Buscar:travels

Powel returns to All Day I Dream to release his newest celestial sonic masterpiece, the Piano Reeves EP

Enter the ethereal sonic realm of Paul Chriske, the German musical maestro known as Powel, who specializes in “creating harmonious illusions of sound.” Powel is a longtime family member of Lee Burridge’s All Day I Dream imprint, having first released on the label in 2015. Releasing his four track Piano Reeves EP on May 19, Powel returns to All Day I Dream to release his first record with the label since his The Beauty of a Polaroid album in 2020.

A pianist since youth, Powel's extensive experiences from a lifetime of performing with bands and orchestras has imbued his music with depth and complexity. Finding inspiration in the people and places he encounters on his travels, Powel draws from a vast and nuanced musical palette. Piano Reeves epitomizes Powel's unique touch as a producer, weaving together warm celestial vibes, airy atmospheres, and delicate rhythms.

Kundan Lal is a highly understated artist. Little is known about his background, though some refer to him as Kunsaf Halil, his personal life remains largely a mystery.

Gathering a cult following amongst people like Den Sorte Skole or DJ Marcelle with his previous releases, he is now set to sail new shores. There is a sense of wanderlust as he opens his box of field recordings, collected on his many travels. From the buzzing streets of Alexandria, early sunday markets in Tafraoute or a crackling bonfire down by the banks of the river Ganges. Each track takes you places.

Kundan's second album is a captivating blend of dubby beats, collages, and exotic instrumentation. Drawing from classic tools like the Roland 808, SC7 and the famous Space Echo, Kundan has created a unique and minimalistic sound that is sure to captivate listeners. At once nostalgic and experimental, "Power of Ra" is a must-listen for both electronic music purists and fans of adventurous soundscapes.

Compelled to work from home on his computer during lockdown, Kundan dusted his pawnshop e-piano, downloaded some orchestral soundkits and started to digitize almost forgotten field recordings. The "Power of Ra“ came to him.

“Illgrimage” is a good example of his approach. Combining atmospheric soundscapes with swirling strings, trombones and pianos. Echoes of birds and children playing in the streets. A small town filled with life and a theremin leading the way while you hear the faint yet powerful words of Greta Thunberg saying: "Imagine...“

“Raqaqa,” a powerful orchestral journey with a hip-hop edge. Tinkling chimes add a groovy vibe, while lush layers of wind instruments weave a masterful soundscape. It’s the slow-burning intensity of this track that pulls you in.

"Nasi Chip" is a signature song that exemplifies Kundan Lal’s musical prowess. An engaging beat coupled with chopped up vocals, 8-bit synth melodies and an arpeggiated piano provide an energetic atmosphere that is both cunning and unique.

”Cen" lures you into the egyptian realm. A Harmonium slithers serpent like around a pounding beat.Horns gently swaying to the rhythm of the desert.

It is hard to put your finger on his style or genre. You can feel Kundan Lal‘s DIY spirit in his production, carving his own ethnic genre. For enthusiasts of Roberto Musci or Muslimgauze, this avant-garde album is one for your collection. Keep your senses open and let the Power of Ra pass you to another world.

Drop a needle on Psyché's debut album and you'll see visions, or rather Mediterranean visions, be they of waves of heat shimmering above dunes of sand, or of women dancing around a bonfire on a rocky plain, or of bushy cliffs overlooking emerald-green and turquoise sea. The name Psyché is of course ancient Greek for 'soul' or 'mind', signifying the band's love of psychedelic funk, but also the wide range of Mediterranean influences – from Southern Europe to the Balkan Peninsula, and from Anatolia to the Maghreb – that provide an endless source of inspiration for their hypnotic sound and minimalist style.

Psyché members Marcello Giannini (Guru, Nu Genea, Slivovitz), Andrea De Fazio (Parbleu, Nu Genea, Funkin Machine) and Paolo Petrella (Nu Genea) have been active in the Naples music scene for almost two decades, most notably during the first wave of the new Neapolitan Power movement (Slivovitz, Revenaz Quartet). Over the years they have often crossed paths and collaborated on side projects in various genres (math-rock duo Arduo and, more recently, synth-pop duo Fratelli Malibu), before working together as the rhythm section of Nu Genea's live band. Following their first tour with Nu Genea in 2018, they started Psyché with the intent of exploring more minimalist styles and making music with just a few elements.

A unique combination of psychedelia, groove and improvisation, the music of Psyché goes back to the roots of our future; it evokes visions of a mythical past, blending centuries-old music traditions and mixing them with modern genres. Like a warm Mediterranean breeze, it travels across lands, seas and eras, distilling essential rhythms and cosmic pulsations.

The album's opener "Kuma" (titled after the first ancient Greek colony on the Italian mainland, now an archeological site near Naples) is like a vibrant, magical wave. With its deliberately simple harmony and sharp guitar riffs, it travels across the Mediterranean from Italy to North Africa, first lapping gently on Greek and Turkish shores – with some compositional elements reminiscent of Italian pop legend Lucio Battisti – and then speeding up and landing on the driving, syncopated rhythms of afrobeat. While listening to it your eyes fill with images of small white houses shining in the sun, of fig trees heavy with fruit, of spice bazaars and colourful medinas, and you can almost feel the desert wind blowing in your hair.

The journey continues with two examples of Psyché's bold and elegant approach to contemporary afrobeat and cumbia fusion: "Cumbia Mahàre" and "Amma". The former combines minimal synths and exhilarating rhythmic patterns of drums, percussion, guitar and bass, drawing us into the movements of an imaginary ritual dance (the term mahàre was used in Southern Italian dialects to indicate witches). Next is the cinematic and mysterious ambiance of "Angizia" (a snake goddess worshipped by the Marsi in ancient Italy), another fascinating mixture of different sonic traditions and cultures where hip-hop/funk drums are blended with Maghreb influences, Balkan echoes, and hypnotic, Theremin-like synths that have sort of a sci-fi movie quality to them.

The title track "Psyché", with its uptempo afro-rhythms, ethereal vocalizations and refined percussion, is almost a manifesto of the band's style and confirms the freshness of their minimalism, which is not afraid of taking in the sun of lands confined between the sea and the desert. The following "Manea" (named after the Roman-Etruscan goddess of the dead) is an afro-funk number with smooth and introspective dreamy jazz touches, and with an arrangement dominated by a guitar that, dripping notes like drops of water, creates a delicate, cinematic sound. Next, we come to "Hekate" (the Greek goddess of magic, witchcraft and crossroads), a track that fuses psychedelia, spacious Latin guitars and a fast, tight groove. The album comes to a close with the exquisite melodic ballad "Kelebek", which seamlessly combines hip-hop drums and dreamy guitars, and whose warm, flowing sonorities and evocative atmospheres conjure the image of a butterfly (which is what kelebek means, in Turkish) floating over the Mediterranean and, from there, the world.

Bedouin aka Tamer Malki and Rami Abousabe are to release their long awaited and adventurous debut album Temple of Dreams on their own label Human By Default this Spring.

Over the course of the pandemic, Malki and Abousabe spent a great amount of time finalizing songs created in the past 7 years, composing, song writing, singing, and working on numerous projects including collaborations and new originals. Temple of Dreams was shaped from these sessions and captures the enigmatic sound of the versatile, forward-thinking group.

Malki explains that the album looks to “experiment and push the boundaries.” It differs from their previous work, as the album is intended to be a deep listening experience for the fans, rather than a slew of club cuts. The multi-talented artists sought to create a timeless sound in Temple of Dreams. Malki outlines that the album lies between “what we play on stages around the world and what we’re capable of writing and producing as musicians and producers. We wanted to exceed expectations and present something that you might think or feel you’ve heard before, yet it's something completely new and not what might be expected from us.”

It starts with the enchanting sounds and candle lit grooves of Rise And Fall then journeys far and wide through the Eastern string sounds of Coldman featuring Nathan Daisy, darkly alluring vocals and mystic rhythms of Voices In My Head and the hypnotic melodic leads of Crazy feat. Iveta Mukuchyan. Elsewhere the richness of Bedouin's sound makes for spellbinding listening on tracks like Hokema Feat. Delaram and Flore Chico feat. Chico Castillo with its alluring Spanish vocals. Love And Hate is a more dynamic and punchier house cut while Fill The Space is an intriguing mix of melodic magic, authentic instrumentation and smooth rolling grooves.

The musicians, singer-songwriters, and producers in Bedouin have spent the better part of a decade fine-tuning their sound, which draws as much from their Middle Eastern heritage as it does their world travels as DJs playing iconic venues across the globe. They have pioneered a distinctive and timeless sound on some of the world’s most notable labels such as Crosstown Rebels, Get Physical, All Day I Dream, and recently their own imprint—Human By Default.

Select major label releases include remixes for Black Coffee and Virgil Abloh on Ultra and Sony/Universal and as well as calling Burning Man home they have their own iconic Ibiza party, Saga, at Pacha each week of summer, and play major events such as Coachella, Tomorrowland, and Art Basel and venues like Ushuaïa, Wynn Las Vegas as well as a ground-breaking Cercle set filmed in Petra, Jordan.

This much anticipated debut album shows yet another side and the artistic development for this influential pair.

Voice Magnetic by Hainbach is the enigmatic Berlin based artist’s sonic diary of 2022. On his sixth release on Seil Records, Stefan Goetsch collages the sounds he made and the ones that surrounded him over the course of twelve months into a powerfully intimate ambient experience.

In his studio or on travels — Hainbach always is working on new material and allows the locations he records his tracks in to find their way into the music. Consequently, on many tracks you can can hear the outside bleeding in — seagulls and waves on "Izmir", the voices of his children while record the piano or the sirens of Neukölln’s police cars in background.

The connecting threads between these pieces are magnetic tape and the human voice — hiss and breath. The result are 15 immersive ambient pieces that make up Voice Magnetic. Often short like the moments that spark them. Fading and intricate, honest and pure.

Based out of Berlin, Germany, electro-acoustic music composer and performer Hainbach creates shifting audio landscapes, using esoteric synthesizers, nuclear test equipment, magnetic tape and a collection of idiophones. Hainbach has become known for his immersive live shows and an unique sound that is both abstract yet very much a corporal experience. Otherworldly and intimate, raw and heartfelt. On his wildly popular YouTube channel, Hainbach shares his love for experimental music techniques and his passion for forgotten machines with a wide audience. Inspiring over one hundred thousand each week to explore synthesis, electronics - and to leave beaten paths.

Magic Source invites you to a journey to the obscure side of disco music.

Led by producer & notorious tape operator Björn Wagner (of Mighty Mocambos, Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band and Mocambo Records), the group follows up on their rootsy cosmic debut LP Earthrising and last year's EP Riviera Drive, whose stunning flute jazz cover of “Genius of Love” is also featured on this longplayer.

Further exploring the more unusual facets of disco in its otherworldly and international stylings, Voyage Spectral travels through a wide musical scope, ranging from “lost” tropical grooves, Mediterranean funk, outernational boogie, to cosmic sci-fi soundtracks. All 100% organic - created by real musicians with real vintage instruments, captured on 16-track analog tape.

An all-star cast of musicians invites you to a fantasy trip where angelic voices blend with spaced-out synths, ethnic string instruments interplay with sharp horn lines while the rhythm section is holding down a polyrhythmic puzzle of guitars, clavinets, B-3, drums and percussions.

In 1980, Genesis P-Orridge and Peter 'Sleazy' Christopherson (then of Throbbing Gristle renown) travelled to New York City to meet up at the fortified apartment, known as The Bunker, of famed beat writer and cultural pioneer William S. Burroughs and his executor James Grauerholz to starting the daunting task to compile the experimental sounds works of Burroughs, which, up until that point, had never been heard. During those visits, Burroughs would play back his tape recorder experiments featuring his spoken word 'cut-ups', collaged field recordings from his travels and his flirtations with EVP recording techniques, pioneered by Latvian intellectual Konstantins Raudive. Throughout the next year, P-Orridge, Christopherson and Grauerholz would spent countless hours compiling various edits, each collection showcasing Burroughs sensitive ear and keen experimental prowess for audio anomaly within technical limitations. By the time 1981 came through, Burroughs had relocated to Lawrence, KS in which to escape the violence and mania of New York City life. It is in Lawrence that P-Orridge and Christopherson put the finishing touches on the record that would be known as 'Nothing Here Now but the Recordings'. The album would come out in the Spring of 1981 as the final release for the shuttering Industrial Records, brought about by the dissolution of Throbbing Gristle. The album remained out of print until 1998 when John Giorno and the Giorno Poetry Systems included the album on a multi-disc retrospective CD box set compiling the majority of Burroughs seminal recordings.

In 1980, Genesis P-Orridge and Peter 'Sleazy' Christopherson (then of Throbbing Gristle renown) travelled to New York City to meet up at the fortified apartment, known as The Bunker, of famed beat writer and cultural pioneer William S. Burroughs and his executor James Grauerholz to starting the daunting task to compile the experimental sounds works of Burroughs, which, up until that point, had never been heard. During those visits, Burroughs would play back his tape recorder experiments featuring his spoken word 'cut-ups', collaged field recordings from his travels and his flirtations with EVP recording techniques, pioneered by Latvian intellectual Konstantins Raudive. Throughout the next year, P-Orridge, Christopherson and Grauerholz would spent countless hours compiling various edits, each collection showcasing Burroughs sensitive ear and keen experimental prowess for audio anomaly within technical limitations. By the time 1981 came through, Burroughs had relocated to Lawrence, KS in which to escape the violence and mania of New York City life. It is in Lawrence that P-Orridge and Christopherson put the finishing touches on the record that would be known as 'Nothing Here Now but the Recordings'. The album would come out in the Spring of 1981 as the final release for the shuttering Industrial Records, brought about by the dissolution of Throbbing Gristle. The album remained out of print until 1998 when John Giorno and the Giorno Poetry Systems included the album on a multi-disc retrospective CD box set compiling the majority of Burroughs seminal recordings.

Repress!

Using an old door, 17 strings, chopsticks and combining them with phasers, echo units and amplification, the new device was to become his signature sound, mixing Irish folk influences with Asian and North African sounds in a mesmerising and soulful new way that brought him to the attention of the leading improvisers of his day - Alice Coltrane, Ravi Shankar, Don Cherry and more.

A logical follow up to AllChival's recent reissue of Stano's debut LP, Michael O'Shea's self titled LP was originally released on Wire's Dome Imprint in 1982.

The background to the album is as interesting and inspiring as the artist who created it - born in Northern Ireland but raised in the Republic, O'Shea was keen to travel and escape the troubles of his home.

Wandering throughout Europe and the Middle East, O'Shea found himself living and working as a relief aid in Bangladesh in the mid Seventies where he learned to play sitar while recovering from a bout of hepatitis. A later period spent busking in France accompanied on zelochord by Algerian musician Kris Hosylan Harp led to O'Shea's idea of combining both instruments as a homebuilt instrument - Mo Chara (Irish for "My Friend").

He later described the process on the back of the LP himself saying:

"Having sold my sitar in Germany and being desperate for money to travel to Turkey, I conceived of the idea of combining both sitar and zelochord. The first Mo Cara was born, taken from the middle of a door, which was rescued from a skip in Munchen"

A combination of dulcimer, zelochord and sitar, O Shea would play it with a pair of chopsticks, striking the strings softly using Irish folk rhythms mixed with the rich, nostalgic sounds of of the many Asian artists he'd encountered on his travels.

It was a pan cultural sound standing at an unusual crossroads of folk, traditional, rock, progressive, jazz, electronic and post-punk worlds without hesitation.

Perfecting the instrument on the streets, there were further spells spent busking in the underground stations and cafes of London's West End and Covent Garden during the heady days of the 1970s when they were full of eccentric street entertainers, jazz improvisers and musical pioneers.

His work with Rick Wakeman never saw the light of day but O'Shea's contact with the world of post-punk London ensured his name would live on.

Introduced to Wire's Bruce Gilbert and Graham Lewis via cartoonist Tom Johnston, O'Shea eventually acquiesced to an open invite to record at their studio. Turning up unannounced in the summer of 1981 the LP was recorded in a day in the legendary Blackwing Studios and released on Dome the year after.

The first side features the fifteen minute masterpiece "No Journeys End" with the B side featuring more input from Wire in processing the Mo Chara sound.

Lewis himself said years later of the forgotten masterpiece: 'I always said it was the best job we ever did.'

After an aborted LP with The The's Matt Johnson the following year, O'Shea quietly disappeared from the formal recording world and his brief but unique contribution to the music world came to a sad end in 1991 when O'Shea was struck by a post van and died a few days later in hospital in London.

This repress on All City's AllChival imprint has been remastered and reissued with the approval of both Dome and his surviving siblings.

Drop a needle on Psyché's debut double-sider – the debut album is out on May 19th – and you'll see visions, or rather Mediterranean visions, be they of waves of heat shimmering above dunes of sand, or of women dancing around a bonfire on a rocky plain, or of bushy cliffs overlooking emerald-green and turquoise sea. The name Psyché is of course ancient Greek for 'soul' or 'mind',signifying the band's love of psychedelic funk, but also the wide range of Mediterranean influences – from Southern Europe to the Balkan Peninsula, and from Anatolia to the Maghreb – that provide an endless source of inspiration for their hypnotic sound and minimalist style.

Psyché members Marcello Giannini (Guru, Nu Genea, Slivovitz), Andrea De Fazio (Parbleu, Nu Genea, Funkin Machine) and Paolo Petrella (Nu Genea) have been active in the Naples music scene for almost two decades, most notably during the first wave of the new Neapolitan Power movement (Slivovitz, Revenaz Quartet). Over the years they have often crossed paths and collaborated on side projects in various genres (math-rock duo Arduo and, more recently, Italo-disco duo Fratelli Malibu), before working together as the rhythm section of Nu Genea's live band. Following their first tour with Nu Genea in 2018, they started Psyché with the intent of exploring more minimalist styles and making musicwith just a few elements.

A unique combination of psychedelia, groove and improvisation, the music of Psyché goes back to the roots of our future; it evokes visions of a mythical past, blending centuries-old music traditions and mixing them with modern genres. Like a warm Mediterranean breeze, it travels across lands, seas and eras, distilling essential rhythms and cosmic pulsations.

"Cumbia Mahàre", on side A of the 7-inch, dives deep into the origins of rhythm, drawing us into the movements of an imaginary ritual dance (the term mahàre was used in Southern Italian dialects to indicate witches). Through the interplay between minimal synths and exhilarating rhythmic patterns of drums, percussion, guitar and bass, Psyché take a fresh and bold approach to contemporary afrobeat and cumbia fusion.

"Ophis", on side B, is a mesmeric blend of African, Balkan and Turkish rhythms and sounds. Ethereal vocalizations and warm, hypnotic bass lines combine with psychedelic riffs and haunting melodies on guitar to evoke ancient cultures whose spiritslithers like a snake across the dunes of a sun-scorched desert.

The debut release on the Finnish occult themed insignia Summon Titans sees label manager New Gods take an introductionary journey to the abyss. The intensely built EP travels through various styles of techno with influences from electro, EBM, 90's trance and breakbeat.

Descend into the vast underwater world of Melbourne/Naarm producer LOIF. LOIF's imagination of the mysterious world beneath the shores needs not words to describe it, but your ears to envision it. 'Plunge' presents four tracks of varying liquid moods which illustrate LOIF's versatility and tendency to hop between genres and moods. 'Plunge' travels through the depths and rhythms of techno, electro, bass, breaks, psy, glued together by a bubbly warmth reminiscent of oceanic exploration and dance floor groove.

Alex Albrecht returns in 2023 to Analogue Attic with 'Coles Ridge'.

The album is built on the foundation of field recordings that Alex has captured during his travels, specifically the Dandenong Ranges in Melbourne's east.
Ranging from hypnotic downtempo grooves to deep house, Coles Ridge features Alex's signature sound, characterised by its use of warm, analog textures, and lush atmospheres, mixed with intricate piano melodies and tonal themes.

Third Pressing of Gilroy Mere's Adlestrop on blue vinyl with a blue cover.

Adlestrop is inspired by the remains of the rural railway stations, that were closed in the wake of the 1963 Beeching Report.

“This record started with Edward Thomas’s poem Adlestrop and a chance visit to the village that it takes its title from. I wanted to see the station, but found it was no longer there, all that remains is the old platform sign Adlestrop, now part of a local bus shelter. However as I walked around the village I was struck that; “all the birds of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire” were still singing away - like ghosts from Thomas’ verse.

Visiting Adlestrop spurred me to get hold of a copy of the Beeching Report which, in Appendix 2, lists all the services and stations recommended for closure in the 1960s. The names read like an epic British poem, from halts to branch-line stops and stations and singular terminals for public schools, mines, ferries and even an asylum. There’s Ravenscar where a resort was planned but got no further in its construction than the station, and a hotel - the grid marked out for the roads never laid. Bethesda, a short branch line from Bangor up towards Snowdonia, was used for slate and passengers and is now just a quiet green valley, Christ’s Hospital on the old Cranleigh Line, opened with seven platforms to cope with the daily flood of pupils attending the famous school nearby which never came as it was a boarding school. Many of the stations have vanished, with just fields and car parks left in their place, some are repurposed as houses, or shops, or abandoned as artefacts of a lone-gone industrial past.

Armed with a digital recorder, and with a copy of Beechings Report as my guidebook I made notes and recordings on my travels around the country, and used them as the starting point for a set of pieces that try to capture the fading layers of history, in the areas where the stations had once stood making sure each track retains something of the real place within them. Back in my studio I reacted, improvised, and crafted musical responses to each station, trying to capture the ghosts and former lives of the stations and their imprint on the present.”

Gilroy Mere is Oliver Cherer who trading as Dollboy, Rhododendron, and Australian Testing Labs as well as his own name has meandered his way through the backwaters of left of centre English folk, ambient and electronic music, issuing numerous albums of original music to much critical acclaim via highly regarded boutique labels such as Static Caravan, Second Language, Deep Distance, Polytechnic Youth, and Awkward Formats.

Mit Album Nummer vier sollten MARIANAS REST nun endgültig auf dem Radar jedes Melodic Death- und Extreme Doom Metal-Fans landen. Die Band stammt aus der Küstenstadt Kotka, ihr Sound verkörpert finnische Melancholie und Traurigkeit einer kalten, rauen Winterlandschaft in Perfektion.

Am 24. März 2023 erscheint ihr neuestes Werk „Auer“ über Napalm Records, welches mit einer intensiven Mischung aus melodischem Death Metal und tief schwarzen Doom- und Black Metal-Elementen alle Erwartungen übertrifft!

Der Sixtett rund um Sänger Jaakko Mäntymaa und Omnium Gatherum‘s Aapo Koivisto am Keyboard wurde 2013 gegründet.
Mit der Veröffentlichung ihres beeindruckenden Debüts „Horror Vacui“ im Jahr 2016 eroberten sie die Underground Metal Szene im Sturm.
Pünktlich zu ihrem 10-jährigen Bandjubiläum entfesseln MARIANAS REST acht neue Tracks, die vielschichtiger nicht sein könnten. „Auer“ ist episch, schwer, traurig und düster; die insgesamt melancholischen jedoch brutalen Riffs, hypnotisierenden Klangfarben und eindringlichen Vocals dringen bis ins tiefste Mark.

„Auer“ ist eine Reise durch eine verstörend kalte und doch atemberaubend schöne, erhabene Klanglandschaft, wie sie nur eine finnische Band wie MARIANAS REST erschaffen kann.
Ohne Zweifel wird „Auer“ den Namen MARIANAS REST als eine der fesselndsten und außergewöhnlichsten Melodic Death- und Blackened Doom Metal- Bands etablieren!

German project founded in 1984 by Peter Mergener and Michael Weisser. This release features two cheery picked exemplary moments in downtempo contemplative cosmic travels. A side sends the listener well out of orbit with a 10 min long gradient of Krauty arpeggiated showers that grows elegantly, a concerto to the astros of the mind. Flip it and it gets better as your space capsule gets sucked into some distant planet's gravitational pull, feelings of other-worldly sounds, slowed down beautifully almost eerie nuances one won't forget so easily. Sunrise on a Balearic island from another solar system. Berlin-School by trade but also heard on mixes by Jose Padilla. Heftily remastered.

Deep suspension, tribal minimalism, and delicate whispers dominate the textured and meditative spaces of Zemög's universe. The imaginary and exuberant places, the waves that travels above the crystal clear water, the mist and the path to an unknown mountain. The drums resound their acoustic vibration and call our ancestors. Danieli's revisit closes the EP meditatively, a possibility to contemplate, thank, to reflect on our interior and externalize negative energy.









[d] b2 | Derin (Daniel

2023 Repress

* Tales of the Inexpressible” was released on Twisted Records in 2001.

It was a much anticipated and well loved successor continuing in the pioneering spirit of the debut album and in this exceptional follow up they gave us plenty more multi-dimensional surprises and new sonic realities to explore and immerse ourselves in.
From the opening sounds on “Dorset Perception”, the first track featuring flamenco guitar and Latin percussion, we can tell we are in for some incredible planetary as well as interplanetary trips on this musical voyage as Si & Raj take us for a spin though their musical worlds, full of influences garnered on their travels to the 4 corners of the earth.

As the Star Shpongled Banner unfurls, the immeasurable beauty of the album is illustriously illustrated with blissful cascades of Indian Flute washing over the minds ear and achingly beautiful synths rippling with dimensional dub effects throughout. As the Shaman’s voice resonates through the digital dream, the Shaman’s drum begins to beat leading us to a vedic celtic crescendo.

By the time Room 23 emanates from the loudspeakers, Shpongle have confirmed their position as the true pioneers once again, shining a light on the deeper development of the Psybient and Psychill sound and unmistakably elevating the consciousness of the listener to previously unheard of heights by bringing the eddying currents of Raj’s magical flute lines and Simons mellifluous keyboard riffs and genius production style together in an extraordinary hallucinogenic mix.

The album holds 9 gems glistening in hyperspace, gems of unmistakable brilliance and radiant beauty in which every composition contains worlds within worlds, as explored by Raja and Simon on their epic voyages into the depths of musical exploration and recounted in these tales.

They have been the soundtrack to innumerable visionary voyages for the neuronaut cognoscenti, because of the multi layered sounds, shapeshifting focus and awe inspiring depths of the advanced Shpongle production techniques. Tales of the inexpressible is quite literally, beyond description and has been a part of creating so many beautiful moments that its absence from our lives is unimaginable. 

Travelling extensively across Asia and Africa between 1974-1985 to study music, Roberto made many field recordings and collected many instruments on his travels which he would then combine with synthesizers and electronics back in Italy. BIG TIP!

Originally released on Axis records! This story takes place around the year 3216, in which space travel is something completely contemporary. Humanity is going too far in pushing Mother Nature's boundaries, and now the planet is in danger. Only one person is capable of saving Earth from destruction. Our protagonist travels to other planets to see if there is anything that can aid him in calling the downfall of our home world to a halt. The fragments on this disc are actually snapshots, made in between traveling, amid the rushing realization that a resolution to save the planet must be found. Quickly. DJ Surgeles has a longstanding professional relationship with Detroit legend Jeff Mills. Connected through music, DJ Surgeles learned the insides and tricks of Jeff. Many conversations and meetings over the years led to this new concept, The Escape Velocity. DJ Surgeles has also collaborated exclusively with Jeff Mills on the concepts Something in The Sky and STRMRKD, and produced a special Axis Records 10 year anniversary release, The Bells: DJ Mix back in 2007. I wanna thank Jeff Mills for making this album happen.

“A lemma is a generally minor, proven proposition which is used as a stepping stone to a larger result” - Wikipedia

We are proud to present Lemma2!

As a true lemma it both stands on its own and supports the larger theorem: to explore bass heavy music across a span of tempos and time signatures. Lemma2 goes deeper into the ideas presented in Lemma1, this time drawing inspiration from DnB, Dubstep, and Footwork. The result being a collection of sprawling 160BPM polyrhythmic rollers.

Side A ventures into sound design, mangling field recordings collected on travels far and beyond into almost unrecognizable shapes.

Side B takes on a more percussive tip, driving for the dance floor with some stepping d&b-not-d&b business and footwork interpretations.

James Brandon Lewis is a New York-based jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. His instrumental voice marries the emotional power of gospel and the grit and groove of blues and R&B to the modal and vanguard influences of Albert Ayler and John Coltrane, and Sonny Rollins" expressive melodic and tonal discipline. Moments, his 2010 debut, was followed by two outings for Sony Masterworks" revived OKeh imprint: Divine Travels in 2014 and the widely celebrated Days of Freeman the following year. After working American stages and clubs, he toured European and Asian festivals. Radiant Imprints, a duo outing with drummer Chad Taylor, appeared in 2018 and was followed by the quintet offering An UnRuly Manifesto a year later. In 2021, after he was selected as the "Rising Star Tenor Saxophonist" in the Downbeat International Critics Poll, Lewis issued The Jesup Wagon, his debut for Tao Forms. Along the way, Lewis drew the attention of many improvising artists, most notably the saxophonist and jazz deity Sonny Rollins, who doesn"t offer effusive praise very often. Moved by Lewis" deep, spirit-seeking sound, Rollins said "When I listen to you, I listen to Buddha, I listen to Confucius ... I listen to the deeper meaning of life. You are keeping the world in balance." Eye of I opens with 44 seconds of gritty, high-throttling low-down groove, an ear pulverizing opening designed to cleanse all traces of ordinary from the palette. From there, Lewis offers a prayerful cover of Donnie Hathaway"s "Someday We"ll All Be Free" and then the first of his disarmingly addictive originals, "The Blues Still Blossoms" in addition to many others.

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

Check point Catherine

“In the afternoon we performed in a rather austere theatre in East Berlin. Then I remember we crossed Checkpoint Charlie that evening to play in a club in West Berlin. The atmosphere was completely different. I felt as though we were living in a black and white spy movie.” Nicolas Fiszman recalls that chaotic day of 13 June 1982. Two outstanding guitarists, Philip Catherine and Nicolas Fiszman, who at the time was only seventeen years old, were taken from one side of Berlin to the other in pouring rain to perform to unlikely audiences. At both concerts, they played the same programme of seven pieces written by Philip, with the exception of “Crystal Bells”, composed by Charlie Mariano. The pair were not master and student. Rather, Philip remembers Nicolas like a young brother he might have taken to the beach. After the 1960s, Philip became a major figure on the jazz scene, working with the greatest: Charles Mingus, Chet Baker, Stéphane Grapelli, Dexter Gordon, to name only a few. Nicolas has played with Charles Aznavour, Vanessa Paradis, Francis Cabrel and Eric Serra, and travels the world with Sting.

On that gloomy afternoon, the two guitarists, alone on stage, decided to brighten up the morosity that reigned. The pieces they played bore titles such as “Janet”, “Babel” and “Petit Nicolas”. It is hard to believe that this varied, well-constructed, polyphonic music was not entirely written down on paper. Philip says, “Nothing is written from beginning to end. I compose the themes and some harmonic bridges. Then we have a chord chart … and that’s it.” The foundations are written; inspiration, taste, fantasy and friendship do the rest. We feel as though we are taking a nonchalant walk through Rio or Miami. The concert is punctuated by thunderous applause.

For these brief minutes in that year 1982, the East Berliners were able to fly over their tightly closed borders.

We are privileged to have unearthed this unique concert where two outstanding artists bring together two cultures to create an intense blaze of happiness.

Philip Catherine, Guitar
Nicolas Fiszman, Guitar & Bass
With the kind authorization of the Artists

Written and recorded between 1972 and 1982 in Western Oregon, Back to the Woodlands is a previously unreleased, and nearly lost, album made by Ernest Hood during the same era as his near mythical album Neighborhoods . A visionary combination of field recordings, zithers, and synthesizers, Back to the Woodlands offers an unprecedented depth of access to this singular artistic mind. Born into a musical family, Ernest Hood began a promising career as a jazz guitarist during the 1940s, touring internationally with his brother Bill Hood and the saxophonist Charlie Barnet , before contracting polio in his late twenties. The disease left Ernest unable to play the guitar and confined him to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. It also forced him to adapt and innovate around his musical practices in the face of adversity; Hood's value of sound matured with a remarkably democratic and nonhierarchical approach and application. Taking up the zither, a less physically-demanding stringed instrument to the guitar, embarking upon the unprecedented process of incorporating field recordings into his work as early as 1956, and eventually discovering the synthesizer, Hood's music became imbued with optimism and subtle cultural critique. This ethos and technique - refined over the coming decades - would lay the groundwork for a sprawling body of radio work, mail order recordings for homebound listeners, and Neighborhoods , self- issued as a small vinyl edition in 1975. Where Neighborhoods , a nostalgic opus, drawing from a well of collective memory of the 1950s, is defined by traces of human activity, Back to the Woodlands leaves the modern world behind, delving into Hood's love for nature. Only recently discovered in his archives, the album dramatically expands his concept of "musical cinematography," imagistically triggering states of sensory memory from within its zither and synthesizer melodies, intertwined with field recordings made during Hood's extensive travels throughout Oregon. If Neighborhoods is a retreat into the gauzy joys of a romanticized past, Back to the Woodlands is an immersion in the timeless sanctuary of the natural world. A fascinating counterpoint to its predecessor, Back to the Woodlands brings us even closer to Hood's belief in the transportive qualities of sound; that field recordings could serve as a vehicle for the imagination and liberation, particularly for those with similar mobile disabilities as his own. Across the album's twelve compositions, the rippling instrumental harmonics - shifting between abstraction and playful melody - fold so seamlessly into the birdsong, bubbling brooks, and other environmental ambiences, that they often give the impression of having been recording within the landscapes toward which they whisper. Falling somewhere between the immersive calm of healing music and New Age, the creative field recording practices of sound ecologists world building for Folkways, and the jazz infected ambiences during Obscure / Editions EG's highest heights, Back to the Woodlands sculpts an singular proximity of music for its moment; a form of ambient sonic realism that draws the consciousness toward its surroundings as much as within. Working closely with his estate to maintain his original vision, Freedom to Spend has restored and remastered this never before released, lost masterpiece by Ernest Hood from the original tapes. Ernest Hood's Back to the Woodlands will be issued on vinyl, as well as on CD in combination with its contemporary Where the Woods Begin , with new liner notes by Michael Klausman . On behalf of Ernest Hood and Freedom To Spend, a portion of the proceeds from this release will benefit Oregon Wild, an organization dedicated to protecting and restoring Oregon's wildlands, wildlife, and waters as an enduring legacy for future generations.

New Studio Album after long 8 years! Produced by Jack Endino in Chile and Mastered by Tony Cousins (The Verve, The Stone Roses) at Metropolis Studios U.K, Lacquer cut by Richard Simpson (Beck, Flamin’ Groovies, Lou Reed). After 8 long years The Ganjas returns with a new studio album, a joint production between Jack Endino and the band. Like the 2012 album ‘Resistance’, this LP combines sounds and styles that have marked the band since its inception; long space rock songs, neo grunge guitars, Manchester-reggae rhythms, and ballads with R&B vocal harmonies. For fans of: Sundial, Keith Richards, The Stone Roses, Swervedriver
A job that very well summarizes the more than 20 years of uninterrupted career. After the compilation album ́Ghost River ́ (2015) and having finished the European tour in September of the same year, the drummer changed, the long-lived founder Aldo Benincasa left and Nes entered, who had already replaced him on a couple of occasions. In March 2017 they embark on a trip to El Médano a mountain refuge that is on the border between Chile and Argentina, and in there for several days they shaped the songs that gave life to this album. Then, in 2018, Jack Endino, an old acquaintance of the group, travels from Seattle to Santiago to record 10 songs with different nuances and colors, lyrics in English and Spanish, radio cuts and long durations, rock, groovy and power ballads, at Estudios Lautaro. The album has songs like ‘America’ and ‘Ex-Pilot’ an opening and closing of almost 10 minutes in a cadenced and hypnotic groovy march, spatial and psychedelic in the purest style of The Verve's A Northern Soul album. While ‘Space Trees’ and ‘10.000 Años’ are short, powerful, fast and acid songs with the grunge and alternative rock stamp that sounded in the 90's, nothing to envy to Sundial and Swervedriver. There is room for Manchester-reggae moments in ‘New Berlin’, an instrumental dance song that was born in that city thanks to the collaboration with Andrés Bucci and ‘Listen To The Lion’, a trippy and deep Dub-Reggae cut. R&B ballads have always been part of the group's work and on this album they stand out with ‘Generation’, the title that gives the album its name, with a sound reminiscent of Keith Richards solo songs and the emotional nirvana-esque ‘Far Along The Way’. The mix was carried out in 2019 between Seattle and Santiago de Chile, during upheaval and social protests as a result of the October outbreak and was mastered in 2020 at the Metropolis studios in the U.K. by Tony Cousins, an engineer who had already worked with The Verve and The Stone Roses, influences recognized by The Ganjas. Due to the pandemic the release was postponed to the end of 2022. For the likes of: Sundial, Keith Richards, The Stone Roses, Swervedriver. Genre: Alternative / Indie

'Gulliver', the latest Condor Gruppe album, is a nod to yet another spiritual journey in the band's ever-evolving saga. Released 23rd September via the groove-obsessed Sdban Ultra, the Antwerp-based nine-piece ensemble take you on a hypnotic trip, paying tribute to obscure Italian 70s film soundtracks, krautrock and psychedelic grooves. Fuse the melancholy of Pink Floyd, the heroism of Ennio Morricone and the world grooves of GOAT and you get an idea of what Condor Gruppe is.

Always looking to push musical boundaries, Condor Gruppe rely on the adventurous use of their instruments and their intriguing musical patter. Melancholic, exotic, surreal, the band's sound is enriched by instruments including the handpan, Jew's harp, darbouka and tanpura. Diverse sounds, rhythms and melodies build, exciting the listener whilst always remaining familiar. From the thunderous, spacious prog rock sounds of 'What Could Have Been', to the loose, laidback grooves of the mystical 'Farid' and groovy 'Rhymes On Our Mind', 'Gulliver' is a soundtrack for visits to far-flung places and a mesmerizing trip through the band's own record shelves.

Condor Gruppe released their debut album 'Latituds del Cavall' in 2014 with nine exotica fuelled songs that echo the sound of an intoxicated ride through the desert. This was followed up in 2016 with 'FROG BOG - A Tribute to Moondog' - an adaptation of the work of the legendary composer and outsider. Containing six Moondog interpertations, trumpet player Dirk Timmermans, saxophonist Matti Willems and baritone saxophonist Hanne De Backer joined the five original members of Condor Gruppe, with the results a spectacular mix between Moondog's jazzy compositions and Condor Gruppe's dreamy instrumental sound.

Second album proper 'Interplanetary Travels' (2018) - a nostalgic, melancholic soundtrack - saw the introduction of the Anoushka Shankar-trained Nicolas Mortelmans on sitar. The title hinting at Sun Ra is no coincidence. Condor Gruppe recorded 8 songs that give you the creepy feel of a horror scene, the heroism of the best film scores and the hypnotizing grooves of jungle tribes.

At this year's Ghent Film Festival, Condor Gruppe performed a live version of the score for the dark, hypnotic, surreal, erotic vampire film 'Daughters of Darkness' (1971), directed by Belgian cult director Harry Kümel. The score was originally recorded by François de Roubaix, a self-taught musician and jazz enthusiast, and he composed almost a hundred soundtracks, mostly for French films. In 1976, he won a César for best soundtrack with his work on 'Le Vieux Fusil' - awarded posthumously as de Roubaix had passed away just the year before. De Roubaix has always been a great source of inspiration for Condor Gruppe, so they were only too happy to sink their teeth into his scintillating score.

When it comes to post-Dylan psychedelic folk with acid-tinged dreams look no further than legendary 60s Greenwich Village figure Randy Burns. His beautiful string of albums released between ’66 and ’71 on New York’s mythical ESP-Disk are all you need if you’re a loner folk fanatic. ‘Of Love And War’, ‘Evening Of The Magician’ & ‘Song For An Uncertain Lady’ are the source, eerie acoustic ballads, folk-rock that travels wide and distant over melancholy flute arrangements and country grooves. “The Exit And Gaslight Years 1965-69” collects all the best cuts from that an era, opening a crystal clear window on the inspiring work of Randy Burns. RIYL: Fred Neil, Ed Askew, Dave Bixby, F.C. McMahon, Mike Hurley. Genre: Folk / Acid-Folk Track list: 1. Evening Of The Magician 2. Echos Of Mary's Song 3. Standing At Your Door 4. Girl From England 5. When Daylight Comes In Everything 6. Song For An Uncertain Lady 7. Ron's Song 8. Autumn On Your Mind 9. Maybeline 10. Any Tuesday In The Rain 11. Waiting For An Old Friend / Africa 12. Deegan Street

When it comes to post-Dylan psychedelic folk with acid-tinged dreams look no further than legendary 60s Greenwich Village figure Randy Burns. His beautiful string of albums released between ’66 and ’71 on New York’s mythical ESP-Disk are all you need if you’re a loner folk fanatic. ‘Of Love And War’, ‘Evening Of The Magician’ & ‘Song For An Uncertain Lady’ are the source, eerie acoustic ballads, folk-rock that travels wide and distant over melancholy flute arrangements and country grooves. “The Exit And Gaslight Years 1965-69” collects all the best cuts from that an era, opening a crystal clear window on the inspiring work of Randy Burns. RIYL: Fred Neil, Ed Askew, Dave Bixby, F.C. McMahon, Mike Hurley. Genre: Folk / Acid-Folk Track list: 1. Evening Of The Magician 2. Echos Of Mary's Song 3. Standing At Your Door 4. Girl From England 5. When Daylight Comes In Everything 6. Song For An Uncertain Lady 7. Ron's Song 8. Autumn On Your Mind 9. Maybeline 10. Any Tuesday In The Rain 11. Waiting For An Old Friend / Africa 12. Deegan Street

A slice of Norwegian cultural history in album form – a unique
interpretation of traditional Norwegian Travellers' songs.Elias Akselsen,
Ola Kvernberg and Stian Carstensen take us on a journey through
Norwegian music history
The album's title, "Horta", means "authentic" in the language of the Travellers,
Romani. Elias Akselsen (74) is a member of the oldest generation who knew and
can remember the "authentic" life of the Travellers, and is today one of the
foremost representatives of the musical heritage of the Norwegian Travellers/
Roma. He was born on the road and learned to play and sing the traditional songs
while gathered around the bonfire with his relatives. He has a deep and inborn
appreciation of these songs. Musician/producer Stian Carstensen and musician/
arranger Ola Kvernberg join him in raising these old songs to a new level. With the
addition of guest artists Anita Kleppe and Sara Wilhelmsen, three voices from
three generations of Travellers meet one another. Together they have recorded
their unique interpretations of nine Travellers' songs, some known and some
unfamiliar, with the aim of preserving and carrying on the rich, but partly hidden,
cultural heritage of the Travellers, and of making it more widely accessible.
The musical tradition of the Travellers is vivid and complex, featuring elements
from a variety of countries and cultures – from broadside ballads and folk songs
to Russian folk tunes and Balkan rhythms. In many ways this music bears
witness to the way the Travellers drew musical inspiration from their travels. In
addition to the treasure trove of songs the Travellers have kept alive, they have
also had a strong influence on Norwegian folk music. Many traditional fiddle
tunes that are well known today can be traced back to the Traveller fiddler FantKarl, and one of Norway's most famous fiddlers, Myllarguten, often learned tunes
from Travellers passing by.
This is the Norwegian equivalent of blues and soul, and has at least as much
authenticity as the American genres we know so well. But it belongs to us
Norwegians, and to the Norwegian landscape, nature and people. Today Akselsen
is the leading practitioner of the musical heritage of the Norwegian Travellers/
Roma. He was born on the road, with genuine Travellers on both sides of his
family; he was the great-grandchild of the "Traveller king" Stor-Johan on one side,
and of "sea vagabonds" in Bergen on the other. Today he is the last remaining
representative of the original song tradition, and also practises traditional
handicrafts, making knives and whisks.
The album was produced by Skøyerstaten Teater, a voluntary organisation that
works to present the cultural treasure trove of the Travellers/Roma in an artistic
form

"Viktor Marek is at home everywhere, even at home," DJ Booty Carrell recently remarked on his old companion. Marek is the outernational musician par excellence. When he's not working as general manager of the legendary Golden Pudel Club in Hamburg, he travels the world, meets people and records music with them. With his inimitable productions between HipHop, Acid and Dub, he has long been known as the "Madlib from the Waterkant" far beyond the borders of Hamburg! As a beatmaker and producer for artists such as Jacques Palminger and the Sufi Dub Brothers (Marek together with Ashraf Sharif Khan) and a lot more, he has already released countless great tracks and albums. Finally, he is going to release his first solo album for which he has invented the character Mr.Subtitle. A translator of cultures. An overcomer of distances. A humanistic spirit of research and comic hero who encounters many artists and cultures on the album "The lucky bag of Viktor Marek". Some of them are probably not even native to this planet. On the first hit single for instance, "Mr.Subtitle Theme", we hear Kurdish vocals by Hêja Netirk and Sicilian Rap by Don Colfit. Is it a piece about Palermo? Istanbul? Los Angeles? We don't know. But that's exactly the point! Mr.Subtitle overcomes national and genre boundaries in the blink of an eye and has created a kind of mission statement for the Fun in the church label with this work! Outernational music for interplanetary people. Truly.

The ECM New Series debut of Evgueni Galperin is one of the most
strikingly original and evocative albums of the year
A composer of Russian and Ukrainian heritage, currently based in France,
Galperin is working with sound, texture and dynamics in new and powerfully
expressive ways. As he explains, the sound world of Theory of Becoming
represents an "augmented reality of acoustic instruments, created from
recordings made with real and virtual instruments. The numerous
transformations the instruments undergo allow me to capture their acoustic
nature while also adding techniques and colours impossible to produce in
reality..."
Galperin's compositions address wide ranging subjects: from the resilience of
hope in the face of destruction to meditations on the journey of the soul, as well
as travels through space and through the magical forests of Max Ernst's
paintings.
Theory of Becoming was recorded and mixed 2020-21 in Paris, at Studio EPG and
Studios de la Seine and was produced by Manfred Eicher.
Evgueni Galperine: composition
Maria Vasyukova: voice
Sergei Nakariakov: trumpet
Sebastien Hurtaud: cello

MATTERS UNKNOWN is the new project led by multi-instrumentalist and
composer Jonny Enser.We Aren't Just is the debut album from MATTERS
UNKNOWN – Jonny Enser from Nubiyan Twist's solo project
Over 14 tracks, it travels through Afro- jazz, celestial blues, soulful funk,
electronica, hip hop referencing influences such as Mulatu Astatke, Pat Thomas
and Tony Allen all of whom he has worked with via Nubiyan Twist.This album
features some of the UK's finest young players including members of Nerija, Noya
Rao, Golden Mean and COLECTIVA. For fans ofJazz is Dead and Emma- Jean
Thackray. Every track on the album is inspired by a facet of Jonny's personal
development; drawing from his relationship to the city, whether in the delta
regions of the Mississippi river or along London's arterial Thames. The album is a
material testament to the flexibility inherent to MATTERS UNKNOWN; it can be
orchestrated to accommodate a 15-strong orchestra, replete with a string section
to move you to the dancefloor as Jazz originally intended, or stripped down to the
bare bones of a trumpet and tuba- led quartet whose intentions remain all the
same; to pierce into the audience's soul.
Jonny is honest, often laying bare his personal plights with his physical disability
and mental health, and the steep – yet rewarding – uphill climb as a musician and
Jazz instrumentalist. We Aren't Just is a multi- faceted study of the self, one's
relationship with the external world; the material, and the living within the inert.

Written and recorded between 1972 and 1982 in Western Oregon, Back to the Woodlands is a previously unreleased, and nearly lost, album made by Ernest Hood during the same era as his near mythical album Neighborhoods . A visionary combination of field recordings, zithers, and synthesizers, Back to the Woodlands offers an unprecedented depth of access to this singular artistic mind. Born into a musical family, Ernest Hood began a promising career as a jazz guitarist during the 1940s, touring internationally with his brother Bill Hood and the saxophonist Charlie Barnet , before contracting polio in his late twenties. The disease left Ernest unable to play the guitar and confined him to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. It also forced him to adapt and innovate around his musical practices in the face of adversity; Hood's value of sound matured with a remarkably democratic and nonhierarchical approach and application. Taking up the zither, a less physically-demanding stringed instrument to the guitar, embarking upon the unprecedented process of incorporating field recordings into his work as early as 1956, and eventually discovering the synthesizer, Hood's music became imbued with optimism and subtle cultural critique. This ethos and technique - refined over the coming decades - would lay the groundwork for a sprawling body of radio work, mail order recordings for homebound listeners, and Neighborhoods , self- issued as a small vinyl edition in 1975. Where Neighborhoods , a nostalgic opus, drawing from a well of collective memory of the 1950s, is defined by traces of human activity, Back to the Woodlands leaves the modern world behind, delving into Hood's love for nature. Only recently discovered in his archives, the album dramatically expands his concept of "musical cinematography," imagistically triggering states of sensory memory from within its zither and synthesizer melodies, intertwined with field recordings made during Hood's extensive travels throughout Oregon. If Neighborhoods is a retreat into the gauzy joys of a romanticized past, Back to the Woodlands is an immersion in the timeless sanctuary of the natural world. A fascinating counterpoint to its predecessor, Back to the Woodlands brings us even closer to Hood's belief in the transportive qualities of sound; that field recordings could serve as a vehicle for the imagination and liberation, particularly for those with similar mobile disabilities as his own. Across the album's twelve compositions, the rippling instrumental harmonics - shifting between abstraction and playful melody - fold so seamlessly into the birdsong, bubbling brooks, and other environmental ambiences, that they often give the impression of having been recording within the landscapes toward which they whisper. Falling somewhere between the immersive calm of healing music and New Age, the creative field recording practices of sound ecologists world building for Folkways, and the jazz infected ambiences during Obscure / Editions EG's highest heights, Back to the Woodlands sculpts an singular proximity of music for its moment; a form of ambient sonic realism that draws the consciousness toward its surroundings as much as within. Working closely with his estate to maintain his original vision, Freedom to Spend has restored and remastered this never before released, lost masterpiece by Ernest Hood from the original tapes. Ernest Hood's Back to the Woodlands will be issued on vinyl, as well as on CD in combination with its contemporary Where the Woods Begin , with new liner notes by Michael Klausman . On behalf of Ernest Hood and Freedom To Spend, a portion of the proceeds from this release will benefit Oregon Wild, an organization dedicated to protecting and restoring Oregon's wildlands, wildlife, and waters as an enduring legacy for future generations.

Written and recorded between 1972 and 1982 in Western Oregon, Back to the Woodlands is a previously unreleased, and nearly lost, album made by Ernest Hood during the same era as his near mythical album Neighborhoods. A visionary combination of field recordings, zithers, and synthesizers, Back to the Woodlands offers an unprecedented depth of access to this singular artistic mind.

Born into a musical family, Ernest Hood began a promising career as a jazz guitarist during the 1940s, touring internationally with his brother Bill Hood and the saxophonist Charlie Barnet, before contracting polio in his late twenties. The disease left Ernest unable to play the guitar and confined him to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. It also forced him to adapt and innovate around his musical practices in the face of adversity; Hood’s value of sound matured with a remarkably democratic and nonhierarchical approach and application.

Taking up the zither, a less physically-demanding stringed instrument to the guitar, embarking upon the unprecedented process of incorporating field recordings into his work as early as 1956, and eventually discovering the synthesizer, Hood’s music became imbued with optimism and subtle cultural critique. This ethos and technique - refined over the coming decades - would lay the groundwork for a sprawling body of radio work, mail order recordings for homebound listeners, and Neighborhoods, self-issued as a small vinyl edition in 1975.

Where Neighborhoods, a nostalgic opus, drawing from a well of collective memory of the 1950s, is defined by traces of human activity, Back to the Woodlands leaves the modern world behind, delving into Hood’s love for nature. Only recently discovered in his archives, the album dramatically expands his concept of “musical cinematography,” imagistically triggering states of sensory memory from within its zither and synthesizer melodies, intertwined with field recordings made during Hood’s extensive travels throughout Oregon. If Neighborhoods is a retreat into the gauzy joys of a romanticized past, Back to the Woodlands is an immersion in the timeless sanctuary of the natural world.

Presto from San Diego has consistently stayed true to his soul and jazz-inflected formula of ethereal beats over the years. Presto's first record, the self-pressed EP "Breakin' Concrete", came in 2000 and featured the underground cut "Relax Your Mind," which DJ Mark Farina grabbed for his mix CD "Mushroom Jazz 3" (2001). More interest in the record resulted in the launch of his record label, Concrete Grooves and subsequent releases for Bastard Jazz, Miclife Japan and Names You Can Trust.

Presto resurfaced recently from the beat lab with a new unreleased 10-track instrumental album - "Basement Beats". This album was recorded in 2020 while living in New York. He wanted to give listeners a view into his daily commute in pre-pandemic NYC from the early 5am walks to Union Square to his daily E Train commute to Times Square. Two tracks from this album are presented here for Mukatsuku Records in a limited edition pressing of 400 only copies . "Official" stands out as a gritty drum loop which provides a bed for a melodic sample that sings as a soulful synth melody is played on the chorus by his daughter. "Floating" provides a smooth backdrop with programmed drums as Presto plays the wah-infused Rhodes piano along with Avatar on the bass guitar, giving a nod to their previous live fusion group Wayward Saints. The new release brings a dose of the old school as it travels into the future while comfortable in the present….

Gelb's semi-surreal observations lace things together perfectly.” UNCUT. Filled with loud and lucky abandon; heady steady and direct singalongs for the heart in constant turmoil. Giant Sand’s esoteric journey to ‘Heartbreak Pass’ is an exotic journey through hails of Youngian guitars, off-the-cuff jazz piano rounds and beautiful alt-country yearning. While containing only new songs for this album, this feels like a greatest hits and as such is a perfect entry point for Giant Sand neophytes. Fire Records give ‘Heartbreak Pass’ a long overdue repress on white vinyl, with new liner notes and updated artwork. There’s a roll of the tongue, a couplet and some convolution underpinning Giant Sand’s 2015 opus ‘Heartbreak Pass’. So the story goes, so legend has it, a mere 30 years into their career, almost ten years ago, Giant Sand were regrouped and, for a fleeting second, someone made sense of it all (the words, the genre swapping sound, the roll call of friends and accomplices, the majesty of polar opposites attracting). On ‘Heartbreak Pass’ the result from this lengthy travelogue is a memoir filled with trinkets exchanged along the way. Sure, the Arizona desert is there, gritty and unforgiving but Howe's one-man-band is joined by a throng of well-wishers, this time around including Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth), Grant-Lee Phillips and Ilse DeLange (Common Linnets), The Voices Of Praise Choir, oft-time collaborator John Parish, Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle, Maggie Bjorklund on pedal steel, Italian singer/songwriter Vinicio Capossela and many more. It’s an album that travels far and shows its road weariness in places but it’s a celebration in all its ragged glory. In his original sleevenotes Howe pondered the fact that “The album is roughly broken into three volumes - loud and lucky abandon; heady steady and direct (Gelb's vision of Americana); and the heart in constant turmoil and something about a transponder.” He summarised: “I can't recommend it, nor do I regret it. It's been one life split into two.”


Tracks: A1 Heaventually A2 Texting Feist A3 Hurtin' Habit A4 Transponder A5 Song So Wrong A6 Every Now And Then A7 Man On A String B1 Home Sweat Home B2 Eye Opening B3 Pen To Paper B4 House In Order B5 Gypsy Candle B6 Done

Improvisation, composition, language and culture meet, merge and
influence each other
Under The Surface knows no boundaries. On their extraordinary third album, the
group reflects on their own background and finds their own "folk".After the
group's first two completely free-improvisation albums, Under The Surface (2017)
and Trinity(2019), both nominated for an Edison, the nextstep for Under The
Surface is a fully composed album: Miin Triuwa.
Under The Surface was formed in 2015 and since then the band has enjoyed a
great deal of international success. Drummer Joost Lijbaart recognised the
group's potential early on and organized more than 200 concerts in 25 countries
on 4 continents: from Africa to South America, Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
Inspired by their many travels and the cultures they encountered, the group
developed a unique improvisation language thatcombines jazz, folk, ethnic and
electronic music.
With Miin Triuwa, Under The Surface embarks on a new musical journey with
compositions by guitarist Bram Stadhouders. He wrote a suite of eightpieces in
which the characters and qualities of the band members are transcendent. The
constantly changing improvisations that are so characteristic of the band are now
captured in a powerful musical statement that showcases what the band stands
for. Instead of traveling to other worlds, in this project the group looks inward and
explores how their own roots influence their music.
Under The Surface has a common drive to find the universal essence of different
cultures. Thus, for this album the connection was made with theband's own
"forgotten" language, Old Dutch. With the help of historical linguist PeterAlexander Kerkhof and the Dutch Language Institute, Sanne Rambags carried out
research and wrote beautiful lyrics for the album in Old Dutch. This is the
language that was spoken in the Netherlands from circa 600 to 1150 CE and
sounds similar to Gaelic and Icelandic. Below is a short excerpt from Track 3,
"Fear and Trembling," from the album Miin Triuwa.

Since his debut album “Transsiberian”, Thylacine has developed a taste for composing through travel, an initiatory project that led him to compose during his journey on the Trans-Siberian Railway. A seminal album that allowed the young electro prodigy to make a name for himself on the electronic scene.

With the aim to combine music and image and to make us discover his world through travel, Thylacine has continued to climb the ladder and has racked up no less than 121 million streams. Whether it's "Anatolia", "Olatu", or "War Dance", Thylacine has made a name for himself by writing real hits.

Through "9 Pieces », Thylacine wanted to pay tribute to some iconic tracks that are currently only released digitally and independently and to let us discover his new compositions, all of which are just as transporting and refreshing. His new opus “9 Pieces” will contain unreleased tracks from his latest travels and encounters, pieces to be assembled in order to reconstitute a puzzle and immerse oneself in the universe of Thylacine.

Like this object, each musical piece will find its place alongside his greatest hits. "9 Pieces" will be released the 21st of October on Intuitive Records.

Kieran Hebden’s Text Records is proud to announce Bolts, the debut album from British-Armenian producer Hagop Tchaparian, set for release in autumn 2022.

“Can I say, my friends call me Hagop? I don’t want people to struggle with my long name. I always liked that Eminem introduced himself and said “hi, my name is….” I think I want to be called Hagop so people find it easy to connect.”

Hagop’s debut album Bolts features ten tracks of hyper-personal rhythm music that mixes techno with field recordings of his travels through Armenian and Mediterranean culture. Early DJ support has come from Four Tet, Gilles Peterson and Nikki Nair. The artwork for Bolts was curated by skateboard, music and sports photography legend Atiba Jefferson.
“As a teenager I would make the pilgrimage to Slam City skateboard shop - I couldn't really afford to buy anything other than Thrasher magazine. I would see Atiba’s photos and get super inspired and want to push across the bridge and go skate Southbank. Downstairs was Rough Trade Records where I would be able to find the music from the music section in Thrasher and music i heard in the background of skate videos that I couldn’t really seem to find anywhere else. Atiba was photographing loads of these bands too so it's absolutely a crazy dream to be able to work with someone who provided so much of the inspiration throughout my life.”