2020s 149 Items

Naoko Gushima's 1996 debut and urban mellow masterpiece, which has been attracting attention in recent years in the reevaluation of city pop, has been re-released for a limited time on clear purple vinyl!

Following on from the previous work, Naoko Gushima's second album, released in 1997, which is almost entirely composed of her own songs and is equally popular in Japan and abroad, will be re-released for a limited time on Clear Green Vinyl!

Naoko Gushima's third album released in 1999, which has expanded its musical range more gorgeously while maintaining the stylish and urban atmosphere, will be re-released for a limited time on clear vinyl!

Since Jesper Munk's debut album in 2013 the German singer-songwriter has made a name for himself as multi-

instrumentalist , "in the paths of Jack White and Dan Auerbach," as the Rolling Stone Magazine puts it, playing

music that ranges from Blues and Soul to heartfelt Pop and indulging Jazz, all this with a very unique, post-Punk

edge. His new album Taped Heart Sounds offers an evolution of Munk's sound: warm, gentle and soft vibes that

go deep. "If there is a way to give you a hug in form of an album, this is how I'd attempt to do so," says Munk.

Recorded in an offbeat band room in Berlin with The Cassette Heads, the album brings together classics reaching from Blues to Rock'n Roll. Twelve songs of legendary artists who have influenced and inspired Munk since his early days, including Tom Waits, JJ Cale, Etta James, Hank Williams, Willie Dixon, Jacques Brel, and Mocky.
The entire album was recorded with a Tascam Portastudio 8-Track Cassette Recorder which brought an original and authentic sound to each song: "The technical limitations immediately liberated all other aspects of the recording," Munk says. "It shows how much of making music is just listening and without a screen to catch your eye, you really have no choice but to do so." All Songs face realness and live from these volatile moments that reveal vulnerability and musical generosity. The outcome of this analogue experiment is a very personal album, both inspiring and consoling.
Taped Heart Sounds courageously opens with Donnie & Joe Emerson's Baby; a song so iconic that it actually cannot be enhanced. However, Munk's interpretation stands out and has a presence that gives the song a life of its own - made for walking. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, All the World Is Green, I'd Rather Go Blind, Head in the Clouds - what follows is a journey through Blues and Soul that is so vital and "now" that End of the Line may be the final track but certainly not the end of the story.
The album wouldn't be what it is without collaboration and partnership. Munk's special thanks go to his fans who helped to crowd-fund the recording. "On top of having had a real fun learning experience it all felt like a community project with real support from friends, the Cassette Heads, incredibly inspiring guests, and from Miles Deico, a wonderfully open and able engineer," so Munk about the making of the album.
Taped Heart Sounds is Jesper Munk's 4th album, following acclaimed debut album For in My Way it Lies (2013), CLAIM (2016), and Favourite Stranger (2018). Released via Billbrook Records, Hamburg-based Distributor Wordandsound's new label, the album is available for pre-order now - for purchase on vinyl and CD. The first single 'Baby' is going to be released on November 19, 2021.

Lime Green Transparent vinyl. Cover with hype sticker on the front, close to NM

Hot Pink vinyl. Record seems unplayed. Cover with hype sticker

Every so often an album comes along that, from the very first seconds, fills one with a state of overwhelm and wonder, knowing that one has stumbled upon something truly special. Swedish musician Petter Herbertsson has been steadily recording and releasing albums for over two decades with his group Testbild! (not to mention many other projects under various aliases), but he recorded his so-far career defining statement with Ulrika, an album of almost imperceptible beauty.

Quietly released at the tail end of 2023 by Sweden’s Dilettante Productions in an edition of 199 copies, Ulrika unfolds like a flower in the morning sun, slowly opening and unveiling itself to the world. It’s hard to believe that Herbertsson plays all of the instruments on the album, as it is an especially sumptuous affair, with guitar, vibraphone, all manner of keys (including some especially lovely harpsichord), melodica, vocals and more all intertwining with each other. In someone else’s hands it could easily have come across as stiff and crowded, but here every instrument is given its proper amount of space to breathe, with an organic feeling of warmth that one just wants to sink into.

Although some analogs can be made to ’70s era Robert Wyatt, Brian Wilson’s lush arrangements or Slapp Happy’s charming avant–pop, Herbertsson has done an impeccable job of distilling these influences into his own defined sound. From the production to the compositions, nothing about Ulrika feels modern, the entire affair sounding like it could have been released in 1972 (in the best way possible). Rarely does 21st century music reach the levels of artistic maturity found on Ulrika.

Remastered Rough Trade Debut LP Limited TO Just 500 Copies With Embossed Outer Sleeve AND Original Inner Sleeve ON Black Vinyl

A.R. Kane were formed in 1986 by Rudy Tambala and Alex Ayuli, two second-generation immigrants who grew up together in Stratford, East London. From the off the pair were outsiders in the culturally mixed (cockney/Irish/West Indian/Asian) milieu of the East End, with Alex and Rudy’s folks first generation immigrants from Nigeria and Malawi, respectively. The two of them quickly developed and fostered an innate and near-telepathic mutual understanding forged in musical, literary and

artistic exploration. Like a lot of second-generation immigrants, they were ferocious autodidacts in all kinds of areas, especially around music and literature. Diving deep into the music of afro-futurist luminaries such as Sun Ra, Miles Davis, Lee Perry and Hendrix, as well as devouring the explorations of lysergic noise and feedback from contemporaries like Sonic Youth and Butthole Surfers, they also thoroughly immersed themselves in the alternate literary realities of sci-fi and ancient history (the

fascination with the arcane that gave the band their name), all to feed their voracious cultural thirsts and intellectual curiosity.

It was seeing the Cocteau Twins performing on Channel 4 show the Tube that spurred A.R. Kane into being - “They had no drummer. They used tapes and technology and Liz Fraser looked completely otherworldly with those big eyes. And the noise coming out of Robin’s guitar! That was the ‘Fuck! We could do that!

The duo debuted with the astonishing ‘When You’re Sad’ single for One Little Indian in

1986. Immediately dubbed a ‘black Jesus & Mary Chain’ by a press unsure of Where to put a black band clearly immersed in feedback and noise, what was immediately apparent for listeners was just how much more was going on here – a tapping of dub’s stealth and guile, a resonant umbilicus back to fusion and jazz, the music less a conjuration of past highs than a re-summoning of lost spirits.

The run of singles and EPs that followed picked up increasingly rapt reviews in the press, but it was the ‘Up Home EP’ released in 1988 on their new home, Rough Trade that really suggested something immense was about to break. SimonReynolds noted the EP was: Their most concentrated slab of iridescent awesomeness and a true pinnacle of an era that abounded with astounding

landmarks of guitar-reinvention, A.R. Kane at their most elixir-like.

If anything, the remastered ‘Up Home’ is even more dazzling, even more startling than it was when it first emerged, and listening now you again wonder not just about how many bands christened ‘shoegaze’ tried to emulate it, but how all of them fell so far short of its lambent, pellucid wonder. This

remains intrinsically experimental music but with none of the frowning orthodoxy those words imply. A.R. Kane, thanks to that second generation auto-didacticism were always supremely aware about the interstices of music and magic, but at the same time gloriously free in the way they explored that connection within their own sound, fascinated always with the creation of ‘perfect mistakes’ and the possibilities inherent in informed play.

Recorded as part of the same daydreaming puzzle as Unwishing Well, Still Clouds at Noon brings out the slowcore/sadcore elements that drift through The Reds, Pinks & Purples’ melancholy catalogue. Donaldson names '90s hometown San Francisco acts such as American Music Club and the more obscure Timco as pivotal to his guitar playing and development as a songwriter, both of which shine bright here. The slower tempo ballads on Still Clouds… often culminate in heavy fuzz drenched codas and showcase the more abstract poetic side of Donaldson’s lyricism. There’s an inherent pop-sensibility always at work though, with ear-worm melodies appearing over intoxicating circular riffs.

Formerly a Bandcamp only digital release, this white vinyl version is remastered and adds two unreleased tracks, one featuring Mark Monnone from Australian pop-legends The Lucksmiths on bass. Edition of 500.

2LP black, 180g, printed jackets w/ printed inner sleeves,
40 page booklet,
folded 24”x 36” poster,
in a slipcase

Yuji Oda's theme song of the TV drama "Odoru Dai Sousasen", which became his masterpiece as an actor, and his representative song as a singer, "Love Somebody" (released in 1997) is coupled with the same instrumental version for the first time in 7 inches!

Manu Chao reist seit Jahren um die Welt, um seine Fans an ungewöhnlichen Orten, in Dörfern und auf kleinen Festivals zu treffen. Manu veröffentlicht nun sein neues Studioalbum „Viva Tu“, eine Sammlung von Liedern, die über das tägliche Leben mit seinen Kämpfen geschrieben wurden. Seine frische Sicht auf den Zustand der Welt besingt er in sonnigen, universellen Lieder auf Spanisch, Französisch, Englisch und Portugiesisch und zeichnet ein schonungsloses Bild sozialer Ungleichheiten. Der Titelsong „Viva Tu“, eine herzliche Rumba, die den Helden des Alltags gewidmet ist, hat bereits Spuren hinterlassen. Die zweite Single, „São Paulo Motoboy“, ist eine farbenfrohe, sonnige Ode an die zweirädrigen Lieferfahrer, die sich jeden Tag durch die lateinamerikanischen Metropolen wagen. Das Album enthält auch denkwürdige Kollaborationen mit der Country-Legende Willie Nelson und dem aufstrebenden französischen Rapper Laeti.

Sophie is the eponymous follow-up to the artist’s groundbreaking 2018 debut album, OIL OF Every Pearl’s Un-insides and 2015 singles compilation, Product. It will be the final Sophie album release, adding new depth and meaning to an eternally progressive canon of artistry. Sophie, the self-titled second album from the visionary artist, producer and pop pioneer, will be released via Transgressive and Future Classic on 27 September 2024.

This album was created by Sophie and some of her most cherished collaborators. Close to completion when she tragically died, it has been lovingly finalised by those who hold her closest.

As Sophie’s studio manager and most trusted sounding board for over a decade, Benny Long was heavily involved in the release of Oil Of Every Pearl’s Un-insides, with mastering, production and mixing credits to his name. The two then worked together over several years developing the concept and production of this follow-up album, which Benny has lovingly completed, honouring Sophie’s vision.

Sophie is the eponymous follow-up to the artist’s groundbreaking 2018 debut album, OIL OF Every Pearl’s Un-insides and 2015 singles compilation, Product. It will be the final Sophie album release, adding new depth and meaning to an eternally progressive canon of artistry. Sophie, the self-titled second album from the visionary artist, producer and pop pioneer, will be released via Transgressive and Future Classic on 27 September 2024.

This album was created by Sophie and some of her most cherished collaborators. Close to completion when she tragically died, it has been lovingly finalised by those who hold her closest.

As Sophie’s studio manager and most trusted sounding board for over a decade, Benny Long was heavily involved in the release of Oil Of Every Pearl’s Un-insides, with mastering, production and mixing credits to his name. The two then worked together over several years developing the concept and production of this follow-up album, which Benny has lovingly completed, honouring Sophie’s vision.

Sophie is the eponymous follow-up to the artist’s groundbreaking 2018 debut album, OIL OF Every Pearl’s Un-insides and 2015 singles compilation, Product. It will be the final Sophie album release, adding new depth and meaning to an eternally progressive canon of artistry. Sophie, the self-titled second album from the visionary artist, producer and pop pioneer, will be released via Transgressive and Future Classic on 27 September 2024.

This album was created by Sophie and some of her most cherished collaborators. Close to completion when she tragically died, it has been lovingly finalised by those who hold her closest.

As Sophie’s studio manager and most trusted sounding board for over a decade, Benny Long was heavily involved in the release of Oil Of Every Pearl’s Un-insides, with mastering, production and mixing credits to his name. The two then worked together over several years developing the concept and production of this follow-up album, which Benny has lovingly completed, honouring Sophie’s vision.

Manu Chao reist seit Jahren um die Welt, um seine Fans an ungewöhnlichen Orten, in Dörfern und auf kleinen Festivals zu treffen. Manu veröffentlicht nun sein neues Studioalbum „Viva Tu“, eine Sammlung von Liedern, die über das tägliche Leben mit seinen Kämpfen geschrieben wurden. Seine frische Sicht auf den Zustand der Welt besingt er in sonnigen, universellen Lieder auf Spanisch, Französisch, Englisch und Portugiesisch und zeichnet ein schonungsloses Bild sozialer Ungleichheiten. Der Titelsong „Viva Tu“, eine herzliche Rumba, die den Helden des Alltags gewidmet ist, hat bereits Spuren hinterlassen. Die zweite Single, „São Paulo Motoboy“, ist eine farbenfrohe, sonnige Ode an die zweirädrigen Lieferfahrer, die sich jeden Tag durch die lateinamerikanischen Metropolen wagen. Das Album enthält auch denkwürdige Kollaborationen mit der Country-Legende Willie Nelson und dem aufstrebenden französischen Rapper Laeti.

how do we live in times when nothing seems safe, how do we listen to music when rockets and bullets make the air scream, how do we produce music when the building with our studio is simply no longer there? over the last 2 years, Amas and Konstantin Kost have been trying to produce a techno EP across the borders of the war in ukraine. Konstantin Kost was never able to leave ukraine for this, while we were able to move freely through europe. this ambivalence is part of this album, it is part of every note and every line of the poems that can be heard here. we all associate techno with bass-heavy and dancing through the night, but Odessa is more, it is a journey without being able to travel, an experience without being able to experience, an escape without being able to escape and a life without really being able to live ... neither Amas was able to travel to odessa during this time, nor Konstantin Kost to europe, neither was able to experience the other personally. however, the exchange of music and lyrics has built up a relationship to a country at war, as well as to its people, musicians, women and children. while we were dealing with our everyday problems in germany, the situation in Odessa became increasingly confusing. the constant fear of being drafted and producing videos and images for the album at the same time were extremely ambivalent moments. how do you deal with your counterpart in such moments and what do you say to someone in a situation that we can hardly imagine? we often talked about friends simply disappearing and corrupt officials and soldiers embezzling money and in the next sentence it was straight back to the vinyl production. these conversations were very rational and at the same time extremely surreal. this EP is not meant to be a political EP, it is meant to be a human album and to take away the feeling of powerlessness from the people who were and are involved. this production and its music is a triumph over the destructive and dark side of war, it is meant to show that art is boundless and that people are connected all over the world even in the darkest times. in the first track RED Glow our guest Tanya (musician and djane from Odessa) stoically repeats the words Love and Fear, followed by the words: ?i meet you with red glow, in your eyes i quickly dissolve!? the track is part of everyday life, everywhere you meet this red glow and yet everything has to flow on and yet people still live and dance ... in Nightcall we walk through the streets and follow the call of darkness. the words ?through the night? are used here repetitively like a percussion. but the highs and lows also give us hope and the belief that we will wake up again tomorrow and start a new day. in the dark there is always light, which must be preserved and found. OLD Kings is also the title of the poem we have written, based on the poem Ozymandias by percy bysshe shelley. OLD Kings determine our times and our political systems, seemingly unteachable old men hold the world in a stranglehold and it seems as if there are an infinite number of them. yet we continue to fight against these people, we cannot and do not want to do otherwise ... in Talk TO GOD, Konstantin Kost reads from the well-known ukrainian poem ?a cloud floating behind the sun? by Taras Shevchenko, a famous ukrainian poet and writer. he is considered the founder of modern ukrainian literature and, in part, of the ukrainian language. it is about red fields, the fog and its darkness, as well as the sea and the calmness of the heart in nature, the longing for peace and peace with god. in addition to poetry and music, all photographs and videos are original recordings by Konstantin Kost of his city Odessa. although we cannot visit each other, we still share strong visual impressions of a city that, in all its beauty and resilience, will hopefully soon be open to the world again. the cover is therefore also a picture of the port of odessa, a place where people and goods from all parts oft he world will soon be able to sail in and out again.

After appearing on some of the labels key releases, dub maestro Andre Kronert is back on Berg Audio doing what he does best : dubby, reduced, and highly efficient dancefloor breaking tunes - Incl. a highly awaited repress of >Triton<.