2010s 266 Items

It was winter break at university in Madison, Wisconsin. There was a snowstorm that covered the city with a still white haze. Not a single person in the streets. I was sitting on my bed with a cheap keyboard and a computer, screaming into the void. I barely remember writing the songs. It was a chaotic point in my life. I had no time to think about process or intent. It was a purge. I do remember taking a break from recording, bundling up, and walking through the barren streets while listening to the demos I'd made. The world, at once, felt clear. These songs were a huge leap of faith back then. It was my first time singing without layers of distortion, echo, and reverb. It was the first time I peeled back the layers to find out what was at the core. I'm still on that path today, seeing how far I can push myself into unknown places, whether through clarification or destruction. It's like Stridulum's still here with me, underneath it all." -Nika Roza Danilova

Since Nika Roza Danilova has been recording music as Zola Jesus she's been on Sacred Bones Records for most of that time, and Okovi marked her reunion with the label. Fittingly, the 11 electronics-driven songs on Okovi share musical DNA with her early work on Sacred Bones. The music was written in pure catharsis, and as a result, the sonics are heavy, dark, and exploratory. With Okovi, Zola Jesus has crafted a profound meditation on loss and reconciliation that stands tall alongside the major works of its genre. The album peaks of tragedy with great wisdom and clarity. Its songs plumb dark depths, but they reflect light as well.

Void Vision is a Philadelphia-based electronic project helmed by Shari Wallin. It began around 2009 at a time when a wave of synth-revivalists were materializing, but the quality of the songwriting and intense vocals set the band apart from the pack. In a rare instance, Void Vision has managed to combine vintage dance elements with melodic structures, haunting melancholy, and lyrics that have a palpable soul. The songs themselves are dynamic, referencing a cross-section of the last 30 years of electronic music, while simultaneously retaining a uniqueness all their own.

Wierd Records weekly club night in New York, which showcased a variety of talented electronic and coldwave artists, served as an incubator for Void Vision in it’s early stages. After a standout debut performance at the club, they immediately caught the attention of Blind Prophet Records, who consequently released their first 7″ single, ‘In 20 Years’, which received excellent reviews.

Vari has continued performing and recording steadily over the last few years, releasing songs on compilations for various labels, including Rough Trade, and in 2012 the song ‘Everything is Fine’ was selected for Artforum magazine’s ‘Best of 2012′ issue. In 2013, Void Vision toured the West Coast and later that year released a split 12″ with Portland-based band, Vice Device. The first official full-length album, entitled ‘Sub Rosa’ is set to debut on Berlin-based Mannequin Records, followed by a European tour in 2015.

The work of Illinois-born, Toronto-based artist Meg Remy, U.S. Girls has evolved in recent years from the coarse 4-track fidelity found on her early recordings to more luscious and unabashed works, packed with fiery pop sensibilities. Half Free is the next step in this impressive progression, an honest and lyrically jarring exploration of emotions, drenched in a bath of raw beats and loops that have become the hallmark of her work with producer and frequent collaborator Onakabazien. Other album guests include Slim Twig (DFA), Ben Cook (Fucked Up, Young Guv), Amanda Crist (Ice Cream) and Tony Price.

“After 7 years of touring & recording, I found myself becoming self conscious about my position in life as a “famous” person, or at least my version of whatever that is. My dreams had become my reality, yet I was somehow unable to accept this new environment. I couldn’t help but fall into what might be described as an identity crisis. During this time of personal turmoil, I turned to music as a form of therapy. I’d listen to the same ambient song over & over again, trying to insulate myself from reality. I fell in love with space again."

Starboy is the follow up to last year’s Grammy-Award winning, 3X-platinum Beauty Behind The Madness. Title track “Starboy” ft. Daft Punk was named “Most Added Record of All-Time in North America” at radio.

This is a live album containing nine Emiliana Torrini songs from her catalog along with two brand new songs. “Nightfall,” written by Kid Koala and Torrini and “When We Dance” written by Jespers, Proesmans, and Torrini. The latter reflects the musical chemistry the three musicians developed during the process of rehearsal and performance for the Colorist concerts.

The group created a new world out of the music, and while Torrini admitted that she could barely recognise many of her own songs in the rearrangements, the collaboration – from emails and Skype calls to rehearsals, sound-checks, and finally, the live concerts – came together organically and beautifully, with Torrini’s talent elevating the Colorist ensemble’s creativity, and the group helping her rediscover the joy and the power within her own songs in this new light.

Introducing Tess Roby, a 23 year old musician and photographer born in Toronto and now living in Montreal. "Ballad 5" is a song of love and loss in the humid Montreal summer—the sound of Parc Avenue in the blue light of dawn. Her music echoes the cascading pulse of Steve Reich, the drone of Stereolab, and the melancholic drift of Durutti Column, and her voice lands somewhere between Broadcast's Trish Keenan and Nico. On record she is accompanied by her brother ELIOT ROBY Roby on guitar. Limited Edition of 500 on ultra clear vinyl.

Finally Taylor Swift’s album “Speak Now” from 2010 gets a vinyl reissue as a 180g 2 LP.

“What Now” is the second studio album by by American electropop group Sylvan Esso.
The band consists of singer Amelia Meath (of Mountain Man) and producer Nick Sanborn (of Megafaun). They made their debut with the single "Hey Mami" and released their eponymous debut album on Partisan Records May 2014, which reached No. 39 on the Billboard 200. Since then they have released three further singles and toured internationally.

Who says experimental musicians can’t play pop? Norway’s Stian Westerhus is best known as one of Northern Europe’s most fascinating abstract guitar stylists.

Limited to 500 copies on transparent blue vinyl.

Sóley is back with her third solo album, Endless Summer. Written over the period of one year together with her long-time friend and collaborator Albert Finnbogason, the new full-length sees the acclaimed musician from Iceland explore the more optimistic, sun-drenched corners of her songwriting.

Over the last year, Vienna-based producer SOHN has collaborated with the likes of Disclosure, Angel Haze, Rhye, and Banks.

Now it's time for his debut Tremors on UK's 4AD.

80g vinyl including download code.

For the first time on vinyl.

sir Was’ debut full length, “Digging A Tunnel”, is an album that constantly bucks trends and confounds expectations. Boasting a continually evolving sound that remains nonetheless unified, it comes as close as any record can to defying description. It boasts, an effortless flow, reflected in Wästberg’s vocal delivery, which shifts from falsetto to a groove-like spoken word which circles round the beat rather than landing on it. It is, in short, brilliantly restless and boldly alive.

Limited Edition for Record Store Day 2014!

2022 repress

L'Aventura arose from the Brazilian heat and the French romanticism. This is the history of Sebastien Tellier’s fantasy childhood in Brazil, arranged by the local cult figure Arthur Verocai. A wild mixture of love, dreams, sun and landscapes.

"For this album I wanted to rewrite my childhood. I chose to place this adventure in Brazil, land of splendour and joy, with an eternal childish soul." Sebastien Tellier

The recording produced by the artist took place between Paris and Rio de Janeiro during the year 2013. These adventures brought him into Jean-Michel Jarre’s, Bernard Estardy’s, and Philippe Zdar’s (Cassius/Phoenix) studios.

L’Aventura is a record of shores stretching in an everlasting restart. Naive art carried by an openheart and childish vision of the creation, close to his classic Sexuality (2008).

After appearing on Kanye’s “Saint Pablo,” Frank Ocean’s Endless, and Solange’s A Seat at the Table in 2016 Sampha, one of the most demanded voices in today's R&B, releases his debut in 2017.