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Western Massachusetts musician Stephen Pierce has used Gold Dust as a means for exploring his next journey, slowly piecing together songs that held the fragile wonderment of the Grateful Dead, the weary beauty of Elliott Smith, the melancholic twang of the Byrds, and the otherworldly density of My Bloody Valentine while always reaching for hope and connectivity in a way that was universal. Neither the slow-to-form creative process of the first album nor the ambling pace often taken by Pierce’s thoughtful, dreamily damaged psychedelia points to rapid evolution, but that’s exactly what’s taking place on second album The Late Great Gold Dust.

The themes of isolation and self-doubt that floated on the first album have sharpened, and the language around these difficult feelings have taken on a new clarity. Pierce’s songwriting has always held a distant sadness, but with The Late Great Gold Dust, the melancholy cuts through, feels more present and alive within the songs. There’s a muddy narrative arc to these twelve songs, getting more harrowing throughout the album’s second half as screams echo in the void until an exhausted sigh that sounds something like acceptance rises out of the murk.

The Late Great Gold Dust steps into new dimensions musically as well. Pierce continues the layers of jangle, fuzz, and sunny vocal harmonies that made the first album equal parts tender and strange, but takes new risks with production, texture, and instrumentation.

Pierce played every instrument and sang every vocal on the first album, and while he still handles the lion’s share of the performances here, he brings in several friends to add new angles to the tunes: guest vocals, moody Fender Rhodes, Hammond organ, damaged synth, and J Mascis (dinosaur JR.) lending his instantly-recognizable guitar with a “Maggot Brain” level solo on “Larks Swarm a Hawk,” the track that closes out side one. Eloquent weirdo Sean Yeaton of Parquet Courts contributes a short story for the liner notes, narrated from somewhere between the natural world and all the psychedelic computerized kitchens of the future.

This will come as no surprise to those who've followed GGM since 2014's Bishouné: Alma Del Huila, the critically-lauded, self-produced EP that put him on the map, and served as sample fodder for a handful of popular music's most iconic artists. His follow-up LP, 2017's Jardin, melded classical and folkloric instruments with rnb, hip-hop, and cumbia, proving once again that Gabriel is totally comfortable making transformative, funky, cathartic records all by himself. Agüita, his first release for Jagjaguwar, is a sequence of impossibly diverse offerings ranging from trap anthems to string-drenched art pop ballads - a prismatic self-portrait, personal and universal all at once. The artist is present, and he is in final form. The magic of Agüita lives in Gabriel's ability to consolidate a range of truths into a focused, crystallized idea. "Bloom," "Blue Dot," and "Fields" compare the growth and loss inherent in human life with the changing of the seasons and the life cycles of the universe; on "Fields," Garzón-Montano evokes the despondent whimper of Thom Yorke. There are mirrors of the same themes in compositions like "With a Smile," "Tombs," "Someone," and "Moonless," a quartet of songs that explore the births and deaths of the relationships we have with the people we love; on "Moonless," Gabriel explores for the first time his struggle with the grief of his mother's passing: "Mama died / and I was moonless in a Stygian tide...trying to hide the ripening tumor / breathing fire, love but a rumour / There's a woman in my sky / 17 when I learned to cry_" It is to his immense credit as a songwriter that we are left with an understanding of the depth of his loss, despite having never experienced it. Equally impactful are the trap and reggaeton cuts - the album's energetic high points. On "Agüita," "Mira My Look," and "Muñeca," GGM delves into club-banger territory, performing in Spanish for the first time on record. Whether you're here for the medium, or for the message, for the man himself, or one of his characters, Agüita stands as the strongest installment thus far in a series of alarmingly sincere, sensationally profound works, from an artist who has sought not only to challenge established preconceptions and categories, but to expose their ultimate unworthiness. From composition to execution, the product distills the essence of Gabriel Garzón-Montano's genius, an uninterrupted creative process rare in this age of fattened album credits.

Rising from the deep valleys of Kymi in southernmost Finland, I Am The Night is Black Metal rooted in the classic early 90’s tradition, where walls of guitars and synthesizers raise the forces of darkness in a battle against the heavens and burning angels light up the night sky.

The band’s debut full length album, with cover art by scene legend Necrolord, bears the title “While The Gods Are Sleeping” and shall be released on May 6th, 2022. The record was birthed during the heaviest blizzard Finland had seen in years in the winter of 2021, with the band holed up at the Soundspiral Audio studio during the height of the pandemic. “This album, in a way, is both the thing that should not be and something we should have made flesh many moons ago already”, comments Markus Vanhala, and continues: “It is a passage back in time that dark forest of our minds through which we spent our youth traversing.”

Together with the album announcement the band are set to release a second single from the album, titled “Ode To The Nightsky”. The music video for the song was created by Coldstore Productions, and it is online now at https://youtu.be/YhNpG4u8Xgw

Brought forth by underground titans of Finnish Metal, Markus Vanhala (Insomnium, Omnium Gatherum), Janne Markkanen (ex-Omnium Gatherum), Okko Solanterä (Horizon Ignited) and Waltteri Väyrynen (Paradise Lost, Bodom After Midnight), the band’s origins date back to the dimly lit subterranean rehearsal rooms of the mid-nineties where the fires of Vanhala and Markkanen’s Black Metal zeal were ignited.

“Black metal art has been a continuous and serious pursuit in my personal life since my early teenage years”, explains guitarist Vanhala, and he continues; “In The Nightside Eclipse, Storm Of The Light’s Bane and De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas opened the gate to the dark side for me years ago, as can be heard from the music we make with I Am The Night.”

In recent years I Am The Night rapidly began to gather flesh on its old bones, and in 2020 the spark burst into a full blaze when elder statesmen Vanhala and Markkanen hired younger cohorts Väyrynen and Solanterä to help bring their morbid visions into reality. Vanhala states that: “Our debut record, the result of a yearning for ancient darkness, turned out to be just the time capsule we wanted it to be, far removed from modern metal. I’ve seldom found anything interesting in post nineties Black Metal. We wanted to realise this in the underground way that felt fitting to the music, and chose to work with Svart Records.”

“Our songs are stories about the worship of night and the triumph of the powers of darkness. At night, sun to his slumber and shadows all over, the forces of the night rise to the heavens, cast angels out and usher in a new era of individual freedom”, vocalist Solaterä explains

“I Am The Night is a real band not a project. It is unrestrained creation. A ray of darkness for us in the vacuum created by the pandemic. The future remains unseen, and all the better for it.”

The son of the popular tenor Tito Schipa, the young Tito Jr. started his career in 1967 with a show based on Bob Dylan's songs, arranged like a sort of rock opera. Fascinated by this formula he repeated it many times in his later works. His recording debut came in 1972 for Fonit Cetra, with the single "Sono passati i giorni", but his first proper work was the ambitious opera "Orfeo 9", that he had concentrated on since 1969, and that was first represented in theatre in Rome in 1970. A TV film also came in 1973, and the double album was one of the first examples of pop operas in Italy. Influenced by classical music, Schipa released a beautiful work that can be hardly described as a proper rock album, but surely falls into the progressive music field. "Orfeo 9" included among the others, the first record appearance by two Italian artists soon to become very popular, Renato Zero and Loredana Bertè, but many important musicians are listed in the cast, including Brainticket's leader Joel Vandroogenbroeck and drummer Tullio De Piscopo. Rock opera style means multivocal parts and orchestral arrangements, and is an interesting early example of this kind. (Source: www.italianprog.com) Faithful reproduction of the original edition, including the additional lyrics booklet.

Jr. Thomas & The Volcanos’ sophomore effort Rockstone is more than just a love letter to the roots of Jamaican music. It’s an actual love letter. Tom McDowall aka Jr. Thomas explains, “I could write a musical love letter to all things I loved: my wife, my family, my friends, my band mates. I could write a song to tell me to Chin Up when times got tough. I could give gratitude to the Jamaican artists that paved the way for the beautiful music we now call reggae. I could write a song about what it’s like to lose someone important to you. Or write a song to invigorate me spiritually. Music is healing and that’s the best therapy there is for me.”
Rockstone isn’t just another throwback record to an era gone by. It’s a record that takes risks within the genre, but more importantly it’s a genuinely honest record.
“I called the album Rockstone because true love cannot be defeated. It lives forever. We write tributes on our tombstones because they live on beyond our lives as a remembrance of something special and important to us.”
Recommend for fans of: The Frightnrs, Toots & The Maytals, Jimmy Cliff

In 2005, acclaimed Hawaiian singer Teresa Bright —whose recording debut, Catching A Wave, was reissued by Aloha Got Soul in 2020 — recorded a jazz-tinted album with pianist/engineer Kit Ebersbach. The project brought to to life Bright's favorite standard songs alongside tunes that feel expressly written for her sultry voice. The singer's original composition, “Sp-r-ing”, fits right at home in the collection. These recordings patiently sat on Ebersbach’s hard drive for 15 years until 2020, when Aloha Got Soul released the album digitally. The vinyl is scheduled for release on February 25, 2022.

In December 2020, Bright received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Hawai’i Academy of Recording Arts. The award came following a lifelong career spanning more than a dozen albums, numbers Na Hoku Hanohano awards, countless songwriting, arranging, and producing credits, domestic and international concert performances, plus a long list of Hawaiian language translations for peers near and far. In anticipation of the awards ceremony, Ebersbach approach Aloha Got Soul with the suggestion to finally release Blue Skies, the 2005 jazz record they'd cut with studio veterans Dean Taba, Noel Okimoto, Rocky Holmes, Casey Olsen, and Sam Ahia, Jr. Together with the help of Bright's partner, Derrick C.M. Llanos, we released 'Blue Skies' digitally in December 2020.

“Iʻm so glad we waited,' said Ebersbach of the digital release in 2020. 'There can be no better moment to do this than on this very day, commemorating her lifetime of making beautiful music.”

Ags-057 is a wonderful addition to the catalog of beautiful sounds that Bright has been singing since the beginning of her career, from Catching A Wave through today.

Since the band's inception in 1992, Built to Spill founder Doug Martsch intended his beloved band to be a collaborative project, an ever-evolving group of musicians making music and playing live together. "I wanted to switch the lineup for many reasons. Each time we finish a record I want the next one to sound totally different. It's fun to play with people who bring in new styles and ideas," says Martsch. "And it's nice to be in a band with people who aren't sick of me yet." Following several albums and EPs on Pacific Northwest independent labels, including the indie-rock classic, There's Nothing Wrong With Love, released on Sub Pop offshoot Up Records in 1994, Martsch signed with Warner Brothers from 1995 to 2016. He and his rotating cast of cohorts recorded six more great albums during that time - Perfect From Now On, Keep It Like a Secret, Ancient Melodies of the Future, You In Reverse, Untethered Moon, There Is No Enemy. There was also a live album, and a solo record, Now You Know. While the band's impeccable recorded catalog is the entry point, Built to Spill live is an essential force of its own: heavy, psychedelic, melodic, and visceral tunes blaring from amps that sound as if they're powered by Mack trucks. Now in 2022, Built to Spill returns with When the Wind Forgets Your Name, Martsch's unbelievably great new album (and his eighth full-length)... with a fresh new label. "I'm psyched: I've wanted to be on Sub Pop since I was a teenager. And I think I'm the first fifty year-old they've ever signed." (The rumors are true, we love quinquagenarians_) When the Wind Forgets Your Name continues expanding the Built to Spill universe in new and exciting ways. In 2018 Martsch's good fortune and keen intuition brought him together with Brazilian lo-fi punk artist and producer Le Almeida, and his long-time collaborator, Joao Casaes, both of the psychedelic jazz rock band, Orua. Martsch fell in love with their music the moment he heard it. So when he needed a new band for shows in Brazil, he asked them, and the partnership went so well Martsch, Almeida, and Casaes continued playing together throughout 2019, touring the US and Europe and ultimately recording the bass and drum tracks for When the Wind Forgets Your Name at Doug's rehearsal space in Boise. After Martsch tracked guitars and vocals, they group collaborated from afar to mix the album. What emerged is When the Wind Forgets Your Name, a complex and cohesive blend of the artists' distinct musical ideas. Alongside Built to Spill's poetic lyrics and themes, the experimentation and attention to detail produces an album full of unique, vivid, and timeless sounds, from guitar-driven rock odes to REM and Dinosaur Jr to bluesy '60s-style anthems to dub-reggae-inspired instrumentation. It may have taken us 30 years of obvious fandom and courtship, but on September 9, 2022, Sub Pop Records is unabashedly proud to finally release an excellent new album from Built to Spill: When the Wind Forgets Your Name. Sometimes persistence pays off.

Another one from the fruitful collaboration with LA's highly regarded Patrick Houchen aka Shakaman. After Shakeena's “I bet you” 12" re-issue flying off the shelves, we deepen the exploration within Shakaman's treasure chest of Reggae/Dub gems with Shakeena's first and last album on Majicaa Records. Originally released in 1987, this album is a proper act of musical generosity, not so easy to point out the “hit” track here – clearly a case of all killer no filler. Unlike too many albums where the format length sadly gets the best of the artists' work, rest assured with this one you can play from the beginning to end and you'll only have to come back to flip it. The professional execution of what is hands down an ensemble of highly seasoned musicians sets the tone for the dreamy lyrics and arrangements to unravel. Besides expected reggae rhythms, Shakaman brings in other influences with subtle electro/freestyle hints that might have been hard to ignore in LA at the time. New remastered version sounding especially big and cozy on the low end. Can't go wrong!

Hailing from Bozeman, MT, Kitchen Dwellers embody the spirit and soul of their home with a sonic palette as expansive as Montana's vistas. The quartet _ Shawn Swain [Mandolin], Torrin Daniels [banjo], Joe Funk [upright bass], and Max Davies [acoustic guitar] _ twist bluegrass, folk, and rock through a kaleidoscope of homegrown stories, rich mythology, American west wanderlust, and psychedelic hues. After amassing 5 million-plus streams, selling out shows, and receiving critical acclaim, the group brings audiences back to Big Sky Country on their third full-length album, Wise River, working with Cory Wong of Vulfpeck as producer. In the end, Kitchen Dwellers share timeless American stories from the heart of one of its greatest treasures. "When you listen to Wise River, I hope you hear some of the original qualities that made us who we are, but you also recognize aspects that are new and adventurous," Max leaves off. "I hope you hear what it sounds like when the four of us are at home and have the space to create something together. This album is really how we sound as a band."

When Porridge Radio's Dana Margolin, one of the most vital new voices in rock, began to consider the themes of her new album, three vivid words began to emerge: joy, fear and endlessness. The artwork of the band's third full-length, Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder To The Sky, is a surreal image that evokes the ducks and dives, slippery slopes and existential angst of life in recent times. "To me, the feelings of joy, fear and endlesses coexist together," says Dana. "You're never just happy or unhappy." Following Every Bad's release in 2020, Margolin was quickly becoming regarded as one of the most magnetic band leaders around. But if Every Bad established Dana's bravery in laying herself bare, her band's third record takes that to anthemic new heights. While there are moments of guttural release, she also finds soft power on songs. "I used to think I had to be loud to be heard," she admits, "but now I'm definitely less afraid of being gentle." The band's first new single, `Back To The Radio', sets out their stall, a lurching call to arms that contrasts Dana's lyrics of panic and closing herself off. This song is just one of example in Wdbltts that explores something that has long been an important part of Porridge Radio's process: playfulness. "I think the album needed to have that balance," Dana explains. Balance: that's the word the album seems to be eternally striving for - joy, fear and endlessness in harmony but also self-acceptance. Dana is more aware of how she's creating a persona as her star continues to rise, and how she's singing personal songs that now belong to other people which gives her purpose. She says, "I wrote these songs for myself, but I think everyone wants to feel like what they're doing is useful in some way. I'm ready to embrace it all now, whatever happens."

Originally released on Axis records. Moonlight Serenade Year 3036, the Third Empire of Human spans hundreds of star systems, only accessible by a faster-than-light spaceship. No other intelligent beings have ever been encountered, not until a light sail probe enters a human system carrying a dead alien. The probe is traced to the Ursea, an isolated star system in a thick dust cloud, and an expedition is dispatched. After a search that lasted thousands of years, humans stand on the verge of first contact with an alien race. The mission's objective: learn everything there is to know about the extraterrestrial intelligence. DJ Surgeles has a longstanding professional relationship with Detroit legend Jeff Mills. Connected through music, DJ Surgeles learned the insides and tricks of Jeff. Many conversations and meetings over the years led to this new concept, The Escape Velocity. DJ Surgeles has also collaborated exclusively with Jeff Mills on the concepts Something in The Sky and Strmrkd, and produced a special Axis Records 10 year anniversary release, The Bells: DJ Mix back in 2007. I wanna thank Jeff Mills for making this album happen.

Bureau B present a reissue of Serge Blenner's Magazin Frivole, originally released in 1981. Cold, concise analog synthesizer instrumentals -- on his second album Serge Blenner remained true to his style, albeit shifting course slightly towards pop territory. The juxtaposition of dark harmonies and pop structures is what makes this album so appealing. In places, it feels like a blueprint for early Depeche Mode. Having seen his first album La Vogue (BB 324CD/LP) snapped up by the Sky Records and fast-tracked for release in 1980, Blenner delivered his second LP, Magazin Frivole, the following year. Mindful of the success of its predecessor, Blenner added the name of his debut in big letters to the front cover of the new sleeve. Blenner remained faithful to his musical style, albeit adding more of a pop flavor. Magazin Frivole would not look out of place filed alongside Depeche Mode on the record shelf, as a certain resemblance is undeniable. Moreover, Blenner was one of the few proponents of electronic music who preferred to keep his songs concise, in contrast to the meandering odysseys of many of his electronic contemporaries. The far better-known French artist Jean-Michel Jarre adhered to similar principles, yet although Blenner was often compared to his compatriot, he claims only to have heard his music long after La Vogue had appeared. Minor chords dominate his harmonies, the bass performs octave leaps which mirror the zeitgeist. Unexpected key changes abound, adding a restless, almost disquieting quality. Overall, Magazin Frivole is less dark than the preceding album, but a picture of cheerfulness it is not. Nevertheless, a poppy drum computer introduces a lighter note. From the very first track, chord changes pop up at unexpected junctures -- they seem to come in prematurely, before harmonic sequences have run their course. Blenner doesn't have any explanation for this curiosity, other than to note that "most of the music was played by hand, so of course it wasn't all perfect." "I did all I could to avoid being successful -- on a subconscious level, at least. Unpredictable metrics and irregular beats were definitely part of the process," Blenner admits with an enigmatic smile. Juxtaposed with Blenner's more recent works, one can see what he means. His latest album Musique de Chambre (2008) comprises modern classical chamber music, built on digitally sampled real instruments. Besides, Blenner points out, handling all of those analog devices was a convoluted and complex undertaking.

Never Before Released! Vinyl Only! Captured at the height of their powers during the heyday of the grunge movement that they inspired, J Mascis and Dinosaur Jr perform tracks from their back catalogue live on MTV’s 120 Minutes show. Loud and heavy as ever, the band turn in an inspired performance, which has since become a legendary favourite among fans. Never officially released until now, and produced in association with MTV and the band, ‘Seventytwohundredseconds’ is the latest in our ongoing extensive exploration of Dinosaur Jr’s brilliant Sire Records period. A must-hear glimpse of one of the treasures from the rich seam of American alternative rock and grunge artists who reinvigorated guitar-orientated music in the late 1980s and 1990s.

Following recent super-deluxe editions and multi-format releases of classic Who albums – ‘My Generation’, ‘Tommy’ and ‘Quadrophenia’, and the success of ‘Live at Fillmore’, we follow with The Who Sell Out – this set shaping up to be the most superlative of all…!! Released in December 1967 – the album reflected a remarkable year in popular culture. As well as being forever immortalised as the moment when the counterculture and the ‘Love Generation’ went global, 1967 produced tremendous musical upheavals as “pop” metamorphosed to “rock”.

Originally planned by Pete Townshend and the band’s managers, as a loose concept album including jingles and commercials linking the songs styled as a Radio London broadcast – born out of necessity as the band’s managers wanted a new album and there weren’t enough songs.

The original plan was to sell advertising space on the album – Jaguar cars, Coca-Cola etc. The jingles pay tribute to the pirate radio stations and expose the myths of ‘pop-culture’ and mock consumer society – way ahead of their time…

The homage to pop-art is evident in both the advertising jingles and the iconic sleeve design – created by David King (art director at the Sunday Times) and Roger Law (who invented Spitting Image) producing four giant images for each band member – Odorono deodorant, Medac spot cream, Charles Atlas and Heinz baked beans (Roger apparently caught pneumonia from sitting in the cold beans for too long).

Photography by renowned portrait photographer David Montgomery (rare out-takes included)

The album is a bold depiction of the period in which it was made – the tail-end of the ‘swinging-60s’ meets pop-art mixed with psychedelia and straight-ahead pop craft. It’s glorious blend of classic powerful Who instrumentation, melodic harmonies, satirical lyrical imagery crystallised for what was only the group’s third album – the ambition and scope is unrivalled by the Who, or any others from that period.

Within the bold concept, were a batch of fabulous and diverse songs – I Can See for Miles (a Top Ten hit) is a Who classic, Rael, a Townshend ‘mini-opera’ with musical motifs that reappeared in Tommy and the psychedelic blast of Armenia City in the Sky and Relax are among the very best material of the 1960s.

One of the most extraordinary albums of any era – it’s The Who’s last ‘pop’ album. Two years later came Tommy – a double concept album about a deaf, dumb and blind kid…

“We were hoping to get free Jaguars. We got fifty tins of free Baked Beans”

Pete Townshend

Moving through tight, clean, hard-punk, masterly into acid surfer, vibrating-melodic power-metal, Kissed BY AN Animal is through and through a New York band with grit, love, and party turned to Maximum Krank. Think Dinosaur Jr. meets Lemonheads on a psychedelic tip. Some of the songs are perfect for cruising sunsets. Some of these songs are perfect for being purposely lost at sea. And some of these songs are the soundtrack for the life you will have if you follow your heart to the path of ascension. “The Brooklyn band’s simultaneously thoughtful and party-friendly second full-length is both evidence of, and a tribute to, creativity and true originality and an invitation to be yourself” —Bands Do BK

The Hill District were a group of working musicians assembled by bassist Walter “Sonny” Hughes who following one afternoon rehearsal session together the very same evening recorded their only ever 45 outing the somewhat elusive and now sort after amongst group harmony collectors “Your Scared Of Falling In Love”. The other group members were Sonny’s brother Richard Hughes (Lead Guitar), Anthony Law (Keyboards), William M. Standard Jr (Piano), Mark Smith (Drums) and Daniel S. Lee Jr (Lead Vocals). The groups name was taken from a grouping of African American neighbourhoods in the city of Pittsburgh P.A. locally referred to as ‘The Hill’. The recording session was held under the direction of record producer and song writer James Richard Calloway (A.K.A) Rich Calloway. Calloway would go on to release “Your Scared Of Falling In Love” on his own ‘C-Way Records’ label featuring a instrumental version on the flipside. Rich Calloway hailed from Uniontown P.A. with Uniontown being known affectionately by the local black community as ‘Oniontown’ the name which Calloway adopted for his publishing company. Unfortunately for the Hill District the final mastering of their song left something be desired (a scenario we’ve now rectified with our release) and as a result local Pittsburgh Disc jockeys refused to plug their song leaving their one and only 45 outing to fade into obscurity with the group members going their own separate ways to continue their careers as session musicians with other ensembles. Producer and lyricist Rich Calloway also continued with his own C-way Productions company later composing both sides of The Cleveland Ohio group ‘The Entertains’1975 outing for Steel Town records “Love Will Turn It Around/Why Couldn’t I Believe Them”. Calloway was no stranger to Cleveland having been earlier employed by Way Out Records owner Lester Johnson to compose the lyrics to Jesse Fisher’s “Your Not Loving A Beginner”, the songs arrangement’s being originally laid down by members of the Way Out group The Soul Notes, William Bell (A.K.A Bill Spoon), John Washington and Ricki Dannison under the working title of “I’ve Been Waiting For Your Love”. Prior to the Hill’s District release Rich Calloway had penned and released a 45 single on another local Pittsburgh artist Richie Merrett. The 1973 outing You’ll Always Have Yesterday Standing By” b/w “I Gave It Up” (C-Way 103). Merritt a professional singer who performed with several groups including The Electron’s on their 1968 outing “Turn On Your Lovelight (Shock 209) recorded his first solo outing on the Nashville Deltron label “Can I Get A Rebate/It’s Never Too Late” which he later released again on his own R.A.M label followed by two early 90’s outings, the modern soul favourite’s “Where Did I Go Wrong” and “You Got Problems”. Richie still performs today doing one off shows in between his solo performances aboard 7 Day Cruise ships travelling between Los Angeles and Sant Cabos, Mexico. “You’ll Always Have Yesterday Standing By” was later produced by Walt Maddox under the shortened title of “Yesterday’s Standing By” on his own group ‘These Gents’.

Therefore Soul Junction brings you two 70’s soul/Lowrider in demanders back to back for your delectation.

The cult techno outfit "Teste" digs up and re-transmits sonic archives forming a new 2xlp for L.I.E.S. Full story below.....Artwork licensed from legendary NYC street photographer Richard Sandler in appropriate fashion....lp comes with a giant newsprint poster as well. Teste was still-born by the mid-90’s and with the ensuing Ptsd I had become a Shut IN working on the Amiga Computer for Audio and Video and completely immersed in grisly, depraved art-house cinema. This release pays homage to that time in NYC when I frequented Mondo Kims daily to rent the trashiest films I could find. Things like Richard Kern’s “Fingered”, Nick Zedds’s “They Eat Scum”, Makavejev “Sweet Movie”, Merhige “Begotten” all the classicks! The 42nd Street Mind forever! In retrospect I can’t believe they gave me a membership card! Wish I still had it! Micro Budget, Discontinued Formats. All of the tracks on this release are sourced from decaying tapes (vhs, 4-track, DAT, MD) some of which were encoded to early digital formats to add another layer of artefacts and grit. I can emphatically proclaim these ideas have taken three decades to come to fruition at my present Partner in Teste (Goner) Berlin Facility. One chapter closes and another unfolds! One day it’s 1992 playing absurd Teste gigs in a Sports Bar (Tailgate Charlie’s!) in scenic Hammer Onterrible opening up for Lil’ Ed and the Blues Imperials! You could just feel the love in that room! Referred to as the “Toilet Incident” by unsuspecting attendees. From that debacle another unfolded in an infamous “final” appearance at the Pure Party in Glasgow Barrowlands 1994 -which proved an unceremonious demise to the first incarnation of Teste… Details like most things from that era are foggy… No insta stories or tweets! Just instant cameras that didn’t always make it out of the rave! After the Teste fallout then embarking on another Techno adventure for an extended stint in NYC from ’95-97. This proved a pivotal time to say the least. Huren becoming a solo entity and the lasting shockwaves with Zhark which was a New York label in those days. Also in retrospect I can say I experienced the end of the NYC of old right when the “NO Dancing” by-laws were coming in. R.I.P Strange?, Sonic Groove (Manhattan),Liquid Sky/Temple, Save The Robots, Soundlab, Tunnel, Twilo, Limelight and others that slip the memory banks… All I knew of NYC when I got off that Greyhound the first time in Port Authority in 95 after an 11 hour drive was from movies. I thought the city was like what I had seen in Abel Ferrara films “Driller Killer”, “King of New York’ “Bad Lieutenant” or the Schoolly D, or Wu-Tang Clan videos! Turns out I wasn’t too far off in a way as this was the era of the Club Kids depravity. Upon reflection my formative clubbing years had an element of Crime in them as I’ve been in the proximity of two very well known serial killers. First in the 80’s when I attended a club Paul Bernardo used to Frequent in Ontario and later on the Limelight NYC with Michael Alig. Definitely casts a sinister tinge to some of the memories. Curious coincidence the party I performed at in NYC was called Killer… And I myself was almost murdered in 2012 but that’s another story…

"What took you so long?" might be a valid question concerning the ten year gap between Zanshin's new album "In Any Case By Any Chance" and his first album "Rain Are In Clouds".
Of course it is a question that the Viennese musician has asked himself quite startled in his usual self-critical manner, just to realize at a closer look that it has not been a lack of creativity or laziness at least. He used the Zanshin moniker on four EP releases and several remixes, plus a game soundtrack. Not to forget all his output as one half of producer duo Ogris Debris (the album "Constant Spring" from 2016 and roughly two dozen singles and remixes) and the many, partly award-winning audiovisual installations and performances with Leonhard Lass as Depart (depart.at). Furthermore he has also built two sound installations in 2021, "I Gong" at Elevate Festival and "Cymatic Sands" at Ars Electronica. In addition, Zanshin performs with the Max-Brand-Synthesizer from time to time as part of the compositions by Elisabeth Schimana, and together with label mate Dorian Concept he has also composed and performed the piece "Half Chance/Music for Moogtonium" for this unique instrument, built by Bob Moog himself.
Not spared by certain global developments of recent years, but rather invigorated by exploring his own resilience, Zanshin had a talk with Affine Records Operator Jamal in the beginning of 2021, speaking of future ideas and releases. And what was initially a single release spawned into a whole album in seemingly no time. An old skit ("Polar Polychrome") on the Roland Mc-505 groove-box that had never really been forgotten, but was rather waiting patiently somewhere in the back of his mind, suddenly proved to be the initial spark for the album.
The term "Zanshin", roughly translated as un-focussed attention, is in fact more than just a pseudonym but rather a directive in the artists life. Zanshin really likes to go in several directions at once, kind of according to Wittgenstein's claim that "The world is everything that is the case.", to find out where his love for music might lead him this time. He also somehow went back to his roots with this album. Not necessarily in the sense of certain musical influences or genres, because then the album would be even more eclectic than it already is. More like a focus on the core values in the fabrication process of the music itself, the freedom to rather follow the structures and sounds than to shape them in a completely predetermined way. Somebody once called it, "to weave what the music demands."
In this regard, Zanshin often feels more like a sculptor and tries not toadhereto strongly to the rules of specific sub-genres of electronic music. Searching for sounds and designing them is one of the energies that fuels his interest the most, thus at the beginning of a lot of tracks there are small skits and ideas that have the freedom to grow in whatever direction.
Hence this album has no elaborate story to tell, there is no extensive "narrative" or big time "storytelling" at work. "In Any Case By Any Chance" is not a novel but rather a collection of short stories (which are certainly dense and have complex plots nonetheless). The result is a long-player where playful electronica, skillful songwriting, extrovert dance music and symphonic film music enter into a symbiotic relationship. Returning to another Wittgenstein quote, "Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent", the emotional impact of music is the main focus and the results can be quite solemn at times, but around the corner always lurks the next bone-breaking rhythm pattern and gnarly sound design.
The infamous saying, "writing about music is like dancing about architecture", is another brick in the wall of sound in Zanshin's approach to music. He rarely roots himself in traditions or uses them too overtly, he really likes to agglomerate sounds, to challenge the listeners. It seems like he tries to avoid classification on purpose, because he knows that everyone has their own perception anyway. The only thing that this music demands implicitly is a willingness to listen attentively.
Very dense, at times really heavy and massive, then again airy and playful. "Music for clubs that don't exist.", might be another fitting caption to describe this album, which lasts for a little more than an hour.
The opener "Heatseeker" rushes to a sudden head start with its steel pan extravaganza, tropical vibes meet a bass line drenched in electro funk, and electrified synth stabs support the declaration of love in the lyrics. Kind of Jamie XX meets Electro meets Diva House. The monster that is "Bronteroc Brawl" is up next, a serious test for the speakers and a wild ride with metallic, growling sounds. The aggressive sound design reminds of suspense ridden shark chases, vicious dogs and cunning dinosaurs, in any case a track for people who love a proper bass stomper.
A new approach for the "indie discotheque" brings the emotional roller-coaster "In Gloom" with snappy drums and hypnotic synth motives á la Alessandro Cortini, creating an epic atmosphere together with the multi-layered vocals. A psycho-acoustic treat is position 4, the crisp instrumental "Polar Polychrome", you could even go as far as calling this a Zanshin signature track. Like mentioned before, the roots of this track go back to 2002 and you can hear the unmistakable influence of beat wizards like Photek, a piercing bass line is supported by poly-rhythmic drums, while dense pads try to escape the claustrophobic lockdown mood of winter 2020/21.
Another round of intense pathos waits for the listeners in the ensuing track "In Search Of". Moderat say "Hello", a melancholy piano melody is rushed to a climax by a wild bass arpeggio and forceful drums, the desire for a perfect sunrise at the next after-hour to the max. Initially just an appendix to the preceding track, "Time After Thought" swiftly developed from a mere improvisation to an ambient epic with a croaking alien piano, as if Keith Jarrett were on his way to Alpha Centauri.
Up next is the first single "Because Why", a breakbeat driven, synth-heavy track with winged vocals and a popular film quote. The title refers to the movie "Alphaville" by Jean-Luc Godard, a dystopian science fiction film noir, in which an omniscient computer system named Alpha 60 is ruling society and humans can only say "because" but never "why". As if the gears of a galactic mechanism were spinning into motion sounds "Identity Slices". A raspy chord structure finds its counterbalance in a kind of stumbling, wonky beat, and Zanshin would never deny the huge influence that Autechre's sounds and structures always have had on his music. Micro- and macrocosm meet on the same level and this friction is also a metaphor for questions of identity and self-awareness, without using voices or lyrics.
Off we go into the IDM bubble bath of "Enzyme Enigma", the bass drum is stomping and a fizzy acid-line is twisting in all directions behind rolling dub-techno chords. "Corrosion Creak" is a kind of acoustic degradation process, the rave dogs are finally let loose and everything happens at once, funky synths shred, string sounds wail and then there is this bass that sounds like smashing a rusty metal plate in the junk yard with a vengeance.
Towards the end everything slows down a bit, the beat in "Whatever Words" is Warp school cerebral hop at its best and therefore loads of glittery, creaky sounds swarm out until the synapses are overloaded, cumulating in a mighty bass ending. Last but never least, "Rebus Redux" guides us into the limitless night sky, with long indulgent pads dotted by an aimlessly wandering piano, while a compact net of tamed resonances and meandering sub frequencies unfolds in the background, enticing navel-gazing imagination.

Flutterama, the seventh album from Half-handed Cloud is a record of 18 jubilant indie-pop songs by John Ringhofer, investigating spiritual incompetence with lively arrangements and radiant melodies that skillfully dissolve into deterioration using herky-jerky tape manipulation, analog wow-and-flutter, and an animated orchestra of home-recorded sound effects. Ringhofer's work on Flutterama was mainly inspired by late '50s/early '60s pre-synthesizer academic tape music (Henk Badings, Tod Dockstader, Ilhan Mimaroglu, Malcolm Pointon), along with Frances Mary Hunter Gordon's adolescent liturgies (recorded at Abbey Road during The Beatles era), turbid sights and sounds in Guy Maddin films, R. Stevie Moore's home-taped pop universe, Alberto Burri's stitched wound burlap assemblages, Lou Barlow/Dinosaur Jr's lo-fi "Poledo" sound collage (which name-checks Jesus), Julie Canlis book A Theology of the Ordinary, Wallace Berman's visual collage, and The Raincoats' magnificently shaky D.I.Y. aesthetic.The tape machine itself plays a vital role in the album's drive, interrupting moments of ecstasy and revelation with varispeed pitch shifts and grainy decay. These tape-fiddled tunes - recorded on a 16-track reel-to-reel recorder - employ surprisingly little synthesizer ("it felt like cheating," says Ringhofer). He preferred to craft most of the album's effects the long way, frequently going behind the back of rock instrumentation by hand-feeding 1/2" magnetic open reel recordings of deflating balloons, chord organs, tablecloth swipes, piano (occasionally tracked with a baby on his lap), brass, some guitars, and a quickly-cranked half-speed music box. Ringhofer was assisted by long-time Half-handed Cloud contributor Brandon Buckner on drums, and single-song backing vocals from Anacortes, WA songsmith John Van Deusen.

Oscar Brown Jr.’s debut LP started the myth! Here we have the first, astonishing collection of anthems by the legendary American singer, songwriter, poet, playwright, civil rights activist and actor. Includes the so many times covered mega classic Work Song!

Steve Allen “Producing television programs for the past decade, I have naturally had occasion to hear a great many newcomers to the entertainment scene. Offhand, I can think of no one who has impressed me more than Oscar Brown on first hearing. He is truly exceptional!”

Lorraine Hansberry “...a startling genius for rendering sense and nonsense into accurately succint and brilliant summaries of live as we live it.”

NAT Hentoff “Here, finally, is a performer and writer who is so authentically hip that he never overstates his authority.”

Dorothy KILGAllen “Get ready for a new genius in the theater.”

MAX Roach “He is beyond all categories: one of the most gifted and imaginative artists that we have.”

Nina Simone “I think Oscar Brown is one of the most creative young men in the musical world today.”

Re-mastering by: Ray Staff at Air Mastering, Lyndhurst Hall, London

Charles Tolliver began his professional career and simultaneously his recording debut with the saxophone giant Jackie McLean on Blue Note Records in 1964. Since then he has become one of the all-time preeminent trumpeters in Jazz as well as one of its most gifted composer/arranger bandleaders. He is also a Grammy nominated recipient for his Blue Note Records recording "With Love".

With a career that has spanned five decades he has recorded and/or performed with such renowned artists as Roy Haynes, Hank Mobley, Willie Bobo, Horace Silver, McCoy Tyner, Sonny Rollins, Booker Ervin, Gary Bartz, Gerald Wilson Orchestra, Oliver Nelson, Stanley Cowell, Herbie Hancock, Andrew Hill, Louis Hayes, Roy Ayers, Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers, and owned the trumpet chair with the great Max Roach for some years. https://charlestolliver.com/

This LP is jazz of high energy and high sincerity. Jazz at it's best. One of Tolliver's (and jazz's) masterpieces. It is a live recording from 1972. On another occasion, Tolliver recorded with another quartet with Stanley Cowell on piano, and some critics prefer that quartet. However, this quartet is the equal of that one. I think John Hicks did a masterful job of piano playing here. Hicks equalled Charles in energy. The bass playing of Reggie Workman (who was John Coltrane's bassist) is equally smouldering. Drummer Alvin Queen is a perfect match for the other three.
Passionate Jazz Fan.

Tolliver's music (which holds on to one's attention throughout the live set) has its connections to the bebop tradition but also forges ahead and can be quite passionate. Recommended. By Scott Yanow/AMG Personnel: Roberto Miranda - Bass
Everett Brown Jr. - Drums
Aubrey Hart - Flute
Adele Sebastian - Flute, Vocals
Fundi Legohn (tracks: B1) – French horn
Virjilio Figueroa - Percussion
Linda Hill - Piano, Vocals
Sabir Matteen* - Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet
Jugegr Juan Grey - Vocals

Produced by Tom Albach

Recorded & mixed by Dennis Moody in 1981

Chicago Indie Rock bursting out of nowhere. An album so tart it makes you cringe - remember what you liked about lemon tarts in the first place? Less acid than Alice in Chains, whinier than Dinosaur Jr.

Chicago Indie Rock bursting out of nowhere. An album so tart it makes you cringe - remember what you liked about lemon tarts in the first place? Less acid than Alice in Chains, whinier than Dinosaur Jr.

Tiger Blood Tapes, Underwater Computing _, and No Problema Tapes are truly honored and proud to present: Imaginary Pathways A posthumous final album release by Lindsheaven Virtual Plaza, in partnership with SkyTwoHigh Proceeds going directly to the estate of Cesar Alexandre.

Imaginary Pathways Some places in our cities can be incredibly awestriking. These places don‘t need to be beautiful, but you connect with them anyway. You go through them on your way to work, when you walk by and look out of the window, visit a virtual landscape, a city cascaded in light and darkness, a landmark from that place on an old photograph. These places burn deep into the mind. Laying on your bed, you can imagine any of these places vividly - but your mind wont show you every detail. You build your own imaginary pathway, a collection of memories and synapses, with all the information you have. We did exactly that in this album. We took real places and situations that embossed our life and constructed our own imaginary place with our music. Lindsheaven Virtual Plaza from Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, and SkyTwoHigh from Dortmund, Germany, bring to you a construction our of own Imaginary Pathways.

A word from SkyTwoHigh: I've often had trouble working with people musically and collaborating on projects. Usually finding that our musical visions were not in alignment. I sometimes thought about how I'm always making music alone, but then I met you Cesar, and this finally changed. Now I could truly share my musical experience, and I never had more fun in my entire life. Your musical vision was identical with mine and our styles matched so perfectly, it was a real blessing. I remember specifically when we did our first track and how amazed I was that everything worked so well. You had exactly the same ideas as me. It was unbelievable. The project went so well that we decided we'd do one each year, so I hope this lives on forever as a collection our imaginary pathways R.I.P. Cesar Alexandre aka Lindsheaven Virtual Plaza / Mount Shrine, one of the nicest, most creative people I ever met. Let your music inspire forever! We will never forget you. Never!

Bendrix Littleton is the writing and recording project of Nashville-via-Dallas musician and producer Bennett Littlejohn. The self-aware, malaise-filled songs on his debut LP 'Deep Dark South' are imbued with the painful beauty of the modern American South, including themes of drug and alcohol abuse, and the dissolution of relationships. Bendrix wrote most of the album on a vintage Harmony H162 acoustic guitar that he found at a flea market in Kentucky and restrung with higher pitched strings (a 'Nashville tuning'). After running the tracks through a Tascam four track cassette recorder, which sped the songs up ever so slightly, Bendrix added layers of lap steel, dobro, and pedal steel. 'I tried to pair instruments that typically aren't used together--one's that I've shied away from after playing them with uninspired country music.' 'Deep Dark South' conjures the feeling of wonder one gets from looking up at the vast Southern night sky.