Search:the machine

Producer, designer, publisher, filmmaker, all-round scene phenom - Lasse Marhaug returns with his first album since relocating from Oslo to the Arctic Circle, surveying his 35-year career for a set of grizzled, doom-pocked rhythms and foghorn drones pulled from the aether. Expansive and hard to categorise, it's a precision-tooled set of ice-cold tonal productions that heavily lean into Mika Vainio’s rhythm experiments, with extra levels of growling bass and curious noises to send us deep into the uncanny.

Lasse Marhaug has put his mark on literally hundreds of albums - working with artists like Jenny Hval, Merzbow, Jim O'Rourke, Kevin Drumm, Hilary Woods - so many others - yet he still regards himself as a primarily visual artist who got diverted into an occasionally different path. If his last album 'Context' was a kiss goodbye to decades of life in Oslo, 'Provoke' turns a new page, but one that draws heavily from memories of the distant past, reflecting on the way the topographies of Norway's frozen north helped shape his creative worldview. Weaving electronics into environmental recordings captured in the bleak Arctic winter, the album was mixed during the Polar night season, when, for two straight months, the sun never rose past the horizon. Somehow, even at its bleakest, Marhaug avoids the usual aesthetic signifiers for this kinda thing, finding elements of queered beauty in all the severity, juxtaposing elements that shine a bright light on all the odd spaces in-between.

A consideration of noise music's place in 2024, and whether it can still be a tool for subversion when its aesthetics have been so commodified, ‘Provoke’ also refernces an experimental '70s Japanese art magazine that attempted to define a new language for photography. Operating somewhere between these two guiding poles, Lasse feels his way through a subtly altered mode of expression, a new approach to familiar concepts. Album opener ‘Plates’, for example, gives it the full Ø treatment, like some exceptional ‘Oleva’-outtake, but , eventually, shards of interference start to exhale like horses blowing, creating uncanny sensations that hit through ambiguous feeling rather than sheer noise terror. Ritualistic, corporeal - hard to know what you’re listening to and why it makes you feel that certain way - so much more than just machine cycles optimised for their ultimately hollow brutalist aesthetic.

Marhaug paints vivid pictures from a carefully chosen palette, drawing us into a soundworld that's rich with contradictions and contrasts. Even the relatively deafening 'New Topographics' offsets its wall of distortion with a muffled, perforating kick drum, cutting into the noise like a knife through butter. And all of this preparation makes the album's lengthy centrepiece 'Monochrome Head' even more impactful; hinging on a Pan Sonic-like alloy of bass and drums, the track snowballs through tempered feedback and improv scrapes and whistles that pick up into an orchestral din. Marhaug accents the bluster with rhythmic hums that gather in momentum until they're almost oppressively heavy, as if everything's about to collapse.

A masterclass in quietly subversive world-building, 'Provoke' invites us to peer at an expansive sonic landscape and marvel at its intricacies, but this time around there's a Lovecraftian behemoth lurking somewhere beneath its icy surface.

Washington, DC’s DES DEMONAS have been hailed as a favorite of Henry Rollins (KCRW FM/Black Flag), Marc Riley (BBC6 Music/The Fall), and Iggy Pop (BBC6 Music/The Stooges) since the release of their debut LP on In The Red Records and their subsequent singles and EP. DES DEMONAS’ much anticipated follow-up LP “APOCALYPTIC BOOM! BOOM!” is out this fall on In The Red Records. The group is made up of some familiar names from the DC punk, garage, and indie scenes. A Kenyan punk-poet-politique Jacky “Cougar” Abok (Foul Swoops, Thee Lolitas) is on vocals & percussion, Mark Cisneros (Hammered Hulls, Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Birds, The Make-Up) is on guitar, Paul Vivari (Benjy Ferree, DJ Soul Call Paul) is on Farfisa organ and bass machine, and Matt Gatwood (Two Inch Astronaut) is on drums. Des Demonas’ music is a melding of disparate sounds and influences, hitting with a driving pulse and fiery intent. “The sonic fuel of the band is a blend of post punk, punk, funk, blues, psych rock, Afro beat, even bubble gum but the noise you hear is pure Des Demonas.” - Kim Salmon / The Scientists “Dig the Des Demonas. Play it loud. Twist your wig.” - Kid Congo Powers

Composer and performer Stina Stjern have for over 25 years been a steady presence in the Norwegian music scene – starting out as a vocalist in the rock band Supervixen while studying jazz in Trondheim, Stjern’s road has been anything but predictable, and has over the years shown a will to experiment and explore new areas in her music making. Her new album ”Vivid Peace Restored” is perhaps her most radical musical statement yet, as the entire album is made using cassette tape. The sound sources vary from found sounds, various instruments and Stjern’s own voice, but there is no hierarchy, the different elements are given equal importance, and through considerate looping, layering, cut-ups, re-arranging the bits and pieces it forms a rich tapestry of sound. This blurring is intentional, Stjern wants us to get lost in her sound world, a place where nothing is forced or overstated. Tape hiss, subtle melody lines, distant location recordings, gentle waves of noise, and voices melt together creating lush soundscapes

A surreal mosaic of eerie chant processionals, tape-rot trickery, and panicked oud madness. These are sonic forgeries of atavistic heritages, recorded by analog means using esoteric techniques."" They have been known by many names: The Givers of Illness; The Bandylegged Riders of the Ill-Promised Sun, etc_ Honed and expanded through their travels, Ak'chamel's singular sound comprising desert-scorched psychedelia, post-apocalyptic shamanism, and bizarre ritual folk is as unique as the physical theater of their otherworldly live performances.

Voivod wurde 1982 in Jonquière, Quebec, von Sänger Denis „Snake“ Belanger, Gitarrist Denis „Piggy“ D'Amour, Bassist Jean-Yves „Blacky“ Thériault und Schlagzeuger Michael „Away“ Langevin gegründet und nahm eine Reihe von Demos auf, bevor Brian Slagel auf die Band aufmerksam wurde und einen Vertrag mit Metal Blade Records unterzeichnete. Das Ergebnis war das furiose Debütalbum „War And Pain“, das im August 1984 veröffentlicht wurde. Zu dieser Zeit teilten sich alle vier Mitglieder eine Wohnung in Montreal und lebten von 150 Dollar Sozialhilfe pro Woche. Da sie die Schule bereits hinter sich hatten, konnten sie fast jeden Tag proben, was zur Entstehung ihres zweiten Albums „Rrröööaaarrr“ führte. Während der Aufnahme des Albums wurde fast die gesamte Ausrüstung aus dem Proberaum gestohlen. Um Geld aufzutreiben, organisierte die Band zusammen mit ihrem Manager Maurice Richard das legendäre „World War III“-Festival. Dort lernten sie Karl-Ulrich Walterbach kennen, der Voivod davon überzeugte, bei seinem Label Noise Records zu unterschreiben. Nach „Rrröööaaarrr“ von 1986 hieß Voivods zweites Album für Noise „Killing Technology“ und gilt weithin als der größte kreative und klangliche Sprung der Band. Es wurde in West-Berlin unter den wachsamen Augen von Harris Johns aufgenommen und kam 1987 auf den Markt. Weniger hektische Kompositionen wie „Tornado“, „Ravenous Medicine“ oder „Killing Technology“ hoben die Kanadier schnell von ihren Thrash-Zeitgenossen ab. „Rrröööaaarrr„ haben wir mit unserem Tontechniker in einer heruntergekommenen Schule ohne Geld selbst produziert“, erklärt Michael Langevin in dem Buch „Damn The Machine. The Story Of Noise Records“ des amerikanischen Autors David E. Gehlke. „Plötzlich hatten wir ein professionelles Umfeld, ein richtiges Studio mit einem richtigen Produzenten und ein Label, das die Finanzierung sicherstellte. Es ging Schritt für Schritt. Für „Killing Technology“ haben wir vielleicht ein bisschen langsamer gemacht. Wir konnten die Rollen spielen, und es hat viel Abwechslung. Es ist mein Lieblingsalbum und in meinen Ohren die perfekte Mischung aus Thrash, Prog und Hardcore. Es ist definitiv ein entscheidendes Album.“

Highly regarded as a former resident at Salon Des Amateurs at his native Düsseldorf, Tolouse Low Trax/Detlef Weinrich has carved one of the most distinctive sounds in contemporary leftfield club music thanks to his deeply unusual grooves and hypnotic arrangements over the past 15 years as a solo artist. Fung Day is his first album with entirely new material since Leave me alone which was released through Bureau B in 2022. Fung Day was written and recorded over the course of two years, slowly mutating and progressing from one state to another. Mixed, produced and finally mastered in Paris, his new domicile by choice.

Die skandinavischen Death-Metal-Meister Konkhra werden mit „Sad Plight of Lucifer“ alle umhauen! Das neue Album „Sad Plight of Lucifer“ von
Konkhra liefert ihren klassischen skandinavischen Death Metal-Sound mit neuer Intensität. Das von Tue Madsen abgemischte Album markiert die
Rückkehr der Band zu ihren Wurzeln und bietet eine kraftvolle Fortsetzung ihres Vermächtnisses.Schwierigkeiten beim Touren und ein instabiles
Lineup führten dazu, dass sich die Band erneut in der klassischen Besetzung für eine Tour mit Behemoth in Südafrika, eine einmalige Show mit
Volbeat vor 37000 Menschen und eine Show im Copenhell vor dem Album Alpha and the Omega im Jahr 2019 in Zusammenarbeit mit Hammerheart
reformierte. Dieses Album schaffte es in Meral Hammers „Top Ten dänischer Bands“ neben Volbeat, Mercyful Fate und anderen. In der Zwischenzeit
beschuldigte eine christliche Sekte die Band, 500.000 Dollar von einem YouTube-Konto gestohlen zu haben! Die Tourneen beinhalteten eine Reihe
von Headlinershows sowie Touren mit Batushka und Malevolent Creation.

An overwhelming, concentrated outpouring of perceptual stimuli, AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED's long awaited full-length Frozen Corpse Stuffed With Dope is a snarling digital nightmare, dealing lethal doses of their dementia-producing machine gun hyper-grind. Nasty, systematic beatings arise from 2000 beat per minute drum onslaughts, vein-splitting vocals and a piranha-like six-string attack.

Nach ihrem im Jahr 2022 erschienenen Album “Midnights“ veröffentlicht Taylor Swift mit „The Tortured Poets Department“ jetzt ihr 11tes Studioalbum. Bereits im letzten Jahr hat sie die Neuaufnahmen (Taylor’s Version) ihrer Alben „Speak Now“ und „1989“ mit ihren Fans geteilt. Die 14-fache Grammy-Gewinnerin hat ihr neues Album "The Tortured Poets Department" angekündigt, während sie bei der Grammy-Verleihung den Preis für das beste Pop-Gesangsalbum entgegennahm. Sie bezeichnet das Album “The Tortured Poets Department“ als ihren “Rettungsanker“, der sie daran erinnert hat, warum das Songwriting für sie so wichtig ist. Swift arbeitet seit über zwei Jahren an dem Album, in dem sie ihre einzigartigen Fähigkeiten zum Songwriting und Storytelling unter Beweis stellt. Sie sagte selbst über das Album während ihrer Show in Melbourne: "I've never had an album where I needed songwriting more than I needed it on 'Tortured Poets." Das Album besteht aus 16 Tracks + Bonus Track “The Manuscript” und ist erhältlich als CD und Ivory Doppelvinyl.

Ben Klock & Fadi Mohem announce debut collaborative album featuring Coby Sey and Flowdan on new label LAYER

Ben Klock and Fadi Mohem present their first collaborative album on their new label LAYER. The ten-track full length project titled Layer One follows the hypnotic EP Klockworks 34 that set the stage in 2022. In a bold departure from the techno roots that have defined and nurtured their careers, Klock and Mohem are now pushing genre boundaries, exploring IDM, ambient and experimental electronic music while still retaining the brilliance that characterised their earlier work.

The conceptual direction of Layer One delves into a post-human world, where humans are close to extinction on Earth, leaving only imprints, traces, and relics behind—digital fossils and machine-generated images capturing fleeting moments of non-human photography, as Artificial Intelligence remains in a world that quietly thrives without us. We do not perceive this as a bleak apocalyptic dystopia, but more a sober and serene reflection of a world that continues to exist and flourish, indifferent to the absence of humanity. Despite this unremitting setting, through this journey we find survivors who signal a remembrance of the human sensibilities.

Elevating this project are two very human and dynamic collaborations featuring the charismatic Coby Sey and the legendary grime MC Flowdan. Sey, a prominent figure in the British music scene known for his work with artists like Tirzah and Mica Levi, injects his music with a mesmerizing emotional depth. Opening the album with the powerful track ‘Ultimately,’ Sey offers spoken-word musings on creativity and life over experimental landscapes meticulously crafted by Klock and Mohem. Nostalgia permeates this opening track, and track 7 ‘Clean Slate’ reinforces this sentiment with Sey’s stream-of-consciousness wordplay.

Flowdan, the gritty MC whose verses have become anthems of the UK grime movement, made headlines in 2023 with two songs that reached the top 20 of the UK singles chart. In 2024, he was awarded his first Grammy for the Skrillex and Fred Again collaboration Rumble, becoming the first grime artist to win in any category. On track ‘Our Sector,’ Flowdan unleashes his raw energy and dynamic flow, adding a thrilling vocal dimension to the album’s narrative. The fluid delivery of his lyrics and rhythmic timing are enhanced by the staccato beats and abstract synths. These collaborations are not mere features; they are pivotal moments that crystallize the album’s vision—an experimental re-imagining of electronic music’s possibilities.

Immediately offering an impressive entry to Klock and Mohem’s changing sonic universe ‘Escape Velocity’ shows the collaboration at its strongest. Deftly juggling between ambient chords and more densely intricate rhythmic moments. These tightly layered textures and intense clashing moments are continued through most of the album. On other tracks the duo are just as innovative ‘Rest Assured’ rips open the sound palette Klock and Mohem are known for, synths dart around flickering through into unexpected areas. Penultimate track ‘The Machine’ feels like the internal innards of a PC or synthesizer brought to life. Electricity flows through the track like an auditory exploration of the digital world's hidden mechanical and electrical processes. In contrast, final track ‘Melatonin’ does exactly what the name suggests; its soothing melodic ambience cradles the listener as the album draws to a close.

Alongside the album’s release, the duo will release two singles. This album represents the work of two artists at the peak of their creative powers, inviting listeners to step outside the familiar and explore a different musical perspective.

In this next installment of Token, Brussels' own Border One steps in to showcase 'Echoes from the Abyss', another swinging, modular-driven project destined for controlled sound systems. In these four tracks, the seasoned producer does what he knows best: engaging the dancefloor through his signature sound design and use of space.

'Echoes from the Abyss' the track, like the EP, is a collection of sound associations that are synonymous with Border One's sound. Resonant and cerebral yet bouncy and full of groove, the A1 presents a shimmering veil of synthwork that gives off a truly hypnotic effect. The follow up is much more sequence-based, focusing on the elements' interactions. The producer plays along freely with his drum machine, responding to a classically loopy and dissonant main synth that insists its way from beginning to end. Tension is everything, especially when met with a sustained chord in the second half, turning the record into a weapon of suspense. 'Celestial Observer' comes back straight and center with a focused tone and a progressive arrangement. With a thick low end and shrill highs, Border One flicks through percussion patterns and filter sweeps to make an intense, at times close eyed dancefloor experience. Ducking back into obscurity for the last track, 'Escaping the Void' takes on a more minimally produced style that breathes a bit after its previous, denser productions. Concluding with a question mark is always very appropriate, and here we're faced with a record caught between ethereal soundscapes and tense implications. With 'Escaping the Void', Border One closes with his latest contribution to Token with class as always, appealing to genre veterans and newcomers alike.

Two-Piers präsentiert die nächste Killer-Compilation: "Weird Scenes From The Hangout (Psychedelic & Freakbeat Dancefloor Anthems 1967-1982)", kuratiert von Richard Norris (The Grid, Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve, The Time And Space Machine) und zentriert um seine Liverpooler Clubnacht "The Hangout" in den 1980ern. Dort brachten er und weitere DJs bewusstseinsverändernden Wahnsinn aus Psychedelia und Freakbeat auf die Tanzfläche. Herausragende Songs wie "The Left Banke - I've Got Something On My Mind", "The Turtles - Buzzsaw" oder "Can - Outside Your Door" wurden zu echten Hangout-Hymnen. Man widmete der eher trendy Ausbeute der Spät-Sechziger ebenso viel Zeit wie angesagten Acts, solange der Groove auf dem Dancefloor funktionierte. Das Hangout kam und ging im Nu, aber sein Erbe, psychedelische Fußstampfer auf die Fläche zu bringen, lebt weiter, gemeinsam mit der Liebe zu allem, was mit Beat und Freak zu tun hat.
** Exclusive tracks to Vinyl Format

"Can machines sing? With his Synthetic album cycle, Rich Aucoin answers that question with a resounding, exuberant ""yes."" The four-part project sweeps listeners through a gallery tour of synthesis history, giving voice to a chorus of specimens from the past century of electronic sound. On Season 3, Aucoin deepens his dive into the variegated genealogy of dance music, charting a joyful course through the many flavors of rave euphoria.

From March 2020 through February 2024, Aucoin recorded Synthetic: Season 3 during a series of visits to the National Music Centre in Calgary and the Vintage Synthesizer Museum in Los Angeles. Among these collections, he found historic synthesizers ranging from the ubiquitous to the esoteric, each with its own voice just waiting to be jolted to life. During these sessions, Aucoin took the opportunity to air out some of synth history's most iconic instruments.

From the mass-produced to the bespoke, each synthesizer on Synthetic: Season 3 sends a transmission from its makers' own historical vision of the future. The instruments' tactile interfaces -- from fields of patch jacks to 50-year-old optical discs to rows and rows of voltage dials -- all lend embodied dimension to the practice of shaping sound from raw electricity. Each of them carries a story about what might have tumbled into being from the moment of their creation. In awakening these machines, Aucoin cross-pollinates a choir of futures into an ecstatic, reverential present."

This third volume of Universal Synthesizer Interface delves further into early MIDI sequencing software for personal computers, focusing on Intelligent Music Software founded by Joel Chadabe in 1984. In a short period of time (1986-1990) Intelligent Music published a series of MIDI sequencing software titles that would have rippling effects throughout the music world: M, Jam Factory, UpBeat, MidiDraw, Ovaltune, Realtime, as well as an unreleased first version of Miller Puckette’s Max. These programs were a reflection of Chadabe’s desire to create interactive and intelligent algorithmic tools for home computers. Intelligent compositional tools had been floating around for decades in mainframe computer labs, but they had largely only been accessible to people working in academic or corporate laboratories. With the birth of Intelligent Music, these tools became available to anyone with a home studio. As the personal computers of this era had become less expensive and more accessible, they had also grown exponentially in processing power and seeming intelligence. In the music press from this time, we find the same two words used again and again to describe algorithmic computer systems: smart and intelligent. The tone of such articles may seem quaint by today’s standards, when AI and algorithmic control underpin so much of our technology, but the question of machine intelligence remains. Universal Synthesizer Interface VOL III Focuses exclusively on one of the more obscure of Intelligent Music’s software creations - UpBeat: The Intelligent Rhythm Sequencer, released in 1987, and hailed by reviewers of the time as “the world’s best drum machine.”

There are few hidden gems that we can find on the different streaming channels, and it is precisely our job to have them for you. This Saturday we want to bring you a Chilean band that is born from transversal rock and its variants. We talk about The Cruel Visions. The Cruel Visions is the name that Pablo Giadach (founder) proposes to imagine a luminous and nostalgic interior landscape, expressed in songs of subtle composition and evocative beauty. The guitarist and musician in the bands Casino, Trancemission and The Ganjas, brings with him an album weathered by the passage of time in nightly improvisations and his recording studio, influenced mainly by the sounds of the early 80's, new wave, paisley underground, post punk and dark wave. The Cruel Visions was born from the idea of grouping together different recordings that Pablo made in parallel to his work with The Ganjas between 2015 and 2017 at different times and formats. Most of the album is a collection of demos and improvisations with a Rickenbacker 12-string guitar, an echo chamber and a drum machine, which were then worked on for almost 3 years in the free time at Estudio Lautaro, where he also performs. as an engineer and producer. His authorial present discovers the ethereal and light sounds that bands like The Cure or The Jesus and Mary Chain decanted, who left the initial rawness to give way to a more atmospheric and personal repertoire, which, although luminous, maintains traces of the darkest noise of the post-punk era. This time the path taken in other formations where Pablo provides precise sounds, completed with effects such as reverb and distortion, gives shape to a more personal list of songs that sails with the wind in its favor through foggy waters, already known to listeners of English 80's alternative music. Vocals and some arrangements were done at Woodbine St Recording by John A. Rivers, who has produced records by Love and Rockets, The Specials, Nikki Sudden, Close Lobsters and Dead Can Dance, among many others

Even as the obstacles to meaningful connection mount into an Everest-ian hurdle, artists nevertheless find ways to bend the technologies of our days to foster visceral human connection, rather than bereft isolation. Comprised of a West Coast bassist (Kristian Dunn of El Ten Eleven) and an Appalachia-adjacent drummer (Damon Che of Don Caballero), Yesness forges a friendship mediated through the language of collaboration, all formed through emailed song sketches and text exchanges of Van Halen demos. The odd couple of Kristian Dunn (El Ten Eleven) and Damon Che (Don Caballero) was the result of some clever musical matchmaking by Karl Hofstetter, founder and curator of Joyful Noise Recordings. Karl introduced Dunn and Che via email in April 2023 after Dunn's prolific output outgrew the resources and abilities of his instrumental duo El Ten Eleven. Less than a year later, after countless text messages and song sketches were exchanged, and one fateful meeting at a recording studio was organized, their nascent project's debut record, See You at the Solipsist Convention, was complete. "We were ships in the night of the musical variety until Karl found a way to merge our paths," Che said of his introduction to Dunn. "There are very few comparisons in the aesthetic approach to how we created the music. We worked remotely for eight months before physically meeting for the first time at the recording studio." Neck-deep in their own ambitions, Che and Dunn swapped musical ideas and quirky song titles throughout the summer, working at a breakneck pace. Star Wars references were intertwined with walloping bass lines ('If You Say So'); non-sequiturs were punctuated by Che's signature frenetic percussive jabs ('Horror Snuggle'). Scaffolded around eight-string bass, knotty percussion, and intricate syncopation, See You at the Solipsist Convention is a carnival of delights for fans of the post-everything persuasion—uncategorizable yet reverent to the altar of instrumental rock. Tearing through the record's evocative instrumentals is a delightful bolt of strangeness, felt as much as heard in the spontaneous chemistry between Che and Dunn. "Occasional Grape?" dances like a waltz played with a sledgehammer—delicate moments shattered by bursts of aggression, while still embedding a rhythmic earworm deep into your heart. 'Nice Walrus,' a string-studded panorama featuring Kishi Bashi, volleys between nervy hyperactivity and heartfelt grandeur. The album's closing track, "Non-incredible Visitor," contrasts Che's meticulous precision with Dunn's imaginative instrumentation, bonding bass and percussion like nesting dolls. Just as the track seems to settle, it drives off an uncharted auditory cliff—abruptly, without ceremony, leaving the listener grasping for meaning in the murk. Beyond all measure, Yesness stands as a testament to the powerful dividends of friendship and collaboration. We are nothing without each other – our partners, our local record store clerks, our neighbors. Music, too, thrives on our entanglements. With twelve tracks, an upcoming tour, and an unexpected friendship stemming from one email, Yesness underscores the brilliant machinery of human connection.

Dark Evergreen VInyl. The odd couple of Kristian Dunn (El Ten Eleven) and Damon Che (Don Caballero) was the result of some clever musical matchmaking by Karl Hofstetter, founder and curator of Joyful Noise Recordings. Karl introduced Dunn and Che via email in April 2023 after Dunn's prolific output outgrew the resources and abilities of his instrumental duo El Ten Eleven. Less than a year later, after countless text messages and song sketches were exchanged, and one fateful meeting at a recording studio was organized, their nascent project's debut record, See You at the Solipsist Convention, was complete. Despite Che's initial unfamiliarity with Dunn's musical output, their personalities bridged any and all gaps_both Che and Dunn share a flair for the comically absurd and musically adventurous, a mindset that shines throughout See You at the Solipsist Convention. Che has become legendary for his calculated polyrhythms and undeniable physicality, while Dunn is known for relentless experimentation and productivity akin to a freight train. Quickly, the unlikely pair transformed into destined collaborators. Scaffolded around eight-string bass, knotty percussion, and intricate syncopation, See You at the Solipsist Convention is a carnival of delights for fans of the post-everything persuasion_uncategorizable yet reverent to the altar of instrumental rock. Beyond all measure, Yesness stands as a testament to the powerful dividends of friendship and collaboration. We are nothing without each other - our partners, our local record store clerks, our neighbors. Music, too, thrives on our entanglements. With twelve tracks, an upcoming tour, and an unexpected friendship stemming from one email, Yesness underscores the brilliant machinery of human connection.

Vinyl The project is the work of a collaborative team headed by Tommy Henriksen - veteran rock session bassist/guitarist, creative director for Alice Cooper and current member of Hollywood Vampires (Rock supergroup featuring Joe Perry, Alice Cooper and Johnny Depp). Henriksen worked alongside the legendary Diamond-certified producer Mutt Lange (AC/DC, Def Leppard, Bryan Adams, Shania Twain) who emerged from retirement to executive produce the project. Combining elements of David Bowie’s apocalyptic vision, The Who’s bombastic fury, and ZZ Top’s power blues, the dynamic album boasts features from Phil Collen of Def Leppard and Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue.

Maximum Violenceis Americandeath metalbandSix Feet Under's 3rd studio album. Thealbum goes back toChris Barnes' roots inCannibal Corpsewith violent themes/lyrics. Itwas also the first Six Feet Under album to featureSteve Swansonon guitars.

Continuing the theme of bringing through up and coming talent, Western Lore snaps up rising Manchester star, WDDS for his very first vinyl release.

After continuous support for his expertly crafted beats (previously digitally self released and via Repertoire Music) on Dead Man’s Chest’s SWU & Kool FM radio shows, Lore LTD sees the release of a trio of WDDS’ most heavyweight tunes on wax. Spaceship Riddim Jungle Tool is an utter dance floor destroyer. With an instantly recognisable and energy lifting hook and an all out assault of bassline heaven and amenisim to match, this rhythm is guaranteed to make a rave lift off.

Track A2 steps into Footwork territory, with a dance floor weapon of an entirely different ilk, pairing looped up vocal cuts with swung out and percussive drum machine rhythms, while the B side drifts back into rugged amen territory, this time drenched in deep sub and organic ambience

It's a pleasure to see MOY back on AF. Sure, Jonny doesn't invent anything, but everything he does sounds incredible and his tracks have the ability to grab you and never let go. He seems to say: "I know what you're here for". The particular way he executes hyperactive beats, acid basslines and melodies, makes the material very emotive and timeless, walking his influences around and elevating the machine's rhythms to new emotional levels. Jonny Moy always delivers, in fact, the brilliantly titled 'Supermassive EP' is not just a title but a statement of intent. These four tracks will stick in your head for a long time, for the club, nightdriving or home. What are you waiting for? Go on!

Repress!

Techno, Disco, Italo, Electronics, House, Library, Cosmic and Ambient frequencies - These are the bedrocks of the Midnight Drive ethos and sound. A label shining a light on overlooked or unheralded creations and respectfully reissuing them for the contemporary audience.

A label that respects and understands the connection between these disparate and sometimes forgotten forms of musical expression and celebrates them. Midnight Drive are extremely proud to reintroduce the world to the sublime after-hours, cult downtempo sounds of Belgian duo Pieter Kuyl and Jan Van Den Bergh aka Mappa Mundi.

Mappa Mundi's sole release 'Musaics' was released on Belgium's legendary USA Import label in 1990, riding on the wave of early trance and ambient house sounds and exploring the same sonic terrain and worlds as The Orb, The KLF, Sun Electric and other like minded outfits. A wonderful swirling collage or mosaic of breakbeats, samples and new-age synth stylings, 'Musaics' is indeed a real trip.

A spontaneous late night studio concoction borne of endless takes and experimentation between Kuyl and Van Den Bergh who both display a deep knowledge and a shared love of different sounds from around the world. The end result is a meditative, sprawling journey that touches on many different styles from languid widescreen techno to frantic drum machine driven machine-funk, all while retaining a feeling of post-rave atmospherics and psychedelia.

This is a very special record indeed, and is somewhat of a lost gem from a very fertile and interesting period in sample based music. Undoubtedly the perfect soundtrack to numerous late nights and early mornings to come, remastered and spread across 2 discs for maximum sonic playback.

Marionette presents 'dessus oben alto up', the first collaborative recording by Andrea Belfi and Jules Reidy. Hailing from different ends of the globe (Australia and Italy) but both longtime residents of Berlin, Reidy and Belfi’s approaches have much in common, bringing together compositional precision and electroacoustic rigour with improvisation freedom, the immediate gratifications of rhythmic pulse, and an overtly lyrical sensibility. Working together during a residency at the sound studio of Berlin’s Callie’s, an arts institution housed in a 19th century machine factory, the pair (with Marco Anulli manning the desk) have conjured up four expansive pieces where the beautifully recorded percussive clarity of Belfi’s drums threads through a sparkling haze of guitars and electronics.

Opener ‘dessus’ begins with Reidy’s distinctive just-intoned guitar figures, shimmering over a delicate substratum of Befli’s brushwork and bass drum accents. As in all of Reidy’s recent work, the guitar is twisted out of cliché by the unfamiliar tuning and electronic processing. Hanging almost inaudibly in the background for much of the piece, a rush of synthetic tones surges into the foreground to end it. ‘oben’ is built from kinetic patterns of picked guitar arpeggios, locking into irregular grooves with Belfi’s drums, which move from elegant rolls and cymbal patter to driving closed hi-hats and explosive rock interjections. Around the traditional instruments and across the stereo field, electronic sounds swarm and swirl, fizzing and popping in a sun-drenched soundscape that at points suggests both vintage analogue synth destruction and glitching harmonies. ‘alto’ begins in similar territory but turned up a notch, eventually settling into a propulsive 6/8 groove of shifting drum accents, manically strummed 12 string acoustic, and burbling synth chords.

The B side is dedicated to the fifteen-minute ‘up’, where the strategies adopted on the other pieces are put in the service of a more relaxed, slowly unfolding epic. Anchored by a steady pulse throughout, the piece combines chiming guitars, dubbed-out bass lines and constantly adjusted percussive details into a complex flux of sound. Change is at once so subtle and so ever-present that, at any given moment, the listener can never be entirely sure quite how they got there.

Erste remasterte Reissue von Minoru Fushimis rarem Debütalbum 'Thanatos Of Funk' (1985) in limitierter Auflage auf rot-gold-farbigem Vinyl, ein Meilenstein der japanischen Underground- und Electro-Funk-/frühen Hip-Hop-Geschichte. Die von Fushimi selbst produzierte und vertriebene Rarität ist eine Liebeserklärung an die Gegenkultur, DIY, Drum Machines und Synthesizer, gepaart mit Killer-Shamisen und Gitarren. Die Neuauflage enthält den handgeschriebenen Original-Comic von Fushimi mit englischen Übersetzungen. Essentiell!

Hitting their tenth release, Heels & Souls Recordings journey to South Africa reissuing Hot Slot Machine’s pioneering and sought after self-titled album from 1992. Cultivating a sound and vibe that took South Africa by storm in the early '90s, the six track LP took influence from the genres that drifted over the Atlantic from the US and UK. From house and R&B, through to soul, hip-hop and reggae - creating a rhythm-driven, bass-heavy blend of them all, repackaged with a township flavour.

Known to many as Joe Nina, Makhosini Henry Xaba’s early forays into production would help lay the foundation for the infectious, groove-laden genre that would go on to be labelled as kwaito. With two albums already under his belt as T. McCool and King Rap, aged just 16 Makhosini wrote and produced Hot Slot Machine with the help of Gerdes Chessman - an LP that was far beyond both its time and his youthful years.

Striving to imitate the heavy house sounds inbound from the UK and America, artists like Blackbox and Ten City became big influences. Hot Slot Machine radiates with those impressions, providing something unique in South Africa in the early ‘90s. Leaning more into house and hip hop than the disco-flavoured bubblegum rhythms, the tracks were richer in sound, heavier on the synths and powered by rattling basslines.

Undeniably infectious and unquestionably well put together, the album contains six hits and no misses. With the chunky hip house grooves of ‘Rhythm’, ‘Unchain My Heart’ and ‘Shake Ya Down’, running side by side with the low slung, magnetic bounce of ‘Lookin’ Mix’, ‘I’ll Be Ready’ and ‘Lovin’ Mix’.

Sadly the tapes were long lost, so the wizards Sean P and Justin Drake ripped and restored the album, with Justin giving it a well-deserved remaster. Licensed from Gallo with the blessing of Makhosini, this truly must-have LP now comes complete with a printed inner sleeve housing liner notes and never-before-seen photography.

Original copies changing hands for £50+ on Discogs. Remastered and reissued for the first time since 1992!

The only album to soundtrack both late-'70s Minneapolis lounges and a Travis Scott x Dior fashion show. Recorded in a host of living rooms with only a Fender Rhodes piano, a Donca Matic Mini Pops drum machine, and Senrick's wide-eyed, 20-year-old voice, the 1977 LP disappeared into the wild and joined the Wendigo in Minnesota lore. A provocative mix of marina soul, easy listening, and loner folk, Dreamin' is a sanguine sliver of the American private mind garden. Harsh winters coupled with a relative lack of interest amongst siblings allowed Chuck Senrick years of unfettered access to the family piano in their Farmington, Minnesota, home. Learning both by ear and by instruction, Senrick began gigging professionally at age 15, joining John Zimmer and the CR4 for a weekly rundown of Allman Brothers, Blind Faith, and Cream covers at the Sea Girt Inn in Lake Orchard. Tapping into James Taylor's pop-chart achievements in songwriting and enunciation, Senrick composed the bulk of the songs featured on Dreamin' before graduating from Farmington High School. At 20, Senrick migrated 30 miles north to the Twin Cities to pursue music full-time. Using borrowed equipment and borrowed living rooms, a string of informal recording sessions generated the quarter-inch tape for Dreamin'. "I didn't know how to do it," Senrick says about producing an album. "I just knew it could be done." Constructed with vocals, Fender Rhodes, and an assortment of rhythm presets on his Donca Matic Mini Pops drum machine, a mere 200 copies of the private-press masterpiece were stamped and sleeved and sold hand-to-hand at performances. Chuck's wife Lesli illustrated the album cover_a pen-to-paper portrait of her husband against the backdrop of the Minneapolis Skyline, she and their newborn son situated on a nearby knoll. Any plans for a re-press were quashed when producer Bruce W. Hansen lost the reels during a messy divorce. "I was a kid with big ideas and not much hope to do anything but play," Senrick said of the Dreamin' era. "It still amazes me that people are interested in it."

Belgian-born producer Gratts and pioneering Chicago vocalist Robert Owens first collaborated on 'Brighter Future' back in 2021 after meeting in the streets of Kreuzberg years before. The pair now join forces again for follow up 'Today', a powerful and emotive, 90s inspired deep house cut with layered backings and Owens' lilting affirmations soaring above. The extended club version takes you straight to house music's ecstatic heydays, while the twelve also includes an acapella tool for those singalong moments. On the flip, Mark Hand's slower, soulful rendition takes things into sideroom territory. Finally, 'Mount Olympus', home to the Greek deities, fuses a rattling drum machine, arpeggiated synth lines and a potent analogue bassline - with added bonus beats to bang the box and get weird!

lim. to 200 180Gr Vinyl!

Schnieke is rich and fruitful, yet carries a sadness within. A 5-string violin charts its melodious journey from Istanbul to Belin, accompanied by electronics, breakbeats, live drums and percussions. An authentic oriental funky mood keeps you in a trance or gets your body moving tribally…

This is Schnieke, a.k.a. Özgür Akgül, with his first studio album Hediye, or Gift. The album is intended as a gift to Özgür's grandmother, Hadiye, who was very important to him and to whom he dedicates a song. But his debut album will also come as a gift to anyone interested in how a sophisticated musical sensibility brings together electronic elements with stringed instruments of all kinds. Özgür plays the violins himself, as well as the analogue synths and drum machines. Guest musicians include Hasan Gözetlik (trumpet and trombone), Göksun Çavdar (saxophone), Korhan Erol (electric guitar and bass), Burhan Hasdemir and Baris Güney (live percussion), Zafer Tunç Resuloglu (live drums), John Gürtler (church organ) and the Istanbul Strings, Turkey’s most vibrant string ensemble.

Their diverse influences create a wide emotional range on Hediye - sometimes dark and melancholic, sometimes wild, groovy and danceable, somewhere between jazz, dub and electro, each song surprising in its own way. Despite the variety of the individual songs, a captivating pulse runs like a thread through Schnieke's first album. Incidentally, Özgür came up with the band name during a night out in a bar, when a friend explained to him what Berlin slang he absolutely had to know. He liked the sound of the word ‘schnieke’ – it means something approximating ‘snazzy’ - and perhaps he secretly also wanted to flatter himself a little! Well, shouldn't we all do that much more often?

Hediye consists of eight tracks, three of which are traditional: Aman Doktor comes from Istanbul, Özgür's birthplace, and is a homage to his own origins. Kadioglu comes from the Aegean region and features the zeybek dance form which, despite its ‘standardisation’ in recent times, still summons up the ecstasy, inspired improvisation and musical finesse of its historical roots. The other five tracks are Özgür's own compositions, with Pasali providing the soundtrack for the 2010 Turkish feature film Memleket Meselesi. Creating compositions for film has been Özgür’s primary passion since his time as a student at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. You can hear that in his music, because on his debut album Özgür does completely without vocal support, the instrumental depth stands for itself, and, in the style of The Cinematic Orchestra, space is created for us to develop our own images while listening – it is a soundtrack for the film we want to make of it.

Less than a year after Botanical Illustration takes patience and Skill EP, Giovanni Natalini aka CO-PILOT, comes back on Simona Faraone’s label, New Interplanetary Melodies, with the Green Machine album, which is its natural prosecution: inside it we also find the three tracks previously published by the same label in audio cassette format only (NIM001- MC).

Green Machine is a concept album, which takes up and develops the ecological issues already treated by the artist in his previous work, namely the increasingly tricky dichotomy between nature and machine and the harmful impact of humans on it.

The A side opens with the already published Botanical Illustration takes patience and Skill (A1), an 8 minutes suite in which the powerful Live drum breaks are perfectly combined with synths and vocal samples, transporting us to the tops of exotic mountains, to continue with the ecstatic Himawari (A2) that sounds like a “desert session” made on Mount Fuji, for a result of pure musical mysticism and finally, Mother Love Nature pt.1 (A3), a track that takes us back to more familiar territories, winking at the most experimental British trip hop of recent memory and Mother Love Nature pt.2 (A4) characterized by a background of modular synths and nature sounds effects that precede Giovanni’s powerful drums, underlining once again this perfect fusion of organic and synthesized sounds.

Side B opens with the psychedelic choruses of Dancing Like Fela (B1) supported by synthetic arpeggios and a frenetic drumline sounds like a breakbeat. Continuing along this side, we come to the unsettling use of vocal samples on the beautiful Halo (B2), the ethereal and danceable art-pop of Lost You - In Translation - (B3) to conclude with the evocative Playing the Zurna in Ulan Bator (B4), a track with a pressing rhythm and elegant arrangements that once again underlines Giovanni Natalini’s mastery in mixing sounds and suggestions that are apparently far away but that always find the right place.

Green Machine sounds like a valid attempt to finally find a “solid” balance between humans and nature, but it also demonstrates how the continuous mixing of sounds is the most effective way to escape from the homologation that is increasingly widespread in contemporary society.

LINKIN PARK—Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson, Phoenix, Joe Hahn, alongside new members Emily Armstrong of critically acclaimed band Dead Sara as co-vocalist and Colin Brittain songwriter/producer for G Flip, Illenium, One OK Rock as drummer—share their first brand new music in seven years.

The iconic band shared a new single “The Emptiness Machine,” which is also the herald for the arrival of LINKIN PARK’s first album since 2017, FROM ZERO, on November 15.

About the new era, Shinoda stated, “Before LINKIN PARK, our first band name was Xero. This album title refers to both this humble beginning and the journey we’re currently undertaking. Sonically and emotionally, it is about past, present, and future—embracing our signature sound, but new and full of life. It was made with a deep appreciation for our new and longtime bandmates, our friends, our family, and our fans. We are proud of what LINKIN PARK has become over the years, and excited about the journey ahead.”

Right out of the gate, “The Emptiness Machine” channels the DNA of LINKIN PARK, harnessing the band’s explosive energy and retaining the hallmarks of their instantly identifiable and inimitable sound. A chameleonic and catchy anthem, Shinoda’s hypnotic melodies hand off to Armstrong’s blistering chorus, over distorted riffs and head-nodding drums.

Ultimately, with FROM ZERO, the band is looking to harness the purest energy of their past, present, and future. The new era has officially begun.

On this new LP Harry Bertoia shows why he may have been the first industrial musician. Bertoia often referred to his sound sculptures as a "collaboration with industry" and on this LP Bertoia is intentionally creating heavy, rhythmic music he described as "mechanized," "mechanical" and "factory like."

Recorded in 1971, percussion and repetition emulate the pounding rhythms of machinery on this unique pair of conceptual Bertoia compositions. Bertoia utilizes innovative performance techniques to create new sounds unheard in his ouevre. Even in the busy factory of Bertoia's mind, distant stillness rises up as Bertoia exhibits the massive amount of control he possesses over his many looming sculptures.

"Mechanization" is just one of the many sonic directions Bertoia took while composing and recording between the late 1950's and his death in 1978. He documented all of his ideas and directions in notes accompanying the hundreds of tapes discovered in his barn.

Bertoia's recordings are as much a celebration of sustained tones, intervallic relationships, healing vibrations, deep listening and shimmering harmonics as Indian Classical music, singing bowls, The Well Tuned Piano or Benjamin Franklin's glass armonica. Through these rich harmonics and pulsing pure tone, Bertoia was able to more clearly articulate his inner spirit than he could with sculpture alone – a point he made himself many times in interviews.

Harry Bertoia first came into artistic prominence in the late 1930s and his sculptural, ergonomic chairs, produced by Knoll Furniture beginning in 1952, were soon modernist furniture classics. Inspired by the resonant sounds emanating from metals as he worked them and encouraged by his brother Oreste, whose passion was music, Harry restored a fieldstone "Pennsylvania Dutch" barn as the home for this experiment in sounding sculptures which he had begun in the 1950s. Bertoia was an obsessive composer and relentless experimenter, often working late into the night and accumulating hundreds of tapes of his best performances; Oreste, too, would explore and record the sculptures' sounds during his annual visits to his brother's home in rural Pennsylvania.

Learning by experimentation was common for Bertoia and he mastered the art of tape recording, turning the Sonambient barn into a sound studio with four overhead microphones hanging from the rafters in a square formation. He would experiment with overdubbing by performing along to previous recordings, sometimes backwards, constantly improving his methods while also honing his performance skills. Bertoia was a careful editor of his own work and only chosen recordings remained, each with a date and carefully considered observations written on a note included with each tape. Through these pieces of paper a greater logic can be uncovered, a careful approach to composition, ideas, feelings and forms. The story of Sonambient barn collection will slowly be told through the release of recordings from the archive as well as installations and performances built from Bertoia's own recordings, lectures and a book.

‘Dyp Tid’, the fifth album from Norwegian psych-rock group Electric Eye, is a contemplation of the unknown and the ineffable. Crafted in a landscape where time and space collapse, the record is Electric Eye's most ambitious and experimental project to date. Originally commissioned by Sildajazz – the Haugesund International Jazz Festival – and premiering there in 2022, ‘Dyp Tid’ (Norwegian for ‘Deep Time’) is both a meditative journey and an exploration of what it means to exist in a universe where time stretches far beyond humanity’s grasp. First performed live in Skåre Kirke, an octagonal wooden church in Haugesund, Norway that was built in 1858, these six atmospheric compositions centre church organs, synths and choral vocals over any traditional ‘rock’ instrumentation. Gradually winding through ambient minimalism, kosmische improvisations and experimental psych-jazz, ‘Dyp Tid’ isn’t just an album but a space; a mental landscape where sound and time intersect. Talking about the album, Electric Eye’s Øystein Braut says: “We have always been drawn to the cinematic, to the sense that something feels larger than life, and in Dyp Tid we wove these elements together into something both deeply personal and utterly elusive.” Setting up in Bergen´s Duper Studio, the recording space became a laboratory to further develop these new ideas and transform the ‘Dyp Tid’ piece into a fully-fledged studio album: “We delved into analogue technology, explored vintage machines, and experimented with what lay at the edge of our control. We sought the sound of time’s depths, something that felt infinite and uncontrollable. In an age where everything seems algorithmic and predictable, we aimed to create something that refused to be boxed in – something that lives and breathes by its own rules. The album intricately weaves together live recordings from the wooden church and studio sessions, often oscillating between the two in the course of a single track.”

Originally released in 2002 Mason Jennings' 3rd album saw him emerging as an accomplished folk/pop troubadour. The first time available on vinyl, the LP comes with new reimagined artwork by Antonio Jesus Moreno/El Ciento. "In the spirit of Ray Davies, Rufus Wainwright, and John Hiatt, Jennings' witty vocal inflections speak volumes, underpinning his meditative lyrics with sex appeal and wisdom borne of experience." -All Music

The wait is over! Delgado, the ten-track collaboration album by Flee Lord & Roc Marciano is now available on vinyl with bonus tracks from the delxue digital version! Originally released in August of 2021, Delgado was produced entirely by Roc Marciano, with the veteran artist / producer providing a blend of versatile beats for the Lord Mobb General to spit his patented street raps over. With features from long time collaborators such as Conway the Machine, Ransom, Stove God Cooks and DJ Boogieman, Delgado received both commercial and critical acclaim and now this fan favorite is available on wax! HotNewHipHop had this to say about the album: “On this one, Flee is in absolute beast mode, bodying each instrumental that Marci serves up with fire and fury. At this point, it’s going to be hard to deny Flee a spot at the best current lyricist table, especially after he delivers inspired performances on ‘This What Ya Want?’ and the minimalist ‘First Kill’.”

Many happy returns to Detroit's Rocksteady Disco, an undeniably consistent label that has reached the ripe old age of ten years old. To celebrate, they're releasing a series of anniversary EPs containing fresh jams from the label's roster of artists. Mainstays Sol Power All Stars get things going with off-kilter Afro-house scorcher 'Solsibisa' - all heavy horns, hot-stepping drum machine beats, squelchy synth-bass and heady vocal snippets - before Eddie Logix combines lightly pitched-down First Choice vocal samples with Balearic guitar bursts and plenty of deep house nous on '2nd Choice (It's Still Not Over)'. Over on the reverse, Blair French gets summery on the Latin-tinged deep house joy of 'Whispers of You', while Topher Horn reaches for dense drums (acoustic and electronic), sparse melodic motifs and heavy bass on 'Gratiot Dub'.

*Includes download code

In the performance of this work, "Plan for Sleep" (1986), created simultaneously with “Every Dog Has His Day” (1985), Yamanaka took on the role of sound operation. The performance begins with a minimal piece where the tones of the electronic organ and striking phrases from the piano and saxophone race forward in syncopation. Following this, various sound fragments drift over a deafening industrial beat reminiscent of machine noises. There are also pieces that transform the typing sounds of a typewriter into rhythm, showcasing a range of experiments inspired by the then-novel sampling technology, beautifully intertwining with the physicality of the performance.

Additionally, influenced significantly by film music, Yamanaka incorporates a rich tapestry of colors through melancholic melodies that evoke various scenes, from secular jazz to other influences. This work constructs a uniquely original and sophisticated worldview that stands out even when surveying the canon of avant-garde performance art from around the globe in the postmodern era.

DUMB TYPE is a multimedia performance art group based in Kyoto that was formed in 1984 and continues to be active at the forefront of the art scene. We are excited to announce the simultaneous release of two cassette book works produced by musician Toru Yamanaka and the late Teiji Furuhashi, a central figure of the group, for works from the early DUMB TYPE Theatre era: "Every Dog Has His Day (recorded in 1985)" and "Plan For Sleep (recorded in 1986)," now available for the first time on vinyl.

Since the founding of DUMB TYPE, Yamanaka has primarily been responsible for music production, while the late Furuhashi played a crucial role in translating Yamanaka’s compositions into stage direction. Their collaboration began with previous groups ORG and R-STILL, and was influenced by the NEW WAVE and progressive rock trends they were pursuing at the time, as well as by artists like Laurie Anderson, Meredith Monk, and Robert Wilson, who fused minimal music and avant-garde performance. Moreover, their bold incorporation of cutting-edge sampling and house music during that era laid the foundation for DUMB TYPE's sound, marking an important intersection in the history of minimalism, ambient music and performance art in Japan.

PRESENTED FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER ON VINYL AS A DOUBLE LP IN A GOLD VINYL PRESSING WITH A FOLD-OUT INSERT

As music fans know, James Brown wasn't just the greatest funk and soul singer the world has ever seen - he was also a musical visionary and businessman, who surrounded himself with geniuses who made him better and pushed him further. From horn masters Maceo Parker and Pee Wee Ellis to vocalists Lyn Collins and Bobby Byrd, Brown was a musical A & R master, restless and always looking for the next big thing. Most times, that would manifest in the latest James Brown smash under his own name. But not always. His stable of talent was overflowing in the 60s and 70s, and, thankfully, the tape machine in his studio was always rolling. Originally released in 1988, during the era of hip-hop's golden age of sampling, it's no surprise that just about every note heard in this incredible collection has been used on not one, but multiple rap classics. Which, at the time, was proof of Brown's (and his crew's) staying power. But we are over three decades beyond those days now, and it has lost none of its musical potency. Diving deeper into the vaults than the also-incredible Part 1 of the Funky People series, there is not a weak track in the bunch. Moving beyond well-known JBs cuts, things get interesting from the get-go with Bobby Byrd's monumental groove "I Know You Got Soul". Hank Ballard and Marva Whitney also enter the fray, leading the way to Myra Barnes's emotional and powerful "Message From The Soul Sisters (Parts 1 & 2)" and Lyn Collins's slow, smoldering cover of Isaac Haye's "Do Your Thing." Politics even get the funky soul treatment, with Fred Wesley & The JBs "You Can Have Watergate But Gimme Some Bucks And I'll Be Straight" and "I'm Paying Taxes, But What Am I Buying?" And it should not be overlooked that Maceo & The Macks instrumental workout "Soul Power ‘74" even features a proto-sampling snippet from MLK’s I’ve Been To The Mountaintop speech from 1968. This is another amazing collection of James Brown's funky friends, without one second of filler, brought to you as a glorious 2-LP gatefold by your friends at Get On Down.

Area Silenzio is eat-girls" debut record and it is both haunted and haunting. For the past four years, the French trio have been crafting their songs into little self-contained worlds with the patience of entomologists, taking them out all over the country and Europe to confront them with the wilderness of a live audience. The ten resulting tracks are a collection of electronic madrigals, groove-driven songs played on a mischievous multi-speed Victrola, ranging from languid dub drips to full-on drum machine cavalcades. Their live performances have that same ghostly, ephemeral quality. There is something other-worldy about the three of them, a suggestion of telepathy, their three voices blending together or going their separate ways like a flock of starlings. They secured opening slots with artists as different as Thalia Zedek, Exek and The Young Gods, just to name a few. It is the elusive essence of their music that allows them to feel at ease pretty much anywhere they find themselves: part no-wave disco rhythms, part post-punk throbbing basses, folk tunes and synthesizers in equal measures, with a perpetual attention to hooks and melodies. The album was self-recorded, a necessary measure to protect the delicate nature of the inner landscapes painted by the band. In this case "delicate" does not mean "soft" by any means: the industrial disco inferno of "A Kin", the ritualistic kraut stampede of "Para Los Pies Cansados" and the bubbly post-funk rhythms of "Trauschaft" will leave you gasping for air once you come out on the other side. "On a Crooked Swing", the opener, is all arpeggiated bass and stumbling kicks. "Unison" will dip you into a hallucinatory river where nothing is what it seems to be and rescue you at the very last second. "Canine", the first single off the record, will gently but firmly reach for your jugular with its vulpine Farfisa and deceptively nonchalant drum beat. The vocal polyphonies on "3 Omens" sound like a field recording of traditional music from a tiny country that has yet to be discovered. eat-girls exist on a slightly different plane from ours, where everything is teeming with secrets and hidden life. Area Silenzio is a precious polaroid shot from that world, or, as Tom Verlaine would have it, "a souvenir from a dream".

Area Silenzio is eat-girls" debut record and it is both haunted and haunting. For the past four years, the French trio have been crafting their songs into little self-contained worlds with the patience of entomologists, taking them out all over the country and Europe to confront them with the wilderness of a live audience. The ten resulting tracks are a collection of electronic madrigals, groove-driven songs played on a mischievous multi-speed Victrola, ranging from languid dub drips to full-on drum machine cavalcades. Their live performances have that same ghostly, ephemeral quality. There is something other-worldy about the three of them, a suggestion of telepathy, their three voices blending together or going their separate ways like a flock of starlings. They secured opening slots with artists as different as Thalia Zedek, Exek and The Young Gods, just to name a few. It is the elusive essence of their music that allows them to feel at ease pretty much anywhere they find themselves: part no-wave disco rhythms, part post-punk throbbing basses, folk tunes and synthesizers in equal measures, with a perpetual attention to hooks and melodies. The album was self-recorded, a necessary measure to protect the delicate nature of the inner landscapes painted by the band. In this case "delicate" does not mean "soft" by any means: the industrial disco inferno of "A Kin", the ritualistic kraut stampede of "Para Los Pies Cansados" and the bubbly post-funk rhythms of "Trauschaft" will leave you gasping for air once you come out on the other side. "On a Crooked Swing", the opener, is all arpeggiated bass and stumbling kicks. "Unison" will dip you into a hallucinatory river where nothing is what it seems to be and rescue you at the very last second. "Canine", the first single off the record, will gently but firmly reach for your jugular with its vulpine Farfisa and deceptively nonchalant drum beat. The vocal polyphonies on "3 Omens" sound like a field recording of traditional music from a tiny country that has yet to be discovered. eat-girls exist on a slightly different plane from ours, where everything is teeming with secrets and hidden life. Area Silenzio is a precious polaroid shot from that world, or, as Tom Verlaine would have it, "a souvenir from a dream".