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Neon Yellow
The Zephyr Bones’ psychedelic rock expands in a precise and determined sophomore album. A warm and accessible record that speaks about love, self-affirmation, loss and hope.

A quicksilver track that glides on a buoyant bassline and glistening melodic interplay, “No One” is the sound of joy. While it’s easy to pigeonhole it as a dreampop track, there’s undoubtedly hints of psych, funk and Kraut all nestled in there, The Zephyr Bones blurring the lines with ease in this intoxicating track that shows growth in their sonic heft without losing their feathery lightness.
Beats per Minute
"No One" opens up like a traditional indie dance track, with sparkling guitars and a vibrant synth lead reminiscent of a cut from The Strokes or Tame Impala. But it progresses in a fascinating way, bringing in a crunchy psychedelic guitar solo and a funky instrumental breakdown at the end. This track has a variety of sounds, but it's prog rock more than anything, as the dynamic instrumentation sticks out the most. Every layer here is not only an excellent piece to the larger puzzle while also being technically impressive on its own. Despite these nods to the more experienced rock nerd, what's the most fascinating is how accessible the tune really is. The wild drum beats, dense synth layers, and lightning-quick guitars demonstrate the true cerebral chemistry of the group. The sheer musical talent doesn't hurt either.
Earmilk
When The Zephyr Bones first burst into the scene they crushed everything that got in their way. Their music slapped us like a wave when it reaches shore. It took us by surprise and left us asking yearning for more. They coined their style “beach wave”. All this became a first album titled Secret Place, something like the sonic coordinates of a sunny place with a soundtrack of guitars with reverb and intoxicating melodies. You can’t tell whether you’ve been there or not, but you definitely want to go back.
In Neon Body they are the same people, but it hits differently. Their melodies and suggestive guitar riffs are on point. They are able to take you back to places. You will never finish these 10 tracks in the same place where you were when you first hit play. Speaking of The Zephyr Bones is speaking of pure freedom. And yet, in this second album we get to know them in a different way, more determined and with a renewed intensity. The landscape has also changed and now the tone reminds us of the twilight, and in some songs you can even feel the reflection of neon light on your skin.
But let’s not lose the point. What matters here are the songs, and in this album you can find pretty damn good ones. “No One”, the first single, is an excellent entry into the universe created in Neon Body. Addictive and irresistible, it will instantly get you dancing and singing along. “So High” is a dizzying and fast-paced first track. By the time “Verneda Lights” arrives, you have fully surrendered to Brian Silva (vocals, guitar and synthesizers), Jossip Tkalcic (guitar and vocals), Marc López (drums) and Carlos Ramos (bass). “Sparks” shines with its own light: it is a controlled fire until the final part of the song makes everything burn again. “Plastic Freedom” goes all-in with an infallible riff. “Velvet” is as elegant as its title suggests, and “Rocksteady” hits the bullseye again with a chorus that hits like a poisonous dart. “Neon Eyes’’ lifts you up with heavenly back up vocals and “Afterglow” keeps you with your feet on the ground – Why? Because begs you to dance. And then comes “Celeste V”, a song that speaks about loss that puts an end to the recording.

Tape

The Zephyr Bones’ psychedelic rock expands in a precise and determined sophomore album. A warm and accessible record that speaks about love, self-affirmation, loss and hope.

A quicksilver track that glides on a buoyant bassline and glistening melodic interplay, “No One” is the sound of joy. While it’s easy to pigeonhole it as a dreampop track, there’s undoubtedly hints of psych, funk and Kraut all nestled in there, The Zephyr Bones blurring the lines with ease in this intoxicating track that shows growth in their sonic heft without losing their feathery lightness.
Beats per Minute
"No One" opens up like a traditional indie dance track, with sparkling guitars and a vibrant synth lead reminiscent of a cut from The Strokes or Tame Impala. But it progresses in a fascinating way, bringing in a crunchy psychedelic guitar solo and a funky instrumental breakdown at the end. This track has a variety of sounds, but it's prog rock more than anything, as the dynamic instrumentation sticks out the most. Every layer here is not only an excellent piece to the larger puzzle while also being technically impressive on its own. Despite these nods to the more experienced rock nerd, what's the most fascinating is how accessible the tune really is. The wild drum beats, dense synth layers, and lightning-quick guitars demonstrate the true cerebral chemistry of the group. The sheer musical talent doesn't hurt either.
Earmilk
When The Zephyr Bones first burst into the scene they crushed everything that got in their way. Their music slapped us like a wave when it reaches shore. It took us by surprise and left us asking yearning for more. They coined their style “beach wave”. All this became a first album titled Secret Place, something like the sonic coordinates of a sunny place with a soundtrack of guitars with reverb and intoxicating melodies. You can’t tell whether you’ve been there or not, but you definitely want to go back.
In Neon Body they are the same people, but it hits differently. Their melodies and suggestive guitar riffs are on point. They are able to take you back to places. You will never finish these 10 tracks in the same place where you were when you first hit play. Speaking of The Zephyr Bones is speaking of pure freedom. And yet, in this second album we get to know them in a different way, more determined and with a renewed intensity. The landscape has also changed and now the tone reminds us of the twilight, and in some songs you can even feel the reflection of neon light on your skin.
But let’s not lose the point. What matters here are the songs, and in this album you can find pretty damn good ones. “No One”, the first single, is an excellent entry into the universe created in Neon Body. Addictive and irresistible, it will instantly get you dancing and singing along. “So High” is a dizzying and fast-paced first track. By the time “Verneda Lights” arrives, you have fully surrendered to Brian Silva (vocals, guitar and synthesizers), Jossip Tkalcic (guitar and vocals), Marc López (drums) and Carlos Ramos (bass). “Sparks” shines with its own light: it is a controlled fire until the final part of the song makes everything burn again. “Plastic Freedom” goes all-in with an infallible riff. “Velvet” is as elegant as its title suggests, and “Rocksteady” hits the bullseye again with a chorus that hits like a poisonous dart. “Neon Eyes’’ lifts you up with heavenly back up vocals and “Afterglow” keeps you with your feet on the ground – Why? Because begs you to dance. And then comes “Celeste V”, a song that speaks about loss that puts an end to the recording.

Pink Vinyl

Drifting on oceans of thunderous stillness, carried away by endless currents, whipped up by waves of darkness devouring you until you see the light. The first album from Platoo, a collaboration between Michelle Samba and Phil Mills, has an unrelenting cadence that grabs you and refuses to let go. A distinctive combination of calming soundscapes and highly-charged energy fitting any occasion, from dancing like lost souls in the empty halls of ancient barracks to ecstatically tripping on a distant desert planet.

To Phil and Michelle creating Platoo was about being given a sense of freedom and exploration, at once shaking off habits and rediscovering forgotten values. Phil's love of the mesh of ''real'' sounds and electronics, and quest to establish a balance where both would feed off each other saw him abandon convention and standard structures, deviate from the beaten path and let things come to life. Michelle's quest to create, to inspire and be inspired, to draw her conclusions from serendipitous events allowed her to break things open and be at ease with letting herself go to create the breathing space needed for this new sound.

What makes their symbiosis fruitful is a common yearning for the unknown, a search for what works without exactly fathoming why it works. The result is something that indeed meets those needs, a strange and beautiful musical exploration.

Swiss firebrand alchemists Zeal & Ardor are excited to announce their forthcoming, self-titled new album, set for release February 11th, 2022, via MVKA.

Hissing and seeping justifiable rage from every pore - yet not an unrelenting musical battering - the 14-track opus was recorded by Marc Obrist and Manuel Gagneux at Hutch Sounds and mixed/mastered by Will Putney at Graphic Nature Audio. All songs were written by the softly spoken, multi-lingual frontman Gagneux, with some German lyrics intermixed with the English.

Gagneux declares, "With the self-titled record, we have arrived at where I imagined this project should sound like. It’s the longest we’ve worked on a single record and I believe it shows. The most important thing for an album of ours to do, is transport you instantly into our mood, our world. Even though this might not be the one you might expect from us, this record certainly delivers on that front. We had time to hone in to what we think makes us interesting and what sounds we would like to explore through this we have found our home. Home is burning. Welcome home.

Swiss firebrand alchemists Zeal & Ardor are excited to announce their forthcoming, self-titled new album, set for release February 11th, 2022, via MVKA.

Hissing and seeping justifiable rage from every pore - yet not an unrelenting musical battering - the 14-track opus was recorded by Marc Obrist and Manuel Gagneux at Hutch Sounds and mixed/mastered by Will Putney at Graphic Nature Audio. All songs were written by the softly spoken, multi-lingual frontman Gagneux, with some German lyrics intermixed with the English.

Gagneux declares, "With the self-titled record, we have arrived at where I imagined this project should sound like. It’s the longest we’ve worked on a single record and I believe it shows. The most important thing for an album of ours to do, is transport you instantly into our mood, our world. Even though this might not be the one you might expect from us, this record certainly delivers on that front. We had time to hone in to what we think makes us interesting and what sounds we would like to explore through this we have found our home. Home is burning. Welcome home.

Swiss firebrand alchemists Zeal & Ardor are excited to announce their forthcoming, self-titled new album, set for release February 11th, 2022, via MVKA.

Hissing and seeping justifiable rage from every pore - yet not an unrelenting musical battering - the 14-track opus was recorded by Marc Obrist and Manuel Gagneux at Hutch Sounds and mixed/mastered by Will Putney at Graphic Nature Audio. All songs were written by the softly spoken, multi-lingual frontman Gagneux, with some German lyrics intermixed with the English.

Gagneux declares, "With the self-titled record, we have arrived at where I imagined this project should sound like. It’s the longest we’ve worked on a single record and I believe it shows. The most important thing for an album of ours to do, is transport you instantly into our mood, our world. Even though this might not be the one you might expect from us, this record certainly delivers on that front. We had time to hone in to what we think makes us interesting and what sounds we would like to explore through this we have found our home. Home is burning. Welcome home.

Three locations. Three pianos. Three hours on each. I was told where and when the piano would be ready. I would go, play, and leave. Very little was said. All pieces were improvised. There were no demos, run throughs, re-dos, or edits. At times I was responding to the natural reverb of the spaces, as well as the effects and sound treatments that Mark was adding in tandem with the performances.

What you hear is what happened there and then, at the end of the challenging year that was 2020. Kevin Hearn is best known as a multi-instrumentalist from Barenaked Ladies, the multi-platinum selling band he's played with for almost two decades. One of the most respected Toronto musicians of the past 25 years, Hearn's solo albums take the listener on a journey of boundless creativity often
driven by adventure and experimentation. 'There and Then' is played at 45RPM, and is intended to be enjoyed on the warmth of vinyl, but will also be released digitally.

"It's fun for me to make music that doesn't have to fit a certain criteria, whether it be regarding the style or sound, or who is playing it. When I make my own records, I can follow my heart and curiosity." - Kevin Hearn

The followup to 2019's 'Calm and Cents', which was Juno-nominated for Best instrumental Album of the Year.

As a young kid I always wanted to be a musician especially with my brothers.
My Dad, Major Williams Sr started it all with my Brother Lil Major Williams and Garland Williams.
They would travel and play music at venues all over Texas and surroundings States.

I myself stared playing the snare drum in Junior High school and eventually started playing with the Majortones Band which was my dad and brothers group.

I remember the first time I ever sat behind a set of drums it was like a dream come true.
We were playing at this club in Houston, called the Green Parrot.
Garland which was the drummer at the time, I think he got sick or something happened, that's when my dad came to me and said this your time Ray.

I was so scared , keep in my I was only 11years old, anyway I played that night if it had not been for the Bass player (Fox was his name) telling me how to work the foot pedal and high hats snare we wouldn't have made he just kept telling me to stay on the one, at that time I was wondering what was the one Lol.

As time went by I started really getting the hang the thing call music.

Little Major was a big James Brown fan, so we played a lot of Brown's music and if I tell you we were tight and right.

Major wrote Girl Don't Leave in 1978 and I can't remember the real reason for the title of song but it did really good lot's of air play.

As time went on Lil Major, Garland and my Dad passed away.

That's when I started managing The Majortones Band and to this Day it's still going strong.

I re-wrote Girl Don't Leave Me and released it a few years ago which was the best thing I could have ever done.

I feel like it's my time in the music industry, I've been playing for over forty years and I'm still in love with it and still having lots of fun.

São Paulo-based carnival collective and brass band combine retro horns with cumbia, baile funk, jazz, Michael Jackson & more

A Espetacular Charanga do França started as a political act, part of a recent movement which has seen the people of São Paulo reclaim their streets, turning their city into a revelation of Brazilian carnival. The group takes equal inspiration from the powerful charanga horn and percussion bands that stir the crowds at Brazilian football matches, and the expertly-arranged sounds of 60s

samba, finding that sweet spot between musicianship and music that makes you lose your shit. And they do it with humour, clear as day in their covers of Michael Jackson and pagode pop hits, and the baile funk and Balkan rhythms that sneak their way in to the tunes.

Since forming in 2013 the group have become an iconic staple of São Paulo’s revived carnival, generating crowds 15,000 strong. Though COVID-19 put a stop to them hitting the streets this year, in 2020 they made their way to carnival with over 60 brass players and 30 percussionists, declaring their bloco an anti-fascist zone, their reply to a political climate in Brazil that is suffocating human rights, culture and any hope for equality.

“I like to think that Charanga is an oasis in the middle of all the shit that we live, where you don't have to be worried about who you are, what are your preferences, whether you can be comfortable. If you want to parade with us wearing a tea towel you can, you won't be harassed. And it's also about music, it's about listening to music. We do this thing the whole year, we rehearse all year, we do too much so that people can just get crazy and not care about the music.” Thiago França

The group is the brainchild of saxophonist Thiago França, best known as a founding member of Afro-punk explorers Metá-Metá, and one of São Paulo’s most in-demand horn men, with credits on influential albums by Criolo, Elza Soares, Céu and Lucas Santtana. A

The development of the rock steady sound, late in 1966, enabled a new generation of young, dynamic music makers to make a mark upon Jamaica’s recording industry and of these, few proved more successful or influential than Clancy Eccles. In 1969 he scored his biggest hit, the rambunctious ‘Fattie Fattie’, which sold in huge amounts both at home and the UK. The single’s popularity prompted Trojan Records to issue Eccles’s debut long-player, Freedom, which gathered the best of his self-produced recordings as a singer. Freedom’s sleeve photo is one of the classic reggae music images, with Clancy riding a motorcycle through a rugged terrain absolutely screaming relaxed cool.

Available as a limited edition of 750 individually numbered copies on orange coloured vinyl.

Two years in the making, “Talk About It” delivers on all the hype and promise of Blimes and Gab's 20-million-view YouTube sensation “Come Correct,” which blew up the Internet. (It’s included here as a vinyl-only bonus song on side D!) Hip-hop heavyweights Method Man, Jay Park, Bahamadia, and Iamsu! each drop by for features. The song “Feelin It” appeared on HBO’s Insecure. Single "Hot Damn" was featured in the soundtrack for the movie Cut Throat City. Uproxx Music named "Talk About It" one of their top albums of the year. Billboard says “Blimes and Gab drip with pure swagger: Seducing the listener with entrancing melodies and hot-and-heavy lyrics,” while Variety describes “Feelin It" as "the perfect summer song.” This deluxe double LP is pressed on yellow and black vinyl and includes liner notes by Miss Casey Carter. Only 500 individually numbered copies have been made.

Over the course of the last five years, the Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio have established themselves as the world's premier funky organ trio. The organ trio, along with founder and manager Amy Novo, continues to devise the perfect blend of raw, passionate music and engaging industry practices. Through a firm partnership with label Colemine Records, the trio has garnered Billboard charting albums, sold out shows, tens of thousands of albums sold, and millions of streams. Lofty accomplishments for an instrumental organ trio. Now, with permanent drummer Dan Weiss behind to kit, DLO3 is proud to present Cold As Weiss, their third studio album to date that finds them tighter than ever, and continuing to push funky instrumental music to a new generation of fans. For Fans of New Mastersounds, Soulive, Jimmy Smith, Khruangbin.

For Fans Of: New Mastersounds, Soulive, Jimmy Smith, Khruangbin. Over the course of the last five years, the Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio have established themselves as the world's premier funky organ trio. The organ trio, along with founder and manager Amy Novo, continues to devise the perfect blend of raw, passionate music and engaging industry practices. Through a firm partnership with label Colemine Records, the trio has garnered Billboard charting albums, sold out shows, tens of thousands of albums sold, and millions of streams. Lofty accomplishments for an instrumental organ trio. Now, with permanent drummer Dan Weiss behind to kit, DLO3 is proud to present Cold As Weiss, their third studio album to date that finds them tighter than ever, and continuing to push funky instrumental music to a new generation of fans. Third full-length LP. Their KEXP video has over 8 million views and no other KEXP upload in the last three years has more views 60k followers on Spotify. Previous studio album entered at #1 on Billboard Jazz charts. “An obvious mastery of their craft….” MOJO // “keyboard cool recalling bygone times…” UNCUT // “…purveyors of the snappiest grooves…” SHINDIG

In an age of never-ending genre caveats, there’s something refreshing in a band simply referring to themselves as a rock band, plain and simple. Lonely Pirate Committee define themselves in such a way, and while their music encompasses a number of different strands and influences, they like the openness of that descriptor, the space it leaves for exploration and experimentation.

Moving through various iterations over the years, Lonely Pirate Committee remains in 2021 as the musical project of childhood friends Pearce Gronek and Fletcher Barton. Together, the pair has guided the band’s studio work, before bringing varying members to flesh out LPC’s high-volume and high-intensity live performances that juxtapose the more mellow and laid-back sound that mostly defines their recordings to date, save for the band’s occasional moments of skewed eccentricity.

Formed in Cleveland, the pair work both together and apart, splitting the band’s songwriting down the middle, working on their ideas at home before bringing them together under one defined vision. In early 2020 LPC released their second album, Everyday Ordinary, and it showcased a more refined version of the band than what had come before, the pair’s songwriting drifting into creative and hazy new textures across the album’s ten songs.

In early 2022, Lonely Pirate Committee release their first new work since those album sessions in the form of a brand new 7” single for Saddle Creek’s Document series. Formed of two new tracks, both recorded in late 2020, the release is led by “He Was in the Father”, a song which should be seen as a caricature of Middle-American suburbia; a white picket fence daydream through a shadowy lens. The track began simply as a sonic experiment but soon evolved into the full song we hear today – albeit one shaped by AI. “The track is partially written using AI music generation technology, in direct collaboration with the human composer,” the band explain.

In over thirty years of regularly meeting with reggae artists and musicians in the UK and Kingston, I never encountered anything like the feeling of being around the Xterminator camp during the nineties. It wasn’t just the depth of talent that owner Philip “Fatis” Burrell could call upon or even the quality of his productions, but the sense of purpose he instilled in people. At times, it felt as if he and his group of largely Rasta artists had aligned themselves with a higher power - not just in their reasoning sessions, but when someone stepped to the mic and opened their heart, as well as their mouth. If you recorded for Fatis, you went into the studio empty-handed - no lyrics - and put your trust in the Almighty. That was the rule and the artists who passed through Xterminator had to really feel what they were singing or deejaying about.

• Two-time Grammy Award winner and Songwriters Hall of Fame honoree Jason Mraz today announced Lalalalovesongs, a collection of Mraz's iconic love songs, including RIAA Diamond certified "Im Yours," 6x RIAA Platinum "I Won't Give Up," RIAA Platinum "Have It All," and Grammy-winning duet, "Lucky" in addition to several more hits and an as-yet-unannounced, never-before-released fan favorite as a digital bonus track. Lalalalovesongs will be available on CD, vinyl, and digitally on February 11
• "I feel so LaLaLaLucky to share these songs again on this new album,” said Mraz in a press statement. "Love has been an almost constant theme in my writing, and this record really shines on that, further amplifying the message. Big love to my listeners, and to Atlantic and Rhino for the lovely release!"
• Lalalalovesongs kicks off with Mraz’s worldwide smash "I'm Yours," which ranks as the most-streamed track of the 2000s decade (2000-2009) by a solo artist on Spotify, with nearly 1.3 billion streams, and the second most-streamed track of the decade by any artist on Spotify. Additionally, the song recently surpassed 2.5 billion global streams across all audio and video platforms. "I'm Yours" was also the first song ever to top the Triple-A, Adult Top 40, Mainstream Top 40, and Adult Contemporary Charts, charting for 76 weeks and setting a record at the time for the longest chart run in Billboard history. To celebrate these milestones, the original video of the track has been upgraded to 4K along with the debut of a new video remembrance from Mraz where he discusses the story of the song, from its inception to its gradual development from fan-favorite into a Billboard Top 10 single, and its effects on his musical career.

Recorded over the course of three years, the album features the contributions of over a dozen musicians, including Sam Doores (Hurray For the Riff Raff, The Deslondes), and Kinsey Lee (The Wild Reeds). There is a level of craftsmanship demonstrated in Thompson's songwriting that is rarely come by, as is the special
attention he gives to arrangement on these songs. Each track is its own living world, tied together by a distinctive overall aesthetic. Strings, clarinet, and steel guitar accompany a Slim Whitman-esque lullaby followed by muddy, howling, liveto- tape garage rock. Meanwhile, extravagant pop ballads are contrasted by stripped-down guitar-and-story folk. Thompson's sincere, expressive, and singular
voice threads together an odyssey of an album that makes for a familiar, strange, moving, and exciting debut.Duff Thompson is a songwriter, producer, recording engineer, and co-founder of New Orleans-based label Mashed Potato Records.

At the start of the Fifties Miles Davis' career had hit a barrier which, for a period of time, seemed insurmountable, but by mid-decade, with his substance-abuse troubles behind him, he had established himself as one of the major artists on the modern jazz scene.

'Kind Of Blue' can often be found at the very top of jazz record polls and, despite competing claims, is probably the best-selling jazz record of all time. The listener should be in no doubt that they now own some of the most essential music of the twentieth century and on gleaming blue vinyl!

SweetSexySavage, the certified gold 2017 debut album from the Bay Area-born two-time GRAMMY Award-nominated multiplatinum songstress Kehlani, is out on vinyl on November 26th.

The 17-track, full-length debut, now available as a physical vinyl, includes the hugely popular tracks “Crzy”, “Distraction” and “Keep On”. It bowed at #3 on the Billboard Top 200 and closed out the year on Pitchfork’s “The 50 Best Albums of 2017” and Rolling Stone’s “20 Best R&B Albums of 2017” before eventually going gold, accompanied by sold out dates on the SweetSexySavage World Tour.

Critically acclaimed R&B pop songstress Kehlani embodies the title of her 2017 full-length debut album, SweetSexySavage and is praised by Complex as “a special talent, making the kind of personal music that speaks to her fans as much as it functions as a therapeutic release for her”. It doesn’t really need an explanation – you know exactly what Kehlani means when she sings. Without sugarcoating or softening a word, she will drop a hard truth in one breath and flip a middle finger in the next. She may extend a seductive invitation or an empathetic plea before leaving you in your thoughts and feelings. Either way, she finds a way to consistently relate without filter and with each move she strengthens this connection to listeners everywhere.

While We Wait, the chart-topping 2019 mixtape from the Bay Area-born two-time GRAMMY Award-nominated multiplatinum songstress Kehlani, is out on vinyl on November 26th.

The 9-track mixtape, available as a physical vinyl, includes the hugely popular tracks “Nights Like These, “Nunya” and “Feels”, with appearances on the album from Ty Dolla $ign, Dom Kennedy, 6lack and Musiq Soulchild.

Critically acclaimed R&B pop songstress Kehlani is praised by Complex as “a special talent, making the kind of personal music that speaks to her fans as much as it functions as a therapeutic release for her”. It doesn’t really need an explanation – you know exactly what Kehlani means when she sings. Without sugarcoating or softening a word, she will drop a hard truth in one breath and flip a middle finger in the next. She may extend a seductive invitation or an empathetic plea before leaving you in your thoughts and feelings. Either way, she finds a way to consistently relate without filter and with each move she strengthens this connection to listeners everywhere.

Influential house and techno titan wAFF is branching out with his own new label, Nature. As well as donating a portion of profits to animal charities, the label will become a platform for music that in some ways heals us, just like nature itself. The innovative DJ and producer kicks it off with his own new three tracker, Colours.

You name it, wAFF has done it. The UK artist has headlined every major club and festival in the world, has released for labels like Cocoon, Hot Creations, Desolat and Moon Harbour Recordings and always brings his own flavours every time he steps out. It is now almost a decade since he broke through, so is the perfect time to start his own imprint.

Says wAFF, "There’s so much that’s happened over the past two years that I really wanted to create a platform of expression and creativity that would be meaningful not just for me but for everyone. I hope the label will be something that brings us back down to earth, to ground us. Nature is so important to me so I wanted something that felt like an extension of myself and what I care about so much. Nature, provides all life with what we need, nature heals us and that’s something I like to think of with this label. By providing the best quality of music for everyone, it can help with healing."

The stylish Colours is a taught, driving house track with slinky hi hats and rubbery drums. The monstrous bassline bobbles away down low and is sure to lock in any crowd. Django is another inventive groove, with lush claps and a knotted bassline that drives the track along beneath infectious percussion and silky smooth synths. Switchin is the most raw of the lot with its busy leads, razor sharp tech house drums and glitchy effects. Add in some turbocharged chords and you have a sleazy and standout banger.

These are three vital tunes that start off this label in fantastic fashion.

Big Crown Records is proud to present Piece of Me, the sophomore full length offering from Lady Wray. This is something of a homecoming for Nicole. Where her 2016 solo debut Queen Alone leaned more towards Soul and R&B with tinges of hip-hop, this record changes the mixture. It's still R&B with the textures of analog Soul, but there is a heavy Hip Hop influence that brings the sum of Nicole's career together in a new sound that will de ne her future. Boom-bap drums and chunky bass lines are front-and-center creating a perfect head-nodding backdrop for Lady Wray to take on the good, the bad, the difficult, and the joyful on her most personal collection of songs to date. The title track, "Piece of Me," which has already become a classic since it's 2019 release is about the people in your life who need more than you are willing to give. This tune and the B side of the 7" "Come On In" were the first songs put to tape for this album and they were recorded with Nicole sitting in a chair 8 months pregnant with her daughter. Her voice is so powerful, so raw, so thorough on these initial songs - it's wild to think that they were recorded this way. And even wilder to know that she knocked them all out in one take. Longtime collaborator and producer Leon Michels keeps the musical backing restrained and expertly executed, setting up Lady Wray for the full spotlight and setting the tone for the rest of the album. While the upbeat energies of "Under The Sun" and "Through It All" are sure to become hits that reconnect Lady Wray with her 90s R&B fanbase, "Where Were You" offers a behind the scenes look at what those days of stardom in her youth were really like. Nicole takes on the racial tension in America with her poetic and powerful "Beauty In The Fire" and leans heavy into her faith and church upbringing on the showstopper, "Thank You". She gushes about the profound love she's come to know for her daughter on "Melody" and celebrates life's ups and downs on "Joy & Pain". In 2021 it is rare to hear a varied yet cohesive album with no "skippers", but that is what you have here in spades. The tried and true chemistry between Lady Wray and Leon Michels has undeniably found a higher level and this album stands as a testament to conviction and dedication for all of us to enjoy and be inspired by.

Over the course of the last five years, the Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio have established themselves as the world's premier funky organ trio. The organ trio, along with founder and manager Amy Novo, continues to devise the perfect blend of raw, passionate music and engaging industry practices. Through a firm partnership with label Colemine Records, the trio has garnered Billboard charting albums, sold out shows, tens of thousands of albums sold, and millions of streams. Lofty accomplishments for an instrumental organ trio. Now, with permanent drummer Dan Weiss behind to kit, DLO3 is proud to present Cold As Weiss, their third studio album to date that finds them tighter than ever, and continuing to push funky instrumental music to a new generation of fans. For Fans of New Mastersounds, Soulive, Jimmy Smith, Khruangbin.

Maniacal Laughter quickly gives way to a non-stop onslaught of irresistible electronics and a ceaseless, pounding groove. Boom! You are embedded in Maedon’s world. Dark and futuristic, her album “Now I have Become Death” is another worthy addition to the Sonic Groove catalogue. This is music that works the body and captures the mind. It’s her 3rd release for the imprint, following up 2020’s “Escape to Berlin” and 2019’s “Against His Will” EP. Maedon crafts some very melodic jams, with refreshing song structure and storytelling trips achieved through excellent sample work and programming prowress. Make no mistake, this is fghting music. It’s blazing hard, with grueling energy, and a fair for the dramatic. Maedon likes relevant content, as tracks like “Rave-Act Never Forget” expose pathetic pledges from poser politicians who have dared to protest against the dance music scene in their past. You have been exposed Biden. The madness continues with the menacing “Destroyer of Worlds”, a massive rave jam with otherworldly synths based around the words of a certain man’s famously guilty post-atomic quote from the Hindu scripture known as the Bhagavad Gita. It’s a reminder of your sins, Oppenheimer. The selection continues to concoct clever experiments with pressure and feels at times like riding a roller coaster thru outer space “Destroy the Status Quo” with subtly pitch-shifting metallic highs and ravey tone-work captivates the mind as gravity drops jerk the body into uncontrollable motion. “Rudersdorf Trip” is a sick adventure into the darkness, with whispered vocals ‘this is what you want this what you need’ leading the charge of hypnotic, spiraling acid. “Childhood dreams” is an excellent ending to the LP, an innovative melodic charmer with nostalgic future vibes pumped up by a broken techno beat. In truth, all the tracks stand out; a solid efort from start to fnish. It serves as a lesson in production for her peers. She enjoys the process, creating a chance for all to dance away their pain. For Maedon, our ears are like trophies to collect. no one is safe.

The Madness, originally released in May 1988, is the only album recorded by Suggs, Chas Smash, Chrissy Boy and Lee Thompson of Madness. Calling themselves “The Madness”, the group explored a new direction without Mike Barson, Woody and Mark Bedford. The result was an album bathed in all the new technology the late 1980s had to offer, and features some of this incarnation of Madness’ most experimental work.

Lead vocals were shared between Suggs and Chas Smash, while all members of the group contributed music and lyrics. The album also features a host of other musicians including Steve Nieve (Elvis Costello & The Attractions) on keyboards and The Specials’ Jerry Dammers on piano.

Although short-lived, this version of Madness marked a significant detour from the original band’s trajectory and preceded one of the most extraordinary music comebacks ever witnessed, when the whole band reformed in 1992 for two sold-out “Madstock” shows in London’s Finsbury Park. The fans’ excitement led to a legendary mini-earthquake, and ‘Madstock’ would prove that no members of Madness ever truly leave the band.

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

First time vinyl issue of this 1997 Mego classic. General Magic, the duo of Ramon Bauer and Andi Pieper, who, alongside Pita, first pioneered the classic Mego sound on the Fridge Trax 12” in 1995. The following year proved to be formulative when Mego released Frantz alongside a slew of game changing releases from Farmers Manuel, Pita and Fennesz.

Originally released as MEGO 010 Frantz presented a thrilling digression from what was in vogue in music at the time. This was the advent of portable computing and the Vienna based label was at the forefront of harnessing the potential of audio within this new technology.

At once smart and playful these releases reconfigured once disparate genres such as industrial, techno, glitch and the avant garde, folding them into a bright, audacious and euphoric new system of sound. The music on Frantz (named after the Austrian skier, Franz Klammer) still pushes the boundaries of acceptable audio constructions with it’s startling fried electricity and twisted sensibility. The sense of joy in the audio discovery is palatable as techno laced explorations unfold a variety of unexpected and unprecedented sonic manoeuvres.

Tyrell launches proceedings as schizophrenic stuttering handclaps simultaneously slice into pieces as it propels forward. The bending of the brain is on display with the likes of ‘Obvious’ and ‘Close, But Not Quien’. Temko skewers digital debris in which a ghost melody comes to the fore. Brazen rhythms mobilize the tracks ‘No Ketting’ and ‘Bonden’ whilst the Official GM Ski-WM Theme is a short stab of priceless pop wizardry skittering about a strange exhilarating melody in homage to the finest of winter activities.

This reissue also includes ‘Die Mondlandung’ which was released as a 12” in 1995 (MEGO 002), and has never been released anywhere, physical or digital, since. This track is based on the live German TV coverage of the moon landing. An apt theme for the abundance of exploration contained within this classic release.

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About Frantz ... and Peter (by Ramon Bauer & Andi Pieper, November 2021):

Listening to the test pressings of the remastered Frantz album for the first time on vinyl, 25 years after the original release on the then still young Mego label in 1997, felt like uncovering an ancient artefact. In those exciting days during the mid-1990s, together with the late Peter Rehberg, we founded a label called Mego to further explore the wonders of electronic music. And that is what we did for the next 10 years until everything became too much with the label in somewhat rough waters. So we dropped out of music business and pursued different things. It was Peter who continued producing and releasing music with the restarted label, now called Editions Mego. Until his unexpected death in July 2021, he developed Editions Mego into the grown-up and much acclaimed outfit for which it is known today. We will forever miss Peter’s inspiring personality and his uncompromising creativity. His legacy will live on in his music and in the vast and rich Mego and eMego catalogues. We are humbled and proud to have played a role in those formative years of the label.

Peter approached us in October 2020 with the idea to do a vinyl reissue of Frantz, just in time for the 25 year anniversary of its release. That came as a complete surprise for us, General Magic had not released any music or performed live for over 15 years. Anyway, we were delighted with the prospect of having that General Magic "classic" remastered (by the exceptional Russell Haswell) and released for the first time on vinyl on Editions Mego.

Frantz is a collection of tracks that we produced in 1995 and 1996 right after recording “Fridge Trax” (with Peter) and “Die Mondlandung” (which comes as a bonus track on this reissue). At that time, we started to migrate our analogue gear to 64 MB RAM computers and used almost every other digital thing that yielded a sound by any means. We even deliberately crashed our then so-called "Powerbooks" and scratched self-produced CD-Rs until they produced previously unheard sounds. Real time audio processing with computers was barely a thing back then (before SuperCollider was released), but cheerful massaging of sound files yielded interesting results and the future looked bright. Listening to Frantz today, with decades of distance, there are some parts that might appear dated by modern standards, but the energy and the general magic of that period is well captured.

All Frantz tracks were produced in Andi's studio in Berlin and at Mego Vienna. The Mego studio/office was a vivid place located in an old factory on the outskirts of Vienna. We shared the place with Tina Frank, who created most of the early Mego covers and videos. Other artists, musicians and friends were hanging out there almost every day. Many ideas on Frantz are a product of that particular environment. “Mimi”, for example, is based on a field recording in the backyard of the factory, where we also shot the video for “Tyrell”. “11.25” contains sounds from the Prague train station we regularly passed through on the night train travelling between Vienna and Berlin. Other sounds were sourced from the early internet and mangled on the computer, carefully preserving those early audio codec artefacts. While working on the Frantz tracks at the Mego Vienna studio, Peter was usually around, as he was literally working and living there. And so, of course, he also made an impact on that album: It might not be widely known but Peter even appeared on Frantz contributing his voice to the choir on “The Official Ski WM Theme”.

Let there be Frantz!

Words have a force of their own: a life generated by their meaning and by the imaginary world they refer to; a power increased by the dynamic interplay with other words. Just put 'Moon' and 'Apollo' together, and you'll be almost inevitably transported to mankind's greatest adventure: the Moon landing and, before that, the space race between the US and USSR, the early missions, and the incredible technological challenges faced at the time by astronauts and engineers.

It is against this imaginative background that beat-maker and bass player Moonbrew and organist and keyboardist Paolo Apollo Negri conceived The LEM Tales project. Their collaboration, too, is the coming together of 'Moon' and 'Apollo', and of their two worlds: a sonic universe where hip hop meets funk, pop merges with jazz, old school interacts with new possibilities, and urban and space blend into something new.

The LEM Tales - Chapter One narrates the space race from the American point of view. This vinyl edition, which includes two exclusive tracks (*) not on the digital release, takes us on a journey from "Project Gemini" - NASA's second human spaceflight program - to "Tranquillity Base" (*) (the site on the Moon where Armstrong and Aldrin landed and walked in July 1969) , through tracks titled "Capsule Communicator" (the individual in the mission control center who maintained communication with the astronauts in space), "EMU" (Extravehicular Mobility Unit, better known as the spacesuit), "Saturn V" (a threestage, liquid-fuelled rocket used between 1967 and 1973), and "Mercury Seven" (*) (the group of seven astronauts chosen for the Mercury Program in 1959).

Inspired by iconic images that are part of our collective visual memory, Moonbrew and Apollo's first collaborative effort tries to provide a contemporary sonic representation of what the past means to us today – and, perhaps, will mean to future generations. It does so through a feast of vintage synthesizers, transistor and tonewheel organs, string machines, electric pianos, tube amplifiers, obscure analogue devices, electric bass, and modern samplers.

An old-school hip hop approach was used in the first stages of writing the album: individual drums hits from old, dusty records were first sampled and then physically played on real instruments to create patterns and build up the rhythm section. Moonbrew then laid down the electric bass grooves and Apollo layered his dreamy, evocative vintage keyboards on top. The result is a combination of different styles, sounds and genres that is fresh, original and contemporary while being clearly influenced by many musical legends of the past.

The LEM Tales - Chapter One is released by Four Flies in partnership with Record Kicks.

AD 93 presents the new album from Polish composer Wojciech Rusin. Syphon is the second instalment of an ‘alchemical’ trilogy which started with The Funnel on Akashic records. The record consists of speculative medieval and renaissance music, imagined composed in the future, where it is reconstructed from the ashes of the past, via incomplete fragments.

"In a future where the old semantic systems don't apply anymore, what we are left with is some kind of delirium."

The album features 3D printed instruments, multilayered bagpipe chanters, double recorders and other hybrids. With additional voices of soprano Eden Girma and Emmy Broughton.

Artwork by Wojciech Rusin and Nicola Tirabasso. Mastered by Rupert Clervaux.

The Ethiopians were one of Jamaica’s most popular bands during the late ska, rocksteady and early reggae periods. The much loved harmony group began working with the legendary producer Carl ‘Sir J.J.’ Johnson after a series of successful ska and rocksteady hits. This collaboration resulted in some of the biggest reggae hits of the late Sixties and early Seventies. Most notable hits were “Everything Crash”, “What A Fire”, “Feel The Spirit”, “Hong Kong Flu” and “Woman Capture Man”, which are all included on their 1969 debut album Reggae Power. The album cover features a photo of future Carry On Girls-actress Pauline Peart.

In the years between 2018’s BAMBI and LP3, Minneapolis’ Hippo Campus -- made up of vocalist/guitarists Jake Luppen and Nathan Stocker, drummer Whistler Allen, bassist Zach Sutton, and trumpeter DeCarlo Jackson -- has grown up and into itself. Although the five-piece has been friends since middle school and put out a number of studio releases since its inception, it’s the new record, LP3, that’s the most honest portrait of who Hippo Campus is. It’s also a study in the nuances of growing up -- coming to terms with mortality, the confusing journey of sexuality, bottoming out, seeing decisions from the night before in the harsh morning light; finding your identity as a person and as an artist -- how that can be a collision of elation and shame, painful and joyful all at once. LP3 marks a sort of ego death -- and ultimately feeling okay with that. So much of LP3 was written in the chasm between grappling with the value of your own art and the larger, chaotic context of the world. It traverses the end of relationships, of careers, and the chance of meeting yourself as a brand new person. If you take the signifier of “musician” away, what does it mean? And how do you expand your identity outside of work? Here, it’s something the band works through. And, in the end, it happens with the same ride-or-die crew at your back to hold you down -- or up -- the entire time. Over the last few years, the Hippo universe has expanded outward. Luppen and Stocker both put out solo records as Lupin and Brotherkenzie respectively, and the two also teamed up with Caleb Hinz to put out the debut Baby Boys record while DeCarlo Jackson founded, and collaborated with multiple bands around the Twin Cities, including DNM, Arlo, and FPA. Navigating solo projects and new dynamics and the spotlight alone is humbling, bringing up new insecurities and defense mechanisms. It was challenging in its own way to branch outside of Hippo -- and it made the eventual return to the project feel like coming home. “With LP3, Hippo felt like a very safe space to express those things because you have your best friends around you, rallying behind you,” Luppen says. “And each person could chime in with their own experience. I felt like it was a very safe space to be earnest.” Here, Hippo Campus killed what they knew and started again.

In the years between 2018’s BAMBI and LP3, Minneapolis’ Hippo Campus -- made up of vocalist/guitarists Jake Luppen and Nathan Stocker, drummer Whistler Allen, bassist Zach Sutton, and trumpeter DeCarlo Jackson -- has grown up and into itself. Although the five-piece has been friends since middle school and put out a number of studio releases since its inception, it’s the new record, LP3, that’s the most honest portrait of who Hippo Campus is. It’s also a study in the nuances of growing up -- coming to terms with mortality, the confusing journey of sexuality, bottoming out, seeing decisions from the night before in the harsh morning light; finding your identity as a person and as an artist -- how that can be a collision of elation and shame, painful and joyful all at once. LP3 marks a sort of ego death -- and ultimately feeling okay with that. So much of LP3 was written in the chasm between grappling with the value of your own art and the larger, chaotic context of the world. It traverses the end of relationships, of careers, and the chance of meeting yourself as a brand new person. If you take the signifier of “musician” away, what does it mean? And how do you expand your identity outside of work? Here, it’s something the band works through. And, in the end, it happens with the same ride-or-die crew at your back to hold you down -- or up -- the entire time. Over the last few years, the Hippo universe has expanded outward. Luppen and Stocker both put out solo records as Lupin and Brotherkenzie respectively, and the two also teamed up with Caleb Hinz to put out the debut Baby Boys record while DeCarlo Jackson founded, and collaborated with multiple bands around the Twin Cities, including DNM, Arlo, and FPA. Navigating solo projects and new dynamics and the spotlight alone is humbling, bringing up new insecurities and defense mechanisms. It was challenging in its own way to branch outside of Hippo -- and it made the eventual return to the project feel like coming home. “With LP3, Hippo felt like a very safe space to express those things because you have your best friends around you, rallying behind you,” Luppen says. “And each person could chime in with their own experience. I felt like it was a very safe space to be earnest.” Here, Hippo Campus killed what they knew and started again.

Lake Havasu is a community of winding hillside roads, launched in the 1960s alongside a brick-for-brick rebuild of the original London Bridge. “It’s this very synthetic, gimmicky place set in this soulful, desolate landscape,” laughs Pedro the Lion’s David Bazan, who moved to the Arizona city for one year in seventh grade. Bazan collected his earliest childhood experiences for 2019’s Phoenix, the prolific artist’s celebrated return to the Pedro moniker and the first in a planned series of five records chronicling his past homes. To write its sequel, Bazan traveled to Havasu four times over several years, driving past his junior high campus, a magical skating rink, and other nostalgic locations that evoked feelings long suppressed. “An intersection I hadn’t remembered for 30 years would trigger a flood of hidden memories,” he says. “I was there to soak in it as much as possible.” Driving the inscrutable loops of Havasu’s lakeside, Bazan listened through an audiobook of Tom Petty’s biography, eventually dialoguing with Petty’s voice in his mind. A revelation from the book—that Petty subconsciously wrote the song “Wildflowers” as an act of kindness toward himself—inspired Bazan to approach his own work with radical generosity toward his young self. “I wanted to be there for that kid,” he offers. “That twelve year old still needs parenting, and still needs to process.” To revisit his past with openness, Bazan modified harmful work habits he’d accepted as necessary. That meant doing away with deadlines, and accumulating moments of play as he felt moved to—“Rather than squeezing stones every single time. I’m on a slow journey away from that,” he clarifies. As he worked through the music that became Havasu, flexibility and curiosity informed the arrangements. Bazan began writing on a simple synthesizer and drum machine setup. He detoured to a more elaborate assortment of analog electronic equipment, then woodshed his original two-handed keyboard arrangements on fingerpicked acoustic guitar. Concurrently relearning his catalog for a weekly series of livestream concerts also renewed his gratitude toward songwriting. “I was trying to evaluate what I have to show for 20 years of kicking my own ass,” Bazan quips about the strenuousness of full-time touring. “But the garden of my songs is what I’ve been building. It doesn’t have to be an ego test.”

Summer at Land’s End is not an interlude or tangent for The Reds, Pinks & Purples but rather a perfect fourth movement following the albums Anxiety Art, You Might Be Happy Someday, and Uncommon Weather. As with these self-recorded records (the primary work of songwriter Glenn Donaldson), the songs on Summer at Land’s End were crafted slowly and then drawn together to make a unified statement. But here, and more than before, Summer at Land’s End combines Donaldson’s rueful pop sensibility with a parallel musical universe, one composed of pictures, dreams, and feelings without words. Even if the underlying theme of this collection is one of conflict or unhappiness, the vision of the music presents an escape to a new world, always fading in and out of sight.

For listeners who may not be familiar with Donaldson’s corner of San Francisco––the Richmond district––or the current wave of hazy, melodic DIY pop groups performing in the city, Summer at Land’s End pulls in images and scenes that feel like a collision of the mundane and the sublime of this present landscape. But settings such as these are the backdrop for personal narratives, expressed as a struggle with love, with companionship and the conflicts of home. With this record, The Reds, Pinks & Purples give less focus to the vanities of a subculture and more to the challenge of connecting with someone, to the ordinary goals of being human and finding harmony with others.

This deliberate saturation in drama and ambiance, along with some of Donaldson’s best songwriting to date, is what gives Summer at Land’s End its special class in the project’s discography. Of the album’s cinematic mood, Donaldson refers to films like Summer of ‘42 and the influence of the classic 4AD catalogue of the 1990s. This style informs much of Donaldson’s prior and current ventures of course (The Ivytree, Vacant Gardens, and a dozen projects in between) but now The Reds, Pinks & Purples have taken the mantle, embracing this instinct for instrumental or dreamier modes of pop songwriting. It’s a pleasure to experience Summer at Land’s End, as this record finds a thrilling balance between songs and sounds, instruments and voices, and the ironic twin poles of art and life.

Ellise is a singer, songwriter, and producer based in Los Angeles. Born and raised in the Bay Area, Ellise grew up on her dad’s classic rock and her Iranian mom’s traditional Arabic music while her own taste skewed poppier, influenced by the sounds and sights of the Y2K era. After graduating high school early to pursue music full time, she moved to Los Angeles, where she spent several years honing her craft in the studio before beginning to work in earnest on her debut album, Chaotic, alongside regular collaborator Micah Gordon.

Written almost entirely by Ellise herself, the record has a distinctive point of view wrapped in some of pop’s sleekest and most thrilling sounds, inspired by the music she’s surrounded herself with over the past two years (think Ariana Grande, Lorde, Dominic Fike, Lana Del Ray, Amy Winehouse, and Fat Joe). Standout songs like “Bubblegum Brain,” “Princess,” and “Zipper Lips!” present Ellise’s blueprint as both expertly produced pop and highly intelligent ruminations on love, loss, and what it’s like to feel flawed in a world that often demands perfection. Chaotic is certainly a product of a confident young artist steeped in pop’s richest stock, but also a singer and songwriter whose clear-cut vision is imprinted on each of the album’s songs.

Fronted by brothers Peter O'Doherty and Reg Mombassa, Dog Trumpet have been playing, writing and recording their music since the
early 90s. Reg and Pete were founding members of iconic Australian band Mental As Anything, who hit the charts around the world
with “Live It Up”. The band made a mark with their left field mix of music, art, video and humour and leading eventually to ARIA
awards and induction into the Hall of Fame in 2009.

Recorded and produced by Peter at home in his 'South Road' studio, the brothers have created an inventive and original body of work
distinguished by an eccentric and offbeat harmonic warmth and melodic drive propelled by Reg's distinctive slide guitar and Peter's
elegant acoustic guitar and mandolin. Their poetic, yet at times absurdist lyrics are set against a sonic backdrop that could loosely be
described as a meld of rock and roll, psychedelic folk, country and semi-abstract blues.

Released in 2013, double album “Medicated Spirits” was their sixth album, and features “Speed Of Light”, “Made In the World”,
“Bored Wife” and “Ray Davies And The Kinks”.

Berlin-based violinist Daniel Hope’s latest album takes a deep dive into the rich repertoire of American music, exploring its roots and distinctive qualities. “We know a piece is from America the moment we hear it,” says Hope. “But what makes music sound American?” Daniel Hope – America provides some answers, presenting works by composers as diverse as Leonard Bernstein, Sam Cooke, Aaron Copland, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Florence Price, Samuel A. Ward and Kurt Weill in outstanding new classical and jazz arrangements by Paul Bateman for solo violin in different combinations, with vocals, piano, jazz trio, string/chamber orchestra and percussion.

Entitled "The Body Remembers", this 14 song collection is a well rounded
combination of dance/pop, pop/rock, and ballads including a re-imagined version
of her mega-hit 'Lost In Your Eyes' with Joey McIntyre.
Her musical contributors on this new release range from Grammy award winning
DJ Tracy Young, to Emmy Award winning composer/ producer/ Cinderella
drummer Fred Coury, Former Guns n Roses guitarist DJ Ashba and, iconic mixers
Josh Gudwin and Brian Malouf. This album marks the debut of 19 year old
musical prodigy Sean Thomas. This recent Berkley graduate is Debbie's
producing partner on the majority of songs.

It was obvious from the first riff on the first song from their very first album: MASS WORSHIP were born fully-fledged, utterly unique and magnificently destructive. Emerging from Scandinavian shadows like an unstoppable, shape-shifting bulldozer, they have swiftly become one of the most praised and talked-about bands in the metal underground. Despite spending a big part of 2020-2021 locked inside, writing and recording new material, MASS WORSHIP did complete a highly successful tour in support of Polish death metal legends Vader. Meanwhile, MASS WORSHIP are primed and ready to unleash their second full-length assault. Due for release in 2022, “Portal Tombs” is a terrifying but electrifying exploration of the gloomy depths of human nature: a monolithic manifestation of the musical force that is MASS WORSHIP. Drawing inspiration from bands such as At The Gates, Mastodon and Meshuggah, MASS WORSHIP could be likened to many bands, but somehow forge their musical identity into something exceptionally distinctive and transcendent, and with enough confidence and conviction to win over even the most orthodox fans of the genre. “Portal Tombs” will once again proclaim MASS WORSHIP’s one-of-a-kind potency with maximum force. A triumph for both style and substance, “Portal Tombs” is the kind of metal record that shatters epochs, audaciously redefining what it means to be heavy. MASS WORSHIP continue to lead the charge for individuality and verve, while still delivering a never-ending tsunami of life-affirming, spine-shattering riffs. Lyrically, too, “Portal Tombs” takes the path less trodden, exploring the dark recesses of humanity’s past, its present and, darkest of all, its future. As we spiral towards an abyss of our own making, MASS WORSHIP’s soundtrack will resonate loudest of all. “Portal Tombs” is available as: Ltd. CD Digipak, Gatefold LP, Digital Album