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King Pari is like potato chips, popsicles, velcro, slinkies — joyful inventions born from happy accidents. Joe Paris Christensen and Cameron Kinghorn had been playing in the same Twin Cities scenes for years, but when Joe sent Cameron a new tune he’d whipped up on a tape machine, something clicked. “This sounds like how my brain feels,” Cameron said. That session grew into the first King Pari song.

The band’s Minneapolis funk pedigree anchors their music. Both Joe and Cameron played alongside some of Prince’s closest associates, and Joe’s previous band was among the last that Prince personally invited to play at Paisley Park. They’ve also been tapped into the national funk and jazz scenes from the beginning – King Pari’s first gig was opening for Kamasi Washington, before they’d even landed on a name.

The "Weimar EP" from singer/songwriter Albyrd is not only his first release under a new moniker; as his first self-produced record, it also marks one of many new beginnings. The end of the pandemic, the blossoming and withering of relationships - and of course, a tribute to his time in the city and how life's perspectives change.

In 8 songs, Albyrd shows not only the range of his magnificent voice, but also how well soul and RnB can be interwoven with electronic music. With a feature from Miles Bonny, Mr. Lumberjack Soul himself, this tape is definitely one for the shelf.

Dark Entries and Papi Juice Records team up for No Jack Swing, the solo electronic debut of multi-hype man Brontez Purnell. The Southern-raised, Oakland-based musician and writer has centered his queerness and Blackness in projects Gravy Train and Younger Lovers as well as in his award-winning books 100 Boyfriends and Since I Laid My Burden Down. On No Jack Swing, Purnell gives us a love letter to the most beloved (and secularized) of drum patterns - that is, the electronic 808 “Amen Break”. Beginning recording in 2020, Purnell conceived of No Jack Swing as an audio zine of found sound materials: chain letters of instrumentals recorded in bedrooms, poems from boys in France, found gospel tapes from his childhood family Baptist Choir, and the sound of records skipping on his bedroom turntable. No Jack Swing is as much a homage to No Wave and New Jack Swing as it is an answering to the gods of Indie, Electroclash, Disco, and Gospel. Amidst all this background noise, the unexpected occurs: all the niche pretensions collapse to a singularity - the sound of High Pop! No Jack Swing was produced by Nightfeelings. Each copy of includes a lyric sheet with a photo of Brontez.

Limited to 500 red copies.

If you made music the way you cook, what would it sound like? For this tape compilation, we invited artists to consider the connection between food and sound, music and cooking. We envisioned an assorted mixtape—an auditory cookbook, of sorts—of songs, poems, field recordings, and aural experiments, inspired by recipes, food preparation processes, dishes, and the experience of eating. We asked: How does attention to sound—the sputtering of the oil, the popping of the kernels, the hum of a rolling boil, the repetitive thump of a mixer—help you to be a better cook? Consider how these rhythmic, arhythmic, polyrhythmic, and droning sounds might inspire your recording. What would an audio recipe sound like? Can you set a rhyming recipe to music? How is a recipe like a musical score? Where do you find space for improvisation between the notes and instructions? What is “jazz baking”? Could the multivocality of a community cookbook be translated by a choir?What food or dish or process is deserving of an ode? What do you like to listen to when you’re in the kitchen? Write a benediction song that can be sung by a group before a meal. After over a year in which dining together en masse was not possible, what is it about the experience of collective eating that you want to express gratitude for? What is your food hymn?Together the compiled tracks–or ingredients, if you will–deepened and expanded our original vision, mixing, cooking, and baking together in a hearty, warm, and inventive aural menu for the most nourishing of communal meals.

You gonna want this one, straight from the OG artist studio tapes into the hands of Remain and soon on a turntable near you.

Stefan Schwander aka A Rocket IN DUB has been producing electronic music in Düsseldorf since the mid-1990s. He releases under a variety of pseudonyms such as Antonelli, Repeat Orchestra, Rhythm Maker, Harmonious Thelonious and While My Sequencer Gently Weeps. His music draws influences from techno, disco music (especially Giorgio Moroder), new wave, dub, abstract electronica and African music. In 2002, he released "Rocket No. 3", an old-school dub house classic with a distinctive vocoder voice. 20 years later, he has re-recorded the track together with JAN Delay on vocals. Both musicians share a great passion for dub music. Jan's great voice is just as distinctive as the vocoder 20 years ago and adds a touch of humanity to the original. The collaboration is released as a limited 7" single with artwork by Hendrik Krawen.

Back in 2017 Tear Apart Tapes released "Run", a song by Shakkatam. John Talabot immediately connected with it and played it as the closing in many of his dj sets. We are now grateful to present "Run" in a new context, with three covers from artists we admire: Cucina Povera, Celine Gillain and Dania. The original song and Dania's cover are out now. Full release and vinyl will be available in October. Artwork by Arnau Pi Mastered by Frederic Stader

The tenth studio album by Bjork on cassette tape.

each album always starts with a feeling
that i try to shape into sound
the feeling was landing
( after my last album utopia which was all island in the clouds element air and no bass )
on the earth and digging my feet into the ground
it was also woven into how i experienced the "now"
this time around 7 billion of us did it together
nesting in our homes quarantining
being long enough in one place that we shot down roots
my new album "fossora" is about that
it is a word i made up
it is the feminine of fossore ( digger, delver, ditcher )
so in short it means "she who digs" ( into the ground )
so sonically it is about bass , heavy bottom-end ,
we have 6 bass clarinets and punchy sub
i would like to especially thank bergur þórisson and heba kadry
and side project , el guincho , hamrahlíð choir , soraya nayyar , clarinet sextet murmuri , siggi string quartet ensemble , emilie nicolas , serpentwithfeet
viibra and last but not least : sindri and dóa .
visuals were made by viðar logi , james merry , m/m , nick knight , andy huang , edda , isshehungry , tomi , sayaka , sunna , sara and heimir
and my ever so loyal and magnificent team : derek , rosamary , catherine , chiara , hilma and móa

"WOW!! Of course we love it, but even if “Strange Tide”, ANC4’s second release wasn’t on Kool Kat we’d still rate as a Top 5 (or maybe even #1) “Best Power Pop Record Of 2021” – it’s that brilliant! The band delivers impeccably well crafted songs written by the songwriting duo of Roger Arvidson and Tomas Nilsson with the backing of a superb rhythm section made up of Janne Borgh on bass and Niclas Österberg on drums. “’Strange Tide’ is a 10/10 rated affair. The Swedish summer normally ends in August but this album will lengthen it to Christmas. It’s brimming with melodic songs, jangly guitars and lovely vocals. All 16 tracks have potential to be singles. ‘Being Nice’ is this year’s best power pop track. Roger Arvidson and Tomas Nilsson …. We salute you.” – Per Dahlqvist “It is not often you find a band that is consistent in the quality of their releases but ANC4 have proved they have the knack to pen and play a plethora of tip top pop. Album opener ‘Struck Gold’ is almost like an epiphany as every track on this album is gold and you will feel like you have won the musical lottery. You want jangle, you want harmonies, you want melodies and more hooks than Ikea’ curtain department, along with well crafted lyrics, then look no further than ANC4, this Swedish quartet has all you want and all you need.” Wayne Ford/The Ice Cream Man We could gush more, but have a listen…you will be pleased! GREAT!!"

Entitled ‘My Heart Is Hungry And The Days Go By So Quickly’ Danish singer and songwriter Jacob Bellens presents his fifth solo album. Thanks to his unique voice and his talent for heartfelt melodies, over the years Jacob, also known as frontman of I Got You On Tape and Murder, has become one of the most distinctive figures on the Scandinavian music scene. Slightly darker in tone than its predecessors ‘Trail Of Intuition’ (2018) or ‘Polyester Skin’ (2016), the new album lets us see the world through Jacob’s eyes.

Ryota Nozaki, also known as Jazztronik, has decided to make a long-awaited 7” record from his distribution single Excursions series, in which he releases a wide variety of music individually, without being bound by a sense of unity or concept.

Side A is the first song "evoke" that decorates the opening of the Excursions series. A mid-tempo instrumental song that opens with the nostalgic sound of a tape deck button. The song is composed of a minimal composition centered on the keyboard and rhythm section, with a somewhat nostalgic melody, a muffled piano sound, and a rhythm with an impressive solid and rough feel that continues the nostalgic mood at the beginning. You can enjoy the lingering feeling as if you were looking back on your travel memories in a snapshot.

Side B is the third installment of the Excursions series, "Beat Hopper (The 3rd Session)." A funky dance track that is completely different from Side A, with inspiration from techno and house everywhere. This work, which was created in a virtual session that was made possible by overcoming the various restrictions of the coronavirus pandemic, changes the flavor from the previous mid-tempo songs and adds a new dimension to the Excursions series with an uplifting arrangement. .

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hotly-tipped musician and singer Arlo Parks is hotly-tipped for a reason. Collapsed In Sunbeams is a pop album with an irreverent twinge; Parks’ lyricism is poignant as she recounts the mundanities of daily life — a slightly bungled kiss, an argument on a busy street, seeing your crush with somebody else — with a certain romantic awe, delivered in an irresistible mode recalling a youthful Macy Gray, backed by indie rock instrumentation which hinges on the simple and emotive. The soaring chorus hook of ‘Caroline’ is endlessly catchy, and while the LP is loaded with hit after hit, the whole thing demands repeated listens for all the tinier details.

Featuring songs like "Delicate ni Sukishite," "bin♥kan Rouge," and "love Sarigenaku," Creamy Mami (voiced by Takako Ohta) sings a selection of 1980s J-Pop hits that were popular during the original broadcast, alongside her self-covers. This cassette tape release includes 10 tracks carefully chosen from the 40th-anniversary CD "Magical Angel Creamy Mami 80's J-pop Hits."

The cassette jacket has been reworked from the LP version to fit the cassette size, and the tape itself comes in a "Latte" color to embody the creamy essence of Mami.

Euros Childs returns with his fifteenth album Gingerbread House Explosion released on his own label National Elf. Recorded by Stephen Black (aka Sweet Baboo) at Gus' Dungeon II studios Cardiff, it features Stuart Kidd (Kidd, The Wellgreen, Dr Cosmo's Tape Lab) on drums and Stephen Black on saxophone, clarinet and guitars.

On Al Hadr, Sabrina Bellaouel taps into myriad influences: from spirituality, astrology to club culture, romance, the body and self-love. Creating a balance between places, identities and sounds is a huge part of the charm of Al Hadr. As a true Libra, she’s finding a balance between honoring her roots and carving out her future.

Following two solo EPs, also on InFiné — 2020’s We Don’t Need To Be Enemies and 2021’s Libra — the French-Algerian producer and vocalist’s unique style of electronic R&B blossoms with Al Hadr, a 13-track album featuring collaborations with dance producer Basile3, experimental club DJ and writer Crystallmess, jazz musician Monomite and pop singer Bonnie Banane, among others.

Born, raised and based in Bagneux, outside the southern périphérique of Paris, Bellaouel lives between worlds. At home, her Algerian heritage and Muslim faith have fused tight familial bonds and a keen sense of history and culture; as “Berbers”, she speaks French and Arabic. In her headphones, she finds comfort in the sparse experimentalism of Radiohead and romantic tales of Jill Scott. On the hot club dance floors of Paris, driving house beats connect her to her body.

In swirling these private and public passions together on Al Hadr — which translates from Arabic as “the present time” — Bellaouel is the most vulnerable she’s ever been on record. Classic neo-soul and silken R&B blend with club electronics. Tender harmonies are sung and rhymes are spoken in English, French and Arabic, exploring love, faith and identity. Samples of drum machines are the backbone for wisps of woodwind, strings, keys and environmental ‘found sounds’, including Bellaouel’s own live recordings.

Creating a balance between places, identities and sounds is a huge part of the charm of Al Hadr. As a true Libra, she’s finding a balance between honoring her roots and carving out her future.

Hawaiian enka singer Torao Hikariyama, who gained fame by winning a foreign talent singing competition on TV and is well-loved in Hawaii as a key performer at Bon dance festivals, has his hit song "Torao no Tairyo sen" boldly remixed and dubbed by Tengaku DUB! This release comes in a UK-style center-cut double-sider 7" vinyl, making its long-awaited debut.

Penny Records presents the vinyl version of the soundtrack from the TV Series "Anna" written and directed by Niccolò Ammaniti. Fueled by Niccolò Ammaniti's passionate and immersive creative style, the score for 'Anna' was approached almost as a character study. 'Anna' exposes a world of extreme conditions where the essentials of human existence flourish in a wide range of emotions and sentiments tainted through the eyes of children. Striking brutality and primal savagery go hand in hand with the beauty of innocence and hope. Rauelsson's musical language for 'Anna' includes tense and spare textures that blend seamlessly with intimate ambient minimalism; classical elements that coexist with electronic drone experimentation and tribal rhythms, candid piano melodies buried in tape loops and otherworldly rituals of wordless voices. To arrive at this music landscape, Rauelsson enlisted an international cast of collaborators including Finnish percussionist Tatu Rönkkö, German cellist Anne Müller, American multi-instrumentalist Peter Broderick and Oslo-based vocalist Simin Tander. With this ensemble, Rauelsson's music documents a journey of survival that highlights the power of imagination and love.

Credits:

Music by Raúl Pastor Medall except A3 (Salvatore Cardillo, lyrics by Riccardo Cordiferro), A5 (Raúl Pastor Medall, Peter Broderick and Anne Müller), B3 (Raúl Pastor Medall and Anne Müller) and A2, B1, B2 (Raúl Pastor Medall and Tatu Rönkkö)

Played by Peter Broderick (Violin), Anne Müller (Cello), Raúl Pastor Medall (Piano, Electric Piano, Synthesizers, Electronics), Tatu Rönkkö (Drums, Percussion) and Simin Tander (Voice) with additional contributions from Christoph Berg (Violin), Aisha Burns (Violin) and Giulia Dragotto (Voice)

Recorded in 2020 at Rockaway Studios (Castelló, Spain; engineered by Raúl Artana), Niu (Benicàssim, Spain; engineered by Raúl Pastor Medall), Old House at Galgeberg (Oslo, Norway; engineered by Olav Torget), Tanum Church (Bærum, Norway; engineered by Olav Torget) and Indigo Studios (Palermo, Italy; engineered by Fabio Rizzo)

Additional recordings by Peter Broderick (Co. Galway, Ireland), Anne Müller (Berlin, Germany) and Tatu Rönkkö (Helsinki, Finland)

Produced by Raúl Pastor Medall and Niccolò Ammaniti. Mixed by Raúl Pastor Medall and Adam Selzer at Niu and Type Foundry (Portland, OR). Mastered by Adam Gonsalves and Adam Selzer at Telegraph Audio Mastering (Portland, OR). Lacquer mastercut by Andreas [lupo] Lubich at Loop-O (Berlin, Germany). Artwork by Emiliano "Stand" Cataldo.

Following up last year's orchestral album opus “Overtones For The Omniverse", Mocky has been releasing a number of upbeat and uplifting instrumental tracks and now collects them as "Goosebumps Per Minute, Volume 1" on classic vinyl and digital. Putting his vocals and songwriting to the side for this project, Mocky employs harps, horns, and 70’s analogue synths to provide a funky soundtrack that spreads a little of that California sunshine in the listeners direction. Built around Mocky's signature basslines and ensemble vocal arrangements that include his son Telly and his daughter Lulu, all recorded to his vintage ampex tape machine, Mocky did away with the normal metronomic BPM calculations in modern production and instead measured his music in "gpm" (the tempo at which music transmits Goosebumps) - and on top of a multitude of summery bass, drums & strings perfection, Vicky Farewell drops a blistering Rhodes solo on "Flutter" and Carlos Niño lends a percussive hand on the sublime "Iridescence”. Todd M. Simon handles the horn duties, and Liza Wallace infuses the dance tracks with live harp which recalls the floating approach of Alice Coltrane. Titles like "Refractions", "Wavelengths" or "Conduction" are hinting at a scientific approach to creating the conditions for "Goosebumps Per Minute" - his own calculus for the timing of how and when to hit and strum the things in his studio to make it raw & funky.

The songs were also inspired by his time hanging out at the Goldline bar in LA’s Highland Park. “Throughout the pandemic it was the one place I could go and sit outside and hear incredible music as I listened to my friend DJ Phonecalls playing from the Goldline's vinyl collection. He would be dropping these uplifting funk and disco cuts - and at the end of the night I would go home to my studio and make a track and upload it to my Bandcamp and the streaming services immediately … It reminded me of my time in Tokyo's vinyl bars so "Goosebumps Per Minute" owes a lot to that inspiring culture as well“.

Initially sparked by a disappointing experience in Los Angeles, EUROPOP is Carl Schilde’s first solo album. Feeling out of place and out of time in the music world, he started to embrace his own limitations, subverting themes like “making it” and pre- internet nostalgia with a Jim O’Rourke- inspired wink in his eye. While holed up in his Toronto basement, a lifelong obsession with outdated pop trickery and yesteryear’s preset sounds launched him into an alternate sonic universe—one where The Beach Boys’ late- 70s albums were big hits, and long-forgotten Italian soft rock is the style du jour.
The resulting ten songs were given their final sheen by mastering impresario Dave Cooley (Tame Impala, Blood Orange, J Dilla).

Born and raised in West Berlin sometime in the 80s, Carl has already had several musical incarnations.
From a Berlin Art Prize nomination for his single-note vinyl record (“The whole concept makes me upset” — VICE), to glimpsing the album charts by co- writing an aging crooner’s magnum opus (“Glamorous” — NY Times), he has always been more interested in exploring different angles than building a career. Since a transcontinental move to Canada, his focus has shifted from the conceptual to the immediate music-making process, with all its imperfections. An avid live performer, Carl is also a member of Playdate, whose album “Manitoulin Tapes” (“a blissed out lo-fi ambient gem” — The Wire) was recently released on Séance Centre.

Following the self-released single TOP 40, which has reached over 130k streams on Spotify, EUROPOP is scheduled to be released on February, 4th, 2022 on Staatsakt’s new interplanetary imprint, Fun In The Church.

Here comes a new punk.

If you know anything about me – as in Andrea, the record label’s head – you know I have a thing for Oi since I was a teenage skinhead.

And with Avant! being a coldwave/synthpop label, our next release couldn’t be more special. No Filter are three children of the French region of Dauphiné, active in the black metal scene for 20 years through different projects.

They created No Filter with the aim of exploring punk, Oi and coldwave sounds. They started by singing in English but after their first demo they decided to opt for French to improve their lyrics by singing in their own native language. Themes addressed in their songs are violence, hatred, party nights, the countryside, their roots and friendship. “Synth punk, bagarre et blousons noirs” in their own words. Musically speaking they somehow fit in the current Cold Oi French scene (Bromure, Syndrome 81, Cran, Kronstadt) but they exaggerate the synth/wave element ending up sounding like one unprecedented, fresh as hell mix between New Order and The 4 Skins.

If you think you’ve heard this one before it’s because one year ago they self-released a 10-track cassette called “Sans Filtre” which is exactly what we are pressing now on vinyl for the first time because this was simply too good to stay only on tape forever.

To make this even more special we have recruited Canadian multi-instrumentalist and artist Nakkabre (Conifère, Spleen, Vespéral, HazeHound) to do a brand new artwork and spice things up for the occasion!

Black vinyl LP edition limited to 400 is out 22 November.

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.

Misty Coast is the dream pop child of Linn Frøkedal and Richard Myklebust, known from the Norwegian noise rock act The Megaphonic Thrift. After ten years on the road with amplifiers turned to 11, tours supporting indie heroes like Dinosaur Jr and Steven Malkmus, a Norwegian Grammy (Spellemannprisen) sitting on the shelf, mild tinnitus and odd jobs back home to add on the rock’n’roll salary, Frøkedal and Myklebust decided to adjust the recipe and cook up a new witch's brew. No melodies were allowed to be tucked under a cover of noise, but kept on top of the blanket. Let's call it a picnic where the pure flavours get to shine without a fancy wrapping. We are talking strawberries straight from the field and milk tapped from the udder.

If 2022’s The Children Of Scorpio was the debut album that turned people onto the world of Project Gemini aka Paul Osborne, Colours & Light is the body of work that will be buried deep into their hearts. It is a majestic album, bringing together the worlds of folk rock, psych soundtracks and hazy cinematic funk. A growing confidence and ease emanate from the writing and production of this sophomore LP, bolstered by the reception to his standout debut. “It’s a more layered and diverse record” Paul mentions, “with a more outward-looking, global sound, born out of the records I was listening to and the musicians I was lucky enough to collaborate with”. It feels relaxed yet self-assured, with a kaleidoscope of sounds that twist together in a mesmerising fashion. The theme of the album developed naturally through the lyrics Paul began writing. A creative process both plagued and fed by insomnia, nourished by relationships, entwined in emotions, nights out, nights in and the after-effects on the human condition. Relatable themes yet seen through the prism of a soundscape that takes in many a different culture and scene. From acid folk to psych-funk, Francophile elements to Anatolian and Eastern inspirations, all interlocking and rotating as one. Drawing inspiration from those he admires, Colours & Light radiates with collaborations. The title track, which tips its hat to a live 1973 TV version of Pentangle’s ‘Wedding Dress’, features the folk rock, guitar brilliance of Jack Sharp from Wolf People/Large Plants. Elsewhere, two tracks are blessed by the sultry, smokey French vocals of Gloria’s Wendy Martinez, ‘Extra Nuit’ and ‘Entre chien et loup’. The former echoes Paul's love of classic French psych-pop from the late ’60s and early ’70s and artists such as Laurance Vanay, Calcium, Leonie, and Serge Gainsbourg. Martinez's sublime vocal work nestles perfectly within Paul's psych-folk-funk productions, as her Gloria partner, Alexis Morel (aka Kid Victrola) sprinkles a dose of entrancing guitar line magic on proceedings. The list of collaborations extends further with Raz and Markey Funk, drummer Tony Coote and percussionist Paul Elliott all featuring. Regular collaborator and underground icon Barrie Cadogan (Little Barrie) returns along with Bert Page from The Cromagnon Band, who between them provide a hit of whacked-out, fuzzed-up country guitar and Moog madness respectively on ‘Lost In The Woods (Bacchanal)’. Rounding off the record Paul’s daughter, Olivia Osborne, supplies the keyboard intro on the penultimate track ‘Twilight’. Dorian Conway from The Soundcarriers (whose bandmate Paul Isherwood returns on mixing duties) then layers echoing heavy flute parts to magically capture the psychedelic sunrise images brought to mind. Balancing light and shade on this record, there is beauty and tension all wrapped up in Paul’s vivid and visceral, storytelling gift.

The masterpiece of city pop was tracked down by renowned engineer Tamotsu Yoshida using the latest digital technology from the multi-tapes of the time. The 2023 mix, mastered with vintage analog equipment, will be released in analog format for the first time. Including karaoke of 2023 mix. Analog cutting: Piccolo Audio Works, Shinya Matsushita [45 rpm, 180g weight vinyl specs].

For polymath artist Wesley Joseph, writing a song is like shooting a film. He sees in terms of scenes and colors, lighting the proper mood, drawing the right emotional arc_far beyond just getting a catchy melody down on tape. Music and filmmaking are Joseph's two great loves. Film came first_he started making DIY videos at age 12 to entertain himself and his friends growing up in a small UK community_but when he moved to London to study it, the energy he discovered in the city demanded to be captured in song, resulting in his 2021 debut Ultramarine, a distinctly cinematic collection of avant-R&B and soulful future-pop shot through with moments of surprising aggression and an intriguingly complex postmillennial aura. Since collaborating with the likes of Jorja Smith and Loyle Carner, he returns with Glow, eight more songs of love, loss, anxiety, and joy about coming of age at a time of unprecedented change. Showcasing his range across songwriting, performing, and production_not to mention his flawless transitions between singing and rapping, between character studies and raw emotional honesty_it's a stunningly beautiful work that makes it clear Joseph's on the path to becoming a worldchanging talent. As on previous projects, Joseph is providing his own visual accompaniments for Glow, creative directing its artwork and directing its first video. "cold Summer" finds Joseph singing from a supervillain's perspective over woozy film-score strings, and the concept bleeds over into its video accompaniment, a cryptic post-post-Tarantino gangster comedy shot in Kazakhstan. It's usually hyperbole to call an artist as young and new as Joseph "visionary," but it's undeniable that he has a vision, one that transcends old ideas of genre and medium, one that seems to get bigger and richer every time he steps into a studio or behind a camera. Glow is one of the deepest and most satisfyingly cinematic listening experiences of the year_and Wesley Joseph is just getting started.

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.

Still sealed with cracked corner.

"Amsterdam, 1982. Smoke fills the streets, squatters clash violently with the police, uprising is in the air. In this disorderly mess, the worlds of activism, art, fashion, and nightlife converged into an explosion of creativity. Amidst all of this Electric Party, the brainchild of René van Rijn, released the ‘Work’ tape on Amsterdam label Fetisj, now a cult cassette for the few who remember.

Forty years ago they created this unique blend of no wave, mutant disco, funk, and experimental music. It was around the time of the rise of the members-only club Mazzo, with all its prominent figures, the anarchy of the squatting movement, and the art academy connection. Everything took place in this inebriated twilight zone of blissful joy.

This record consists of 3 of the best tracks from the ‘Work’ tape and 6 unreleased tracks from forgotten cassette tapes, all remastered and restored where necessary. Among them the unreleased anthem ‘Caribe’, which was recorded in Spain as the opening track for a Spanish discotheque in 1987.

Drum-machine soul, funk, disco and boogie from Buffalo, NY. Rare 7" singles and previously unreleased tracks presented as a complete album. In the early 70s, Jessie Key and Sylvester Cleary - two passionate idealists living in Buffalo, New York - formed a close friendship based on a mutual mission to better their city. The Attica State Prison Riot of 1971 was a burning memory, and the Arthur vs. Nyquist lawsuit - brought against the City of Buffalo for creating and maintaining a racially segregated school system - was on the docket. Key was once a cotton-laborer in Mississippi, who journeyed north for school where he met his kindred spirit, Cleary. The two struck up an intense friendship, bought a drum machine and recorded their first 45, "A Man," a paean to self-actualization and Black American empowerment, which they custom pressed and issued privately. Dozens of recordings followed over a decade long span, issued on local labels and warehoused on cassette tapes. Perennial optimists, Key & Cleary tried any - perhaps every! - path they could demarcate in hopes of forwarding their agenda of self-effected, positive change. They formed Buffalo’s first minority-owned construction company, opened a health food restaurant in a building previously occupied by a fast food chain, and even concocted a candy bar called "The Buffalo Treat," which they manufactured and sold locally. Eventually they started their own label, Buffalo’s Reflection. On it they released their masterpiece, "What It Takes To Live," a sought-after disco and Northern Soul classic, which previously appeared on Now-Again”s Soul Cal anthology. This album collates the breadth of Key & Cleary’s recordings from 1970 until the mid 1980s, both with songs issued on rare 7" singles and previously unreleased. It presents a conjoined musical vision and tells the story of a duo years ahead of their time, both musically and culturally. Love Is The Way was their ethos - their goal was to enlighten humanity and to bend history in a more loving direction through communion.

Baby Rose makes healing music for the aimless and heartbroken. The Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter and producer's uniquely rich voice naturally lends itself to her powerful, smoke-filled ballads lamenting lost loves and broken futures. "I make music to help myself get through things," she says. The piercing honesty and vulnerability she brings to her lyrics in turn helps others process their feelings and find a place of healing. For Rose, it's a journey that's still ongoing. "If I'm going to leave anything behind, it's going to be getting people back to themselves," she says. "As I get back to myself, it's a constant reset: Remember who you are, remember who you want to be." You can hear the impact of this approach in Baby Rose's upcoming second album, Through and Through. Take the hypnotic "Fight Club." Over the track's simmering baseline and crashing cymbals, she declares, "I don't need no one else to show me the way." She describes the song as a "breaking of the shell. It encourages me to just go for it and not care about what anyone else thinks." Therein lies Baby Rose's strength: a determination to live, love, and create on her own terms. "I'm not just a singer with a unique voice," she says. "I'm somebody that has something to say." In the years since releasing her last album, To Myself, Rose has been painstakingly piecing together its sequel. Started almost immediately after its release, her new body of work finds her in a state of musical and personal transition. It's a subtle merging of new sounds_stirring rock, upbeat r&b, psychedelic funk, pop, and soulful ballads_, all mastered through analog tape to make the music feel warmer and all-encompassing. It's also a journey inward as she battles past fear and self-doubt to finally discover_and love_who she is, where she is. Finishing an album with such peace and firm resolution is a first for Rose, but she makes it clear: She's nowhere near done writing her story. "I think as long as I'm being raw and trying to push past my comfort zone, it will feel rewarding," she says. "I don't want to be the type that doesn't take risks because I'm afraid. I have to trust that as long as the music is honest and innovative, it'll be timeless."

Well-versed in vintage vernaculars, Oakland-based producer/musician Mike Walti is about to return with his sophomore offering under the Organi moniker – as new album “Babylonia” follows 2020’s “Parlez-vous Français?,” a landmark in vibe acquisition ever since.

Wyldwood Studios is a portal. It’s a secret gateway to analog spheres. Cross the threshold and you’ll feel the difference: you can pick any ol’ time, any place, any tongue or vibe, in fact. Hit the dancefloor in 1967, feel that plushy loveseat in the early 70s. It’s a welcoming place where better, saner vibes are still within reach. Fueled, at least in part, by those long-classic 12”s on the walls – just imagine the sepia-tinted countenance of Melody Nelson alongside actual Birkin sans wig, right next to Shadow’s immortal crate diggers, forever blurred –, and channeled through ancient time travel devices such as the MCI 416b only to arrive on classic 2-inch tape (mm1000 aka Ol’ Bessy), it’s a haven for all things organic, for all things imbued with that warm élan. Built and run by Oakland’s own Mike Walti, countless artists from many different genres have felt that flair, creating sonic spheres and moving back and forth along the malleable axis that is space-time. Capturing magic.

Emerging from this unique portal back in 2020, Walti’s aka Organi’s first studio album was a stunning answer to its titular question – “Parlez-vous Français?” It was a soothing, somewhat psychedelic trip so magnétique and alluring that it immediately brought back those bits of Franglais you never knew you remembered. Whereas the debut LP indeed felt like a spontané voyage to the French Riviera ca. 1968, its follow-up “Babylonia” is so much more than linguistic confusion and ancient Akkadian Rhythms. Using that hidden portal near Alameda’s finest port to access all kinds of remote regions and sonic spheres, it’s super tight and feels, well, decent, even though, just like the ol’ Babylon, it’s full of surprising tongues and dreams, schemes and melodies.

“Where do we go from here?,” someone asks in opening “Organii-“ – all majestically cinematic boom bap, buoyant bass, sick strings. A fittingly massive opener that feels like cracking open a cold one after long weeks at work (that ecstatic “ahhhh”), it perfectly sets the tone for another half hour of pure time traveling, globe-spanning bliss. Whereas that certain prédilection pour all things French makes “La Rockette” so tempting and tantalizing (think MalMalNonBien), the sophomore album’s Berlin-based guest singer Nana Lacrima soon takes us elsewhere: title track “Babylonia” spins ever so softly, like a magic lantern, with images of dreamier Stones Throw funksters or Savath y Savalas looming over the steady flow of an arrangement that washes you clean like an ancient, unpolluted River Euphrates or Brazil’s actual Amazon. A sexy Portuguese-flavored anthem, occasional guest singer Alix Koliha also enters the scene to add yet another layer of French chic to this Brazilian landscape. Next, we’re back at the Riviera, but the “Italiano” version of it, splendido sunsets and bell towers in the distance, the ragazze laughing and shaking it up, perhaps even some Portofino Gin so you can really feel that “me ne batto il belin,” as your fingers align form some half-serious “ma che vuoi?”

Tim Maia-penned “Padre Cicero” (1970) deals with the stunning transformation of the titular hero – “De reverendo a lutador,” and what a soaring, sensual hook –, and Organi’s take on Elephant Memory’s “Old Man Willow” (now an “Old Man Waltz”) perfectly underlines what Walti’s Wyldwood endeavor is all about: Easy-Going Experimental Dream Pop, fueled by Gainsbourg, Broadcast, Stereolab, etc.

Later on, even though something seems to be tres complique in “Remembering Anna,” it all sounds carefree like a spontaneous Friday afternoon with a bottle of fine wine. Right before the outro, key album guest Yea-Ming Chen (of Yea-Ming & The Rumors) returns to the mic, adding her dark and dusky trademark timbre to melancholy anthem “Pictures Of Your Face”. Reminiscent of Nico and Trish (rip & rip), it’s a track that’s both dark and strangely propelling, hypnotic and hip-shaking.

A third generation Bay Area native, Mike Walti aka Organi has been running Wyldwood Studios in Oakland CA for some 15+ years (recording artists like Tommy Guerrero, Spelling, Why?, Latyrx, Del, Dan The Automator, and Big Freedia, to name but a few). A multi-instrumentalist who’s obviously in love with the 60s/70s, he loves to work with analog equipment (“We just love us some analog!” “Just listen to those relays purr…”). Recorded and mixed by Mike Walti at Wyldwood, “Babylonia” will be released on vinyl/digital by Alien Transistor.

The Moon and the Melodies is a singular record within the Cocteau Twins" catalogue - unusually ethereal, even by their standards, and largely instrumental, guided by the free-form improvisations of Harold Budd, an ambient pioneer who had drifted into their orbit as if by divine intervention. Building on the atmospheric bliss of Victorialand, released earlier the same year, it signalled a possible future for the trio, yet it was a path they"d never take again. Now, almost forty years after it was fi rst released, it"s being reissued on vinyl for the first time - remastered, from the original tapes, by Robin Guthrie himself. Over the ensuing years, The Moon and the Melodies has attracted a passionate fan base. Its most atmospheric tracks routinely turn up in ambient DJ sets. "Sea, Swallow Me" is one of the Cocteau Twins" most streamed songs on Spotify, having found a new life on TikTok, where it serves as the soundtrack to innumerable expressions of hard-to-express melancholy. For such a low-key aff air, the album casts a long shadow - but Raymonde believes the record"s uniqueness stems directly from its humble, unpremeditated origins. "It captured a moment in time between friends that are enjoying making music together. Really, that"s the essence of it."

Picture of Bunny Rabbit features nine previously unreleased performances from the World of Echo era, compiled from completed masters culled from two unique test pressings, including one, dated 9/15/85 by Arthur, provided by his mother and sister. A further four tracks were discovered in his tape archive. The track listing includes an exceptional and dramatic solo recording of In The Light of a Miracle and the enigmatic title instrumental Picture of Bunny Rabbit, written especially for a friends pet rabbit. The bulk of the material was recorded with engineer Eric Liljestrand at Battery Sound Studios, New York, which was located directly opposite the World Trade Center and at Arthur"s apartment studio in the East Village.

Oops, Four Flies did it again! Like other rare Italian gems, Berto Pisano’s La Novizia was long thought lost before the FF team rescued, restored and remastered it from the original tapes. And wow, it’s just one of the best things, if not the best thing, about the 1975 film it was written for – an erotic comedy with melodramatic overtones directed by Pisano’s long-time collaborator Giuliano Biagetti (they previously worked together on Interrabang and La Svergognata) and starring a young and mesmerizing Gloria Guida. The film’s low budget meant that Pisano had to make a virtue out of necessity. Rather than using a big orchestra and strings (as is well known, he was a brilliant conductor and string arranger), he relied on a smaller ensemble – almost a chamber ensemble, but with a jazz-like rhythm section – to create sensual late-night soundscapes that exude a downtempo ambience. In a nutshell: smooth, warm, velvety music. The epitome of the lounge sound. At times, whispered, sexy vocals by (the then ubiquitous) Edda Dell’Orso float dreamily over brushed drums, bass, guitars and electric pianos. At others, we find Italian library heavyweights like Alessandro Alessandroni (whose unmistakable whistle can be heard in “Canto Notturno”) and even psychedelic rock influences, as in the acid distorted guitars, furious drums and crazy synths of “Free Dimension”. At yet other times, we’re taken into more easy-listening territory – “Fiore Rosso”, for instance, offers a wonderfully cinematic example of Mediterranean, rather than Brazilian, bossa nova (did they ever thought of using a spinet in Brazil??). The secret to the charm of La Novizia is that it encapsulates the Italian erotic sound of the 70s in all of its nuances, from the morbid, to the prudish, to the naïve. Because yes, this is a record of nuance and musicianship. And while the themes are in themselves simple, the fantastic quality of the writing, arrangement and production is a testament to Berto Pisano’s superb talent, style and professionalism. Finally back to life after decades of obscurity, La Novizia is a thing of beauty – which, as a pretty bright fellow once said, is a joy forever. Don’t miss out on joy.

If 2022’s The Children Of Scorpio was the debut album that turned people onto the world of Project Gemini aka Paul Osborne, Colours & Light is the body of work that will be buried deep into their hearts. It is a majestic album, bringing together the worlds of folk rock, psych soundtracks and hazy cinematic funk. A growing confidence and ease emanate from the writing and production of this sophomore LP, bolstered by the reception to his standout debut. “It’s a more layered and diverse record” Paul mentions, “with a more outward-looking, global sound, born out of the records I was listening to and the musicians I was lucky enough to collaborate with”. It feels relaxed yet self-assured, with a kaleidoscope of sounds that twist together in a mesmerising fashion. The theme of the album developed naturally through the lyrics Paul began writing. A creative process both plagued and fed by insomnia, nourished by relationships, entwined in emotions, nights out, nights in and the after-effects on the human condition. Relatable themes yet seen through the prism of a soundscape that takes in many a different culture and scene. From acid folk to psych-funk, Francophile elements to Anatolian and Eastern inspirations, all interlocking and rotating as one. Drawing inspiration from those he admires, Colours & Light radiates with collaborations. The title track, which tips its hat to a live 1973 TV version of Pentangle’s ‘Wedding Dress’, features the folk rock, guitar brilliance of Jack Sharp from Wolf People/Large Plants. Elsewhere, two tracks are blessed by the sultry, smokey French vocals of Gloria’s Wendy Martinez, ‘Extra Nuit’ and ‘Entre chien et loup’. The former echoes Paul's love of classic French psych-pop from the late ’60s and early ’70s and artists such as Laurance Vanay, Calcium, Leonie, and Serge Gainsbourg. Martinez's sublime vocal work nestles perfectly within Paul's psych-folk-funk productions, as her Gloria partner, Alexis Morel (aka Kid Victrola) sprinkles a dose of entrancing guitar line magic on proceedings. The list of collaborations extends further with Raz and Markey Funk, drummer Tony Coote and percussionist Paul Elliott all featuring. Regular collaborator and underground icon Barrie Cadogan (Little Barrie) returns along with Bert Page from The Cromagnon Band, who between them provide a hit of whacked-out, fuzzed-up country guitar and Moog madness respectively on ‘Lost In The Woods (Bacchanal)’. Rounding off the record Paul’s daughter, Olivia Osborne, supplies the keyboard intro on the penultimate track ‘Twilight’. Dorian Conway from The Soundcarriers (whose bandmate Paul Isherwood returns on mixing duties) then layers echoing heavy flute parts to magically capture the psychedelic sunrise images brought to mind. Balancing light and shade on this record, there is beauty and tension all wrapped up in Paul’s vivid and visceral, storytelling gift.

Inspired by Dua’s own self-discovery, Radical Optimism is an album that taps into the pure joy and happiness of

having clarity in situations that once seemed impossible to face. The hard goodbyes and vulnerable beginnings that

previously threatened to crush your soul, become milestones as you choose optimism and start to move with grace

through the chaos.

Infused with the energy of Dua’s hometown, London, the attitude of the album embodies the rawness, honesty,

confidence and freedom of ‘90s Britpop. Radical Optimism transports its listener to a dreamy pop world rich in

musicality, lyrically unapologetic and sonically liberating.

The 3x GRAMMY and 7x Brit Award-winning global pop powerhouse worked with a team of core collaborators

throughout the project including Caroline Ailin, Danny L. Harle, Tobias Jesso Jr. and Kevin Parker.

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.

Inspired by Dua’s own self-discovery, Radical Optimism is an album that taps into the pure joy and happiness of

having clarity in situations that once seemed impossible to face. The hard goodbyes and vulnerable beginnings that

previously threatened to crush your soul, become milestones as you choose optimism and start to move with grace

through the chaos.

Infused with the energy of Dua’s hometown, London, the attitude of the album embodies the rawness, honesty,

confidence and freedom of ‘90s Britpop. Radical Optimism transports its listener to a dreamy pop world rich in

musicality, lyrically unapologetic and sonically liberating.

The 3x GRAMMY and 7x Brit Award-winning global pop powerhouse worked with a team of core collaborators

throughout the project including Caroline Ailin, Danny L. Harle, Tobias Jesso Jr. and Kevin Parker.

An enlightened Vacationer returns with a collection of radiant original tracks —10 sonic meditations on the virtues of warm devotion and ritual tenderness. "Cherish" is being released in conjunction with a documentary about the making of the record. Mastered for vinyl by Kelly Hibbert at Almachrome. (J Dilla, Madlib, Little Dragon, David Axelrod, Flying Lotus, Hiatus Kaiyote, Q-Tip, Knxwledge, MF Doom)

Extreme Honey (The Very Best Of Warner Records Years) (1997) is a compilation album by Elvis Costello, spanning the years 1989–1997. This double album is a good way to become acquainted with Costello’s Nineties’ output. There are a number of hits and singles (“Veronica,” “So Like Candy,” “Sulky Girl,” “13 Steps Lead Down,” “The Other Side of Summer”), and additional album tracks from the same period. There are a number of great moments here, whether it’s the lilting “The Birds Will Still Be Singing” from the underrated The Juliet Letters or the New Orleans-inflected “Deep Dark Truthful Mirror”. Extreme Honey also contains “My Dark Life”, Costello’s collaboration with Brian Eno (originally featured on The X-Files soundtrack), and the new track “The Bridge I Burned,” a neo-psychedelic/ trip-hop number constructed from backing tapes recorded with his son and Supergrass drummer Danny Goffey. Extreme Honey (The Very Best Of Warner Records Years) is available as a limited edition on gold coloured vinyl and includes an insert

After a debut album, South By West (2018), produced under a blazing sun, amidst sun-drenched rocks and arid deserts, this new full-length release, It Starts With The End of The World, follows the path charted three years ago by the EP Always On Time. Eleven magnificently ethereal tracks, meticulously crafted by Thomas Lavernhe, the singer-songwriter behind Pampa Folks, explore more exotic roads and envelop us in warm waves of psychedelic guitars. Eleven songs that aspire to wind-blown journeys, forming the perfect soundtrack for a summer road trip. Pampa Folks' musical DNA evolves towards a contemporary twist, blending the charm of retro hues, spaghetti western film scores, and a more modern production reminiscent of Tame Impala, Khruangbin, or Men I Trust.The great outdoors, with their imagery and cinema, are the godfathers of Pampa Folks' music, despite it being conceived and recorded in Paris. In fact, it is probably the most Californian pop made in France. Who knows how different this music would have been if Thomas Lavernhe had been born on the other side of the Atlantic? Would the lyrics have suggested the imminence of long journeys as much? What is certain is that his travels in the Americas have influenced his personal inspirations.The Pampa Folks project embodies the journey that allowed Lavernhe to identify the kind of mark he wanted to leave on the pop scene. A confident career as a composer, producer, and sound designer, major collaborations with his other project Cuarto Mundo (a duo with Cosmo Gonik), some memorable concerts in the fashion world (he loves to recount them), regular DJ sets at the now-closed Bus Palladium... The colors, moods, and energies of this new album owe something to all of these experiences.Notably, singer Léa Petges lends her voice on four tracks and is also the heroine of the Mexican escapade in the video for "Foolish As She Goes," the first single released on March 8.Bon voyage.

Inspired by Dua’s own self-discovery, Radical Optimism is an album that taps into the pure joy and happiness of having clarity in situations that once seemed impossible to face. The hard goodbyes and vulnerable beginnings that previously threatened to crush your soul, become milestones as you choose optimism and start to move with grace through the chaos.

Infused with the energy of Dua’s hometown, London, the attitude of the album embodies the rawness, honesty, confidence and freedom of ‘90s Britpop. Radical Optimism transports its listener to a dreamy pop world rich in musicality, lyrically unapologetic and sonically liberating.

The 3x Grammy and 7x Brit Award-winning global pop powerhouse worked with a team of core collaborators throughout the project including Caroline Ailin, Danny L. Harle, Tobias Jesso Jr. and Kevin Parker.

"Isayahh Wuddha," an artist acclaimed for his unique dreamy funk sound crafted using cassette tape MTR, was none other than a personal project by musician Taku Hayashi residing in Kyoto. There is hardly anyone who would feel uneasy about his second album under the psychedelic project "ohhki", another activity of him, being released by P-vine. His music style, which shows no intention of conforming to mainstream music, is a strong expression filled with solid originality.

The songs recorded with analog equipment are treated with lo-fi sound production, successfully creating a unique pop world that delicately combines elements of psychedelia, dub, funk, and disco. While experiencing a sensation of floating gently in space, the undulations, akin to the brushstrokes of an impressionist painting layered with reverberations and echoes, are drawn onto the canvas of the sky along with the resonance of electric guitars, old keyboards resonating with cheap tones, and enchanting voices, accompanied by the repetitive beats of a drum machine. Beginning with an ode to birds, invoking surprises and casting small spells, after being struck by intense rain between night and dawn like a flowing stream, this world is embraced, lingering within me, entranced by the blues, and ending with "Well... just like a banana ripening... you're amusing." Simply there is light and the wind blows. It exists as literally alternative music, vividly presenting another world, rich in color.

OTOGIVANASHI's 12th album, and their first full-length original album in four years, sees the band in tip-top form. Despite the bare-bones approach to recording, each chord seems to float and fill up sonic space, leaving a gentle feeling of euphoria as it fades away. Combined with vocalist Kazuki Arima's catchy melodies and lyrics unconfined by gender, in some ways, this album calls to mind some of the Smiths' greatest works. Make sure you don’t miss this perfect intersection of neo-soul and psychedelic guitar rock.