Buscar:thin

Blue Vinyl

We continue our sonic adventure with Blovk, producer and sound designer from Madrid, he has refined his musical idea with his peculiar way of understanding techno and electronic music in general.
Releasing on labels such as Awry, Subosc, Postdynamic, Subsist, Doppt Zykkler, MainConcept… and his own imprint, Outside Noises.
In our XL series we want to showcase every corner of our artists’ sound spectrum. We are not just commited to raw and direct dancefloor weapons, we are also aiming the mind of the listener.
To make attemporal electronic music is one of our objectives and this record in particular deserves a place in the list of music to be played loud when all this nightmare finishes.
First cut on wax is Of sleep and tears, an emotional title that describes a dronney atmospheric introduction. Beatless, textured, full of resonant details and space wind.
Pouring Flesh brings the beat to the scene with a clear bass drum and a shuffled bassline setting the patch to martian synth noises and stereo details, all enclosed in an intelligent structure full of subtle twists and hypnosis. The thinking hand combines synthetic details with precise beats on a progressive arrangement.Elements come into action wisely, pulsating electronic grooves fighting with floaty elements make the recipe. Fluids above the skin open the B side in a darker mood. Heavy sub bass action and profound synthesizer lines setting the mood for what comes next.
Shedding machines acts as an ambient interlude in similar coordinates as the first cut in this mini LP.
Closing the release Fluent Gods, an electrified mental dance workout using a similar sound palette as the previous ones. Detailed and precise sound design ranging from sharp asymmetrical sequences, ethereal textures and profuse bass frequencies.
Music by Blovk, text by Hd Substance

Germany’s Tilman inaugurates his new imprint Pleasant
Systems this June with the ‘Adventures’ EP, featuring
collaborations with Will Buck and Rhode & Brown. Mainz,
Germany based producer and DJ Tilman has been dropping
his twist on contemporary house over the past decade on
labels such as Shall Not Fade, Life Is For Living and Quality
Vibes as well as his own Fine imprint, run in collaboration
with Johannes Albert. Here though, Tilman marks a new
beginning with the launch of Pleasant Systems, a new
imprint designed to shine a light on vintage inspired house
sounds from both himself and friends. Up ¦rst is ‘What’s
Mine Is Mine’, a collaboration with Brooklyn’s Will Buck which
lays down an amalgamation of airy synth pads, choppy bass
stabs, bright piano lines and enchanting §ute like melodies
atop a swinging drum groove. ‘Strawberry Fields’ follows,
stripping things back to shu©ed percussion, billowing
ethereal textures and wandering sub bass tones while
§uttering brass tones and resonant leads ebb and §ow
within. ‘Velvet Park’ opens the §ip side, this time joining
forces with Rhode & Brown, embracing a classic sound with
raw crunchy drums, delayed piano chords, bumpy bass
stabs, cinematic strings and brass hooks throughout. ‘Lovin'’
then rounds out the release, dropping the tempo, featuring
the voice of Tilman himself and laying focus on off-kilter
organic percussion, twinkling resonant tones, eighties tinged

Since first emerging in the latter half of the noughties, Guillaume Metenier’s Soul Sugar project has evolved considerably. Initially a trio built around the virtuoso organist’s love of ‘60s and ‘70s soul-jazz and Hammond funk – Metenier studied under jazz organ legend Dr Lonnie Smith – Soul Sugar is now a collaborative collective that draws just as much influence from classic Jamaican dub and reggae as the works of Jimmy Smith and Jimmy McGriff.

The outfit’s musical evolution comes into sharp focus on Excursions in Soul, Reggae, Funk & Dub, a collection of hard-to-find tracks that have been released at different points, and on different vinyl formats, over the last three years. Taken as a whole, the set offers a stunning snapshot of Soul Sugar’s rapidly expanding catalogue of classics. Metenier is once again at the controls but this time round Soul Sugar’s cast list of contributing musicians includes Sly & Robbie, Blundetto, Lone Ark, Slikk Tim, Thomas Naim and honey-voiced soul singer Leo Carmichael. Metenier also stars as a musician, providing lively and ear-catching organ solos under his now familiar Booker Gee alias.

What’s most noticeable from the off is the richness of the reggae riddims, the warmness of the instrumentation and the effortlessly soulful nature of the music. This is particularly evident on the collective’s stunning covers of Luther Vandross’s "Never Too Much" and Marvin Gaye’s "I Want You": effortlessly sunny and life-affirming interpretations that re-imagine the tracks as sumptuous slabs of reggae-soul and provide a platform for Leo Carmichael’s inspiring and comforting voice. Metenier and friends’ take on dub reggae – toasty, authentically bass-heavy and seeped in analogue effects – can also be admired on "Matumbee" and "Cool Down", the latter a digi-dub influenced affair rich in colourful synths sounds, echoing delay trails and sub-bass so deep it will rattle your teeth. Both also contain lusciously jazzy guitar licks and some incredible keys-work from Metenier.The guiding hand of Spanish multi-instrumentalist and producer Lone Ark can be heard on album opener "Aximites" – think Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry producing Jimmy Smith – and "Faith", an expertly breezy concoction that sports Jackie Mittoo-esque Hammond B3 solos from Metenier over a luscious backing track that sounds like something that may have emerged from Studio One in the mid 1970s. The collective’s love of Studio One is explored further on a sweaty, reggae-funk cover of "Greedy" that features fabulous drums, bass and guitar from Slikk Tim, while "Out In The Rain" is an authentically sparse, spaced-out dub number laden with fluid instrument solos and devilishly heavy riddim.
Part compilation, part artist album, part collaborative celebration of dub-soul fusion, Excursions in Soul, Reggae, Funk & Dub is the strongest statement yet of who Soul Sugar are, and where they’re going.

The Winston Brothers are taking Colemine back to its roots. Heavy drums, breakbeats, nasty funk, and all instrumental. The debut 45 from this German based funk powerhouse is just a tease for what's to come from their forthcoming LP. Very much coming from the boom bap side of things and sharing production credits for Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band, that makes sense. This is a 45 tailor made for DJs so grab doubles.

French House legend​ - Boston Bun (Ed Banger / Circa ‘99)​ is set to release his debut album - ​‘There’s A Nightclub Inside My Head’ ​this coming April. Containing ​8 unreleased tracks​, ​‘Whenever You’re Ready’​ and the Annie Mac favourite ‘Nobody But You’, the album conceptualised during last year's lockdown & provides an introspective space for the producer and his listeners to enjoy.

‘Sometimes it’s great to take a break, sometimes it’s not. If you were on planet Earth during the year of 2020, you know what I’m talking about. I took that time to visit the nightclub inside my head. The last one open, actually. The booth, the sound system, the stairs, the bar, the smell, the noise of my left shoe on the sticky floor, everything was exactly how I left it. It got me a bit emotional to be honest, so I started thinking about the right soundtrack that could fit in that space. And here it is. I hope you’ll enjoy the night.’ - Boston Bun

‘There’s A Nightclub Inside My Head’ ​is for everyone, anyone who needs a moment to reflect, dance or simply be present with themselves. A chance to be transported to your own secure space, to interpret and visualise the music however you wish.

FUSE revisit Rich NxT’s debut album as they welcome Skream, Seb Zito, Guti and Rossi to remix Natural and Other Side from the highly acclaimed album.

FUSE look set to build on Rich NxT’s much-lauded album in notable fashion as they welcome electronic heavyweight Skream as he steps out on FUSE for the very first time,whilst welcoming the long-awaited return of long-standing FUSE family member Seb Zito who returns to the imprint for the first time since late-2019. A wonky, off-kilter, and warping affair, Skream’s take journeys down a twisting trail of elastic analogue rhythms, sweeping electronics and tripped out cuts of Shyam P’s vibrant vocal to take things firmly into after-hours territories, before Seb Zito’s slick interpretation harnesses an abundance of rich UK flavours as skipping garage-tinged drums meet hazy pads, resonant top lines and skittering melodies to close the show in style.

On the flipside the London imprint welcomes two close friends in Argentinian favourite Guti and rising-UK talent Rossi. to offer up fresh interpretations of NxT track ‘Other Side’ featuring Shyam P. Up first, the always excellent Guti offers up his slick and classy remix, welcoming a signature blend of rolling organic percussion beneath snaking top lines, groove-fuelled bass licks and Shyam P’s infectious and hazy vocals, whilst Rossi.’s no-nonsense remix sees the UK hotshot draw for rumbling sub-bass, icy hats and sharp drum licks throughout his driving take on the production.

MADVILLA steps out on FUSE’s LOCUS imprint for the first time as he reveals his four-track ‘Old Flame’ EP.

London-based, American-born DJ and producer MADVILLA is a name making serious waves within house music at present, with his driving and slick take on the genre via the likes of ANOTR’s No Art, Seb Zito’s Seven Dials and his own Hot Wings imprint welcoming supporters in Jamie Jones, Stacey Pullen and FUSE head-honcho Enzo Siragusa to name just a few. Up next, the surging talent steps out on FUSE sister imprint LOCUS for the very first time, following his recent appearance at their London home of 93 Feet East, as he delivers his four-track ‘Old Flame’ EP this May.

Lead cut ‘So Bad’ kicks things off as crisp drums meet resonant stabs, sweeping melodies and infectious vocal coos, before introducing the spacey soundscapes and hypnotic pads of title track ‘Old Flame’, accented by Shyam P’s tripped-out vocals throughout. Next, ‘Orbit’ takes things up a gear as skipping percussion arrangements go to work beneath spiralling lasers and jacking hats, whilst closing track ‘Takeout’ dives into the afters as rubbery bass licks, hazy synths and rumbling low-ends take listeners on a warping UK-tinged journey through entrancing sounds.

Bertrand Burgalat's new album, RÊVE CAPITAL, will be released on Friday June 11, 2021 by Tricatel.

How many of Burgalat's songs have accompanied difficult afternoons, happy evenings and lonely mornings? The list is long. And it gets longer with this album, each track of which widens the rift between the plates of space and time.
Jean-Pierre Montal

Burgalat makes crackle what we like most in his universe: the reality of things and their discrepancy, the intimate and the universal.
Stéphane Lerouge

Ever effervescent producer Kangding Ray continues to connect experimentalism and dancefloor, hitting home hard on his newest EP on Figure.
Storming out of the gate, Doppler Shift packs the momentum to take off, its dry-thumping arp-ride raising the levels from zero to hero. Meditating on murky sounds, Branches displays the producer’s extraordinary skills at splicing together seemingly disparate DNA of sounds to create otherworldly but compelling tapestries of rhythm.
Turning things for the flip, from colourful dub chords emerges Terra, a driving tune reminiscent of the 90’s spacey chill-out-rooms of. Taking it a notch deeper, Robust builds its lively groove around modular experimentations, the machines ultimately becoming an extension of the artist himself.
A special bonus for the digital version, final track Deeper begins unassumingly beatless, only to pick up the pace for a blissfully trancey journey.

RECORD STORE DAY 2021 TITLE!!!
IT’S WILD ! IT’S COOL AND IT’S SWINGIN’, JUST THE THING FOR YOUR NEXT GROOVY PARTY
BABY!
POP IT ON AND WATCH THE MAGIC HAPPEN - THE PERFECT MARTINI-AND-MUSIC COMBO WITH
VOCAL VIXENS, CHEESE-BALL-SHAPED SONGS AND NAUGHTILY NOSTALGIC TUNES!
COLLECTORS EDITION STRICTLY LIMITED: ONLY 500 COPIES WORLDWIDE IN
AMAZING SPLATTERED BLUE & YELLOW VINYL INCLUDING A CD!
REMASTERED FOR AUDIOPHILE LISTENERS

Los Angeles independent label Minky Records is issuing
two crucial, hitherto unheard slices of music recorded in the
’80s by the late L.A. punk rock legend Jeffrey Lee Pierce
and his band The Gun Club.
On June 12, the company will release an exclusive single
version of the Pierce original “Bad Indian” and a cover
of Jody Reynolds’ “Fire of Love.” This Minky 45 will be
accompanied by an even more impressive vault discovery:
Soulsuckers On Parade, a full-length 1984 Pierce solo
recording drawn from an abortive session for the cowpunk
compilation album Don’t Shoot, first released by Zippo
Records in the U.K. The vocalist is supported by an allstar
unit comprising guitarist Dave Alvin, drummer Bill
Bateman, and the late pianist Gene Taylor, then of the hot
L.A. roots combo The Blasters, and bassist Jack Waterson
of Green On Red; Chris D. (Chris Desjardins, who also
produced the date) and The Gun Club’s Kid Congo Powers
guest on background vocals.
Featuring covers of songs originated by Willie Nelson,
Big Joe Turner, and Creedence Clearwater Revival, a wacky,
profane blues Pierce improvisation called “New Way of
Walkin’’, and a rampaging, demented seventeen-minute
original, “Walkin’ Down the Street (Doin’ My Thing)”,
the album will be issued as a limited edition Kelly-green
vinyl LP on Record Store Day (June 12), and an unlimited
expanded CD package (with studio chatter and improvised
vocals and jams) on the same day.

Carrying on a new white label series of killer garage cuts, Bristol's Time Is Now have hand-picked British duo Cortese for their next installment. Expect playful, niche-inspired garage sounds with a unique touch of modernism.

The EP opens with "Abbey Park"; a glistening neo speed-garage track with delicate synth chords dancing over the cavernous slow attack bassline. It purrs into the squelchy bassline style "Where You At", that compliments upbeat piano stabs with autotuned vocals.

"Floaty" uses an iconic Aaliyah vocal chops, dancing around a chunky El-B inspired snare. This one has a melancholic breakdown which is perfect for a dancefloor breather, before the growling bassline is reintroduced to devastating effect. A collaboration with Brighton-based DJ Movement, "Things That Make You Go 'Hmm'" is pure bassline garage energy let loose in a furore of bass patches in a moodier track that still doesn't take itself too seriously. Closing out, "Figure 1" brings a searing synth melody which complements another rolling bassline. The understated drums make excellent use of a syncopated kick pattern whilst diva vocals chime along in the background.

Standard version on black vinyl. 2LP in gatefold sleeve with liner notes. Utopic Cities is an eclectic selection of forward-thinking jazz from the Belgian underground, including the left-field fusion of Marc Moulin's Placebo, Koen De Bruyne, Solis Lacus and more.

Standard version on black vinyl. 2LP in gatefold sleeve with liner notes. Utopic Cities is an eclectic selection of forward-thinking jazz from the Belgian underground, including the left-field fusion of Marc Moulin's Placebo, Koen De Bruyne, Solis Lacus and more.

This album was recorded in 1977 and produced by Status Quo’s FRANCIS ROSSI. Shockingly, this album has never been released on vinyl until now. It originally came out on CD in 1992 and is now long out of print and even that goes for good coin.

Du Cann’s stellar career included freakbeat heroes THE ATTACK (“Magic In The Air”), psych/prog legends ANDROMEDA, and the group he’s best known for, ATOMIC ROOSTER. Du Cann wrote their their #4 hit single “Devil’s Answer”. A couple of years later he was in DAEMON, later renamed BULLET, then HARD STUFF. In 1974 he was even a temporary guitarist for a THIN LIZZY German tour.

In 1977, he was signed to the same management company as STATUS QUO, who paired him with Quo leader, Francis Rossi. The resulting album, “The World’s Not Big Enough” included Rossi on guitar, Andy Bown (The Herd, Judas Jump, Status Quo) on keyboards, Pete Kircher (Honeybus, Status Quo, Liverpool Express) on drums, and John McCoy (Ian Gillian, Tyla Gang, U.K. Subs) on bass. Basically, this is Du Cann backed by Status Quo at their Belt Buckle Boogie peak.

A few songs from this album appeared on killer late 70s Punxploitation singles “Throw Him Jail”, “Don’t Be A Dummy” (a UK Top 40 hit!), and “Where’s The Show”. This album has been described as “Quo mixed with the Sex Pistols”, and we can’t disagree with that assessment.

Melbourne-via-Tasmanian four-piece Quivers first released
their 2018 debut We’ll Go Riding On The Hearses as hand-made
cassettes. The album dealt with singer Sam Nicholson’s loss
of his brother in a freediving accident, and “trying to not think
about that, and often coming back to ghosts, benders, water,
and pissing in the snow.” When demand for the album grew,
it received a vinyl release and led Quivers to tour the US, film
a KEXP session, and be selected by NPR Music for both the
Austin 100 SXSW preview and as a “Slingshot” artist to watch.
Their life-damaged but hopeful jangle pop has only sharpened
since then, and while 2021 follow-up Golden Doubt conjures
up REM or The Clean, there is a lyrical directness that sets this
record apart as always its own.
Golden Doubt is carried by shimmering guitars and the
harmonizing vocals of members Holly Thomas and Bella
Quinlan. Elevated by the production of Matthew Redlich
(Holy Holy, Husky, Ainslie Wills), the record explores what
comes after grief, and how one throws oneself back into love. As
Nicholson explains, the album tries to bottle “the rush of feelings
and fears when you give in to falling for someone. It’s also an
album in love with other albums, and the other bands around
us.” Before each take at Woodstock and The Aviary studios in
Melbourne, Australia, the band would imagine a scene together
(a waterhole for “Laughing Waters”, an overgrown carpark for
“Videostores”) and then dive in to capture live group takes.
Quivers need to get words on the page and sounds out to keep
moving on. Both Nicholson and Thomas lost their brothers in the
same year, and through that shared vulnerability they all have
together that runs deep. Golden Doubt is also a love letter to
playing music as a band and processing it all together rather than
just carrying it as a weight. The cancellation of a 21-date US
tour they had slated for 2020 has left them undeterred; Quivers
plans to continue being a band and get back out into the world
as soon as it’s possible.

ith canceled shows, closed venues and lost incomes, the pandemic was bad news for many music artists. But it wasn't only bad news in 2020, as many artists used their struggle to do what they do best during difficult times: create great music. This is why N.E.W.S. Records, a record company based in Ghent releases 'Bad News. Good News.'. A limited edition vinyl record with great songs that couldn't be played live because of the pandemic. The record itself is made from the ashes of newspapers and magazines containing the bad news that hit the music industry in 2020 (and prevented artists from performing live). As proof that great music always survives bad news, no matter how desperate things can get. To create the records, N.E.W.S. Records worked with And Vinyly, a UK-based company specialized in pressing vinyl records with ashes.

Many artists collaborated on the project and shared their insight on how the bad news happening in the music world influenced their music, like Johannes Genard, lead singer of School is Cool: "The one good thing about bad times is that they open new perspectives on things you've grown accustomed to, and that is exactly our core business as artists: comforting during challenging times; challenging during comfortable times and finding new ways to look at old things."

The compilation contains some exclusives like the Brihang & Compact Disk Dummies 'Steentje / I Remember' mash up, recorded live for 'Week van de Belgische Muziek' and Sam De Nef's cover of the belpop classic 'Satelliet Suzy' recorded for StuBru.

180g audiophile vinyl pressing. Tip-On Gatefold packaging.
A fascinating solo album from the Swiss pianist, composer and
conceptualist best known as leader of the bands Ronin and Mobile,
‘Entendre’ offers deeper insight into Nik B rtch’s musical thinking.
As the album title implies ‘Entendre’ is about hearing as a creative process,
referencing the patient unfolding of B rtch’s modular polymetric pieces, with
alertness to the dynamics of touch, finding freedom in aesthetic restriction,
serving the flow of each piece’s development while also taking the music to
new places.
Recorded at Auditorio Stelio Molo RSI, Lugano, in September 2020, and produced by Manfred Eicher.
Nik Bartsch: piano
Press:
“Entendre - his first album entirely played on solo acoustic piano, with no
overdubs - might be his finest yet.” - **** The Guardian
“Nik Bärtsch feels a long way from jazz, but a lot closer to a freewheeling
rhythmic spontaneity on this unexpectedly action-packed set.” - **** (Editor’s
Choice) Jazzwise
“There is nothing lost when Nik Bärtsch, bandleader, becomes Nik Bärtsch,
solo pianist. It’s the same, captivating music, only played through the single
vessel of a piano. Through this prism, more is revealed about the genius of
Bärtsch’s ‘ritual groove music,’ not less.” - Somethin’ Else
“Entendre is a fascinating solo album from Swiss pianist, composer and conceptualist Nik Bärtsch... In these six solo realisations, Bärtsch’s creative music
unfolds with heightened alertness and dexterity as the pieces develop and unfurl with texture and subtlety of touch. The pianist finds freedom in aesthetic
restriction, while also seizing opportunities to guide the music to new places
of discovery.” - UK Vibe
“Manfred Eicher’s production captures the sound of the piano and the room
with forensic clarity. Entendre is, literally, classic Bärtsch. It is also classic
ECM.” - All About Jazz

At the end of 2016, after ten years and seven albums, Nick Thorburn quietly decided to put an end to Islands and retire from music. There was no announcement or farewell, only two shows at Webster Hall in New York and the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the band’s widely adored debut album Return to the Sea. “This seemed like a perfect time to put a cap on things and close out the circle,” Thorburn says. He switched focus, selling and producing a pilot television script, creating a graphic novel with preeminent comics publisher Fantagraphics, and scoring a few films and the occasional BBC radio show. Thorburn’s years-long leave of absence resulted in a kind of rock and roll Rumspringa, with Nick unable to shake the bug for making records. After a sudden burst of creativity from a few weeks of working in his kitchen studio, Thorburn had written dozens and dozens of songs informed by everything from late-70s avant-disco to Thea Lim’s time-travel novel An Ocean of Minutes, and would write dozens more over the next year and a half, almost all with a clear focus on rhythm and groove. Thorburn decided that if he was going to make another Islands record, he’d do it without a deadline. He also wanted to work with outside producers, which would be his first time since 2009’s Vapours. He reached out to that album’s producer, Chris Coady (Beach House, Yeah Yeah Yeahs) , and asked Islands drummer Adam Halferty and guitarist Geordie Gordon to join him in a recording session at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles. “At the time I still wasn’t sure what this new music was going to be, or if coming back to Islands even made any sense,” says Thorburn. “But once we started playing, it quickly became clear this would be the next Islands album

ANAAL NATHRAKH are without a doubt one of the most extreme metal acts the United Kingdom has to offer. For over 20 years, the band has already been doing their thing and has brought it to more than 10 albums. June 11, 2021 will see the release of "The Codex Necro" and "Total Fucking Necro", the band's first album and compilation of the first two demos as a reissue on CD and various LP editions. You want to know how the musical history of ANAAL NATHRAKH started? Here you go, it's served !!!

ANAAL NATHRAKH are without a doubt one of the most extreme metal acts the United Kingdom has to offer. For over 20 years, the band has already been doing their thing and has brought it to more than 10 albums. June 11, 2021 will see the release of "The Codex Necro" and "Total Fucking Necro", the band's first album and compilation of the first two demos as a reissue on CD and various LP editions. You want to know how the musical history of ANAAL NATHRAKH started? Here you go, it's served !!!

Almost all records are a snapshot, a musical ribbon bow that documents a very specific moment in time or simply ties-off everything up to that point. Indigo De Souza’s I Love My Mom, her debut LP initially released in 2018, was the latter; a collection of the best songs she’d written in the few years that preceded it, recorded quickly and breathlessly and thrown out into the world.

Consisting of ten songs, I Love My Mom feels both raw and unabashed. Indigo pulled a band together for the first time, and was quickly encouraged to commit her songs to tape. Recorded at her friend’s house, they played almost everything live in just a few days, and released the record naturally, with little fanfare. That the record quickly took on a life of its own, deeply resonating with those who heard it, is a testament to Indigo’s songwriting which took inspiration from the unique worlds created by Arthur Russel, Sparklehorse, The Microphones, as well as contemporaries such as LVL UP and Happyness.

Two of the songs have racked up more than a million streams each on Spotify: “Take O Ur Pants” and “How I Get Myself Killed.” The former balances an often breezy lead vocal with gnarly undercurrents of guitar before the whole thing lets rip in its punchy chorus, while the latter, the album’s opening track, finds a different mood entirely, a slacker rock gem that repeats its chorus as a chest-beating mantra. Elsewhere, “Good Heart” furthers the dichotomy which sits at the record’s core, each moment of quiet introspection soon met by a cacophonous burst of energy.

Marillion’s Trailblazing 1999 ‘Marillion.’ Now Available On
Kscope On Vinyl Marillion formed in 1979 and have since sold over 15 million albums worldwide. Rightly regarded as legends of progressive rock, the band have continued to evolve and have been keen to embrace the possibilities of the internet, using innovative ways to interact with listeners resulting in an incredibly loyal legion of fans around the world.
One early example of this type of forward-thinking online fan-engagement was seen in 1999’s Marillion, which was one of these first internet-based promotions whereby the band asked for fans to send them passport pictures of themselves, resulting in 732 pictures being used to make up the artwork for the slipcase for the record.
With most of the album featuring mixing from Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree and the band taking care of the remaining songs, this was the bands last album of the ‘90’s, but just the beginning of a more direct relationship with fans which has since developed and grown.

Mind Maintenance is the new duo consisting of Joshua Abrams (Natural Information Society) and Chad Taylor (Chicago Underground Duo, Chad Taylor Trio). This is where the music begins, but Mind Maintenance can't be described simply as a summation of its parts and players. When you put on the sound, you'll know what we're saying - you'll notice how immediate and meditative it is; how simple, how "in the room," and how the natural buzz of each instrument sits remarkably well against the other. The percussive qualities of the guimbri and the mbira, so raw and unadorned individually, form with their shared resonance a soothing, sonorous whole. It's not about world music, it's not about jazz. It's about mind maintenance. The songs of Mind Maintenance exist in a zone somewhere between composition and improv. Based in melodies that unspool over time, they benefit from Chad and Joshua's intimately enmeshed sensibility and the intensity with which they listen to each other. Chad and Joshua have been playing together forever - or, if you need to think of it more tangibly, since around 1994. Based on our research, the pairing of guimbri and mbira is more than unusual - it appears to be without precedent! This is incredible if it's true, but more important to the music of Mind Maintenance is the shared ground of inspiration that both instruments occupy. Mind Maintenance pursue their inspirations on these instruments down similarly transformative paths. If some part of the 21st century isn't focused on destruction, but instead, locating a place where our traditions can work together in new ways to entertain and even ensure well-being, then that's just one more incentive for all of us to consider Mind Maintenance.

Music on Hold deliver an LP with strictly "only the hits" in updated graphics and soundbite studio wizardry. It's the shinning neon-colour video game classic you never played in your youth in the arcades. You only dreamed about it after too many bong hits. You think you've heard these songs before? Ha! You've never heard them better brother. Gary Wilson called, and sung you a melody and the Human League stole the synth lines.. then The Spits put lead guitar in slow-motion. This is a record for all four seasons in all TV Colours and black and white nouvelle vague romance. This LP is the first baseball bat you take you A Ferrari parked outside a strip club. This is the flock of seagulls that exploded in the sky The project once a solo affair is now a power-trio featuring funky starship troopers Guillaume Mobstaire and beloved cult-hero Mathis (Police Control, Skategang) in the shuttle. And as they blast off into cyberspace, tThey toss this their first greatest hits out of the cockpit and into your hands.

Premieres from Data Transmission and Bolting Bits. Early support from Hospital, Huey Morgan, Rupture, Fanu, Rob Luis, Anthony Kasper (Fokuz), Red Rack'em, Bandcamp Weekly, etc.

150 copies pressed on 180 gram vinyl. Picture shows the HF021VFELT edition which comes with 'Nuthin' But a Jungle Thang' die-cut felt sleeve insert (in assorted colours), with Heard and Felt embroidered fabric tag. HF021V edition is the same 180g vinyl without the felt sleeve insert.

With music from Jonny Faith's recent Night Lights EP appearing in Grand Theft Auto and best of 2020 lists including Gilles Peterson's, you might think Jonny would continue to mine his take on hip hop and broken beat. Well, all in good time. He's been ready to enter the jungle for 20 years, and he's not waiting any longer.

Now based in Melbourne, Jonny first got involved in music in Edinburgh as a DJ and turntablist in the 90s, getting hooked on jungle, drum & bass, hip hop and the hybrids of these championed by the Mo'Wax label. Formative experiences included hearing DJ Hype spinning in Newcastle, seeing the Roni Size/Reprazent live show with two drummers and hanging out at cult Edinburgh club night Manga, where residents G-Mac and DJ Kid hosted the likes of Marky, Grooverider and J Majik.

Jonny was keen to start making his own sounds, signing up for an electronic music production course. But it wasn't quite what he was after.

'The course turned out to be more house-oriented,' Jonny recalls. 'Sampling wasn't on the curriculum, and the students weren't allowed to touch the Akai S900, the sampler used in lots of the early jungle classics.'

When Jonny did start releasing his own productions a few years later, he was starting to explore the experimental beat scene around the time Flying Lotus and Hudson Mohawke (another Scottish turntablist) were starting to make their mark.

Jonny continued to widen his sonic palette, adding elements of dub, jazz, funk, electronica and broken beat, and picking up fans like Radio Nova Paris, KCRW, Vice and Clash Magazine along the way. But he's never been more than one degree of separation from his jungle/D&B roots. He continued to buy and play the music, did the odd D&B remix and snuck sonic elements and techniques into his tracks at various tempos. Over the years his releases have shared labels with the likes of Peshay, Om Unit, Drumagick, Reso, Kid Drama and Danny Scrilla.

Now, more than 20 years after those early experiences in Edinburgh, Jonny unveils his first jungle/D&B EP, On Lock. And it sounds like he's been making this music the whole time. In a way, he has.

The single 'Open My Eyes' bursts out the gate, chopping not only the breaks and the soul for a tune that sounds like Amerie's '1 Thing', or some Just Blaze chipmunk soul, reimagined for the 174 BPM crew. Jonny started this one as a hip hop beat for a live routine on his MPC, but it only really came together when he reframed the groove around a D&B rhythm. Next up, Jonny tries a similar trick on his own boom bap tune 'Stay in Your Lane' from the 'Night Lights' EP. His new Step Off Mix totally recontextualises US MC Lady K's slinky soulful rap and hooks with a tough and funky junglist groove. One for fans of the old Roni Size/Bahamadia collab. 'Create' then spaces things out just a touch, with atmospheric but propulsive drumfunk. Vinyl bonus track 'Nuthin' But a Jungle Thang' layers cascading amen breaks, timestretched vocals and a massive double bass-line over the wah guitars and synth whistling of a G-funk era classic.

With early support for Jonny Faith's take on jungle/D&B coming from Hospital Records, Rupture (Rinse FM) and Fanu (Metalheadz), Jonny is ready to be welcomed (back) into the scene.


b A2: Stay in Your Lane (Jonny Faith Step Off Mix) feat. Lady K

palms palms, also known as lampsey lamps, has been making music ever since he felt like it. He creates melodies for both terrestrial and extraterrestrial forms of life, including plants, earthworms, lydgae and amyopi.

First Word Records is extremely proud to welcome back Children of Zeus with their sophomore album, 'Balance'.

Following the release of their debut album 'Travel Light' in 2018 (which featured in numerous 'Album of the Year' lists), Tyler Daley and Konny Kon spent the next two years extensively touring the UK, Europe, Australia and South Africa.

With shows on ice over the last 12 months, Children of Zeus took the time to mature their sound; 'Balance' is 50 minutes of future-classic British soul music encompassing hip hop, neo-soul, gospel and r&b. Konny's laidback flow once again merges with Tyler's unmistakable buttery vocals across a set of bass-heavy backdrops and smoothed-out keys, taking the blueprint from their debut and evolving it into a deeper, more-refined sound.

As with previous material, the album is largely produced by the duo themselves, though we also see the return of Grammy-winner Beat Butcha, whose previous production credits include Jay Z, Beyonce, Nipsey Hussle, & Griselda (one of Butcha's productions graces first single 'No Love Song'). Title track 'Balance' comes from upcoming producer & Soulection regular, cay caleb and also features the only vocal feature on the album, from rising UK soul talents Akemi Fox and Georgie Sweet.

The Children of Zeus journey began with a mutual love of 90s Manchester pirate radio; consuming hip hop and beats, r&b and street soul, lovers rock and dancehall, garage and bass music. Then followed decades of performing, creating and collaborating in different guises. Over the past few years, the hip hop soul duo have garnered props far and wide; from Jazzie B to Jazzy Jeff. They've done performances for the likes of Soulection and BBC, in addition to hosting their monthly NTS Radio show and collaborating with artists like Black Milk and Goldie.

From travelling light, to travelling nowhere, it's been a time where we've all had to reflect on the lives we lead. This album is about equilibrium; walking the thin line of life and striving to keep your footing firm at all times, ever pushing forward. Balancing the rough with the smooth and the work with the play.

The Children of Zeus sound is now fully grown. It's time to bring 'Balance' into the universe. This is unashamedly big people music to be played out of big speakers. The definitive sound of UK street soul in 2021. The story continues..

May 28 will see prolific Japanese vibraphonist, multi-percussionist and composer Masayoshi Fujita mark a new sonic direction with his forthcoming album Bird Ambience on Erased Tapes.

Bird Ambience brings several fresh changes for the artist. Until now, Fujita would separate his acoustic solo recordings from the electronic dub under his El Fog alias and experimental improvisations with contemporaries such as Jan Jelinek, Bird Ambience sees him unite all of these different sides to his work for the first time, into one singular vision. He also makes a lateral leap from his signature instrument the vibraphone, on which he created his acclaimed triptych Stories (2012), Apologues (2015) and Book of Life (2018), to the marimba, which takes centre stage on his new album alongside drums, percussion, synths, effectors and tape recorder.

“The way of playing the marimba is similar to the vibraphone, so it was kind of a natural development for me and easier to start with, yet it sounds very different”, explains Masayoshi. “The marimba bars are made with wood and it has a wider range than the vibraphone, which gives me a bigger sound palette with more possibilities. I play the instrument with bows and mallets, and sometimes manipulate it with effects.”

Bird Ambience also marks his liberation from fastidious preparation for past solo releases to new endeavours in improvisation. “I prioritised trying to capture the wonder which happens during those occasional magic improv moments. Sometimes the mic-ing and placement of instruments was pretty rough; things weren’t perfect and everything was done quickly, but it turned out as the final recording. Overall when I
couldn’t decide between two takes, I told myself to go with the first”, Masayoshi recalls.

Arranged with a perfect Kanso-like balance, the unhurried pace of Bird Ambience allows each sound and phrase enough time to be mindfully absorbed and savoured. This subtle but affective work carries ethereal remnants of Midori Takada’s minimalism, the static atmospheres of Mika Vainio, To Rococo Rot’s organics and the bucolic electronics of Minotaur Shock. Fujita vaporises contemporary and classical, ambient and dismantled dub, controlled noise and fragments of jazz into an atmospheric, static mist, which he skilfully coerces into new forms.

After 13 years in Berlin, Masayoshi recently relocated to a new home and studio in the rural Japanese mountain village of Kami-cho, Hyogo, following his life-long dream of creating music in nature. Even though the album was entirely recorded in Germany before he left, it has this palpable sense of reverie found in the natural world. From there we can only imagine the kind of impact his new life in rural West Japan will have on future works.

"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything." - Plato.

Music is an innate sense that taps into our very core. It exists on a prism, and the range is infinite, for anyone to think they've heard everything would be imprudent. Inspiration strikes in a myriad of waves, acting as a cascading waterfall in which each idea is a droplet converging into one stream. Music doesn't know the rigid constraints of exclusivity. Preferences and ideologies can mould an individual; circumstance and fleeting moments require different melodies throughout the part being played by each being in the cosmos.

As each moment calls for an explicit sound, so too does Axis with it's latest release from the heterogeneous Raffaele Attanasio. The multifaceted Italian has delivered an eclectic sound over the years, from devious techno to melodious rhythmic beats. Attanasio delivers a jazz-tinged, angular, progressive and championing album by coalescing influential factors: a musician father, a multifarious palate in music, and prowess as a multi-instrumentalist.

Nuovo Futuro is creating a new future by travelling to the past. Digging into the Zeitgeist of Naples post-second world war, Attanasio extrapolates the sound to present day, combining modern flair with an enriched sound. The influence of American blues and jazz is felt in his hometown, celebrating the lore of Neapolitan musicians through the track 'Parlesia'. The history comes to life through these compositions, influenced by 70s spaghetti films and rich Italian exuberance. Ardour, lust and avidity ensnare the listener in 'Indagini Sospette'. This album is a journey through the streets where he grew up, but also, encapsulates a wandering mind, meandering into the harmonious Mediterranean under the watchful eye of Mount Vesuvius. 'Equilibrio Dinamico' is a snapshot of the working mind of Attanasio, balancing the impromptu of jazz with a gentle caress of his honed craft. Melodies are soft, smooth, progressive and fulminating the constraints of contemporary music. It emanates a renaissance for a sound that Axis is espousing in their releases.

Incredible Bongo Band was formed by MGM A&R Michael Viner in 1972 to record the soundtrack to a now virtually anonymous B-Movie entitled 'The Thing With Two Heads'. "The IBB" transformed from a loose studio collective to an instrumental pop covers consortium, interpreting classics of the day in their inimitable percussive fashion. Viner recorded them at MGM studios during downtime, assembling line-ups from whichever musicians were available at the time, leading to a unique blend of multi-talented musicians that included Jim Gordon, King Errisson, Jerry Scheff, and Perry Botkin Jr. The full bands' line-up is shrouded in mystery, but their legacy is undeniable. They spawned cult-classic records that would become a goldmine for hip hop breaks and attain sampling immortality.

'Apache', which was written and made famous by the British band The Shadows, is legendary in the worlds of dance music and hip hop. It was a staple for DJs such as Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash as they invented their world-shaking take on the art of DJing at the Bronx block parties of the ‘70s. Over the years it has become a hip hop and breakers anthem and is revered as 'the break' of all time (at least in the top three) with the rhythms of this LP even helping to coin the term 'breakbeat'.

“Bongo Rock” is significant, for being one of the musical cornerstones of rap ... it is certainly one of the most sampled LP’s in history, if not the most sampled. Almost every history-minded hip-hop DJ has a copy, and the first few bars of “Apache,” can send crowds into overdrive.” According to Kool Herc, the stylistic pioneer many people consider to be the father of hip-hop music, the Bongo’s “Apache” is “the national anthem of hip-hop.” NY Times.

Sampled over 600 times, including... Nas, Beastie Boys, Moby, Mick Jagger, Kanye West, Sugarhill Gang, Jay-Z, Aphex Twin, DJ Shadow, Massive Attack, Ultramagnetic MC’s, Unkle, LL Cool J, 2 Live Crew, 4 Hero, Fatboy Slim, to name a few…

The real story of “The IBB” is far greater than the recordings themselves and ultimately shows how a distinctly powerful musical performance can get the recognition it deserves, no matter how anonymous its origins.

Play On Records is proud to present Flashed Glass, a full length LP from electronic duo Sleep D and mixed chamber ensemble Ad Lib Collective. Culminating from a two-year project borne out of a live collaboration in a Melbourne underground carpark, the LP marries the euphoria of the concert hall and the club, presenting a rich sonic universe for the listener to discover.

Having first been introduced at rehearsals for Play On's 6th series in late 2018, the two groups hit it off, opting to perform a semi-improvised set together, rather than two separate sets as originally planned. They soon realised their pairing could unlock sounds they wouldn't have otherwise found on their own, and their idea for further collaboration was born.

In March 2020, the two groups recorded at Head Gap studios in Preston — layering sounds, building melodies, and striking out what didn't work — until the COVID-19 pandemic cut things short, twice, due to Melbourne's dual lockdowns. This resulted in an accidental hybrid work, finishing as a mix of live professional recordings, and DIY home-recorded samples, with the latter including crushed plastic and pulverised sea shells.

From the moment she began writing her new album, Japanese
Breakfast’s Michelle Zauner knew that she wanted to call it
‘Jubilee’. After all, a jubilee is a celebration of the passage of time
- a festival to usher in the hope of a new era in brilliant technicolor.
Zauner’s first two albums garnered acclaim for the way they
grappled with anguish; ‘Psychopomp’ was written as her mother
underwent cancer treatment, while ‘Soft Sounds From Another
Planet’ took the grief she held from her mother’s death and used it
as a conduit to explore the cosmos.
Now, at the start of a new decade, Japanese Breakfast is ready to
fight for happiness, an all-too-scarce resource in our seemingly
crumbling world.
‘Jubilee’ finds Michelle Zauner embracing ambition and, with it, her
boldest ideas and songs yet. Inspired by records like Bjork’s
‘Homogenic’, Zauner delivers bigness throughout - big ideas, big
textures, colours, sounds and feelings. At a time when virtually
everything feels extreme, ‘Jubilee’ sets its sights on maximal joy,
imagination and exhilaration. It is, in Michelle Zauner’s words, “a
record about fighting to feel. I wanted to re-experience the pure,
unadulterated joy of creation… The songs are about recalling the
optimism of youth and applying it to adulthood. They’re about
making difficult choices, fighting ignominious impulses and
honoring commitments, confronting the constant struggle we have
with ourselves to be better people.”
Throughout ‘Jubilee’, Zauner pours her own life into the universe
of each song to tell real stories and allowing those universes, in
turn, to fill in the details. Joy, change, evolution - these things take
real time and real effort. And Japanese Breakfast is here for it.
Available on clear with yellow swirl coloured vinyl.

The time is now right for the Witch Doctor to put a spell on us with two sparkling soul songs that were originally released on WD Records in 1977 with 'How Can I Win Your Love' and 'All I Know, I Love You'. Witch Doctor originally pressed up 100 promotional copies to give away free at his concerts. As far as we're aware there's only two known copies these days in circulation, although we're aware that there could be more.

When we first heard 'How Can I Win Your Love' and 'All I Know, I Love You' the first thing that came into our mind was the similarity with the mid 70s Betty Wright sound. It all made sense when the Witch Doctor confirmed that he used two session musicians from Betty Wrights backing band of the time to record the songs . The Miami sound is clearly evident in both songs.

We’re celebrating our 10th Editz release with another astonishing EP of heavy reworks from Joe Cleen.

A1 is straight up disco burning energy making us wish we could get onto a dance floor immediately.

A2 is a twinkling clav & percussion bomb brimming with fun time brass sections.

B1 Beefs up the beats with this wonky slice of Nigerian disco funk and B2 takes us home with a breezy summer time guitar trip guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

Athlete Whippet join the Toy Tonics family! The London/Berlin-based duo make a sound that is based on futuristic breakbeats combined with deep, jazz chord progressions and a kind of funk that sounds more like it was made in 2100 then in a year behind us. Definitely not a retro record the Vesta EP is further proof that the connection between London and Berlin that has been build by several Toy Tonics artists (Cody Currie the latest in the gang) is becoming a strong one. The combination of the Berlin dancefloor sound and the UK jazz fusion soul is changing the scene and creating new moods. Neo soul and house, broken beats and disco.. there are lot of things happening in that new world and Athlete Whippet could be a strong player in that new sound.

The 2 guys already achieved great support by UK radio DJs such as Annie Mac and Jamz Supernova for their their first collaborative EP Touch (with Metronomy’s Olugbenga), followed by their 2020 solo EP 'Your Love Is Lifting Me', an ode to compassion and solidarity, and remixes for labels including Rhythm Section.

‘Vesta’ is not just the title track of the EP but also the name of the South London Road where they shared an apartment, built a studio in their living room, and put together the first ideas for this EP.

Both Robin and Avi come from a live performance background, played in bands since their early teenage years before they met studying music at Goldsmiths in London. You can hear a playful live quality throughout the EP. It’s not your average house productions with the usual formalistic patterns, but a very original, very fresh style - hard to copy (but easy to dance to).

Now based between Berlin and London, they collaborate with their friend, Athens-born, Berlin-based artist Aphty Khéa on Yesterday and Can’t Make My Mind Up.

Avi and Robin their label squareglass and a London-residency inviting guests such as Seb Wildblood, Will Saul, Asquith, Anu and also have a monthly show on Rinse FM.

Everything has its right moment in space and time. And Rhode & Brown’s debut album “Everything in Motion” is no exception to this rule.

But first things first:
Hailing from Munich, Germany, Friedrich Trede and Stephan Braun are the DJ and producer duo Rhode & Brown. Growing up in two neighbouring villages near Munich both of them had been music enthusiasts since their early childhood. Friedrich played drums in punk bands at school and recorded rap songs in his bedroom, while Stephan, as childhood friend of Harold Faltermeyer's son, had the chance to experiment in the impressive studio of the legendary Donna Summer producer in his early teens.

By the late 2000s older friends started supplying them with DJ mixtapes and helped them sneak into clubs they weren’t allowed to visit, yet – cultivating their love for electronic music and club culture. And, of course, the Internet was their go-to source for finding the latest blog house tunes back then, too.

It wasn’t until October 2009 that their paths would cross for the very first (but almost last) time when introduced by a mutual friend: Back then Stephan was selling his old CDJ-player and Friedrich, who wanted to hone his DJ skills, ended up buying it: „When I got home and unpacked the player I realized that it was the wrong model. I thought Stephan was trying to rip me off - so I called him in a rage and demanded my money back.“ Friedrich laughs. To cut a long story short, the two met again the same evening, money and CD-players were exchanged, but luckily so was their passion for house and disco music. It was at that very moment that Rhode & Brown was born.

A lot has happened since the two played their first gigs together and made baby steps in music production. In the past 10 years they established themselves as one of the most reliable house producers around with rock solid releases on Toy Tonics, Shall Not Fade, Public Possession or their own Slam City Jams imprint. As well as becoming a household name in the DJ world, sharing the booth with the likes of Palms Trax, Dam Swindle, Jamie Tiller or Octo Octa - spreading their infectious "Dancing Deejays" vibes around the globe.

Following the great reception of last years „Aku Aku“ EP, June 2021 will see the release of Rhode & Brown’s debut album on Permanent Vacation. A record that showcases their open minded approach to making music and a passion for the nuances between genres - „We found inspiration for this album in all corners of our record collection. That means we are as much influenced by disco or 80s synth-pop as by house and techno of the last decades or the latest viral trap hit on Spotify“, the guys say.

On "Everything In Motion" you'll hear piano house / Italo disco hybrids alongside dreamy Balearic soundscapes and '90s-infused acid breakbeats flawlessly accompanying '80s synth pop anthems. Always infused with that signature Rhode & Brown magic. The album also finds them collaborating with some of the finest vocalists of the moment: Peaking Lights' own Indra Dunis is lending her voice to the title track for this special laid back California vibe, while Berlin's hottest export DJ City evokes a neon light romance affair on "Memory Palace", with a longing poem that makes you wander the rainy streets at night with your walkman on.

At a time when suddenly everything seems to be standing still, Rhode & Brown undeterred moving forward... true to their LP’s title.

Audio visual sculptor Kero operates the multidisciplinary arts collective Detroit Underground record label and continues to produce bit crushed experimental electronic music with over two decades under his belt.

Demo Vectors showcases Kero's sonic range—bouncing back and forth between IDM fractures, broken electro shapes and an all around low-end forcefield. Splicing machined modular tunes with syncopated rhythms and Detroit-inspired slivers, Kero's fingerprints can be found on imprints like Blueprint, Wild oats, Ghostly International, Shitkatapult, Semantica, Touchin' Bass, BPitch Control, and many others.

Using different studio setups from 1998 to 2021, Demo Vectors culminated from many different locations including Detroit, Windsor, Barcelona, Berlin and Los Angeles and reveals Kero's curriculum vitae packaged in a 60 minute robust collection.

The downtempo groove of "ABSTR_B&B" offers a classic bricolage of collapsed mechanical percussion straight from the foundry as the definitive sound design and glitchy bits of "BLISS" take shape. Fluid robotics and bass jabs progress on "GROUNDZEROBACK" pushing each pixel to their breaking point. You'll also find stark industrial elements on tracks like "PREFREAK.EPS" and spastic acid on "COMOFFICE-1" displaying the wide angle lens Kero employs to capture improvised dark drill'n bass techniques with a Squarepusher sheen. From the slow burning "PILL'LATHE2" humming its way across laid back digitized acrobatics to the aptly titled "COLOR_CUB" that clicks, cuts and collects subtle low frequency modulations, Demo Vectors is a tightly compacted and forward thinking IDM album.

Sandblasted electronics mixed with shattered glass and corrosive blips'n bleeps, Demo Vectors acts as Kero's raison d'etre as each piece eclipses itself.

Sir Rod Stewart was on his way to becoming one of the most successful recording artists in history in 1974 when he moved to America and signed with Warner Bros. Records (now Warner Records). Over his next 27 years with the label, Stewart released some of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed records of his extraordinary career. This 5LP boxed set features Stewart's first four Warner albums on vinyl, plus a bonus LP of rare and unreleased studio outtakes from those albums: Atlantic Crossing (1975), A Night on the Town (1976), Footloose & Fancy Free (1977), and Blondes Have More Fun (1978).

After being out of print for decades, the studio albums look and sound better than ever as they return to vinyl, complete with replica sleeves and newly remastered sound. The albums and the bonus LP are all organised in an iridescent box with Stewart foil-stamped on the cover, his blonde shag haircut glistening in gold, and his leopard-print suit shimmering in silver.

After brilliant stints with the Jeff Beck Group and the Faces and several outstanding solo albums, Stewart moved to Los Angeles in 1974. ROD STEWART: 1975-1978 reflects the burst of creativity that followed, starting in 1975 with his label debut, Atlantic Crossing. The album was produced by the legendary Tom Dowd, who produced Stewart's next three albums. After Atlantic Crossing was certified gold, A Night On the Town went double-platinum, and Foot Loose & Fancy Free went triple-platinum, as did its follow-up Blondes Have More Fun, which became Stewart's first #1 album. That era introduced many of the singer's best-known tracks: "Sailing," "I Don't Want to Talk About It," "I Was Only Joking," "The First Cut Is the Deepest," "You're in My Heart (The Final Acclaim)," "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" and "Hot Legs."

The bonus LP, titled Encores 1975-1978, is a collection of 10 outtakes selected from the recording sessions for all four albums. The first side highlights five songs from the recent deluxe editions released for Atlantic Crossing and A Night on the Town. Songs include an alternate version of the B-side "Rosie" and a cover of the Bee Gees' "To Love Somebody" recorded with the influential Stax Records house band, Booker T. & The MG's. The flip side features five previously unreleased session outtakes from Foot Loose & Fancy Free and Blondes Have More Fun. Highlights include a cover of the Motown classic, "You Really Got A Hold On Me," and the unreleased tracks "Silver Tongue" and "Don't Hang Up".