Ski' sees DRS serve up a heartfelt, intimate, and personal lyrical journey that is arguably his best work to date.

Through the heartwrenching, high-energy feels of 'Can't Explain (Faded) ft. Document One', summer anthems such as 'Waiting To Go ft. Disrupta & Duskee' and 'Heavens Not Cheap ft. Drumantle', certified dancefloor destroyers like 'Comme Ci' and 'They Ain't Listening', which are both produced by T95, and many other gems embedded in this album, DRS further cements his reputation as one of the most unique, talented, and iconic lyricists to ever grace the drum and bass scene.

"I feel like I've never been so cleared-headed during my whole career of making music. 'Del-Rok-Ski' is me.
DRS

To celebrate the forthcoming release of 'Del-Rok-Ski', DRS is now embarking on 'The Man Who Fell To Earth Tour', which sees him tour the U.K and work with 8 Gold Rings, Dom Lawson, and Dogger to curate a deeply personal Live Show that'll see appearances from numerous special guests up and down the country.

“The Icelandic artist with the crystalline falsetto” - NPR
“From the luminous and atmospheric soundscapes
that he cultivates, to his meticulously chosen phrasing,
there is a distinctive sense of circumstance and
identity ingrained within his very nature” - The Line Of
Best Fit
As one of Iceland’s most successful exports, singersongwriter Ásgeir has spent the time between his
record-breaking debut and today pushing the
boundaries of his textured, thoughtful brand of folkpop.
New album, ‘Time On My Hands’, sees Ásgeir in a
state of self-reflection and experimentation, having
spent much of the last few years in his home and in
the studio deeply engrossed in writing, recording,
translating and producing.
On this album he’s entered new realms of composition,
sensitively layering acoustics with electronics and
brass.
As with some of his previous work, most notably
2017’s ‘Afterglow’ and 2020’s ‘Bury The Moon’, Ásgeir
plays with euphoric and choral elements of electronic
pop music while keeping a tight grasp on the
introspective, vocal-led style of the acoustica that
made him famous.

Produced by Fussell and co-founder Alana Pagnutti and
mixed by Joel Ford (Ford & Lopatin, Yes/And), ‘Honey
Harper & The Infinite Sky’ features the premiere of The
Infinite Sky, a stacked backing band consisting of longtime
bassist and contributing writer Mick Mayer, pianist John
Carroll Kirby (Solange, Steve Lacy), Spoon keyboardist
Alex Fischel, guitarist Jackson MacIntosh (Drugdealer,
Jessica Pratt), pedal-steel player Connor Gallaher (Black
Lips, Calexico), and TOPS drummer Riley Fleck.
Within the first few moments of the self-titled new album,
Honey Harper and The Infinite Sky deliver a dashed-off
statement on the trappings of country music. Despite the
high level of conceptualization that went into its creation,
the record embodies an irresistibly loose and grooveheavy sound that hits with an immediate impact. While
previous album, ‘Starmaker’, was touted as “country music
for people who don’t like country music,” ‘Honey Harper &
The Infinite Sky’ is “country music for everyone.”

HOAXED unveil their captivating and catchy debut full-length, Two Shadows! Comprised of vocalist/guitarist Kat Keo and drummer Kim Coffel, HOAXED's superlative blend of styles—heavy melodic rock with captivating hooks, gothic undertones, undeniable metal, and tinges of americana - pave the way for a singular expression that’s entirely their own. Two Shadows is as unique as it is memorable and catchy. The record thrusts, retreats, and beguiles across its melody-powered and hook-driven expanse, with earworms “The Call,” “Guilty Ones,” and “The Knowing” serving as the album’s crucial lighthouses. Formed in Portland, Oregon, in 2020, HOAXED's initial songwriting plan casts a wide net. The breach opened up considerably as Coffel and Keo explored the outer edges of their musical influences and artistic aspirations. After fruitful songwriting sessions, the twosome self-released their eponymous four- song EP in February 2021. Signaled by the whirring, diaphanous spell of video single "Candle Master", HOAXED caught the attention of Relapse Records, who signed the outfit in 2021. As a live act, the pair has already hit the ground running, rocking the stage with Unto Others, Blackwater Holylight, and Amorphis, and hailed as an “absolute riot on stage.” (Metal Insider) Shortform: HOAXED unveil their captivating and catchy debut full-length, Two Shadows! Comprised of vocalist/guitarist Kat Keo and drummer Kim Coffel, HOAXED’s superlative blend of styles— heavy melodic rock with captivating hooks, gothic undertones, undeniable metal, and tinges of americana —paves the way for a singular expression that’s entirely their own. FFO: (Early) Ghost, Black Sabbath, Tribulation, My Dying Bride, Unto Others, Blood Ceremony, Katatonia

The phenomenal new album from Technical Death Metal masters OMOPHAGIA. Essential for fans of Aborted, Rings of Saturn, The Faceless, Augury

Repress!

Originally released in 2011 with a limited pressing and repressed once a few years later in 2016. “Right now in cities across the globe, there are plenty of great Afrobeat revivalist bands aping the sound and groove of Fela Kuti’s legendary sound. Yet, surprisingly few of the new groups have strayed from an orthodox interpretation of the genre or done much real innovation. ..Ikebe Shakedown is here to change that. The band takes signature Afrobeat elements—big unison horns, slinky bass lines, tight little guitar licks—and blends them with tasty grooves culled from '70s-style horn-driven funk”. -Marlon Bishop, WNYC

Ikebe Shakedown, the self-titled album and Ubiquity Records debut from the Brooklyn-based band, plays with elements of Cinematic Soul, Afro-funk, Deep Disco, and Boogaloo in all the right ways. Pushing their globally-informed sound and eclectic approach to tune-writing into new territory, “Self-titling the album is a way to introduce the audience to the many facets of the band -- to provide a more complete understanding of what we do,” bassist Vince Chiarito says. “Our sound has grown to incorporate our influences without overtly representing any one in particular. It just sounds like us," he adds.

Low Company presents Yuta Matsumura’s Red Ribbon, a sequence of introspective, lavishly melodic dream-songs and amphibian atmospheres recorded in scattered periods over 2018-21. Having played in bands like Low Life, M.O.B. and Orion, and the duo Jay & Yuta (with Jay Cruikshank), Red Ribbon is Matsumura’s first solo outing, and represents a conscious effort to move away from guitar-based songwriting. He composed its nine tracks mostly on piano - layering vocals, bass, keyboards, flute (courtesy of Maeve Parker), violin/cello (Laurence Quinn) and clacking drumbox rhythms into dynamic, dubwise avant-pop structures which are supple and spacious but fizzing with detail and vivid inner life. The laconic 4/4 pulse, heat-warped synth-tones and haunting vaporous melodica of opener ‘Box Garden’ set the tone: its surreal psychedelic patternings barely concealing a deep sting of longing and regret. The cryptic lyrics suggest chance encounters, hidden logic, missed opportunities, fatalism, serendipity. A city submerged: everyone else paused mid-movement, while you’re allowed to swim free and fish-like through the streets, over the rooftops...‘Tangled Orchid’ is a tense night-drive through dry desert heat and into the unknown, running away from your old life, chased down by dust-devils of half-baked schemes and abandoned plans, while ‘Myth Machine’ drops the tempo and something mind-altering, guiding us on a tripped-out dub-disco scuba among alien flora and fauna, a world of impossible shapes and sensations. At which point, the mood of the album decisively shifts, firstly with ‘Sake No Otoh’, sung in Japanese by Haruka Sato: an instant-classic, breathtakingly intimate lover's lament that sounds like it got lost on its way to heaven and is now doomed to orbit the earth forever. The songs that follow continue in this more confessional, imploring mode. As if the travelling's done, the baggage has been cast off, and we’ve arrived at our destination, where the real process of rebirth and repair can begin. The music’s textures become less overtly dubby and electronic, with more of an organic, earthy, chamber-pop/avant-folk feel, at once sad and hopeful-sounding. Three songs in particular bear the influence of Eno’s 70s work (and its mutant bedsit offspring Lifetones, Flaming Tunes, etc): ‘‘E. Potential’, where baroquely chorused vocals - half-agonised, half-beatific - teeter on top of simple oscillating piano loops, and the stately, dawntreading ballads ‘Tabula Rasa’ and ‘No Sleep For Birds’. The bulk of the album was made prior to lockdowns and all of that; its themes of reset, self-examination, the need to f**k it all off and take spiritual stock, are timeless. Though they perhaps have a more bittersweet resonance now the world has returned pretty much to how it was, only worse. Track list: 1. Box Garden 2. Tangled Orchid 3. Myth Machine 4. Red Ribbon 5. Soko No Ato 6. Tabula Rasa 7. E. Potential 8. No Sleep For Birds 9. Zookeeper's Trial

Ekkehard Ehlers' seminal plays series was originally released on three 12inches (Staubgold) and two 7inches (Bottrop-Boy) in very limited runs. The entire series was previously only available as a CD compilation or digitally. Keplar finally presents it on double vinyl for the first time, featuring a new cover artwork.

Domestic ethnology: Ekkehard Ehlers plays.

‘Play’ is a word in English with many meanings attached. Each one sends you down a different cognitive pathway. When I think of ‘playing’, in the sense of a game, I think of an activity involving more than one person. When Ekkehard Ehlers plays, he is very much on his own. Or, at least, alone but at the same time keeping intimate company with the artistic innovators named in his titles. Robert Johnson. John Cassavetes. Albert Ayler. Cornelius Cardew. Hubert Fichte. Is he playing with them, against them, about them, for them, to them? This can never be known.

It is certainly a mistake to try to hear the ‘work’ of these originals in the sounds played by Ekkehard. They’re not cover versions. They’re hardly tributes in the conventional sense. Cassavetes and Fichte are not even musicians, although music played an important part in both their careers. Sure, there are little nods and flashes of recognition – tiny guitar licks among the minimal beats of ‘Robert Johnson 2’; rich bowed instruments in ‘Albert Ayler’, recalling the violin, cello and double bass arrangements on Ayler’s 1967 Live in Greenwich Village LP; the elongated organ lines of ‘Cornelius Cardew 1’ gesturing towards passages in Paragraph 1 of the British composer’s 1971 Marxist monolith, The Great Learning. Ekkehard is not so much playing these figures as allowing himself to be played by them.

Playing as an activity also suggests freedom. Maybe the only thing all five named persons have in common is that they were all quiet radicals. In music, literature and cinema, they all stepped, without self-promotion or fanfare, into unmapped territories. Once there they found it necessary to invent new languages in order to survive. Necessity was the mother of their inventiveness. They were also uncomfortable avant gardists. Lonely types, fighting their corners out on the margins, with little reward, often misunderstood, ridiculed or ignored.

All died unfairly young. Fichte a victim of HIV/AIDS, Cassavetes of cirrhosis of the liver. (‘Cassavetes 2’ sounds like a tender farewell played across the 59 year old alcoholic director’s death bed.) The deaths of Johnson, Ayler and Cardew have never been satisfactorily explained, and remain shrouded in myths and conspiracy theories. The pioneering expeditions of all five began in that spirit of playful freedom, but inexorably drew them towards the heart of darkness.

So these ‘plays’ are micro-dramas, sonic soliloquies, monolog-ins to the private accounts of various geniuses in Ekkehard’s ‘follow’ list. Hacked sensibilities. Artistic manifestos boiled down and distilled, skinned and dried in the digital smokehouse. (Ekkehard Ehlers Flays.) Each of these plays was originally floated out into the world alone on its own disc. The collected works play well as a team – a tranquil, introspective experience where each artist has his own identifiably unique sound character. As an album, Plays is a ‘Plattenragout’ – a ‘record stew’ – which was the title of Hubert Fichte’s LP review column in the leftist culture magazine konkret in the 1960s. The novelist’s work investigating the cultures of South America and the Caribbean islands has been called ‘domestic ethnology’. The writer himself referred to his ‘ethnopoesie’. Ekkehard Ehlers’s intuitive electronic portraits are a form of domestic ethnology in themselves. Invoking another of Ekkehard’s musical aliases, they are portraits of cultural ‘autopoiesies’ – creators whose works were strong enough to have their own self-regenerating life force. (by Rob Young)

All tracks written and produced by Ekkehard Ehlers.
Featuring Stephan Mathieu, Joseph Suchy, Anka Hirsch.
Tracks A1 to C2 originally released on three 12inches via Staubgold.
Tracks D1 to D4 originally released on two 7inches via Bottrop-Boy.
Plays originally released as CD compilation in 2002 by Staubgold.
Mastered by Rashad Becker.
Cut to vinyl by Lupo, Berlin, 2022.
Redesigned by Sandra Kastl, 2022.
Photos by Ludger Blanke

Martin Khanja (aka Lord Spike Heart) and Sam Karugu emerge from Nairobi's flourishing underground metal scene as former members of the bands Lust of a Dying Breed and Seeds of Datura. Together in 2019 they formed Duma (Darkness in Kikuyu) with Sam abandoning bass for production and guitars and Lord Spike Heart providing extreme vocals to the project. Recorded at Nyege Nyege Studios in Kampala over three months in mid 2019 their self-titled debut album fuses the frenetic euphoria, unrelenting physicality and rebellious attitude of hardcore punk and trash metal with bone-crunching breakcore and raw, nihilist industrial noise through a claustrophobic vortex of visceral screams. The savant mix of brutally adrenalized drums, caustic industrial trap, shredding grindcore inspired guitars and abrupt speed changes create a darkly atmospheric menace and is lethal on tracks like the opener "Angels and Abysses" , "Omni" or "Uganda with Sam". The gruelling slow techno dirges and monolithic vocals on "Pembe 666" or "Sin Nature" add a pinch of dramatic inevitability bringing a new sense of theatricality and terrifying fate awaiting into the record's progression. A sinister sonic aggression of feral intensity with disregard for styles, Duma promises to impact the burgeoning African metal scene moving it into totally new, boundary-challenging experimental territories.

TNT is the third full length studio album released by Tortoise in 1998 1998 : Tortoise"s third studio album TNT is released. In and out of print over the past decade we are happy to finally give everyone what they have been asking for - TNT on vinyl again! Pressed on high quality virgin vinyl, the two LPs are packaged in a deluxe old-style tip?on gatefold jacket fully replicating the original artwork and includes a download coupon for the first time! Tortoise"s third full-length release, TNT, was written and recorded during a 10-month interval in 1997. This longer-than-usual writing/production schedule was purposefully undertaken by the group in the hopes of crafting an expansive, diverse, yet thematically coherent offering. TNT builds upon the spare, instrumental framework of the group"s first, self-titled album, and the extended edits, melodic adventures, and klangfarben of the subsequent full-length release, Millions Now Living Will Never Die. Further to this, Tortoise"s interest in the possibilities offered by the remixing of tracks was realized within the actual production of TNT; individual elements, sections, or sometimes whole compositions mutate within the album"s shifting framework. These techniques were suitably realized thanks in part to the use of non-linear digital recording and editing methods, the first example of such work for the group

Those who know, know. This is a man who has both stood on stage in front of thousands of fans and sat silently at the feet of Sufi masters. His journey began as a leading light within the underground club scenes of East London and Soho. There he co-founded the group Galliano and created the template for Acid Jazz - a movement that continues to this day. Having spent 10 years in Africa dedicated to self-development and study of Sufism. He has now returned to London and reconnected to his artistic roots. Writing, singing, producing, directing, designing, and collaborating by way of his new label ITEZ Records - with his own brand of afro folk, spiritual soul, jazz, and reggae, Itez Music marks the long-awaited return of 21st Century Renaissance Man, Constantine Weir a.k.a YAHYA.

Nation’s Sub label Kode presents a new project between Chicago’s visionary Traxx and Athens, Greece June Records label mates Tsampikos Fronas & Trenton Chase as External/Internal…a new wave electrabeat collaboration.

This 1st 12” showcases 2 tracks with different energy and emotions drawing musical influence from the early 80s pre-proto sounds of alternative and progressive chemistry and also offbeat rhythms that creates tension of feelings in character and musical arrangements with vocals sung on both productions from Trenton Chase.

A-Side:
Trespass concludes the storm of
emotion, reaching the end.
The need to find long gone harmony
and existence. Coming to peace with
the inner self while taking a self made
path into the kosmos without pushbacks and interruption. Pure melodic freedom

B-Side:
A Conviction of Fantasy is an eruption
of emotions and confusion while trying
to maintain sanity. Avoiding truth and confessing while keeping balance is impossible. Lost in the abyss where
reality and fantasy is hard to perceive.

The Light at the End of the Line is Ian’s first album of new material in 15 years, and is also her last solo studio recording – a “swan song,” she notes. The Light at the End of the Line bookends a kaleidoscopic catalog that began with her 1967 self-titled debut at age 15. The songs are intimate portraits of getting older but wiser (“I’m Still Standing”), of knowing when to stand up and not take any more shit (“Resist”), of celebrating life’s fleeting beauty (“Swannanoa”), of exalting in your true identity (“Perfect Little Girl”), of paying homage to a lifelong hero and her demons (“Nina,” as in Simone). The Light at the End of the Line feels like a victory lap for an artist who has nothing to lose and nothing left to prove. You hear that in the risks Ian took in both her lyrics and the inspired production choices. “I love this album,” Ian says. “There is an element of, ‘This is the absolute best I can do over the span of 58 years as a writer. This is what I’ve learned.’ And I realized that this album has an arc, and I’ve never really done anything like that before.”

The Older I Get, the Funnier I Was, which follows Thomas’ brilliant 2020 HBO special The Golden One and his Can't Believe You're Happy Here EP released earlier this year, surveys a range of emotion and offers a broad sonic palette, moving between pop punk, electro, and the obvious influence of the singer-songwriters he grew up listening to in early childhood. It conjures the ennui of Bright Eyes alongside the barefaced storytelling of John Prine, the overstuffed lists of Fred Thomas with the lackadaisical humor of Colleen Green, among many others.

Thomas attributes the dexterity of the record to Duterte, who recorded and engineered most of it in addition to serving up plenty of encouragement when Thomas got down on the process. “As a comic, I used to test out new songs during sets to see if the funny bits were hitting, but since I wrote this in isolation I ended up writing lyrics and worrying less about making jokes,” Thomas says. That said, the album’s plenty funny. Stand-out and lead single “Rigamarole” opens with a Thomas-voiced infomercial that recalls his oft-cited lookalike Jim Carrey as the Grinch, before launching into a buoyant pop song about being depressed.

Whitmer Thomas will admit that when he traveled home to small town Gulf Shores, Alabama to record his HBO stand-up special, The Golden One, he expected to be greeted as a returning hero, a conquering king, or at minimum, a guy with a moderately successful career as an entertainer in Los Angeles. “I expected a big welcome home, open arms, but when I went back I realized: nobody fucking knows me. Nobody remembers me,” Thomas says. “In the years I’d been performing that show, I’d been romanticizing my childhood in this mythologized place, but the visit made me see that I’m not really from there anymore.”

The sense of alienation compounded when Thomas recognized how few people in town remembered his mom, to whom The Golden One is dedicated and largely about. Thomas grew up watching her perform with her twin sister at the legendary Flora-Bama Lounge, where he set the special, and still counts her as one of his musical influences. His new album, The Older I Get, the Funnier I Was, isn’t overtly about his mom, her presence is deeply felt throughout. While in Gulf Shores, Thomas discovered dozens of her old recordings, all of which had been wrecked by Katrina, but upon returning to LA, Thomas paid “a fancy place in Hollywood” to fix the tapes and hired Melina Duterte (Jay Som, Bachelor, Routine) to mix them. The two struck up a collaborative friendship, and Thomas had the sound of his mom’s voice back. “I was listening to songs she recorded when she was about my age, just these heartfelt, sweet Americana songs,” he says. “I decided then that I wanted to lose the Ian Curtis voice I always sing with; I wanted to do what came naturally, because my mom always sounded like herself, even when she was singing some cheesy reggae song about, like, Jamaica.”

Thus he went into The Older I Get, the Funnier I Was knowing it was time to retire his darkwave persona, and leaning into his natural, chirpier voice, which he says sounds “like a 12-year-old’s.” It makes sense: much of the album chronicles what Thomas calls “being a kid and feeling like you have no control and overcompensating by being annoying.” “So much of the album is about witnessing drug and alcohol addiction as a kid and seeing what it does to people, but also realizing that there's nothing you can do about it,” Thomas says. It’s familiar territory (see: “Partied to Death”) but the methodology is different this time around; true to its title, The Older I Get, the Funnier I Was isn’t always looking for laughs. Thomas might’ve left his hometown behind, but his kid self is still tagging along, a Peter Pan shadow he can’t untether himself from. The first line he sings on The Older I Get, the Funnier I Was is: “There should be a room at every party where you can just sit and watch a movie.” Find a 12-year-old who wouldn’t say the same.