quête:silence

It took Sibille Attar five years and a lot of soul searching to produce Paloma’s Hand, the 2018 EP that served as the long-awaited follow-up to her debut album, Sleepyhead. Both that record and her first EP, 2012’s The Flower’s Bed, seemingly left her with the world at her feet, with widespread critical acclaim, television appearances and a Swedish Grammy nomination for Best Newcomer. The years that followed, though, involved both creative and personal turmoil, and left her feeling increasingly adrift musically as the uglier side of the industry reared its head.

“For a long time in my life, I tried to sit in certain constellations to please other people,” she says. “And it didn’t work, because I could only do it for a little while before I’d get frustrated and want to do things my own way. There was a time when I felt like I couldn’t trust the business, and it was draining me of my love for the music. Eventually, I realised you can’t live your life trying to fit into somebody else’s mould all the time.”

Paloma’s Hand, a six-track pop odyssey that slalomed through genres, brought years of struggle to a long-overdue end. Just as importantly, though, it served as a much-needed palate cleanser for Attar, breaking through the barrier of writer’s block. Just two years later, she’s back with her second full-length, the aptly-titled A History of Silence, a reference to that long period of searching for her voice. “I thought about calling it A History of Violence, because in many ways, the album is like a violent attempt to tell my own story when I’ve been silenced,” she explains.

Key to the pace at which she was able to work this time around was a realisation that she functions best on her own - “I just felt like, “fuck it - I can’t be bothered dealing with other people and their opinions.” Accordingly, A History of Silence was written, recorded and mixed entirely by Attar herself, and where she needed a little bit of outside help - sweeping strings on the epic "Dream State", for instance - she penned the arrangements herself and had friends record them exactly as directed. “It seems like that’s the way I have to work to get things done, and it helped things come together really quickly - the first song was done at the start of 2019, and the last one was finished around the time the pandemic was taking hold. It was frantically fast, but I work one song at a time, so it was never too chaotic."

The album never sounds too chaotic, either; like Paloma's Hand, it takes a broad approach to pop, but one that’s anchored by the key through-lines of sharp melodies and atmospheric soundscapes. Largely recorded in Attar’s Stockholm apartment, A History of Silence finds room for everything from sparse alt-rock ("Go Hard or Go Home") to spacey, electropop (the Madonna cover "Oh Father"), via the more up-tempo likes of "Somebody’s Watching". “On some tracks, I had really specific influences in mind,” says Attar. “There’s a lot of eighties stuff going on, and I was deliberately tracking down those kinds of synthesizers to try to capture that sound.”

Attar shies away from talking in too much detail about the themes that run through A History of Silence - she wants the record to be received as universally as possible - but it’s clear that the album marks the beginning of a hugely exciting new chapter after the rebirth that Paloma’s Hand represented. “If anything, it’s like a preacher’s album,” she says. “I’m preaching to myself, teaching myself, telling myself off in the lyrics. It’s about accepting loss of power, changing expectations, and getting rid of some heavy baggage. That’s the way I made the album, and it meant I had no limits - every single idea I had, I tried. When I said I was falling out of love with music, that feels like a very long time ago now.”

British artist Robin Rimbaud (Scanner) traverses the experimental terrain between sound and space connecting a bewilderingly diverse array of genres. Since 1991 he has been intensely active in sonic art, producing concerts, installations and recordings, the albums Mass Observation (1994), Delivery (1997), and The Garden is Full of Metal (1998) hailed by critics innovative and inspirational works of contemporary electronic music. Committed to working with cutting edge practitioners he has collaborated with Bryan Ferry, Wayne McGregor, Mike Kelley, Carsten Nicolai, Michael Nyman, Steve McQueen, Laurie Anderson and Hussein Chalayan, amongst many others.

Rimbaud first met Belgian artist Hans Op de Beeck at Le Fresnoy Studio national des Arts Contemporains when they were both Visiting Professors in 2012. Op de Beeck lives and works in Brussels, Belgium and creates sculpture, installations, video, photography, animated films, drawing, painting, and writing. His various works show the viewer non-existent, but identifiable places, moments and characters that appear to have been taken from everyday life.

The artists found an immediate creative connection, and a year after meeting Staging Silence (2) was completed. In 2019, they returned to the theme and created Staging Silence (3).

Each of the films is realised through the same principles, as two pairs of anonymous hands construct and deconstruct fictional interiors and landscapes on a mini film set of just three-square metres in size. The films take the viewer on a visual journey through depopulated, enigmatic and often melancholic, but nonetheless playful, small-scaled places, which are built up and taken down before the eye of the camera.

Ranging from hyper-realistic fictional land and cityscapes to absurd, almost surreal, dreamscapes, the various locations are connected by the sense of mystery and melancholy that pervades them. And at every moment Rimbaud's score is amplifying and illustrating these moments, from tragedy to nostalgia, witty to optimistic.

Introspective and lyrical, Staging Silence offers us a world of mystery and intrigue, held together by nature and time. This is a very humane works experienced at a time when many of us feel disconnected from the world around us. The peculiar silence that permeates this hauntingly beautiful work is very much an illustration of our times, anticipating a future in the past. Staging Silence is an exquisite study in dreamlike abstract ambience, a kaleidoscope of sounds and tones that engage the head and the heart.

Eric Hilton, eine Hälfte des Washingtoner Downtempo-Duos Thievery Corporation, ist auf den Geschmack gekommen und veröffentlicht ein halbes Jahr nach seinem Solodebüt "Infinite Everywhere" schon den Nachfolger. "The Impossible Silence" ist ein elegantes Electronic-Werk, inspiriert von 1960er und 1970er Vintage-Soundtracks, dessen 13 atmosphärische Tracks einen imaginären Film in der Fantasie des Hörers ablaufen lassen. Das Finale bestreitet Hilton mit der brasilianischen Sängerin Elin Melgarejo, bekannt durch ihre Vocalperformance auf dem Thievery Corporation-Klassiker "Lebanese Blond".

Their second album arrived 1994, they had a lot of followers around after their 1992 debut (Kaksi).
Playing on the big stages in Europa - Roskilde, Pink Pop and more, this became a big success. Now on vinyl for the first time, with one side of the 2LP set including bonus material.

Society of Silence is a duo that became involved in the French electronic scene for a few years. They are already known for the wide range of style explored on several French labels and the power and spontaneity of their lives. Too Many Daddies is the ninth release in Activities Record's catalogue, following some previous releases by The Acid Mercenaries, Silicon Vallée, LL321 and two VA's. It is also the eleventh EP of Society of Silence.

Too Many Daddies is a like-minded electronic space saga with strong emotional textures, between hard key sweeps and dark harmony. This record kicks of with A1 Hormone Database, which is a strong funky electro track with a powerful ongoing groove. A2 Iron Penis is a hard hitting acid and hypnotic driven techno track. Undoubtedly another dance floor friendly stomper. B1 Octomom is at the edge between electro and techno. This track sounds paranoid in a very good way. A great nasty dark track with some of freaky vocals in the background. B2 Baby Cluster is a true electro track which demonstrate SOS's penchant for experimentations or No Future, or both...

Too Many Daddies is the evidence that the French duo adeptly understands the language of the machines.

transparent blue vinyl

New recordings by Alex Clark & Mei-Lee Chen aka Widdendream: pure Synth-pop/Darkwave.

Fantastic first album of Tunisian producer Azu Tiwaline, melting psychedelic dub, industrial and hypnotic techno deeply rooted in her berber culture, supported by Lena Willikens, Nicola Cruz, Toma Kami and Violet, to name a few!

Azu Tiwaline is a new name for a new spirit: one of a producer inspired by the need to explore her origins, rooted in the Tunisian Sahara. The Call to a different sound, organic and raw, vibrating in the great spaces of the African desert where trance music resonates... Ecstatic ritual.

Her first album, Draw Me A Silence, conceived as a diptych, reveals the multiple facets of her identity. Uniting the bonds that connect Berber music, dub culture and techno hypnosis, Azu Tiwaline invites us to refocus on our senses and our Nature. She knows how to use contrasts between light and the invisible, exploring the complexity of our emotions and the mystery that emanates from them, in a polyrhythmic chiaroscuro that runs through each one of her tracks, and of which we discover, as we go along, all the outlines.

Draw Me A Silence Part. I (to be released in February 2020), delivers the most hypnotic variant of her music, centered on dark percussive rhythms and a skillful use of repetition; each of the 5 tracks ineluctably carrying the listener into a trance. Two major tunes particularly illustrate the artist's imagination: "Itrik" and "Berbeka", perfectly synthesizing the heritage of Berber trance music and her techniques derived from minimalist and repetitive electronic music.

The continuation, Draw Me A Silence Part. II (to be released in April 2020), gives prominence to a deep heritage drawn from the dub culture and its numerous bass music filiations. This second part thus gives a new breath in the use of sound space, exploited in a much broader way, leaving all their space to complex syncopated percussive lines, supported by massive basslines dedicated to the best sound-systems. Omok, the first of the five tracks of this Part II is the perfect demonstration of this, playing here the essential role of a bridge to the darker waters of this album's end.

Each of these two parts exist as an Entity, and it is only when they are united that they will reveal their full meaning. Thus, in May, Draw Me A Silence will find its final form in a double-vinyl unifying them. Listening to this album in its entirety offers us a wide panorama of the sound landscapes visited by Azu Tiwaline, who seems to breathe primitive sounds of a faraway desert into a music with modern tones - and vice versa. A resolutely hybrid sound and a singular experience, playing with contrasts and nuances to catch the listener in vast and so far unexplored territories.

A Thousand Harmonies in Silence is an album that highlights the idea of being "safe". Since writing this record I wanted to portray personal memory and experience that had me feeling at peace. Each track signifies a special place, thing, person and time. All of which had some sense of security. I challenged myself to really embody these moments and record my guitar in single takes. I can only hope you enjoy listening to this record as much as did writing it.

Southern Lord is proud to present reissues of the first two albums from iconic Portland-by-way-of-Nashville-based hardcore punk icons, From Ashes Rise.

Alongside related acts His Hero Is Gone and Tragedy, From Ashes Rise are one of the most iconic pioneer acts of the gloom-heavy American crust/hardcore sound born of the late 1990s.

Following their EPs on Clean Plate Records and Partners In Crime Records, the debut full-length Concrete & Steel was initially released through Feral Ward Records in 2000, followed by the release of their second album, Silence, through the same label later that same year.

Staples of the band’s catalogue, these two seminal LPs have not only stood the test of time, but lie as markers at the beginning of a now well-trodden path, making From Ashes Rise one of the founding acts of the sound so many modern acts continue to draw influence from.

The reissues of Concrete & Steel and Silence have been fully remastered by the band’s Brad Boatright at his revered Audiosiege in Portland, Oregon, the LP’s original covers formatted to tip-on jackets.

Leifur James released his debut album A Louder Silence in October 2018 on Late Night Tales original artist label Night Time Stories; home to Texan trio Khruangbin and the iconic Late Night Tales series. The record attracted immediate support from Pitchfork, KEXP, XLR8R, Mixmag 8/10, Future Music UK 9/10, Electronic Sound 9/10. In April 2019 ‘Wurlitzer’ was the first piece of music he revealed from a new creative period after those sessions. The video was created by animator/director Balázs Simon, premiering on Boiler Room and was nominated for the BMVA Berlin Music Video Awards in the experimental music category, airing at the British Film Insitute BFI Southbank London.

Now in September 2019 he has prepared a remix EP 12" of the debut album A Louder Silence, featuring a slew of the finest musicians in electronic music today. Blueberry Records founder FaltyDL aka Drew Lustman comes first with a deep, skipping 2-stepping reversion of Mumma Don’t Tell. Bruce coming off the back of his hugely well received debut album for Hessle Audio has a “resymph” of Osho in typical mind-bending austere electronic style. Whities producer and Tirzah/Mica Levi collaborator Coby Sey reconstructs Suns of Gold with his sampler, and also accompanying it, is Leifur’s own remix of suns of Gold.

Following on from their recent album on Italian imprint Just This, Hunter/Game present the Silence Remixes out June 7th, featuring contributions from Radio Slave, Inland and Jamaica Suk amongst others.

Silence is a spiralling voyage into the depths of blissful ambience and meditative techno from Milan-based duo Hunter/Game. Arriving after a series of acclaimed EPs on the same label, it is an aesthetic statement of intent, carving out serene spaces of melancholy and upliftment.

For the remixes EP, a carefully chosen selection of artists provide varying interpretations of stand-out tracks from the album. Radio Slave turns ‘Dead Soul’ into a marching ground of melodic techno, whilst Inland breathes robotic life into ‘Crashed Sounds’ and Wrong Assessment levitate ‘Fragments’ over murky waters. Closing off the vinyl is Jamaica Suk’s ominous restructuring of ‘Reaction’.

Owners of the digital release will receive three further remixes. Vessels turns ‘Evolution’ into a broken dreamscape of stepping percussion, whilst Just This affiliate Scissors forges a stripped back, tripped out version of ‘Memories’. Also featured digitally is a second version of Jamaica Suk’s ‘Reaction’ remix.

Limited Edition Cassette, edition of 50, purple cassette w/ red ink and riso printed cover

Bremen finds two luminaries of the Swedish punk underground, Jonas Tiljander (Brainbombs) and Lanchy Orre (Totalitär, Brainbombs, Teenage Graves, etc), coming together to explore the dark side of kraut and progressive rock, early electronic and drone music, whilst also invoking the fathomlessly bleak interior landscapes conjured by Nico/Cale on The Marble Index and Desertshore.

'Following a trio of sprawling, planet-gargling double-LPs, 2013's self-titled LP on Skrammel, and Second Launch (2015) and Eclipsed (2017) on Blackest Ever Black, Bremen - J. Tiljander and Lanchy, previously best known for their contributions to Brainbombs' long rapsheet of genius-and- brutality, but latterly exponents of a rarefied cosmic melancholy - return with Enter Silence, their most concise, and powerful, album to date. Once again the Uppsala multi-instrumentalists combine elements of trogged-out psychedelic rock with a deadly serious Arctic minimalism and weeping modal improvisations that owe more to the outer limits of jazz and burnt-out free music from Japan. It's connoisseur's space music, grown-up and grievously honed; outwardly inclined towards the epic but studded with details that reward attention and introspection. There's always been a strong undercurrent of sadness animating Bremen's work, and that existential burden is present and correct on Enter Silence, culminating in the all-out cosmic anguish of 'Palladium'. Even 'The Middle Section', whose ragged chords are nothing if not the sound of optimism and defiance, sounds like it's navigating some kind of unsayable trauma. But this band has always allowed plenty of room for bonehead slash-and-burn as well: see here especially the Stoogeian/39 Clocks-ish rock'n'roll of 'Aimless Cruising' and the pulpy quasi-cinematic tension of 'Sinister', or the brilliant 'Too Cold For Your Eyes', a blast of voidal motorik that sounds like a cranked-up Clean. It's a cold, cold world out there'

PLEASURE ZONE proudly presents on the 30th edition Funk E! We'are very happy about the "Sound & Silence EP"

Leifur James will release his debut album in October through Late Night Tales' artist label Night Time Stories.
A Louder Silence is the London-based producer and multi-instrumentalist's first proper release; his two earlier singles feature on the record, after gaining support from Gilles Peterson's Worldwide FM with a live airing and interview in 2017, plus continued backing from XLR8R, Stamp the Wax, and BBC Radio 6 Music DJ's.
The album is both spacious and thought-provoking, energetic yet restrained, brimming with nuanced electronic instrumentals, dubby synths, and jazz breaks — creating an array of rich textures, complemented occasionally by James' own soulful vocals.
While James' early unreleased work was singularly electronic, A Louder Silence focuses on analog synths and warm acoustic instruments, all played by his own hand. It's the product of a two-year spell in James' home studio, with additional live drums recorded with Jim Macrae at London's Old Paradise Audio.
James' rich musical influences are laced through the release. Encouraged by his mother, a classically trained pianist, he learned to play the cello and developed adeep understanding of rhythm and melody that informs his approach to writing electronic music. James playsthe piano he grew up listening to in 'Mumma Don't Tell' and samples an indefinable percussive element to drive forward 'Suns Of Gold.' 'Night and Day' sees cello plucks and long melodic strokes interlink with a grooving synth line. He also field records the atmospheric Moroccan sea in 'Red Sea.' Inspiration stems from the experimentation of modern day electronic producers, fused with the Jazz, Classical, Blues, and Soul music that soundtracked his youth.
Central to the album is the idea of space. James recalls the early advice of his uncle, a jazz guitarist, who features on 'Uncle Blue': 'I remember him saying to me: "What goes in comes out' James says. 'Every detail should be a worthy detail; sometimes nothing is better than something.' Moments of blissful, structured intensity are juxtaposed with stillness and near silence — dark and light; loud and quiet. This also forms the foundation for the album title: A Louder Silence reflects the dichotomy of finding pockets of stillness in a noisy world.
The result is 10 distinct tracks delivered as one coherent and well-structured long-player debut, set for release on LP, CD, and digital, on 5th October 2018.
Live dates follow a debut live show earlier this year at the Jazz Café with Yazz Ahmed, including an album launch at London's Ghost Notes in October.

Musique par Andrew Chalk & Timo van Luijk

avec:

Tom James Scott - piano

Jean-Noël Rebilly - clarinette

Daniel Morris - guitare pedal steel

Mastered & cut by Rashad Becker at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin 0417.

Having been entranced by both Andrew Chalk's work with MIRROR (and back to his solo works as FERIAL CONFINE, plus multiple collaborations with David Jackman, The New Blockaders, Daisuke Suzuki, etc ) and Timo van Luijk (as Af Ursin, In Camera, La Poupée Vivante, and collaborations with Kris Vanderstraeten and others) for many years, I was naturally intrigued to hear about and hear their duo project ELODIE. The project formed in 2010, and has spanned eleven beautiful albums already, to date.

"Vieux Silence" for Ideologic Organ is their first release presented outside of their own record publishing nook, Faraway Press & La Scie Dorée. However this is not the first encounter between Ideologic Organ & ELODIE, they performed at a night in London I curated in February 2012, alongside Jessika Kenney & Eyvind Kang. Elodie's performance was among the most delicately engaging and savant I have witnessed... so very quiet, with snow falling in London outside Cafe Oto's windows, the audience palpably entered a high intensity listening focus. The impression of this vivid memory is striking, considering how spare each of the individual elements present that night were.

"Vieux Silence", and ELODIE in general provoke a visual imagination in an instant, perhaps filtered through aged watercolour, tape grain, antique lenses, forgotten levels of listening and observational patience. On this gorgeous album Chalk & van Luijk also collaborate with piano, pedal steel and clarinet (played by , Tom James Scott, Daniel Morris and Jean-Noel Rebilly, respectively).

Each detail carefully considered and colouring step by step, like an impressionist watercolour.

- Stephen O'Malley, Les Lilas 2017

Art thou ready Straight fire coming from Total Science, Phaction and Fokuz Recordings stalwarts Malaky, Satl and Silence Groove. On the A side long time drum & bass veterans Total Science flip Phaction's ''Stratos'', released early 2015 into a hypnotic, soulful groove with a bopping bassline, delayed piano cuts and vocals.

Next up are Fokuz Recordings regulars Malaky, Satl & Silence Groove. Already making a name for themselves individually they now team up on ''Skyfall'' delivering an infectious, heartfelt slice of soulful drum & bass. Good vibes all around but then again, would you expect anything different from us We think not, go and cop that!

Comes in a beautifully designed (5 different artworks inside) coloured vinyl (black x white) package
[A] a1 | Mario & Vidis Feat. Jazzu - I'll Be Gone - Gemini Love Dub

Art Fine was the duo of Fabrice Bellini (electronics, vocals) and Rush Blakemann (guitar, synthesizer) from Tuin, Italy. They met in art school and became friends, inspired by New Wave, dance and electronic music. They recorded their only single 'Dark Silence' in November of 1984, which was released by Discomagic in 1985. It is now remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The vinyl is housed in the original jacket featuring a photo of the duo and that Art Fine logo in puzzle pieces. Each copy includes a double sided postcard insert with lyrics and liner notes by Fabrice Bellini

In 2012 Society of Silence released their first ep on their own imprint and, by being supported by such artists as Shake Shakir,
Efdemin, Signifying Monkey ep has been a great sucess, Nick Hoeppner has played their track 'B Workin' on his Fabric
podcast.2013 began with 'Matin noir' on Fragil musique. Once again they are exploring the expanse of Techno music and the
single is backed by a stunning remix from Ukrainian producer Vakula. And in june 2013, it's on Dj Gilb'R label Versatile that
Society of Silence fourth ep Unijambist has been released, followed by To the Maggot ep in january 2014.Now it's time for the
parisian duo to reveal SOS02, their new maxi, back on their own imprint. Chroma is a jacking techno track with deep dub
synth's chords. The release also comes with a Tunnel track, for dark clubs and Tascam Dub, which is a low-fi tape stretched
track. The ep is already supported by Nick Hoppner and Anton Zap

Vocal driven electronica, pop sensibilities and a touch of melancholia is a tried and tested recipe of SILENCE MUSIC cuisine. A new release titled My Holy Senses is no exception. This creative venture joins together a renown Lithuanian multi-instrumentalist and composer Vygintas Kisevicius, an up-and-coming singer and songwriter Markas Palubenka and a versatile SILENCE producer Few Nolder. Original acoustic versions come under the name of Kurak, a project which Vygintas started a couple of years ago with a goal of bringing together some of the most talented young Lithuanian singers and songwriters for something new and exciting. And indeed they managed to produce some well worthy musical material generating quite a few waves of interest and success back home. Few Nolder picked out a couple of tracks from an ever-expanding Kurak's repertoire and threw them onto the sweaty dance floor. Included in the package are two DJ friendly adaptations from David Krasemann aka Dave DK and Vidis. My Holy Senses is a short modern day Love story about Acoustics giving an adoring kiss to Electronica in a dim light of a nightclub.
- Early support from Âme, Tim Paris, Alex Barck, Michael Rainboth, Hannes Fischer and many others

Three cover versions glaring with love and respect to Justin Vernon, Prince Rogers Nelson, and Terence Trent Howard.

Vinyl Exclusive Version Vidis brought us a handful of hidden gems last year. A selection showcasing the under-estimated and often overlooked Lithuanian House scene. After months of sifting and sorting, Vidis came to what has become 'Silence Please!' - a 14-track compilation that surprised many and turned more than a few heads with a unique taste of Vilnius House. We now present a very special vinyl edition - featuring tracks hand-picked by Vidis, tracks he felt deserved a wax debut. Vital Sales Points: - A sampler showcasing some of the nicest tracks featured on Silence Please! compilation - Includes dance floor destroyer Mario & Vidis - Warung (Downtown Party Network Remix) - All the tracks have never been released on vinyl before

[B] A2 | Mario & Vidis - Warung (Downtown Party Network Remix)

Mario & Vidis, the top Lithuanian House duo, is back with a real treat. A solid remix package to follow up the original release of their perfect-set-closing track of summer 2012. Even though all ticking at the same tempo four different remixes and remixers on the plate represent a wide spectrum of moods and styles. From Garage and Bass infected sounds of up and coming Lithuanian producer Darius Vaikas, via Miami Bass rooted Dub version of steady groovin' American Danny Daze, to golden French Touch era reminiscent slick grooves of German combo Trickski, and summery New Disco vibes of two Lithuanian comrades from Downtown Party Network.

Special tracks have a special story behind them. And this one certainly does. After Mario & Vidis recorded a couple of tracks with Ernesto for their debut album Changed they invited him to perform in their home country. During his short stay in Lithuania Ernesto performed two times and both times closed his set with a track called Care. It was kind of a mash-up - Swedish singer & songwriter was using lyrics of his old song to sing over Metro Area's classic Caught Up to a big effect - leaving the packed dance floors to a sing along to lyrical hook of 'sisters and brothers, smokers and lovers, care for me' every time. Big fan of Metro Area's sound Vidis offered him to do a reversion of this mash-up using Caught Up as a reference and inspiration. The vocals were re-recorded, new arrangement was done, and the song was tested in the clubs as well as live on stage. So here it is - another big tune from the three to sing and dance along

Warehouse Find!

Old school electro produced by one of the Furious member

Repress

They say that good things come in threes... it must be true and Favorite Recordings also proudly presents the third edition of its acclaimed French Disco Boogie Sounds compilation series.

Like on prior volumes, the complete tracklist is selected by label head honcho, Charles Maurice (aka Pascal Rioux), who's unearthed 13 more forgotten and hidden tracks, all produced whether in France, in French, or by French artists between 1977 and 1987.

With most of these titles now very hard to find in their original edition and unknown by many, this compilation should be a must have for any Disco-Boogie-Funk music lover and collector.

Fully remastered from originals at The Carvery Cut (UK), French Disco Boogie Sounds Vol.3 (1977-1987, selected by Charles Maurice) is presented by Favorite Recordings in a gatefold vinyl double LP and as CD.

Milton Wright's perfect deep Soul classic "Keep It Up" has always been a top shelf record, everything about it is almost flawless! Whether it's Milton's silky vocal delivery, the incessant guitar driven back beat or the total space Funk vibe of his omnipresent ARP-2600 synthesizer this record has it all. Originally released on TK Disco's more Soul and Funk orientated Alston label which was home to many legendary artists and records, this 1975 sunshine classic never fails to make people move. A classic rare groove indeed. "The Silence That You Keep" takes up side-B, a jazzy, flute driven love song that again features Milton's perfect voice and some fantastic arrangement. A real gem of a record, with the original 45 changing hands for over £100 a time in used condition.

This is the first time "Keep It Up" has been re-issued in it's original 45 rpm format with the original Alston label artwork. It's been re-mastered, re-pressed and made available again with the permission of TK Disco / Alston Records, Miami Florida, USA.

repressed !

Moderat are Modeselektor and Apparat.

repress !

The birth of rock steady portrayed in a consummate collection from the vaults of Federal Records

Most of them drawn directly from Ken Khouri's master tapes this miscellany of cool rock steady includes marvellous music from the originator of the genre, the one and only Lynn Taitt, alongside an array of Jamaica's greatest singers and vocal harmony group

American rhythm & blues fervour, boosted by a multitude of sound systems playing 78rpm records on increasingly larger sets, gripped Jamaica from the late forties onwards but, towards the end of the decade, the American audience began to move towards a somewhat softer sound. The driving rhythm & blues discs became increasingly hard to find and the more progressive Jamaican sound system operators, realising that they now needed to make their own music, turned to Kingston's jazz and big band musicians to record one off custom cut discs. These were not initially intended for commercial release but designed solely for sound system play on acetate or 'dub plates' as they would later be termed. These 'specials' soon began to eclipse the popularity of American rhythm & blues and the demand for their locally produced music proved so great that the sound system operators began to release their music commercially on vinyl and became record producers. Clement Coxsone' Dodd, Duke Reid 'The Trojan' and Prince Buster, who operated his Voice Of The People Sound System, were among the first to establish themselves in this new role and the nascent Jamaican recording industry now went into overdrive.

In 1954 Ken Khouri had numbered among the first far sighted entrepreneurs to produce mento records with local musicians (mento is Jamaica's original indigenous music) before progressing to opening Jamaica's first record manufacturing plant. Three years later he moved his operation to Foreshore Road (later renamed Marcus Garvey Drive) where, with the assistance of the inestimable Graeme Goodall, he updated and upgraded his recording studio. The importance of this enterprising move was critical to the development of Jamaican music and its influence both profound and far reaching.

"It was Ken Khouri's Federal Recording Studio, the womb that gave birth to the talented writers, artists and musicians that gave Jamaica its musical identity." Prince Buster

Federal Records was not only the place for the sound system men to record their music but it was also where they had their records manufactured and, consequently, the company enjoyed a near total monopoly on recording and record pressing in Kingston. In 1963 Ken Khouri sold his one track board to Clement 'Coxsone' Dodd, who established Studio One, and Ken imported the first stereo equipment to Jamaica and Federal began making stereo records. The following year WIRL (West Indies Records Limited) opened but the competition served to drive the company on to higher heights. Ken Khouri continued to work on his own productions and, in 1966, the seven inch release of Hopeton Lewis' 'Take It Easy', recorded under the guidance of Trinidadian guitarist Lynn Taitt, ushered in the rock steady era.

These two essential albums showcase a stunning selection of well known hits, and not so well known rarities, from the vast Federal catalogue. All tracks have been transferred direct from the master tapes and assembled with the invaluable assistance of Ken Khouri's son, Paul Khouri, who generously gave Dub Store unlimited access to the Federal tape vaults. The extensive liner notes feature extracts from extensive interviews with Paul Khouri whose knowledgeable recollections of working on Marcus Garvey Drive, not only as a producer but as an engineer and musician, are illuminating and educational. Both sets present an insight into the birth and growth of Federal Records and the Jamaican recording industry and are essential to an understanding of the real roots of reggae music.

Repress.

Rising from the dark streets of Cairo we proudly present you the first release of the new label from the land of the pyramids: THE MAGIC MOVEMENT.


On the "In Between Reality E.P." Noema invites you to an unheard psychedelic trip: Like through a reverse prism, he melts down Kraut Rock, Afro-American House drums and cosmic Jazz into forbidden sounds of frenzied dancefloor rituals. Outside traditional paths, these driving grooves and polyphonic structures take the adventure seeking dancer to Dionysian highs and places never been before.

Formed in 1996, Goatsnake was an ultra-heavy, blues-doom powerhouse consisting of guitarist Greg Anderson (Engine Kid), vocalist Pete Stahl (Scream, Wool) and the mega rhythm section of Greg Rogers (drums), Guy Pinhas (bass) from underground heavy legends The Obsessed. The band’s tenure has ebbed and flowed for over two decades, leaving behind a legacy of legendary live shows and classic albums and EP’s.

VERY LIMITED QUANTITY OF BLACK VINYL FOR UK.

Goatsnake’s classic debut album— appropriately entitled 1 (one)— was originally released by Man's Ruin Records in 1999 on CD and LP formats. The album featured 8 songs that gracefully combined monolithic, Sabbath-y riffs with soulful vocals to create a monumental introduction to the band, and a style that would be influential for years to come.

Collaborating once again with legendary composer Yuzo Koshiro, Data Discs is thrilled to present one of the most revered and timeless soundtracks of the 16bit era: The Revenge of Shinobi. Composed in 1989, the music for the Mega Drive game (known as The Super Shinobi in Japan) blended Western dance music with Japanese overtones, to create something truly unlike anything else before. The soundtrack was Koshiro's first commissioned work for SEGA and served as a forerunner to his seminal Streets of Rage trilogy, where the concepts and styles he founded with Shinobi would be expanded upon to astonishing effect. Koshiro's work on The Revenge of Shinobi remains a testament to the ingenuity of early game composers who, when given enough creative freedom, found the means of drawing new and unexpected sounds from extremely limited hardware.

The Revenge of Shinobi is presented as a 180g bone coloured LP, cut at 45rpm and packaged in a 425gsm outer sleeve, with heavyweight inner sleeve and double-sided lithographic print, featuring original artwork sourced from the SEGA archives in Japan. The release also includes exclusive liner notes written by Koshiro himself.