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Operazione Sole - Italian Pop Reggae, Dub & Summer Love Affairs

LP | 2024 | EU | Original (Maledetta Discoteca)

Beautiful Soul Black Vinyl Edition

Release: 2024 / EU – Original

Genre: Reggae & Dancehall, Pop

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Operation Sole like the summer, hopefully, imminent; “Operazione Sole” like the 1967 song by Peppino Di Capri, considered, perhaps wrongly, the first ska in Italy, but certainly the first to talk about Jamaica and upbeat rhythms. The record you have in your hand is intended to be a testimony to how much the sounds born in Kingston between the '60s and '70s had a significant influence on local pop. With the first explosion of reggae in England between 1968 and 1970, as well as with the rise of Bob Marley to a worldwide cult phenomenon, parallel to the all-English phenomenon of Two Tone and the ska revival, Italy, always attracted by the new trends not only English, he certainly couldn't stay on the sidelines. Therefore these innovative and unknown upbeat sounds, derived from the blues of the 1950s and mixed with a Caribbean sauce, have also taken hold in the Bel Paese. It began as early as 1959 with the song “Nessuno” by Mina, considered to all intents and purposes a Jamaican shuffle, to arrive in a few years at blue-beat (I4 di Lucca, Claudio Casavecchi) and ska (Margherita, Peppino Di Capri , Silvano Silvi, Renzo and Virginia) and be exposed to the first reggae (for example Jo Fedeli and his Italian version of “Israelites” by Desmond Dekker). Thus, we quickly reach the end of the decade of the economic boom and the culture, styles, references change: everything becomes more busy (on a cultural, artistic and political level). After a stalemate phase that lasted more than five years, Bob Marley's reggae (considered a sort of new Messiah) conquers the planet, including Italy: the producers and artists, even at a high level, for a few years do not remain at all indifferent to this novelty and decide to introduce the "upbeat", primarily reggae, into the various pop repertoires: well-known names such as Loredana Bertè, Mario Lavezzi, Rino Gaetano, Ivano Fossati, Ilona Staller, Adriano Celentano, Edoardo Bennato throw themselves headlong into new sonic adventures, in a pioneering way, but often with excellent results. The "Operazione Sole" collection wants to take the credit, instead, of proposing and discovering lesser-known artists (with the exception of Gino Santercole, former associate and relative of Il Molleggiato), often real meteors in the Italian musical panorama, who have tried to achieve (or achieve again) success by adapting the pop that was so popular in those years to the new black sounds prevailing in the West. We are in the early 80s and we range from the most classic reggae, to Italo-disco contaminated by dub up to the true Neapolitan style which, on more than one occasion, in its being endemically "black" and full of groove, has wrung out the watch out for agreements made in Kingston and London. “Operation Sun”: a pleasant philological work, but surrounded by an equally pleasant aura of disengagement.

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Spectac & Amiri

LP | 2024 | US | Original (Ill Adrenaline)

Cho Co Pa Co Cho Co Quin Quin

Release: 2024 / US – Original

Genre: Hip Hop

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Underground hip-hop legends Spectac & Amiri are back with their latest offering, "Beautiful Soul", set for release through Ill Adrenaline Records. Known for their signature jazzy, soulful soundscapes and introspective lyricism, this album builds on the success of their critically acclaimed project Soul Beautiful. Once again, Amiri's soulful production lays the foundation for Spectac's sharp, reflective rhymes, proving the duo's chemistry is as potent as ever.

Amiri has long been praised for his ability to blend golden-era vibes with modern production techniques, crafting beats that seamlessly combine jazz, soul, and boom bap. Over the years, his work has earned a respected place in the underground scene, producing for a wide array of artists while staying true to his unique sound.

On the mic, Spectac is a seasoned emcee from South Carolina with roots in North Carolina, known for his witty wordplay and freestyle prowess. With a career spanning over a decade, his lyricism often explores personal experiences and societal issues, making his verses both relatable and thought-provoking. Together, the duo has earned the respect of underground hip-hop heads globally, delivering consistently high-quality music that blends nostalgia with fresh creativity.

Having worked with the likes of 9th Wonder, Big Daddy Kane, and A Tribe Called Quest, Spectac & Amiri are most definitely veterans in the game. Their releases have always been rooted in the spirit of true-school hip-hop, which has enabled them to maintain their underground presence for decades.

The lead single from Beautiful Soul, titled "Yeah Y’all", features their long-time friend and collaborator DJ Shakim, who adds his signature blend of scratches and cuts over Amiri’s dreamy instrumental. Spectac's effortless flow shines with lines like, "…me and Amiri not the greatest but close enough, a stone throws away from a J-Dilla donut…"

With tracks like "When We Do It", "Sermons for Bentleys", "Got a Feeling", and "Wake Up!", the duo dives into themes ranging from reflections on their personal journeys to commentary on the political and social challenges they've witnessed throughout their careers. As always, the album serves a balanced mix of lyrical depth and soulful vibes, offering something for both new listeners and longtime fans.

For those familiar with Spectac & Amiri, Beautiful Soul is a return to form, delivering the kind of lush, thoughtful hip-hop that's become their trademark. And for newcomers? Consider this your backstage pass to one of the best-kept secrets in the underground. Get ready, because once you hit play, you're not just listening — you’re vibing with legends.

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Tradition

LP | 2024 | UK | Original (Cho Co Pa)

35,99 €*

LP | 2024 | UK | Original (Neurot)

Release: 2024 / UK – Original

Genre: Rock & Indie, Pop

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Named after one of the basic rhythms of Cuban folk music and drawing on influences from across the globe, Cho Co Pa Co Cho Co Quin Quin are quite simply a world unto itself. Comprised of three childhood friends, Daido, Yuta and So, who reconnected during the coronavirus pandemic, Cho Co Pa initially emerged as a playful way for the three 23-year-olds to pass the time. Tapping into their youthful connection, they created a sound that exudes confidence and curiosity, a homage to the masterful world of YMO’s and Happy End’s Haruomi Hosono, rooted in the trio’s own idiosyncratic experience of the present. Recorded at home and promoted on hugely popular DIY TikTok videos, their debut album Tradition is a technicolour exercise in armchair travelling – a kind of lockdown exotica for the housebound whose nostalgic flights of fancy are laced with a sense of whimsical melancholy for the lost freedoms of youth. Referencing everything from Afro-Cuban percussion to lo-fi beats, Buddhist spirituality to trap, each member of the band brings different musical inspirations to the table. Latin American and Middle Eastern styles sit adjacent to a fascination for the electronic music of Aphex Twin, Dorian Concept, Underworld and Daft Punk. At times, the music verges on acid pop bliss, at others, it grooves with the instrumental funk sensibility of Badbadnotgood. “In the first place, when I create a song, my goal is to transport the listener to a mysterious place,” vocalist Daido explained in a recent magazine interview. Using lyrics as another sonic texture in the composition of ideas, Cho Co Pa paint beguiling sonic postcards of far-flung moods across 12 highly original tracks. Marrying the organic and the electronic on rhythmically sophisticated compositions like ‘Chichibu’ and ‘Watatsumi’, it is on the album’s standout track ‘Gandhara’ that the experimental sound of Cho Co Pa comes to the fore. Referencing the ancient city of Gandhara through which Buddhism made its way from India to China, the track is a vocoder-trap-inspired, Udu drum-driven pop jam that lilts with unmistakable Balearic flair. If that’s difficult to imagine, then know simply that ‘Gandhara’ sounds like nothing else on this side of Saturn. Even Daido seemed surprised by the outcome: “I feel like we were able to create something that exceeded our abilities. That was huge!” Hugely popular in Japan, with festival appearances lined up alongside Badbadnotgood at Asagiri Jam in October, it's safe to say the success of Tradition has taken Cho Co Pa by surprise. Released digitally in July 2023, Tradition will get a full international vinyl release in January 2024. You won’t have heard anything like it.

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Harvestman

Triptych : Part Three

31,99 €*

LP | 2022 | CA | Original (Constellation)

Release: 2024 / UK – Original

Genre: Rock & Indie

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Woven together from home studio recordings that span two decades, and with some notable guest appearances including; The Bug, Douglas Leal of Deafkids, Wayne Adams of Petbrick, Dave French of Yob and Sanford Parker, this final part of the Harvestman Triptych seeks once again for a lost world, with the voice of poet Ezra Pound extolling the virtues of "gather[ing] from the air a live tradition".
Cloudy Clear plus Black Galaxy effect vinyl in dub style jacket. Limited and Non-Returnable.
At its heart, music has always been a questioning of inheritance – a dialogue with predecessors and forebears, the forging of one’s own perspective in relation to what has come before, and for some, a plunge into the boundless realms between. For Steve Von Till, that process has always taken on an added dimension to become the most sacred of tasks. Whether through the apocalyptic uprising of Neurosis, the sonic deconstructions of their sister project, Tribes of Neurot, the invocatory intimacy of his eponymous solo albums or his instrumental psychedelic reveries in the guise of Harvestman, that dialogue has never just been with musical influences, but with what underpins them: the primordial, elemental forces now banished to the peripheries of our contemporary consciousness, yet still broadcasting a signal for all who will listen.

Drawn to the megaliths, ruins and ancient sites mapped out along the British and European mainland’s geographical and psychic landscapes, the folklore and apocrypha forever resurfacing as portals from a rational world, Triptych is a meditation forged from traces and residues, and an hallucinatory recollection of artists who have tapped into that enduring otherworldliness embedded within us all. It’s a dream diary narrating a passage through Summer Isle where Flying Saucer Attack are wafting out of a window, a distant Fairport Convention are being remixed by dub master Adrian Sherwood, celestial scanners Tangerine Dream are trying to drown out Bert Jansch and Hawkwind are playing Steeleye Span covers, all prised out of time yet bound to its singularity.

"Herne's Oak" provides seismic bass waves that physically halt the track in its steps - giant footfalls as Herne's antlers themselves are dragged along a corridor. Another curious and mysterious piece of British folklore brought to life by Harvestman.

If Triptych is a multi- and extra-sensory experience, it extends to the remarkable glyph-style artwork of Henry Hablak, a map of correspondences from a long-forgotten ancient and advanced civilization. As with Triptych itself, it’s an echo from another time, an act of binding, a guide to be endlessly reinterpreted, and a signpost to the sacred that might not indicate where to look, but how.

Cover art is by Henry Hablak, who also designed the art for Part One and Part Two.

Part Three will be coming on October 17th's Hunter Moon.Part One was released on the Pink Moon on 23rd April and Part Two was released on 21st July's Buck Moon.

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Black Ox Orkestra

Everything Returns

As Palavras Volume 1 & 2 Pink Vinyl Edition

Release: 2022 / CA – Original

Genre: Rock & Indie

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Everything Returns reunites the original Black Ox Orkestar lineup following a 15-year hiatus. Arising from the fertile Montréal post-punk agit-prop scene of the early 2000s, the band comprises Scott Gilmore, Jessica Moss and Thierry Amar of Thee Silver Mt. Zion (Amar also continues to compose and play bass for Godspeed You! Black Emperor) and Gabriel Levine of Sackville. Black Ox made two acclaimed albums of roiling acoustic avant-folk in the mid-2000s, exploring Eastern European and North African folkways through the lens of a gritty, resonant indie rock sensibility, juxtaposing interpretations of instrumentals from various Jewish, Romani and Arabic traditions with originals led by Gilmore's politically-charged Yiddish vocals. These early albums have since become lodestars for many among a new generation of Yiddish, Klezmer and radical Jewish diasporic music practitioners and fans. First revealing its resurrection in February 2022 with a surprise flexi 7" single issued by left journal Jewish Currents as a gift to its thousands of subscribers, Black Ox has indeed fully and fruitfully reunited. Exquisitely recorded by Greg Norman (Jason Molina, Nina Nastasia, Electrical Audio), Everything Returns picks up right where the band left off: an incisively atmospheric, melancholic yet resolute album of uniquely modern Jewish folk music, with piano, violin, upright bass, clarinet and cymbalom making up the core instrumentation, and the vocal tunes sung primarily in Yiddish, alongside album centerpiece "Viderkol" and closer "Lamed-Vovnik" where English also features. This is not fusion music, but diaspora music: a cross-cultural call and response of musical lexicons, emerging from the history of Jewish persecution and displacement, the musicology of 19th century repertoire from Jewish shtetls , the improvisational traditions of nusakh in Jewish music and taqsim in Arabic music, and a wider polyglot dialogue of Jewish, Slavic, Arabic, and Central Asian musical traditions. Lyrically and stylistically, Everything Returns connects key current issues_from refugees forced to leave their homes, to the return of fascism and exclusionary nationalism_with the legacy of modernist Yiddish poetry and song. The new Black Ox Orkestar album is a sublime, poetic, politically-informed statement of re-energized diasporic musical intent, where Gilmore's voice and the band's simmering arrangements conjure an ardent, doleful balladry that echoes the sound and sensibility of artists like Tindersticks, The National, Nick Cave and Leonard Cohen. Everything Returns is a haunting, richly textured, darkly sparkling song cycle at once from a vanished world and very much of our time and place. Thanks for listening.

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Rubel

2LP | 2024 | UK | Original (Mr Bongo)

29,99 €*

7" | 1994 | Reissue (Be With)

Release: 2024 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Some albums are game-changers in a genre. Take OutKast's Speakerboxxx / The Love Below or Primal Scream's Screamadelica, they observe, study, and then flip what an album can mean to a genre or moment in time.

From the very first listen of Rubel’s Latin Grammy-nominated third album As Palavras, Vol. 1 & 2, you can feel its transformative force for the MPB genre. Here we see one of Rio’s brightest stars, fusing the contemporary with the classic, soaking up the richness of Brazil’s musical heritage. The result is a marauding 20-track epic, incorporating traditional styles such as forró, MPB, pagode and samba with modern baile funk, rasteirinha and hip-hop.

The album exudes a sense of freedom and creativity, playfully and provocatively juggling the familiar with the forward-thinking. The tracks are divided across two records, navigating feelings of love, heartbreak and discovery, whilst balancing themes of violence, passion, irony and affection. Collaborating with some of the country’s most esteemed artists such as Gabriel do Borel, Liniker, Luedji Luna, Tim Bernardes and Ana Caetano, Rubel takes this fusion of styles, subjects and flavours to the global stage.

The grand, forró-blending, choral opener, ‘Forró Violento (Instrumental)’ sets the tone for the album, with references and links between tradition and modernity everywhere to be seen. From the Ana Frango Elétrico produced, funk flexing, samba-soul brilliance of ‘Não Vou Reclamar de Deus’, to the album’s title cut ‘As Palavras’, in collaboration with Tim Bernardes, that melds MPB influences with electronic elements and hip-hop touches.

Across both sides of the album, Rubel’s story-telling gift is given space to shine. ‘Torto Arado’ featuring Liniker and Luedji Luna, beautifully references the racial injustice, tragedy, hope and ambition found in one the most celebrated Brazilian novels of recent times by Itamar Vieira Júnior. Elsewhere, ‘Na Mão do Palhaço’ manifests a satirical march about a suicidal conservative middle-aged man, who is rescued by the miracle of the carnival.

At times the album is gentle and intimate with tracks like ‘Toda Beleza’ featuring Bala Desejo, or the ode to friendship ‘Lua de Garrafa’, composed with the legendary Milton Nascimento. At others, the grooves hit harder, with sounds from the favelas laced within. ‘Put@ria!’, explores the universe of baile funk, with BK’ and MC Carol trading off on the mic, as ‘Rubelía’ moves between reggaeton, funk, and hip hop. The latter is a tribute to a key influence of the album, Spanish star Rosalía and her parallel mix of current with classic.

Ultimately though the beauty of this album lies in its concept. In the midst of a country divided, ‘As Palavras Vol. 1 & 2’ sets out to bring together genres and generations, grounded in rhythms and words that have helped define Brazil through the ages.

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Common

I Used To Love H.E.R.

17,99 €*

LP | 2024 | EU | Original (Pingipung)

Release: 1994 / Reissue

Genre: Hip Hop

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First-time 7" vinyl single release, remastered by Simon Francis, full color printed sleeve

The best twist in music lyric history?
On 7" for the first time ever, one of the most important rap records ever.

It's timeless, it's genius, it's just pure beautiful brilliance. It's Common's masterpiece.

One of the best songs in all hip-hop history, “I Used To Love H.E.R.” was the first single from Common's eternal 1994 LP, Resurrection. He personifies hip-hop as an ode to the art form he once loved, lamenting how the genre became too commercialized and, due to a mass influx of mainstream rap in the 90s, some of the purity and freshness of the culture was being lost.

Common uses a first-person romance narrative to detail the history of hip-hop, resulting in an extended metaphor that's sophisticated, clever, and delivers a moral message that touched millions of people and still absolutely blows minds at the song's conclusion: "'Cause who we're talkin' about, y'all, is hip-hop"

Perfectly produced by No ID and incorporating a gorgeous, melancholic sample of George Benson’s “The Changing World”, the plaintive sonic landscape provided the ideal foundation for Common’s innovative storytelling. Almost 30 years later, “I Used To Love H.E.R.” remains one of the most significant moments in hip-hop: a classic in every sense of the word.

Common did discuss the true meaning of the track in a 1995 interview on “Yo! MTV Raps”, stating: “H.E.R. stands for Hip-Hop in its Essence is Real. And all I’m talking about his how I first came into contact with hip-hop music and how it evolved into where it is now. And it’s like all these gimmicks going on, all the phoniness, ain’t nobody being real with it. Everybody’s stressing that it’s real, but ain’t nobody being true to it. I think that came about because — once it started becoming a business, then people started losing their soul, and they started looking at it, taking it more as a business than an art form.”

On the flip, we've stayed faithful to the track used for the original 12" release. And what a track it is. Destined to be overshadowed by the behemoth on the A-Side, the frenetic neck-snapping jazz-rap "Communism" has it all - those horns at the start, the lyrical dexterity, the beat. Oh my.

So, one of the greatest pieces of music ever, in any genre. This is not merely music. It's high art. Speaking of which, we've recreated the striking original artwork from the 12" and shrunk it down to the 7" format. It looks and sounds stunning. The most important song in rap history, if you really think about it. We all miss her. We all miss hip-hop...

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Anadol & Marie Klock

La Grande Accumulation

29,99 €*

Open Space Motion (Underscores)

Release: 2024 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Anadol and Marie Klock have teamed up for a joint album, La Grande Accumulation. They met two years ago at a festival in England crowded with violent seagulls and outsider musicians. Klock being prone to barking on stage and Anadol not laughing at jokes she doesn’t find funny, they straight away had the intuition that they would meet again. And so they did, a few months later, at Anadol’s studio in Istanbul.

Today, the two Pingipung artists present the fruit of this musical friendship. La Grande Accumulation was born out of the peculiar atmosphere of the studio neighbourhood in Büyükada, an island where thousands of cats run free and humans randomly destroy things during apocalyptic times when parts of Turkey had just been turned into dust by terrible earthquakes. The French lyrics are inspired by hours of conversations, the music is consequently drenched in absurdity, overflowing with a strong urge to live and enjoy. According to the LP sticker, this album has been certified “Best handshake of 2024”, and stickers never lie.

La Grande Accumulation brings together Marie Klock's mysterious metaphors and Anadol's intriguing radiophonic psych-pop. Stretching forms beyond common sense to see how long they can resist is probably their favourite game. The result are six highly imaginative tracks that challenge the sub-3-minutes standards of Spotify pop.

Gözen Atila aka Anadol is well known to the Pingipung audience, with three solo LPs on the label. Her music follows a kind of collage logic, she interweaves countless styles, combining field and studio recordings with obscure quotation marks here and there. "I hope no one will come and explain this music to me, because it's the most beautiful music there is", says Kristoffer Cornils about her solo album Felicita.

Marie Klock is a French writer and musician who produces songs oscillating between synthpop and neo-folk, full of anarchic humour and existential dread. Her recent solo LP on Pingipung was a captivating tribute to the recently deceased poet Damien Schultz entitled Damien est vivant.

Marie Klock delivers her lyrics in song or spoken word, stream-of-consciousness musings on strange human adventures, and her rich keyboard melodies culminate in a nonchalant dialogue with the bass trombone (La Reine des Bordels). In the opulent opening piece (La Grande Accumulation), a woman is cursed to take home everything she kicks in the street; a bit later, we stumble upon a ghoul hiding in the gutter (Sirop amer), Mona Lisa loses her teeth (Sonate au Jambon) and a warthog struggles to climb the stairs of a silver tower (Sabots triviaux).

La Grande Accumulation was mixed and mastered by Jonas Romann at Chaos Compressor Club in Hamburg and cut to vinyl by Kassian Troyer at D&M in Berlin. It's an audiophile LP that invites to focus on every detail in this heap of musical ideas.

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Klaus Weiss

LP | 1981 | EU | Reissue (Be With)

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (MAL)

Release: 1981 / EU – Reissue

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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They say: "Contemporary synthesizer sounds illustrating wide open space activities, environment and research." We say: Panoramic proto-techno underwater-electro library dynamite. One of the hardest pulls on the seminal Coloursound, Open Space Motion (Underscores) isn't just regarded as one of the best releases from library-funk overlord Klaus Weiss. It's one of the very best library records ever. As cult as it gets when it comes to library music, the Klaus Weiss sound was built on top of sometimes funky, sometimes frenetic, but always hard-hitting drums. AND YET! Open Space Motion departs from his drum-heavy approach by being completely...BEATLESS! That's right, the virtuoso beat smith, Mr "drumcrazy of Deutschland", a man known for snapping necks at will, crafted one of the most horizontally sumptuous, elegantly sweeping electronic masterpieces, sans-drums, a good decade before chill-out rooms became a thing. It features organic instruments married to pulsing synth bass atop brilliantly subdued yet irresistibly funky percussion. Possessing a very special vibe, that's at once futuristic yet cinematic, it overflows with atmosphere. The highlights - unsurprisingly - are many. The very first track - the unstoppable "Wide Open Space Motion" - is a sinister, string-fried electro bomb that rides an unrelenting bass loop. "Incessant Efforts" is more reflective, with pastoral yet probing flutes atop strutting synth chords and head-nod percussion that really swings. The heavenly, uber-kosmiche "Pink Sails" hovers over swirling neon-synthy-strings and yet more unobtrusive percussion. The beautiful "Transiency" is a dramatic piano-led underscore, its creeping unease created by patient strings, unhurried percussion and some wonderfully strident keys. "Driving Sequences" is perhaps the key tune here, and if the Detroit crew weren't listening to this staggering piece then, well, imagine if they *were*. The bubbling rhythms of "Southern Mentality", at first ominous, give way to a more optimistic vibe as the movement progresses. The lush, gorgeous "Bows" is deep-sea slow-motion magic whilst the bright-eyed "Outset" feels as fresh as the dawn, and no less beautiful. How these tracks haven't been gobbled up by sample-driven producers is beyond us. Equally calming is the sweeping majesty of "Constellation", again conjuring images of being at one with and fully beguiled by the wonders of nature, of space, of underwater worlds. "Changing Directions" is another fidgety, propulsive non-Detroit beatless bomb. As with all our library music re-issues, the audio for Open Space Motion comes from the original analogue tapes and has been remastered for vinyl by Be With regular Simon Francis. Richard Robinson has brought the original Coloursound sleeve back to life in all its metallic silver glory.

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Gav & Jord (Equiknoxx)

Writings Ov Tomato

Caetano Veloso Remastered Mono Edition

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Jon K & Elle Andrews MAL imprint returns with its second release - a long rumoured excursion from Equiknoxx skippers Gavin “Gavsborg” Blair and Jordan “Time Cow” Chung operating under the Gav & Jord masthead for the first time. It’s their most probing x tight set of productions thus far - showcasing that naturally wild rhythmic mutability that’s earned them followers in every corner of the experimental paradigm over the last few years. ‘Writings Ov Tomato’ ties off a certain loop between Equiknoxx and their early supporter Jon K, who was pivotal in bringing their productions to the attention of Sean Canty at DDS, who went on to release their by-now seminal ‘Bird Sound Power’ album a good half-decade ago. This new set of tracks came about after MAL suggested to the duo that they explore any under-excavated musical territory they’d been thinking about since they began to tour the world, and the result is this incredible, purely instrumental LP that romps between Autechrian mutations, avant R&B swangers, Jersey-style sluggers and proper, wig-flipping club missiles. Who else would boot off a new LP with a track titled ‘Childish House Mafia’? The fact it sounds like Actress formulating an industrial noise tape using ritual chants just makes it all the more screwy. The title track returns the duo to more familiar ground, with prickly “Bird Sound Power” drums notched up a few BPM and spliced with whirring trap hats and disorienting synths. ‘A Yow Jon K’ is a Kingston-fried take on sun-bleached Miami electro, with a rolling beat filled out by Gav & Jord’s hard boiled soundboard x foley crunches, before ‘Pig Pilot’, the record’s most substantial cut, loops JBC Radiophonic Workshop convulsions around a booming 4/4 that wouldn’t sound completely out of place at Berghain’s Klubnacht. Saturating the hook and allowing ferric hats to fill in the gaps, the pair manage to fabricate a sound closer to 1970s library music than Villalobos, and we’d wager you ain’t ever heard owt like it. Combine all this with lower-key slithering industrial-ambient moments like the plughole-wonked outro ‘Brent Bird’ (named after Gav’s producer brother), the tuned tinkle of ‘No Sweat in my Sweatpants’ and the airborne elegance of ‘Appinness’, and you’ve got another Equiknoxx joint that draws from the syncretic mosaic of Afro-Latin-Sino-US influences and re-contextualises them into remarkably odd and effective structures that dance in the integers of a myriad styles.

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Caetano Veloso

LP | 2019 | US | Original (Third Man)

30,99 €*

Release: 2019 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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The Tropicália art movement of the late 1960s, with flourishes in visual art, poetry, theatre and music, is one of Brazil’s most adored cultural concoctions. It was a movement which began out of necessity, shortly after a repressive military dictatorship seized power after 20 years of peaceful democracy. The term Tropicália first came from the mind of Brazilian visual artist Hélio Oiticica, whose eponymous piece consisted of a sandy maze bordered by tropical Brazilian flora and, at the end, a television set.

Through satirizing symbols of their homeland and rejecting a pre-established national culture, the Tropicalists constructed a new form of “aggressive nationalism” outside of an innately anti-imperialist Left and an unthinkingly patriotic Right. By refusing to accept underdevelopment as their identity and excitedly “devouring” disparate culture (low and high brow, domestic and foreign, etc.), the Tropicalists carved out a unifying creative space, a universal sound, different from the older, bourgeois bossa nova movement and the newer, undiscerning rock movement.

Caetano Veloso’s self-titled debut solo album is one of the most important and influential Brazilian (and, dare we say, South American) albums of all time. With the release of this seminal album, Veloso would become the leading voice of Tropicália.

The songs on this album immediately connected with people. Alegria, Algeria was his breakout hit that gained traction as a hymn for liberty advocates, juxtaposing images of Coca Cola, guerrilla groups, bombs and Brigitte Bardot as part of the everyday experience. The album’s first song Tropicália was an anthem for the whole movement; it’s a fragmented allegory, a structure borrowed from friends

in the concrete poetry scene, touching on divergent cultural symbols, events, allusions and idioms, nimbly representing and critiquing the many contradictions in the new Brazilian dictatorship.

Superbacana (translated as “Supergroovy”) follows a hyperbolic superhero’s use of technology to fight a gang of cowboys led by the money-hungry Uncle Scrooge, serving as allusions to American imperialism and greed felt in their country, all in the rapid-fire structure of a comic book. The subtext in all these songs, which the dictatorship would not immediately catch, were that these repressed but glaring contradictions, not the bountiful sunny paradise that the military regime was pushing, were the true national identity.

Unfortunately, these cleverly veiled jabs in Veloso and his contemporaries’ bodies of work gained greater and greater exposure as the movement became more and more popular, leading to the arrest, imprisonment and forced exile of Veloso and many of his cohort. Despite these difficulties, the Tropicalists continued creating in exile, strongly influencing artists both at home and abroad.

This is the first authorized North American vinyl issue of Caetano Veloso. Whether you’re a longtime fan or first-time listener, Third Man Records could not be more proud to spread the compelling story of this album, this artist and the Tropicália movement.

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Nippon Psychedelic Soul 1970-1979

LP | 2024 | UK | Original (Time Capsule)

27,54 €* 28,99 € -5%

Release: 2024 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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The kaleidoscopic psychedelia of 1970s Japan captured a fragile and fertile moment as the country sought its future in funk grooves, heavy reverb and lyrical hallucinations. The follow-up compilation to Time Capsule’s Nippon Acid Folk, Nippon Psychedelic Soul takes myriad pathways into the tripped-out undergrowth of 1970s Japan. Finding their feet at home and looking for inspiration abroad, the musicians featured here were engaged in the communal soul-searching that followed the breakdown of the 1960s protest movements. Some made it big, others drifted into oblivion. The music they left behind shimmers with intensity.

At the core was Happy End, the first project of YMO’s Haroumi Hosono, whose distortion-heavy guitar and crisp back-beat laid the foundations for Japanese lyrics that flipped the paradigm of Japanese rock music on its head. With it came a new found sonic ambition, such as in the bold Philly-soul style arrangements of producer Yuji Ohno, whose work with occult wandered Yoshiko Sai shares some of the bittersweet grandeur of Rotary Connection or David Axelrod.

Then there was Jun Fukamachi, a pioneer of Japanese synthesis, whose debut album was a carnival of orchestral funk, euphoric horn lines and rich production, complete with soaring guitar solos, psychedelic organ and a truly cinematic finale. The first and only time Fukamachi would sing on record, ‘Omae’ rips like the ultimate end-of-nighter.

Influenced by giants of the US soul scene, maverick composer Hiroshi “Monsieur” Kamayatsu (otherwise known as ‘the Brian Wilson of Japan’) went one step further, enlisting Tower of Power to play on ‘Have You Smoked Gauloises?’ The B-side to Monsieur’s biggest-selling single, it coasts with sophisticated cool - a liquid bassline and suave keys comping under a roaring trademark ToP sax solo. No surprise it found favour once more on the Acid Jazz dance floors of ‘90s London.

Such was the spirit of experimentation that big studio productions and private press releases sat side-by-side, with the likes of Momotaro Pink and Kazushi Inamura, taking their hopes of success into their own hands with the resources available to them. More reflective but no less robust, theirs was a heavy, fat-backed drum sound, soaked in dramatic, soulful psychedelia.

If some were dreamers and others space cadets, none were further out than sci-fi writer, musician, activist and self-made scientist Tadashi Goino, who transformed his own fantasy novel Messenger from the Seventh Dimension into an operatic prog odyssey with few discernible musical reference points – a majestic and completely bonkers outlier even among company as strange and brilliant as that which is collected here.

Less a compilation of a scene, as a compilation of a sentiment, Nippon Psychedelic Soul is a wild ride from start to finish, shattering the narratives of the Japanese folk and rock tradition into a million tiny pieces.

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LP | 2024 | US | Original (Big Crown)

BRSB Black Vinyl Edition

LP | 2023 | US | Original (Backwoodz Studioz)

Release: 2024 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band, the mysterious steel pan out¬t hailing from Hamburg, Germany have amassed a cult following around the globe. With a slew of classic 7"s and three critically acclaimed full length albums, they set a high bar for themselves, one they clearly intend on pushing even higher with this new offering. On their fourth album Brsb, Bacao are back with more of the same, but more of the same with them is inherently different. Covering songs that span genres and range from mega hits to underground album cuts, they make them their own with their unique approach to the traditional steel pans of Trinidad and Tobago. While part of the allure of a new Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band album is ¬nding out what covers they do it is equally intriguing to see what original tunes they cooked upland this record is foul of stand out originals. The album opener, "In The Crosshairs" is a rough and tough mid tempo head nodder while both "Grilled" & "Treasure Quest" pick up the tempo with heavy African Funk in uences on both. Bacao goes deep with "Hazy Memories", a bass heavy slow burner that walks a line between hypnotic and hype. All these originals stand as testament that the term "cover band" is a shoe that could never ¬t Bacao. However, in the tradition of steel pan music, they do a heavy amount of covers. This time around there is a big West Coast Hip Hop in uence with covers of Game & 50 Cent's "How We Do", Dr Dre & Snoop Dogg's "Nuthin But A G Thang", and Tupac's "Got My Mind Made Up" all of which take on new energy and lend themselves to the Brsb steel treatment. Bacao puts another certi¬ed dance oor ¬ller on their resume with their cover of Claudja Barry's uber Disco classic "Love For The Sake Of Love" which they ip into a dubbed out affair aptly changing even the title to "Love For The Sake Of Dub". Pulling from the contemporary smash hit section of Hop Hop they cover Drake's "Hotline Bling" and "Love$ick" by Mura Masa & A$ap Rocky. Then they go very unexpected with "Stranger Things Theme" where they take the synth heavy theme song to the hit show and give it a more hypnotizing tone than the original. By the time Brsb is through, Bacao has taken the listener on a journey spanning a myriad of energies, tempos, and moods while keeping it all under one umbrella. For all that, these songs are alive, and they will be taken out of the context of this album and sewn into the fabric of DJ sets around the globe for many years to come. Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band continues building their legacy and pushing the boundaries of steel pan music forward with another rock solid musical offering. Enjoy.

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Fielded

Plus One

34,99 €*

Release: 2023 / US – Original

Genre: Hip Hop

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Plus One is the brand-new album from Brooklyn-based artist Lindsay Powell aka Fielded. While Fielded has put out several solo projects steeped in their trademark psychedelic R&B, they also has quietly built a reputation as a genre-bending vocalist and sought-after musical collaborator. Plus One turns that dynamic on its head, bringing together an indie music elite on Fielded’s guest list including Armand Hammer, Felicia Douglass, Kenny Segal, They Hate Change, DJ Haram, Wolf Weston, The Lasso, Child Actor and Steel Tipped Dove.

“I’ve offered myself in blips and breaths and moments, sighing under a powerful lyric, or punctuating another vocalist’s breakthrough performance,” Fielded says. “We wanted to see what could happen when I brought those same artists in to add flourishes to my visions and depth to my stories.”

Plus One is executive produced by billy woods, building on a creative partnership that goes back to the rapper’s 2019 album, Terror Management. Since then Fielded has engineered, produced and performed on a slew of Backwoodz Studioz releases, in addition to putting out two projects on the label- 2020’s Demisexual Lovelace and 2021’s Young Medusa- in addition to their extensive outside commitments. That history is reflected in the breadth of Plus One’s collaborations; Fielded stole the show on Small Bills “Safehouse,” the first song on ELUCID and The Lasso’s 2019 album Don’t Play It Straight. Here they reunite, cooking up a slinky R&B banger with “Waves.” Wolf Weston and Fielded traded harmonies on Saint Mela’s 2020 EP all for this strange baptism, and Weston returns the favor to fantastic effect on “Goddess Woes.” In 2019, Fielded joined forces with Fat Tony and Steel Tipped Dove for the Houston rapper’s Don’t Move EP. On Plus One, both artists step into her world and find their footing effortlessly—Tony on the woozy numbness of “Where I Came From,” and Dove with a stumbling cascade of drum and piano on “World’s Away.” Yet, it’s some of the newest pairings that yield the ripest fruit. Kenny Segal and Fielded combine for two album highlights, and A. Billi Free pops up for the record’s biggest curveball (unless you give that to Florida rappers They Hate Change setting fire to an ELUCID beat). Through it all, Fielded holds court, always taking or leaving exactly what the song requires.

“It is an album telling full stories, walking through valleys and cities, landscapes rich and sometimes heartbreaking,” Fielded explains. ”No one is filler. Everyone has been welcomed and valued. Everyone made the work weird, wonderful and honest, and for that I am grateful.”

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20 Years Watergate Colored Vinyl Edition

3LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Watergate)

73,99 €*

LP | 2023 | US | Original (Wonderwheel)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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The iconic club by the Spree celebrates 20 years with a mammoth 20 track compilation of new and unreleased tracks exclusive to the compilation. From Sasha to Anja Schneider, Henrik Schwarz and Adana Twins, right through to the ascendent names such as Jamiie, Kristin Velvet, Joplyn and Biesmans, the compilation is an exhilarating snapshot of some of the artists who have shaped Watergate’s sound; both via the label and through laying down unforgettable sets at the club over a two-decade period. The highlight heavy compilation charts a course throughout all the deep, dark, euphoric, tech and even pop-laden corners of house music. Henrik Schwarz navigates a classic course via the vibey ‘You Need Attitude’, while Joplyn brings soaring melodies and arresting vox with ‘Lima’. Biesmans is in characteristic sleek form with the sparkling nostalgic-soaked business of ‘Basic Bro’, before emerging stars Mia Mendi contribute a driving electro jam ‘Astromech’. The iconic Anja Schneider is an essential addition. The Berlin icon brings her A-Game with the big piano chords and gospel vocals of ‘Can’t You See Me No More’ before handing the baton to Extrawelt who comes strong with a delicious micro house serenade ‘Rover’. Sasha weaves a trademark masterful beast with ‘Wolf Cider, a dark and twisted weapon that’s packed with plenty of groove and low-end attitude. First premiered during her excellent Boiler Room session in 2019, Kristin Velvet’s ‘Wanted Competition’ is a propulsive gem that reinforces her position as one of the most exciting breakout producers of the last two years. Adana Twins are always on-point and they don’t disappoint with ‘Nacht’ a deviant, distorted house tool the belongs in every DJ’s back pocket. Matthias Meyer & Ryan Davis enjoy a superlative history on Watergate Records and share another ace ‘Genki’, a shimmering, drama-laden piece that morphs into a tougher psyladen finish. New Watergate Agency signing Djeff crafts an uplifting string-laden ace with ‘Cloud 7, showing off his impressive musicianship along the way, while Hyenah make an essential contribution with the funky key-driven houser ‘Going in Circles’. Club resident Jamiie shares the wicked ‘Echoes’, which is pacey and hypnotizing in equal measures and brought to life by colourful arpeggios and a latticework of key patterns. The project rounds out on a stunning note with ‘Tone Trails’, a lilting slice of electronica by Watergate stalwart Marco Resmann & Lee Jones, which is inflected with organic guitar and dreamy melodies. The release will be presented as a triple gatefold vinyl using a special ink-spot color effect and will feature a collection of the compilation’s key tracks, while all tracks will be available digitally.

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Chancha Via Circuito

La Estrella

22,99 €*

Release: 2023 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Argentinian artist Chancha Via Circuito (aka Pedro Canale) makes his return to Wonderwheel Recordings with his fifth full length: “La Estrella.” Cutting his teeth early at Buenos Aires’s legendary ZZK digital cumbia parties, the Chancha moniker became known worldwide as the originator of the cumbia-inspired electronic music that takes cues from environmental sounds and South American folkloric traditions. Pedro’s musical progeny include names such as Nicola Cruz, El Búho, Dengue Dengue Dengue, King Coya and many more.

Texturally rich and highly emotive, the album spans 11 songs that meander between lush instrumental soundscapes and upbeat vocal numbers, all tied together by Chancha’s signature production style. “La Estrella” - meaning “the star” in Spanish - opens with “Dandeleon,” which plays like a meditation of fluttering vocalesque pads and sonorous bass; while Pedro is joined by the acclaimed Argentinian trio Fémina on “Cometa,” where his refined beat offers an ideal space for the three singers’ voices to inhabit. “Cometa” (“comet”) also furthers the album’s celestial themes, which also touch on spirituality, love, ephemerality, and nature. Frequent collaborator, (Polaris Prize-winning / Grammy-nominated) Lido Pimienta offers her vocal chops on “Amor en silencio,” which showcases the Colombian-Canadian’s harmonizing prowess over an instrumental of panning percussion and syncopated xylophone chords. Additional features come by way of artists such as the Meridian Brothers (recently acclaimed in a longform New York Times piece) on “El pavo real”, as well as Las Añez (“Ese peso”), Federico Estévez (Moninja) "El árbol y el hacha", Manu Ranks (“Ouh Lord ouh Dios”), and María José Montijo (“Aguacero”), whose various nationalities, backgrounds, and styles help give the album a pan-Latin feel as refracted through Pedro’s mystical, multi-colored lens.

Pedro Canale has been working on Chancha Vía Circuito, a musical project that has allowed him to travel the world and put his mark on what is now known as Latin American electronic music, since 2005. Beginning his explorations in digital cumbia, but soon moving into electro-acoustic experiments inspired by his travels and encounters with Indigineous traditions of the Andes and beyond, the “Chancha sound” has transformed into a notable reference for an entire new generation of artists, in turn birthing a new sound that spans the globe. To date, he’s released 5 albums (including “La Estrella”) which have expanded far outside of Latin America and can be heard playing at the top festivals in Europe and the U.S. such as MUTEK, Roskilde, and Vive Latino. The general public will recognize Chancha’s sound thanks to one of their remixes, “Quimey Neuquén,” being used in an unforgettable scene in “Breaking Bad”.

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12" | 2022 | EU | Original (Lowlife Cartel)

Kodoku

11,99 €*

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Black Truffle)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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For their sixth instalment, Lowlife Cartel follow up to their last two compilations (“Pimps Improvisations” in 2018 and “Omnia Vanitas” in 2020) with a new six-track VA named “Kodoku”; a vortical release, both bold and forward-looking, while fully geared for the club environment. Taking its title from a poisonous magic from the medieval Japanese era obtained by placing several venomous insects in a jar and letting them kill one another until only one survives, “Kodoku” - which interestingly also translates as “solitude” - features a cast of producers old and new to the fold including Saverio Celestri, the faceless △, Prince de Takicardie, Tundramane & Ko$te, Solar Alliance and Shampoo.

A staple element of the Lowlife Cartel bunch, Saverio Celestri paves the way and dishes out one of his signature jagged, EBM-informed weapons in “Sundays”. Through this hotchpotch of acid-steeped bass entangled with a frantic newbeat-ish swing and razor-sharp synthwaves, the Italian producer shows off the raw and playful facets of his craft to optimal effect. Unknown contributor △ clocks in with “Crachats de Lune”, a proper ominous banger going straight for the jugular with its clever mix of dusty, drum-laden churn, processed vox stabs and sci-fi-indebted laser bursts flashing by unrelentingly. Tailored for hi-octane action at the defunct Boccaccio or Hacienda, Prince de Takicardie “Jam’on’Acid (House Mix)” blows the winds of euphoria across the club like it was done in 1995. Vibing to a pulsating mix of rabid snares, 303-vehicled charges and mangled vocal samples on a classic free rave tip, throwback material that packs a punch.

Flip it over and here is North-American duo Tundramane & Ko$te shifting the scope to Memphis chopped-and-screwed in true hardcore fashion. Straight-out aggression, “Brick To The Face” lives up to its title, so expect leaving the place with a few teeth out your mouth and a good concussion, though more side effects could appear over repeated listens. A radical U-turn from the previous, Ute.- related triplet Solar Alliance - alias Ekkel, Oprofessionell and Mikkel Rev - bring their dashing trance touch to the comp with “Quest for Kiba”, an uptemp maelstrom for the senses, swirling and whirling up until space and time make no damn sense any more. Topping off that versatile tour de force, Japanese producer Shampoo adds his delectably sensuous spin on the record with the lush, sample-heavy lo-fi appeal of “四季ノ歌”. Unpolished feelgood vibes, sun- streaked soulfulness and deft-handed MPC wizardry are on the menu for this ultimate ride and jolly finale.

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Julia Reidy

World In World

12" | 2022 | EU | Original (Good Vibrations Music)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Black Truffle is pleased to announce World in World, the latest solo offering from prolific Berlin-based guitarist-composer Julia Reidy. Where the recent trilogy of LP releases – brace, brace (Slip, 2019), In Real Life (Black Truffle, 2019), and Vanish (Editions Mego, 2020) – focussed on increasingly lush electronic settings for Reidy’s propulsive fingerpicking and auto-tuned vocals, arranged into wide-ranging side-long epics, World in World finds Reidy refocusing on the core elements of their approach while simultaneously pushing into challenging new areas. Comprising nine pieces ranging between two and seven minutes in length, the album’s opening title track promptly introduces the distinctive palette of just-intoned electric guitars, subtle electronic processing, and voice that is rigorously explored throughout. Where much of Reidy’s guitar work on previous recordings explored rapidly pulsed cycling figures, here notes often hang in the air in a more spacious, lyrical fashion. The elasticity of rhythm and non-linear repetition of pitches initially suggests improvisation until the listener becomes aware of the precise arrangements of spatialised lines. At times, World in World suggests classic bedroom electric guitar works of the 1990s such as Loren Connors’ Airs or Roy Montgomery’s Scenes from the South Island; like those works, Reidy’s possesses a wonderfully live ambience, with frequent pedal clicks adding to the music’s powerful sense of intimacy. In Reidy’s case, however, the yearning, melancholic mood of Connors or Montgomery is tempered by the unorthodox guitar tuning, which at points produces a unique and uncomfortable effect somewhere between the hyper-precision of Harry Partch or Lou Harrison and Jandek’s slack-stringed descent into the void. While World in World plots out its terrain with a bold single-mindedness that allows some pieces to appear almost as variations on a common theme, subtle changes in emphasis distinguish each track. Tactile percussive interjections skitter across the tremolo tones of ‘Paradise in Unrecognisable Colours’, while ‘Ajar’ ramps up the role played by the electronics, with glitching pitch-shifted and back-masked textures threaded through the guitars and thickly harmonised vocal layers. Ranging from autotuned melodic lines to buried murmurs, Reidy’s voice is a frequent presence throughout these nine pieces, at times creating the impression that a more conventional series of songs lurks underneath the chiming microtonal guitars. On the stunning ‘Poised’, whispers and distant, ghostly wails surround the layers of guitars, at times suggesting the foggiest outer reaches of Liz Harris’ Grouper. Both rigorously experimental and emotive, World in World is undoubtedly Julia Reidy’s finest work yet.

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Harold Matthews Jr

Peripheral Vision

13,99 €*

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Good Vibrations Music dives straight into 2022 with a bang courtesy of ‘Harold Matthew Jr’ (aka Big Ed) with his long player project; "Peripheral Vision".

Chicago-based Harold wrote his first releases in the early 90’s with artists like Ron Trent, Terry Hunter, Maurice Joshua and Ron Carroll with songs such as "Ritual Of Love" and Barbara Tucker’s "I Get Lifted". Throughout the late 90’s he was well known for his songs under his ‘Blak Beat Niks’ alias with production partner K. Fingers on PAN Records, Large Music and his own label Melodious Fonk with "The Sun Will Shine". The 2000’s saw him move on to further projects with the likes of Slip N Slide, Mark Knight, Peppermint Jam, Glenn Underground, Makin’ Moves and Sean McCabe.

Moving into the next chapter, "Peripheral Vision" is a genre-spanning journey, drawing influences from a multitude of angles and providing a true reflection of Harold’s passion for song writing and spoken word, with a host of guest producers and vocalists.

"Deep Into My Sleep" opens the release and brings Cardiff’s ‘Black Sonix’ to the party and Harold’s sublime vocals provide the narrative to the afro tinged beats. It’s got soulful undertones a plenty with warm rushes of BVs and percussive rhythms to keep feet dancing way into the late night hour.

"Put Your Hands Together" gets serious on the dancefloor with driving beats and an explosion of synth flicks, hits and stabs. It’s Sean’s subtle nod to the Trax era, suggested by Harold, and set to become a firm fave with those that like their groove a little more analogue.

Effortlessly moving through the soulful gears, Harold and Sean McCabe’s "Into You" brings guest vocalist Dawn Williams onboard for a lazy, hypnotic and sumptuous slice of house. Set amongst an uplifting backdrop of smooth chords and lushed out riffs, the vocalists playfully bounce off each other asking questions and telling answers whilst keeping all elements sat firmly in the sweet spot.

Another Cardiff-based producer ‘DJ Fill’ shifts up the groove with "Pause". Still oozing the soul but with a more Hip Hop-meet-Broken Beat vibe and peppered with smooth Rhodes, niggly electronic arps and a bassline that ain’t letting you go. Harold and Syl Messi go head to head with the lyrics, bringing together a smooth and edgy vocal balance for something truly special and unique.

Proving that all good things must come to an end, the title track "Peripheral Vision" closes things out featuring guest raps and production from Chicago’s own ‘Nickel Slick’ on their mission to rebuild and re-educate through the power of lyrics. It’s a heartfelt track with a strong and relevant message for today’s testing times.

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Expansions HHV Exclusive Edition Smoke Purpage Vinyl Edition

LP | 2021 | US | Original (Big Crown)

Release: 2021 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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HHV exclusive edition limited to 200 copies.

Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band, the mysterious steel pan outt hailing from Hamburg, Germany have amassed a cult following around the globe. With a slew of classic 7"s and two critically acclaimed full length albums, they set a high bar for themselves, one they clearly intend on pushing even higher with this new offering. On their third album, aptly titled Expansions, Brsb are back with more of the same, but more of the same with them is inherently different. Covering songs that span genres and range from mega hits to album cuts, they make them their own with their unique approach to the traditional steel pans of Trinidad and Tobago. Part of the allure of a new record from Bacao is nding out what covers they chose. However, die hard fans are also waiting to hear the original numbers like the stellar album opener "Tough Victory". Its airtight rhythm section, brass arrangements, and layers of steel pan melodies make the term "cover band" a shoe that could never t Bacao. Within the next three songs they go from Jazz (Galt MacDermot), to Hip Hop (Slum Village / J Dilla), to a dance ‑oor classic (Grace Jones) taking them all on with their signature style, expanding on the originals. An easy crowd favorite is their gritty, gully, and neck snapping cover of the Timbaland produced Jay-Z club hit "Dirt Off Your Shoulder". The infamous crushing Bacao drums start the show and the moment they start playing the top line on the pans, all bets are off. Sure to become a dance ‑oor ller is their bottom heavy ,four on the ‑oor version version of Sylvester's classic "I Need Somebody To Love Tonight". They venture into some gutbucket funk with Ike Turner's "Getting Nasty" and bring the steel pans to Minnie Riperton's Jazz classic "Les Fleurs". Digging deeper in the modern canon and paying tribute to a tribute, they cover Erykah Badu's homage to the late great J Dilla, "The Healer". This is the type of thing to make Spice Adams jump on his kitchen counter and scream. From the second the beat drops they give the original Madlib production a run for its money, shaking subwoofers with the eerie tremolo bass while the pans play E. Badu's vocal melodies. By the time the album is through Bacao has taken the listener on a journey that spans a myriad of energies, tempos, and moods while somehow managing to keep it all under one umbrella. For all that, these songs are alive, and they will be taken out of the context of this album and sewn into the fabric of DJ sets around the globe for many years to come. Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band is breathing renewed life into the originals and continuing to push the boundaries of steel pan music, or, as the title suggests, expanding on it.

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Oli Freke

Synthesizer Evolution

Velocity Press

2LP | 1973 | US | Reissue (Pure Pleasure)

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"From acid house to prog-rock, there is no form of modern popular music that hasn’t been propelled forward by the synthesizer. As a result, they have long been objects of fascination, desire and reverence for keyboard players, music producers and fans of electronic music alike. Whether looking at an imposing modular system or posing with a DX7 on Top of the Pops, the synth has also always had an undeniable physical presence.

Synthesizer Evolution: From Analogue to Digital (and Back) celebrates their impact on music and culture by providing a comprehensive and meticulously researched directory of every major synthesizer, drum machine and sampler made between 1963 and 1995. Each featured instrument is illustrated by hand and shown alongside its vital statistics and some fascinatingly quirky facts.

From its invention in the early 1960s to the digital revolution of the 1980s right up until the point that analogue circuits could be modelled using software in the mid-1990s, this book tells the story of synthesizers from analogue to digital – and back again.

Tracing that history and showing off their visual beauty with art-book quality illustrations, this a must for any self-respecting synth fan. The book has 128 pages, is 23cm x 17.4cm in size and printed on high quality 130gsm matt art paper.

Author Oli Freke says: “This book has grown out of a life-long obsession with synthesizers and electronic music, and it’s fantastic to be able to share this with my fellow synth obsessives and music fans who celebrate the synth’s role in modern music. I’m eternally grateful to Velocity Press for going with me on this journey and supporting the project so keenly.”

Reviews

“When the author’s passion for synths combines with his artistic talent the result is a book with a difference. The hand-sketched illustration style sets this book apart helping turn the technical facts and figures into a visual feast insightfully embellished with interesting anecdotes. This book is a joy to look at and a delight to read.” – Sound On Sound magazine

“Like a Victorian botanist climbing mountains in search of a rare flower to sketch, Oli Freke tracks down scarce examples of synthesizers to lovingly sketch and share with the rest of us to marvel at. His collection is an essential bookshelf addition for the analogue obsessive.” – Electronic Sound magazine

“Such a fascinating survey of the synthesizer world, demonstrating a depth of passion that will amaze even the greatest synth-head.” – Benge (Expanding Records)

“Every tweak of a button, every plug of a wire, every minute detail examined on some of the most iconic synths ever made… its really geeky & strange, but its the bible on every great synthesizer behind all of your favourite songs.”

Lotus Capo (Sony ATV Publishing)

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Clifford Jordan Quartet

Glass Bead Games

49,99 €*

2LP | 1996 | CA | Reissue (Get On Down)

Release: 1973 / US – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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* Re-mastering by: Ray Staff at Air Mastering, Lyndhurst Hall, London / Fifth part of the Strata-East Dolphy Series, Glass Bead Games is arguably the crown jewel of the Strata East movement, an amorphous genre that treads an unusual path between post-bop, 70’s avant-garde and spiritual jazz, with a groove.

Glass Bead Games is full of revelations at many levels. First, the decade of the 1970s did produce genuinely creative, "human" new music flowing from the jazz mainstream; second, Bill Lee was more than Spike's dad: he was a superlative bassist, a team player of the first order, a powerful catalyst who, if anything, deserves to be better known than his son; third, Billy Higgins was, as so many musicians insist, a once-in-a-lifetime drummer—the bellows inspiriting the collective flame.

Most importantly, Clifford Jordan was an artist of the first order, his playing so effortless and unforced, unselfconscious and focused, mature and wise that, at a time when altissimo fury was all the rage, it's small wonder his authentic voice frequently went unheard. His musical rhetoric is so personally expressive, its substance so compelling, the listener couldn't care less about the extraordinary technique required to convey its captivating message. Compared to some of his more acclaimed peers he's a less aggressive yet paradoxically more directive and shaping influence. The climaxes, rather than spelled out, are merely suggested, registering with deep and lasting impact on the listener. It all comes down to learning the language, those precious little beads. Not every player, including Jordan or the listener, can use it like Shakespeare, but all can learn to read Shakespeare and understand its principles of arbitrariness and serendipity, of invariance and transformation.

Jordan, no less than Shakespeare, requires a like-minded cast of players—in this case four musicians of such redoubtable proficiency that each remains committed to keeping the beads in play. He's not a man content with a mere musical "dialogue" with his fellow musicians nor is he about to take the initiative in pulling his troops up to his level. Instead he begins to tell a musical story that's so compelling his three comrades are inspired equally to contribute to a collaborative narrative. This is brilliant music-making by a Coltrane- influenced successor who feels no obligation to mime the predecessor. It may be the most significant saxophone performance on record since Coltrane and, providing the listener stays with it for any length of time, the most deeply satisfying. Jordan's game—so effortless, unforced, and "level"—erases distinctions between composed and improvised, soloist and ensemble, narrator and narrative, the dancer and the dance. It seems incapable of wearing out its welcome.

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Nas

It Was Written

36,99 €*

2LP | 2024 | EU | Original (Drivecom)

Release: 1996 / CA – Reissue

Genre: Hip Hop

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Illmatic, the 1994 studio debut of Nasir "Nas" Jones, was more than just a critical success for the Queensbridge-based rapper. At a time when East Coast hip-hop was increasingly being taken less seriously than their West Coast counterparts, Illmatic's raw jazz and soul-based production, dire atmosphere and lyrics, coupled with Nas' uncompromising flow was integral in restoring interest in the East Coast as a hotbed of hip-hop artistry. Along with key releases from Wu-Tang Clan and Notorious B.I.G.,it shifted attention away from the funky, dayglo synth-based G-funk coming out of California and back to the grimy streets of New York. After such an unprecedented debut record, expectations were understandably high for Nas' follow-up. What came next threw critics and fans for a loop, but was no less influential than Illmatic, and would become the most commercially successful album in the entirety of Nas' discography. The 1996 sophomore follow-up was titled It Was Written, and in contrast to the urban bleakness of his debut, had Nas dipping his toes into the world of mafioso rap. Amidst production from heavy hitters like Trackmasters, Dr. Dre, L.E.S., Havoc of Mobb Deep, and Illmatic-collaborator DJ Premier, among others, Nas weaves evocative narratives of gang warfare, downtrodden neighborhoods, drug deals gone awry, and gangsta triumph, against a backdrop of samples from Sam Cooke, Etta James, the Isley Brothers, and even Chuck Mangione.

It Was Written was not hard up for top-tier guests either, featuring major guest turns from Lauryn Hill and Joel "JoJo" Hailey of K-Ci & JoJo. It also introduced the world to The Firm, the brief Nas-led msupergroup featuring rappers AZ, Foxy Brown, and Cormega. mIt even managed to cause some minor controversy in the hip-hop mcommunity for its collaboration with West Coast producer Dr. Dre, at a time when the East Coast/West Coast rap feud was reaching a fever pitch, briefly attracting the ire of one Tupac Shakur. Not only was It Was Written received warmly by critics, but became a major commercial success, reaching the top of the Billboard 200 charts, reaching platinum sales status four times, and alongside malbums like Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, helped usher in the era of mafioso rap in the mainstream. It rendered chart hits out of singles like the Eurhythmics-mimicking "Street Dreams", and the Grammy-nominated "If I Ruled The World Imagine That", and proved to be a major influence on artists like Kendrick Lamar, Lupe mFiasco, and many more.

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Boris Divider

Memories From The Dust

Release: 2024 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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A new album is finally on Drivecom. A 2xLp full of new tracks recovered and rearrenged around 2022-23. No doubt the legacy of the past works are represented. Some arpeggios and melody lines will remember us to sonic landscapes from the “La Hora de las Máquinas” or “The Source” albums by Boris Divider but with a new and refreshed production sound, for sure this will be a must item for all the electro community and fans of the label.

The album opens with the intro track “The Way You Feel Me” a mix between electro and synthwave with a moog bass and arpegio reminiscent of some Arpanet’s “Wireless Internet” tracks. Then followed for the “Letters From A Sleeper” theme. As the track’s name reflects, it's a clear tribute to the synth era of David Harrow/Anne Clarke’s “Sleeper in Metropolis” just like a reply from a postnuclear future, with a big role carried out by the initial synthline. Then the first slow bpm track is for “Distante” where synthlines a la Tangerine Dream are crossed and mixed with vintage digital rhythm machine sounds and the pattern seems to be taken from those Dire Straits’ “Money for nothing” intro drum arrange in an infinite and repetitive way.

In the B Side “You Know What I Know” track is again showing an Arpanet-ish intro synthline followed by a sequential prophet's arpeggio which bring us back to the old “La hora de las máquinas” sound. Closing the first 12 inch is “Sin Mirar Atrás”. One of the most important tracks of the album for the author. A big dimensional and introspective track full of vintage synthlines and reverb. Time for “Your Light” track is again here. This song was already presented with its own reference on Drivecom. A future pure Electro classic which was announcing the album months before.

In the same side, we find another slow tempo theme called “Recursos Infinitos” an instrumental track which implements several synthlines that interlink themselves into an infnite Tangerine Dream’s soundtrack that serves as a little break to the power and darkness of “Cenital”. Electro rhythm patterns and dark arpeggio synthlines in the vibe of Vangelis’ Blade Runner are mixed in this cold dystopian agressive dancefloor track. Later we find the theme that gives name to the album: “ Memories From The Dust” a slower track which mixes sounds and melodies between “La Hora de las Máquinas“ and other 80's digital keyboard sounds. The last track is just an outro theme called “Out of Sync”. Its name is a clear statement of its own musical arrangement, synthlines are full out of timing and synchro, it was recorded in realtime from a modular synth to a digital device in one take.

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Concorde Music Bronze

399,00 €*

LP | 2024 | EU | Original (Astigmatic)

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Introducing Concorde Music
Developed by music lovers, for music lovers, the Concorde Music cartridges blend premium performance with an iconic design.
Concorde Music, not just a cartridge, but a dedication to the profound impact music has on our lives, turning every listening session
into a captivating journey.

Possibly the world’s most iconic cartridge design
Building upon a rich legacy which began when we launched the original Concorde, the Concorde Music holds a storied history as
one of the most famous cartridges in the world of audio. Originally developed as a solution to the challenge of easy mounting on a
tonearm without screws or wires, the Concorde's unique design earned the Danish Industrial Design Award and became an icon in
the audio industry.

Features:
• Diamond: Each Concorde Music stylus features a diamond polished to the highest standards of the industry. Ranging from
a bonded Elliptical diamond on Concorde Music Red, to a Nude Shibata diamond on Concorde Music Black LVB 250.
• Cantilever: All Concorde Music models have a premium or high-end cantilever. The cantilever material is either aluminium
or boron for the best possible transmission of the vinyl record groove modulations picked up by the diamonds.
• Suspension: Exclusive Ortofon rubber compounds are used for the stylus suspensions, all carefully produced at the in_x0002_house own rubber production, and developed by the research and engineering team at Ortofon for brilliant performance.
• Coil system: Silver-pated oxygen free copper is chosen for the quad-coil system together with four Ortofon split pole pins
delivering a 6 mV output of dynamic, lifelike sound with an exceptional clarity and fidelity, capturing every detail.
• Upgradeability: All Concorde Music styli are compatible with all Concorde Music cartridges. An upgrade path is possible
through the entire series of Concorde Music cartridges, enabling upgrades from Concorde Music Red to Black LVB 250.
• Tool-free installation: Installing a Concorde Music cartridge on a turntable is easy and straightforward, no tools required
making it hassle free and convenient for all users.

It is all about the music
Concorde Music stands as an icon of design and musical dedication, inviting everyone to elevate their journey with the level of
accuracy in sound which has become characteristic for every Ortofon cartridge. Tailored for music lovers, incorporating a
straightforward installation, premium sound, and a timeless design. Concorde Music stands for a commitment to musicality.

Unique in-house rubber production a crucially important and vital part of a phono cartridge overall performance is the stylus
rubber suspension. Ortofon develops exclusive rubber compounds and produce the rubber suspensions and dampers in-house.

Ortofon quad-coil generating system with split pole pins in Concorde Music results in an exceptional channel balance and channel
separation, delivering a precise and dynamic sound image.

Ortofon, we love music!

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Uniri

Infinite Reflections

As Palavras Volume 1 & 2 Black Vinyl Edition

Release: 2024 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Revision of new beats on the horizon Every 20 years or so, certain musical movements come full circle. Young musicians are inspired by genres dating back two decades, channelling them through their modern sensibility. The legendary J Dilla’s Donuts album was released in 2006 and instantly marked a starting point for the work of musicians worldwide, laying the foundations especially for the beat scene in Los Angeles. A whole young generation of musicians brought up on the new, instrumental and abstract hip-hop has carried jazz into a new era. The four London-based musicians who make up Uniri have gone one step further by abandoning the idea of a jazz band and "bedroom production" in favour of collective composing, creating a new look at the new-beat aesthetics, framing it as a road novel set in an unspecified time and space.

Uniri translates as ‘one unified dream’ and is the key driving motto of the project conceived by Chiminyo (Cykada, Maisha), the band's founder and head honcho. The project materialised in his private studio, where he invited fellow jazz musicians Amane Tsuganami (Jorja Smith, Maisha), Al Macsween (Nubya Garcia, Gary Bartz, Kefaya) and Luke Wynter (Nubyan Twist, Golden Mean) to spontaneously compose together. Hence, despite this being the band's first album, it wouldn't be right to call them rookies. The result of Uniri's collaborative work is the psychedelic, rhythmic album Infinite Reflections, packed with cosmic and warm synths, which neatly balances hip-hop beat and jazz composition. It's safe to say this music is even more appealing when played live, although it's equally suited to the club dancefloor.

UK Jazz has become a permanent fixture in the London landscape, but also across Europe and the US. Today, the musicians who shape the new wave of jazz are drawing on more and more genres, reducing solo improvisation for the benefit of composition and increasingly drawing on influences from the beat scene. Among such formations are the British NOK Cultural Ensemble, the Polish Błoto, the Belgian Echt!, and the Dutch Comité Hypnotisé. Uniri is part of this emerging yet already international trend, creating an entirely fresh aesthetic that echoes artists such as Flying Lotus, Samiyam, Dorian Concept, Ras G and Nosaj Things oriented around the Californian 'new beats generation' scene.

The title Infinite Reflections alludes to a phenomenon observable on the open sea or during intercontinental flights. Gazing at the horizon blurs the boundary between the ocean and the sky, forming an infinite palette of blue shades. This inspiration sparked an elusive musical narrative, navigating between a sea voyage and an astral journey, destination unknown.

The album will be released by Astigmatic Records, with the album scheduled for release on March 29, 2024.

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Rubel

2LP | 2024 | UK | Original (Mr Bongo)

LP | 2003 | EU | Reissue (Keplar)

Release: 2024 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Tujiko Noriko

From Tokyo To Naiagara

LP | 2023 | UK | Original (Glass Mile)

Release: 2003 / EU – Reissue

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Keplar presents the first-ever vinyl edition of the 2003 album »From Tokyo to Naiagara« by Tujiko Noriko. This reissue with new artwork by Joji Koyama is an abridged version of the album as Tomlab label owner Tom Steinle and producer Aki Onda had originally intended to publish it alongside the original CD version. Written by the France-based Tujiko while she still lived in Japan, »From Tokyo to Naiagara« followed up on her two seminal Mego albums and marked a turning point in both the artist’s career and personal life: While she was preparing to leave Japan behind, she succinctly connected the dots between her experiments in pop music and her interest for more abstract sounds. Tujiko worked primarily with a Yamaha synthesizer and an MPC sampler while also incorporating contributions by other musicians such as Onda, Riow Arai and Sakana Hosomi into the pieces. Sometimes approaching an IDM and clicks’n’cuts-style production or working with trip-hop and hip-hop beats while using conventional song structures in the most unconventional of ways, the album showcases her multifaceted influences and skills as a singer and musician to full effect. Tujiko fondly remembers the time when she made the album. »I had a lot of time for myself back then and I didn’t even feel like I was very busy,« she says today. She describes producing it in close collaboration with Onda, who would relocate to New York City shortly after, as »quite Tokyo and very local.« They explored parts of the city that they hadn’t yet been to for a photography project (finding, among other things, a coin laundry called Naiagara—a transliteration of Niagara). This left its mark on a record that mixes melancholia with joy. The driving opener »Narita Made,« named after one of Tokyo’s airports, already makes this clear: Tujiko’s wistful vocals and lyrics like »I miss you terribly« emphasises the sense of bittersweetness that forms the common thread for a sonically diverse and stylistically open-ended album—this music is looking back while moving forward. It is probably no surprise that its reissue too evokes tender memories of Onda and Steinle in Tujiko, while also reminding her of what lies ahead. »I have so much more to do and not enough time for that,« she muses, before quickly adding: »But I also feel less alone having that album again.« Influenced in equal parts by the experience of strolling through previously unknown Tokyoite back alleys and thinking about the paths not (yet) taken, »From Tokyo to Naiagara« is precisely that: the perfect travel companion for a journey that leads its listeners from past to future.

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Supakarma

Les Jardins Mystiques Volume 1

Release: 2023 / UK – Original

Genre: Rock & Indie

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Indie rockers release self-titled debut album after 20 year wait. The end of the nineties was nigh. Britpop mania was over, and the Y2K bug was about to wreak global damage at the turn of the new Millennium. Remember that? In Milton Keynes a quartet of musicians were diligently crafting in the rehearsal room and didn't care much about bugs or anything else. They were consumed by their creations; harnessing the best bits of an exploded genre, and giving their songs a brash, experimental indie rock edge. It was all sounding exciting. The band (frontman Daniel Binks, guitarist Jamie Paul Morris, bassist Steven Sciberras and drummer Ben Hallett) soon took their sounds out of the rehearsal space and into the live, cutting their teeth on the London circuit and making their mark at select festivals in the low countries. They found favour with those dates, and their musical musings landed them an extended stay at top-flight studio, Great Linford Manor (PJ Harvey, The Charlatans, PiL, Skunk Anansie) with esteemed producer Tony Platt (ac/dc, Bob Marley and Sparks). Everything should have been magnificent, and very nearly was, until band friction during the recording process led to the session unravelling. Instead of the promised robust release, an acrimonious split left the project unfinished and gathering dust. Those tracks might well still be sitting on the shelf today, were it not for the devastating loss of guitarist Jamie in 2019. His untimely death reopened lines of communication between the remaining members, and where there had been discontent, there was a realisation that they had unfinished business, and the band have reconvened to deal with it. “We decided we would finish the album as a tribute to Jamie and feel that even after all this time the music still has its own place out there in the musical void,” said Ben, “Once finally released others might stumble across it and appreciate what we made. It just took a while.” The listener will journey from the raw jagged post-punk guitars that air with You Could Be My Heroine through the anthemic swagger of tracks The Way It Is and Calmer Coaster, to the delicately poised acoustic of My Own Advice, perfect for showcasing the range and fragility of Daniel's voice, and the epic melancholic flower powered finale of I Remember You. It took two decades and a tragic turn of events to re-ignite the flame, but in these 'Karma' times the band have made good on their promise from years ago. “I was pleasantly surprised when revisiting these songs at how fresh and punchy they still feel. We were able to give them a bit of a facelift in terms of the sound, but the raw energy needed little in the way of encouragement,” said Tony Platt, who was back for the production process, “I guess the band were somewhat ahead of their time!” An album that would have been ahead of its time but is most definitely a release for the here and now.

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Miguel Atwood Ferguson

4LP | 2023 | UK | Original (Brainfeeder)

58,99 €*

Release: 2023 / UK – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Limited 4LP in gatefold sleeve with OBI strip. Semi-fast cut by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios. Includes MP3 downloads. Photography by Miguel Atwood-Ferguson. Layout by Adam Stover.

Miguel Atwood-Ferguson lives in his hometown of Los Angeles and is one of the preeminent musicians, orchestrators, arrangers and composers of our time. "Les Jardins Mystiques Vol.1" is his long-awaited debut album. It presents us with a passionate declaration of love and a realm of beautiful possibilities.

There are plenty of ways to approach Miguel Atwood-Ferguson's music - and there are no limits to where it could take someone. As a composer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist and producer, he has worked on more than 600 albums and soundtracks for cross-genre artists:inside, including Flying Lotus, Thundercat, Anderson .Paak, Mary J. Blige or Seu Jorge. His sonic palette spans jazz, classical, hip-hop, electronica, avant-garde, pop and more. His acclaimed live and recording projects include the innovative orchestral reinterpretation of J Dilla's repertoire, "Suite For Ma Dukes" (2009), his prolific works with longtime friend and collaborator Carlos Niño, including the improvised album, "Chicago Waves" (2020), on International Anthem, and his groups such as Quartetto Fantastico and the Miguel Atwood-Ferguson Ensemble. "Les Jardins Mystiques" is a project that reveals and shares Miguel Atwood-Ferguson's musical universe. It has evolved over a dozen years, largely financed by himself, and showcases his distinctly elegant musicianship (on violin, viola, cello and keyboards, among others) and free-spirited dialogues with more than 50 instrumentalists. Volume 1' is only the first part of a planned triptych that will comprise a total of ten and a half hours of original and refreshingly expansive music. Atwood-Ferguson connected with his guest musicians in a variety of ways: through convivial studio dialogue, through long-distance communication during the pandemic, and through the energy of live performances in his hometown, including at the Del Monte Speakeasy (the delightfully invigorating piano-accompanied "Dream Dance") and the Bluewhale (including "Ano Yo" with the spirited alto sax of Devin Daniels and the cosmic harmonies of "Cho Oyu"). Bennie Maupin, the legendary US multi-wind instrumentalist whose repertoire includes Miles Davis' fusion opus "Bitches Brew", plays bass clarinet on the ravishing opening number "Kiseki". Throughout his illustrious career, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson has worked with artists such as Rihanna, Ray Charles, Lana Del Rey, Lady Gaga, Anderson .Paak, Dr. Dre, Kamasi Washington, Mary J. Blige, will.i. am, Big Boi, Arthur Verocai, Bonobo, Lianne La Havas, Kaytranada, Moses Sumney, Seu Jorge, Common, The Roots, The Cinematic Orchestra, Jamael Dean, Shafiq Husayn, Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Carlos Niño, Bilal and many more.

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2LP | 2023 | EU | Original (Retrofutura)

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For millennia, “nirvana” has been a term associated with belief systems of the Indian subcontinent. But in 1988, a band from a small coastal town in Washington state decided to create some new associations with this word . . . through their music.

Active for just six years, Nirvana left an indelible mark on the late twentieth century that remains visible today. Photographer and self-described “music fanatic” Charles Peterson, a fellow twenty-something from the suburbs of Seattle, was present with his camera as a genre took form, and his images have become synonymous with the sounds, styles, movement and attitude known as grunge.

Charles Peterson’s Nirvana, in the tradition of many great documentary photobooks, expands beyond Peterson’s iconic images of the band seen repeatedly over the last thirty years (on album covers, in magazines, and in dozens of compilation books and exhibitions focused on this music and its birth era) to highlight gems never before published. Over a five-year photo edit, Peterson looked at each one of thousands of frames, considering what drew him to Nirvana in the first place—their songs. He honed in on the compositions that stimulated visceral memories of their live performances.

The resulting selection of photographs and their carefully constructed sequence mash up venues and years, suffering and the sublime, to arrive at a visual experience that one cannot help but also feel, and hear.

Book design by Jeff Kleinsmith.

9 x 12.25 inches vertical; ~90 black and white photographs; 168 pages;. Hardcover. Foreword by Krist Novoselic.

Charles Peterson (b.1964, Longview, Washington) is internationally known for his photographs of the Seattle music scene of the late eighties and nineties. He began making photographs while a student at Bothell High School, and then went on to study photography at the University Washington, where he first met as friends many of his future subjects.

Peterson’s distinct visual style and early work for Sub Pop Records became an important signifier of the phenomenon known as grunge.

His photographs have been featured in numerous publications, as well exhibited in group and solo exhibitions around the world. They are included in many private collections, and the permanent collections of the Seattle Art Museum and MoPOP.

Krist Novoselic (b. 1965, Compton, California) is co-founder of Nirvana.

Nirvana originated in Aberdeen, Washington in the late 1980s through the energies of Novoselic and Kurt Cobain. They were joined by drummers including Chad Channing (1988–1990) and David Grohl (1990–1994). Nirvana’s live performances, music videos, and albums Bleach (1989), Nevermind (1991), Incesticide (1992), In Utero (1993) and MTV Unplugged in New York (1994) made their music a defining component of the late twentieth century internationally.

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Vitess

V World

22,99 €*

Piper Spray & Lena Tsibizova

Release: 2023 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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V World is Vitess AKA Vytamin’s second album. It follows on from Cyber Zone, the Frenchman’s first LP that was released to widespread industry acclaim last year. Eight months have passed since, with several releases springing up in between. From Up The Stuss to Locus, to Pont Neuf, Shall Not Fade and more, his musical footprint is plain to see.

Now the latest step will be placed in March with the release of his second LP: V World.

“My first Retrofutura album, Cyber Zone, was inspired by nocturnal cities, like the progressive house side of the ‘90s. V World represents the brighter side. The LP features a strong electronic sound, with tech house touches and robotic voices that symbolise the universe of the album.” – Vytamin.

Critical Battery gets proceedings underway, with four-four drum patterns forming a groove-fuelled, club-ready backbone. The near seven-minute cut feels spacey and dream-like in one, opening into the similarly ethereal world of TSD. Wavey synth pulses converge on acid-esque soundscapes throughout, before Fake Planet arrives next.

Shimmering key patterns transport us to worlds far removed from our own, leading us deep into heads down, hands up territory, whilst thick kicks marry up alongside. Unatural comes next and manifests as a fizzing, no-nonsense club cut to begin, with dreamy melodies brought in as the track unfurls.

Playful and bouncy, it sets the stage for Kangoo, a more breakbeat-esque number that draws inspiration from the French car of the same name. Robust percussion gives the track a hardened edge, paving the way for V World to come soon after.

Starry female vocals help us drift into a surreal musical landscape, whilst Insane ratchets up the pace courtesy of low-slung, echoing bleeps right the way through. We’re then treated to the penultimate cut on Twister, an out-and-out club piece that swings neatly into the closing sounds of Final Warning, rounding off proceedings on a hazy, blissed-out note.

Vitess is the genre-hopping DJ and producer leading the charge for France’s underground renaissance. Known under several pseudonyms, including Vytamin, Grand V and Flamant Rouge, his musical output has caught the attention of some of dance music’s leading publications, one being Resident Advisor.

2022 was a particularly fruitful year for the Frenchman, with a slew of releases landing on several of the scene’s most well-known labels. Be it Shall Not Fade, Locus or Chris Stussy’s Up The Stuss, his productions prove that quality and quantity can come in equal fashion.

Now V World ushers in a new era for his own Retrofutura Records imprint, picking up where Cyber Zone left off and setting the tone for a highlight year ahead.

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Leaving Memory

LP | 2023 | US | Original (Impatience)

2LP | 2023 | UK | Original (Good Skills)

Release: 2023 / US – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Impatience is thrilled to present Leaving Memory, the latest album-length work by Piper Spray and Lena Tsibizova. Leaving Memory is a searing distillation of the duo’s ouevre - it’s eleven prismatic electronic seances combining for a mind warping wormhole with it’s own internal (il)llogic, where pop, ambient, and industrial music convene beneath a rugged HD of digital processing and brain fog. Equally rosy with nostalgia as it is ominously forward looking, Leaving Memory defies easy categorization and makes for an astounding, confounding listen.

By turns violently abrasive and disarmingly touching, Piper and Lena deploy sounds that fracture and disintegrate, burn up and explode, synthetic supernovas that give the record an unmistakable, inimitable texture. Song structures often abide by their own blueprint - heading in one direction before making an abrupt dive elsewhere. Bursts of vibrant colour lurk below layers of grayscale noise. Unidentifiable voices deliver secret messages from the murk. When rhythm’s emerge they ground the tracks to some unknown terrain and invigorate.

Lame Line veers towards the sweeter end of their spectrum, a hazy plaintive repetition increasingly lashed with friction, before Exit erupts with clanging rhythm and shards of distortion. Diagnosis is an almost sweet alt-pop song, Lena’s vocals yearning beneath a dubby shuffle, while Keeper Of The Void’s possessed incantations open up to a ripping, fried climax. Beryl Grey releases the pressure gauge, a gently lilting drift arpeggiating as the sun sets, and Lost Cars sweats through claustrophobic drones and bird song before the clouds part on a serene scene. Leaving Memory closes with Shin, offering a genuinely sweet resolution and a gentle landing back down to earth of either footsteps or fireworks, swelling synthesized horns and woodwinds, a kiss on the cheek for making it out the other side.

On Leaving Memory, Piper Spray & Lena Tsibizova share their uniquely discordant take on freaky music for unsettled minds, an intensely energized set that offers a deeply evocative, unimaginable otherworld for adventurous ears.

Piper Spray and Lena Tsibizova have been producing music together since 2020. Leaving Memory is the first to be presented in the LP format. Piper has previously released music via Orange Milk, Hausu Mountain and Gost Zvuk, as well as his own Singapore Sling Tapes label. Lena works predominantly as a photographer, and together Piper and Lena have released music via radio.syg.ma and Kartaskvazhin. Both make music as part of Air Krew, who have released music on the Echotourist and Motion Ward labels. They’re both currently based nowhere.

Leaving Memory was written, produced and mixed by Piper Spray and Lena Tsibizova, and mastered by Sergey Podluzhniy. Cover photo by Lena Tsibizova, design and layout by Justin Sloane.

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Roe Deers

Salt Town Boy

38,99 €*

2LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Blossom Kollektiv)

Release: 2023 / UK – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Roe Deers presents his fascinating debut full-length Salt Town Boy, a leftfield collection of wild sonic tales filled with dusky moods and punk attitude. The first LP to be released on Good Skills, the label Roe Deers runs with Bdhbts co-conspirator Titas Motuzas, the album brings together tracks produced in his Vilnius studio over the past six years. It also features a series of unique storytelling vocal contributions from an international list of friends and colleagues.

Roe Deers is a Lithuanian-based project led by Liudas Lazauskas. A regular at Vilnius institution Opium and a key member of the city's fertile scene, he's long been breaking the rules of genre in his explorations of the uncharted territories of murky electronic music, releasing on labels like Omnidisc, Turbo, Nein Records and Throne Of Blood.

The Salt Town of the album's title is Druskininkai, the Lithuanian spa resort where Roe Deers grew up and first began DJing at a venue run by his parents. The breadth of styles and moods he was exposed to from an early age can be heard across these 12 intriguing tracks, which blend elements of beat science, electroclash, post punk, italo, krautrock and EBM into a deliciously intoxicating brew.

The skewed motorik pulse of opener and lead single 'Trident', featuring apocalyptic intonations by French-Canadian lyricist C.A.R., sets an offbeat, ominous tone that prevails for the rest of the album. Vocal contributions from Israeli producer Niv Ast ('Late Night Tale'), Norwegian troublemaker Sex Judas ('Rodeo King') and Berlin-based singer Aquarius Heaven ('Walking Down The Streets') each bring out the moods - vampish, febrile, industrial - that permeate Roe Deers's textured, percussive productions. At the album's centre are two tracks that point to the past and possible future of the Roe Deers project: first, 'Theme' features French post punk band Order89 in a compelling disco-noir moment that recalls his earlier club EPs; then, regular collaborator Palmes Ziedas provides Lithuanian vocals for 'Tarp Raudonu Sviesu' ('Between Red Lights'), a frenzied howl of a track that fits an entire film score into its short three minutes.

The instrumental pieces on the album have their own stories to tell, from the dusty dive bar meditation of 'Flying Carpets' to the paranoid proto-techno pulse of 'Celebrity Theme' and the 11-minute cyclical epic 'Never - Ending -'. As the last moments of cinematic closer 'Fin' play out, we realise that our trip down the twisted paths of Roe Deers's beguiling sound world is coming to an end; but we also know that to go back in again all we have to do is press play.

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Pixel82

Infinity Album

12" | 2022 | UK | Original (Evar)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Blossom Kollektiv is proud to unveil their first full length release since relaunching in 2022, with Porto?s Pixle82 and his first album ?Infinity?. Following the single release of the title track of the album, the full nine track voyage makes it appearance this April. Pixel82 talks about this work, which was produced during a time of forced introspection and uncertainty, as a rediscovery of the past to find the future. He wanted to create an uplifting vibe for the songs on the album but while still having a subtle dystopian feel in some of the tracks. To achieve this sound, he experimented with polarities and used sounds that are personal to himself including organic sounds from nature and even from his personal life with the use of a recording of the heartbeat from his own daughter. During the nine-track expedition the artist creates an honest tour de force, without the constraints of making dance floor shakers and the end result is a highly effective trip that electronic music lovers around the world will adore, not only for listening but also with various moments that will work wonders on the dance floor. Each track is carefully crafted to play off the other with lively alluring synths, eclectic beats, and cleaver use of vocals throughout the album that seals each track together cohesively. Beginning with ?Breaking Free? its creative use of vox paired with uplifting synths sets the mood of the album that leads to the title track ?Infinity?, an underground pop venture with the same feel-good vibe but with catchy vocals that are sure to be stuck in the listeners head long after hearing it. Then the broken beat tracks ?Beyond? and ?Alien World? whisk you off to strange new worlds with interesting broken beat drum patterns and synths that keep the same harmonious vibe as the rest of the album. Moving on to the second half of the album ?The Grid? takes you straight to the dance floor with bouncy synth lines and tight grooves that is sure to keep the energy high. ?Beyond? and ?Sunset? present the liveliest tracks on the album that are perfect for those early morning sunrise moments if used in a set but also very pleasant to the ear for home listening. Arriving at our next destination to more slower jams with ?Music Box? the minimalistic approach to the drums along with the pleasant melodies keeps everything woven tightly together until finally arriving to our final chapter. ?Theta? brings everything effectively to and end with an ambient beatless experience that brilliantly wraps up the release and will keep the listener coming back for more. The final message of the album leaves an impression of hope through the title ?Infinity? that comes from what the artist calls a simple idea of a loop, the continuum of life, togetherness, and union, which he has seamlessly expressed through his own experience during a time of the unknown. As the listener takes an intimate tour of the album?s soundscapes, they will surely find the light at the end of the tunnel, either at the intimacy of their own home or on a sweaty dance floor.

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Force Placement

Aerobicide

12,99 €*

LP | 2022 | UK | Original (Red Creek)

Release: 2022 / UK – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Force Placement's Aerobicide EP is a killer workout of afterhours acid and galaxian breakbeat Four hypnotic bangers from Los Angeles with remix support from DJ Manny, D.I.E., and Martyn Bootyspoon

Los Angeles – Following releases on 100% Silk, Clave House, Bank NYC and Lost Soul Enterprises, Force Placement arrives on Evar Records with four tracks of naughty squelching acid and breakbeat techno hypnotically calling you to the afterhours, backed by a trio of remixes from Martyn Bootyspoon, Detroit In Effect, and DJ Manny, representing North American excellence in techno, electro, and footwork, respectively.

A longtime friend of the Evar crew from renegade breakcore parties in Santa Barbara to underground experimental electronics happenings in Los Angeles, Into the Woods and The Black Lodge resident Jason "Force Placement" James taps into his love of weird trippy atmospherics, rhythmic complexity and DIY punk/noise aesthetics to create this quartet of mystic, mysterious bangers, crafted with the Mpc1000, Elektron's Octatrack sampler, the Korg minilogue, and Ableton.

The Aerobicide EP begins its killer workout with "Yeeks," a cabalistic ass-mover driven by a haunted female vocal sample floating atop locomotive bass and shakers – a factory's worth of industrial sounds and eerie accents move in and out of the mix, adding intrigue and interest.

Moving to the main room of the rave, "Balloon Animal" shoots you through an inflatable tube of squelchy acid techno as knives cut the air around you, while "Upsetter" adds a shuffling breakbeat rave bounce into the acid mix. "Quartered" chops it up with Clone-style dark analog electro that gets increasingly deconstructed by dirty, stretched percussion and rivulets of synth reverb raining down the walls.

Rounding out this occult aerobics class, some of North America's most compelling forces in dance music are called in for remix duty. Unsung electro hero Detroit In Effect aka D.I.E. – the man behind such classics as "RU Married" and "Get Up" – leans deep into the classic Motor City palette, pairing lush, spacey pads with that hard-swung Detroit bounce to create a mellow groover that will keep you going all night. Montreal's world-class party starter M. Bootyspoon recalls Substance Abuse-era Hawtin and mid-'90s Midwest techno on his "Balloon Animals" remix, with nasty claps and concentric loops of hard acid bleeps and squelches. And who better to tackle "Upsetter" than Southside Chicago's footwork futurist DJ Manny? The Teklife king eschews the romantic R&B tones of his recent Planet Mu album for a tough-as-nails rework that ups the tension and the tempo to create an otherworldly saga for the dance circle.

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Birds In Row

Gris Klein

35,99 €*

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Corps Double)

Release: 2022 / UK – Original

Genre: Rock & Indie

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If you’re looking for a band that embody everything hardcore punk should be, then you’re looking for Birds in Row. Sonically, they’re fearless. Lyrically, they’re as poetic as they are recusant. And live, they’re a ruthless force, matching the power of their music with boundless, must-see energy. After debut album You, Me & the Violence sparked listeners’ imaginations, 2018 follow-up We Already Lost the World was an unyielding inferno of brazen ideas. Metal Hammer UK called it “intelligent, poignant art,” writing that “this downward spiral changes pace and weight at every turn.” It screamed for mutual respect in a world of increasingly extreme political divides, and used the vehicles of punk, post-hardcore and post-metal to carry its cries. Now comes Gris Klein. Birds in Row’s third full-length album is their most genre-bending and timely declaration yet. “Water Wings” opens, its scraping guitar strums a ticking clock, counting down to the inevitable barrage of hardcore to follow. “Noah” revs up over its six gargantuan minutes. Its singing slowly spirals into apoplectic screeches. “Trompe l’oeil” is half folk, half punk, and “Winter Yet” has no qualms about busting out seismic metal guitars at its climax. It’s an amorphous beast of an album: always unpredictable, but never out of character for this creative collective. Gris Klein’s lyrics were sculpted by the Covid-19 pandemic, eloquently summarizing the cruel and sometimes nonsensical nature of mental illness. “Trompe l’oeil”, for example, sings, “Most of the times I feel lonely are when my friends are around.” “This is the exact moment where you should feel like you’re surrounded by people you love and you’re not alone,” the band add. “It asks, ‘If I can’t feel loved in this specific moment, then when can I feel that?’” Gris Klein is a portrait of a world enduring its most chaotic era in a generation. Yet throughout, the Birds in Row manifesto is the same as it’s always been: love each other. “We really want people to know that they’re not alone, and that they can count on each other,” they say. “The way we treat each other is political. It’s OK to trust each other. All the movies about catastrophes show people turning against each other, but that’s not what would happen. When people are in the shit, they help each other. That’s what we’re trying to transmit with this record: hold each other’s hands.” Not even a world-shaking pandemic could damage Birds in Row’s invention, compassion and brutality. Now three albums in, they remain the model portrait of punk. – Matt Mills, May 2022

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Julien Gasc

Re Eff

12" | 2022 | EU | Original (G-Town)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Originally Re Eff (pronounced Ri Èf) was a bunch of texts. One hundred and fifty pages that Julien Gasc wrote by trying his hand at the art of cut-up: a literary and political act of counter-fiction based on William Burroughs's method. It was also Julien Gasc's response to the isolation of 2020, while he was seeking refuge in the Southwest of France, with time as far as the eye could see, and a piano.
For a long while, it hadn't been about songs, but about expressing the indescribable by cutting randomly from books and his own notes, attempting to fleetingly strike a balance, find a beauty, a happy accident. Incidentally, it was almost by accident, while recycling a piece that he'd composed for steel guitar pedal, that Julien Gasc sketched the first draft of "Ce soir les bouteilles dansent" ("Tonight the Bottles Are Dancing"). This was combined with a version of "Rosario Bléfari", recorded on an inexpensive Casio synthesizer. These were Re Eff's baby steps.
While everything was at a standstill, in stasis, Julien Gasc wanted to send a group message to some friends, to his family, a message from a confinee to those who weren't answering, friend or foe, imaginary or otherwise. It was this collective recipient that he nicknamed Re Eff. The name comes from "re" (re-) and "effacer" (erase), words found during a cut-up and transformed into ri èf for added euphony, like a facetious grief (grievance, reproach in French) without the "g".
Like its title, a kind of serious joke, the album is one long interplay between humour and gravitas, sense and nonsense, shadow and light, aiming to fully describe feelings in terms of their ambiguous and contradictory elements.
Through a return to regular piano practice, calm recovered at a holiday resort town, and literary experimentations, to which he added transcribed dreams, as in "La scie de la vision modern" ("The Saw of Modern Vision"), Julien Gasc composed ten demos on his computer. These demos were then rerecorded at Syd Kemp's Haha Sound studio in London, in December 2021. The mix was completed there again, in February 2022, by Syd and Julian.
Play to play and write to write, those are the keywords of Re Eff, in which memories are freely combined ("À travers le regard de l'indienne" / "Through the Amazon's Eyes"), the theme of enclosure and passion ("Amour velours" / "Velvet Love"), melodrama ("Délivrance"), and romantic novella ("Tout ne peut pas nécessairement donner quelque chose" / "Not Everything Leads to Something"). Music resolutely oriented towards the piano, towards bold and filmic harmonic movements that make a successful form of lyrical poetry possible. Because all in all, by singing about current events - his own and those of the world - in an elegiac tone, like bards, Julien Gasc was gradually transformed from pop singer into poet.

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Tommy 2000

2K Music

16,99 €*

Double Know Pink Vinyl Edition

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Having kicked off in Galway and then quickly on to Brisbane, we travel across the pond to Durham, to pick the brains of one dance music’s freshest minds and most exciting talents, Tommy 2000, for the all-encompassing Gtown 003 - ‘2K Musik’.

5 tracks that will travel the length and breadth of your brain; from the epic opener and lead single, ‘Whales’, to the algebraic break sequences of ‘t-2000’, Tommy’s follow up to his debut EP on DJ Haus’ Dance Trax is about as mature a sound you could expect from any artist, let alone an 18 year old just dipping his toes in the water.

‘Whales’ leads the way as an almost orchestral breakbeat builder-style track that reaches its peak gradually and really takes us for a ride as we step into the world of 2K Musik. Following on from that, is the most classically-conventional track of the lot, ‘Baff’. The four to the floor backbone lulls the listener to be sucked into what is an entirely unique club track they’ve never even come close to hearing before. That is then spun on its head entirely when Tommy’s almost bookmark sound comes into play on the title track, ‘2K Musik’. Hammering us with breaks and unapologetic bass, this marriage of old school sounds with entirely dynamic arrangement and all around ingenuity tells us exactly what 2K Musik is all about.

We swap over to the B side then, without much of a break for air, and kick off with the ever-nautically themed ‘Tuna’. At this point, it’s more than evident that Tommy 2000 is entirely worthy of his placement as an artist that’s here to stay, as if he’s pulled us underwater to listen to what the sea creatures have to say to us. Totally transforming even more modern sounding breakbeat drum patterns and bending them to his will, Gtown003 is almost like a portal into the mind of a music genius, not just an EP you sit down and listen to; this is an immersive exhibition into the world of Tommy 2000. The final stop on the line is ‘t-2000’. You want to stop and get off, but you can’t. Everytime you think you’ve got this track figured out, you haven’t. Snares coming crashing down and attacking the breaks just as you’ve began to comprehend the synthlines and pads that eb and flow off of each other as this crescendo takes us home and back to reality, as the needle lifts on what is only the beginning for one of dance music’s brightest stars on one of its realest labels.

Gtown003 - 2K MusiK by Tommy 2000 lands on G Town Records on June 24th. Are you Ready?

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Naomi Alligator

LP | 2022 | US | Original (Carpark)

CD | 2022 | EU | Original (NG)

Release: 2022 / US – Original

Genre: Rock & Indie

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Naomi Alligator is fed up. She’s sick of trying to make relationships work that have already run their course, and tired of sitting in a wintry apartment waiting for her life to kick into gear. On »Double Knot«, the modern folk singer/songwriter from Virginia attempts to unwind her life from all that is holding her back. In a way, it’s a coming-of-age record about shedding what no longer serves you and, ultimately, finding something like deliverance.

On the opening track, “Seasick,” Naomi Alligator is already in the midst of a sort of awakening. Right off the bat, she sings, “I don’t know what’s happened to me / It’s like I turned 16 / It’s like I grew to be 6-feet tall.” This is the announcement of a wide-eyed artist coming out of hibernation and into their own. Still, Naomi’s vocals ache with guilt and longing, belying the track’s playful catchiness. Longing for what? Maybe attention from a crush, but mostly a sunnier place to call home.

Naomi Alligator began writing Double Knot while living in Philadelphia during the height of the pandemic and the deterioration of a longterm romance. “I scream: How’d the hell I end up here? / I’m 1-inch tall, it’s crystal clear,” she chants on “Neighborhood Freak,” returning to height and size as an emotional barometer. When asked though, Naomi rejects the notion that Double Knot is a breakup album, or autobiographical at all. Moreso, she says, it’s a personal reckoning in which, “the minute before you make a big decision, you tally up the reasons why you don’t want to do what you’re doing anymore.”

That desire to turn the page expands to the production of the album as well. Naomi Alligator generally houses her narratives in beds of minimal, home-tracked instrumentation—influenced by the stripped-down poeticism of Joan Baez and Liz Phair’s Girly-Sound tapes. Double Knot finds Naomi continuing to hone the winning combination of guitar and banjo she established on 2021’s Concession Stand Girl EP. For Double Knot though, Naomi wanted a fuller, more dynamic sound: more instruments, more harmonies, more layering, more, more, more. Inspired by the impressionistic melodies of Animal Collective and Mgmt, Naomi peppers in computer-generated synths throughout the album, most notably on the song “Burn Out.” These electronic flourishes augment the more grounding string instruments, arriving somewhere more ethereal than Naomi’s earlier work while still maintaining her warm songwriting.

If anything, Double Knot is a reminder that you can always pack up your bags, try something new, and change your life. As for Naomi Alligator herself? She moved west, to California.

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Nu Genea

Bar Mediterraneo

15,99 €*

Sunir Yellow Vinyl Edition

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Electronic & Dance

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Four years after Nuova Napoli, Nu Genea are back with Bar Mediterraneo, a new album and journey, which projects the sounds of the Neapolitan duo formed by Massimo Di Lena and Lucio Aquilina even further. Nu Genea's Bar Mediterraneo is an idea of a shared place where people meet and fuse together; a space that leaves its doors open to travellers and their lives, always exposed to the whims of fate. Some of this can be experienced through the multitude of sounds that come together in the tracks, layers of different acoustic instruments, voices and synthesizers merging in a unique musical blend. Opening up to the voices of many different people, separated by languages but united by the sea and the music, Nu Genea's hometown, Napoli, becomes a true place of encounter. You can hear this all along. In "Gelbi", a gorgeously deep and propulsive Ney flute plunges into murky waters of the melancholic Tunisian dialect sung by Marzouk Mejri. In "Marechia'", unbridled happiness and sun ooze from the delicate vocals of Célia Kameni and create an acrobatic bridge between French and Neapolitan language. In "Straniero", your soul is arrested from the moment the slow spell-binding mandolin ignites the hypnotic patterns recorded by the legendary Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen. In "Bar Mediterraneo", the title track, bittersweet guitar’s riffs, analog waves and choirs are overwhelming the song giving you what you would like to hear on a boat trip along the Amalfi Coast. Nu Genea couldn't afford to overlook their firmly anchored roots into the Neapolitan culture and its dialect with "Tienaté", where the power of neapolitan language (interpreted by Fabiana Martone) supports those quarter-tone strings and the uncessant folk-disco groove that spreads to the entire song. In "Praja Magia", repetitive mandolin riffs lead the song, giving space to a choral yet tight vocal line that speaks of Varcaturo, a village close to Napoli. In "Rire", a volley of poetic, deceptively laidback, lyrical fury interpreted by Sicilian Marco Castello intimately combines with a highly musical, multitextured instrumental backbone and the swoon of a chanson in its heart. In "La Crisi'', the lyrics of a Raffaele Viviani’s poem from 1930 have been adapted to a laidback jazz-funk groove in full NG style. In "Vesuvio", revaluing the evocative verses and powerful mantra of Vesuvio, Nu Genea re-adapted to the dancefloor a folk song by the working-class band E’ Zezi from Pomigliano D'Arco, combining the voices of a school choir with Jupiter-6 arpeggios and bold percussions. Bar Mediterraneo is the place where people constantly return to transform curiosity into participation, tradition into sharing, unfamiliar into familiar. When travellers come through its “doors”, carrying their treasures of words and emotions, they aren’t strangers any more. They take part in a shared experience, enriching themselves and others by leading to unexpected musical journeys

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Ianai

2LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Svart)

33,99 €*

Sunir Black Vinyl Edition

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Rock & Indie

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To speak to Trevenial, the single-entity, multi-instrumentalist voice from the other side of the veil, is to speak to a spirit that transcends the veil of this world and crosses borders beyond time and place. But you will not speak to Trevenial, but hear the words put forth in Ianai. Ianai is the essence of music that will permeate culture and influence without thought of boundaries or convention. Ianai is mythos in the making.

With not much known of Trevenial’s identity or nature, Ianai’s music is imbued with flavors from indigenous musical cultures around the globe and clothed in darkly hued indie moods. Acting as a messenger between two worlds and Ianai is music carried from within through the ages. Now is the time to let the waking world hear it too.

From the first outset of the debut musical offering Sunir and the first single “Savoj Icoil”, Ianai abandons the typical notions of ice and frost in which it is depicted, and rather than desolation, offers a guiding force through the notes and words. While the physical manifestation of this album has been years in the making, Ianai decided to pierce the veil during a time when the world was imprisoned and suffering unimaginable loss.

As the album progresses, listeners transcend through the instrumentation of Scandinavia, Africa, Asia, Middle East and South America. And while Ianai walks a long path, winding through the earth, Ianai does not walk alone, but seeks to share and learn, collaborate and conceive, music and art. From celestial harmonies to earthly delights, Ianai’s music is a reflection of both the worldly and otherworldly. Channeled through the vessel of the spirit Trevenial, the music voices in tongues long forgotten, singing the songs of the sons of God and the daughters of men. In a language unspoken on this plane, yet unmistakable in its meaning, Ianai embodies the freedom we seek and the ability to achieve that fluidity.

In his music, Ianai is joined by a cohort of musicians from the world music scene and classical orchestras but also people from modern bands such as: Massive Attack (uk), Client (uk), HIM (Finland), Sisters Of Mercy (uk), Theodor Bastard (Russia), Lord Of The Lost (Germany), Swallow the Sun (Finland), Souvenir Season (Germany) and The Rasmus (Finland).

The album Sunir will be released on June 6th on Svart Records. The album is produced by Jaani Peuhu (Swallow The Sun, Iconcrash, Mercury Circle) and mastered by Jaime Gomez Arellano at Orgone Studios (Ghost, Ulver, Paradise Lost).

From a time before time; before the ocean swallowed Atlantis and the named gods sat atop their mountains. When the ancient ones roamed free, unburdened, Ianai whispers through the boundary of legends.

With Sunir on the horizon, the question that remains is: when you hear Ianai, will you heed the call?

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Ianai

2LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Svart)

31,99 €*

Arroyo Clear Vinyl Edition

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Rock & Indie

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Jon Porras

LP | 2022 | US | Original (Thrill Jockey)

34,99 €*

Release: 2022 / US – Original

Genre: Rock & Indie

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Jon Porras draws a staggering array of atmospheres out of even the simplest instrumentation. Across his work as one-half of psych-drone duo Barn Owl and his solo releases, Porras welds monoliths and ether into propulsive music that is deeply felt. Arroyo, named for the Spanish word for "stream" in a nod to Porras' heritage as a first generation Colombian?Japanese American, drifts gently from one tributary to the next in unhurried contemplation and euphoria. The portentous weight and abrasive textures of Porras' previous work give way to the trickle of richly detailed acoustic instruments slipping in and out of the fold. On Arroyo, Jon Porras evokes a distinct sense of resplendent anticipation and calm with a fathomless flow and softly gorgeous colors. For Porras, Arroyo became a rumination on simplicity and simple truths, a work of complete immersion and continuous motion where separate elements coalesce into an ever-changing whole. Porras spent the year leading up to 2020 living nomadically across Europe where he was able to soak in a deep appreciation for the effortless beauty of overgrown gardens, the basic principles of classical architecture and a more transient sensibility. The album was written and recorded in a time of even more change for Porras: after the birth of his daughter. Like a stream's steady glide across bedrock that waxes and wanes with each gradual turn, the music of Arroyo exhibits a transportive stillness. The compositions take on a light, gaseous buoyancy as discreet drones swell with measured fluctuations and ripples of piano rest atop the surface. Arroyo borrows harmonic concepts from modal jazz to create a unique sense of ease and endlessness. Each of the four pieces on the album centers around a single suspended chord, a chord most commonly associated with devotional music which embodies a space between harmonic tension and resolution. Porras embellishes that liminality with arrangements that feel less like distinguishable layers of instruments and more like one undulating nebula of sound. In the past decade of Porras' solo work, his music has grown increasingly engaged with elaborate synth textures and detailed processing. With Arroyo, Porras consciously takes a step back from those more intricate compositions and focuses on more organic, unadorned textures and places each sound with the same precision. Stark piano and guitar patiently hover over modest currents of Hammond organ and Yamaha DX7 with the sustain of each chord and phrase acting as a natural guide to the album's subtle rhythm. The four pieces that comprise Arroyo each encompass their own idyllic channel, slowly weaving their way in and out of the album's elegant stir. Porras' reflections on simplified elements take shape in gorgeous arrangements that impart clarity amidst a tranquil mist. Arroyo is an album that unearths splendor in a unified feeling of space, serenity in perpetual renewal

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12" | 2022 | EU | Original (Red Laser)

Red Laser Records EP 12

12,99 €*

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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As we emerge into the Now with a fresh perspective and renewed vigour, Red Laser Records usher in a novel epoch of Manctalo movements for our post-COVID enjoyment. Entrusting piloting duties to four well decorated RL commandos, the EP serves to remind us all that despite everything that's happened, we can still find solace in red lasers, smoke machines and high-powered strobe lights.

Splitting open the collective dancefloor inertia is Kid Machine's 'Only Machines Allowed'. A cybernetic b-boy jam straight outta the planet Megoh circa 4044. Guided by electrified vocoder lines and a plutonium-grade, armoured groove this impenetrable battle rocket should issue the much needed power boost to get your body kinetics firing again when they release the e-barriers to hedonism.

Returning star fleet lieutenant Count Van Delicious has been collecting entities from the outer galaxies since his appearance on RL EP 9 ('Dark Fruit' w/ Senor Chugger). Here he announces his return with an end-credits epic, an #inabiteveryoneelse theme from this young vet on a pants-off permo-buzz, up-scrolling through technicolored c64 visuals and deploying his now trademark zoopa-arps, euphoric synth stabs and thunderous low end shudder to deadly effect.

Meanwhile, Ste Spandex continues his cybernetic realignment surgery, dissecting a well circulated disco meme and adding voluptuous gender-neutral enhancements that'll be getting the next generation of androids frisky, despite their lack of reproductive organs. Fizzling synths, spherical repetition and a multi-dimensional mix of high voltage rhythms leaving that vocal line permanently downloaded in your memory cloud. No sharing necessary.

Scottish deep space observer Ernesto Harmon provides some cosmic ruggedness to close off our mission. Reinforced & galvanised low-end rhymix coalescing with humanoid synth expression and an infinite, carbon-free energy source keeping momentum plateaued through the morning after the night before. There's no off switch baby!

For astral travellers seeking solace in the new Now, Ep12 kindly acts as an upgrade to your possibly dormant dancing system as you stumble out into the new nocturnal environment. Hopefully reminding us that the simple act of moving alongside one another in a pitch black, laser-guided club space hasn't changed that much...

Limited press, with artwork which could be the next top selling NFT, we urge our RL family to bag this collectable chronicle from the Red Laser Corp. xx

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LP | 2022 | UK | Original (Nunorthern Soul)

Summer Selections Four

17,99 €*

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Kompakt)

Release: 2022 / UK – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Now onto its fourth volume, NuNorthern Soul’s annual Summer Selections EP is fast becoming a must-check for fans of slow-motion sunshine sounds, contemporary Balearic beats and sumptuous downtempo grooves. Summer Selections Four showcases six hand-picked tracks from EPs and albums to be released by NuNorthern Soul in 2022. A genuine ‘cream of the crop’ or ‘best in class’ feel, with NNS label boss and curator Phil Cooper putting together a varied EP piled high with evocative melodies, atmospheric chords, tactile grooves and ear-catching instrumentation. First to step up to the plate is experienced producer James Bright, whose cut ‘Amber’ offers a bubbly, colourful and analogue-rich stroll through mid-tempo Balearic house territory. The track is one of the highlights of Bright’s forthcoming Totem EP. It’s quickly followed by ‘Nana a Leon’ from Be.Ianuit’s Entre Dos Islas EP, a gorgeous mixture of deep bass, twinkling pianos, sultry synth-strings, sparkling synthesiser arpeggios, echoing machine drums and spoken word vocals from guest performer Marcos de la Fuente. San Francisco’s Cole Odin offers a snapshot of his forthcoming Songs For Suns EP via ‘Growing’, a slow-motion sunset soundscape built around ethereal chords, chiming melodies and head-nodding drums, while Gold Suite’s ‘The Cowboy’ – taken from the On My Horizon EP – brilliantly joins the dots between jangling Americana, mid-‘80s Balearic reggae and sun-soaked instrumental synth-pop. While brand-new, it could easily be mistaken for the kind of obscure, hard-to-find gem that gets Balearic record collectors so hot under the collar. Next up is another new signing to NuNorthern Soul, North of the Island, whose debut EP Feeling Free is undoubtedly a highlight of the label’s 2022 release schedule. ‘I Feel’, the track showcased here, adds attractive, sunset-ready musical flourishes to a chugging, delay-laden rhythm track and the kind if squelchy bass-line most often found in proto-house and early ‘80s electro-funk cuts. It’s a spaced-out, mind-altering delight. Rounding off another sizzling Summer Selections excursion is ‘Smoke & Fly’ from fast-rising twosome Residentes Balearicos, an Ibiza-based Italian duo who impressed many with their 2021 EPs on Balearic Ensemble. Dusty, bass-heavy, drowsy and picturesque, the track is a simply gorgeous chunk of Balearic dub piled high with organic percussion, undulating acid lines and mazy solos. It provides a fittingly triumphant conclusion to another essential sampler EP from NuNorthern Soul.

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Perel

Jesus Was An Alien

LP | 1989 | EU | Reissue (Everland Psych)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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The dance floor as devotional is a trope as old as the club itself. But, with her new album, Jesus Was An Alien, Perel subverts the stakes of our collective communion: Who are our arms raised to? Who are we seeking salvation from?

“Jesus Was An Alien is a discourse about whether Jesus was an actual alien,” she explains, “but also a social debate about what is and implies religion today.” She offers up her provocative second record – her first on Kompakt – as a soundtrack for the listener’s own journey through the intricacies and ironies of modern belief.

Picking up on the themes she brought to her debut, the 2018’s LP Hermetica on DFA, Perel has created ten tracks rich with spirit and allusion. Her influences are myriad, from the indie dance hitmakers of the early 2000s – Hot Chip, Simian Mobile Disco, Justice – to rave compilations that predate her ascent to the DJ booth, to more abstract inputs. Living with synesthesia, she says, “I feel emotions and colors piling up inside me, then there’s a triggering sound or event that opens a valve. My tracks are color streams that tell a story.”

Jesus Was An Alien is not just multicolored – it’s multi-lingual too, slipping in and out of tongues in a single track, sometimes dispensing with words altogether (the ecstatic breakdown of “The Principle of Vibration”). The album features Perel’s voice almost entirely but for her special collaboration with Canadian songwriter Marie Davidson on the title track.

“Jesus Was An Alien” stirs like a late-night revelation, a heady discovery awakened in the dark. Perel lays out a fiercely disciplined electro pulse, with Davidson’s proclamations growing more fervent over the song’s sensual stride. “I already said everything with my synthesizers and the melodies I created,” Perel explains of the collaboration, but “somehow she gave the song a voice I couldn’t.”

Perel drives further not only spiritually but sonically across the ten tracks, taking thrilling production risks: standouts include her breathy vocals atop a melodic piano strut on “Matrix;” the delirious blur of ghostly chimes and disembodied voices of “Religion;” and the retro radiance of “The Principle of Vibration,” in which Perel exhorts us to “come on and vibe” over an athletic riff and shuffling percussion.

“Kill The System,” meanwhile, hits the listener with tense acid pulses, building to only an imagined release and calls out the end of patriarchy. Album closer “Am Kanal” starts as a pensive cloud of a track, finally breaking into a rich textural rain of synths and stabs.

The variety throughout Jesus Was An Alien underlines Perel’s purpose in this latest project; she’s experimenting her way to answers – or maybe just more questions. After all, she says, “questions are the beginning of something new.”

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Kola Beldy

White Island

Somewhere Else Clear Vinyl Edition

Release: 1989 / EU – Reissue

Genre: Rock & Indie

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I have never heard before of the Jurchen culture from the Chinese and later East Russian Northlands and as well not of the Nanai People who have risen from the scattered remains of the Jurchen culture wiped out by furiously attacking Mongolian steppe armies some 850 years back. The Great Khans did not leave much variety after sweeping through the taiga towards Western Europe in the 12th and 13th centuries. So the Nanai people came to exist and had their songs and instruments. Some of them were used by composer Alexander Lavrov and singer Kola Beldy who is of Nanian descent in their music on this, Kola Beldy’s fourth album. Just as all his records from the 1980s, this is extremely rare and originals in good shape can cost a small fortune. Just in case they ever turn up somewhere outside the vast Russian country. Now for the very outstanding music that as mentiond above is based on centuries old folk tunes of the Nanai and Jurchen cultures which get slightly updated in the sense of 1989 state oft he art pop and rock and that even in a slightly progressive way. Kola Beldy, already 60 years of age by then, was a long time active folk and pop singer in the Soviet Union who unfortunately passed away only 64 years old in 1993. He owns a full, warm mid ranged voice and chants the ancient melodies in a mystifying way. The instrumentation behind him shows a good variety of old and modern instruments. While the opening track is based mostly on percussion and drum patterns with an eerie grinding sound and later on a jew’s harp added upon which Beldy lays down a melody with a typical far eastern approach in what seems to be Russian language, further tracks contain synthesizer lines and even an electric guitar. Still the overall atmosphere is mostly mystical, solemn and spiritual. I definitely have not heard anything alike before. The more rock oriented tunes could bring back memories of Italian movie soundtracks by Goblin, based on progressive rock and jazz to the mind of the listener, just with these awesome vocals. Italian 90s progressive rockers Presence also had a similar approach. The keyboards, organ, very modern singing bass guitar head towards a very progressive direction here. Art pop, if you want to call it that. Based on ancient Nanian tunes but made timeless and even in 2021 fresh sounding by a very talented band. So, Kola Beldy’s fourth album may not be a mainstream favorite, fans of progressive pop like that of early 80s Goblin, Presence from the early 90s and good ol‘ Peter Gabriel, not for the voice itself but for the songs, will find pleasure in this nifty obscurity which gets reissued now for the first time on vinyl in 32 years.

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JP Enfant

12" | 2022 | EU | Original (Psychedelic Romance)

18,99 €*

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Mental Groove)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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The Psychedelic Romance experience is birthed, combining future-facing electronic music, art and healing. The venture is a collaboration between former Trouw & De School resident JP Enfant, energy practitioner & artist Cuevawolf and artist & label manager Maren Monika Brombeiss. It will offer an immersive sensory experience to its audience via an event series and label, with music produced at 432hz, a frequency known to uplift emotional wellbeing.

The trio linked in Amsterdam last year. JP had been previously running Psychedelic Romance events at the legendary Trouw, an opportunity he used to explore the musical terrain linking techno, UK bass and ambient. Over the years, the cream of the underground scene was invited to play, from Pearson Sound to boundary-pushing dubstep/bass producer 2562. He met Cuevawolf by chance mid-way through 2020, after fate would have the Mexican artist “stuck” in the Dutch capital during the pandemic. The click was instantaneous. Seasoned music industry professional and yoga practitioner Maren Monika completed the triangle. Together they seek to combine their passion for cutting-edge electronic music with consciousness-raising events and healing. The label strand of Psychedelic Romance comes to life via JP Enfant’s ‘Somewhere Else EP’, a veritable musical Rubik’s Cube encompassing techno, ambient and bass. The five-track work includes a remix of lead track ‘Muzieklokaal’ from Bristol’s acclaimed experimental producer LCY, who reworks the playful original into a dynamic pastiche of industrial breaks and techno.

Dubbed a “local legend” of the Amsterdam scene by RA, JP Enfant has built up a credible reputation with gigs across Europe including Berghain, Melt Festival and fabric. His nuanced approach to techno has seen releases on Planet X, a.r.t.less and Dgtl Records.

The conscious ethos of the project runs through every thread of Psychedelic Romance. Alongside the music being produced at 432hz, a frequency believed to support a calm body and mind, at upcoming Psychedelic Romance events, Cuevawolf will play the crystal singing bowls, which will transition the night from an uplifting sound healing session into an immersive electronic rave experience, led by JP. “Our goal is to create purposeful healing frequencies through music and art that ultimately raises and harmonizes our audience’s vibration,” Cuevawolf explains. “The idea is to marry electronic music and spirituality providing a safe space for transcendental and self-healing experiences that evolve onto a dancefloor.”

Psychedelic Romance hosted an intimate family and friends gathering during ADE week at Amsterdam’s Pamela, with music led by JP and emerging Amsterdam selector DJ Corridor. On the label front, other artists slated for appearances on Psychedelic Romance include Dutch techno artist Mary Lake and ascendant Austrian talent Arthur Robert.

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Chris Korda

Passion For Numbers

21,99 €*

2LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Ellum Audio)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Classical Music

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Chris Korda is an internationally renowned multimedia artist, whose work spans thirty years and includes electronic music, digital and video art, performance and conceptual art, and culture jamming. Chris pioneered the use of complex polymeter in electronic dance music, and invented a unique Midi sequencer in order to explore polymeter composition techniques. Chris composes and performs music in a variety of genres, and has released many albums on labels such as Perlon, Mental Groove, and Gigolo Records. Chris also worked as a computer programmer for thirty-five years.

Her new album "Passion For Numbers" is one of the very few album in the world entirely composed in complex polymeter, meaning that each pieces of music uses several prime meters simultaneously. A unique way to compose music with a new generation of musical algorithmic, inside which Korda injects the DNA of neo classical, ambient and jazz music.

This refreshing album will please you whether you are into complex musical composition, experimental music or just seeking for a beautiful, emotional and accessible musical moment. This is a "In your hearts not the charts" album, as Irdial Discs once said.

Pleases read an extract of Chris Korda's letter about Passion For Numbers, included as insert in its entirety in this vinyl release:

This is an album of piano music, but I wrote it without a piano. Not having a piano turned out to be constructive, because I had to rely on my brain instead of my fingers, and particularly on my imagination and inner hearing. The album belongs to a category called phase music, and it’s also algorithmic, or more precisely rules-based generative music.

I don’t write music in the usual sense of the word “write.” I build kinetic sculptures, and the sculptures generate my music. My sculptures are virtual, meaning they’re invisible machines that exist only as data within my home-grown software. My process is related to the work of a relatively obscure early 20th century artist named Thomas Wilfred. Like me, Wilfred was an engineer-artist, and built machines that generated art from phase shift.

My music is in complex polymeter, meaning it’s not just in odd time, but in multiple odd time signatures, and not one odd time signature after another sequentially, but all of them running concurrently. Most music isn’t constructed this way, which is why I needed to develop custom software in order to compose my music. My software is called The Polymeter Midi Sequencer, and you can easily find it on the Internet. I also use music set theory, change-ringing and gray code, explanations of which can be found in Wikipedia.

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Avision

In My Mind

28,99 €*

Why Is It They Say A City Like Any City

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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New school techno pioneer Avision will release his debut album ‘In My Mind’ on Ellum Audio this winter.

Avision grew up around the rich club culture of New York City and is now part of a new wave of artists defining the contemporary techno landscape. In just a couple of years, the American has become an absolute mainstay on labels like Drumcode, Machine, and We Are The Brave. His hard-hitting productions have found their way into the record bags of tastemakers like Adam Beyer, Maceo Plex and Chris Liebing. At the same time, he has been featured everywhere, from The Brooklyn Mirage and Time Warp in New York to festivals like Elrow, The BPM Festival, Electric Daisy Carnival and Dockyards. Now he offers up ‘In My Mind’, a widescreen artistic statement across 13 immersive tracks.

Says the artist, “I’m truly proud to share ‘In My Mind’ with the world, as I feel like this is another side of music that people haven’t heard from me. This album touches on a little bit of everything, and I wanted it to represent where I’m from. 90% of the album was written during the time we couldn’t be ourselves and do what we love, but I turned that frustration and disbelief into an album with emotion and meaning. I couldn’t be happier with the final outcome, and I hope everyone enjoys it.”

The LP kicks off with ‘Real Talk’, wasting no time getting going on a lush wave of Detroit-style techno full of hi-tek soul. 'Cut The Rope' features Robert Owens, the legendary house vocalist who lights up the deep, driving house drums with a typically impassioned vocal. The energy levels stay high on 'No Disco' with its oversized hi-hats, nimble bassline and chattery claps, while 'Baby' traps you in metallic techno loops with a playful vocal sample. After the bright lights of lead single 'Contrast,' and grinding peak time weapon 'In My Mind' is ‘Ground Rule’, an atmospheric spoken word interlude about NYC.

The album’s second half kicks off with the far-sighted cosmic pads of 'I'll Take You' with Xander and has you lost in another world. There is angst in the tense synth loops of interplanetary techno cut 'Your Soul' and hands-in-the-air trance energy on 'Where I Want To Be.' The monstrous 'All Night' is another wall of rich synth sound over big drums, and 'Lost Symmetry' then releases the pressure with a more dreamy melodic vibe built on tumbling breakbeats. 'In Your World' closes in an uplifting fashion across eight minutes of cantering techno and epic synth work.

‘In My Mind’ is an accomplished and adventurous album that takes melodic techno in bold new directions.

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Ale Hop

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Karl)

19,99 €*

Gears Of The Giant Machine

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Electronic & Dance

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A download code is included.

The new album by the Peruvian-born / Berlin-based experimental artist Ale Hop was conceived in a context of immobility and provides six sonic vignettes that wonder about location, circularity, rootedness and experience. In collaboration with Ana Quiroga, Concepcion Huerta, Daniela Huerta, Elsa M’balla, Felicity Magan, Fil Uno, Ignacio Briceño, KMRU, Manongo Mujica, Moises Horta, Nicole L’huillier, Raul Jardín, Sukitoa Onamau, Tomas Tello.

Following her explorations on music's inherent fixation to geographic space and time, be it through the longing of home ("Apophenia" 2019) or scientific magnification of invisible worlds ("The Life of Insects" 2020), Berlin-based Peruvian-born experimental composer Ale Hop's fourth album, "Why Is It They Say a City Like Any City?", was conceived in a context of immobility. During the lockdown months, she started a process of remote collaboration, by sending messages, posted from various cities along a South American trip, to thirteen musicians from around the world. She journaled her impressions upon these places to an intimate fictional character while reflecting on matters of time, sound, space, cosmology and colonial memory. The thirteen musicians dialogued with this voice by
taking upon the challenge of responding to the messages with sound collaborations.

Field recordings, mouth drumming, drone cellos, electronic loops, arrhythmic rhythms and voices came back from this experiment. Ale assembled them, by layering, twisting and turning, into sonic vignettes that wonder about location, circularity, rootedness and experience, making it the first time she's set her guitar aside. Expect no answers to the album's title question, but an innermost psychedelic rumination.

"Despite the technological resources that appear to dilute distances, the simulation of closeness mirrored on the digital space is an emptied body, a state of precarity, a flat surface; unable to withhold an experience of exchange," Ale states. "So, I began this project by asking myself, how can we escape from the reduced experience of the virtual? The idea behind this experiment was that my messages and the places they describe could drive the composition, be a catalyzer, a score. Thus, to use geography as a tool to remember and imagine, to allow new soundscapes to emerge."

"Memory, diffuse and divergent, sometimes reaches out to the future in its search for form, taking shape from the reflections and echoes that come back … like throwing a rock in a pond and having a rock thrown back at you." The release of "Why Is It They Say a City Like Any City?" is accompanied by a 50-min audiovisual installation that will premiere at CTM 2022 Exhibition in January, which was created in collaboration with the Mexican technologist and artist Moises Horta. For this piece, an Artificial Intelligence multi-modal neural network was fed with readings of the messages written by Ale, synthesizing them into free-flowing images. The visual imagery resembles the way memory works
when triggered by words, by traveling freely through mental images unfolding them into openended assemblages of spaces and temporalities.

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Dragonfruit

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Super-Sonic Jazz)

Myxomy (James Ginzburg & Ziur)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Let the clicking of the gears transport you to another world. A land filled with organic synthesizers, deep bass lines, moving drums and lo-fi textures, topped off with warm vocals and soaring strings, Dragonfruit takes you on a genre blending trip through their music. The first glimpse of their unique sound has been captured on their debut-album "Gears Of The Giant Machine”.

Dragonfruit are another prime example of an outfit who are looking to push the boundaries of genres. The Rotterdam-based group’s unique blend of sampled hip-hop crossed with influential neo-soul has certainly given them the scope to broaden their ever rising horizons. Full of confidence and a personality that shines through, their music certainly has many people wondering what’s going to happen next, with an individual unpredictability that has seen them featured in the likes of Earmilk and Kaltblut to date.

They now arrive, after a string of single releases, with their highly anticipated debut album ‘Gears of the Giant Machine’ arriving on October 8th through Super Sonic Records. The album is full of rich lo-fi textures and electronica that transcends beyond the norm, with the lead single being the relentlessly colourful ‘Digital Princess’. Modern R&B is more than prevalent here, with an upbeat slice of laden beats that match the wonderful lyricism of both Danique van der Vlugt and featured artist Amazumi. It’s catchy and juicy from the off, with the songs meaning centring around female empowerment which elevates the track even further once you realise its celebratory undertone of accepting who you are and loving it.

The album as a whole is an escape to a completely different place, and Dragonfruit have created this sonically diverse and unique listening experience. This ideology is more than well placed, as they encompass a whole range of sounds; synthesizers, deep bass lines, moving drums, topped off with warm vocals and soaring strings. ‘Gears of the Giant Machine’ will remove you from the mundane, with ‘Digital Princess’ being the catalyst. It’s clear that Dragonfruit capture the essence of what it takes to be a modernised power-pop outfit, and ‘Digital Princess’ is set to take a lot of people by surprise and wonder.

Speaking more on ‘Digital Princess’ Dragonfruit explains: “Digital Princess is a song about female empowerment, or empowerment of any kind if you will. It’s about coming to terms with who you are and celebrating that. In the words of Rupaul: “‘If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else”.

But not only that: if you don’t love and accept yourself, how can you expect anyone else to do so? So again: celebrate yourself. Reflect and recognise what you like and don’t like. Come to terms with what you can’t change, and change what you can if you want.”

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Myxomy

LP | 2021 | UK | Original (Subtext)

19,99 €*

Call Me When You're Outside...

Release: 2021 / UK – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Artistic collaborations don't have to be exhaustive, competitive or combative. And for Berlin-based producers James Ginzburg and Ziúr, their work together as myxomy has been almost effortless. Both artists bring with them a deep history of recording in vastly different circumstances: Ginzburg has worked on bass music, folk, experimental techno (as half of Emptyset) and experimental drone, while Ziúr played in a number of bands before settling into her current explorative electronic mode. So when they started working together in 2020, it was their respective backgrounds that provided the touch-paper for an explosive artistic head-to-head.

Ginzburg instigated the process by sending Ziúr beats he'd made in Bristol in a former life, and Ziúr, fresh from finishing her PAN-released third solo album "Antifate", set about sculpting them into completely new forms. In response, Ziúr dispatched vignettes to Ginzburg and he did the same. As they exchanged ideas back and forth and lapsed into absurdity, the songs followed suit, evolving from raw concepts and loops into proper songs as both Ziúr and Ginzburg traded melodies, lyrics and production tricks. The duo's fragmented sketches and scribbles took on new life, channeled, refined and re-invigorated as they developed into anxious, hybridized pop jewels.

Their surprising stylistic choice is revealed immediately on opening track 'Sloppy Attempt', a fractured mood stabilizer that dissociates from Bristolian trip-hop into glossy android pop. Ziúr's singing voice carries the track into a sonic black hole, mutated into an alien gurgle as she gently coos the prophetic words, "a sloppy attempt won't cut it, no no." And as Ginzburg takes the reins on 'A little opaque', singing over Ziúr's twisted neon electronics, it's clear that both artists have pushed each other outside of their comfort zones, providing the reassurance and comfort necessary to evolve.

On 'In and Until', they find an exact median between their two most recent albums. Twanging hurdy-gurdy sounds remind of Ginzburg's 'crystallise, a frozen eye', compelled forward by brittle foley percussion we last heard on "Antifate". A scalding industrial boil of deranged synthesizer squeals and rolling drums parts like the Red Sea on 'Toxin Out', cooling to a crust for Ziúr's half-sung words to echo overhead. "Burn the bridges it's a choice, eat the rich, and throw up on the fuckbois."

"Myxomy" isn't an overtly political album, but driven by a desire to create and a shared philosophical space, Ziúr and Ginzburg are naturally outspoken. Their vision of pop is twisted through history and floated on frustration, growth and constant reinvention. It's a unique mix of polar elements - light and dark, noise and silence, joy and melancholy - that centers itself on one important theme: together, we're far more powerful than we ever could be alone.

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Steel Tipped Dove

LP | 2021 | US | Original (Backwoodz)

30,39 €* 31,99 € -5%

LP | 2021 | EU | Original (Cobblers / Bad Omen)

Release: 2021 / US – Original

Genre: Hip Hop

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In every arts community, there are people who, despite being little known even to fans of the scene, are deeply embedded in its past and present. When it comes to NYC independent hip-hop, Joseph Fusaro aka Steel Tipped Dove is one of those people. Not only has he quietly made beats for everybody and their cousin but for more than fifteen years Dove has run a recording studio out of the same 2nd floor walk-up in Brooklyn, weathering gentrification and the proliferation of home studios alike. In that time, a wealth of artists have crossed his threshold; some famous, some forgotten, and many in between. Dove’s was always a place where you could schedule a last-minute session or have an out-of-town artist meet you at 1am after their show, no need to worry, Dove would be there. It’s a place that you drop by because you’re around the corner and end up leaving with a jump drive full of wild beats.

Call Me When You’re Outside is a testament to that energy: inspired collaborations with disparate artists from across the country and the indie music spectrum. The album features Elucid, billy woods, KeiyaA, The Koreatown Oddity, Pink Siifu, Shirt, Fat Tony, Fielded, Fatboi Sharif, and Skech185, and is entirely produced by Steel Tipped Dove. Mixed and mastered by Willie Green and executive produced by billy woods, Cmwyo not only speaks to Dove’s history in the scene but the vitality of his current work. He may have been in the game for a long time, but his beats have never sounded better and his vision as a producer has never been clearer. With that in mind, if you buy it directly from us the project comes with the full instrumentals, which are also included in the vinyl and CD versions. The vinyl artwork is masterfully handled by multidisciplinary artist Myra Musgrove, while the CD is designed by the enigmatic Harvey Cliff.

In some ways it’s surprising that for all the artists Dove has worked with—NOSAJ from New Kingdom, R.A.P. Ferreira, Tone Tank, Das Racist, ShrapKnel, Mr. Muthafuckin eXquire, Kemba fka YC The Cynic—he has never put out a project like this. But if you know Joe, it’s really not. He has always been comfortable playing the background and contributing in whatever way he could. For him, it’s always been about the music. We hope you enjoy this rare peek into Dove’s world: his sound, his friends and collaborators. The studio is open to everyone but the buzzer hasn’t worked for fifteen years, so call when you’re outside.

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Diagonal

Release: 2021 / EU – Original

Genre: Rock & Indie

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‘4’ captures Diagonal in full creative flow and with a new twist to their sound as they incorporate elements of space rock, kosmische and post rock to bolster their well-established progressive rock roots. That adage of waiting ages for a bus and two or more come along at the same time seems applicable to their recent productivity. Returning only two years after the release of their previous LP ''Arc'', this is a notable break from tradition, having left five and seven year gaps before the previous two. And after much deliberation, the band settled on following in the footsteps of Soft Machine and Led Zeppelin in naming the album after its chronological appearance. The band returned to the studio only a year after the sessions for 'Arc'. The result is an assured work that functions wonderfully as a logical progression from 'Arc' yet at the same time has enough shift in sonics to illuminate a different facet of the band. Opening cut ‘Amon’ (a working title that ended up sticking) makes perfect sense as a reference to the German experimental rock band Amon Düül II. Its solid guitar riff foundation careens over an ever-evolving time signature, the three-part structure decreasing in intensity until it dissolves in a cloud of bubbling ambient textures. 'Chroma' explores the band’s interest in jazz. One of the two instrumental tracks on the LP, it showcases the effervescently emotive sax work of Nicholas Whittaker with an intricately crafted solo that unfurls itself over a fluid 5/4 rhythm. 'Spinning Array' is in many ways the track that acts as most of a connecting bridge to the previous album. The stridently crisp bass and drum syncopation of the opening bars giving way to long unhurried guitar lines and vocals. Vocalist/saxophonist Whittaker incorporates some intriguingly different sounds into proceedings with the use of Chinese wind instrument, the Hulusi, as well as the more traditional recorder. The keyboard presence on this album is less pronounced owing to an instrumental/personnel swap. 'Stellate' is a shining example of this shake-up and demonstrates the band at their heaviest in what emerged as a controlled jam. The woodwinds carry the Middle Eastern-tinged melody over a bed of thick guitars, as the time doubles and moves towards a maelstrom of pulsating rhythms and fearsomely lysergic guitar soloing courtesy of David Wileman. The album is expertly rounded off by the appropriately titled 'Totem'. Beginning with a repeating 5 note guitar figure, it slowly brings to the boil a bed of miscellaneous percussion and wordless vocals. The culmination is a finale of searing guitar and crashing drums, recalling the most ecstatic work of Japanese cosmic rockers Acid Mothers Temple. Diagonal’s fourth album clocks in at a punchy 37 minutes and will certainly be leaving listeners wanting more. But, who knows? Maybe those proverbial buses will be adhering to a more reliable timetable in the future.

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12" | 2021 | EU | Original (Tropical Disco)

Tropical Disco Volume 22

15,99 €*

In The Flesh Clear Vinyl Edition

Release: 2021 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Tropical Disco Records have once again delivered four scintillating feel good summer disco jams courtesy of the latest edition of their well loved vinyl series. Perfect for those gloriously sunny outdoor events, BBQ’s and beach parties alike their latest EP is another must have slice of black gold. Scouring the globe for the freshest cuts Volume 22 is another multinational affair combining the skills of Colombian duo Vagabundo Club Social, Mexico’s Monsieur Van Pratt, Italy’s Infradisco and New York’s Roland & Brother Rich. Opening affairs are the hugely exciting duo Vagabundo Club Social with their track ‘Costero’. They are producers who nimbly fuse dusty Latin grooves with cutting edge production techniques and dancefloor know-how and here have delivered yet another feel good dancefloor smash. ‘Costero’ is quite simply a DJ’s dream track which will do the business at any end of the set whether you need to get the crowd on the floor or tear the proverbial roof off. Mexico is currently at the leading tip of the disco charge and Monsieur Van Pratt is one of the stand-out producers from a country bursting with talent. ‘Jazz Player’ pulls absolutely no punches combining jazz cool with disco know-how for a track which wins on all counts. Sublime brass solos sit atop a huge funky gem of a bassline. ‘Jazz Player’ will tear dance-floors up worldwide as the world starts to rediscover its long since packed away dancing shoes. Italy’s Infradisco is up next with ‘Aungasana’ and it’s the perfect track to follow on combining many of the traits that both Vagabundo Social Club and Monsieur Van Pratt utilised on their tracks. Expect huge jazzy horns, funky bass and tribal vocals building up to a monstrous organ groove which raises proceedings to fever pitch. Infectious and energetic, it’s another seriously classy dancefloor moment. Closing out the EP are New Yorkers Roland & Brother Rich with the exquisitely titled ‘Roger Moore’s Living Room’. Paying homage to the James Bond legend it’s the ideal track to sip brandy and toast the characters of yesteryear in that velvet smoking jacket you have always wanted. Deep and Jazzy with the essence of the 70s flowing through it’s DNA ‘Roger Moore’s Living Room’ is a track so effortlessly cool that even Blofeld would be throwing some shapes. Tropical Disco’s Volume 22 is a sublime selection of timeless and wonderfully cool tracks which will be the perfect accompaniment to sun soaked events this summer and well beyond. Support across Mi Soul & House FM.

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Nader Sadek

LP | 2011 | EU | Reissue (Svart)

Release: 2011 / EU – Reissue

Genre: Rock & Indie

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Gatefold sleeve, Limited clear vinyl

“In the Flesh” is the brainchild of Egyptian-born, New York-based conceptual artist Nader Sadek. Known for his impressively twisted sculptures, masks, and installations used for example by bands such as Mayhem and Sunn O))), Sadek is now venturing into the realm of recorded music- including songwriting credits on this album!

The band Nader Sadek emerges out of a collaboration between Sadek and some of extreme music’s most talented artists with its core made up out of songwriter/vocalist Steve Tucker (ex-MORBID Angel), Cryptopsy drummer Flo Mounier and Norwegian composer/guitarist Rune Eriksen (ava Inferi, ex-Mayhem). A host of guest-appearances lends additional weight to the musical impact of “In the Flesh” by leading artists such as Attila Csihar (Mayhem), Travis Ryan (cattle Decapitation), Tony Norman (monstrosity), Descructhor (morbid Angel), and Nick McMaster (krallice). “In the Flesh” is firmly based on a technically masterfully executed unique style of Death Metal with a pitch black twist that creates a multi-cultural symphonic abyss where melody and corrosion meet.

As a work conceptual art “In the Flesh” is best explained like this:

Nader Sadek invite you on a journey to the depths of the earth, where substances of a repulsive nature dwell. Beneath the earth’s crust, over millions of years creatures have disintegrated and decayed until taking on ghastly new life as petroleum. Like a return of the undead, petroleum and its derivates have wrought cross-cultural conflict, environmental pollution, and economic distress. With a visual and aural assault, Sadek’s new work “In The Flesh” re-interprets petroleum’s sinister insinuation into our everyday lives. Nine songs and a series of original drawings video works explore several aspects of the commodified resource we find ourselves fatally dependent on.

“In the Flesh” exploits the sonic links between death metal and gasoline-dependent heavy machinery such as automobile and airplane engines. These links shaped the process of musical composition itself: The album opener, “Petrophilia”, kicks in with a sound evoking an engine starting up. Another song, “Of This Flesh (novus deus)”, follows the sonic structure of a car shifting gears. While continuing to link musical composition to mechanical transformations, other songs depart from engine-based references. The outro to the album, “Nigredo in Necromance” which is already accompanied by a video, dwells on an individual’s recognition that he must die in order to reunite with his deceased lover. The song riffs on the life-in-death of an oil-drenched society, as the lovers’ reunite in their decomposition and rebirth as petroleum. This theme also drives the track “Mechanic Idolatry”, which channels the uncanny thrust of Sadek’s recent artistic output, as live human beings provide the fuel for machines transforming themselves into flesh.

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Expansions Colored Vinyl Edition

LP | 2021 | US | Original (Big Crown)

Release: 2021 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band, the mysterious steel pan outt hailing from Hamburg, Germany have amassed a cult following around the globe. With a slew of classic 7"s and two critically acclaimed full length albums, they set a high bar for themselves, one they clearly intend on pushing even higher with this new offering. On their third album, aptly titled Expansions, Brsb are back with more of the same, but more of the same with them is inherently different. Covering songs that span genres and range from mega hits to album cuts, they make them their own with their unique approach to the traditional steel pans of Trinidad and Tobago. Part of the allure of a new record from Bacao is nding out what covers they chose. However, die hard fans are also waiting to hear the original numbers like the stellar album opener "Tough Victory". Its airtight rhythm section, brass arrangements, and layers of steel pan melodies make the term "cover band" a shoe that could never t Bacao. Within the next three songs they go from Jazz (Galt MacDermot), to Hip Hop (Slum Village / J Dilla), to a dance ‑oor classic (Grace Jones) taking them all on with their signature style, expanding on the originals. An easy crowd favorite is their gritty, gully, and neck snapping cover of the Timbaland produced Jay-Z club hit "Dirt Off Your Shoulder". The infamous crushing Bacao drums start the show and the moment they start playing the top line on the pans, all bets are off. Sure to become a dance ‑oor ller is their bottom heavy ,four on the ‑oor version version of Sylvester's classic "I Need Somebody To Love Tonight". They venture into some gutbucket funk with Ike Turner's "Getting Nasty" and bring the steel pans to Minnie Riperton's Jazz classic "Les Fleurs". Digging deeper in the modern canon and paying tribute to a tribute, they cover Erykah Badu's homage to the late great J Dilla, "The Healer". This is the type of thing to make Spice Adams jump on his kitchen counter and scream. From the second the beat drops they give the original Madlib production a run for its money, shaking subwoofers with the eerie tremolo bass while the pans play E. Badu's vocal melodies. By the time the album is through Bacao has taken the listener on a journey that spans a myriad of energies, tempos, and moods while somehow managing to keep it all under one umbrella. For all that, these songs are alive, and they will be taken out of the context of this album and sewn into the fabric of DJ sets around the globe for many years to come. Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band is breathing renewed life into the originals and continuing to push the boundaries of steel pan music, or, as the title suggests, expanding on it.

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Expansions Black Vinyl Edition

LP | 2021 | US | Original (Big Crown)

間違いの実 / The Fruit Of Errata

Release: 2021 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Yumbo

2LP | 2021 | EU | Original (Morr Music)

33,99 €*

12" | 2021 | UK | Original (Rogue Cat)

Release: 2021 / EU – Original

Genre: Rock & Indie

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Following in the footsteps of the pathbreaking Minna Miteru compilation of Japanese indie music, Morr Music and Alien Transistor have again joined forces to release The Fruit Of Errata, a compilation introducing the world to the intimate DIY pop of yumbo. Led by songwriter, pianist, and occasional vocalist Koji Shibuya, the Japanese band has released four albums since forming in 1998. This compilation draws fifteen songs (eighteen on vinyl) from those albums, and some ancillary releases, to uncover a biographical narrative of yumbo, showing how Shibuya’s songwriting, and the group’s limber, sensitive playing, has developed over the decades. It also places them squarely within a tradition of home-spun but ambitious Japanese pop that takes in Maher Shalal Hash Baz, Tenniscoats, Nagisa Ni Te, Yuzo Iwata, Kazumi Nikaido and more.

yumbo is very much the vision of Shibuya, an amiable iconoclast whose songs seem informed by some of his early listening – there’s the playful seriousness of Maher Shalal Hash Baz’s Tori Kudo here, an avowed long-time hero for Shibuya, but also the flexibility of freely improvised music. You can also hear Shibuya’s fondness for Mayo Thompson and The Red Crayola in both the idiosyncracies of the writing and the egalitarian looseness of the playing. Shibuya also carries those energies into the group’s membership – there are fantastic stories of him having a conversation at a record shop, or overhearing someone speaking, and asking the person in question to join yumbo as one of their various singers. He seems open to chance as a driving force, as a way to make space for unexpected possibilities to blossom.

The great achievement of yumbo and Shibuya, though, is translating all of this into beautiful, unpredictable pop songs. There’s a gorgeous soul-inflected lilt to “A House” that makes it delightfully affecting; the swaying brass on “Storm” propels its melody to a moody, dreamlike conclusion; the nakedness of “The Sweetest Mass” is slightly reminiscent of Carla Bley’s more pop-focused writing, crossed with the classicism of the songs that spilled from the Brill Building in the ‘60s. Throughout, Shibuya renders pop a deeply personal experience; you can hear musings here on friendship, family, intimacy, the complexity of relationships, mortality, and imbalances of power. These musings are also shadowed by real-life events: the effects and impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 are captured in songs like “Umbrella People” from Onibi.

Throughout the performances on The Fruit Of Errata, Shibuya and the group play with tenderness; they also often draw on other players to flesh out the music even further, two such guests being the aforementioned Tori Kudo (on “Umbrella People”) and Olympia, Washington’s Lake (on “The Devil Song”). Community-minded and generous in approach, the writing of Shibuya and the music of yumbo is never less than lovely, and The Fruit Of Errata is a welcome introduction to their world. Open and gentle, confident and generous, these pop songs are filled with charm and spirit.

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Mind Fair

That Thing

13,99 €*

Draw Me A Silence Remixes

Release: 2021 / UK – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Next up from Mind Fair is a crafty cover of cosmic classic, That Thing, by That Thing. Originally released as a currently scarce 12 on AVI in 1977, That Thing was a one-off synth-pop project produced by Dutch musician Geertjan Lacunes – who worried the outer limits of various European hit-parades during the ‘70s and ‘80s under the alias Jerry Rix. German label Jupiter picked up the quirky curio and repressed it as 7 for wider distribution, no doubt envisioning that they’d licensed a novelty monster the scale of Chicory Tip’s Son Of My Father - which alas was not the case.

The track was however a firm favourite of pioneering Italian DJ, Daniele Baldelli, since its wonky bass riff can be heard spinning in and out of a multitude of his legendary mixtapes - where it`s twisted, almost inverted, by the maestro’s use of EQ. Back in 2020, Mind Fair have fashioned a faithful but you-betcha beefed-up reworking. The crazy lyric - care of Chicken Lips cohort, Johnny Spencer - and cowbells accompanied by un-MIDI-ed Moog and modular synth twitches, italo arpeggios and fuzzed guitar tones. Fabrizio Mammerella delivers a remix that's like a meeting of NYC’s Emergency Records, and Belgium’s Antler and Subway. Chris Barbosa and Morton, Sherman and Belluci. ‘80s New York and ‘90s New Beat. Dropping the chorus into devastating delay, chopping Johnny up into percussive Pop Muzik snippets. Sealing the psychedelic deal with a deft dose of analogue acid. In comparison, Eric Duncan’s re-imagining, initially comes across as kinda muted, but that’s just to catch you off guard. While pitched down, and the drums for sure more sedate, it’s definitely the trippier of the two revisions - with all sorts of strangeness throwing abstract shapes deep in its detail. That 303 now sounding severely stoned. It’s like that cat at the afters, the one who commandeers the drinks table in the kitchen and then bends any and every unsuspecting ear - spontaneously connecting the disparate dots in the universe, seemingly without stopping to draw breath - while endlessly shaking folks’ cocktails. The kind of nut that everyone knows, but can never work out how they make it home. Tongue-in-cheek weirdness worthy of Eric’s Rub N Tug partner, Thomas Bullock, and his mate, DJ Harvey, too slow to disco, too high to stop dancing, it’s quality psyche gear for the experienced, discerning, dimensional traveler. There’s a dub for those that can’t quite handle the vocal (lightweights!).

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Azu Tiwaline

12" | 2021 | UK | Original (IOT)

16,99 €*

Release: 2021 / UK – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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The first Azu Tiwaline's album, after been acclaimed by DJs like Lena Willikens, upsammy, Shanti Celeste and a bunch of electronic medias (Bandcamp, RA, Crack), is now remixed by a Lyon-Bristol-Berlin trifecta of similarly minded rhythmic innovators - twisting and warping her work into new shapes, featuring Don't DJ, Laksa & Flore reinterpretations. Nothing happens overnight. Behind every emergence, there’s years of work, thought and preparation - both intentional and unconscious - that’s gone unseen. So the past year might have been a ‘breakout’ year for Azu Tiwaline, but it was really built over two decades of experimentation, soul-searching - both creative and personal - and exploration. “A new name for a new spirit” as she likes to say, but with an unmistakable identity rooted in her history and ancestry. On her debut album as Azu Tiwaline, Draw Me A Silence, a record released in two parts with her family at I.O.T. , she fused together two halves of her own heritage, inspired by a new home in the desert. Personal history collided with family heritage: half step rhythms from a career in bass music met the warm winds and wide open silence of El Djerid in Tunisia. When music is sincere and honest, it tends to reverberate more widely, and deeply. The tracks written for the Magnetic Service EP were sent to one label and one label only, Livity Sound, who picked it up instantly. Something about the spacious, yet dense sonics - crafted with the help of percussionist Cinna Peyghamy - resonated with listeners starved of both the community of the dancefloor and the space of the outside world. The EP became one of the Bristol label’s most heralded releases of 2020, featuring in end of year coverage from Bandcamp to Resident Advisor. Beneath the calm of her productions, a restless spirit inhabits Azu, born out of months and years spent on the road. In 2020, it was her music that took her places. She put together a series of podcast mixes that echoed the percussive, rhythmic curves of her own productions, for Boiler Room, Dekmantel and Crack Mag. She distilled Fazer Drums’ percussive experiments into dubby downtempo with a remix, and contributed her most rooted track yet - Violet Curves with Cinna Peyghamy - to On the Corner’s Door to The Cosmos compilation. This will be followed by the Extended version of the album with a gorgeous ambient bonus track “Eyes of the Wind”, accompanied by a video clip directed by Azu Tiwaline, shot in her desert lands. This track will be appearing in a digital reupload reunifying Draw Me A Silence Part.I and II. As a sort of final chapter of this debut album. As for the rest? We’ll see what 2021 has to offer for both the world and Azu Tiwaline. In the meantime, take inspiration from her music: keep the tempo steady, let some light in, and listen for the silence.

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VNL \ Stylus

35,10 €* 39,00 € -10%

LP | 1985 | EU | Reissue (Ici Bientot)

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Stylus for Ortofon VNL.

In ViNyL we trust
Even before the launch of the Concorde MkII, we have always studied the feedback of our customers and how they utilize our products.

Skilled DJs demand specialized tools that can help them push their creativity to the edge – consistently testing the boundaries in the realm of performance.

Understanding this and reflecting our extensive experience in industrial design and technological know-how, we present the new Ortofon VNL cartridge – a model tailored uniquely to the unrelenting demands of modern turntablists and portablists.

The new VNL features and improvements
• Extra resistance to hardcore scratching and back spinning
• High tracking performance for both DVS usage and real vinyl
• Optimal balance of output and of sound quality

Technological improvements have been applied for the benefits of all users:
- Ultrasonic welding of the components ensures high rigidity and freedom from resonances.
- Robotic assembly of stylus assembly offers high precision and uniformity of industrial production.

VNL \ compliance, dynamic lateral 16 μm/m N - Flexible

DJs can easily identify which stylus type best suits their individual DJ style and enables their absolute best performance capability.

VNL technical data

Stylus Type: Sperical
Tracking Force: 4,0 g
Output Voltage: 6mV
Frequency Range: 20-20.000 Hz

Output voltage at 1000Hz, 5cm/sec. - 6 mV
Channel separation at 1kHz - 20 dB
Frequency response 20 Hz - 20 kHz -2/+4 dB
Tracking ability at 315 Hz at recommmended tracking force:

VNL I 100 μm

VNL I 16 μm/m N

Tracking force range - 3 - 5 g
Tracking force recommended - 4 g
Antiskating - for best backcueing performance use “0”
Internal impedance, DC resistance - 750 Ohm
Internal inductance - 450 mH
Recommended load resistance - 47 kOhm
Recommended load capacitance - 200-600 pF
Cartridge weight - 6,5 g
Replacement stylus units: VNL I, VNL II, VNL III

Exclusive features
The VNL features a spherical stylus which is perfect for tough groove handling. Furthermore, it reduces record wear when scratching and back-cueing to an absolute minimum.

The broad stance of the VNL features solid and robust design elements characteristic to Ortofon, with colors meticulously selected to emphasize sturdiness and DJ aesthetics: the cartridge body has been designed to provide easy mounting and alignment on a variety of headshells.

The VNL provides excellent compatibility when used in an assortment of playback systems, ensuring it stays in the groove under the most demanding conditions.

VNL Userguide: https://www.ortofon.com/media/151234/5-800161-12_vnl_userguide_08_20_web.pdf

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Nyssa Musique

Comme Au Moulin

LP | 2021 | US | Original (Next)

Release: 1985 / EU – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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After NEF's album in 2019, Ici Bientôt is happy to present today the reissue of Comme Au Moulin by Nyssa Musique. Paris 1985... ‘Extra-European’ Traditions meet Jazz and Minimal Music. An unusual array of instruments turn music into a dialogue. For a unique record ... vivid, full of texture, somewhere between Midori Takada, Don Cherry and Jon Hassell. Beginning of the eighties, 5 musicians rehearse in a contemporary dance class hall, upstairs from the ‘’New Morning", renowned Music venue in Paris. Nyssa Musique is born. Passionate for a long time about traditional music, like those of the Middle East, India and East Asia, but also about African traditions, they throw a bridge between Jazz and ‘Extra-European’ traditions, resulting in what would be called "Spiritual Jazz" today, a little bit in the style of Don Cherry's Organic Music or Pharoah Sanders. With the notable difference, however, that their creations are strongly infused by contemporary classical and repetitive music, notably Steve Reich's work with whom they share a great interest for the traditional cultures of Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia and its gamelans. In the original group we have Armand Amar, Ballet Music composer and John Boswell. Both specialists of traditional hand percussion which they had been studying for a long time in India and the Middle East, they are also very fond of synthesizers. Three other talented musicians quickly join them: Jean-François Roger, percussionist, marimba and vibraphone specialist, Henri Tournier, multi-flutist and Renaud Garcia-Fons, double bass player, who has a passion for the Middle East and has developed a virtuosic play of the bow, reminding that of Cecil Mc Bee. Each of them enriches the ensemble with their personality, originality and musical generosity. The rehearsal hall is rapidly invaded by the phenomenal instrumentarium put together by Armand Amar. A great opportunity for the musicians, for the dancers, to have access to an endless choice of instruments, offering infinite possibilities for mixing different colors and timbres. Their sense for being a group and their great capacity for improvising culminates, in 1985, in the composition of their first and only album Comme au Moulin (« As by the windmill"), testimony of years of creating without hidden agenda. Authentic, free and vibrant, still today, this album has no real equivalent. Even though it recalls the Fourth World current by its combination of traditional instruments with a subtle use of synthesizers, Comme au moulin gives more space to improvisation. It may also recall those of Midori Takada, less the New Age esthetics. An album that should delight as well lovers of "Love Supreme" by John Coltrane, of "Vernal Equinox" by Jon Hassell, as those of Moondog, an artist who, like them, invented a music based on the use of untypical percussions, at the confluence of 'Extra-European' traditions, Jazz and Classical, all together complex and hypnotic.

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Bodega Bamz

Yams Heard This

LP | 2021 | US | Original (Telephone Explosion)

Release: 2021 / US – Original

Genre: Hip Hop

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El Barrio Spanish Harlem native Bodega Bamz’s breakthrough mixtape 'Strictly For My P.A.P.I.Z’ dropped in 2012 during the ‘New, New York’ movement, when the next generation of East Coast talent - A$ap Rocky & the rest of the Mob, Joey Badass & the Pro Era crew, Action Bronson - were moving from the underground to the mainstream. What sets Bodega apart from his peers is how uncompromisingly Latino he is, part Puerto Rican and Dominican, the tape is littered with Spanish slang, lyrics and samples. In 2015 Bamz went in a new direction on his sophomore album, ‘Sidewalk Exec.’ Produced entirely by V Don and released under the venerated Duck Down Music label, Bamz served up an LP that sonically and lyrically were reminiscent of the boom-bap era of New York hip-hop, incorporating the gritty, New York underground sound, and V Don did a good job mixing high-pitched flutes with an arrangement of woodwind instruments. Keeping his guest features to a minimum on the 40-minute-plus LP, Bamz recruited the help of some familiar faces with A$ton Matthews, Flatbush Zombies, Joell Ortiz and the late A$ap Yams all appearing on the project. Following the release of Sidewalk Exec, Bamz continued to release music (Papi) and expanded his fanbase and the Tan Boys brand, a collective of Hispanic MCs that aim to unite the Latin community of Hip-Hop, by going on several nationwide tours with the likes of Flatbush Zombies, Danny Brown, and Joey Bada$$. ‘yams Heard This’ is the 4th album by Bodega Bamz. Dedicated to the memory of his late friend A$ap Yams, the ten-track record includes features from Kevin Gates and Tan Boy Luka, with production that incorporates both the Latino flavor from Strictly 4 My Papiz and New york boom bap from Sidewalk Exec. Bamz delivers his fans what they have been waiting for and honors his mentor: “Originally, I had the idea to drop a project called Wwyd (What Would Yams Do). There was a time when I was lost. My homie Yams, who I would run all of my music by, was my sounding board, who always knew what was hot, and knew when I had a track ready for the streets, was no longer there. So the reason why I named this album Yams Heard This, is because if he was still alive today, I know he would have loved the vibe and energy of this album and would have given me his stamp of approval. These are the types of songs he would have wanted to executive produce.”

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Bernice

Eau De Bonjourno

A Momentary Convergence Of Differently Paced Trajectories

Release: 2021 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Pop

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New release by Canadian sweethearts referred to in the press as “Toronto’s ever-evolving backing band”
This LP “openly plays with the shape of a pop song,” drawing on the band members’ backgrounds in jazz, subverting rhythmic formulas, and resting in grooves that sit just outside of
The album’s sound is experimental in its truest definition, chopped up like musique concrete and then delicately placed back together with the loving touch of a scrapbook collagist

Bernice is the experimental pop vessel of musician/songwriter Robin Dann and her longtime collaborators Thom Gill (keyboards, guitar), Philippe Melanson (e-percussion and drums), Daniel Fortin (bass) and Felicity Williams (voice). Together and apart, they have performed with Martha Wainwright, Andy Shauf, Lido Pimienta, Bahamas, Knower, and Beverly Glenn Copeland among many others, which led to them being referred to in the press as “Toronto’s ever-evolving backing band.”

In their own right, however, they have repeatedly proved to be far more than the sum of their considerable parts. Bernice’s Polaris Prize-nominated 2018 LP 'Puff: In The Air Without A Shape' received major international attention, described as an “analytical, self-dissecting monument to ephemerality” by The New York Times, and “a fascinating musical conversation” that blends pop and R&B influences with C86 aesthetics by Pitchfork, alongside high praise from outlets like NPR, Fader, and Stereogum, and many more.

Nearly three years on from that release (for Bernice a rapid turnaround by comparison to the seven-year gap between their 2011 debut and Puff), the band return with their third full-length, Eau de Bonjourno, out March 5th from Telephone Explosion and figureeight records. It marks their first collaboration with producer Shahzad Ismaily, the acclaimed multi-instrumentalist who has worked with artists as varied as Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed, Elvis Costello, Iggy Pop, John Zorn, and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy. While their genre reconstruction remains distinctly Bernice, Dann’s lyrics bring a newfound focus to storytelling in the present moment, compassionately meeting ourselves where we are, and finding joy in spaces that are familiar but ever changing.

Eau de Bonjourno, according to Dann, “openly plays with the shape of a pop song,” drawing on the band members’ backgrounds in jazz, subverting rhythmic formulas, and resting in grooves that sit just outside of predictable. Instead of letting instruments take extended solos, the tone is set on opener “Groove Elation” with brief blurts of synthesized sax, patient passages of space, or clusters of beats, tenderly held together by Dann and Williams’ intimate vocals. The album’s sound is experimental in its truest definition, chopped up like musique concrete and then delicately placed back together with the loving touch of a scrapbook collagist.

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Maurizio Ravalico

12" | 2020 | EU | Original (Funkiwala)

22,99 €*

LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Wolf Music)

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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The 12" EP A Momentary Convergence of Differently Paced Trajectories is a heterogenous dj-oriented release, prelude and companion of Maurizio Ravalico's first solo percussion album Nobody's Husband, Nobody's Dad, released in November 2018 with the Funkiwala label. It comes in 180gms vinyl on a hand-numbered run of 300 individually screen-printed 320gsm brown card sleeves.
THE Music
Side A opens with a full-size batucada version of Fear of Mapping, one of the tracks from No Fiction Now!, the 2013 debut album of Maurizio's trio Fiium Shaarrk.
It is followed by a personal take on one of Collocutor's second album tracks, Here to There to Everywhere, arranged here as a spacey 5/4 drum'n'bass epic.

Side B contains an old-school jungle remix of Just Bring Your Toys, one of the tracks from Maurizio's forthcoming album, by the Italian d'n'b veteran Enjoy (Omni Music, Bustle Beats). The EP closes with an edited version of the same track: a taste of the album.

Despite being both loosely presented as remixes, neither of the two arrangements on side A makes use of samples from the respective releases, and any material not progammed or played anew by Maurizio comes from either unreleased off-cuts or preliminary demos.

"One of the finest avant-garde percussionists in the world. Maurizio Ravalico is incredible to watch and hear. Catch him live somewhere soon!"- Jean-Claude Thompson, IfMusic.co.uk
"Creative, deep and intriguing. Percussion avantgarde at its best." - Vince Vella, Dj, producer, Havana Cultura
Italian-born visionary cross-genres percussionist Maurizio Ravalico has been one notably eclectic presence in the London music scene since his arrival in the UK, in 1991.
Regularily seen on stage and on releases with the like of Jamiroquai and the James Taylor Quartet throughout the nineties, as well as with virtually every salsa and Cuban-oriented projects to originate from London in the same period, he has subsequently collaborated on many of the projects of the experimental music label Not applicable (Icarus, Isambard Khroustaliov, Alex Bonney, Tom Arthurs) since 2005, and is now an established name in both the London and Berlin improv and experimental scene, having played with John Edwards, Oren Marshall, Steve Beresford, Pat Thomas, Frank Paul Schubert and many others.
Maurizio Ravalico's peculiar approach to percussion is one of the distinctive traits of Tamar Osborn's modal jazz 5-piece band Collocutor (On the Corner records) and of the pan-European trio Fiium Shaarrk (on Bbc3 Late Junction's 12 Best Albums of 2017). Maurizio Ravalico also collaborates with the string quartet Phaedra Ensemble, the composer Fred Thomas and the French contemporary dance company Silenda.

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Velour

18,99 €*

Sex, Props, Cream ... And The Drama In Between

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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“Easy rider, come and take me higher”. When the world seemingly crumbles around, music can provide an escape few other mediums can. For their debut self-titled LP, Velour effortlessly levitate you above the madness below, each track taking a new turn, cruising over hazy flecked skylines, bustling walkways and bleary eyed bedlam. A trajectory that takes in all of jazz’s vibrancies, blending elements of neo soul, broken beat and hip hop coupled with a much-needed sense of hope across nine deep, soul-searching tracks released via Wolf Music Recordings. A style and sound taking influence from genres and moods, environments and experiences, Essen-based Velour stretch their legs for this, their first full length album. From the off, they nestle you under their wing with the rustling sax washes of opener ‘clp’ before diving into an epic slo-mo burner, swooping down into the chaos as singer, Eva Czaya, wistfully narrates the scenes beneath. Unafraid to shift pace within songs, the likes of ‘Pose’, sauntering from soulful summer groove into woozy late night affair, and ‘Tom's Garage’, that progresses from roadside recounting to grungy basement blowout, finished with a sample of jazz-tinged dusty beats, show that accomplished and adept heads rest on the shoulders of these relative newcomers. Wolf Music mainstay Mr Fries continues to head up production for Velour, his trademark touch capturing the intimacy of Velour’s sound presenting it in a way that’s considered yet raw - nothing feeling rushed, nor cluttered. A separation and space that gives each element the room it deserves to breathe, with short interludes and skits providing the perfect bridge between tracks, guiding you through smokey jazz bars and twilight whisperings. Moving through the album, Czaya at points wanders in a serene spoken dialogue, at others letting her voice loose, but always with an ethereal demeanour that comes off with natural ease. One of many highlights, ‘Anthony Davis’ shows off this celestial prowess whilst perfectly embodying Velour’s dream-like escapism. A pent up release of creativity, as moody bass tones mix with deft keys, rolling snares sit behind swirling saxophones. The journey ends with ‘Luminate’, a transcendent closer laced with space-echoed vocals that reverberate around over-driven Rhodes and feverish drums. Cymbals crash, as modulated synths rise, building and building before easing you off into the night and on your way to a parallel universe. As a body of work, ‘Velour’ is a shining example of the freedom, energy and enthusiasm of the new school of jazz that’s been captivating minds the world over. An instant on repeat staple - let go, feel the flow, it’s what we need in a time like this.

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Punk Barbarians

Tape | 2020 | EU | Original (90's Tapes)

12,99 €*

Sex, Props, Cream ... And The Drama In Between

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Hip Hop

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Strictly limited edition of 100 copies on green coloured cassette.

Originally released in 1996 on Lethal Records, the entire album "Sex, Props, Cream ... And The Drama In Between" by Long Island's Punk Barbarians finally gets a proper re-release on 2LP and cassette. The original 1LP missed a few tracks off the album, so this is actually the very first time you can hear the full release on your turntable.

In November 1996, The Source gave 3 and a half mic's and here's what Miles Marshall Lewis wrote about the Punk Barbarians debut album: "It seems like recently in rap, everybody's album is based on one of these three concepts, but they're not dealing with the reality of the drama in between," says Doozer mid album, discussing Sex, Props, Cream & The Drama In Between title of his Punk Barbairan crew's debut album. The PBs - Sunny Cheeba, Bam Bam, Doozer and Renegade (aka Shine On) - arrive to a ravaged hip-hop landscape with high aspirations: detailing the drama in between libido, recognition and economics could fill 14 albums, much less the 14 tracks on Sex, Prop, Cream - in essence merely struggle - is, after all, the basis of life itself.
With their work cut out for them, the Punk Barbarians still manage to leave a strong mark. Their lively interplay - with an engaging reminiscent of an Onyx or Lost Boyz - sounds honest, like a crew that's been together since the sandboxes of their native Long Island. The fousome bounce off each other like perfectly arranged quadraphonic accoustics, particularly with thepulsing "Blast Off" and the Spanish-guitar textured "Sweets". Jazzy production includes snippets of vibe and harp that echo masters like Lionel Hampton and Alice Coltrane, while simultaneously evoking the aesthetic feel of The Low End Theory. Some tracks - "The Struggle" (which features Donald Byrd) and "You Don't Know" - ride the line between simple influence and imitation of Tribe's jazz-rap masterpice, but with an intuitive understanding rather than mere bastardization.
"Hooptie Car" shins as a diamond in the rough, dreamily escapist like the Pharcyde's "Passing Me By". As Sunny and Doozer reference Grce Jones and Donna Summer - "Pull up to my bumper," "Toot toot, ah, beep beep" - in mid-rhyme, the irony of this track's dopeness sets in. Because while the Punk Barbarians allude to "Malcolm, Martin and Marcus and W.E.B." on "Rest In Peace" and speak of how their rhymes are "killing you like daily intakes of swine," on "Magic," their real flavor is best presented on frivolous cut like "Hooptie Car."
Sex, Props, Cream & The Drama In Between remains an excellent starting point for the PB quartet, and unless their name erects an Alkaholis-like stumbling block, they should have time to display an interesting evolution.

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Punk Barbarians

2LP | 2020 | EU | Original (90's Tapes)

2LP | 2019 | UK | Original (Metalheadz)

Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Hip Hop

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Strictly limited edition of 300 copies on green and red Colored Vinyl. Comes in UV-finished gatefold sleeve with black poly-lined innersleeves.

Originally released in 1996 on Lethal Records, the entire album "Sex, Props, Cream ... And The Drama In Between" by Long Island's Punk Barbarians finally gets a proper re-release on 2LP and cassette. The original 1LP missed a few tracks off the album, so this is actually the very first time you can hear the full release on your turntable.

In November 1996, The Source gave 3 and a half mic's and here's what Miles Marshall Lewis wrote about the Punk Barbarians debut album: "It seems like recently in rap, everybody's album is based on one of these three concepts, but they're not dealing with the reality of the drama in between," says Doozer mid album, discussing Sex, Props, Cream & The Drama In Between title of his Punk Barbairan crew's debut album. The PBs - Sunny Cheeba, Bam Bam, Doozer and Renegade (aka Shine On) - arrive to a ravaged hip-hop landscape with high aspirations: detailing the drama in between libido, recognition and economics could fill 14 albums, much less the 14 tracks on Sex, Prop, Cream - in essence merely struggle - is, after all, the basis of life itself.
With their work cut out for them, the Punk Barbarians still manage to leave a strong mark. Their lively interplay - with an engaging reminiscent of an Onyx or Lost Boyz - sounds honest, like a crew that's been together since the sandboxes of their native Long Island. The fousome bounce off each other like perfectly arranged quadraphonic accoustics, particularly with thepulsing "Blast Off" and the Spanish-guitar textured "Sweets". Jazzy production includes snippets of vibe and harp that echo masters like Lionel Hampton and Alice Coltrane, while simultaneously evoking the aesthetic feel of The Low End Theory. Some tracks - "The Struggle" (which features Donald Byrd) and "You Don't Know" - ride the line between simple influence and imitation of Tribe's jazz-rap masterpice, but with an intuitive understanding rather than mere bastardization.
"Hooptie Car" shins as a diamond in the rough, dreamily escapist like the Pharcyde's "Passing Me By". As Sunny and Doozer reference Grce Jones and Donna Summer - "Pull up to my bumper," "Toot toot, ah, beep beep" - in mid-rhyme, the irony of this track's dopeness sets in. Because while the Punk Barbarians allude to "Malcolm, Martin and Marcus and W.E.B." on "Rest In Peace" and speak of how their rhymes are "killing you like daily intakes of swine," on "Magic," their real flavor is best presented on frivolous cut like "Hooptie Car."
Sex, Props, Cream & The Drama In Between remains an excellent starting point for the PB quartet, and unless their name erects an Alkaholis-like stumbling block, they should have time to display an interesting evolution."

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Scar

High Fives & Devil Eyes

Preservation Hall Jazz Band

Release: 2019 / UK – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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‘High Fives & Devil Eyes’ is the brand-new LP forthcoming from SCAR, a duo who’ve spent years dominating the waters of dance music with their formulae of underground, yet accessible drum & bass. Individually and as part of their SCAR project, both Script and Survival have been involved in shaping the genre for decades, helping to sculpt its formative years alongside a range of imprints that have ensured it longevity. For their forthcoming album they’ve once again been welcomed into the fold of Metalheadz, where SCAR have now been exclusively signed after appearing in their catalogue as one of its main staples. Since their first piece of music together, ‘When’, debuted on Metalheadz via the label’s esteemed ‘Platinum Breakz’ series, through to their first SCAR artist LP ‘The Orkyd Project’ in 2016, the pair’s journey has followed the label’s growth and they’ve continued to be supported by its founder Goldie. On first listen to ‘High Fives & Devil Eyes’ it’s instantly clear why they were made such an essential part of such a revered platform, bringing together the historic elements as well as the modern production levels which have enabled them to remain trend setters over the years.

From the sounds of ‘Circle of Trust’, right through to the finely-tuned vocals of Eleanor Higgins on ‘Eternal’, the tastes catered to throughout ‘High Fives & Devil Eyes’ demonstrates why SCAR have been welcomed into the roster of Metalheadz and it’s not just down to their heritage with the imprint. Tracks like ‘State of Delusion’, ‘Stolen Memories’, ‘Can’t Do Anything With It’ and ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’ show how SCAR still bridge the gap between contemporary standards and an understanding of their roots, as well as how this has influenced their current direction. Coming up next, ‘Funk Control’ injects much needed soul into the drum & bass sphere whilst tracks like ‘First Sound’, ‘The Seeker’, ‘Thinking out Loud’ and ‘Pauline’ continue the journey of breaks and immersive soundscapes. The album’s title-record ‘High Fives and Devil Eyes’ encompasses the album’s rawness whilst cuts like ‘Deep South’ and ‘Torn Apart’ pedestals the diversity demonstrated throughout. Even the LP’s interlude ‘Nomad’ travels the listener through an elaborate composition, and you’re left understanding that ‘High Fives & Devil Eyes’ is a listening album too, despite how well it’ll translate within any club setting.

‘High Fives & Devil Eyes’ doesn’t just signpost another huge step forward for SCAR musically, but also for Metalheadz. They’ve added two more members to their pivotal roster and it’s another album to highlight the label’s consistency, something which has pushed forward from their beginnings in 1994.

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A Tuba To Cuba

LP | 2019 | US | Original (Sub Pop)

2LP | 2015 | UK | Original (Late Night Tales)

Release: 2019 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Single-pocket jacket with custom dust sleeve
Includes MP3 coupon

The legendary Preservation Hall Jazz Band present the soundtrack to A Tuba to Cuba, the critically acclaimed documentary directed by T.G. Herrington and Danny Clinch. The film follows Ben Jaffe of New Orleans’ famed Preservation Hall Jazz Band as he seeks to fulfill his late father's dream of retracing their musical roots to the shores of Cuba in search of the indigenous music that gave birth to New Orleans jazz. A Tuba to Cuba celebrates the triumph of the human spirit expressed through the universal language of music and challenges us to resolve to build bridges, not walls.
The New York Times said: “This joyous, wide-ranging account of a New Orleans jazz band's 2015 visit to Cuba is crammed with fascinating facts and toe-tickling tunes.” And, from the LA Times: “Jaunty, at times poetic chats and drop-ins with many Big Easy and Cuban jazz artists, discussion of their music’s African lineage (the Atlantic slave trade factored in), stirring examples of native instrumentation, and pulsating performances combine with colorful, travelogue-type shots (love those old Cuban theaters) and vivid archival footage to create a vibrant and joyous portrait.”

Preservation Hall Jazz Band’s Ben Jaffe said of “Kreyol,” the lead single from the soundtrack: “Every evening in Havana people gather along the waterfront to socialize. I’ve always been taken by the tempo at which people stroll, like New Orleans, there’s a very particular rhythm to their walk. That rhythm was the inspiration for ‘Kreyol.’ In fact, ‘Kreyol’ is the Cuban spelling of ‘Creole.’ You can feel that same Creole influence in New Orleans, it’s one of our many shared connections with Cuba.” (The film is available through Amazon Video, iTunes, DirecTV, Google Play, YouTube Movies and more. Check your local service provider for additional listings.)

About Preservation Hall Jazz Band:

At a moment when musical streams are crossing with unprecedented frequency, it’s crucial to remember that throughout its history, New Orleans has been the point at which sounds and cultures from around the world converge, mingle, and resurface, transformed by the Crescent City’s inimitable spirit and joie de vivre. Nowhere is that idea more vividly embodied than in the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, which has held the torch of New Orleans music aloft for more than 50 years, all the while carrying it enthusiastically forward as a reminder that the history they were founded to preserve is a vibrantly living history. Preservation Hall Jazz Band recently signed with Sub Pop Records, who are re-releasing the band’s 2013 album That’s It! (over 39,000 copies sold) and 2017’s So It Is on June 28th, with new music to follow.

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Jon Hopkins

Late Night Tales

36,99 €*

Berrocal / Epplay / Comelade

Release: 2015 / UK – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Unmixed Double 180 gram Vinyl (Includes download code to the Jon Hopkins mix and full unmixed tracks as wav/mp3)

Requiem for a dreamstate. It’s possibly somewhere between heaven, hell and high water, down the Thames Delta towards Eden. It may involve techno and a distorted state or simply mates sat listening to music together, drifting on the open sea of their minds. This is Jon Hopkins’ world, not so much joining the dots as colouring the whole damn picture in.

After releasing his debut album 'Opalescent' at the rookie age of 21 in 1999, he’s gone on to work with Brian Eno and David Holmes, produced King Creosote and via Eno, worked on three Coldplay albums. He released the breakthrough album 'Immunity' in 2013, which was nominated for the Mercury Prize.

The story arc with which Hopkins succeeded on 'Immunity' makes its appearance on Late Night Tales too with a perfectly sculpted excursion on this widescreen mix. . Opening with the unreleased 'Sleepers Beat Theme' by composer Ben Lukas Boysen, ghostly pianos skip elegantly hither and thither, among rising strings, as on Darkstar’s ‘Hold Me Down’. Nils Frahm is here, his sonic palette perfect for the job, while labelmate A Winged Victory For The Sullen contribute ‘Requiem For The Static King Part I’. Sigur Ros offshoot Jónsi & Alex’s heroic ‘Daniell In The Sea’ sends us forth towards the Baltic with tears streaming.

Beats occasionally appear, as on the Grace Jones-sampling ‘Yr Love’ by Holy Other or the pair of Black Country acts Bibio and Letherette, whose ‘After Dawn’ is almost spry in comparison to the minor key symphonies on display here. The perfect contrast to this comes from Alela Diane’s wistful ‘Lady Divine’ or even Four Tet’s mesmerising ‘Gillie Amma I Love You’, with its enchanting kids’ choir. Exclusive to this release, Jon Hopkins provides a startlingly vulnerable new piano version of Yeasayer’s ‘I Remember’.

Poet and fellow Brian Eno collaborator (their joint album 'Drums Between The Bells' was released by Warp in 2011) Rick Holland narrates the exclusive spoken word closer 'I Remember', underpinned with additional sound design by Hopkins.

"Putting this album together was a unique opportunity for me to present music that I have been listening to for years, free from the constraints of a club setting or from trying to stick to one genre. I chose tracks not just because they have been important to me but because of how they sit together, putting as much thought into the transitions and overall narrative as I did into the track choices. I mixed by key and by texture more than anything else, using original sound design, pivot notes, and often recording new synth or piano parts to link things together in a way that flows as naturally as possible." - Jon Hopkins, December 2014

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Funeste Human Nature

LP | 2024 | EU | Original (Via Parigi)

Various - Atlantic Mavericks

Release: 2024 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Electronic & Dance

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"Step into the enigmatic realm of ‘Funest Human Nature’, an audacious collaboration between avant-garde luminaries Jac Berrocal, Pascal Comelade, and Vincent Epplay. In this mesmerizing sonic odyssey, the boundaries of experimental music are shattered as Berrocal's haunting trumpet, Comelade's whimsical piano, and Epplay's immersive soundscapes converge to create a kaleidoscope of textures and emotions. A journey through the depths of the human psyche, where surrealism meets primal instincts and the absurd dances with the profound. The trio's fearless exploration of sound, inviting listeners to unravel the mysteries of the human condition through an eclectic tapestry of sonic experimentation. From the eerie whispers of forgotten dreams to the jubilant cacophony of uninhibited joy, 'Funest Human Nature' is a testament to the boundless possibilities of artistic collaboration. Embrace the unexpected, embrace the sublime, and immerse yourself in the haunting beauty of this extraordinary musical venture." Pascal Comelade, born in Montpellier, France in 1955, is a prolific Catalan musician and composer known for his distinctive blend of minimalism, surrealism, and musical primitivism. He started his music career in the mid-1970s and has since created a unique sound using toy instruments, pianos, and traditional ensembles. Comelade's work is characterized by its eclectic influences, ranging from rock and folk to classical and avant-garde. He has collaborated with various artists, including PJ Harvey and Robert Wyatt. Over the decades, Comelade has built a cult following with his unconventional approach to music and his impressive discography that spans numerous albums and soundtracks. Jac Berrocal, born in 1946 in Saint-Jean d'Angély, France, is a pioneering avant-garde trumpeter and composer known for his fusion of jazz, rock, and experimental music. His career, which began in the early 1970s, is marked by innovative albums like "Musiq Musik" and extensive collaborations with artists from Nurse With Wound to Vince Taylor. Berrocal is celebrated for his theatrical live performances, which often incorporate elements of poetry and drama. His work continues to defy conventional music boundaries, maintaining a cult following and influencing diverse musical genres. Through his distinctive approach, Berrocal has carved out a niche in the avant-garde music scene, continuously exploring the intersections of sound, performance, and art. Vincent Epplay, born in 1964 in France, is an innovative sound artist and musician known for his work in creating immersive audiovisual environments. His artistic approach often involves the manipulation of sound to explore its interaction with space and audience perception. Epplay's works are characterized by a keen interest in the experimental music tradition, incorporating elements of chance and the use of unconventional sound sources. He has collaborated extensively with other artists, including Jac Berrocal and David Fenech, contributing to a dynamic and exploratory sound art scene. Through installations, performances, and recordings, Epplay continually challenges and expands the boundaries of auditory and visual experiences.

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A Decade Of Experimental Music In Portugal 1982-1993

2LP | 2024 | EU | Original (Glossy Mistakes)

31,99 €*

Jim O'Rourke, Eivind Lønning

Release: 2024 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Unveiling an unheard scene: Glossy Mistakes presents "Atlantic Mavericks: a Decade of Experimental Music in Portugal 1982-1993"
Glossy Mistakes is proud to announce the upcoming release of "Atlantic Mavericks: a Decade of Experimental Music in Portugal 1982-1993," a groundbreaking double LP compilation that offers a unique glimpse into the vibrant landscape of Portuguese experimental music. Set to launch on June 10th, this monumental release showcases the evolution and innovation of the Portuguese music scene during a transformative decade marked by political upheaval and artistic experimentation.
Compiled by Glossy Mario and featuring liner notes by Rui Miguel Abreu, "Atlantic Mavericks" captures the essence of a generation of artists who dared to challenge conventions and push the boundaries of what was possible in music.
The compilation stands as a testament to the eclecticism of the Portuguese music scene during this period, featuring a diverse range of genres and styles. From ambient and new age to electro, rock, and synth-pop, "Atlantic Mavericks" offers something for every listener, inviting them to explore the rich tapestry of sounds that defined the era.
The 1980s in Portugal were a time of profound transformation, marked by the aftermath of a peaceful revolution and a burgeoning desire for artistic expression. As the country emerged from political turbulence, a new generation of musicians began to explore uncharted territories, paving the way for a wave of experimentation and innovation.
From the emergence of artists like Rui Veloso and bands like UHF, who ushered in a new era of Portuguese rock, to the founding of independent record labels like Fundação Atlântica and Ama Romanta, the 1980s saw a surge in creativity and a desire for independence within the music industry.
"Atlantic Mavericks: a Decade of Experimental Music in Portugal 1982-1993" offers a comprehensive overview of this dynamic period, featuring tracks that span the spectrum of experimental music. Each song tells a story of artistic evolution and creative risk-taking, reflecting the diverse influences and eclectic tastes of the Portuguese music scene during this transformative decade.
Spanning from 1982 to 1993, the compilation includes contributions from a wide range of artists, including SPQR, Croix Sainte, Linha Geral, Balladium, Ban, Santa Maria, Gasolina Em Teu Ventre!, Fé de Sábio, and Telectu, among others. With each track carefully curated to showcase the breadth and depth of Portuguese experimental music, "Atlantic Mavericks" promises to be a must-have for music enthusiasts and adventurous listeners alike.
"Atlantic Mavericks: a Decade of Experimental Music in Portugal 1982-1993" will be available on June 10th as a double LP release, offering listeners a chance to immerse themselves in the sonic landscapes of 1980s Portugal. Whether experienced on vinyl or through digital channels, this monumental compilation is sure to leave a lasting impression on all who encounter it.

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Most, But Potentially All

LP | 2024 | UK | Original (Smalltown Supersound)

24,29 €* 26,99 € -10%

Release: 2024 / UK – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Eivind Lønning has been sharing ideas with O’Rourke for several years: the duo collaborated on music for the Whitney’s ‘Calder: Hypermobility’ exhibition, and Lønning played trumpet on O’Rourke’s brilliant 2020 album ‘Shutting Down Here’. For this new work, Lønning headed to O’Rourke and EIko Ishibashi’s home studio in the Japanese mountains, where he teased unfamiliar, alien textures from his trumpet to open the labyrinthine three-part composition. O’Rourke took the material and subsequently funnelled it through his Kyma system, transforming it into a swirl of sound that hums alongside Lønning’s original takes. The final piece was composed, mixed and mastered by O’Rourke, with everything’s based on Lønning’s virtuosic performance. The album begins by cautiously introducing the sonic palette: wavering, bird-like horn wails that O’Rourke contorts around quiet synth oscillations and computerised swarms. Lønning’s spittle-drenched blasts are given the spotlight, but O’Rourke’s manipulations - often gentle and illusory, and sometimes utterly lacerating - lift the sounds into completely new territory. When Lønning begins to turn rhythmic cycles using the trumpet keys, popping with his mouth to compliment its leathery thumps, O’Rourke replies with dense, hallucinatory drones, juxtaposing unstable electronics with Lønning’s breathy, sustained notes. All these sounds coalesce into a dizzy vortex, but O’Rourke is careful not to overwhelm the senses, dropping to near silence as the first act transitions into the second. O’Rourke pelts Lønning’s vertiginous wails, steadily mutating them into Xenakis-like stabs until they sound like cybernetic strings and icy tones that extract the tension from Lønning’s brassy harmonics. The third act is more minimal, and more unashamedly pretty. O’Rourke lets Lønning’s improvisations wail into cathedral-strength reverb, accompanying the sound with glassy penetrations and throbbing subs. Here, Lønning sounds as if he’s heralding the arrival of a celestial being, piercing the atmosphere with bright, sustained tones and muted, jazzy flourishes. O’Rourke hangs back, carefully spinning the notes into naturalistic fibres and orchestral drapery, before he allows the electronics to subside completely and Lønning’s trumpet cry into the imposing negative space. ‘Most, but Potentially All’ is a dumbfounding piece that shifts the dial on contemporary experimental music; dizzyingly complex but never showy, it’s the kind of record you can spin repeatedly and hear something different each time. As an exploration of the trumpet, it’s a unique expression, and as a progression of electro- acoustic compositional techniques, it draws a deep trench in the sand, setting a new standard

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Stylus Concorde Music Bronze

299,00 €*

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Stylus Concorde Music Blue

149,00 €*

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Stylus Concorde Music Red

69,00 €*

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Concorde Music Blue

249,00 €*

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Concorde Music Red

149,00 €*

LP | 2024 | UK | Original (Invisible, Inc)

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Double Geography

Open Water

21,99 €*

Release: 2024 / UK – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Invisible Inc once again presents another incredible full-length album from the talented Double Geography. Following on from 2020's “The Indoor Gardener”, the new LP “Open Water” is bathed in a similar blissful atmosphere...it would be appropriate to describe it as rather sublime.

Double Geography aka Duncan Thornley (one half of Weird Weather and studio engineer at MAP Studios), following the success of his debut album “The Indoor Gardener” (also on Invisible Inc) had sent Invisible Inc label boss GK Machine demos of his second and third album, which the label reluctantly declined on the basis that the music didn't sound quite right for the label. However, this fourth studio album fits the bill perfectly. Leaning towards the label's more ambient and laidback output, the album is themed around water, moving on and escape and sounds as unshackled and free-flowing as you'd expect...you can almost feel the breeze in the air and the sun on your skin.

The album is a progression from his previous releases, this time featuring several additional guest musicians, including stalwarts of the London jazz scene Greg Foat and Kaidi Akinnibi, to compliment Thornley's electronics...adding a complexity and depth to each of these compositions and an overall 'organic' quality that makes these new pieces sound like quite a departure from the first album. Fretless bass, clarinet, piano and saxophone decorate the music with refrains and melodies that have been enchanting our reveries since first hearing them.

“I wanted to incorporate some live musicians on this release so called upon some of the talent I'd worked with as an engineer at MAP Studios...that was the main drive behind the music for this release. The tracks are named after things that relate to either leaving behind canal boat living, e.g. Goodbye Great Escape (Great Escape was the name of our boat) or memories from a trip to Hydra, Greece. All sorta water related… On one of our walks around the island we ended up sharing a beach with Pierluigi Collina hence Famous Italian Referee! That track felt like the weirdest of the bunch so it got designated the weirdest name / memory!” (Duncan Thornley, March 2024)

Duncan Thornley - synthesizers, programming, percussion Adam Hayes - drum kit, roto-toms (A1, A3, A5) Pike Ogilvy - congas (A2, A3) Jasper Osbourne - fretless bass (A1, A3, A5) Kaidi Akinnibi - tenor and soprano saxophones (A1, A5) Simeon May - bass clarinet (A2, A3, B2, B4) Greg Foat - piano (b1)

Recorded and mixed at MAP Studios, London Mastered by James Savage at Milk Mastering Cyanotype photography by Lydia Dique Sleeve layout and design by Gordon Mackinnon

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Transparent

Transparent Turntable

1.300,00 €*

CD | 2024 | EU | Original (Astigmatic)

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• Crafted from high quality materials and components
• Pre-mounted Ortofon OM5E Cartridge
• Pre-mounted Bluetooth 5.0 Module

Timeless Design
The Transparent Turntable is a reinvention of a classic vinyl record player, designed for a modern home and an ever evolving technology. The Transparent Turntable is meticulously crafted out of aluminium and tempered glass. It is a belt driven system with a built in phono stage, and a pre-mounted cartridge from Danish Ortofon.

• Cartridge: Ortofon OM5E (MM)
• Stylus: Elliptical Diamond

Modular
Just like all Transparent products the TT has a completely modular design. With the future in mind, it is made for flexibility, upgradability and repairability.

• Cartridge Mount: Standard ½ in
• Headshell Mount: Standard SME

Transparent Sound
The Transparent Turntable plays music to any sound system, but works best with a Transparent Speaker. It plays with effortless clarity and precision, and offers playback either through cable or Bluetooth.

• Wireless Module: Bluetooth 5.0
• Phono Stage: Built in (with on/off switch)

Technical Specifications:
• Nominal speeds: 33 ⅓ and 45 RPM
• Speed variance: 33: ±0.70% 45: ±0.60%
• Wow and flutter: 33: ±0.25% 45: ±0.25%
• Signal to noise: ≥ 70dB at 1kHz, 0dB A-weighted
• Frequency range: 20-25.000Hz +3 / -3
• Stylus tip radius: r/R 8/18 µm
• Tracking force range: 1.5-2.0 g (15-20 mN)
• Tracking force, recommended: 1.75 g (17.5 mN)
• Tracking angle: 20°
• Replacement stylus unit: Ortofon Stylus 5E
• Effective tonearm mass: 13.5g
• Effective tonearm length: 220mm / 8.7in
• Overhang: 19.5mm / 0.77in
• Max power consumption: 15W
• Dimensions (W x H x D): 410 x 125 x 320 mm / 16 x 5 x 13 in
• Weight: 6,5kg / 14lb
• Dimensions packaging (W x H x D): 580 x 240 x 460 mm / 23 x 10 x 19 in
• Weight incl. packaging: 7,0kg / 15lb
• Rated input voltage: 100~240Vac, @ 50/60Hz.
• Bluetooth version: 5.0
• Normal or True Wireless (stereo) pairing
• 3.5 mm port for digital optical and analogue signals
• µUSB port for 5V power
• RX and TX mode (switch)
• Chip: Qualcomm CSR8670C
• Codec: aptX LL / SBC / MP3 / AAC
• Low Latency: <40ms
• Gold-plated contacts for perfect signal transmission

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Uniri

Infinite Reflections

13,99 €*

Release: 2024 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Every 20 years or so, certain musical movements come full circle. Young musicians are inspired by genres dating back two decades, channelling them through their modern sensibility. The legendary J Dilla’s Donuts album was released in 2006 and instantly marked a starting point for the work of musicians worldwide, laying the foundations especially for the beat scene in Los Angeles. A whole young generation of musicians brought up on the new, instrumental and abstract hip-hop has carried jazz into a new era. The four London-based musicians who make up Uniri have gone one step further by abandoning the idea of a jazz band and "bedroom production" in favour of collective composing, creating a new look at the new-beat aesthetics, framing it as a road novel set in an unspecified time and space.

Uniri translates as ‘one unified dream’ and is the key driving motto of the project conceived by Chiminyo (Cykada, Maisha), the band's founder and head honcho. The project materialised in his private studio, where he invited fellow jazz musicians Amane Tsuganami (Jorja Smith, Maisha), Al Macsween (Nubya Garcia, Gary Bartz, Kefaya) and Luke Wynter (Nubyan Twist, Golden Mean) to spontaneously compose together. Hence, despite this being the band's first album, it wouldn't be right to call them rookies. The result of Uniri's collaborative work is the psychedelic, rhythmic album Infinite Reflections, packed with cosmic and warm synths, which neatly balances hip-hop beat and jazz composition. It's safe to say this music is even more appealing when played live, although it's equally suited to the club dancefloor.

UK Jazz has become a permanent fixture in the London landscape, but also across Europe and the US. Today, the musicians who shape the new wave of jazz are drawing on more and more genres, reducing solo improvisation for the benefit of composition and increasingly drawing on influences from the beat scene. Among such formations are the British NOK Cultural Ensemble, the Polish Błoto, the Belgian Echt!, and the Dutch Comité Hypnotisé. Uniri is part of this emerging yet already international trend, creating an entirely fresh aesthetic that echoes artists such as Flying Lotus, Samiyam, Dorian Concept, Ras G and Nosaj Things oriented around the Californian 'new beats generation' scene.

The title Infinite Reflections alludes to a phenomenon observable on the open sea or during intercontinental flights. Gazing at the horizon blurs the boundary between the ocean and the sky, forming an infinite palette of blue shades. This inspiration sparked an elusive musical narrative, navigating between a sea voyage and an astral journey, destination unknown.

The album will be released by Astigmatic Records in digital, CD, and LP formats in both standard and limited editions. The pre-sale begins on March 1st on the Bandcamp platform, with the album scheduled for release on March 29, 2024.

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Charles Peterson

Nirvana Signed Edition

Minor Matters Books

99,99 €*

Magical Metamorphosis Third Eye Black Vinyl Repress Edition

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Preorder shipping from 2024-11-22

Limited edition signed by the author.

For millennia, “nirvana” has been a term associated with belief systems of the Indian subcontinent. But in 1988, a band from a small coastal town in Washington state decided to create some new associations with this word . . . through their music.

Active for just six years, Nirvana left an indelible mark on the late twentieth century that remains visible today. Photographer and self-described “music fanatic” Charles Peterson, a fellow twenty-something from the suburbs of Seattle, was present with his camera as a genre took form, and his images have become synonymous with the sounds, styles, movement and attitude known as grunge.

Charles Peterson’s Nirvana, in the tradition of many great documentary photobooks, expands beyond Peterson’s iconic images of the band seen repeatedly over the last thirty years (on album covers, in magazines, and in dozens of compilation books and exhibitions focused on this music and its birth era) to highlight gems never before published. Over a five-year photo edit, Peterson looked at each one of thousands of frames, considering what drew him to Nirvana in the first place—their songs. He honed in on the compositions that stimulated visceral memories of their live performances.

The resulting selection of photographs and their carefully constructed sequence mash up venues and years, suffering and the sublime, to arrive at a visual experience that one cannot help but also feel, and hear.

Book design by Jeff Kleinsmith.

9 x 12.25 inches vertical; ~90 black and white photographs; 168 pages;. Hardcover. Foreword by Krist Novoselic.

Charles Peterson (b.1964, Longview, Washington) is internationally known for his photographs of the Seattle music scene of the late eighties and nineties. He began making photographs while a student at Bothell High School, and then went on to study photography at the University Washington, where he first met as friends many of his future subjects.

Peterson’s distinct visual style and early work for Sub Pop Records became an important signifier of the phenomenon known as grunge.

His photographs have been featured in numerous publications, as well exhibited in group and solo exhibitions around the world. They are included in many private collections, and the permanent collections of the Seattle Art Museum and MoPOP.

Krist Novoselic (b. 1965, Compton, California) is co-founder of Nirvana.

Nirvana originated in Aberdeen, Washington in the late 1980s through the energies of Novoselic and Kurt Cobain. They were joined by drummers including Chad Channing (1988–1990) and David Grohl (1990–1994). Nirvana’s live performances, music videos, and albums Bleach (1989), Nevermind (1991), Incesticide (1992), In Utero (1993) and MTV Unplugged in New York (1994) made their music a defining component of the late twentieth century internationally.

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Hibushibire

LP | 2023 | UK | Reissue (Riot Season)

Rapper's Deluxe - How Hip Hop Made The World

Release: 2023 / UK – Reissue

Genre: Rock & Indie

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Osaka based psych-rock three piece Hibushibire return after a long break, with a new line up and a stunning third album.

Following the successes of their debut album 'Freak Out Orgasm!' (2017), the follow up ‘Turn On, Tune In, Freak Out’ (2019) and two very well received UK tours. The band headed home to Osaka, Japan and then, the pandemic hit.

During this downtime, guitarist/vocalist Changchang decided to create a new power trio. Enter Tetsuji Toyoda (Bass/Vocals) & Aoi Hama (Drums/Vocals). The new trio have spent the last three years writing new music, playing live and honing their sound in Japan, and a short well received tour of Taiwan with Riot Season labelmates Dope Purple. And now finally, Hibushibire mark 2 is born properly.

“Hibushibire has returned after a change of members. A psychedelic, progressive work, suitable for a new beginning"

Entering the studio with Acid Mothers Temple/Mainliner guru Makoto Kawabata in the producer chair (and also as a guest musician) once again, the band recorded album number three, 'Magical Metamorphosis Third Eye’. Makoto also adds some of his own trademark guitar howls through out the album, perfectly complimenting Changchang’s own growing prowess.

Here the band have taken their trademark psych-rock blasts and blended them perfectly with some more trippy, dare I say sweet progressive psychedelic sounds.

“The idea of this album is based on the theme of "occultism and mysticism". But it's not a serious thing, it's about the things we like (UFOs, pyramids, psychic phenomena, shamanism etc) and we all had fun while making it. In terms of what makes it different from the previous Hibushibire albums, it’s where AOI HAMA's vocals are present. I had wanted to use a female vocalist for a long time, so it was a good feeling!”

Like the bands first two albums, 'Magical Metamorphosis Third Eye’ is very much an album of two halves. Side one again is full of killer shorter tracks, while side two is reserved for a blinding majestic 20 minute epic ‘Ayahuasca Witch Abduction’.

Perhaps the biggest musical surprise here though is probably track two, the beautifully mellow tripped out ‘We Won't Go Back To The Past’, which sounds like it’s been beamed straight out of the late 60s/early 70s.

The band also tip a nod to the Beatles psychedelic classic ‘Tomorrow Never Ever Knows’, but with their own twist of course.

It’s clear with the line up changes, Changchang has decided to expand the bands musical pathway, and he’s achieve stunning results.

The band plan to return to the UK and Europe in 2024 to see friends old and new.

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Dr. Todd Boyd

Phaidon

59,45 €* 69,95 € -15%

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‘50 years later, hip hop’s influence has never been stronger. This book is proof of that – a must have for collectors, artists, dreamers, and hip hop heads everywhere.’ – Swizz Beatz (Kasseem Dean), record producer and rapper

A visual and cultural history of hip hop, charting its meteoric rise from underground trailblazer to global tastemaker

To tell the story of contemporary American culture is to tell the story of hip hop. From its humble, underground origins, hip hop transcended the confines of rap music and spread its influence across a broad spectrum of American life – fashion, film, art, sports, politics, language – to become a cultural movement of profound influence.

Rapper’s Deluxe is a critical contribution to America’s cultural canon, shining a light on hip hop’s ability to redefine and influence culture, through: photographs; fine art; advertisements; book, magazine, and album covers; film stills; and more. Organized chronologically from the 1970s to the present, image-rich and dynamic layouts show the people, places, events, objects, outfits, and inspirations that redefined the world as we know it – from fur-coated fans lining up for a Muhammad Ali fight at Madison Square Garden to a legendary party in the “Boogie Down” Bronx, through the hoods of South Los Angeles and the trap houses of Atlanta to the extravagant red carpet looks of the Met Gala.

Drawing on a broad range of curated examples, Dr. Todd Boyd re-examines hip hop’s legacy and how the genre remixes ‘high’ and ‘low’ culture, past and present, to come up with a style that is uniquely its own. Filled with original insights and clever wordplay, Rapper’s Deluxe is a tale of transformation, following hip hop’s arduous, but always triumphant, journey as it rose up to dominate the game.

‘A sumptuous object and a museum of a book. It’s probably everything you think it is, and it’s definitely then some.’ – Art Spiel

‘A visual and cultural history of hip hop, charting its meteoric rise from underground trailblazer to global tastemaker.’ – Aspire Design and Home

About the author
Dr. Todd Boyd is Price Chair for the Study of Race and Popular Culture and Professor of Cinema and Media Studies at USC. A media commentator, author, producer, and consultant, Dr. Boyd has appeared in documentaries such as The Last Dance (ESPN, 2020) and the Ken Burns-directed Muhammed Ali (PBS, 2021). His body of work includes seven books and his essays have appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and the Guardian.

Specifications:
Format: Hardback
Size: 270 × 205 mm (10 5/8 × 8 1/8 in)
Pages: 298 pp
Illustrations: 430 illustrations
ISBN: 9781838666224

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CD | 2024 | US | Original (Big Crown)

BRSB

16,99 €*

Release: 2024 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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BRSB Yellow Vinyl Edition

LP | 2024 | US | Original (Big Crown)

Release: 2024 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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BRSB HHV Exclusive Yellow Steel Vinyl Edition

LP | 2024 | US | Original (Big Crown)

Tegenlicht / Rotterdam In De Jaren 90 Blue Vinyl Edition

Release: 2024 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Limited to 200 copies.

Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band, the mysterious steel pan out¬t hailing from Hamburg, Germany have amassed a cult following around the globe. With a slew of classic 7"s and three critically acclaimed full length albums, they set a high bar for themselves, one they clearly intend on pushing even higher with this new offering. On their fourth album Brsb, Bacao are back with more of the same, but more of the same with them is inherently different. Covering songs that span genres and range from mega hits to underground album cuts, they make them their own with their unique approach to the traditional steel pans of Trinidad and Tobago. While part of the allure of a new Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band album is ¬nding out what covers they do it is equally intriguing to see what original tunes they cooked upland this record is foul of stand out originals. The album opener, "In The Crosshairs" is a rough and tough mid tempo head nodder while both "Grilled" & "Treasure Quest" pick up the tempo with heavy African Funk in uences on both. Bacao goes deep with "Hazy Memories", a bass heavy slow burner that walks a line between hypnotic and hype. All these originals stand as testament that the term "cover band" is a shoe that could never ¬t Bacao. However, in the tradition of steel pan music, they do a heavy amount of covers. This time around there is a big West Coast Hip Hop in uence with covers of Game & 50 Cent's "How We Do", Dr Dre & Snoop Dogg's "Nuthin But A G Thang", and Tupac's "Got My Mind Made Up" all of which take on new energy and lend themselves to the Brsb steel treatment. Bacao puts another certi¬ed dance oor ¬ller on their resume with their cover of Claudja Barry's uber Disco classic "Love For The Sake Of Love" which they ip into a dubbed out affair aptly changing even the title to "Love For The Sake Of Dub". Pulling from the contemporary smash hit section of Hop Hop they cover Drake's "Hotline Bling" and "Love$ick" by Mura Masa & A$ap Rocky. Then they go very unexpected with "Stranger Things Theme" where they take the synth heavy theme song to the hit show and give it a more hypnotizing tone than the original. By the time Brsb is through, Bacao has taken the listener on a journey spanning a myriad of energies, tempos, and moods while keeping it all under one umbrella. For all that, these songs are alive, and they will be taken out of the context of this album and sewn into the fabric of DJ sets around the globe for many years to come. Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band continues building their legacy and pushing the boundaries of steel pan music forward with another rock solid musical offering. Enjoy.

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Loradeniz / Kems Kriol

LP | 2023 | EU | Original (Nous Klaer Audio)

12,74 €* 14,99 € -15%

Peter Golding & Barry Miles

Release: 2023 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Nous'klaer Audio and Sound & Vision's RE:VIVE initiative have teamed up for the third and final LP in their film scoring trilogy. Capping off with a soundtrack made for a progressive, angular take on a color-soaked, geometric educational archival film. Combined with a soundtrack for a film that is a personal intensifier to the city of Rotterdam, which is the home of Nous'klaer Audio. The collaboration invites two musicians to compose for these archival films from the collection of Sound & Vision, the national media archive of the Netherlands. This final instalment features through and through Rotterdammer, Kems Kriol and the Amsterdam based Turkish composer, pianist and DJ Loradeniz. Kems Kriol accompanies the amateur documentary collage film "Rotterdam in de Jaren 90", a dark period of strife, economic and social crisis for the now booming metropolis, with the compassion and empathy of someone who experienced those years first-hand but with enough time removed to reflect with heart. Loradeniz angularly and precisely moves her way through the delicate film "Tegenlicht", a surprisingly colorful and fluid educational film about painting, a bold juxtaposition that propels the film into the 2020s. Extended info: Side A, Tegenlicht (English: back lit) is a 1969 education film by Ton Gramsbergen. The short meditative film, follows stained glass artist Leo Hofman through his entire workflow to create beautifully abstract stained glass window panes. Loradeniz?angularly and precisely moves her way through the delicate Tegenlicht creating a bold juxtaposition that propels the film into the 2020s. Employing processed vocal work, deep dry kicks, and jarring percussion-- reminiscent of scratching glass-- Loradeniz's haunting modernization suits the cinema and the club equally, a testament to the rising composer's fluid versatility and creative prowess as a musical pantomath. Side B, Rotterdam in de Jaren 90 directly contrasts the zoomed in artistry of Tegenlicht. The amateur documentary Super 8 footage captures Rotterdam in one of its most tumultuous times from police brutality, poverty, drugs, violence, racism and the city's ongoing architectural modernization. Kems Kriol, who lived in Rotterdam during this time period, brings a deeply emotional weight to the Ed Millecam amateur documentation, as an artist with the compassion and empathy of who experienced those years first-hand but with enough time removed to reflect with heart. Kems Kriol's influences from modern and avant garde composers, jazz, acid bass lines and field recording Kems Kriol made at different locations featured in the film equate to a musical collage wholly comparable to the city's diverse population. The prior installments in this series featured Nous'klaer Audio staples, Ranie Ribeiro, Mattheis, Thessa Torsing (upsamy) and Tammo Hesselink.

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Rock Graphic Originals: Revolutions In Sonic Art From Plate To Print '55 - '88

Thames & Hudson

33,99 €*

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A unique insight into, and record of, the 20th century’s most exciting and productive period of rock poster art and graphic design.

Rock Graphic Originals: Revolutions in Sonic Art from Plate to Print ‘55–’88 presents counterculture’s psychedelic poster art from its beat origins to its stadium rock zenith. Portfolios of 30+ poster artists – Rick Griffin, Victor Moscoso, Mouse Kelley and Hapshash amont them – are laid bare for all to see. For the first time, the sketchbooks and paste-ups, the printing plates and colour separations are unveiled to reveal the layers of process integral to the design of each poster.

Rock Graphic Originals is packed with more than 750 examples of posters, artworks and logos, created for the bands that epitomise their era, their sound and their scene – in San Francisco and the west coast, Detroit and New York, Swinging London and revolutionary Paris. Rock legends promoted in the posters include Big Brother and the Holding Company, Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Moby Grape, Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention, Captain Beefheart, the Doors, the Velvet Underground, Jimi Hendrix, Tim Buckley, the Yardbirds, Cream, Led Zeppelin and many more.

Barry Miles – cultural commentator and founder of International Times – contextualizes the exquisitely curated pages. Punctuated with special features on the socio-political phenomena that permeated the music and artwork of each period – underground clubs, head shops, obscenity trials, legalize pot rallies, acid tests and violent protest – the story is completed by personal insights from the artists themselves.

'Gig posters, magazine covers and band visuals from the golden age of rock' The Herald, Music Books of the Year

About the Author: Peter Golding, musician and creator of the world’s first ‘designer jean,’ began collecting rock ’n’ roll art in 1967, naming his collection ‘Inspirational Times.’ As part of the sixties and seventies fashion movement, Peter Golding’s famous ACE boutique in London’s Chelsea brought him into regular contact with the biggest names in rock ’n’ roll, and he went on to create one of the most comprehensive collections of rock ’n’ roll graphics. He curated the first exhibition for ‘Inspirational Times’ in London in 2003, was a major lender to the Tate Liverpool exhibition ‘Summer of Love’ in 2005, and more recently contributed to the V&A’s 2016–17 exhibition ‘You Say You Want a Revolution.’

Barry Miles is the bestselling author of numerous biographies and countercultural histories. He was a founding contributor to International Times, a regular contributor to NME from 1975 to 1978, and editor of Time Out from 1978 to 1979.

Format:Paperback Size:31.5 x 21.8 cm Extent:224 pp Illustrations:750 Publication date:25 October 2018 ISBN:9780500293539

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Askorn Records Various Artists 05

2LP | 2023 | EU | Original (Askorn)

30,99 €*

II: Sojourn Clear With Purple Splatter Vinyl Edition

Release: 2023 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Limited to 300 copies, this 2x12" double vinyl VA is the third physical release of the industrial techno label, Askorn Records. Including 8 tracks ranging from dark and tortured slow beats to hard and industrial techno bangers, this release brings together 9 producers from Belgium, UK, Poland, Australia and France: Twan, Dahryl, Mickey Nox, Tripped, 14anger, Draugr, Hel.IV, Ogmah and Hatelove.

A1: Twan & Dahryl - Ammunition Pure industrial techno banger. 142bpm bomb full of fast rolling drums and screaming synths, this collaboration between Belgium based artist Twan and Dahryl from United Kingdom, is a furious dancefloor destroyer.

A2: Mickey Nox - Switching Horsepower Classic industrial hammer by Mickey Nox from Australia. A crazy 4-4 techno track with his famous stomping kick, strange FX sounds, chopped with some glitchy voices. Sounds like an unstoppable engine.

B1: Tripped - Fat Load Tripped demonstrates the perfect mix between hardcore and techno into this track, using his famous and indescribable style. Industrial hardcore and destroyed 909 gabber kickdrums, scary synths, amen breaks and terror atmosphere.

B2: 14anger - Bachman Heavily distorted bass-line, overdrived kickdrum, an acid break and some electrical noises: Bachman is the latest 14anger banging track. This raw industrial techno track definitely brings some oldschool rave vibes to this project.

C1: Draugr - Discipline A dark and groovy track by Draugr. He brings his famous threatening atmospheres, spooky bass and catchy drums on this one. Crunchy kickdrum, radar noises and a perfectly chosen speech about order and discipline.

C2: Hel.IV - Brave & Thick Hard, dark and punchy as usual, let's introduce Hel.IV from Paris. Deep and hard kickdrum with catchy drums patterns surrounded by a screaming distorted vocal sample, and an epic and menacing synth.

D1: Ogmah - No Feelings, Pure Wrath New harsh and scary bomb by Askorn's founder, Ogmah. A slashing and industrial beast with some shrill highs drums, creaky and industrial FX sounds, and a long break with scary vocals about sins.

D2: Hatelove - Snakebyte A slow and dark track with a deep as hell atmosphere, produced by the one and only Hatelove from Poland. Full of filters automations, psycho and spooky noises, banging drums and crazy sound design. Angering af.

The artwork is an engraving by the artist Daniel Girault from Brittany in France. This is the result of a dark and disturbing abstract design engraved on a hard metal surface, made by cutting grooves into it with differents sharp tools. After being drowned into an acid bath, this metal plate is finally pressed with black ink on a thick paper sheet.

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Wytch Hazel

LP | 2018 | UK | Reissue (Bad Omen)

The Future Sound Of Yesterday Orchestra

Release: 2018 / UK – Reissue

Genre: Rock & Indie

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Wytch Hazel’s stellar 2016 debut Prelude confirmed these Lancastrian apprentice wizards to be Britain’s most promising new hard rock band. Two years on, that promise comes to abundant fruition on II: Sojourn, an album that moves Wytch Hazel on from the innocence and exuberance of the debut to a darker, more profound and complex place, carefully wrought into optimum shape by the band’s singer, guitarist, songwriter and mastermind Colin Hendra. “I’m really into the idea of an album,” notes Colin. “I don’t do mix-tapes, I don’t listen to singles, I’m interested in albums. I want to make a good, listenable, cohesive work, that is the whole thing.” Asked what inspirations were brought to bear this time, Colin has good news, and even better taste: “I was listening to plenty of Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy and Wishbone Ash last year,” remarks the frontman. “This seems to be more of a hard rock album, where the last one was more rock-folk. It’s definitely more rock than folk!” The most crucial influence fully expresses itself via Les Paul guitars in sweet twin harmony through cranked Super Lead Marshalls - “Exactly the same type of amp that Thin Lizzy would have used,” beams Colin - a benefit of working in James Atkinson’s Hand Of Law Studio, a converted gaolhouse in Leeds. “We knew there would be a lot more great gear, more amps, more options,” enthuses Colin of this productive new work environment. “We were more prepared, we planned better. I had a lot more vocals to record on this album, pretty much every song has at least three harmonies, but James is a really chilled out guy, he made it easy for us. I had a very clear idea of how I wanted each song to sound, I thought about every single aspect. I probably over-prepared for this album, and it paid off!” Wytch Hazel’s proud, avowed Protestant Christianity continues to set them apart from the occult hocus-pocus of their peers, and the very title Sojourn has a Biblical inspiration: “It’s used a lot in the Old Testament, people would travel somewhere to stay for a short period of time,” explains Colin, comparing the idea to Wytch Hazel’s development since Prelude. “We’re going to reside here with this sound for a while, and the next album might not sound the same. Come and have a listen to this aspect of Wytch Hazel - it’s a temporary stay. We’ll be here for a while, then there will be something else. I’m always writing, it’s a constant stream, but I’m always trying to raise the bar, because I don’t want the next album to be not as good as the other ones!”

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Senor Sapo

12" | 2023 | EU | Original (Shaddock)

13,29 €* 13,99 € -5%