Buscar:we love

Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18 release their new album "Fontana Rosa". Possibly the world's only musical group to fuse Latin music of all kinds with the Welsh language, this time Rio 18 draw inspiration from slightly different musical corners, including Chicano Soul, Nuyorican pop, and Salsoul disco plus Latin sounds filtered through the cultural spectrum of the USA.

Most significantly though, the album was among the last ever to be recorded by the acclaimed producer Liam Watson at his legendary studio and shrine to all things analogue, Toerag Studios - a huge inspiration and influence on Rio 18's Carwyn Ellis. The "Fontana Rosa" sessions saw Ellis draw together an all-star band at the fabled studio which is perhaps best known through its place in the White Stripes history.

Talking about the story and gestation of the album, Carwyn said:

"I was in Mexico City with Baldo Verdú when I heard that Toerag Studios in London was going to close. It came as a shock - Toerag and Liam Watson, its owner and resident producer had been a massive influence on me. Liam, along with Edwyn Collins, had taught me much of what I know about recording, had hired me as an instrumentalist on countless sessions and had helped me to get started when I began my own solo career. And over the years, I'd still go in to record with Liam whenever the opportunity arose. When I heard that Liam was shutting up shop, I took it upon myself to try and ensure he went out with a musical bang. I rounded up the best band I could get: the aforementioned Venezuelan percussion wiz and singer, Baldo Verdú: American drummer, multi-instrumentalist and producer Shawn Lee: the Isle of Wight's finest drum and percussion master, producer and composer Rupert Brown (whom I'd originally met at Toerag many moons ago): Elan Rhys, one of Wales's finest voices and long term collaborator with Rio 18, as well as being one third of the wonderful folk group, Plu: and Kassin - my Brazilian brother from Rio de Janeiro, bassist and producer with artists such as Jorge Ben, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil and a multitude of others, including Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18.

So this was my dream team, assembled to make beautiful music one more time at Toerag (I have to add at this point that Shawn and Rupert hit it off so well at our sessions that they booked their own session shortly afterwards! Look out for the brilliant Shawn Lee's Toerag Orchestra 'Percussion Discussion' album). Toerag, if you're not familiar with the place, made its name as London's foremost analogue studio for some 30 years, recording directly to tape which in essence means musicians playing live, together in a room until they get it right. And the sound? Oh the SOUND!! And this is all Liam Watson's doing, his sonic aesthetic - a real master engineer. The studio is perhaps best known as the place where the White Stripes recorded their monster hit album 'Elephant' but for me it's where I got to record with James Hunter, Lay Low (from Iceland), Quruli (from Japan), Fabienne Delsol (from France) and made many lasting friendships, learnt a great deal about popular music, as well as making a bunch of my own best recordings with Colorama.

Over the course of five days we laid down as much music as we could. We had some visitors too: guitar slinger Little Barrie (Primal Scream, The The and Liam Gallagher among other things, but also my dear bandmate in Edwyn Collins's band): sax and flute maestro Jim Hunt (Amy Winehouse, Primal Scream, Duffy and very many others): and Diego Laverde Rojas, the Colombian Latin harp virtuoso.

This time the music had a slightly different edge - although we still maintained our Brazilian/Welsh connection on 'Deffro'r Dydd' (written with and sung by Elan Rhys), our Cumbia vibe and some Merengue ('Mariposa' and 'Te Adoro', sung by Baldo Verdú) and even a traditional Afro-Venezuelan tune ('La Quichimba', again sung by Baldo) - the main influence for me this time was Latin music as recorded in the USA, both new and old. 'No More Secrets' is a straight up slice of Salsoul disco, while 'Hei Ti' is a punky funky but of Nu Yorican pop somewhere between ESG and the Beastie Boys. But one of my main influences in the last couple of years has been the current wave of Chicano Soul coming from California, particularly via the Penrose and Big Crown labels. I was turned on to this music when I was in Japan in early 2023 - Takashi-san at Pleased To Meet Me Records in Nara played me the Altons' 'Float' and I was hooked!

And that music has a similar aesthetic to Toerag: music recorded live to tape by excellent engineers, performed by fine musicians and singers. So our songs 'Impossible', 'Heartbreaker' and 'Lovesick' are very much in this vein. And that just leaves the title track, 'Fontana Rosa'."

wetdogg was born in a grotto in Detroit, Michigan with a mission to information to the masses. Through sonic awakening, wetdoggs mission is to enlighten the subconscious and shine light on the deepest crevices of the human psyche. Allowing pathways back into animalistic intuition and away from the technocracy, dig a hole, plant a seed, run in circles and free your mind.

Coming out of Detroit based label Hold Me Records started by Detroit Techno aficionado MGUN and Underground don of all dons Ryan Spencer, wetdogg releases her first Album pssssssp…

From the artist:
"When a dog runs into a river and comes out and shakes itself dry, there is no data collected, technology does not aim to control those that it cannot. Numbers are definite and infinite, a linear path to doomsday. With every move we make, we are tracked and traced and categorized in order to sell ourselves into data hell. Intimacy used to have meaning, the present moment, truth and love but so much of it has been taken captive by technology that seeks to psychologically manipulate and control. A dog runs into the water because that is what dogs do, but it seems these days we are starved from our natural instincts, instead relying on someone else's answer that we of course seek online. "

Using the primitive technology of the password journal (often marketed to little girls to keep their secrets) wetdogg uses the idea of the password journal to imagine a utopia free of the surveillance state in her upcoming album pssssssp…

Founded in 2022, Hold Me Recordings is an independent record label based in southwest Detroit, MI. It is run by Manuel Gonzales (MGUN) & Ryan Spencer, who with a deep-rooted connection to the city's musical history, showcase innovative sounds that challenge the status quo and push the boundaries of contemporary electronic music. Focused on promoting both emerging and established artists, Hold Me is releasing genre-defying tracks that blend unconventional productions with the sincerity of Detroit's legacy. From experimental techno, to downtempo and ambient, Hold Me is committed to offering music that sounds fresh, exciting, and unlike anything you've heard before.

NOW is proud to present the next instalment in our ongoing ‘Yearbook’ series, and the final one representing an individual year from the 1980s: NOW – Yearbook 1989. 78 tracks across 4CDs – celebrating a magnificent and eclectic year in pop! This release is available as a standard 4-CD set, and as a special edition 4-CD set in ‘hardback book’ packaging, which includes a 28-page booklet packed with notes about all of the 78 featured tracks. Also available as 42 tracks across 3LPs, pressed in stunning pink vinyl…celebrating a magnificent and eclectic year in pop!

Over and through the hot cement of North East L.A., an almost-dry riverbed winds like a snake through the city. Coyotes lap at its trickling stream by moonlight, as pedestrians rush past it by day without a second glance, their thoughts tangled up in the distractions of life in a sprawling metropolis. Here, amongst the many avenues and gentle hills, we find Coffin Prick (alias: Ryan Weinstein).

Loose Enchantment, this latest Coffin Prick record, is music conceived of in a different frame of mind for humans living in a world nearly-disenchanted with itself. The album consists of eleven new pieces of music recorded by Coffin Prick himself at his home in Los Angeles, a great city of quicksand-like commitments and those who love them enough to uphold the ends of their collective bargains. A record as much about the confusion of modern life as it is endeavored to expose the lusts in the very loins of creation. Sounds enchanting enough for you? Let’s look a little more closely…

On the heels of 2023’s Laughing (Sophomore Lounge), Coffin Prick got busy. And fast. Playing shows into the year with a newly minted live band, while simultaneously working day and night in his home studio laying the ground for what would become Loose Enchantment. Whereas he was essentially a recording know-nothing at the inception of his last LP, he’d learned a thing or two about better capturing his ideas by this point, taking the sidesteps and victories born of the experience Laughing provided and turning the bright lights on them. As many of Los Angeles’s drivers choose to do, it was time to take some surface roads. Odes to self-delusion, the mysteries of creation, cleanliness, and the secrets in other people’s lives.

A little Loose Enchantment for everyone, basically.

The record is largely sung in Scots language, one of Scotland’s three official languages along with Gaelic and English. “Scots gives me a way of expressing myself which is connected directly with the landscapes I love. It brings the songs alive and it is a fascinating language. The name of the record is in Scots - Forefowk means the people who came before, or ancestors. When we say ‘mind me,’ we can mean a few things- remind, remember, watch over or care for me. The record explores how tradition needs to be constantly reconnected with, built upon, looked after, and shared.”
Quinie sings with a style inspired by Scottish Traveller singers. “I began singing unaccompanied Scots Song in 2015 after hearing Scots Traveller singer Sheila Stewart on the radio. Initially I felt like I shouldn't sing these songs because I'm not a Traveller, and I saw people around me doing that in a way that made me uncomfortable. But on the other hand this music made sense to me and I felt driven to learn. Over the years I have met Traveller friends who taught me that settled people sharing these songs could contribute to raising awareness. Scottish Travellers are marginalised and discriminated against in modern Scotland, despite being custodians of so many of our important traditions. So I started to perform them and tell this story. From there I built on my repertoire and started writing my own songs”.
To develop this record, Quinie travelled across Argyll with her horse. They went on a pilgrimage of sorts through the ancient landscapes of the West of Scotland to explore the interconnected relationships between people, ancestors, animals, and place. The album’s vinyl release is accompanied by a book and film, documenting this unusual research process.
Forefowk, Mind Me was recorded in August 2024 at The Big Shed in Highland Perthshire with support from Creative Scotland. Quinie is accompanied by an ensemble of musicians: Ailbhe Nic Oireachtaigh (viola), Oliver Pitt (duduk, bouzouki, percussion), Harry Górski-Brown (small pipes, violin), and Stevie Jones (double bass, recording, and mixing). Each of these artists brings their own distinctive voice, bridging contemporary experimental practice with worlds of traditional and early music.

In the Andes of Peru, in a valley formed by the Huallaga River, lies the city of Huanuco. There, a little over fifty years ago, the emblematic cumbia band Los Darlings de Huánuco was born, and since then their compositions have gone around the world, bringing their homeland to the ears of music lovers and collectors. Adversities kept them away from music for two decades, but in spite of this, they marked a parallel path and created their own history in the maximum splendor of Peruvian cumbia. In a valley formed by the Huallaga River lies a temperate land located on the eastern slopes of the central Andes of Peru: Huánuco. A little more than seventy years ago, in that land of mountains and starry skies at almost 2,000 meters above sea level, Juan Nájera was born. A multifaceted musician by profession, he did not always have the privilege of being able to dedicate his life to music. For almost ten years he ran a family hardware store in Huánuco and then a mechanic shop on La Marina Avenue in Lima. He was also a truck driver. A decade of military dictatorships in Latin America made the artist's path very hard in the region, and Peru was no exception. Nájera was only nineteen when his first son was born. He had to make a living and the possibilities for entrepreneurship were slim. But if we go back in history, Juan Nájera was, first and foremost, a boy who dreamed of becoming a musician. Later, he was a boy who made it. Los Darlings de Huánuco managed to cross borders, not only in the capital of Peru, but also abroad. There are many collectors and music lovers around the world who seek and appreciate their songs, musical gems that have toured different latitudes and have managed to position this band from the Peruvian countryside in the most remote places on the planet. In a country characterized by its centralism, where opportunities in the countryside are much scarcer than in the capital, where the foreigner is greeted with more warmth than the local, and where getting ahead, especially in the musical field, implies an extraordinary effort, Los Darlings de Huánuco managed to take their sound to where they never thought it would be possible. From the Andes to the skyscrapers, from the heart of Huánuco to the immensity of other continents.

Svein Berge and Torbjorn Brundtland have carved out a singular space for themselves in electronic music and here the Norwegian pair offer us a live album, a document of their 2023 tour. It's a sprawling affair, clocking in at over two hours and featuring a diverse cast of vocalists. The tracklist reads like a who's who of leftfield pop, - - Alison Goldfrapp, Robyn, Susanne Sundfor and Fever Ray among them - each voice adding a different shade to Royksopp's already nuanced sound. 'What Else Is There?', a reworking of the Royksopp classic featuring Fever Ray, is an early highlight, a brooding, intense rendition that transforms the original into a pulsating dancefloor beast. Elsewhere we get the Robyn collaboration 'Do It Again' and 'Running To The Sea' featuring Susanne Sundfor, and even die-hard fans will find something to discover here, with subtle tweaks and re-imaginings offering a fresh perspective on familiar material. A fitting tribute to Royksopp's enduring appeal and their ability to continually evolve and innovate.



[a] A1 | The Ladder [True Electric]
[b] A2 | Impossible (ft. Alison Goldfrapp) [True Electric]
[c] A3 | This Time, This Place (ft. Beki Mari) [True Electric]
[d] B1 | The Girl And The Robot (ft. Robyn) [True Electric]
[e] B2 | Here She Comes Again (ft. Jamie Irrepressible) [True Electric]
[f] B3 | Monument (ft. Robyn) [True Electric]
[g] C1 | Oh, Lover (ft. Susanne Sundfør) [True Electric]
[h] C2 | Unity (ft. Karen Harding) [True Electric]
[i] C3 | You Don't Have A Clue (ft. Anneli Drecker) [True Electric]
[j] D1 | The "R" [True Electric]
[k] D2 | Breathe (ft. Astrid S) [True Electric]
[l] D3 | Running To The Sea (ft. Susanne Sundfør) [True Electric]
[m] D4 | What Else Is There? (ft. Fever Ray) [True Electric]
[n] 14 | Never Ever (ft. Susanne Sundfør) [True Electric]
[o] 15 | Sordid Affair (ft. Man Without Country) [True Electric]
[p] 16 | I Had This Thing (ft. Jamie Irrepressible) [True Electric]
[q] 17 | Feel It (ft. Maurissa Rose) [True Electric]
[r] 18 | Do It Again (ft. Robyn) [True Electric]
[s] 19 | Like An Old Dog (ft. Pixx) [True Electric]

SAMOSA RECORDS EARTH, WIND & FUNK VOL.2 - Pt.1

Samosa Records comes at you with all the elements for Earth, Wind & Funk Vol. 2 – a succulent double slice of vinyl heaven!

On side A1 label favourites Dirty Elements & Drunkdrivers start the party with the knee-slapping treat ‘Koko’. A bouncing bassline and some sweet clavinet keys act as the starters to this trip around the discophere. Lush strings and sassy vocals provide a delicious cherry on top. Mesmerising stuff.

For A2, Macchianera undergoes a De Gama Re-Groove with ‘Gotta Dance’, a deceptive 115bpm chugger that could travel the tracks for an eternity. Deep, groovy bass and soulful vocals combine perfectly in the build-up to the brass-soaked chorus line. Oh, and you know that rhythm guitar is gonna get you.

Side B1 finds Niels F. ‘Trying To Love’ with a little help from some De Gama Re-Drums. ‘Trying To Love’ breaks out into its stride from the off. With an almost ‘2-step’ vibe at the intro, ‘Trying To Love’ nicely builds to a rag time jam of lush strings, smile-inducing brass and a wicked vocal – all applied perfectly and filtered expertly. Let the good times roll!

B2 brings the Afro inspired delights of MP Soundworks and ‘Gotta Get It’. There’s a tribal vibe in the air at this party, a hypnotic runaway train of a track that makes full use of filtered build ups, looped vocal samples and a wicked, wicked bassline. Bouncier than supper-concentrated Zectron.

In Earth, Wind & Funk Vol. 2 Samosa Records has produced a stunning double slab release, featuring a good mix of some of the label’s most prolific artists and some welcome newcomers.

Claire Chicha aka Spill Tab is feeling more free than ever before. The LA-based, French-Korean songwriter and producer,has spent the past five years as spill tab honing a sound that is as raw-edged as it is refined, channelling low-slung guitar-strumming confessionals as well as the earworming melodic hooks of anthemic pop to produce a heady and distinctive mix.

Following the 2019 release of her intimate and infectious debut single “Decompose”, Spill Tab has evolved her spill tab project through three EPs: 2020’s synth-pop influenced Oatmilk, 2021’s playful, uptempo Bonnie, featuring Gus Dapperton and Tommy Genesis, and 2023’s co-produced, sonically-intricate Klepto, which gleefully meanders from the Hiatus Kaiyote-influenced jazz freakouts of “CRÈME BRÛLÉE!” to the guitar-chugging thump of “Splinter”. Live, meanwhile, Spill Tab has been tapped for her explosively energetic presence to open the North American leg of popstar Sabrina Carpenter’s tour, as well as touring through Australia with alt-rock trio Wallows.
With “PINK LEMONADE”, opening single from her forthcoming debut album “ANGIE” , spill tab’s freewheeling sound finds its fullest expression, harnessing this onstage experience and recorded experimentation with her bass-weight and pitched-up vocals. Here we find Chicha only ever chasing that “weird thing”, fizzing with an infectious enthusiasm and intricate musicianship. “The best songs come from writing the main idea in a day, as it’s so instinctual,” she says, such as “PINK LEMONADE” recorded “from a clip taken out of a 40-minute jam that we then chopped and spliced”.
Born to her French Algerian composer father and Korean pianist mother, Claire Chicha spent her early childhood in the mixing room of her parents’ LA post-production studio, bringing coffees to artists as they tracked scores for exciting new projects. “I hung out in that studio all the time until I was around 10 years old, absorbing jazz music my dad was into and classical music that my mom loved,” Chicha says. “My mom had a big hand in making me an adventurous kid, always trying new things from piano to harp and violin, forever soaking up new sounds.”

At 12, Chicha’s life was uprooted as she relocated to Thailand to live with her mother’s family following the collapse of her parents’ business after the 2008 recession. What followed was an unstable and formative few years of early teenagedom, navigating new cultures and life changes. In Thailand, Chicha began learning guitar to cover the Paramore and Green Day tracks she had grown to love while also becoming immersed in Thai traditional music. After a year, she moved once more to live with her aunt in Paris and there she was introduced to the classic sound of Serge Gainsbourg and Édith Piaf before ultimately returning to LA following the untimely death of her father.

“I had to become a real people person to fit in everywhere I was moving, and it immersed me into so many different styles of music,” she says. “I went from listening to the nasal singing of Thai traditional music at muay thai fights in Bangkok, to emotive classic French songs. It definitely informed the need to experiment with my sound as I became more interested in making music.”

At high school in LA, Chicha joined one of the country’s foremost show choirs and realised a natural aptitude for stagecraft and performance as she sang medleys in competitions throughout the US. Going on to study Music Business at NYU, Chicha found a love for the alternative soul and singer-songwriting of the likes of Moses Sumney and Bon Iver, as well as developing her own sound while spending summers interning as an A&R at Atlantic Records and being exposed to the gamut of New York’s live music scene.

“I was going to so many shows as an A&R intern and seeing just how much a lot of music sounded alike,” she says. “It made me realise I wanted my music to feel different, to cut through the noise but still make something that felt honest to me.”

Beginning to independently release tracks, Soill Tab gradually built a loyal fanbase with the release of wistful early numbers “Calvaire” and “Cotton Candy” and soon found herself signed to a major label. Yet, as her career progressed through the COVID pandemic the demands of a corporate major began to conflict with her own searching style. “My last two EPs were under contract and it felt like I was always chasing the carrot,” she says, “I felt a certain pressure to put out tracks quickly and find that ‘hit’. It wasn’t the right environment to truly make what I wanted.”

Ultimately parting ways with her label, Chicha began work on a new album, exploring new sounds and ideas with her LA-based community of collaborators like producer David Marinelli, Solomonophonic, Wyatt and Austin and John DeBold, without expectation. “It became this beautiful experience of only following ideas that I really believed in and exploring all the musical avenues I hadn’t before,” she says. “I’ve never been more excited about songs and I’ve never felt like a project is more mine.”

Writing and recording while touring with Sabrina Carpenter and Wallows, Chicha road-tested her new tracks to see what might land best with an audience who had likely never heard her music before. “You have to win people’s hearts as an opener and you can see what resonates and what doesn’t,” she says. “I would watch people fall in love or not and it’s usually always the song you’re having the most fun with that does the best. That’s what I put on the record.”

« Angie », Spill’s Tab debut album is relased on because Music and expected for May 16th release.

2025 Repress

Om Unit surprises us with a second volume of his 'Acid Dub Studies' project, once again fusing his love for the 303 with studio techniques given to us by musical heroes such as King Tubby, Adrian Sherwood, Jammys and Basic Channel

This second volume further solidifies the convincing narrative created by its best-selling predecessor, heading in a more groove-based direction in places whilst being underpinned by the same sonic narrative that has been enjoyed by many music fans from a variety of different spheres for the past 18 months or so

Support so far for the Acid Dub Studies project has come from many corners including some of the most highly respected names in UK Radio such as Don Letts and Steve Barker, Benji B and Tom Ravenscroft as well as a whole host of truly global worldwide underground support both via radio and in the dance

Om Unit says of this record: 'I felt encouraged by the sheer love for the original selection of works to go back in again and continue to experiment with this approach to writing whilst refining some of the process. Being able to combine processes and influence has been the mainstay of my creative life and I hope this next volume of Acid Dub will be enjoyed by everyone who was a fan of the first'

The beloved 303 bassline continues to inspire every new generation and Acid Dub Studies II is another storybook of sound in that vast continuum that shows no sign of slowing down.

Only the first plate of the LP. (AB side)

New Zealand drum & bass titans The Upbeats have galvanized the global turbulence and turmoil during COVID to create their most explorative and emotionally heavy album to date "Not Forever". Featuring the likes of Fat Freddys Drop frontman Joe Dukie, Jordan Dennis, Levine Lale, Sylvee, Syrene Favero and US MC don Armanni Reign, "Not Forever" is unlike anything the duo has released before. Written in a different way, approached from another perspective, created with a newfound love for the creative process and the scene at large; It's a whole new side to the duo who have continually pushed themselves and their sound into the unknown...

In 2022, Osàre! Editions founder Elena Colombi approached artists and musicians with a prompt: Every body, everyone needs love to flourish. In her book The Will to Change, the eminent author and social activist, Bell Hooks, invites men to excavate their innermost selves, challenging the way that patriarchal society limits their capacity for intimacy, tenderness, care and emotion. As hooks lays out, feminist thought and work requires the collective participation of all genders in order to realise a liberated world. How can we imagine cross-gender solidarity through music and art? And how can we tell sonic stories that facilitate our full potential as desiring beings? These are the questions that The Male Body Will Be Next starts out from.

The title of the record draws connections between hooks' writing, a film by Rebecca Salvadori and Peter de Potter's stunning photo series of the same name. In de Potter and Salvadori's depictions, men's bodies appear as vulnerable, naked and exposed.

Divided into two parts, the first instalment of The Male Body Will Be Next hinges on colliding energies – the melding of club dance floors and haunting ambient textures, agile techno and noisy experimentation.

'The sun on my skin… it’s so warm and gentle,’ speak-sings Olivia Salvadori on ‘Su Di Te M’Infrango’, visualising utopias. Laurel Halo crafts a dreamscape spun from golden threads of synth and strings. Pensive and reflective, Ben Bertrand’s bass clarinet roams searchingly, its piercing tonality full of longing. Yet, in between these lucid, cinematic passages and spoken word, The Male Body Will Be Next finds space to dance together. Moving in fervent, rhythmic patterns, Sepehr’s ‘Divooneh’ pivots between tension and release. Filmmaker unleashes a wave of energy and The Spy delivers a potent take on vintage electro, the track title hinting at the double-bind of gendered expectations. Propelled between these eclectic styles, the record encapsulates the full spectrum of sonic expression.

13th release on OHM Series features great music by Modernism, Tim Kossmann, Ben kaczor, Kirill Matveev & Nikdo!
Another well selected release by label boss Bjarnar Johansson aka OHM!

Two Times Juno awards listed and 2 times Polaris price listed, Canadian Soul Star Tanika Charles unleash the new album "Reason To Stay that drops on May 16 via independent soul label Record Kicks. Reasons To Stay is Tanika Charles' fourth full-length album, and her most introspective to date. Where her songs have typically touched on romantic love and heartache, the core love and loss of this record is family focused. It has taken years for Tanika to be able to publicly reflect on the childhood trauma and family breakup that occurred during her teens. The majority of the album was composed by Tanika with the tight knit team of Scott McCannell (Lydia Persaud, Henry Nozuka), Kyla Charter (Aysanabee) and Chino de Villa (Jessie Reyez). Kelly Finnigan of the Monophonics joined in to mix the bulk of the project and apply some trademark analogue grit to Tanika's sheen. Guests include Quebec-based Soulful singer/songwriter Clerel on the last track "Win", as well as Toronto soul artists Aphrose and Claire Davis providing additional vocals. "I love this album. I love singing these songs. I love that it's made me step outside of my comfort zone. It's forced me to face the root causes of my own insecurities that I carry to this day. Why am I striving so hard to seek validation, and why take it so personally when it doesn't come? That distortion has prevented me from celebrating my own successes at times. This album is me trying to change that." "I love the conversations that have begun with these songs. It's about childhood trauma, but it's not a victim story. I'm doing well, despite the baggage I carry. I want others to be able to carry theirs too." In the last few years, Canadian Soul/R&B powerhouse Tanika Charles has transformed from an emerging solo artist to a commanding performer and bandleader, cementing her status as a staple in the Canadian soul scene. Her previous studio albums - "Soul Run" (2017), "The Gumption" (2019), and "Papillon De Nuit" (2022) - have propelled her to international acclaim, earning her two JUNO nominations, two Polaris Prize listings, and a growing global fanbase. Extensive touring across North America and Europe has further solidified her reputation, with standout performances at festivals such as Trans Musicales in France, Fusion Festival in Germany, Mostly Funk & Soul Festival and Jazz Festival in the UK, Holy Groove Festival in Switzerland, and Canarias Jazz Festival in Spain. She has also shared the stage Estelle, Mayer Hawthorne, Haitus Kayote, Lauryn Hill, Bedouin Soundclash and Macy Gray. Tanika's meteoric rise and undeniable artistry have been widely championed by outlets such as KCRW, KEXP, BBC6 Music, Exclaim!, CBC Music, Uncut Mag, PopMatters, Albumism .. further solidifying her position as a global soul sensation.

Ein Album zum Schlafen und Wachen, zum Gehen und Fahren, zum Jagen und Fischen, zum Herumlungern vor einer Raststätte in der verwunschenen Tundra. In Fahrstühlen okay, zum Abendessen nicht so toll. Auf Caveman Wakes Up, dem neuen Album von Friendship und ihrem zweiten für Merge Records, wird die historisch weit gefasste Definition von Country-Musik noch weiter gefasst. Shambolische Gitarren werden durch Flötenpads ausgeglichen, trübe Poesie trifft auf eine Motown-Rhythmusgruppe, ein Song über Jerry Garcia und die First Lady Betty Ford wird mit einem Schlagzeugsolo ausgeblendet, als käme Talk Talk aus einem schmuddeligen Keller in Philadelphia und würde von James Tate gespielt. Der zerklüftete Bariton des Songwriters Dan Wriggins schneidet durch elf düstere, wirbelnde Country-Rock-Songs mit tiefgründiger lyrischer Substanz und Aufrichtigkeit. Wie ein Wecker, der am Rande eines Traums eingebaut ist, gehört "Caveman Wakes Up" gleichermaßen zum bewussten und zum unterbewussten Verstand, voller Hintergründe, durchdrungen von Referenzen und Experimenten, beiläufig und als düstere Warnung vorgetragen und vor allem der kreativen Seele der Musik gewidmet. Im Laufe der Jahre hat sich diese Hingabe ausgezahlt. Friendship ist zu einer Art umgekehrter Supergroup geworden, in der die Band selbst und jedes einzelne Mitglied im Zentrum einer zunehmend prominenten Szene junger Folk- und Country-Musiker und Songwriter steht. Der Schlagzeuger Michael Cormier O'Leary leitet das Instrumentalkollektiv Hour und betreibt zusammen mit dem Bassisten Jon Samuels das Label Dear Life Records, das Freunde und Kollegen beherbergt, die Friendship zu einem wichtigen Einfluss zählen, darunter MJ Lenderman, Florry, und Fust. (Samuels spielt auch die Leadgitarre bei MJ Lenderman and the Wind). Die Band 2nd Grade des Gitarristen Peter Gill ist ebenfalls aktiv und macht zahlreiche Aufnahmen. Wriggins begann mit dem Schreiben der Songs von "Caveman Wakes Up" auf einer verstimmten klassischen Gitarre von Lenderman und beendete es auf einem kaum gestimmten Klavier in einer Wohnung, die er mit G DeGroot von Sadurn teilte. Im Sommer 2023 hatte Wriggins gerade den Iowa Writers' Workshop verlassen, wo seine Liebe zur Poesie und sein Misstrauen gegenüber der akademischen Poesiewelt gleichzeitig wuchsen. Eine Beziehung ging in die Brüche, und Wriggins übernachtete mehrere Wochen in North Carolina im Haus von Lenderman und Karly Hartzman (von Wednesday ), wo er die ersten Demos von "Resident Evil", "All Over the World" und "Love Vape" aufnahm. Wriggins kehrte nach Philadelphia zurück, und die Band machte sich an die Arbeit, um neue Ideen zu entwickeln. Schließlich nahmen sie das Album in fünf Tagen mit Tontechniker Jeff Ziegler (Mary Lattimore, War On Drugs) auf, den Gesang mit Bradford Kreiger, dem Techniker von Love the Stranger. Orgel, Geige (Jason Calhoun) und Flöte (Adelyn Strei) wurden von Lucas Knapp in einer Kirche in West Philadelphia aufgenommen. Textlich bewegt sich "Caveman Wakes Up" auf vertrautem Friendship Terrain - das Heilige wird profaniert und das Profane geheiligt. "Caveman Wakes Up" zeigt Friendships besonderes Genie für visionäre Arrangements, die über Generationen hinweg dem Folk-Rock-Kanon von Neil Young, Joni Mitchell und Emmylou Harris ebenso verpflichtet sind wie Indie-Größen wie Yo La Tengo und den Merge-Labelkollegen Lambchop oder Zeitgenossen wie Lomelda und ML Buch. Mehrere der Songs verwenden Fade-Outs, die im Text von "Love Vape" scherzhaft erwähnt werden, und es gibt andere Elemente, die von Motown und 70er-Jahre-Balladen übernommen wurden: festgefahrene Schlagzeugmuster, Bassintervalle, gefühlvolle Streicherarrangements. Jede Referenz wird über das Genre hinausgeschoben, verwirbelt und wiederholt, zu etwas Neuem, das eindeutig zum Friendship-Sound gehört. Bei "Free Association", "Artex" und "Wildwood in January" ist der Groove so festgelegt, dass andere Klänge nahtlos kommen und gehen können: Mellotron-Flächen, Klavierwirbel und -stiche und klare Gitarrenmelodien, wimmelnde Texturen, die sich als Einheit tarnen. "Caveman Wakes Up" das bisher am weitesten fortgeschrittene Werk von Friendship, ein weiterer Beweis für die Hingabe und Sorgfalt der Band.

An album for sleeping and waking, walking and driving, hunting and fishing, for loitering outside a roadhouse on the haunted tundra. Okay in elevators, not great for dinner. On Caveman Wakes Up, Friendship’s new album and second for Merge Records, the band’s historically capacious definition of country music grows wider still. Shambolic guitars are offset by flute pads, bleary poetry is set against a Motown rhythm section, a song about Jerry Garcia and First Lady Betty Ford fades out with a drum solo, like if Talk Talk came from a dingy Philadelphia basement and was fronted by James Tate. Songwriter Dan Wriggins’ ragged baritone cuts through eleven murky, swirling country-rock songs with profound lyrical substance and sincerity. Like an alarm clock incorporated into the edge of a dream, Caveman Wakes Up belongs equally to the conscious and subconscious mind, fraught with background, steeped in reference and experimentation, delivered casually and as a dire warning, dedicated, above all, to music’s creative soul. Over the years, dedication has paid off. Friendship has become a kind of reverse supergroup,
wherein the band itself and each individual member are located centrally in an increasingly prominent scene of young folk and country musicians and songwriters. Drummer Michael Cormier O’Leary leads the instrumental collective Hour and, along with bassist Jon Samuels, runs Dear Life Records, home to friends and peers who count Friendship as a major influence including MJ Lenderman, Florry, and Fust. (Samuels also plays lead guitar in MJ Lenderman and the Wind). Guitarist Peter Gill’s band 2nd Grade records prolifically. Wriggins began writing the songs of Caveman Wakes Up on a downtuned classical guitar of Lenderman’s and finished on a barely tuned piano in an apartment he shared with Sadurn’s G DeGroot.
In the summer of 2023, Wriggins had just left the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where his love for poetry and mistrust for the academic poetry world grew in tandem. A relationship fell apart, and Wriggins crashed for several weeks at Lenderman and Wednesday’s Karly Hartzman’s home in North Carolina, where he recorded the first demos of “Resident Evil,” “All Over the World,” and “Love Vape.” Wriggins returned to Philadelphia, and the band got to work on new ideas, finally tracking the album in five days with engineer Jeff Ziegler (Mary Lattimore, War on Drugs). Wriggins recorded vocals with Love the Stranger engineer Bradford Kreiger, and organ, violin (Jason Calhoun), and flute (Adelyn Strei) were recorded by Lucas Knapp in a West Philadelphia church.

Last month’s Eddie Parker ‘I’m Gone’ 45 release reused the Pied Piper backing track from the Hesitations album-only recording ‘That's What Love Is’. Both versions of this great 60s Detroit soul stomper are adored on the northern soul scene; to see it on our Pied Piper label will be quite a buzz.

We’ve plundered another of the group’s LP-only tracks for the B side. ‘Soul Superman #2’ has never been on a 45, though its brother ‘Soul Superman’ was one of the few Pied Piper chart hits. #2 has a similar macho theme with a different, though recognisable, Pied Piper track.

"The recordings Contained herein are contained here after many years on the shelf..." So begin Michael Hurley's notes to these unbelievably great recordings from 1964...never before heard. Recorded by Fred Ramsey as part of the same sessions that resulted in Michael's First Songs LP on Folkways. Side A starts with What'llya Do, What'llya Say?, a pretty psychedelic classic that can very well put you into some kinda trance. After that we hear The Blues Had Gone Away - a sad drifty little tune, then Pretty Girl On Rollerskates, with a rare Hurley harmonica solo & hallucinatory lyrics worthy of some examination, and then a beautiful alternate take on one of Michael's all time greats - The Tea Song. Side B starts up with yet more alternate takes of songs from the Folkways LP - this time of Intersoular Blues & I Like My Wine. After that we get to hear two great compositions for the first time, & man oh man are they pretty - Hey Hey Hey Hey & I Love You Babe. Real great stuff all around that we recommend for deep into it Hurley fans & newcomers to his art alike. Michael Hurley is a great American song writer with his own unique way of seeing the world & this LP is a great testament to his vision. Co-release with our friends Nero's Neptune.

((( O ))) is unveiling her highly anticipated fifth studio album, ((( 5 ))), marking the latest milestone in her visionary series of releases. Continuing her tradition of fusing music with the rhythms of the universe, she has introduced the concept of 'MoondropDISABLEDs,' which are individual pieces of audio-visual art released every full moon. These 'MoondropDISABLEDs' are then compiled into an annual collection called 'Sundrops,' released on her birthday. ((( 5 ))) represents the fifth installment in this series, offering a mesmerizing blend of genres and sonic landscapes that reflect ((( O )))'s deep connection with nature and the cosmos. Each track is crafted to resonate with the energies of the lunar cycle during which it was created, offering listeners an otherworldly experience. Looking ahead, ((( O ))) aims to complete a full collection of 12 'Sundrops' by the year 2032, creating an unparalleled anthology of art that spans a decade and encapsulates the cycles of the moon. Her work continues to inspire a global audience with its innovative blend of music, visual art, and spiritual exploration.
In the words of ((( O ))): “Each 'Sundrop' is a reflection of my journey through life, intimately connected with the rhythms of nature. With ((( 5 ))) being my first fully-produced album, I invite listeners to join me in sitting with the moments in between, with the simplicity of instrumentals from sounds that I used from my journeys living in the Philippines, celebrating the beauty and power of our cosmic connection. I needed it to create space versus taking up more space in an already overwhelming world we live in now.

"Amazing! Like stumbling on a treasure-trove of unheard Charlie Patton and Blind Willie McTell 78s, but imbued with the spirit of Mahlathini and Ladysmith." Joe Boyd

'But for this compilation of rescued songs masterfully restored from rare 78 rpm shellacs, few could imagine the diversely beautiful roots of Zulu Guitar Music emerging during the period 1950 – 1965. Story-tellers and master musicians appropriate outlaw personae, re-purpose country and western, Hawaiian and other styles, to stretch and challenge our notion of “the Zulu guitar”.

Twenty-five songs (18 on vinyl) plunge us into the depths of the migrant experience. Translations in the liner notes offer us glimpses of pugnacity, melancholy and heartache, all coloured by the paternalism that circumscribed the singers’ apartheid-dominated lives.

The early *mbaqanga* undertow in many of the songs subverts the wanderlust of Country and Western music into a fugitivity burdened by nostalgia. Something irretrievable has been lost, prompting a blending of ideas and cultures to make sense through thankless acts of musical divination. Inadvertently they have been thrust into the role of the antihero, where outwitting competition for lovers is as important as evading the Black Jacks (apartheid’s municipal cops) and their informants.

Considering the politically repressive period that this music emerges from, we can surmise that the specificity in the storytelling went a long way towards evading censure. But even when words are absent, there is a narrative arc suggested by the musical expression.

With most of the master tapes wilfully destroyed or lost, modern transcription and restoration techniques from the original shellac discs present the original sound most likely more clearly than ever heard before.'

Produced for reissue by Chris Albertyn and Matt Temple at Matsuli Music and Siemon Allen at Flatinternational.
Artwork design by Siemon Allen.
Liner note and translations by Kwanele Sosibo.
Audio restoration and lacquers by Frank Merritt at The Carvery and pressed at Pallas, Germany.
Original 78rpm recordings sourced from the collections of Chris Albertyn at Matsuli Music, and Siemon Allen at the Flatinternational Archive.

Veteran Drummer Ken Serio has been a staple on the New York
studio scene for over 30 years
and has appeared on over 70 CDs,
as well as 18 as a leader. His new release Brooklyn Oasis is his most ambitious release to date and features Jazz Legend Ron Carter
on Bass as well as Tomoko Ohno
on Piano, and Saxophist Dave Mullen. Recorded October
24th at The Acoustic Studio in Brooklyn NY, and produced by
Bob Cowley, it features two
originals The title track
“Brooklyn Oasis” penned
by Ohno, as well as "For Micheal
" a heartfelt tribute to the late
Micheal Brecker by Dave Mullen
. Liner notes by Jazz journalist
Bill Millkowski, and also Hammond great Brian Charette. Other songs include the McCoy Tyner burner “
Changes”, “Dindi”, the Jobim classic,“Hard Eights” by Lyle Mays
, “In Your Own Sweet Way”, by
Dave Brubeck, and the lovely “
Skylark” by Hoagie Carmicheal.

In May 2000, pop princess supreme Britney Spears released her second studio album Oops!... I Did It Again, which features Stronger, Lucky and the title track Oops!... (red leather jumpsuits and the necklace from The Titanic were never looked at the same again!). The massive commercial success debuted at #1 in 20+ counties, selling 1.3 million copies in its first week, breaking the SoundScan record for highest debut album sales by a female artist.

Britney’s record was broken 15 years later in 2015 by Adele’s 25. Considered one of the best-selling albums of all time, to date, it has sold ~20 million copies worldwide. 25 years later, with Britney’s trailblazing influence still being seen in pop artists today, we are delighted to release a 25thANNIVERSARY EDITION 2-LP DELUXE vinyl release. Featuring an alternate cover, a 20-page booklet of never-before-seen and rarely seen photos of the era PLUS 2 new remixes, “Stronger (Adamusic Remix)” & “Oops!...I Did It Again (Pessto Remix)” on black vinyl

Die bahnbrechende britisch-japanische Newcomerin Miso Extra unterstreicht mit ihrem herausragenden Debütalbum, warum ihr 2025 der ganz große Durchbruch gelingen könnte. 'Earcandy' wurde im Sommer 2024 mit Ricky Damian (dem mit einem Grammy ausgezeichneten Toningenieur, der für seine Arbeit mit Ezra Collective, Jorja Smith und Sampha bekannt ist) in Damon Albarns Studio 13 geschrieben und aufgenommen. Mit ihrem innovativen Synthie-House Popsound erschafft die selbstbewusste junge Künstlerin ihr eigenes genre-fluides 'Misoverse', das Musikliebhabende aus aller Welt in den kommenden Monaten in ihren Bann ziehen wird.

Yuno's full-length debut, Blest, out May 16 on Sub Pop, finds the enigmatic indie-pop visionary transforming the emo-tinged suburban malaise of his 2018 Moodie EP into more expansive, widescreen pop drama - suited for big moves and bigger stages. The kaleidoscopic sound he devised as a millennial hermit in his childhood bedroom in Florida has since broadened his horizons, taking him on tour with Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Superorganism, and soundtracking various series for Netflix and HBO. Imbued with elements of dream-pop, rock, trap, and psychedelia, his eclectic songs serve as bids for love and connection, which especially in the fractured era of social media, have resonated with many listeners who find solace in his vulnerability. Yuno's superpower lies in the way he mines a multitude of genres for their pop potential and surfaces with a tapestry that feels novel and fresh. Take, for instance, "Blest," the immediate, blissful, and bright title track, which is inspired by Rich Harrison-breakbeats and Neptunes-esque jangle. Or the breezy single, "True," in which Yuno moderates a lover's quarrel with slick, trap percussion. Amid the breakbeated dream-rock of "Gimme Ocean," he introduces his guitar solo with a searing emo scream, run through an EarthQuaker Devices pedal. Don't let his sanguine aura or his sherbet pink wardrobe fool you; he can shred as hard as he wants to when he wants to. All songs on Blest were written and performed by Yuno, co-produced by Yuno and Frank Corr (Morning Silk), who also contributed keyboards, drums, and guitar throughout the record, with additional production and instrumentation by Patrick Wimberly (Chairlift) at The CRC in Brooklyn, and Nick Sanborn (Sylvan Esso) at Betty's in Durham, NC. Blest was mixed by Steve Vealey and mastered by Joe La Porta.

Celebrate the 10th anniversary of Hozier’s self-titled debut album with this special limited-edition release. Featuring “Take Me To Church,” now RIAA certified DIAMOND, and four exclusive bonus tracks released on vinyl for the first time, including “In The Woods Somewhere” and “Arsonist’s Lullabye”. Custard colored vinyl in a gatefold jacket.

Australia's left-field club renaissance keeps flowering, and Horatio Luna's cult 2020 debut Yes Doctor remains an essential root document. The LP welds dub-soaked bass pressure, broken-beat jack and smoky nu-jazz improv onto a house chassis—picture Moodymann deep cuts drifting through Dadawah's spiritual haze. Championed by Gilles Peterson after Luna appeared on Brownswood's Sunny Side Up compilation—where drummer Phil Stroud and synth maestro Dufresne also featured—the record was pieced together across 2019 during a run of late-night sessions while Hicks was living in the La Sape house. La Sape's brand-new 2025 pressing (cat. SAPE00825) uses freshly cut plates and presents the full ten-track programme on 140 g black vinyl. The package features subtle touch-ups to the jacket artwork and refreshed centre-label stickers while preserving the original aesthetic. "Yes Doctor is my coming-of-age—mixing every style I could think of into house, pushing aesthetic boundaries, making 'un-boxable' music," Luna says. File next to Theo Parrish and Yesterday's New Quintet: DJs will lock onto the title track's seven-minute bruk workout, while deeplistening customers will cherish the front-to-back journey in groove alchemy.

TOTEMIC MODULATIONS, UNEARTHED FROM WIND AND WORDS

“The album Chênes mainly brings together songs. These songs are narratives of scenes that unfold in the forest, or in the city but with animal and plant protagonists. One song also tells the story of a solitary walk in the mountains. They are like zoomed-in snapshots of the world of insects, amphibians, birds, and mammals. They are also celebrations of growing life, and the pleasure and joy it brings.

Composed over the course of about two or three years, it was a deliberate choice to bring them together for this album, even though they were not initially connected to one another. One of them is an exception and is more of a collection of vocalizations and cries without actual words, composed in a language incomprehensible to humans because it is nonverbal.

This collection of imitated chants and sung songs had to be illustrated by the collages of my friend Fen. Even though the stories describe real species and elements, they are indeed imagined tales. Her collages are, too. There’s also the violin that adds a wandering touch to the pieces, and other instruments that shape the environment and setting of these stories. Bells, bird calls, whistles, flutes, jaw harp, harmonica — all imitate more or less imaginary species. Each has its role and its life, down to the horsehair of the bow that rubs the strings of my violin to bring forth the sound.

Chênes is a title that pays homage to trees I love so much, though without preference over others. They have embodied several giants that I’ve often come across, greeted, and embraced” ~ Roxane Métayer

Gatefold Ȓșȑg Black Vinyl
Die Kölner Sängerin vermischt auf dem neuen Album Jazz, Folk und Pop
9 Songs, die Hoffnung geben in einer Welt voller Unsicherheiten

Inspired by the Zamrock movement of the 1970s, Immy Owusu & Sensible J’s swirling psych/afro/funk EP ‘Spiritual War’ is a rowdy, boisterous selection of songs about injustice, insanity, and the inanity of modern life in the burning house that is late capitalism. Owusu, a Ghanaian Australian singer and multi-instrumentalist, bonded with South African Australian drummer, beatmaker, and producer Sensible J (Sampa The Great, Cool Out Sun, Remi) over a shared love of the raw sounds of 70s African music, in particular Zamrock artists like Witch and Amanaz, and cooked up the EP in J’s iconic House Of Beige studio. Immy played guitar, percussion, and miscellaneous instruments, including the recorder, as well as vocals, while J provided drums, bass, and keys, and a roster of guests added vocals.

“Wrecking Ball” was one thing. Now comes the long-awaited anti-austerity blast-a-thon with the teeth, venom and one-of-a-kind music of Jello Biafra. The second full-length from Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine picks up where last fall’s SHOCK-U-PY! left off. Covered in gruesome detail this time are corruption (“The Brown Lipstick Parade”), “Werewolves of Wall Street,” “Road Rage,” and corporate McMedia making pop stars out of small-time crooks to shield the big ones (“John Dillinger”) or tabloid pop stars to lobotomize everyone else (“Hollywood Goof Disease”). The title track shines a light on our never-ending foreign policy disasters in ways even Jello’s spoken word albums never did. “Crapture” is the perfect song to play for those lovely End Times believers, pointing out how much better the world would be for everyone else left behind—replete with melodies on the scale Biafra hasn’t really touched since “Moon Over Marin.” Above all, White People and the Damage Done rocks! No pop punk here, just Jello and crew taking punk fire in unexplored directions, with wallof-sound, in-your-face production from Marshall Lawless and Matt Kelley (lots of Jello projects, Hieroglyphics, The Coup, Digital Underground, Zen Guerrilla). Lineup retains the double-barreled guitar attack of Ralph Spight (Victims Family, Freak Accident) and Kimo Ball (Freak Accident, Griddle, Mol Triffid), joined by bassist Andrew Weiss (Rollins Band, Ween, Butthole Surfers, more) and drummer Paul Della Pelle (Helios Creed, Nik Turner’s Space Ritual, and Philly HC legends Ruin)

“Wrecking Ball” was one thing. Now comes the long-awaited anti-austerity blast-a-thon with the teeth, venom and one-of-a-kind music of Jello Biafra. The second full-length from Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine picks up where last fall’s SHOCK-U-PY! left off. Covered in gruesome detail this time are corruption (“The Brown Lipstick Parade”), “Werewolves of Wall Street,” “Road Rage,” and corporate McMedia making pop stars out of small-time crooks to shield the big ones (“John Dillinger”) or tabloid pop stars to lobotomize everyone else (“Hollywood Goof Disease”). The title track shines a light on our never-ending foreign policy disasters in ways even Jello’s spoken word albums never did. “Crapture” is the perfect song to play for those lovely End Times believers, pointing out how much better the world would be for everyone else left behind—replete with melodies on the scale Biafra hasn’t really touched since “Moon Over Marin.” Above all, White People and the Damage Done rocks! No pop punk here, just Jello and crew taking punk fire in unexplored directions, with wallof-sound, in-your-face production from Marshall Lawless and Matt Kelley (lots of Jello projects, Hieroglyphics, The Coup, Digital Underground, Zen Guerrilla). Lineup retains the double-barreled guitar attack of Ralph Spight (Victims Family, Freak Accident) and Kimo Ball (Freak Accident, Griddle, Mol Triffid), joined by bassist Andrew Weiss (Rollins Band, Ween, Butthole Surfers, more) and drummer Paul Della Pelle (Helios Creed, Nik Turner’s Space Ritual, and Philly HC legends Ruin)

For RSD 2025 the influential band will be releasing a new double LP edition of their Nine Sevens box set of 7" records first released in 2018. Combining the run of early singles with more obscure later period tracks underlines the strength in depth that Wire had. This is pop art as art/pop and an exploration of the blank canvas of pop culture and how far that canvas can be stretched going from three minute constructs to ambient washes. The 7" single was always the ultimate artefact and statement with the A side being the band momentarily paused in time and distilled and freeze-framed into the forever with less than three minutes of electric sound. These "sevens" released from 1977 to the end of that decade, signpost the band's remarkable development from their brilliantly monochromatic early phase to the textured complexity of the almost psychedelic unzipping of their sound and vision. In some ways the compilation of Nine Sevens onto a double album makes for quite a weird documentation of the band in this period. The first disc, to some extent, follows the script of a singles / greatest hits collection but the second one goes wildly off-piste and ends up somewhere quite far from where the collection started. A conventional Greatest Hits collection, besides being conceptually a bit naff would, if strictly based on charting singles, consist of only one song! A Best Of is subjective and somewhat pointless in the age of the Spotify playlist that anyone can make. The only thing really that these tracks have in common (besides being by Wire) is that they were released or destined to be released on 7" by Wire in the period 1977-1980. - Nine Sevens is both title & elevator pitch!' Wire always understood the language of pop and also the artfulness of playing with it, deconstructing it and reassembling it into new and thrilling shapes. Decades later, these adventures into sound are like slices of delicious, perfect pop/noise and hits from a parallel universe. Track list:Side A1 Mannequin 2 Feeling Called Love 3 12XU 4 I Am the Fly5 Ex-Lion Tamer 6 Dot Dash *7 Options R * Side B 8 Outdoor Miner (single version) * 9 Practice Makes Perfect 10 A Question Of Degree * 11 Former Airline *12 Map Ref. 41ºN 93ºW Side C 1 Go Ahead * 2 Our Swimmer * 3 Midnight Bahnhof Café * 4 Second Length (Our Swimmer) **5 Catapult 30 ** Side D (154 EP) 6 Song 1 * 7 Get Down 1 + 2 * 8 Let's Panic Later *9 Small Electric Piece * * previously unreleased on vinyl album ** recorded in 1980 but not released until 2014

"The Lost EP" is back on vinyl for the first time in almost four decades, a cornerstone of New Zealand's 'Dunedin Sound' of the 1980s. Faithfully restored with original artwork and insert, the EP is pressed on single yellow vinyl, still running at 45rpm and features six tracks of sublime pop from the pen of The Chills' mainstay Martin Phillipps. "The songwriter that helped kick off indie rock as we know it." NPR. Originally released in 1985, after the master tapes had been mislaid for 12 months, "The "Lost" EP' is the perfect mix of Phillipps' pop sensibilities and his often-dark lyrics. Doffing a cap to dream pop, garage punk, psychedelic whimsey and old school indie along the way, it's a band truly finding themselves. "Even at his most cynical, the tone of Phillipps' voice and the major-chord bounce of the music makes him sound in love with the world." The Guardian. 1000 copies worldwide

(Remastered 2022)

Die limitierte Vinyl-Veröffentlichung des Albums „Love Songs“ von Elton John ist am 2. September endlich wieder als Vinyl erhältlich.

Das Album, welches 1993 ursprünglich veröffentlicht wurde, knüpft an den enormen Erfolg von „The Very Best Of“ und an seine erste britische Solo-Nr.1, „Sacrifice“, im Jahr 1990 an. „Love Songs“ enthält
18 von Eltons beliebtesten Balladen und erreichte Platz 4 der britischen Charts und hielt sich 48 Wochen
lang in den Charts.

Das Album ist als 2LP und auf 180g Vinyl erhältlich.

"Kindred spirits and loyal soldiers on the frontlines of the dub war Detroit's 2Lanes and Los Angeles' Cromie link up to present to the world, Destiny Cloud. With a project name inspired by a mystical vacant storefront in Cromie's neighborhood of Altadena (still standing after the fires, bless), the guys formed like a storm after being intro'd by a notorious LA promoter and hotboy producer matchmaker. Funnily enough, the first session was foiled by a missing cable, so it wasn't until the sexy summer of 2023 that the cloud seeds that went on to become Sun Phase/Moon Phase were planted. From the jump, their vision was lucid and their objective collective: lock in at the stu(s) to make the most jiggy, psychedelic, tripped out club shit they could muster. Fast forward to today, Destiny Cloud is proud to bring you the latest missive on 2Lanes' Auto Shop imprint.

On the A side, Sun Phase sets it off with searing stabs from the hands of session killer Ji Hoon on a heavenly Jupiter-8 (sorry not sorry, the real thing does sound better) before a bassline straight off the Adriatic's Argonaughty comes in to funk up the flow over a bed swung hi-hats and drum circle conga lines the Wickedest west coast house heads can appreciate (no hippy shit, but we ARE on Hipp-E's dick). A keep-it-simple-stupid *muah' organ line plays nice with a gang of embellishments to take this one through its duration (Joey pressed record and said "ooh-wah" into the vocoder; no lie, I was there). With his Toxic Love remix, NYC upstart DJ John Brooklyn injects the tune with the highest grade octane to up the revs. The aforementioned organ becomes a timeless trance lead, and new pipes are inserted reminding us all that house music is forever.

Day turns to night on the B Side with Moon Phase, where booming kicks let you know off the rip that this is some real deal late night trunk funk. We're talking dualities here y'all; Cromie's deep-as-the-Pacific bassline meets Joey's frozen-lake-cold Detroit stabs as the drums speak in tongues with those on the other side of the slab. Reverb ghosts and rhythmic acid have this one veering more psychedelic without losing the jiggy factor, while diving proggy synths will have the Global Underground saying, "yea this is our shit, for real." With a run time that allows for maximum fun time, the ambient outro gives you a kiss on the forehead to put that ass to sleep. The iconic DJ Miss Parker takes the wheel on the remix, taking this one straight down the Tunnel with new-school/true-school Tenaglia-isms that wouldn't sound out of place in 2000, 2005 or 2025.

Like all the work we do, this one's a team effort. Salar Ansari put's his deft touch on the mixdowns and Jack Anderson blesses the center of both sides of the disc. Out mid-May, just in time for when things start heating up

One of the world’s best-selling albums, Dire Straits’ Brothers In Arms, celebrates its 40th anniversary with a 1LP pressing. Re-issued in this configuration for the first time since 1985, the single-sleeve 1LP mirrors the original pressing where tracks ‘So Far Away’,’Money For Nothing’, ‘Your Latest Trick’ and ‘Why Worry’ were abridged to fit the vinyl format. Brothers In Arms spent 14 non-consecutive weeks at Number 1 in the UK Albums Chart and is the 8th best-selling album in UK chart history.

Julie in Memphis. Während Erics Trip auf Eis lag, flog die Herzogin des kanadischen Flanells im Dezember 1996 in den Süden, um ein Album mit Balladen über postpartale Depression aufzunehmen. Zusammen mit Howe Gelb von Giant Sand und David Shouse von The Grifters, fängt Loneliest In The Morning Julies blaue Phase mit zitternder Genauigkeit ein.

LP in printed inner sleeve. With De Wonderen, Donder returns once again to the essence of the trio. The result is a chaotic blend of abstract and melodic work featuring both solos, duos and trios, two covers of pop songs and some occasional whistling and Norwegian lyrics.



The album was recorded on a slow summer day in July 2023 in the old theatre hall of KC Nona in Mechelen. Besides the room's lively acoustics and the conscious choice for an upright piano, the recording is characterised by the usual unorthodox playing techniques and carefully documented imperfections.
In contrast to their previous record Het Verdriet, which emerged from a research project on Flemish (folk) music history, this time the premise was to compose and collect new material without any concepts or limitations. The result is a chaotic blend of abstract and melodic work featuring both solos, duos and trios, two covers of pop songs and some occasional whistling and Norwegian lyrics.

De Wonderen is a testament to the beauty found in the small wonders of everyday life. As Guy Peters writes in the liner notes: «With this album that bubbles with percussive ideas and unpredictable contrasts, you are once again reminded that beauty is more striking when you have to wait for it, or find it in unusual places."

Het Mierenlied and Vader Ademt were released as singles with accompanying video's by respectively 3D and motion designer Robbe Callewaert and visual artist and ceramist Juliette Pons. The full album will be released on W.E.R.F.-records November 22nd, on LP and digital platforms. The artwork was designed by Jelle Martens with photography by drummer Casper Van De Velde.

Casper Van De Velde - drums, percussion
Harrison Steingueldoir - piano
Stan Callewaert - double bass, percussion, voice

All tracks by Donder except for All I Want For Now (Genevieve Artadi) and Oh My Love (John Lennon and Yoko Ono)