Suche:violet

Michael Cashmore (u.a. CURRENT 93) mit seinem neuen Solooutput auf Transparent Violettem Vinyl!

Studio Electrophonique is James Leesley: a young songwriter and musician from Sheffield.

Since the critical acclaim accompanying his sought-after debut 10" album "Buxton Palace Hotel" in 2019, James has captivated audiences performing at his own curated events in Sheffield, Liverpool, London and Paris as well as at The Green Man and End Of The Road festivals.

In 2020 Studio Electrophonique performed at L'Olympia in Paris at the personal invite of the legendary Étienne Daho as well as across the UK and Ireland with Richard Hawley - both are long-time supporters and admirers of James's work.

James is currently putting the finishing touches to a film featuring Jarvis Cocker and Sean Bean which retraces the fascinating history of Ken Patton's original Studio Electrophonique home recording studio in Sheffield.

Songs come to James Leesley in airless attics, dinner time chippies and late afternoon bookies shops; on long walks through town with a sandwich in each pocket, on morning runs through the park in lost-property trainers or on the top deck of the 52A with rain-laced windows and wet toe-ends.

He records on an old four-track machine using deadstock Metal Maxima cassettes sourced from an unnamed charity shop close to Bramall Lane. This machine kills flashiness. There is no room for garnish. Choice is minimised to serve the song, intimacy is maximised to serve the ache.

Studio Electrophonique is a semi-fictional collective of analogue romantics sent to reassure us that art is not some far off place, that sadness can be enjoyed like happiness and that glamour can descend like a minor key melody on the shoulders of anyone willing to pay their subs and the price of a day-return to Ballifield shops.


Studio Electrophonique's latest 5- song record is a plaintive symphony of love and hope, yearning and hopelessness.

Re-mastering by: Cicely Baston at Alchemy/Air Mastering, London



Wendell Harrison was born in Detroit in 1942 where he began formal jazz studies for piano, clarinet and tenor saxophone. At 14, while still in high school, Harrison started performing & recording professionally with artists such as Marvin Gaye, Grant Green, Sun Ra, Hank Crawford … and many others.

In 1971, Harrison began teaching music at Metro Arts (a multi-arts complex for youth) where he also connected with Marcus Belgrave, Harold McKinney and Phil Ranelin…soon after they formed the (now legendary) Afro-centric TRIBE record label and artist collective. TRIBE used the Metro Arts complex as a vehicle to convey a growing black political consciousness. Wendell Harrison also published the very popular TRIBE magazine, a publication dedicated to local and national social and political issues, as well as featuring artistic contributions such as poetry and visual pieces.

In 1978 Harrison and McKinney co-founded REBIRTH, a non-profit jazz performance and education organization, in which many notable jazz artists have participated. Around the same time Wendell Harrison also created the WENHA record label and publishing company, which released many of his (now classic) recordings as well as those of other artists, such as Phil Ranelin, Doug Hammond and Reggie Fields (The Real ShooBeeDoo).

In the early 1990s, Wendell Harrison was awarded the title of “Jazz Master” by Arts Midwest. This distinction led Harrison to collaborate with fellow honorees and gave him the chance to tour throughout the United States, Middle East and Africa. Even to this day Wendell Harrison’s recordings for the TRIBE, WENHA and REBIRTH labels have a large worldwide fanbase.

DREAMS OF A LOVE SUPREME is a monster album that features an all-star line-up that includes Phil Ranelin on trombone, Harold McKinney on Keyboards and Roy Brooks on percussion. Although you can hear the 80ies creeping in with a smoother sound, more synths, and disco/R&B vocals… this remains a very spiritual (and soulful) jazz record. The record’s an irresistible blend of soul jazz combined with funky electric instrumentation…a groovy sound which is very much of its time, yet overtly timeless and as relevant today as it was back when it was initially released. Notes courtesy of Tidal Waves

A definitive STAR CREATURE sound LP, this one hits all corners - Super classy, electronic proto-jazz funk. Philly's very own M. HOOK has some serious chops, most notably the bass riffs throughout. Don't sleep on this.

One of the promoters and DJs behind South London party Big Dyke Energy, Elliott is part of a new wave bringing contemporary queer energy and attitude to clubland. Following an EP on Kouncil Cuts as one half of Faff, working alongside Ornography, ‘Transcendence’ marks their debut solo EP.

If you’ve ever wanted to hear more acid in garage, the epic bubbling 303 breakdown of two-step opener ‘Tender’ answers your prayers, its ghostly lead out-emoting even Four Tet. ‘Loose Tooth’ then lands in clubbier territory, dubby rave synths again deployed with a canny melodic ear.

On the flip, ‘Metamorphic’ is noir electro, UV bleeps and infrared bass cutting through its heavy, murky atmosphere. Working her trademark magic on the remix, Naive boss Violet bumps up the tempo, turning in a cut of booming, bottom-heavy machine-funk, a dub siren and half-time section nodding to the influence of UK rave culture.

Nach den Erfolgssingles 'Strange Nights' und 'Cara Keeps Running' veröffentlicht der in Deutschland ansässige Synthwave-Produzent MORPHOICE sein Debütalbum 'Vinyl City', eine Liebeserklärung an die von Blade Runner inspirierte Cyberpunk-Kultur und die Musik der 80er - mit Syst3m Glitch, Clint Alford und Mayah Camara on vocals, Jesse Molloy (The Midnight) am Saxofon und dem deutschen Multiinstrumentalisten Tim Eden. Gemastert in den Londoner Abbey Road Studios, ist das Album ein Lebenstraum des Künstlers, ein neues Kapitel seiner persönlichen und musikalischen Entwicklung, das tiefe Freundschaften und Vertrauen unter den Mitwirkenden entstehen lassen hat. MORPHOICE taucht tief in die 80er-Retro-Nostalgie und in kybernetische Zukunftsvisionen ein, eingehüllt in rosa-lila Neonlicht. LP auf 180g Clear Vinyl mit blau-violettem Splatter.

Wendell Harrison was born in Detroit in 1942 where he began formal jazz studies for piano, clarinet and tenor saxophone. At 14, while still in high school, Harrison started performing & recording professionally with artists such as Marvin Gaye, Grant Green, Sun Ra, Hank Crawford … and many others.
In 1971, Harrison began teaching music at Metro Arts (a multi-arts complex for youth) where he also connected with Marcus Belgrave, Harold McKinney and Phil Ranelin…soon after they formed the (now legendary) Afro-centric TRIBE record label and artist collective. TRIBE used the Metro Arts complex as a vehicle to convey a growing black political consciousness. Wendell Harrison also published the very popular TRIBE magazine, a publication dedicated to local and national social and political issues, as well as featuring artistic contributions such as poetry and visual pieces.
In 1978 Harrison and McKinney co-founded REBIRTH, a non-profit jazz performance and education organization, in which many notable jazz artists have participated. Around the same time Wendell Harrison also created the WENHA record label and publishing company, which released many of his (now classic) recordings as well as those of other artists, such as Phil Ranelin, Doug Hammond and Reggie Fields (The Real ShooBeeDoo).
In the early 1990s, Wendell Harrison was awarded the title of “Jazz Master” by Arts Midwest. This distinction led Harrison to collaborate with fellow honorees and gave him the chance to tour throughout the United States, Middle East and Africa. Even to this day Wendell Harrison's recordings for the TRIBE, WENHA and REBIRTH labels have a large worldwide fanbase.
It is on WENHA that Harrison released the opus: DREAMS OF A LOVE SUPREME (1980), which we are presenting you today.
DREAMS OF A LOVE SUPREME is a monster album that features an all-star line-up that includes Phil Ranelin (Freddie Hubbard, Solomon Burke, Mulatu Astakte) on trombone, Harold McKinney (Tribe) on Keyboards and Roy Brooks (Yusef Lateef, Chet Baker, Mingus) on percussion. Although you can hear the 80ies creeping in with a smoother sound, more synths, and disco/R&B vocals… this remains a very spiritual (and soulful) jazz record. The record’s an irresistible blend of soul jazz combined with funky electric instrumentation…a groovy sound which is very much of its time, yet overtly timeless and as relevant today as it was back when it was initially released.
Tidal Waves Music now proudly presents the first ever vinyl reissue of ‘Dreams of A Love Supreme’ since its release in 1980. This official reissue is now available as a deluxe 180g vinyl edition (limited to 500 copies) and comes with an unreleased bonus track.

Morrice is no less than a pioneer of Portuguese techno, churning out high-octane bangers and rave-tinged rollers alike from his hometown of Porto since the mid 90s. Lucky for us he didn't slow down, and his fresh offerings are as enticing as ever - we got our hands on some of the finest crop of Morrice's characteristically deranged, sonic techno and 'Back on Tracks' was born.

One can hear the realness of a legend-worthy path in dance music in every tough beat and in every bass line twist and turn: the opener 'Dirty Smack' is a raw, no-frills mutant banger that will throw even the most bashful raver into a frenzy, reminding us all why we miss dancing together so much. 'Stress Will Kill You' is a tense, paranoid techno roller featuring a super effective lead over an economic but super banging technoid beat&bass. 'Synth Lies' is another trip recalling Midwest movements and exuberant composers like Poindexter.

On the flip, you'll find the soulful depths of a warm 'Doctor' as well as the wonderfully Detroitian-via-Douro dream of 'Acorda', all silky pads and stabs. The record closes with a 'Dirty Smack' remix by Paraíso regular Violet who infuses the original with broken rhythms and percussive highlights.

As current lead vocalist and co-songwriter of the hugely successful modern progressive metal band HAKEN, ROSS JENNINGS needs no introduction in some circles, having released 1 ep, 1 Live album and 6 full length studio albums of consistently high quality with the band, HAKEN have been climbing that mountain with grace and gusto, albeit on the fringe of mainstream rock and metal. In 2019 HAKEN won ‘Best UK Artist’ at the annual PROG awards, with their latest release ‘Virus’ reaching #2 in the UK rock charts and entering the US Billboard Hot 100 at #52.

On the back of this release ROSS JENNINGS set out to write, record and self-produce his debut solo effort ‘A SHADOW OF MY FUTURE SELF’ with an ambition to become a new household name and keep mainstream classic rock alive and well.

Due for release on December 17th, the ‘Fever Dreams Pt 2’ EP will preview four brand new tracks that make up the second quarter of Marr’s forthcoming double album, ‘Fever Dreams Pts 1-4’. Sensory Street, Tenement Time, Lightning People and Hideaway Girl. The ‘Fever Dreams Pt 2’ EP is released digitally and on very limited edition 12” transparent violet vinyl, exclusively through his webstore and UK RSD Stores – limited to 750 copies.
Early previews of ‘Fever Dreams Pts 1-4’ (due February 25th 2022) have been met with widespread acclaim. ‘Spirit, Power and Soul’ was playlisted by BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC Radio 2, described as “his strongest solo composition yet” by the Evening Standard, “an exercise in progressive creative ambition” by DIY, “invigorating” by Uncut, with “defiance in its DNA” by CLASH and simply “banging” by The Telegraph.

Led with the singles ‘Sensory Street’ and ‘Tenement Time’, the second EP is set for another outstanding launch, with ‘Sensory Street’ confirmed for a premiere with Steve Lamacq on BBC 6Music. ‘Sensory Street’ follows on electro soul album opener ‘Spirit, Power and Soul’s anthemic strand, a startling track with strident electronics, whilst ‘Tenement Time’ marks the end of the double album’s first half. A rousing, reflective creation fusing sonic power with an emotional potency. Both highlight ‘Fever Dreams Pts 1-4’s sheer sonic scale.

Bleach Lab have shared details of their second EP, ‘Nothing Feels Real’. The South London band made their return in July with single ‘Real Thing’, hinting that more music was to come. Receiving similar acclaim as the band’s debut EP, which saw them rise to prominence, ‘Real Thing’ received support from 6Music as well as the likes of Line of Best Fit (Song of the Day), DIY, Gigwise and many more.

Bleach Lab have shared details of their second EP, ‘Nothing Feels Real’. The South London band made their return in July with single ‘Real Thing’, hinting that more music was to come. Receiving similar acclaim as the band’s debut EP, which saw them rise to prominence, ‘Real Thing’ received support from 6Music as well as the likes of Line of Best Fit (Song of the Day), DIY, Gigwise and many more.

Does returning to a place have a sound? Can the ear have a memory? And what if places which we return to are just empty shells? Choreographed rooms which we need to play, fill from scratch each time with fragments from the past and present, layer upon layer, familiar and still somehow always new and differently assembled. Paula Schopf’s Espacios en Soledad are acoustic walks around present day Santiago de Chile, the city where she was born - which she always left, had to leave and to which she always returns - but more than anything also through her own memories which resonate throughout the public places, squares, streets though still in their own way remain strange.

„Every immigrant in the world has a piece like this - a kind of missing link, something which is incomplete. And every time one returns to the home country you are looking for it. For me it was a matter of sound.“ (Paula 2019).

In the mid 70s leaving Santiago was a flight of exile as a child with her family. Leaving in 1990 was an autonomous decision to head for Europe, Berlin, where the wall fell, where the heavens opened up all at once and electronic music became a kind of new home to so many. Paula Schopf belonged there. For her the Ocean Club at Tresor club was a central place where friends and mentors like Gudrun Gut and Thomas Fehlmann made it possible for her to get really into it. Dancing, being and feeling your body, forgetting oneself in the bass and beats, who one is and where one’s from, to becoming the DJ Chica Paula. Chile was very far away during this time, Latin America was more just a code, a musical and habitual cliche to be cautious of. This was especially true for the culture of the Chilean exile, the pathos of the “Canto Nuevo”, the sound and ideologically charged instruments of the „música andina“, for example the Zampoña, Quena or Charango. Techno was the greatest thinkable alternative to this even if or perhaps because so many kids exiled from Chile became key figures in the German and European scene: Ricardo Villalobos, Dandy Jack, Cristian Vogel, Matias Aguayo and many more.

How does returning to a place sound? Does the ear have its own memory? The field recordings which were recorded in Santiago de Chile in 2016 and form the central sonic material for Espacios en Soledad represent the paradox for Schopf’s return to her home country after emigrating: the inevitable drifting apart of her own lived time from that of her former home. Already the Venezuelan and Colombian hawkers are unmistakable signs of the deep change in Chilean society which has happened in recent years due to immigration. Which is in contrast to the old lady who sits on the floor in a pedestrian zone and without break sings the same three songs by Violeta Parra and then keeps falling asleep while doing so. The fragile presence of her voice is joined with a repertoire which is almost mythologically timeless in Chile in a particularly moving way.

By layering, ordering and conjoining such found sounds from modern day Santiago this piece become about the urban sound of Chile’s present. But more than anything by doing this Paula Schopf becomes an arranger of her own sonic memory or sound-triggered memories of returning to this city. Just as techno and Berlin helped her for such a long time to get away from too strong of an identification as a Chilean in exil, now with Espacios en Soledad she has found a way to bring these two seemingly disparate lives and remembered worlds together.

Matthias Pasdzierny

Following March’s 9696 Dream mixtape and July’s Flex Time EP, this new album sees 96 Back shine the spotlight on his own vocals for the first time, at points (such as on lead single ‘9 To Find 6’) operating fully in the realms of experimental pop. At other times, such as on ‘Teach Me Tenderness’ and ‘Feel Hard’, 96 Back stretches and processes his vocals to almost breaking point, while album closer ‘Melt You’ sees him duet with past collaborator Iceboy Violet, ending Love Letters on a sombre but romantic note. That’s not to say Love Letters is fully removed from the dancefloor, however: tracks like ‘Don’t Die’ and ‘Love Compact’ are precision-tooled for the club, while the likes of ‘Felzin’ and ‘Vibrant Colours’ continue to explore the intricate but emotive electronics that 96 Back has been so successful with in the past. More varied and vivid than any of 96 Back’s releases to date, Love Letters feels like a coming of age moment. It casts its net incredibly wide at points, and it’s an album full of ambition, but it meets every challenge it sets itself — as affecting in its quieter, tender moments as during its dramatic peaks. In 96 Back’s words: “This is a record I feel like I’ve been trying to write for years, it feels like the most accurate body of work to match the ideas in my mind. Trying to project a lot of the records I hold very dear to me through this lens, interpreting how they sound to me and merging them with ideas of finding the drama and excitement in the full spectrum of emotions on the tip of my tongue, that’s what ended up being Love Letters, Nine Through Six.”

Raised on the salted air and pebbled beaches amidst the faded seaside opulence of Brighton, Tigers & Flies spent much of their formative years building a friendship forged on a diet of the melodies and rhythms to be found deep within their parents’ wildly eclectic record collections. A worthy and noble pursuit for anyone, from those wonderfully endless hours, those bottomless cups of tea great ideas can flourish. Tigers and Flies are a great and flourishing idea.

From the bounce and sunny optimism of Orange Juice to the brutalist edge of Gang of Four. From XTC to Bacharach. Each listen offers more. A harmony appears where you’re convinced there wasn’t one before, or a rhythmic change you hadn’t noticed. A lyrical twist. Harmonies that seem to float in through an open window.

As disco legends GIORGIO MORODER and CERRONE were pumping out disco hits in 1979 a lesser known BERNARD ESTARDY was releasing leftfield disco under aliases like ESTRAK LANCIOS, L.E.B. HARMONY, and UNIVERSAL ENERGY. Limited reissue with pic sleeve. Mystery colored vinyl.

RSD album now available at a slightly cheaper price. Double Transparent Violet Coloured vinyl & DL card. 1000 copies pressed. Fist time on vinyl. Double debut from Howe Gelb’s one-off project that features members or Arcade Fire, Grandaddy, Scout Niblett and M Ward among others. Featuring extensive notes and interviews with the collaborators, exploring how the whole thing was put together.

International power duo Dasom Baek (traditional Korean flutes) and Violeta García (cello) present their debut album. is the sound of two leading composers and improvisers pushing their instruments to the technical and creative limit, then beyond into places unnavigated, futuristic and often haunting.

Dasom and Violeta tussle with playful and at times brutal mastery between passages of sparse melody, acrobatic percussion and harmonic drift, while interjecting voices fracture and reassemble into intimate, improbable forms. It is hard to imagine an album more abundant in ideas and motifs, all atomised as soon as they are brought to life. The effect is a tapestry of rugged spirits - moving, and at times just plain beautiful.

Recommended for fans of Okkyung Lee, John Butcher, Messiaen, or Ernst Reijseger.

Dasom Baek is a composer, improviser and performer of traditional Korean instruments, mainly Daegeum, Sogeum. Dasom pursues ground-breaking and modern music rooted in traditional Korean instrumental performance. She is a Certified Master of Important Intangible Cultural Asset, no.45. She has achieved Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the Korea National University of Arts, and is currently undertaking a PhD course at Seoul National University. She has also represented Korea at the International Flute Festival. In 2019 she was selected as a fellow for the OMI Music residency in New York, collaborating with various genres of musicians from different countries. In 2020, she released her debut album, titled . In 2021 she was selected as a showcase artist at SXSW Festival.

Violeta García is a cellist, improviser and composer born in 1990 in San Nicolás de los Arroyos, Buenos Aires, Argentina. She studied at the Conservatory Astor Piazolla, and holds a degree in Composition from the Conservatory Manuel de Falla, with Ricardo Capellano. She also has a degree in Musical Arts, specialising in violoncello, from the Universidad Nacional of Arts (U.N.A).

Lana Del Rey’s highly anticipated eighth studio album, Blue Banisters, set for release on 22nd October and featuring the previously released songs 'Blue Banisters,' 'Wildflower Wildfire' and 'Text Book.'

Highly anticipated debut from 2020 breakthrough artist, London-based musician and poet Arlo Parks.
“My album is a series of vignettes and intimate portraits surrounding my adolescence and the people that shaped it. It is rooted in storytelling and nostalgia
- I want it to feel both universal and hyper specific.” - Arlo Parks
This album news continues an outstanding year for Arlo, who was included on the BBC Sound Of 2020 poll and Radio 1 Brit List, as well as the Dazed 100 list,
and was named as an ambassador for mental health charity CALM.
Winner of the BBC Music Introducing Artist Of The Year 2020.
Includes the Radio 1 A-listed singles ‘Black Dog’ and ‘Hurt’.
First LP pressing is on 180g deep red vinyl with foldout poster and digital download code

Don Tiki, the leaders of exotica's turn-of-the-21st-century revival, bring their soundtrack for a Technicolor Polynesian pop paradise to Aloha Got Soul in 2021.

Each LP includes a pair of custom Don Tiki 3D glasses.

Don Tiki debuted from Honolulu in 1997 with the album, 'The Forbidden Sounds of Don Tiki', featuring the legendary Martin Denny in what would become one of his final recordings before his passing. The group, led by Fluid Floyd (Lloyd Kandell) and Perry Coma (Kit Ebersbach), draws inspiration from the original masters of the exotica sound, Denny, Arthur Lyman and Les Baxter, to bring such evocative music into the 21st century.

Following 'The Forbidden Sound', Don Tiki's recordings further deepened the group's reverence for and exploration of the poly-rhythmic, mid-century sounds pioneered by Denny, Baxter, and Lyman. Those albums, originally available on compact disc, include 'Skinny Dip with Don Tiki' (2001), 'South of the Boudoir' (2009), 'Don Tiki's Hot Lava Holiday Songs' (2012), and a remix album entitled 'Adulterated' (2004).

'Hot Like Lava' collects the group's top instrumentals for an exhilarating, paradisiacal ride through the world of tiki subculture on lava-colored vinyl.

About Don Tiki:

"Tiki supergroup Don Tiki knows the world, the subculture of tiki…it really doesn’t get much better than this!” ~ Anthony Bourdain, No Reservations

"Don Tiki is providing the soundtrack for this Technicolor projection of a Polynesian pop paradise." ~ Sven Kirsten/The Book of Tiki

"A great band from Hawaii, friends of ours...keeping the spirit of Martin Denny alive." ~ Jimmy Buffett

Don Tiki is:

Kit Ebersbach – keyboards, bandleader

Lloyd Kandell – producer, congenial host
Lopaka Colon - congas, bongo, bird calls
Hai Jung - bass, vocals
Sherry Shaoling – vocals, dancer
Abe Lagrimas, Jr. – vibraphone, percussion
Ryoko Oka - keyboards
Bonny B. - drums
Tim Mayer – reeds
Violetta Beretta – dancer, costumer, vocals

‘Electronic Ambient Remixes One’ was originally
released in 2000 and includes ambient remixes
and reinventions of the album ‘The Space
Between’.
Tracks from this instrumental series have been
used internationally in gallery installations,
performed at numerous electronic music festivals,
featured on TV and radio broadcasts and within
Hollywood movie trailers.
‘Electronic Ambient Remixes One’ is now available
for the first time on violet coloured double vinyl as
well as CD.
CD in gatefold card pack.
Double LP on violet vinyl with digital download
code.

Frontman, Johnny Delaware lives in a wide-eyed perspective baptized in
the setting of a John Mellencamp song - “You have to be awake in this life”.
Before his stint with Charleston based SUSTO, Johnny found himself as a solo
artist from a small town in South Dakota. Eventually, life would take him to
Albuquerque, NM, Nashville, TN, Austin, TX, and Charleston, SC where he met
guitarist and collaborator Clay Houle. Both teamed up to write and conceptualize what has become The Artisanals. It is the culmination of the collective’s
years of unique individual experiences writing, recording, touring, and living
life.
The bands new album Zia is released in Europe via Rocksnob on 3rd September, 2021. This time out they worked with producer Drew Vandenberg (Toro y
Moi, of Montreal, Kishi Bashi) at Chase Park Transduction, Athens, GA. The first
single ‘Violet Light’ has been praised by Rolling Stone as having been “built to
preach the gospel of rock n’ roll.”
The Artisanals hold iconic predecessors Tom Petty, George Harrison, and Jackson Browne close to their chest

First-ever vinyl issue of this killer comp from 94 (Cherry Red)

Side A/B oxblood, Side C/D milky clear. Comes with 18x24 folded poster. Spanning 4 sides of vinyl you'll hear one of the finest deathrock/goth/new wave bands of all time with songs from EPs/12"s/demos from 1983-1985. It's a release not to miss.

Formed in Keighley, West Yorkshire, during the Post Punk of early 1980’s out of the band ‘The Elements”, took their name from the title of the song “Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family” from the 1974 David Bowie album, Diamond Dogs.
Something unique was brewing up a dark and broody storm in West Yorkshire at the time with bands like The Sisters Of Mercy, The March Violets, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, Southern Death Cult (later became The Cult) forming the basis of what became the soundtracks to the Goth Subculture.
Skeletal Family soon gained popularity in the UK Independent Charts and furiously gigged the length and breadth of the UK and Europe, recorded tracks for the John Peels Sessions, supported The Sisters of Mercy during their 1984 Black October tour, released 2 studio albums ‘Burning Oil’ (1984) and ‘Futile Combat’ (1985) of which saw the release of Skeletal Family’s most successful single ‘Promised Land’ on Red Rhino record label.
Anne-Marie left Skeletal Family in 1985 to form Ghost Dance with Gary Marx, former guitarist of The Sisters Of Mercy.

Made during summer 2020, Loraine James’ second Hyperdub album, ‘Reflection’, is a turbulent expression of inner-space, laid out in unflinching honesty, offering gentle empathy and bitter-sweet hope. ‘Reflection’ further develops a unique pop sensibility realised on last year’s ‘Nothing EP’, while tones of Drill and R&B seep through into this collection too. In contrast to the brash splashes of 2019’s ‘For You And I’ LP and the grimey anger of ‘Nothing’, ‘Reflection’ is pared-down and confident, taking the listener through how last year felt as a young black queer woman in a world that has suddenly stopped moving, the arc of the album peppered with Loraine's diaristic confessions. Starting positively with the gentle pop-trap of ‘Built To Last’ ft Xzavier Stone, into the bumpy instrumental of ‘Let's Go’, the album switches tone with ‘Simple Stuff’, followed by regular collaborator Le3 bLACK amplifying Loraine's vulnerability on the downcast drill of ‘Black Ting’, then ‘Insecure Behaviour And Fuckery’ is a techno glide which pairs Nova's confrontational plea for respect, delivered in monotone autotune, against deep Drexciyan chords. With Baths on vocals, the weightlessness of ‘On The Lake Outside’ soothes numb feelings, and Eden Samara explores the shadow world of anxious dreams on the airy R&B of ‘Running Like That’. Closing track ‘We're Building Something New’ with Manchester rapper Iceboy Violet brings the album together, confidently suggesting a new world is in reach. ‘Reflection’ is a brave step forward for a unique and creative 21st century musician.

Transmeridian is the first album from Departure Lounge (ex-Bella Union) in 19 years. It features all four original members plus a guest appearance from legendary REM guitarist, Peter Buck, one of many long-standing admirers of a band that embodied a lost age of reflective, experimental pop music coming to the fore at the turn of the Millennium alongside The Beta Band, Tunng, Boards Of Canada and Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci.

The surprise new album, named after the defunct ‘golden age of aviation’ cargo airline for which singer/guitarist Tim Keegan’s dad was chief pilot, is released on Violette Records (formed by Michael Head (Shack, The Pale Fountains) and Matt Lockett ) on digital and vinyl formats on Fri 26 March 2021.
Originally scooped up by Simon Raymonde’s Bella Union label (labelmates with John Grant’s Czars) following the self-funded release of their debut album Out Of Here (1999), Departure Lounge’s sophomore outing, Too Late To Die Young (2002) was equally acclaimed and was honoured as the first ever Album Of The Week on the emergent BBC 6 Music. The band toured extensively in the UK, Europe and the US, including outings with The Go-Betweens, Morcheeba, Paul Heaton and Robyn Hitchcock, peers whose stylistic contrasts reflect the eclectic nature of Departure Lounge themselves.

Calling a halt in late 2002, citing family and geographical reasons (drummer Lindsay lives in Nashville, where their second album Jetlag Dreams (2001) was recorded), the four members remained firm friends and occasional collaborators, before reuniting in late 2019 for shows at The Green Door Store, Brighton and The Lexington, London, ostensibly to support the digital reissues of their first three cult-classic albums. With no plans other than to make some new music, the next day they set off for Middle Farm Studios, Devon.
Tim Keegan (vocals/guitar), Chris Anderson (lead guitars/keyboards/bass), Lindsay Jamieson(drums/keyboards) and Jake Kyle (bass/guitar/drums) channelled their evident joy at being back together into a complete 13-track album, largely conceived and recorded in just one 24-hour session in the company of studio owner and co-producer, Peter Miles. Ranging from soulful Americana to piano and mellotron-fuelled melancholia via pastoral musings on the nature of post-youth and eerie Spaghetti Western-tinged instrumentals, the next leg on the Departure Lounge journey is a multi-mood expression of pure artistic freedom.
The ‘leak’ of instrumental track Al Aire Libre (remixed by Parisian groovemeister Kid Loco) in October 2020 gave little away as to what fans could expect from a new Departure Lounge record, the track going gracefully everywhere and nowhere on a whistled Latino breeze. First single proper, Mercury In Retrograde, covered in the twinkling lights of a music box Casio CZ101 melody, turned the clock back - this was an old live favourite that never got past the studio door. Unfinished business brought to a happy conclusion, the single returned Keegan’s honest and distinctive lyrical voice back to British music at just the time listeners needed it.
It was an emotional thread, rather than one musical style, which gave the first three Departure Lounge albums their coherence. The songs told the story of the band. Transmeridian has the same sense of deeply connected musical energy. The purring, campfire acoustica of Timber and So Long bear no obvious resemblance to the ethereal, end-of-the-evening, piano-led interlude Paging Marco Polo, whilst the quasi-glam stomp of Mr Friendly would normally have no business sharing space with the strange, spacey Gurnard Pines (named after an abandoned holiday camp on the Isle Of Wight). Yet the journey’s ebb and flow, accelerations and pauses make for compelling, grown-up listening. Australia, showcasing the chiming Rickenbacker 12-string of Athens, GA’s finest guitar slinger, leaves no doubt that Departure Lounge’s pop sensibilities also remain solidly intact.
These four friends from different musical backgrounds came together originally with the stated aim of ‘creating music to soothe the troubled soul’. Citing their love of (and placing on record their debt to) influences including Robert Wyatt, Nick Drake, Talk Talk, Lou Reed, Arvo Pärt and Cocteau Twins, the band’s diversity of taste is reflected in the music they create.
Transmeridian is only the second full-length LP released by Violette Records, formed by Michael Head (Shack, The Pale Fountains) and Matt Lockett as a platform for Head’s work and developing into a respected independent label as well as multi-disciplinary event organiser, drawing in outsiders working in music, literature, art and design. The label continues to host live events whenever possible and recently initiated an ELP (halfway between and EP and an LP) vinyl series, putting out acclaimed releases by The Pistachio Kid and Studio Electrophonique.

Zapp & Roger’s ‘All the Greatest Hits’ is the band's first Greatest Hits compilation, a collection covering their first four albums performed as a band. The album was originally released on Reprise in 1993 and is now available to pre-order on two-colour per LP Violet and Magenta / Orange and Pink 140g coloured vinyl.

‘All the Greatest Hits’ includes signature hits ‘More Bounce To The Ounce’ sampled by The Notorious BIG, and ‘Computer Love’ sampled by ‘2Pac’ as well as ‘Doo Wa Ditty (Blow That Thing),’ ‘So Ruff, so Tuff’ and ‘Be Alright.’







[f] b2. Zapp - Dance Floor (Pt. I) [Single Version]




[k] c2. Roger - Midnight Hour (Pt. I) [Single Version]

Ambient instrumental version of Steve Von Till’s previous release No Wilderness Deep Enough.
Limited Violet Colour Vinyl.
For fans of Neurosis, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Ólafur Arnalds, Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, Brian Eno.

“Von Till has delved into prolonged and hypnotic expressions of darkness and decay...achingly slow post-classical hues (glissandro strings, mournful horns, reverb piano) fusing intimacy to grandeur. But the most stentorian, weariest voice imaginable - graver even than Mark Lanegan - and the existential dread of his words equally chills to the bones.” 4/5 MOJO (No Wilderness Deep Enough)
Steve Von Till has made a life’s work out of seeking the elemental. With a solo discography that stretches back more than two decades, he has toiled in a shadow realm, peeling back layers of reality in a never-ending search for true meaning and raw emotion. A Deep Voiceless Wilderness strips back the veil even further. An achingly beautiful ambient work with neo-classical leanings, the album is a hallucinatory and elegant rumination on our disconnect from the natural world, each other, and ultimately ourselves.
For some listeners, the album may recall the work of modern composers like Jóhann Jóhannsson, Brian Eno or Gavin Bryars. For Von Till, it’s about surrendering to the spirit of place—and to the original intent behind his 2020 solo album, No Wilderness Deep Enough. That album marked a significant first for Von Till: It was his first solo record without a guitar in hand. Instead, Von Till intoned powerful and thought-provoking lyrics over piano, cello, mellotron and analog synthesizers. A Deep Voiceless Wilderness is that same album without Von Till’s words.
“This is how I originally heard this piece of music,” he says. “Without the voice as an anchor or earthbound narrative, these pieces have a broader wingspan. They become something else entirely and unfold in a more expansive way. The depth of the synths, juxtaposed with the strings and French horn, have space to develop and allow the listener to imagine their own story.”

Over three decades as the unassuming but pivotal figure behind some of Scotland’s most iconic pop, Jim McCulloch steps out of the shadows and onto centre stage with his debut solo album. The former Soup Dragon perfects his mastery of songcraft on When I Mean What I Say, released on Violette Records on 21 May 2021.
Lush and textured, delicate and intriguing, When I Mean What I Say is immersed in the melodic tapestries of Laurel Canyon but rooted in Jim’s life in his hometown of Glasgow. Written in Donegal’s wild Atlantic coast and recorded pre-Lockdown in Glasgow’s downtown Gorbals district, the warmth of the album’s classic pop and its lyrical openness transports the listener to an emotional and harmonic timelessness far from 2020’s claustrophobia.
Jim: “Violette Records are kindred spirits in the music world. Their ethos, aesthetic and generosity of spirit chime with me. Once I had finished the album, they were the only record company I sent it off to-the only record company I thought could do it justice.”

Drab Majesty's first release for Dais Records was the "Unknown to the I" cassette in 2015, which featured the title track that would later appear on his debut album "Careless" that summer. The additional early cuts "Saturn Inc." and "Ultra Violet" have previously only been available on digital or as CD bonus tracks. Now, along with the "Unarian Dances" 12" also released on March 26, these songs are finally made available on vinyl in 45 RPM 12" format, bringing all early Drab Majesty material from the Careless era (2012-2015) to vinyl. Mastered by Josh Bonati with beautiful new packaging by Nathaniel Young.



Drab Majesty is the project of Deb DeMure, the androgynous alter-ego of L.A.-based musician Andrew Clinco and partner Mona D. With its combination of reverb-drenched guitars, synth bass lines, commanding vocals, and rhythmic drum machine beats, this project is a stark departure from Clinco’s previous stints as drummer in Marriages and Black Mare. Dubbed “Tragic Wave” and “Mid-Fi” by DeMure, Drab Majesty eloquently blends classic 80s New Wave and hints of early 4AD with a futuristic originality.



Atalented multi-instrumentalist, DeMure composes all of the elements of DrabMajesty. However, rather than taking personal credit for the music, DeMure insists that the inspiration for the songs is received from an other-worldly source and that Deb is merely a vessel through which outside ideas flow inward. But Drab Majesty is more than just a musical project — it’s a methodical experiment in the identity of creativity. The character Deb DeMure is an enigma that eludes all expectations of gender and ego. When DeMure’s imposing 6’ 4” figure assumes the stage, Deb’s playful, harlequin-esque appearance, tempered by an ominous body language, and clashing with the dreamy, ethereal melodies comes across as a web of contrasts. The result is a perfect balance between seemingly conflicting messages, between the high and the low, the drab and the divine.

After releasing their outstanding 17th album 'Abolition of The Royal Familia' earlier this year, The Orb are back with further guest appearances on their remix album 'Abolition Of The Royal Familia - Guillotine Mixes' (April 2021). Including mixes from David Harrow, Moody Boyz, Youth, Violeta Vicci, Andy Falconer and more.

Demon Records is proud to present a new series of vinyl reissues from American singer-songwriter Black Francis / Frank Black
• First released in 2005, Honeycomb is the tenth studio album by Frank Black. For almost a decade, Frank Black discussed
making a “Black On Blonde” album with producer Jon Tiven. In 2005, Black travelled to Nashville and recorded with legendary
local session musicians including Steve Cropper, Reggie Young, Anton Fig and Spooner Oldham.
• Now available on vinyl for the very first time, this reissue features the complete album pressed on 140g translucent-honey vinyl,
housed in a printed inner sleeve featuring photographs by Michael Halsband.
• Stand out tracks include ‘I Burn Today’, ‘Lone Child’ and the title song ‘Honeycomb’.

500 copies on VIOLET NEON VINYL

Live at Ancienne Belgique, Brussels, Belgium, October 8th and 9th 2019

Tracks 1-9 recorded on October 8th
Tracks 10-17 recorded on October 9th

Recorded by our sound crew: Sam Joseph, Stacey Wilson, Gaspard De Meulemeester

Drums: Michael Cavanagh
Guitar / Keys / Vocals: Cook Craig
Harmonica / Vocals / Keys / Percussion: Ambrose Kenny-Smith
Vocals / Guitar / Keys: Stu Mackenzie
Drums: Eric Moore
Bass: Lucas Harwood
Guitar / Vocals: Joey Walker

Mixed by Stu Mackenzie
Cover design by Jason Galea

Heavy Psych trio from Portugal based in North London. Mainly influenced by 60's psychedelia and 70s Prog with hints of modern Stoner and Space Rock. They deploy their magic fog into the room to take the entire audience on a journey from the edge of a rugged desert to the outer edges of distant galaxies. The acid-doused amps of Madmess vent serpentine psych and bleed the deepest shades of violet from the electric heart of Rock & Roll. Madmess are Luis Moura (Drums), Vasco Vasconcelos (Bass) and Sam Paio (Guitar) Resident Records: "Heavy stoner riffage smashing against crashing drums is always a winner, in our book, & this one happens to be an especially yummy chunk of squealing fuzz" More Fuzz “ This Portuguese trio’s Psychedelic/Space rock conjures images in my mind of the power of a rocket launch, followed by the serenity of orbit before smashing back through the atmosphere and returning to Earth.”

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.

Les Disques du Crepuscule presents Subway, a collection of singles by cult NYC duo Thick Pigeon, originally released on Crepuscule, Factory and Factory Benelux between 1981 and 1991.
Comprised of vocalist Stanton Miranda and instrumentalist Carter Burwell, Thick Pigeon emerged from the downtown New York artrock scene which also spawned Glenn Branca, Bush Tetras, DNA, Arthur Russell and Sonic Youth. Like their chosen name, the duo were typically atypical: Miranda was previously a dancer with the Marthe Graham ballet company, and Carter a film animator and Harvard fine arts/architecture graduate. Very much a studio project, the ‘group’ hardly ever performed live.
Poised and subtle debut single Subway appeared on Crepuscule in January 1981, a connection forged by Miranda’s partner Michael Shamberg. Dog followed a year later, along with wry Christmas single Jingle Bell Rock, before the duo switched to Factory Records, recording debut album Too Crazy Cowboys in Manchester with Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert of New Order producing. Released simultaneously on Factory and Factory US in 1984, the album was billed as “a walk through the civilisation of you soul”.
Having now embarked on a career scoring movies (becoming the Coen brothers’ composer of choice), Carter was absent from the next TP project, 1986 dance single Wheels Over Indian Trails, although Morris and Gilbert remained on board as guest musicians. However Miranda and Carter would reunite for a second (and final) leftfield pop album, Miranda Dali, issued by Crepuscule in 1991.
As well as singles Subway, Dog, Jingle Bell Rock, Jess + Bart and Wheels Over Indian Trails, TWI 351 also includes b-sides (Sudan, Tracy + Pansy), album highlights (Crime, Riding) and a second festive track, Blue Christmas, previously issued only on cassette as part of a Factory Christmas card in 1986.
Alongside Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert, the stellar cast of guests include Fred Szymanski (of Ike Yard), Ikue Mori (DNA), remixer John Robie, and even artist and event designer Jean-Paul Goude on backing vocals.
Limited to just 500 copies, Subway (Singles) is newly remastered and pressed on transparent violet vinyl, reflecting the original 1981 sleeve artwork by legendary Crepuscule designer Benoit Hennebert. The album includes a free digital copy (MP3).

Songs of Comfort & Hope is inspired by the series of recorded-at-home musical offerings that Yo-Yo Ma began sharing in the first days of the COVID-19 lockdown in the United States. Throughout the spring and summer, Ma’s #SongsofComfort grew from a self-shot video of Antonín Dvořák’s “Goin’ Home” into a worldwide effort that has reached more than 20 million people.

Ma and longtime collaborator Kathryn Stott mark the next chapter in the project with this brand new album, offering consolation and connection in the face of fear and isolation. The album includes 21 new recordings, which span modern arrangements of traditional folk tunes, canonical pop songs, jazz standards, and mainstays from the western classical repertoire. Among the new takes on old favorites are Pulitzer Prize® winner Caroline Shaw’s artful and eloquently arranged “Shenandoah”; Australian composer Harry Sdraulig’s “Fantasia on Waltzing Matilda”; pianist Stephen Hough’s lush arrangement of “Scarborough Fair”, and two-time Academy® Award-nominated icon Jorge Calandrelli’s re-imagining of a pair of songbook treasures: “We’ll Meet Again” by Ross Parker and Hughie Charles, and Violeta Parra’s “Gracias a la Vida.”

Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott share the warmth of decades of music making again with Songs of Comfort & Hope, offering audiences new paths into treasured musical memories and a few notes of hope for a better future.

Songs of Comfort & Hope is inspired by the series of recorded-at-home musical offerings that Yo-Yo Ma began sharing in the first days of the COVID-19 lockdown in the United States. Throughout the spring and summer, Ma’s #SongsofComfort grew from a self-shot video of Antonín Dvořák’s “Goin’ Home” into a worldwide effort that has reached more than 20 million people.

Ma and longtime collaborator Kathryn Stott mark the next chapter in the project with this brand new album, offering consolation and connection in the face of fear and isolation. The album includes 21 new recordings, which span modern arrangements of traditional folk tunes, canonical pop songs, jazz standards, and mainstays from the western classical repertoire. Among the new takes on old favorites are Pulitzer Prize® winner Caroline Shaw’s artful and eloquently arranged “Shenandoah”; Australian composer Harry Sdraulig’s “Fantasia on Waltzing Matilda”; pianist Stephen Hough’s lush arrangement of “Scarborough Fair”, and two-time Academy® Award-nominated icon Jorge Calandrelli’s re-imagining of a pair of songbook treasures: “We’ll Meet Again” by Ross Parker and Hughie Charles, and Violeta Parra’s “Gracias a la Vida.”

Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott share the warmth of decades of music making again with Songs of Comfort & Hope, offering audiences new paths into treasured musical memories and a few notes of hope for a better future.

A deluxe vinyl reissue of Demigod's 2002 album Shadow Mechanics. This version comes with a gatefold sleeve and is limited to 500 hand-numbered copies on violet splatter vinyl. Demigod’s criminally underrated second album of cult Finnish Death Metal from 2002 released on vinyl for the first time! Melodic, brooding and doom-laden death metal, punctuated with full-fledged scorchers such as the fierce and blasting "Gates of Lamentation", makes Shadow Mechanics an unpredictable treat, way ahead of its time. This seven-Finn act's potent, driving obscure death metal dispenses pure surges of metal-laced adrenaline thanks to the gruesome vocals and a monstrous Finnvox production. Layering the album with more solemn and atmospheric cuts, Shadow Mechanics shows Demigod pushing at the boundaries of their sound and the conventions of the scene at the time. Pressed in a limited quantity of 500 hand-numbered copies on violet splatter vinyl, with a gatefold sleeve and old-school classic Demigod logo replacing the typeface of the original CD issue, this highly collectible new Svart Records pressing is a treasure for any self-respecting Finnish Death Metal connoisseur to complete their collection.