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A record born of insurmountable joy and simultaneous profound loss; World Maker marks a time of great change for Psychonaut, both personally and musically, as the band burn away the philosophical narrative complexities of previous offerings with a searing, panoramic clarity that implores us to savour the beauty of the now as a means of leaving a legacy for the future. The traditional, three-piece line up of Belgian, psychedelic post-metal collective Psychonaut has long belied the compositional prowess, captivating narrative depth and crushing live presence of a band now operating at the forefront of forward-thinking, contemporary heavy music. Having sent a shockwave through the post-metal and prog scenes with their three times repressed Pelagic Records debut Unfold The God Man in 2020 before following it up with the transformative metaphysical complexities of 2022's Violate Consensus Reality, Psychonaut have played prestigious Belgian open-air festivals like Alcatraz, Rock Herk and Boomtown Festival as well as boutique events such as Soulcrusher, Roadburn Redux and A Colossal Weekend whilst sharing stages across Europe with the likes of Amenra, Brutus and Pelagic labelmates The Ocean and PG.Lost. The seed of World Maker took shape just as the campaign for Violate Consensus Reality came to a close, with the news that guitarist/vocalist Stefan De Graef was to become a father. This tilting of life's axis led De Graef, like most fathers-to-be, to re-assess what was really important. As such, the music he was inspired to write felt free of the band's previous philosophical and spiritual foundations and instead took the form of life lessons for his unborn son, a legacy of love in case something were ever to happen. This hopeful euphoria shines keenly throughout World Maker as an uncharacteristically optimistic warmth; from the reverberating Rhodes organ on the titular opening track and the meandering, free-jazz inspired guitar solo that introduces `Everything Else is Just The Weather' to elements of world music, electronica and the otherworldly voice of Dutch multi-instrumentalist and old friend Anthe Huybrechts (Anthe/Helion Creek) most notably on tracks like `Origins' which also features tabla, a pair of indian hand drums, as its propulsive heartbeat. Whilst Psychonaut's giant riffs, punishing polyrhythms and guttural vocal rage are more resplendent than ever, there is a wider dynamic spectrum to World Maker that sees the band proudly exploring their more delicate, intimate extremes as well as their most aggressive and abrasive. Not long after the birth of De Graef's son came the devastating news that both his own father and Psychonaut bassist/vocalist Thomas Michiels' father had been diagnosed with advanced cancers. Living day-to-day and torn between joy and grief, the band found themselves shedding the grand scope and world-shattering agenda of Violate Consensus Reality to focus on the here and now. Lead single `Endless Currents', the first full track on the album, explodes in a barrage of staccato guitar tapping but mellows to let the powerful, newly pared back lyrics ring out as a call to embrace the flow and follow joy. The song's final few words `Lead the way. / Soar. / Everlong.' double as both a greeting and a goodbye as the trio build their formidable post-metal might to a thunderous breaking point. Similarly, the pulsing, propellant `Stargazer', named so for De Graef's son being born in stargazer position, pairs delicate guitar motifs and folk-inflected optimism with huge and sprawling breakdowns as some of the band's most genre-pushing work to date; asking difficult but important questions of what happens next. It is `And You Came With Searing Light' though that most immediately exemplifies Psychonaut's redirected ambition on World Maker, as euphoria collides with blinding fury. The first track written for the album, `_Searing Light' is easily the most complex and initially wouldn't sound out of place on Violate Consensus Reality. Originally meant to be the new album's opening track; the decision to defer its impact, not to mention its compositional and dynamic gravity, speaks of a fundamental change to the band's very core. The words "Discover the world with wide eyes" recurring throughout speak as much to those having lost a part of their world as they do to those seeing it for the first time. Amidst such turbulent times, the band found strength and support within their Post-Metal community. The album was recorded and produced by the band alongside their longtime collaborator and close friend Chiaran Verheyden (Hippotraktor) with help and advice from Psychonaut's live engineer Victor, who will no doubt make this album sound just as awesome on stage. Even the artwork for World Maker was a family affair, being designed by close friend Sam Coussens of Belgian cosmic sludge metallers Pothamus. In the face of life's soaring highs and desolate lows, World Maker is direct and brave without sacrificing any of Psychonaut's raw power, creative innovation or inimitable musical depth. Where their previous full-length offerings have charted grand introspective courses through time and space, World Maker is breathtaking in its uncompromising clarity: a father singing to his newborn son as a son bids his own father farewell. FOR FANS OF Mastodon, Russian Circles, Tool, Gojira, The Ocean, Pelican, Hypno5e, Cult Of Luna, Amenra

Innitial pressing soul out at once, now repress in neon green vinyl colour available! Ride bassist Steve Queralt's debut solo album Swallow is a beautifully brooding nine-track collection that combines the darkly textured soundscapes of early M83 and Sigur Rós with an electronic sheen reminiscent of Boards Of Canada. It also features guest vocals from Sonic Cathedral labelmate Emma Anderson (formerly of Lush and Sing-Sing) and Verity Susman (Electrelane, MEMORIALS).Swallow has been slowly but surely pieced together between Ride albums and tours over the past five years and, perhaps as a result, has a slightly dystopian, Blade Runner feel that reflects the liminal spaces in which it was created. Despite the fact that the majority of the album is instrumental, there is plenty of power and emotion poured into these moody, moonlit soundtracks. When words do appear, an underlying anger and political slant emerges and amplifies the album's dark intensity. This is most notable on the closing track, `Motor Boats', where he overlays words from Julie Sheldon's polemic poem The Same Boat ("We're all in the same boat they say, but I would disagree"). According to Steve, these simple words of rejection "capture the reality of our times perfectly". However, it was the collaborations with the two guest vocalists that tied the whole thing together and paved the way to the finished album. "After a few false starts, I had started to doubt the project altogether. It was going nowhere," says Steve. "Then, out of the darkness, Emma got in touch to tell me that she'd found her voice and could I send her some tracks. A few files back and forth and an afternoon in the studio later and we had `Lonely Town' and `Swiss Air'."In the meantime, Verity from Electrelane had added vocals to the song `Messengers' and transformed the track. Matthew Simms, now her bandmate in MEMORIALS, would go on to mix the finished album."Swallow has turned out so much better than I had hoped," enthuses Steve. "I'd fallen out of love with it so many times I was thinking of calling it Loveless. But then, that wouldn't be the whole story...

After their first joint recording experience in 2022, in which they dedicated a monograph to the Beatles, revisiting their great classics,
Sarah Jane Morris, a British jazz, rock, and R&B singer and songwriter, and the Solis String Quartet, a Neapolitan string quartet with
extensive concert and recording experience, are embarking on a new album. This time, it's not a monograph, but a tribute to a series
of artists who have left an indelible mark on the universal music world with their art and unique lifestyle. The project is titled "The 27
Club," a reference to those artists who, despite not choosing to belong to any elite circle, were united by the fate of having left this
world too soon, at just 27 years old. Among them are great names such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, Amy
Winehouse, and Otis Redding. Despite their differences, these artists share a charisma and a passion for music that has made them
immortal. Their musical legacy continues to celebrate their memory and inspire new generations. The album is a tribute to these timeless
artists, whose songs remain timeless and continue to move. Forever Young.
"After our first recording collaboration with Sarah Jane Morris in 2022, in which we dedicated a monograph to the Beatles, revisiting
their great classics, we decided to take on a new challenge, no longer a monograph but a work dedicated to a series of artists who have
unmistakably marked the universal musical world with their art and their very particular lifestyle! We called it "Forever Young" and it
tells the story of the "Club of 27" in music; an imaginary, dark and very elitist circle in which artists of the caliber of Jimi Hendrix, Janis
Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse, Otis Redding found themselves enrolled, certainly unwillingly and without their
knowledge, after death snatched them from success on the threshold of twenty-seven, only to restore them, almost as compensation,
to immortal glory, just a stone's throw from legend. Musically speaking, thanks to the overflowing evocative power of Sarah Jane Morris's
voice, it was both fascinating and stimulating for us to try to restore It integrates the idea and mood that permeated and still live on in
these compositions, the rhythm, the melody, and the lyricism, in an original reinterpretation that accompanies the listener in the rediscovery of these masterpieces! Solis String Quartet
"Greatly talented creative people often die young, like Keats, Mozart, Schubert, Raphael, and the Brontë sisters. We tend to think of
them in two ways: we wonder what they might have accomplished had they lived longer. However, more positively, we can appreciate
their youthful talents as impervious to the passage of time, their brilliance preserved in their eternal youth. They will remain forever
young." Sarah Jane Morris

23 Live-Tracks von der gefeierten Luck and Strange Tour auf 4 LPs in 2 Doppel-Gatefolds und Schuber. Enthält ein 24-seitiges Booklet mit Fotos von der Tour. Produziert von Charlie Andrew und David Gilmour.

Die Tour begleitete Gilmours fünftes Soloalbum Luck And Strange, das #1 in Großbritannien, Deutschland (seine erste #1 dort), Polen, den Niederlanden, Tschechien, der Schweiz, Portugal und Österreich erreichte.

Die Shows begannen mit zwei ausverkauften Warm-up-Shows im Brighton Centre, bevor sie für sechs ausverkaufte Abende in den Circus Maximus in Rom umzogen, gefolgt von der gleichen Anzahl in der Londoner Royal Albert Hall, bevor sie für ausverkaufte Abende im Intuit Dome und der Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles in die USA zogen und mit fünf ausverkauften Abenden im Madison Square Garden in New York endeten.

Alle dreiundzwanzig Termine waren ausverkauft, und da keine neuen Shows in Sicht sind, sind »The Luck And Strange Concerts« die beste und einzige Möglichkeit, den Meister seiner Kunst auf der Bühne zu erleben.

Young Gun Silver Fox are the captains of AM Waves, setting sail towards an isle where melodies soak the shoreline and grooves sway like palm trees. Their route traces a natural progression fromWest End Coast, an album that cast Andy Platts (Young Gun) and Shawn Lee (Silver Fox) as musical virtuosos of SoCal-infused pop. AM Waves does more than duplicate the perfection of West End Coast. It improves it.

Recorded at The Shop in London and Roffey Hall in the English countryside, AM Waves burnishes the blend between the duo's modern aesthetic and their sumptuously crafted homage to '70s-styled pop, rock, and soul. "This music hits a certain spot for me personally that nothing else quite does," says Shawn, who produced the album amidst his projects for Saint Etienne, Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra, and several other acts. "It's real high-caliber music. It's easy and breezy to listen to but it's really hard to make. Every aspect is A game."

The A game behind AM Waves fuels 43 minutes of Young Gun Silver Fox in peak form. "AM Waves is much more instinctive," says Andy, whose penchant for writing irresistible hooks and melodies also shapes his role as lead singer and lyricist/composer for the band Mamas Gun. "It's more vivid. You can see the clarity to the colors of AM Waves whereas West End Coast is slightly more impressionist, as it were."

Originally issued as a single in September 2017, "Midnight in Richmond" is the anchor of AM Waves. "I hit one chord, which I'd never played before, and the song sort of wrote itself," notes Shawn. "It was intuitive. In many ways, the primary function of what I'm doing is trying to find that chord that opens a door and takes you someplace else. Those chords have magic." Andy embellishes the song's appeal by nimbly juxtaposing wistful emotions with a sun-kissed melody, his voice evoking richly drawn memories. The qualities that make "Midnight in Richmond" an instant classic abound throughout the album.

"Lenny" and "Take It or Leave It" spotlight Andy's versatility as a songwriter. The former was inspired by a dream he had where Lenny Kravitz owned a bar. "It was surreal," he says. "He was polishing the glasses and just serving me hit after hit." Like swimming through moonshine, Andy languorously savors every syllable in the song. "Take It or Leave It" is pure pop bliss. "That was one of those songs that fell out in half an hour," he says. "I had everything and it was done." Shawn adds, "It's such a perfect song in itself. When I listen to it, it's like you've created a record that already existed."

Young Gun Silver Fox introduce a five-piece horn section on "Underdog" that literally trumpets the song's protagonist. Shawn affectionately dubbed them the "Seaweed Horns" in honor of the Seawind Horns, an LA-based unit that recorded with powerhouses like Michael Jackson,Rufus & Chaka Khan,and Earth, Wind & Fire during the late-'70s. Andy explains, "The horns grab another hue of the west coast sound, which is the starting point, but it's also maybe the point where we're injecting a little bit more of ourselves and some outside colors into the familiar west coast palette."

A bounty of treasures course through AM Waves' ebb and flow. "Mojo Rising," which the duo penned with Rob Johnson, is a veritable retreat to paradise. "Sky-bound, heaven sent / Way above the clouds watching shootingstars descend," Andy sings, mirroring the music's celestial undertones. Sensuality contours the notes on "Just a Man," a song that basks in the allure of a woman who leaves "footprints on the water" while "Love Guarantee" is festooned with the Seaweed Horns. "I wanted to bring more of that R&B slickness into the mix," Shawn notes about the latter track. "We hadn't done a tune with that sort of groove." Similar to his work on "Underdog," Nichol Thomson's intricate horn arrangement on "LoveGuarantee"exemplifies another distinction between AM Waves and its predecessor.

"Caroline" occupies a special place on AM Waves, beyond spawning the album title. It tells the story of Radio Caroline, a pirate radio station that broadcast from an offshore vessel during the '60s and '70s. "They played the music that kids wanted to hear, whether it was the old stuff or cutting edge stuff," says Andy. "'Caroline' is about Radio Caroline's eventual capture." Complementing Andy Platts' deft wordplay, which draws parallels between radio airwaves and the station's literal home on the ocean, Shawn Lee layers nearly a dozen different parts on "Caroline," showcasing the vastness of his musicality. "I loved that track as soon as I heard it," Andy continues. "It's a beautiful fusion of me and Shawn."

The Seaweed Horns joinYoung Gun Silver Foxas they detour to the dance floor on "Kingston Boogie." Shawn explains the track's genesis, "I was thinking, what have we not done yet We definitely should get an AOR disco thing happening. I quite like disco. The beat is so metronomic that it allows you to be really sophisticated on top. 'Kingston Boogie' just laid itself out. I call it 'midnight disco.'" With a nod to "Lenny," Andy Platts sets "Kingston Boogie" back at Lenny's Bar, this time revealing a detail or two about its mysterious proprietor as he pours sweet wine and moonshine.

In a sense, AM Waves ends with the beginning. Even before there was Young Gun Silver Fox, there was "Lolita," the first song Andy Platts and Shawn Lee wrote together and a crowd-pleasing staple of the duo's live sets. The tale of a femme fatale who harbors a secret was recorded for West End Coast but instead furnished the B-side to "Long Way Back" as well as a bonus track on the North American edition of the album. Despite the song's checkered trajectory, its infectious chorus sparked the brighter, more buoyant orientation of AM Waves.

Like the moon pulling the tide, Young Gun Silver Fox are a magnet for good songs. "We're both so obsessed and constantly interested in music-making," says Andy. "We're both thinking about it all the time. When you know you have an accomplice with you that's the same as you, it's very liberating. Suddenly, worlds of color start to appear." Indeed, AM Waves is elemental in its power to induce pleasure. Dive right in.

Christian John Wikane

(New York City / February 2018)

INTEMPORARY AND INDETRONABLE FRENCH COLD WAVE CLASSIC in a SPECIAL EDITION to celebrate the 40th anniversary of this mythical album.



This edition includes a 45T with 2 previously unreleased tracks, available nowhere else.



Thierry Müller, who initiated the RUTH project, is not at his first try when the album POLAROÏD/ROMAN/PHOTO including the eponymous track is released in 1985. His older brother Patrick along with one of their cousins make his musical education and he quickly becomes familiar with contemporary and experimental music. He starts quite early to tinker sounds on old tape recorders by himself but it is in 1977 that Thierry launches with some friends his first group, ARCANE, while studying at the School of Applied Arts. Their sound is weird, a mixture of saturated scratches and feedback tapes: there is no discographic or scenic testimony of this experience.



Alongside ARCANE, Thierry is already working solo on his ILITCH project / concept, an experimental and innovative work, whose first album Periodmindtrouble is released in 1978 on the Oxigène label. Despite insubstantial sales, this album brings Thierry recognition and success in the very elitist circles of experimental and underground music.



ILITCH’s musical bias was too narrow for Thierry’s ceaseless experimental curiosity, parallel to these activities, he therefore develops a Punk project called RUTH ELLYERI with the author, actress and photographer Murielle Huster. The title is an anagram of Thierry Müller (the complete name is Ruth M. Ellyeri). The character is meant to impersonate one of his schizophrenic facets and allows him to extend his field of expressions to musical styles differing from those in ILITCH.

From this work, the very cult punk piece Mescalito emerges, song that can be found on the mythical but unfortunately very rare compilation 125g de 33 1/3 tours (1979) of the Oxigène label (first “french punk” sampler). At the end of 1978, he meets Philippe Doray at the Oxigene office. Doray is another big name of French experimental music. Thierry moves to his home near Rouen, a remote farmhouse with a music studio made of odds and ends.



They work on their respective creations but meet from time to time on experimentations in common, including CRASH (a tribute to JG Ballard) As early as 1982, a first version of the track Polaroïd/Roman/Photo is out under the name of the project RUTH. “I wanted to write a piece to make the girls dance and make fun of the boys. I plugged a small handmade clock on my Farfisa organ as a sequencer. I had a small Roland synth-guitar, I put the organ in it and that’s how it started.” Philippe is quite amused by the idea of working on a more Pop project and offers to write the text. Thierry works on other tracks for the future LP and asks some friends to write other texts : Edouard Nono, visual artist, writes the lyrics of Mots, Frédérique Lapierre those of Misty Mouse and Tu m’ennuies . It is her voice you hear on these 2 tracks and on the first version of Polaroïd/Roman/Photo. Later, Thierry settles down in the Anagramme recording studio to carry out acoustic sound recordings. But when the sessions are over, the 2 musicians are not too happy with the results of Polaroïd/Roman/Photo: according to them, they lack “flamboyance”. They decide then to record a new female voice with a professional singer and the sound engeneer Patrick Chevalot offers to mix the track in the Synthesis studio “so that it blows out”.



With his tape ready and the help of Jacques Pasquier (S.C.O.P.A. / Invisible records where Ilitch’s second album, 10 Suicides, is released) he starts to contact record companies. “I visited almost all the major record companies and was thrown out every time. Only at RCA’s I found someone interested in my music. It was Francis Fottorino who had signed Kas Product but when it reached the the big boss, no way! Philippe Constantin from Virgin records raised some hope but in vain.



The album was finally released in 1985 with Paris Album, a small independant label.” The album barely sells 50 copies in 1985, despite the eponymous title as a potential success. « In 2004, 2 DJs Marc Colin and Ivan Smagghe discover the track Polaroïd/Roman/Photo and decide to exhume it from oblvion. They release it on a compilation called So Young but so cold (Tigersushi) and then with Born Bad records on the BIPPP compilation in 2008. Thanks to them, the track and the album start a new life.



Alongside his activity as graphic designer, Thierry Müller carries on producing music under his name, those of ILITCH and RUTH for his own creations and various collaborations.

Bobby Caldwell is legendary for his blue-eyed soul masterpiece What You Won’t Do For Love but a deeper look into his catalog reveals there’s plenty more where that came from. Danny Krivit heads straight to the source, and uncovers a breezy treat in the form of The House Is Rockin’, Caldwell’s very first single. Kicking his edit off with a highly mixable extended drum break intro, he teases this upbeat mover into the fully extended version it deserves.

From the sunshine of the A-side Krivit pivots to a monster moody groove on the flip, Eddy Grant’s proto-house classic California Style. Leaving just a touch of the soca-fied vocal at the top, Mr. K quickly delves into the depths of the percolating instrumental break, emphasizing all the gloriously quirky synth bloops and relentless bass that made it a favorite of house producers (check Mateo & Matos’s New York Style for proof). We believe this is the first time the extended mix has been available on 7-inch, but we’re absolutely certain it has never sounded so good! Another crate staple in the always excellent Mr. K edit series.

At daybreak, as sunlight travels through the atmosphere and begins to reach Earth’s surface, daylight gradually emerges. This marks the transition from night to the beginning of a brand-new day. As the temperature rises—especially after clear, calm nights—relative humidity decreases, and mist, formed of tiny suspended droplets, begins to evaporate. Warm air rises and cool air sinks, creating an interplay of temperature, humidity and sunlight that gives way to a soft, diffuse glow. The sea breeze slowly clears the morning mist, setting life in motion once again as the world wakes up.

‘Daybreak’ is Sven Wunder’s fifth full-length album, seamlessly continuing the progression of his musical oeuvre. It takes the listener on a vivid maritime expedition, beginning the moment the first rays of light break the darkness of the night and embarking on a lush journey through the early hours of the day and far beyond, until the light slowly fades and night falls once again. True to Wunder’s now-distinctive artistry, ‘Daybreak’ is marked by elaborately crafted compositions and elegant pop-jazz arrangements for flute, percussion, brass and strings—supported by a decisive rhythm section, all of which add depth and build on his body of work, continuing to unfold his creative path.

"One Hit Wonders" ist eine dynamische Doppel-LP-Zusammenstellung, die die unvergesslichen Songs feiert, die den Äther beherrschten und zu zeitlosen Klassikern wurden. Diese Sammlung vereint legendäre Hits aus verschiedenen Jahrzehnten und Genres, von den energiegeladenen Beats von "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" von Dead or Alive bis zum sanften Yacht-Rock von "Steal Away" von Robbie Dupree. Mit Tanzhymnen, gefühlvollen Balladen und genredefinierenden Titeln ist dieses Album eine nostalgische Reise durch Songs, die trotz der Tatsache, dass sie die einzigen großen Chartstürmer ihrer Künstler waren, in der Musikgeschichte unverzichtbar geblieben sind.

Diese sorgfältig zusammengestellte Auswahl umspannt die Welten von Pop, Rock, Funk, R&B und Hip-Hop. LP1 enthält Wohlfühl-Hits wie "Walking on Sunshine" von Katrina and the Waves, den Synthie-Pop-Charme von "Wouldn't It Be Good" von Nik Kershaw und die eindringliche Schönheit von "Only the Lonely" von The Motels. LP2 hält die Energie hoch mit funkgetriebenen Grooves wie "Play That Funky Music" von Wild Cherry, der filmischen Magie von "Neverending Story" von Limahl und sanften Balladen wie "Because I Love You" von Stevie B. Jeder Track auf dieser Compilation ist einkultureller Meilenstein, der von der ersten Note an erkennbar ist.

"One Hit Wonders", herausgegeben von MPO, ist ein Muss für Musikliebhaber, Sammler und Fans von klassischen Hits, die Generationen überdauern. Ob Sie diese Hymnen wiederentdecken oder zum ersten Mal erleben, dieses Album fängt die Magie von Songs ein, die Geschichte geschrieben haben, auch wenn ihre Schöpfer nie wieder denselben Erfolg in den Charts hatten. Sichern Sie sich noch heute Ihr Exemplar und lassen Sie sich von der Musik in die Momente zurückversetzen, in denen diese Titel die Charts beherrschten und und die Welt in ihren Bann zogen.
Tracklisting

Peach Discs’ first EP of the post-summer season comes from DJ, producer, and our good pal Amaliah.

The five tracks that make up the Hypnosis EP are a true showcase of Amaliah's rapidly growing skills as a producer, as she picks thoughtfully from her inspirations and flips them into a uniquely Amaliah-coded record – leaning into the housier side of her sound while incorporating elements of bass, garage, UK funky, and prog that have become her calling card.

Lead track "Hypnosis" draws a line straight back to her early UK raving days, with tuff, speed-garage-indebted drums bouncing off prowling subs and emosh, pinging synth lines, while "Watch This" harnesses a similarly heaving bassline but dips towards classic UKG territory with its swinging, broken beat and disembodied vocal chops.

The closest thing to straight-up house on the EP, "Hold Me Closer," features Amaliah's vocals for the first time, as well as additional production from Shanti – an influence evident in the tight, ascending bassline that wraps itself around the stomping percussion.

"Laser Tag" and "Earthling" are maybe the most Amaliah-coded tracks on the record – a pair of highly percussive, UK funky inspired tunes that balance shoulder-bumping drums with wild, arcing synths that prowl across the stereo field, trippy and screwface inducing in equal measure.

Amaliah is also the founder of Borne Fruits, an independent label, event series, and monthly Rinse FM show, showcasing new sounds and emerging talent. This record follows neatly in that vein, as her own emerging talent marries forward-thinking sound design with her roots in raving and soundsystem culture for an EP that's all her own, and one we're thrilled to release.

Mit "Cotton Crown" erweitert die Band ihre Klangpalette um eine kaleidoskopische Bandbreite an Einflüssen: Von gefühlvollem Pub-Rock über HÜSKER DÜ-Aggression bis hin zu melancholischem Sophisto-Pop ist alles dabei. Wie Pitchfork feststellte, sehen THE TUBS den Jangle als eine "riesige Welt der Stimmungen und Musen" und "Cotton Crown" zeigt, wie sie diese Welt weiter erforschen und dabei einen unverwechselbaren Tub-ular-Sound kreieren. Das liegt nicht zuletzt an der Gesangsleistung von Owen 'O' Williams, der oft mit einem jungen RICHARD THOMPSON verglichen wird, und an seinen offenen, düster-komischen Texten. In "Cotton Crown" widmet er sich weiter seinen Lieblingsthemen: Liebespsychose, unsympathisches, psychisch krankes Verhalten und die Demütigungen des Musikerdaseins in London. Dieses Mal ist jedoch ein Gefühl des Risikos in seinen Selbsteinschätzungen und Bekenntnissen spürbar. Im Mittelpunkt steht das Leben in der Zeit nach dem Selbstmord seiner Mutter (der Folksängerin Charlotte Greig), und Williams singt über die unbeholfenen, aufdringlichen und gut gemeinten sozialen Interaktionen, die darauf folgten. Das Albumcover zeigt ein Bild von Williams als Säugling, der von Greig auf einem Friedhof gestillt wird - ein Werbefoto, das um die Veröffentlichung des Debütalbums von Charlotte Greig herum aufgenommen wurde. Der wesentliche Trick von "Cotton Crown" besteht darin, die lyrische Düsternis von Williams durch fröhliche, hakengeladene Pop-Perfektion zu kompensieren. Das liegt vor allem an der Gitarrenarbeit von George Nicholls, der auf dem Album mühelos zwischen dem virtuosen Jangle von JOHNNY MARR, dem treibenden Folk-Rock von PENTANGLE und den Refrain-lastigen Hi-Fi-Grooves zeitgenössischer Bands wie TOPS oder THE 1975 hin- und herwechselt. Dazu kommt die halsbrecherische Rhythmusgruppe von Taylor Stewart (Schlagzeug) und Max Warren (Bass) - die jeden Song mit einer Power-Pop-Wut angreifen, die an GUIDED BY VOICES in ihren besten Zeiten erinnert - und schon hat man ein Rezept für großartigen Indie-Rock. Das Debütalbum der Band, "Dead Meat", wurde durch Mundpropaganda zu einer Sensation, die der Band Auszeichnungen von Pitchfork, The Guardian, MOJO, Uncut, SPIN und anderen einbrachte. Sie gewannen sogar einige prominente Fans: der unnachahmliche Mark Proksch (The Office, Better Call Saul, What We Do in the Shadows) spielte die Hauptrolle im Video zu ihrer Single "Round The Bend" und die Punk-Legende IGGY POP lobte sie in seiner BBC 6Music Radiosendung. Owen Williams, Max Warren und George Nicholls waren zuvor Mitglied von JOANNA GRUESOME - eine Band, die den Welsh Music Prize gewann, ausgiebig durch Großbritannien und die USA tourte und von Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, The Guardian und anderen gelobt wurde. Sängerin Lan McCardle, mit der Williams sowohl bei JOANNA GRUESOME als auch bei EX VOID zusammen musizierte, steuert bei einigen Stücken auf "Cotton Crown" Backing Vocals bei.

Returning to Die Schachtel with his fourth full-length with the label, the Genoa born, Bologna based, guitarist and electroacoustic composer, Stefano Pilia, delivers “Lacinia”, a new, immersive cycle of compositions, delving deeper into the realm of metaphysical, spiritual, and divine meaning, weaving astounding arrangements of sonority from a palette of synths, strings, brass, organ, various electroacoustic instruments, and percussion. Resting at a refined intersection of the acoustic and electroacoustic, drone, and chamber music - overwhelmingly beautiful, delicate, and bold, - “Lacinia” stands as a high-water mark in Pilia’s already remarkable and forward-looking career.

Since its founding in Milan during the early years of the new millennium, Die Schachtel has occupied a singular place in the landscape of experimental music, issuing a carefully curated body of reissues and archival releases by historically significant figures and projects like Christina Kubisch, Luciano Cilio, Marino Zuccheri, Prima Materia, Claudio Rocchi, Lino Capra Vaccina, Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, Roland Kayn, and numerous others, balanced against bristling contemporary counterparts by the likes of Jim O'Rourke, Giovanni Di Domenico, Nicola Ratti, Luigi ArchettI, Valerio Tricoli, etc. Running like a spine through the label’s output is a deep dedication to the work of the Italian guitarist and electroacoustic composer Stefano Pilia. Now Die Schachtel returns with “Lacinia”, Pilia’s forth full-length with the label and their first release of 2024. Building on the ground of deeply personal engagement with metaphysical, spiritual, and divine meaning, explored within his previous LP with Die Schachtel, 2022’s “Spiralis Aurea”, “Lacinia” encounters the composer working in close calibration with various ensembles, including the Bologna based Ensemble Concordanze and Comunale di Bologna String Orchestra, weaving synths, strings, brass, organ, various electroacoustic instruments, and percussion into an astounding reconfiguration of immersive, contemporary minimalism that stands among Pilia’s most noteworthy releases to date. Issued by Die Schachtel in two special double vinyl editions and a CD edition, “Lacinia” features artwork by Bruno Stucchi/Dinamomilano, and is an absolute marvel that draws you in and doesn’t let go.

First emerging during the early 2000s, over the past two decades – via solo releases and numerous collations with artists like Oren Ambarchi, Valerio Tricoli, Alessandra Novaga, Z'EV, Andrea Belfi, David Grubbs, and numerous others - the Genoa born, Bologna based, guitarist and electroacoustic composer, Stefano Pilia has presented a singular voice within Italian experimental music, harnessing visceral energy and hands-on immediacy within delicately woven tapestries of sonority, each investigating the sculptural properties of sound and illuminating its relationship to space, memory, and the suspension of time. “Lacinia”, Pilia’s forth solo venture with Die Schachtel, encounters the composer reentering his longstanding practice of collaboration with various ensemble forms, including the Bologna based Ensemble Concordanze, for the albums central piece, “Lacinia Off Axis”, spinning stunning string confirmations by Pietro David Carami and Elena Maury on violin, Alessandro Savio on viola, and Mattia Cipolli on cello.

A new, important cycle of compositions by Pilia, “Lacinia” (meaning "lace" in Latin) builds upon the exploration of the metaphysical, spiritual, and divine dimensions through numbers, geometry, and the creation of tonal forms explored by 2022’s “Spiralis Aurea”, mirroring archetypal, immutable forms at the juncture of the abstract realm of mathematics and architectural structures in the physical world, expands the poetics and compositional ideas featured in its predecessor. Regraded by Pilia as both a series of individual compositions and a single work, “Lacinia” was conceived to “define a circular path (a sort of "rhizomatic lace") where the beginning and end touch, suggesting the concept of time not only as linear but also cyclical and ritualistic—an eternal return, a process of transformation where matter changes, its state changes, but without altering the invisible internal principle of mutation”, embarking upon a a series of “steps, degrees, and energetic quanta in a progression of archetypal whole numbers and transcendent creation.”

The resulting 16 tracks unfold as a series of complex sonic meditations. While deeply resonant with the minimalism of composers like Arvo Pärt, LaMonte Young, Pauline Oliveros, and Eliane Radigue, Pilia digs deep and moves far beyond the predictable tonal relationships and structures of that idiom, echoing the ancient liturgical and devotional music of composers like Gesualdo da Venosa, Monteverdi, and John Dowland, at a refined intersection of the acoustic and electroacoustic, drone, and chamber music.

Fascinatingly structured as a whole to include a number of motif returns, across which we encounter works like “Lacinia Off Axis” appearing in slightly different rendering, states, or evolutions three times, and compositions like “Eve” appearing twice in subtly different forms and arrangements - first for four oscillators, guitar and voice and then for string orchestra - as well “Maris Stella”, which similarly makes two appearances, first for horn trio, organ and percussion, and then for string orchestra, with “Lacinia” Pilia delves further into the world of chamber music than ever before, creating a deeply inward, mediative body of work the totality of which, guided by its rich string arrangements of arching, sorrowful tone, feels almost like a mass for some unproclaimed loss; simultaneously locked in the nuances of a moment, while managing to suspend time.

Perhaps most remarkable is Pilia's ability to create a remarkable sense of sonic cohesion while using such a varied number of ensembles and instrumentation. From the sprawling string arrangements delivered by Comunale di Bologna String Orchestra, under the direction of Paolo Mancini, and Ensemble Concordanze, and a flute trio (Cadux / Plectere) brilliantly played by Manuel Zurria, to pieces for sax, organ and percussion, violin duo and percussion, organ and percussion, Pilia manages to create a sense of singular, encompassing world that flows forward like a shifting stream.

Overwhelmingly beautiful, delicate, and bold, “Lacinia” is unquestionably a high-water mark in Stefano Pilia’s already remarkable, forward-looking career. Nothing short of a marvel of contemporary Minimalism that, through its shifting arrangements of harmonics, tonality, and texture draws flickering images of ancient forms of music into the present day, “Lacinia” is Issued by Die Schachtel in two special editions on double vinyl and a CD edition, featuring artwork by Bruno Stucchi/Dinamomilano. This is an immersive all-consuming listen that can’t be missed.

With this album, Heleen Van Haegenborgh returns to her roots as a pianist.
In recent years, she has primarily composed works on commission for a diverse range of ensembles, from recorders to foghorns.
On this solo album, her entire journey of musical encounters and compositions comes together subtly.
Van Haegenborgh doesn't think in terms of stories or boxes, but rather in colours, energy, and texture - without drifting into the abstract.
She remains true to her personal inside piano world, including the use of wires she has been experimenting with since 2008. These are given a place here as fully-fledged musical elements, communicating on different levels, in various contexts and forms.
The electronics sometimes become completely one with the piano, but often follow an entirely different path: at times calm, subtle and refined; at other times nervous and under the surface. Always within specific atmospheres and with precise timing.
Van Haegenborgh took charge of every detail from start to finish - electronics, composition, and performance.

Jessica93, prodigal bastard of our glorious french squat scene, relocated on Born Bad : this is no picnic. Geoffroy Laporte, alone against all odds, alternates bass and guitar to build harsh loops with a drum machine spitting pre-Gulf War patterns. That’s where it gets tricky : every musical posse claims him. Grunge, sure, but Jessica doesn’t indulge in necrophilia. His circuit is punk, he doesn’t dress the part though. Cold wave, the atmosphere fits somehow, but the gear does not. The self-confident rock horde saw him playing with hair in his eyes… but he never joined the Party. Metal had something to say but sadly, nobody listened. Maybe it's time to give it a rest and let Jessica93 cook his great misery broth on her own, called « 666 tours de périph’ » (666 laps on the beltway). Witnessing Jessica93 live makes you dread that he'll get up the next morning, drive 200 miles and one nap later kick it again, when it takes us a good week to recover from the bad half of that same evening. Like so many other unknown soldiers during our very own world war of music, he patrols small venues relentlessly.



At the heart of this cultural pentacle painted by french weirdos Bryan's Magic Tears, and Carine Krinator, Jessica93 has built a sound validated by years of chosen vagrancy, birthing bands with joyously stupid monikers, in the humid jungle of small labels. Jessica93's debut album had a track celebrating Omar Little, HBO’s gay bandit from Baltimore. This story begins on the beltway, where Florence Rey, accidental copkiller turned to political icon of the 90’s. Geoffroy offers his brilliant analysis : " C’est la police qui nous tire d’ssus / C’est mon trou d’balle qui leur chie d’ssus « (Police shoots us down / my dripping asshole gets the job done).



A previous album was haunted by bedbugs, this one is essentially about love, a delicious scourge just as hard to eradicate. Two black diamonds peek out of the LP : ’’La colline du crack’’, heartbreak song about the ultimate temptation of violent delights, located on crackhead central in Paris. The brilliant chorus, ‘Take my hand and come with me to Crack Hill’ will put an end to the rumours, almost everything was really false. And Bébé Requin, alternative obituary that’ll make you shiver, where our nice couple states ‘’on kiffe la drogue dure et les ptits chiens’ (‘we love hard drugs and little dogs’). And that is the reason we face the wall of sound jostled by unnecessary shoulder thrusts: those nice fat chunks of charcoal poetry, hidden under light sarcasm.



The rest of the record demonstrates the know-how acquired in loop-by-loop construction of ruins that are pleasant to squat in together. There’s your classic doom delicatessen, with bits of heavy metal inside, crafted with the manic care typical of hard wankers. Arthur Satàn, who produced and mixed the album at home in Bordeaux, helped him get his head out of the reverb safe house. And Jessica93 took the opportunity to switch to the dark side of the language : french at last. Worth the wait ! Sing along : « nique sa mère / nique sa grosse mère » (translate that yourself).

Auf 500 Stück limitierte 2025er Nachpressung vom 2013er La Luz Debütalbum auf rotem Vinyl. LA LUZ aus Seattle sind cool. Doch ihre Art der Coolness hat nichts mit Distanz oder Arroganz zu tun; es ist eine Laune und irgendetwas in ihrer Musik passt zum düsteren, unwirklichen Duft sterbender Monde und Schatten. Diese Art von Coolness. Was LA LUZ da besonders macht, ist die Verkörperung des am wenigsten definierten Eckchens des menschlichen Daseins: Sehnsucht und die flüchtige Erleichterung, die mit tiefster Sehnsucht einhergeht. Auf Spanisch steht LA LUZ für ,Licht" und das ist der perfekte Ausblick, wenn die Songs der Band eigentlich in die gegenteilige Richtung streben. Doch wenn man die Texte ausblendet - eine gute Entschuldigung, den vierteiligen Harmonien noch mehr Gehör zu schenken - findet man die Unwegbarkeiten und Schmerzen von Liebe und Verlust und die Gewissheit, dass nichts im Leben für immer ist, vorgetragen mit einer perfekt ausbalancierten Heiterkeit, die fast den Eindruck entstehen lässt, dass am Ende doch alles Sinn macht. Im letzten Frühjahr begaben sich LA LUZ in einen dunstigen Trailerpark, um ,It's Alive" mit ihrem Freund und Toningenieur Johnny Goss aufzunehmen. Vom ersten Drumroll und den unheimlichen Akkorden von ,Sure A Spring" an - einem angekratzten Popjuwel, das das Album einläutet - bewegt sich das Album wie eine langsame Fahrt auf schwieriger Strecke, die sich schlängelt und abfällt, während sich das Terrain verändert. ,What Good Am I?" erinnert mit dem Leadgesang und den dazu passenden Harmonien an den Superhit von MAZZY STAR. Mittendrin findet sich der Titeltrack. ,It's Alive" ist ein klingender Rocker mit unheimlichem Refrain, einem großen Batzen ,ooohs" und einer umschweifigen Geschichte, die die vernebelte Logik vom Rest des Albums aufgreift. Zwei Instrumentalstrücke, ,Sunstroke" und ,Phantom Feeling" zeigen, dass die Band über den echten Surf Sound Bescheid weiß und passen perfekt zum unterkühlten Herzschmerz um sie herum.

MJ Lenderman writes songs that are amorphous and elastic, rising to fill the venue they"re in, generous to accommodate the number of players on stage, less concerned with replicating the studio version than they are with meeting the crowd where they"re at. On And the Wind (Live and Loose!), the Asheville-based Lenderman handles most of the playing, but with The Wind, it"s a multi-headed beast. This live album is culled from sold-out summer 2023 shows on a brief headline run during what some might call a wild-*ss couple of months. It captures a near-euphoric moment in time - dizzying and exhausting and, most of all, having some real true-blue f**king fun with your best friends. It"s 90s college rock meets Americana hootenanny, an electrifying piece of the MJ Lenderman lore that needs to be experienced live with a light beer in-hand - but in the interim, And the Wind (Live and Loose!) does its best to commit the scene to tape.

"Bandleader Lina Langendorf has been known in Sweden for a long time as one of the most skilled and forward thinking saxophone players. She has been staying in both Mali and Ethopia for longer periods and has performed in concerts with legendary artists like Alemayehu Eshete, Vieux Farka Touré and...Mulatu Astatke who, at his club African Jazz Village (in Addis Ababa/Ethiopia), introduced Lina to people in the audience with the words: 'Amazing saxophone player, big respect! We should play together some day'. Some minutes later they go on stage together. Joined by the legendary piano player Dawit Yifru and the bass player from Roha Band, Giovanni Rico Bonsignori. 'Fantastic. You're so strong. Everybody loves you, they say you are ethio-jazz' was Mulatu's words after the jam session.
Lina has also been invited to the live club Le Hogon in Bamako numerous times for jam sessions and concerts with Toumani Diabaté and his band. And for Lina, these jam sessions in Addis and Bamako has been a crucial part of shaping (and sharpening) her musical vision. Last year she was also touring the UK as part of James Yorkston, Nina Persson and the second hand orchestra.
But it wasn't until feb 2023 we got to hear her own music. The debut album with her newly formed band Langendorf United was co-released between Italian label Black Sweat records and Swedish label Sing A Song Fighter and it immediately resonated with music lovers around the world (Radiohead drummer Philip Selway called it 'as if Tinariwen and Fela Kuti had a Blue Note session').
But the band is not just the composer/Saxophone star and band leader Lina Langendorf. Oh, no. The other four musicians are all highly praised musicians in various jazz bands in Sweden and Norway and together they form this sacred thythmic unity with the pulsating bass at the centre.
Langendorf United's music is vibrant and spiritual and on fire!"

Lina Langendorf - saxophone
Daniel Bingert (son of legendary South American musician Hector Bingert) - keys, guitars
Martin Hederos (The Soundtrack Of Our Lives, Tonbruket) - keys, viola
Ole Morten Vågan (Trondheim Jazz Orchestra) - upright bass
Andreas Werliin (Fire!, Wildbirds & Peacedrums) - drums

Unknown Waveforms is the forthcoming album from Belgian trio KAU, set for release on October 10, 2025. Marking an evolution since their 2023 release The Cycle Repeats, this new record captures a more personal, immediate, and unfiltered version of the band's sound. In an increasingly digital world, KAU takes a different route, with an album rooted in human connection, live energy, and creative spontaneity. Here, the trio reflect their take on instrumental music, drawing heavily fromjazz, hip hop, and electronic influences.

At the heart of Unknown Waveforms lies the starting point of three musicians in a room, writing and composing music on the spot. For KAU, this idea mirrors their working method: long jam sessions, free-flowing experimentation, and shared moments of inspiration. Songs often take shape slowly, unfolding over hours or days, but always built collaboratively as a trio.

The album's title reflects the mystery behind how music comes together, but is also both literal and symbolic. Unknown waveforms are the sounds that arise when machines and people interact in unpredictable ways. Whether you're an experienced musician or just starting out, the creative process often feels elusive and hard to fully understand. But there are also certain moments: creative sparks that can't be planned or programmed. It ends up being more than notes, gear, or structure, it's about the process, the tension and energy that builds when people connect and create in the same room.

The title track, Unknown Waveforms, captures that exact process. It opens with a quote from synth pioneer Wendy Carlos: "I'm just trying to show you how we get some of these sounds", inviting listeners directly into the creative space. The track focuses less on a polished outcome and more on the moment before a song is "finished": it's a portrait of experimentation, feeling, and raw expression.

This commitment to honesty permeates the entire album. KAU kept overdubs to a minimum, avoided excessive editing, and prioritized spontaneous choices over calculated ones. In a time when the future of live, improvised music feels uncertain, they double down on the physical, the real, and the immediate. The album resists the pristine polish of modern production, favoring the warmth and imperfection of analog synthesis. The band embraces the character of their instruments, particularly vintage gear, where subtle flaws add beauty, depth, and personality.

One standout track, cr_eye, is driven by the Moog Subphatty-a key instrument in the band's toolkit for its analog warmth and powerful sub-bass. The track centers around the conversation between bass and drums, allowing the keyboards to recede and create space. It draws emotional threads from earlier KAU tracks like Kampala and Kautokeino, bridging past and present with a shared atmosphere and rhythmic interplay.

Another highlight, Stratford, finds inspiration in London's transport system and the UK jazz scene that has long influenced KAU. A field recording snippet of the London Underground kicks off the track, connecting it to the rhythm of everyday commutes. Built around a hypnotic sequencer line from the Roland JX-3P, the track evokes the motion of a metro journey. Artists like Nubya Garcia, Yussef Dayes, and Alfa Mist, giants of the scenethat the band has admired for years, resonate subtly throughout.

Above all, Unknown Waveforms is a statement of intent from KAU: a celebration of imperfection, creative honesty and an insight in the process.

Cate Le Bons siebtes Album 'Michelangelo Dying', dessen Entstehung von purer Emotion geleitet wurde, hat das Album, das sie zu machen glaubte, verdrängt. Als Produkt eines alles verzehrenden Herzschmerzes überwanden ihre Gefühle ihren Widerwillen, ein Album über die Liebe zu schreiben, und wurden in diesem Prozess zu einer Art Exorzismus. Herausgekommen ist ein wunderbar schillernder Versuch, eine Wunde zu fotografieren, bevor sie sich schließt - und dabei auch in ihr zu stochern.

Musikalisch gibt es eine Fortsetzung und Erweiterung eines Sounds - eine Maschine mit Herz -, der auf ihren letzten beiden Platten 'Reward' (2019) und 'Pompeii' (2022) Gestalt angenommen hat, da Le Bon zunehmend selbst die Kontrolle über das Spielen und Produzieren übernommen hat. Wenn Gitarren und Saxophone durch Pedale gepresst und Perkussion und Stimmen durch Filter gejagt werden, entsteht ein schillernder, grüner und seidiger Sound, in dem die künstlerischen Eigenheiten von David Bowie, Nico, John McGeoch und Laurie Anderson aufblitzen und wieder verschwinden.

Was übrig bleibt, ist eine sich ständig verändernde, kontinuierliche Einheit, eine Art Songzyklus. Jede Iteration reflektiert die letzte und entwickelt sie weiter. „Jede ist eine Scherbe desselben zerbrochenen Spiegels“: Sie verschiebt sich, glitzert, verbirgt und enthüllt, je nachdem, wie sie im Licht gedreht wird. Letztendlich gibt es, so Cate, „keine Enthüllungen. Keine Schlussfolgerungen. Es gibt keinen Grund. Es gibt nur Wiederholungen und Chaos. Ich habe mir schließlich erlaubt, einen offenen Geist zu haben, um es ohne Widerstand zu erleben, ohne nach einer Offenbarung oder Ordnung zu suchen.“

'Michelangelo Dying' ist eine Übung in der Viszeralität des Lebens, der Liebe und der Menschlichkeit, sowohl für den Hörer als auch für die Künstlerin selbst, und es weiß, was es heißt Halt zu geben, gehalten zu werden aber auch sich ganz und gar allein zu fühlen. „Die Figuren sind austauschbar“, schließt Cate, „aber am Ende bin ich es, der sich selbst begegnet.“

- LP: (Vollfarbige Hülle, 140g schwarzes Vinyl, bedruckte Innenhülle und Download-Karte)

"Stories Of Life" - triosence malen Musik aus Geschichten, die das Leben schreibt Das Album "Stories of Life" des Genregrenzen neu definierenden Pianotrios triosence ist ein musikalisches Porträt von Momentaufnahmen aus dem Leben. In jedem Titel erkundet triosence-Bandleader und Komponist Bernhard Schüler die Tragik und Schönheit von Geschichten aus dem Alltag und malt diese Erlebnisse in betörend melodiöse, mitreißende Instrumentalkompositionen. Große Freude und tiefer Schmerz, scheinbar Banales und wahrhaft Lebensveränderndes liegen oft überraschend nah beieinander. Der Verlust einer Schwangerschaft in "Little Lost Wonder", die Liebe zu seiner kleinen Tochter in "Tamina's Lullaby", der Tod seines Onkels in "Dear Rainer" oder die Freude über wild wuchernde Garten-Gewächse seiner Lebensgefährtin in "Tomato Party" - "Stories of Life" ist die in Musik nachvollzogene Erkenntnis von Bernhard Schüler, dass im Leben all das verwoben ist. "Ich setze mich ans Klavier und spiele mir alles von der Seele. Schöne und traurige Erlebnisse, Beobachtungen, Empfindungen - Musik zu schreiben ist meine Art, über das Leben nachzudenken", erklärt er.Was "Stories Of Life" musikalisch auszeichnet, sind progressive Strukturen, die immer wieder in Stil, Tempo und Stimmung variieren; die mal laut oder leise sind, verträumt oder kraftvoll. Sie sollen den Hörer auf eine regelrechte Reise schicken, indem sie eine Reihe von starken Klangbildern erzeugen. "Wenn ich komponiere, habe ich das immer im Hinterkopf", so Bernhard Schüler. "Nämlich Geschichten mit meiner Musik zu erzählen. Das ist, was die Leute am meisten berührt." Auf "Stories Of Life" entwickeln er und seine Bandkollegen Tobias Schulte (Schlagzeug) und Omar Rodriguez Calvo (Bass) mit großer Leichtigkeit ihren melodiösen, stimmungsvollen Sound-Mix aus Weltbeat, Folk, Jazz, Rock und Pop konsequent weiter. "Wir gestalten ein totales Crossover", erklärt Bernhard Schüler, "das ist Musik, die zwar in klassischer Jazz-Formation daherkommt - mit Klavier, Bass und Schlagzeug - aber Jazz im herkömmlichen Sinn kann man das nicht mehr nennen. Mir geht es um starke Melodien und klare Songstrukturen. Eine Fokussierung auf das Wesentliche ist mir wichtig oder anders gesagt: musikalisch auf den Punkt zu kommen."Dem Maler Rainer Hoffmann ist nicht nur das Stück "Dear Rainer" gewidmet - mit "Stories Of Life" wird ihm auf besondere Weise ein Denkmal gesetzt. Sein Gemälde "Badere vid Ingetoprsjön" (Badende am Ingetorpssee) ziert denn auch das Cover-Artwork und im Booklet finden sich zehn weitere Bilder des Künstlers - jedes thematisch einem der Songs zugeordnet. "Leider hat die Kunst meines Onkels nie die Aufmerksamkeit und Anerkennung bekommen, die sie wirklich verdient hat", so Schüler. "Aber er hat ein sehr aufregendes Leben geführt und war ein wahrer Abenteurer, der bereits in frühen Jahren in die schwedische Wildnis gezogen ist und die ganze Welt bereist hat, um dort zu malen. Alles andere war ihm egal. Diese Leidenschaft für die Kunst - ohne Wenn und Aber - hat mich schon als kleiner Junge fasziniert, und wenn er damals Geschichten aus seinem Leben erzählt hat, saß ich mit großen Augen vor ihm." Eine dieser Geschichten greift Schüler in "Marrakesh Swing" auf - ein Flirt mit der Kultur einer Stadt, die er nie besucht hat, aber in seiner Komposition zu blühendem Leben erweckt. Der Hörer erlebt sie vor seinem geistigen Auge - in all ihren Facetten, Farben und ihrer Lebendigkeit.Mit "Tamina's Lullaby" ist nach langer Zeit wieder ein Stück für Soloklavier auf einem triosence-Album enthalten. Zudem schließt eine Referenz auf die Vergangenheit den Kreis der Geschichten auf "Stories of Life": Eine neue Instrumentalversion von "Like The Wind", das ursprünglich mit der US-Sängerin Sara Gazarek für das Album "Where Time Stands Still" aufgenommen wurde, bildet den Schlusspunkt des Albums.

"I stood on top of the mountain and looked out over the landscape. It was so beautiful that my chest hurt. The light vibrated, time stood still, and the contours dissolved for a moment. Everything had changed; I felt it then. I took their little hands so as not to lose contact with the ground. Then we ran down the mountain, scraping our knees. Still, we didn't make it. You had already put away all the nautical charts, loosened the moorings and steered out among the skerries. Mum stood waving from the jetty. You were alone, you wanted it that way. It was to be just you in the boat this time. I called out to you. I think you heard me and felt less lonely. We couldn't carry each other anymore, no matter how hard we tried. We washed our wounds on the shore and scattered tears and rose petals in the bay. The children laughed and searched for treasures under water. We called to them that it was time to come up. They were cold, and we hugged them to warmth. One ran ahead, the other up on our shoulders. Up the mountain, our mountain."

In 2020 Anna Högberg put her widely celebrated band Anna Högberg Attack on hold, retraining as a nurse whilst continuing a solo practice and playing in other groups. With Ensamseglaren she makes a spectacular return with her own ensemble — this time a double sextet — performing an album length suite of new music written in dedication to her late father — the titular ‘ensamseglaren’ pictured on the LP cover as a young boy.

 (ensam in Swedish can mean both alone and lonely, seglaren = the sailor).

Shot through with renewed energy and a brutally affective emotional punch, Högberg’s formal experimentation opens up vibrant possibilities for the assembled musicians to let loose with some of their wildest and most ecstatic playing on record.

Högberg’s contention with grief leans into collective joy as method of mourning — the big band as extended family; where bonds are made through a shared experience of being together. Where everyone gets to be themselves without expectations of who they should be or what they can do. It’s a radical commitment to care — of her self and others — that animates and unifies this suite of music’s radical dynamics and variations in colour: from whisper-quiet textural intensity to harrowing distortion and double drum chaos; raucous and solemn song.

"Throughout history, humans have had different images of the transition between life and death. Imagine standing on the seashore on a summer evening and seeing a beautiful vessel being prepared for departure. The sails are hoisted. The evening breeze comes, the sails fill and the boat glides out onto the open sea. You follow it with your eyes as it heads towards the sunset. It gets smaller and smaller, until it finally disappears as a tiny dot on the horizon. Then you hear someone next to you say, ‘Now they have left us.’ Left us for what? The fact that they got smaller and smaller and finally disappeared is only how we see it. In reality, they are just as big and beautiful as when they were here, lying on the beach by our side. Just as you hear that voice say ‘Now they have left us’, there may be someone on another beach who sees them appear on the horizon, someone waiting to welcome them when they reaches their new port."

NYC punk-chic, discodelic funk band Say She She is back with Cut & Rewind, their politically-charged, dancefloor-crushing third album. Led by the powerhouse vocal trio of Piya Malik, Sabrina Mileo Cunningham, and Nya Gazelle Brown, the group channels progenitors like Minnie Ripperton, Charles Stepney, Liquid Liquid, and Raw Silk to create a groove-forward, psychedelic soundscape of pulsing disco beats, heavenly whistle tones, and soaring three-part harmonies. There's a feeling of righteous rebellion simmering beneath these songs' body-moving exterior, though: "She Who Dares" is a call to fight against a near-future dystopia where women's rights have been decimated globally; "Disco Life" decries the racism and homophobia of Steve Dahl's 1979 "Disco Demolition Night," reclaiming the dancefloor as "a playing field where all are free." Cut & Rewind is protest music dressed up as a sweat-dripping, hip-shaking, mind-expanding good time.

Naya Beat Records reveals Volume 2 of its critically acclaimed series dedicated to South Asian dance and electronic music. Label founders Turbotito and Ragz have curated an exceptional 13-track compilation with a focus on an overlooked era of house and electronic music released between '88 and '94.
While Volume 1 explored early 80s Balearic, synth pop, and disco, Volume 2 uncovers lost or forgotten future classics from later in the decade. The release spotlights a unique era in the late 80s and early 90s when fertile cross-cultural collaboration abounded in diasporic communities in cities like London and New York and when South Asian music was infused with acid house, New Beat, and dub.
There is a true wealth of sounds here, from The Jets Orkhestra’s organ-fuelled house workout ‘X-290’ to the downtempo splendour of the Asha Bhosle fronted West India Company. Lady M lends the Hindi house track and arpeggiated wonder of ‘Kali Raat’ and Mantra’s eponymously titled cut is a hypnotic gem. Featuring other scintillating Balearic house, dub, and street soul from the likes of Asha Puthli, Bappi Lahiri, Johnny Zee, and Kuljit Bhamra, this double album is a treasure of never-before-reissued and previously impossible-to-find holy grails.
Often "too Asian for mainstream success in the West, and too Western for success in Asia," the pioneering music from this time was frequently released to short-lived success or relative anonymity. Naya Beat founders Filip Nikolic (aka Turbotito) and Raghav Mani (aka Ragz) have spent the last four years endlessly hunting through dusty records, obscure cassettes, and unreleased studio tapes to deliver a reference release for contemporary collectors, tastemakers, and bold selectors looking for fresh sounds.
Featuring an incredible gatefold package with Naya Beat’s trademark stunning artwork and exhaustive liner notes, the 2LP release has been cut to vinyl for the discerning DJ and listener by Grammy-nominated Frank Merritt from The Carvery, London.
Naya Beat Records is focused on uncovering foundational dance and electronic music from the subcontinent and South Asian diaspora through reissues, remixes and compilations. Success came immediately with ‘Naya Beat Volume 1’, which was named Vinyl Factory’s number 1 reissue of 2021, and has been followed up with more fascinating releases such as a two-part remix project with disco-jazz legend Asha Puthli, a scintillating bhangra acid house EP with Mr. Scruff, a reissue of Pinky Ann Rihal’s 1985 Hindi new wave album, and the superb Bollywood compilation ‘Awaaz Series 1

To celebrate our 10th release, we are proud to welcome Slippy G (@slippygmusic) to the RAW SOUL family.
The Cologne-based producer, DJ and freestyle rapper was inspired by the German beat scene, J Dilla and niche underground rap while growing up with hip-hop.
He also delved deeply into electronic music, discovering the shared DNA between beat-driven hip-hop and early house productions - from the raw energy to the production techniques of the legendary Akai MPC.
Over the years, Slippy G has built his own creative playground, crafting a sound that blends groove, warmth and raw authenticity with his own vocals.
RAWSOUL010 delivers six versatile tracks designed for the dance floor, smooth warm-ups and sunrise moments at festivals. Across the release, Slippy G showcases the vibrant soundscapes in his repertoire. If you're looking for grooves that get you in the pocket or house tracks that pay homage to the early '90s with a playful twist, RAW SOUL 010 has you covered.
With a fresh new look and a timeless, forward-thinking sound, this anniversary release marks a significant milestone for the label and the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Slippy G.

"In association with Back Lot Music, Waxwork Records is thrilled to release M3GAN 2.0 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Chris Bacon.The murderous doll who captivated pop culture in 2023 is back.

And this time she’s not alone. Two years after M3gan, a marvel of artificial intelligence, went rogue and embarked on a murderous (and impeccably choreographed) rampage and was subsequently destroyed, M3gan’s creator Gemma (Allison Williams) has become a high-profile author and advocate for government oversight of A.I. Meanwhile, Gemma’s niece Cady (Violet McGraw), now 14, has become a teenager, rebelling against Gemma’s overprotective rules.

Unbeknownst to them, the underlying tech for M3gan has been stolen and misused by a powerful defense contractor to create a military-grade weapon known as Amelia (Ivanna Sakhno; Ahsoka, Pacific Rim: Uprising), the ultimate killer infiltration spy. But as Amelia’s self-awareness increases, she becomes decidedly less interested in taking orders from humans. Or in keeping them around.

»Chitin« captures Berlin-based duo Narval (Peter Strickmann and Evgenija Wassilew) in a series of recordings made during a 2025 residency in the village of Schöppingen, Münsterland. Known for their use of everyday objects, self-built wind and percussion instruments, feedback systems, and small-scale electronics, Narval treat the performance space itself as a collaborator. In Schöppingen, this meant farmhouses, a parish church, a sculptor’s studio, and surrounding cornfields — each site imprinting its acoustics and atmosphere onto the performances. The result is a set of recordings where birds, insects, and ambient traces of rural life seep into the music, blurring the boundary between intentional gesture and environmental chance.

The title refers to chitin: the hard-yet-flexible material that forms insect shells, fungal walls, and crustacean exoskeletons. Like tape or rural matter, it is at once protective and permeable, tactile and intimate — qualities mirrored in the album’s sound world. By working with a deliberately limited palette of tools, Narval allow small sonic details to accumulate into shifting durations, giving each piece the strange, layered texture of surfaces both organic and mechanical. Chitin offers a portrait of site-specific listening where the line between instrument and environment continually dissolves.

Peter Strickmann – objects, smartphone, ceramophone, cornfield, iron bar Evgenija Wassilew – AM radio, prepared Stylophone, feedback, smartphone, Bastl Kastle, iron bar Recorded by Peter Strickmann and Evgenija Wassilew Mastered by Jacob Calland

A stunning re-envisaging of Sade ‘Cherish The Day’ in a upfront reggae style from singer Sailor Jane. It is produced by the great Michael Goldwasser. A side mixed by the maestro mixer Gregory Morris, the B side features a magnificent dub piece from Jallanzo The Dub Wizard.

The release comes on a criss 7inch housed in a beautiful picture sleeve designed by Madein876 Productions / Streets of Jamaica & formatted by Classic Blends.

Sailor Jane is out of Florida but has spent a lot of time in Jamaica honing her skills as a singer and musician. This track is taken from her album of Sade covers which is certainly worth checking out called No Ordinary Dub.

2025 Repress

Portland was produced by our mate Dave Clark aka Sparky and was the first record we released in 2002, about a year before the first ever Numbers party took place.

Originally recorded live to tape using an MMT8, a Microwave II, and an ESi32 in the summer of 1998, it was released on an old label of ours named Stuffrecords and formed part of a somewhat rambling compilation called STUFF001. We hastily stuck this record out without any proper distribution, because at the time we didn't know any better. Despite this the record did pretty well, selling 500 copies to a few select stores who had faith in what we were doing.

Fast forward a year or so to when Numbers kicked off and the track became one of the first bonafide anthems in the club. It was our tune and it would tear the roof off at any of our parties.

A couple of years later, we booked DJ Pete, aka Substance, to play. We're talking about the record in the pub when he suddenly informs us that Ricardo Villalobos is crazy about it and even charted it. This was a deep, almost Drexciyan electro track and here was the king of crazy experimental minimal house music caning it in his DJ sets.

Not long after that night, the Numbers label was up and running and the idea to re-release Portland with a remix from Mr Villalobos was brought up almost as a kind of pipe-dream. Now in 2013, with a little help from Gerd Janson, it has finally happened. Recorded live in one take and clocking in at over 30 minutes long, it's cited as an "experiment" by Ricardo. Designed to play at two speeds, at 33rpm its almost like an early 90s Black Dog track stretched out to infinity, whilst at 45rpm, it's a club-ready groover with an almost Dopplereffekt rhythm to it - the sort you could imagine sneaking into a DJ Assault or Godfather Ghettotech mix. Somehow, it also manages to be classic Villalobos.

To finish off the record Dave gave us a two unheard tracks from those original Portland sessions in 1998. The malevolent electro of 'Jigsaw' would instantly have become another Numbers anthem if only Dave had let us hear it ten years ago, and closer track 'Wilson St' heads down an ambient route.

Eager Buyers is an observation of longing, of memory, of attempted connection, of lost innocence, and irreconcilable dreams. It"s the sound of broken promises for a bright future, where rose-tinted glasses have lost their clarity, dirtied with disaffection over time. Across this sultry, smoky, cinematic epic, JASSS attempts to process mixed feelings amidst the modern malaise. Alluringly atmospheric and cerebral, but bold and direct, with high-spec sound design, JASSS spaces each element with expert definition. Searing swathes of noise nestle with crisp breakbeats, billowing bass, dark ambience, prepared piano, phosphorescent electronics and calibrated percussion.

First time reissue of this French cold-wave / minimal-synth treasure.



November 1981 – In the heart of autumn, we set off in two cars along the Nationale 1 (!) to reach Choisy-le-Roi, where a 16-track studio was waiting for us—a place where, over the course of a weekend, we would finally be able to carve our own grooves into vinyl. We were quite nervous, as Guerre Froide had already been around for a year and a half. Our elders in Kas Product had already released two EPs—one with four tracks, the other with three—in 1980, even though they’d started only a few months before us. Admittedly, there wasn’t really a sense of urgency—some of us came from the punk movement, where the prevailing mood was still very much No Future, even if we’d long since stopped believing in it... And yet others had truly lost everything, like those from the generation before us. The reasons, ironically, were often the same: heroin and/or love—hard drugs, in both cases.

Speaking of which, I had a terrible stomach ache—due to nerves or some form of tension—which forced us to make a pit stop in the Oise region so I could rush to the toilet of a local café. That same stomach discomfort would hit me again once we arrived at the studio—whose name, incidentally, I’ve since forgotten...

We had gotten there thanks to the generous initiative of a friend, Sylvain S., known as “Perlin” (what a phonetic coincidence!?), who had specifically created the Stechak Products label to produce our record. Stechak because it was consistent with his earlier association called Tchernoziom, and Products as a plural tribute to the trailblazers from Nancy.

Guerre Froide originally consisted of four members: Fabrice Fruchart on guitar-synth (Korg MS-20), Patrick Mallet on bass, and Gilbert Deffais, known as “Bébert”, on Korg drum machine. At the time, I was already singing in a rock/post-punk band called Stress, and that’s how Guerre Froide picked up the bad habit of rehearsing in the same basement in Amiens as Stress. Within a month or two, we had half a dozen songs. We then had the opportunity to record a 4-track demo with a friend from Radio France Picardie, and to perform in October at a festival held at the Amiens municipal circus. Then came the now-legendary concert on November 11 at B.J.’s Club. After that, we self-produced and released 50 completely DIY copies of a cassette titled Cicatrice. A few concerts later—after Jean-Michel Bailleux had joined us on bass and Patrick had switched to guitar, which felt more natural to him—and with more concrete plans starting to take shape, we had to find a new rehearsal space and start renting a room.

Then came the moment when Fabrice told us he was leaving to go study in Lille... After the June 19, 1981 concert, which was naturally dubbed “Farewell to 2F,” Marie-José, Bébert’s wife, offered to take over on synth.

That’s when Perlin, who was a close friend of the Deffais couple and a great fan of our music, offered to fully finance the production of a 4-track 12-inch EP—covering the studio time, mastering, pressing, and artwork. What up-and-coming band would have turned that down? An improvised contract was signed with each member of Guerre Froide. The first step was choosing which four songs we would record. Berlin 81 was an obvious pick, having already become the group’s flagship track. We wanted to avoid reusing songs from Cicatrice, so the focus shifted to new material—some written before, some after Fabrice’s departure. Ersatz, for example, was his composition, but Mauve and Peine Perdue, which were also selected, were both written by Patrick.

Originally released in 2023. Combining the mutant funk-punk looping of Battles and Tortoise with a cinematic wall of sound akin to that of post-rock titans Russian Circles, NYOS continue to contrast their outstanding compositional complexity with live improvisations. First explored on the 2022 LP `Celebration', this newfound call and response creative freedom on `Waterfall Cave Fantasy, Forever' sees NYOS reach new heights of playful chaos and uninhibited, soaring joy. Already renowned for their inimitable control over layers of looped guitars and polyrhythmic percussion, `Waterfall Cave Fantasy, Forever' sees Brooke and Kainulainen contrast their formidable precision with the chaotic potential of free-jazz inspired, call and response improvisation. Not only is this one-take compositional approach further testament to the astounding musical bond the friends share, it represents an exciting new chapter in NYOS' sonic evolution that can be felt on this record as much as it can be heard.

Originally released in 2023. Combining the mutant funk-punk looping of Battles and Tortoise with a cinematic wall of sound akin to that of post-rock titans Russian Circles, NYOS continue to contrast their outstanding compositional complexity with live improvisations. First explored on the 2022 LP `Celebration', this newfound call and response creative freedom on `Waterfall Cave Fantasy, Forever' sees NYOS reach new heights of playful chaos and uninhibited, soaring joy. Already renowned for their inimitable control over layers of looped guitars and polyrhythmic percussion, `Waterfall Cave Fantasy, Forever' sees Brooke and Kainulainen contrast their formidable precision with the chaotic potential of free-jazz inspired, call and response improvisation. Not only is this one-take compositional approach further testament to the astounding musical bond the friends share, it represents an exciting new chapter in NYOS' sonic evolution that can be felt on this record as much as it can be heard.

Crystal Clear Vinyl, limited to 1000 copies. Who were the first punks? Do The Damned have more of a shout than The Sex Pistols? The Stooges or Ramones? Gregg Deal, the acclaimed visual and performance artist behind his new project Dead Pioneers, is making a claim that Indigenous Americans were the first real punks. Deal suggests that the overarching theme of the album is "an introduction to the band itself". Created with a DIY disposition and the "love of a scene that saves lives", they reel off a roll call of marginalised groups and protected characteristics: "Indigenous rights, Black rights, Brown rights, Asian rights, Gay rights, Trans rights, Workers rights and beyond_". This is central to their identity and focus, saying that "with a North American Indigenous person as the vocalist, being unapologetically upfront on the social, political and cultural side of things doesn't seem necessary, but paramount to the overall tone of the band." This self-titled debut, coming in at a lithe 22 minutes with only one of the twelve tracks exceeding three minutes, is almost over before it begins, but covers a huge amount of ground in that time. Blistering opener 'Tired' sets out their stall; as with the whole album, it is passionate, but never preaching. Capitalised 'Political Music' can be hard to land without coming across as hectoring or earnest, but Deal's literary, humorous lyrics effortlessly cut through complex issues of marginalisation and colonialism.

Produziert von dem mit einem Grammy ausgezeichneten Produzenten Leon Michels (Norah Jones, Clairo) und mit musikalischen Beiträgen von Homer Steinweiss, Nick Movshon, Marco Benevento und Brainstory. Lady Wray meldet sich mit "Cover Girl", ihrem dritten Album bei Big Crown Records, mit Spannung erwartet zurück. Der Album-Opener "My Best Step" sagt alles: "My next step is my best step", und in der Tat hebt sie ihre künstlerische Leistung auf ein neues Niveau und macht die beste Musik ihres Lebens. Das feierliche "Cover Girl" nimmt den Hörer mit auf eine ausgelassene Spritztour, die von Soul und Disco der 60er und 70er Jahre, Hip-Hop und R&B der 90er Jahre und dem vielleicht wichtigsten Element, dem Gospel, geprägt ist. Nach dem 2022 veröffentlichten "Piece of Me" trat Nicole Monique Wray a.k.a. Lady Wray in der Late Show With Stephen Colbert und bei NPR's Tiny Desk auf und tourte durch die ganze Welt. "Cover Girl" ist mühelos und unbestreitbar der bisherige Höhepunkt ihrer langjährigen Zusammenarbeit mit dem Produzenten Leon Michels (Norah Jones / Clairo / El Michels Affair), die sich über ein Jahrzehnt erstreckt. "Ich habe mich mit diesem Album mehr der Liebe und der Selbstfürsorge zugewandt. Piece of Me war die Erkenntnis, dass ich Mutter werde, und all diese Gefühle lagen mir auf dem Herzen", sagt Lady Wray. "Jetzt kann ich mich zurücklehnen und eine echte Chefin sein. Ich habe meine Karriere, meine Mutterschaft und meine Ehe in den Griff bekommen. Ich bin zu einer selbstbewussteren und schöneren Werbeträgerin für Cover Girl geworden." Die Singer-Songwriterin mit der allmächtigen Stimme, den aufrüttelnden Texten und ihrer anziehenden Persönlichkeit erzählt von ihrer Wertschätzung für ihre Familie, ihrem Glauben und ihrer erneuerten Liebe zu sich selbst - all das ist der Antrieb für ihr neues Album. Die Leadsingle "You're Gonna Win" ist ein tanzbarer Feel-Good-Banger. Nicole lässt sich gehen, während sie ihre Macht benennt und einfordert: "I do not care who came before me, after me there will be none". Der Chor der Fabulous Rainbow Singers schließt sich dem Refrain an und bringt die ganze Angelegenheit in die Kirche und stellt sie neben die besten Gospel-Disco-Platten, die je gepresst wurden. "Be a Witness" ist ein funkiges Mid-Tempo-Kraftpaket, das Prince stolz machen würde. Nicole findet den perfekten Groove über druckvollen Drumcomputern und ansteckenden Synthesizern, singt über eine Liebe, die dazu bestimmt ist, zu geschehen, und verbreitet die guten Vibes an jeden in Hörweite. Der Titeltrack von Cover Girl ist einer der verletzlichsten Momente des Albums. Lady Wray liefert eine atemberaubende Darbietung in dem schlichten Stück, in dem sie ihre Reise zur Selbstfindung beschreibt: ""I lost myself trying to please someone else / I want to be me again." Der Titel leitet sich von einem Spitznamen aus ihrer Kindheit ab, den sie sich wegen ihres stets gepflegten Stils zulegte. Lady Wray erklärt. "Als ich erwachsen wurde und ins Musikgeschäft einstieg, verlor ich diesen glücklichen Teil von mir. Ich sehe dieses Glück in meiner Tochter, die einfach wunderschön, talentiert und klug ist. Mit ,Cover Girl' kehre ich zu diesem kleinen Mädchen zurück. Es geht darum, sich selbst wieder zu lieben". In ähnlicher Weise fordert sie in "Where Could I Be" das Glück und den Sinn für Identität zurück, den sie durch die Kämpfe des Lebens verloren hatte. In "Best For Us" und "Hard Times" schwärmt Nicole von ihrer Liebe und ihrem Respekt für ihre Ehe, wobei sie sowohl die Unvollkommenheit anerkennt als auch auf die Stärke und Widerstandsfähigkeit der wahren Liebe verweist. In "Higher" singt sie für ihre Tochter und lehrt sie, wie man liebt und geliebt wird, und ermutigt sie, beharrlich und ausdauernd zu sein. Lady Wray wurde geboren, um zu singen und ihre Seele und ihr Leben durch ihre Musik mit uns zu teilen. Mit ihren glaubwürdigen Botschaften und ihrer unvergleichlichen Stimme hat sie sich weltweit eine treue Fangemeinde geschaffen. Egal, ob sie von ihren Kämpfen oder ihren Stärken singt, es ist tröstlich zu hören, dass sie uns wissen lässt, dass wir nicht allein damit sind. Nicole Wray ist inspirierend und aufbauend. Sie hat viel durchgemacht und ist durch all das zu einem besseren Menschen und einer besseren Künstlerin geworden. "Du musst deine eigene Welt beherrschen. Lass niemanden in deinen Weg kommen. Du rockst mit deinen Träumen, bis die Räder abfallen", sagt Lady Wray. "Das ist es, was ich mit meiner Karriere seit 1998 mache. Ich weiß, wer ich bin und was ich auf den Tisch bringe. Es war eine Wahnsinnsreise, und ich bin so glücklich, die beste Musik meines Lebens zu machen."

Produziert von dem mit einem Grammy ausgezeichneten Produzenten Leon Michels (Norah Jones, Clairo) und mit musikalischen Beiträgen von Homer Steinweiss, Nick Movshon, Marco Benevento und Brainstory. Lady Wray meldet sich mit "Cover Girl", ihrem dritten Album bei Big Crown Records, mit Spannung erwartet zurück. Der Album-Opener "My Best Step" sagt alles: "My next step is my best step", und in der Tat hebt sie ihre künstlerische Leistung auf ein neues Niveau und macht die beste Musik ihres Lebens. Das feierliche "Cover Girl" nimmt den Hörer mit auf eine ausgelassene Spritztour, die von Soul und Disco der 60er und 70er Jahre, Hip-Hop und R&B der 90er Jahre und dem vielleicht wichtigsten Element, dem Gospel, geprägt ist. Nach dem 2022 veröffentlichten "Piece of Me" trat Nicole Monique Wray a.k.a. Lady Wray in der Late Show With Stephen Colbert und bei NPR's Tiny Desk auf und tourte durch die ganze Welt. "Cover Girl" ist mühelos und unbestreitbar der bisherige Höhepunkt ihrer langjährigen Zusammenarbeit mit dem Produzenten Leon Michels (Norah Jones / Clairo / El Michels Affair), die sich über ein Jahrzehnt erstreckt. "Ich habe mich mit diesem Album mehr der Liebe und der Selbstfürsorge zugewandt. Piece of Me war die Erkenntnis, dass ich Mutter werde, und all diese Gefühle lagen mir auf dem Herzen", sagt Lady Wray. "Jetzt kann ich mich zurücklehnen und eine echte Chefin sein. Ich habe meine Karriere, meine Mutterschaft und meine Ehe in den Griff bekommen. Ich bin zu einer selbstbewussteren und schöneren Werbeträgerin für Cover Girl geworden." Die Singer-Songwriterin mit der allmächtigen Stimme, den aufrüttelnden Texten und ihrer anziehenden Persönlichkeit erzählt von ihrer Wertschätzung für ihre Familie, ihrem Glauben und ihrer erneuerten Liebe zu sich selbst - all das ist der Antrieb für ihr neues Album. Die Leadsingle "You're Gonna Win" ist ein tanzbarer Feel-Good-Banger. Nicole lässt sich gehen, während sie ihre Macht benennt und einfordert: "I do not care who came before me, after me there will be none". Der Chor der Fabulous Rainbow Singers schließt sich dem Refrain an und bringt die ganze Angelegenheit in die Kirche und stellt sie neben die besten Gospel-Disco-Platten, die je gepresst wurden. "Be a Witness" ist ein funkiges Mid-Tempo-Kraftpaket, das Prince stolz machen würde. Nicole findet den perfekten Groove über druckvollen Drumcomputern und ansteckenden Synthesizern, singt über eine Liebe, die dazu bestimmt ist, zu geschehen, und verbreitet die guten Vibes an jeden in Hörweite. Der Titeltrack von Cover Girl ist einer der verletzlichsten Momente des Albums. Lady Wray liefert eine atemberaubende Darbietung in dem schlichten Stück, in dem sie ihre Reise zur Selbstfindung beschreibt: ""I lost myself trying to please someone else / I want to be me again." Der Titel leitet sich von einem Spitznamen aus ihrer Kindheit ab, den sie sich wegen ihres stets gepflegten Stils zulegte. Lady Wray erklärt. "Als ich erwachsen wurde und ins Musikgeschäft einstieg, verlor ich diesen glücklichen Teil von mir. Ich sehe dieses Glück in meiner Tochter, die einfach wunderschön, talentiert und klug ist. Mit ,Cover Girl' kehre ich zu diesem kleinen Mädchen zurück. Es geht darum, sich selbst wieder zu lieben". In ähnlicher Weise fordert sie in "Where Could I Be" das Glück und den Sinn für Identität zurück, den sie durch die Kämpfe des Lebens verloren hatte. In "Best For Us" und "Hard Times" schwärmt Nicole von ihrer Liebe und ihrem Respekt für ihre Ehe, wobei sie sowohl die Unvollkommenheit anerkennt als auch auf die Stärke und Widerstandsfähigkeit der wahren Liebe verweist. In "Higher" singt sie für ihre Tochter und lehrt sie, wie man liebt und geliebt wird, und ermutigt sie, beharrlich und ausdauernd zu sein. Lady Wray wurde geboren, um zu singen und ihre Seele und ihr Leben durch ihre Musik mit uns zu teilen. Mit ihren glaubwürdigen Botschaften und ihrer unvergleichlichen Stimme hat sie sich weltweit eine treue Fangemeinde geschaffen. Egal, ob sie von ihren Kämpfen oder ihren Stärken singt, es ist tröstlich zu hören, dass sie uns wissen lässt, dass wir nicht allein damit sind. Nicole Wray ist inspirierend und aufbauend. Sie hat viel durchgemacht und ist durch all das zu einem besseren Menschen und einer besseren Künstlerin geworden. "Du musst deine eigene Welt beherrschen. Lass niemanden in deinen Weg kommen. Du rockst mit deinen Träumen, bis die Räder abfallen", sagt Lady Wray. "Das ist es, was ich mit meiner Karriere seit 1998 mache. Ich weiß, wer ich bin und was ich auf den Tisch bringe. Es war eine Wahnsinnsreise, und ich bin so glücklich, die beste Musik meines Lebens zu machen."

Produziert von dem mit einem Grammy ausgezeichneten Produzenten Leon Michels (Norah Jones, Clairo) und mit musikalischen Beiträgen von Homer Steinweiss, Nick Movshon, Marco Benevento und Brainstory. Lady Wray meldet sich mit "Cover Girl", ihrem dritten Album bei Big Crown Records, mit Spannung erwartet zurück. Der Album-Opener "My Best Step" sagt alles: "My next step is my best step", und in der Tat hebt sie ihre künstlerische Leistung auf ein neues Niveau und macht die beste Musik ihres Lebens. Das feierliche "Cover Girl" nimmt den Hörer mit auf eine ausgelassene Spritztour, die von Soul und Disco der 60er und 70er Jahre, Hip-Hop und R&B der 90er Jahre und dem vielleicht wichtigsten Element, dem Gospel, geprägt ist. Nach dem 2022 veröffentlichten "Piece of Me" trat Nicole Monique Wray a.k.a. Lady Wray in der Late Show With Stephen Colbert und bei NPR's Tiny Desk auf und tourte durch die ganze Welt. "Cover Girl" ist mühelos und unbestreitbar der bisherige Höhepunkt ihrer langjährigen Zusammenarbeit mit dem Produzenten Leon Michels (Norah Jones / Clairo / El Michels Affair), die sich über ein Jahrzehnt erstreckt. "Ich habe mich mit diesem Album mehr der Liebe und der Selbstfürsorge zugewandt. Piece of Me war die Erkenntnis, dass ich Mutter werde, und all diese Gefühle lagen mir auf dem Herzen", sagt Lady Wray. "Jetzt kann ich mich zurücklehnen und eine echte Chefin sein. Ich habe meine Karriere, meine Mutterschaft und meine Ehe in den Griff bekommen. Ich bin zu einer selbstbewussteren und schöneren Werbeträgerin für Cover Girl geworden." Die Singer-Songwriterin mit der allmächtigen Stimme, den aufrüttelnden Texten und ihrer anziehenden Persönlichkeit erzählt von ihrer Wertschätzung für ihre Familie, ihrem Glauben und ihrer erneuerten Liebe zu sich selbst - all das ist der Antrieb für ihr neues Album. Die Leadsingle "You're Gonna Win" ist ein tanzbarer Feel-Good-Banger. Nicole lässt sich gehen, während sie ihre Macht benennt und einfordert: "I do not care who came before me, after me there will be none". Der Chor der Fabulous Rainbow Singers schließt sich dem Refrain an und bringt die ganze Angelegenheit in die Kirche und stellt sie neben die besten Gospel-Disco-Platten, die je gepresst wurden. "Be a Witness" ist ein funkiges Mid-Tempo-Kraftpaket, das Prince stolz machen würde. Nicole findet den perfekten Groove über druckvollen Drumcomputern und ansteckenden Synthesizern, singt über eine Liebe, die dazu bestimmt ist, zu geschehen, und verbreitet die guten Vibes an jeden in Hörweite. Der Titeltrack von Cover Girl ist einer der verletzlichsten Momente des Albums. Lady Wray liefert eine atemberaubende Darbietung in dem schlichten Stück, in dem sie ihre Reise zur Selbstfindung beschreibt: ""I lost myself trying to please someone else / I want to be me again." Der Titel leitet sich von einem Spitznamen aus ihrer Kindheit ab, den sie sich wegen ihres stets gepflegten Stils zulegte. Lady Wray erklärt. "Als ich erwachsen wurde und ins Musikgeschäft einstieg, verlor ich diesen glücklichen Teil von mir. Ich sehe dieses Glück in meiner Tochter, die einfach wunderschön, talentiert und klug ist. Mit ,Cover Girl' kehre ich zu diesem kleinen Mädchen zurück. Es geht darum, sich selbst wieder zu lieben". In ähnlicher Weise fordert sie in "Where Could I Be" das Glück und den Sinn für Identität zurück, den sie durch die Kämpfe des Lebens verloren hatte. In "Best For Us" und "Hard Times" schwärmt Nicole von ihrer Liebe und ihrem Respekt für ihre Ehe, wobei sie sowohl die Unvollkommenheit anerkennt als auch auf die Stärke und Widerstandsfähigkeit der wahren Liebe verweist. In "Higher" singt sie für ihre Tochter und lehrt sie, wie man liebt und geliebt wird, und ermutigt sie, beharrlich und ausdauernd zu sein. Lady Wray wurde geboren, um zu singen und ihre Seele und ihr Leben durch ihre Musik mit uns zu teilen. Mit ihren glaubwürdigen Botschaften und ihrer unvergleichlichen Stimme hat sie sich weltweit eine treue Fangemeinde geschaffen. Egal, ob sie von ihren Kämpfen oder ihren Stärken singt, es ist tröstlich zu hören, dass sie uns wissen lässt, dass wir nicht allein damit sind. Nicole Wray ist inspirierend und aufbauend. Sie hat viel durchgemacht und ist durch all das zu einem besseren Menschen und einer besseren Künstlerin geworden. "Du musst deine eigene Welt beherrschen. Lass niemanden in deinen Weg kommen. Du rockst mit deinen Träumen, bis die Räder abfallen", sagt Lady Wray. "Das ist es, was ich mit meiner Karriere seit 1998 mache. Ich weiß, wer ich bin und was ich auf den Tisch bringe. Es war eine Wahnsinnsreise, und ich bin so glücklich, die beste Musik meines Lebens zu machen."

Cate Le Bons siebtes Album 'Michelangelo Dying', dessen Entstehung von purer Emotion geleitet wurde, hat das Album, das sie zu machen glaubte, verdrängt. Als Produkt eines alles verzehrenden Herzschmerzes überwanden ihre Gefühle ihren Widerwillen, ein Album über die Liebe zu schreiben, und wurden in diesem Prozess zu einer Art Exorzismus. Herausgekommen ist ein wunderbar schillernder Versuch, eine Wunde zu fotografieren, bevor sie sich schließt - und dabei auch in ihr zu stochern.

Musikalisch gibt es eine Fortsetzung und Erweiterung eines Sounds - eine Maschine mit Herz -, der auf ihren letzten beiden Platten 'Reward' (2019) und 'Pompeii' (2022) Gestalt angenommen hat, da Le Bon zunehmend selbst die Kontrolle über das Spielen und Produzieren übernommen hat. Wenn Gitarren und Saxophone durch Pedale gepresst und Perkussion und Stimmen durch Filter gejagt werden, entsteht ein schillernder, grüner und seidiger Sound, in dem die künstlerischen Eigenheiten von David Bowie, Nico, John McGeoch und Laurie Anderson aufblitzen und wieder verschwinden.

Was übrig bleibt, ist eine sich ständig verändernde, kontinuierliche Einheit, eine Art Songzyklus. Jede Iteration reflektiert die letzte und entwickelt sie weiter. „Jede ist eine Scherbe desselben zerbrochenen Spiegels“: Sie verschiebt sich, glitzert, verbirgt und enthüllt, je nachdem, wie sie im Licht gedreht wird. Letztendlich gibt es, so Cate, „keine Enthüllungen. Keine Schlussfolgerungen. Es gibt keinen Grund. Es gibt nur Wiederholungen und Chaos. Ich habe mir schließlich erlaubt, einen offenen Geist zu haben, um es ohne Widerstand zu erleben, ohne nach einer Offenbarung oder Ordnung zu suchen.“

'Michelangelo Dying' ist eine Übung in der Viszeralität des Lebens, der Liebe und der Menschlichkeit, sowohl für den Hörer als auch für die Künstlerin selbst, und es weiß, was es heißt Halt zu geben, gehalten zu werden aber auch sich ganz und gar allein zu fühlen. „Die Figuren sind austauschbar“, schließt Cate, „aber am Ende bin ich es, der sich selbst begegnet.“

- LP: (Vollfarbige Hülle, 140g schwarzes Vinyl, bedruckte Innenhülle und Download-Karte)

The Rachel's band began when Jason Noble joined forces with Christian Frederickson. Within months of their meeting on a crowded trolley, they had formed a small ensemble to perform original compositions. In the next three years, madness ensued. Christian finished his degree at the Peabody Conserva-tory of Music, traveled to Switzerland to study, returned home, then wound up in NYC to attend the Julliard School. Jason didn't finish his degree, moved back to Louisville, began employment as an artist by day, dishwasher by night, and be-gan working with friends in a band that would become Rodan. This insane, all over the world life-style, led to a barrage of telephone, demo tape, notepaper, sheet music & mail communication. This, combined with sporadic two-week or two-day person-to-person collaborations in whatever city was central enough, became the bizarre process of the music. During this long gestation, Rachel Grimes became involved, first assisting Jason in his brute comprehension of written music, then joining as a pianist & confidant. Soon she was fully entrenched, providing the strange coincidence of possessing the name "Rachel," and an incredible backbone to the project. Several recordings had been finished, some in the studio, hundreds of 8-track cassettes, a few jambox cuts, but the time for a concentrated attempt at an LP seemed far away. Finally, Rachel, Christian, & Jason began assembling musicians who they respected; John, Mark and Barry from the Chicago supergroup The Coctails, Kevin Coul-tas from Rodan, Bob Weston, and several other string players from various walks of life. The result was a group of semi-vagrants, some reading from sheet music, some rambunctious noisemakers, working from an equally improvisational and tight-assed way. The real character comes from the musicians involved, participating in what can only be called a "labor of love." Handwriting, the band's debut album, was originally released by Quarterstick Records in 1995. Jacket custom screen-printed by Jeff Mueller at Dexterity Press.

Italian cinematic funk legends Calibro 35 continue their journey into the world of cinematic jazz-funk. "Exploration" marks their return to independent label Record Kicks after their last studio album "Nouvelle Aventures" released on Universal Music in 2023. The band picks up from their latest EP, "Jazzploitation," released on Record Kicks last October. "Exploration" is a deep dive into the universe of cinematic jazz-funk, showcasing both the band's reinterpretations of timeless classics such as Roy Ayers' "Coffy" or Bob James "Nautilus" and original compositions by the band such us the lead single "Reptile Strut", the jazz-funk stormer "The Twang" and the soulful cinematic number "Pied De Poule". An exploration and a new journey for the Milanese combo that a long its way pays homage to artists such as Lalo Schifrin (Mission Impossible), Italian Maestro Piero Umiliani (Discomania and Gassman Blues) and Herbie Hancock (Chamelon). Described by Rolling Stone as "the most fascinating, retro-maniac and genuine thing that has happened to Italy in the past few years," Milan-based Calibro 35 enjoy a worldwide reputation as one of the coolest independent bands around. Active since 2007, during their long career, they have been sampled by Dr. Dre on Compton ("One Shot One Kill" feat. Snoop Dogg), Jay-Z ("Picasso Baby"), The Child of Lov & Damon Albarn ("One Day"), and Demigodz ("The Summer Of Sam"). They have played major venues and festivals all over Europe, and as unique musicians, they have collaborated with, among others, PJ Harvey, Mike Patton, John Parish, Stewart Copeland, and Rokia Traoré. FOR FANS OF... Piero Umiliani, El Michels Affair, Idris Muhammad, Surprise Chef, Nu Genea, Khruangbin, Snarky Puppy, The Cinematic Orchestra, Comet is Coming, Kamasi Washington