Поиск:still life

Since he first emerged at the end of 1999 with instant UK garage classic Re-Rewind, Craig David has scored 25 UK top 40 singles (16 of them top 10), nine UK top 40 albums (five of them top 10) and amassed over 5 billion (!) streams worldwide. In fact, over 1.5 billion of those came via his most recent releases, 2016's chart-topping comeback album, Following My Intuition, and 2018's career consolidating The Time Is Now. If you're more used to the old school metrics, that's 20m global sales. And speaking of global, he's played sold out tours everywhere from America to Australia, Japan to Germany. Across his twenty-plus year career, he's collaborated with the likes of Sting, Kano, Diplo and KSI, while also becoming one of the biggest DJs in Ibiza via his TS5 soundsystem. Award-wise we're talking 14 Brit Award nominations, two Grammy nominations, four MOBO awards and three Ivor Novellos honouring his songwriting. It's impressive, sure, but that's the past. It's ephemera. “I always feel like you need to be more real-time and present in the now,” David confirms.
That present involves an excellent new album, his eighth, in the shape of next year's 22. “It's 22 years since the first album, it will be 2022 when the album drops,” he explains of the title. This month sees the arrival of 22's glorious, MNEK-assisted lead single Who You Are, which cocoons a feel-good pop lyric about being present in a pristine UK garage casing courtesy of producer Digital Farm Animals. Like all Craig David classics it feels both box fresh and warmly nostalgic. “It will live in the world this song,” David says. “It feels so authentic, it has intention. Put on Who You Are to try and talk to someone that needs help.”

The idea of putting a smile on people's faces is at the heart of 22, an album whose title itself reflects myriad different themes. “There's also a spiritualism in the number 22 and what it represents,” he says. “In numerology it's a very powerful number and in terms of angel numbers it's bringing balance and equilibrium to my life. We're in a world where there's a lot of me against you, and so it's bridging the gap.” The title also represents distance; it's a date stamp that marks his career longevity. So what does the album's contents say about Craig David in 2022? “At its core it's still very much everything I've honoured since I was a kid, but in some ways I'm being more playful,” he says. “Loosening up the chains of my history. My debut is probably the most clear expression of who I am because it was my first outing – it's everything you are. So on this album there's that energy mixed with the wisdom and experience I can bring to the world. I've not mastered anything yet, I'm a newcomer still.” Still very much born to do it, just older and wiser.

In 1998 The Wave Pictures started carving out their own path in search of the lost essence of British Indie, since their acclaimed “Instant Coffee Baby” -nominated for The Guardian New Album Award and present in many lists of the best albums of the last 15 years– , until the most recent “When The Purple Emperor Spreads His Wings”, always giving their best in countless electrifying performances. Now The Wave Pictures are once again allied with Acuarela to release an exclusive double 7” with five songs (one, “French Cricket” included on their new album and the other four totally exclusive) and show that they are still an indie rock band without indie rock influences, a trio with its own style that doesn't want to be a blues group, but with blues –and soul, and country, and folk-, as the invisible core of everything they do. The Wave Pictures began their career in 1998. Since then the British trio hasn't stopped: at the frenetic pace of their concert schedule, they add a stakhanovist record production, which advances at the rate of almost one album per year. Example: “Great Big Flamingo Burning Moon”, which came out in February 2015, was already their thirteenth official LP (without forgetting that they have also released a large number of singles, EPs, rarities and unofficial material). But it is that in February 2016 the fourteenth album, “A Season In Hull” was released -which they recorded with a single microphone and only released on vinyl-, and in November of that same year its successor, “Bamboo Diner In The Rain” came out. In June 2018 they returned to the fray with another LP, “Brushes With Happiness”, and that November also dropped “Look Inside Your Heart”. The pandemic has made them slow down a little bit until May 2022 when they finally returned with "When The Purple Emperor Spreads His Wings". “When The Purple Emperor Spreads His Wings” is a double album dedicated to the cycle of life and in which each of its four sides (in the old fashioned way) is focused on one of the seasons of the year. The title refers to spring and its splendor. The result is pop in the style of The Wave Pictures, with all the essence of the band: those intense guitar solos by Dave, his acoustic plucking, the solid writing… in addition to the mandolin, the bluesy harmonica...you name it! All the band members, David Tattersall (vocals, guitar), Franic Rozycki (bass) and Jonny “Huddersfield” Helm (drums), are avid fans of rock'n'roll, classic country, 70s rock, soul and folk, and this album celebrates with joy all those musical loves of them, some rediscovered in recent times. Moreover, they have pointed out that Guided By Voices have also been a great source of inspiration on this recording, as well as re-listening to Sun Records’ rockabilly, African guitar records, the more country side of Neil Young, the crazy fun of The Who and some moments from The Yardbirds. The Wave Pictures are still playing what Modern Lovers did back in the day -and then Herman Dune or Hefner-, only they play it as if Rory Gallagher was their lead guitar. With the lo-fi pop-rock label as an amicable stigma, they never deny the maxim that places attitude before technique and they are always vaccinated against fashion. Years go by and they are still the same sly alley-cats, only sounding more and more classic. Tracklist: 1. French Cricket/ 2. From A Buick 6/ 3. Porcupines/ 4. Rufus Thomas/ 5. Cincinatti Flow Rag

Exclusive to INDIE STORES: Hiss and Shake Records to release ‘Logically Yours’ – a limited edition, 5 x LP boxset of 50 essential recordings from seminal post-punk icon Lora Logic including 2 classic Essential Logic albums, early single releases, EPs, B-sides, rarities, vinyl exclusives + first new Essential Logic studio album in 43 years! Includes the classic Rough Trade Records releases ‘Beat Rhythm News (Waddle Ya Play?) + ‘Pedigree Charm’ + 2 retrospective compilations of early single releases, EPs, B-sides, rarities + vinyl exclusives ‘Aerosol Burns & Other Misdemeanours’ + ‘No More Fiction’ + new studio album ‘Land of Kali’ (first in 43 years) + 20 page booklet with introduction from Celeste Bell + Lora Logic Q+A. Susan Whitby, aka Lora Logic was one of the most distinctive talents from the post-punk era known for her intoxicating, rough-around-the-edges, yet exhilarating sax playing and haywire vocal style. Her offbeat, occasionally arresting lyrics tackled alienation, sexism, poverty and urban isolation, and with a complete disregard for convention, she carved her own path not only in her short-lived music career but also personal life. She was still in her teens when she answered an ad in Melody Maker “Looking for young punks,” and in 1976, with her friend Marion Elliot (aka Poly Styrene), she formed the punk band X-Ray Spex and acquired the pseudonym, Lora Logic. The duo soon achieved notoriety with the irresistible feminist protest single, ‘Oh Bondage Up Yours’ (1977) – Logic arguably stealing the show with her thrilling punk sax. “X-Ray Spex was my first band, I happened to be accepted, It happened to work, I happened to get famous overnight. I’d been playing sax in a cupboard in my room; I thought I better do something.” However, just prior to recording 'Germ Free Adolescents' (1978), X-Ray Spex's debut album, she found herself unexpectedly ousted from the band. With abundant enthusiasm and encouragement from Geoff Travis, founding director of Rough Trade Records, she went on to form Essential Logic, creating some of the most liberating and exciting music of the early post-punk era, not only as Essential Logic, but also as a solo artist. Hiss and Shake Records are pleased to present a limited edition boxset of 50 essential recordings from the irresistibly engaging Lora Logic archive, allowing for a new generation to become aware of her incredible creative output. Across 5 LPs, ‘Logically Yours’ includes in their entirety, the classic Rough Trade Records releases ‘Beat Rhythm News (Waddle Ya Play?) (1979) – Essential Logic’s sole studio album, and Lora’s solo album, ‘Pedigree Charm’ (1982) – her last studio album before turning her back on the music business, sad and disillusioned and fighting drug addiction, which saw her turn to a Hare Krishna lifestyle, alongside Poly Styrene, embracing a fresh new chapter. This totally absorbing and definitive collection also includes two retrospective compilations; ‘Essential Logic – ‘Aerosol Burns & Other Misdemeanours’, which comprises early single releases, B-sides and oddities including the gloriously chaotic ‘Aerosol Burns’, the essential punk/disco ‘Music Is A Better Noise’, and ‘Fanfare In the Garden’, showcasing Lora at her most pop. In addition, ‘Essential Logic – ‘No More Fiction’; contains 10 vinyl exclusives, including ‘Do You Believe in Christmas?’, recorded with the Krishna Kids Choir in 1985, alongside tracks recorded circa 1997, with Martin Muscatt, Dave Farren (Bad Manners) and Gary Valentine (Blondie), forming the basis of what would have been Essential Logic’s third studio album, ‘No More Fiction’. Having recently returned to the studio refreshed and rejuvenated, ‘Logically Yours’ also includes ‘The Land of Kali’ (co-produced by Youth), the first new Essential Logic studio album in 43 years, and features the forthcoming new single ‘Prayer for Peace’, a re-imagining of the X-Ray Spex track from the tragically overlooked album, ‘Conscious Consumer’ (1995) on which Lora also played sax. “Poly Styrene and I were living in a Krishna community in Worcestershire in the early 80s. We came together for the first time musically after X-Ray Spex to record the original version of this song. In 2019, I decided to record my own take as a tribute to the special times we shared. I hope Poly likes this new version too.” Further tracks penned for release from the album include the dystopian, lockdown-inspired ‘Alien Boys’ and ‘Sky Rocket’, written with daughter Malini, about the fairground of life. Despite her short-lived career in the music business, Lora still managed to perform and appear on releases with many artists including US experimental rock band Red Crayola between 1978 and 1981, and also appeared on recordings by The Stranglers, The Raincoats, Kollaa Kestää, Dennis Bovell, Swell Maps and later, Boy George. Undoubtedly an iconic figure of the UK post-punk scene, Lora Logic’s boldness, adventurousness and sense of fun can be seen as an influence on numerous female artists today including Karen O from Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Peaches and St. Vincent among others. Tracklisting: Essential Logic ‘Beat Rhythm News (Waddle Ya Play?)’ (1979). A1 ‘Quality Crayon Wax OK’ A2 ‘The Order Form’ A3 ‘Shabby Abbott’ A4 ‘World Friction’ B1 ‘Wake Up’ B2 ‘Albert’ B3 ‘Alkaline Loaf in the Area’ B4 ‘Collecting Dust’ B5 ‘Pop Corn Boy (Waddle Ya Do?)’…… Lora Logic – ‘Pedigree Charm’ (1982). A1 ‘Brute Fury’ A2 ‘Horrible Party’ A3 ‘Stop Halt’ A4 ‘Wonderful Offer’ A5 ‘Martian Man’ B1 ‘Hiss and Shake’ B2 ‘Pedigree Charm’B3 ‘Rat Allé’ B4 ‘Crystal Gazing’…..Essential Logic – ‘Aerosol Burns & Other Misdemeanours’. A1 ‘Aerosol Burns’ (1978) – Debut single A2 ‘World Friction’ (1978) – ‘Aerosol Burns’ B-side A3 ‘Eugene’ (1981) – Single A4 ‘Tame the Neighbours’ (1981) – ‘Eugene’ B-side A5 ‘Music Is A Better Noise’ (1981) – Single A6 ‘Moontown’ (1981) – ‘Music Is A Better Noise’ B-side B1 ‘Fanfare In the Garden’ (1981) – Single B2 ‘Stereo’ (1982) – ‘Wonderful Offer’ single B-side B3 ‘Rather Than Repeat’ (1981) – ‘Wonderful Offer’ single B-side B4 ‘The Captain’ (1979) – ‘Fanfare In The Garden’ B-side B5 ‘Soul’ (1983) – Previously unreleased on vinyl B6 ‘Stay High’ – Previously unreleased on vinyl….. Essential Logic – ‘No More Fiction’. A1 ‘Essential Logic’ (1991) – Vinyl exclusive A2 ‘On The Internet’ (1998) – Vinyl exclusive A3 ‘Under The Great City’ (1997) – Vinyl exclusive A4 ‘No More Fiction’ (1998) – Vinyl exclusive A5 ‘Love Eternal’ (1997) – Vinyl exclusive B1 ‘Barbie Be Happy’ (1998) – Vinyl exclusive B2 ‘Not Me’ (1998) – Vinyl exclusive B3 ‘The Beautiful and the Damned’ (1997) – Vinyl exclusive B4 ‘Marika’ (1997) – Vinyl exclusive B5 ‘Do You Believe in Christmas?’ (1985) with the Krishna Kids Choir – Vinyl exclusive……Essential Logic – ‘Land of Kali’ (2022). A1 ‘Prayer For Peace’ A2 ‘Alien Boys’ A3 ‘Mother Earth’ A4 ‘Never Know’ A5 ‘Charming Every Cupid’ B1 ‘Sky Rocket’ B2 ‘Serious’ B3 ‘Fallible Soldiers’ B4 ‘Land of Kali’ B5 ‘Beyond’

Available for the first time on vinyl, the debut album by Deborah Jordan is a classic set of neo-soul and broken beat gems featuring amazing production work from Atjazz, Marc Rapson, Simbad, Jniero Jarel, Rise/Mecca:83 and more.

Originally released on CD in 2009 to critical acclaim, the album was supported by many taste makers and DJs worldwide and is considered a classic UK soul album.

Still sounding incredibly fresh, The Light has a deep and mature sound with brilliantly arranged tracks moving through various soulful genres from nu-soul, broken beat, deep house and hip-hop with Deborah’s own unique vocal delivery and song writing skills on full display. Over the years, Deborah has worked with many fine producers including 4hero, Bugz In The Attic, Soundspecies, Domu, Ty Macklin and continues to produce incredible work with her contemporaries including the recent collaboration album Human with the excellent K15.

Multi-Platinum recording artist Shayne Ward rose to fame as winner of the second series of the UK talent show The X Factor. His debut single ‘That’s My Goal’ was the 2005 Christmas No. 1, spending four weeks at the top of the chart and selling 2 million copies - still one of the all-time twenty biggest best-selling debut singles. The debut album entered the chart at No. 1 in April with first week sales 200,000 copies. Shayne has since had three further Top 40 hits and three more hit albums. Shayne's platinum selling self-titled album is available on vinyl for the very first time, and features the hit singles 'That's My Goal', 'No Promises' and 'Stand By Me'.

Macadam Mambo launches another special LP to end the 2022 season, presenting the debut album of this Belgo-Italian aural freak show called « Sexo Y Fantasia ». A delicious record full of sun by aspect, dreamy, dubby and balearic in the tone, flavored and contrasted with little bits of darkness and tension in the background. As the name suggests it, the sexiness is in every note, the erotic male voice is floating all over it, surfing on waves of endless reverb and delay. Throughout being anchored with clear hints from the 80ties and 90ties, this 35 minutes oeuvre still keeps full modernity in its form. DJ-friendly, it’s also an excellent overall listening experience to enjoy from beginning to end while sipping a fancy cocktail somewhere out in a cosmic dreamland.

Don’t miss this joint, it might be one of the highlights of the year

Wah Wah 45s are proud to present a new set of remixes, as well as originals released on vinyl for the very first time, from Afrobeat supergroupEparapo. Having come togetherduring the unprecedented events of the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement, and despite being a project born from the privations of lockdown, their music is ultimately an expression of hope, resilience & resurgence.

The word "eparapo" means "join forces" in Yoruba, the language of Afrobeat. It's also the title of a track by the late, greatTony Allen- drummer for Afrobeat legendFela Kutiand lifelong friend and mentor of our very own "Afrobeat Ambassador",Dele Sosimi. Not only did Tony help to invent Afrobeat, he always looked for ways to push the boundaries, never content with recreating what had gone before but constantly expanding and developing the genre. This project hopes to pay homage to his legacy, and that of Fela Kuti himself. Its aim is to innovate, fuse and diversify while still retaining the essence of the music.

The force behind Eparapo is bassist, composer & producerSuman Joshi.He has been a member of Dele Sosimi's Afrobeat Orchestra for nearly a decade and has performed on stage with the likes of Tony Allen, Seun Kuti, Ginger Baker & Laura Mvula. He is also bassist with UK jazz ensemble Collocutor and fusion project Cubafrobeat.

Featured vocalist on both original tracks, and remixes, is the aforementioned Dele Sosimi - keyboard player and musical director for Fela's Egypt 80 as well as Wah Wah 45s recording artist on both his solo material and the recent collaboration with house music producer, Medlar.

The rest of the group comprises of bandleader ofAfrik Bawantuand percussionist for Ibibio Sound Machine and Keleketla,Afla Sackey; highly rated UK jazz vocalistSahra Gure; saxophonist, composer, producer and bandleader of the renowned forward thinking jazz outfit Collocutor,Tamar Obsorn; keyboard player, producer and front man for Lokkhi Terra and Cubafrobeat,Kishon Khan; one of the UK's finest and most in demand trumpeters,Graeme Flowers, who has played with Quincy Jones, Gregory Porter and many more; trombonist for Bellowhead and mainstay of Dele's Afrobeat Orchestra,Justin Thurgur; and finally drummer for Steamdown and Sons of Kemet, as well as the man behind the Nache project,Eddie Wakili Hick.

From London To Lagoswas inspired by a talk given by writerRoberto Savianoat the Hay Book Festival in 2016, just before the Brexit referendum. In it he described the UK as the "most corrupt country in the world". This was a reminder of how the leaders of so-called developed countries, conveniently suffering from colonial amnesia, still point disparagingly at the rest of the world and talk of "endemic corruption" and "Banana Republics". All the while the ill-gotten gains of organised crime syndicates, corrupt multinationals and military juntas across the globe are funnelled through financial centres such as London. Same trouble, different methods, greater scale. Of course the best way to divert the population from all this is to find distractions such as populist leaders who declare their countries "world beating" and scapegoats such as refugees, immigrants and other members of the underclasses. It has always been thus but it doesn't always have to be so.

This track was once more recorded remotely during lockdown and features an all star lineup of world class musicians from the UK Afrobeat and jazz scenes. Members of the Dele Sosimi Afrobeat Orchestra, Keleketla, Sons of Kemet and beyond have come together to create this powerhouse of a band. They encapsulate the meaning of "eparapo" and "join forces'' to fight a common enemy in the shape of corrupt and divisive ideologies.

Its remix comes fromWheelUP- the moniker of West London broken beat revivalist Danny Wheeler, who here delivers something of a smoother straight up Afro flavoured house workout that's sure to be heard across dance floors and festivals this summer. The Tru Thoughts signed artist adds gliding synths and tight drums that ride the original's hypnotic melody perfectly and make for a future club classic.

Black Lives Matterwas obviously inspired by the movement of the same name and was the first track to be released by Eparapo in late 2020. Dele's voice tell the story slave ships leaving West Africa in the fifteenth century, the brutal conditions that were experienced on board, and the continued suffering of the African diaspora today. As always, half of the artist's income for this song will be donated to the NAACP - a civil rights organisation in the United States, created for the advancement of black people by means of following judicial policies.


The remix here comes from Birmingham based producer signed to Jalapeno Records,Sam Redmore. Sam's love for breaks and beats comes into play well here, subtly chopping up the original to create a bass worrying version that still sends that very important message of justice and equality - Black Lives Matter!

a 01: From London to Lagos (WheelUP Remix) feat. Dele Sosimi

[c] 03: Black Lives Matter (Sam Redmore Remix) [feat. Dele Sosimi]

Lotus Eater is a duo consisting of Luca Mortellaro (Lucy) and Seth Horvitz (Rrose), techno artists just as comfortable operating in the uncharted area of experimental music who have gained a cult following, both influencing and challenging the direction of contemporary electronic music.

Eschewing the typical instrumentation of techno but still inhabiting its archetypes, Lotus Eater uses synthesised sound and feedback as fundamental sources to generate both textural and percussive elements. A sense of tension and weight emerge from sources that cannot be easily pinpointed. Each release forms a complex narrative from a paradoxically simple and restrained set of sound sources.
Officially formed in 2017, Lotus Eater came to life through several collaborations over a number of years, and finally blossomed with the release of its critically acclaimed debut album "Desatura," which Lotus Eater toured live in 2018 - 2019.

2022 sees the release of the second Lotus Eater album "Plasma" and a new audiovisual live project to accompany it. "Plasma" unfolds with exacting precision by exhibiting a point of focus and expanding on it. It uses a single, throbbing pulse to generate a constellation of sounds and rhythms that form around it like a volcanic eruption in slow motion. Playing with our sense of time and weight, "Plasma" feels simultaneously slow and urgent, spacious and immense. Lotus Eater zooms into the infinite abyss and finds not just light, but fire at the end of the tunnel. Will we be saved, or will we burn?

ONE OF THE BIGGEST JUNGLE TRACKS OF ALL TIME GETS NEW REMIXES & A PICTURE DISC!

Does this track need any introduction? Since the original release on London’s Dee Jay Recordings way back in 1995 Babylon is one of those rare tracks that doesn’t seem to date.

Andy C, founder of the iconic Ram Records & arguably the worlds most in demand drum & bass DJ, sighted Babylon as one of his favourite ever D&B tracks. The track still regularly features in his
sets some 27 years after its initial release!!

Over the years this genre defining track has been reworked by some of the scenes all-time greats; Dillinja, Trace, Bladerunner, DJ SS & Ray Keith, the latter two names featuring on this visually
stunning repressing with carefully remastered inclusions of their versions.

The success of this track made Splash aka Undercover Agent one of the most sought-after names in jungle / drum & bass and was the launchpad from which he instigated his own Juice & Splash label imprints.

The artwork for this picture disc has been reproduced with kind permission from the original Dee Jay Recording sleeve artwork for Babylon and proudly features both the Dee Jay Recordings and Juice Recordings logos.

Alongside those very high value classic Ray Keith & DJ SS remixes come two brand new remixes!

Ego Trippin, is both a popular DJ on today’s D&B circuit, and under previous guises was one of the original artist signings to the Juice / Splash labels… Who better to breathe new life into this classic track? This 2022 Remix brings all the flavours of the original & injects a new energy for today’s audiences.

Deadly Silence is a new artist head hunted by Splash himself and entrusted to bring a new take on his legacy music, providing yet another exclusive unreleased version to this incredible package.

This picture disc is extremely limited. We’re expecting this to sell out as soon as it goes on sale. Act fast to be one of the few to own this exquisite collector’s item.

In 'Christmas Morning', a song recorded for the 10th edition of the Snowflakes Christmas Singles Club, California folk singer Annie Jay remembers how special Christmas mornings were to her as a child. It was a magical moment. When she got older, the mystery of Christmas slowly disappeared. But not everything is gone. There is still the gathering together with loved ones every Christmas. And there are still children who wake up on Christmas morning and feel the same excitement that she felt when she once felt as a child. Annie Jay sings it all in a soft and sweet voice that is very easy to fall in love with and accompanies herself with the instrument that she fell in love with: the banjo. ‘Blue Christmas’, the song on the B-side of the single, has been covered by thousands of other artists since first recorded in the late 1940s and especially since Elvis Presley recorded it for his 1957 Christmas album. It only takes Annie Jay two minutes to make the standard hers - as if Billy Hayes and Jay W. Johnson wrote ‘Blue Christmas’ with her banjo and her vocal harmonies in mind.

Annie Jay lives in Upland, California and grew up with the music of Kenny Loggins, James Taylor, Carol King and Fleetwood Mac. After first teaching herself to play ukulele and guitar, her life changed when she discovered the banjo. It was then that she decided to follow the path of music. It brought her a BA of Arts in Music from the University of La Verne and it made her travel to Europe to play her music. Annie Jay formed the folk duo Your Companies and debuted in 2016 with the solo album 'Love Is All Around'. Earlier in 2022, she released the 6-song EP 'Time And Space' and a split 7" with California indie act Eatpianokeys, to which she contributed the beautiful song 'Talking To Plants'.

Minas-cover Minas is a world music duet comprised of Orlando Haddad and Patricia King. Minas reflects a perfect musical marriage with a stage presence and chemistry that only a lifetime can produce. Drawing on the passionate styles of Brazilian and American roots music, the two create a fresh and innovative sound. With a catalog of 8 recordings released on their label Bluezul and a collection of over 100 songs, they have been building their reputation. Multi-talented as composers, vocalists, and instrumentalists, and equally comfortable in Brazilian jazz, folk, and classical genres, Minas is now bringing their world music approach to the Beatles with their latest album titled Beatles in Bossa. This re-imagination of fourteen Beatles' songs is infused with American Jazz and Brazilian styles of Bossa Nova, Samba, Choro, Partido Alto, Afoxé, Marcha Rancho, and Frevo. "Blackbird" has a nylon-strung guitar and vocal intro that sets the tone for this Brazilian-themed arrangement. Minasminas-1 transforms the melody to something new while still keeping the theme recognizable. The male and female vocals of Haddad and King blend beautifully as the band builds a relaxed Brazilian feel. John Swana plays an expressive Evi solo, adding a modern color while still being vivid. Haddad wrote this creative arrangement with a fresh approach to this classic Beatles melody. "With A Little Help From My Friends" is another Brazilian arrangement that is all Minas. The concept came from Haddad and King with the horn arrangement provided by Andrew Neu. Haddad's nylon-strung guitar keeps a Latin pattern as the horns accent the two vocalists trading phrases of the melody. Neu plays an exciting solo. The arrangement is rewarding, enabling us to hear the melodic lines, harmony, and orchestration from a different perspective.minas-2Minas' Beatles in Bossa impresses with its natural, vibrant, and heartfelt presence, allowing us to hear and appreciate the colors and textures of the exceptional music of the Beatles through a Brazilian perspective and thoughtful performances.

Rastafarianism came to prominence in the late 1960's/ 1970's and had a huge influence on the musical culture in Jamaica. The sentiments of the songs reflected the struggles of life, as reggae music always did but now with an added spiritual/conscious element to the lyrics. By the mid 1970's most, if not all the top flight singers were following the doctrine and growing their har to dreadlocks.
Everything was truly 'Dread'.
At the heart of this musical explosion was again Bunny 'Striker' Lee a man who was always at the heart of the action and many times in his career ahead of the musical game. As Bunny Lee's stable of singers were at this time nearly all Rasta's and with the worldwide acceptance of Bob Marley, in especially the foreign territories, this musical style was the way forward for reggae music in the mid 1970's. The visual focal point of this new turn in reggae music would be a call to all things 'Dread'. Add to the mix Bunny Lee's close working relationship with studio wizard King Tubby, again not a Rasta himself, but someone who could sonically bring what was needed to the table and enable the whole musical chemistry to fall into place.
Heavy rhythms were created to match the heavy and serious lyrics and 'Versions Galore' as they say were coming out fast and furious.
We have compiled a set of conscious tunes that not only match the 'Dread' criteria, but also are just great tunes. The great Jacob Miller's 'Zion Gates', Cornell Campbells 'Two Faced Rasta', Horace Andy's 'It's Gonna Be Dread' alongside Linval Thompson's 'Never Conquer Jah'. Two timeless cuts from the 'The Abyssinians' get a fresh outing by two great singers, firstly Don Carlos' cut to 'Satta Massaganna' and the prince of reggae himself, Dennis Brown works 'Declaration of Rights' in fine style. Johnny Clarke's 'Man like Me' and 'Dem Say Rasta' still sound as fresh today as when they were first laid down and Wayne Jarrett's 'Live On Jah' and Frankie Jones 'Satta and Praise Jah' add to this great selection. All great 'Dread' tunes that were cut or voiced at King Tubby's giving them that extra shine.
So if you are Rasta or not this is a great set of tunes to make you move and also like all of the best things in life, make you think.........

















Track 14 WICKED BABYLON - LINVAL THOMPSON

Felix Laband’s The Soft White Hand is the masterwork of an artist who expresses himself through musical and artistic collage acting together to reinterpret his sources and to express significant elements of his own personal story.

Released by Munich-based Compost Records, the 14-track album is Laband’s first full-length offering since the critically acclaimed Deaf Safari in 2015. It is heralded by the single “Derek and Me”, and is being pressed on vinyl for distribution globally.

In The Soft White Hand Laband works with source materials that will be familiar to those who know his previous four records – Thin Shoes in June (2001), 4/4 Down the Stairs (2002), Dark Days Exit (2005) and especially Deaf Safari which reached deep into the South Africa scene and its political culture to inspire its vocal and music sampling. However, the disengagement he felt from his homeland during his latest album’s creation – an abiding sense of untethered-ness to place and space, exquisitely rendered in tracks like “Death of a Migrant” – is perceptible in Laband’s desire to illuminate instead aspects of his own life.

“For this album, my source material became almost autobiographical as opposed to African statements I’ve worked with previously,” says the artist. “I have sampled a lot from documentaries from the 80s crack epidemic in impoverished African American communities and believe my work speaks unapologetically for the lost and marginalised, for those who are the forgotten casualties of the war on drugs. In the past, I have had my issues with substance abuse, and I know first-hand about the nightmares and fears, what it feels like to be isolated and abandoned.”

Few artists have managed to air these intimate aspects of their life so luminously as Laband does in tracks like “5 Seconds Ago”, “They Call Me Shorty” and in the strange and meditative “Dreams of Loneliness”. “I’ve been building this weird, autobiographical story using other people talking. It’s kind of humorous but it is also sad and beautiful,” says Laband.

Yet, as in all of Laband’s recorded output, the delineations between emotions are never starkly drawn and The Soft White Hand is also shot through with beauty. Nature appears in recordings made in his garden in the intimate early morning hours, whether as in the calls of the Hadada Ibis and other birdsong in “Prelude” or of the vertical-tail-cocking bird in “Derek and Me”. The last is a wonderful track with Derek Gripper, the South African experimental classical guitarist of international renown, whose 2020 song “Fanta and Felix” imagines a meeting between Fanta Sacko and Laband.

Laband’s eloquence in reinterpreting classical composers such as Beethoven in “We Know Major Tom’s a Junkie” is another thrilling aspect of the new record. “I’ve been properly exploring classical music on this album,” explains Laband, “taking melodies from classical compositions and reinterpreting them”. A fresh quality comes to his work through this sonic adventuring: the tender manipulation of the mundaneness of the computer’s AI voice to reimagine and reinvent iconic lyrics and melodies in strange and unexpected configurations.

The Soft White Hand is Laband’s most cohesive body of work to date. Yet it remains, in its sheer artistic scope, impossible to describe fully. Darkness abuts the gossamer light. A song that summons the sunrise and all the hope of a new day could also be about the final dipping down of the sun that portends a troubled night ahead. Interludes are invitations to expand outwards or shift inwards. Mistakes and “weird fuckups” in the sound are cherished as convincing statements against what Laband calls the “grossness” of perfect sound in modern music.

For this world-leading electronic artist, the boundaries are unfixed. He is inspired by the German Dada artist, Hannah Höch, who memorably declared: “I wish to blur the firm boundaries which we self-certain people tend to delineate around all we can achieve.” His music consequently reflects a primal artistic impulse that is also visible in Laband’s considerable visual art output as seen recently in several solo exhibitions such as that held in the No End Gallery in Johannesburg in 2019 and in the works he produced during his 2018 Nirox Foundation Artists Residency. “My music is always about collage, as is my art,’’ he affirms. “Everything I do is collage. It is a medium I find very interesting because you are taking history and distorting it and changing its meaning and turning it upside down and back to front.” In her book Recollections of My Non-Existence, Rebecca Solnit calls collage “literally a border art”; it is “an art of what happens when two things confront each other or spill onto each other”.

With The Soft White Hand, Laband is confirming his singular ability to achieve this in both art and music, melting the divisions between the two creative disciplines until they become one. He is also affirming his belief that an album of music should be more than a collection of unrelated tracks, but should unfold a fully integrated, cohesive story as in the song cycles of the great classical composers. In doing so, he claims his position as one of the most significant artists working today.

Artist Statement – Felix Laband – August 2022

When the Khmer Rouge took their captives for processing, they identified their class enemies by looking at their hands. If they were sunburned, rough and calloused, they were those of a peasant, a proletarian to be spared. But if they were soft and white, then they were those of a city-dweller, an intellectual or bourgeois, an adversary to be liquidated.

In calling this album The Soft White Hand, I was reflecting on the Cambodian genocide and how it resonates in contemporary South Africa. The apartheid era is over, and gone with it is white political domination. Yet economic and social privilege is still held in soft white hands. But those who grasp it know just how tenuous is their hold, how it singles them out, and my music reflects their subconscious fears, the stress and guilt of clinging on to what others envy and desire.

The soft white hand of the title suggests to me a further image, one that relates to all of postcolonial Africa. In my mind’s eye, I see the soft, duplicitous handshake of the smooth representatives of the superpowers making deals and promising gifts that benefit only them, and not their African dupes.
Yet, soaring above the wailing of sirens sampled from the first day of the invasion of Ukraine, my music is also about love gained and passion lost. It is about the tender caress of a soft white hand that conducts you into a place of dreams to be enfolded by nocturnal melodies.

Human Remains follows Creatures of the Deep and Black Sarabande as the final installment of a trilogy of piano based recordings by Robert Haigh for Unseen Worlds. The trilogy marks the end of the late era of solo albums by Haigh before he steps away from music production.

The title, Human Remains, was initially based on a painting of the same name by Haigh that is suggestive of an ancient structure resolute in the wake of overwhelming forces. As a metaphor for our current times, it could be interpreted as human frailty in the face of nature’s unyielding dominion. Conversely, it could represent the persistence of human spirit and resourcefulness in the midst of catastrophe and upheaval.

Born and raised in the piney woods outside of Haynesville, Louisiana, Chris Canterbury comes from the grimy remnants of a small oil patch town, a way of life that is slowly fading but still lingers in the songs he sings. Born to a working-class blue-collar family, Chris struggled to find the middle ground between his grandfather’s Southern Baptist sermons and the honky-tonk mystics that he discovered on old vinyl records in high school. Armed with an old thrift-shop guitar, Chris began playing and writing stories about life from a unique but oddly familiar point-of-view. Songs about liquor stores, truck stops, low-rent motels, and the grifters and transients that frequent them. It doesn’t matter if it’s a pool hall or a theater, a festival or a front porch, Chris’s live sound is the whiskey-laden prospectus that anyone with a struggle can relate to.

Die 1984 gegründete Band Sepultura ist der
wahrscheinlich größte brasilianische Musikexport und
feierte im Laufe ihrer Karriere weltweit große Erfolge. Bis
heute haben sie fünfzehn Studioalben veröffentlicht und
weltweit über 20 Millionen Einheiten verkauft. "Dante XXI",
ursprünglich 2006 veröffentlicht, ist das 10. Studioalbum
der Band und basiert auf den drei Teilen von Dantes
"Göttlicher Komödie": Hölle, Fegefeuer und Paradies.

Re-mastered from the original master tapes.
180 gr vinyl pressed by Optimal in Germany using the Metal Mothers from Pallas.

Facsimile reissue using the original photo by Jean-Pierre Leloir.
Double insert using an original color photo by JP Leloir.
Each record has been visually checked to prevent defects.

In its October ‘58 issue, the title carried by Jazz Hot magazine was: »Revelation at the Chat Qui Pêche. The spirit of jazz (which some thought was dying) is sparkling with life in the Donald Byrd Quintet.« And indeed, on its first appearance at the Cannes Festival in July (the Jazz Festival, not the other one), the Donald Byrd Quintet brought the house down. Its members were hardly the Who’s Who of jazz, however. People vaguely knew that the leader had replaced Kenny Dorham in the Jazz Messengers, that Doug Watkins had played bass with them, and that pianist Walter Davis Jr. had been with Charlie Parker before he was 19. As for Art Taylor, if he’d already enjoyed a career longer than that of his colleagues, it hadn’t yet brought him recognition beyond a small circle of cognoscenti. Only Bobby Jaspar – who’d shone at the Club St. Germain – was famous with the Parisian audience. At the beginning of 1956, he’d decided to try his luck in the United States; J.J. Johnson had hired him, and then Miles Davis (for a brief spell) before Donald Byrd brought him into his own group. After appearing in Cannes (in the sun) and Knokke-le-Zoute (a much smaller audience) for almost three months, the Donald Byrd Quintet settled down for the autumn in one of the capital’s top jazz spots, the Chat Qui Pêche on the Rue de la Huchette. »In that tiny room,« wrote Frank Ténot, »where the owner used to bump into the soloists by accident when she was serving her customers, the music they played was hot, and always surprising.« To crown a tour that had been extremely satisfying for everyone, a concert at the Olympia theatre was organised (there were gigs there called “Jazz Wednesdays”). Byrd and Co. took things very seriously, even though they preserved the relaxed approach that their (relatively) long association now permitted: "La Marseillaise", and "And The Angels Sing" are both present in the introduction to Parisian Thoroughfare played by the two horns. The latter then went on to imitate other horns, those of the cars on 52nd Street ... However, when it came to "Stardust", it was with all the seriousness in the world, almost in meditation in fact, that Donald Byrd improvised over the backing provided by just Walter Davis Jr. and Doug Watkins. Bobby Jaspar, of course, was marvellous. If he showed a marked obedience to Sonny Rollins, he still preserved, intact, the virtues of sobriety that prevented him falling into the trap of serving up torrents of notes in pieces taken at a rapid tempo ("At This Time", for example). During the exchanges on "Formidable", you’d be forgiven for saying that he gets the better of Donald Byrd. As for the complicity that reigned between the members of the rhythm section, it gave the formation a homogenous character that was very rare in a quintet. One can’t thank François Postif enough for taking the risk to release this concert at the time. Now, almost half a century later, one

There would be no Austin City Limits were it not for Willie Nelson - He
started it all in 1974, performing on the original pilot episode, and has
been a large part of ACL history ever since
He's appeared on more programs than any single artist, but this particular show
(recorded on September 6, 1990) captures him and the family band at their best.
It's all here, all the Willie classics, his signature songs and fan favorites. His trusty
guitar, Trigger,and that voice, that unique phrasing, that makes Willie Nelson one
of the world's most original singers, whether he's wailing the blues, honky tonkin,'
crooning pop standards or rockin' the house. Everybody knows the story: the boy
from Abbott, Texas who grew up playing music with his sister Bobbie, who moved
to Nashville to stake his claim, but after years of writing classic songs for other
artists ( Crazy,Night Life,Funny How Time Slips Away ), got tired of playing the
game and moved back to Texas. He chose Austin as his new home, and nothing
has been the same ever since. This performance shows Willie at the top of his
game. Back then he truly was and still is the King of Country.
- Terry Lickona (producer Austin City Limits ).

Human Remains follows Creatures of the Deep and Black Sarabande as the final installment of a trilogy of piano based recordings by Robert Haigh for Unseen Worlds. The trilogy marks the end of the late era of solo albums by Haigh before he steps away from music production. The title, Human Remains, was initially based on a painting of the same name by Haigh that is suggestive of an ancient structure resolute in the wake of overwhelming forces. As a metaphor for our current times, it could be interpreted as human frailty in the face of nature's unyielding dominion. Conversely, it could represent the persistence of human spirit and resourcefulness in the midst of catastrophe and upheaval. The album opens with 'Beginner's Mind' - a semi-improvised motif develops into an impressionistic refrain. This is followed by "Twilight Flowers" and "Waltz On Treated Wire" - intimate, monochrome piano portraits. Later tracks such as "Lost Albion" and "Signs Of Life" build on skeletal piano motifs with subtle electronic washes, textures and field sounds. The album ends with the elegiac "On Terminus Hill" where a stately piano refrain explores a series of sparse harmonic variations evoking a sense of closure.

INTRODUCING: TRADER Hailing from Aarhus, Denmark, this explosive, close-knit four-piece have created what is best described as a sonic freight train. Equally noisy and catchy, the songs are driven by distortion, relentless drumming and an enchanting sense of directness. Throughout their existence Trader have thrilled audiences and critics alike, gaining a reputation as a riveting live band as well as trusted deliverers of potent rock anthems. This October, Trader will release their sophomore album “Their Best Work So Far”. The album sees Trader taking on a more diverse and dynamic sound while still homaging their beloved grand era of American 90’s alternative rock music. As the album title wittily indicates, the band took the ambition of good, sincere songwriting and craftsmanship as their cornerstones. To fulfill this ambition, the band relocated from the confines of their home studio to the legendary Silence Studio in Sweden - an old, refurbished two-storey school house hidden in the woods of small-town Koppom. This was the perfect remotion for Trader to escape the everyday humdrum and focus their piled-up energy into 9 songs. Being a hard-working band with no big commercial payoffs in sight can make you question if you chose the right path in life. Drummer Kristian Vissing elaborates: “We just had an anniversary at our old high school and met with our class mates from back then, who talked about how great it was to finish university and finally have a career going. These expectations from peers and society on how to lead a good and proper life can get you down sometimes and leave you with doubt. It’s sort of a theme on this album. We want to urge everyone to take a halt and enjoy where you’re at right now and not always have your eyes set on the future.” “Their Best Work So Far” is out on November 11 via Part Time Records.

RIYL Harold Budd, Max Richter, Nihls Frahm. Limited Transparent Orange Vinyl LP. Final album from Roberth Haigh of SEMA, Nurse With Wound, Omni Trio. Smut shines a spotlight on the sounds of the 90s across genres – a record scratch, a spacey synth line, a breakcore beat – all while maintaining freshness and originality. The collaborative project of vocalist Tay Roebuck, guitarist Andrew Min, bassist and synth-player Bell Cenower, guitarist and synth-player Sam Ruschman, and drummer Aidan O'Connor, Smut have conquered national tours with Bully, Swirlies, Nothing, and WAVVES. Based in Chicago, IL, the band hits their stride in 'How the Light Felt'. It is an exercise in coping, an electrifying statement of hope in the thick of resounding loss, and a love letter to the people that keep us going. With their powers combined, Smut meld the songwriting sensibilities of Oasis with the vocal delivery of the Cocteau Twins – the percussive grooves of Gorillaz with the sensuality of Massive Attack. An electric current of hope led by Tay Roebuck's powerful, femme vocals, Smut puts on a live show that is not to be missed. Also Available From Smut: Power Fantasy 7”. Track listing: 1 Beginner's Mind 2 Twilight Flowers 3 Waltz on Treated Wire 4 Contour Lines 5 Rainy Season 6 Lost Albion 7 Like a Shadow 8 Still Life with Moving Parts 9 The Fourth Man 10 Signs of Life 11 The Nocturnals 12 Baroque Atom 13 On Terminus Hill

RIYL Harold Budd, Max Richter, Nihls Frahm. Limited Transparent Orange Vinyl LP. Final album from Roberth Haigh of SEMA, Nurse With Wound, Omni Trio. Smut shines a spotlight on the sounds of the 90s across genres – a record scratch, a spacey synth line, a breakcore beat – all while maintaining freshness and originality. The collaborative project of vocalist Tay Roebuck, guitarist Andrew Min, bassist and synth-player Bell Cenower, guitarist and synth-player Sam Ruschman, and drummer Aidan O'Connor, Smut have conquered national tours with Bully, Swirlies, Nothing, and WAVVES. Based in Chicago, IL, the band hits their stride in 'How the Light Felt'. It is an exercise in coping, an electrifying statement of hope in the thick of resounding loss, and a love letter to the people that keep us going. With their powers combined, Smut meld the songwriting sensibilities of Oasis with the vocal delivery of the Cocteau Twins – the percussive grooves of Gorillaz with the sensuality of Massive Attack. An electric current of hope led by Tay Roebuck's powerful, femme vocals, Smut puts on a live show that is not to be missed. Also Available From Smut: Power Fantasy 7”. Track listing: 1 Beginner's Mind 2 Twilight Flowers 3 Waltz on Treated Wire 4 Contour Lines 5 Rainy Season 6 Lost Albion 7 Like a Shadow 8 Still Life with Moving Parts 9 The Fourth Man 10 Signs of Life 11 The Nocturnals 12 Baroque Atom 13 On Terminus Hill

While frontman Tom Greenhouse’s off-kilter observations and bizarro anecdotes remain front and centre, this time round the band up their game with a more vigorous sound that keeps pace with Greenhouse’s wholly distinctive lyrical style. Greenhouse continues to revel in telling increasingly surreal short stories, rejoicing in the power of the deadpan one-liner and bedecking his songs with far-flung cultural references. But now the band employ a variety of techniques with improved pro- duction, from the impulsively bashed keyboards and jubilantly repetitive guitar stabs that have be- come their trademark, to flirtations with–heaven forbid!–melody, chord progressions and arrangements which elevate their tried-and-tested blueprint into a more exciting and cohesive whole.

Opener Musicians is the perfect embodiment of this conscious development. Here, Greenhouse re- counts a sarcastic tale of half-truths that see him galavanting around town trying to put a band to- gether. Sonically, it begins with a caustic callback to the group’s first EP Crap Cardboard Pet and its über-minimalist aesthetic. But by the end of the song a joyous festival of afrobeat-inspired in- struments including samba whistles, bongos and saxophones are added to the mix as the front- man, ironically, fails in his mission to recruit more players.

With Get Unjaded, the band have somehow conjured something close to pop, without abandoning the repetition and wit that’s relished by their early fans. I Lost My Head also adopts a jangle-pop sheen with a luscious synth melody, as the frontman ditches the spoken-word for a surly croon (his first known attempt at actual singing!) that provides a welcome breather from the onslaught of dense recantations that are the band’s bread-and-butter.

While the lyrics here are still often humorous and political, Greenhouse has also notably expanded his interests on this album to include a new host of topics. The influence of extraterrestrials, for ex- ample, infiltrates the subject matter frequently. On The UFOs, the mysterious protagonist Blinkus Booth’s isolationist lifestyle is apparently interrupted by the spectres of otherworldly visitors, while closer The Neoprene Ravine feels like an extract from a deep space rock opera. Here, jaunty and angular instruments pile-on as we are fed images of an interstellar Spinal Tap, the titular fictional band “The Neoprene Ravine” who are “the alien equivalent of the Velvet Underground” and include an alien Lou Reed yelping “too busy sucking on my little green ding dong!”.

Meanwhile, Hard Rock Potato is propelled by a vortex of keys and synths, a real noise-pop gem comprised of real guitar chords (!) and rock-orientated riffs. Here the stream-of-consciousness lyrics take shots at the sinister financial industry, and include one of the many top-tier one-liners on the album: “It’s not gambling if you’re wearing a tie (even if you’ve got no trousers on)”.

On Sod’s Toastie, The Cool Greenhouse have pushed their distinctive flavour of post-punk to the point of perfection – their incongruous riffs, alchemical instrumental chemistry, and irreverent spo- ken-word vocals are a delight throughout. Sod’s Toastie is hilarious at times, and at others just hilariously good – a not-so-difficult second album.

Yellow and black splatter

While frontman Tom Greenhouse’s off-kilter observations and bizarro anecdotes remain front and centre, this time round the band up their game with a more vigorous sound that keeps pace with Greenhouse’s wholly distinctive lyrical style. Greenhouse continues to revel in telling increasingly surreal short stories, rejoicing in the power of the deadpan one-liner and bedecking his songs with far-flung cultural references. But now the band employ a variety of techniques with improved pro- duction, from the impulsively bashed keyboards and jubilantly repetitive guitar stabs that have be- come their trademark, to flirtations with–heaven forbid!–melody, chord progressions and arrangements which elevate their tried-and-tested blueprint into a more exciting and cohesive whole.

Opener Musicians is the perfect embodiment of this conscious development. Here, Greenhouse re- counts a sarcastic tale of half-truths that see him galavanting around town trying to put a band to- gether. Sonically, it begins with a caustic callback to the group’s first EP Crap Cardboard Pet and its über-minimalist aesthetic. But by the end of the song a joyous festival of afrobeat-inspired in- struments including samba whistles, bongos and saxophones are added to the mix as the front- man, ironically, fails in his mission to recruit more players.

With Get Unjaded, the band have somehow conjured something close to pop, without abandoning the repetition and wit that’s relished by their early fans. I Lost My Head also adopts a jangle-pop sheen with a luscious synth melody, as the frontman ditches the spoken-word for a surly croon (his first known attempt at actual singing!) that provides a welcome breather from the onslaught of dense recantations that are the band’s bread-and-butter.

While the lyrics here are still often humorous and political, Greenhouse has also notably expanded his interests on this album to include a new host of topics. The influence of extraterrestrials, for ex- ample, infiltrates the subject matter frequently. On The UFOs, the mysterious protagonist Blinkus Booth’s isolationist lifestyle is apparently interrupted by the spectres of otherworldly visitors, while closer The Neoprene Ravine feels like an extract from a deep space rock opera. Here, jaunty and angular instruments pile-on as we are fed images of an interstellar Spinal Tap, the titular fictional band “The Neoprene Ravine” who are “the alien equivalent of the Velvet Underground” and include an alien Lou Reed yelping “too busy sucking on my little green ding dong!”.

Meanwhile, Hard Rock Potato is propelled by a vortex of keys and synths, a real noise-pop gem comprised of real guitar chords (!) and rock-orientated riffs. Here the stream-of-consciousness lyrics take shots at the sinister financial industry, and include one of the many top-tier one-liners on the album: “It’s not gambling if you’re wearing a tie (even if you’ve got no trousers on)”.

On Sod’s Toastie, The Cool Greenhouse have pushed their distinctive flavour of post-punk to the point of perfection – their incongruous riffs, alchemical instrumental chemistry, and irreverent spo- ken-word vocals are a delight throughout. Sod’s Toastie is hilarious at times, and at others just hilariously good – a not-so-difficult second album.

No Way Out is the classic rap album helmed by Puff Daddy and featuring his Family of labelmates and trusted collaborators from across the Bad Boy universe and the music industry at large. Debuting in the Summer of 1997, the Grammy Award winning album sold well over half a million copies in its first week of release—securing the Number One spot on the Billboard 200 chart. It also spawned several Billboard Hot 100 singles, including the international chart-topping Biggie tribute “I’ll Be Missing You” which sat in the top spot for 11 consecutive weeks and has the distinction of being the first ever rap song to debut at Number One on the Hot 100 chart.

Originally conceived as an ode to Harlem and a nod to the mob narratives of Scorsese and Puzzo, Puff changed course (and album titles!) following the death of his friend and fellow Bad Boy artist The Notorious BIG. Assembling a powerhouse production team of rotating talent known collectively as “The Hitmen” and stowing away to Trinidad, they spent weeks expanding on the project. What came of those sessions were not only major hit records for No Way Out, but also tracks that appear on Life After Death and various other Bad Boy releases throughout the late 90’s.

Since his debut 25 years ago as a bona fide solo artist, Diddy has gone on to develop countless other talented performers and produce a myriad of projects that reach beyond music into fashion, film and television. Yet and still, No Way Out—which has been RIAA certified 7x Platinum—remains one of Puffy’s most successful, highest grossing albums to date.

The Microphones, Bon Iver, Lomelda, Vegyn, Hovvdy, Dijon. “Lemon Cream” vinyl is for Indies Only. Follow up to 2019’s critically acclaimed ‘bunny’. Sam Hall’s new album as ghost orchard, ‘rainbow music’, is a collage of patience and meditation. It’s filled with nuances as quietly imperceptible as the seasons, or the profound movement of time, where one day looking back you realize your whole spirit has shifted. Where 2019’s critically revered ‘bunny’ was a love letter to a romantic relationship, ‘rainbow music’ documents the culmination of Hall’s first personal experience with loss in several forms. At the end of 2020, his longterm childhood pet passed away, and with it the last continuing threads of familiarity between being a kid and adulthood. Still based in the Grand Rapids, Michigan town he’d grown up in, the static ease of familiar living seemed to be coming apart at the seams, as friends moved on to bigger cities, relationships shapeshifted and in a short period of time, another kitten he’d adopted passed away prematurely, leaving Hall to question the trajectory in which he himself was headed. Like “songs in the key of life,” the title ‘rainbow music’ refers to the myriad of colors and qualities within Hall that are refracted throughout. It’s a symbolization of hope and the aftermath, the flickering light at the end of the tunnel (or “when a rainbow shows up after a big storm”). “Wish I could have fun anymore,” Hall ruminates on “dancing”, as well as confessing he “wish he made more upbeat bangers.” But reality packs more of a punch, and this collection of songs sees him finally be at peace with the current state of affairs. Relatable to anyone who has contemplated what it means to settle down, or even just catch your breath in an era where anguish is commonplace, the release of ‘rainbow music’ is a happy ending in its own right, a marker of survival that remains close to the bone. // Ghost Orchard’s “bunny” is a blushing, beatific beat. - The FADER // Fluttering and transportive, a swirl of beats and plucky guitar and strings that feels like a cocoon. - Stereogum // Hip-hop inflected, stream-of-consciousness confessionals that’ll have you swooning in the lazy summer sunlight. – Paste // Track listing: 01. Rest 02. Jessamine 03. Cursive 04. Maisy 05. Cut 06. soot 07. memory storage 08. Dancing 09. bruise 10. sweet song 11. comfort (rainbow)

The Microphones, Bon Iver, Lomelda, Vegyn, Hovvdy, Dijon. “Lemon Cream” vinyl is for Indies Only. Follow up to 2019’s critically acclaimed ‘bunny’. Sam Hall’s new album as ghost orchard, ‘rainbow music’, is a collage of patience and meditation. It’s filled with nuances as quietly imperceptible as the seasons, or the profound movement of time, where one day looking back you realize your whole spirit has shifted. Where 2019’s critically revered ‘bunny’ was a love letter to a romantic relationship, ‘rainbow music’ documents the culmination of Hall’s first personal experience with loss in several forms. At the end of 2020, his longterm childhood pet passed away, and with it the last continuing threads of familiarity between being a kid and adulthood. Still based in the Grand Rapids, Michigan town he’d grown up in, the static ease of familiar living seemed to be coming apart at the seams, as friends moved on to bigger cities, relationships shapeshifted and in a short period of time, another kitten he’d adopted passed away prematurely, leaving Hall to question the trajectory in which he himself was headed. Like “songs in the key of life,” the title ‘rainbow music’ refers to the myriad of colors and qualities within Hall that are refracted throughout. It’s a symbolization of hope and the aftermath, the flickering light at the end of the tunnel (or “when a rainbow shows up after a big storm”). “Wish I could have fun anymore,” Hall ruminates on “dancing”, as well as confessing he “wish he made more upbeat bangers.” But reality packs more of a punch, and this collection of songs sees him finally be at peace with the current state of affairs. Relatable to anyone who has contemplated what it means to settle down, or even just catch your breath in an era where anguish is commonplace, the release of ‘rainbow music’ is a happy ending in its own right, a marker of survival that remains close to the bone. // Ghost Orchard’s “bunny” is a blushing, beatific beat. - The FADER // Fluttering and transportive, a swirl of beats and plucky guitar and strings that feels like a cocoon. - Stereogum // Hip-hop inflected, stream-of-consciousness confessionals that’ll have you swooning in the lazy summer sunlight. – Paste // Track listing: 01. Rest 02. Jessamine 03. Cursive 04. Maisy 05. Cut 06. soot 07. memory storage 08. Dancing 09. bruise 10. sweet song 11. comfort (rainbow)

The Microphones, Bon Iver, Lomelda, Vegyn, Hovvdy, Dijon. “Lemon Cream” vinyl is for Indies Only. Follow up to 2019’s critically acclaimed ‘bunny’. Sam Hall’s new album as ghost orchard, ‘rainbow music’, is a collage of patience and meditation. It’s filled with nuances as quietly imperceptible as the seasons, or the profound movement of time, where one day looking back you realize your whole spirit has shifted. Where 2019’s critically revered ‘bunny’ was a love letter to a romantic relationship, ‘rainbow music’ documents the culmination of Hall’s first personal experience with loss in several forms. At the end of 2020, his longterm childhood pet passed away, and with it the last continuing threads of familiarity between being a kid and adulthood. Still based in the Grand Rapids, Michigan town he’d grown up in, the static ease of familiar living seemed to be coming apart at the seams, as friends moved on to bigger cities, relationships shapeshifted and in a short period of time, another kitten he’d adopted passed away prematurely, leaving Hall to question the trajectory in which he himself was headed. Like “songs in the key of life,” the title ‘rainbow music’ refers to the myriad of colors and qualities within Hall that are refracted throughout. It’s a symbolization of hope and the aftermath, the flickering light at the end of the tunnel (or “when a rainbow shows up after a big storm”). “Wish I could have fun anymore,” Hall ruminates on “dancing”, as well as confessing he “wish he made more upbeat bangers.” But reality packs more of a punch, and this collection of songs sees him finally be at peace with the current state of affairs. Relatable to anyone who has contemplated what it means to settle down, or even just catch your breath in an era where anguish is commonplace, the release of ‘rainbow music’ is a happy ending in its own right, a marker of survival that remains close to the bone. // Ghost Orchard’s “bunny” is a blushing, beatific beat. - The FADER // Fluttering and transportive, a swirl of beats and plucky guitar and strings that feels like a cocoon. - Stereogum // Hip-hop inflected, stream-of-consciousness confessionals that’ll have you swooning in the lazy summer sunlight. – Paste // Track listing: 01. Rest 02. Jessamine 03. Cursive 04. Maisy 05. Cut 06. soot 07. memory storage 08. Dancing 09. bruise 10. sweet song 11. comfort (rainbow)

repress

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reggie B returns with his much awaited NBN release "Tinky's Jam.” This is his first full length album since “Soulofunkaquarian” released with INnatesounds. The album was most definitely worth the wait. It takes the listener through a personal and musical journey inspired by the birth of his son, who he affectionately calls “Tinky,” and the connection they share. Tinky was a major part of this album, oftentimes found in the studio during the conceptions of many of the songs. This album is unlike any other record released by the Kansas born producer, multi instrumentalist, singer and arranger. After the birth of his son, he was inspired and encouraged to get back into the musical game by the head of NBN, Onra. "Tinky's Jam" is something of a family affair with friends and old collaborators playing their part.

Born into a musical family to parents who were two sides of the same coin, a father who was one of the most renowned drummers in Topeka, Kansas funk and jazz fusion scenes and a mother who was one of the most prominent gospel singers in the city. The apple didn't fall far from the tree and Reggie has spent his life performing and playing with a healthy slew of releases.

This album is the result of countless days in the studio which yielded scores of a dozen slabs of head nodding funk.

Mostly instrumental and showcasing Reggie's many styles from the heavy bounce of "Futuristic Slow", to the George Clinton nod on "P For Life", and the crafted soul of "Gone Fishing" with Dominique Sanders to the cool street jazz feel of "Realize" with Donald Hates's sax adding flare as well as the beat of "Nose Dive" providing the nod factor for the heads.

Closing out the LP ``Tinky's Dance" - a raw soulful jam that lies somewhere between Prince and Larry Heard - for Reggie "the whole project felt like a gift to me and my baby boy Tinky! I wanted to let him know he’s always in my heart and soul and I love my Tinky man infinitely! It’s a children's album for the elevated child like Tinky!”

Opaque pink vinyl LP. For fans of: Tirzah, Caroline Polachek, Erika de Casier, Oklou, Smerz. Between the ages of 2 and 18, Cora Gilroy-Ware lived in a haunted place. On the outside, this small edge of Connecticut coastline was a quintessential New England town. Yet beneath its quaint surface was a netherworld that got steadily darker over the course of those sixteen years. From a serious drug problem to environmental pollution leading to deadly illnesses, frequent suicides and an above average number of fatal accidents, something about this place was cursed. Amid this world Cora was an outsider, someone who preferred pop and RnB to the music of her peers, who mostly subscribed to the dregs of a Deadhead culture that was more nihilistic than utopian. Still, she found herself on weekends drinking in the woods with the rest of them, playing along until it was time to leave. Christmas breaks and summer months were spent across the Atlantic in a completely antithetical environment. In London, the city of her birth, Cora spent her teen years taking the bus home at dawn after raves under the railroad arches, or riding the tube to her cousin’s house in Camden. For a long time, Cora’s life was composed of these two strands—ghostly East Coast suburbia and inner-city London—which she was forced to fold in and out of one another like a two-strand French braid. She quickly learned to adapt and be whoever the particular moment demanded. Her outsider status was intensified by the fact that, being of mixed Afro-Caribbean and European descent, her family didn’t look like the others in Connecticut. In the 2000s, this meant Cora had to contend with a deeply ingrained kind of folk-racism, both conscious and unconsciously expressed. Nobody talked about these things back then, and she internalized a lot of shame. The ability to shape-shift became integral to Cora’s artistic practice. Her survival mechanism at school was to carve out her own worlds through visual art and dance. Music was less of a creative outlet than a way of life, something like a form of religion for her family, who all played instruments and saw music as the form to which all art aspires. She studied violin and learned enough guitar chords to write her first songs. Cora always wanted to be a performer, but, having moved around constantly, craved stability and independence. Eager to make her own way in the world, she began to write about painting and sculpture, which eventually led to time spent working in Naples, Italy and a day job teaching the History of Art at university level. It wasn’t until 2018 that Cora first shared her first songs with the wider world. Having collaborated and played live with Jam City (Jack Latham, who has co-produced each of her releases), she finally embarked on a solo career, which for her felt inevitable, only a matter of time. Following four acclaimed EPs—Toxic Femininity (2018), Lashes in a Landfill (2019), Dreamcatcher (2020) and Maiden No More (2021), this year will see the release of her debut album The Golden Ass. For her artist name she chose, “Fauness”: a play on the Latin faunus, a woodland god with the body of a man and the horns, ears, and legs of a goat. The feminine equivalent—fauness—is a modern invention, made up by rococo sculptors in 18th century France. Cora was drawn to this pseudonym because of its temporal layers and amalgamation of beauty and beast, which, for her, captures something of her complex personal story. an utterly individual voice in underground pop music" - The FADER // "a sparkling sweet pop ride" – NYLON // “It is hard to write a perfect pop song. It’s even harder to make it look as easy as London artist Fauness” - GUARDIAN GUIDE // Tracks 01. Lonely 02. Mystery 03. Peaches 04. Hours 05. Siena 06. Grape & Grain 07. Laura 08. High 09. Cinnamon 10. Girl In The Moon

10” black vinyl + DL card.

Josephine Foster's peculiar 2000 home recorded debut There Are Eyes Above is an essential introduction to her music that’s unfolded now for over two decades. Released for the first time on vinyl, this limited edition 10-inch pressing comes packaged with brand new artwork and is adorned by one of Josephine’s illustrations. Lo-fi and unaffected by tradition or commercialism these initial recordings are sepia-tinted, folk-art music with powered by uke minimalism; it’s outsider music that still doesn't fit in. Just 30-minutes caught in time before her 2001 follow up Little Life - this humble first incarnation includes here for posterity super personal lullabies and a glimpse into her songwriting evolution. It’s music from an era that only exists in your mind, with a bow to Tin Pan Alley for good measure. This super rare collection, originally only released on CDR and sold at shows, remains an essential part of the curious oeuvre of this unique songwriter and singer. “A dissonant soprano and lyrics about benevolence and old-time faith, Foster expertly weaves ancient and modern” The Guardian. Track listing: Side A 1 One Hundred Songs I Sing 2 Emily Told Me 3 Teeter Totter 4 Little Life 5 I Am A Guest In Here. Side B 6 Robber Song 7 Hey Matthew 8 There Are Eyes Above 9 Godcake 10 Yippee I'm Leaving 11Two Not One

Baltimore’s Julien Chang writes music that tunnels
toward a series of deeper truths, investigating
everyday existentialism, love and life, art and the artist.
Arriving in 2019 with his critically acclaimed album
‘Jules’, Chang set a precedent with his breezy, dreamy
debut and is now exacting his focus on 2022 with new
music.
 Chang’s second album, ‘The Sale’, testifies to his
talents as he wrestles with enviable grace across his
new 12-track opus the idea of estrangement and the
problematics of artistic creation. Chang leans sonically
into indie-pop, with guitar-driven instrumentation
burbling across punchy drums and his layered,
ethereal vocals, yet the album is still replete with
touchstones of the psychedelic popcraft that
enamoured listeners on his debut.
 Recorded partially in his hometown of Baltimore and
partially in his dorm room at Princeton, ‘The Sale’ is a
homegrown effort with Chang playing all instruments,
bar the odd exception of a few notable cameos from
Baltimore locals, classmates and old friends. Following
his debut ‘Jules’ - which saw Chang earn praise from
the likes of Pitchfork, Fader, The Guardian, NME, Loud
& Quiet, DIY and Billboard, alongside support from
BBC Radio 1 and 6 Music via Annie Mac, Jack
Saunders and Jamz Supernova - his new album
explores the discrepancy between two worlds, a
struggle to get comfortable in either one of them, and
ultimately an artistic fascination with this very struggle.
 A statement of intent from an artist who promises to be
an important rising voice of our times, Chang’s new
album is released on CD and crystal clear vinyl.

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

New Hampshire born, New Brunswick based, singer-songwriter Jason
Anderson has spent the last five years making Canada home, landing first
in Toronto before settling in Fredericton - The idea of home the places we
come from, the places we return to is a powerful theme throughout his
epic new record First Light
First Light is a compelling, cathartic listen, as Anderson's poetic lyrics and
anthemic melodies make for an inspired fit with producer Thomas Wincek.
Drawing on his All Tiny Creatues project as well as his work with Justin Vernon's
Volcano Choir, Wincek has created a huge sonic backdrop here. Anderson's
expansive narratives and sing-along hooks weave through explosive rockers like
Caps Ridge Line and Still Life, pastoral mood pieces like Looking Glass and
Streetlamps , and haunting ballads like the pensive "Tower in the Fog and
gorgeous closer Halloween. The whole thing feels a bit like indie- folk stadium
rock, as if The Weakerthans were fronted by fellow Canadian Bryan Adams. As
Anderson puts it, € What started as a text exchange between me and Tom about
Joni Mitchell in the 80s turned into something strange and awesome. What's
perhaps most awesome about the project is hearing a bedroom singer-songwriter
pushing themselves in such a fun and unexpected way. First Light is a really
special record.

Asylums have been quietly building an impressive back catalogue of albums since the release of their debut ‘Killer Brain Waves’ in 2016. With three full studio albums and a stand-alone single behind them, Asylums are back on October 14th with their fourth album ‘Signs Of Life’ - their first since the release of 2020’s Steve Albini recorded 3rd album ‘Genetic Cabaret’.

Recorded at the legendary Rockfield Studios with genre-bending ‘Manic Street Preachers’ producer Dave Eringa in the driving seat, ‘Signs Of Life’ is a record that evolves the Asylums' sound once again while still staying true to their musical and lyrical DNA.


Asylums ‘Signs Of Life’ draws inspiration from a spectrum of human emotions and examines how they intersected with technology during the accelerated change of the last few years. As well as dialling their manic rock sound up to 10 this record also draws from the likes of R.E.M., The Magnetic Fields and The Beatles who all arguably made some of their best work during a live hiatus.

At any given time, you’re likely to find Jim Lauderdale making music, whether he’s laying down a new track in the studio or working through a spontaneous melody at his home in Nashville. And if he’s not actively crafting new music, he’s certainly thinking about it. “It's a constant challenge to try to keep making better and better records, write better and better songs. I still always feel like I'm a developing artist,” he says. This may be a surprising sentiment from a man who’s won two Grammys, released 34 full-length albums, and taken home the Americana Music Association’s coveted Wagonmaster Award. But forthcoming album Game Changer is convincing evidence that the North Carolina native is only continuing to hone his craft. Operating under his own label, Sky Crunch Records, for the first time since 2016, Lauderdale recorded Game Changer at the renowned Blackbird Studios in Nashville, co-producing the release with Jay Weaver and pulling from songs he’d written over the last several years. “There's a mixture on this record of uplifting songs and, at the same time, songs of heartbreak and despair—because that's part of life as well,” he says. “In the country song world especially, that's always been part of it. That’s real life.” Lauderdale would know: He’s been a vital part of the country music ecosystem since 1991, when he released his debut album and began penning songs for an impressively long roster of country music greats. “When I was a teenager wanting to be a bluegrass banjo player, I never would have imagined that I would get to work with people like Ralph Stanley and Robert Hunter and George Jones and Elvis Costello and John Oates,” he muses. “Getting to work with them inspires me greatly to this day, and I know it always will.” From rollicking guitar riffs on “That Kind of Life (That Kind of Day)” to the slow, sweet harmonies of “I’ll Keep My Heart Open For You,” Game Changer shows off Lauderdale’s ingenuity as a singer, songwriter, and producer—while reestablishing him as one of Americana’s most steadfast champions..”

From their new millennium rise to MTV superstardom through pop-punk’s modern resurgence that has introduced their iconic, multi-platinum sound to new audiences around the world, SIMPLE PLAN have been an indelible part of pop culture for more than two decades because they’ve never lost sight of what got them there in the first place: their fans.It’s this same sense of mutual respect that’s fully on display on “The Antidote,” the first single from their sixth studio album, HARDER THAN IT LOOKS., their first new music since 2016’s Taking One For The Team, and the most authentically Simple Plan album since 2004’s Still Not Getting Any. Free agents for the first time in their storied career, the band kept their circle tight during the recording process, enlisting longtime songwriting partners like We The Kings’ Travis Clark and producers Brian Howes and Jason Van Poederooyen (who worked on the band’s 2011’s album Get Your Heart On!) and Zakk Cervini (blink-182, Good Charlotte). From the skyscraping choruses of “Congratulations” and “Ruin My Life” (ft. Sum 41’s Deryck Whibley) to the unflinching poignancy of the album-closing “Two,” which instantly ranks alongside “Perfect” and “Untitled (How Could This Happen To Me?)” as one of the band’s best closers ever, HARDER THAN IT LOOKS certainly respects Simple Plan’s storied career – and the same spirit that helped the band sell 10 million albums worldwide – without being overtly reverent. The album-opening “Wake Me Up (When This Nightmare’s Over)” is a cathartic rush of familiarity and freshness – not to mention a bit lyrically prescient, as the COVID-19 pandemic hit shortly after the band wrapped the album. (“We certainly didn’t set out to write a pandemic album,” Bouvier says with a laugh. “It’s funny how some of the songs might seem like that, though.”) There are even spiritual successors to early material, like the glass-half-full skate-punk-leaning “Best Day Of My Life,” quite a 180 for a band who put a song called “The Worst Day Ever” on their genre-defining, Platinum-selling 2002 debut No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls. But you won’t find an ounce of fat on the 10-song album, no obvious plays to recapture the radio waves they claimed in the early aughts with smash hits like “I’d Do Anything,” “I’m Just A Kid” and “Addicted.”

Repressed !

We are proud to present a set of edits of this long-lost classic from the golden age of African music, from a figure who is still beginning to get his props internationally, Eji Oyewole.

Born to a royal lineage in Ibadan, Prince Eji Oyewole has had a career as a flautist, saxophonist and sometime bandleader spanning well over half a century. He trained both in Nigeria and then at Trinity the prestigious music school in London, and his life as an itinerant musician also saw him living for extensive periods in Geneva, Hamburg and in Lyon.

While for many years Fela Kuti (with whom Eji played) and King Sunny Adé commanded international attention to the exclusion of most other Nigerian musicians, as if there was only room for one Nigerian superstar at a time on the world stage, on the domestic scene things were very different. Eji was part of the huge craze for ‘highlife’, a generic term that in fact subsumed many different styles, united in their fusion of traditional west African forms with jazz influences and electric instruments, and in the bands’ working practices as entertainers at the nation’s numerous hotel / nightclubs. As this cracking album, recorded for EMI Nigeria at the tail end of the ‘70s and now remastered, reveals, Eji’s version of highlife was even more distinctive than most, eschewing the usual emphasis on guitars for a brasher, horn- laden sound, seemingly influenced as much by American funk as it was jazz, and of course with the heavy percussive undertow central to most African music.

This gave Eji a chance to shine, and there are some scorching solos as well as tight ensemble playing across the four lengthy (to ears accustomed to the three-minute pop song) songs. Eji also played piano on the session. The material has an element of social commentary (Oil Boom and Unity In Africa) and should help feed the seemingly insatiable appetites of the many who have been turned onto African music by the enterprising efforts of devoted collectors, labels and fellow fans.

Surely one of the few musicians who has played with Fela, Miles Davis and Bob Marley, Eji Oyewole still plays regularly in Lagos, recently had an album of new material out with his current band The Afrobars, and has been a member of Faaji Agba, a super-group that has toured internationally and been dubbed ‘the Nigerian Buena-Vista Social Club’.