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Melvin Ukachi needs little introduction, the Lagos (Nigeria) based vocalist and bandleader is a living legend. Melvin is known for his fantastic solo albums, his vocals for the afrobeat star-groups M.F.B. and Ozzobia_but his biggest legacy is without a doubt him being the singer and bandleader of Ofege. Melvin formed Ofege in the early 1970s (when he and the other band members were all still a bunch of teenagers). Due to their vibrant combo of sweet harmonies, hooks & fuzz, Ofege would become one of the most legendary Nigerian groups of all time, with expressive sales and national stardom to follow. At the turn of the century (and because of tracks appearing on various compilations) Ofege would receive international acknowledgment for being the first of their kind and THE ultimate West-African psychedelic funk band! Melvin Ukachi recorded four milestone albums with Ofege: 'Try and Love' (1973) 'The Last of The Origins' (1976), 'Higher Plane Breeze' (1977) and 'How Do You Feel' (1978). When the Ofege story came to an end, Melvin recorded two astonishing solo albums: 'Evolution-Bring Back The Ofege Beat' (1981) and 'I am Ok' (1985). Both of his solo recordings have now become much sought-after holy grails for collectors and fans alike. On the album, we are presenting you today (Evolution-Bring Back The Ofege Beat) the listener is treated to the trademark Ofege sound (as the title of the record obviously suggests). Next to the rootsy and raw Ofege sound, we're shown a perfect glimpse of the late '70s afrobeat works combining soul, jazzy rhythms, William Onyeabor style synths & fluid boogie-danceability Expect some serious 'all-star' guest musicians as well_featured on the album are Chyke Madu (The Funkees) on drums, Berkley Jones (Ofege) on guitar_and many other local legends. To top things off the tracks were recorded and mixed at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London_all slickly engineered by Rafiu Ayoade (The Apostles) and produced by the president of sound himself Odion Iruoje (known for his work with Manu Dibango, Fela Kuti_and many others). 'Evolution-Bring Back The Ofege Beat' was released on EMI Nigeria in 1981 and is a total Afro-psych-funk classic that begs for a special place in your record collection. It's tight, funky and Melvin's soulful vocals are to die for. This record is a monster! Tidal Waves Music now proudly presents the first-ever reissue (supervised by Melvin Ukachi himself) of this amazing Nigerian Afrobeat album. This RARE classic (original copies tend to go for large amounts on the secondary market) is now finally back available as a limited 180g vinyl edition (500 copies) complete with the original artwork made at Grafikad (who were responsible for designing landmark sleeves for renowned artists such as Fela Kuti).

Elusive UK producer Kilig brings a six-track EP spanning the British sound palette - forward, complex, with inflections of jungle and garage - to the new Shall Not Fade Classic Cuts imprint. Off the back of releases for Scuffed and Origins in 2020, kilig pairs their intimate knowledge of London's rave scene with more minimalist tinges for What My Mind Needs EP, a simmering club record soaked deep in ambience.

Taking sombre organic vocal samples and delicately placing them over a sharp two-step rhythm, opening track "Closer" is intangible, fantasy-like - the memory of music in your ears after you've left the club. There are echoes of Burial's seminal Untrue across the EP. Kilig aptly reflects the certain melancholy of British club music in the gritty "Overthinking" and mournful "Without You", an ensemble of distorted vocals and dramatic droning synth.

The rest of the record pushes into a more euphoric atmosphere - the title track is a soaring rave number while "Clocking In", a wild beast of a track, glitches and confuses. "I Wanted To Call & Tell You" swells in waves of breakbeat, bringing together the emotional core of the record, fading to gentle keys, the dream of raves to come in 2021.

With his seventh studio album, Shapes of the Fall, Piers Faccini, pursues his passion for the kind of cross-cultural dialogues that have long been heard on Mediterranean shores throughout the centuries, bridging southern Europe with the Near East and Africa. Although the songs are written and sung in English, the musical influences in Shapes of the Fall draw heavily on Faccini's own Mediterranean ancestry, creating a musical voyage whose geography varies from song to song, crossing multiple frontiers with his voice over the course of the journey, from the snow tipped anglo-american Folk registers of songs like Paradise Fell or Together Forever Everywhere to the eerie desert blown notes of Middle Eastern or north African modes in tracks like Firefly or Dunya. Ruin or repair and hope or despair are the album's parallel narratives and if shapes of the fall are the myriad endangered forms that make up the mosaic of our environmental collapse, the descent, Faccini sings, is of our doing or undoing. ''Bring me my home back'' the chorus of the album's emblamatic opening song They Will Gather No Seed is not then, the singer's personal cry for a home but the animal lament of innumerable species on the brink of extinction. Faccini who has previously collaborated with cellist Vincent Segal for their 2014 duo album Songs of Time Lost has collaborated over the years with musicians far and wide in search of musical dialogue such as Ballake Sissoko, Ibrahim Maalouf or Jasser Haj Youssef. Two exceptional voices feature on the album; Californian singer-songwriter Ben Harper, a collaborator from his 2005 album, Tearing Sky and Moroccan singer and master of the trance traditions known as Gnawa, Abdelkebir Merchane. The album was co-produced by Piers Faccini and Fred Soulard.

Holy Hive is back with a new set of songs while they are still enjoying the growing success of their 2020 debut album, Float Back To You. Their signature "Folk Soul" sound has earned them a diverse group of fans around the globe and sets them apart from fellow groups lumped into the indie/folk algorithm. These two songs were written and recorded at a small house in the desert of the Yucca Valley. Both of them are stripped down to Holy Hive's core instrumentation of bass, drums, guitar and vocals. The A side "I Don't Envy Yesterdays" is a tune that deals with the role time plays in the human experience. Spring's falsetto vocals wax poetic about futility and acceptance while Homer Steinweiss' drumming in itself creates a subplot about the boundaries of time. In true Holy Hive fashion, they take on these deep philosophical and abstract concepts yet come out sounding as light and easy as a Summer day. The B side is a story of lost love. Paul paints a beautiful picture for the listener. But this time, instead of committing to not living in the past, he is overcome by the memories that the rain conjures up. The title "Color It Easy" aptly describes Holy Hive's ability to capture emotion with simple songs and arrangements. While these songs might not paint the most detailed and intricate picture, the simplicity of the colors and brush strokes are filled with longing and love. This 7" should hold everyone over while they put the finishing touches on their sophomore full length record due out in Fall of 2021.

Master craftsman James Welburn’s new LP, Sleeper in the Void, marks the 50th Miasmah release.The six years after his monumental debut have bred six tracks Welburn brings to fruition with the help of past co-conspirators from the Norwegian underground scene - Tomas Järmyr (Motorpsycho, Zu, Barchan), Hilde Marie Holsen (Hubro Records), and vocal artist Juliana Venter (W/V, Phil Winter).

On Sleeper in the Void, Welburn expands the domain of his sound, unveiling surprises until the very end of the album’s 36 minute playtime. While the character of the record is unmistakably his own, the tracks veer into many different territories, including a banging foray to the dancefloor.

The LP begins slowly with Raze, where Järmyr’s ritualistic cymbals introduce layers of Welburn’s signature sculpted bass drones and noise, building into a heart-wrenching epic of a track. This is perhaps the closest we ever get to Hold - Welburn’s previous LP. Falling from Time immediately surprises with it’s subdued mechanical techno beat, stark and cold as a glacier. Welburn’s texture-work is the star of the show, creating curious nooks and crannies of drone adorned with eerie melodies straight out of oblivion. This sense of wonder shines through to the album’s title track as well, where Welburn and Järmyr build another patient, echoing, and deeply cinematic piece, the drum patterns slowly shifting around a metallic hum that evokes the vision of church bells, ringing out under tonnes of seawater.

Sleeper in the Void feels like a story in two parts, rising lethargically, but with gargantuan power. The second begins with the momentous In and out of Blue, where Juliana Venter’s disembodied, spectral dirge takes center stage among the furious drums and bassy riffs, reaching a full crescendo with seconds to go. Parallel marks a release - Hilde Marie Holsen’s nostalgic soundscapes, pristine as glass, meeting the distant thunder of Welburn’s strings on the horizon. And finally, Fast Moon ends the record in a most surprising way - a tribal industrialized banger, complete with vile distorted beats and every other spice in demand on a blackened dancefloor.

Welburn’s Sleeper in the Void is a generous shapeshifter. Every inch of its soundwave breathes emotion and imagery - an invitation to take a dive and linger.

The first Azu Tiwaline's album, after been acclaimed by DJs like Lena Willikens, upsammy, Shanti Celeste and a bunch of electronic medias (Bandcamp, RA, Crack), is now remixed by a Lyon-Bristol-Berlin trifecta of similarly minded rhythmic innovators - twisting and warping her work into new shapes, featuring Don't DJ, Laksa & Flore reinterpretations.

Nothing happens overnight. Behind every emergence, there’s years of work, thought and preparation - both intentional and unconscious - that’s gone unseen.

So the past year might have been a ‘breakout’ year for Azu Tiwaline, but it was really built over two decades of experimentation, soul-searching - both creative and personal - and exploration. “A new name for a new spirit” as she likes to say, but with an unmistakable identity rooted in her history and ancestry.

On her debut album as Azu Tiwaline, Draw Me A Silence, a record released in two parts with her family at I.O.T. , she fused together two halves of her own heritage, inspired by a new home in the desert. Personal history collided with family heritage: half step rhythms from a career in bass music met the warm winds and wide open silence of El Djerid in Tunisia.

When music is sincere and honest, it tends to reverberate more widely, and deeply. The tracks written for the Magnetic Service EP were sent to one label and one label only, Livity Sound, who picked it up instantly. Something about the spacious, yet dense sonics - crafted with the help of percussionist Cinna Peyghamy - resonated with listeners starved of both the community of the dancefloor and the space of the outside world. The EP became one of the Bristol label’s most heralded releases of 2020, featuring in end of year coverage from Bandcamp to Resident Advisor.

Beneath the calm of her productions, a restless spirit inhabits Azu, born out of months and years spent on the road. In 2020, it was her music that took her places. She put together a series of podcast mixes that echoed the percussive, rhythmic curves of her own productions, for Boiler Room, Dekmantel and Crack Mag. She distilled Fazer Drums’ percussive experiments into dubby downtempo with a remix, and contributed her most rooted track yet - Violet Curves with Cinna Peyghamy - to On the Corner’s Door to The Cosmos compilation.

This will be followed by the Extended version of the album with a gorgeous ambient bonus track “Eyes of the Wind”, accompanied by a video clip directed by Azu Tiwaline, shot in her desert lands. This track will be appearing in a digital reupload reunifying Draw Me A Silence Part.I and II. As a sort of final chapter of this debut album.

As for the rest? We’ll see what 2021 has to offer for both the world and Azu Tiwaline. In the meantime, take inspiration from her music: keep the tempo steady, let some light in, and listen for the silence.

A maelstrom, the chaos, a vortex, a turmoil. These are appropriate words to describe the hard work of the prolific French producer.

With a cryptic history incorporating nearly two decades of aliases and side projects born out of free parties in warehouses, fields and basements, it is under this moniker that the artist has truly come into his own.

His skill and vision spanning from 135 bpm wave powerful to a pensive and subtle ambient track, Maelstrom's sonic universe is both precise and limitless, described better by feeling ('approaching storm over river/horse with the bit in its teeth/sliver of moon') than genre. Maelstrom cofounded the label RAAR in 2015 with frequent collaborator Louisahhh where he released his debut album «Her Empty Eyes» in 2017. Throughout the next 2 years, he has delivered exciting collaborations with cutting edge electro imprints such as CPU and Cultivated Electronics in the UK, Private Persons in Moscow, or Mechatronica in Berlin, while playing an all electro live set in clubs and raves, from Paris to London or Tokyo.

2021 will see the release of his second album, Rhizome, with a focus on the concepts of interdependence and creative ecosystems

Shapes of Rhythm welcomes Emanative to the label for his first vinyl project following contributions to its Isolation Compilation and an Awkward Corners EP both earlier in 2020. Known for his love of collaboration, Emanative connected remotely with Bex Burch during the global lockdown. Disrupt #4 is the result of a meeting of two percussive minds in the midst of a pandemic, and like all good things it started with a groove. Nick initially provided Bex with a hazy, electrified afrobeat sketch. What followed was a musical dialogue which quickly gained momentum. A punk-esque vocal mantra was added, reflecting the here and now of 2020 to drive the track forward. Bex's trademark Ghanaian Gyil xylophone is the conversation with the groove throughout the track. Hector Plimmer also joins the collaboration, seasoning the mix with synthesizers and fx.

Following his stunning Dislocation Songs LP, the label drafted in Awkward Corners AKA Paradise Bangkok's Chris Menist for a remix on the flip that heads towards the club (remember clubs?). Adding 808s, his own conga recordings, synth lines, a sprinkle of acid and a warped vocal treatment, this is classic Awkward Corners: pumped with feeling and rhythm. If Andrew Weatherall was still with us today he'd be digging this take on the a-side.

Second Ballet Mechanique re-issue from the Eevo Lute archives. Originally released in 1997, it was his second appearance on the legendary Eevo Lute imprint. The Borrenbergs 12 EP II marks Jeroen Borrenbergs return with three jams of 90s feeling electro and half-stepping techno that easily passed the test of time. First track 'Where's The DJ (Pissbreak Mix)' counts over 13 minutes of gritty acid electro, making a halfway transformation into a moody two-step mover. The perfect two-in-one track gives you all the time to go for a toilet break while still being in the mix ;). On the b-side the emotive side of Borrenbergs returns to the surface, with 'Vinyl Voyage' being a spooky bleep jam and 'Diamond Cut' presenting his trademark bassline energizers. Fully re-mastered 2021 edition.

"...a swirl of the bedrock elements that make up modern music, his LP lifts from Soul, Funk and Hip-Hop to create this ode to Detroit House."
A NATION OF MILLIONS

EARLY SUPPORT FROM ALEXANDER NUT ("Tight beats from Snips as always. Dexters Pain is my fave here. Big ups"), KARIZMA ("Proud to hear a friend grow musically, great work on the album my friend...Full Support. K'), RED RACK'EM, SK VIBEMAKER

SNIPS delivers the first vinyl release on Houseology. The Barbershop LP is a tongue in cheek play on the production techniques Todd Worsnip aka Snips normally uses when making his Hip-Hop work. This 8 track LP is meeting of the two worlds of House and Hip-Hop tapping into Snips' raw ability to find the best cuts and chops needed for any genre.

DJ Snips began his career at legendary London record store Deal Real', where he ran the open mic night alongside British host and comedian Doc Brown, Snips' years at Deal Real saw him DJ'ing alongside performances from several US heavy hitters including Kanye West, Mos Def and the Black Eyed Peas.

Snips' knack for manoeuvring through a wide range of Hip Hop oeuvres has seen him play around the world, Specifically in NYC where he has been a guest at legendary parties including Everyday People, Bible Study, Mobile Mondays and Ginny's Supper Club. As well as being a regular in NY, Snips has also headlined events in The Philippines, Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, The Netherlands, Qatar, France, Norway and Spain. When Snips isn't touring or on the Club circuit, he's known for churning out beats for some of the most talented MCs on both sides of the Atlantic. His production work includes tracks for several major US recording artists including M1 (Dead Prez), Capadonna (Wu Tang), Sean Price.

Work on the Houseology record label allows Snips the opportunity to articulate himself even more so within his skilled production, by drawing a definitive line between the House/Hip-Hop relationship which has existed for years.

“This is the time. And this is the record of the time.”

Laurie Anderson’s 1982 debut album, Big Science, will return to vinyl for the first time in 30 years with a new red vinyl edition on Nonesuch Records. The release includes the re-mastered original album first released on CD for the 25thanniversary in 2007.

In the early 1980s, Laurie Anderson was already respected as a conceptual artist and composer, adept at employing gear both high-tech and homemade in her often violin-based pieces, and she was a familiar figure in the cross-pollinating, Lower Manhattan music-visual art-performance circles from which Philip Glass and David Byrne also emerged. While working on her now-legendary seven-hour performance art/theater piece United States, Part I–IV, she cut the spare ‘O Superman (For Massenet)’, an electronic-age update of 19th century French operatic composer Jules Massenet’s aria ‘O Souverain’, for the tiny New York City indie label 110 Records. In the UK, DJ John Peel picked up a copy of this very limited-edition 33⅓ RPM 7” and spun the eight-minute-plus track on BBC Radio 1. The exposure resulted in an unlikely #2 hit, lots of attention in the press, and a worldwide deal with Warner Bros. Records.

’Cause when love is gone, there's always justice.
And when justice is gone, there's always force.
And when force is gone, there's always Mom. Hi Mom!

At the time of its original release, the NME wrote of Big Science, ‘There’s a dream-like, subconscious quality about her songs which helps them work at deeper, secret levels of the psyche.’ With instrumentation ranging from tape loops to found sounds to bag pipes, Big Science anticipated the tech-savvy beats, anything-goes instrumentation and sample-based nature of much contemporary electronic and dance music. On the album’s 25th anniversary, Uncut noted, ‘The broader themes of alienation and disconnection still resonate, while Anderson’s use of loops and traditional/synthesized instrumentation is prescient.’

“In the ’70s I travelled a lot,” Anderson recounts. “I worked on a tobacco farm in Kentucky, hitchhiked to the North Pole, lived in a yurt in Chiapas, and worked on a media commune. I had my own romantic vision of the road. My plan was to make a portrait of the country. Big Science, the first part of the puzzle, eventually became part two of United States I–IV (Transportation, Politics, Money, Love). My goal was to be not just the narrator but also the outsider, the stranger. Although I wasfascinated by the United States, this portrait was also about how the country looked from a distance. I was performing a lot in Europe, where American culture was simultaneously booed and cheered. But the portrait was also a picture of a culture inventing a digital world and learning to live in it. Big Science was about technology, size, industrialization,shifting attitudes toward authority, and individuality. It was sometimes alarmist, picturing the country as a burning building, a plane crash. Alongside the techno was the apocalyptic. The absurd. The everyday. It was also a series of short stories about odd characters – hatcheck clerks and pilots, preachers, drifters and strangers. There was something about Massenet’s aria ‘O Souverain’ – which inspired ‘O Superman’ – that almost stopped my heart. The pauses, the melody. “O souverain, ô juge, ô père” (O Lord, o judge, o father). A prayer about empire, ambition, and loss.”

Laurie Anderson is one of America's most renowned – and daring – creative pioneers. Her work, which encompasses music, visual art, poetry, film, and photography, has challenged and delighted audiences around the world for over 40 years. Anderson released her first album with Nonesuch Records in 2001, the critically lauded Life on a String. Her subsequent releases on the label include Live in New York (2002), Homeland (2010), the soundtrack to Anderson’s acclaimed film Heart of a Dog (2015), and her Grammy-winning collaboration with Kronos Quartet, Landfall (2018). Additionally, Anderson’s virtual-reality film La Camera Insabbiata, with Hsin-Chien Huang, won the 2017 Venice Film Festival Award for Best VR Experience, and, in 2018, Skira Rizzoli published her book All the Things I Lost in the Flood: Essays on Pictures, Language and Code, the most comprehensive collection of her artwork to date.

A tender and sweeping story about what roots us, Minari follows a Korean- American family that moves to a tiny Arkansas farm in search of their own American Dream. The family home changes completely with the arrival of their sly, foul-mouthed, but incredibly loving grandmother. Amidst the instability and challenges of this new life in the rugged Ozarks, Minari shows the undeniable resilience of family and what really makes a home.

Minari already won several awards at Sundance Film Festival, Alliance of Women Film Journalists, Boston Society of Film Critics, Denver Film Festival, Florida Film Critics Circle, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, North Carolina Film Critics Association and appeared on over 30 critics’ year-end top-ten lists, including first place on two lists and second place on four lists.

Emile Mosseri is an American composer, pianist, singer and producer based in Los Angeles. He has scored films and series including The Last Black Man In San Francisco, Kajillionaire, HBO’s Random Acts of Flyness and Season 2 of Amazon’s Homecoming. Emile is a member of the indie-rock band The Dig.

neon candy vinyl incl. 24"x12" poster

To Sonic Boom’s Pete Kember, re-imagining the past can lead to ways forward on life’s natural, interconnected path. In April of 2020, he released his first album in over 20 years called All Things Being Equal, a lush and psychedelic record full of interwoven synthesizers and droning vocal melodies, concerned with the state of humanity and the natural world. An entire year later, Kember has re-imagined his last release and created an album of self-remixed tracks called Almost Nothing Is Nearly Enough, inspired by the spirit of late 70s, early 80s records by artists like Kraftwerk, Blondie and Eddy Grant. His new album is hypnotic and moody, holding onto the existential framework of the original, but exposes a fresh, beating realm of possibility.

In his last album, All Things Being Equal, Kember told regenerative stories backwards and forwards as he explored dichotomies zen and fearsome, reverential of his analog toolkit and protective of the plants and trees that support our lives. His work is always complex, both in its instrumentation built using modular synthesizers, and with his attempts to observe the many variables that exist in the universe that are intrinsically connected. Kember takes his existential and musical curiosity even further in Almost Nothing Is Nearly Enough, explaining “how we interact now is especially critical.” Written while the world endures many environmental and human crises, the album is both a balm and a reminder to nurture our own relationships, both natural and personal.

Almost Nothing Is Nearly Enough includes remixes of six tracks from All Things Being Equaland two tracks previously released exclusively in Japan. The album opens just like the original, with “Just Imagine”in its remixed form. The modular synthesizer at its foundation sounds familiar, but as the song progresses it branches out into various veins of sparkling embellishments and deep humming to truly expand the world that the song attempts to envision. On the albums’title track “Almost Nothing Is Nearly Enough,” Kember’s instrumentation mirrors the interactions he wishes to inspire; synthesizers responding and building on one another, a conversation of sorts that the human world currently seems to avoid.

Almost Nothing Is Nearly Enough sets itself up to be a grooving, night-time record, while carrying on Sonic Boom’s sense of urgency to assess our relationship with the world. As Sonic Boom revisits his last album, he exposes the arteries and bones of his past work and shares its raw, exciting potential. The result is a re-textured and re-colored new set of songs, emphasizing Sonic Boom’s ability to make a sonically expansive album feel distinctly impactful for anyone who listens closely.

- First 45 from new label 3 Palm Records - Classic deep funk and soul cover featuring singer Adryon De León - Hard break beats and soaring vocals // West Coast soul and funk powerhouse Orgone returns to their roots with this scorching cover of the James Brown-produced Marva Whitney song "It's My Thing (You Can't Tell Me Who To Sock It To)." The original is considered a breakbeat classic and has been sampled by hip hop's golden era stalwarts (NWA, Public Enemy, & EPMD). Orgone brings their brand of heavy hitting, gritty production to update the song for new ears and a new era. Lead vocalist Adryon de León struts and belts with swagger and soul, riffing and owning Marva's response to the Isley Brothers' "It's Your Thing." Orgone's seasoned rhythm section chugs hard and heavy in their crusade to do justice to the legacy of James Brown's renowned band The J.B.'s. Topped off with percussion breaks and killer horn lines, this side is ready to be embraced by soul aficionados, beat junkies, and deep funk crate diggers_not to mention the hardcore fanbase that Orgone has established over two decades of critically acclaimed studio releases and a well-earned reputation for fiery live shows. This is the debut 45 from 3 Palm Records.

Arrivals features O’Rourke’s first new material in two years and brings us the most emo-tionally raw and affecting album of his career. Produced by Paul Weller at Black Barn Studios, Surrey, the sound is stripped back to Declan’s soulful and resonant voice, the virtuosic acoustic guitar playing for which he’s renowned and only the occasional sparse arrangement of strings and late-night drums bringing colour and light to the LP’s 10 songs. Weller, a fan of Declan’s song writing for some years, also adds his multi-instrumental abilities, including a beautiful piano accompaniment, to the closing track.

Available again on vinyl for the first time in seven years, ‘The Fact Facer’ is
now pressed on jaundice vinyl (clear with hi-melt green and yellow).
Holy Sons is Emil Amos, a musician whose chameleonic tendencies and
technical versatility has lead to him becoming an in demand multiinstrumentalist as a founding member of Grails and Lilacs & Champagne, as
well as a member of Om and a hired gun for Jandek, to name a few.
Holy Sons is at the centre of his many musical personalities and is his
longest standing project, acting as an outlet for some of his most personal
and direct songs. In Holy Sons, Amos puts his restless imagination to work
using a variety of inventive home recording methods to turn melodic slowburners into multi-layered, atmospheric missives.
While his methods and prolificacy provide a kinship with Sebadoh, Ariel Pink
and other musicians who have offered countless transmissions from their
bedroom floor, Holy Sons comes from the mind of someone who has
internalized the minutia of 70s rock music and eschews the stereotypical lofi sound for a much deeper and more varied palate.
‘The Fact Facer’, his Thrill Jockey debut, bathes Amos’ thoughtful and even
at times philosophical, songs in Technicolor darkness and reinforces Holy
Sons as his musical centrepiece. The album is a collection of home recorded
atmospheric slow-burners steeped in 70s rock with an experimentalist edge.
The songs on ‘The Fact Facer’ creep up on the listener, their fiercely
addictive melodies unravelling slowly and purposefully. Jumping smoothly
between many facets of Amos’ songwriting, the album does much to
establish him as a talented multi-instrumentalist.
From the lysergic leads of ‘Selfish Thoughts’ to the Danny Kirwan
referencing solos of ‘Transparent Powers’ and the skilful acoustic flourishes
of ‘The Fact Facer’, Amos proves himself as adept and creative a guitarist as
he is a drummer.
It is telling that Amos has built up two Holy Sons bands simultaneously: one
based in Portland and one based in New York. Wherever the wind takes
him, there are musicians willing to pick up their instruments and follow his
lead.
“The most admirable thing about Amos’s songwriting is his willingness to
leave empty space in his songs, even though multiple tracks of vocals and
instruments go into each composition” - Pop Matters
“‘The Fact Facer’ is easily Amos’ most focused offering yet, and a perfect
entry point into a back catalogue that’s sure to have listeners drinking the
Kool-Aid again and again.” - Exclaim

The popular mixture of extreme metal mixed with timeless melodies, driving riffs and epic parts as well as the aggressive screams and the choral vocals was retained and expanded with a lot of flair by several nuances. WOLFCHANT was founded in 2003 in Sankt Oswald, Lower Bavaria by Lokhi, Skaahl, Gaahnt and Norgahd. After the two demo self-productions "The Fangs Of The Southern Death" and "The Herjan Trilogy" WOLFCHANT signed their first record deal in 2005. With the albums "Bloody Tales Of Disgraced Lands" (2005) and the groundbreaking "A Pagan Storm" (2007) WOLFCHANT was able to gain a large fan base. This was shortly thereafter expanded internationally with the albums "Determined Damnation" (2009) and "Call Of The Black Winds" (2011) and the band played more tours, concerts and festivals in other European countries. The typical melodic pagan metal of Wolfchant was strengthened from this point on by the clear vocals of Michael Seifert (Rebellion) and the epic factor of the songs was expanded. After the release of "Embraced By Fire" (2013) and "Bloodwinter" (2017) WOLFCHANT managed to take another big step forward and further develop their fanbase worldwide. In addition to festivals such as Wacken, Summer Breeze, the 70000 Tons Of Metal (USA), WOLFCHANT played numerous national and international festivals, concerts and tours and earned a place at the forefront of German Epic Pagan Metal. In 2020 the band signed a new contract with REAPER ENTERTAINMENT and for 2021 the new disc "OMEGA : BESTIA" is now in the starting blocks waiting to be released. Blurb IG#1: With their first single "Komet" epic metal heroes WOLFCHANT strike back with everything they have! Blasting straight into the listeners ears "Komet" might become a new WOLFCHANT classic. Blurb IG#2: Der Geist und die Dunkelheit: A powerful hymn with a groovy and driving riff, combined with superb guitar playing and a epic chorus and lyrics in german!

Superb unreleased soundtrack from British 1972 sex comedy starring Gabrielle Drake (Nick Drake’s sister) and Rchard O’Sullivan (Gilbert O’Sullivan’s brother!). Brilliant music on many levels, 17 sexy tracks of swinging jet-set jazz, groovy scatty vocals, hell it must be good because it’s on Trunk Records.

Take yourself back to the fleapit cinemas of the early 1970s. My home town of Aldershot had two - the ABC/123 (with three screens) and The Palace (just one screen, and anything but palatial). Au Pair Girls, released in 1972, was exactly the kind of soft porn “comedy” flick with a vague plot that would, without doubt, have been playing as part of a double bill to the regular “dirty mac brigade”. Such films and such establishments guaranteed the small crowd regular titillating wide screen visions of nude women in preposterous situations and fulfilling preposterous fantasies.
The title of Au Pair Girls suggests it all of course; yes, four young women fly into London from Europe and Asia, are sent to their new employers and find themselves in unexpected and unusual situations pretty fast. There is of course full nudity, crudity and a large slab of cheese on the menu.There is also no real comedy, a sprinkling of infamous character actors (Richard O’Sullivan, John Le Mesurier), and “UFO” actress Gabrielle Drake (sister of Nick Drake) wearing nothing at all. If anything, the film has maintained a vague middle aged male following because of Gabrielle.
But there’s little to save this film from contemporary criticism - its outdated view of life, rights, sex and taste sit uncomfortably today. But the jet set soundtrack by Roger Webb was worth saving.
By 1972 Roger Webb’s career in film and TV music was taking off. He was an established songwriter and live pianist with a jazz trio. He’d already penned a few British scores and was just starting on a formidable future with library companies including Chappell, de Wolfe and Capitol. His route to Au Pair Girls was accidentally through Norman Newell, one of the giants of the post war music industry.Actress and performer Dee / Deanne Shenderry had asked Newell to recommend an artist to arrange her up and coming album. New;ee recommended Roger Webb.The two worked together and some music was produced, but to my knowledge only got to acetate stage (possibly for Apple Records). Dee husband was Kenneth Shipman, a co-owner ofTwickenham film studios.And so when Kenneth Shipman started pre
production of Au Pair Girls, Roger Webb was an easy go-to for film music composition.
Many years ago there was an original reel / master for Au Pair Girls. It was transferred to CD, DAT and cassette circa 1990 and the rapidly degrading tape was subsequently misplaced, lost or just binned. So all we had to work with was a rather shaky transfer from nearly 30 years ago, one which included numerous wobbles as well as speeding up and slowing down moments.The job of rescuing all this was left to Jon Brooks, my hero for all such musical problems. The end result is what you hear on this album. It is by no means sonically perfect but it is all we will ever have.
It’s certainly not Roger Webb’s best ever score (I have more of his ace work coming) but it has a certain charm and relentlessness.The lyrics were written by Norman Newell, and I can imagine the pair having a huge amount of fun putting the score together and recording it, with - as you’d expect - a pretty tight band and lively vocal group.The main theme does, as one reviewer state, “go on a bit”, but there’s enough musically here for me to get excited about and really want to “stick it out”. So I have.

Following 2012's acclaimed Red Nail album, machine manipulator, DJ, collector and music auteur, Cherrystones has been consistently working - composing, producing, editing, educating, programming, soundtracking and performing.

Biding time, considering and now ready to present the latest instalment of his journey. After completing the Critical Mass compilation - with part 2 due late 2020 - he left London for Scotland for two years to isolate. An experiment to truly find himself, with no social circle or need to engage, the objective to alchemise and create.

Building an intensive, all analogue studio running to 1/4 & 2 tape, the majority of these recordings are the emotions and moods drawn from this detoxification. The widescream Rave Digger, horror-haus Lavid Grinch show a more expansive Cherrystones. The occult beats of Uhuru Glue lead to the anthem Amaziac, with it's organic AFX rising, before again down to future beats of Silver Soarde and closer, Sethodone Recess Plant.

A musical blacksmith, a magician, conjurer a part of me i knew existed but have never fully spoken to or back to, i saw the sun rise and the clouds swarm, i saw dark settle and as the process speaks for itself they were aged in Bronze, dawn of man-man of dawn.

‘Cuba: Music and Revolution’ is a new album compiled by Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker (Soul Jazz Records) that explores the many new styles that emerged in Cuba in the 1970s as Jazz, Funk, Brazilian Tropicalia and even Disco mixed together with Latin and Salsa on the island as Cuban artists experimented with new musical forms created in the unique socialist state of Cuba.
The album comes as a deluxe double CD and heavyweight triple vinyl, complete with extensive sleeve notes, jam-packed with heavy basslines, synth and WahWah guitar funk combined with the heavyweight percussion, powerful brass lines and the all-encompassing Latin rhythms of Cuban music known throughout the world.
The album is released to coincide with the massive new deluxe large format book ‘Cuba: Music and Revolution: Original Cover Art of Cuban Music: Record Sleeve Designs of Revolutionary Cuba 1959-90’, which is also compiled by Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker (Soul Jazz Records) and which features the music and record designs of Cuba, made in the 30-year period following the Cuban Revolution.
The music on this album features legendary Cuban groups such as Irakere, Los Van Van and Pablo Milanés, as well as a host of lesser known artists such as the radical Grupo De Experimentación, Juan Pablo Torres and Algo Nuevo, Grupo Monumental and Orquesta Ritmo Oriental, groups whose names remain largely unknown outside of Cuba owing to the now 60-year old US trade embargo which remains in place today and which prevents trade with Cuba - and thus most Cuban records were only ever available in Cuba or in ex-Soviet Union states.
The music on this album reflects the most cutting-edge of Cuban groups that were recording in Cuba in the 1970s and 1980s - who were all searching for a new Cuban identity and new musical forms that reflected both the Afro-Cuban cultural heritage of a nation that gave birth to Latin music - and its new position as a socialist state. Most of the music featured on this album has never been heard outside of Cuba.
Both Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker have been involved in Cuban music for more than two decades - Gilles Peterson with his many Havana Cultura projects for his Brownswood label and Stuart Baker with a number of Soul Jazz Records albums recorded in Cuba. This Soul Jazz Records album is released in conjunction with Egrem, the Cuban state record company, and has been put together after the many crate-digging trips that both compilers have made on the streets of Havana and beyond in Cuba stretching over a 20-year period, searching out rare and elusive original Cuban vinyl records.
Press - Reviews & features in Mojo, The Wire, The Guardian, The Times, The Telegraph, Pitchfork, Irish Times, The Observer, Clash, Vice, Metro, Record Collector, Uncut, Independent, Q.

First-ever official re-issue of the Ecuadorian composer's stunning electroacoustic composition "Oeldorf 8" on vinyl and CD. Remastered by KASSIAN TROYER at D&M, Berlin.

MESÍAS MAIGUASHCA (b. December 24th, 1938 in Quito / Ecuador) is a composer of Neue Musik, especially electroacoustic music, who studied at the Conservatorio Nacional de Quito, at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY (1958–65), with ALBERTO GINASTERA at the Instituto di Tella in Buenos Aires, at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne and, after a short return to Ecuador, attended the Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik in Darmstadt and the Fourth Cologne Courses for New Music in 1966–67 where he studied with KARLHEINZ STOCKHAUSEN. From 1968 to 1972, MAIGUASHCA worked closely with STOCKHAUSEN in the Electronic Music Studio of the Westdeutscher Rundfunk in Cologne and joined STOCKHAUSEN's ensemble for performances at the German Pavilion at the Expo '70 in Osaka. In 1971 he became a founding member of the OELDORF GROUP of composers and performers, and began work at the Centre Européen pour la Recherche Musicale in Metz, at IRCAM in Paris, and at the ZKM in Karlsruhe. From 1990 – 2004 MAIGUASHCA was Professor of Electronic Music at the Musikhochschule of Freiburg im Breisgau where he still lives today.

The OELDORF GROUP, named after the small village 40 km away from Cologne where they lived and worked in a rented farmhouse where they set up their own studio for electronic music and studio productions, was a musicians' collective active during the 1970s. In the adjacent barn, the group held concerts for audiences up to 300 people with an emphasis on live-electronic music and other kinds of new and avant-garde music. Thanks to a long-standing contact with the Westdeutscher Rundfund, the core members of the OELDORF GROUP (PETER EÖTVÖS - electronics and keyboards, the violinist/violist and composer JOACHIM KRIST, electronics specialist and composer MESÍAS MAIGUASHCA, who also played keyboards, and his wife GABY SCHUMACHER – cello) received commissions for compositions, invitations to perform in the Musik der Zeit concert series, as well as having many of their summer concerts recorded for the late-night broadcasts of WDR3.

One of these commissioned compositions is "Oeldorf 8": a retrospective portrait of the OELDORF GROUP consisting of a series of ten short pieces for four instrumentalists (clarinet, violin, cello, electric organ/synthesizer) and tape which may be played either simultaneously or continuously without a break. It premiered in 1974 at the Darmstädter Ferienkurse and was released on LP two years later and turned into a sought-after, but not very well-known rarity achieving collector's prices., and was later unofficially reissued on KEITH FULLERTON-WHITMAN's Creep Pone CDr label.

Conceived as a sonic diary with an edge to encompass radical electronic synthesis, the 48 minute composition proves " … a thing of wonder; from the outset, MAIGUASHCA's spoken introduction of the players & concept gets slowly eroded by errant, pointillist electronic sound … which then lets loose for a good 10 minutes before a swarm of slowly rising held tones c/o the players acoustic arsenal slowly comes to the fore. On the second side, the acoustic sounds - patiently, elegantly state their cases across a good half of the segment until a rising pulse-wave drone essentially annihilates the more nuanced phrasing & slowly builds to an almost ROLAND KAYN-esque climax of raw oscillator gristle" (Soundohm).

44 years after its original release, MAIGUASHCA's stunning album finally sees its deserved and overdue re-release on CD and LP, carefully remastered by KASSIAN TROYER at D&M, Berlin.


"Maiguashca … is part of the first generation of South American maverick sound explorers that in the 1960s paved the way for a tradition of innovation that persists in the present noise and psychedelic scenes of the continent. Along with Edgar Valcárcel, César Bolaños, Beatriz Ferreyra, Mauricio Kagel or José Vicente Asuar, he contributed to expand the possibilities of musical language beyond the dominant Western canon …"

David Jarrin / Kraak Festival

12" Vinyl with Download Code. Expanding their rich sound palette Forbidden Dance moves on to the next plateau with their third release. After releasing two legends Alton Miller and Vick Lavender, new EP is signed by a young and sound broad producer from Naples - The Mechanical Man. Drawing influences from the sound of Chicago, Philadelphia and Motor City he achieved to catch the multi essence of the house sound into a four-track journey marked with slow and fast-paced soulful corners dominated by toned vocals and stripped-down beats all the way to the underexposed lounge sections and playful intermissions.
Drum programming is a strong point for The Mechanical Man and it can be clearly heard in "A1 - The Streets Of Revelation". Infused with most probably vintage Linn Drum hits, the track intertwines numerous elements in a hoppy and gentle swirl riding on double vocals. Everything takes a full sonic conclusion in the third quarter when the main synth starts to breathe fully.
Residing on almost the same rhythm hits, "A2 - I Keep Thinking" is more of a deep dive into love dreams. Emotional and subtle pads and chords progression are really felt here as the track rubs under soft vocals in need of a response.
The light essence is captured on "B1 - What Your Eyes Don't See". While the delayed vocals are cutting the motion and the rhythm is rougher, it still manages to keep the terrace vibe movement. Rhode-like section carries the track all the way with occasionally reduced percussion hits spicing up the background.
On the other note, "B2 - Take Her In Your Arms" is a gentle dance of maracas and rhodes. The acoustic bass is quite seductive and inviting whilst flutes and other elements riddle the track with a toned-down lounge feel and sway into hypnotic slow-motion.
Diverse, rich and enchanting tunes by The Mechanical Man!

Objets Trouvés
1 – ein Alltagsgegenstand, der zum Kunstwerk gemacht wird, indem der Künstler ihn findet, seiner bisherigen Funktion entledigt und ihn als Kunstwerk behandelt.
2 – ein Album von Twit One mit 16 Songs, inspiriert von verschiedenen Situationen und Sounds. Die Gästeliste wird geschmückt von Reginald Omas Mamode IV aus London, Kurt Wagner (Lambchop) aus Nashville und den Kölner Artists Keshavara und Imam Ally Salaam. “Objets Trouvés” ist Twit Ones drittes Soloalbum bei Melting Pot Music. Wenn wir seine Projekte mit Hulk Hodn (als Testiculo Y Uno), den Summers Sons (als Syrup), Lazy Jones (als Flatpocket), Count Bass D und Fleur Earth dazuzählen, dann blicken wir auf 10+ LPs zurück (LP steht für Longplayer; die Betonung ist uns wichtig, da wir jedes Twit One Album auf Vinyl releasen). 2009 startete Twit One das Beat-Game in Deutschland zusammen mit seinem Weggefährte Hulk Hodn. Twit One war Lo-Fi lange bevor Instrumental-Hip-Hop zu Coffeshop-Musik wurde (Wun Two und FloFilz können das bestätigen), obwohl er seinen Sound niemals mit einem solchen Begriff beschreiben würde. Heute spielt Twit One in seiner eigenen Liga und hat einen Ausdruck eigens für sein Genre geprägt: Cool Bap. Er ist ein Beats schaffender Tausendsassa, der Musik, Artworks und Videos kreiert. Er ist Musikkurator, DJ, Radiohost und betreibt einen Plattenladen (Groove Attack Recordstore in Köln). Auf der Suche nach „Beats to chill or study to“ wird man bei „Objets Trouvés“ nicht fündig. Bei einer Vorliebe für Musik, die ausdrucksvoll und vielseitig ist, eine Botschaft transportieren kann und ihre Wurzeln kennt, sollte „Objets Trouvés“ zum Standardrepertoire werden. Unterstützt von einem Team aus grandiosen Gästen – von Londoner MC/Sänger Reginald Omas Momade IV bis zu Kurt Wagner von den US-Alternativ-Rock-Ikonen Lambchomp – vereint Twit One Hip-Hop, Soul, Jazz und Funk wie nur er es kann. Untangiert von Trends und Moden ist sein Sound charakterisiert von Humor und kompromissloser Eigensinnigkeit, besonders empfehlenswert für Fans von Sun Ra, Dilla oder Moodymann (um nur ein paar der GOATS zu nennen).

Superb Gatefold delux editioon of a magic ambient to ambient-core sound... Ritch and conceptual music... Out from the fields and upper than any montaign... this is This tale is written inside the gatefold : The Bandiagara Escarpement unravels for more than 400.000 hectares, multitude of sandstone cliffs and plateaus, ravines and caverns. A West African area of unique and exceptional beauty also known as the Land of Dogon.


Summer night is fading away when the Hogon Kalapodis stands up abruptly after days completely motionless staring at the stars through the openings of the Kukulu Kommo Cave. Time has come. The heliacal rising of Sirius is getting nearer. Aware of the power of the word to bring everything into existence by naming, the Hogon reaches with a resolute pace the Polio Kommo Plain where his ancestors wrote in stone the past and future of mankind. There he finds the Awa fully deployed in two lines, the oldest standing and the others sitting before them. Dressed with braids of dyed fibers and embroidered with cowry shells, figures of mythological beings, humans, animals hold the painted wooden masks tightly between their teeth. Behind them, the whole tribe stood around the rock ark in the kanaga position : legs well planted in the sandstone, arms waving to the lightening sky.
Just a nod and Nogod, the most skilled percussionist, starts a solo on his Gom Boy. First he keeps on repeating over and over the same obsessive pattern and then, squeezing the leather chords of the talking drum with arm and body, he modulates the frequency produced with the beats originating from the rest of the tribe. The last Dama has just begun.

The end of the mourning ritual is now looming over the cliff. Hundreds of Boy Na and Boy Tolo and Gom Boys jam together with bells and bullroarers and all the singers. The masked crews jump and dance quickly in sonic belligerence and the faster they cross one another, the more the rhythm accelerates.
Drumming gets supersonic. No longer possible to detect a percussive sound, only a single powerful Black Drone. Super fast music becomes super slow.


In the light of dawn, looking at the horizon, Sigui Sirius A Tolo is now rising. Also its dark companion Po Sirius B Tolo is over there and far away a new New form is taking shape. Nogod standing right at the middle of the vibing tribe, whispers sweetly something but somehow in all that rumble everybody hears clearly the name : S………I………R………I………U………S………C

In 2018, Sean Worsey, a successful lawyer in California, began to receive some rather surprising emails. These were not from prospective clients, or about current cases he was working on, but rather queries from record collectors. They wanted more details about a pair of obscure, largely forgotten records he’d made in the mid 1980s as part of a virtually unknown band called Passion Theatre. To say he was surprised is an understatement. “People from around the world were emailing, calling and messaging us about the music, particularly a track called ‘Vacation Day’,” he says. “Our records were rare and gaining in value, mainly because there were not many manufactured at the time. By 2019, several individuals in the music industry had emailed me about licensing tracks.”

We eventually agreed with Sean to include ‘Vacation Day’, on Charles Bals’ second compilation, Retour Au Club Meduse. Impressed with the quality of the compilation Sean approached us again to discuss whether we would be interested in reissuing both of his old EP’s in full, an idea he’d been considering for a few months already. We jumped at the idea of course and have spent the last few months putting the reissue project together. The original studio tapes were long gone but a friend of Sean’s had some mint vinyl copies which we had shipped over from California to use as the master source, restored and mastered superbly by Technology Works in London. The striking original artwork from the two EP’s has been faithfully reworked into a gatefold double vinyl LP by designer Asger Behncke Jacobsen and features extensive interview/sleeve notes by Matt Anniss.

In the words of Sean Worsey - “One of the nicest things about the renewed interest in our music is that we can now enjoy it for what it is – back then we were a bit too worried about succeeding.”

El Michels Affair is back with another two-sider picture sleeve 7". The A side, Murkit Gem, taken from the upcoming album, Yeti Season, is another pairing of El Michels Affair's unpredictable brand of soul and the lilting vocals of Piya Malik. From the crack of the first snare this one sinks its teeth in you. The backing music simultaneously has the swag of the darker side of Wu Tang as well as the light hearted bounce of a cartoon theme song. Piya Malik's vocals dance all over the tune, cementing Murkit Gem as an unlikely but undeniable "get to the dancefloor now" record. The B side Cham Cham is a non album cut exclusive to this 45. Again EMA invites Piya Malik to the microphone and she shares her styled storytelling vocals. It is the vocal version of Perfect Harmony, which appears on Yeti season sans vocals Picture sleeve art by the legendary Ghanaian artist, Mr Brew. Courtesy of Deadly Prey Gallery, Chicago, IL.

Acid Jazz present ‘Circles: The Ultimate Fleur De Lys’, the
definitive compilation centred around one of the greatest 60s
bands.
Atlantic Records, Andrew Loog Oldham, Shel Talmy, Cream,
Isaac Hayes and Tony Blackburn - all these and so many more
turn up in the story of Southampton band the Fleur De Lys. You
may not have heard of them and if you have it may be just
because of their glorious cover of the Who’s ‘Circles’, an
ultimate freakbeat anthem that this compilation is named after,
but the singles they released in the second half of the 1960s
are one of the greatest collections of singles by any band,
ranging from R&B through freakbeat and psych and back into
club soul.
Emerging from the English South Coast’s competitive club
scene they signed to Rolling Stones’ manager Andrew Loog
Oldham’s pioneering indie label Immediate where they
recorded two singles before being taken under the wing of
Frank Fenter, who worked out of the UK Polydor office running
the UK arm of Atlantic. The group went through numerous line
up changes as they recorded a series of singles which are now
some of the most collectible of the era.
Acid Jazz and Countdown Records have been the custodians of
the Fleur De Lys catalogue for the last decade and this
compilation is the culmination of that work, containing all the
singles that they released for Immediate, Polydor and Atlantic
(where they pipped Led Zeppelin to become the first UK signed
band to that legendary label).
Issued on CD and gatefold coloured double vinyl, the album
has been produced with the full co-operation of the group’s
Keith Guster, allowing us access to previously unseen photos
and illustrations. Compiled by Eddie Piller and Dean Rudland
and the band’s official biographer Paul ‘Smiler’ Anderson, who
has contributed an extended note that tells the band’s story in
compelling detail.

Vertaal first mixtape, Paradigm Shifting had a soft digital released on the 23rd April 2020, on Vertaal’s Empty Quarter Tribe imprint.

Self-produced, recorded and mixed in their own studio, the EP was nominated by Jazz Revelations for EP of 2020 and produced

four singles, ‘Polar’, ‘Duels, ‘Drop Off’ and ‘Dilla5’.


2020’s lock down led to a completely remixed and partial re-recording of the mixtape into a full, seamlessly mixed double LP with 6 additional

tracks and a further 6 musical ‘skits’ recorded separately by all the contributor musicians on the album during lock-down.
The limited edition numbered coloured vinyl 2LP will be released on March 26th 2021 supported by a fifth single, Alcazar b/w Husky on April 2nd

with promo video directed by Ben Sommers (Smoke No Pony Productions) whose previous credits include Mary Epworth, Archive, Young Knives and many others.



Vertaal have been an increasingly notable presence in the nu-jazz scene over the past 3 years.
Tipped as “ones to watch for 2019” by Jazz Re:freshed, Vertaal played an exclusive pick of sold out shows at prestigious venues such as Ronnie Scott’s, Pizza Express Soho and the Jazz Café.

They have also supported the likes of Mark Guiliana (David Bowie), & Pete Ray Biggin (Level 42) and finished off 2019 guesting for Richard Spaven at The Cambridge Jazz Festival.



Of the six tracks on the current mixtape, first single ‘Polar’ was played on the uber-cool Deeper Cuts show by DJ Karl Bos who described the track as an “incredibly produced record.”

Tony Minvielle (Jazz FM) urged his listeners to “…hunt this down. They’re making incredible music!” after playing two tracks from Paradigm Shifting on his show,

and the mixtape has garnered similar excited responses from many DJs and reviewers (press list below).



Paradigm Shifting will be released on March 26th. The shrink-wrap will be stickered with full information and press quotes.

Hailing from Los Angeles, Jimmy Tamborello has been a key figure in refining what today is considered electronica for over 20 years. "The Seas Trees See" is the first of two Dntel albums to be released in 2021 by Morr Music in collaboration with Les Albums Claus: a free-floating and rather loose stroke of musical genius, giving ambience a whole new meaningful context. It combines crackles and hiss with deep, yet modest, synths and poignant, yet elegant, vocals and lyrics. "Away", its counterpart album, will follow later in 2021. It will showcase Dntel’s unapologetic love for pop music from a long-gone era, presenting yet another aspect of his multi-faceted personality. Dntel has always covered many musical grounds – from the pop-infused hits on "Life Is Full Of Possibilities" (Plug Research, 2001) to his much more abstract works on "Aimlessness" (Pampa Records, 2012), "Human Voice” (Leaving Records, 2014), and his electronics for The Postal Service (Sub Pop). Whatever his style – Tamborello has retained his very own musical voice.

When it comes to producing music, it can be a good idea to get away from the studio and find a more relaxed environment. Inspiration does not necessarily require huge bass bins. Fewer pieces of gear make it easier to really focus on ideas first and let them be. After recording "Hate In My Heart" – his most recent album, released in 2018 – this way, Tamborello continued working in that fashion, mainly jamming and getting ideas together for upcoming live shows. One of the first results of this creative process was the opening track of "The Seas Trees See" – a cover version of "The Lilac and the Apple", originally recorded by Californian folk singer Kate Wolf in 1977. Tamborello turns the acapella song into a vocoder-like extravaganza. Working with the original recording, the track perfectly sets the tone for what "The Seas Trees See" turns out to be – a quiet yet mesmerizing journey through sound and emotion, bringing together his very own sound design, disguised samples and an incredible feel for moods and atmospheres.

"I thought a lot about making an album that you would find in a thrift store", Tamborello remembers. Something "like a mysterious collection of sketches that leaves a lot unanswered. It doesn’t beg for attention or have any big moments." Despite its perfect and gentle flow, it is worth digging deeper, to surrender oneself to all the painstakingly placed details. Whether the beautiful and haunting piano work on "Movie Tears" or the almost sidechained-sounding "Yoga App" – every aspect of this album has been beautifully crafted, often bringing one of life’s biggest questions to the table: What if? What would have happened if Tamborello would have done this on that track or that on this track? It is good that he did not. Small things add up to something great, diverse and riveting.

The subtlety of his latest endeavor is fascinating. It opens up a new world, in which small musical sketches mean at least as much as perfectly produced pop anthems – if not more.

For two decades Sara Watkins has been one of the
most visible artists in roots music, with her
catalogue ranging from solo albums and Watkins
Family Hour, a duo with her brother Sean Watkins,
to her Grammy-winning bands Nickel Creek and
I’m With Her.
With the nostalgic and gentle new album ‘Under
the Pepper Tree’, Sara Watkins offers a comforting
record for those moments as daily rhythms fade
into nightly rituals and when a child’s imagination
comes to life.
Made with families in mind, the personal project
encompasses songs she embraced as a child
herself, as well as the musical friendships she’s
made along the way. Recorded in Los Angeles with
producer Tyler Chester, ‘Under the Pepper Tree’
brings storytelling, solace and encouragement to
the listener, no matter the age.
LP in gatefold sleeve.

HIGHLIGHTS New pieces by Spanish pioneers from the 80's and before in Experimental rock, Electronica, Industrial, Avant-Garde, etc. Inspired by the mysterious and disturbing anti-Franco illustrator OPS, nowadays well known as El Roto. Second part of the Erizonte trilogy on drawing as a transmitter of progressive ideas, first part being Suite Los Caprichos by Francisco de Goya. Available only in vinyl gatefold edition. TRACKLIST: SIDE A A1. ERIZONTE - Obertura A2. MECANICA POPULAR and Erizonte - Dos veces en la vida A3. LA FURA DELS BAUS and Erizonte - ¡Mierda de guerra! A4. MACROMASSA with Erizonte - Tonsura A5. PELAYO ARRIZABALAGA, ELI GRAS & ERIZONTE-Miedo a la verdad A6. ERIZONTE - Tres piezas para teclados SIDE B B1. ERIZONTE - (Des) educación B2. ESPLENDOR GEOMÉTRICO & Erizonte - Clerecía B3. MAR OTRA VEZ - Calma B4. ERIZONTE - Difracción B5. ERIZONTE with JESUS ALONSO - En el país del silencio B6. SCUD HERO with Erizonte - Hipnosis colectiva B7. CORCOBADO and Erizonte - Sol sotnemurtsni es nacot B8. ERIZONTE - Coda More Details: In this collective creation directed by Erizonte well-known artists sharing ethics and aesthetics come together over the mysterious and disturbing drawings that appeared in some newspapers, books and magazines in the mid 1960's to mid 1980's, such as Hermano Lobo, Triunfo or Cuadernos para el Diálogo, signed OPS - later better known by the heteronym of El Roto. Musicians or sound artists, representatives of avant-garde music that emerged in the Spain of OPS, have composed a piece for this album on a given, recurring theme: repression, censorship, informative manipulation, induced or obligatory oblivion, the vices of clericalism, the horrors of war, imperialism, bad education or the lack thereof and gender violence. These are themes that coincide with those already undertaken by Goya in etchings, and of whom we can consider Andrés Rábago, the painter behind these two pseudonyms, as the legitimate heir, at least in this field. He himself has chosen the drawings that illustrate each of the covers corresponding to the individual editions of each piece as they appeared. The covers are all gathered here, along with a new cover. This album is part II of Erizonte's trilogy inspired by drawings in the media c. After the first part, the "Suite Los Caprichos de Goya", where 19th century ideals of the Enlightenment can be seen through the etchings of Francisco de Goya, while this second album corresponds to the OPS cartoons, anti-Francoism and its environment, as it was when they appeared in newspapers and magazines, the media of the 20th century. The artist and the graphic medium for the third and last part, corresponding to this 21st century, is yet to be discovered ...

The first two EPs of rising French-Algerian singer-producer-songwriter Sabrina Bellaouel on InFiné are now available on a single 12" vinyl edition for the first time. At the crossroads of modern electronic production, alternative RnB & North African beats, Sabrina Bellaouel offers her listeners an unprecedented mix of grand emotion of the Pop stage and the cutting-edge underground flair of buzzing nightclubs

Textextext - (add your write up)

2020 saw Sabrina Bellaouel step out of her cocoon a fully formed artist. First, there was "We Don't Need To Be Enemies", a powerful and brave record - directing the limelight away from her talent as a singer and focusing on her honed, meticulous production skill and ingenuity in making demanding, forward thinking music. Bellaouel managed to tell stories of her identity and place in the world almost without a single vocal.

Then, there was "Libra" - fusing her own production with that gorgeous voice - showcasing a fully formed, trailblazing, independent artist. Sabrina jumps effortlessly between empowering trap on "Arab Liquor" to luscious RnB on "Float" and ends the record with "She Don't Care", a peak time house curveball that you can picture heating up the festival dance floors around Europe. The diverse and powerful EP united different sides of the press in its critical acclaim, receiving accolades from Resident Advisor, Mixmag, The Quietus, Metal Magazine and Pan African Music - just to name a few.

Both of these records then, represent a side of the coin - and are now available as a 12" Vinyl combining them to a singular listening experience. And when the clubs slowly open up again, you will surely see this secret weapon make it's way some well assorted DJ bags.

Dark, psychosexual electronics lurk between the teeth of Ester Kärkkäinen, the Las Vegas based artist also known as Himukalt. For the past six years, she has tirelessly pursued an avenue of bleak industrial productions that parallel the extremist works of Genocide Organ and Atrax Morgue. She has built a considerable reputation for uncompromising, full-frontal noise, releasing albums on Total Black, Malignant Records, Found Remains, and Foul Prey, amongst others. Between My Teeth was originally a cassette which came out in 2018 as a tiny edition on the Greek imprint Several Minor Promises and sold out immediately upon release. Himukalt returns to The Helen Scarsdale Agency with the necessary reissue of Between My Teeth as a vinyl edition with expanded artwork.

The album is a maelstrom of ill-tempered noise and blackened frequencies, sutured to a foundation of primitive, raw rhythms. Kärkkäinen cuts up her own voice with the digital equivalent of a rusted razor blade through her proclamations of misery, rage, and desire. The albums' opening track "Cataclysm" a turgid industrial production with Kärkkäinen adopting two distinct voices that, while they remain mostly indecipherable in content, the context presumes an inevitable, catastrophic and emotionally violent collapse in the relationship between two people. A tense rhythm clicks below the full spectrum bursts of harsh noise on "She Went Mad" followed by the smoldering power electronic moves of "I No Longer Belong" and "Not Proper." And the death disco groove of "Mine" is far more hellish than danceable through its scalded distortion and Kärkkäinen's vocal mantras about bodily self-loathing.

Another bold, declarative album in the ever impressive Himukalt discography. Remastered by James Plotkin and features a 12 page booklet of Kärkkäinen's signature collaged xerography.

The first release of PRIMUS introduces the very first vinyl EP of French Artist BXTR. The 4-track EP "Automata" includes two original tracks from BXTR, and remixes by Julian Muller & Trudge. BXTR's fast yet emotional bangers define the sound of his musical vision influenced by the cyber universe. While the dreamy synths of Trudge bring "Carbon Skin" forward, Julian Muller's approach on "Tears in Rain" converts the original track to a proper rave gem. The debut EP demonstrates the sound of the label and presents it to the international scene.

“I made this record for young women to feel invincible.” - Izzy B. Phillips, Black Honey Having last week been pre-empted by the landing of their colossal new single ‘Run For Cover’, today Black Honey have announced their brand-new album – ‘Written & Directed’. ‘Written & Directed’ will be released on the 29 th of January 2021 on Foxfive Records. ‘Written & Directed’ is Black Honey’s second album. It follows their outstanding self-titled debut released back in 2018 when the world that surrounded the Brighton four piece looked and felt like a very different place. Black Honey however are still the bad-ass, truly original band they have always been, they’ve just graduated from the intriguingly anomalous newcomers to becoming one of UK indie’s most singular outfits. They've travelled the world and released a Top 40 album; graced the cover of the NME and become the faces and soundtrack of Roberto Cavalli's Milan Fashion Week show; smashed Glastonbury and supported Queens of the Stone Age, all without compromising a shred of the wild, wicked vision they first set out with. It's now time for the next instalment of their story – ‘Written & Directed” – which see’s Black Honey deliver one, very singular, message – a 10 track mission statement that aims to unashamedly plant a flag in the ground for strong, world-conquering women. For fierce frontwoman and album protagonist Izzy B. Phillips – it’s the most important message she could send to inspire her cult-like fanbase and fill the female-shaped gap that she felt so acutely when she was growing up and discovering rock music for the first time. Written throughout 2019 and recorded in fits and spurts between touring, ‘Written & Directed’ is drenched with a hedonistic, anything-goes attitude. It’s also the most full-throttle collection of music that Black Honey have ever-written – egged-on by their run of shows supporting long-term friends and collaborators Royal Blood. Exploring everything from womanhood, to identity and power, it’s an album that revels in the rich history of pop culture, throws a wink to its rock- and-roll heroes, but ultimately (and in true Black Honey fashion) it stands on its own two feet. With a typically hyper-visual world referencing grindhouse cinema, kitschy pulp films and a flip-reverse of female cinematic representation all primed to unfurl and explode around them, 'Written & Directed' is the sound of Black Honey strapping in and saddling up, of harnessing their quirks, and, as the Phillips has always hoped, riding them joyously into the sunset.

Fast, brutal, slamming and with a distinct message in their music: Necrotted from southern Germany are a bearer of hope for modern death metal! Founded back in 2008, the band from Abtsgmünd (Baden-Wuerttemberg) still invigorates the scene and continuously convinces its growing fan base as well as the music press. Not only the three full-length albums ‘Anchors Apart’ (2012), ‘Utopia 2.0’ (2014) and ‘Worldwide Warfare’ (2017) and the two EPs ‘Kingdom Of Hades’ (2010) and ‘Die For Something Worthwhile’ (2019) are registered in the band’s history, but also hundreds of live concerts in different countries in which Necrotted already unleashed their pure energy on various stages. Sweeping and melodic guitar riffs combined with blaring blast beats and rough, stomping slam parts form the brutal mixture of the quintet. The musical sound is rounded off by deep and high-pitched guttural vocals, emphasizing the catchy refrains and lyrical highlights of the songs. The new album ‘Operation: Mental Castration’ follows this trend and consistently enhances the soundscape of the band. Also, the album once again comes up with a sophisticated lyrical concept, characteristic for Necrotted. Written and recorded in 2020, ‘Operation: Mental Castration’ will be released through the aspiring label Reaper Entertainment Europe in early 2021 and will set a new benchmark for modern, diversified death metal. Social Media Whore (feat. Julien of Benighted): The southern German death metal brigade Necrotted revealed the first single ‘Asocial Media Whore’ of the upcoming album ‘Operation: Mental Castration’. For this groovy slasher of a song the quintet teamed up with Julien Truchan of French brutal death metal band Benighted. My Mental Castration: With ‘My Mental Castration’ Necrotted unleash the title track of their upcoming album ‘Operation: Mental Castration’. The song showcases the characteristic style and the spirit of the new full-length, which will set a new benchmark for modern, diversified death metal. Compulsory Consumption: Sluggish and melodic ‘Compulsory Consumption’ is the third single off of Necrotted’s upcoming album ‘Operation: Mental Castration’. The rough song underlines the band’s status as a bearer of hope for modern death metal.

Seven years and a handful of lifetimes ago, New Bums came
out of nowhere with their debut album, ‘Voices In a Rented
Room’ - a record the New York Times described as “feeling like
it’s falling apart.” New Bums took this as a compliment and,
thus emboldened, they toured relentlessly in support of the
release: criss-crossing the USA in the spring of 2014, with a
European run that summer. Then, silence descended, as the
Bums withdrew to the place from which they’d mysteriously
emerged.
Now, the Bums are back. 2021 finds them with a new album in
hand. Following a West Coast US tour in late 2019 it’s clear that
the duo of Donovan Quinn (Skygreen Leopards) and Ben
Chasny (Six Organs of Admittance, Rangda, etc) are fully
reanimated, as evidenced by the songs and sounds of ‘Last
Time I Saw Grace’.
Retaining the drunk-dog-locomotion of their debut, New Bums
sprinkle a bit of fresh fancy into their signature twin guitarsand-vocals sound, with cleaner recording techniques, further
developments in harmonies and a new appreciation for a song
with more than two parts, making ‘Last Time I Saw Grace’
nothing less than the perfect progression from the purposefully
murky mixes of their debut.
Continuing to embrace an acoustic rock ’n’ roll sound, inspired
by artists such as Jacobites, Robyn Hitchcock, Johnny
Thunders, Replacements and such, New Bums push the words
and the stories to the front of the line, crafting tales with satiric
glee on ‘Last Time I Saw Grace’. However, this world of empty
perfume bottles, bodies tied to masts and moving onward to
devastation (after the bottle on the table pulls out a gun) feels
much more Gombrowiczian dreamscape than drunken night on
the town. Yes, everything is wasted but this is an existential
wasteland rather than a substance-laden one. This combination
of arch Californian post-aristocratic melodrama with torn and
frayed acoustic guitars opens up a new genre entirely, one
those at Drag City are tempted to call Rent Control Romantic.

*Repress*


The iconic album series Back to Mine returns in 2019, to mark it's 20th anniversary, with the indomitable Nightmares on Wax, to share his personal collection of music for after hours grooving. The series was renowned for its eclectic selection and selectors which includes some of the biggest names in electronic and pop music, from the likes of Faithless to Pet Shop Boys, Groove Armada to New Order.

Building on Back To Mine's heritage for quality this edition comes as limited edition heavyweight vinyl and extra thick cardboard sleeve with full coloured bespoke artwork, commissioned from illustrator Rich Fairhead, depicting the artist's influences along side personal sleeve notes form Nightmares On Wax.

The collection includes three exclusive tracks, one new track from Nightmares on Wax, along with a remix from the man himself of seminal band Fat Freddy's Drop and brand new project Creative Principle. The album is impeccably mixed and blended, as you'd expect from a DJ and collector of George's pedigree. His selection includes a strong representation from his roots in Northern England. Opening with respected Manchester soul duo Children of Zeus, Hull's Steve Cobby provides his own 'Lefthanded Books' featuring Crazy P's Danielle Moore and also introduces his chuggy-disco project Chieftain. There's also room for the recent Nightmares on Wax recent single 'Look Up'. Moving internationally; there's Greek producer Dim Zach who doffs a cap to Imagination on the synth-heavy 'Innocence', US-born/Colombian based Afro/Latin/disco/funk producer Bosq, Italy's Massimo Vanoni with the slo-mo funk 'Exciting Groove', the deep and jazzy 'Gotta Have It' by Berlin's SoulPhiction side project SBM and two tracks by New Zealander Ladi6.

This first re-instalment of Back to Mine is a triumphant return for the iconic and music loved series. Nightmares on Wax delivers an incredible selection of tracks that gives the listener a real insight into the artists personal and extensive taste. To coincide with the series release, Nightmares on Wax will embark on extensive Back to Mine worldwide DJ tour which sees the producer touch down in various cities across Europe and USA, including six dates in the UK.

'I always hoped that when the time was right I would be asked to do a Back To Mine release and so when the call came there was absolutely no hesitation'. - Nightmares on Wax.

Two of our favorite records that we here at Real Gone Music have reissued in the last few years were the debut pair of records (both originally released in the early ‘70s) by legendary Brazilian percussionist Airto; each album serves up a savory, bubbling stew of Brazilian folk, fusion jazz and bossa nova spiced with a hint of tropicalia. While Airto’s contributions on each record were, of course, front and center, there was another player on those records that almost stole the show: one Severino Dias de Oliveira a.k.a. Sivuca, a small, wizened man (often somewhat uncharitably described as “gnomish”) whose dazzling virtuosity on accordion, guitar, and keyboards—coupled with a powerful singing voice that belied his small stature—made one instantly sit up and take notice. Further investigation revealed that stealing the show was nothing new to Sivuca; championed by Oscar Brown, Jr., he was the instant star of tours by both Harry Belafonte and Miriam Makeba among others. Sivuca started making records back in the mid ‘50s, and recorded for a number of labels in the States, including Reprise and RCA, but it is this record, made in 1973 for the Vanguard label, that is the one that collectors worldwide have zeroed in upon. And with good reason; it offers the same beautiful blend of styles found on those Airto records, but with an emotional shading all its own, a joyfulness paradoxically infused with melancholy, best expressed on Sivuca’s mesmerizing take on Bill Withers’ oft-covered “Ain’t No Sunshine,” which is likely to become your favorite version.

“Nothing ever really disappears,” Cassandra Jenkins says. “It just changes shape.” Over the past few years, she’s seen relationships altered, travelled three continents, wandered through museums and parks, and recorded free-associative guided tours of her New York haunts. Her observations capture the humanity and nature around her, as well as thought patterns, memories, and attempts to be present while dealing with pain and loss. With a singular voice, Jenkins siphons these ideas into the ambient folk of her new album.
An Overview on Phenomenal Nature honors flux, detail, and moments of intimacy. Jenkins arrived at engineer Josh Kaufman’s studio with ideas rather than full songs — nevertheless, they finished the album in a week. Jenkins’ voice floats amid sensuous chamber pop arrangements and raw-edged drums, ferrying us through impressionistic portraits of friends and strangers. Her lyrics unfold magical worlds, introducing you to a cast of characters like a local fisherman, a psychic at a birthday party, and driving instructor of a spiritual bent.

Jenkins’ last record, 2017’s Play Till You Win, confirmed the veteran artist’s talent. Evident of Jenkins’ experience growing up in a family band in New York City, the album showcased her meticulous songwriting and musicianship, earning her comparisons to George Harrison and Emmylou Harris. Jenkins has since played in the bands of Eleanor Friedberger, Craig Finn, and Lola Kirke, and rehearsed to tour with Purple Mountains last August before the tour’s cancellation. Her new record departs from her previous work in its openness and flexibility, following her peripatetic lifestyle. “The goal is to be more fluid, to be more like the clouds shifting constantly,” she says. The approach allowed Jenkins to express herself like she never has.

On album opener “Michaelangelo,” before the heavy drum beat and fuzz guitars enter, Jenkins sings quietly “I’m a three-legged dog, working with what I’ve got / and part of me will always be looking for what I lost // there’s a fly around my head, waiting for the day I drop dead.” Phenomenal Nature thrives in this dichotomy between ornate sonics and verbal frankness, a calming guided tour to the edge. Later, on “Crosshairs,” amid lush strings, she sings conversationally: “Empty space is my escape / it runs through me like a river / while time spits in my face.”

“Hard Drive,” the third track and album centerpiece, opens with a voice memo Jenkins recorded at The Met Breuer: a guard muses about Mrinalini Mukherjee’s hybrid textile and sculpture works, which were then on display in a retrospective titled Phenomenal Nature. “When we lose our connection to nature, we lose our spirit, our humanity,” she explains. Stuart Bogie's saxophone & Josh Kaufman's glittering guitar make way for Jenkins' spoken word which constellates scenes from her life, gradually building and blossoming as she recreates a meditation guided by a friend who incants, “One, two, three.”

Sounds of footsteps and bird calls run through the album’s glittering conclusion, “The Ramble.” Meditative and bright, it recalls how Jenkins felt while writing and recording her new material: “Everything else is falling apart, so let’s just enjoy this time,” she said. If Phenomenal Nature has a unifying theme, it’s the power of presence, the joy of walking in a world in constant flux and opening oneself to change.