Suche:wings of sound

Cindytalk is the mercurial, expressionist outlet of Scottish artist Cinder. An evolution of her early 1980's Edinburgh-based punk band The Freeze, she launched the project upon moving to London, inspired by the crossroads of exploratory UK post-punk and early European industrial. Her work thrives on chance and transformation, collaging elements of noise, balladry, soundtrack, catharsis, and improvisation. After a series of celebrated albums for the Midnight Music label as well as collaborations with This Mortal Coil and Cocteau Twins, Cinder migrated to the United States, becoming involved with various underground techno collectives around the Midwest and West Coast. Subsequent relocations to Hong Kong and Japan further expanded Cindytalk's horizons, resulting in a fruitful partnership with Viennese experimental institution Editions Mego, for whom she released five full-lengths of swooning, granular atmosphere. 2021 finds her as engaged as ever, at the precipice of long-awaited back catalog reissues alongside multiple new works, guided by her lasting love of discovery and deviation: “new pathways always being uncovered.”

The 3rd album by Scottish industrial enigma Cinder aka Cindytalk began life as the soundtrack to an experimental film by English director Ivan Unnwin entitled Eclipse (The Amateur Enthusiast's Guide To Virus Deployment), and was originally slated for release via Factory Records' video division, Ikon. Inspired heavily by Alan Splet's eerily disembodied sound design in David Lynch's Eraserhead, the collection's 15 pieces seethe between field recordings, wistful piano vignettes, and lurking metallic haze – a hybrid palette Cinder characterized at the time as “ambi-dustrial.” Unfortunately Ikon collapsed on the eve of the project's completion so the film was never distributed, but the Midnight Music imprint repackaged Cindytalk's score as an LP in 1990 under the name The Wind Is Strong... (full title: The Wind Is Strong - A Sparrow Dances, Piercing Holes in Our Sky).

Cindytalk is the mercurial, expressionist outlet of Scottish artist Cinder. An evolution of her early 1980's Edinburgh-based punk band The Freeze, she launched the project upon moving to London, inspired by the crossroads of exploratory UK post-punk and early European industrial. Her work thrives on chance and transformation, collaging elements of noise, balladry, soundtrack, catharsis, and improvisation. After a series of celebrated albums for the Midnight Music label as well as collaborations with This Mortal Coil and Cocteau Twins, Cinder migrated to the United States, becoming involved with various underground techno collectives around the Midwest and West Coast. Subsequent relocations to Hong Kong and Japan further expanded Cindytalk's horizons, resulting in a fruitful partnership with Viennese experimental institution Editions Mego, for whom she released five full-lengths of swooning, granular atmosphere. 2021 finds her as engaged as ever, at the precipice of long-awaited back catalog reissues alongside multiple new works, guided by her lasting love of discovery and deviation: “new pathways always being uncovered.”

The 3rd album by Scottish industrial enigma Cinder aka Cindytalk began life as the soundtrack to an experimental film by English director Ivan Unnwin entitled Eclipse (The Amateur Enthusiast's Guide To Virus Deployment), and was originally slated for release via Factory Records' video division, Ikon. Inspired heavily by Alan Splet's eerily disembodied sound design in David Lynch's Eraserhead, the collection's 15 pieces seethe between field recordings, wistful piano vignettes, and lurking metallic haze – a hybrid palette Cinder characterized at the time as “ambi-dustrial.” Unfortunately Ikon collapsed on the eve of the project's completion so the film was never distributed, but the Midnight Music imprint repackaged Cindytalk's score as an LP in 1990 under the name The Wind Is Strong... (full title: The Wind Is Strong - A Sparrow Dances, Piercing Holes in Our Sky).

The Dandara: Trials of Fear Edition Original Soundtrack features over one hour of ethereal, surreal and organic music created specifically for the exploration of the Salt's surreal world. Blending eclectic electronic scores with sweeping, melodious soundscapes, Thommaz Kauffmann's score is like taking a ride into a new, wonderous land.

Dandara's light but incredibly strong presence was the starting point for all the sound presented in this album, consisting of a soundtrack that sounds hopeful and melancholic at the same time. Her lonely journey into the corrupted regions of Salt narrates each gesture made to fight the fears deep inside the Salt's most uncharted caves.

The textures and musical aesthetics in this soundtrack match a world that suffers from its abandonment to spontaneity, creativity, and vitality. It is with the presence of Dandara that there is a break in these standards imposed in Salt by an authoritarian regime.

Wrapped up in a beautiful, sturdy tip-on gatefold with a rough, black and white aesthetic, this vinyl 2xLP comes with two "Salt" white 180g in two printed inner sleeves.

Composed, produced and mixed by Thommaz Kauffmann

Artwork by Luísa Almeida

Game developed by Long Hat House

Published by Raw Fury

L’objectif are schoolmates Saul Kane (vocals, guitar) and Louis Bullock (drums) – who first formed a band together at the age of 12 – Ezra Glennon (bass) and Dan Richardson (guitar).

With each member picking up instruments as children, the young friends – none of whom are over the age of 17 – have a shared love of genres and musicians that belies their tender age: jazz funk, hip-hop, punk, post-punk, and almost everything in between. Also inspired by painters Basquiat and Francis Bacon, L’objectif seek excitement in the intellectually stimulating and subjective; finding thrill in the confusion.

With Saul having spent lockdown cocooned away in Leeds writing and recording demo upon demo in his home studio, and the band as a whole constantly refining their sound, L’objectif are finally ready to spread their wings for the very first time with their incendiary debut single on Chess Club, ‘Drive In Mind’.

Rock ‘n’ roll is often hard to define, or even to find, in these
fractured musical times. But to paraphrase an old saying,
you know it when you hear it. And you always hear it with
The Wallflowers. For the past 30 years, the Jakob Dylanled act has stood as one of rock’s most dynamic and
purposeful bands - a unit dedicated to and continually
honing a sound that meshes timeless songwriting and
storytelling with a hard-hitting and decidedly modern
musical attack.
That signature style has been present through the
decades, baked into the grooves of smash hits like 1996’s
‘Bringing Down the Horse’ as well as more recent and
exploratory fare like 2012’s ‘Glad All Over’.
But while it’s been nine long years since we’ve heard from
the group with whom he first made his mark, The
Wallflowers are silent no more. And Dylan always knew
they’d return. “The Wallflowers is much of my life’s work,”
he says simply. That life’s work continues with ‘Exit
Wounds’, the brand-new Wallflowers studio offering. The
collection marks the first new Wallflowers material since
‘Glad All Over’.
‘Exit Wounds’ is an ode to people - individual and
collective - that have, to put it mildly, been through some
stuff. “I think everybody - no matter what side of the aisle
you’re on - wherever we’re going to next, we’re all taking a
lot of exit wounds with us,” Dylan says. “Nobody is the
same as they were four years ago. That, to me, is what
‘Exit Wounds’ signifies. And it’s not meant to be negative at
all. It just means that wherever you’re headed, even if it’s
to a better place, you leave people and things behind, and
you think about those people and those things and you
carry them with you. Those are your exit wounds. And right
now, we’re all swimming in them.”

678 records are proud to present an historical concert recording of the legendary ethnic kraut-jazz formation Pork Pie. It is difficult to define the music of Pork Pie. It ranges from rhythmic Jazz-rock and meditative Indian sounds to Brazilian songs, and from acoustic improvisations to electric “space” sounds. Paris, December 1973: Pork Pie was founded by piano player Jasper van 't Hof (then 27 years old) and guitarist Philip Catherine (then 31 years old). They had met up with Charlie Mariano, who was 51 years old then, and whom they knew from his playing with Charles Mingus in the fifties and sixties. He had left America, lived in India for some years and founded his new home in Europe. Jasper and Philip were nervous to ask him if he would like to start a band with them but he immediately accepted the invitation. After some concerts in Holland, Germany and France the group recorded their debut album Transitory in May 1974 in the studio of the legendary engineer Conny Plank for MPS-BASF. It became an immediate success and Pork Pie were subsequently booked for many European jazz festivals. Their legendary concert on the first of November 1974 in the Berliner Philharmonie during the Berliner Jazztage was a milestone in the bands existence. The concert hall was packed to the rafters with 2500 over enthusiastic people who were totally overwhelmed by the amazing live sound of Pork Pie in which each of the five individual musicians took his own part, but never once lost the unique togetherness.

In the past 44 years Jasper van 't Hof always retained fond memories about this special concert. Fortunately, in his personal archive (which was for a while stored under a tarpaulin in his garden!) a master tape was discovered & had survived intact. P-Dog & Zembie (a.k.a. Sander Huibers & Frank Jochemsen) dug it up, played it on a tape machine, were totally blown away by the music and initiated this limited vinyl only release. It comes in a hand silkscreened cover designed by Piet Schreuders.

line up

MADVILLA steps out on FUSE’s LOCUS imprint for the first time as he reveals his four-track ‘Old Flame’ EP.

London-based, American-born DJ and producer MADVILLA is a name making serious waves within house music at present, with his driving and slick take on the genre via the likes of ANOTR’s No Art, Seb Zito’s Seven Dials and his own Hot Wings imprint welcoming supporters in Jamie Jones, Stacey Pullen and FUSE head-honcho Enzo Siragusa to name just a few. Up next, the surging talent steps out on FUSE sister imprint LOCUS for the very first time, following his recent appearance at their London home of 93 Feet East, as he delivers his four-track ‘Old Flame’ EP this May.

Lead cut ‘So Bad’ kicks things off as crisp drums meet resonant stabs, sweeping melodies and infectious vocal coos, before introducing the spacey soundscapes and hypnotic pads of title track ‘Old Flame’, accented by Shyam P’s tripped-out vocals throughout. Next, ‘Orbit’ takes things up a gear as skipping percussion arrangements go to work beneath spiralling lasers and jacking hats, whilst closing track ‘Takeout’ dives into the afters as rubbery bass licks, hazy synths and rumbling low-ends take listeners on a warping UK-tinged journey through entrancing sounds.

Rubyworks are pleased to present a vinyl release of 'Marcata', the much-loved 2011 debut album by Dublin rock-trio The Minutes. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of its release. 'Marcata' will be released on a limited edition fluorescent pink vinyl pressing. 'Black Keys' from the album is currently soundtracking a Jameson Whiskey TV advert. 8/10 - The Goes The Fear An underground classic debut from one of Ireland’s loudest - live4ever One of the Top 30 album releases of 2011 - Hot Press. It is as fine a rock record as you'd expect from Ireland, or any other country for that matter - entertainment.ie Artrocker - The greatest rock 'n' roll band in Dublin. **** A cacophonous, confident and crushing slab of authenticity, steeped in the anarchic history of rock 'n' roll – Hot Press “A thundering combination of old school rock 'n roll with modern guitar music. The Minutes have taken their time in getting here and it was worth every second” 8/10 - State.ie **** “You want to bang your head until it and your neck ache” - Irish Daily Mail **** “Loud, energetic and worth the wait” - News Of The World ***1/2 “A melodic and irresistible strut that makes for compelling listening” - Heineken Music *** “This debut booms, bangs and pulsates from the first note. Boiling over with a sense of urgency” - The Sunday Times *** “Fans of straight up, 'classic' rock will find lots to enjoy here” - The Irish Independent “Marcata certainly cements their status as one of the most exciting sounding bands on the scene at the moment” – Goldenplec “Full of raucous thrills and high-voltage riffage” – The Guardian “Authentically gritty, pulse-quickening rock 'n' roll in the grand style” 7/10 – AU magazine “The Minutes’ debut is a classic rock n’ roll album” – We Are Noise “Heavy riffs, urgent vocals, and pounding beats, the way rock'n'roll should be” – The Herald

"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything." - Plato.

Music is an innate sense that taps into our very core. It exists on a prism, and the range is infinite, for anyone to think they've heard everything would be imprudent. Inspiration strikes in a myriad of waves, acting as a cascading waterfall in which each idea is a droplet converging into one stream. Music doesn't know the rigid constraints of exclusivity. Preferences and ideologies can mould an individual; circumstance and fleeting moments require different melodies throughout the part being played by each being in the cosmos.

As each moment calls for an explicit sound, so too does Axis with it's latest release from the heterogeneous Raffaele Attanasio. The multifaceted Italian has delivered an eclectic sound over the years, from devious techno to melodious rhythmic beats. Attanasio delivers a jazz-tinged, angular, progressive and championing album by coalescing influential factors: a musician father, a multifarious palate in music, and prowess as a multi-instrumentalist.

Nuovo Futuro is creating a new future by travelling to the past. Digging into the Zeitgeist of Naples post-second world war, Attanasio extrapolates the sound to present day, combining modern flair with an enriched sound. The influence of American blues and jazz is felt in his hometown, celebrating the lore of Neapolitan musicians through the track 'Parlesia'. The history comes to life through these compositions, influenced by 70s spaghetti films and rich Italian exuberance. Ardour, lust and avidity ensnare the listener in 'Indagini Sospette'. This album is a journey through the streets where he grew up, but also, encapsulates a wandering mind, meandering into the harmonious Mediterranean under the watchful eye of Mount Vesuvius. 'Equilibrio Dinamico' is a snapshot of the working mind of Attanasio, balancing the impromptu of jazz with a gentle caress of his honed craft. Melodies are soft, smooth, progressive and fulminating the constraints of contemporary music. It emanates a renaissance for a sound that Axis is espousing in their releases.

What began as a challenge to fight creative stagnation, soon grew into a fully-fledged audio-visual project for Belgian DJ, producer and live artist, Biesmans. Setting himself the goal of making three tracks per week for a month, he re-scored ‘80s pop culture moments – including films, TV shows and games, resulting in a brilliant 12-track work encompassing new wave, indie, dark wave, electro and
disco.
Moving his modular-heavy studio to Berlin in 2014, the ensuring years saw Joris Biesmans drop heat on Correspondent, Disco Halal, AEON, 17 Steps and Future Disco. He’s been a core member of Watergate
family since his arrival in the capital, working as the club’s sound technician. He made his debut on Watergate Records in 2020 with the well-received ‘Electric Love’ EP.
The ‘Planes, Trains & Automobiles’ album took shape in April last year as the lockdown was starting to take grip and Biesmans needed a positive distraction. Ensconced in the music of his childhood and ‘80s
pop cultural fodder, he locked himself in his studio and set about creating, later digging through archival footage to match the music. Biesmans, who previously undertook work scoring films, was so absorbed by the process, he’d sometimes do it in reverse; allowing the vintage media be the guide. Throughout the period, the clips were shared each Monday, Wednesday and Friday on his Instagram, building up a firm following from fans, friends and colleagues. And thus, the project found its wings, developing into an album.
Throughout the dozen tracks, highlights are plentiful; from the neon ambience of the Kraftwerk-inspired ‘ ‘Cosmic Cruise’, which later accompanied a smoky scene between Tom Cruise and Rebecca de Mornay in ‘Risky Business’; the sun-soaked, retro-pop title track, which became the album’s first single, and was paired with a jubilant dance scene from the Breakfast Club; ‘Cold Void’, the album’s second single, which saw Biesmans link up with fellow Belgians Boi Wonder and Tom the Bomb for a dark wave creation built around a heavy guitar solo and set against a backdrop of Blade Runner clips; and the silky electro funk of ‘Another World’ that soundtracks scenes from Miami Vice.
Biesmans explains about ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles’: “I started this as a lockdown challenge, in which I would make three tracks per week for a month, alongside providing videos where I re-scored
footage of 80s pop culture moments. Inspired by the movie of the same name, I picked the title because it ties to the theme of ‘mobility’. Our society is based upon being mobile and when Corona hit us, we
could taste a bit of being immobile. As an artist that meant, I could focus on making music 100%. No distractions, no weekend gigs, no parties just making music. This new lifestyle resulted in my first album.
A journey into the past but looking forward to the future, experimenting with other genres and techniques to make a real album that goes beyond club music.”

Louisahhh releases her debut LP The Practice of Freedom, via HE.SHE.THEY. The Practice of Freedom heralds the evolution of Louisahhh as she delivers her most exposing work yet, conceived as an exploration of the unorthodox archetype of “feminist submissive,” based on the mantra “sin is not being true to yourself.” Like her uncompromising musical heroes Karen O, Siouxsie Sioux and Shirley Manson before her, Louisahhh’s bold, raw, anti-establishment message on The Practice of Freedom will mark her as punk’s essential new heroine at the forefront of the new dawn of musical feminism.

The Practice of Freedom was born from experiences of loss and love, told through a journey of brutally beautiful electronics, electro and techno colliding with industrial, rock and alternative sounds. On the polysexual polymath label HE.SHE.THEY.’s inaugural album release, Louisahhh captures a record of our times, covering themes ranging from eroticism and empowerment to addiction and apocalypse, and influences ranging from Nine Inch Nails to Patti Smith to Judith Butler. The album, produced by American musician, music video director and photographer Vice Cooler, hears ideas and lyrics by Louisahhh re-contextualised into revolutionary experimental sounds, formed through the pair’s shared love of American alternative rock. Louisahhh’s music fights for and provides a voice for others, rooted equally in the intensity of the dancefloor and the mosh pit.

Live is a double live album released by Dutch rock band Golden Earring in 1977. With its long, spun out versions of classic Golden Earring songs (lasting between 5 and 12 minutes each), this record is vastly different than other live registrations by the band. It’s also one of only three albums where guitarist Eelco Gelling was a band member, adding a new dimension to the band’s sound with his incredible solos. Furthermore, this album emphasises Golden Earring’s strong rhythm section on swinging songs like “Mad Love’s Comin’” and “Radar Love”.

The album is available as a limited edition of 1500 individually numbered copies on white vinyl.

Montreal art pop group Freelove Fenner release their long-awaited album, The Punishment Zone, on Moone Records. The 14-song collection is an exercise in pleasing sounds, diaphanous textures, and concise song structure. The group listened to a century's worth of experimental, often cacophonous sounds and reshaped it into a mellow pop music.

The group’s workshop is the strictly analog Bottle Garden Studio, a small room full of tape machines and homemade equipment that is integral to the group’s sound and process. Avoiding 21st century technology not out of any sort of snobbery or nostalgia but rather a desire to avoid the work habits inherent with contemporary tools, the band embraces the different results that come with a slower, more tactile process: the happy accidents; the absence of visual stimuli (no screens); the difficulty in attaining high gloss finishes.

Freelove Fenner have released two EPs, In the Bottle Garden (2009), and Pineapple Hair EP (2012); as well as the full-length album Do Not Affect a Breezy Manner (2013), all on Montreal’s Fixture Records. The Punishment Zone will be released on Arizona’s minimal art label Moone Records, joining an eclectic roster featuring artists like Tori Kudo, John Dieterich, Little Wings, Lithics, and others.

Baroque Sunburst co-founder and Honest Jon’s team member, Big Hands displays his potent production prowess on the next Oscilla Sound release with three tracks touching on organic soundscapes, illbience and muddy bass oddities. In the old city of Lakamha ancient tombs stand tall and ruined, woven with moss. Birds as old as time beat their wings over tropical forests; their cries bouncing off wet rock lassoed with carvings of Mayan symbols. ‘1346’ begins with stirring synths and dub-echoing, low frequencies encompassing both spatiality and aberration before the heads-down atmospheric roller ‘Calix’s Head’ lays down sharp, acid flutters and ghostly ripples. ‘Louis H theme’ is an ode to the radical minimalist composer Moondog (Louis Thomas Hardin), whose experiments with polyrhythms continue to influence numerous generations of musicians. The track features swampy bass that balances weightlessly with the hypnotic sonics and breezy rhythms.

It is the simple thing that is so hard to do. This is the paradox that musician Lael
Neale has lived within throughout her development as an artist. It is the reason she
became enthralled with poetry. Poems are a distillation. Lael says, “this challenge to
winnow away what is unessential is the most maddening and, ultimately, rewarding
part of writing a song.”
Lael’s new album ‘Acquainted With Night’ is a testament to this poetic devotion.
Stripped of any extraneous word or sound, the songs are lit by Lael’s crystalline
voice which lays on a lush bed of Omnichord. The collection touches on themes that
have been thread into her work for years: isolation, mortality, yearning and reaching
ever toward the transcendent experience.
Lael grew up on a farm in rural Virginia but for nearly 10 years called Los Angeles
home. Those years were spent developing her songwriting and performing in venues
across the city but the right way to record the songs proved more elusive. She says,
“Every time I reached the end of recording, I felt the songs had been stripped of
their vitality in the process of layering drums, bass, guitar, violin, and organ over
them. They felt weighed down.”
In a moment of illumination, the solution presented itself: do the simple thing. In
early 2019, in the midst of major transition, she acquired a new instrument - the
Omnichord - and began recording a deluge of songs. Guy Blakeslee, who had been
an advocate for years, set up a cassette recorder in her bedroom and provided
empathic guidance, subtle yet affecting accompaniment and engineering prowess.
Limited to only 4-tracks and first takes, Lael had to surrender some of her
perfectionism to deliver the songs in their essence.
The first song she recorded was ‘For No One For Now’, which calls to mind the
agitated beat of driving fast on the freeway against the backdrop of the San
Fernando Valley’s bent palms. The song contrasts romantic idealizations with the
banality of folding sheets and toasting bread. It highlights her oft-thwarted attempts
to enjoy the day to day while her mind wanders off toward the dream, the ideal.
While Lael returned to her family farm in April 2020, Los Angeles is a player on this
album and ‘Every Star Shivers in the Dark’ is an ode to the sprawling city, the
outskirts of Eden. One can envision her walking from Dodgers Stadium to downtown,
observing strangers and her own strangeness but determined to find communion
with others. ‘Blue Vein’ is her personal anthem, a Paul Revere piece that gallops
through the town as a strident declamation. It is an amalgam of thoughts, concerns
and lessons as she nearly speaks the words, unmasked by flourishes, ensuring the
meaning cuts through.
Normally a morning person, Lael recorded most of these songs in the darkening of
the early evening, and so became ‘Acquainted With Night’.
CD in gatefold altpack.
LP first pressing on white vinyl.
Cassette with three-panel J-card in clear case.

It is the simple thing that is so hard to do. This is the paradox that musician Lael
Neale has lived within throughout her development as an artist. It is the reason she
became enthralled with poetry. Poems are a distillation. Lael says, “this challenge to
winnow away what is unessential is the most maddening and, ultimately, rewarding
part of writing a song.”
Lael’s new album ‘Acquainted With Night’ is a testament to this poetic devotion.
Stripped of any extraneous word or sound, the songs are lit by Lael’s crystalline
voice which lays on a lush bed of Omnichord. The collection touches on themes that
have been thread into her work for years: isolation, mortality, yearning and reaching
ever toward the transcendent experience.
Lael grew up on a farm in rural Virginia but for nearly 10 years called Los Angeles
home. Those years were spent developing her songwriting and performing in venues
across the city but the right way to record the songs proved more elusive. She says,
“Every time I reached the end of recording, I felt the songs had been stripped of
their vitality in the process of layering drums, bass, guitar, violin, and organ over
them. They felt weighed down.”
In a moment of illumination, the solution presented itself: do the simple thing. In
early 2019, in the midst of major transition, she acquired a new instrument - the
Omnichord - and began recording a deluge of songs. Guy Blakeslee, who had been
an advocate for years, set up a cassette recorder in her bedroom and provided
empathic guidance, subtle yet affecting accompaniment and engineering prowess.
Limited to only 4-tracks and first takes, Lael had to surrender some of her
perfectionism to deliver the songs in their essence.
The first song she recorded was ‘For No One For Now’, which calls to mind the
agitated beat of driving fast on the freeway against the backdrop of the San
Fernando Valley’s bent palms. The song contrasts romantic idealizations with the
banality of folding sheets and toasting bread. It highlights her oft-thwarted attempts
to enjoy the day to day while her mind wanders off toward the dream, the ideal.
While Lael returned to her family farm in April 2020, Los Angeles is a player on this
album and ‘Every Star Shivers in the Dark’ is an ode to the sprawling city, the
outskirts of Eden. One can envision her walking from Dodgers Stadium to downtown,
observing strangers and her own strangeness but determined to find communion
with others. ‘Blue Vein’ is her personal anthem, a Paul Revere piece that gallops
through the town as a strident declamation. It is an amalgam of thoughts, concerns
and lessons as she nearly speaks the words, unmasked by flourishes, ensuring the
meaning cuts through.
Normally a morning person, Lael recorded most of these songs in the darkening of
the early evening, and so became ‘Acquainted With Night’.
CD in gatefold altpack.
LP first pressing on white vinyl.
Cassette with three-panel J-card in clear case.

Swing From The Sean DeLear is the new four song 12-inch by Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds on In The Red Records. It celebrates a dreamlike bridge between life and memory. Recorded and mixed with Jim Waters (Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Sonic Youth, etc.) at Waterworks Recording in Tucson AZ, the track “Sean DeLear” is a tribute to the late, magical, and ubiquitous Los Angeles underground institution named Sean DeLear. This rocking song uses the metaphor of those passed on as swinging from a chandelier, a festive image everyone hopes is true! Side two of this 12-inch is a fourteen-minute psych, Chicano-groove titled “He Walked In.” The text is based on a visceral fever dream Kid had about his friend and Gun Club bandmate Jeffrey Lee Pierce, who passed away in 1996. Leading the listener back to the theme of feelings sustained between life and memory, the song dreams on as the band spreads their monkey bird wings, featuring Mark Cis-neros on flute, and guest tambourine-queen Cesar Padilla—lost in music but found in sound. In such uncertain times, one thing is most certain—Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds will always bring the party...and the other world

Past Inside The Present is pleased to announce Repetition Hymns, a double album from the enigmatic Black Swan. Comprised of 19 vignettes, the relatively short tracks impart a strong forward momentum despite the 80-minute runtime. Repetition Hymns is thus particularly well-suited to the temporal distortion of quarantine, in which each day feels like an endless repeating loop. Our bleeding hearts are in need of drone like never before. In the decade since the release of In 8 Movements, Black Swan's 2010 debut, the anonymous producer has built a reputation for his unique brand of tape-based symphonic drones. While the author behind the moniker remains hidden, Black Swan is still able to surprise and captivate. The dark symphonic deconstructions of those early works have slowly evolved, making space for lighter textures and tranquil meditations on sound, expanding the palette of tones while staying true to an identity in flux.

Limited Vinyl LP edition!

The second volume in a two-part collection of Jamaican doo wop from the late 1950s through to the early 1960 represents a period in which sound systems began to dominate the island, and were starting to step up their rivalry by beginning to record heir own platters rather than rely on imports to gain the competitive edge.

With the uniquely Jamaican ska craze yet to fully catch hold, these tracks are largely imitative of the sounds that had been reaching the island from American shores, albeit peppered with hints of what was to come ~ some of the future stars of ska, rocksteady and reggae are starting to cut their teeth here on these records, providing a unique view into the fledgling industry at a time of creative flux.

RICO PUESTEL debuts on his TIME IN THE SPECIAL PRACTICE OF RELATIVITY label with a mind-boggling journey of 41 minutes — split in two parts to fit on vinyl! HEPTAKAIDEKA is what it won't be and will be what it never was: Something from in-between worlds, a place beyond far beyond, where time dissolves into relativity...

Every modern electronic music presenter should be able to find joyful, elevated, convulsing or simply useful moments within the extent of this track that is designed to have its inherent connecting factors and starting points in place for every DJ set — letting it be just a few minutes, well-placed groove looping or bigger amounts of its entirety for diving into a long night, bringing it to an end or making it standing out in-between.

Starting off with a hazy half-grasp hint of what's to come, a mysteriously pervasive bionic loop emerges, slowly coalescing with a bone-dry groove on the rise. Taking up a first quadrant of the track, already gnawing into the long-term memory, it manages to gradually establish itself along the pathway while the "rhythmatics" endure some subtle layer-shifting with occult-like strings come sliding in from somewhere unknown like an admonitory subtext.

Being halfway through (and all the way in), everything smoothly crumbles down to its basic framework, still shaking off its own reminiscences while foregone vestiges almost perilously try to reassemble themselves. All of that leading to a clearly unforeseen yet fortunate drift into a 1980's-like synth peak time section after about 27 minutes being in that track, finally cherishing an evolving emotional felicity and the climax of its own being that tends to feel like an overarching salvation.

As everything being eventually finite, the track starts to bring to mind where it came from by assuredly falling back into a story told before with the well-established bionic loop that once used to run free, sounding somehow different and more tamed now. Ending with dignity, the consistently resurfaced admonitory strings lead the way to its conclusion and possibly new beginnings, solely leaving behind the heartbeat-like booming that carried it all, now fading away...

Coming into existence during a series of multiple productions of exuberant proportions with Rico making the studio his citadel-like stronghold, this is an extensive story of desires, instincts, pride, fall, mirth, solicitude, tension, détente and basically life itself while subtly yet versatilely entertaining on a dodgy yet accessible level throughout the wingspread of Techno, House, Minimal, Dub, Electronica and Ambient influences.

The CD version not only brings you the title track in the guise of its non-split completeness but eminently churns out the extra drumming dub treat DEKAEPTA for a pleasurable groove-delight as well as the trippy bonus beauty VOSEM' that transits as a precious component of infinity.

2020 Re-issue of Keith Kenniff's debut under his Goldmund moniker. Originally only released on CD in 2005 via John Twells' Type Recordings, this album of rare and unusual minimalist beauty is now presented as a vinyl edition for the first time.

Multi-instrumentalist Keith Kenniff is a busy man. He has appeared as Helios on a number of acclaimed releases, including Deaf Center’s ‘Neon City EP’, and released a debut album ‘Unomia’ on Merck records which has appeared on many best of 2004 lists. All this while studying at the prestigious Berklee College of Music, and playing drums, guitar or contributing production to a host of amazing musicians. Kenniff lives and breathes music, something that is very obvious when hearing tracks under any of his pseudonyms.

As Goldmund, Kenniff has disregarded the electronic elements of his music almost entirely in favour of just a piano, a microphone and occasionally a guitar. ‘Corduroy Road’ is thirteen tracks of pure recording, the sound of the piano being opened and the feet on the pedals, the sound of fingers pressing lovingly onto the keys. This is a record of rare and unusual beauty, so shocking and yet unpretentious in its simplicity. When the guitar does emerge from beside the delicately touched piano, it serves as a balancing point for the record. Weaving in and out of the melodies, it adds another layer to what is already incredibly moving music.

‘Corduroy Road’ is rooted in Kenniff’s love of folk music from the American Civil War. We can hear this directly from his rendition of Civil War era classic ‘Marching Through Georgia’, but the influence carries throughout the record. There is an unheard voice which propels each track through history, maybe the ghosts of dying soldiers whispering in a long forgotten bar. Every haunting note drifts deep into the psyche and is lost in the ether of nostalgia. In this way it is a concept recording of sorts, it certainly has a narrative and has to be listened to in sequence. The story has clear themes; loss, history, friendship, camaraderie, forgiveness and hope, all clearly marked out by musical segments. It is no surprise that Kenniff’s passion for cinema shines through so strongly.

It would be hard to draw comparisons to music so rooted in folk traditions, but the music evokes traces of Ryuichi Sakamoto, Mark Hollis, Keith Jarret or even Eno’s more piano based compositions. Yet influence seems unimportant when listening to this deeply personal work. Just let it sink in and drift into the psyche.

Four years after launching his last EP, Lugo-based artist, Synth Alien, makes a comeback to lead the fourth release of Noise To Meet You. Six Electro tracks, under the wings of a 100% hardware set up that has allowed his sound to reach a step up.

Forma by Lucy Railton, is a work that digs into us. It disorients us, plays with us, but without malice. It is like a nocturnal butterfly whose wings reflect a dark light, thus projecting fleeting hallucinations, which nevertheless persist on the surface of our retina. Its trajectories, too, are unpredictable. But such disorientation is not that of a chaotic space, it is rather a mysterious reason that presents itself to us, an imperious unfolding whose logic escapes us, but which nevertheless fascinates. It is also a history of shapes and their becomings. A story, also of their own vanishing.

Metabolist Meter (Foster, Cottin, Caetani and a Fly), by Max Eilbacher is a teeming piece, a matrix where textures and structures merge together, where the polyrhythmic instances become timbre, where the formal abstraction of the harmonic volutes coagulates around a vibrating form that is actualized in the dramatic reality of a dying fly. And this formal mastery is not disembodied in Max Eilbacher's work and the kaleidoscopic forms of the sound spectra that he has deployed know how to resonate in the sensations and experiences of each one.

These two pieces have this in common, but each with their own agenda, that they evolve with grace and inspiration in the vast domain of the sound world and it is a great pride for us to present them in this new collection.

Released in association with Editions Mego.
Coordination GRM: François Bonnet, Jules Négrier

Executive Production: Peter Rehberg

A collection of Jamaican doo wop & R&B records taken from the late 50s and early 60s. These records represent a period in which soundsystems were just starting to dominate the island, with Duke Reid and Sir Coxsone stepping up their rivalry by beginning to make and release their own records rather than rely on US imports for use in their dances. Many of these records are definitely more-or-less imitations of the American records, as the uniquely Jamaican ska sound was yet to take hold - however many of the future stars of ska, rocksteady and reggae were beginning to cut their teeth in the industry on these records, incl. Jimmy Cliff, Derrick Harriott, Alton Ellis and more, and they provide a unique view into the fledgling independent record industry culture in Jamaica that would prove to be unbelievably proflific and unparalleled for an island of it's size.

Dropsonde was originally released by Touch (UK) in 2006. This is a reissue with seven previously unreleased recordings.

Widely regarded as one of Norwegian electronic music's most important artists, Biosphere's Geir Jenssen career spans nearly two decades, several albums, lots of remixes, various sound installations, commissions, soundtracks and even the odd Himalayan summit.

You may recognise his work without knowing it, so frequently does it crop up on TV trailers and idents. In the early 1990s he was a pioneer of so-called 'Ambient Techno', but since then, he has refined his sound into something more magnetic and enduring.

Dropsonde' isn't a soundtrack like the interwoven 'Substrata' nor an episodic journey in the way that 'Autour de la Lune' is. Here Geir Jenssen is pushing new directions towards the jazz colours of Miles Davis and Jon Hassell, whilst re-invigorating the pulse and projection of his signature sound: a hypnotic combination of pleasure and dread.

The spatial aspects some have dubbed "Arctic sound" but it summons strong feelings, or as Exclaim from Canada put it, "in order to climb higher, you must first go deeper". Jon Savage adds: "As with all of the Biosphere albums, the music draws you in and makes you want to listen and feel. Jenssen's work acts on a very emotional level, one that encourages you to drift away into a haze of images and scenes brought to you by the music, where spectacular beauty hides unseen danger. Intense and moving, but comforting and soothing at the same time."

A 'dropsonde' is a weather reconnaissance device designed to be dropped from an airplane or similar craft at altitude to take telemetry as it falls to the ground. It typically relays information to a computer in the dropping airplane by radio. The fall may be slowed by a parachute. Information collected by a typical dropsonde may include wind speed, temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure.

Black Vinyl

As Rune & Ruin’s initial release, the duo of Lynette Cerezo and Zanias present a new offering of brutalizing intimacy.

INSHROUDSS marks the first Bestial Mouths release entirely written and conceived by Cerezo, vocalist and frontwoman since the project’s roots in 2006. Through each of the EP’s five tracks, Cerezo’s commanding voice usurps the role of victim for that of destroyer—with scars where wings once beat the sky.

Drawing from the initial Bestial sound of emotionally gripping post-punk, Cerezo crafts deeply personal lyrics of self-stagnation and trauma, while longtime friend and collaborator Brant Showers (∆AIMON/SØLVE) provides a heart-pulverizing fury of industrialized electronics. Along with production by new collaborator Alex DeGroot (Zola Jesus), INNSHROUDSS remains infinitely body-moving on even the most discerning of darkwave dance floors.

Soul Jazz Records’ Nigeria Soul Power 70 album showcases the influence of funk, rock and disco on Nigerian music during the 1970s. Originally released as a now-long-out-of-print collectors’ 7” RSD box, this fully expanded album release now also includes extra tracks from Sonny Okosuns, Wings, Chief Kollington Ayinla and more. While for many people the fusion of funk and jazz music with Nigerian rhythms and aesthetics began with Fela Kuti and his afro-beat sound, in fact this can be traced further back to the phenomena of the 1960s Nigerian artists and house bands in nightclubs and hotels who interpreted US soul and pop music with a local flavour and none more so than Geraldo Pino, the ‘African James Brown’ who features heavily in this collection. Other similarly inspired Nigerian funk and soul artists featured here included Tony Grey and his Ozimba Messengers and Don Bruce and The Angels. Nigeria Soul Power 70 includes a number of tracks from the group Wings originally known as BAF (Biafran
Air Force) Wings, an army band formed during the Biafran civil war in Nigeria. The groups’ heavy mixture of funk, rock and African styles was popular among many Nigerian groups at the time.
Beneath the shadow of the few Nigerian artists who signed international recording deals in the 1970s – Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade, Chief Ebenezer Obey – lies of vast wealth of largely undiscovered musical transmutation and cultural cross-pollination, and included here are heavy afro-funk/rock and disco tracks
from artists such as the legendary Sonny Okosuns as well as rare cuts from little-known outside of Nigeria - groups such as Colomach and MFB. Most of these obscure artists signed to major labels in Nigeria in the commercial slipstream that opened up as Philips, Decca and EMI tried to emulate the international
success of the big three international Nigerian artists. Finally featured here is Kollington Ayinla, one of the co-founders of Nigerian Fuji music, who gives us perhaps the heaviest of all tracks on this album. Ayinla is the great moderniser of the Fuji sound and in the late 1970s began adding Bata drums and synthesizers to his authentic music to create a powerful and heavy new fusion of traditional and modernist aesthetics, embracing both new technology and experimentation while rooted firmly in Nigerian historical lineage. Nigeria Soul Power 70 is released as a heavyweight gatefold double vinyl LP (+ free download code),
deluxe slipcase CD and digital album.

The re-launched Secretsundaze label continues to spread it's wings with the signing of Lisbon born, London based Silvestre.The push and pull of influences from his own and adopted countries have combined to find him a unique sound that embraces rap, R&B, reggaeton as well as breaks and woozy pads from UK hardcore and house. Mixing samples, his own voice and continuing the fusion of reggaeton and breakbeat/techno from previous releases, the Silvestre Is Boss EP aims for a hazy vibe.AAAs Silvestre explains: The pad and synth choices on this EP are picked specifically to sound dreamy, a dream where you arrive at the club but the party is already finished, which sucks." Silvestre began making his name in 2015 with his first release on the Diskotopia label from Tokyo and followed that up with appearances on Creme Organization and Paraiso. He then dropped the killer 'All The Things' EP of mid-tempo party bangers on his own Padre Himalaya label which reached the top 30 of Phonica's illustrious Singles of the Year list. The Silvestre Is Boss EP is his strongest work to date with 5 tracks of quality floor and headphone directed material that perfectly balances the need for playful melody and harmony with tough grooves and synthetic ambience. Drafted in on remix duty is Secretsundaze fave D.K. (Antinote records) who takes EP heater 'Fuego', dialling down the breakbeats for a smoother trip.

...in the moment of death: "I have deserved my present fate; for what had I to do with wings and clouds, who can with difficulty move about on the earth?"
- Aesop

Rabe drops it's fourth release right before summer with a fresh combinations of sounds and artists that inspire Denise in one way or another. For this installment she's compiled remixes by Insolate, Kwartz, Sstrom and Belief Defect. The resulting EP "The Tortoise And The Eagle", explores the spectrum between hallucination and function, industrial soundscape and dance floor drive.

As a winemaker hailing from the Palatinate, Florian Hollerith understands a thing or two about vintage. It's something that also comes through when you sample his music - rich, full bodied with just the right level of acidity. 2018 was already a good year with Ohrenzirkus featuring on both Sven Väth's Sound of the 19th Season mix CD as well as this year's Dots and Pearls vol. 5 compilation. Florian certainly announced his arrival on the scene in style, so it's only fair that he gets the chance to demonstrate his full range of skills on his very own Cocoon Recordings release. 2019 however, has a darker, more complex flavour...

Florian certainly knows a hookline when he finds one. On the EP's title track Perlas, he's working from the inside out with complex layers creating a vortex of sound. This dense sonic mesh is playful yet dangerous, with ethereal voices and jagged chants adding to the disorientation of the opening exchanges until the congas and skipping bassline give us something to hold onto. The dance floor melts under our feet as a raw, tripped out groove takes hold before the bass suddenly morphs into a brassy acid line that spreads its wings and soars. It's music for the headstrong, a celebration of the timeless tribal ceremonies that have come to define us.

Love Summer adds a contemporary twist to the melodic joys that drenched the early nineties in pure ecstasy. The soulful vocals soothe the mind as horn stabs punctuate the sensual groove, generating power and passion in equal measures. It's a straightforward approach, revolving around a familiar yet eminently seductive riff that just keeps on rolling, propelled forward by the force of its own momentum. There's no need to fuss when you hit on a winning formula like this.

More retro futurism abounds on Electro Indianer as arpeggiated bleeps usher in another vast, sprawling soundscape designed to induce a collective trance on the dance floor. Whistling, circular effects wash back and forth increasing the tension notch by notch as we're led deeper into the wormhole. Finally, the track deconstructs slightly, creating enough space for classic Casio-style bleeps and percussion to embellish a beautiful blissed out ending that trails off into the sun rise, as ancient Native American pipes pick out a haunting melody in the distance.

CAVE are kind of beyond time. You might feel like it's been
awhile since you've seen or heard them but when you see
or hear them again, that moment will feel like 'Allways'.
During the making of the last album, 'Threace', CAVE was
in the process of becoming a quintet. They toured the
world afterwards, playing on four continents and eighteen
countries - as close to everywhere as they could get. Then
they took a minute. They recorded it over time, in Chile
and then Chicago. You can hear all of this, the energy of
liveness, the reps, and consolidating expanded possibilities
within their new alignment, the time away, the distance
and the freshness of returning to recorded sounds,
everywhere on 'Allways'.
In the past, much has been made of CAVE's use of
particular compelling tropes but their inspiration comes
from everywhere - Miles, psych, beats, exotica, library
music, rock, punk, the Germans, the New York guys too,
minimalists, the Dead, music from India, everywhere. This
is a bunch of guys playing rock-based music in a way that
pushes them forward from everything they've experienced.
When you listen to the new CAVE you hear guitars - lots of
them - bubbling under, scratching, fanning, locking in and
taking off, soaring on acid-washed wings, with keys that
pump, burr and whoosh in and out of the rhythms.
Half-speed mastering of 'Allways' at Abbey Road has
allowed the activity at all frequencies to present with a
liquid fullness and ripe detail. 'Allways' is a blueprint for
your ears to read and a map for CAVE to follow through
the world.

Silk Road Assassins, a trio consisting of Tom E Vercetti, Chemist and Lovedr0id, return to Planet Mu with their debut full-length 'State Of Ruin' two years after their first EP 'Reflection Spaces'.

The trio recorded over two years, working together to start with, then across different studios and via the internet when their lives became more separated. They also finessed the album at Abbey Road studios, making use of some short time to add in extra layers.

The three producers day jobs are in production music, music designed and created specifically for film and games, and this album uses these skills to explore the musical forms that they love. The album explores how trap and grime's minimalist form can be built and curved into musical architecture: elegant, opaque and layered, turning the sound into lush, melodic world-building.

The work gone into the album is revealed on repeated listens, every sound on this record feels built to sit within it's delicate ecosystem. The fundamentals of the music are given their own sense of purpose: hand claps spray, bells tumble, guitars splinter and lush melodies waft over and fill the track's spaces like light, glinting across snapping, crisp rhythms and deep bass tones.

A collection of Jamaican doo wop & R&B records taken from the late 50s and early 60s. These records represent a period in which soundsystems were just starting to dominate the island, with Duke Reid and Sir Coxsone stepping up their rivalry by beginning to make and release their own records rather than rely on US imports for use in their dances. Many of these records are definitely more-or-less imitations of the American records, as the uniquely Jamaican ska sound was yet to take hold - however many of the future stars of ska, rocksteady and reggae were beginning to cut their teeth in the industry on these records, incl. Jimmy Cliff, Derrick Harriott, Alton Ellis and more, and they provide a unique view into the fledgling independent record industry culture in Jamaica that would prove to be unbelievably proflific and unparalleled for an island of it's size.

Musique Plastique (Visible Cloaks, Pedro) rescue a nearly lost soundtrack to a Belgian avant-theatrical work from the 80s. For fans of Nuno Canavarro, Roberto Musci and Vito Ricci.

First Ever Vinyl Reissue, Limited Edition To 500 Copies Only, Bonus Tracks Not On The Original Lp, Remastered Sound, Insert With Liner Notes By Nick Rossi And Photos, Beautifully Housed In Three Back-flapped 1960s Uk Style Picture Sleeve ! The Wynder K. Frog Story Evolves Around Mick Weaver. After He Switched From Piano To Organ He Joined A Band Named The Chapters That Would Soon Be Renamed Wynder K. Frog And Perform Material From James Brown's Flames, Booker T. And The Mgs Or Even Songs Learned Through Georgie Fame's Recordings And Graham Bond's Repertoire. Wynder K. Frog Moved To London And Became Regulars In The City's R&b Scene Playing At Swingin' London's Clubs Like The Tiles Or The Marquee. A Contract With Island Records Was Secured And -under The Wings Of Producers Like Chris Blackwell, Guy Stevens, Jimmy Miller Or Gus Dudgeon- Wynder K Frog, A Name That Would Eventually Be Used As A Pseudonym For Weaver More Than A Proper Band Name, Did Some Some Amazing Hammond Organ-ized Recordings And Issued In Three Lps And A Bunch Of Cool 45s.

At The End Of The 1960s, Weaver Would Quit The "band Scene" To Become One Of The Most In Demand Session Musicians And Throughout His Career He'd Be Heard Backing Names Such As Eric Burdon, Roger Chapman, Dave Gilmour, Keef Hartley, Alexis Korner, Ralph Mctell, Taj Mahal Or Otis Rush A.o, But His Lps As Wynder K Frog Are Classic Hammond Sound From The 1960s Uk And Will Appeal To Those Into Brian Auger, Graham Bond, The Artwoods, Zoot Money, Jimmy Mcgriff, Booker T. & The Mgs And The Likes.

Out Of The Frying Pan

Released At The End Of The Summer Of 1968, And With A Host Of Session Musicians That Included The Brass Section Of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Producer Gus Dudgeon Helped Weaver / Wynder K Frog To Improve The Results Obtained On The Debut Lp And Get One Step Closer To The Live Action. The Formula Was More Or Less The Same, Instrumental Hammond A Go Go Covers Of Hits From The Era, Including The Rolling Stones' "jumping Jack Flash", A Funked Up Version Of The Classic Tommy Tucker Blues Number "hi Heel Sneakers", An Exploding Cover Of "tequila" Or The Standard "green Door", But It Also Included The Sensational Weaver-penned "harpsichord Shuffle".

On The 50th Anniversary Of The Band's Inception At An Event In Harlem, Ny To Commemorate Malcolm X's Birthday On 19 May 1968, Influential Spoken Word Artists, Poets And Commentators The Last Poets Are Set To Make A Glorious And Relevant Return With Their First Album In Over 20 Years, 'understand What Black Is'.

Produced By Ben Lamdin (nostaglia 77) And Brighton Legend Prince Fatty, Whose Speciality Is Traditional Reggae And Dub Production's, 'understand What Black Is' Is A Ten-track Album Which Speaks Of A Revolutionary Struggle Defined By Both Race And Identity, That Has Never Sounded More Relevant. Released On Studio Rockers, There Will Also Be An Accompanying Single Featuring Remixes Of The Title Track "understand What Black Is" By Mala (south London Collective Digital Mystikz) And Uk Dance Music Innovators Dego And Kaidi.

Since The Initial Line-up Of Dahveed Nelson, Gylan Kain And Felipe Luciano Formed In East Harlem's Marcus Garvey Park, The Last Poets Have Produced Under Various Guises Over The Subsequent Years. However, It Was Their Seminal Output, Namely 1970's 'the Last Poets' Under Both Umar Bin Hassan And Abiodun Oyewole That Secured Their Legacy, Becoming One Of The Most Important Influences In Early Hip Hop.

Throughout The Last 20 Years, The Band Have Remained Largely On Hiatus. But Their Influence Could Still Be Felt With Their Tracks Being Sampled By The Notorious B.i.g, Nwa, A Tribe Called Quest, Dr.dre And Snoop Dogg. Umar Has Recorded Various Solo Albums And Featured On Common And Kanye West's Grammy Nominated 'the Corner'. Abiodun Appeared On The Red Hot Organization's Album, Stolen Moments Which Was Named "album Of The Year" By Time. He Also Conducts Weekly Open House Poetry Readings, Where He Constructively Critiques Upcoming Poets, Helping To Nurture Them. He Has Also Conducted Classes At Columbia University, Where He Teaches Creative Writing.

The Inauguration Of Donald Trump As Us President In 2016 Inspired Hassan And Oyewole To Resurrect The Group To Create A Brand New Record, Modern And Edgy, And Deeply Relevant And Reflective Of Our Times.

Tracks On 'understand What Black Is' Include 'how Many Bullets', Which Bridles With Defiance As Oyewole Works Through A Litany Of Injustices Suffered By Black People In The Us: " You've Tried

To Blow My Brains Out With Bigotry, Chopped Off My Wings, So I Couldn't Fly Free, And Dared Me To Be Me, Took My Drum, Broke My Hands, Yanked My Roots Right Up Out Of The Land, And Riddled My Soul With Jesus" 'what I Want To See' Describes A Utopia - A Refuge From Hurt And Those Who'd Make "our Vision Blurred, And Our Faith Obscure", Whilst The Title Track 'understand What Black Is' Aims To Transcend Ethnicity: "understand What Black Is....it's The Source From Which All Things Come...black Is A Hero, Not A Villain."

The Album Even Takes Reference From Prince's 2003 Album Of Instrumentals, 'news', Which Hassan Drew Comparisons From With His Own Childhood Experiences: "that Poem Took Me About A Year To Write....i Just Kept Writing And Writing But Not Getting Too Far And Then I Heard That Album And The Musicianship Was Amazing. I Was Left Wondering If It Was Jazz, Classical, Rock Or Maybe Something New But All Those Images That I Write About Came To Me From Listening To That Album. I Loved Prince In That Movie Purple Rain Because My Father Was A Talented Musician But He Was Into Brutalising Mama At Times And In The Movie There's A Jerome And My Name Is Jerome, So It Was Like He Was Telling My Life Story As Well."

The Album Acts As A Body Of Work Between Individual Members Each Speaking Of Their Own Personal Journeys, But Feeding Into The Much Larger Narrative Of Struggle And Oppression, Alongside A Fervent Hunger For Social Change. These Are Struggles And Tests Of Personal Resolve That Have Directly Shaped And Moulded The Bands' Unique Sound Over The Course Of An Impressive 50 Years, And Their Powerful And Influential Commentary Remains As Relevant As Ever.

Bergen is the next, and natural step in the expanding career of Dutch producer Tom Trago. The acclaimed producer behind Voyage Direct will release his fourth LP, with the label and crew he's built a close relationship with over the past ten years - Dekmantel. With a new studio and approach to music, Bergen is Trago sounding at his very finest, returning to his roots with a focussed, and dedicated production ethos.
.
'If you change your environment, your music will also change with you,' Trago reflects on the new album. A staple in the Amsterdam club scene, Tom Trago has been a familiar face at the Dekmantel events for over ten years. 'I was even playing Dekmantel parties, before they were even called Dekmantel,' he states. Tom Trago's collaboration with Dekmantel has allowed him the space to grow and finish his most accomplished, and honest album to date. Bergen is an LP that connects his legacy, family, and commitment to dance music in one resplendent package.


Having relocated from Amsterdam, Tom Trago set up his new studio in the coastal town of Bergen, located in the northern Netherlands. Recorded in his family house, with the sea at one side, and the countryside to the other, the resultant record is a craftful piece of art, full of space, and the classic machine-driven, house music aesthetic that has come to represent Trago's sound. Bergen was made with the aim of re-creating a global-music sound, along with the music that has influenced him throughout his life, with a new approach influenced by Trago's immediate natural environment. 'I would take long walks in-between tracks,' explains Tom about the music making process, "and the creative ideas would happen in the forest."

The spacey-passively-paced LP intro 'Bergen' was the first to be picked up by Dekmantel's Casper Tielrooij, who upon hearing the track stated - 'now we are talking album business'. Yet it was the electro- orientated 'Zeeweg' that became the template for the rest of the record. 'The LP was built around this track,' Trago states. The b-boy electro vibe, with its melodramatic synth melody was influenced by the road that leads to his scenic retreat - with slow, steady curves, and a gentle, upward trajectory, Zeeweg and its album namesake, twist and turn in fluid synchronicity. 'The Creation of Lalibela' plays on this world music vibe, with ethereal and fun key patterns, influenced by the work of Mulatu Astatke. 'Always be with you' is one of the LP's standout tracks, epitomising the new album's country settings, and featuring his girlfriend on vocals; it swings at a steady, up-beat pace, rich with harmony, colour and melody. Elsewhere on the album, Trago sticks to his dance floor roots, 'Faith Belongs to Us' is moulded in a Chicago-to- Amsterdam house style, while album closer 'Working Machines' plays with resonance and atmospherics, creating a moody, pulsing yet stylish rhythm.

Having been raised in a musically-driven, and open-spirited household in which the producer grew up learning the piano, it didn't take long for Tom Trago to be indoctrinated into the new school of Amsterdam producers. Studying at a private jazz school while still a teenager, Trago would eventually come to cross paths with the hip-hop loving Dutch duo Rednose Distrikt, who left a permanent imprint on his approach to music. 'They showed me a world of music making using the MPC,' Trago says. 15 years later, the Dutch producer still sticks to this template. Looking to recreate this production approach that influenced him from the very beginning, Trago stripped down his studio to a simple setup with just a few, key 'weapons of choice'. Removing the computer from the setup, the MPC 2000 XL once again became the heart of the music making process. Bergen's analogue tools lend to its organic sound, one honed and crafted by its natural surroundings, and matured approach by one of the Netherland's most accomplished producers.

Now presented in a shrink-wrapped 6 panel fold out card wallet on CD, on heavyweight double vinyl in a gatefold sleeve. Digitally re-mastered by John Rivers at Woodbine Studios, November 2017 August 1988, Spacemen 3 embark on one of the strangest events in the band's already strange history. Billed as "An Evening of Contemporary Sitar Music" (although consciously omitting the sitar), the group would play in the foyer of Watermans Arts Centre in Brentford, Middlesex to a largely unsuspecting and unsympathetic audience waiting to take their seats for Wim Wenders' film 'Wings of Desire'. Spacemen 3's proceeding set, forty-five minutes of repetitive drone-like guitar riffs, could be seen as the "Sweet Sister Ray" of '80s Britain. Their signature sound is at once recognizable and disorienting - pointing as much to the hypnotic minimalism of La Monte Young as to a future shoegaze constituency. On this double LP reissue, Dreamweapon is augmented by studio sessions and rehearsal tapes from 1987 that would lead up to the recording of Spacemen 3's classic 'Playing With Fire' album. 'Spacemen Jam,' featuring Sonic Boom and Jason Pierce on dual guitar, is a side-long mediation on delicate textures and psychedelic effects.

LP There's been an air of hypnagogic mystery surrounding Acid Test's sublabel Avenue 66 from the start. Joey Anderson's oblique, Prince-inspired incantation "Above The Cherry Moon" set the tone for a label that's sound that has found beauty in the furthest recesses of the dance floor, in the murkiest decay of kick drums and rave stabs. Fitting then, that the first album on the imprint comes from Trux, an artist who has chosen to reveal nearly nothing about themselves. Following a cult classic mini-LP for Office Recordings, "Orbiter" bears out the anonymous producer as a master of liminal, conceptual dance music. "Orbiter's" ten tracks have a vaporous, shape-shifting quality, threatening to topple over into full-on kick drum bliss or vanish into ambience. Opener, "With It," moves from heady ambient rush to skeletal piano, while "Blinko" and "Roy's Garage" spell out a hazy memoriam for the UK continuum. Forlorn pianos ring out amongst the field recordings, excitable toms and jungle bass all softened in the enveloping gauze. "Orbiter" positions Trux as an unknown auteur who puts evocative world of tone and echo into dizzying motion, content to watch from the wings.

New year, new Skrufix release and this one is on vinyl once again! Following a return to form with stellar releases last year from Things With Wings with some Nigerian inspired beats, our 2-Step King, The Crane and an extremely well received release from new boy, Skwirl, we continue with quality production levels and one hell of a release from Nathan Jonson.

After a successful decade of releasing music under the Hrdvsion alias (Wagon Repair / Sound Pellegrino / Planet Mu), 2015 saw Nathan reach a turning point in his musical career and re-launch with a new direction under his birth name. The Jonson family are clearly one of good musical stock, his brother is the formidable Matthew Jonson and Nathan has recently released on 20:20 Vision as well as his brother's new Freedom Engine label, among others. We are therefore more than a little bit chuffed to get him on-board for this new EP, 'Space Between Breath'.

The release kicks off with the title track 'Space Between Breath', an ideal opener that builds into a lush, intricate Techno track accompanied by bouncy synth sounds. Label regular, The Crane brings his usual 2-Step talent to rework the first track exceptionally. On the flipside, things kick off with a darker feel and acid sounding synth lines on 'The Transfer', followed by a fine finale in the trippy and chugging sound of 'I'm All We Got.'

It's quite the release all round to be honest! And we're very excited to finally get this one out there. Look out for more excellence to come later in the year as label regulars, Turtlez and Skwirl prep new EPs, alongside some surprising new additions along the way!