Buscar:x mind

Mit der Veröffentlichung des Albums 'Kalakuta Show' rächte sich Fela unerschrocken an dem Militärregime, das ihn 1974 angegriffen und brutal behandelt hatte. Die 'Kalakuta Show' war der zweite Angriff dieser Art innerhalb von acht Monaten und ein Versuch der nigerianischen Polizei, die Cause of Justice zu beeinflussen. Nach der ersten Polizeirazzia in Kalakuta im April 1974 wurde Fela vor Gericht angeklagt wegen Besitzes von gefährlichen Drogen und Entführung von "Minderjährigen". Die von der Staatsanwaltschaft vorgelegten Beweise konnten jedoch von der Verteidigung leicht entkräftet werden, die aussagte, dass die in den Räumlichkeiten gefundenen Drogen zur Junction Clinic gehörten, einer staatlich zugelassenen Klinik innerhalb der Republik Kalakuta, die von Felas jüngerem Bruder, Dr. Beko Ransome Kuti, geleitet wurde. Was den Vorwurf der Entführung von Minderjährigen betrifft, so bestritten alle jungen Mädchen, die in Felas Haus verhaftet wurden, minderjährig zu sein und entführt worden zu sein, und sie sagten vor Gericht aus, sie seien aus eigenem Antrieb zu Felas Haus gegangen. Da es keine stichhaltigen Beweise gab, um Fela in diesem vielbeachteten Prozess zu verurteilen, beschloss die Polizei, eine Woche vor der Urteilsverkündung eine zweite Razzia in Felas Haus durchzuführen, in der Hoffnung, dieses Mal Beweise zu finden. Das Ergebnis ist die Schilderung der zermürbenden und brutalen Art und Weise, wie die Polizei ihre Opfer behandelte. Sie führen den Fall auf, und Fela, der mit Kopfwunden und einem gebrochenen Arm vor Gericht erschien, erregte beim Richter mehr Mitleid als das Gegenteil. Eine Menschenmenge von mehr als fünfzigtausend Lagos-Jugendlichen trug Fela vom Gerichtsgebäude im Apapa-Gebiet von Lagos zur Kalakuta Republic - eine Entfernung von etwa sechs Kilometern. Während dieses Jubels kam der Verkehr im zentralen Teil des Festlandes von Lagos für mehrere Stunden zum Stillstand.

"Let’s take a trip to the zoo, in mono! Labeled as a part of the Bosstown Sound, these Boston psych rockers take listeners along for the ride - their freak-out arrangement of “Gloria” and a slew of outtasite originals showcase their intricate psych pop sound. Got your lava lamp bubbling yet?

Originally from Swansea, MA, the Tangerine Zoo formed just six months before writing and recording their first album. Once they turned down RCA and Atlantic for Mainstream, the group agreed to do one single and an album, one that’d take just 13 hours to complete. Inspired by Vanilla Fudge and the hippie scene in Greenwich Village, the band’s acid rock captured the same psychedelic sound bands like Orpheus, Ultimate Spinach, and Beacon Street Union were creating in Boston.

After a promotional tour, the band went on to make just one other album before dissolving at the end of the ‘60s, leaving a true Bosstown artyfact behind.

“Tangerine Zoo may be an orange happening, and have to be seen to be believed. They make the claim that ‘your eyes and ears will throw a party for your mind.’” – Fall River, Mass. Herald News Feb. 13, 1968"

FAZI are a post-punk band based in the ancient Chinese city of Xi'an. However, there is much more to their story than meets the eye_ With five immersive full-length records and a brief stint on peak-time commercial TV already establishing the four-piece at the forefront of a truly pioneering wave of alternative music in China, the Euro-pean re-release of their latest offering, `Folding Story', represents an incredible new beginning for a band who have already spent years honing their craft - transforming timeless traditions of love, life and death into a perpetual dance of fre- netic, krautrock energy and sprawling, shoegaze panoramas. Fittingly, `Folding Story' is itself a cyclic experience of rebirth, renewal and a return to origin. Album opener `Invisible Water' is a contemplative start as frontman Peng Liu's yearning vocals reach out across synthesisers reminiscent of sonar and the hypnotic lapping of water on an un- known shore. Described by Peng as an "artistic conception of amniotic fluid in the mother's body", this motif returns at the end of the album's final track, `Way to Atman', this time as a gentle tide washing away the ash of a spent funeral pyre. Just as the album and its protagonist is born at the beginning and dies at the end, by deliberately opening and closing `Folding Story' with the sounds of water, Fazi invite listeners to flow through the record on a never ending loop, to listen to a story without pause, one that rises from a whisper to a roar only to subside as quickly as it arrived. First released in 2022 on pioneering Chinese record label Space Circle, `Folding Story' is a collection of 10 tracks that serve as stories themselves as well as part of a universal narrative in constant flow. A phenomenal accomplishment, its forthcoming re-release in Europe via Pelagic Records will ensure that Fazi continue to blow as many minds and ruffle as many feathers as possible. Gatefold sleeve, silver offset ink, printed on special all-black cardboard. FFO Joy Division, Suicide, Savages, Cabaret Voltaire, Iceage, Gilla Band, Fontän

Ritual Earth and Kazak offer such fantastic spaced out and mind boggling music in Chapter 9 of Ripple Music's split series Turned To Stone. Don't miss out on the brilliant songs the two bands have created.

All true improvisation involves an element of chance: the coming together of a nexus of influences impulses and actions that result in spontaneous creation. Often in the world of jazz these creative sparks blaze briefly in performance, and then disappear as the sonic vibrations fade from the air, but sometimes chance intervenes again, and moments thought to be gone forever can resurface in unexpected ways. As master drummer Jeff Williams sorted through his archive of cassette tapes from his extensive international career, he had no idea that hidden within it would be a recording of a 1991 evening when he joined storied NYC legend David Liebman for a set of spontaneous performances. Reunited together fifteen years after the breakup of their seminal band Lookout Farm in 1976, the two players reaffirmed their deep musical bond with a set of free-flowing exploratory dialogues in front of a receptive audience. Believed lost for many years, these performances can now be experienced again, with all their fearless freshness and pure committed musicianship undimmed by the passage of time.

Jeff Williams has established a formidable reputation as a drummer, composer, educator and bandleader on both sides of the Atlantic. His relationship with Liebman was forged in the exciting, expansive atmosphere of the New York scene in the early 70s: the meeting of Williams, the laid back Midwesterner, and Liebman, the mercurial, quintessential New Yorker, was an inspired coming together of opposites that always made the creative sparks fly. Williams remembers the journey that led to the Bar Room 432 on that 1991 evening:

“Just as I was leaving my home town of Oberlin, Ohio to move to New York City in 1971, I was given David Liebman’s phone number by someone who told me that Dave had started an organisation for jazz musicians there. I knew of Dave, from Ten Wheel Drive and John McLaughin’s My Goals Beyond, but I couldn’t have imagined what a significant role he would play in my musical life. Shortly afterwards, Dave would leave Elvin Jones and Miles Davis to start his own band, with Richie Beirach, Frank Tusa, and myself, (later adding Badal Roy), naming it Lookout Farm. We released two albums on ECM and one on A&M to wide critical acclaim, and toured across Europe, Japan, India and the US.”

“Following the dissolution of Lookout Farm, Dave and I embarked on a short duo tour opening for Gary Burton. That would be the last time the two of us would play until the occasion of this recording, fifteen years later.”

“Fast forward to 1991 when I discovered an attractive bar located on the far West Side of 14th Street in Manhattan. Bar Room 432 would become a six night a week jazz club for a few years, providing me, and many others, with the opportunity to perform our music. Catching wind of this, Dave suggested we do a duo performance there.”

“Luckily, I recorded it.There was no preparation, no set music to be played - we simply improvised, picking up where we’d left off. David’s mastery of the soprano saxophone is in full bloom here, as well as his incredibly resourceful musical mind.”

The performances are revelatory, moving in pure improvisation from clear, songlike melody to furious density, from ambience to pulsing groove, from light into darkness and back again. Cleaned up and remastered by Alex Bonney, the sound of the tape captures the warm, wood-lined ambience of the room, allowing the full power and dynamics of William’s drums and the warmth and fullness of Liebmans’ soprano sax to sing out, engaging the contemporary listener just as it engaged the hip Manhattan crowd thirty three years ago.

The vinyl edition of Klein's 2022 album: »STAR IN THE HOOD« plays like a cracked, tarnished mirror of contemporary numbing music, replacing long-form expression with tighter, more explosive and sometimes completely freeform transmissions that will wake you up from your overly comfortable environmental music slumber. Opening with cycling ghost drones, dialog and piano motifs that blur into heartfelt noise, »black star« is all loping, looping piano and chthonic vocals spiked with cheese-grater noise and chipmunked chirps. It’s Klein’s delirious vocal runs that push the album to the next level though; like her style-defining »Lagata« and the Hyperdub-released »Tommy,« she subverts the raw material that makes up R&B, turning memorable hooks into blurry impressions that will glue to your mind like a diva moment on a Suburban Bass cut.

She keels into longform on »schooled,« fogging organ drones into hazed clouds that gust into imposing shapes over a 10-minute duration, rekindling the dialog between contemporary noise and gospel music. Grandiose classical sounds receive a similar treatment on ‘Friend in the Mirror’, pulled into disorienting shapes that dispel any notions of class gatekeeping; in the final third, Klein’s voice interrupts the mood, before machine-gun percussion reminds us not to get too comfortable. If yr in search of beauty, »postcode wars« finds Klein fuzzing euphoric chords into an afterparty woosh of half-heard voices and dribbling synths. She simultaneously channels rapture and wrath, poignantly torching the contemporary societal skeleton without losing her near-at-hand community in the process.

Midway through the album there’s a thematic pivot signalled by the brief »shorty alert,« a trilling mass of carnivalesque vocal quirks that sound like spiders spitting DMT into yr eardrums. From here, things get darker and more unsettling: there’s doomed subterranean ambience on »signed and delivered«, Disney-esque piano motifs, blown-out lo-fi outsider rawk on »Swerve,« and speaker garbling free eccentric soul on »brand new day,« each struck through with that unmistakable high-vs-low culture posturing. It all brings us to the album’s unsettling one-two punch of ‘haha hehe business’, maybe the foamiest track we’ve heard from her this year, and the zonked »winter« - a piece that’s as crystal clear as Klein gets, an unprocessed heartstring-tugging vocal performance over acoustic guitar twangs.

Here it finally is, the first ever official reissue of all recorded material by Zyklome A, and as a bonus one unreleased track plus unreleased live recordings! One of Belgium’s earliest and most primitive hardcore punk bands’ legendary ‘Made In Belgium’ LP has been one of the rarest artifacts in the genre, and although it was bootlegged many times, the reason why an official reissue on vinyl has never been published is complicated. Zyklome A’s story starts in the middle of nowhere: in Bonheiden in early 1980, above a bank office. Brothers Bie and Toon Puttemans started shredding and terrorizing ears and minds with Markus Verbeeck, without any knowledge of anything close to a scene or other people doing what they were doing. Completely isolated, they were struck by lightning with the genius idea of speeding up punk, playing Ramones chords backwards and letting the bank office’s fire alarm go off with their wall of noise. When drummer Bie got to hear other hardcore records through a school mate, he was baffled to hear there were other folks out there doing what they were doing as well. After a fire alarm and family drama too many, the trio moved to a tiny shed in the garden of the Verbeeck family to refine their special blend of primal hardcore. The rest is history! For just 5 years they became one of Belgium’s most active HC bands, befriending many other classic main stays such as The Dirty Scums, Moral Demolition, Vortex, Wulpse Varkens etc., creating pits everywhere, and turning many a nazi skin’s skulls into pulp! When guitarist Toon “forgot” to fulfil his army service, he had to flee Belgium, and as the police harassed the other band members constantly about this, it became next to impossible to maintain Zyklome A. Zyklome A morphed into Ear Damage, with different members. In a later, army free future, a reunion of Zyklome A was not possible due to Toon’s heroin problem. It is strange, and sad to say, that the cards played differently when Toon passed away. Zyklome A played 2 reunion gigs in 2016 with guitarist Pieter Coolen (of Toxic Shock fame) before Markus’ severe back pain sadly also led to his passing. This record is dedicated to Toon and Markus, whose spirits live on through their incredible music. You will find the entire first album plus an extra LP with their part of the split single Moral Demolition, their tracks of the ‘Alle 24 Goed’ compilation LP, their tracks of the ’Second Time Around’ compilation cassette, an unreleased track and a live recording at the height of their game from 1984 in Deventer (which includes covers such as ’These Boots Are Made For Walking’ and ‘Rock ’n Roll Rebel’) and a 76 page book filled with tons of archive material such as flyers, lyrics, drawings, pictures and a lengthy interview with Bie Puttemans on this most possibly last Ultra Eczema release, Zyklome A’s ‘Uitgesproken (1980-1985)’.

Apnea concludes an eventful 2023 with "Sulitkveteba EP" by Tbilisi's Hamatsuki. Recognized for past releases on Fantastic Planet and Mind Controller Rectifier, Hamatsuki crafts a three-track journey that explores the depths of music.

Fusing sustained lo-fi pads, ethereal gated echoing vocals, and entrancing trippy acid lines, this EP resonates with a nostalgic rave essence. Each track takes listeners on a vivid sonic adventure, capturing the spirit of bygone rave eras while infusing a fresh perspective into the beats.

Following 5 BBC Folk Awards nominations and a designation by the Guardian as Folk Album of the Year in 2019, it is fair to say that Lisa O’Neill is one of the most evocative songwriters in contemporary Irish music today. Fresh off 2018’s collection Heard a Long Song Gone for the River Lea imprint, The Wren EP in 2019 and an adaptation of Bob Dylan’s "All the Tired Horses" for the final scene of epic TV drama Peaky Blinders, O’Neill now returns with her latest album, and first for the Rough Trade label, the beautiful, resonant All Of This Is Chance.

A raconteur in the truest sense of the word, every story starts somewhere and O’Neill starts this extraordinary collection here on earth, on Irish soil, hands in the land. The album is full of both orchestral masterpieces like the ambitious and cinematic "Old Note" and the title track of “All of This Is Chance”, inspired by the great Monaghan writer Patrick Kavanagh's prescient meditation on The Great Hunger, as well as stirring meditations on nature, birds, berries, bees, and blood that ring out over a clacking banjo, dusting and devastating all those in its wake.

All Of This Is Chance takes Lisa’s inimitable voice to greater heights, or depths, depending on which way you look at it.

In the midst of the pandemic, Enjoy Jazz Festival has developed a musical project whose members will be recruited new every year and then debut at a concert on UNESCO International Jazz Day, April 30. The members come from the jazz scene of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. "We wanted," festival director Rainer Kern stresses, "not only to revitalize the fragile network of outstanding creative minds, but also to rethink it artistically as a rolling system." Two experienced and renowned band leaders, Alexandra Lehmler and Erwin Ditzner, now curate an annually changing ensemble of outstanding artists of the most diverse provenance. As part of a voluntary commitment, the ensemble is to be organized in a sustainable, diverse, and, in three years at the latest, completely gender-equal
and climate-fair manner. Thus, as a commitment to the goals of the "European/Local Green Deal" (and with reference to the jazz standard "On Green Dolphin Street"), the name Green Dolphin Orchestra was created. Another special feature: The renowned Oriental Music Academy Mannheim (OMM), a long-standing partner of the Enjoy Jazz Festival, receives a white card, so that musicians with a migration background or protagonists from other musical cultures are always part of this "orchestra of many" and constantly expand its sound language.

The project has a free improvisation approach with changing personnel. "We actually even thought of drawing lots for the different formats within the band pool," explains saxophonist Alexandra Lehmler. "We decided against it in the case of the first concert and instead put together curated formations." And drummer Erwin Ditzner adds, "In principle, however, this procedure remains an option." It was important to the two of them to also mix the genres represented by the individual musicians in such a way that free space for something truly new could emerge. "We wanted to challenge ourselves," Lehmler sums it up. The only restriction: a time code was assigned to each sub-project. "Each formation was given a time limit, although it was possible to virtually override this limit by spontaneous
reshuffling," says Ditzner, explaining one central of the few rules. "In concrete terms, this meant that after eight minutes, the improvisation in progress was either ended or new musicians simply joined in the ongoing creative process, while others took themselves out of the game."

Alexandra Lehmler summarizes the artistic impact of the ensemble as follows: "We really cross-fertilize each other. In order to push this process even further, we forced ourselves when putting together the ensemble not to fall back on our 'favorite playing partners', i.e. musicians with whom one feels particularly at home. In other words, we consciously wanted to step out of our comfort zone with this project." The present pieces were recorded live in Heidelberg during the ensemble's premiere concert on the occasion of International Jazz Day on April 30, 2022.

The concept of naught (Ø) has challenged Salvatore Mercatante throughout his musical career, specifically, trying to understand how the idea of ‘nothing’ fits into the realm of sound, and at the same time, exist in a world of influence at every turn. In the absence of everything, are we able to create something truly free?
As a lifelong New York-based musician, Mercatante’s influences and productions run a wide spectrum. Just as happy producing 80s-inspired horror soundtracks as he is refining acute drum patterns over and over again, Salvatore is the first to ask himself, where next? When a musician’s output can be influenced today by so much, and there is no self-defined or perceived artistic goal in mind, how do you start from a place of nothingness, again and again?
This approach has born many minimal and experimental albums of note in the past, but with Ø, Salvatore ended up with an almost controlled maximalist approach. Beginning with open spaces and allowing sonic textures to live and evolve past where you may expect, Ø allows the space between notes to become equally as important as the notes themselves. Walls of noise, soaring soundtracks, dense techno, glittering IDM, and minimal glitch, sit side-by-side to present an all-encompassing palette of sonic possibility.
Often, even without any intent, what can be born from nothing will somehow transpire back into something more recognizable. It’s human nature after all. A subtle fingerprint, as a sequence, melody, pattern, or drum kick. Whether Salvatore intended for this record to represent his defining sound or not, only time will tell.
Mastered by Giuseppe Tillieci @Enisslab, Rome, Italy.
Artwork by Brandon Locher
Written and produced by Salvatore Mercatante

This is a special audiophile vinyl version of Live Improvisations, an album featuring two sides of music, one the response to the other. The A-side is a recording of a 2014 session between Hakobune and Chihei Hatakeyama that was made with the colours of autumn and rural Japan in mind. Both of these artists have composed dozens of works that have established them as leaders in their field and this is no different. On the flip, zake and From Overseas craft 'Live Improvisation II' and 'forge an intercontinental bond' as they recorded the music in one take with no editing afterward. It's a gorgeous listen that shows a real mastery of tone and texture.

LA-based composer/arranger E. Lundquist (aka Eric Borders) returns with ‘Art Between Minds’. Having cut his teeth in the LA hip-hop and beats scene and explored realms of cosmic-funk under previous monikers, E. Lundquist’s music displays a rich tapestry of influences including the cinematic & experimental jazz-infused library music that influenced his previous LP ‘Multiple Images’. Now he is back with another ample helping of his hallucinogenic sonics, utilizing a bevy of vintage gear to replicate that warm glow of ’70s jazz-funk. From the Fender Rhodes MKI to the ARP Odyssey, to the Mellotron, the keys and synths he employs on these tracks display a genuine appreciation for the groove-driven music of The ‘Me” Decade.

The album plays like the score to a cult classic B-movie. The sun-drenched haze of “Soliloquy” could easily be what you hear during the calm before the storm in a Blaxploitation flick and the laidback crawl of “Euphoria” seems ripped right out of a fuzzy ‘70s blue movie. But there is a certain sophistication here, like the way the horn section, slinky guitar, and trippy synths combine on “Escape” to sound like liquid one moment and like a summer breeze the next.

While E. Lundquist’s artistry will eventually take him to new plateaus of sound, where he is right now is undoubtedly a high watermark in his career. He has become a torchbearer for jazz-funk in a new jazz revolution, updating the sub-genre with his delicate balance of digital and analog elements that will easily appeal to fans of Kamaal Williams, Surprise Chef, BADBADNOTGOOD, Khurangbin, Robohands and similar.

Vladislav Delay's complete "Hide Behind The Silence" series. Intuitive and raw music, momentary and reflective, released on Ripatti's own label Rajaton.

Stillness is a myth. Consider concepts such as ”still water”, or ”still air” for that matter. Go to a restaurant, ask them for a glass of still water, hold it against the light and see where we’re at. Even though the water itself has been captured and imprisoned in the glass, it never stops breathing. It’s filled with tiny particles, dancing. Everything can be explained on a molecular level, but since we’re not scientists – and even if you happen to be – it’s the natural world of perception that moves me.
Still air is very similar. A hot summer’s day with zero wind feels completely still. It’s the closest I have felt to complete stillness. Or for a more urban adaptation, imagine the same vibe inside a normal apartment. In those moments, revelations and mind- blowing experiences can be had with experiments in stillness.
Try this: Just sit down for a minute on a sunny day, making sure there’s enough natural light. Do absolutely nothing. Try not to breathe for a bit. (If you need a mental anchor, you can play Cage’s 4’33” in your head but nothing else.) Watch the tiny dots of dust dancing :..’ ̈.:; ́ ́*°.,’:,. ̈ ̈ ̈ ̈:,.’
The movement is crazy, but the feeling of stillness comes from witnessing how subtle it is. In (perceived) complete stillness, every act of microscopic mobility seems to speak volumes. Yet, it feels both reassuring and oddly threatening that the stillness is never complete. What if we would need absolute stillness? Or is it just enough that we can perceive something as such? Extremes attract, so for both water and air, extraordinary movement is equally fascinating. That is also a luxury item of sorts. For us to enjoy a very ”loud” body of water or air, we need to be safe, in enough control of the situation. So when you are, it’s worthwhile to pay attention and take it all in.
A rapid flowing free with extreme strength and just barely in control. Look at that water go! No still water on this one, only ”sparkling”. A windy day when birds seem surprised how hard it is to fly, but in the end they make it. Trees bend but don’t break. The wind shows you its movement but doesn’t hurt you. It feels friendly, like a big clumsy dog that doesn’t quite understand its size.
It’s beautiful to be a guest of the elements, but not at the mercy of them. A new kind of dialogue forms.

Q&A with Sasu Ripatti:

1) Tell us something about the EP series ”Hide Behind the Silence”, what’s the idea and what can we expect?

Exploration of inaction. Of many kinds. In arts and in personal life, or at bigger and more serious levels. Questioning myself as a human being as well as an artist. Acknowledging the growing activism all around, and the very clear need for it, and how it reflects my own inaction.
Musically speaking, after Rakka, Isoviha and Speed Demon, I finally found some relief, but more importantly lost the need to go musically ever more outward and intensive. I felt quite strongly certain periods/moods from the past and they made me revisit some musical ideas or states of mind I was exploring early on.
It’s about live moments being captured, not much premeditation or editing. More intuitive and raw, even though the end result (to me) feels and sounds quite introspective and calm. It’s not very ambitious. Momentary and reflective.

2) Your music doesn’t sound very silent. Does it come from somewhere behind the silence?

Oh, this time to me it sounds quite quiet and playing with space if not silence. I don’t know what’s actually behind silence, but I think silence is the source of everything. We just don’t understand it yet.

3) What kind of thoughts or experiences gave inspiration to this series?

Writing this in Nov ’22, it’s not a stretch to say the world has been really unwell. Sometimes, like Mika Vainio put it, the world eats you up. I feel a bit like that. And I try to hide in my studio and stay away from it all, but it’s getting harder by the day. I’ve been questioning myself and thinking if what us artists are doing is worth anything, and whether it’s just a selfish thing I’ve been doing for the past 25 years, running away from everything. I haven’t come to a conclusion yet.

4) Is it easy for you to be in silence, or around silence?

Absolutely. I not only hide behind silence but I also love silence. It’s only since I started going back to nature as a grown-up person that I sensed and was enveloped by silence, true silence. I have begun to appreciate it a lot. I think all the people should spend more time in silence.

All tracks composed and produced by Sasu Ripatti.
Artwork by Marc Hohmann, photography by Shinnosuke Yoshimori.
Mastering by Stephan Mathieu for Schwebung Mastering.
Vinyl cut by SST Brueggemann.
Publishing by WARP Music Ltd.

Sasu Ripatti's complete "Dancefloor Classics" series. Music for imaginary dancefloors, released on Ripatti's own label Rajaton.

”Look up, into the light” she said, while the camera shutter clicked. ”Like this? Does it look holy?” His neck felt stiff. Her reply: ”Yes, just like that. What do you mean holy? Like religious? ”No, more like trying to look very far, somewhere beyond what we can see.” ”Okay, stand still, I’m going to come close to you now. The light hits your face great.” click, click, click.
He noticed her fingernails. They were not polished. Natural. Even somewhat rugged, as if something wore out the fingers slightly. What had these hands held besides the camera? What made the edges of her fingernails drift off?
He thought it’s weird to look straight into the camera. The photographer had closed her left eye, the one not looking into the lens. Then it opened, she looked up, perusing the surroundings, then she closed her eye again, then looked up, closed, looking up, very quickly. It all seemed very professional. Maybe she calculated the light, making sure it’s close to perfect. ”What will these photos look like?” – the thought popped into his head briefly. It was liberating to think it wouldn’t matter.
”What’s that song playing?” he asked. ”Wait a sec, Ol’ Dirty Bastard?” she replied. ”Oh yeah, right. But the sample?” ”Hey, could you look up again, like that. No, lower.”
New directions: ”Look out from the window, turn left.” ”My left or yours?” ”Yours, I always try to think from the direction of my model.” How professional! This is a good shoot, so natural. Should I worry about how the photos look like? No, I don’t want to. His thoughts bounced around. What would the story be like? It’s a big newspaper, everyone will read it. Maybe someone drinks coffee and eats a stroopwafel while they do it. Will they place the waffle on top of the mug for a brief while, so that it gets hot and the syrup melts a little? Then it feels wet, and you can bend the cookie.
She broke his train of thought off midway through: ”Now turn right, but look left, and slightly up, but don’t turn your face right.” ”Umm, like this? Sounds like a set of pilates instructions.” she laughed ”You do pilates?” ”Yeah, it’s hard sometimes. Have you tried?” ”No”, she said. ”I’m not good for sports that are done in groups.” ”Yeah, but in pilates you can just be inside your mind, drowning in your private thoughts.”
”What are you thinking in pilates?” she asked, taking more photos. ”Well, mostly just which way is right. And which left.” click, click.

Q&A with Sasu Ripatti:

1) Tell us something about the EP series ”Dancefloor Classics”, what’s the idea and what can we expect?

I’ve been slowly writing these sort of dance music pieces and finally curated them together for a conceptual release. I like to create music for a dancefloor that exists only in my imagination and doesn’t try to suck up to the standardized reality.

2) Your vinyl format is 10” which is quite special (as opposed to LP / 12”). Why did you choose it?

It’s my favourite format, absolutely. The size is perfect, and you can make it sound really good @ 45 rpm. And you still can make great artwork.

3) You seem interested in sampling/repurposing, what does it mean to you as an artist to approach something already existing from a new angle? How does the source material inform you about the approach to take?

I guess i could flip it around and just say I’ve outgrown synths or electronic sounds to a great extend, and having gotten rid off all my synths already good while ago I’ve used samples as my main source material a lot. It’s obvious on this series that i’ve sampled existing music, but I also sample instruments and things in the studio and resample my own library that I have built over the years, it’s quite large. To me the end result matters, not so much how I get there. Once I have something on my keyboard and play around, it’s all an instrument, though with sampling other music it becomes a really interesting and complex one as you’re possibly playing rhythm, but also harmonic content and maybe hooks or whatever, all at once.
I never sample premeditadedly, like listening to records and looking for that mindblowing 3 sec part. I just throw the cards in the air and see what lands where, just full intuition and hopefully zero mind involved, playing tons of stuff, trying things, just recording hours of stuff. Then comes the interesting part to listen to hours of mostly crazy stuff and finding that mindblowing 3 sec part.

4) What is your relationship with the dancefloor (conceptually and/or in experiences / as a performer)?

Very complicated. I have never really felt comfortable on a dancefloor but have always wanted to. There’s something in club music, in theory, that really speaks to me. It has never really materialized for me – speaking mainly from a performer’s point of view who goes to check on a dancefloor for a moment after a concert. I never have DJ’d or felt much interest towards it. But again, I love the idea and concept of DJing. As well as producing music for imaginary DJs. Lately, as in the past 10+ years, I haven’t even performed in any sort of club spaces. So my relationship to the dancefloor is quite removed and reduced, but there’s quite a bit of passion and interest left.

All tracks composed and produced by Sasu Ripatti.
Artwork & photography by Marc Hohmann.
Mastering by Stephan Mathieu for Schwebung Mastering.
Vinyl cut by SST Brueggemann.
Publishing by WARP Music Ltd.

Out of print for quite a few years now, this album is a stunning power-pop gem recorded at a time when this kind of girl group pairing with punk rock was unusual.b This is one of the most iconic albums released on Greg Shaw's Bomp! Records. It now includes bonus tracks on top! Definitely stood the test of time. Check out the titles, these young ladies were wearing their collective hearts on those sleeves of theirs. This kind of girl group pairing with punk rock was unusual at the time and it provided a much-needed antidote to the male dominated skinny tie brigade. Nikki looked like Pam Dawber (Mindy from Mork and Mindy) and sounded like Clare Grogan (of Altered Images) what was not to be instantly smitten by. Born and bred in Detroit, Miss Corvette reportedly ran away from home at age 16 because her mother refused to allow her to attend an MC5 show. Greg Shaw wrote the following in the liner notes to the 20th Anniversary label compilation, Destination Bomp! "Nikki was a tireless worker. Like some coalminer's daughter, she'd travel around the country with her band. Playing 200 shows a year. She knew everybody and was a lot of fun to hang out with so, I figured that if all her friends bought the record... so I signed her. The girl had style and attitude galore plus, she had master guitarist/songwriter and former Romantic Peter James. One of Detroit's most savvy cats." The lady herself kindly supplied the following summary. "We went to LA and signed with Bomp in maybe 1979 but Greg wasn't sure what to do with us. We did the Honey Bop single with Ronny Weiser at Rollin Rock and a couple songs with the Kessel Brothers. We started something with Kim Fowley that did not work out. They kept trying different producers until we finally decided to go back to Detroit and do the album on our own. We didn't have a lot of experience but we knew what we wanted and Detroit was part of that so we recorded the album and had a blast doing it. Peter wanted us to be poppier and I wanted to be more punk. We sort of met in the middle with what I've always called Bubblegum Punk. I can't believe it's been 43 years since this came out and there are still kids discovering it and people who grew up with it that still listen to it. I constantly hear from people all different ages, all over the world about how much they love it album and that really means so, so much to me!" Hear the phenomenon for yourself.

Standing In The Light, das viel geliebte dritte Album von Level 42, ist wieder als LP in
einer streng limitierten audiophilen Gold-Vinyl-Pressung erhältlich.
Level 42 - der Bassist und Sänger Mark King, der Keyboarder und Sänger Mike Lindup,
der Gitarrist Boon Gould, der Schlagzeuger und Texter Phil Gould und der Studiotüftler
Wally Badarou - waren 1983 angesehene Überlebende der Britfunk-Explosion der frühen
80er Jahre, hatten aber noch nicht den ganz großen Durchbruch geschafft. Live waren sie
eine unübersehbare Attraktion, aber ein echter kommerzieller Erfolg blieb ihnen verwehrt.
Polydor erkannte dies und schickte die Gruppe nach LA, um mit Larry Dunn und Verdine
White von Earth, Wind & Fire zu arbeiten und ihrem Sound eine zusätzliche Dimension zu
verleihen.
Es sollte jedoch kein EWF-Horn- und Mystikfest werden; Standing In The Light optimierte
und kommerzialisierte den Sound der Gruppe, ohne dabei ihre einzigartige britische
Interpretation von Jazz-Funk zu verlieren. Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind war die erste
Singleauskopplung des Albums und verpasste nur knapp die britischen Top 40; die
nächste Veröffentlichung bescherte der Gruppe jedoch ihren ersten Top-10-Hit und einen
Vorgeschmack auf den Erfolg, den sie in den kommenden Jahren genießen sollte. Living It
Up (The Sun Goes Down) war ihr erster Top-10-Hit im Vereinigten Königreich und ist ein
funkbasierter Knaller. Infolgedessen war Standing In The Light das erste Top-10-Album
von Level 42. Es enthält auch das intensive, politische I Want Eyes, das Lieblingsstück
von Schlagzeuger Phil Gould in Zusammenarbeit mit Mark King, sowie fünf weitere
Beispiele für den einzigartigen Groove der Gruppe

For PACKS, making a record isn’t a means to an end; the making of the record is a communal experience, bottled up for the public to hear. On third album Melt the Honey PACKS explores a state of contentment, even bliss, long elided. The self-produced record honors the unpretentious disaffection of the grunge movement and the inventive arrangements of Guided By Voices, whose prolific output has inspired PACKS since their inception.

To make Melt the Honey, PACKS traveled to Mexico City, where Madeline Link had spent significant time as an artist-in-residence at Casa Lü. Over the course of 11 days, PACKS practiced new songs in a rented studio space. From there, they took a bus to Xalapa where they worked as artists-in-residence at a house known as Casa pulpo, an architectural feat removed from the bustle of city life. “The house has no straight lines, it puts you in a creative mindset,” Link says. Melt the Honey, is an outward-facing testament to the wonderfully strange details of daily life, vividly rendered by a songwriter who knows they’re worthy of reverence. Out January 19th on Fire Talk.

For PACKS, making a record isn’t a means to an end; the making of the record is a communal experience, bottled up for the public to hear. On third album Melt the Honey PACKS explores a state of contentment, even bliss, long elided. The self-produced record honors the unpretentious disaffection of the grunge movement and the inventive arrangements of Guided By Voices, whose prolific output has inspired PACKS since their inception.

To make Melt the Honey, PACKS traveled to Mexico City, where Madeline Link had spent significant time as an artist-in-residence at Casa Lü. Over the course of 11 days, PACKS practiced new songs in a rented studio space. From there, they took a bus to Xalapa where they worked as artists-in-residence at a house known as Casa pulpo, an architectural feat removed from the bustle of city life. “The house has no straight lines, it puts you in a creative mindset,” Link says. Melt the Honey, is an outward-facing testament to the wonderfully strange details of daily life, vividly rendered by a songwriter who knows they’re worthy of reverence. Out January 19th on Fire Talk.

Good things take time. What’s 17 years? Not even a quarter of Keith Richards! 17 years lay between Heiko Voss’ debut album “Call Me Killer” and the incredible follow-up “3:30 Minutes To Live”, which saw the light of day in 2022 on Michael Mayer’s “other label” IMARA. There are serious voices saying that the 80s were only really complete with the release of this album. Now it took the blink of an eye of a year for the remixes to be finished. And they turned out so well that Michael Mayer from KOMPAKT licensed the “3 Remixes for Heiko Voss” without further ado.

Running back guru GERD JANSON was an early adopter of the album. Highly motivated, he twirls “Follow Your Line” rhythmically somehow in the direction of Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill”. How did he do that? Never mind. It grooves like crazy and keeps even larger floors moving.

ADA, the Hamburg grand dame of techno pop, has taken on the in tongue speaking funk banger “Talking Man” and dipped it in fairy dust. The result is probably the most sensational, soulful club track ever. Honestly.

The package is rounded off with a powerful Dub Version of “Follow Your Line” by the IMARA and KOMPAKT boss himself. Because he can do it.

Open your heart, let the remixes in.

Gut Ding will Weile haben. Was sind schon 17 Jahre? Nicht mal ein Viertel Keith Richards! 17 Jahre lagen zwischen Heiko Voss’ Debutalbum “Call Me Killer” und dem unglaublichen Nachfolger “3:30 Minutes To Live”, der 2022 auf Michael Mayers “anderem Label” IMARA das Licht derWelt erblickte. Es gibt ernstzunehmende Stimmen, die besagen, dass die 80er Jahre eigentlich erst mit der Veröffentlichung dieses Albums vollendet waren. Nun hat es einen kurzen Wimpernschlag von einem Jahr gedauert, bis die Remixe fertig waren. Und die sind so gut geworden, dass Michael Mayer von KOMPAKT die “3 Remixe für Heiko Voss” kurzerhand lizenziert hat.

Ein “early adopter” des Albums war Running Back Obermotz GERD JANSON. Top motiviert zwirbelt er “Follow Your Line” rhythmisch irgendwie in Richtung Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill”. Wie hat er das nur gemacht? Egal. Es groovt wie Bolle und hält auch größere Floors in Bewegung.

ADA, die Hamburger Grand Dame des Techno Pop hat sich des in Zungen sprechenden Funk Kloppers “Talking Man” angenommen und ihn ordentlich in Feenstaub getunkt. Dabei entstand der wohl sensationellste, soulfulste Club Track ever. Ehrlich.

Abgerundet wird das Paket mit einer kräftigen Dub Version von “Follow Your Line” vom IMARA bzw. KOMPAKT Boss selbst. Weil er’s kann.

Herzklappen auf, Remixe rein.

Wo Master draufsteht, ist auch Master drin. Das neue Album "Saints Dispelled" ist 100% Master! Kniet jetzt vor dem Meister nieder!
Die tschechischen Death/Thrasher Master gehören zu den Gründungsmitgliedern des Death Metal und waren von Anfang an eine der ersten Bands,
die sich diesem Stil verschrieben haben, als das Genre noch in den Kinderschuhen steckte. Jetzt, vierzig Jahre nach dem Start und mit Album Nummer
vierzehn, legen die Titanen mit "Saints Dispelled" ein erdrückendes neues Werk vor.
Master, auch bekannt als die Motorhead des Death Metal, liefern uns 2024 ein weiteres zähflüssiges Death Metal-Werk. Sie haben es wieder einmal
geschafft, hochoktanigen, ohrenbetäubenden, unerbittlichen Death Metal zu produzieren. Mit einer Diskografie, die man nicht an zwei Händen
abzählen kann, haben sie selten einen Takt ausgelassen, um die schnelle Brutalität zu produzieren, die wir alle so lieben und genießen. "Saints
Dispelled" ist keine Ausnahme, vielleicht würden wir es zu ihren besseren Alben zählen (die Zeit wird es zeigen). Dies ist eindeutig nicht die Art von
Album, die man sich anhören kann, während man ein schönes Buch liest und einen warmen Tee trinkt.

Brandneues Album der "Supergroup", aktuell in der Besetzung: Deen Castronovo / Joel Hoekstra / Jeff Pilson.

The heavyweight trio of Keiji Haino, Jim O’Rourke and Oren Ambarchi return with their 12th and most epic release to date, the triple LP With pats on the head, just one too few is evil one too many is good that's all it is. Documenting the entirety of their final performance at the dearly departed Roppongi home of Tokyo underground institution SuperDeluxe in November 2018, the music spread across these six sides splits the difference between the guitar-bass-drums power trio moves and experiments with novel instrumentation that have defined the trio’s decade of working together. Containing some of the most delicate music the three have committed to wax since the gorgeous 12-string acoustic guitar and dulcimer tones of Only wanting to melt beautifully away is it a lack of contentment that stirs affection for those things said to be as of yet unseen (BT011), this wide-ranging release also offers up some of their most blistering free rock performances yet.

The side-long opening piece finds Haino on a single snare drum in duet with O’Rourke on unamplified electric guitar, playing in the lovely post-Bailey vein heard on his classic 90s recordings with Henry Kaiser and Mats Gustafsson. Spiky dissonance and ringing harmonics interweave with flowing melodic fragments as Haino single-mindedly explores the resonance of the snare like an untutored Han Bennink. On ‘Right brain, left brain; right, left; right wing, left wing. Just how many combinations can be made from these?’, O’Rourke moves to synth and electronics, joined by Ambarchi on drums, who at first focuses on sizzle cymbals before hypnotic cycles of gentle tom rhythms combine with electronic burbles and flutters to suggest a dream collaboration between Masahiko Togashi and Jean Schwarz. Ambarchi’s percussion is then joined by Haino on wandering, overblown flute, before the man in black switches back to the snare for a bizarre, stuttering drum duet.

For the first trio performance, Haino makes another new addition to his seemingly infinite catalogue of instruments, this time a homemade contraption he refers to as ‘Strings of Dubious Reputation’. Joined by O’Rourke on increasingly spaced-out electric guitar and Ambarchi on skittering percussion, Haino’s wonky, slack strings adds a definite ‘musique brut’ edge to this side-long performance, certainly one of the most enchantingly odd in the trio’s discography. When the group reconvene for the second set, spread out across the final three sides, they seem ready to breathe fire from the first instant. O’Rourke slashes distorted chords on the six-string bass, Ambarchi breaks into his signature irregular caveman thump, and Haino squeals and squawks on heavily delayed oboe before unleashing an overpowering electrical storm when he first picks up the guitar. For over half an hour, the trio pound out one of their most relentless performances, a constantly rearranging kaleidoscope of tortured fuzz guitar, insanely busy bass riffing and propulsive, tumbling drums. A hushed atmosphere initially reigns on the final long piece, given the mournful title ‘There are always things I wish to say but I can only convey them in this language August 6 August 9’. Haino’s clean guitar strumming calls up the shimmering tones of his PSF classic Affection, gradually building to a surging wall of sound, bass and drums lumbering through a roar of jet-engine guitar. Arriving in a deluxe trifold package with photos by Lasse Marhaug alongside inner sleeves with extensive live images, this epic release is perhaps the most remarkable document yet of this unique trio’s stamina and continuing inventiveness.

Richmond’s COUGH delivers thoroughly massive, psychedelic doom on their aptly titled Relapse debut ‘Ritual Abuse’. The albums five epic tracks are impenetrable walls of sludge; at points suffocating and claustrophobic, at others warped and hallucinogenic. ‘Ritual Abuse’ is an impressive monolith of sound and volume, and one of the finest moments yet of 21st century doom. Recommended if you like: ELECTRIC WIZARD, BONGZILLA, EYEHATEGOD, THOU, BURNING WITCH, CORRUPTED, BUZZOVEN

Known for weaving together complex rhymes with style, Elzhi has been rapping circles around the competition for more than two decades. After years as a member of iconic group Slum Village, Elzhi’s impressive solo career has included projects produced by acclaimed artists like Black Milk, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Khrysis, and Will Sessions. Now, the Detroit emcee is linking with California beat maestro Oh No for the new collaborative album Heavy Vibrato. A multitalented underground hip-hop luminary, Oh No has built a formidable resume behind the boards, crafting tracks for Mos Def, Freddie Gibbs, MF DOOM, Action Bronson, Talib Kweli, Ab-Soul, Danny Brown, and more. Heavy Vibrato is a thrilling showcase for Elzhi’s lyrical wizardry and cinematic storytelling, as Oh No breathes new life into a compelling tapestry of jazz samples, producing the entire collection. “The only thing you need to absorb this experience is an open mind,” says Elzhi. With guest appearances by Blu and Guilty Simpson, Heavy Vibrato taps into an undeniable frequency.

Consisting of MCs A+, Phesto, Opio and Tajai (with production by A+, Domino, Del the Funky Homosapien, Jay Biz and Casual), East Oakland’s Souls of Mischief burst onto the scene in the early 90s with an impact that few other West Coast artists had at the time. Culminating in the release of their classic debut, they created a bouillabaisse that was most parts West Coast swagger but - similar to The D.O.C. and Cypress Hill - with a sonic approach that could just as well have stepped off the streets of New York City. Recorded in less than two weeks at San Francisco's Hyde Street Studios, 93 ‘til Infinity doesn’t suffer from a single freshman jitter or misstep. It’s a fully-realized effort, packed from start to finish with ridiculous lyricism - all carried out in impressive four-part, tag-team style - and backed by a wide range of musical possibilities, from hard boom-bap to 70s CTI-jazz-sprinkled grooves. But without worthy music, the group’s high-level lyricism could have fallen by the wayside. Digging deep into crates that other producers had yet to mine, the production crew gave the quartet exactly what they needed, with unpredictable rolling basslines, dusty drums and jazz keyboard and horn stabs and swirls. Non-singles like Disseshowedo (produced by Domino and Jay Biz), Batting Practice (Casual), Limitations (Jay Biz, with Del and Casual contributing verses) and What A Way To Go Out (Domino) made sure that the fast-forward button remained untouched. Get On Down is proud to present a 30th Anniversary pressing of this west coast Hip-Hop classic on cloudy blue and cloudy yellow vinyl, packaged in a gatefold jacket with liner notes and a commemorative 30th Anniversary stamped numbered OBI.

Soliton maximizes the compact format by further illuminating lesser-traveled paths. Contemplation and exploration weave harmoniously through five mysterious tracks. Influenced by a wide range of styles and sounds, such as Japanese ambient, the muted dissonance of Pharoah Sanders, and the chilly dub of the Scape catalog, Soliton evokes visions of lonely night drives punctuated by bright moments of bliss. The Calque EP from January 2023 saw them pursuing the minimal electronic side of their work even further. The opening track, "Kottbusser Tor,” showcases a conspicuous absence of the processed guitars that characterize most of their work, and instead explores sequenced filters, tape delays and analog synth patterns for eight minutes. On "Ammosel", they dive directly into dubby soundscapes, with crackling electronics and deep basslines, while "Kiyosumi" and "Fade Into Air" pay a visit to more familiar ambient territory. A darker undercurrent pervades on this EP, but one that goes particularly well with the coldest of seasons and its frosty air. The duo, consisting of Jason Kolb (Michigan, US) and Jonas Munk (Denmark) started working together in 2006, sending each other tracks across the Atlantic, eventually resulting in a full-length release on Felte in 2012. What started out as a side project to their respective main projects (Auburn Lull and Manual) have slowly become the main activity for both artists, now with a total of four full-lengths under their belt. Their music has also evolved and matured over the years, reaching a level of perfection that’s only granted producers who've been in the game for decades. Billow Observatory have by now established themselves as purveyors of highly refined ambient music and the Soliton EP sees them elegantly blend new and old, electronic and organic, into a gently drifting, enveloping whole. “.. mind drenching sunrises, glittering constellations, and sailing clouds, richly furnishing the familiar sense of hovering over vast natural orders that you're also inside. – Pitchfork // “So the world it inhabits is essentially that one between states, simulating a quietly vibrant ecology of sub-aquatic bass rumbles, washed out expanses of mid-range swirl and keening top end whose elusive colours seem to fade and coruscate in the low light. Lovely

Limited Transparent Blue vinyl. “Pop” is a tag that’s been assigned to Minus the Bear throughout their career. It’s been used to set a distinction between the unique brand of complex indie rock they introduced on their first EP, and the more angular and aggravated sounds of their previous bands Botch, Kill Sadie, and Sharks Keep Moving. It’s also a tag that was thrown around frequently in the wake of their streamlined fourth album, OMNI. And it’s a descriptor that immediately comes to mind within the first few seconds of their classic second formal EP, They Make Beer Commercials Like This. Beer Commercials is the evolutionary step between Minus The Bear’s first two landmark albums, Highly Refined Pirates and Menos El Oso. Opening track “Fine + 2 Points” remains one of the band’s strongest opening tracks in their discography, charging out of the gates with a syncopated stomp that comes across as a more agitated take on Kylie Minogue’s “Can’t Get You Outta My Head.” If Minus The Bear were looking to make pop music without any of its major-scale bubblegum trappings, they nailed it here. The band follows it with “Let’s Play Clowns” and “Dog Park”—nods to Highly Refined Pirates’ formula of frenetic clean guitar work, bombastic choruses, and Jake Snider’s lyrics of detached romantic nostalgia. These tracks may represent Minus the Bear’s original trademark version of pop but on songs like “I’m Totally Not Down With Rob’s Alien,” the band eschews its restless energy for atmosphere and dynamics, creating a sound that’s inspired more than a handful of contemporary melodic post-rock bands. By the time the band belts out “Pony Up!” the listener has watched the three-year sonic transition between Minus the Bear’s first two full-lengths transpire within under half an hour, with their earlier math rock predilections yielding to the tightly wound club-banging pedalboard trickery that defined their sophomore album. Even if Beer Commercials doesn’t fit within your definition of pop music, the unorthodox energetic charm of this relatively low-profile release serves as an exciting reminder of why Minus the Bear became one of the most important and influential indie rock bands of the new century

Are You There, Boy ? is an album by Beharie, released in 2024. Are You There, Boy ? includes a.o. the following tracks: “Wake Up”, “Desire”, “Don't Forget Me (featuring Judy Blank)”, “Deserve It” and more. The album is a Coloured Vinyl, Limited Edition pop LP.

The second self-titled album from Will Miller"s Resavoir interweaves modern-day soul-jazz with bedroom beats, synth serenades and twilight sonatas - an endlessly listenable, subtly radiant symphony suitable for both the composition-minded musician"s musician and the hook-seeking playlist populist. This album follows Resavoir"s 2019 self-titled debut album, a breakout success that landed in "Best of 2019" lists by NPR Music and BBC"s Gilles Peterson. Through his movement further into an expanded palette of synths, pianos, live and programmed drums in addition to his MIDI-augmented trumpet, Miller has developed a signature cinematic soul-jazz sound rooted in hip-hop structures. No surprise, then, that his profile as a producer has raised significantly since the Resavoir debut, and that the years since have seen him operating the controls and guiding the ship on tracks for Eryn Allen Kane, Whitney, Knox Fortune, and SZA"s recently-released album SOS (which spent 10 weeks as the #1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart).

Story Of Collapsed Dimention unfold in 4 tracks multi-genres musical accompaniment and 12 frame comics, as artwork. The EP symbolizes a journey of personal transformation, the courage to confront the unknown and fight against circumstances and suffering. In order to become something new, we need to give up what we are now.

The tracks span across various styles, including funky house with a live-band feel, featuring infectious rhythms and vibrant instrumentation. There is a breakbeat track infused with a groovy bassline seized from NBA Live 95 on Sega Genesis, accompanied by turntablism hard drops and scratchy sounds that add an edgy and gritty vibe.

B-side explores psychedelic frequency modulations of polyharmonic intertwined with jungle-oriented breaks, creating a mesmerizing fusion of intricate melodies and rhythmic complexity. Finally, the EP concludes with an electro banger that has been accidentally reinvented with its captivating energy and a profound message.

Overall, the EP showcases a diverse and dynamic musical journey through these genres, offering a rich and immersive listening experience or valuable universal DJ-tool.

The artwork features hand-drawn comics by the talented artist Larisa Shalyapina, script and production by CDA.

The unique texture, blurriness, and overall quality of the illustration are meticulously preserved through a process of manual assembly and duplication, resulting in a visually captivating and tactile experience.

Used gear: Roland MC-808, Roland MC-505, Moog Subphatty, Waldorf Wave XT, MAM33, Volca FM, Volca Bass, Tascam Midistudio 644, Jomox t-resonator II, Boss Digital Delay, Teletron SAQ-206B Amp, KME Sound GBA 80 Bassbox, Culture vulture distortion, Distress compressors. DAW Ableton.

conceptualization:

Tracks are written during frequent relocations, capturing experienced moments and raw emotions. As the physical changes in our living environment are comparable to the collisions and evolving paths within the domain of knowledge reflected in the trials of spiritual awakening.

In Berlin, a city of expats, it has a special relevance to people who came here to find themselves. It also resonates with those who have been brought here by circumstances.

Record id released with all Ukrainian brothers and sisters in heart.

While we find comfort in our safe spaces, it is inevitable that some stress will eventually provoke us to take action. We may long for that period of comfort and feel a sense of anger or sadness for what once was. Once the truth is revealed, much like the unveiling of light, there is no turning back — a path to enlightenment shall be accepted.

Within the EP, each track serves as a chapter for this path.

A1

First track encapsulates escapism by chasing a feel-good sense in the run from responsibilities into fantasy-land. In the moment of careless life in careless time, where the future is sacrificed in the name of immediate pleasure.

A2

Robotboy incorporates a superficial state of mind with a reactive personality rooted in a narcissistic ego, dishonestly denying the righteous path. Subconscious struggle from hedonistic lifestyle with no relief.

B1

A deeply intimate and personal, embodied introspective sentiment kept hidden from the world, revealing when we’re alone and usually stifled with distraction and entertainment. Nostalgic feeling of loss follows us during the abandonment of a beloved place. Overwhelming weight of regret in presents.

B2

Taking action of the first step makes us unstoppable and disclosure of knowledge leads to destruction of the illusory world. Finding out the truth, same as seeing the light, excludes the retreat into darkness. As comprehension is the way to enlightenment.

Trip Hill is a one-man operation by Fabrizio Cecchi out of Florence, Italy. With a naïve approach to making music and inspiration from all over the world he is making his own homemade and original version of trippy psychedelia and krautrock. Fabrizio Cecchi played in various garage and psych rock bands in the early 90's but by 1994 he set his own cause and started to work alone and in his own universe. Originally a bass-player he since taught himself guitar, drums, keyboards and various other instruments to be able to find his own way in making psychedelic music. Ain't Trip Ceremony is the latest output in a long string of experimental home productions recorded in his basement studio. Until recently it was only available on his Bandcamp and as a very cool limited edition CD-R with covers printed on thick cardboard with a special linograph technique. But now it gets the proper release on vinyl via Bad Afro Records that these recordings deserve. 1st print is limited to 500 copies on black vinyl.

Second full-length album by Sheffield-based project Randolph & Mortimer. An 8-track 40-minute-long sonic and emotional journey heavily influenced by 80’s propaganda and the parallels we face today involving politics, religion & conspiracy theories. Created half by machines and half by the mind of Sam Evans, “The Incomplete Truth” clings to the same roots that catapulted R&M to the forefront of the techno-EBM-industrial scene with their debut album “Manifesto for A Modern World” (2019) but takes this new work to a higher level in terms of composition and production.

Born in the wake of depression resulting from a terrifying near-death experience in the workplace, Sam conceived this album as a live setlist from some alternate reality free of everyday working. Every track is a potential success and includes collaborations with artists like Andi, Neu-Romancer, Black Dahlia and Dominique Slva. All killer, zero filler.

Mindgames is a new Samurai Music affiliated label aiming to capture the essence of the sound that magnetised label head Presha into Jungle/Drum and Bass in the mid 90’s. Experiencing this musical development as it happened lit a flame of passion and drive that forged a focused musical path that continues unabated today.

94/95 were pivotal years for Jungle with new approaches to production and musical shades that shaped how the music progressed. Light and Dark musical hues were working side by side more frequently in these years as the music found its way, and Mindgames will reflect this.

With the resurgence of artists absorbing this sound and creating updated versions with added production finesse, Mindgames mission is to enlist current-day producers who have successfully captured and reimagined the vibe and feel of these years into new forms that underline the foundation of our sound.

"I don't like rap music at all. I don't think it's music. It's just a beat and rapping."
Nina Simone

Straight off the streets, Hip-Hop burst onto the scene, leaving no one indifferent, igniting a cultural revolution that would shape generations to come. Now, in celebration of its 50-year anniversary, Art That Kills proudly presents HHCOMP01.

HHCOMP01 aims to capture the freshness and innocence of a genre in the midst of defining itself. As the world embraced this new phenomenon, it was a time of raw creativity and unbridled expression.

With a selection of seven fantastic tracks stepped out of the underground, HHCOMP01 is a window into the origins of a genre that has resonated with countless hearts and minds.