Suche:sounds of bl

Always on the hunt for the freshest, most diseased sounds in death metal, BLOOD HARVEST RECORDS is proud to present CADAVERIC FUMES' debut mini-album, Dimensions Obscure. With their split mini-album with Demonic Oath in 2014, CADAVERIC FUMES showed that a French death metal uprising was at hand, and now with Dimensions Obscure, they make good on that bountiful potential. Compared to their earlier work on that split and the preceding demo, here on Dimensions Obscure, CADAVERIC FUMES forego the all-manic/all-the-time morbidity for a highly dynamic and nuanced take on death metal. Granted, flashes of mid '80s insanity and early '90s darkness remain, but a cool confidence is at play here, each passage measured to inflict both maximum cranial damage and spiritual atmosphere. These songs exude a patience and maturity most death metal bands take many albums to accomplish, if at all, and all without compromising the core values of total and utter DEATH METAL. Putting the finishing touch on a swift 'n' compact totality, the production across Dimensions Obscure is as warm and live as it gets, but not once is an ounce of clarity sacrificed. Hear the beginning of something masterful and enter Dimensions Obscure...

On July 1st Ploy's ascendance continues with 'Unit 18' – a new EP dedicated to his record label and club night Deaf Test's spiritual home – Venue MOT Unit 18 in Bermondsey, South London. With an already loyal following and fabled atmosphere, the parties inform Ploy's productions and vice versa. "These are three rave tracks, all influenced by sound system culture, with my take on different styles, made for various times of the early hours in our sweaty venue", he comments. Maintaining the floor-focused approach of his previous, acclaimed 'Rayhana' EP, here Ploy brings more organized chaos. Sound waves blast away cobwebs with gale-force power, and jolt you awake, like an intravenous shot from the mains. These forthright, no-nonsense workouts appear simple, but are incredibly well-made, revealing discreetly clever touches likely to provoke 'how did he do that?’ scrutiny from other producers. With ten-ton-kick-drum pressure, snares like booted dustbins and an intense build of energy, on 'Stinky' a soundclash turns into a back alley brawl... with lazers. Influenced by drill bass lines, UK bass music and soundsystem culture, the 'stink and perspiration’ lyric will be surely be apt, especially with a July release date. Imagine the scene: whilst a deranged, malfunctioning robot MC yaps and undulates, vampires chase their victim through a packed rave, before feasting on flesh. Ravey and riotous, with horror flick tropes and a touch of electro, the 138bpm wallop of 'Ninety One' is an ode to his year of birth, when magpie like, sample heavy tracks made for innocent, non-overthought, but compelling anthems. Grimey like the dance after which it's named, title track ‘Unit 18’ is a 155bpm half-time stomper, with nods to bounce, 00s hip hop, UK drill and dubstep. Combining flying congas, wookie moans and a classic DMZ stye flute line, this low slung, personality filled throbber will stand out and turn heads.

Newly minted Berlin label Bulging Discs begins with a bang, with their first physical release from Novocastrian turned Berliner Okayokayokay. On the Zonts, is an introspective journey through a blend of nostalgic sounds from breakbeat, electro, garage, house and trance. While contrasting these eclectic and disparate influences via unexpected twists and turns, Okayokayokay uses these reference points to create something distinctly futuristic.

First Ever LIVE Release! “Even 33 plus years later, it hasn’t lost any of its charm, intensity, or unvarnished power.” – American Songwriter “Vocalist/rhythm guitarist Dan Baird and lead man Rick Richards let the slippery riffs fly.” – Vintage Guitar Magazine “You can really hear the bar-band roots of this band listening to this show . . . There’s a real magic to the chemistry they all had as a group.” – Ultimate Classic Rock “. . . the live album sounds wonderful and captures their exciting show nicely.” – Goldmine “. . . offers fans a chance to travel back through time and experience a singular night of all-out rock and roll as only the Georgia Satellites could provide. The title of the album is absolutely accurate.” – Exclusive Magazine “. . . captures the the sweaty excitement and spontaneity . . . of that special night 33 years ago.” – The Music Universe In 1988, the Georgia Satellites rolled into Cleveland, Ohio for a blistering Monday night at local watering hole Peabody’s, formerly the punk haven Pirates Cove. With Open All Night giving the band a second album to draw on, their salty, wide-open Chuck Berry riff’n’roll was full swagger – whether drawing on their reprise of the Swinging Blue Jeans’ “Hippy Hippy Shake” from the Tom Cruise film “Cocktail,”Joe South’s swerving “Games People Play,” George Jones’ “White Lightnin’”or Jerry Lee Lewis’ all-out “Whole Lotta Shakin’.” Just as importantly, gap-toothed guitarist/lead singer Dan Baird and combustive lead guitarist Rick Richards set the pummeling groove of drummer Mauro Magellan and bassist Rick Price ablaze. Delivering an 18-song masterclass in roots, rock and raunch, the Satellites not only incinerated “Battleship Chains,” “Railroad Steel” and “Can’t Stand The Pain,” they led the beyond SRO crowd through a shout-along of “Keep Your Hands To Yourself” threaded with a brazen stripper grind on the Rolling Stones’ “It’s Only Rock & Roll.” Fans of reverb, thrashing drums, the rush of rock & roll momentum and all manners of electric guitars giving it over to basic 3 chord rock & roll, Lightin’ in a Bottle retires the jersey. As the southern equivalent of the Replacements, the Ramones hillbilly (redneck) little brothers, no band delivered as much balls as the Satellites, who’ve never had an official live record. For a band who leaves it all onstage, that seems wrong. Leave it to Cleveland International to unearth this blistering recording, wipe off the sweat and somehow figure out how to get it all in one double disc package captured in the Rock & Roll Capital of the World. -Holly Gleason

First Ever LIVE Release! “Even 33 plus years later, it hasn’t lost any of its charm, intensity, or unvarnished power.” – American Songwriter “Vocalist/rhythm guitarist Dan Baird and lead man Rick Richards let the slippery riffs fly.” – Vintage Guitar Magazine “You can really hear the bar-band roots of this band listening to this show . . . There’s a real magic to the chemistry they all had as a group.” – Ultimate Classic Rock “. . . the live album sounds wonderful and captures their exciting show nicely.” – Goldmine “. . . offers fans a chance to travel back through time and experience a singular night of all-out rock and roll as only the Georgia Satellites could provide. The title of the album is absolutely accurate.” – Exclusive Magazine “. . . captures the the sweaty excitement and spontaneity . . . of that special night 33 years ago.” – The Music Universe In 1988, the Georgia Satellites rolled into Cleveland, Ohio for a blistering Monday night at local watering hole Peabody’s, formerly the punk haven Pirates Cove. With Open All Night giving the band a second album to draw on, their salty, wide-open Chuck Berry riff’n’roll was full swagger – whether drawing on their reprise of the Swinging Blue Jeans’ “Hippy Hippy Shake” from the Tom Cruise film “Cocktail,”Joe South’s swerving “Games People Play,” George Jones’ “White Lightnin’”or Jerry Lee Lewis’ all-out “Whole Lotta Shakin’.” Just as importantly, gap-toothed guitarist/lead singer Dan Baird and combustive lead guitarist Rick Richards set the pummeling groove of drummer Mauro Magellan and bassist Rick Price ablaze. Delivering an 18-song masterclass in roots, rock and raunch, the Satellites not only incinerated “Battleship Chains,” “Railroad Steel” and “Can’t Stand The Pain,” they led the beyond SRO crowd through a shout-along of “Keep Your Hands To Yourself” threaded with a brazen stripper grind on the Rolling Stones’ “It’s Only Rock & Roll.” Fans of reverb, thrashing drums, the rush of rock & roll momentum and all manners of electric guitars giving it over to basic 3 chord rock & roll, Lightin’ in a Bottle retires the jersey. As the southern equivalent of the Replacements, the Ramones hillbilly (redneck) little brothers, no band delivered as much balls as the Satellites, who’ve never had an official live record. For a band who leaves it all onstage, that seems wrong. Leave it to Cleveland International to unearth this blistering recording, wipe off the sweat and somehow figure out how to get it all in one double disc package captured in the Rock & Roll Capital of the World. -Holly Gleason

Clear vinyl LP edition of 500 copies. Vacant Gardens is Glenn Donaldson (of The Reds, Pinks and Purples and a hundred others) and Jem Fanvu, collaborating on music and with the latter responsible for vocals and lyrics. The project began with the idea of combining heavy fuzz and slow-mo drum machine beats with Fanvu's gentle almost trad-folk style vocals. Almost all of Donaldson's otherworldly sounds are achieved through layers of guitar fuzz and copious delay, while Fanvu offers an ideal counterpoint, taking the listener on a celestial melancholy trip with her opaque poetry and melodies. So inspired were the duo by this blend of styles, they immediately recorded at least two albums of material, Under the Bloom and Obscene, released in quick succession in 2020 and 2021 in swiftly-disappearing micro editions on the secretive Tall Texan label. With those records close-to-impossible to find at an affordable price, Tough Love are now reissuing both LPs. From Reds Pinks and Purples' Glenn Donaldson, Vacant Gardens is an interstellar recording project that combines celestial, shimmering guitar on the verge of breaking like a massive, emotive wave and an ethereal vocal style from Jem Fanvu (visual artist, Minor Ghost Band also, plus collaborating with Tune-Yards, Cavity Fangs and many more) recalling Hope Sandoval or Liz Fraser that sails in its wake. Simply put, this is some of biggest, heart-tugging guitar music you'll hear in recent times. Sold out at once debut Under The Bloom, is followed now a continuation and development of the group's sound on Obscene: a frayed tapestry of Slowdiving, Flying Saucer Attack guitar noise wall married with an angelic vocal from Fanvu that glitters in counterpoint to the stringed distortion like Hope Sandoval or, in the way it shines bright in the fog, like Jonsi's surfing the surging waves of emotion in early Sigur Ros. Originally released in February on digital formats, Obscene gets a vinyl press and is sounding massive. Vacant Gardens' music suggests oceanic feelings, a hazy intergalactic consicousness that burbles beneath the surface of everything while also touching the visceral points in the human heart that makes groups like Galaxie 500, Yo La Tengo so timeless.

Relentless techno powerhouses Octave One stride in 2022 with a brand new release that re-affirms their status across two essential tracks. 2021 was another busy year for the Burden Brothers, who re-introduced the world to their Never On Sunday alias. The project first started in the 90s as an outlet for deeper, more introspective sounds and was fittingly brought back last year to great acclaim. The Detroit duo’s Locus of Control series also hit volume number three and the iconic Octave One live show continued to light up clubs everywhere from Barcelona, Paris and Geneva to LA and New York. Despite that, they still had time to cook up more of their famously soulful techno in the studio, the first two tracks of which are presented here.Opener ‘The Blue Drift’ surges ahead on waves of rattling metallic synths. Well swung claps bring that irresistible sense of groove, while twisted melodies add raw dynamics. Add in the heavy underlying bass and you have a classic Octave One track that is both physical yet emotional. On the flip side is ‘It-Just-Is’ a powerful statement of intent. It’s a stripped back track where house and techno meet - there is a seductive slide to the drums and potency in the turbulent synths which bring the energy. The melody is melancholic and as the emotive pads ring out they lodge deep in your brain to make for another standout cut. This vital new release proves Octave One remains right at the forefront of underground music more than 30 years after they started out.

100 copies only

Apron Records has been instrumental in shaping the current landscape of contemporary electronic music coming out of the U.K. since 2014. After almost a decade of pushing their unique vision has made the Apron Records imprint one of the most in-demand labels in most independent record stores. Now more than 45 releases deep in their journey, Apron Records have teamed up with Patta Soundsystem to work on their first various artists release and to celebrate this monumental milestone, both camps have collaborated to create a clothing capsule to accompany this release. After working with the artist formerly known as Funkineven on ‘The Wave’ late last year, it was only right to showcase the diverse talents behind this movement.

Sharing a drawing board with Patta for the first time with Apron Records, together they have created a Trucker Cap and a Graphic T-Shirt that echo the racing theme of the whole project. Better Together is the slogan that runs throughout the entire collaboration, stressing how unity makes us stronger as individuals. Artwork for the record has been provided by Amsterdam based artist Jim Klok. His unique Acetone printing technique has now been immortalised on this LP, juxtaposing vintage cars with checkered racing flags to create a dynamic cover that would be right at home in a picture frame as well as a record bin.

System Olympia’s ‘Passi Mai’ is a beautiful 80’s inspired driving riddim layered with her own vocals that wouldn’t be out of place in an arcade or a sticky nightclub floor. Followed up by ‘Leven’ by Brassfoot, we get a wobbler from the NTS regular. Layed with Jamaican vocal samples and audacious arpeggiated bleeps, Leven is a soulful approach to techno tropes that have been bouncing around Brassfoot’s head. Shamos’ 737363 is a cryptic masterpiece. With dreamy pads as a backdrop for shuffling drum beats, euphoric sweeps and dynamically designed synthesis, this closes off the themes explored in the first half of the record.

Side B kicks off with J M S Khosah’s contribution to the record titled ‘Lessons’ which is a dancefloor filler, adorned with glamorous percussion, vocal samples and syncopated stabs ontop of a driving 4x4 kick pattern. Kicking things into 6th gear is a club-ready production from London's most soulful selector Shy One. Groovy basslines and a 2-step riddim make ‘Candy Floss’ an ode to the grimey and the glittery sides of London nightlife. This project champions one of the people that have been pivotal in the success of the label, Steven Julien whose track E46 is an emotional journey through his synth-laden East London studio. Bookending the project are two compositions from Compton’s-own AshTreJinkins. Showcasing his abilities to approach the project from both an ambient and a pure beat-making perspective in order to hold the whole project together.

Two years after his Debut EP Bloodline OTN 01, Umo returns to OpenTheNext with another 5 #neodancefloor killer tracks.

The sound of Umo is the result of almost two decades of studying frequencies, vibrations, sequences of movements, plants and ascetic substances, seeking to recover the Music & Dance´s sacred and transcendental vision to ascend and sustain higher states of consciousness.

His new EP is a slow motion rework of the Raves in the 90s´ original sounds & vibrations. Traveling to a time when the dancefloors were true places of healing , authentic liturgies where people danced in community for days with eyes closed – before the internet, smartphones and globalization would corrupt everything.

#slowravers is a sonic journey that encourages conscious breathing and movement, and allows you to empty, dilute and connect in perfect resonance with the void that binds everything together.

Moxie’s On Loop label is back with a new release from Eternal Ocean label founder Ronan. The new EP, Interdependence, follows on from his highly acclaimed debut album ‘Reflections On Intrinsic Value’ and further contributions to labels such as Pressure Dome, Vanity Press and Jungle Gym.

Ronan’s productions are described as ‘aquatic sounds for healing’ and this release for On Loop is no different. Very much driven by percussion, the EP opens with a trippy dub-infused ‘Suderoso’, whilst the second track ‘Interdependence’ showcases a more emotional driven production, filled with blissful, ethereal pads and hypnotic vocal samples. It’s a moment of reflection before picking things up again on ‘Geodesis’ where excitable drum patterns lead the way, bringing you to the centre of the dancefloor. ‘Morning Glory’ rounds off the EP in glistening style - the perfect sunrise anthem.

Deciding to take a brief hiatus after the 2020 release of Moxie Presents Vol. 5, On Loop made its return at the end of last year with the stunning release of Matisa’s ‘Peace Building’ EP. Back for good, the label has now evolved into a new era, signifying the start of this chapter with the the brilliant On Loop 001 compilation earlier this year. The release showcased Moxie’s global impact, enlisting new tracks from the likes of Eris Drew, Nicola Cruz, Space Ghost, Olive T, Nachtbreaker and more.

Born Don McCarlos,he processes one of reggae's most distinctive voices.
His vocal mannerisms being instantly recognisable over a tune ,yet he remains one of Jamaica's best kept secrets.
We look back to some of his finest moments that set the tone for his popularity that was to follow in the Dancehall period of Reggae.
He began his musical career in 1973,when alongside Garth Dennis and Derrick Ducky Simpson he formed one of Reggaes foremost groups Black Uhuru.
He then joined Wailing Souls before going solo under his shorter name Don Carlos
We find this set hard to beat as most of his classis are represented here and hope you find some magic as we have unearthing and compiling these lost treasures...Respect

Lee X-plode is one of our artists from Vinyl Fanatiks who released an EP back in 1992 that was HUGE! Over the years this self-funded white label grew in popularity, with copies fetching over £200. He joined the family in 2020 when we re-released this monster, selling out instantly.

Lee is back on the hardcore hustle once again, bringing his 3rd EP onto Amen Brother, this time incorporating a more melodic piano vibe into his raw to the core 91 hardcore sounds. You will find yourself raising your hands in the breakdowns before going straight into the pumping 4/4 breakbeat roll outs. Music to move to!

It's hard to believe it's taken this long for a proper retrospective of legendary Los Angeles collective CVE. "We Represent Billions" is a crucial portrait of one of the West Coast's most low-key influential crews - a hydra-like collective of rappers, producers, designers and engineers who were key members of the Good Life Cafe's open mic scene, going on to inspire artists like Jurassic 5, Kendrick Lamar amongst many other. Initially called Chillin Villain Posse before morphing into Chillin Villain Empire in the late 1980s, they eventually centered around the core trio of Riddlore, NgaFsh and Tray-Loc. The crew were years ahead of their time, self-producing music without samples and pioneering a stream of consciousness lyrics that still sound fresh and innovative. CVE were self-sufficient and motivated from the beginning, named "Chillin Villains" because that's how they were perceived by white America. This social motivation was channeled into their groundbreaking performances at Good Life Cafe, the South Central session that evolved into Project Blowed and later on came to influence LA club night 'Low End Theory'. It was chronicled by Ava Duvernay, herself an MC in short-lived duo Figures of Speech, in her "This is the Life" documentary, where she interviewed CVE alongside Jurassic 5, Freestyle Fellowship, Abstract Rude and Busdriver. On "We Represent Billions", we're treated to a snapshot of the CVE sound from 1993-2003, their most prolific era. The retrospective collects music from the handful of albums the crew released on their own Afterlife Recordz label (mostly as limited edition CD-R's) plus many previously unreleased tracks and highlights their untethered eccentric creativity and sheer breadth of influence. Whether twisting twitchy West Coast electro on 'All Over Da Globe' or free associating over horror synths and foley sounds on 'Made in Chillz Ville' there's a sense that their music was just too future for its time. Assembled from heaving industrial samples and graced by back-and-forth tongue twisting flows, 'Thugs and Clips' is as eerie and hard-hitting as anything 2Pac's "The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory" full-length. Fuzzed-out and unsettling, 'Calistylics' welds an ambient synth loop and bone-rattling percussion to Tricky-esque percussion, while the flickering closer 'Unicycle' is a cross between Dr. Dre's icy G-gunk pressure and Three 6 Mafia's pitch black lo-fi funk. In many ways, 2022 is the perfect time to rediscover this music: an urgent, creative fusion of spine-tingling pre-grime electronic minimalism and mind bending wordplay that still sounds completely idiosyncratic and utterly alien. Tracks: 1 All Over Da Globe 2 Thugs and Clips 3 C.V. Vault 4 Made in Chillz Ville 5 Bring It On 6 Calistylics 7 No Feelins 8 Let's Get It On 9 Today Was A Fucked Up Day 10 Untitled (Freestyle) 11 Unicycle

It's hard to believe it's taken this long for a proper retrospective of legendary Los Angeles collective CVE. "We Represent Billions" is a crucial portrait of one of the West Coast's most low-key influential crews - a hydra-like collective of rappers, producers, designers and engineers who were key members of the Good Life Cafe's open mic scene, going on to inspire artists like Jurassic 5, Kendrick Lamar amongst many other. Initially called Chillin Villain Posse before morphing into Chillin Villain Empire in the late 1980s, they eventually centered around the core trio of Riddlore, NgaFsh and Tray-Loc. The crew were years ahead of their time, self-producing music without samples and pioneering a stream of consciousness lyrics that still sound fresh and innovative. CVE were self-sufficient and motivated from the beginning, named "Chillin Villains" because that's how they were perceived by white America. This social motivation was channeled into their groundbreaking performances at Good Life Cafe, the South Central session that evolved into Project Blowed and later on came to influence LA club night 'Low End Theory'. It was chronicled by Ava Duvernay, herself an MC in short-lived duo Figures of Speech, in her "This is the Life" documentary, where she interviewed CVE alongside Jurassic 5, Freestyle Fellowship, Abstract Rude and Busdriver. On "We Represent Billions", we're treated to a snapshot of the CVE sound from 1993-2003, their most prolific era. The retrospective collects music from the handful of albums the crew released on their own Afterlife Recordz label (mostly as limited edition CD-R's) plus many previously unreleased tracks and highlights their untethered eccentric creativity and sheer breadth of influence. Whether twisting twitchy West Coast electro on 'All Over Da Globe' or free associating over horror synths and foley sounds on 'Made in Chillz Ville' there's a sense that their music was just too future for its time. Assembled from heaving industrial samples and graced by back-and-forth tongue twisting flows, 'Thugs and Clips' is as eerie and hard-hitting as anything 2Pac's "The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory" full-length. Fuzzed-out and unsettling, 'Calistylics' welds an ambient synth loop and bone-rattling percussion to Tricky-esque percussion, while the flickering closer 'Unicycle' is a cross between Dr. Dre's icy G-gunk pressure and Three 6 Mafia's pitch black lo-fi funk. In many ways, 2022 is the perfect time to rediscover this music: an urgent, creative fusion of spine-tingling pre-grime electronic minimalism and mind bending wordplay that still sounds completely idiosyncratic and utterly alien. Tracks: 1 All Over Da Globe 2 Thugs and Clips 3 C.V. Vault 4 Made in Chillz Ville 5 Bring It On 6 Calistylics 7 No Feelins 8 Let's Get It On 9 Today Was A Fucked Up Day 10 Untitled (Freestyle) 11 Unicycle

'Soul Food - Cooking with Maceo' blends raw, old-school funk with the
flavours of the New Orleans school of music
Parker worked with Ivan Neville, Nikki Glaspie and Tony Hall, as well as a host of
local musicians to record the songs. The funky flavour of the city weaves its way
through the album as the funk father and his band take on iconic songs of the
Mississippi masters such as Dr. John's voodoo funk of 'Right Place, Wrong Time',
The Meters 'Just Kissed My Baby,' 'Yes, We Can Can' recorded by Allen Toussaint
as well as takes on Aretha Franklin's 'Rock Steady', Prince's 'The Other Side of the
Pillow' and Maceo's long-time hero and Ray Charles Saxophonist, David "Fathead"
Newman's 'Hard Times'. We also get funky workouts from Parkers own back
catalogue on 'Maceo' and 'Cross The Tracks'. The latter adopted by Giles
Peterson at the staple song of his iconic WAG Club in Soho, London in the 1980s.
The amazing P-funk Parker has been at it with his legendary sound for time that
dates back to the 1960's. That's when Maceo and his drummer brother Melvin
climbed on board the James Brown funky soul funk train. It wasn't long before
James coined the solo summoning signature, "Maceo, I want you to Blow!". To
most musicologists it's the musically fertile group of men from this period of
James Brown's band who are recognized as the early pioneers of the modern
funk and hip-hop whose sounds we still jump to in the present day.

Following the success of Land of Nothing EP, Baby Strange are set to
release their second full length album – WORLD BELOW
WORLD BELOW picks up where LAND OF NOTHING left off, with the uniquely
Baby Strange sound encased within haunting melodies, syncopated guitar riffs,
four to the floor drums, huge bass lines and all blanketed under a cover of
melancholy that pulls and tears on the listeners emotions.
Written as a reaction to how the pandemic has played havoc with mental health,
the increasingly visible class divide and the meteoric rise of food banks across
the country – World Below is an album that plays to the paradox of the topics set
out within. Equally dark & beautiful with pop melodies that sync with pure grit.
The result is an album in the truest sense of the word - 10 songs that pull the
listener through a myriad of textures, sounds & emotions, completed with an
array of artwork that generates a visual accompaniment for the topics set out
ithi

Following the success of Land of Nothing EP, Baby Strange are set to
release their second full length album – WORLD BELOW
WORLD BELOW picks up where LAND OF NOTHING left off, with the uniquely
Baby Strange sound encased within haunting melodies, syncopated guitar riffs,
four to the floor drums, huge bass lines and all blanketed under a cover of
melancholy that pulls and tears on the listeners emotions.
Written as a reaction to how the pandemic has played havoc with mental health,
the increasingly visible class divide and the meteoric rise of food banks across
the country – World Below is an album that plays to the paradox of the topics set
out within. Equally dark & beautiful with pop melodies that sync with pure grit.
The result is an album in the truest sense of the word - 10 songs that pull the
listener through a myriad of textures, sounds & emotions, completed with an
array of artwork that generates a visual accompaniment for the topics set out
ithi

Following the success of Land of Nothing EP, Baby Strange are set to
release their second full length album – WORLD BELOW
WORLD BELOW picks up where LAND OF NOTHING left off, with the uniquely
Baby Strange sound encased within haunting melodies, syncopated guitar riffs,
four to the floor drums, huge bass lines and all blanketed under a cover of
melancholy that pulls and tears on the listeners emotions.
Written as a reaction to how the pandemic has played havoc with mental health,
the increasingly visible class divide and the meteoric rise of food banks across
the country – World Below is an album that plays to the paradox of the topics set
out within. Equally dark & beautiful with pop melodies that sync with pure grit.
The result is an album in the truest sense of the word - 10 songs that pull the
listener through a myriad of textures, sounds & emotions, completed with an
array of artwork that generates a visual accompaniment for the topics set out
ithi

On June 17th, BLIXA SOUNDS will release a Deluxe Edition of The Las
Vegas Story, the classic 1984 album by punk rock legends The Gun Club -
This Deluxe Edition includes a second LP of the unearthed 1984 concert
at Scorgie's in Rochester, NY, and a download link to previously
unreleased footage – 1984 Home Movie: The Gun Club On The Road
The Las Vegas Story has been digitally re- mastered and comes in beautiful
gatefold packaging. The Deluxe Editionof this classic 1984 album features
extensive liner notes written by Gun Club members Terry Graham, Kid Congo
Powers, and Patricia Morrison, as well as guest musicians Dave Alvin, Phast
Phreddie Patterson, and producer Jeff Eyrich. The LP includes gatefold
packaging and printed sleeves that feature rare Gun Club photography. This
classic line- up only stayed together for this one album, featuring original
drummer Terry Graham, as well as guitar from Kid Congo Powers (The Cramps,
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds) and bassist Patricia Morrison (Sisters Of Mercy).
This is considered by many to be the most iconic Gun Club line-up and was only
together for this one album and tour!
• Classic 1984 Gun Club album with bonus 2nd LP of an unearthed 1984 live
recording. • Download link includes never before seen backstage footage and
concert footage. • 2 LP collection comes in high quality gatefold packaging that
includes extensive liner notes and archival photos and images. • Digitally remastered.

“V I N C E N T” is FKJ’s second album and signals a new dawn, not just as a go-to producer and remixer for artists like PinkPantheress and Moses Sumney but as an artist in his own right, continuously selling out headline tours across the globe with his acclaimed ‘one-man-band’ live shows, and having a billion plus streams across all platforms for his music.

The concept for “V I N C E N T” came about during a solo trip to Los Angeles before 2020. “I just stayed in this house totally on my own, turned my phone off and had some time away from everything to figure out what I wanted to do.” He realised he wanted to tap into the freedom of being a teenager: “back then, I was making music strictly for playfulness, without overthinking it,” he says. “V I N C E N T’s” opening and closing songs underline the sentiment of the new album: the future-jazz of ‘Way Out’ (a playful mini soundtrack in one; a dainty piano motif underscored by a skittering trap beat and serene strings) and the lullaby-styled “Stay A Child”. “I wanted to get back some of that lost innocence of making music purely for pleasure,” he says.

Back in his home studio in the Philippines, with no wifi and an impending global lockdown, FKJ was quite literally cut off from the world, able to explore music’s endless possibilities. “Sometimes I would get into it for the whole night and go to bed when the sun came up.” Out of this freedom comes an expressionistic, touching album that’s impossible to pin down. There’s no more hiding behind a branch of leaves, as he did on the cover of his 2017 debut: “V I N C E N T” marks FKJ out as a crucial new voice. He’s redefining chillout music with his bursts of late-night jazz sax and piano, coupled with his wood-cabin whispery vocals, recalling Bon Iver’s early work, and those Santana-styled guitar flourishes.

Much of “V I N C E N T” is wilfully romantic, sometimes super sexy, and often with its head in the clouds, as on tracks like “Us”, a dreamy ode to his wife June, or “IHM”, which has a 90s hip-hop flavour slowed right down to lights-out tempo. Not entirely a solo record, ((( O )))) appears on ‘Brass Necklace’ – which has the soft power of The Internet and Stevie Wonder’s keys. It’s no wonder that lead single ‘A Moment of Mystery’, featuring Toro Y Moi, has a spacey vibe: while recording in San Francisco together, FKJ, Toro and his keyboard player Tony took some of what Tony called “holy water” – “we shared this bottle and took a bit of a trip,” laughs FKJ. The result is a gentle electronic ode to long-term love that could rival Tame Impala for melodic progginess.

Little Dragon’s Yukimi Nagano vocal, meanwhile, laces its way through the stunning “Can’t Stop”, and there is a call back to FKJ’s dancier beginnings with “Let’s Live”, a galvanising techno-pop number that blends piano, handclaps and soulful vocals to dazzling effect. Each of FKJ’s songs glistens, lambently, with a myriad of ideas but it never sounds overblown or too dizzying.

“V I N C E N T” is a marvel – and testament to the magic that can happen when you dig deep. “This was a challenging record,” he says. “I’m a perfectionist and it’s hard to shake that off. But once I did, and I let the music take over, I felt totally free.”

Reissue!

Cold Busted has navigated the smooth seas to unearth Sailing, the new album from Moroccan guitarist and beat-flinger saib. The Casablanca-based producer has steered his sound into warmer waters. Mixing tempered hip hop beats with jazzy vibes and a lounge sensibility, saib. touches on a style that's both chill and opulent. The album's opener, "Archipelago," sets the scene with gentle piano, swirling strings, and beachside sounds that would make Martin Denny proud. "Tropics" pushes the agenda further, featuring delightful vibraphone lines, stand-up bass, and boom bap beats, providing the perfect soundtrack for poolside cocktails. The sleepy crooning of "Blue Memories," the future-retro sing-a-long of "Mermaid Dreams," and the guitar/vibes interplay of "Pastel" provide other highlights. Sailing's twelve songs show saib. as an artist capable of bringing a sunny climate to any listening environment.

We can't think of many other performers like the singer/songwriter/dancer/actress Asha Puthli who have excelled in such a broad range of genres. From 60s psych, Classical Indian music, Free Jazz, Pop, Soul, Disco, to Rock, the list goes on. A 'best-of' or an 'essential collection' is always going to be a subjective thing, but for what is unbelievably the first official compilation covering the full breadth of Asha's illustrious career, we aimed to provide a snapshot into her ever-evolving musical journey and a tribute to the vast richness of her catalogue.

Some singers want to be famous, others are pop star icons, and some are artists; Asha is the latter. Asha is a true force of nature, regardless of the genre she explores, she fully commits, moves on, and reinvents herself, always progressing. Looking back on Asha's career, it is evident what a trail-blazer she was, opening doors for her contemporaries and those who came later to step through. Whether it was conscious or not, you can recognise Asha’s influence in aspects of Kate Bush's ethereal image and performance, in Donna Summer’s high-smooth vocal sound and disco stylings, and in the gumption and power of Grace Jones.

Kick-starting the compilation is ‘Pain’, the Indian psychedelic garage rock sounds of The Savages featuring Asha. We have to admit, we had to strongarm Asha into letting us include this track at first; also due to its rare nature (and lack of any master tapes) the recording we present here is raw and low-fi. However, we felt its inclusion was important to fully represent the journey of Asha's career, the same consideration was also applied to two of the Asha & The Surfers’ songs that we have included in this collection.

Asha saw a link between jazz and classical Indian music "the improvisation, the minor chords, the free form, the liberalness of the art" we showcase her love of jazz here with seminal works with the legendary Ornette Coleman, taken from the revered 'Science Fiction’ album. Asha's 'CBS years' are represented here, how could we not include 'Space Talk' on this collection, and how these years progressed into her amazing disco offerings such as 'I'm Gonna Dance' & 'Music Machine'. The bizarre 'We're Gonna Bury The Rock With The Roll Tonight' from 1980 has also won us over. A pseudo-50s throw-back song that sounds not un-similar to the post-modern, leftfield, pop of an MIA production to come years later. Rounding off the compilation we have Asha's interpretation of a Michael Jackson classic that sat lost on a cassette-only released in India.

After two UK #1 albums, 2 million album sales and an array of international acclaim, you might’ve thought you knew what to expect from Royal Blood. Those preconceptions were shattered when they released ‘Trouble’s Coming’ last summer. Hitting a melting pot of fiery rock riffs and danceable beats, they delivered something fresh, unexpected and yet entirely in tune with what they’d forged their reputation with.
The reaction was phenomenal, with highlights including 20 million streams, a premiere as Annie Mac’s Hottest Record and a run on Radio 1’s A-list and earned alternative radio support and media attention across the globe. In short, Royal Blood are primed to be bigger than ever before. That feat is set to be realised when they release their eagerly anticipated third album ‘Typhoons’ on April 30th via Warner Records.
When Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher sat down to talk about making a new album, they knew what they wanted to achieve. It involved a conscious return to their roots, back when they had made music that was influenced by Daft Punk, Justice, and Philippe Zdar of Cassius. It also called for a similar back-to-basics approach to what had made their self-titled debut album so thrilling, visceral and original.
“We sort of stumbled on this sound, and it was immediately fun to play,” recalls Kerr. “That’s what sparked the creativity on the new album, the chasing of that feeling. It’s weird, though - if you think back to ‘Figure it Out’, it kind of contains the embryo of this album. We realised that we didn’t have to completely destroy what we’d created so far; we just had to shift it, change it. On paper, it’s a small reinvention. But when you hear it, it sounds so fresh.”

Those traits pulsate throughout the new single and title track. Kerr’s spiralling bass riff casts an hypnotic allure as it grows in intensity, while his vocals switch at will between a raw rock roar and a soulful falsetto. It’s underpinned by Thatcher’s thundering beats, his taut rhythms infused with groove-laden hi-hats.



After setting the tone with ‘Trouble’s Coming’, the album opens in breathless, take-no-prisoners style with the fierce metallic grooves of ‘Who Needs Friends’ hitting an early visceral peak. Royal Blood further reference their fresh array of influences by deploying vocodered vocals on ‘Million & One’ before dynamically switching between the biggest contrasts of their sound with ‘Limbo’. Already a fan favourite having been a regular during the duo’s 2019 shows, ‘Boilermaker’ lives up to its reputation and is more than matched by ‘Mad Visions’, which evokes a hyper-aggressive Prince. It ends with a final surprise in the shape of the stark piano ballad ‘All We Have Is Now’, a vulnerable and revealing reminder to live in the moment.

That song’s unguarded sentiments gives the album a redemptive finale. Whether directly or allusively, the album focuses on exploring the flipside of success that they’ve experienced. It comes from the realisation that success is much more complicated than it seems and that having the time to regain perspective is a precious commodity which becomes ever more elusive. The situation called for reflection and change, which Kerr addressed in Las Vegas. He downed an espresso martini and declared it to be his last drink, and soon discovered that his new-found sobriety would have a positive impact upon his creativity and life as a whole.

That new approach manifested itself in the duo’s decision to produce the majority of ‘Typhoons’ themselves. ‘Boilermaker’ was produced by Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme, the two bands having first connected when Royal Blood supported them on a huge North American tour. Meanwhile, the multiple Grammy Award winner Paul Epworth produced ‘Who Needs Friends’ and contributed additional production to ‘Trouble’s Coming’.

It started with a night out at New York’s Sound Factory - and turned into an obsession, Inner City main man Kevin “Reese” Saunderson and his then manager, Neil Rushton, were at the NY uber house club when The Pressure by The Sounds Of Blackness got its’ debut World play, with the ecstatic response from the crowd meaning it was spun three times in a row.

Nobody was more knocked out than Kevin who vowed there and then to come up with a Detroit answer, much to the delight of Soul mad Rushton, co-owner of the Network label.

The idea of The Reese Project was quickly turned into House Heaven reality as Kevin recruited Detroit vocalist diva Rachel Kapp to record the anthemic Direct Me & The Colour Of Love as the first two singles.

Network made the group a main priority, coming with a whole slew of remixes to complement the original USA mixes on the subsequent album. Three of the most loved Network remixes are on this wonderful timeless 12.

The Dave Lee Joey Negro mix from 1991 is rated by many as one of Network’s finest moments, and maybe Lee’s finest ever “remixed with extra production” epics.
Rushton remembers meeting Lee to collect the remix, and instantly phoning Saunderson proclaiming “you won’t believe this”.

Underground Resistance’s Mike Banks added his magic to the 1991 original mixes of “The Colour Of Love” and the results were so overwhelming great that the idea of subsequent remixes was daunting.but the classic 1994 Network remix by The Playboys flew the flag for U.K. House.

C.J, Mackintosh set the production standards for U.K. Soul filled House and his 1993 remix of “So Deep” - sung by La’Trece - is a gem to be cherished forever and a day.

Network’s passionate crusade to crossover The Reese Project from House Music superstars to Pop success came tantalising close but never quite happened. But the Network remixes are a glorious legacy of House Music’s golden age and three of the very finest are remastered here and presented on one glorious 12.

Reese Project - Songs Not Slogans.

The wiggy wanderings of Oog Bogo wind up on the same island of lost joys all at once, manufacturing a virtual jukebox of singles and side flips that won’t unplug, and just keeps reeling and raging on instead. A bright metallurgy of guitar pop, psych, post-punk and apocalypse disco embosses the sleek, multicoloured flash of ‘Plastic’.

 Oog Bogo are a four-piece rock band from Los Angeles and their new album is ‘Plastic’, an electrifying set of songs and sounds that just don’t stop, working like a machine that makes joy and endless flips and repetitions, whether in front of the turntable or out in the real world.
 In the past several years, Oog Bogo dropped two records that previewed this explosion in wildly divergent ways: 2019’s ‘Oogbogo’ EP, with wigged-out production, its contorted fun house mirror images pulling punk, psych and new wave in and out of focus in a chaotic procession of mutant tunes. 2021’s ‘EP2’ radiates a starkly different vibe, as chilled-out guitar-pop tunes conjure a flowing medley of plaintive echoes and atmospheres in a mellow mist of hiss.

 Kevin Boog recorded these records in a largely hermetic state: at home on 4-track, playing all the parts, slowly drawing out the sounds. The songs for ‘Plastic’ were demoed this way too, as a starting point for a group interpretation - but when, for obvious reasons, logistics prevented everyone from getting in the same room to even rehearse, the planned recording session at Ty Segall’s Harmonizer Studios took on a different shape.

 Starting off with only drummer Thomas Alvarez (Audacity) to accompany him, Kevin
realized that any obstacles to getting the record made were also opportunities, for
something else that was also right to happen. Rather than reach for the design of the
demos, he kept himself in the present moment, approaching every passage as fluidly
as possible, playing what he needed to play, staying open to what he needed to
know. It didn’t hurt that the laptop with all his songs crashed right after he walked into
the studio! There was no way possible but forward.
 The direction was right on with the guys at Harmonizer - Ty Segall’s sense of
imagination made him the ideal production counterpart to walk together with Kevin
into this world, psyched to experiment and ready to get weird at any time. Ty and
engineer Matt Littlejohn met all requests and requirements in the form of sounds, with
gear and approaches that amazed and delighted, and an eternally ebullient spirit.
 As this was Oog Bogo’s first time recording away from home, Kevin was a kid in a
candy store - where the store owner turns out to be a Wonka-esque philanthropist.
As band members Mike Kreibel (Dirty & His Fists) and Shelby Jacobson (Shannon
Lay) joined the session, there was a synchronicity and community with everyone
involved, finding an unexpected road to realizing the songs, with all the colours and
hues they added making everything pop that much harder.
 Fluidity was key: ‘Plastic’’s tunes depict a polymorphic cast of characters. As in life,
they leap avidly from style to style; from pretty psych rock to new wave apocalypse
disco and harsh post punk bleakness, sometimes in a verse and a half. Corkscrewing
over and over like a riff-driven space-coaster, morphing in and out of each
successive moment with increasing momentum and gravity, ‘Plastic’ defines and
redefines Oog Bogo, with sweet tunes, barely-controlled intensity and sharp
production moves - a killer first album and an equally killer evolving state of mind.

The wiggy wanderings of Oog Bogo wind up on the same island of lost joys all at once, manufacturing a virtual jukebox of singles and side flips that won’t unplug, and just keeps reeling and raging on instead. A bright metallurgy of guitar pop, psych, post-punk and apocalypse disco embosses the sleek, multicoloured flash of ‘Plastic’.

 Oog Bogo are a four-piece rock band from Los Angeles and their new album is ‘Plastic’, an electrifying set of songs and sounds that just don’t stop, working like a machine that makes joy and endless flips and repetitions, whether in front of the turntable or out in the real world.
 In the past several years, Oog Bogo dropped two records that previewed this explosion in wildly divergent ways: 2019’s ‘Oogbogo’ EP, with wigged-out production, its contorted fun house mirror images pulling punk, psych and new wave in and out of focus in a chaotic procession of mutant tunes. 2021’s ‘EP2’ radiates a starkly different vibe, as chilled-out guitar-pop tunes conjure a flowing medley of plaintive echoes and atmospheres in a mellow mist of hiss.

 Kevin Boog recorded these records in a largely hermetic state: at home on 4-track, playing all the parts, slowly drawing out the sounds. The songs for ‘Plastic’ were demoed this way too, as a starting point for a group interpretation - but when, for obvious reasons, logistics prevented everyone from getting in the same room to even rehearse, the planned recording session at Ty Segall’s Harmonizer Studios took on a different shape.

 Starting off with only drummer Thomas Alvarez (Audacity) to accompany him, Kevin
realized that any obstacles to getting the record made were also opportunities, for
something else that was also right to happen. Rather than reach for the design of the
demos, he kept himself in the present moment, approaching every passage as fluidly
as possible, playing what he needed to play, staying open to what he needed to
know. It didn’t hurt that the laptop with all his songs crashed right after he walked into
the studio! There was no way possible but forward.
 The direction was right on with the guys at Harmonizer - Ty Segall’s sense of
imagination made him the ideal production counterpart to walk together with Kevin
into this world, psyched to experiment and ready to get weird at any time. Ty and
engineer Matt Littlejohn met all requests and requirements in the form of sounds, with
gear and approaches that amazed and delighted, and an eternally ebullient spirit.
 As this was Oog Bogo’s first time recording away from home, Kevin was a kid in a
candy store - where the store owner turns out to be a Wonka-esque philanthropist.
As band members Mike Kreibel (Dirty & His Fists) and Shelby Jacobson (Shannon
Lay) joined the session, there was a synchronicity and community with everyone
involved, finding an unexpected road to realizing the songs, with all the colours and
hues they added making everything pop that much harder.
 Fluidity was key: ‘Plastic’’s tunes depict a polymorphic cast of characters. As in life,
they leap avidly from style to style; from pretty psych rock to new wave apocalypse
disco and harsh post punk bleakness, sometimes in a verse and a half. Corkscrewing
over and over like a riff-driven space-coaster, morphing in and out of each
successive moment with increasing momentum and gravity, ‘Plastic’ defines and
redefines Oog Bogo, with sweet tunes, barely-controlled intensity and sharp
production moves - a killer first album and an equally killer evolving state of mind.

Repress incoming...

Far Out Recordings proudly presents Milton Nascimento's Maria Maria. Recorded in 1974 and unreleased until almost thirty years later, the album was written as the soundtrack to a ballet which dealt with the legacy of slavery in Brazil. Raw, atmospheric and emotionally charged, Maria Maria reveals one of Brazil's greatest ever songwriters at his creative peak. Featuring an all-star cast of fellow Brazilian legends including Nana Vasconcelos, Joao Donato, Paulinho Jobim, and members of Som Imaginario, Maria Maria holds what Milton considers to be the definitive versions of some of his classic songs, including 'Os Escravos De Jó' and 'Maria Maria'.

Originally released in 2003 as a double CD package, with Milton Nascimento's 1984 follow up ballet soundtrack Ultimo Trem, Maria Maria will be available on vinyl for the very first time from December 2019, with Ultimo Trem set for vinyl release early 2020.

Milton Nascimento possesses one of the most immediately recognizable voices in Brazilian music: high and sweet and as breathtakingly sublime as that of any soul singer. It was this voice that the legendary Brazilian singer Elis Regina fell in love with back in 1964, having heard Milton perform his song 'Canção do Sal (Sultry Song)' at a private party in Sao Paulo. Ellis went on to record the song in 1967 -giving Milton his first hit in Brazil and beginning a career that has spanned over 50 years.

Born in Rio on the 26th October 1942, Milton moved with his adoptive parents at the age of 18 months to Tres Pontas, a rural town in the state of Minas Gerais, 500 miles north of Rio. He began his musical career as a young teenager, singing in a crooner style he learnt from listening to Brazilian singers and US groups such as The Platters on the radio. Hungry for more opportunities to perform, Milton moved to Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais, at the age of twenty. By the beginning of the 60s Milton had made a name for himself both as an accomplished singer and guitarist.

Milton became part of a local network of musicians, film makers, dancers, theatre directors and writers that included the journalist and song writer Fernando Brant as well as lyricist Marcio Borges and his younger brother Lo Borges. Together these four wrote and produced what would become Milton's milestone album, 'Clube da Esquina (Club on the Corner)'. The originality of 'Club da Esquina' shaped the local scene, and it reflects the essence of 'the Nascimento Sound'. Milton's religious upbringing as an Afro-Brazilian Catholic saw him exposed to church choral music from an early age. His love of this genre of music is apparent in both his celestial falsetto and vocal choral arrangements. This collection also displays his early fascination with evocative, non-verbal, scat-style singing, spare, harmonic guitar work and local folk music, jazz and rock.

In 1976, Milton and Fernando Brant teamed up with a new contemporary dance company called Grupo Corpo, whose Argentinian choreographer Oscar Araiz, would become a collaborator with the two musicians. Together, they conceived a show based on the composite life story of the daughter of a black slave called Maria. Nascimento wrote music to Brant's lyrics and "Maria Maria" was premiered in the main theatre of the Belo Horizonte Palacio das Artes that year. "Fernando wrote the lyrics for the ballet, but there were originally no lyrics for the theme song, "Maria Maria'". Milton and Fernando worked on the lyrics together, basing them on folk stories about black women of the countryside. Adds Milton "These memories are mostly things that we witnessed – Fernando and I – rather than what we experienced ourselves.

Milton's music is impressionistic, emotional and romantic. Relying on songs without lyrics as well as evocative vocalizing and choruses, Milton experimented heavily with Afro-Brazilian percussion and taped jungle sounds. His composing method for these recordings was highly unconventional: "I wrote the music for 'Maria Maria' in a tiny Rio apartment with friends and their kids running around and having fun! I love to be in noisy places, surrounded by people", he says.
The music on 'Maria Maria' was performed by an impressive group of young musicians who are today household names in Brazilian music, including Naná Vasconcelos (percussion and effects), Toninho Horta (guitars) and Paulo Moura (sax). Several vocalist including Naná Caymmi, Fafá de Belém, Beto Guedes, and Milton himself, had hits in years to come with reworkings of these songs.

Milton says his compositions follow his visions "like a movie", and he believes that reflects his long love affair with cinema. "I only began composing because of enjoying the movies so much," he says. "I wrote my first song "Peace for the Coming Love" after seeing 'Jules et Jim' (the cult 60s French film directed by François Truffaut), with my friend Marcio Borges. We went early in the morning and watched it four or five times in a row, then went to Márcio's home and wrote the song."

The songs also include solo spoken passages set to music, clearly influenced by this style of French art cinema. On the title track, Maria's story is narrated and translated to music through the use of African Percussion, drums and metal signifying the field slave tools of the day. 'Trabalhos (Works)' runs to work rhythms and whipcracks: no words, just pain. 'Lília' documents the beating of the slave woman. After 'A Chamada (The call)' and the triumphant 'Era Rei e Sou Escravo (I was a king now I am a slave' things begin to turn and Milton employs tropical jungle cries to symbolize freedom. 'Santos Catholicos x Candomble (Catholic Saints vs Candomble)' represents the battle between African and European religions through the music of both sides. Milton's heavenly falsetto pours into 'Francisco' and 'Pai Grande (Great Father)' and the outstanding 'Eu Sou Uma Preta Velha Aqui Sentada no Sol (I'm an old black lady, sitting under the sun)' conjures images of an old woman sitting deep in the forest, her memories painted in drums, piano and voices.

Like the MIMIKOTO project’s previous albums, also “Blackbird’s Philosophy” can be described as a symbiosis of jazz with electronic music and other styles of groovy stuff.

On this album the electronic elements melt into the acoustic sounds and rhythms on a quite subtle way, while the acoustic patterns partially adopt styles of electronic music reminding of deep house, ambient and Detroit house.

Jazzy Rhodes, bass, drums and sax solos performed by jazz-rooted musicians like Darius Blair, Uli Schiffelholz, Johannes Schwarting and Justin Zitt, play a more important role than on former releases and bring nuances of funk, modal jazz, free jazz and bebop to this album.

With Fabio Kumori’s string orchestral sound created with upright bass, effects and looper in the track “Notes from Kirishima”, even elements reminding of classical music and atmospheres from soundtracks become a part of this album. These elements merge with rhythmic sound arpeggios of analog synths and vibraphone, which create a maybe unknown style of new music.

On the last track of the album, namely on the track “Blackbird’s Philosophy (Part II)”, you hear the soulful and expressive voice of Noomi Mae Coleman, who joined the MIMIKOTO crew in 2020.

The MIMIKOTO project was founded in 2019 as a collective of musicians related to jazz, funk, soul and electronic music, after a certain period of composing and playing as duo, trio and quartet

After having released solo albums on Western Vinyl and Preservation, Domes presents the first entirely instrumental work of the California based multi-instrumentalist Heather Woods Broderick.

Domes is a collection of meditative pieces based around the cello. While not being her primary instrument, the cello holds a very special place for the artist. Throughout the past 2 years, Heather often felt the need to find moments of respite in response to the chaotic and turbulent times we all faced in that period. Her days started or ended with the cello. A single melody initiated a process in which new elements were gradually added to the initial loop until the sounds filled her up. This process and the instrumental nature of these pieces opened the path for self-reflection and enabled her to express emotions outside the world of words or lyrics:

“The cyclical nature of the loop combined with the sound feeling like it’s surrounding me feels serene and safe. My hope is that listeners experience this as well.” - Heather Woods Broderick

Domes is a documentation of that period and offers 7 pieces which to the artist feels like dense masses – strong grounding sounds that can hold weight or be used to disperse weight - in an emotional sense. The album title, Domes, reflects this idea as domes are made out of triangles – the strongest shapes in the physical world. Coincidentally, there are 7 different triangles. As such, the pieces on Domes each reflect a different triangle, a different strongest shape which offers the listener a solid basis to find rest and calmness.

Heather Woods Broderick is a composer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Growing up in a family of musicians, music took root in Heather’s life at a very young age. Evenings spent singing along to her parents folk music collection began to shape her sense of song as a child. After many years of classical piano training, she began to expand her musical toolkit by learning to play guitar, cello, and flute among others. Deeply influenced by rich tapestries of the natural world, she excels at crafting sonic landscapes that reflect both lushness and intimacy. Heather has released three solo albums to date, and over the years has recorded and toured extensively around the world with a multitude of artists including Sharon Van Etten, Efterklang, Alela Diane, Horse Feathers, Damien Jurado, Lisa Hannigan, Laura Gibson, and more.

Minru is the project of Caroline Blomqvist, a Swedish musician based in Berlin. Woven from light and shadow, the interplay of her folk and indie-rock blend appears from a personal space of finding life after death. On her debut LP »Liminality« she paints melody in soft tones, whispering secrets to navigate feelings of loss.

Built around winding layers of acoustic guitar, piano, and strings, Minru is a surprisingly uplifting and stirring testament to Blomqvist’s own suffering from the passing of someone close to her. Returning to Berlin from Sweden feelings of grief, confusion, and pain travelled with her, and these emotions prompted the journey both of and within the album, heard as a dreamlike actualisation of wandering lost between them. "I read that Carl Jung used the word "»Liminality«” to describe the psychological process of transitioning. I instantly felt seen; it reflected my own experience and the feelings I carried whilst making the album – a sense of the old certainties being gone, but the new not being quite there yet,” she says.

Defined as "the threshold separating one space from another" »Liminality« moves between feeling the ground beneath your feet fall away, fighting through the darkness and the doubt, and the emerging shades of hope and light as you painstakingly make peace with mortality and find yourself as a person again. "I am happy to have encapsulated this moment of time in sound," Blomqvist says, "it will always be there as a memory."

Flourishing from a preferred position of solitude, »Liminality« sees Blomqvist’s vision radiate with intensity from her home-based studio in Neukölln - a small, 2-room apartment with squeaky old wooden floors. Capturing the intimacy of the space, she recorded vocals and synth on gear partly borrowed from friends (to swiftly reunite it with its owners), and the songs flow with a stream of consciousness as feelings become entwined with melody. Time-restraint drew the process to a natural close, preventing Blomqvist from losing herself to experimentation. “Maybe I would have been stuck in »Liminality«, trying out sounds forever,” she suggests of the way ‘Into the well’s instrumental swims into a warm stream of synth pads. "It’s the cosiest moment on the album,” she says, “Cosy is a feeling I always strive for in life."

Finished and self-produced at a Berlin-Lichtenberg recording studio alongside musical friends (Povel Widestrand, Tobias Blessing, Sunniva Lilian Shaw Of-Tordarroch, Marlene Becher and Liv Solveig Wagner), the result is beautifully detailed and rich like the folk of her Swedish roots. First picking up a guitar as a kid and becoming obsessed with it, she would skip school to spend extra hours mastering the instrument, grappling to perfect the ‘Stairway to Heaven’ intro. “As a child I was fascinated by my dad’s acoustic guitars around the house and would hit the strings to make them sound,” she recalls. After attending music high school in Gothenburg and playing in bands during her teens, Blomqvist later moved to Germany. As well as enjoying walks at Tempelhofer Feld and coffee at Leuchtstoff café, she performed with Tuvaband, Adna, and Tara Nome Doyle and played in Berlin venues Loophole and Schokoladen, where music became her world. With the passing of time she felt a growing urge to find an outlet for her own songs; Minru was the answer along with her first »Yearnings« EP.

Now writing whenever she returns to Sweden, within the calm and stillness of her family’s mountainside cabin, her skilfully constructed arrangements summon the comforting atmosphere of home. “I hope listeners will feel inspired to slow down a bit, create, draw, cook something. Just be in the moment that is now.” »Liminality« is the kind of record that rewards attention. Give this album your time, it will give you its soul.

Tiptoe between the toadstools of Liverpool’s city parks, and amongst the foliage you might find a Strawberry Guy, contemplating his next chord-progression. Composing hi-fi symphonies from within his humble abode, the Welsh-born songwriter is ready to share the fruits of his labour with debut album Sun Outside My Window. A timeless vista of ethereal balladry looking towards 19th Century musical maestros and works of art, it brings new meaning to the term ‘Modern Classic’ and is the most optimistic of lockdown records yet.
“It’s about seeing the simple things in life and them making you happy,” tells Alex Stephens, the Guy behind the Strawberry. “I remember this day when I was really down… looking out the window, the sun beaming in was beautiful, it made me want to go outside – it was simple but made me so happy in that instance.”
A one-man impressionist, painting majestic soundscapes, Strawberry Guy blends truthful lyrics with lush arrangements to conjure new emotive worlds. Inspired by composers of the Romantic period, or Debussy, Ravel, and other classical artists of the 1800s, his wonderland moves like a Monet painting where arpeggios dance between meadows of dazzling dynamics and dramatic key changes. As former keyboard player of The Orielles and Trudy and The Romance, the light through his floor to ceiling windows has caused a dramatic Greenhouse Effect and now ripening on solo terms, his innocent uploads of ‘Without You’ and ‘F-Song’ comfort 2 million Spotify listeners a month. ‘Mrs Magic’ has received 40 million streams, landing at #13 in its chart and countless fan-created videos have appeared on YouTube. “Throughout history composers have tried to capture emotion, painting their own impressionist pictures with musical brush strokes… I guess I’m just trying to do the same and people enjoy that,” he suggests modestly.
Named by musical friends Her’s after his impeccable taste in milkshakes, Strawberry Guy upturns ‘bedroom artist’ perception, as each idea is crafted into a widescreen wonder where vocals tag-team instrumentals and countermelodies flourish within the Georgian walls of his Liverpool flat’s small space. “I want it to sound like I’ve squeezed an 80-piece orchestra into my room, and for listeners to wonder how all those strings got there,” he says. “Working on the 4-part harmonies, the orchestra became real; I began believing in myself.”
Imitating nature’s effect on emotion, like 70s songwriters, or the fantastical soundtracks accompanying vibrant scenes in the Japanese animated Studio Ghibli films and video games, landscape is brought to the fore. Monet’s picturesque Meadow at Giverny features as the album’s accompanying artwork – perhaps a reminder of the rural Welsh countryside views through his childhood home’s window; “I was inspired by how calm and peaceful the image felt. Its painted lines show real-life scenes in a magical way, which to me reflects my music.”
Just as the first Strawberry Guy EP Taking My Time To Be offered a slowing down for the soul, Sun Outside My Window is musically unhurried, written and recorded over 2 years. “Recording as a lone berry meant I could run with my emotions in the moment and deliver something true; it would have been an entirely different album had it been recorded in a studio,” he says.
Modern Classic? Only time will tell. For now this Guy’s happy-sad world is here to get the juices flowing and with, pandemic permitting, a US tour in 2022, life looks a whole lot sweeter. Until then, take it slow, be at one with the wilderness and remember, when life gives you lemons, swap them for Strawberries.

Black Screen Records and Kaizen Game Works have once again teamed up to release Barry "Epoch" Topping's new album About That... Paradise Killer B-Sides - featuring three new songs, vocal tracks, instrumental versions, remixes and piano arrangements, and a lot of amazing guests (Fiona Lynch, Kyle Murray-Dickson, Fabian Hernandez, Ged Cartwright, Thomas Temple, MEEBEE and Okumura) - on limited edition translucent violet 180g vinyl with gorgeous cover art by José Salot. Paradise is blinking out of existence but we must not cry. The day has not yet finished. There is still music to be played. Listen to it. Let the warm embrace of luxurious sounds caress you as you stand on the precipice of an abyss too dreadful to imagine. Hold my hand again. Repeat that album. Paradise can last forever if we believe hard enough.

Kaiju is the floor-shaking, speaker-knocking new album from Canibus, one of hip-hop’s greatest lyricists who continues to push himself as an artist. It also serves as his first solo release since 2015’s excellent Time Flys, Life Dies... Phoenix Rise, which was produced entirely by Bronze Nazareth. It’s only fitting, then, that ‘Bus would once again work with only one producer for this project, which finds him spitting mind-melting bars over beats from Oxnard, CA beatsmith/rapper Body Bag Ben.

The 11 tracks on Kaiju strike a balance between personal experiences and striking grandiosity that ‘Bus expertly crafts with his pen. They also all boast the rewind-worthy lyrics you’d want from one of the genre’s most creative and truly timeless talents. You can hear this immediately on the opening track, “Curmudgeon,” where he spits raw bars with his signature growl over BBB’s monstrous production. That vibe carries on throughout the record, from the snarling, DMX-assisted “Entameta (Remix)” through to the hip-hop epic of “Verzuz.”

This is truly Canibus at his best, blending surrealist wordplay and turns-of-phrase with sharp, witty commentary about the state of the world today. Even better, he’s backed by some of BBB’s best production to date, which rumbles and stomps as much as it sounds like it’s covered in a thick layer of grime. It’s much like the inspiration for the album’s title—a giant monster (kaiju, in Japanese) like Godzilla rising from a slumber, ready to wreak havoc on his opponents.

Bliue Vinyl

Yamila reveals her most intimate catharsis in Visions, an album that brings together and provokes the hallucinatory powers of music. Like an ancient herald, she announces the profound feminine mystique while crossing epic melodies full of pleasure and pain. This album is a journey that prodigiously unites baroque accents, Spanish folklore – such as flamenco – and contemporary electronic music.

Her voice and music – sometimes torn and others buoyant – could resemble the score for a biblical passage (ie. visions of the Apocalypse), for they are overflowing with physical ecstasy and sounds that one can touch. Visions is composed of different forms and rhythms. Pieces like "Visions V" evolve intensely with sharp and systematized hits –– powerful layers that bring us closer to Alessando Cortini's Forse era. "Visions II", for its part, shares intensity and power with flamenco ritual patterns, as if it were an old Andalusian scene dripping with oscillations and electric shocks. Yet there are luminous vocal pieces such as "Visions I" (featuring Rafael Anton Irisarri), inspired by Manuel de Falla's Suite Española composed in 1922. Here, an aural chiaroscuro with beautiful voices and choirs is deeply fused with daring drones. And it is in the ensemble of moments of Visions where Yamila's conceptual axis is rendered solid. Pain and glory, lacerating religiosity, feminism cauterized by power, and hallucinations as a source (or pretext/tool) to be heard.

Yamila exhibits a profuse aesthetic with her music that calls for a look at the far-past with romanticism and nostalgia. Visions is radiant, intense. A unique album.

All songs written and performed by Yamila Ríos (Spain), except “Visions I”, which features Rafael Anton Irisarri. Recorded between the Swedish winter and the Belgian countryside. Additional musicians: Simbad guitar on V-IV and V-I, Vera Cavallin harp on VIV. Mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri at Black Knoll Studio. NY. Photos by Virginia Rota in Madrid. Design by Daniel Castrejón in Mexico City.

'Accosting Form, Pure Intent" - Nathaniel Young's new album for Mysteries of the Deep - is a contradiction that makes sense. At once raw and elegant, it emerges from a place of constraint and desire. Its individual tracks reflect this paradox as the album unlocks itself like a koan: a riddle that, once solved, dawns on the listener like an epiphany.

Metallic emanations in "Communal Dysphoria" and "Comfort in Form," interpolated with echo and reverb, arise from the void and disappear back into it, moving like scattered precipitation over rugged, rhythmic terrain. Certain tracks speak to certain influences: in "Extrasolar" and "May I Speak Candidly," drone is tempered by synth pads and wistful ambience. "Zion Waits for No One" brings to mind a sense of the Chthonic: a dark, primitive creature submerged. A monster from the loch that at times breaks through the still, watery surface.

Despite the assorted elements at work, a visceral quality binds everything together. Even the record's more subdued works are textured and tangible, at times balancing or playing against the serrated edges of its more structured pieces. Like all compelling works, the sounds here exist in a liminal space that is not entirely classifiable. Still, it is wholly cohesive in both its moodiness and its adeptness.


Releases on Umor Rex, Blankstairs, Phinery Tapes, Hospital Productions

repressed !


For the Shango EP, producer Waajeed transitions from downbeat to upbeat on the latest release from his DIRT TECH RECK imprint with three choice cuts ranging from the millennial Blaxploitation vibes of the title track to the orgasmic, angular funk that is “Better Late Than Never” and “Winston’s Midnight Disco.” Merging the electro sounds of his native city with the pulsating drums of his native land, Waajeed taps into African roots in reclaiming the dance music that is his birthright as a son of Detroit.

MASTERED FROM THE ORIGINAL ANALOGUE MASTER TAPES AND PRESSED ON MOFI SUPERVINYL

· A Bold Celebration of Romantics, Escapists, and Dreamers: Electric Light Orchestra’s Eldorado Marries

Rock and Symphonic Elements, Includes the Aptly Titled Hit “Can’t Get It Out of My Head”

· Mastered from the Original Analog Master Tapes for Audiophile Quality: Mobile Fidelity 180g Vinyl LP and

· Melodic, Beatles-Inspired Tour de Force Features Full Orchestra and Choral Section: Arrangements and Lyrics

Transport the Listener to Faraway Horizons



Electric Light Orchestra leader Jeff Lynne did more than figuratively reach for the sky on Eldorado. Daring to be bold, and creating imaginative worlds that invite the listener to escape the mundane, the visionary composer-musician achieved a multidisciplinary fantasia and, in the process, a prog-rock landmark. Nearly 50 years later, the concept album's brilliance can be experienced like never before in cinematic fashion.



Mastered from the original analogue master tapes, pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl vinyl at RTI, and housed in a tip-on jacket, Mobile Fidelity's numbered-edition 180g LP of Eldorado allows the long-time audiophile staple to resonate with previously unheard dynamics, tones, and colours. Conjuring the feeling of journeying to different horizons, the record's songs teem with layer upon layer of details, which can now be heard as the producers intended.



Presenting the album with breath-taking clarity yet retaining the warmth, texture, and emotion that differentiate live music from reproduced sounds, this collectible reissue features reference-quality levels of in-the-moment presence, grand-scale sound-staging, and instrumental balance. Bursting with a veritable cornucopia of stimuli, MoFi's Eldorado LP also benefits from superb separation and immersive atmospherics that stem from the meticulous remastering process – as well as an ultra-low noise floor, industry-leading groove definition, and dead-quiet surfaces courtesy of the MoFi SuperVinyl properties.

An artistic breakthrough that established Electric Light Orchestra as a pioneering band (and confirmed Lynne as the leading practicing Beatles disciple), the 1974 effort remains notable for its involvement of a full orchestra and choral section, the range of which are captured with exquisite results on this LP. Eldorado distinguished itself from the band's first two works not only via Lynne's sharpened songwriting but due to the hiring of an orchestra that augmented the group's three string players. Co-arranged by Lynne and conductor Louis Clark, the symphonic movements bolster the contagious fare without ever drowning it. The accents also act as transports into the varied narrative universes.



Finished as a story before Lynne put notes down on paper, Eldorado ironically owes its inspiration to Lynne's father. In response to his dad's criticisms about the band, Lynne conceived a melodic tour de force that, like The Wizard of Oz, which informs the cover art, emphasizes the power of everyday dreams and everyman heroism. It's no coincidence that the sonic journey begins with an overture punctuated by the words of a cynic who condemns "the dreamer, the unwoken fool."



Beautiful yet fun, ambitious yet consistent, Eldorado proceeds to celebrate such romantics and escapists. A Technicolor escapade marked by lush melodies, fluid crescendos, and an intoxicating blend of energetic rock and sweeping orchestral elements, the album weds rich imagery and sweeping sounds in manners that make the two inseparable. In Lynne and company's hands, reality and fantasy collide, and dissolve any dividing lines. The proof is not just in the epic production, but in the timeless (and catchy) nature of songs such as the balladic "Boy Blue," power-pop packed "Illusions in G Major," and, of course, the aptly titled hit, "Can't Get It Out of My Head."



Decades later, Eldorado doubles as the equivalent of an out of body experience, an invitation to break away from monotony whether you're listening to your Mobile Fidelity reissue on a large system or an excellent pair of headphones.



MoFi SuperVinyl

Developed by NEOTECH and RTI, MoFi SuperVinyl is the most exacting-to-specification vinyl compound ever devised. Analog lovers have never seen (or heard) anything like it. Extraordinarily expensive and extremely painstaking to produce, the special proprietary compound addresses two specific areas of improvement: noise floor reduction and enhanced groove definition. The vinyl composition features a new carbonless dye (hold the disc up to the light and see) and produces the world's quietest surfaces. This high-definition formula also allows for the creation of cleaner grooves that are indistinguishable from the original lacquer. MoFi SuperVinyl provides the closest approximation of what the label's engineers hear in the mastering lab.

This three album Limited Edition Numbered set of Fleetwood Mac live
and studio tracks on Blue Vinyl recorded after the departure of Peter
Green and before the arrival of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham
Fleetwood Mac made it big twice over: first as young kings of the late 1960's
British blues boom – blues fanatics who nonetheless made the pop charts with a
batch of memorable songs penned by founder Peter Green.
Then secondly, as the band that with its Rumours album Californian line- up,
tapped into a whole new market in the mid-1970's which became known as AOR -
adult oriented rock.
The music here is from a pivotal eighteen months in Mac's history as it lost its
original if- it- ain't- blues- we- don't- wanna- know attitude and looked to its own
songwriters - and America's West Coast sound - for inspiration.
After Peter Green's exit in May 1970 the rest of the band bravely decided to carry
on as a 4-piece, and so rented an oast house called Kiln House to try and 'get it
together in the country. Christine McVie joined, and one of the stand-out songs,
'Station Man', would endure for Mac in the bleak years before they moved to
California in 1974 where they struck gold with their eponymous white album and
then Rumours. 'Station Man' eventually found its way into the live set-list of the
Buckingham/ Nicks line- up and listening to it again here you can hear why: in
there, as far back as 1970, are some trademarks of the Rumours sound: threevoice harmonies, in- song tempo changes and ringing guitar sounds. Similarly,
'The Purple Dancer' and 'Jewel Eyed Judy' showcase a vocal harmonies and
melodic sense of things to come for Fleetwood Mac many miles down the line.