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Pekka Laine and The Enchanted's second album out on Svart Records in September

"In a dream I heard music with a strange bubbling sound. People were dancing to it in a surreal, cavernous space. What is this, I asked. One of the dancers stopped and answered. It's an underwater disco. In the morning, I grabbed my guitar and tried to recall what I had heard. Those foggy fragments became Malibu Beach”.

Helsinki 4th of June 2024, Pekka Laine

For Pekka Laine, the twang of an electric guitar is not a warm blanket of nostalgia. Instead, the echoing sound usually associated with surf and retro instrumentals is a ticket to the imaginary.

On this sonic journey, Laine is joined by The Enchanted, his powerhouse live band that has taken both festival and club stages by storm. Pekka Laine and his trusty space-age guitar take the listener to a place where a futuristic and humid disco sound, perfect with obese beats and robotic vocals, reigns supreme. Trippy vocoder vocals and Moog wizardry are provided by Antti Vuorenmaa, the synth sensei associated with several leading Finnish indie bands and a trusted member of the extended Enchanted family.

Pekka Laine's second album Pekka Laine & The Enchanted in Slumberland will be released on 27th of September 2024 digitally, CD and in three different vinyl versions: on a classic black vinyl, wonderful transparent green vinyl and limited edition of 100 white/green/orange marble vinyls hand-crafted by Pekka Laine himself at the Helsingin Levypuristamo. The limited edition is available only on the Svart Records online store.

In 1990 Aerosmith made their most successful world tour in the long career of the band. Over the ensuing years, Jimmy Page became friends with the members of Aerosmith, and a 1990 trip set up their memorable collaboration when Page entered the stage and jammed some hits and classics with Steven Tyler and co. This concert was recorded by "Jay-FM" for broadcast and is available now on orange-colored vinyl. A: 1. Milk Cow Blues2. I Ain't Got You3. Think About It4. Love Me Two Times5. Shakedown CityB: 6. Immigrant Song7. Smokestack Lightning8. Monkey On My Back9. Dream On10. Is Anybody Out There

From the deepest trenches of deadstock 45s and the unsung annals of soft rock infamy, we present Sr4ht02: (Till You're) Back In My Arms.

Universal Cave and the Street Road Band cover Dan Strimer with Insured Sound's cult anthem (Till You're) Back In My Arms which was originally released as a 45 in 1977 on Lost Nation Records out of Guysville, Ohio. When Universal Cave featured Back in My Arms on Soft Rock for Hard Times Vol 8 in 2023, we reached out to Dan Strimer to tell him how much we loved his record, and quickly made a friend who helped us release a cover of his song 47 years after it first came out. Dan is still making music to this day and there are even rumors of some unreleased recordings making their way out in the near future.

On vacation in Hawaii when we released Soft Rock for Hard Times Vol 8, Alex Tebbs Mitchell of Universal Cave kept coming back to Dan's catchy, rural classic rock tune. When Alex returned to Philadelphia, he assembled the Street Road Band to record a laid back, 'southwestern Balearic' cover version with André Ethier on vocals, Charles Simon on guitar, Jesse Spearhawk on Pedal Steel, Alex Tebbs Mitchell on Rhodes and bass, Ryan M. Todd on synthesizers, and Shawn Ryan and Brian Cassidy on additional programming and arrangement. The result is a blissful soft rock ballad inspired by the likes of Chris Rea and Mark Knopfler.

After recording the cover, we called in the UK's finest Balearic maestro's Coyote to take the multitracks to the White Isle and back for a remix worthy of Cafe Del Mar. Coyote send the song into a dreamy, dubby, deep house groove, confirming that the record is, in fact, Balearic.

Mixed by Alex Tebbs Mitchell Mastered by Mat Leffler-Schulman

The comeback of the Milanese band Alphataurus can only have the status of a big event among fans of Italian progressive rock, thanks mainly to the indelible mark left several decades ago with their 1973 eponymous masterpiece, but also to the beautiful and more recent “AttoSecondo” (2012). One of the band’s recent line-ups has also released a live album (“Live in Bloom”, 2012) and one of rarities (“Prime Numbers”, 2014). After ten years of absence then, filled with a long series of live appearances, Alphataurus once again knocks on the doors of prog-rockers with a brand new album, whose long recording process unfortunately ended with the departure of founder guitarist Guido Wassermann. “2084: Viaggio nel Nulla” (2084: Journey into Nowhere) is a 100% Alphataurus record, starting from its beautiful and futuristic three-panel cover illustrated by the band’s new drummer, recalling the paintings of the magnificent debut album. Musically, the sound is more modern and catchy, but also delivers a complex and ever interesting song construction, as shown in the long tracks “Pista 6” and “Wormhole”. As the title suggests, “2084: Viaggio nel Nulla” is a dystopian, sci-fi concept full of philosophical and existential insights. The legend is back!

‘Three years after appearing on Doom Sessions Vol 5 split, High Reeper are back with their most ambitious album yet, “Renewed By Death”. A true heavy metal assault of eight tracks that take you on a journey to the darkest depths and leave you there to rot. Featuring monolithic riffs that pummel you from the opening of the album to the close, guitar solos reminiscent of George Lynch and Dave Navarro, and powerful vocals that deliver a knockout blow. This album showcases the band’s desire to keep evolving and exploring new sounds and ideas. “Renewed By Death” was produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by Shane Trimble at the band’s brand new studio Sletner Sound, in Wilmington Delaware with Justin Di Pinto also engineering. The cover was done by Solomacello and photos of the band were done by Drew Wiedemann.’

‘Three years after appearing on Doom Sessions Vol 5 split, High Reeper are back with their most ambitious album yet, “Renewed By Death”. A true heavy metal assault of eight tracks that take you on a journey to the darkest depths and leave you there to rot. Featuring monolithic riffs that pummel you from the opening of the album to the close, guitar solos reminiscent of George Lynch and Dave Navarro, and powerful vocals that deliver a knockout blow. This album showcases the band’s desire to keep evolving and exploring new sounds and ideas. “Renewed By Death” was produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by Shane Trimble at the band’s brand new studio Sletner Sound, in Wilmington Delaware with Justin Di Pinto also engineering. The cover was done by Solomacello and photos of the band were done by Drew Wiedemann.’

‘Three years after appearing on Doom Sessions Vol 5 split, High Reeper are back with their most ambitious album yet, “Renewed By Death”. A true heavy metal assault of eight tracks that take you on a journey to the darkest depths and leave you there to rot. Featuring monolithic riffs that pummel you from the opening of the album to the close, guitar solos reminiscent of George Lynch and Dave Navarro, and powerful vocals that deliver a knockout blow. This album showcases the band’s desire to keep evolving and exploring new sounds and ideas. “Renewed By Death” was produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by Shane Trimble at the band’s brand new studio Sletner Sound, in Wilmington Delaware with Justin Di Pinto also engineering. The cover was done by Solomacello and photos of the band were done by Drew Wiedemann.’

A full tank of gas, the gentle glow from the radio dial, & stretches of open highway await, Forever Gamblin’ On You meanders through miles of soulful AOR, funky folk, & dusty soft rock obscurities. A follow up to Sky Dust Drifter, this compilation was gleaned from American private press oddities & rarities of the 70s & 80s, all of which are seeing their first official reissues on this album. A celebration of love, rebirth, and exploration radiating like the warmth of a loved one from the passenger seat.

Featuring “Feeling The Fire”, a jazzy, AOR grooving declaration of love and desire taken from the sole release from The Mad Brother. The compilations’ title track “Forever Gamblin On You” by Petroc And Pals, features an echo-laden folk rock recollection of hard feelings delivered with swelling guitar in a mournful soft psychedelia. Angie Pepper’s “Miss You Too Much” dwells on a past love, rolling along with an effortlessly cool rhythm section, while Roy McComas croons of his manifested “angel of love” on the swirling psych folk cut “Girl Of My Dreams”.

Forever Gamblin’ On You unfolds as a hopeful yet equally melancholic collection of nomadic anthems, primed for a memorable journey along the back roads of familiar American landscapes.

Original artwork by Arina Kokoreva. House in a case wrapped style jacket for a period correct look & feel. Includes a 12”x24” fold out poster insert.

Arild Brøter, known from the progressive rock band Pymlico, unveils a groundbreaking musical endeavour with the release of "A Spectre Of Sounds" - an instrumental rock album that reimagines the timeless James Bond music in a bold and electrifying way. There have been countless James Bond albums released over the years, in almost every genre imaginable - but the vast majority of them include only the title songs, giving the rest of the score very little attention. This is one is different! On this album, Arild has skipped most of the title tracks. He has been digging deeper and meticulously taken apart the actual scores and music used in the movies, rearranging them in new and clever ways. 60 years of tone-setting music from one of the biggest movie franchises that has ever existed has been transformed into new fresh electric instrumental rock tunes. The new arrangements seamlessly weave together the sophistication of Bond’s world with the dynamic and exhilarating spirit of progressive & classic rock. Listeners can expect a sonic experience like never before, as Arild injects new life into these familiar pieces of music, transforming them into powerful instrumental rock masterpieces - yet at the same time keeping both the grandness of the originals and the typical James Bond vibes alive. The album’s production quality and attention to detail underscore Arild’s commitment to delivering a fresh perspective on these beloved classics. Arild has been a lifelong James Bond fan, and he’s been obsessed with James Bond music from an early age. The idea for this album has been in the back of his head for at least 15 years. To release this album is really a dream come true! 19 musicians helped him to make this dream possible, among them Bjørn Riis from Airbag, Ole Michal Bjørndal from Caligonaut and Arild’s band mates from Pymlico. 1. Gun Barrel / James Bond Theme Intro2. On Her Majesty's Secret Service Suite - Part 1 (feat. Bjørn Riis) 3. Bond Meets Solitaire4. Vesper5. John Barry Suite (feat. Caligonaut)6. Journey To Blofeld's Hideaway (feat. Bjørn Riis)7. Space Laser Battle (feat. Bjørn Riis) 8. Secret Room / New Digs9. Corrine Put Down / Countdown For Blofeld10. Snow Job / Flight Into Space11. Capsule In Space (feat. Bjørn Riis)12. 007 Theme13. Diamonds Are Forever Suite14. Camille's Story15. Bond and Paris / City Of Lovers16. We Share The Same Passions17. On Her Majesty's Secret Service Suite - Part 218. Elektra's Theme19. The Living Daylight Suite20. Final Ascent

HHV Exclusive edition on orange wax, limited to 200 copies worldwide.

A full tank of gas, the gentle glow from the radio dial, & stretches of open highway await, Forever Gamblin’ On You meanders through miles of soulful AOR, funky folk, & dusty soft rock obscurities. A follow up to Sky Dust Drifter, this compilation was gleaned from American private press oddities & rarities of the 70s & 80s, all of which are seeing their first official reissues on this album. A celebration of love, rebirth, and exploration radiating like the warmth of a loved one from the passenger seat.

Featuring “Feeling The Fire”, a jazzy, AOR grooving declaration of love and desire taken from the sole release from The Mad Brother. The compilations’ title track “Forever Gamblin On You” by Petroc And Pals, features an echo-laden folk rock recollection of hard feelings delivered with swelling guitar in a mournful soft psychedelia. Angie Pepper’s “Miss You Too Much” dwells on a past love, rolling along with an effortlessly cool rhythm section, while Roy McComas croons of his manifested “angel of love” on the swirling psych folk cut “Girl Of My Dreams”.

Forever Gamblin’ On You unfolds as a hopeful yet equally melancholic collection of nomadic anthems, primed for a memorable journey along the back roads of familiar American landscapes.

Original artwork by Arina Kokoreva. House in a case wrapped style jacket for a period correct look & feel. Includes a 12”x24” fold out poster insert.

KHADAVRA is an atypical Swedish psychedelic rock quartet created in 2012. Influences on early PINK FLOYD, on jazz, on psyche-space groups such as MONSTER MAGNET, HAWKWIND, TOOL, ISIS, MOTORPSYCHO, GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR and the BLACK SABBATH veterans; by digging out certain beaches, the divine breaks of ANEKDOTEN and CAMEL come back; a little hints of KING CRIMSON and SIGUR ROS all that to say that we are in the experimental progressive psychedelic in my opinion, amen! They define themselves as digging deep into the untapped subconscious, seeking the unknown from within and expressing the sound found; a music inspired by common and unusual experiences on the surreal life we are currently living; sound on the dynamics, the emotion, the trance generated more than on the technicality of the notes, all amplified by the joint use of the English language and kindergarten.
KHADAVRA sets up with this opus a perfect musical oxymoron; mixture of dark light, warm darkness, a musical hyperbole imbued with sounds, emotions, ramblings influencing our mental associations; more than the psyche, we seem to be entering a hypnotic musical state here and it is not the classic French horn, didgeridoo, marimba, sitar instruments that will change our minds. So yes it takes progressive blood to dive into this maelstrom from which you will not be sure to return intact, on the other hand this album has the power to break a little more the progressive codes and to propose a new sound, this which is an undeniable plus at the start of the decade.

The Flower Power were formed in Gulfport, MS, in October 1967 by Craig Ferguson, guitar and lead vocal (formerly of The Soule Survivors), Robert Weathersby, guitar and Gregg Giuffria, organ (both from The Telstars), David Mcintosh and Sandi Craig (from Sandi and the Gang Band) and Joe Rolison from The Varments on bass. They were still in their teens aged between 15 to 17 years old.

They gigged in local clubs and bars up and down the Gulf Coast and, by good fortune, met their future managers Tom and Paul Krimsier in a radio station car park in New Orleans. Tom’s father-in-law was none other than Joe Banashak, a prominent producer and record label owner. He signed them to his Tune-Kel imprint in early 1968 and they cut their first single, ‘Bye Bye Baby’, at the famed Cosimo Recording Studios.

With the Krimsier Management on board the band moved up a gear backing the likes of B.J. Thomas, Jimi Hendrix, Sly and the Family Stone, The Nazz, Todd Rundgren and many others. On Sunday, August 31st The Flower Power were the opening act at the first New Orleans Pop Festival, a two day event with Janis Joplin, Santana and The Grateful Dead. They continued to record for Banashak and released five singles on Tune-Kel, all highly collectable today. They also laid down some material in Houston, Texas, unreleased until now!

Pekka Laine and The Enchanted's second album out on Svart Records in September

"In a dream I heard music with a strange bubbling sound. People were dancing to it in a surreal, cavernous space. What is this, I asked. One of the dancers stopped and answered. It's an underwater disco. In the morning, I grabbed my guitar and tried to recall what I had heard. Those foggy fragments became Malibu Beach”.

Helsinki 4th of June 2024, Pekka Laine

For Pekka Laine, the twang of an electric guitar is not a warm blanket of nostalgia. Instead, the echoing sound usually associated with surf and retro instrumentals is a ticket to the imaginary.

On this sonic journey, Laine is joined by The Enchanted, his powerhouse live band that has taken both festival and club stages by storm. Pekka Laine and his trusty space-age guitar take the listener to a place where a futuristic and humid disco sound, perfect with obese beats and robotic vocals, reigns supreme. Trippy vocoder vocals and Moog wizardry are provided by Antti Vuorenmaa, the synth sensei associated with several leading Finnish indie bands and a trusted member of the extended Enchanted family.

Pekka Laine's second album Pekka Laine & The Enchanted in Slumberland will be released on 27th of September 2024 digitally, CD and in three different vinyl versions: on a classic black vinyl, wonderful transparent green vinyl and limited edition of 100 white/green/orange marble vinyls hand-crafted by Pekka Laine himself at the Helsingin Levypuristamo. The limited edition is available only on the Svart Records online store.

Donald Fagen and Walter Becker are two of the most sophisticated minds in the American Pop idiom. Originally broadcast live on Kmet FM, the famous Record Plant Studio concert was part of the 1974 promotional tour for the band's third album "Pretzel Logic". In front of a small audience and backed by a stellar band featuring classy session players like drummer Jeff Porcaro and keyboardist Michael Mc Donald, Fagen and Becker deliver immaculate versions of classic songs including "Do it Again", "Rikki Don't Lose That Number", and "Reelin' In The Years'' and other gems like "Bodhisattva", and "The Boston Rag".

Vivid peyote-induced psychedelia from Texas sounding like an impossible meld between the Elevators and the Velvet Underground but possessing a strongly unique disposition.

Recorded in 1970 but never released at the time, featuring future members of Roky Erickson’s backing band Bleib Alien / The Aliens.

Formed in Austin in the late 1960s by visionary lyricist and autoharp player Billy Bill Miller and his friend Tom McGarrigle on guitar, Cold Sun evolved from a band called Cauldron (later Amethyst) which at one point featured drummer John Kearney from Roky Erickson’s first band The Spades. Miller, a proto-Goth figure always dressed in black, highly influenced by Joe Meek and vintage sci-fi / horror movies, started to experiment with weird noises out of his electrified autoharp, favoring the audio-oriented drug mescaline over the LSD associated with hippies. Amethyst jammed with musicians such as Benny Thurman from the 13th Floor Elevators and Steve Webb from the Lost And Found (another International Artists band). The definitive Amethyst line-up, with Hugh Patton on drums and Mike Waugh on bass, played at venues like the I.L. Club, a historical landmark of Austin blues & psychedelic music.

It was through Mike Waugh’s friendship with Elevators drummer John Ike Walton that Billy Miller and the band (still unsure about their name but calling themselves The Daily Planet, changing it to Dark Shadows, and then to Cold Sun) hooked up with the local label / studio Sonobeat (Mariani, Wildfire, Johnny Winter…), who expressed interest in recording an album with the intention to shop it to a major label: thus, the now-legendary Cold Sun album was born. The band, driven by Miller’s strange electrified autoharp sounds plus the massive fuzz guitar of McGarrigle, dressed with feedback and futuristic lyrics, laid down several tracks in between rehearsals at Miller’s house on Castle Hill (west Austin). The album opens with “South Texas” (“the ultimate psychedelic track,” according to Patrick “The Lama” Lundborg), climbing to a psychedelic summit with the final 11 minutes of the fervently intoxicated “Ra-Ma”.

Never released at the time, the Cold Sun album languished in oblivion and the musicians moved on to other things. Billy Bill Miller along with drummer Hugh Patton founded Bleib Alien (later The Aliens), the famous backing band of Roky Erickson, with Billy being essential in bringing Roky back to music after his stay at Rusk Mental Hospital.

It wasn’t until 1990 that the Cold Sun album was finally released on vinyl by the Rockadelic label (in a tiny edition of 300 copies), followed by a new edition on German label World In Sound in 2008, now out of print.

For this new edition on Guerssen, we’ve tried to imagine how the Cold Sun album could have looked like if it had been actually released in 1970. It comes in a hard cardboard sleeve with vintage styled artwork by psychedelic illustrator Callum Rooney.

Sourced from the same audio master as the original Rockadelic LP, the sound has been vastly improved thanks to the meticulous and careful restoration / remastering by audiophile engineer Ezra Lesser, who has also penned the definitive story of Cold Sun for the liner notes.

*Hard cardboard sleeve with vintage styled artwork by Callum Rooney *Audiophile restoration / remastering by Ezra Lesser *Insert with detailed liner notes and photos *Download card

“One of the most important psychedelic records, and unlike any other one.” – Paul Major

“Cold Sun is an anomaly in Texas psych history. As significant as Bubble Puppy or Moving Sidewalks but in no way similar, the Austin quartet cut one cult classic in its brief existence, the spell-binding Dark Shadows, which Jello Biafra called “the best psychedelic album I know of.” – Austin Powell (Austin Chronicle)

“Billy Miller invented Post-Punk in 1970” – Julian Cope (Head Heritage)

EXCELLENT BROADCAST FROM LED ZEPPELIN’S 1972 NORTH AMERICAN TOUR1972 was the first year since 1969 that Led Zeppelin didn’t release an album. The highly praised Led Zeppelin IV had come out in November ’71, and their next LP, Houses Of The Holy, was released in March ’73. Instead, Zeppelin spent the majority of ’72 on the road.Having spent February in Australia, they then spent June touring North America. Kicking things off on June 6th in Detroit, followed by a quick hop over the Canadian border to play the following night in Montreal, by the 9th of the month the band were in North Carolina, at the state’s most populous city, Charlotte. Performing at the city’s Coliseum venue, Led Zeppelin performed one of the finest shows of the entire tour. Playing a number of cuts from their latest record, including a superb version of the ubiquitous ‘Stairway To Heaven’, alongside a fine selection of back catalogue classics, the concert remains a fan favourite to this day.Recorded for live radio broadcast, the gig has not previously been released on vinyl, but that changes with this new two-instalment which now houses the complete show for the first time. SIDE A:1. Immigrant Song 3:452. Heartbreaker 7:033. Celebration Day 4:48Total side length – 15:36SIDE B:4. Black Dog 5:255. Since I’ve Been Loving You 8:59Total side length – 14:24SIDE C:6. Stairway To Heaven 9:277. Going To California 5:44Total side length – 15:11SIDE D:8. That’s The Way 7:579. Tangerine 4:0310. Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp 6:09Total side length – 18:09

EXCELLENT BROADCAST FROM LED ZEPPELIN’S 1972 NORTH AMERICAN TOUR1972 was the first year since 1969 that Led Zeppelin didn’t release an album. The highly praised Led Zeppelin IV had come out in November ’71, and their next LP, Houses Of The Holy, was released in March ’73. Instead, Zeppelin spent the majority of ’72 on the road.Having spent February in Australia, they then spent June touring North America. Kicking things off on June 6th in Detroit, followed by a quick hop over the Canadian border to play the following night in Montreal, by the 9th of the month the band were in North Carolina, at the state’s most populous city, Charlotte. Performing at the city’s Coliseum venue, Led Zeppelin performed one of the finest shows of the entire tour. Playing a number of cuts from their latest record, including a superb version of the ubiquitous ‘Stairway To Heaven’, alongside a fine selection of back catalogue classics, the concert remains a fan favourite to this day.Recorded for live radio broadcast, the gig has not previously been released on vinyl, but that changes with this new two-instalment which now houses the complete show for the first time. SIDE A:1. Dazed And Confused 24:42Total side length – 24:42SIDE B:2. What Is And What Should Never Be 5:313. Moby Dick 19:12Total side length – 24:43SIDE C:4. Whole Lotta Love 8:05Total side length – 8:05SIDE D:5. Rock And Roll 4:436. Communication Breakdown 4:30Total side length – 9:13