Suche:ta ra

If naming is a form of claiming, of being claimed, how is one tethered to both the physical landscape that surrounds us, as well as our own internal emotional landscape at times calm, at times turbulent, and ever changing? H.C. McEntire’s new album Every Acre grapples with those themes that encompass grief, loss, and links to land and loved ones. And naming claiming land, claiming self, being claimed by ancestry and heritage permeates the hauntingly beautiful landscape that is this poignant collection of songs. The songs straddle the line between music and poetry. In “New View,” McEntire cites poets “Day, Ada, and Laux, Berry, and Olds” fixtures in the world of writing, whose works are beacons of light over bleak horizons. The beginning of the song is backed by soft guitar plucks that fall on the downbeat and spangle like stars, and, throughout, guitar, bass, and drums swell together gently, mimicking ebbing and flowing tides under the moon. McEntire’s voice (at once tender and fierce) intones the truth of both giving and taking, releasing and claiming: “Bend me, break me, split me right in two. Mend me, make me I’ll take more of you.” Permeated by heartbeat-like drums, “Shadows” develops quiet ruminations on surrender and loss reminiscing, moving on. This ponderous, dreamlike song asks the question of how “to make room.” How does one make room, for self and for renewal and surrender, when it is so difficult to leave what you know behind? Playing with slivers of descending chromatics, along with the occasional downward-stepping bass, here McEntire yearns for home, and for nesting. Perhaps one of the more grief-stricken songs, “Rows of Clover” is a lamentation, one that touches on the loss of a “steadfast hound.” The lone piano in the beginning of the song is rhythmically hymn-like. The stark verse arrangement gradually leads to a chorus that reads like a moody exhale, swollen with lush guitar strums and a Bill Withers–esque understated soul groove. But what stands out the most is an image of being “down on your knees, clawing at the garden” the only explicit mention of a person in the song. “It ain’t the easy kind of healing,” sings McEntire, seemingly from further and further away as her voice echoes; and healing takes time, time takes time truths that linger painfully. “Dovetail” is a song that tells of various women. The song moves back and forth between solo piano and the addition of bass and drums under vocals. McEntire’s gentle, trembling vibrato harmonized in thirds in a celebratory manner calls to mind a rejoicing psalm and shines through these images, leaving the listener cuttingly fraught with emotions such as wonder, sadness, nostalgia that can only arise with these juxtapositions. Gracious (and graceful) with its lilting melodies and lush harmonies, Every Acre explores the acres of our physical and emotional homes. These songs are reaching for the kind of home that we all seek: one where we can rest and lay down (or tuck away) our burdens of loss. And maybe, moving through every acre of a world that often tries to tear our sense of identity and heritage down, McEntire sheds light on what it is to be human in this life both stingy and gracious, both hurtful and kind.

London band’s debut album (after one 7” on Prefect, and a 7-inch EP on TiM/Prefect Records (UK)). Feat. current/former mbrs of Joanna Gruesome, Ex-Void, GN, Sniffany & The Nits. London group The Tubs return to Trouble In Mind with their hotly anticipated full-length album entitled “Dead Meat”. The band were formed in 2018 from the ashes of beloved UK post-punk band Joanna Gruesome by former members Owen 'O' Williams and George 'GN' Nicholls. By incorporating elements of post-punk, traditional British folk, and guitar jangle seasoned by nonchalant Cleaners From Venus-influenced pop hooks and contemporary antipodean indie bands (Twerps/Goon Sax, et al). “Dead Meat” is resplendent in hi-fidelity strum & thrum, incorporating fleeting elements of post-punk and indie jangle, but the group’s penchant for trad British folk & Canterbury folk-rock takes a noticeable, caffeinated step forward. Echoes of Fairport Convention’s decidedly English chime cross swords with singer Owen Williams’ lyrics directing Bryan Ferry’s “thinking man’s libertine” persona into a more dolorous outlook. Many songs (like “Round The Bend” and “Duped”) soar with an urgent strum under Williams’ acerbic lyrics, recalling a younger fiery Richard Thompson. They languish in an aching, bitter resignation (of both the situations described & the protagonist’s place in it), particularly near the album’s second half. Others like the previously released “I Don’t Know How It Works”, “Two Person Love” and “Illusion” (re-presented here as “Illusion Pt. II” and all rerecorded from their original 7-inch versions) up the urgency, implying that the journey for the person described in each tune is not over & may be even more desperate than before. The band has never been tighter & more dynamic, often imperceptibly ratcheting up the tension, an extra guitar strum overdubbed, a barely audible organ/synth cranking under a chorus or bridge, or unexpected backups from current Ex-Vöid (and ex-Joanna Gruesome) vocalist Lan McArdle. The Tubs are poised to take over your stereo - there’s no point in resisting

London band’s debut album (after one 7” on Prefect, and a 7-inch EP on TiM/Prefect Records (UK)). Feat. current/former mbrs of Joanna Gruesome, Ex-Void, GN, Sniffany & The Nits. London group The Tubs return to Trouble In Mind with their hotly anticipated full-length album entitled “Dead Meat”. The band were formed in 2018 from the ashes of beloved UK post-punk band Joanna Gruesome by former members Owen 'O' Williams and George 'GN' Nicholls. By incorporating elements of post-punk, traditional British folk, and guitar jangle seasoned by nonchalant Cleaners From Venus-influenced pop hooks and contemporary antipodean indie bands (Twerps/Goon Sax, et al). “Dead Meat” is resplendent in hi-fidelity strum & thrum, incorporating fleeting elements of post-punk and indie jangle, but the group’s penchant for trad British folk & Canterbury folk-rock takes a noticeable, caffeinated step forward. Echoes of Fairport Convention’s decidedly English chime cross swords with singer Owen Williams’ lyrics directing Bryan Ferry’s “thinking man’s libertine” persona into a more dolorous outlook. Many songs (like “Round The Bend” and “Duped”) soar with an urgent strum under Williams’ acerbic lyrics, recalling a younger fiery Richard Thompson. They languish in an aching, bitter resignation (of both the situations described & the protagonist’s place in it), particularly near the album’s second half. Others like the previously released “I Don’t Know How It Works”, “Two Person Love” and “Illusion” (re-presented here as “Illusion Pt. II” and all rerecorded from their original 7-inch versions) up the urgency, implying that the journey for the person described in each tune is not over & may be even more desperate than before. The band has never been tighter & more dynamic, often imperceptibly ratcheting up the tension, an extra guitar strum overdubbed, a barely audible organ/synth cranking under a chorus or bridge, or unexpected backups from current Ex-Vöid (and ex-Joanna Gruesome) vocalist Lan McArdle. The Tubs are poised to take over your stereo - there’s no point in resisting

1000 black vinyl LPs. London-based ‘indie-supergroup’ SUEP announce their long-awaited debut mini-album Shop, a collection of 6 oddball, car-boot-sale pop songs with a sprinkling of theatrical storytelling. Led by Georgie Stott (of Porridge Radio, Garden Centre) and Josh Harvey, SUEP was born out of a near-decade of playing in sheds and barns with like minded personnel, holding a mutual love for Paul McCartney, Jona Lewie, the B-52s, Devo and other performative freaks enjoying themselves. Following a move to London from Brighton, the pair added George Nicholls (The GN Band, Joanna Gruesome, The Tubs), Will William Deacon (PC World, Garden Centre), and Ollie Chapman (Boil King) to the line-up. The 5 piece take turns writing songs and taking the lead vocal duties in a wonderfully playful but coherent collaboration, with their debut being a kaleidoscopic off kilter pop ride, taking the listener through haunted castles, deprived encounters, days lost to the imagination in bed, and through the integral friendships that give SUEP the energy to keep dancing to their own beat. The album was arranged and recorded in the Red Lion Boys Club, an ex-youth centre in which Georgie and Josh both lived. Using equipment collected by Josh in his travels as a bootsale and market trader, the sports hall was transformed into a makeshift studio for a few days, with sessions conducted by producer Matthew Green (Sniffany & The Nits, The Tubs, etc.) Mark Riley (BBC 6 Music) described SUEP’s debut single and album opener, ‘Domesticated Dream’ (2021) as “perfect pop music.” The joyfully kitsch track brims with a 70s Yamaha disco beat, deep bass, nostalgic drum machines, and hooky melodies. Possibly the most psychedelic and infectious track born out of lockdown, it tackles homelife, drinking too much, and making big plans that never come to fruition, but with a big technicoloured positivity for the future of the human-race, with the chorus’ refrain, “the psychedelic 4000s,” predicting the return of the psychedelic Age of Aquarius in a couple of millennia time. The following single ‘Misery’ (2021) is pure cosmic swing-pop wizardry in part inspired by spy music and The Supremes. Ollie, The track’s baritone vocalist, describes it as “A love song disguised as a song about loss. It's about cherishing the things that matter but it’s also about having the courage to say goodbye,” with each line of the song a small story about a different character. Whilst latest Shop taster ‘In Good Health’ is darkly euphoric like a pleasantly strange meeting of Siouxsie Sioux and Jona Lewie. It’s a playfully discombobulating mix of 80s jangly guitar, chirpy keyboard and moody post-punk tackling mental health, drug addiction, and the power of friendship, written after the song’s vocalist Georgie came out of hospital following a mental health crisis. “I wanted to write a song that encapsulated how important my relationships with my friends and boyfriend were at that time” she explains “…and one that also felt dark like I did at the time. I couldn’t go outside due to anxiety surrounding my health so I stayed inside for weeks. People would visit and watch films with me or let me tattoo them or make music with me. My community helped me recover.” Elsewhere on Shop is ‘Just The Job’ fronted by Harvey and described by him as “About the relief of accepting a menial existence, and allowing life to be boring - but (within that) how the small things are the important ones, how pulling a sicky or extra long lunch break are important things to do for yourself. It’s an anthem for working people who’ve had enough - and a crowd favourite at SUEP gigs. The darker undertones and post-punk angles of the Georgie-fronted ‘Onions’ is inspired by the crapness of cliques, with the band calling the song “A cry of welcome to all;” and finally the hooky ‘Friend of Mine,’ described as “A love letter to all the people that come and go throughout your life no matter how long you know them”. SUEP have received coverage in Independent & Clash, (among many others), with big support from Mark Riley and Steve Lamacq (BBC 6 Music) for early singles.

Sealed Records re-issue the 1985 Alternative’s album If They Treat You Like Shit - Act Like Manure originally released on Corpus Christi Records. Recorded at Southern Studios and Co-produced by Pete Wright from Crass and featuring Annie Anxiety and Pete Wright on backing vocals. The album is full of provocative protest songs with intelligent lyrics, effective use of samples, melodic tunes and dual female / male vocals. It’s urgent, passionate and memorable. A must own release from that classic mid 80’s UK anarcho punk era. Remastered from the original tapes. CD version includes 5 extra songs - Unreleased track What Revolution? plus four radically different versions / mixes of album tracks recorded in the same session which will be in a separate 7" later in 2023.

The new album Octagon Sphere by Duesseldorf duo Strafe F.R. comprises of four pieces recorded in 2020 and 2021 at the group's own studio. The work features heavily treated female vocals and includes rhythmic patterns and electronic sounds contributed by invited guest musician Detlef Klepsch (of the group keit). The overall atmosphere is tense and moody, both dark and uplifting at the same time. Octagon Sphere was mastered by Kai Blankenberg at Skyline Tonfabrik.

Octagon Sphere is the sister release to last year's CD Soundless Sphere – both albums are tied together by rhythmic alchemy and sound manipulation in highest detail.

STRAFE FÜR REBELLION was founded in 1979 in Düsseldorf by the two artists Siegfried Michael Syniuga and Bernd Kastner. Conceived as an experimental project rather than a band, the duo is active since the early 1980s, they continue to work together to this day.

They demonstrated their subtle abilities in numerous performances and concerts. The members of STRAFE FÜR REBELLION see themselves as researchers on different visual and acoustic levels; they always make use of their idiosyncratic and unusual humor. The duo emphasize that they not only explore the world of music, but also incorporate elements of knowledge, and thus all usable influences, into their experiments. Working plans, storyboards, and composi­tional schemas usually serve as the basis for new musical projects.

Their texts reflect their interest in science, history, philosophy, as well as everyday phenomena, mass media, and popular culture: in their experimental sound expe­riences, performances, and installations STRAFE FÜR REBELLION are absolutely avant-garde, working at the forefront of research-performatively, acoustically, visually, and in a variety of media. Their motto always remains aesthetically uncompromising with serious pleasure.

"Photographs as Memories" was the British cult band Eyeless in Gaza’s debut album. A truly kaleidoscopic picture dominated by Martyn Bates’s highly expressive vocals and Pete Becker’s peculiar analog synth lines in a jungle of electric guitars, plastic organs, soprano saxophones, percussion, violin, stylophone and tapes. An album which comes as a vivid snapshot from the very dawn of the 80’s.

• Gil Scott-Heron was twenty-one years old when he was signed to Flying Dutchman by Bob Thiele to make an album of his poetry. The resultant “Small Talk at 125th and Lenox” was recorded before a small live audience and, released in 1970, sat perfectly in a world where the Last Poets had just tasted Top 10 success with their debut LP. “Small Talk at 125th and Lenox” opened with a spoken word version of ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’ and also featured poems and musical pieces like ‘Omen’, ‘Brother’, ‘Plastic Pattern People’, ‘Paint It Black’ and ‘Everyday’ that reflected on the black community and its condition within America at this time.

• The starkest of these sharp observational pieces from Scott-Heron was ‘Whitey On The Moon’, which recounts the US Government spending billions on landing a rocket on the moon at a time when, “a rat done bit my sister, Nell”.

• Like its follow-up – “Pieces Of A Man” – “Small Talk at 125th and Lenox” is a classic album and we are delighted to serve it up again on vinyl in a gatefold sleeve with the original liner notes.

• With current “Big Talk” of going back to the moon, whilst injustice still prevails for many black people in America, “Small Talk at 125th and Lenox” still conveys a message that resonates today.

Beyond rare modern soul from 1986 Produced by Willie Harpe and Performed by Tom Lipkins 'TL'. A cover-up for George Mahood and later Soul Sam under the name "Hamilton Connection", surprisingly no more copies of this single have ever turned up but Willie did have the stereo master tape for this release. Big one for the Modern soul and rare disco heads.

* 2022 Repress ** Profondo Nero compiled by Cinema Royale

Profondo Nero narrates a storyline that goes beyond the borders of Italy’s musical legacy. Cutting across the face of Italo disco’s leftfield musicians between the early and late ‘80s, Profondo Nero champions a multi-faceted sound that nods to the blueprint of Italo disco but tries to dig deeper. The music is unmistakably Italo disco but moves away from the familiar classic sound. Amsterdam based collector Cinema Royale stitches together eleven tracks from 1983 – 1989, celebrating a sound he fittingly describes as ‘leftfield Italo’.

The compilation connects the dots between soulful disco (Louise Freeman – Mirage), synth-pop (Mark – Dreamland), electro-rap (Loukas Thanos – Jazzburger), breaks (Santoro – Lover Message), 80s dub disco (Jet Set – Love Break), Balearic (Isamar & Compañia ‎- No Estas), boogie (Tom Hooker – Talk With Your Body) and proto-house (International Music System - An English ’93).

Profondo Nero’s title salutes the legendary oeuvre of Italian horror director Dario Argento. His Profondo Rosso (1975) is a classic example of exquisite cinematic storytelling, boasting courageous colors, expressionist camera angles and an unforgettable Goblin score forming the ingredients for an intriguing piece of art. Profondo Rosso’s music, created the spark for a new Dekmantel Records endeavor led by Amsterdam based experimental film score connoisseur, record collector and DJ Cinema Royale.

For those in the know of underground Amsterdam music culture, Arne Visser aka Cinema Royale is among the city’s longest standing record collectors. Born to an Italian mother and Dutch father, Arne was brought up on a diet of Italo disco in the 80s. Cinema Royale explains: ‘For Profondo Nero I took a plunge into the lesser known fringes of Italo disco. From there I tried to connect, among others, San Francisco boogie, Balearic, Japanese late era Italo-electro and synth-pop funk. I hope you can hear what I had in mind: an infectious showcase of my take on traditional Italo disco that will hopefully get a lot of listeners itching for a spin. It’s fair to say that lately this particular sound has seen a reappraisal and renewed interest.

As a party-starting collection for entry-level connoisseurs or suave but lazy types, I hope Profondo Nero can be an education. I’m not claiming I’m the first DJ or collector to do so, but I did try do present something special by digging deep.’ It wasn’t my goal to unearth the most obscure tracks, instead I wanted to compose a compilation that takes you on a journey.
‘In my opinion the best DJs create something extraordinary out of illogical selections by combining music against all odds and showing different kind of moods along the way. There’s a certain amount of arrogance involved: you take the music out of its original context. But by doing so in a very conscious way, you might be able to enhance the power of the individual records. Hopefully each song on Profondo Nero provides an intimate and memorable experience.’

Featuring Andre Innes, Martin Duffy & Darren Mooney of Primal Scream. “In 2018 after a particularly messy session involving Pacharan, a Spanish version of Pernod, the name and then there were four was bandied around as my fellow travellers fell by the wayside, sounded like a Spaghetti western…and the idea was hatched. We began recording in Artesonao studios in Malaga, myself and Ed Chapman, a renowned English artist, we were ably assisted by Rachel Hewitt on violin we recorded a dozen or so tunes in a week. We recruited the services of Darrin Mooney and Martin Duffy of Primal Scream on drums and keys, Andrew Innes of Primal Scream assisted on additional guitars, celeste and bells…lots of bells. Robert McGovern came out to Malaga to play on a few tracks also. We had the voice of Justine Petty – Burrows a Canadian chanteuse to be a foil to my less than acrobatic voice. The record was a return to my favourite music of my youth, soaking up Dylan, Scott Walker, Tim Buckley, Tim Rose, Tim Hardin and the soundtracks of Morricone, like an old compilation tape from 1986” – Sheer Taft 2022 Tracklist Side One 1.And then there were four 2.Everybody's been somebody's fool 3.Gypsy river 4.After midnight 5.The sun is ours 6.Mezcal dream 7.Four ride out Side Two 1.Enemigo de todos 2.Alegria 3.Chasing down a dream 4.The ghost 5.Time 6.Requiem for Pablo 7.(There goes) A friend of mine

Faitiche presents Groupshow’s Greatest Hits: The ten tracks on this first vinyl album by Groupshow (Hanno Leichtmann, Andrew Pekler, Jan Jelinek), recorded between 2005 and 2018, document concert recordings and studio improvisations by the trio.

In improvisation there are no mistakes, only missed opportunities. Groupshow found their first opportunity in the routines of live performance and they used this opportunity to break with these routines. The trio consisting of Jan Jelinek, Hanno Leichtmann and Andrew Pekler came together in the context of Kosmischer Pitch, playing live versions of the music from Jelinek’s 2005 studio album of that name. During this project, the musical interaction between the three participants quickly emancipated itself from the original programme, departing from fixed roles and finding a distinct form in constant change.

Groupshow sessions – rehearsal, concert or recording – are always improvised. The interplay of the various sound sources, converging from the directions of “electronics”, “percussion” and “guitar”, does not follow the Krautrock wave logic of crescendo and morendo. Jelinek, Leichtmann and Pekler have established a method of transparent density in which links and breaks are not concealed but remain audible. The music works through attraction and repulsion, with a loosely organized structure that always leaves enough room for the next intervention.

The principle here, repeated even in the smallest units, is that of duration. Groupshow think of their music in terms of an installation: no starting point, no dramaturgy, and ideally no end. Concerts take place not raised up on a podium, but in the middle of the room on a level with the audience, who only enter the space with the musicians and instruments once their interaction is already underway. In 2008, Groupshow used this approach to create a live soundtrack for Andy Warhol’s film Empire, over the full length of eight hours and five minutes.

Recordings in general and the “Greatest Hits” format in particular are another key aspect of this ongoing work on a collectively modulated continuum. The ten tracks on this first vinyl album by Groupshow, recorded between 2005 and 2018, document the ephemeral capturing of opportunities that were not missed. Extracts and essences of an endless movement of searching. The sprawling form of the whole, suspended in succinct, separate units.
To paraphrase Lao Tzu and Roland Barthes, one might say: Once their work is done, they are no longer attached to it. And because they’re not attached to it, it will remain.

Arno Raffeiner, 2022

Time for some rare late 70s soul royalty out of Memphis, Tennessee, a top rung rarity on the collector scene, Coco & Ben - Good Feelin'. Ben Robinson was recently tracked down by friends of the label Daniel Mathis and Robert Garcia, lucky for the world he was still sitting on the tapes for this slightly longer take (as well as some unreleased tracks) allowing us to cut this disco floater as a nice loud 12" for the first time, now sounding better than it ever has, don't sleep on the flip either. Utterly essential record.

The album’s seemingly brief tracklisting belies a work of great beauty and depth, and one which turned into a one-man crusade for singer/guitarist Lars Andersson, intertwining deeply personal stories with his love for the era of Romanticism. “Every time I go to a museum and I’m about to pass through the era of Romanticism I stop in awe,” says Lars of the enduring appeal of the 18th century artistic movement. “Whatever it is – stories, paintings, music – it triggers something deep within me, something profoundly human. It really hits a nerve, and it utterly immerses me to a point where I can’t move.” The album replicates this feeling; a gloriously over-the-top blend of Slowdive and Sigur Rós, mixed with the single-mindedness of Daniel Johnston and the noisiness of Nirvana, it’s as bold and beautiful and every bit as ornate as the art that inspired it. Unlike their acclaimed debut, 2019’s All That Ever Could Have Been, which gradually came into focus with a 15-minute opening track, Picturesque hits home from the very first note of the short and sweet opener, ‘Ballerina’. That’s not to say there aren’t epics here – ‘Metamorphosis’ is essentially a 12-minute suite of three movements; blistering closer ‘The Lot’ is 11 minutes of Swans-inspired heaviness – but everything is much more direct and focused. This isn’t an album to lose yourself in, it’s one to get swept away by. “‘More is more’ was definitely the credo when making this record,” agrees Lars. “A big inspiration were bands like Pond and the way they manage to fill their songs up with stuff to the absolute maximum. While I definitely tried to give the listener some room to breathe at certain points and while, in good old post-rock fashion, it still builds up and breaks down, it relies much more on simple melody and harmony as opposed to noisy experimentation to transport feeling.” Never more so than on the first single, ‘The Golden Age’, which is the album’s centrepiece; a soaring slice of über-shoegaze that is so stunning you can’t take your eyes or ears off it. Like all the songs on the album, it’s based around a fairy-tale from the Romantic era. In this case, it’s Heinrich von Ofterdingen by the German poet, author and philosopher Novalis (other influences are: The Steadfast Tin Soldier by Hans Christian Andersen; The Seven Ravens and Hans in Luck by the Brothers Grimm; Undine by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué and The Golden Pot by E.T.A. Hoffmann), with Lars drawing parallels between the titular character’s mystical and romantic searchings and his own personal quest. This is apt as the album has been an overriding obsession for Lars for the past two-and-a-half years; as well as writing and recording the songs (bandmate Phillip Dornauer played drums), he also mixed and mastered them at his Alpine Audio studio and Picturesque is very much his Brian Wilson or Kevin Shields moment. MOLLY were in the middle of their European tour when Covid hit in early 2020, forcing Lars to retreat back to his home outside Innsbruck and giving him time and space to think about every detail of the record. “Well, I was on a quest I guess,” he admits. “Like everyone, I was stranded at home and at some point I just said to myself, ‘If not now, then when?’ It was an intense process. I’ve worked on music from other bands and artists before but producing and mixing your own music is an utterly different animal. It was probably the most intense thing I’ve ever done, but it was also incredibly rewarding and the feeling of it all coming together piece by piece is incomparable.” The artwork is just as effective. “I think of Radiohead’s OK Computer – what you hear on the record is what you see on the cover,” explains Lars. “We were inspired by what we call ‘wimmelbilder’ hidden pictures in German, a very specific style in art where there are a lot of little things happening. When you see it from further away, it looks organic like a lost painting from the area of Romanticism, but the closer you look the more digital it gets. It’s a nice analogy.” He’s right, it perfectly sums up the conflict between Romanticism and 21st century life. “Romanticism was basically an answer to the Industrial Revolution as well as the social and political norms of the Age Of Enlightenment,” concludes Lars. “Now, we all live in a much more industrialised, materialistic, individualistic and sterile society than any early Romanticist could have ever possibly imagined. Over 200 years later the Romanticists have lost the battle.” With the divine and downright pulchritudinous Picturesque, MOLLY begin the fightback.1.Ballerina 2.Metamorphosis 3.The Golden Age 4.Sunday Kid 5.So To Speak 6.The Lot

Stillness is a myth. Consider concepts such as ”still water”, or ”still air” for that matter. Go to a restaurant, ask them for a glass of still water, hold it against the light and see where we’re at. Even though the water itself has been captured and imprisoned in the glass, it never stops breathing. It’s filled with tiny particles, dancing. Everything can be explained on a molecular level, but since we’re not scientists – and even if you happen to be – it’s the natural world of perception that moves me.

Still air is very similar. A hot summer’s day with zero wind feels completely still. It’s the closest I have felt to complete stillness. Or for a more urban adaptation, imagine the same vibe inside a normal apartment. In those moments, revelations and mind- blowing experiences can be had with experiments in stillness.

Try this: Just sit down for a minute on a sunny day, making sure there’s enough natural light. Do absolutely nothing. Try not to breathe for a bit. (If you need a mental anchor, you can play Cage’s 4’33” in your head but nothing else.) Watch the tiny dots of dust dancing :..’ ̈.:; ́ ́*°.,’:,. ̈ ̈ ̈ ̈:,.’

The movement is crazy, but the feeling of stillness comes from witnessing how subtle it is. In (perceived) complete stillness, every act of microscopic mobility seems to speak volumes. Yet, it feels both reassuring and oddly threatening that the stillness is never complete. What if we would need absolute stillness? Or is it just enough that we can perceive something as such?

Extremes attract, so for both water and air, extraordinary movement is equally fascinating. That is also a luxury item of sorts. For us to enjoy a very ”loud” body of water or air, we need to be safe, in enough control of the situation. So when you are, it’s worthwhile to pay attention and take it all in.

A rapid flowing free with extreme strength and just barely in control. Look at that water go! No still water on this one, only ”sparkling”. A windy day when birds seem surprised how hard it is to fly, but in the end they make it. Trees bend but don’t break. The wind shows you its movement but doesn’t hurt you. It feels friendly, like a big clumsy dog that doesn’t quite understand its size.

It’s beautiful to be a guest of the elements, but not at the mercy of them. A new kind of dialogue forms.

"Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the bassbins, Mysticisms brings the latest in its Dubplate series. After the success of his first digital dubb excursions on the version, Persian returns with a second 10” of reggae inspired electronics, covering Bass, Breaks, Digidub and now also, Jungle.

Taking no prisoners with the massive opener Survival Dub, Persian marries classic breakbeats and toasting to bouncing, dance floor effect. THE party starter. This is followed by Smoke Mari, a looping steppas of FX and breaks to lay down the Dubplate clash.

As ever the link between rave, breaks and sound system culture is explored, this time with the Roots’n’Lovers opening of There Is No Love giving way to a Junglist drop, before risin’ to a beautiful soul sermon.

Finally, taking it all down, tings wrap with the deep, sampledelic dub of Zatoichi’s Troubles. With a bass to destroy many a speaker, it’s lanquidity morphs from the EP’s hedonism of sound clash styles to a gliding “tokers delight”.

Smoke the Mystery. "

Totó's music has been sampled and remixed by countless DJs and producers from Timbaland to Michel Cleis - indeed the trance-like grooves of her tambores and the majesty of her voice continues to be an irresistible formula.
The Garabato Sessions brings influences from Bristol to Bogotá, with new remixes of Totó's classic Adios Fulana. DJ, musician and remixer, Rob Smith (RSD), best known for making and playing breakbeat, drum & bass and dubstep, and as half of the duo Smith & Mighty (with Ray Mighty) provides the Bristol connection with his remixes.
Bogotá-based Richard Blair - from the band Sidestepper - retains the earthy Colombian sound of the traditional African-influenced drums and adds his own dub twist

Mysticisms keeps the Dubplate series moving, welcoming one of the seminal Dub producers of all time in Scientist. His unique studio techniques and understanding of rhythm are exalted and present on Step It Up, an enlightening example of his genius and matched with a widescreen remix by label associate DJN4, aka DJ Normal 4, teaming up with fellow Dusseldorf producer AKI AKI, to offer a dreamland breaks-steppers anthem.
The fact that Hopeton Overton Brown aka Scientist is one of the true pioneers of Dub music is undisputed. His productions, first as an apprentice at Studio One, then breaking through whilst teamed at King Tubby's studio, led to Channel One and a series of seminal Dub masterpieces throughout the 1980s, mixing engineer Henry 'Junjo' Lawes' productions with the Roots Radics, alongside vocalists Barrington Levy, Jonny Osbourne and Jah Thomas.

Step It Up precedes, taken from the period of seminal Tubby's work with Bunny Lee and in this instance, with Barry Brown classic vocals and Lee's house band, The Aggravators, backing. As often with Reggae's history, much is disputed, however, this unmistakable Scientist production showcases Brown's high pass filters in effect, the trademark riding 4/4, utilising the 4 track mixing desk to create a joyous bounce.

Working on the license from the outset, Tim Schumacher aka DJN4, waited in the wings to dive in the desk for a modern-day remix. Partnering with up-and-coming producer Aki Vierboom (Phaserboys / Candomble), the Digi-Dance MixX is bass-quaking histrionics, a steppers meets rave culture overdose that will be heard from festivals to dancehalls, a righteous dub-breaks riddim y'all.

Step the Mystery

With our Chillhop Raccoon mascot leaving the cozy countryside for the first time and moving to the big city of Chillville, Essentials Spring 2022 is a new chapter. An origin story with endless adventures around every corner. With Spring 2022, we see our favorite mascot settling in, unpacking, making friends, and learning the ways of a new metropolis, one paw at a time.

At 24 songs with nearly 40 musicians, Essentials Spring 2022 marks the 25th seasonal compilation since beginning back in 2016. Lofi and lively, jazzy and laid-back, press play and feel the ground start to blossom and bloom.

After releasing two critically acclaimed albums in the span of 10 months (TA13OO and ZUU, respectively), Denzel Curry starts off 2020 with a menacing and concise full length produced entirely by Kenny Beats. Unlocked is the product of a manic 3 day studio session following Denzel recording for an episode of Kenny's YouTube show, The Cave. The project finds the two mining sounds outside of what prompted their respective rises in recent years. While Denzel pulls influence from various members of The Wu-Tang Clan, Kenny taps into a sound inspired by the holy trinity of Madlib, Dilla & MF Doom. Despite these classic influences, Unlocked sounds like something completely new and sees Denzel setting the tone for a new decade once again just as he and Raider Klan at the outset of the 2010's.

Philly’s own Chained Bliss set tongues a-waggin’ back in 2019 with their Stained Red cassette EP, gathering more than a few comparisons to the Wipers’ early racket in the process. Well, now they’re back with a debut album that seems to have skipped right ahead from Is This Real? to Over The Edge: this self-titled LP has all the gut-punching ramalama, knockabout guts’n’glory of that first tape, with added layers. Melodic guitar lines come perilously close to jangling over crunching power chords, while furiously yelped choruses give way to sumptuously put-together breakdown sections that catch you off guard and kick you in the shins before legging it down the street. Chained Bliss clearly love scrappy, skatey garage rock (echoes of Agent Orange’s Living In Darkness abound) as much as they love pushing that raucous clatter into something spacious - the meditative sections that flow effortlessly into absolute ripper Pillars Of Abuse are as unexpected as the thoughtful but head-spinningly energetic sections that bring Creative Seizure so thrillingly to life. Other times they’re just as happy to keep you careening towards the pit with two-minute bangers, but that’s the beauty of this record: it’s never smarter than when it’s playing dumb, and the rest of the time it’s just pretty damn smart. Here’s a challenge: can you listen to Ominous Life’s gnarly pop without raising those fists of yours skywards and landing a firm thump on the air? Or Drifter’s swaggering stomp? Or, or, or… ahhh hell, you get what I’m saying here. Every single cut slays, every single hook snags itself on your brain. You’ll come back for more, and more, and more. Are Chained Bliss your new favourite band? Well, gee, we’ve never met and I don’t know what you like and it’s not for me to say… but on the other hand, yes. Yes, they are. They’re heading straight for your heart and they ain’t budging. Will Fitzpatrick

"Following this year’s VA ‘Marmo’, a collaborative offering co-released with XCPT, Baroque Sunburst releases its first Various Artists EP. Tracks from Taro, Pugilist, Slacker and Flørist, create a statement record championing subtle yet hybrid club-oriented sounds.

Buffalo, NY's Taro ignites the white label 12" with ‘Gas Burn’, a dreamy, rarified IDM zipper. An off-kilter UK funky remix from Flørist follows (his second appearance on the imprint after 2020's Intermedia 1 EP). The B side drags us into a half-time, downtempo sideroom, with tracks from Slacker (Aqueduct) and Pugilist (Symbiosis) slowing pace but maintaining intensity."

Limited to 300 copies.

Soul Jazz Records are releasing Count Ossie and The Mystic Revelation’s seminal 1975 album Tales of Mozambique in an expanded double album/single CD/digital format, fully remastered and with the inclusion of two bonus rare single-only tracks, full sleevenotes, exclusive photographs and interview.

Count Ossie is the central character in the development of Rastafarian roots music, nowadays an almost mythical and iconic figure. His importance in bringing Rastafarian music to a populist audience is matched only by Bob Marley’s promotion of the faith internationally in the 1970s.

Count Ossie’s drummers performed on the first commercially released single to integrate Rastafarian traditional music with popular music: the vocal group The Folkes Brothers’ groundbreaking song ‘Oh Carolina’, recorded for producer Prince Buster in 1959. In 1966 his drummers greeted the momentous arrival of Haile Selassie at Kingston airport.

His legendary jam sessions up in his Rastafarian compound in the hills of Wareika, Kingston, are famous for the many Jamaican musicians who attended including The Skatalites players – Roland Alphonso, Don Drummond, Johnny Moore, Lloyd Knibbs – and many others.

The Mystic Revelation of Rastafari formed in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1970, a union of Count Ossie’s Rastafarian drummers – variously known as his African Drums, Wareikas or his Afro-Combo – and the saxophonist Cedric Im Brooks’ horns group, The Mystics.

The Mystic Revelation of Rastafari are the defining group in bringing authentic Rastafarian rhythms into the collective consciousness of popular music, their unique music is at once rooted in the deep traditions and rituals of traditional drumming and chanting alongside a forward-thinking, even avant-garde, artistry influenced by the likes of John Coltrane, Sun Ra, Pharoah Sanders and other pioneering African-American jazz artists radicalised and charged by the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

Tales of Mozambique is a truly unique and fascinating ground-breaking album.

Count Ossie and The Mystic Revelation of Rastafari are the central group featured on Soul Jazz Records recent "Rastafari - The Dreads Enter Babylon” a collection showing the influence of Rastafari in Reggae and Jamaican popular culture.

Soul Jazz Records will also be releasing Count Ossie and The Rasta Family 'Man From Higher Heights’ in the near future.

* Bonus tracks

REVIEWS

" All roads in Rastafarian roots music lead to Count Ossie.He’s the lead character in this compelling subplot, the musician who was one of the first to put Rasta tenets into the heart of popular music.

He did so from his camp in the hills above Kingston, Count Ossie and his drummers casting a spell on the musicians who gathered to check him out and then went on to spread the word about the powerful nyabinghi rhythms and mesmerising percussion.

This is a reissue of the 1975 album Count Ossie made with his Rastafarian drummers and saxaphonist Cedric ‘Im’ Brooks’s group The Mystics.

It’s a groundbreaking, majestic work, by turns righteous in tone and joyous in execution. It’s the sound of Ossie and his ensemble narrating a history lesson and you’d be daft not to want to find out more." IRISH TIMES

Deutsche Grammophon präsentiert das aufregende neue Filmprojekt der mehrfach ausgezeichneten (Oscar,
2 Grammys, Golden Globe, Emmy, BAFTA u.a.) isländischen Komponistin und Cellistin Hildur Guðnadóttir
(Joker, Chernobyl, Battlefield 2042 u.a.) - ein bahnbrechendes Konzeptalbum für den neuen Film TÁR
des dreifach Oscar-nominierten Todd Field mit Cate Blanchett in der Hauptrolle als Dirigentin Lydia Tár.
Blanchett tauchte in jeden Aspekt des Lebens ihrer Figur ein und ist auf dem Album zu hören, wie sie
die Proben einer Mahler-Sinfonie mit außerordentlichem Geschick leitet. Bereits bei der Premiere im
Rahmen des Venice Film Festivals wurde sie für diese herausragende Leistung ausgezeichnet, sodass der
Film schon jetzt als Frontrunner für die Oscars und Award Season 2022/23 gilt. Das facettenreiche Album
präsentiert sowohl Musik aus dem Film wie auch durch den Film inspirierte Musik, darunter eine Reihe von
eindringlichen neuen Stücken von Hildur Guðnadóttir, sowie Auszüge aus Werken Elgars und Mahlers. Es
ergänzt die faszinierende Handlung des Films, indem es vollendete, reale Versionen der Musik präsentiert,
an denen die fiktive Protagonistin Lydia Tár bereits im Film arbeitet. Ziel des Albums ist es, dem Hörer
etwas von der Komplexität des musikalischen Proben- und Aufnahmeprozesses zu vermitteln. ”Das Album,
wie auch der Film, soll für den Hörer das komplexe Wirrwarr erlebbar werden lassen, wenn Musik gemacht
wird.“ (Todd Field).

Red Vinyl

It has been exactly ten years since Finders Keepers first intrepidly entered Andrzej Korzyński’s cavernous musical vault, but it is only today that we are able to proudly announce the safe retrieval on what we consider the true heavy psych holy grail of the Polish composer’s mind-bending oeuvre. By cruel coincidence this welcome event has sadly come during the same year as the composer’s tragic passing. However, in true Korzyński style, alongside his previous Finders Keepers releases, the legacy he has left behind in this one final lost soundtrack project alone has come with musical riches beyond anyone’s wildest expectations.

The comprehensive elusive archive of the deeply psychedelic soundtrack to Andrzej Żuławski’s forbidden film Diabeł (The Devil) is perhaps the most detailed dossier one could wish to find – including audio sketches, rejected proposals and pre-butchered variations that play out like an intense and veritable creative conversation between the director and the maestro, both of whom are widely recognised as true mavericks of socialist-era Poland’s fertile artistic landscape. Never intended for anything as conventional as a straightforward movie tie-in promotional disc (state owned Eastern European record labels rarely did this), the music in this archive has required special forensic inspection. Let’s say the devil is in the detail. The 7” record you are now holding is more than just a companion piece, and it is far from a selection of the (non-existent) poppy title themes to promote a full feature-length album. This standalone release is wholly unique in its own right, giving Finders Keepers listeners a final access all areas snoop into the mind of one of the pillars of our alternative musical community.

As those familiar with Żuławski and Korzyński’s long-running relationship will understand (a methodology best exemplified in the schizoid soundtrack to the film Possession), their exchanges were deeply nuanced and often complicated, with lots of artistic “tennis” thrown into the mix. The key plot in this behind-the-scene fable is that after delivering his original off-kilter psychedelic score to the director, maestro Korzyński was asked to make the music “totally unique, like something from another planet”, to which Korzyński took his tapes, pulled down the vari-speed to a guttural grind and continued to recompose over the top using avant-garde electro-acoustic techniques while deploying psychedelic skills of guitarist Winicjusz Chróst. This limited record release proudly boasts Korzyński’s original uptempo awkward psychedelic pop music prior to the doom laden growls that make the official films soundtrack a true Goliath of Eastern European soundtrack composition. Which, when recontextualised, will stand as a veritable face-melter for stoner rock fans. As one of Finders Keepers deepest conquests, we are delighted to share The Devil Tapes… What is a grail without the wine.

Celebrating a momentous five decades in the industry, legendary
musician and songwriter Paul Carrack, who's 'Golden Voice' features on
numerous classic world wide hits such as 'How Long' (ACE') ,
'Tempted' (Squeeze), 'The Living Years', 'Over My Shoulder' ( Mike and the
Mechanics) teams up with the GRAMMY Award-winning SWR Big Band &
Strings on epic new album " Don't Wait Too Long"
The covers album celebrates the pioneering golden era in music from the 50s and
beyond spanning blues, gospel, country and jazz. The first single "Cryin' Won't
Help You" out in Jan 2023 is Paul's tribute to the legendary BB King.Paul has a
deep love of R&B songs from the fifties and beyond. For him, 50s music was filled
with intense emotion, it was wildly kinetic and had a profound impact on his
career. In Paul's mind, it's where all modern pop music began, the sounds were
spectacular and revolutionary. Days when the change from jazz to pop was
stretched via pioneers and great singers like Bobby Bland, Ray Charles, Aretha
Franklin, and Lloyd Price..These artists always resonated as fantastic performers
with stylistic records that had such joy and intensity.
The 50s were not only a time for musical revolution but a social and generational
upheaval of vast and unpredictable scope. The power of this music is as vital
today as it ever was with the power to change lives forever.
After working with the SWR band on a number of projects, Paul and his producers
had the idea to find and record a selection of these time-warped classics, some
well- known, others not so much, and the title track , a modern song that harks
back to those times called 'Don't Wait Too Long'. The result is an impassioned,
compelling album. Honest, epic, touching, the album showcases a great vocalist
who is at home with his art and talent.
NATIONAL TV & RADIO.BBC Breakfast - Will take first week Jan / BBC Radio 2 -
Cerys Matthews - First Week Jan / Talk Radio - 2nd week Jan / Sky News - Beth
Rigby Interview - Second Week Jan / Greatest Hits - First Week Jan / GB News -
Live Interview via Zoom First Week Jan / Talk TV - Live Interview via Zoom first
week Jan / Ch 5 News - TBC week 2 Jan / ITV News - 2nd week Jan

Red Vinyl

Adrian Borland and Graham Bailey might be better known as members of legendary post-punk group The Sound, but the two were childhood friends and had been playing together even earlier in The Outsiders, and continued their deep musical rapport as a duo, creating these intense and engaging songs as Second Layer at the same time as their higher profile band output.

Combining their early recordings, including the 1979 Flesh As Property EP and 1980 State Of Emergency EP, Courts Or Wars takes its title from the first song that served as the pair’s introduction to listeners. Right from the beginning you are enveloped in what The Quietus described as, “a monochrome worldview morbidly obsessed with the dehumanizing effect of war, nuclear weapon annihilation, and the fracturing and negation of the self within an increasingly distorted and technologically mediated society.” Where The Sound fit snugly next to Echo And The Bunnymen, Second Layer had far more in common with the pulsing menace of Suicide.

Borland’s familiar vocals and sense of melody hold a connection to his other songwriting, but within these songs he takes far more risks in his guitar work to suit the subject matter. What really drives everything is Bailey’s propulsive bedrock, formed by his homemade pre-drum machine rhythm generators, creating an innovative mechanical approach that somehow inserts a jittery neurotic touch that merges perfectly with his electronic layers driven by the wasp synth, various unique effects boxes or tape loops. Adding in Bailey’s own distinctive bass playing, the results feel personal and experimental, pointed and harsh, while also bracingly accessible and covered in dark manic energy.

Over forty years later, these recordings feel shockingly appropriate. In painting a bleak reality and frightening future, there is real desperate beauty here.

Debut solo album by Dave Rowntree, best known as the drummer in Blur. It"s a record set to surprise many people, being an electronic-based album with orchestral fringes, filled with great, tuneful songs delivered by Rowntree"s assured and expressive vocal performances. While down the years he"s provided backing vocals on many of Blur"s albums and onstage during their live sets, this is the first time the drummer has stepped up to the microphone as a singer in his own right. He says he didn"t particularly find the prospect daunting. Produced by Leo Abrahams (Brian Eno, Ghostpoet, Wild Beasts), featuring co-writers including Gary Go and Högni Egilsson and stirring orchestrations recorded in Budapest, Radio Songs is a sonically expansive, but also deeply personal record.

80g, schwarzes Vinyl. Re-Release des ursprünglich 1974 erschienen Albums von Gille Lettmann aka Sternenmädchen. Live im Quadro-Studio: Gille und Klaus Schulze. Musikeinblendungen von den LPs "Seven Up" (Ash Ra Temple & Timothy Leary), "Lord Krishna von Goloka" (Sergius Golowin), "Tarot" (Walter Wegmüller). Statements von Sergius Golowin, Timothy Leary, Brian Barritt, Walter Wegmüller, Liz Elliot, Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser. Aufgenommen im Zeitschiff Studio Dierks. Sorgfältig transferiert und remastert von den originalen, analogen Masterbändern durch HaGü Schmitz in den Dierks Studios in Pulheim-Stommeln im Jahr 2022. ENG 180g, black vinyl. Comes in a standard sleeve. Re-release of the original 1974 album by Gille Lettmann aka Sternenmädchen / Star Maiden. Live in the Quadro Studio: Gille and Klaus Schulze. Music inserts from the LPs "Seven Up" (Ash Ra Temple & Timothy Leary), "Lord Krishna von Goloka" (Sergius Golowin), "Tarot" (Walter Wegmüller). Statements by Sergius Golowin, Timothy Leary, Brian Barritt, Walter Wegmüller, Liz Elliot, Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser. Recorded at the Zeitschiff Studio Dierks. Carefully transferred and remastered from the original analogue master tapes by HaGü Schmitz at Dierks Studios in Pulheim-Stommeln in 2022.

Barely heard in his lifetime (1961-2002) but hailed as an outsider hero of ur-punk since 2009’s ‘Cosmic Lightning’ compilation, J.T. IV strikes back!

15 unheard-of tracks found on an obscure cassette tape make the schizo split in his music - rabid rock & roll fantasy and cold-eyed acoustic introspection - an epic. ‘The Future’ is J.T. IV’s mad magnum opus.

The 2009 comp LP, ‘Cosmic Lightning’, cast his tragic silhouette up on the big screen
for all to see: the lost boy, alone in the world, standing before the mic and releasing
his inner star with glee and vengeance, his antisocial visions flying high atop a raging
funnel of distorted guitars and blunt rhythms. Or couched, childlike, within a heart
breaking billow of acoustic guitars - a schizophrenic split that only magnifies the
display of his deep emotions.
‘The Future’ goes even further, excavating fifteen recordings from a previously
unheard-of cassette entitled ‘The Best Of Johnny Zhivago Retrospective 1979–1993’,
and adding four more uncollected tracks from his slim (and impossible to find
anyway) discography.
Of these nineteen tracks, eight are covers - and J.T. IV’s picks, from Velvets to Mott
the Hoople, Roxy Music, Lee Hazlewood, The Kinks, Eno and Stephen Sondheim,
sharpen our image of the misfit adrift; on the outside looking in, but maybe just a few
steps away from his goal.
‘The Future’ unfolds like an epic, as both sides of J.T.’s persona - the street-smart,
damaged rocker and the heart struck poet of the scene - live on together in the best
performances of his short career.
A punk of the old order, John Henry Timmis IV was born in 1961 into a dysfunctional,
abusive and eventually broken family. By the mid-70s, he was desperate to get out,
running away from his mother’s home several times while still a teenager living in the
greater Chicagoland area. At wit’s end, she had him committed to the Menninger
Clinic for a year or so. Released on his own reconnaissance, he began his meteoric
ascent to the mythic level of self-aggrandizement in which he appears here. Inspired
by the underground, proto-punk sounds in the air (the likes of which any sharp-eyed
young thing might chance upon in the back pages of Creem, Crawdaddy, Trouser
Press, etc.) and desperate to be heard himself, J.T. presented like the scabby
younger brother of Bangs and Laughner: born only to rock, his musical conception a
rabid personality crisis of proselyte elitism and nihilist excess.
Now, 20 years on from his passing, ‘The Future’ is ever farther away from the world
in which he struggled so mightily - but his stinging iconoclasm, whether screamed
from Marshall amps or mic-ed up close, feels ever more powerfully infused with his
unique breadth of illness and essence.
These songs represent the two sides of J.T. - and while they emanate from the 80s,
they find themselves potently renewed in the polarized world of today, making ‘The
Future’ a worthwhile destination for everyone who ever had a heart touched by the
transgression and freedom promised by rock & roll.

“We Da People” follows Emanuel's recent EP “Funk La Soul” and will be released via London tastemaker label and analogue specialists Gearbox Records (Binker Golding, Roland Kirk, The Cookers, Abdullah Ibrahim). Alongside the announcement, Harrold has shared a new single titled “I Think”, which features two-time GRAMMY-winner, Gregory Porter. Having made a name for himself both live and record collaborating with the likes of Damon Albarn, Keyon Harrold, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, De La Soul, and Gregory Porter, “We Da People” marks a new chapter in Harrold’s solo career. The LP is a positive combination of uplifting messages and improvisational sounds that transcend R&B, jazz, soul, gospel, and funk. The release also sees Harrold bring in a number of estimable guest musicians including Gregory Porter, Charles Ransom II & Crystal ‘Crissy’ Ransom, Jahmal Nichols, Carlos “Scooter” Brown, Tivon Pennicott, Joel Holmes, Brian Owens, and more. Featuring lead vocals from his long-time friend and collaborator Gregory Porter, the new single and album opener “I Think” perfectly encapsulates the sound of the album by combining gospel-tinged soul vocals, with jazz-funk inflected guitars, uplifting orchestral strings, groove heavy bass that is interweaved with Harrold’s precise, high energy drumming.

Originally released in 1981, Rasa has long been admired and studied by
musicians as a model for how to do a cross-cultural recording project
where the musicians actually understand something of each other’s
musical cultural and actually feel it
Remastered from the original tapes by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering.
Energetic, delightful, virtuosic and soulful, and available again for the first time in
over 40 years. Includes extensive liner notes by Jody Stecher and a new essay by
Baiju Bhatt.

Following what many would consider a banner year of releases for both artists, Curren$y & The Alchemist reunite for their third collaborative album, Continuance. With a chemistry that is unmatched in this day and age, the album sees Spitta exude effortless confidence over some of Alc's most finely crafted beats, resulting in what many would already consider a timeless piece of work. The 13-track album features a tight, yet impressive roster of guests including Boldy James, Babyface Ray, Styles P, Larry June, Havoc, and old partner in crime, Wiz Khalifa. While their run seems never ending at this point, it is definitely something to be celebrated and not taken for granted.

It's an all electronic affair, harmonically maximalist, predominantly symphonic-synthetic, requiring active listening. Some pieces function as challengers of musical structural habits, provoking the short attention span culture, others present a problem-solution scenario, collectively via a neoteric noise aesthetic and detailed melodic weaving. Ultimately, the objective was to engineer an assortment of works full of sound, euphonic and vivid in nature.

The making of this album was intentionally a very personal process, going into self therapy territory at times interpreting the composer's contemplating mind dealing with tolerance, destruction, compassion, misery, grace and tyranny in an auditory manner. Some pieces function as challengers of musical structural habits, provoking the short attention span culture, others present a problem-solution scenario, collectively via a neoteric noise aesthetic and detailed melodic weaving. Ultimately, the objective was to engineer an assortment of works, awash with euphonic sound vivid in its essence, with a deep focus on various synthesis techniques within a compositional framework.

Dedicated to Peter Rehberg aka Pita

Ata 'Sote' Ebtekar composes music with a deeply-held conviction that rules and formulas should be deconstructed and rethought. He alters musical modal codes from their original tonality and rhythmic tradition to achieve vivid, synthetic soundscapes. Over the last three decades, his work has been published by labels such as Warp, Sub Rosa, Opal Tapes, Diagonal, Mute and Morphine, among others. In 2018, he founded a new label called 'Zabte Sote', which focuses on releases by Iranian experimental electronic composers from around the globe.

Known for creating compositions that range from the delicate to the abrasive, using sounds both of acoustical and electronic origins, Ebtekar sees music as the expression of cultural habits in sound and anti-sound (silence). Seeking to expand such traditions he creates music that, while rooted in many cultures at once, belongs to none in particular. Sote's work deals with various blueprints, in particular his solo all synthetic music, his electroacoustic audio/visual group project, and his multi-channel sound installations. Sote is on the jury panel of The DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program, and has created commissioned work for and performed at a.o. Berghain and CTM Festival (Berlin), Unsound Festival (Krakow), Cafe Oto (London), Jazzhouse (Copenhagen), TodaysArt Festival (The Hague), Bozar (Brussels), Ultima Festival (Oslo), Donaufestival (Krems), Donaueschinger Musiktage, Mira (Barcelona), Terraforma (Milan), and many more.

2023 re-issue, 140g vinyl, reproduction of the classic Tele Music sleeve, full colour insert with liner notes and archive photographs

Wow! Tonio Rubio's Rhythms is a stone-cold killer, a heavyweight library breaks LP and the inaugural release in Be With's new partnership with legendary French library label Tele Music. Yes, you lucky people, there's lots to come. For this extremely special 50 year anniversary re-issue, we've reproduced the classic Tele Music sleeve with a full colour insert featuring rare photographs, fresh liner notes and personal memories of Tonio from the likes of Jean-Claude Vannier, Jean-Claude Petit and Janko Nilovic.

Sumptuous opener “Latin Leitmotiv” is all funky phasing effects and a killer montuno, with what sounds like piano and bass in tandem, stoking straight up Latin fire. The gritty hard funk of blaxploitation groove "Red Medium" is dripping in wah-wah attitude and head-nod oddness. The atmospheric, exotica-tinged "Dead Slow" emulates the languid, sensual afro groove of Quincy Jones’ wild masterpiece “Gula Matari” whilst the proggy, electric jazz fusion epic "Rock 73" is 9+ minutes of moody, rolling menace.

But the *real* highlight of this cult classic - and why it has long been *so* desirable - is the devastating, deep, hypnotic minimalist groove of "Bass In Action N°1". Very much in conversation with Quincy's rendition of "Hummin'", the loping, rumbling bassline and sweet electric piano over clean, crisp drums making it one of those tracks that sounds like a hip-hop beat 20 years ahead of time. Sensational. “Bass In Action N°2“ features Tonio's own vocal scat performance. Remarkable.

Antonio "Tonio" Rubio Garcia got his start playing the double bass in jazz clubs. In 1962, Tonio joined the Golden Stars, the first backing band of France’s teenage idol Johnny Hallyday. A genius musician with a unique guitar sound, he played on standards of French chanson including Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot’s "Bonnie and Clyde", Françoise Hardy’s "Tous les Garçons et les Filles", Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin’s "Je T’aime, Moi Non Plus" and Serge and Charlotte Gainsbourg’s infamous "Lemon Incest". Tonio also lent his brilliance to such legendary figures as Janko Nilovic, Jean-Claude Petit, Hervé Roy, and Jean-Claude Vannier. The latter remembers Tonio as “a secretive, mysterious man, with an endearing personality, albeit difficult to reach out to. His virtuosity as a bass player allowed me to write very innovative basslines, because he was able to play any of my eccentricities!”

The audio for Rhythms has been remastered by Be With regular Simon Francis whilst Christopher Stevenson has brought the original and iconic Tele Music sleeve back to life in all its striking glory as the finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue.

In anice gatefold sleeve this vinyl will make you discover the most emblematic artists of Cumbia and other more confidential ones selected and explained by the journalist and expert OSMAN JR. Original versions entirely remastered.

After spending his debut album exploring techno and mechanical sounds in the depths of the Pas-de-Calais mines, Toh Imago looks up to the sky, with an open breeze on his face, as tree branches and canopy filter out the sun’s rays on Refuge. All the machines used during the album recording are tuned at 432hz, carrying the mystical benefits of Earth’s resonance. Spending just seconds with the opening track, the listener is drawn into the safety that Refuge was intended to provide, and each subsequent piece pulls you deeper and deeper into the album’s forest.

Textextext - (add your write up)

‘Refuge’ was recorded on the edge of the Mormal forest, in the North of France. With nature as a setting and studio accomplice, the album features synthesizers, field-recordings, as well as the acoustic qualities of reverbs from the nearby forest. As the artist’s inner world and nature converge in moments of self-reflection, so the album’s 11 recordings harmoniously unfold in a cavalcade of machines and organic sonorities.

While the first LP 'Nord Noir’ explored his family’s mining past, ‘Refuge' is about being present and the desire to re-contextualize the relationship between nature and humans. It is a record of uplifting tones that is filled with optimism, imbued with the lightness of those who finally reconnect with nature, their roots, and the feeling of groundedness.

Like the steps taken on a walk in the woods, the 11 tracks sonically tell the story of an inner journey divided in three chapters. "Asile sauvage", "Sylve barbare" and “Avril Mormal" take the listener into a fast-paced progression of rhythms. When the heart of the forest is reached, the journey becomes intimate, revealing a sacred space where breathing becomes the leading tempo ("Locus Neminis") and the traveller becomes a spirit lost in space ("Cosmos Intra”). The journey's climax is reached with "Monde intérieur". The album closes with "Chiff Chaff" which accompanies the listener back to a reality, hopefully a more reassuring one.

Across the album, Toh Imago finds inventive ways of opening a dialogue between nature and machine, both literally and metaphorically, creating a soundscape that both feels like and was created by the natural world that surrounds him.

The album offers a shelter from a predetermined world. It’s a story told through ambience, racy and subtle electronics, and the memories of lichens clinging to shoes.

One of our all-time favourite artists and extended Circus Company member The Mole returns to the label for a proper presentation of his album The River Widens. Originally a limited, cassette-only release via fellow Canadian Eddie C’s Red Motorbike, we are proud to offer this album in its full glory for the first time on all formats.
Never one to shy away from synth deep dives, or raw sample flip collaging, this collection of 21 works checks all the boxes. Ambient trippers to straight up neck-snapping instrumental beats. Not forgetting tastes of the more uptempo, highly-assured and hypnotic dance floor feels the world has come to love The Mole for. Moments of casual chillin are interspersed with effortless, emotive angles, some evoking the charm of his Little Sunshine release for us in 2017.

X-pert Profat opens the set with sly statements that give way to relaxed and subtle keys over gentle, midtempo rhythms. Things switch up nicely into easy, Northwest Coast boogie-meets-beatdown feels inBreak For Ma, followed by a solid array of almost Jaylib-schooled boom bap twists, like the aptly-titled Drums 2002 and Jo Barker. Ambient cuts like AR Dayand New Family offer a refreshing tap of the brakes, setting the scene for the gorgeous, Jarre-esque Weak Stranger. We also get treated to Repepepater’s nod to Detroit house, urban-mode Balearic feels on They Work For Mr. O, and sneak
attack lo-fi future funk in the form of UFOs Over Egypt, with Montreal co-pilot Cristobal on a wild shisha-lit vox narrative, earlier versions of which have blessed many of our label comrades’ DJ sets, from Dave Aju to Vincent Lemieux.
The River Widens expands beautifully on the breadth of unique musical directions The Mole is capable of taking us in, now spread across fresh 2x12” vinyl and available digitally for the first time, along with another limited edition cassette run - we hope you enjoy the ride as much as we do!