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Ten albums in three years. That's still the cosmic mission of the Berlin post-kraut trio Yelka with Daniel Meteo, Christian Obermaier, and the namesake Yelka Wehmeier. The team is definitely well-rehearsed. Instead of recording the planned tracks, the band decided to improvise the session, and all tracks, except for the krauty Doors cover »The Crystal Ship,« were created in 5 days in the studio, mostly on the first or second take, but with significantly more overdubs - keyboards, backing vocals, second and third guitars, percussion, and piano. The sound of has become warmer and much more exuberant.

Blurring the lines between idol and classic soul groups of the 60s and 70s, Way Wave are two sisters Yuna and Anna on a mission to bring soul and funk into a new era. This latest single follows two full-length albums, and this latest single may just be their grandest production of Memphis-leaning dancefloor-hitting anthems yet. As they link vocal harmonies with insticts that only sisters could know, the full backing band featuring trumpet and saxophone blast the spirit of soul into the airwaves on lead single "wavy Girl". The B side" Dance Party" keeps the energy flowing with its funk guitar rhythms and smooth vocal deliveries.

Like some of his contemporary UK peers (looking at you, Tom Misch and Jordan Rakei), the 27-year-old Austrian producer-turned-singer Wandl is a rare example of an artist that’s able to combine the groove and emotionality of soul music with colorful electronic textures and the exciting and youthful feel of hip-hop. His third solo album »Body Memory« works as an empowering statement of clarity and immediacy. Being blunt, it could be described as Wandl’s »pop album«, even though that might do a disservice to his craft. Still, to this day there is no work in his catalogue that allows Lukas Wandl, the human, that much space for presentation.

Recordings for »Body Memory« started even before his last album »Womb« was released in 2020. For Wandl, the process of working on it mirrors the idea of opening himself back up to a community. It all started when he found himself in a place of brokenness, physically and mentally drained, having to cancel a planned tour because of this. To overcome the resulting state of depression and hopelessness, he instigated a process of tuning back in with his environment and the world at large. »Body Memory« is the result of this inner journey, exploring the fact that stress and emotional injuries are stored in our bodies and therefore can only be expressed and given form through our bodies.

For »Body Memory«, Wandl worked with some of his usual peers from the Austrian scene, such as Dorian Concept, The Clonious, Fid Mella or Lex Lugner, but also his new partner-in-crime, German beatsmith Torky Tork, that co-produced almost half of the record. To let their joint creative spirits flow, they traveled to Poland to build a foundation of tunes, while others were written and recorded in Vienna, Berlin, the Austrian countryside and even the basement of Wandl’s parents’ place in St Pölten, Lower Austria. No surprise that this album has turned out a deeply collaborative work, as almost every track contains contributions from multiple musicians. Not forgoing the playfulness and innovation of his past records, Wandl moves his emotional, fragile vocals to the very front of the mix for the first time. In moving past his comfort zone, he breaks free from learned stereotypes of taste, writing slightly more conventional, but still extremely authentic songs. Working to regain access to his true inner voice and intuition, Wandl has written an album of sheer physicality, but also immense emotional depth and beauty.

After the success of critically acclaimed debut, SOS Music Volume 1 (praised by The Wire - ‘There isn’t a weak link’, RA, Gilles Peterson, Maryann Hobbs, Rough Trade, Love Injection, Mixmag, DJ mag, Basndcamp, Vinyl Factory etc.), the cutting edge Los Angeles electronic label are back with their sophomore release, another explosive compilation comprised of brand new female and female identifying talent. The release, available on beautiful clear vinyl and digital features 7 of the most exciting emerging names in global dance music; Aura T-09, Closet Yi, Regular Fantasy + Yazzus to name a few. As dance floors open, SOS co-founders Maddy Maia and Tottie wanted to curate something positive, uplifting and reflective of sweaty summer dance floors, whilst retaining the edge that permeated their debut. The release will be accompanied by an SOS tour North American + Europe at some of the most iconic global clubs - and expect mainly female, female identifying and non-binary artists on the bill. Though only founded in 2020, SOS Music has been making waves in the independent dance community, and has helped to highlight the global underground dance scene growing rapidly in Los Angeles. The release made end of year lists including Bandcamp’s Best of Electronic and Rough Trade NY compilation of the year. SOS Music also hold a residency on Worldwide Fm, which continues to highlight ground breaking electronic talent with a female focus.

The Psyché France collection, dedicated to a certain French alternative pop, has more surprises in store with this 9th volume! This new immersion in the 60's and 70's will astonish you with curiosities concocted by psychedelic visionaries and forgotten mavericks. Start the adventure with Gascon troublemaker Jacques Filh and his striking anthem about the famous Drugstore des Champs-Elysées, before listening to the highly cult Calcium, whose drummer was Alain Sireguy, and Jacqueline Taieb. Very rare 'Anita' by Claude Guilain, who was a member of the group L'assemblée, will delight fans before a roaring instrumental by the Electric Max Band (alias Jean-Pierre Castelain), followed a De Roubaixyesque track by Patrick Roche and the sensual 'Femme' by Patcho. More after the inevitable band Triangle, Guy Skornik will open the side B with 'Gurdjieff', from the album 'Pour Pauwels', before Voyage and especially Quo Vadis, produced by eminence grise Igor Wakhévitch, give this side a more Rock-like feel. The same Wakhévitch concludes this collection with his 'Sang pourpre', taken from the legendary Docteur Faust' album illustrated by Philippe Druillet.

Eighteen sacred psychedelic suppositories from the laboratory of Mad Scientist and scalpel happy pop mutilator Jean-Pierre Massiera. Including the rarest and most sought after fuzz funk, spooked surf and interplanetary prog from “The French Joe Meek” and all his schizoid split-personalities and freakish friends - The Maledictus Sound, Chico Magnetic Band, Visitors, Human Egg, The Pirhana Sound and Jesus himself.

Let us introduce you to some old friends of ours... Charlie Mike Sierra, Jean-Pierre Areisam, JPM and Co. Erik, The Horrific Child, Jesus, Les Maledictus Sound, Human Egg... This might sound like we’re flicking through the imaginary LP racks in the record shop from A Clockwork Orange or perhaps congratulating the runners up in a Halloweeen fancy dress competition but for the previously uninitiated you have just been ordained into the congregation of the many split personalities of one Mr. Jean-Pierre Bernard Massiera. Bow down to the nine headed monster as he mutates and shape-shifts back through time to his humble beginnings in a Buenos Aireian province ravaging and pillaging the music of the European people for his own twisted benediction along the way.

This might, as intended, sound a little bit dramatic but if there is one single ingredient that gives the eccentric JPM his distinct flavour it’s a large dollop of drama. Add sprinklings of szichophrenia, shock, myrth and macabre and you are on the way to a B-movie broth with an acquired taste, that has, like all the best cheese, taken over thirty years to mature to perfection. Like all the best monsters, from the Centaur to the Minotaur to Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde his split personality is the key to his infamy and the secret of his blood sucking success!

This is why Jean-Pierre Massiera is (un)commonly known for two key periods in his career which, like a worm, can be split down the middle and thrive and flourish independently. To cut a long story short Massiera is, above all, a lover and purveyor of musique fantastique, and is willing and able to hijack whichever stylistic vehicle that passes him buy in order to do feed his lust. In the earlier part of his career he honed his sordid craft amongst psychedelic circles in Nice and Quebec. From late 1972 onwards he moved to Antibes and started a disco revolution and became an in demand cosmic record producer... For years prog rock obsessives and disco aficionados have wondered if there was two unrelated freak merchants called Jean-Pierre Massiera, but, in this rare instance, exploito-maniacs from both sides of the cosmic coin are united by the work of this singular, single handed monstrous music manufactory!

Another way to dissect the Histoire De JPM would read like a fantastic comic book. He started off as a musical scientist who was affected by chemical fallout in World War Two - he spoke to Jesus, went crazy and became a mad scientist. He then created a strain of mutant piranha fish which gave birth to a world of horrific monsters who assisted him in his murderous merriment. In the end he finds a giant egg and finally makes contact with aliens… That would be the end of chapter one and this is the era that we will focus on for this compendium In the worldly, derelict, laboratory of Dr. Jean-Pierre Massiera we are surrounded by decaying fish fins, test tubes, fuzz pedals, echoplex units

Welcome to Uffie’s new album Sunshine Factory – an alternate reality that is only accessible to those yearning for escape. A nod to the ballroom scene, it is a place where you can be your most authentic self. Inside this trippy wonderland, you’ll meet Uffie, dancing amongst the lights of your hallucinations. Sunshine Factory is a wonderfully restless record. It’s a joyride through the club, hurtling into the forest, and crowd surfing into the arms of a lover… and yet it’s also the sound of waking up to a heap of champagne soaked jeans, the bass of your heart still throbbing along to last night’s melodies. A decade after her first record, which included–debatably–the internet’s first viral hit, the electro smash “Pop The Glock,” Uffie “the French-American singer/rapper/DJ/fashion designer who took the internet by storm” (Brooklyn Vegan) is most definitely back. Raised between Florida and Hong Kong before moving to Paris with her British father, the now Los Angeles-based Uffie is undeniably a “child of the world;” unsurprisingly, the making of this record clocked up a few air miles as well. Birthing what would become the Sunshine Factory in Fonte da Telha, Portugal collaborating with Norwegian savant Lasse Lokøy, Uffie soon found a home for these songs back in California with Chaz Bear of Toro y Moi–who co-produced several of the tracks–and his Oakland-based label, Company Records. The resulting album is one of intricate production, sonic experimentation, and subtle poetic brilliance amongst a few Fleabag glances to the camera. Amidst double entendres galore, her record exists in a curious space between punk and pop, which can be heard in the ska-meets-fashion week “dominoes.” Contrarily, “sophia” – which marked the advent of Uffie and Chaz’s creative partnership several years ago – poises Sunshine Factory as an otherworldly dance record one would hear in Berlin’s famous Berghain nightclub. She is the party girl who is at her most vulnerable in the chaotic “where does the party go?” where she reckons with facing who she truly is when she’s all alone. It’s in these dualities and juxtapositions that the joy of Uffie writhes. The album also has a cameo or three, including the one and only Peaches. And after finding kinship and admiration in the genre-defying Nnamdï, she tapped him for the record’s sole feature on “month of mondays.” It is at this point in the record that the beloved je ne sais quoi that Uffie has always possessed really emerges. When the comedown begins and the insatiable few remain on the dancefloor, “a month of mondays” is the knowing nod to a stranger signaling the night’s shift in course. With Sunshine Factory, it’s a pop-up party wherever you can find some speakers.

One of the summer’s anthems, Popular, taken from the HBO series The Idol, features non other than Madonna and for the flip we go back to 2016 and the title track of the multi platinum

LP Starboy featuring French superstars Daft Punk – both tracks killer and intro/outros added with the DJs in mind – this is likely to be a popular one!

Active in the mid-80’s and heavily influenced by the British post-punk dissonant style and the Belgian cold-wave melancholic atmosphere, The Ultimate Dreamers resurrected during the Covid lock-down, releasing a selection of good old demo songs on their “Live Happily While Waiting For Death” release. A dynamic impulse that brought them not only back on stage but also into the studio to work on new material. The magic is back!

The Ultimate Dreamers feel stronger than ever and enjoy uniting past, present and future on this exciting “Echoing Reverie” album, on which they reach a subtle balance between light and darkness: a poignant cold wave fusion of futuristic danceable dream pop with a retro noisy post-punk attitude with surrealistic introspective cynical lyrics dealing with fleeting life, melancholic solitude and other inner demons..

The new songs intelligently merge nostalgic cold wave chills and alluring poignant vocals with carrying basslines and irresistible danceable beats to become “less is more” addictive tunes that capture you in no time. If you like bands such as New Order, The Cure, Minimal Compact, Trisomie 21 or yet Section 25, “Echoing Reverie” comes highly recommended for a timeless dusk sonic experience at the crossroads of darkness and brightness.

See the magic operate and let The Ultimate Dreamers carry you in their echoing reverie…

Dean Honer and Kevin Pearce present a beautifully designed original soundtrack of songs taken from a science show for children and adults alike. Dean Honer is a Sheffield based musician, producer and founding member of many iconic electronic music bands including The All Seeing I, I Monster, The Moonlandingz and The Eccentronic Research Council. He has worked as a producer for bands such as The Human League, Add N to X and Roisin Murphy. Kevin Pearce is a songwriter from Essex. He has received plaudits for his work from The Independent, The Guardian and Mojo magazine. His music has been used on HBO programmes in the USA as well as BBC TV shows in the UK. Castles in Space is proud to present The Sound of Science. Dean explains the background and inspiration for the album: “The idea for The Sound of Science had been in my head for a number of years. “Being a parent of young kids I endured a lot of very cliched and awful children's songs that were attempting to combine education and entertainment. These quickly became a form of torture to me, something that the CIA might use in covert operations to flush out a drug cartel from their hideout. It became apparent that there was a desperate need for informative songs and music that were appealing and bearable for both children and their parents. “I recruited my friend Kevin Pearce, (who I have produced and collaborated with on various projects over the years), to bounce ideas off and who could put together a nice series of chords and could sing! Which helps when writing songs. Kevin is from an acoustic folk background and I'm more of a one finger synth player in the Human League tradition. I thought it would be interesting to mix the folk and electronic element together for children’s songs. Something that harks back to both the BBC Radiophonic Workshop in the 60's and 70's and also the folk songs of TV programmes like Play Away, public information films and music from various weird and oddball kids TV from that era.

The album that reinvented East Coast rap for the gangsta age, Ready to Die made the Notorious B.I.G. a household name. Today it's recognized as one of the greatest hardcore rap albums ever recorded. Start to finish, this is an original piece of American art. A true masterpiece. To celebrate the album’s 30th anniversary, we’re looking to release two bespoke products for Record Store Day 2024: An EP of instrumental tracks from the album and a 2LP picture disc edition of the album.

About:

Coming off her first Number 1 single at country radio with "Somebody Like That" & 2021 ACM's New female artist nominee, Tenille Arts is set to release her third studio album, Girl To Girl. Catapulting into the project is the Dave Pittenger produced lead single,"Back Then, Right Now” which has amassed 8.8M streams on Spotify to date. Tenille continues to deliver magic with the 13 track album while stepping into stardom on a major tour this summer through January 2022 with Lady A. Features include Matt Stell & Callista Clark.

16 Tracks + Bonus Track “The Manuscript” Collectible CD album in single jewel case with unique front and back cover art 1 Disc album with collectible disc artwork A collectible 20-page booklet that includes all song lyrics and never-before-seen photos 10”x10” Double-Sided Poster. Side One: a photograph of Taylor Swift, Side 2: one handwritten lyric, unique to this CD

Speak Now (Taylor's Version) is the upcoming third re-recorded album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, set for release on July 7, 2023, via Republic Records. It is a re-recording of Swift's third studio album, Speak Now (2010), and follows her 2021 re-recorded albums, Fearless (Taylor's Version) and Red (Taylor's Version). The re-recording is a part of Swift's counteraction to her 2019 masters dispute. Speak Now (Taylor's Version) was announced on May 5, 2023, at the first Nashville show of her ongoing concert tour, the Eras Tour. It features collaborations with American rock acts Fall Out Boy and Hayley Williams. Each Vinyl Album Includes: 22 Songs Including 6 previously unreleased Songs From The Vault, Collectible album jacket with unique front and back cover art, Violet or Orchid, depending on product] marbled color vinyl discs, Collectible album sleeves including lyrics and never-before-seen photos, Full size gatefold photograph and prologue. 2CD Details: 22 Songs Including 6 previously unreleased Songs From The Vault

Co-produced with Metronomy's Joseph Mount, electro-pop artist Tatyana's debut album is a careful fusion of her classical harp training with her keen sense for pop production and songwriting. Inspired by late-2000s indie pop and Swedish pop auteurs, Treat Me Right is a sparkling, catchy collection of `80s synths and futuristic auto-tuned vocals. Tatyana has lived in Holland, Russia, Singapore, and Boston - where she attended Berklee College of Music on a full scholarship - before settling back in her hometown of London in 2018. The transient nature of her upbringing has certainly informed her music: from underground raves to viral YouTube covers to playing harp on tour with Neneh Cherry, there seems to be no scene that she doesn't thrive in. Last year, she released her thrilling debut EP Shadow On The Wall via Sinderlyn. The self-produced collection was met with praise from tastemaker outlets like Nylon, Fader, Office, Bandcamp, Line of Best Fit, and Crack, as well as an exclusive vinyl pressing with Vinyl Me, Please's Rising program. Treat Me Right is the irresistible product of these impressive first steps, the kind of precisely produced, impossibly catchy pop that takes other artists their entire careers to nail.

After the worldwide success of their first album Puzzle (1999), which sold over 200,000 copies and went gold in Japan, Xavier Boyer (vocals, guitars), Pedro Resende (bass), Médéric Gontier (guitars) & Sylvain Marchand (drums) reunited with producer Andy Chase to record the follow-up, Wallpaper for the Soul, in New York City. Starting in November 2001 at Stratosphere Sound, the prolific sessions gave birth to twenty tracks, twelve of which appeared on the original tracklist. The eight outtakes were compiled on the mini albums A Piece of Sunshine (2003) & Extra Pieces of Sunshine (2004). This new vinyl edition will be the first time all these songs appear together. Almost 20 years on, Wfts is a tour de force of contemporary songwriting with obvious nods to the past somehow revisited in a timeless fashion. Tahiti 80’s second effort can also be seen as an alternative and more sophisticated snapshot of an era often associated with the rebirth of rock (The White Stripes, The Strokes…). This set of songs also established them as stalwarts of the Post French Touch cannon, showcasing both their ability to write catchy songs and their knack for mélanges & experimentation. 1,000 Times or The Train are unique examples of blue-eyed soul augmented with French flair (« Prefab Sprout as produced by Thomas Bangalter » suggested Uncut which listed Wfts in their Top Ten’s albums of 2003). Listen to Don’t Look Below today, and ask yourself who was mixing Destiny’s Child with My Bloody Valentine in 2001? Delicate numbers like Open Book or live favorite Better Days Will Come both demonstrate T80’s songwriting skills and their innate sense of melancholia. Listening back to Wfts today, one cannot help but think of it as an album recorded in a state-of-the-art fashion. All four members would typically perform together in the same room. Basic takes were printed on a 24-track analog tape machine and then bounced onto a computer for editing. A fine example of this method is the title track itself. Originally written on acoustic guitar, Wallpaper … is the result of three eight minutes synthesizer jams pieced together. The Frenchmen were keen to try out multitude of ideas and had developed a taste for experimentation. The sessions also coincide with a rich outburst of creativity from a band on top of their game after several months of touring around the world. Another typical Wfts characteristic is Richard Hewson’s orchestration. Veteran string arranger, famous for arranging The Beatles’ The Long And Winding Road or writing RAH Band’s ‘80s classic Clouds Across The Moon Hewson gave the songs a sweeping orchestral touch. Strings, Horns & woodwinds were all performed at the now defunct Olympic Studios in London. Urban Soul Orchestra, a 24-piece ensemble who played on Oasis’ or Spice Girls’ hits can be heard on five songs: the opening trilogy Wallpaper…, 1,000 Times and The Other Side, then on the Northern Soul revival Soul Deep and lastly on the album’s closer Memories Of The Past. Rouen’s most famous four-piece, now relocated in a house on France’s North West Coast, in the quiet seaside town of Étretat, added more bells & whistles and resumed production on the songs. With one last transatlantic leap during the summer of 2002, the boys flew to Portland, Oregon to attend the mixing sessions held by sound wizard Tony Lash (Elliott Smith, The Dandy Warhols…). Suggested by Sub Pop’s craftsman Eric Matthews, also a guest on trumpet and keyboards, Lash would later become a major collaborator on Tahiti 80’s subsequent albums. In the meantime, Laurent Fétis, the designer behind Puzzle’s iconic artwork, had started working with artist Elisabeth Arkhipoff on a set of nostalgic photographs transfigured with a soft air-bush technique. Those visuals, like their predecessors, have since become an inseparable companion to Tahiti 80’s music. Many musical fashions and flavors of the month have come and gone, but twenty years after its release, Wfts still sounds fresh and relevant. And always forward-looking, Tahiti 80 is currently wrapping up the recording of their eighth album, to be released in early 2022.

After the worldwide success of their first album Puzzle (1999), which sold over 200,000 copies and went gold in Japan, Xavier Boyer (vocals, guitars), Pedro Resende (bass), Médéric Gontier (guitars) & Sylvain Marchand (drums) reunited with producer Andy Chase to record the follow-up, Wallpaper for the Soul, in New York City. Starting in November 2001 at Stratosphere Sound, the prolific sessions gave birth to twenty tracks, twelve of which appeared on the original tracklist. The eight outtakes were compiled on the mini albums A Piece of Sunshine (2003) & Extra Pieces of Sunshine (2004). This new vinyl edition will be the first time all these songs appear together. Almost 20 years on, Wfts is a tour de force of contemporary songwriting with obvious nods to the past somehow revisited in a timeless fashion. Tahiti 80’s second effort can also be seen as an alternative and more sophisticated snapshot of an era often associated with the rebirth of rock (The White Stripes, The Strokes…). This set of songs also established them as stalwarts of the Post French Touch cannon, showcasing both their ability to write catchy songs and their knack for mélanges & experimentation. 1,000 Times or The Train are unique examples of blue-eyed soul augmented with French flair (« Prefab Sprout as produced by Thomas Bangalter » suggested Uncut which listed Wfts in their Top Ten’s albums of 2003). Listen to Don’t Look Below today, and ask yourself who was mixing Destiny’s Child with My Bloody Valentine in 2001? Delicate numbers like Open Book or live favorite Better Days Will Come both demonstrate T80’s songwriting skills and their innate sense of melancholia. Listening back to Wfts today, one cannot help but think of it as an album recorded in a state-of-the-art fashion. All four members would typically perform together in the same room. Basic takes were printed on a 24-track analog tape machine and then bounced onto a computer for editing. A fine example of this method is the title track itself. Originally written on acoustic guitar, Wallpaper … is the result of three eight minutes synthesizer jams pieced together. The Frenchmen were keen to try out multitude of ideas and had developed a taste for experimentation. The sessions also coincide with a rich outburst of creativity from a band on top of their game after several months of touring around the world. Another typical Wfts characteristic is Richard Hewson’s orchestration. Veteran string arranger, famous for arranging The Beatles’ The Long And Winding Road or writing RAH Band’s ‘80s classic Clouds Across The Moon Hewson gave the songs a sweeping orchestral touch. Strings, Horns & woodwinds were all performed at the now defunct Olympic Studios in London. Urban Soul Orchestra, a 24-piece ensemble who played on Oasis’ or Spice Girls’ hits can be heard on five songs: the opening trilogy Wallpaper…, 1,000 Times and The Other Side, then on the Northern Soul revival Soul Deep and lastly on the album’s closer Memories Of The Past. Rouen’s most famous four-piece, now relocated in a house on France’s North West Coast, in the quiet seaside town of Étretat, added more bells & whistles and resumed production on the songs. With one last transatlantic leap during the summer of 2002, the boys flew to Portland, Oregon to attend the mixing sessions held by sound wizard Tony Lash (Elliott Smith, The Dandy Warhols…). Suggested by Sub Pop’s craftsman Eric Matthews, also a guest on trumpet and keyboards, Lash would later become a major collaborator on Tahiti 80’s subsequent albums. In the meantime, Laurent Fétis, the designer behind Puzzle’s iconic artwork, had started working with artist Elisabeth Arkhipoff on a set of nostalgic photographs transfigured with a soft air-bush technique. Those visuals, like their predecessors, have since become an inseparable companion to Tahiti 80’s music. Many musical fashions and flavors of the month have come and gone, but twenty years after its release, Wfts still sounds fresh and relevant. And always forward-looking, Tahiti 80 is currently wrapping up the recording of their eighth album, to be released in early 2022.

In March 2020, Tahiti 80 had a plan to start recording their new album in the studio. That plan, of course, along with everything else in the world, got derailed. But the five-piece group was resilient and resourceful. They quickly shifted to a socially distanced plan B that included file swapping and virtual sessions, all refereed by producer Julien Vignon. The result, due for release in March 2022, is the buoyant Here With You, a collection of eleven upbeat songs that unfold like a prescription for a post-pandemic panacea.

“When lockdown in France happened, we said, 'We're not going to stay at home not doing anything,'” says singer-guitarist Xavier Boyer. “And our new plan became a hopeful thing, waking up every morning and seeing what the other guys had worked on. It wasn't always easy, but this new method allowed a freer approach where we could really go all the way with an idea without being influenced by each other’s suggestions. It must've been overwhelming for Julien, who ended up selecting all our arrangements. But he stayed positive all the way through.”

To help stay inspired and focused during their time in isolation, the band created a mood board, with the centerpiece a photo of an early '90s rave in the UK.

Boyer says, “Whenever you see pictures from this era, people seem very innocent. There are no cell phones and everybody is in to what they are experiencing. We kept that picture in mind as a kind of mantra that would help everyone feel connected to this idea of people celebrating, gathering and just having fun. We were missing the connection with people, and thought it would be great if we could create music that would inspire that kind of emotion.”

Indeed, the songs on Here With You are brimming the feeling of communion that we've all been missing over the past two years. It's there in the catchy opener Lost in the Sound, which walks the walk with Chic guitar flicks, urban nightfall sparkles and an inviting chorus (“Your heart grooves like a thousand 808s on the right time”). It's there in the Jackson 5-style syncopated bounce of “Vintage Creem,” the lush, dreamy “Breakfast in L.A.” and the panoramic sweep of “UFO.” And it's there in the first single “Hot,” which matches an irresistible groove with a neon-lit, percolating arrangement that evokes the disco clubs of 1979.

What's remarkable is that though Tahiti 80 displays a clear affection for sounds of the past, from bubble gum to '70s soul, they never trade in mere pastiche. Their take is more a slightly warped and playful carnival mirror mash-up of classic pop styles, given depth through Boyer's hang-gliding, coolly emotive vocals and lyrics that often rub against the euphoric grain of the music.

“I like to think of songs as a three-minute drama,” says Boyer. “This concept of drama definitely adds different levels to our music. There's the melody, the lyrics, then the production that can maybe emphasize or counterbalance the interaction between the yin and yang in a song.

“There's a difference between the very upbeat, sunshine-y soft rock and the lyrics, even on our past albums,” he continues. “Not dark, but a little more melancholy, and also looking for some kind of motivation, talking to yourself. Like with a lot of Motown songs, you get that feeling where you body’s dancing while your mind’s reflecting, reminiscing.”

That alluring blend of happy-sad has been a signature part of the Tahiti 80 sound from the time Boyer and bassist Pedro Resende formed the group in 1993, as students at the University of Rouen. Taking their name from a souvenir t-shirt given to Boyer's father in 1980, the duo recruited guitarist Mederic Gontier in 1994, and with the addition of drummer Sylvain Marchand a year later, the lineup was complete. The foursome released a self-produced and self-financed EP, 20 Minutes, in 1996, which resulted a record deal with French label Atmospheriques in 1998. Their full-length debut Puzzle, produced with Ivy's Andy Chase and mixed by Tore Johansson, went gold and featured the international hit “Heartbeat” that established the band throughout Europe and Asia.

In the years since, Tahiti 80 – with the additions of Raphaël Léger on drums and Hadrien Grange on keys - has released eight acclaimed albums. The band has fused what Mojo called a “glorious entente of old and new technology” (including singles like “Yellow Butterfly,” “1000 Times,” “Sound Museum,” “Crush!” and “Big Day,” which was featured on a Fifa video game soundtrack), while collaborating with such producers and arrangers as Richard Swift, Tony Lash and Richard Anthony Hewson, who famously arranged The Beatles' “Long and Winding Road.” Boyer has also put out two solo albums, the first under the anagram Axe Riverboy and the second under his name. In 2019, the band released Fear of an Acoustic Planet, a stripped-down reimagining of some of their best-loved tracks from the previous twenty years. It served not only as a look back but a reminder of their formidable songwriting skills.

Boyer is definitely a student of the timeless three-minute pop song format pioneered by '60s artists like The Beatles and The Beach Boys. He says, “I see it as kind of a frame for a painting. Most of the songs on this album, I wrote a verse, pre-chorus and chorus. There aren't many middle eights. I wanted it to be very concise. I feel like people have less attention. There's so much music. It's too easy to switch off or skip to another track, so I want to hook the listener. The three-minute song is kind of an easy code to crack, but at the same time you have to figure out a new way to tell the stories that we've heard before.”

And the stories on Here With You are very much about the longing for connection. Of the album title, Boyer says, “In the world right now, that can mean a lot of different things. Like missing our fans, missing going to concerts. In a way, it can be a statement of what happened last year, and a wish of 'I want to be here with you again.' It's our ninth album. We've had some had some very open, conceptual titles like Puzzle, Activity Center. Sometimes they were more specific like Fosbury orWallpaper for the Soul. Here with You, seems more personal, more engaging in terms of relationships. When I suggested that title, everyone in the band said, 'Yeah, that's it.'”

Until Tahiti 80 can resume a full tour schedule, Boyer says he hopes the new record will make that personal connection. “If I see from the point of view as a music fan, sometimes I see albums I like as companions throughout my life. So if we can be a part of people's existence, even if it's a song that reminds them of the time they were driving with the windows open and it was sunny. Or a sad song that resonates with them after a breakup. That's what we're all looking for when we're making music. You do this very personal thing and you want it to touch as many people as possible.”

A1. Tahiti 80 - Lost In The Sound A2. Tahiti 80 - Vintage Creem A3. Tahiti 80 - Telling Myself A4. Tahiti 80 - Hot A5. Tahiti 80 - Breakfast In LA

B1. Tahiti 80 - Cameo B2. Tahiti 80 - UFO B3. Tahiti 80 - Riddles & Rhymes B4. Tahiti 80 - Zoo B5. Tahiti 80 - Wicked Wicked B6. Tahiti 80 - Let's Get Started

Superorganism return with their second album World Wide Pop in July, their first new music since 2018’s self-titled debut.

Blasting back with thirteen tracks that explore the infinite versus the intimate, taking in friendship, time, connectedness, and the universe; World Wide Pop contemplates the contradiction of being hopeful and curious when faced with relentless consumerism and overwhelming noise. However choosing optimism, Superorganism believe in the power of pop music and all the things it can do. World Wide Pop bridges the personal and existential whilst delivering a bag full of tunes laced with deadpan humour.

World Wide Pop also brings in an international set of collaborators including Stephen Malkmus, CHAI, Pi Ja Ma, Dylan Cartlidge & legendary musician and actor Gen Hoshino.

Superorganism return with their second album World Wide Pop in July, their first new music since 2018’s self-titled debut.

Blasting back with thirteen tracks that explore the infinite versus the intimate, taking in friendship, time, connectedness, and the universe; World Wide Pop contemplates the contradiction of being hopeful and curious when faced with relentless consumerism and overwhelming noise. However choosing optimism, Superorganism believe in the power of pop music and all the things it can do. World Wide Pop bridges the personal and existential whilst delivering a bag full of tunes laced with deadpan humour.

World Wide Pop also brings in an international set of collaborators including Stephen Malkmus, Chai, Pi Ja Ma, Dylan Cartlidge & legendary musician and actor Gen Hoshino.

Superorganism return with their second album World Wide Pop in July, their first new music since 2018’s self-titled debut.

Blasting back with thirteen tracks that explore the infinite versus the intimate, taking in friendship, time, connectedness, and the universe; World Wide Pop contemplates the contradiction of being hopeful and curious when faced with relentless consumerism and overwhelming noise. However choosing optimism, Superorganism believe in the power of pop music and all the things it can do. World Wide Pop bridges the personal and existential whilst delivering a bag full of tunes laced with deadpan humour.

World Wide Pop also brings in an international set of collaborators including Stephen Malkmus, CHAI, Pi Ja Ma, Dylan Cartlidge & legendary musician and actor Gen Hoshino.

Originally released in 2005, the fourth album Trace by the indie-pop band Spangle Call Lilli Line is being reissued on felicity Records for the first time on LP format with a limited colour disc. As they go from strength to strength with their eleventh album Remember released in 2021, and a number of future singles in the works, the reissued Trace grants listeners the opportunity to look back on a career defining album that solidified their playful dances at the boundaries of downtempo, post rock and dream pop.