2010s 306 Items

After his early material revealed an ambitious new sound borne on the forward-thinking experimentalism of influences like Nick Drake, David Byrne and Arthur Russell, Westerman’s single ‘Confirmation’ - available here on 7” - brought his music to new legions of fans, with Pitchfork profiling him in their Rising and Best New Music columns, saying it “captures a promising writer who’s learned how to take good ideas and warp them into stranger, more sublime shapes.” Gorilla Vs Bear placed it at Number 10 in their recent Best Tracks Of The Year (So Far) feature.

Always driven by his search for balance, Crayon delivers here his most personal work. Post Blue presents a digital soul, both contemplative and rousing, where acoustic and electronic sounds mingle. This taste of paradox is essential from the beginning, and remains throughout all the EP. One feels at once relaxed and anguished, optimistic and melancholic.

Turning the mirror on herself, Marie Davidson arrives on Ninja Tune with Working Class Woman”, an album that is sure to be heralded as one of the most self-reflective recordings yet from the Montreal-based producer.

Building on the dancefloor-minded trajectory of her breakthrough LP Adieux Au Dancefloor, released via Veronica Vasicka's Cititrax imprint circa 2016. With “Working Class Woman”, Marie Davidson proves that once again that she can roll acidic new beat basslines and sleek, sexdrops tekno laced with sharp-edged vox like no one else. This super strong selection is sure to take pride of place within the collections and listening habits of anyone into DFA and Regis, Not Waving (with whom she recently collaborated) SOPHIE and GAIKA.

Working Class Woman reshapes Marie Davidson's sharp-edged Italo Disco, proto-industrial and electro influences into new modes of cyberpunk coldwave control, proof that looking inward can project a more expansive vision out into the world.

In May of 1966, the unknown singer Jack Wood recorded two songs at Great Lakes Studio in Sparta, Michigan. These unique, otherworldly songs “Born to Wander” and “So Sad” would be self-released by Wood on his own Lawrence Records imprint in an edition of 100 copies. Going nowhere and being quickly forgotten, it would take Wood ten years to pay back the $250 he borrowed for the entire endeavor. Fast-forward to the 21st century and the deepest of record collectors are intrinsically moved by the power behind Wood’s single, vacillating between Northern Soul, garage, big band and country music all within the same song. An unexpected placement in a major ad campaign for Bacardi Rum was a major boon for the burgeoning awareness of these timeless songs.

Third Man Records is proud to reissue “Born to Wander” and “So Sad” as part of its return to Detroit.

Watch the Barcardi commercial: https://youtu.be/Ogs6uD4xlNY

Manufacturer: United Record Pressing

TRACK LISTING:
A. Born to Wander
B. So Sad

Soul Sugar drop their own reggae version of Marvin Gaye’s "I Want You". French outfit Soul Sugar – the brainchild of Guillaume “Gee” Metenier – deliver yet another soulful reggae 12”, this time a cover version of Marvin Gaye’s 1976 classic "I Want You". Jamaicain native Leonardo Carmichael sings lead vocals and legendary drums and bass duo Sly & Robbie add their flavor to the mix, with two versions on side B. Marvin Gaye’s single "I Want You" was a big step forward for his sound & vision and marked a change in direction – from hip Motown Soul to a more sultry, Disco sound. Marvin's vocals are notably intimate and the lyrics are more explicit, more personal. An original soul classic, "I Want You" is memorable for its unique combination of lush harmonies, a mesmerizing groove and the apparent sexiness of the theme itself. Soul Sugar's Discomix version combines a smooth mixture of reggae, soul and funk over beefy bass lines, designed for heavyweight sound systems. Sly & Robbie, rhythm duo known for their studio work on countless reggae classics since the 1960s deliver their version, taking us back to the golden age of Reggae, the days when it was typical for Jamaican musicians to record their own versions of American soul tunes ... Ace producer Jahno dubs the mix live and direct to tape, from his very own ' N.O.F Studio'.

Second release single of the new album “Love Letters” including the well-received Jacques Lu Cont Remix!

The title of Hannah Georgas' third album is a tribute to her beloved grandmother. Produced by Graham Walsh (Holy Fuck).

Clouds Clouds Clouds. With a weightiness the color of amethyst. Light on the horizon. A sun. No point, no pane, no space, no rainbow. A stripe. A circular course. A bee loop. Honey-colored amber. Words. Our glistening white glider jumps through with ease.

Cold Beat is a San Francisco-based quartet fronted by Hannah Lew (synths, vocals) with Kyle King (synths, guitar), Luciano Talpini Aita (synths) and Sean Monaghan (guitar). Formed in 2013 the band has released three albums and two EPs. A Simple Reflection is a 7-song collection of Eurythmics covers, yet feels just as personal as any of their original material. While digging through a collection of 12"s for her record shop Contact Records, Lew stumbled across the earliest Eurythmics B-sides and was floored. This lead to the discovery of their debut album In The Garden. Annie Lennox’s abstract and poetic lyrics really struck a chord with Hannah. What had started out as a single cover quickly snowballed into a full blown obsession. The synth and drum programming resonated with her songwriting process, so reimagining them was very creatively fulfilling. The covers on this EP are simultaneously dynamic and atmospheric post-punk that plays to Lew's ethereal vocals and King’s crystalline guitar. All songs have been mixed by Mikey Young (Total Control) and mastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. The record is housed in a jacket designed by Eloise Leigh, which features pink and purple clouds that evoke a dreamy softness and DIY playfulness and photos Lew in her best Lennox-inspired drag. Each copy includes a postcard with photos and notes.

Here is a pretaste for the upcoming Jungle album. Exclusively available at HHV.

It would be fair to say that Leng co-founder Paul “Mudd” Murphy is a born collaborator. Since first donning the Mudd alias at the dawn of the century, Murphy has released numerous collaborative albums and singles with regular collaborators Ben Smith (as Smith & Mudd) and Kevin Pollard (Mudd & Pollard), as well as playing a key role in “super-groups” Paqua and Bison. “Susta”, which marks his first single on Leng since 2009, sees Murphy add some new names to his growing list of collaborators. It was made in cahoots with singer/songwriter David Harks, a regular Satin Jackets collaborator who also appeared on Jack Cutter’s superb “Serpent Strut” cut on Murphy’s Claremont 56 label.

“Susta” is a bubbly, evocative and ear-pleasing chunk of mid-tempo nu-disco pop featuring lead vocals from Jaanika Leino AKA JaneLy – a former X-Factor Finland contestant whose sultry and evocative voice simply soars above Murphy and Harks’ sparkling, life-affirming instrumentation. Rich in twinkling synth solos, rich Clavinet lines, chugging arpeggio lines and eyes-closed piano, “Susta” is a strong song that will squat inside your head and stay there for days. Our advice is to welcome it in – it’s as joyous and life-affirming a track as Leng has ever released. It’s accompanied by a predictably strong remix by British electronic music veteran Andrew Meecham (Bizarre Inc, Chicken Lips etc.), who dons the now familiar Emperor Machine alias to deliver a dub for the ages. Combining his own analogue and modular electronics with snippets of Leino’s vocal and some of the warmest instrumentation from Murphy and Harks’ original mix (think Clavinet and Rhodes for starters), Meecham offers up an epic slice of electronic dub disco that bubbles away for ten mesmerizing minutes. It’s a superb interpretation of a high quality cut.

A download code is included.

With Everything Matters, his debut album, Clement Bazin realizes one of his sweet dreams: to rethink electronic music and integrate the instrument from which he can’t be dissociate anymore, the steeldrum. Through this achievement, he sets bridges between his favorite music genders: calypso, soca, hip-hop or UK post-dubstep from the 2000’s; a synthesis of Machel Montano, J. Dilla, D’Angelo and James Blake.

The crossover between electronic music and classical composition has never been in more vibrant and dynamic health. Multifarious musician Emika explores this fertile ground on her ambitious new opus 'Melanfonie': her first orchestral composition, some four years in the making.
Funded by a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign that exceeded its target by an impressive €25,000.
While many rebel from their classical training never to return to it explicitly, Emika has always been attracted to the potential and freedoms offered by the symphony form. As well as taking inspiration from her electronic music background in composing the music itself, Emika also applied some of production and playback principles from that realm to create a piece whose every element has been carefully considered.
Emika is on a quest to try and change what we mean when we talk about ‘classical music’. For her, the magic of the ‘genre’ is about the instruments themselves and more importantly the people who play them; not the restricting traditions and conventions of the classical world itself. I want to change the face of classical music and give it a more honest and real image. It is time we had something other than pomp and circumstance and avant-garde squeaks and pops.”

A Day at United. The name practically says it all. An album recorded in a single day. No rehearsals. No second takes. Just Mocky and friends. Some instruments. Some songs Mocky sketched in the week leading up. Oh yeah, and a recording studio. United Recording, in fact.

Compilation of so far digital only/unreleased or japan only tracks by the canadian producer Mocky, who most recently co-produced/co-wrote Feist's „Pleasure“; Joey Dosik's „Inside Voice“ and Kelela's „Take Me Apart“. Featuring guests Jamie Lidell, Chilly Gonzales, Joey Dosik, Pegasus Warning, Moses Sumney.

For the first time on vinyl at album length this is Mocky’s collection of the best of Japan-only/unreleased gems and favorites from his so far digital only mixtape-series "The Moxtapes" Vol. I-IV. The A-Side delves deep into his songwriting/lyrical side and features some of his most intense and touching songs thus far like "The Fortress" (featuring Chilly Gonzales on piano), "Problematic" (which casts Mocky's crooning in a glitched-out new light) and "Exception To The Rule", a radiant track that features breakout artists Joey Dosik on keyboards and Moses Sumney on background vocals. The B-Side showcases Mocky's off the grid soulful groove compositions like "You Can't Rush The Funk", „How It Goes“ or "Keep Feelin This (feat. Jamie Lidell), bringing back memories of their classic work together on Lidell’s “Multiply”.

»The Room«, Fenster’s fourth album and their first release on Altin Village & Mine marks the beginning of a new chapter for the band. After releasing three albums, a feature length film, and touring extensively throughout Europe and North America since 2012, »The Room« serves as an entry point into their sonic evolution. The essential characteristic of the band is transformation—within and between genres, albums, and songs. Their sound is a window framing psychedelic, groovy, hypnogogic, playful pop. […]

Their mission in creating this album was to compose and arrange every song together in a room. It is an experiment in collective creativity that pushed all of them to transcend their individuality and create something together which is greater than the sum of its parts.« […]

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All songs written and played by Fenster.
Recorded at Redroom Studios in Vecchiano, Italy.
Mastered by Josh Bonati in New York City, USA.
Album artwork and design by Lucas Ufo.

A fine pop LP, on transparent vinyl, by an upcoming Croatian singer. The album comes in a colourful gatefold sleeveand includes a booklet.