Release-Highlights in May 2024 21 Items

In The Red Records is proud to announce a previously unreleased new album by Brooklyn-born master of minimalism Alan Vega, Insurrection. The eleven songs here showcase the unparalleled vision and uncompromising force from one of the most influential artists of all time.

Alan Vega was born in Brooklyn in 1938. He co-founded the legendary New York City punk band Suicide with Martin Rev in 1970. Suicide’s groundbreaking 1977 debut is considered one of the most influential albums of all time. Vega considered his solo records the audio counterpoint to his visual art that reflected the world around him while simultaneously exploring universal themes. It makes his work as relevant today as it was when he created them. It was during his highly experimental period beginning in the late ’80s that he began working with Liz Lamere, who became the most crucial collaborator of his solo career until his death in 2016.

Lamere, along with Jared Artaud, resurrected these newly unearthed collection of lost recordings, which they co-produced and mixed. Lamere and Artaud spearhead the Vega Vault project, which aims to bring rare, unreleased and back catalog work spanning Alan Vega and Suicide’s career to the public for the first time.

On Insurrection, Lamere says: “Insurrection was created in the time period around 1997/98, after Mutator and prior to Vega’s 1999 release of 2007 and captures the intense energy of NYC in the ’90s rife with crime, killing, hate, fascism, racism, and moral bankruptcy. You can hear the tortured souls floating through this album. Post-Gulf War angst still enveloped Alan. He was having premonitions about a major terror attack in the US, well before 9/11. The upcoming birth of his son raised further awareness of the state of our world. All these emotions are mirrored in the sounds he magnetized. And true to Vega form, there remains hope and empowerment coursing through the tracks. In the almost three decades of going into the studio with Vega, we recorded significantly more material than the seven albums released. Vega’s intention was to experiment with sound which would become the canvas for the poetry that reflected his vision of the universe. Because the goal wasn’t to make albums, he had no timeline or constraints and would freely follow new paths uncovered along the way.”

Limited TO 150 Units

From weaving thought-provoking poetics to channeling the spirit of vintage West Coast gangsta rap, acclaimed Los Angeles emcee Blu is a dynamic musical presence, forever evolving and defying expectations. Supremely talented producer and musician Shafiq Husayn has a similarly diverse skill set, with a storied history as a member of Sa-Ra Creative Partners and solo production credits for top artists across the musical spectrum, from Erykah Badu to Ice-T to Anderson .Paak to Jurassic 5 and more. After linking up for the mixtape The Blueprint back in 2018, Blu and Shafiq Husayn are reuniting for the new album Out Of The Blue, elevating their collaboration to a new level. "The Blueprint was just me rhyming over some of Shafiq's beats that I found online," Blu explains. "This time we were actually in the studio together. We've been working together since 2008, but this is our first official album." Awash in Shafiq's dense sonic architecture, Out Of The Blue showcases the intricacy of Blu's spiritual street talk while simultaneously delivering a series of bass-heavy L.A. anthems. Entirely produced by Shafiq Husayn (with assistance from Dibia$e on "I'm G (omg)"), the collection features guests MED, Exile, Chuuwee, Thurz, Speed Walton, Jimetta Rose, and Freestyle Fellowship members Myka 9 and Self Jupiter.

It seemed that if I didn’t somehow repeat the process of greatness, and do so immediately, multiple times away to satisfy playlist and binge watch culture, then I “wasn’t shit”. After a while I was like “nah this doesn’t feel good,… I don’t know if I am finding joy in this”. I would record songs and not release them, obsess over sessions recorded in my home with 30 takes of vocals and wake up only to delete them. When it began to feel right I found solace in an epiphany that I was not obligated to operate at any other wavelength. I am moving on a different type of time, and that doesn’t expire. -Cavalier For heads of a certain time period of NYC hip-hop, Brooklyn born, New Orleans-based rapper and songwriter, Cavalier was the one that got away. The outrageously talented artist whose name and reputation preceded him everywhere you went in the scene. The rapper who everyone knew was so dope that he had to blow, but who never seemed concerned with any of that. The pretty boy draped in Polo who stole every live show with a feather in his hair and a mouth full of gold fronts. The cat so dedicated to his own independence that even indie labels stopped trying to sign him and projects came when they came, but when they came they were undeniable. Cavalier was That guy for a lot of us; a silver-tongued philosopher with an eye for the poignant details of black life and a delivery as effortless as a young Ken Griffey’s swing. All that said, it never really felt like Cav had that moment in the spotlight that we always assumed was coming. After chiseling away through headier cult corners of the NYC hip-hop scene Cavalier was recognized for his memorable co-pilot to Quelle Chris’ 2013 Mello Music debut, Niggas Is Men. The critically acclaimed LP helped propel Quelle Chris into the forefront of indie hip-hop (and also happened to be the first production credits for Messiah Muzik). Cav followed up with his first full length, Chief, which sports a notable Raekwon feature but also early work from producers like Ohbliv and Tall Black Guy. A relocation to New Orleans and partnership with producer/vocalist Iman Omari yielded two more projects: 2015’s Lemonade EP and Private Stock in 2018. Great records all; eagerly sought by collectors and signal boosted by influential media like OkayPlayer, Solange’s Saint Heron, and Pitchfork. Cavalier’s bonafides have never been in question, but his new album Different Type Time feels like a revelation—a sonic suspension bridge between his rich history and the artform’s future. Different Type Time doesn’t sound like the future though, its vibrations are somewhere all their own. It sounds like jazz, like a conversation overheard in roti shop, or a pool hall, or the foyer of your old building on a fall day, front door propped open with a brick. The blues is in there too, and the south—the American South, and the Global South, and South Brooklyn. It’s not that it sounds like the past, but you can hear everything that came before in the thick of the basslines and the yearning of the keys. Different Type Time also doesn’t sound like now, it sounds like Right NOW; the bounce of the lyrics like the staccato of basketball in the park, carried on a spring breeze. Although he doesn’t rap on DTT, Quelle Chris plays a pivotal role; producing eight songs and serving as associate producer/consigliere to Cav throughout the creative process. “There is no time wasted in explaining things when I collaborate with Quelle. He understands the universe I am in and the realities I want to create. He’s in them. And I don’t think I can envision one without him,” Cavalier explains. Messiah Muzik, Wino Willy, Ohbliv, Ahwlee, Child Actor, Fushou and several other producers round out the credits, all lending their talents to the album’s spaciously soulful sound. At the center of all these alchemies is Cavalier, nimbly dancing in and out of pockets like a sidewalk game of jumprope. Different Type Time is a masterclass in this thing we call hip-hop; daring and original, yet always standing deeply rooted in the culture

1. Different Type Time prod. Quelle Chris & Cavalier
2. Custard Spoon prod. Quelle Chris
3. Can’t Leave It Alone feat. Eric Jaye prod. GLassC!ty
4. Come Proper prod. Jacob Rochester
5. Touchtones prod. Aummaah
6. Déjà vu / Tydro ‘97 prod. Messiah Muzik / Quelle Chris
7. Doodoo Damien prod. Quelle Chris
8. Baby I’m Home prod. Wino Willy
9. Yeah Boiii prod. Quelle Chris
10. All Things Considered (prod. Wino Willy
11. Pears (prod. Malik Abdul-Rahmaan
12. Told You (prod. Fushou
13.Badvice (prod. Low Key
14. Think About It feat. Billzegypt prod. Obliv
15. Up From Here / 7th Ward Spyboy prod. Ahwlee / Quelle Chris
16. Manigaults / I Miss Them prod. ruffiankick
17. Lazaroos prod. Vinny Cuzns
18.Bespoke feat. Dominic Minix prod. Hann_11
19. 50 Bags feat. Lord Chilla prod. Child Actor
20. Axiom / My Gawd prod. GLassC!ty / Quelle Chris
21. Flourish prod. Quelle Chris

Today, the Toronto-born-and-raised singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Charlotte Day Wilson announces her highly-anticipated sophomore album Cyan Blue out May 3rd via Stone Woman Music / XL Recordings Along with the announcement of her new album comes the release of first single, "I Don"t Love You", a stark and devastatingly beautiful confessional, highlighting Wilson"s immaculate production skills and chill inducing vocals laid atop smooth groove piano chords and soft drums. The track also arrives with a visual directed by Dani Aphrodite featuring layered low fi footage of the artist and producer performing at home, living every day life and having moments of solitude in her car, a theme that comes up throughout the album. Cyan Blue finds Wilson crafting a smoothly woven cyan tapestry of her eternal influences; thumping gospel piano, warm soul basslines, atmospheric electronics, and penetrating R&B melodies. Yet, it possesses a sense of vastness that rings in a new era for Wilson, one in which she"s embracing collaboration and newfound creative openness tinged with wistfulness and yearning and a reflection on youthful innocence. "I want to look through the unjaded eyes of my younger self again," Wilson explains of making Cyan Blue. "Before there wasn"t as much baggage, before so much life was lived. But I also wish that my younger self could see where I am now. It would be nice to be able to impart some of the wisdom and clarity that I have now onto her." Working with producers like Leon Thomas (sza, Ariana Grande, Post Malone), and Jack Rochon (HE.R, Daniel Caesar), Cyan Blue demonstrates Wilson"s sonic expertise while also showcasing the next evolution of her time-bending songwriting. Through 13 hypnotizing tracks, she continues to use music as a vessel for unpacking relationships, which in turn allows her to meet and understand herself in life-spanning, panoramic focus. But, on Cyan Blue, she challenged herself to kick her perfectionist tendencies. "Before, I was extremely intentional about creating music with a strong foundation, a bed of artistic integrity," Wilson reflects. "But that was a bit stifling, like, "Let me just make a great piece of art that will stand the test of time, no pressure." Now, I think I"m getting out of this frozen state of needing everything to be perfect. I"m more interested in capturing feelings in the moment as they happen and leaving them in that moment." While this is only her second album, Wilson"s influence in music has made a major mainstream impact. Wilson broke out in 2016 with her critically acclaimed EP, CDW, followed by 2018"s Stone Woman and made her debut studio album an official coming out moment in 2021 with the critically acclaimed, self-released Alpha. Over the past decade, she"s been sampled by Drake, John Mayer, and James Blake, while Patti Smith has recently praised and covered Wilson"s 2016 breakout single "Work." Additionally, she"s collaborated with artists like Kaytranada, Badbadnotgood, and SG Lewis, demonstrating that there"s no sound Wilson can"t adapt to and sprinkle her cyan-colored magic over.

Like a thief in the night, and almost 4 for years after his critically acclaimed full-length album Kabul Fire Vol 2, beat virtuoso Farhot has returned to the (crime) scene with his latest all-instrumental record "stealing from cats".

While on his last LP, he took listeners on a journey to his birthplace Kabul, he is now taking them along as he goes out stealing sounds from fellow musicians (label mates) and dusty Jazz archives and. Reminiscent of that time when Blue Note invited Madlib into their catacombs to create the seminal "Shades of Blue" LP, this slow-paced record sees Farhot eclectically fusing Jazz samples with downtempo, instrumental hip-hop art. From the hazy, chopped vocal samples of the intro tune "selfish" to the dreamy closer "they need me", this 12-song masterpiece is as much an homage to the virtuosity of Jazz cats like Silvan Strauss as it is to the fine art of sampling that Farhot cheekily calls stealing.

Elevating, uplifting and beautifully arranged. Jasmine Myra"s sophomore album Rising builds on the success of her breakthrough album Horizons to deliver a major statement from one of UK Jazz"s rising stars. Produced by Matthew Halsall and mixed by Greg Freeman (Hania Rani, Matthew Halsall, Portico Quartet).

Washington calls Fearless Movement his dance album. “It’s not literal,” Washington says. “Dance is movement and expression, and in a way it’s the same thing as music—expressing your spirit through your body. That’s what this album is pushing.” Dance as an embodied form of expression signals a shift in focus for Washington. Where previous albums dealt with cosmic ideas and existential concepts, Fearless Movement focuses in on the everyday, an exploration of life on earth. This change in scope is due in large part to the birth of Washington’s first child a few years ago. “Being a father means the horizon of your life all of a sudden shows up,” says Washington. “My mortality became more apparent to me, but also my immortality—realizing that my daughter is going to live on and see things that I’m never going to see. I had to become comfortable with this, and that affected the music that I was making.” The album features Washington’s daughter—who wrote the melody to “Asha The First” during some of her first experimentations on the piano—as well as a host of collaborators new and old. André 3000 appears on flute, George Clinton lends his voice, as do BJ The Chicago Kid, Inglewood rapper D-Smoke and Taj and Ras Austin of Coast Contra, the twin sons of West Coast legend Ras Kass. Washington further enlisted lifelong friends and collaborators Thundercat, Terrace Martin, Patrice Quinn, Brandon Coleman, DJ Battlecat and more. The album also features “The Garden Path,” a song Washington performed for the first time ever, making his late-night television debut, on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”

Karate Boogaloo are proud to present Hold Your Horses, a mesmerizing new long-playing disc of original instrumental tunes from Melbourne, Australia's most dedicated.Sitting at the heart of Melbourne's burgeoning instrumental soul movement, Henry Jenkins, Hudson Whitlock, Callum Riley, and Darvid Thor have been playing music together since their playground days. Meeting as high school preteens, these four friends explored the teachings of the great small combo instrumental bands à la Booker T & The MG's and The Meters.Karate Boogaloo's singular bond shines brightly on Hold Your Horses, a doc...

Funeral For Justice is the new album by Mdou Moctar. Recorded at the close of two years spent touring the globe following the release of 2019 breakout Afrique Victime, it captures the Nigerien quartet in ferocious form. The music is louder, faster, and more wild. The guitar solos are feedback-scorched and the lyrics are passionately political. Nothing is held back or toned down. The songs on Funeral For Justice speak unflinchingly to the plight of Niger and of the Tuareg people. "This album is really different for me," explains Moctar, the band"s singer, namesake, and indisputably iconic guitarist "Now the problems of terrorist violence are more serious in Africa. When the US and Europe came here, they said they"re going to help us, but what we see is really different. They never help us to find a solution."

Limited to 300 copies for all black vinyl purists.

Following the success of classic albums from Nas (llmatic), and Mobb Deep’s sophomore LP, The Infamous, the borough of Queens had proven itself to be a mecca of talent, and so the hunt was on the find the next promising emcee to fuel the momentum. It would take a local high school talent show for Geronimo’s talents to be discovered by soon to be music mogul, Irv Gotti, that would lead to a deal with Blunt Recordings for the release of Mic’s debut effort. In addition to an era defining soundscape with production credits from Da Beatminerz and Buckwild, among others, the album boasts a notable line-up of guest appearances from The Lost Boyz, Royal Flush and O.C., along with a burgeoning Jay Z, DMX and Ja Rule, who all appear on the celebrated posse cut, “Time to Build,” marking the first Murder Inc. collaboration.

Quelle Chris' album "Guns" uniquely blends diverse sounds and themes, focusing on the concept of weaponization in various forms, from literal to metaphorical. The album's production features a mix of traditional hip-hop and experimental elements, creating a distinct auditory experience that complements its thematic depth. This work marks Quelle Chris's evolution as an artist, offering a fresh, engaging listening journey. This one time pressing of Quelle Chris "Guns" for the Mello Music Group Artist Series "24 for '24" features limited edition oil painting cover art by KipDaFog Featuring Mach Hommy, James Acaster, Eldar Djangirov, Jean Grae and more

Limited to 300 copies.

Coalmine Reissues is pleased to announce this special edition reissue of Royal Flush’s time honored debut LP, Ghetto Millionaire, marking just the second time that the vinyl has ever been repressed. Royal Flush first jumped on the scene as a part of New York’s burgeoning Queensboro hip-hop scene of the mid 90s. Coming up under the wings of Mic Geronimo as part of the infamous Wastlanz crew, Flush shadowed Geronimo on over half of the album cuts featured throughout Geronimo’s The Natural, creating a memorable one-two punch akin to Ghostface Killah’s heavy presence on Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. Flush’s solo debut Ghetto Millionaire hit in August of 1997 and perfectly captures the mid-to-late 90s sound of East Coast street rap with a notable production roster that boasts Da Beatminerz, L.E.S., Buckwild, Hi-Tek and Chyskillz among others. Ghetto Millionaire is a memorable trip to the latter half of the Golden Era, abound with Flush’s crime-ridden world of hardcore street rap that’s backed by a first-rate soundscape.

Limited to 200 copies. Transcendental outernational funk and psychedelic jazz from mystery L.A.- based collective Sun Atlas

Little is known about Sun Atlas. The group members are hidden behind masks and costumes to keep their identities secret and to put the focus entirely on the music and oneness. A sense of community and universal spirit as an alternative to idolization and individualism is heavily reflected in their eclectic musical style.

The sound of Sun Atlas is mystical and cosmopolitan, combining afrobeat, cinematic soul, spiritual & ethio jazz with space sounds, hiphop-breaks and a garage funk vibe.

Their cryptic first 45 single “The Mystic Parade” b/w “Grand Theft” sold out immediately after release and has often been mistaken for either “lost” hiphop samples, 70s habibi funk or another project in disguise from the inner circles of the Mocambo, Big Crown or Daptone families (which it is not).

Return To The Spirit picks up where Sun Atlas’ first single left off, with everyone wondering where the journey might lead. With the door to a colourful universe opened, the full-length format gives time & space for further exploration.

The Cat’s Miaow return to World Of Echo with Skipping Stones: The Cassette Years ’92-’93, their second compilation for the imprint, and the fourth in a loosely defined series of reissues associated with the group (also including The Shapiros’ Gone By Fall: The Collected Works of The Shapiros and Hydroplane’s Selected Songs 1997-2003). It’s a smart selection of songs by one of Australia’s finest independent pop music groups, whose initial run, across the nineties, was as mysterious as it was bewitching. A generous double album featuring thirty-five songs drawn from The Cat’s Miaow’s history, Skipping Stones lets listeners in on a bunch more secrets.

An even deeper pass through the archives of The Cat’s Miaow, Skipping Stones is a welcome follow-up to 2022’s Songs ’94-’98, which pulled together material from seven-inch singles and compilations. Diving into the four cassettes that the group released over a two-year period, Skipping Stones is full of surprises, rich with unexpected and inspired detours, while reminding everyone just how clear and distinct The Cat’s Miaow’s music was from the very start. Looking in from the outside, they always felt like a group that knew just what they were doing, but intuitive as they are, they weren’t forcing anything: these songs always sound exactly what they need to be, rough edges, playful moments and all.

It's also a fascinating snapshot of one arm of the ‘international pop underground’. While they were clearly listening to music from the US, UK and elsewhere – there are glimpses of Galaxie 500, Spacemen 3, Beat Happening, and The Pastels in some of the songs here – The Cat’s Miaow also feel, consciously or not, part of a continuum of Australian underground pop that takes in The Particles, The Lighthouse Keepers, The Cannanes, The Honeys, Even As We Speak, and The Sugargliders (who they would cover several times). Like those before them, The Cat’s Miaow balanced opposing forces in their music: naivete and knowingness; fragility and strength; worldliness and world-weariness; play and seriousness; heartache and pleasure.

The four cassettes that Skipping Stones draws from – Little Baby Sour Puss, Pet Sounds (both 1992), From My Window, and How Did Everything Get So Fucked Up (both 1993) – were released or assisted by Toytown, a Melbourne cassette label of rare taste, savvy and intelligence, run by Wayne Davidson. Toytown felt like the perfect early home for The Cat’s Miaow, their cassettes rubbing shoulders in the label’s catalogue with brilliant groups like Sukpatch, The Ah Club, Kitty Craft, and Land Of The Loops. The local context is just as important, too, with The Cat’s Miaow sharing their time and creative vision with friends in The Ampersands, Stinky Fire Engine, Girl Of The World, Super Falling Star, Pencil Tin and The Sugargliders. And cassettes were an important form of exchange – cheap, easy to reproduce, not too expensive to send interstate or overseas, they were the most accessible DIY format for any group starting to spread the word about their noise.

All of this is to say, the thirty-five songs here landed in several different contexts, national and international, which goes part-way to explaining the group’s curious cosmopolitanism, the style and spirit in their sound. The Cat’s Miaow may have been bedroom dreamers, but their songs were richly informed, with the sweetest of girl-pop moves sashaying into walls of tremolo-d and distorted guitar, jangling six strings tangling with melodic bass that’s pure Peter Hook/Naomi Yang, while the gentle trickle of a drum machine or the earthy twitch of brushes on drum skins provided the spine for Kerrie’s and Bart’s lovely, unforced singing.

There are a clutch of gorgeous songs here that would reappear in a different form on later releases, classics like “The Phoebe I Know”, “Third Floor Fire Escape View”, “Not Like I Was Doing Anything” and “You Left A Note On The Table”, but plenty of other magic too, all of it finding its way to vinyl for the first time (some tracks appeared on compact disc via the compilations A Kiss and A Cuddle [Bus Stop, 1996] and Songs For Girls to Sing [Drive-In, 1997]). Remarkably, The Cat’s Miaow have also recently released a split single with Rocketship featuring newly recorded material and returned to the stage for their second-ever gig.

But this double LP on World Of Echo feels like the very core of the thing – some of the most heartbreakingly beautiful, effortlessly lush and deeply moving pop music you’re likely to hear.